AN: Thank you again for your fantastic response to the story. It is wonderful and humbling! As for the story; we're getting somewhere now...Enjoy....
Chapter 10
After dinner and dancing, Derek's old team sat around a bonfire, talking. It was something they used to do a lot, especially after games. His other family members went inside or home for the night, leaving the boys to party.
Derek joined in, sitting on a blanket on the ground with Penelope between his legs, his arms wrapped around her. She was leaning back against his chest, feeling sleepy again, listening to him chatting with T-Bone and the other players from the football team. He was absentmindedly rubbing her shoulders, touching her neck, and dropping little kisses on the top of her head.
She was starting to get used to all the touching, all the holding. More than that, she knew she really liked it. Kevin was not a very touchy-feely person. She was lucky if he held her hand in public.
Derek was the polar opposite, even when they weren't playing at being engaged. He held her hand, kissed her platonically, hugged her. He put his arm around her, leaned close to her. All of that wasn't that odd to her; she always loved the attention from her big hunk of chocolate goodness. It was all the same as usual.
Except for the kisses.
These kisses were not the same at all. Derek seemed to enjoy doling out those spectacular kisses. Earlier, he would smile, tease a cousin, then kiss her. He'd kiss her, and there was no reason for it. It was very perplexing. She figured it had to do with convincing everyone they weren't playing at this. No one seemed to question them; they deserved an acadamy award, as far as she was concerned.
It was dark, but still very warm out. The asphalt of the city held the heat, causing the temp to remain in the low eighties. The bonfire added to the heat and gave a warm glow of light. There was a slight breeze, just enough to be refreshingly cooling.
Derek was drinking a Heineken. He raised the bottle over at T-Bone. "Imported beer. Damn, boy…we've moved up in the world."
"Andrea likes it," T-Bone said defensively, holding his wife in the same way Derek was holding Penelope. "Right, princess?"
She nodded in answer. Andrea was as shy as T-Bone was outgoing. It was surprising to Pen T-Bone was married. He was an enormous flirt, but obviously devoted to his wife, too. All of Derek's team seemed enamored with their mates. There was a lot of affection going around the bonfire.
"My angel likes it, too," said Chops, holding his girlfriend, Martina.
Penelope was paying close attention. She started noticing a trend as she listened. All the nicknames Derek ever doled out on her were used by these same football players. She had to giggle. They were player players, too, just like Derek.
She heard all her nicknames, except one...
"Hot Stuff?" she asked, looking around at everyone. She continued quietly. "I've heard just about every nickname you have ever called me mentioned tonight-"
"Except Baby Girl," T-Bone interrupted from nearby, causing her to turn and look at him.
"Yeah," Penelope questioned, even more curious. "I wondered why."
"Not now," Derek answered, looking at T-Bone.
"Okay," T-bone said with a smirk. He wiggled his eyebrows. "Got an idea on what to do next?"
"Hell, yes." He turned Penelope in his arms so she was lying back against his arm. "Far better ideas than just talking."
"Like old days," Chops announced with a laugh. A moment later, he started to kiss his girlfriend. Pretty soon, most of the crowd were on their blankets, kissing under the firelight.
Derek leaned down towards her, but she pushed him away a little. She started to feel nervous. "Derek, no. It would be wrong. We shouldn't."
His eyes darkened considerably, and he was staring at her lips. "I'm thinking we should. Come on, sweetheart."
"Derek, no one is looking. We don't have to prove anything here," she whispered softly, her heart beating a thousand beats per minute. "There's no reason to do it."
He stared at her for a moment, so intensely she couldn't look away. He was very focused on her, as she was on him. She couldn't speak; she was robbed completely of speech. When he spoke, it was with a slow smile and a husky catch in his voice.
"Then kiss me because you want to." He began laying her down on the blanket, leaning over her. "Better yet, I'll do it because I want to."
He put one hand behind her head, the other beside her face, and his mouth came down on hers. He was soft, gentle, playing with her lips like he had all day to explore her mouth. He kissed with teasing nips, making her wish he'd deepen the kiss, if only to make her feel like she did earlier.
That amazing heat built in her again, and she raised her hands from his chest to wrap around his shoulders, holding him closer. That must've been the signal he was looking for. He growled deep in his throat and moved her head, slanting his mouth over hers, deepening the kiss. It was a hot, heady pressure now, that knocked any semblance of thought out of her head. She could only cling to him and feel.
His tongue shot deep into her mouth, drinking from her. She stroked her tongue against his, and heard him groan in response. She felt her nipples tighten, her toes curl with excitement. She'd never felt like this before, this incredible rush of desire.
It was pure passion, there was no other word for it. Pure passion rocketing through her senses. She couldn't get close enough to him. She felt like she was crawling against his body, holding him closer with each breath she took. She was breathing in tandem with him; each part of her was melding, becoming one with this magical kiss. All thoughts of right or wrong completely fled from her mind. She couldn't keep a moan from escaping; it simply felt that fantastic to be devoured by him.
He moved over her, putting his leg between hers, pressing the muscle against the apex of her thighs. He could feel the heat of her against his thigh, and it inflamed him. He drug his mouth against her cheek, to her neck, kissing.
"Oh, damn, Baby Girl," he groaned, and she arched her neck, allowing him more room to explore. His hand moved under her shirt, stroking her smooth ribcage, before settling on her lace-covered breast.
A rumble of thunder sounded, and a few raindrops hit them. Derek continued to kiss her. He didn't give a damn if he was going to get soaked; nothing was going to stop him from kissing Penelope. She was so sweet, so good.
"Derek," she gasped, before his mouth fell on hers again. He continued to kiss her with drugging, hot kisses.
"Penelope," he murmured, lifting his head a bit. "I can't… I want... Oh, God."
Usually Derek was very vocal when making love. With Penelope, it was useless trying to talk; he couldn't form a coherent sentence if his life depended on it. He was too involved with kissing her, too wrapped up in emotion. He simply needed every inch of her; that was all he was asking for. He lowered his mouth again with desperate need, and she responded fully.
The rain was starting to fall with heavier drops. He could feel his shirt getting wet, but he used his body to shelter Penelope and kept kissing her. It was elemental, primal, the need for them to continue being as one. He knew she felt it, too. The strength of her response, her hunger, drove him on. He wasn't-
"Derek, get up!" He was rudely interrupted by a kick to his side.
He looked up and saw Gravy holding a blanket over his head.
"It's going to pour. Des said I had to get you." Derek slowly rolled off of Penelope, and Gravy handed her an umbrella.
"Th-thank you." She began popping the umbrella up.
"Actually," he said with a grin, "Des said I had to get Penelope, but I figured you were part of the equation." Another rumble of thunder happened, and Ron took off towards the house, motioning for them to follow.
Derek looked over at Penelope. She looked embarrassed and confused. He didn't want that for her. Derek felt his heart twitch. "Baby Girl, I-"
"Derek, not now, okay?" She was adorable, trying to cover both of them with the little umbrella. She gave a sheepish grin. "Wait until we get inside."
He smiled bittersweetly. Less than twenty-four hours had elapsed since they'd started this; he couldn't stop touching her, and he couldn't stop the ache in his heart, because he wanted this to be real, so much so his life nearly depended on it.
But it wasn't real.
He was a dead man.
He sighed heavily. "Alright. Go in the house, honey. I'll be in soon."
"Okay," she said with concern. There was a flash of lightning, but she didn't move.
"Baby, go," he commanded, and she turned and hurried off towards the house.
Derek stood outside for awhile while the storm raged. The rain was running down his face, and he was soaked to the skin. He didn't care; he needed to cool off and think about what he was going to do next.
Penelope hurried up the stairs, past the smiles of Desiree and Sarah, and the beaming grin of Fran Morgan. She entered Derek's old room and leaned against the door, taking a deep breath, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Emotion was coursing through her body in equal portions with lust.
She started to smile, thinking about the whole thing. Lying under Derek, she'd opened her eyes and looked at him. There was no doubt he wanted more. Given more time, she knew she would've made love to him under the Chicago night sky. She had been that swept away with the power of his kisses.
She shuddered, wrapping her arms around herself. Holy cow, could that man kiss! When his lips were on hers, she did unbelievable things, like give herself completely over to the fantastic feelings he created in her. She wondered if that feeling was nothing new for him. His kisses were incredible; they were probably incredible with every woman he kissed.
Even as she thought it, she knew that wasn't true. When he'd kissed her by the bonfire, it was different from when he'd kissed her earlier. There was something hot, something tender and sweet about how Derek kissed her. He was giving her everything, even a part of his heart, when he kissed her. It wasn't for show; he was just as absorbed as she was.
This didn't just happen. This wasn't something that happened by chance. It wasn't a fluke, it wasn't merely surprise, it wasn't curiosity. It was magic, plain and simple. It was meant to be and it was fate. It was something she'd never felt in her entire life, and it was something she wanted to keep on feeling. She'd never come close to feeling that type of magic with Kevin.
This was definitely something worth giving her all for. She'd always felt more for Derek than anyone else in her life. He was special; he was her best friend, and she loved him. However, more than that, more than anything, she wanted to try and see if this was right.
Because here in Chicago, being held by Derek, kissing him, loving him; nothing had ever felt so right.
Penelope felt giddy, happy, and somewhat excited. This was a big change in her life. She dressed in her pajamas and slid under the covers of the bed, then reached for her cell phone, knowing what she needed to do.
She waited for the other line to answer, but she got the answering machine instead. "Kevin. I'm so sorry, but we really need to talk…"
She left a brief message, and sent a quick text, before getting ready for bed. She couldn't be cruel; she was with Kevin for two years. He deserved a gentle let down, regardless of how stagnant their relationship was.
She tried to wait for Derek to come back up, but she could barely keep her eyes open. She was so tired from the excitement of the day. She closed her eyes for a moment, and sleep overtook her.