#derek langley

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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The sun shone in from the window, dust particles dancing in its light. Cool air covered Derek’s exposed skin as he sat down in the scratchy chair next to his mom, pulling his legs up into the chair with him. 

“Mom, I messed up…” Derek sighed, his eyes burning with a well of held back tears, “I think I got Allison pregnant and now she has run off, probably terrified and confused. I don’t know what to do, this whole thing is a mistake, but she has to know I wouldn’t make her do this alone…right?”

Mrs. Langley remained silent, staring out the window into the garden outside.

“I…I don’t want to be with her. I can’t…I can’t be with her again. The divorce was for a reason…many reasons…but, then why is this happening? Why are we in this situation if we’re not supposed to be together…?” Derek mumbled, warm tears slipping from his eyes, “Please…just, just tell me what to do. Tell me what I need to do…I need my mom right now…”

Mrs. Langley kept her eyes fixed on the foliage, never once acknowledging Derek or his desperate pleas.

“I saw them in the garden you know…together. He doesn’t know, but I saw them,” Mrs. Langley rambled, her eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of a small bird fluttering about.

“What…mom, what are you talking about? I don’t understand…” Derek sniveled as he attempted to wipe away his steady stream of tears. 

“They were out there…they thought I didn’t know, but I knew. I saw them…I saw them…”   

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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“So, I dug through your mail and saw that you got an invite to the reunion as well,” Allison mumbled as she sloppily chewed a bite of food. Of course she went through my mail.

“Yeah – 10 years… it’s almost unbelievable that it has already been that long since we graduated high school,” Derek sighed, his mind drifting back.

“Wanna go together?” Allison asked as crumbs fell from the corners of her mouth and onto the floor. Every muscle in Derek’s body clenched.

“What would we say to people?” Derek questioned, feeling uncomfortable.

“About what?” Allison croaked, more crumbs spilling from her mouth.

“About us. We just got divorced. How would we explain that to people?”

“Who gives a shit. They can all kiss my ass as far as I’m concerned,” Allison snickered, “But…if it makes you feel better, I’ll just wear my ring and we’ll tell people that we’re still married. Sound good you big ass baby?”

Derek let out a small laugh, “Alright…fine. It’s better than showing up alone I suppose,” “Jesus, don’t sound so fucking excited about it,” Allison half-joked, “Now – are you going to come over here and screw me again or not?”

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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A few days passed and Allison had made several more visits to Derek’s apartment. He knew that at some point this would blow up in his face, but he didn’t care. It felt good to have her back in his life. She kept his mind, and body, occupied. Things with her were so comfortable. And with Allison, there was never a shortage of entertainment. It was easy to fall back into a routine. Derek had conveniently and quickly forgotten all the reasons why they had gotten divorced.

It had somehow already slipped his mind that during their marriage she was never home and that she pointedly did not make time for him. That they shared zero interests. Derek ignored the fact that they used to fight constantly, over just about everything. He had also lost sight of the fact that their plans for the future did not align. Derek wanted children, Allison didn’t. Derek wanted to stay in the area so he could be close to his family, Allison wanted the opposite. And most importantly, he had already found a way to overlook the fact that he had recently run into her on a date with her boss, and that there was a good possibility that she had cheated on him while they were still married.

This is what always happened with Allison. She had a way of putting Derek in a sex-induced trance that caused him to lose sight of all of her faults and short-comings. They would get into a heated argument, usually over something she said or did. And then she would find a way to channel the anger into crazy sex, and everything was swept under the rug. If Allison hadn’t of asked for a divorce, they’d still be together.

But this time he told himself that he wouldn’t fall for her. That he wouldn’t let his heart get involved. He was going to keep his feet grounded all through hurricane-Allison, for however long it lasted, never letting himself get swept away. And part of him even believed it, and was maybe even succeeding, until the morning he saw that small pink box in the bathroom trashcan.

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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Following Grammy’s orders, Derek loosely grabbed Lauren by the waist and began to sway. He swallowed the feelings that were trying to bubble up, forcing them back down into the deepest pits of his abdomen. Even so, his mind was having trouble focusing on anything other than the tingling in his fingertips where his skin was touching hers. 

“Listen, Lauren – I know what happened between us wasn’t the smartest idea. We were both drunk and acting impulsively because we’d both just had our hearts broken, but I never meant for it to end the way it did,” Derek said while the two swayed on the empty dance floor. Lauren didn’t know what to say, but Derek’s words somehow made her feel even worse. “I beat myself up pretty bad about it for a while. I felt like you maybe thought I had taken advantage of you, and that made me feel disgusting. I wanted to call to make sure you were alright, but I had no way to contact you. I tried stopping by your parents’ house, but no one ever came to the door,” Derek heavily sighed, his voice cracking, “I am so sorry for what I did.”

Lauren pulled away from Derek, his hands falling away from her body. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Derek,” Lauren swallowed as the guilt began boiling in her stomach, “I chose to leave for my own selfish reasons, not because I regretted what happened. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me,”

Before Derek could reply, Lauren quickly exited the dance floor. She made her way over to the bar and grabbed her grandmother by the arm, tugging her towards the door.

“Well, aren’t you just a party pooper! Sorry for my granddaughter being such a prudeeee!” Grammy Pom shouted as Lauren dragged her out the door, “I left her number on a napkin at the bar – “

When the two women arrived back at Grammy Pom’s apartment, Lauren basically had to carry her up the stairs as she had passed out in the car. She lovingly laid her grandmother on the couch, attempted to prop her head up, and was about to begin cleaning up her mess from earlier when Grammy’s eyes popped open and she grabbed Lauren’s leg. “Pickles and peanut butter,” Grammy Pom murmured, “Am I pregnant again?”

[miss-sassy-simmer]

First | Previous | Next Derek watched each long stride she took as she grew nearer and nearer to him. This was the first time he had seen her since they had decided they were going to file for divorce. He hadn’t even gone to collect his things from their house.

“Derek! What are the chances of running into one another here?” Allison stated over enthusiastically through a slight smirk. Derek remained frozen, unable to move or speak. Everyone exchanged awkward glances before Allison spoke again.

“This is Jake, Jake Callahan. And Jake, this is Derek,” Allison said with a gesture of her hand. Derek’s mind raced, he didn’t know what to say or do – and then, it clicked.

“Jake, Jake Callahan, as in your boss Jake Callahan?” Derek questioned, his eyebrows raising in an obviously judgmental fashion. “Yes, that Jake,” Allison replied, adjusting her posture in a failed attempt to appear more confident.

“Wow, Al, I, uh, don’t really know what to say to that one. I suppose all those late hours at work just really brought you two closer together, huh?” Derek stated through gritted teeth, “I, uh, I’m sure this will work out just swimmingly for the both of you,”

“Well, then, this has been…um…just have a good evening,” Allison mumbled quickly with a nod before turning swiftly on her heels and walking away.

Derek felt the rage beginning to burn in his chest. He wanted to yell and scream, but he knew he couldn’t give Allison that satisfaction. She was always pulling this kind of thing while they were married. Dangling something in his face, watching him squirm, and then eventually explode. She liked to play games. But this was different, this time there was something genuine about it. She was actually dating her boss, and not just to upset him. And that is when all of the pieces of the puzzle came together in his mind – all those long hours she spent at work were not her doing work at all, they were her doing him.

[miss-sassy-simmer]

First | Previous | Next Derek and Danika were seated at a cozy table towards the back of the restaurant. The awkwardness from earlier had dissipated, and the two were actually having a pretty good time.

“I, um, I have a confession to make Derek,” Danika stated as she bit her lip. “Oh? And what might that be?” Derek asked as he absently clutched at the seat of his chair. “I, uh, didn’t actually sleep with someone else last night. I just said it because I didn’t want you to feel bad,” Danika said slowly, her mouth falling into a slight frown. “Well, I’m glad you said it. I don’t know if this date would have happened without you saying it, and I’m really having a nice time,” Derek smiled. “Me too. But, I’ve got to be honest. I don’t think I’m comfortable with the possibility of you sleeping with other women…” Danika half-whispered as she tightly squeezed her hands into little fists in anticipation of Derek’s reply.

At that moment, Derek froze. This wasn’t due to what Danika said – he understood why she might feel that way, especially with how well the date was going – it was because of who walked through the front door of the restaurant at the exact moment that she had said it. Allison. His ex-wife, Allison, and another man.

“Uh…Derek?” Danika asked softly, waving her hands slightly in an attempt to get his attention. But his gaze remained fixed on his ex-wife.  He remained frozen, even as their eyes met and she began to make her way towards their table.

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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“I’m here to drop off some of your shit,” Allison spat as she chomped on her gum obnoxiously, knowing full-well that Derek hated it, “I don’t want it sitting around my house anymore.”

Derek stared back at her unblinkingly, his blood pressure quickly rising.

“So, are you going to take your shit or what? I can just leave it out here for some drunk college kid to find and use as a toilet if you’d like. It’d probably be better off that way - it’s all junk,”

The corners of Derek’s mouth curled downwards and his brow furrowed. His blood was starting to burn as it coursed through his veins. And yet, he said nothing – he refused to give her the satisfaction.

“Well fuck you then,” Allison growled, rolling her eyes, “I need to piss. So either let me in or I’m going to be the first one to use your crap as a toilet,” Derek stood firm in the doorway, unmoving. Allison crossed her arms in protest, not backing down.

“Derek fucking Langley, let me in your god damn apartment so I can pee,” “No,” “Fine,” Allison said, a challenge clearly presenting itself in her voice. She hoisted up her dress, revealing to him and everyone else in the area that she had elected not to wear any underwear that day, “like I said, I’ll be the first one to break in your new toilet,”

And as promised, she backed up and squatted over a small trunk of Derek’s belongings that sat on his balcony. It was his deceased grandfather’s trunk where he kept old baseball cards, collectible coins, and mementos of his grandpa. With balled fists, Derek stood firm in the doorway, rage boiling inside, the sound of a small trickle echoing around in his ears as she emptied her bladder. “If you’re going to just stand there and stare, could you at least get me something to wipe with? I’d rather not drip dry,” Allison stated curtly, still hovering over the box with her dress hiked up.

Derek slowly turned on his heels and made his way back into his apartment. Once there, he began rummaging around in his junk drawer. After finding what he was looking for, he returned to the doorway and extended his hand. Allison stared back at it with a raised eyebrow, her bare ass on display for anyone around.

“It’s sandpaper, since you’re such a grating bitch,” Derek smirked.

Allison lunged off the box, her dress returning to its rightful place, and planted a passionate kiss on Derek’s lip, “You are such a fucking prick!”

Instinctively, Derek lifted Allison up and forcefully returned the kiss. Their lips and bodies became entangled, until they were entirely naked, chests heaving, on Derek’s couch.

[miss-sassy-simmer]

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Derek forcefully stood then swiveled his mother’s chair around so she was facing him, “Saw who mom? Allison? I don’t…I don’t know what you’re saying. I never fucking know what you’re saying!” 

She didn’t reply, her gaze remained fixed on the foliage outside, her demeanor suggesting that she wasn’t even aware he was present in the room with her. 

Towering over her, he took a swing at the gritty fabric that covered the old chair she sat in, his misplaced anger and raised voice causing a nurse to pause in the doorway, dust loosely floating about from the strike to the chair as she stared in at them.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you not to speak to her that way. She isn’t aware of what you’re saying, but she can still feel frightened. If it happens again, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” The nurse stated sternly, obviously judging Derek for his outburst.

“I…I…I’m sorry mom…I’m so sorry…I shouldn’t have come…” Derek mumbled through tears as he frantically pushed past the nurse and ran out of the room.

Derek climbed into his truck and began slamming his fists into the steering wheel until his knuckles swelled and shown bright red.

He pulled out his phone to call Allison again, but when he opened his recent calls to redial her number, he found that he had made a mistake earlier…he had called Lauren instead.

“For fuck’s sake! Can this day get any fucking worse?!” Derek screamed into the stale air that filled his truck, “Can’t I get a break? Fuck, I don’t even know why I even put her god damn number into my phone, it’s not like I would ever have the balls to call her anyway, I’ve had her number for weeks and instead of calling her I’ve been fucking up my life with Allison. When am I going to realize that the only thing Allison can ever do is make things worse for me? Fuckkkk!!!” The horn of his truck blasted into the empty air as his fists resumed slamming against the steering wheel. He rammed the keys into the ignition and sped away from the assisted living facility, leaving small black tire marks and the pungent smell of burnt rubber in the air.