Page 108 of Devil's Kiss
Derek looked over his shoulder to where someone was leaning against the wall watching them. He then turned back to face him, and Jordan asked, “Would you like me to wait here?”
“No,” Derek said. “It’s just…even though I come from the same household as these two, we are very different men.”
“Derek,” Jordan said as he touched Derek’s arm. “I know that. I know that whatever they do or say is not you or in any way a reflection of you.”
“I know, it’s just?—”
“Derek,” he said again, and took a step toward him. “I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to support you. I love you.”
As the words hung between them, Jordan noticed Derek’s frown tip up into a small smile. He looked…bashful.
“I like how that sounds.”
Jordan’s heart raced at that as he asked, “Still? Even though?—”
Derek put a finger to his lips and nodded. “Even though. Say it again.”
“I love you.”
When Derek’s smile widened, Jordan cupped his cheek and confessed with a grin, “I think I have since you took your sunglasses off and, without a word, dared me to fuck with you.”
Derek’s eyes roved over his face, and Jordan raised his head to press a kiss to his lips. “I am more than aware of where you come from, Derek Pearson. I know exactlywhoI love. Being confronted with that doesn’t scare me, and it won’t make me love you any less to see it firsthand. If anything, it makes me love you more to see what you have overcome to be the man you are today. So if you think it would be easier if I waited over here, then I’ll wait here. But if youwantme by your side, if you want my hand in yours, then I will stand there and be in that moment with you. No matter how fucking uncomfortable it might make anyone else.”
When Jordan finished talking, Derek took his face between his hands and kissed him so hard that Jordan swore his ears rang. Then Derek recaptured his hand and tugged him along.
When they reached Alan and he took a look at the both of them, Derek pulled Jordan to his side and spoke before his brother had a chance to.
“Say one fucking thing I don’t like and you can do this next part all on your own. This is your chance to be a better man than the one in that room lucky that his sons turned up today. So take advantage of this moment. Alan, this is Jordan, my boyfriend.”
Alan looked at him, and Jordan noted the bored and somewhat unimpressed look on his face. He was a skinny guy, not much taller than himself, and his coloring was the same as Derek’s, as far as his hair and eyes went. But that was where the similarities ended. There was no warmth in those eyes. There actually wasn’t much of anything. And Jordan thought it sad that this man had missed out on knowing someone as wonderful as Derek due to his ignorant upbringing.
Alan then shrugged and turned back to Derek. “Yeah, okay. I don’t give a shit who you’re fucking.”
“Well, nice to meet you too,” Jordan muttered. “I see candor runs strong through the Pearson household.”
Alan frowned, and Jordan wondered if he’d say more, but instead he focused on Derek, obviously deciding he was an easier issue to tackle than the strange guy holding his brother’s hand.
“He’s been asking for you.”
“Why?” Derek said, and to Jordan he sounded as though he couldn’t have cared less as to the answer.
“I dunno. Just keeps asking where you are.”
Derek shook his head. “Doesn’t make any sense, but okay. What room?”
Alan gave them the room number and they headed down the hall. When they reached the door, Derek stopped, and Jordan stepped around in front of him so he could look into his eyes.
“Hey. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”
“No,” Derek said with a grim look on his face. “I need to.”
“It’s going to be okay. Once you’re done, come back out here, and I’ll be waiting. I promise.”
Derek nodded and took a deep breath. As he let go of his hand, Jordan felt as though he were sending a lamb to the slaughter, but at the same time he knew that Derek had to face this if he was ever going to break free from the monster that lay in wait and have a hope of moving on with his life.
DEREK STEPPEDINTO the hospital room and looked around the stark white walls. On one side was a whiteboard with the nurse’s name and the date, but other than that there was nothing. It was a true testament to the fact that this miserable bastard hadn’t loved anyone in his life but himself.
As Derek walked farther into the room, he noted how frail his father looked, even in comparison to when he’d seen him just a couple of days ago. He waited for the pain to hit him, the sadness over the fact that his father was the one lying in that hospital bed likely hours away from his lungs giving out.