Casey lay, dazed and happy on the couch, pressed up against Derek's warm body. He was dozing, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist and his breath ticking the back of her neck. She had to smile. There was another hour until Edwin and Lizzie got home and from what she could tell Marti was still asleep. Everything was perfect.
The buzzing of her phone in her pocket made her jump and she dug it out of her jeans pocket. Vincent's name flashed on the front screen and her heart sunk. She'd forgotten about him until now.
"Don't check it," Derek muttered, his lips brushing the back of her neck, making her hairs stand up. "He's boring anyways."
"I have to," Casey replied feeling anxious. She didn't like letting any text message go unanswered for longer than necessary. It was like ignoring someone, it was something she couldn't do unless she really, really had to.
"Why?" Derek groaned, pulled her closer, a move she thought would have been impossible. Casey had already flipped open her phone.
Remember. Friday night. I'll pick you up at 8. Dress nicely.
"Shit," Casey breathed. Derek snatched the phone from her hands.
"I'll just kindly tell him to fuck off," Derek said cheerfully. Casey grabbed it back. Her heart was torn, she knew she wanted Derek but she couldn't quite bring herself to dump off Vincent like that. Her fingers flew over the keys as she replied, her heart beating.
Can't Friday. Tonight.
Derek struggled to get up without pushing Casey off the couch. She'd just hurt him.
"What are you doing Derek?" she asked.
"Leaving."
"No." Casey grabbed his arm and stared at him until he stopped tugging and flopped against the back of the couch. "It's not a date Derek."
"Tell Vincent that," Derek muttered, "he's better for you anyway. He'll probably be able to pull off a romantic date without destroying the roses."
"Hey!" Casey leaned in and stared into his eyes. "Your rose was absolutely perfect."
"I destroyed it," he snapped.
"You made it unique," Casey replied, stroking his cheek gently like she was comforting a small child. "I love it more than anything Vincent could ever give me. I'm only going out with him tonight to tell him that I can't date him."
"Vincent doesn't work like that."
"Well I do," Casey replied. "And if he doesn't like it he can kiss my ass."
"I don't want you to go," Derek said pressing his lips together nervously. "I don't trust him."
"Well I can handle myself. Its no problem for me," she stated. "I'm not afraid of Vincent." Her phone buzzed.
I'll pick you up at 6.
"Well I guess its official," Derek muttered. "You've got a date with Vincent."
"Not until six," Casey replied. "Until then," she slid closer to him, "I'm all yours."
"I like those odds." Derek grinned until their lips met and the rest of the world disappeared around them.
()()()()()()()
"No skirts."
Casey rolled her eyes and held up a pleated black skirt to herself. "He said dress nice. Skirts are nice."
"No skirts," Derek replied from his position on her bed where he'd decided to dictate everything she wore.
"Why no skirts?" Casey demanded facing him, her hands on her hips. She didn't own nice pants, it was a skirt or a pair of jeans and she wasn't about to wear jeans when she was told to dress nice.
"Easy access," Derek replied with a shrug. "I'm favouring those sweats in the bottom drawer. Nice and baggy but we could cinch the waist so it's too tight for him to do anything."
"He's not going to do anything," Casey replied. "I'm going to kindly tell him that I don't want to date him. Not to hook up with him."
"Well I'd do it before dinner if I were you then," Derek replied flopping back onto the pile of clothes lying behind him.
"No! That's just rude," Casey snapped. "Why would I do that?"
"So it's not like you own him anything," Derek replied. "If you let him take you to a nice dinner he might play that card."
"How would you know?" Casey demanded, her heart sinking. This date was looking more and more like a bad idea. Maybe she should just cancel.
Derek sat up. "Hello? Sleazy guy right here, Remember?"
"Derek you're not sleazy," Casey replied as she stared at all of her ugly clothing.
"Did you not tell me once I was nothing more than a skirt chasing cad?"
"But that was…"
"Casey I know how this guy's mind works. If you don't want to do the dirty with him then you'd better just not go."
"Do the dirty?" Casey rolled her eyes. "Honestly Derek couldn't you use some different terminology?" Despite her cool demeanour her stomach was churning uneasily. Derek sounded so sure of himself.
"Casey I don't want you to go." Derek stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Isn't that enough?" It was, it really was. And it killed Casey to turn around shaking her head.
"Derek," she whispered. "What if whatever we are doesn't work? Are you willing to lose the respect of our family and friends in order to pursue this?"
"Yes," Derek replied, his eyes cold and hard. "And I'm sorry that I thought you felt the same way."
"Derek, why are you so sure we could be anything?" He stared at her as if she was just sitting and drooling at him. She felt like crying. It wasn't until Derek was brushing his thumbs across her cheeks that she realized she was.
"I don't know Casey," he replied, his eyes wide and honest. "I don't know anything but for the first time in my life I'm willing to take a chance and find out. For you I'm willing to lose my friends and my family. But if you're not willing then I'm giving up now."
"Could you hand me my phone?" Casey asked weakly. Derek nodded and picked her cell phone up off the bed and pressed it into her hand.
"Why?"
"I have a date to cancel," she replied, smiling shakily. Derek's face broke out into a huge smile. Her fingers were shaking so much that she couldn't press the keys. Derek took the phone back.
"May I?"
"Just tell him something more important came up. Something way more important," Casey replied. Derek's thumbs flew over the keys. Seconds later he snapped the phone shut and flung it onto the bed.
"Something more important eh?" he asked leaning in closely.
"Way more important," Casey replied slowly snaking her arms around his neck. "So important in fact I think I'm going to be way to busy to spend any time at all with him."
"Such a shame," Derek muttered.
"It really is." Casey smiled into their kiss, soft and gently since the entire family was home. That should have felt wrong but instead it felt so right, so very, very right. Derek felt so right.
()()()()()()
Billions
of excuses as to why it's taken me to long to update. My best one
is that my laptop died. Note to self: don't let your brother borrow
your laptop anymore.
Please review.
