DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING
The sound of her footsteps was heard fast against the wooden floor. She kept walking senselessly through the living room, with Clooney barking behind her. Even the dog seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Derek watched her babble words without meaning, sitting on the couch. Maybe he should have listened to the know-it-all Spencer Reid. After all, that guy was always right.
"Penelope, can you calm down?" He got up from the couch and walked towards his friend "You're definitely drama queen"
Penelope gaped at him, still babbling. Until she seemed to have enough strength to shout "You just declared your love to me!"
He couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Derek grabbed her hands and whispered "Yes, I'm in love with you"
Penelope shook his head restlessly.
"Divorce has upset you, Derek. You should talk to Savannah, look for her and beg for a second chance. Leave your pride aside and confess to that woman you still love her."
Derek raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. That was not going to be easy.
"Are you telling me to lie to my son's mother?"
"What? How?" Penelope walked back and forth, with her faithful Clooney following in her footsteps "Derek Michael Morgan, you're a liar. I thought you needed a nanny to take care of Hank, that's why I'm wearing leggings and a sweatshirt"
"You still look gorgeous"
Penelope rolled her eyes up just seconds before she dropped onto that burgundy sofa. She really felt that her friend was teasing her.
"Stay and have a dinner with me"
Derek waited for her reaction. She looked at him as if he were a madman and then grabbed her purse.
"I'm leaving"
He interposed himself between that crazy woman and the door. No, he wouldn't let her escape. He wouldn't lose her again.
"You're not going anywhere, baby girl"
Penelope looked stunned.
"Derek, let me go. I'm going to call 911 and I'll tell them a federal agent is taking advantage of his authority. You're in total decadence, Morgan. You have gone from hero to villain in a snap of fingers."
He laughed, even though she seemed really angry.
"You're not going to call anyone because you ran out of battery" Derek could see how Penelope repressed a smile "Maybe you should not post that last selfie on Instagram"
She shook her head, her stunned gaze fixed on her best friend's face. He had lived as a man divorced for almost a year and a half, after a friendly separation.
Penelope had been in love with him. Oh, of course. For more than fifteen years her life seemed like a tele-drama script.
Chubby cheerful girl falls in love with her perfect handsome best friend. He cares for her and protects her above all things. Perfect man tells he'll be by her side for the rest of his days. She believes him. But then he knows a beautiful perfect girl. Then they both fall in love. Then they two get married. Then they both have a beautiful perfect baby. Chubby sad girl disappears from his life to sink into her own misery.
-Give me a chance.
Derek whispers weakly, grabbing her wrists gently. She keeps looking at him as if he had three heads.
"You had fifteen years to notice, Derek" she smiled faintly but that was nothing like her typical sweet smile. "Fifteen long years. I loved you almost from the first day I met you. I heard you cry and I laughed with you. I hugged you when your soul was broken and took care of you every time you got sick. I prayed for you every time you got on that plane, with the fear established in my heart. Fear that a fucking psychopath will tear you from my arms. Fear of losing the only person who seemed to love me."
"Do you think I didn't care about you?" he replied, taking advantage of a second of silence from her "I saw you walk away from me and falling in love with another man. You behaved like a hysteric just because we spent that night together"
"How did you say?"
Penelope interrupted him, raising her right hand. She fixed her brown eyes on his face looking for some sign of guilt. Derek swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. She approached him open-mouthed, her face millimeters from his.
"That night, exactly six years ago"
"I don't know what are you talking about"
Derek raised his eyebrows and shrugged, trying to make his confession unnoticed by her. Penelope, however, was looking at him with a frown. She was sure of what he had wanted to say.
"Oh, of course" she almost shouted, making Derek gave a small jump "I knew it!"
She arched her right eyebrow
"I called you because I argued with Kevin. Then you came, we saw a movie, we drank and ate popcorn. You told me you slept on the sofa"
Now Penelope was approaching him but her friend was moving away. His broad back collided with the living room wall.
"But if you had slept on the couch, why the hell was your clothes all over my room?"
Derek was still silent, dodging her gaze from time to time. She grabbed his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.
"Better yet, why were your boxers covering my damn night lamp?"
A silence fell over the situation, only broken by Clooney's barking. She was breathing hard, still in shock at his declaration of love. He licked his lips, willing to bite that mouth that drove him so mad.
They were too close. For too long they both dragged an unresolved sexual tension.
"Tell me what happened, Morgan. Tell me what happened that night"
Derek smiled sideways, maybe with too much mischief. He stroked her wrists with the tips of his fingers and now yes, he looked her straight in the eyes.
"Nothing bad happened. We just drank, laughed and fucked. And it was the best experience of my life."
Penelope slowly shook her head "That's not true"
It was too much. Too much information. Too many emotions for a single day.
"Yes, Penelope, we fucked like crazy that night. The whole fucking night"
Apparently, Derek was having a lot of fun. She pulled away from him and walked senselessly around the room again. He stayed with his back against the wall, watching her closely.
"You're lying," she said suddenly, as she walked towards him again. "You're doing it to torment me because I didn't want to take your declaration of love seriously. You are angry or bored or maybe confused, I don't know. But ... " she came closer, only a few inches separated her face from his when her voice whispered "it's not funny, Derek. Stop lying"
He smiled, still looking into her eyes. To her surprise, Derek put his hands on her waist and brought his mouth to her ear. Penelope closed her eyes. God, only the heat of his breathing against her lobe was enough to ignite her crotch.
"You have a beautiful mole in the middle of the pubis. You like to be grabbed by the hair and to be spanked in your ass. In short: you love hard sex. At least, that was the case six years ago."
Penelope's eyes snapped open and she walked away from him.
Derek laughed openly and arched his eyebrow. Apparently, he had told her the truth. It was impossible that he had guessed her love for rough sex, let alone about the mole thing.
"Tell me, baby girl. You wanna remember that night?"
TO BE CONTINUED...