Whiskey & Vows

T H I R T E EN

C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N || DON'T YOU DARE LOOK BACK, KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME

"You know tomorrow is Derek's birthday, right?" Charlie said as we strolled around the mall. It was the first time I had a chance to hang out with her since bringing Andy into the picture and missing our hangouts was an understatement. The weather was perfectly warm, giving us the best opportunity to go out and do something.

"What?" I asked stupidly, almost stopping in my tracks. Charlie sighed at my response and pressed her lips together tightly. Derek didn't mention anything about his birthday. We were finally opening up to each other and he hasn't said anything about the day he was born!

"What kind of wife are you?" Good question.

"Why wouldn't he tell me something like that?" I asked, running my hands through my messy hair. I had no idea what I would even do for his birthday. What did he even like? I still didn't even know his favorite color!

"Maybe he expected you to know," Charlie shrugged indifferently as we walked into a store. My stress level raised significantly as I thought of Derek's birthday.

"I'm screwed!" I panicked.

"Calm down, Anna. Let's just come about this calmly. You live with him, what does he like?" Her question caused me to freeze and look at her with worry. I had no idea what he liked or what he wanted. I didn't know much about him.

Fuck.

***
"What are you two up to?" Dr. Wilson asked curiously. After I abruptly left Charlie, I bought art supplies and brought them to Andy. He was more than happy to help for Derek's birthday and I knew it would mean the world to him if Andy was involved. Andy had painted Derek a large banner while I supervised and cautiously drilled Andy questions about Derek.

"Tomorrow is Derek's birthday!" Andy exclaimed in excitement. I smiled at his happiness and looked at the beautiful doctor. It amazed me how good looking he was, but I tried not to think too much about that.

"How nice," He smiled, although he didn't make it sound nice at all. I gulped and looked at him kindly.

"Yeah, I thought we would do something nice for him. He deserves it." I admitted awkwardly. As much as I appreciated his looks and presence, it felt weird to think of him that way, as if I was cheating on Derek. That thought alone is enough to send me to therapy; Derek and I were nothing but accidentally married. I think.

"He must be a lucky man." He smiled softly. My heart beat rapidly in my chest at his response. I've never been wanted by someone before and his obvious statements and remarks make me nervous, especially when I'm slightly married. Luckily, Andy spoke up diverting the attention away from his comment and toward his current situation.

"When am I going home?" He asked curiously, causing my heart to break. I wanted to tell him that I'm trying to get him to live with us, but I didn't want to get his hopes up for nothing. Dr. Wilson smiled lightly and pushed up his large glasses.

"I'm working on that," Dr. Wilson said softly. "I have to make sure you're fully recovered before I send you home. I don't want you to come back here again unless you're delivering a gift or food." Andy giggled wildly at his response and sighed.

"That makes sense," He nodded. He smiled down at his picture and grinned up at me. Dr. Wilson said his goodbyes and headed out of the room. I still could feel his gaze on me as he left, making me nervous.

"Mr. Jones will like this, right?" He asked shyly. My heart warmed at his concern and smiled at him. There's nothing more I wanted than go hand Andy come home with us. I've never met anyone as important to Derek as Andy was and I didn't want to take that way for him.