Another Vice

Chapter Fourteen

"Derek! You better open this door or I'm gonna pee on the floor!" I shout through the bathroom door, banging on the wood in hopes that the aforementioned man would listen.

The door swings open, revealing a towel-clad Derek, which momentarily makes me forget what I had been yelling about.

Derek is holding the towel closed at his waist and his chest is covered with a light sheen of water and his hair is sticking to his forehead in chunks.

"That would be quite a show," Derek smirks, licking his lips.

I roll my eyes.

"Well, you sure do have a nice way of speaking to the woman carrying your baby," I grumble, narrowing my eyes into slits and glaring up at my step-brother.

Derek laughs, and I watch as a drip of water races down his neck and down the contours of his chest.

"Oh, you're right," Derek says, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Go right ahead, Princess. I'll put my shower on hold for you."

Derek bows dramatically, waving me into the bathroom.

I roll my eyes again, but step into the bathroom, remembering why I was yelling for Derek to open the door to begin with.

"When you have a tiny human dancing on your bladder, then you can talk to me about bathroom rights."

Derek spins back around, shutting the door behind him before coming to stand directly in front of me.

Derek leans down, his hands reaching out to place on my hips as his nose grazes across my cheek.

"I love you, my Princess," Derek whispers, leaning in to press his lips to the side of my neck, right under my jaw.

I exhale heavily and I can't help but lean into him (as much as my eight-months-pregnant body can), tilting my head to give him more access.

"I love you," I say back, raising my hands to dig my nails into his lower back.

Derek lifts his head from my neck, straightening up, his lips turning up into his classic sexy half-smile.

Derek steps back from me, not breaking eye contact as he unties the knot at the front of his towel, dropping the fabric to the floor.

Normally, his cockiness would annoy me to no end— and a lot of the time it still does. But Derek knows he's good-looking, and he will forever use that to his advantage.

"I'm gonna finish my shower now," Derek states, his voice dropping now. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like."

"What were you and Derek arguing about earlier? I could hear you yelling from down here," Lizzie asks, laughing as she fixes herself a sandwich for lunch.

"He hogs the bathroom. You can't do that to a woman with a baby sitting on her bladder," I laugh in return, taking a sip of water.

"Fair enough," Lizzie chuckles again, biting into her sandwich. "I can't believe you guys still fight like you used to, though."

I smile, nodding.

"We do and we don't," I reply easily. "We still fight— I doubt if that'll ever stop— but we also know now that we love each other more than any fight we could possibly have. Especially considering we've probably fought over everything we possibly could anyway."

"I love that," Lizzie smiles. "I'm just glad you're happy, Case. You and Derek are my brother and sister and I just want you guys both to be happy."

"Well, I can't speak for Derek, but I'm so happy. I'm in love and in a few weeks I'll have a beautiful baby girl and I just can't imagine life getting much better."

"Casey? Is that you?" I hear a voice from behind me call.

I was starting to get a little stir-crazy, so I managed to convince Derek to drive me to the mall so I could walk around— even for just an hour or two.

Derek wandered off when I walked into the shoe department of Nordstrom, and I can't say I blame him. But damnit, I just want a nice new pair of heels I can wear once the baby is born, so here we are.

"Casey?" that voice calls again before I feel a tap on my shoulder.

I spin around quickly, coming face-to-face with an old friend— Emily.

And before I get a chance to even open my mouth, her jaw drops.

"You're pregnant?!" she shouts, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

Emily's eyes widen and she takes a step back from me.

"I'm so sorry," she says, probably feeling guilty for shouting something so personal in public, but in her defense, I hadn't told her.

How was I supposed to tell someone outside of my family that I'm pregnant and then have to explain the how and the why and the who. Especially the who.

I smile at her weakly, immediately feeling badly for not telling her.

"Yes, I am," I state, nervously, as if my large, round stomach wasn't enough proof.

"Congratulations!" Emily says excitedly. "Who's the father? Is he here? Can I meet him?"

I sigh.

I bite into my lip, my heart quickly beginning to pound against my chest.

"Oh, um," I stutter. "He's around here somewhere."

And as if on cue— enter Derek.

"Are you done shopping yet, Princess? I have some calls to make when we get home so I can't sit and rub your feel all night if they hurt from shopping all day," Derek says, his eyes focused on his cell phone in his hand.

"Derek?" Emily asks, her eyebrows raised into her hairline as her eyes dart between Derek and I.

Derek picks his head up, his eyes going wide when he realizes what he just said, and in front of who.

Emily raises an eyebrow at me, her mouth hanging half-open.

"Emily—" I start, starting to feel dizzy.

Man, I wish I hadn't come to the mall.

"Are you kidding me?" Emily hisses, shaking her head.

I bite down hard into my lip, worried about what Emily will do now that she knows what's going on.

It's when Emily starts to laugh that I scrunch my eyebrows together, confused.

"I can't believe Sam was right. There goes twenty dollars," Emily frowns.

"Excuse me?" I ask, thoroughly confused.

Emily chuckles lightly, looking between Derek and I.

"Sam and I have had a running bet for years about whether you two would ever actually end up together," Emily explains, her smile making her eyes scrunch up at the corners. "I always thought you were too stubborn to admit your feelings, but Sam thought Derek would eventually."

I can't help it— my mouth drops open, and no other word than shocked can describe how I'm feeling.

"I am not that stubborn! I'll have you know that it was me who spoke up first," I state, crossing my arms over my chest.

Emily laughs lightly, almost as if she doesn't believe me, looking to Derek for confirmation.

"That may be true, but the admitting the feelings thing came after you were already pregnant with my baby, so I'm not sure it really counts," Derek laughs, slinging his arm over my shoulders.

Emily's eyes widen as she places her hands on her hips, looking at me pointedly.

"Well, despite my losing twenty dollars over this, I'm so happy for you guys. If you need anything for the baby, please let Sam and I know. We have so much stuff from both Jasmine and Jesse that we'd be happy to give you guys. Y'know, clothes and toys and just a little bit of everything. You're welcome to anything you need."

I smile at Emily, wondering how Derek and I have gotten so lucky to have family and friends who are willing to accept our relationship, despite how unconventional it may be.

"Yes, sir," Derek says into his cell phone as he and I are lounging in his room after our adventure at the mall.

I can't hear what the person on the other end of the phone is saying, but I know Derek is talking to the coach of the Maple Leafs, so I would imagine they're talking about hockey.

"Yes, sir, I moved back to Canada because my girlfriend and I are both from here and she's pregnant so we wanted to be close to family, that's correct."

Girlfriend. He's never called me his girlfriend before. I suppose I am, but it's just nice to hear him say it.

"Yes, sir, thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing from you."

Derek hangs up the phone, tossing it onto his bedside table before lying down next to me and pulling me into his arms, with my head on his chest.

"You called me your girlfriend," I whisper, smiling, as I wrap my arms around him.

"Yes, I did," Derek replies, squeezing me a little tighter. "I know we never really put a label on us, but I've been calling you my girlfriend in my head for a while now, so I figured I'd try it out loud too."

"Well, I like the sound of it."

So it's been over a month since I've updated. Sorry 'bout it. Hopefully more coming soon.