DEREK'S MATCH (DEREK #1) SAMPLE, NOW PUBLISHED

29. call me back

"Derek-" I look up at him. "It's not what it seems."

He huffs as he sets his phone on the counter. "Not what it seems." He repeats with a nod. He runs a hand through his hair and clenches his jaw. "Then what the fuck were you doing with Jeremy and why does he have his arm around you?"

"I tripped and was going to fall," I say quickly. "He just reached out to grab me."

Derek chuckles humorlessly. "Oh. So he just happened to be standing next to you to save you like a knight in fucking shining armor." He looks at me. "What the fuck were you doing with him at the bar? You know who he is right?"

"Yes, I know he's Sadie's cousin," I say, starting to get a little angry.

He sighs, frustrated. "He's-fuck, Gin, Jeremy hates my guts."

I frown. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that."

"How did you even meet him?"

"I met him the night of Ian's party," I say looking at him. "He kept me company after you ditched me to go with your ex-girlfriend."

I shut my mouth and wish I could take the words back. At the same time, I don't. I'm glad I told him that. He needs to know how much that hurt me. Plus, he's accusing me of something I didn't do. I can see it in his eyes. I'm already guilty in his mind without even giving me a chance to explain.

"So now this is my fault?" he asks, angrily.

"You're accusing me of something I didn't do."

"There's pictures of you and him flirting all over the fucking internet," he says pointing at his phone. "He's probably laughing right now because I'm looking like a fool yet again."

"Derek, I'm sorry. This wasn't intentional."

"Yes, it was." He insists then shakes his head.

"No, it wasn't," I say, trying to control my anger. "I didn't want him there. He just showed up and sat next to me. You have to believe me. Those pictures are out of context."

He looks at me and then his phone vibrates. "Ted is waiting for me," he says then he turns around and makes his way to his gym without saying anything else.

I take a deep breath and fight back tears. I feel angry at both Jeremy and Derek. At Jeremy because this wouldn't be happening if he wouldn't have shown up last night at the bar. I repeat Derek's words in my head. He hates my guts. Jeremy hates Derek? Why did Jeremy make it seem like they were friends? Did he actually do this intentionally? There's no way he would have known I was going to trip, though.

And why is Derek so quick to believe that I would do something like that intentionally? Doesn't he know that I would never do anything to hurt him? He should know better than to believe a picture. Though I know I'm at fault too for putting myself in that position. I shouldn't have laughed. I was just embarrassed, and it came naturally.

I know I shouldn't, but I grab my phone and go on social media. Derek was right. There are a lot of pictures of Jeremy and me at the bar and they all make it seem like we were flirting. There's one of us sitting close together at the bar and many other different versions from the one Derek showed me. There are already a ton of articles about it. Apparently, I'm cheating on Derek with Sadie's cousin.

God. What a mess.

I should have seen this coming. I wish I would have told Derek about Jeremy this morning but there really wasn't time.

Is he going to break up with me now? Should I start packing?

The thought of Derek breaking up with me is too painful to even think about.