slow burn // derek discanio

seven

Since I had some alone time and I knew I'd be out with the guys later, I reapplied the makeup I had slept in and changed my clothes. The rest of the morning was spent sitting on the couch on my laptop.
I was checking my email and almost screamed when I got one from Free Steel Records. They wanted me to call to schedule an interview for the drum tech job, and I was beyond excited. I called right away and scheduled my interview for next Monday.
I wanted to tell Derek right away, but he was in a meeting with the same label so that wouldn't look too good for either of us.
Around noon, I got a call from Derek.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Albany." I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Hey, what's up?" I asked.
"Want to get lunch with us?" he offered. "It's only a few blocks from your place, so you can either meet us there or we can pick you up."
"I can walk, but thanks," I answered, and he told me the address of the restaurant.
"And I have exciting news!" I told him.
"What is it?!" he asked excitedly.
"I have an interview with Free Steel on Monday at ten!" I exclaimed.
He laughed. "No way! We've got a meeting there at the same time!"
"Aw, we can carpool!" I giggled.
"I'm so happy for you, Albany," he said.
"I'll see you later, Derek."
"See you later."

---

A half hour later, I was approaching the cute little bistro where Derek told me to go. I was about to walk inside when I heard five voices yell "Albany!" from the outdoor patio. I laughed, embarrassed, as I walked over to join them.
"Hey guys," I said, taking the empty seat which happened to be next to Derek. I wondered if that really was a coincidence.
"Congratulations on the interview," Ryan told me.
"Thanks," I replied. "It's not like I have the job or anything yet. There's probably plenty of other more qualified people applying."
"You don't know that!" Tyler exclaimed. "And besides, we can sabotage the other interviews while we're there."
"Tyler!" I scolded, even though I was in a fit of laughter.
"Wouldn't that be so cool if you got the job and you could go on tour with us?" Derek suggested.
"That'd be awesome," I told him.
We continued eating and talking, and I realized these guys were really becoming my best friends. I thought that I had nobody, but these guys were more than what I ever asked for. I sometimes wished I had a girl friend, but it was okay for now.
After we finished eating, we walked down the street and stopped in some cute little shops along the way. Inside a liquor store, the guys were all tasting different types of drinks and taking forever to decide which ones to buy. Luckily we were next to my favorite coffee shop, so I walked over to Derek and told him, "I'm going to go grab coffee next door."
"I'll go with you," he said, following me out the door.
We stepped into the coffee shop and breathed in the wonderful aroma. "You're not buying any liquor?" I asked Derek.
He shook his head. "I'll just save the money and drink theirs. Besides, I can spend the money I saved on your coffee."
"You don't have to buy it, Derek," I told him.
"Yes, I do." He gave me a warm smile as he laced his fingers with mine.
I sighed, but smiled back at him. "You're so difficult." He just leaned over and kissed me on the head.
After getting our coffee, we sat at a cute little table in the corner to wait for the boys.
"Do you have plans for the rest of the day?" Derek asked me.
"Absolutely nothing," I responded.
"We were going to hang out at the bar and the casino in our hotel, if you want to join us," he offered.
"I'd like that," I said. "I've never actually gone gambling before."
"It'll be fun," Derek assured me. "Trust me."

---

Hours later, I was sitting on a stool in front of a slot machine. Derek was behind me with one hand on my shoulder and one hand holding his drink.
"Yes!" Derek exclaimed as three of the seven slots matched.
"Should I just cash out now? End on a high note?" I asked.
"Yeah," he answered. "I think the other guys are playing blackjack if you want to watch."
I waited as the machine spurted out my ticket for the twenty dollars I won. Derek grabbed my hand as we made our way over to the playing tables. I took a sip of his drink as we watched the rest of the band play. It was funny watching them get so frustrated with each other.
I looked around and noticed how foggy it was getting from all the people smoking. I never did too well around smoke like this and it was starting to get to my head.
"Derek...I don't..." I stammered as I leaned into him, not able to keep my balance because I was so light-headed. He put his arm around me and held me up.
"Albany, you okay?" he asked, concerned. I shook my head as I felt myself falling again, but Derek helped to regain my balance. I felt the thick air deep in my lungs and started to cough. I felt like I might throw up.
"Let's get you some water, would that help?" he asked. I nodded and he carefully walked me out of the casino into the lobby. "There's some water in our room, are you okay to go that far?"
"Yeah," I croaked. He walked me into the elevator and held me tight as we ascended to their floor and headed into his room.
I wasn't even paying attention to realize the band had upgraded to a suite with a large living area in between all the bedrooms. Derek sat me down on one of the fancy red couches while he got a water bottle from the kitchen and brought it over to me.
I downed about half the bottle in one go, feeling the cool water in my throat instead of the harsh smoke. "Thank you," I told him now that I felt refreshed.
"Was it just the smoke that got to you?" he asked, putting his arm around me and rubbing my back.
I nodded. "I think so. I've never done well with people smoking around me. My dad and his friends would all smoke cigars because that seemed fancy or something, but that smoke didn't bother me as much."
"Well we don't have to spend any more time down there," he assured me. "I'm sorry I brought you into this."
"No, it was fun!" I told him. "And I'm still having fun with you."
He smiled and gave me a peck on the lips. "I can't believe you're having fun sitting in a hotel room after a coughing fit in a casino."
"I guess I just have good company," I said, leaning in to kiss him.
Derek pulled away and looked deeply in my eyes. "I'm so glad to have you."
Soon we heard the door start to unlock, so we quickly tried to move back to a normal sitting position but didn't make it quite in time. Tyler and Evan walked in with shocked but excited looks on their faces.
"Don't mean to interrupt anything!" Tyler exclaimed.
"Just pretend we're not here," Evan laughed.
I laughed and stood up. "I should probably head back."
"Why don't you just stay here?" Derek asked. I turned my head to meet his pleading eyes.
"I work in the morning," I told him.
"That's okay, I'll take you back home in time," he assured me. "You don't want to go the whole way back this late, right?"
I smiled. "Alright," I gave in. "But I don't have any pajamas."
"Don't worry about it," he said, standing up to take my hand and lead me into his and Tyler's room.
I watched as he dug through his suitcase to find a hockey t-shirt and some cozy sweatpants and handed them to me. I went into the bathroom to change into them and they felt so comfy. Wearing a guy's clothes made me so excited in the inside.
Derek smirked as I walked back into the bedroom. "I don't think you've ever looked better," he told me as he wrapped his arms around me to kiss me.
"I'm stealing these sweatpants, just so you know," I giggled.
"I'm going to have to come steal them back then." He planted another kiss.
I let go of him and crawled into the giant bed. These sheets were the softest things I had ever touched. Derek crawled in after me and nestled in close, wrapping his arms around me. I fell asleep smelling the sweet smell of him and listening to his slow breaths against mine.

A/N: I know Free Steel isn't actually their first label (it's not even real, it's fine)