Prompt: Beautiful
Terms of endearment rolled off Derek's tongue with ease. In a five-minute conversation, he could call her beautiful, gorgeous, goddess, and a million other names.
None of them meant anything though. Oh, she knew that he cared about her, loved her even. After all, he'd told her that before.
But it was that cute, cuddly, brotherly type of love. He didn't actually think she was beautiful, didn't actually think she defined the word gorgeous.
At least that's what she believed.
She believed it for their entire friendship…she believed it even for the first few weeks they began dating.
She stopped believing it the night they made love for the first time.
When he was above her, when he was inside of her, it was so good that she'd closed her eyes to stop the emotions from swamping her.
His hands had slid up, both of them tangling in her hair. He whispered in her ear, "Open your eyes, Penelope. Look at me."
Her eyes at drifted open slowly and met his. And the look in his eyes, it was a look she couldn't describe, a look that shook her from head to toe.
He leaned in, kissing her mouth softly, coaxing her mouth open, and deepening the kiss. He didn't move, their bodies joined, almost as if time froze just for them.
When he pulled back, he smiled at her and kissed her nose, "Beautiful," he whispered, beginning to move inside of her, "Beautiful."
For the first time she believed it.
She never doubted it again.
