Whiskey & Vows

T H I R T Y S I X

T H I R T Y S I X

DEREK'S RADIANT BLUE EYES FOCUSED ON MINE, NERVOUS AS WE WALKED HAND IN HAND. Feeling the slight tremble of his body, I gave him a reassuring smile. Unlocking the old wooden door, Derek let out a shaky breath as we stepped inside the old lake house. Following him inside the beautiful house, I was immediately swamped with the stuffy air and dark colored walls.

Looking at me briefly, he looked around the medium sized living room. His eyes washed over family photos tacked on the wall and looked at me sadly.

"The last time we were here was right before she died," He whispered hoarsely. "I couldn't-my father couldn't come in here. Everything is hers in here; it was her safe place." He murmured, tracing the mantel of the old fireplace. Setting our suitcases at the end of a large staircase, I slipped my hand in his.

"It's okay," I answered. He told me it was small- that they always felt squished together whenever they were here. It didn't look small to me; in fact, it looked like a decent sized home.

Then again, Derek grew up in a mansion.

The place looked fairly clean and nothing like what I pictured it to be. It wasn't dusty or run down- it looked like it was well taken care of. Noticing my confusion, Derek shrugged.

"My faster wouldn't let this place rot; it was too important to my mother." Nodding, I smiled as I looked around the place. It was beautifully decorated-unsurprisingly, and had enough character to wish I lived in an older home.

"Did you come here a lot?" I asked curiously. He seemed to have everything at home; I couldn't imagine what else he needed here.

"Yeah," He smiled softly. "When times were better we'd come up here almost every weekend in the summer. It's in the country away from everything and we didn't have any distractions. Sure, there's the small town but it's nothing like the city."

"Every time you tell me something about your past I can't help but wonder how hard you tried to hide who you were." Flushing, he looked at his tattooed wrist.

"I wanted an escape. It seemed fair enough for a while. But I wasn't happy." He admitted, running a hand through his hair. Smiling, I kissed his cheek.

Looking down at my boot, he frowned.

"Let me show you the rest of the place so you can sit down."

"I've been in the car for hours!" I whined. Shaking his head, he picked up our bags.

"We'll go on the boat and you can take it off."

"You have a boat?" Grinning, he led me up the stairs.

"Of course I do." Following behind him, I hopped up the stairs. Leading me to a bedroom, he looked at me sheepishly

"You can't judge me." He warned as we stood outside a door.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows together in confusion. Flushing, he scratched the back of his neck.

"It might be kind of childish. I usually kept things from home in here because it was my second home."

"Do you have dirty magazines?" I teased. Flushing, he glared at me.

"No!"

"You don't sound too sure." I smirked. Rolling his eyes, he slowly opened the door.

"You wish; I bet you'd like that." Laughing, I followed behind him. Looking around his room, I stared in awe.

I felt like each day I was getting to know a small fragment of who Derek was and is becoming. The man I knew in college seems like a different man than who I'm married to. This one is honest and vulnerable. Sensitive. Old Derek didn't give a flying shit about anything.