Chapter Eleven
AN: Hi everyone! Now that halloween and my birthday are over, we are back to our regularly scheduled broadcast! LOL...Here's a huge ol' chapter, since I interrupted your reading fun!
It was a miserable car ride home with a whining, angry Rick. He tried saying a lot of things about Derek, things that Penelope knew were patently untrue. She'd never known him to be anything but good, kind, and decent.
He complained about how Derek cheated him in football some twenty years ago, how he'd always had to have the prettiest girls, how he'd made people dislike Rick.
Rick made him sound like an UNSUB.
"Rick, it's okay," she murmured, her head starting to throb. "Just let it be."
"Derek Morgan is an egotistical, self-promoting basta-"
"You know," Penelope began, her voice just a shade under truly pissed. "That is my best friend you are talking about. I would advise you to shut up and drive me home."
"Well, if you didn't want the truth," he snapped, "then why did you ride home with me?"
"Dammed if I know," she muttered, more for herself than for him.
He clamped his lips together and gripped the steering wheel tighter in his hands. It was obviously done between herself and Rick.
And all Penelope cared about was the blessed quiet in the car.
Penelope showered and pulled on her sassy kitty pajamas. She was sitting on the couch; it was close to midnight, and Derek hadn't called yet. She'd been expecting his call a lot earlier. She had a lot to talk to him about.
She was angry at him, too. He obviously did not get along with Rick, yet he'd mentioned that he wanted the date to happen. He'd planned the whole fiasco, and she couldn't figure out why.
Not only that, he'd brought with his cousin, not a true date. Why did he need to double date if it was his cousin he was bringing? There was no good reason, and it just added to her headache.
She heard a knock on her door. She looked out the peephole, and then opened her door in surprise. "Derek. What are you doing here?"
He took off his suit jacket and hung it up. Taking her hand, he plopped down on her couch, and then tugged her down next to him. She didn't take offense; Derek always made himself at home at her place. She expected it.
His tie was already missing; he unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt and ran a hand over his face. He was obviously grasping for something. He took a deep breath, then sighed and said, "Baby Girl, I'm sorry."
"For what?"
He looked confused. "You know..."
"Oh, I know," she said, her eyes narrowing. His response irritated her even more. "There are so many things you need to apologize for. I am just wondering which ones are first."
He actually smiled. "I deserved that."
"Yes, you did."
"I'll start with this one," he replied. "I knew tonight wasn't going to go well, and I still insisted on it."
She looked at him. She'd expected him to say he was sorry for the scene in the restaurant, sorry for kind of lying to her, but she hadn't expected him to apologize for the evening yet. However, she didn't want to rush him. She had a feeling there was a lot to this, and she wanted him to tell the story.
She decided to play it rather safe. "Rick told me tonight you two didn't exactly get along."
Derek closed his eyes and wearily leaned his head back on the couch. "No, we didn't."
Again, she noticed the difference between Rick and Derek. Rick tried to take the opportunity to blast Derek at every turn; Derek barely said a thing. She didn't know which was better: to be closed mouthed, or to be on the defensive.
"I need more," she said. "Rick said you wouldn't let him play until after you got hurt."
Derek looked at her for a second, his brow furrowed in exasperation, and then closed his eyes again. "It wasn't my decision. It was the coaches. They didn't feel Rick was ready, and I had been indestructible." He gave a bitter laugh. "Had been being the operative words."
She looked at him. "Rick said you'd had a say in the decision. That you'd taught him, but then you wouldn't let him play."
He opened his eyes and leaned forward. "Baby, I told them to give him a chance. The coach said he wasn't ready. I argued for him; he had a great arm. Coach said he lacked leadership ability."
Penelope thought about dinner, how Rick could barely make a decision there. What would he have been like on the football field? She shuddered thinking about it.
"Anyway, there is a lot more there between us than just football," Derek said cryptically.
"Oh, I could tell," she snipped. "You nearly had his throat!"
He narrowed his eyes at her, and answered coolly, "That had nothing to do with football."
"Oh, yeah? What did it have to do with, then, Derek?"
"He treated you like shit tonight, Penelope," he spat, like talking about Rick left a bad taste in his mouth. "Fuck, woman, even Carly thought so."
"He explained. I don't agree, but he explained," she answered. "That's good enough."
"Do you really want him?" Derek growled, not giving her a chance to answer. "He can lie about me, treat you like shit, be rude around my cousin, and you can say you want him?"
"It's a misunderstanding what happened between you two on the football field," she said. "He felt under appreciated, unwanted, and unliked-"
"There were lots of reasons the other guys didn't accept him," he muttered, "on and off the field."
"Well, he was at Marshall's wedding," she debated. It was a natural thing to do with Derek; she couldn't help it. "If he didn't feel supported as back up, it would be harder to fit in, harder for them to accept him."
"No, it was hard for them to accept him because he'd fucked my girlfriend when I hurt my knee."
She blinked at him, completely shocked.
Derek shook his head, disgusted with himself. "Look, it was a long time ago; I don't want you to think it is a big thing anymore."
"It is a big thing," she reiterated, "and you need to tell me."
He cringed. "You're gonna make me tell you, so I might as well talk, huh?"
She gave him a smirk, but it wasn't without warmth.
He sighed heavily. "I was dating Traci Shields. She was the head cheerleader, and I was the quarterback. We were a walking cliché."
She smiled. "Yeah."
"Rick always wanted what I had, my position, my friends, but most of all, my girl. So when I was laid up for three weeks at my mom's house, he oiled his way into her friendship, her good graces, and eventually her bed." He shrugged. "The other guys found out and thought it was low, although I didn't really care that much."
He looked into her eyes, and she couldn't look away. "I actually asked the team to forgive him. They had the rest of the season, and I wanted them to go on. They couldn't do that without a QB, and I wanted the team to prosper."
Her heart ached for him; it had to have hurt, to lose his team and his girl. "That must've been a miserable year."
He gave her a half grin. "It sucked, but I was okay. Traci wasn't much of a girlfriend to me anyway. Contrary to popular belief, I hadn't dated a whole lot before her, but I'd never begged a woman to stay with me, and I wasn't going to start doing it then." Derek laughed a little. "She'd wanted me back afterwards, because Rick 'didn't know how to treat a lady.'"
"I'm sorry," she said. She didn't know what else to say. What Derek said was awful; it made her fiercely mad at Rick and Traci. "If I ever see him again-"
He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Hush, momma bear. Don't be like that. I'm fine."
"He's a bastard," she hissed flatly.
"Hey, he was young and dumb, and he did apologize. I thought I could put it aside-practice what I preached." He shrugged with a self-depreciating smirk. "Guess not."
Shaking her head, she added, "I wouldn't have been able to after what he did."
"I sort of understood him. Being a back up is tough. You always want to be the lead. I'd known he'd wanted it. They warn quarterbacks to stay on guard: there is always someone younger and hungrier behind you. I kind of figured he was jealous." He grinned at Penelope. "Early profiler skills, you know."
She smiled back. He really did seem okay with this. He wasn't living in the past, still hurt by what had happened. It was a remarkable difference between the two men. Derek was simply a good man, an adult man. Again, she got that feeling she'd had in the restaurant; she really wanted to have his heart.
Penelope shook her head. She needed to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Derek."
"You got nothing to be sorry about," he said. "I still need to say I'm sorry for ruining the dinner."
"You didn't."
He grinned sheepishly. "I did. I knew once you saw how indecisive and mamby-pamby Rick was-He was back when I knew him and he didn't change- you'd see he was a bad choice for you."
"Took me long enough," she quipped.
"He's good looking. Best looking guy in the group," Derek said, rolling his eyes. "I can see how he'd be persuasive."
"He is not," she said before she thought.
"Not what?"
"The best looking in your group, Derek."
He still looked confused.
She sighed. It was best to be honest and upfront. "That honor belongs to you."
Derek smiled, his warm eyes raking over her. "You think so, eh?"
"You are magnificent, after all," she said with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Oh, baby." His eyes grew hot, and he smiled wickedly at her. "That word makes me think of things I shouldn't when it comes to you."
Her pulse rate quickened, and her thighs quivered. "Me, too."
"Angel, don't tease," he muttered. His voice was husky, rough. "Not tonight."
"Who said anything about teasing?"
They just looked at each other for a long moment, holding each other's eyes, the air charged between them. There was a lot being said without a word being spoken.
He swallowed hard, and she watched his Adam's apple move slowly. "God, woman, do I want to touch you."
She shivered in reaction. "This is a bad idea."
"Yeah," he whispered, so much disappointment and longing in just one syllable.
"It would be wrong," she added, trying to convince herself. "You treat women like disposable diapers. One use, and you're done."
He chuckled gently, shook his head, and stood. "I don't have the best past, do I?"
She stood, too. "No, you don't."
"And you want things I don't know I can give," he murmured softly, taking a step closer.
"That's true." Her breath was coming in fast pants.
"But I still really, really want to touch you." He reached both arms out and hauled her against his chest. "And I am going to...right now."
She wrapped her arms around his neck, he lowered his head, and the magic began.
The minute Derek's lips hit hers, that rush, that amazing, tingling, fantastic rush started. It was unlike anything she ever experienced in her life. It was incredible, it was heady, and it was…. Magnificent.
Holy crap.
She'd thought that Kevin was a decent kisser and Rick was a great kisser, but Derek... he made them look like amateurs. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like. She couldn't think, she could barely stand; she could just feel. And feel she did, throughout her body, hot swirling passion.
His lips played with hers, coaxing a greedy response. He started with soft, delightful pressure, experimenting with her mouth, that deepened into deeper, more sensual demands. His hands moved up, rubbing her back and hips with gentle motions, up and down, making her sway more into his body.
She moved her hands to his shoulders, pressing her aching breasts into the firmness of his chest. Her whole body had a delicious tension that was only relieved by cleaving onto him.
Derek lifted his head, breaking the kiss for a moment. "Damn, baby. I knew it was-"
He didn't get to continue. She raised on her toes and nearly jumped at him again. He smiled against her lips; he'd known she was eager, but the truth in her actions proved what he'd felt for a long time. This was right.
Dear God, this was right! From the addicting way she tasted, sweet and salty, to how she fit perfectly in the contours of his body, it was right. He could not get enough of her; it was almost frightening, because he knew he would never get enough of her. Not in the twenty-five years he'd been seriously kissing women had he ever had that feeling before.
His tongue dipped into her mouth, stroking against hers in a gentle glide. That electric energy he'd been feeling since minute one of this kiss intensified by a thousand. His hands went back to cupping her bottom, lifting her, molding his hips to hers. He needed her to feel how much he wanted her, but more than that, he simply needed to feel her.
She gasped, and her eyes widened. It was obvious she'd known she affected him, but she obviously hadn't known how much.
"This is it, sweetheart; I'm not playing anymore," he growled huskily, resting his forehead against hers. "We can't turn back after this. Now or never; you decide."
