Weathered Love

DEREK III

It was February, and Derek and I were going strong. Even though we had only been seeing each other for less than two months, it was as if we couldn't get enough of each other. I found that I was not timing myself to be at my locker at the same time as Caleb. I was even looking forward to the end of school because it meant Derek and I could meet up.

I must admit, Derek usually asked me to meet him at the gym, which I wasn't too thrilled about. But the gym started to grow on me, which I knew was because of him.

He did cut me some slack though, and he occasionally took me out for coffee or dinner or dessert. He never stopped being the perfect gentleman.

Then, on Valentine's Day, while walking up the front steps of my school, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I whipped around, to find Derek standing there with a bouquet of snapdragons, my favorite flower, and a box of my favorite chocolates. He knew the perfect way to spoil me.

I squealed and jumped into his arms, not caring about who saw me acting girly. Derek helped me embrace more of my femininity and even some of my meekness. I didn't need to be tough in front of him. "Happy Valentine's Day Sweetness," he said, somehow managing to hold me up with one arm while still holding my gifts in his other arm.

"You're too good to me," I cooed as he put me down and I took the flowers and chocolates from him.

"Be careful, you don't want to accidentally inhale the flowers with the chocolates," Aria teased as she walked by. How did she manage to always figure out how to ruin the best moments?

Derek, however, knew how to steal the moment back. In one motion, he grabbed the small of my back with one hand and gently pulled me in by the neck with his other hand and gave me a long, passionate kiss.

Suddenly, the world around us disappeared, and he was the only thing that mattered. I loosely draped my arms around his neck, still holding onto my gifts as I did so, and kissed him back as hard and as passionately as I could. I was still new to kissing, but with Derek, I felt like I could do no wrong. He knew exactly how to direct me and, at the same time, let me do my own thing. He was perfect.

After we kissed, he had to keep his hand on my back to keep me balanced, and I suddenly realized we had attracted an audience. Since I went to a Catholic school, students had to keep their passions a secret. Derek went to a public school, so he couldn't really grasp that concept. But that didn't bother me in the least. "See you after school, Sweetness," he whispered in my ear, causing me to force my eyes closed so I could keep my composure. He gave me a parting kiss on the cheek and left.

No one else existed in that moment, and I couldn't even relish in the astonished stares people were giving me. I couldn't care less if they had seen what happened. I was ecstatic. I sauntered up the stairs, into the school, and up even more stairs to my locker. Life, in that moment, was perfect.

"Where did you get those?" Caleb asked, arriving at his locker at roughly the same time I arrived at mine. I checked my watch. We had definitely arrived a lot earlier than usual, and I started to wonder if Caleb was adjusting his time to mine now. I pushed that thought out of my mind.

"Where do you think?" I replied in a singsong voice. I was in too good a mood to notice Caleb's scowl.

As I put the flowers away, I felt Caleb place himself behind me and stand there, in tense anticipation. My ecstasy was instantly subdued, and for some weird reason, I felt scared. "What's up?" I asked, still facing my locker, trying to mask my fear.

"I just want to make sure you're not falling too hard for this guy," Caleb answered from behind me. He had bent low and almost whispered the answer into my ear.