There was something about the way Mason smiled at me that I couldn’t wipe from my mind. It reminded me of how, right before Giselle had collapsed, he had crossed the room as if he maybe planned to talk to me. Also, I never forgot the way he had hesitated when he saw me crying in the hall. He seemed sweet. It made me wonder if he did know who I was, and maybe would be interested in getting to know me even better. Who knew? Sophie told me not to sell myself short. I scanned the room and when I spotted Sophie, I turned to Steve. “Do you mind getting us something to drink?”
“Your wish is my command. I’ll be right back.”
Sophie and Doug were making out on the couch, so I sat on the armchair and stared at them until they felt my presence. Sophie lifted her head and sat up, straddled over Doug’s thighs. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“Sure you are.” Sophie feigned a snarl.
“Yeah, you’re right, I don’t care. You guys have plenty of time to do that.”
“This better be good,” she said as she reached over to grab her red plastic cup off the coffee table.
“I think so. Close your ears, Doug.”
“Okay,” he said, but he didn’t cover his ears.
“So, I have very strong feelings for Trevor, as you know, but Trevor just took off and is going to be gone for almost half a year. I’m very unclear on the status of our relationship because it’s not technically something we’ve ever talked about. So, if I think out loud here, he kinda, sorta asked me on one date that we never went on, and we kinda sorta slept together, but we had our clothes on, and although I’ve sat on his lap in my underwear, we’ve never even kissed on the lips. Presumably, one of the reasons nothing happened between us is because he prefers mature, sexually confident women, not reserved girls who are too wimpy to even talk about a relationship, let alone have one. So, long story short, I assume it’s a good idea for me to get as much experience as possible while he’s gone.”
“Yes,” they both said in unison.
“Okay, well, in that case. At the risk of sounding sleazy, would it be out of the question to date more than one person at a time?”
“Ooh,” Sophie squealed. “Who?”
Doug frowned.
“I was thinking maybe Mason.”
“No.” Doug shook his head adamantly.
“What do you mean no? Why?” Sophie asked.
“Unless she’s looking for a one-night stand, Cartwright’s not the guy for Deri.” He shot me a cautionary look. “And I’ll tell you right now, Trevor will lose his shit on Mason if he uses you.”
“Trevor’s not here,” I reminded him.
“Doesn’t matter. He. Will. Lose. His. Shit.”
“It’s really none of his business. I can do whatever I choose, thanks.”
Doug sat up and shot me a serious look. “Listen, Deri, I think it’s cool that you’re trying to come out of your shell and experiment a bit, but you don’t need to go crazy. You can date Steve but not Mason.”
Sophie shoved his chest. “Why are you acting like a control freak? Deri can date both of them if she wants to.”
“Mason is just going to sleep with her and leave her. Trevor asked me to keep an eye on her, and he wouldn’t be cool with that.”
“What?” I blinked repeatedly as what he said sunk in. “You and Trevor talked about me before he left? What else did he say?”
Sophie spun around and waited for Doug to answer. Doug didn’t answer exactly, he shrugged as if he regretted the disclosure.
“What else did he say?” I repeated.
“He just asked me to keep an eye on you.”
My eyebrows angled into a frown as I attempted to interpret what that implied. “The protective way you would keep an eye on his kid sister for him, or the possessive way you would keep an eye on a potential girlfriend to make sure no one moves in on her?”
Doug took too long to answer, so Sophie punched his arm. “What was it—kid sister or girlfriend?”
“Ow! I don’t know why Trevor is all hyper-protective over Derian.”
“Has he said he likes her?”
“We’re not girls,” Doug protested. “We don’t talk about shit like that. All I know is that Trevor will mess up anybody who hurts you. I don’t know if it’s because he cares about you like a sister, a girlfriend, or both.”
My head spun with what it all meant, so I clarified, “And who decided I have permission to date Steve, you or Trevor?”
He shook his head, obviously wishing he’d never promised Trevor he would take care of it. “Just stay away from Mason.”
“Thanks for your concern, but I think I’ll make my own decisions from here on in.” I stood and pointed at them with authority. “As you were.”
Doug looked uneasy. Sophie looked amused by the drama my more assertive self had stirred up. She pulled Doug in and continued their make-out session where it left off. I turned around and looked for Steve. He was talking to Lisa Alvarez, so I stood next to him. He turned when he noticed me, and kissed my cheek before handing me a bottle of water. Lisa smiled coldly and walked away.
“Are you going to tell me what was going on with you earlier?” he asked.
I squished up my face. “I thought I distracted you enough to forget about that.”
“I’ve recovered.”
I sighed and debated whether to tell him about the intuition. Only my family, Trevor’s family, and Sophie knew I could do it. It hadn’t been happening all that much, so I decided to lie and not weird him out. “I get mini migraines. They don’t last long. The doctor says they’re nothing to be concerned about. Should we dance again?”
I tugged his hand and led him back out onto the dance floor to end the conversation. He didn’t seem to mind. When the song was over, I looked across the room at Mason. He was surrounded by a harem. A competition I had no business entering. What made me think I could date a guy like Mason, let alone Mason and Steve at the same time? It was conceited and selfish to have even considered it. When did I become that girl? Maybe it was time to go back to sweet, bookish Derian and abandon high-on-herself, boy-obsessed Derian.