When You're Ready

He wasn’t going to do it again. He wasn’t going to let another date look at him in horror. Derek refused to be seen as a freak. He was just going to find a new job, move out of his parent’s house, and die alone.

“Just one more date Derek, please!” Laura begged, following him down the stairs and waving her phone at his back.

“I said no! You don’t know what it’s like,” Derek muttered, suddenly defeated.

“I know babe,” Laura told him, coming up to wrap an arm around her little brother, standing up on her tippy toes until she could lay her head on his shoulder. “But look at this guy. He’s gorgeous.”

Derek couldn’t resist a quick glance at the dating app. Damnit. Laura was right, as always. The guy was gorgeous. A mole dotted face with an adorably upturned nose smirked at him from behind a pair of square framed glasses, and he could feel his resolve crumbling.