Chapter 319
As soon as they’d dumped all of the bags they had from shopping at the fancy pet store into Derek’s apartment, he and Cheryl made their way back down in the elevator to the huge garage underneath the building where the residents kept their vehicles, climbing into Derek’s black convertible sports car, with Cheryl keeping Romie on her lap just in case he got scared. They put the roof down as it was such a nice, warm day, and slowly began driving out into the sunshine, turning the radio on as they did so while Cheryl continuously stroked the puppy’s soft fur and snuggled him into her, straightening his little neckerchief so that he looked nice and smart, a beaming smile on her face every time she looked down at the adorable dog in her arms who didn’t look like he had a clue what was going on really, as he sat just watching Derek driving. Even though his car was over a year old now, it was completely spotless and looked like it had never even been driven before as it was his pride and joy, making him freak out even if there was the slightest smudge on his black, glossy paintwork or mark on his black leather seating, always making Cheryl feel very mischievous when she was in it, as she loved winding him up. This time was no different as she unscrewed the cap on the water bottle she had with her and purposefully dripped some of it onto the floor, however making it look like an accident and desperately trying to stop herself from grinning and giving her game away.
“Oh whoopsies...sorry babe” she sighed, trying to sound genuinely apologetic as Derek looked at what she’d done straight away, whining and quickly trying to find the small cloth he always kept in the pocket on the side of his door for incidents such as this.
“Quick, wipe it up before it leaves a water mark...you’re so freaking clumsy! We need to get you one of those baby beakers that have the seal on them so that the drink doesn’t come out even when you tip them upside down” he eagerly told her to soak it back up with the cloth, shaking his head in despair while Cheryl softly began giggling away to herself, loving how she got a reaction every time and he never seemed to cotton on to the fact she always did it deliberately, even though she’d play this joke on him literally every time she was in his car.
“I’m such a butterfingers...haha...there, don’t worry...I think it’s going to be alright Del” she sat back up and pulled an innocent expression at him as he just smirked and playfully poked her in the arm, before concentrating on the road again.
“Hey, I can’t believe you were in that freaking car accident over the summer!...I swear my heart literally stopped when I first heard, and then somebody quickly told me you were fine and everything thankfully...otherwise I’d have been on the next plane quick as lightening...I was in a right panic at first!” he’d suddenly remembered as they stopped at a red light, affectionately squeezing her shoulder as she smiled back at him for being so sweet; the reason that she hadn’t really got in touch with him about it being that she knew he’d totally freak out and come back to see her, even if she’d told him she was fine over the phone or something; a trait he unknowingly already had in common with Tre.
“Yeah it wasn’t very nice, but we were both absolutely fine thank God...these things just happen sometimes don’t they? It was nobody’s fault...” she reassured him, knowing that he always worried about these sorts of things, as just like her, he hated anybody ever feeling upset or scared, and he had a natural inclination to constantly help people and make them feel good. “Haha...maybe we shouldn’t talk about car crashes when we’re actually in a moving car...haha” she began giggling as they’d just been looking at each other with sympathetic smiles while they waited for the light to change, making him chuckle too and nod his head before smoothly pulling away again. “Haha...Tre was incredible during that time though, seriously...I don’t know what I would have done without him to be honest...he just became a little hero all of a sudden...haha...and he definitely won me dad over good and proper too, cos he just took such good care of me bless him...it really freaked him out too like, he was a right mess when he arrived at the hospital to see me” she told Derek as they continued driving down the coastal road, the ocean breeze making Cheryl’s hair lightly swish behind her and made Romie keep blinking every time he turned his face towards the ocean rather than towards the inside of the car to face Derek.
