Burning For You

Chapter 4

Sasha tossed and turned on her bed, unable to sleep, she glanced at the time on her clock, it was close to midnight, and the thought of Derrick in the same building as her kept her awake.

Her throat felt dry when she thought of the near kiss they had at the hallway.

Slipping out of bed, she pad into the kitchen barefoot for a glass of water, perhaps that would make her sleep.

Her hair was loose and messy from all the tossing, and she had worn her oversized t-shirt that barely brushed the tops of her thighs.

At this time, she knew Carey was already asleep since she cared a lot about her beauty sleep, and Derrick would no doubt be cuddled up with her.

Carey’s room had been closed for hours since they were done unpacking, and Sasha had done her best not to think about what two lovers who finally saw each other after months of chatting online might be doing in the room for that long.

She filled the glass with water, staring at the stream as it splashes against the bottom, her mind drifts despite her efforts.

She was lying to herself.

She was curious even when she didn’t want to think about it.

He had looked at her as though there was still spark in his eyes for her, like he had regretted not waiting around to get her number or prolong their relationship.

Even if it was a fling, he would have at least stayed until she was up before leaving.

She sipped some glass of water, willing her thought to settle.

“This is stupid.” She muttered, leaning on the counter. ”He’s Carey’s boyfriend, and I’m just a girl who made a mistake one night.”

Sasha put down the glass and ran her hand through her hair. “Stop thinking about him, he’s taken now, he belongs to your best friend.” She muttered under her breath.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Sasha jumped, startled.

She turned only to see Derrick standing in the kitchen doorway, dressed in nothing but low-hanging boxers and a t-shirt.

His hair slightly tousled, maybe from God-knows what he was doing in there with Carey. He stared at her with a half-awake look in his eyes, that somehow made him even more sexy.

“Jesus,” Sasha mutter under her breath, pressing a hand to her chest. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said, thought he doesn’t look particularly sorry, if anything, there was a smile curved at his lips. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

Sasha looked away from him, knowing she was still attracted to him but can’t do anything about it now.

Suddenly, her gaze flickered to her bare legs, and oversized shift, and the fact that she standing alone with him in the middle of the night, dressed like this.

Shit She bit down her lips.

“Its fine,” she reached for her glass to have something to do. “I just came for water.”

He nodded slowly, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. “Are you okay?” He asked.

Sasha took another sip, buying herself a second. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” she muttered, trying to avoid his gaze.

He shrugged slightly. “You’ve been quiet.”

He expected her to talk about what happened between them, but all these while, he had been the one initiating conversations. She wasn’t making effort to question him about anything, and he could see her avoiding his gaze as well.

Sasha let out a dismissive laugh. “That’s kind of my thing…”

He was silent for a while before pushing off the doorframe. “I kinda liked that other version of you,” he said, walking into the kitchen. “She was fun.”

Her fingers tightened around the glass, and her brows creased slightly offended. “I’m still fun.” She muttered defensively,

The corner of his lips curved into a smirk. “I didn’t say you weren’t.”

He stepped closer and the proximity send shiver down her spine, she quickly step aside immediately, putting space between them.

He didn’t glance in her direction, instead, he open the fridge and studied the contents.

Sasha glanced toward the hallway. Carey’s door was still closed, and the air in the kitchen was too tense with Derrick here with her.

Derrick pulls out bread, cheese, and something wrapped in foil, he sets them on the counter, moving around like he had been living here for a while.

Sasha grabbed her glass, staying here means she wanted something to happen which she shouldn’t let happen.

“Well, I’ll head back to my room now.” She said, turning to leave.

“Late-night snack?” he asked casually, grabbing a pan.

She halted, slowly turning to him, she knew avoiding him wouldn’t solve the issue of her heart, how long could she continue doing that, he was going to be here for weeks, maybe months.

He glanced over at her when she wasn’t answering, one brow lift slightly. “You want some?”

Everything about this was a bad idea, he was to hot to resist, Carey was in the other room, being alone with him, standing close to him, letting this stretch out longer than it needs to, she knew she shouldn’t stay, but on second thought, she nodded.

“Okay.” Her traitorous self muttered.

Derrick’s lips curved faintly, like he expected that answer. “Cool.”

Sasha leaned back against the counter as she watched him move around the kitchen, a smile lingered on her lips as her imagination ran wild.

It felt almost normal, like they were couple, sharing a late-night kitchen, and not two people tangled up in something so complicated.

“You cook?” Sasha asked to distract her illogical heart.

“A little,” he glanced at her, “enough not to starve.”

She huffed a laugh. “Good skill to have.”

“Yeah, it comes in handy.” He agrees.

Derrick flips something in the pan and Sasha admired how easy his muscles tightened, it was distracting, admiring him this much made her force her gaze away.

He finished up quickly, plating the food and sliding it between them. “Here,” he nudged it slightly toward her.

“Thanks.” Sasha admired the not so fancy meal, but it smelled and taste good.

They both stood there eating slowly, and it felt too comfortable until Derrick broke the silence.

“I need to ask you something.”

Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept her expression neutral. “Um…”

“Sasha, it’s important if I’m going to be living here.” He held her gaze and for a moment she pressed down her lips, scared of whatever question he was going to ask next.