Have Yourself a Merry Christmas
Evening, Friday
December 25, 2010
Morgan and Garcia
Chapter Four
She maybe had one too many glasses of wine tonight. The room looked a little hazy. She felt overheated, as she stood there with her arms looped around Derek's waist while he chatted with his family up in Chicago.
Penelope took in a deep breath, to center herself, but only ended up getting a good whiff of Derek's musky cologne. He smelled fantastic. Like the virile, athletic, hard body man that he was. His cologne could make her dizzy, it was that intoxicating to her.
At the moment her emotions were heightened. They were on the edge of something major and she knew it. So many words were stuck in her throat, unsure of the right way to say what she so desperately wanted to say.
Remembering earlier in the day she thought of how tantalizing it had been when his hand was massaging, lazily, up and down her leg while they half watched the football game. Each stroke set her more and more on fire for him. But even a look out of the corner of his eye at her could do that.
Let alone thinking he wanted her for real. Wanted to caress her. To kiss her. Just moments before he had tried to go in for a kiss.
A kiss she knew she couldn't let that happen without talking to him first but when those onyx eyes of his had pinned her down she stopped being able to think for a moment. Luckily his phone rang and jerked her back into reality.
Penelope had been holding back on Derek and it just wasn't fair to let him kiss her until he heard the truth fall from her lips. For months now she had been feeling them grow closer and closer. It thrilled her and made her confused all at the same time.
Kevin had grown less and less attractive in her eyes, as she had begun to think she could have Derek as her man instead, and all Kevin's bad habits started to drive her up the wall. She snapped at him all the time and he became irritated with her moodiness. She escaped into the theater, an old love from high school that she resurrected when she felt like she needed to find herself again. Find out who Garci was without any man around telling her she was amazing. She needed to find that part of herself that had confidence in herself all over again. She needed to lose herself to the role, to being someone else, and feel the worries that were starting to overtake her lift off her spirit.
It had really worked for improving her mood.
She dyed her hair red for the role and spent months in rehearsals until finally she had made her debut. By that time Kevin and her were barely pretending to be together anymore. She finally ended it a week ago. He took the news stoically at first but then he had started to call her every night after he got drunk and ramble on about how she had betrayed him.
Penelope knew he was right but she also knew that everything happened for a reason. She could betray Kevin or betray her own heart. Perhaps even her own destiny.
And betray Derek. Betray his love for her. Betray their bond. That wasn't an option.
She couldn't know if her and Derek would be as wonderful together as lovers as they were as friends-there was a part of her that was scared of what would happen if they weren't a perfect match that lasted forever- but Penelope had come too far down this road to turn back now. She needed to take this all the way. She needed his kiss. Needed his touch. Needed him to know he could have her if he wanted. Needed him to believe that they could make each other happy.
In all he did over the last year- all the little ways he had shown his adoration for her, and commitment to what they had- she had felt his love for her. A love that grew with everyday that passed.
Now it was time to tell him all she held back for way too long.
Wanting to feel his warmth, she buried her face against the soft angora of his sweater. His heart beat strong and slightly fast under her ear. He squeezed her a little tighter, as he kept chatting with his family.
The Morgan's in Chicago talked for so long that Derek and Penelope grew weary of standing. They made their way to a leather chair that he had. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. She lay against him as he put the phone on speaker. They chatted with his family for an hour. His mother made sure to tease him about when he would get married and give her grandbabies. She said there was still time to make at least one baby, if not twins, before next Christmas.
Derek laughed. "I'll do my best," he kidded with her. "You know I'm a hard worker."
"Ohhhhh," Penelope cooed "I can vouch for that. He is a very, very hard worker when he puts his mind to it."
Only later would Derek realize that talking to his mother when he was tipsy and had Garcia on his lap was a bad idea. That night it seemed like a great one though and they smiled, laughed, flirted and teased each other while his family heard every word.
At one point she was running her fingers down his chest, over his abs, and the against his belt buckle.
"Watch where you put that hand, woman," he growled at her. "A little lower...lower..."
She giggled and blushed, laying her head on his shoulder. He tangled his fingers in her hair.
Derek murmured, as he sniffed her hair, "Mmmm, strawberries?"
"Your favorite," she responded in a dreamy tone, before intertwining their fingers.
"You know that's right, angel."
Since Derek was on speaker phone at his Mom's house his sister Des was able to cut in "Hey, it's a holy holiday!" she joked. "Give it a rest for one day."
Derek laughed. Penelope blushed three shades deeper and nibbled on her bottom lip.
Derek told his sister "Ma will never get her grandbabies if I give it a rest. Talk to you all later. Derek Morgan has big plans for tonight and none of you all are invited."
Click.
Yeah, in a few days, when he heard from his mother again, he would be mortified. But that night he thought things couldn't be going better. Five glasses of wine and a sexy redhead on his lap would do that to any red blooded male.
Santa had brought Derek Morgan his secret Christmas wish in the form of a flirty, sensual, all his for this night Penelope Garcia. Merry Christmas to me, Derek thought, as he tossed his phone aside and then asked Penelope "Now, where were we?"
He leaned in close to her lips and murmured "About here, right?"
(Santa, baby, I forgot to mention one little thing-
a ring,
and I don't mean a phone.
-x-x-x
Santa, baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!) (Madonna version)
