Chapter 9 Cigarettes, Beer, and That Phone Call

She went into the supermarket, wandered the aisles until she had all the ingredients, paid, and drove back. As she opened the apartment door, she immediately heard Derek yelling indignantly.

"I'll destroy you! Come on, step up! See if I don't wreck you!"

Flora frowned, instantly assuming Derek was bullying Asher. She rushed in without even taking off her shoes, mentally preparing to fight Derek tooth and nail. But when she burst in, the scene made her stop short. The two men were playing a video game. A fighting game, the kind the boys in her old class used to love.

She glanced over at Asher and saw he looked genuinely happy. Only then did she relax slightly.

Flora went into the kitchen to cook while the two in the living room occasionally bickered back and forth. It had been a long time since the apartment felt alive with sound.

"Keep spacing out like that, and you'll start another fire."

Derek's annoying voice snapped Flora back to reality. She shot him a glare. "What are you doing in here? Stay out there."

"To help." Derek rolled up his sleeves.

"You know how?" Flora asked, surprised.

Derek looked utterly confident. He jutted his chin out, replying casually, "Nope."

Flora knew she shouldn't have expected anything else from him. Derek leaned against the counter, watching her. Flora looked surprisingly harmless and cute when she wasn't actively attacking someone. But Derek's train of thought was interrupted when Asher wandered in.

"Derek, want to play another round?" Asher asked.

Derek smirked. "Nah." He was busy watching the beautiful woman bustle around-far more interesting than duking it out with another guy.

Seeing Asher's disappointment, Flora frowned and said coolly to Derek, "Why don't you go back outside? It's all grease and fumes in here."

Derek registered her dismissal and turned away, annoyed.

By the time Flora finished cooking, they had played two more rounds, with Derek dominating both.

Flora picked out a plump shrimp and placed it on Asher's plate. "Did you have fun playing today?"

"Mm-hmm," Asher nodded.

Flora laughed and glanced across the room - Derek's face was darker than the bottom of a burnt-out pan.

Thinking about how he'd helped her and spent the day playing with Asher, she also picked a shrimp for him.

The corner of Derek's mouth lifted slightly. "Huh. Guess you're not completely heartless after all."

"By the way..." Flora looked at him curiously. "You've been here all day. Don't you have work?"

Derek pictured Alex buried under stacks of paperwork and chuckled. Alex was probably cursing him six ways to Sunday right now. It was a good thing he had a thick skin; he barely felt a thing.

"I'm useless, remember? What work could I possibly do?" Derek said sarcastically.

Flora propped her chin on her hand and nodded as if agreeing.

Annoyed, Derek put down his utensils. "Well, the guy next to you isn't exactly pulling his weight either, is he? He's been home all day, too," he said coolly.

"My Asher isn't like that." Her voice was quiet but firm. Then, without another word, she popped open a beer and took a long sip, ending the conversation.

Derek realized she didn't want to continue the topic, so he dropped it. However, he couldn't help but feel jealous. From then on, whatever Asher wanted, he decided he'd fight him for it.

In Flora's eyes at that moment, Derek was nothing but an immature brat trapped in a 27-year-old's body.

After dinner, Derek shamelessly wanted to stay, but Flora bluntly showed him the door. "Uncle," she said, "people need their rest in the evening."

Flora noticed that every time Derek was called 'Uncle,' his expression would shift fascinatingly-just like now, turning pale then red. Furious but utterly powerless against her.

Shoving Derek out the door, Flora shut it coldly behind him. Exhausted after a long day, she only wanted to collapse onto her bed and sleep soundly. But just as she turned around, her phone rang.

"What do you want?" Flora asked wearily.

Otis paused for a moment, then got straight to the point. "You've been graduated for a while now. Are you planning to drift around forever?"

"What I do is none of your business. I've been living just fine all these years without you," Flora retorted. She reached for a cigarette, but seeing Asher watching her, she sighed and put it away.

"Living fine? The apartment building you lived in burned down. What's your next move?" Otis was well-informed. He guessed Flora was in a tight spot; if he graciously extended a helping hand, negotiating terms would surely be easier.

Flora let out a cold laugh, her gaze distant. "How sweet of you to care. But sorry to disappoint, I haven't had to beg on the streets yet."

"Can't you speak properly to your father?" Otis sputtered, breathing heavily. Flora could even hear her stepmother's voice faintly in the background; predictably, the woman was eavesdropping.

The more Flora thought about it, the funnier it seemed. Otis had countless women in his life, but he'd become completely subservient ever since getting entangled with this one.

Faithfulness? Flora didn't think so. It was like she had him completely bewitched.

"Alright, let's drop the unpleasantries. Come home for dinner this weekend. I'll forget all about what happened before," Otis offered magnanimously, only to be met with Flora's mocking laughter. "You eat it yourself. Your food probably has gold; I couldn't eat it. I'd choke."

Having said her piece, she couldn't continue and ended the call, immediately blocking Otis's number. Finished, she turned to Asher. "Asher," she asked him softly, "do you want some milk?"

"Flora, did that person give you trouble again?" Asher asked worriedly.

Flora's lips curved into a smile as she shook her head. "Who could give me trouble? If anything, I bet he's having a heart attack after hearing what I said."

Mulling things over, Flora thought again of Derek. It was a small world. How had she gotten tangled up with him? And how on earth did the guy she used to keep from the bar suddenly become her fiancé?

She didn't notice Asher approaching until he wrapped his arms around her. Startled, she turned her head. She ran her hand through his short hair, ruffling it playfully, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Did you get scared today?"

"A little," Asher admitted, smiling back. "But with you here, I'm not scared anymore." He loved looking at Flora up close; she was beautiful, just like Mother.

"Asher," Flora asked earnestly, "did Derek bully you this afternoon?" If he had, she'd skin him alive.

Asher recalled playing games with Derek. It had been fun, no problems at all. "No."

Relieved, Flora glanced at the clock. "It's late. Come on, I'll make the bed for you."