Goal
Chapter 7
"Casey, you must be having such a great time." Sally said to Casey making conversation at the table. "Getting to travel and meet new people. I've always wanted to do that."
Casey smiled politely.
"Your book moved me. It was so amazing and romantic. Was is written about anyone we know?" she asked pointing between her and Derek really quickly.
Casey's eyes flickered at Derek for a second before looking back at Sally.
"It-" she began before Sally's cell phone began ringing.
"Oh, sorry." she said getting up. "It's my boss." she covered the mouth piece and walked away in the direction of the rest rooms.
"So, Sally seems really nice." started Naomi. She had no idea that the guy she was talking to, had a greater significance than what was right in front of her.
"Yeah, she's great." he said waiting for Casey's expression with a smirk on his lips.
"So, work on the phone?" Casey asked Derek with a bit of a bitter tone.
"Yeah, she works at some art place."
"Oh. Art major?" Naomi asked with excitement. The waitress who was doing rounds brought them what they ordered and the atmosphere grew awkward. "So, I keep forgetting to ask. How do you all know each other? Derek, right? I thought you worked for Fire*Works?"
"I'm the most kick ass editor they've ever had." Derek said with a smirk and Naomi laughed and Casey wanted to kick her. "And, Casey is actually my-"
"Step-brother!" she yelled out of nowhere. "He's just my step-brother! That's it! Only…my stepbrother!" she said laughing nervously at the end before picking up her third glass of wine and downing the whole thing.
"Sorry, about that." Sally said coming back. "We have an art convention to go to this weekend, so we've been packing up our best pieces." she sat back down on her chair. "You know Casey, I would really love if we could have lunch before I leave. I know you're heading back and forth between New York and Ontario but hopefully we can hang out once or twice." Derek sat up awkwardly in his seat. Casey seemed to notice all his small details, which wasn't exactly the best thing in the world to be doing.
"Yeah. Sure, most definitely." she replied.
"Great!" Sally said.
After a few minutes, Casey went into some type of trance. Everything had gone mute, blurry and slow motion. Sally and Derek were the only ones that seemed to stand out in the crowd. Sally smiled at him and he smiled back with obvious care for her. He fiddled with her fingers without ever losing eye connection. He was perfect, as always. Sadly, it wasn't her who was perfect enough for him.
XOXO
"That was fun." Naomi said as her and Casey walked through the hotel lobby.
"It really was." Casey said walking by a table and accidentally bumping it. Naomi quickly caught the vase of flowers before they hit the floor.
"You kind of hit that rum a little hard." Naomi said helping Casey walk as they went to the elevators.
"That was a…very…exceptional…drink." she said her eyes closing as she talked.
"I bet it was. Now lets get you upstairs and into bed." Naomi said before she pushed the elevator button and they went up. When they got to their rooms, Naomi took the key out of Casey's purse and helped her into her room. "Try and feel better." she said as Casey crawled into bed. "We have to be at the studio at noon for casting calls."
Casey mumbled something or other. Whatever it was it was incoherent.
"I put a trashcan by your bed."
"Mm-hm." Casey said snuggling into bed with her eyes closed.
"Okay, night." Naomi let her self out and left Casey to ponder in her many dreams that night.
It was about 7:40 when Casey woke up. It was only because she had left her window open and their was a small chill breeze peeping into her room. She got up and went to close the window. She saw the trashcan by her bed when she turned around and then noticed that she was still in her clothes from last night. Then her head started pounding. Yep, liquor does that to people. Casey grabbed her head before making her way back into bed and trying desperately to be put out of her misery. When that didn't happen, she turned the TV on and tried to find something that she wouldn't have to necessarily concentrate on and something that would hopefully put her to sleep sometime soon. Her eyes eventually drifted close and she got the sleep she needed.
XOXO
"Do you have to get up already?" Sally asked Derek as she watched him button up his dark blue shirt.
"Yeah." he said kind of bluntly.
"Are you sure? Because I don't have to go to work till 10." she said with an attractive voice.
He looked at her. His eyes ran down her body and he got lost in thought.
"What are you looking at?" she asked with a smile playing on her lips.
Not in the mood...strange.
"Nothing. You're just…really pretty." he said looking at her. He leaned down and over and kissed her on the lips. "I'll see you at dinner." he said leaving the room. When Sally heard the front door shut she knew it was clear. She picked up the phone that was on her bedside table and dialed a number.
"He didn't propose!" she said with a bitter tone before she let out a light laugh at her friend's expression on the other end.
XOXO
Derek raced down the porch stairs from his loft and stopped. He turned his head left and then right slowly, contemplating on which direction he wanted to go. If he turned right then he would head in the direction of work. If he turned left…he would be going the direction of Casey's hotel. He hesitated on his decision making. What was the reason for turning left? It killed him that he had to think about it. He turned left, right before he turned right. He started walking down the street shaking his head.
XOXO
"Morning." Naomi said coming into Casey's room with two coffees. She kept Casey's room key from last night just in case she was a little more drunk than Naomi realized.
"Morning." she said yawning before getting out of bed. Casey took the star bucks coffee before going to sit down on the sofa. "How drunk was I?" she asked embarrassed as she rubbed her head.
"You weren't drunk, drunk." Naomi said sitting down on the sofa too taking a sip of her coffee. "You were more like…tipsy. You really enjoyed that."
"How much did I drink last night?" Casey asked feeling her head and then taking a long drink of her coffee.
"You had three glasses of wine, one apple martini and you tried two shots of tequila."
"That's so…not me." she said looking down at the table where her portfolio sat.
"It wasn't as bad as it sounds. We were there for like 5 hours. Derek is really nice." she said. Busy day ahead of her and she had a hangover.
"Derek?" Casey asked looking at Naomi. "Um, he has his moments." she said taking another big drink of her coffee.
"He is sooo good looking." she said. "If I was his step-sister I would have hi-"
Casey put her hand up.
"Naomi please!" she said with a disturbed face.
"Anyway, there sending the company car for us." Naomi said with excitement.
"Great." Casey said going to her suitcase. "In the meantime, I'm going to hang myself in the shower. Bye." Casey said walking to the bathroom with her coffee in hand.
XOXO
Casey and Naomi rode to the studio in the very shiny, expensive, black car. Naomi stuck her head out the window which was kind of entertaining and Casey looked out the rolled down window enjoying the nice breeze blow upon her face. Her cell phone began ringing it's very lighthearted tone and she picked it up from the seat and looked at it. One new text message from unknown caller it said. Casey flipped her phone open and read the message.
"Hey! It's Sal! Dinner tonight? 8pm?"
"The haunting hour has begun." Casey said laughing as she looked at Naomi.
"Who is it?" Naomi asked, taking a break from the window to look at Casey.
"Sally."
"Your brother's girlfriend?"
"Step-brother and yes." Casey said. "She wants to have dinner tonight."
"Good. You guys can bond. I know your getting pretty sick of me by now." Naomi said. "Me being your one and only friend and all." she said laughing.
"Haha." Casey said sarcastically. "I don't know." Casey said hesitant.
"Come on! It'll be fun. You guys can catch up and she can show you around New York. I only know so much myself."
"And even that surprises me considering you were born in England." Casey said laughing.
"When I told my parents I had been tranferred to Canada, they nearly went into shock."
"And look at that, now you're in America!"
"Where will I go next?" she asked humorously. "I'm like the female 'Where's Waldo?'
Casey laughed before looking back down at the text.
"Fine, I'll go. Eight O'clock it is."
XOXO
The family including Casey and Derek sat in the warm coffee shop right next to the skate loan office.
"Casey are you sure your wrist isn't broken?" Nora asked. "Maybe we should go and get it checked out."
"I'm fine, mom. I must have sprained it really bad because I can still move it." Casey said.
"Well, if it gets worse, tell us."
"I promise." Casey smiled trying to reassure her mother and George.
"Okay, well we're going back out. You know where to find us." Nora said standing up helping Marti up as well.
"Edwin put your skates on the right way!" George said as the family went out the doors and headed for the rink. Only Casey and Derek sat at the table still.
"So, I believe I won our little deal." she said.
"Ha! Hardly!" he said as he took a few big drinks of his hot chocolate. "You fell hard on that ice."
"Yeah, but I still did the layback! And that's all we agreed on!" she said pointing at him.
After a few seconds he finally gave up.
"Fine. Finally, I can teach you that skating IS NOT for girls and that hockey is the hardest sport ever created!"
"You are so on." she said with fire in her eyes.
XO
"Casey you're holding the stick all wrong."
"Then how do I hold it?" she asked aggravated.
"Like this." he said gripping his stick. "Hold it tight, so you won't hit anybody with it." he said instructing her.
"I know!" she said angrily.
"Tighter."
"Derek, it's fine!"
"Then, you hold it up and hit the puck as hard as you can but with aim, that way it heads for the goal. It's a slap shot, Casey."
Casey was geared up with hockey equipment and was holding one of the hockey sticks. You could definitely tell that she had no idea what she was doing.
"Okay. Hit it." he said loudly. She hit the puck as hard as she could and ended up falling backwards as the puck just barely slid in close distance of the net. Derek slid over to Casey and helped her up.
"You're standing wrong." he said. Casey stood still, now that she was standing up trying to find her balance again. "Arms down." he said bending her arms straight. He was right behind her but he probably didn't even realize that he was so close. "One leg here." he said pointing and one back." He then leaned in closer and tried to get eye level with her. "Goal is there, so you have to look at it straight on and know what your shooting for. Then concentrate on the puck, pull the hockey stick back and just swing." The puck went flying into the net.
"I did it!" Casey yelled excitedly. "Thanks, Derek." she said turning her head to look at Derek, who's was only inches away.
A/N-Hey! I have a new video on you tube! Check it out! Just search new love story dasey. Review time!