A/N: Thank you for the feedback! I always appreciate it. For anyone who read Chapter 9 right after I posted it, I ended up adding a bit to the date section a few hours later. Sorry for revising the previous chapter after I had already posted it! As always, thank you so much for reading and for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!
It was another day of rehearsal, but as everyone gathered in the rehearsal space, Derek found his mind wandering back to the date he had with Karen Cartwright last night. It had been a lovely date, but now he wanted to be the one to plan the night. Perhaps he could get Karen to go with him for those crab rangoons tonight. Then, maybe they could go somewhere and listen to some music. He thought he knew just the place.
Eileen snapped him out of his thoughts. "Derek, we should have lunch later and discuss the party. I don't want to have the problems with funding for 'Lucky Break' that I did with 'Bombshell.'"
"Of course, Eileen. That won't be a problem."
"Good," Eileen said. "I'm looking forward to seeing 'My Time to Shine.'"
"You won't be disappointed."
Eileen smiled. "I'm sure I won't."
Karen and the ensemble performed the number, and Eileen was indeed pleased. So was Derek.
"That was fantastic," Derek said.
"Yes, it was," Eileen said. "Very nice work."
Julia and Tom were also happy with the number. So far, this day seemed to be going pretty well. Derek decided that he would ask Karen out after lunch.
As Derek and Eileen ate lunch at one of her favorite bistros, Eileen talked about her plans for the party.
"I really want the road for 'Lucky Break' to go smoothly, Derek," Eileen said. "It's important for this party to be a success."
"You have nothing to worry about, Eileen," Derek said. "The party will be wonderful. The investors will love the project and throw lots of money at it."
"I certainly hope you're right," Eileen said.
After Derek got back from lunch, he walked up to Karen.
"So, darling, I have an idea," Derek said.
"And what's that?" Karen asked with a little smile.
"I was thinking that we could go out to that Chinese restaurant tonight," Derek said. "The one with the wonderful crab rangoons."
"Tonight?"
"Why not? I also know a terrific piano bar we could go to after dinner."
Karen was silent for a moment. "Well..sure. It sounds like fun."
Derek smiled. "Alright then. I'll pick you up around 7 again."
The full cast, including Ivy, was back to work on a few scenes in the afternoon. Derek was actually smiling occasionally during rehearsal, which seemed to confuse everybody.
"What are you so happy about today?" Ivy asked him.
Derek wasn't sure that he should tell Ivy that he and Karen were starting to date yet, at least not until they both decided it was time to tell everybody.
"What makes you think I'm happy?" Derek asked. "I'm just trying something new to get better performances out of all of you."
Ivy frowned but didn't question him further.
Once rehearsal was over, Derek went home and got ready for the date. It didn't take him long, so he went out and looked for something to bring Karen. Would she want flowers? It didn't seem like it would hurt to do something a little romantic.
He picked out a simple little bouquet at a nearby shop, nothing fancy. He didn't want to go overboard.
Karen's mouth dropped when she saw the bouquet in Derek's hands.
"You brought me flowers?"
Derek shrugged. "The flower shop was on my way."
Karen smiled. "Thank you, Derek. I'll go put these in some water."
Once Karen was back, Derek took her arm, and then they went downstairs. They took a cab to the restaurant since it wasn't close by.
When it was time to order, Karen asked for extra crab rangoons to go with her cashew chicken.
"Those crab rangoons better be as good as you say they are," Karen teased.
"Oh, they are," Derek said confidently.
Derek poured some wine into his glass from the bottle he had ordered. He held the bottle by Karen's glass and looked at her. She nodded, and he poured some into her glass as well.
"This seems like a very nice restaurant," Karen commented.
"Yes, I've always liked it," Derek said. "I haven't been here for awhile, though."
"I can't believe we're going on a second date the night after we went on our first one."
"If the first date is successful, is there really any reason to wait to have another one?"
Karen smiled. "I suppose not."
"And, it's not like we just met," Derek said, leaning forward. "We have known each other for awhile, love."
Karen leaned forward as well. "That's true."
They sat there for a moment, just staring into each other's eyes. Derek put his hand on Karen's.
The waitress chose that moment to bring over the egg drop soup.
"Bloody hell," Derek mumbled.
Karen smiled again and started in on her soup.
It wasn't too long before their main courses arrived along with Karen's crab rangoons.
"It's the moment of truth," Karen said, taking a bite out of one. "Alright, I have to admit these are excellent. You were right."
Derek grinned. "I often am."
"So, what is this piano bar you're taking me to?"
"You'll see."
"Well, since you were right about the crab rangoons, I suppose I'll have to trust you."
Karen continued to praise the crab rangoons as they finished their meal.
"We'll have to come here again sometime," Derek said.
"Yes, we will," Karen agreed.
Derek was smiling as they left the restaurant. Karen was brushing up against him as they walked.
"Is it far?"
"No, it won't take us long to walk there," Derek said as he slipped an arm around Karen's waist.
A few minutes later, they were at the piano bar. A pianist who Derek had listened to frequently was playing "I Saw Her Standing There."
"He can play quite a few songs," Derek said. "And he's very good. Occasionally, he lets someone sing with him."
Karen smiled at him. He loved her smile.
"He's wonderful," she said.
Derek ordered drinks for them, and they sat and listened for awhile.
Later in the night, the pianist asked if anyone would like to sing. Of course, Derek had already talked to him earlier and prearranged to have Karen sing, but if she suspected it, she didn't act like it. She was smiling as she walked up to the stage.
Karen decided to sing "Moon River." Derek smiled at her selection as he remembered Karen talking to him about her love of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" one of those nights at Table 46. He knew a theater that showed old movies; that would have to be another future date.
The audience applauded and cheered after her performance, none more loudly than Derek. He thought about how far Karen had come from that girl who first auditioned for "Bombshell." He was so proud of her.
Derek kissed Karen's hand when she arrived back at the table.
"That was absolutely beautiful, Karen."
Karen smiled. "Thank you."
All too soon, the music was over for the night, and it was time to head home. Derek hailed a taxi when they got outside.
When they arrived at Karen's apartment, Derek got out of the cab with Karen, and they stood in front of the building once again.
"Well, thank you for a wonderful night, Derek," Karen said.
"You are very welcome, darling."
Their eyes locked just as they had last night. They were standing very close, close enough for Derek to reach out and touch Karen's cheek. He stroked her cheek for a few moments and just marveled at her beauty.
Karen leaned forward and brushed her lips lightly against his. It reminded him a bit of the very first time Karen kissed him, a little less than a year ago. It was a chilly night, but it felt considerably warmer as their lips met again. Derek tangled his fingers in Karen's hair as their kiss became more urgent.
Karen was again the one to pull away, but this time only slightly.
"Do you want to come up?" she asked softly.
He wanted to go up to her apartment more than anything, but he remembered what Karen said last night.
"You said that you didn't want to rush things."
"I did say that, didn't I?" Karen sighed. "I still think it's better to take things slowly, but it's hard."
"Yes, it is," Derek agreed.
Derek really wasn't used to trying to take things slowly, but he didn't want to ruin a chance at a real relationship with Karen.
"Well, we should probably say goodnight then," Karen said.
She kissed Derek's hand. He laughed.
"I can honestly say that no woman has ever kissed my hand before like that," Derek said.
Karen laughed, too. "Well, I want to be unique."
"You are," Derek said softly.
Karen smiled. "Maybe you can introduce me to Hitchcock's films this weekend?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea. We have that party on Saturday night, though. I would love to do it Friday night, but I have to have some things done in my apartment before the party."
"Oh," Karen said with a look of disappointment.
"Perhaps we could do it Sunday?"
Karen smiled. "Sure. Sunday it is. Have a good night, Mr. Wills."
Derek smiled. "You too, Miss Cartwright."