Behind These Bruises...

Behind These Bruises...[Part 8]

"Remember, be home by 11:30," my father said. I nodded.

"I will. I promise," I said. I grabbed my red leather clutch purse from off the kitchen counter just as the doorbell rang. He was here. I took a deep breath before opening the door. My father walked up behind me. And there he was, standing in all his gorgeous intense beauty: Derek Thomas.

"You're Derek I suppose?" my father asked.

"Yes, sir. It's nice to meet you, sir," Derek answered. The autumn sun shined behind him. He looked absolutely amazing in an emerald green shirt, black skinny tie, and straight black dress pants.

"We'll see about that. Come inside. I want a few words," he said. I groaned internally. This was why I never had a boyfriend. "She has to be home by 11:30. If I find out she was drinking, I'll blame you first. No funny business. I'll find out somehow. Are we clear?" he asked Derek sternly. Unflinchingly, Derek nodded.

"I wouldn't dare hurt your daughter, sir. I'll have her home before 11:30," Derek replied calmly.

"Good. Well...you can go now. Have...fun...." my father said, looking at me with a stern look, as if trying to tell me I'd better be careful and that I was warned.

"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you at 11:30," I said, grabbing Derek by the wrist and leading him outside. My father stood at the door and watched as I got into Derek's car, an orange 2011 Mustang. Once we were in the car, I spoke.

"I'm so sorry. He's just...over-protective," I apologized. Derek shook his head.

"It's no big deal. He cares about you," he replied, his eyes on the road. "You look really nice, by the way," he said, still not looking at me. I blushed wildly at the compliment.

"Thanks," I managed to let out.

"So we're meeting up with the rest of the team and their dates at the Bay," he said. I nodded, knowing this already. We didn't talk very much the rest of the way there. We were going to take pictures at Virginia Bay and then go to dinner and then from there, we would go to the dance. He pulled into a parking spot when we got there. There were already a number of cars parked, of increasing price ranges. In the distance by the water, we could see the forms of people all dressed up. Derek got out of the car and before I could open my door, he had held it open for me. I stepped out, thanking him. He smiled his small smile at me and we made our way to the water's edge where all of our friends were. I saw Alisha giddily talking to Jason and his friends. I saw Leah, her arm linked through Kyle's, who seemed bored to say the least. Marianna and Jessie were with their boys, flirting relentlessly. There were a few others there; the whole soccer team and their dates.

"Mila!" I heard Alisha shout. I turned around and saw my beautiful friend running towards me awkwardly in her heels. "You look fabulous!" she cried, hugging me.

"Thanks! So do you! That dress looks amazing on you," I commented. She grinned a wide smile at me.

"Your date looks like a total hottie, too," she whispered in my ear. I pinched her side lightly and we giggled. For the next 45 minutes or so we took pictures: couple pictures, group pictures, all girl pictures, all boy pictures, silly pictures. It was pretty crazy and when we were done, all I could see were the blue boxes from the camera's flashes.

"We have to hurry! They'll give our reservations away!" Leah called as she got into Kyle's shiny black H3 Hummer. I rolled my eyes at the car and got into Derek's.

"I'm half blind right now. I apologize if  I accidentally kill you," Derek muttered. I chuckled.

"I am, too. So I won't blame you," I said. He shot me his signature small smile and put the car in drive. Dinner was pretty uneventful. The girls looked like they were trying too hard. The boys looked like they didn't even notice the girls. Kyle was especially ignoring Leah the whole time. Instead, which shocked me, he kept trying to make conversation with me. Derek was quiet the whole time, texting on his phone or something. Alisha and Jason kept cracking jokes, making the rest of us laugh. At about 8, we all paid and then left for the dance. Derek and I were both quiet in the car ride to school. I didn't know how to start a conversation with him. It seemed like whenever we were together, we wouldn't talk. We would just sit in silence, our minds and thoughts elsewhere. It was calming, but at the same time extremely frustrating.