Derek's lips are warm against mine and I seem to always melt into him when we kiss. I don't know how long we sit in this position but in the distance I hear a loud buzzer go off and I think that means the game is over.

"Derek," I mumble against his lips. "I think the game is over."

We keep kissing and he mumbles. "Just a sec."

A laugh against his lips and it just makes him pull me closer. To my despair I unattach our lips. Our faces are still close though, and his warm breath fans my face. I lightly touch the bandage on his nose. "I have to go before your teammates get back."

He groans and rolls his eyes but releases me. I stand up and hold my hand out to pull him up. Once he gets up I get on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek and say goodbye. He tells me to wait outside for him.

After I leave Derek in the locker room, I make a hunt for Daphne outside. I walk up to her and tap her shoulder.

"Ash! What the heck!" She exclaims. "How did you get here?!"

I laugh. "I took an Uber. I saw that guy hit Derek and I..." I trail off, hoping she can connect the dots.

Realization comes into her expression but she frowns. "But he made out with Stacey. Ash, I will not have you going back to some cheater."

I shake my head. "He didn't cheat on me. She came up to him and kissed him out of nowhere."

She raises her eyebrows. "And you believe him?" She asks, shocked.

I nod. "I do, I trust him well enough and I really do think he's telling the truth. I wouldn't have come tonight if I didn't think so."

Daphne frowns. "Are you 100% sure? Brooks and I saw it happen, I mean not the whole thing but I saw it with my own eyes, Ash."

"I know but he says you didn't see him push her away."

Daphne seems to think for a moment. "I mean there were a lot of people in the room and right after I took that picture I lost track of him so... I guess I believe him too."

The door to the arena then opens and the players come out. I see Brooks watch Derek cautiously as he makes his way toward me. Derek smiles and I smile back.

"Derek," Brooks warns.

"Brooks, I told you what happened." Derek says. "I don't know why you can't believe me." Derek frowns.

Brooks just shakes his head. "It's because I know you Derek." He says in a harsh tone. "Your history-"

Derek interrupts. "Means nothing, I know what I did and who I was. This isn't that Brooks. I-" Derek stops seeming to hesitate on his next words. "I care about Ash more than you will ever know. This is for real this time and I'm not going to mess it up."

I stare at Derek in a sort of awe and I watch Daphne smile at him. She touches Brooks' shoulder. "Brooks, it's okay."

Brooks doesn't take his eyes off of Derek but sighs and nods slowly. "Okay, I believe you."

Derek returns the thanks in a sharp nod to which Brooks returns it. We say goodbye to Daphne and Brooks who leave in Daphne's car to our dorm. Derek looks back at me.

My expression softens when I see the guilt in his face. I get close to him and grab his hand. "Come on, I'm hungry."

His lips turn up into a smile and he pulls me to his car.

TTTTTTT

Back at the boys house, Derek and I eat some pizza with Tyler as he recalls the moment Derek got hit. "Dude he hit you so hard. You were out." He winces at the memory.

"Hurt like a bitch," Derek remarks, shaking his head.

"Why did he hit you, anyways?" I ask, genuinely curious.

Derek shrugs. "I was still kind of off with everything that happened with us and he was pissing me off so I provoked him. I wasn't going to hit him but apparently he wanted to hit me so," he points to his bandaged nose.

I frown about how he mentioned us but I guess I would have probably felt the same way.

A phone goes off on the counter and Tyler picks his phone up. His eyes bulge out. He quickly devours his pizza, his cheeks full and the sight makes me laugh. He chews and swallows. "Gotta go, a girl texted me and winky face emoji."

My eyebrows scrunch together and I look at Derek confused and we share a matching expression. Tyler races out the door, keys in hand and the door closes behind him. Derek and I laugh together and he takes my empty plate to wash it off.

"You want to watch something?" He asks as he cleans off the plates.

I lean my chin on my fist, my elbow leaning against the counter. "I thought you didn't like movies." He looks back at me with a glare. I smile. "We could watch a TV show?"

"There you go," he says, turning back to the dishes.

I hop off the stool I'm sitting on and tell Derek I need to use the restroom and I'll meet him in his room. Once I'm done in the bathroom, I walk into his room and sit on his bed. I look over and see the guitar hanging on the wall. I smile at it. I hear footsteps up the stairs and Derek appears a second later.

I'm not sure if this makes sense but everytime he walks into a room my whole demeanor changes. I relax and my face lights up.

He joins me on the bed and kisses me. He has a TV in his room which surprises me since he's Mr. I Don't Like Movies, but I guess he could watch TV shows.

"Why don't you ever play your guitar?" I ask him looking back at it.

He follows my gaze. "I do play it. You are just never around when I do."

I look back at him, his handsome face gazes kindly at me."Will you play for me sometime?" I ask.

He nods and I smile excitedly.

He lays on his pillow and relaxes into it. He opens his arm. He moves his other hand to point in the empty spot beside him. "Hey you," he points at me. "Right here." He says, teasing, but his face is all serious.

I giggle at his expression and climb toward him. He grabs the remote off the end table. "What would you like to watch?"

"Hmmm," I hum, considering. "What's a show you've never seen?" I ask.

"Tyler's been bugging me to watch All American, that sound good to you?" He asks.

I nod against his chest. "I've seen the first few episodes but never finished."

Before he clicks on the show, he hands me a shirt and some sweatpants to wear to bed.

"I, um..." I'm not sure why I'm so nervous about changing in front of him but it's nerve racking. "Could you maybe, turn around?" I ask awkwardly.

"Ash," he says.

"I know, nothing you haven't seen before," I say in defense. "This is all just new to me." His eyes soften and he nods turning around.

I reach for the hem of my shirt and stop for a second. "Derek?" I call.

"Yeah?" He asks, still facing away from me.

"Never mind." I say, confidently. "You can turn around."

"You're sure?" He asks.

"Yes, I'm sure. It's all good." I say.

He turns back around and his blue eyes have that intensity I always remember.

I grab the hem of my shirt and pull it over my head. His eyes still hold to my face but then they slowly trace down my body. If I didn't feel the way I did about him I might be uncomfortable, but I'm the exact opposite at this moment.

I slip off my jeans and his eyes go back to my face. I slip the sweatpants over my legs. I take in a shaky breath and sit back on the bed.

"You are beautiful," he compliments.

A blush rises to my cheeks and he kisses me on the lips. More than a peck and it still leaves me speechless every time.

We resume to our original position and he clicks on the show and it plays. Through the show we both make our commentary and remarks but mostly we are silent. The hand that currently runs up and down my back is distracting me from the episode as Olivia and Jordan try to figure out if Spencer might be their brother.

My eyes start to droop as I relax against him. It's been a really long day. I was tired before I even showed up at the game and now I'm even more exhausted. I yawn.

"Tired?" He asks.

I nod. "I had a crazy day. I was tired when I woke up this morning." I chuckle and I shut my eyes snuggling into his warmth.

He kisses the top of my head. "You can sleep."

That's the last thing I heard before my eyes shut and I feel asleep.