Locking Stars (Stars Series #1)

12

Hello! So I decided to change the cover. I got both pictures of the cover on Pinterest and I tried to find a picture that doesn't totally show a specific person because, of course, the people I write about are not based on one person. Anywayssss if it works I should have attached the original cover but if not oh well. Enjoy the chapter!

The drive back to Derek's house is full of intensity. Both our gazes are on the ride but the feeling of his hand running up and down my thigh doesn't make the drive any easier. It's snowing pretty heavily now and I didn't really notice it until I heard Derek curse under his breath.

However, his hand does not move. "What's wrong?" I ask, a little nervous now.

His face is concentrated and tense as he tries to apply the breaks. All of the sudden the car skids and Derek tries his best to fix it but it's no use. I cry out and Derek's arm flies up to protect me from any crash that could happen. The car stop with a jerk and I pry my eyes open to see we landed in a ditch just off the road.

"Shit," Derek grunts and looks frantically at me. "Are you okay?" He asks quickly, his eyes assessing me.

I nod but my hands are still shaking and my panic rises. "I'm good, I think."

"Damnit, I'm so sorry," he apologizes and I shake my head.

"No, no, it's not your fault." I amend and really, I'm not mad at him. I think I'd be freaking out more if he wasn't here.

He leans over to peck my lips. "I'm going to go check out the damage and see if I can push us out."

I nod and watch him exit the car. Through the window I watch his intense stare examine the car. He doesn't seem mad so I'm assuming it's not awful. Maybe the snow buffered it? He gets back in the car.

"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to push it out." He says. "I'll have to call a tow truck." He leans over me and opens the glove compartment and takes out a business card. His face is still tense as he makes the call. Roughly speaking to the man on the other line. He rolls his eyes a few times.

"Sir, my girlfriend and I are stuck out here and it's like 10 degrees out here for crying out loud." He roughly retorts.

Wait, did he say girlfriend? Girlfriend? As in dating? Girlfriend as in he's my boyfriend? I haven't thought that far. Sure, I love spending time with him and I'm comfortable around him but a relationship is sometimes a lot of pressure.

I look back at Derek who still holds the phone to his ear. He meets my gaze and rolls his eyes, clearly annoyed. I laugh and he smiles back. "Three hours are you kidding?" He grunts.

The man on the other line says something and Derek checks the dash. "Yeah the cars got a half a tank."

Oh right, I didn't even think about gas. If we didn't have any we would be able to get warm. All the terrible possibilities fill my mind as we could freeze to death, or get buried alive in snow. A chill runs through me.

"Okay, fine, just try to be here as soon as you can." He spits out and hangs up the phone, shaking his head in annoyance.

He turns to look at me and his demeanor softens. "We should have enough gas to keep us warm while we wait but it's probably gonna be a couple of hours." I frown, I look to the clock on the dash and it's 1:30 am. We could be out all night. Which is fine I guess. As long as we are together we should be okay.

Derek reaches over and caresses my head bad cups my cheek. "You okay?" He asks softly.

I nod. "I'm good."

His head looks into the back seat. I follow his gaze and my stomach tightens. He looks back at me and we lock gazes again. "I have the blanket in the trunk and we could sit back there? Might be warmer."

I gaze back and bite my lip in consideration. Like I said earlier, I trust Derek. But in the car? I'm not so sure I could do much.

I look back at him and wordlessly nod. Him and I get out of the car and while he gets the blanket I sit in the back seat and look out at the snow. The door opens a second later and he playfully throws the blanket at me which makes me laugh.

He sits down next to me and opens up the blanket, welcoming me in and as cold as I am from that second outside, I get as close as I can to him by wrapping my arms around him and laying my head in the crock of his neck.

He wraps an arm around my shoulder and runs his hand up and down to try and warm me up.

2:30 am

After about an hour of meaningless small talk and laughs between Derek and I, some of my anxiety kicks in and I blurt it out.

I stare wide eyed up at Derek. "Derek, what if they never come and we freeze to death!" I exclaim.

"Ash, we are not gonna die." Derek amends, amused.

"But we could! Maybe they won't find us!" I exasperate. "It's dark and snowy and-"

He interrupts me. "We will be fine." He draws out the last word and I glare at him.

"Well you're the one who got us stuck in a ditch." I say sarcastically.

"Hey, I tried, but what's wrong with hanging out with me in the back of a car, huh?" He looks down at me and playfully moves his eyebrows.

I sit up and get close to his face. "Maybe you just annoy me and I hate you?" I tease.

He rolls his eyes with a smile. "I doubt that,"

I raise an eyebrow. "Sure of yourself are you?"

He nods. His heated gaze slowly moves down to my lips. Mine do the same and once we lock gazes again, I'm gone. These kisses are more heated than our last ones. The heat in the car mixed with our own body head makes the connection between us set on fire.

The blanket slowly makes its way off of us and onto the floor of the car and I move to straddle him. With each leg on each side of him he moves his hands from my hips to my thighs. My hands roam his chest and then make their way to the bottom of his sweatshirt.. My bold move pushes my hands under the sweatshirt and I feel his sculpted stomach.

He removes his lips from mine and they make their way down my neck and to my collarbone. His hand moves up to get the zipper and slowly pulls it down, revealing my light sweatshirt underneath. Moving back to my lips he releases me and gazes into my eyes as he always does. It's a funny thing when he does this but it gives me chills when he does it.

"I don't want to push you to do something you don't want," he says in a breathy whisper.

I shake my head and don't meet his gaze. "I'm not so sure I'm ready for um..." I don't finish my sentence but he connects the dots.

He curls a piece of my hair behind my ear. "That's totally fine with me, Ash. You tell me when you want to stop and I'll stop." He then chuckles. "Well we are in a car right now, so I'm not sure I'd like to do more than kiss you in this small space."

I laugh back at him and for the next hour we kiss until we lose our breaths and laugh till our stomachs hurt.

4:30 am

I'm currently lazily cuddling against Derek and very close to sleep. Derek and I talked, kisses, and laughed for about an hour until I yawned and laid my head down and closed my eyes. I'm not used to staying up this late and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.

Derek suddenly moves from next to me and I shoot up. "Hey," he whispers and plants a light kiss on my lips. "The tow truck is here."

I rub my eyes and zip up my jacket, following him out the car door.

The tow truck successfully gets the car out of the ditch and back on the deserted road. Derek gives him his insurance information and we bid him thanks as he takes off. Back on the road, my eyes flutter as I try to keep them open but it's no use. I fall asleep in the warm car and the next thing I remember is being set on a soft bed and snuggling against Derek's warm body.