DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING (SADLY :P)
AN: Hey, I'm here again. This is my humble gift to my reviewers, especially: Jenny Crum, Kimd33, DMFanatic69, Lenika08, Went, CMSOALover247, Raggle Taggle Gypsy and Princessnia. Thank you very much for reading my fics, leaving your opinion, etc... Hope you like it :)
It's bullshit to think of friendship and romance as being different. They're not. They're just variations of the same love. Variations of the same desire to be close Rachel Cohn.
"Who is Michael White?" Derek asked his best friend, while she finished makeup. "Where did you meet this guy?"
She rolled her eyes upward, shaking her head slightly. It was lovely having someone like Morgan protecting every step she took, but it was frustrating, too. He was like a jealous big brother. And she already had enough with her own four stepbrothers.
"Where will it be, Morgan?" she said, slipping her red lipstick on her lips "In a club"
"In a fucking club?" he practically shouted, causing her to give a little jump, looking at him openmouthed. Yes, he couldn't stop staring at her lips. I should make myself a profile, just in case I had some kind of obsessive behavior towards her.
"Do I have to look for a swearwords pot?"
"Sorry," Derek said, flopping on her bed. He rested his head on her soft pillow, closing his eyes at the same instant in which her sweet scent filled his senses. That damn thing was imbued with a delicious fruity odor, with a hint of vanilla. He could swear that it was the scent of her hair.
His eyes snapped open. What the hell am I doing? She's my friend, damnit. I'm a pervert.
Almost in shock with himself, Derek sat on the mattress, leaning his back against the wall. God, this couldn't be true. He couldn't be in love with Penelope. He couldn't be in love, period.
Derek believed that it was all due to his protective nature. He showed himself extremely concerned about all the relations of his sisters, and he wasn't in love with them. He grimaced, disgusted by such mere thought. Great, my perversion is just growing.
"D, I'm talking to you, baby" Penelope said, interrupting his self-analysis "What do you think about this dress?"
His eyes wandered slowly along her figure, from her black stilettos to her blonde hair. Her red dress was just perfect. Sexy, stylish and simply perfect. The delicate fabric hugged her body, marking every curve of her luscious body. That strapless neckline left too little to his imagination, and made her breasts looking so amazing. To his embarrassment, his eyes couldn't peel off her bust.
Look away from there. Stop it. Before she realizes. Too late.
"Can you stop staring at my tits? need some help with the zipper" she said with a sigh, but it had a mischievous smile on her face. "Please"
He laughed softly, before settling behind her. Derek had to swallow hard when he saw her bare skin. The zipper of the dress had a length to the lower part of her back, and whether he was a little closer to her, his eyes could see the lace of her white panties.
His hand trembled as if he were a teenage virgin, while her dress was covering her back little by little. He stepped closer to her body, for closing that damn zipper.
Penelope turned around smiling, self confident. She hugged him, and he could only think about making love to her. But that would not happen. She was wearing that dress for another man's eyes. Another man who was to have her in his arms, naked, panting and eager for his love.
Derek felt jealousy hitting his heart, and he turned from her abruptly. He couldn't bear the situation any longer.
"Something wrong?" she asked with concern..
"This can't go on like this, Penelope" he said sincerely, looking straight into her curious look "I can't go on like this"
She frowned, letting out a faint laugh. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about I'm sick of all this"
Penelope shook her head in confusion, crossing her arms. She had no idea of why he had such a bad mood all of a sudden. "What's all this?"
"You treat me like I'm your girlfriend"
"What?"
He could see the total consternation on her face. Her eyebrows were raised and her mouth was slightly open. Derek knew he had to be honest with her, and be true to his own feelings.
"You tell me about your crazy nights and wild sex, you try on dresses in front of me and even show me all your lingerie shopping just because you need a male opinion" he said with a half laugh, though his voice sounded sad "But I think sometimes you forget that I'm a man. Hey, there's a dick inside my pants"
"I know you are a man" Penelope replied, pulling on the end of his white shirt, closing distance between their bodies. His pulse quickened as she placed her hands on his chest. It was something she did quite often. Something that was supposed to be normal between both of them. But Derek couldn't help feeling things inside him. She grinned, touching the tip of his nose "a fine man, sexy as hell"
"P, I think you aren't understanding anything"
Derek stepped away from her and opened the door of her place. Penelope looked at him surprised, from the living room, but she didn't lift a finger to stop him. She just shrugged and thought, bad day for him?.
-YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU, RIGHT?-
Penelope left her caipirinha glass on the bar counter. Michael was in love with himself. He wouldn't stop talking about his wonderful work, his wonderful life full of adventures and his wonderful house in the woods. He loved independent films, rock & roll and fishing the weekends. Michael was allergic to dust and hated people who talked incessantly. Oh, how ironic.
"And then I said to Sullivan: Man, you're an asshole ..."
She didn't hear the rest of his story, because behind Michael White, there he was. Penelope sighed gratefully, putting a tremendous smile on her lips. "What are you doing here?"
Michael turned around curious, wanting to see who had stolen his moment of glory. "Who are you?" he asked in a nasty way, looking at Derek.
Derek just ignored that stranger with dark hair and brown eyes. He had more important things to do, much more important than arguing with that guy who didn't even know how to treat a woman like Penelope.
Standing in the middle of the couple, Derek took Penelope's hand, distancing it from the bar "I needed to talk to you" he gulped, closing his eyes for a moment. Why have to be so complicated?
"I ... I needed to talk about something that I am feeling and it is important for me, ok? Just wanted you to know it, nothing else"
"What's up?" she asked naively, obviously ignoring her friend's love for her. Derek smiled sweetly, cupping her face in his hands, "You know I love you, right?"
"What the fuck?" Michael exclaimed, angry as a demon. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am just a stupid man"
"I can see it" the other man said with a superiority snort.
"I've been looking for something without knowing it has been in front of me all this time. For many years, I've been unable to see that the woman of my life has been facing me, holding my hand, walking by my side, laughing with me, taking away my pain...Everyday "
Penelope heard his words in silence, without a word, without moving a muscle. She didn't know why, but her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest. But it was not a bad feeling, but a sign of absolute happiness.
"Now I can see it baby. You're my only one. I don't know when I realized my love for you, but ... I just know that one day I looked at you and then I felt something. I love you, Penelope . I never thought I could love any woman like that. I love you so much that I'm afraid to think about your answer because, honestly, don't know what I'll do if you don't want me in your life"
She had no idea if that was actually happening or it was a product of her imagination. Penelope never thought about the possibility of having a loving relationship with Derek, but in that moment, when his eyes looked full of love, she couldn't help but love him with all her heart.
"I love you, too"
Derek released all the oxygen he was holding in his lungs and grinned, resting his forehead on hers. "Thank you"
"Crazy people" Michael muttered, before walking away from the scene.
Penelope raised her hands up to his neck, lowering his mouth to hers. Her lips kissed him slow, slowly, sweetly. Then she knewit. Her heart had always belonged to Derek. He, her best friend, her rock and her hero. Her love.
You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has bee flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is...suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with Gillian Anderson