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I walked over to my dorm room and tried the knob Still locked

“Hold on,” Derek said from inside

“What are you doing?”

“Getting the surprise ready”

“What kind of surprise takes five minutes?”

“You’ll find out”

“You better not be getting naked in there”

“Do you want

I pictured hi under his olive skin, and what he would look like below his waist –

“NO,” I said vehemently

“Okay, then, I need to put my pants back on, hold on a sec,” he joked

A little flutter of heat and electricity stirred between s

“That’s not funny”

“Yeah it is Hold on…”

Click

“Okay, you can come in now”

I turned the knob and opened the door

The lights were off Though the venetian blinds were shut, late-afternoon light still glowed in the– but the roo

Lots and lots of candles Probably twenty of thehts They sat in clusters on theledge, on Shanna’s bare desk, and in a couple of places on the floor

In the middle of the room was a quilted blanket laid out on the floor Beside that was a picnic basket, the big wicker kind And sitting on the blanket were two plates with knives and forks and spoons and linen napkins, and little plastic tubs from a supermarket deli There was a bottle of red wine, too, and crystal wine glasses

And a tiny white vase with a single red rose sticking out of it

Derek stood there behind the picnic basket, looking a little shy – like he wasn’t sure I was going to like it or not

My hands flew to my mouth

“Oh my God,” I whispered, and my eyes welled up

“Is it okay?” he asked “I just… I wanted to do soht be… the last time I ever see you”

I felt like I was going to cry

All I could do was nod I took , and then he relaxed