Chapter 10
AN: Thanks for the reviews! Home sick (Maybe I got it from Penelope? LOL), so I am posting a little early...
After two days of being completely pampered by Derek, Penelope felt so much better. Derek had said it was no big deal; the team had a few days off after they finished a case. Penelope thought there were a million better ways to spend time other than caring for a sick person, but Derek had disagreed wholeheartedly with her.
"It feels good, making you feel good," he'd said, then added a lascivious grin that totally perverted what he'd said.
It also made her laugh, which caused her to cough, so it wasn't the best thing to do to a sick person!
After the first night, he'd gone home the next day and returned only two hours later with a suitcase full of stuff. He was obviously set to wait out her flu bug with her, no matter how long it took. She was done fighting him to get him to leave; he didn't look the slightest bit ill, and she really did want him there. He was wonderful company. She absolutely loved being with him.
Beginning of day four, she was able to go into the living room and sit on the couch. This was a huge improvement for her. She was still weak, but she didn't feel like her head was going to explode, and she had no fever or chills.
She was sitting next to Derek, wearing a pink faux-leopard blanket thing with sleeves, holding a bowl of the second batch of Mrs. Morgan's chicken soup. Her nose had cleared enough that she could actually taste the garlic and herbs in the soup.
"This is really wonderful," she said. "Thank you, again, cupcake."
"Anytime, sweetheart," he said, reaching for the remote. He clicked on some football game happening across the country. He was eating the soup, too, and immediately became fixated on the game. She almost laughed. Whenever a game was on, Derek always became drawn to it. She knew he'd played athletics in college; he obviously was still into any kind of sports.
Mentioning college made made her wonder a bit again, about that girlfriend he'd mentioned having years ago. His first sexual encounter. After spending so much time, night and day, cuddling with Derek, she was learning all sorts of things about him.
It was almost funny; before they started the affair, she'd thought she knew him better than anyone, better than anything. Now, she found that what she knew just barely whet her appetite for more things to know about him. She wanted to know everything.
She took a bite of her soup, then decided to ask him some questions. "Derek?"
"What, honey?" he said, looking over at her, then immediately back at the television when he heard the crack of helmets. She watched him cringe. "Oh, man! Interception."
"Your girlfriend in college," she began slowly. "The one you'd slept with when you were eighteen. What was her name?"
That caused him to look over at her again. He cocked a brow at her in question. "Lisa Blomquist. Why do you want to know?"
"Just wondering," she answered carefully. She didn't want to scare him off. "You know. What made her special, why she was your first...that kind of stuff."
Derek smiled and sat back, giving her his full attention. "It was twenty years ago, Baby Girl. I barely remember her, much less the reasons why."
She scoffed. "Come on, honey. I remember my first. Everyone does."
She did. Ethan Hucklebee, the dark haired, dramatic rocker wannabe with a tiny penis that did the job...however miserably. Like Derek, she had also been eighteen, and had just lost her parents to a drunk driver. She wanted so badly to not think about that pain that she enlisted voluntarily for another pain: losing her virginity to an idiot who didn't give a shit about her.
"Yeah," he said, shrugging a little. He turned to look at the tv again. "Everyone remembers their first love."
That sparked her attention. Love? Whoa, that changed everything. Derek was in love with her? Suddenly, she really wanted to know more about this Lisa Blomquist, aka the stupidest girl on earth. Penelope was convinced of that.
After all, what woman would throw away Derek Morgan's love if she had it?
"What was she like?" she asked, softly, gently.
"She was beautiful, sweet, innocent." He laughed, but it wasn't pleasant. "Until I got a hold of her."
"Derek, you were a virgin, too," she said in his defense. "Virgins don't corrupt other virgins."
"Yeah, I did," he said. "We decided to make love, although neither of us were really ready for it. I was the quarterback of the team; it was expected. Lisa was a cheerleader. I'd known her for years. We were good friends. One day, she told me she was ready, she was on the pill, and she wanted me." He gave her a wry look. "So, we did it."
She cringed a little. "That doesn't sound good."
"Actually, it was great. I loved it. Felt like I was doing something I was always meant to do. I've always had a huge sex drive." He grinned at her, and she blushed. She could vouch for that!
"What happened?"
He shrugged, looking back at the television again. "We dated for two years. Lisa wanted more; love, marriage, babies."
Scratch Lisa being so stupid, Penelope quickly amended to herself.
"I didn't. At least, I thought I didn't. I dumped her. She went out with a nice guy on the soccer team. They have three kids now." He shot her a self-derisive grin. "Guess I didn't know what I was missing until it was gone."
She leaned into his shoulder. "Poor Hot Stuff."
He looped his arm around her and tucked her into his side. "It was a long time ago."
They sat in silence, Derek watching the game and Pen thinking. She finally asked the main thing on her mind. "Do you still love her?"
"No," he said with a little chuckle. "It was a thousand years ago, P. I'd just turned twenty-one, I wasn't anywhere near ready for a wife."
She nodded in understanding. That was rather young. She didn't think he'd be ready back then.
She wasn't sure he was ready now for marriage and babies!
"Besides, she found someone better for her. Gary asked her to marry him a month after they started going out, and me...Hell, I know myself. I couldn't settle down. So I lost her." He wiggled his eyebrows at her with a leer. "And instead, I went on to satisfy many women..."
Including me, she thought, leaning more into his side. Her chest tightened uncomfortably, and not from a cough or cold.
And for a moment, she was terribly jealous of Lisa Blomquist, because she was one of the special ones, one that was truly lucky.
She knew what it was like to have Derek love her.
That night in bed, Penelope was too awake to sleep, but still not feeling up to doing their favorite bedtime activity. She was feeling good enough that she'd be able to return to work tomorrow. Just in time: it was Sunday night.
Derek was laying next to her, his arms looped loosely around her. He was quiet; so quiet, she thought he might be sleeping. This would be their last night together, just because they wanted to be together. There was no sex, nothing like that keeping them. It was just the two of them needing to be by each other.
For the first time she could ever remember, she wished she was still sick.
"Derek?" she questioned.
His sleepy voice answered, "Yes, angel?"
"I'm not tired," she replied, turning in his arms to look at him. "Are you?"
He looked down at her and smiled. "I'm awake now."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
He kissed the tip of her nose. She'd missed that a lot while she was sick. He was only able to kiss the top of her head. The urge to tip her mouth up and give him a real kiss roared through her like wildfire, and her body began to ache pleasantly.
On second thought, she no longer wanted to be sick!
"Can we play a game? Twenty questions?"
"Okay," he said, rolling to his back. "Ask away."
"What size underwear do you wear?" she asked.
"Large. I like room for the boys," he said with a snicker. "What about you?"
"Size eight. Same as my shoe size," she remarked.
"Mine are size thirteen. I got huge feet." To emphasize his point, he ran his foot along her calf.
"You do," she agreed honestly, and then asked, "Pants size?"
"Even numbers. Thirty-four waist, thirty-four inseam." He grinned—she could see his white teeth flashing in the moonlight—when he asked, "Bra size?"
"Never mind," she retorted.
"Thirty-eight double D." His grin turned bigger. "I looked when I helped you on with it."
She leaned up on her elbow and slapped his arm. "You're awful!"
"Hey, I needed to know what size perfection truly was."
She snuggled into the same arm she'd slapped. "I guess you're not so awful."
"Favorite body part," he asked.
"I like my nose," she responded, wiggling the aforementioned part.
He gave her such a look, she giggled. "On me."
"Okay," she answered with a smile. "Your hands. I love your big, strong, beautiful hands."
"Know what my favorite part is?"
"I think I know," she replied archly. "The double D part you mentioned earlier."
"Nah-uh," he replied, laying on his back again. "Try again." Then quickly amended, "Although, those are indeed lovely."
She rolled her eyes, and then half asked, half said, "My eyes?"
"Nope."
She cringed and made a face."This is gross...oh, God, I can't believe I'm saying this!...but my pussy?"
"Nothing gross about that-and I hope you love my dick, too-but you're still wrong," he answered with a teasing smile.
She'd moved up to her elbow to look at him. He was giving her just the right smile. It was lacking any leering or vulgarity, it was just...matter of fact. If he would've given her a leer, it would've made it nasty and coarse, would've made her feel ashamed of what they were doing, but he didn't. His smile was absolutely perfect; it warmed her heart.
Now curiosity was nearly killing the Penelope. "Derek. What is it?"
He yawned. "Baseball rules. Three strikes, you're out.." He rolled over on his side and tucked her wiggling body next to his. "Try again tomorrow night."
"Derek!" she growled, wiggling more. She felt his even breathing, and she huffed, and the corners of her mouth began to raise as she felt much better. She thought about what he'd said.
This wasn't the end at all.
They were doing this again tomorrow night.
With a satisfied smile, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.