Page 104 of Devil's Kiss

Dylan grinned. “You’re just jealous ’cause it takes you two.”

“Hmm.”

Dylan tapped his fingers on the arm of the recliner as he looked him over, and then, blunt as ever, said, “Speaking of a mess. You look pretty beat up right now. What gives?”

Derek flipped him off, but instead of laughing, Dylan sat forward and said, “I’m serious. Last night you came in late, I saw the beer bottles in the trash this morning, and now you’re sitting here looking like you ran over someone. What’s going on with you? Is it flower guy?”

Flower guy? Oh shit,Derek thought as he looked over his shoulder at the roses that still sat in the center of their kitchen table. He’d totally forgotten about those.Fucking Jordan and his demands.

“Yeah. Flower guy’s part of it.”

One side of Dylan’s mouth kicked up and his dimple appeared. “So are you finally going to tell me his name?”

Derek narrowed his eyes and sized up his friend. “What do you mean?”

“How long have we lived together?”

“Too fucking long. That reminds me, I forgot to tell you years ago, pack your shit and get out.”

That made Dylan laugh. “You need me for the rent and I’m hardly here, so quit complaining. But…what I’msayingis, I’ve roomed with you since the end of college. And I would almost bet my life that the guy who sent you those flowers is the same guy who purchased you a few years back at the auction. He’salsothe same guy you would disappear with for a few nights at a time, am I right? You’ve never dated seriously?—”

“Neither have you.”

“Yeah, but I bring guys home. You don’t. And he’s never sent you flowers before. So…what happened? He fall in love with you?”

Derek nodded. “Yeah. But I did first.”

“No shit,” Dylan said. “Hang on a minute. Were you serious before? Do I really need to pack my shit and leave?”

Derek wasn’t sure why, but that made him laugh his ass off.Jesus, here he was after the worst night of his life in a long-ass time, and he was busy crying from laughter. Maybe he was losing his mind.

When he finally settled down, he shook his head and wiped the corner of his eye. “Relax, Prescott. No need to move out just yet.Jordan, that’s his name, and you’re right, it’s the same guy since college. We had a fight tonight. Well, it was last night, really, and I’m just… I’m really disappointed with him right now. I’m mad and fucking hurt.”

“Shit, man.” Dylan put one of his black-booted ankles up on his other knee and started to tap his leg. “Can I ask what he did? Was it another guy?”

“No,” Derek said. “Nothing like that. Actually, he did something pretty amazing, but he missed a few steps along the way. Some really fucking important steps.”

Dylan took a deep breath and seemed to be thinking carefully about the next words he wanted to say, and, not for the first time, Derek really wondered about the man sitting opposite him.

He’d known Dylan Prescott for years. But only what he’d been allowed to see. Dylan was an extremely private person when it came to his personal life, yet from all outward appearances he was confident and easygoing. He wasn’t egotistical in any way, and Lord knows he could be with a face like his. He just had a way about him that drew people in and that was probably why Derek was sitting there spilling his guts, but Dylan only let people know exactly what he wanted them to.

“I had a difficult upbringing,” Dylan finally said, and Derek was stunned that he’d even divulged that much. Feeling that this was something pretty fucking massive for the guy, he said, “So did I.”

Dylan nodded. “Yeah, I figured. I’m not sure how similar our stories are. Or evenifthey are, but I bounced around for a while in my teens as a foster kid until I landed with my parents and brother, who moved out here back when we first met.”

Oh wow. Yeah, okay,he hadn’t known that about the guy, and it explained a few things. Including Dylan’s nomadic tendencies. He loved travelling from city to city for each modeling job he booked, whereas Derek loved staying exactly where he was.

“They’re really good people,” Dylan continued. “Some of the best, but my adoptive parents, they made mistakes along the way. Big ones that made me really fucking mad. They made choices for me that I resented, but later I was able to forgive because I understood why they did it.”

Dylan scooted to the edge of the recliner and then got to his feet. He aimed his eyes over at the roses on the table and shrugged. “Look, I don’t know this Jordan guy. But he’s been in your life a long time, and you just told me yourself you both love each other. Whatever he did, or didn’t do, I have a feeling he knows it and is regretting it. Maybe instead of sitting here being pissed, you should call him.”

Derek nodded. Dylan was right. He knew that, and maybe it had taken someone on the outside to really make him see what was right in front of him. He just needed to call Jordan and talk this out. Clear the air and let him know how he really felt about the entire situation.

“Anyway,” Dylan said, recapturing Derek’s attention. “I’m heading out for the night. Not sure what time I’ll be back. Oh, and don’t forget, I have that big shoot in L.A. this Monday, so I’ll be flying out Sunday night.”

“Oh shit,” Derek said, and got to his feet also. “I totally forgot about that. Are you ready?”

“As ready as I can be to stand naked for a bunch of strangers.”