Waves of Desire by Lori Ann Mitchell Page B

turned to Dana who peered up at him, reclining now, legs crossed, wriggling one foot as her green eyes bored into his. “W-w-what?” he asked, leaning back against the weathered porch railing to steady himself.
    “You weren’t the only one to drop out senior year, ‘D’,” she said, using her affectionate nickname for him. Suddenly, it sounded bitter on her tongue. “After our little rendezvous beneath the bleachers that night, I had a hard time waddling around the halls so Principal McClaren decided to offer me an honorary degree and let me study from home for the rest of the year. Little Archie came along just before graduation and, well…”
    Her voice trailed off as Derek’s heart hammered. “Why… why didn’t you ever say anything before?” he blurted.
    She shrugged, like it was no big deal that he’d fathered a child and only learned about it four years later. “You were busy with your writing, then that first book tour, and then another new book and, well… you didn’t seem like the most stable father in the world.”
    He clucked a tongue. “Coming from a chick who kept a guy’s son a secret from him all this time?”
    Her nostrils flared, but she remained composed, as if perhaps this was a scenario she’d played out in her head a dozen times before, and probably had. “Yeah, well… maybe we both made some mistakes along the way. But, I’m here now, aren’t I?”
    “You sure are,” he huffed, crossing his arms defensively. “Why now?”
    She shrugged. “I got laid off from my job, Derek. I need help raising my son.” She turned from the little boy, still silent, to Derek. “I need help raising our son.”
    Derek’s chest tightened. He’d always feared something like this might happen. His life had been so flawless and carefree so far and, though he’d been faithful to Sage – except for that one little incident – his life before then had been a steady procession of bed hopping and surf bunny screwing that could fill a whole book on its own.
    He’d lost count of how many chicks he’d slept with over the years, but always feared that one day, inevitably, one or more of them might show up on his doorstep with a little tyke in tow.
    But Dana? He hadn’t thought about her in years, literally. Not because he was callous, but… that night beneath the bleachers had been a one-time thing. She rarely gave Derek or any other surfers the time of day in school, preferring to stay tight with her clique of cheerleader girlfriends and jock boyfriends. She’d had a steady string of them that year and, when the latest dumped her after a big football game, Derek had just happened to be there, at the right place, at the right time.
    Now here she was, looking pale and washed out, as if the years hadn’t been too kind to her since she’d left school. “I have a few grand in savings,” he said, downplaying the full amount, to say nothing of his investments, including the very house they were sitting in.
    She clucked a tongue. “I don’t mean just financial support, D, I mean… help. Cooking, cleaning, bathing, clothes, food, watching him while I try to get work, it’s… it’s time you step up.”
    He nodded, hardly realizing he’d started pacing until he found himself turning to face her from a few steps away. “I would have stepped up already,” he said. “If I’d had any idea I needed to.”
    She softened, slightly, rising from her chair and approaching him. “I know that, baby,” she said, gripping his forearm. She smelled like cheap perfume and desperation but, close up like this, her hand warm on his arm, he remembered the easy sexiness she’d oozed back in school, could see the smokiness and hunger in her soft green eyes and felt an old familiar urge throb deep within his loins.
    “I didn’t want to bother you with this,” she said, lightly running her hands up and down his arm. “I tried to keep you out of it, but… we need you now, you know?”
    He nodded, feeling her