Jinx's paws are two little points of pressure on my thigh and I have to tense up a little so it doesn't hurt so much. She leans forward to sniff at the meat and then grabs and runs off with it and it's hard not to laugh a little at the happy sounds she makes.

Though I stop abruptly when Derek speaks again, fumbling halfway through opening one of the water bottles.

"Oh, uh. It's. I mean, I've been out later than this before," I tell him before taking a quick sip and then keeping my eyes turned away as I grab one of the plates off the tray and set it in my lap. I'm certainly not scared to spend a night in Derek's apartment, but something about it feels... it feels like too much right now. I need to get over this, get over how I feel, and I can't do that by sleeping on a couch that smells so much like him and waking up to him cooking breakfast like some sort of domestic dream I'll never have.

I take a bite from my sandwich and of course it's delicious. I hide my chewing behind my hand, swallowing before I add, "What is it you want to show me? I can come in early tomorrow if you want?"