AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope you all enjoy this chapter...I'm rather proud of it!
Chapter 7
After playing most of the day, the team, their girlfriends, Derek, and Penelope all relaxed around a roaring campfire, talking and telling stories. Derek had noticed Penelope had spent most of the afternoon with the new girl, JJ, while he'd spent the day playing football with the guys. It had been a lot of fun, but he'd been looking forward to this—relaxing and talking with Penelope. Although she'd only been a few feet away, he'd missed her.
They chatted about school, football, what they were doing with their lives, and just about nothing. They sat side by side on their sleeping bags, Penelope in one of her baggy T-shirts and her loose jeans, and Derek in his jeans and jersey.
"What's your mom like?" Penelope asked softly, leaning against his side. The fire was dying down, casting low lights on her creamy white skin. She looked stunning, but she was shivering slightly.
Derek wrapped his arm around her in an attempt to warm her up. "She's strong. One of the strongest women I've ever known, and I am not just saying that because she's my momma. She had a lot to deal with, raising us three kids after my dad died, but she never complained. She made us all feel special and loved, even working as much as she did."
"That's sad that she had to work so hard."
"When dad died, there was some pension and life insurance, but it went quickly," Derek explained. "She had some bad advice with some investments, and they didn't pan out."
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
Derek's father had been the definite man about the house. He'd handled finances, and his mother had been content being a housewife. After his father died, she'd done night school and gotten her nursing degree. She'd worked crazy hours, trying to keep food on the table and clothes on their backs. Unfortunately, the kids in the house, the oldest being Derek at ten, had had to fend for themselves quite often. He'd known that she was doing what she had to do; Derek had never resented her or felt that he was missing out.
Well...maybe once.
He swallowed hard, feeling guilty for even thinking that about his sainted mother. He cleared his throat. "She wished she could've been there more."
"I'm sure."
Derek paused and then sighed. "That maybe if she..."
Derek could feel the blood drain from his cheeks. Damn! He'd been about to tell Penelope his darkest secret. He'd never told anyone, but for some reason, he felt like he could tell her. That he should tell her.
More than that...he wanted to tell her.
"Derek?" she whispered softly after he hadn't spoken for a long time. She was looking up at him, waiting patiently, concern in those big, whiskey brown eyes of hers. That wasn't like her; she was usually pretty impatient and a touch pushy. It was like she knew something big was going to happen, like she sensed it, and knew she needed to just be there, listening and caring.
He took a deep breath and then began slowly, "When I was younger, I ran with a bad crowd and got in trouble. There wasn't nothing my mom could've done; I was hell bent on being a rebel." He frowned. "I'd thought, my dad was a good man, and what had it gotten him?"
She leaned closer to him, held him a bit tighter.
"After being arrested, I went to a program at the community center. They helped me, showed me football."
"That's great," she said. Something in his expression must've caused her to pause, because she hesitated and cautiously added, "Right?"
Derek took a deep breath. "The man that ran that program...he wasn't a good man, Penelope. He...did things to me that grown men shouldn't do to twelve-year-old boys."
"Oh, love bug." Her soft whisper held compassion, not pity.
He was quiet for a long time before he sighed softly. "I don't know why I told you that. I've never told anyone that before."
They were both silent for a long time, as if the words he'd said needed to reverberate, situate, and absorb for both of them.
"Can I ask a question?" she whispered.
Now he was hesitant. "Uh...sure."
"What's his name?" Penelope murmured. "The man that hurt you."
"Carl Buford," he answered flatly. "Why?"
"I need to know his name so that if I ever run past him, I can spit on him."
That made him smile—she was his staunch little defender. He pulled her even closer and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, honey. It made me who I am. Now, I'm gonna catch bastards like him."
She hugged him. "My hero."
He chuckled. "I don't know about that."
She looked up at him, her big brown eyes shining at him with admiration. "I do."
For a moment, Derek contemplated kissing her. She was so kissable at that moment, her beautiful lips, pouty and ripe, her skin dewy and touched by the glow of the embers of the dying campfire. As he looked around them, he noticed others were kissing, making out, probably fucking, and he felt a surge of lust, which was not uncommon for a twenty-one-year-old male.
Somewhere in the depths of Derek's mind, in his soul, he realized something. Being here with her, what he was feeling, it was so much more than the sex happening around them. It was more than just want and heat and fire, something he could ease in any willing body. It was more than anything he'd ever experienced before...but he didn't know what exactly it was.
It was humbling, and a touch frightening, how much he cared about her.
That brought him back to reality. This was Penelope. His sweet little friend. He didn't want to sully that friendship, or do anything to ruin it. Sex ruined a lot of things, and he wasn't the kind that liked to stop with kissing. Sure, he wanted her, and the look on her innocent face told him he could have her if he only tried—but he wasn't sure what that would mean to either of them.
Penelope glanced around at the other couples, and he could see her cheeks heating, even in the dim lighting. She bit her bottom lip and winced. "I suppose you wish you'd brought with Kelsey or Martina instead of me now."
"No," he answered her quickly. Derek tucked her closer and reiterated his thoughts. "Hell, no. I got my friend with me. Ain't nothing better than that."
Someone nearby tossed another log on the fire, and Penelope and Derek sat together, holding each other, and watched the pinks, blues, and lavenders coat the sky with the setting of the sun.
