Curves in the Road (The Southern Devotion Series Book 2) (5 page)

It's true, I couldn't relate. It didn't mean that my heart isn't breaking for him though. If Derrick proposed to me, no one would say a negative word about it. We'd have no problems getting a marriage license, we'd be ideal adoptive parents, and we'd
never have to fight for the state to admit our marriage was real. Cameron would never have that luxury. Even if marriages are legalized in Tennessee, it wouldn't be without a fight or protests. Cameron and Gavin will never be able to forget about the hate that has surrounded their love. The only thing we can do is surround them with as much love as possible to try and outdo the hate.

Words escaped me. What could I as a straight woman offer as solace to this friend of mine? I couldn't understand his pain, but I wanted to do anything I could to ease it. "Cameron, I love you." It's all I could say before the tears fell. He understood the deeper meaning and wrapped his arms around me as he sobbed against my neck. We sat like that for a few minutes, both crying.

Cameron sat up first; he grasped my face in his hands. "Look at me." My eyes met Cameron's and he said, "You are one very sexy woman. You are desirable, you're sweet, and you the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known. Never forget that." 

Cameron knows that I've always hated the way I look. He's always boosted mine, Gracie, and Angel's confidence any chance he could. "You never let me, for that I adore you."  My laptop was still beside the bed, I shifted my body to set it on my lap. "We're going to do some research.
There must be a way you can adopt; maybe international is the way to go. Whatever it takes, we're going to go over every possibility."

Cameron pointed at the clock, "It's after 2am" 

"Doesn't matter. We're going to make you a daddy in this bed tonight."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me, "I'm a married man you naughty girl."

Chapter Seven

**Derrick**

Two nights ago was the last time I talked to Mary Jane. She had texted me the next morning to let me know that she wanted to spend as much time with Cameron as possible. I understood that completely and couldn’t fault her for it. The bad part is that I missed her like crazy. That being said, I was at Ashton's when she decided to call
me which meant I had to excuse myself without too many questions rising.

"Um..I gotta take this, it's important." I ran out of the room, up the stairs, and out the front door with Gracie calling out asking me where the fire was. "MJ?"

"Hey Derrick. Sorry it's been a little while."

"Too long. I missed hearing your voice." She grew quiet and I tried to back out of the insecure moment with an apology. "Everything
okay?"

"I'm fine. I called because I missed your voice too. That's not
true; I called because I miss everything about you."  These words made my heart soar. I wanted to wrap my arms around her for saying it. That need is hindered due to a few hundred miles between us.

"I miss you too, sweetheart." 

"Can you take a few days off work and come see me this weekend? I'll meet you half way, maybe even as far as Atlanta?  I have this weekend off and I'd love to spend it with you, if you can manage it."

As soon as she finished speaking I answered, "Absolutely. Tell me when and where." Well that didn’t make me seem desperate at all.
Then again, it didn’t matter if I seemed desperate; I craved this woman and needed to see her.

"Oh…Great. I wasn’t sure you were going to want to come see me."

"MJ, I meant what I said, I've missed you. Not just your voice. I've missed your beautiful face, your lips, and the feel of you in my arms." I stopped as I realized that I hadn’t asked if she meant to spend it as friends or more and now she was being very quiet. "Damn, MJ. Did you want me to come down as a friend only? I didn’t mean to push for anything else."

She laughed and I relaxed as she said, "I want you Derrick. Not as a friend. I want to be in your arms again and I want to kiss you and…other things."

Her voice lowered into a sexy whisper when she said other things and it made me want her right then and there. "Oh," was all I could manage at this moment. She responded with a laugh and I closed my eyes as I ached for her. "MJ, I gotta get off here."

She purred and said, "I was hoping you'd wait for me."

"Shit, MJ. You're killing me." I couldn’t believe this was the same shy girl I met a few months ago.

"Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
You left that wide open for me."

We made plans to meet up in Atlanta so that we could do some sightseeing and really enjoy our few days together. Gracie and Ashton agreed to keep Katelyn for me.
Katelyn thought I was going on a trip for work because if she knew I was going to see MJ she'd want to come along.

The week crept on as my anxiety for the weekend heightened. Midway through the week I went to pick up some supplies for my trip. I grabbed the normal toiletries and a few snacks for the road
so that I could make as few stops as possible. Then as I was leaving an aisle my peripheral vision caught the display of condom packages. Did it seem presumptuous or responsible to grab a pack of these for the trip? I'm going to go with responsible, which is appropriate for me being a father as a teenager.

"Derrick?" I heard Gracie's voice call out as
I rounded the corner to the next aisle. "Are you stocking up on supplies for your trip?" She maintained a warm smile until her eyes skimmed over the condoms package. "Oh."

"It's not what it looks like, Gracie."
Well there's a cliché of a line that never really works out when it's used since it usually is exactly what it looks like.

"It looks like you're buying a pack of condoms for your trip that you said was for business. What kind of business exactly?" She placed her hand on her hip for a moment then waved her hand
in the air. "Forget it, I don't want to know. We'll see you and Katelyn in the morning."  It was easy to tell she was disappointed in me. I couldn't allow her to go on thinking I was betraying Mary Jane.

"Gracie, wait." I yelled out. She turns around waiting for the reason I stopped her. I move my cart to her and say. "I've been lying to you, to Ash, to everyone about where I'm going and who I'm seeing."

Gracie interjected before I got to my point. "It's not my business, Derrick. Do I wish you had worked things out with MJ? Yes, I do. You two were great together, but she told me that she told you to move on. If that's what you're doing than I know it's what MJ wanted for you."

"Gracie, I'm doing this for Mary Jane." I said.

Again she interrupted, "I get it, I do."

"No, you don’t. When I say I'm doing this for Mary Jane, I mean the trip and all. She an
d I have been talking for weeks. She asked me to meet her in Atlanta this weekend. We didn't want to tell anyone because of the chance that we couldn't work it out. Neither of us wanted to lie to you guys but…"

Gracie crashed into me with enormous force for a small girl. She wrapped her arms around my neck in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you guys." 
She pulled back suddenly, and says, "Wait, have you two…I mean…Mary Jane is…" She doesn't seem able to finish her sentence as she keeps glancing at the box of condoms. It occurred to me what she is asking.

"I know that she's never. She made it sound like she wants to this weekend.
I only want to be prepared; I'd never push her into that decision though."

Gracie smiles, "I know you wouldn't. It's why I'm so happy she has you. She needs a guy with a heart like Ash's and no one's is closer than yours."

"Thanks, Gracie. That means a lot to me." My phone beeped and it was a text from Mary Jane. I held my phone up to show her, "See, she's telling me she can't wait to see me this weekend."

Gracie claps and bounces up and down excitedly. "I won’t tell anyone, except Ashton of course, I don't keep secrets from him."

"That's fine. Cameron knows too actually."

Gracie's mouth falls open in shock, "What! Big mouth Cam knows and you didn’t think you could trust us not to tell?"

"You have a point. I didn’t mean for him to find out. I needed him to deliver something to Mary Jane for me when he went to see her so I filled him in." It was surprising to me that Cameron hadn’t told Gracie already. They tell each other everything. I'd have to commend him on his ability to keep this secret.

After leaving the grocery store, I sped home to finish packing. In two days I'd be on my way to Atlanta. I can imagine that four hour drive will feel like the longest drive of my entire life.

When the day arrived to leave, I was a nervous wreck to see Mary Jane again.  Katelyn had her bag packed and was in her room waiting for me to come get her. "Hey baby girl, you ready to spend a few days with Aunt Gracie and Uncle Ash?"

She jumped up from her chair with elation, "Yes! Can I take the new movie you bought me?"

"Sure. You know your Uncle will watch anything you want. You've got him whipped."  It's true. If Katelyn said she wanted a pony, Ashton would get her one. He never has said no to her.

"What's whipped mean?" Katelyn asks.

"
Never mind. Grab your bag, let's go."

Katelyn likes to carry her own bags to feel like a big girl so I bought her a suitcase with wheels that is small enough to not be too bulky for her. It's decorated with cartoon skulls with pink bows on them. She picked it out, but I had to admit it's pretty cool. She clomps down the stairs with the bag banging on each step behind her. She stops midway and sneezes three times in a row.

"Hey kiddo, you're not getting sick are you?"

"Nah, I feel fine." Katelyn responds. She reaches the bottom step and steps outside so I can turn on the a
larm then lock the house down. On the way to Ashton and Gracie's she sneezes a few more times, making me a little nervous. She knows how overprotective I am and reassures me before I even ask the question. "I'm fine, daddy. Something's tickling my nose."

"I can
stay home, Boo." I said. "Your Aunt Gracie is pregnant and doesn't need to get sick."

"Daddy, it's fine." She says, rolling her eyes at me. "My nose doesn't even feel stuffy."

Playing it safe, I stop at the local pharmacy to pick up a few supplies in case she does have a small cold coming on. When we arrive at Ash's house, he's standing outside watching for us. "What happened to being here at 8am sharp? You drilled that into my head several times as I recall."  Ash was smirking at me, knowing how finicky I am about my schedules. I had called him at least four times reiterating eight in the morning because I knew he and Gracie liked to sleep in and I wanted to make sure everyone was decent when I show up with my daughter in tow.

"Hey Boo!" Ash says, grabbing up Katelyn and spinning her around. "You ready for a weekend of fun?"

"Be careful with her there, Ash. We're running late because I had to stop and get a few medicines. She promises me that she feels fine but she's been sneezing."

Ash gasps dramatically, "What? Sneezing? Oh my gosh, what will we do?" He and Katelyn both start to laugh at my expense.

"I told him to chill, Uncle Ash. He never listens to me." Katelyn says, again rolling her eyes.

"Look here little girl,
you keep rolling your eyes like that and they're going to stick that way." I reach up tickling her and give her a kiss on the cheek. "I love you Boo. You be good for your Aunt and Uncle."

"Katelyn, go inside and help you
r Aunt Gracie finish breakfast." Once her feet hit the ground, Katelyn sprints away to the kitchen excitedly. Ashton's body twists back to face me as he smirks, "So, Mary Jane? You sneaky devil." Big brothers have a real knack for giving you a hard time. My big brother has more tact than most. "Seriously man, I'm happy for you. Now get out of here and have a safe trip."

Before I turned to leave, I sent him a text. "I am texting you the number for Katelyn's pediatrician in case this cold turns into more. Any money you spend on her I promise to pay back."

Ashton's grasped my shoulder to make me look up. "She's fine. Go and see your woman. Stop worrying so much about everything. Gracie and I will take perfect care of Katie."

The speedometer in my car mocked me
as I worked to keep it on the exact speed. A speeding ticket is not what I need at this moment. The golden gas pump light glowed brightly on my dash alerting me that it was time to make a stop. As the gasoline pumped furiously into my tank, I stepped aside to text Mary Jane.
Hey sweetheart. Stopped for gas. I'm about 2 hours away. See you soon.

Before getting back on the road, I ran inside to pick up another important thing for the trip. The clerk behind the counter mindlessly flipped through her magazine of gossip news. She's constructed her own chorus of boredom by smacking her lips while popping her gum. She grunts when I ask, "Do you have any flowers?" She nods to the left of the register where I notice a vase of red roses packaged in singles. "Great, I'll take one of those please."  Her eyes were almost all white as I'm sure they completely
rolled into the back of her head so far to see brain. The register spits out my change and she goes back to reading her magazine. "Have a great night!" I added, hoping to elicit a response. Nothing. Customer service these days is non-existent.

I checked my phone before getting on the road. Mary Jane had responded
Can't wait to see you. I'm checked in to the hotel. When you get here, check in and they'll give you a key to our room.

I don’t think I felt this nervous about sharing a room with someone, well, ever. It felt like my first time all over again. The drive went by quicker than I'd expected. The vibrant green sign alerted me of the exit ahead for Atlanta.
My clammy palms gripped the steering wheel as my stomach churned with nerves of excitement.

The desk clerk was a bit
friendlier than the encounter I had at the gas station.  In fact, she was a little too friendly. Her rough hands kept hovering on top of mine as she spoke to me with instructions to my room. When she handed me the key she gave me a wink and hinted that I could call her if I got lonely. She must not have been the one to check in Mary Jane earlier to the same room; at least I would hope I don’t look like that kind of guy. Politely I smile and tell her to have a good weekend before pressing the up arrow light on the side of the elevator.

Chapter Eight

**Mary Jane**

Derrick had agreed to meet me in Atlanta
without even thinking about it. From the moment he said yes the days creeped by making my nerves heighten dramatically by the time the weekend finally rolled around.

When I told Angel about my plan, she decided to help me make it very special. I have two best girl friends, Angel and Gracie, and both are more experienced in life than I am. I've always been a plus sized woman and have had issues with feeling insecure about my weight so much so that I didn’t trust men
were ever truly attracted to me. Because of that, I had barely done more than kissing with anyone, until Derrick. Even now I was still a virgin. This weekend I was ready to change that part of my life.