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It didn’t occur to her all day that Derek was the one person she wanted to see, that she was waiting to see. Inertia kept her balanced on the barstool long after Sam said goodnight but she had no clue what else she expected to happen until she looked up and there he was. You didn’t think I was going to forget your birthday, did you?
He looked exhausted, his face worn down like tide-worn rock, but he gave her that half smile from under heavy lidded eyes. There was no doubt in her mind he had to have gone to hell and back to come to her like this, all considerate and quiet. She didn’t want to know, didn’t want to ask. In a way it didn’t matter. I’m glad you didn’t.
What surprised her –more than his sudden appearance and cursive-looped envelope- was that she meant it, that she was glad, that a sudden relief and sense of rightness lit up in her chest and made her grin in a way she hadn’t in his presence for a long time. He sat down beside her, long limbs settling against he counter, and she circled her index finger around the rim of her glass, feeling strangely light. Maybe she had missed him. Just maybe.