Disclaimer: I own nothing but a tub that doesn't drain.

Chapter Forty-Five: Happy Birthday . . . Or Not

The next morning Casey was up early baking Edwin's cake. She was just pulling it out of the oven when Derek appeared, rubbing his eyes and grumbling about how mornings suck.

"Good morning, sunshine!" Casey said loudly.

Derek groaned and shot her a dirty look. Moving around her, he headed for the fridge and grabbed the milk. Casey set the cake on the burners and turned off the oven. She stood and watched as Derek filled a glass and drank greedily. "Be careful, Derek, you don't want to choke," she said, a smirk on her lips.

His eyes met hers over the rim of the glass, but he said nothing, continuing to gulp until it was empty. Turning, he rinsed out the glass and put it in the dishwasher. Casey shrank a little as he moved into her space and put his lips up to her ear. She braced herself and was shocked and disgusted when he let out a big burp. "God, Derek! You are so disgusting!" she said, rubbing her ear.

He laughed and went up the stairs. Casey looked after him and wondered what happened that they barely spoke anymore. She still missed him, but the feeling was slowly fading. Maybe her and Derek were never meant to be close; after all, their families merged when they were already teens and both were set in their ways. Derek was stubborn, and as much as Casey didn't want to admit it, she knew she too, was stubborn. Sighing, she cleaned up the mess she made and headed upstairs to shower.

After a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" at breakfast, the older kids headed off to school together. The Prince was making a knocking noise, and Casey looked sidelong at Derek while he clenched the steering wheel and swore to himself about the car being a "money pit."

"So, Edwin, do you have any special plans tonight?" Lizzie asked, trying in vain to keep the illusion of surprise.

Edwin laughed and turned to look at her. "You can stop now, Liz, I know about tonight. It's really not a surprise."

Lizzie pouted. "Oh man! Can't anyone keep a secret in this family?"

Casey felt a tingle down her back when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Derek glance at her before turning his attention back to the road. She knew Edwin was staring at her also. She could almost feel the weight of his gaze on the back of her head. She fidgeted in her seat and wished Derek would drive faster.

A few minutes later, Casey practically jumped out of the car and ran for the doors. "Where's the fire, Space?" Derek's voice called behind her.

She ignored him and headed inside, where she caught sight of Emily hovering around her locker. "Hey Em," she gasped when she reached her.

"Hey Case, what's up with you? Did you jog to school?" Emily asked, a smile on her face.

"No, I was just running to get away from Derek, you know how it is."

Emily smirked. "No, I don't. Cuz if it was me, I wouldn't be running from him."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Em, stop! You know how much it bugged me when you were crushing on Derek so much."

"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't resist," Emily said as they walked to class.


The day dragged by and Casey didn't know whether to be glad or not. On one hand, she wanted the time to go slow so she didn't have to confront Edwin about her fears. On the other hand, she just wanted the day to be over. This is not the way to feel when you're considering having sex with your boyfriend for the first time! Casey was also struggling with her feelings for Ashley, but was trying to push them to the back of her mind. Maybe if I ignore them, they'll go away. She knew she was deluding herself, but that's what she was good at.

Her attention was caught when she spotted Amy and Max walking down the hall toward her. They were obviously arguing from the looks of their body language. Max had his "beleaguered boyfriend" face on that Casey recognized from when they were together and would fight, and Amy was next to him, her hands gesturing angrily. Casey watched as they passed and Max's eyes met hers, a small sad smile on his lips. Casey schooled her face into a blank mask and turned back to her locker. She would never understand what the attraction was between Max and Amy. It was obvious that Amy had some sort of problem; either she was anorexic, using drugs, or maybe both. She wondered if Max knew about Amy's tendency to sleep with other men. 'Oh well.' It wasn't her problem. She slammed her locker and headed to class.


On the ride home from school, Casey could practically feel the excitement radiating from Edwin. He rode silently in the back, but his knee was jumping. She could feel it bumping against the back of her seat. "Ed, stop. You're driving me nuts," she said snappishly.

He did. "So-rry. What's your problem?" he asked moodily. This was not how he expected his girlfriend to treat him on his birthday. He felt a sense of unsettledness in his gut but pushed it away. Tonight was going to be the best night of his life, he just knew it.

"Well, your knee butting against my seat was just bugging me is all," she answered softly.

Next to her, Derek tried to ignore the lover's quarrel, but couldn't help but be secretly pleased that there seemed to be trouble in paradise. He knew that Casey and Edwin getting involved wasn't a good idea. It was bound to end badly sooner or later.

"Casey, do you have a date to the Homecoming Dance?" Lizzie's voice sounded from beside Edwin.

Casey turned in her seat to face her sister. "Uh, no. Not yet. Are you going with Jamie?" she asked, trying to deflect the attention away from herself.

Lizzie smiled dreamily. "Yeah, he asked me today. I'm so excited! It's my first high school dance!" she paused and snapped her gaze back to Casey. "Hey, would you go dress shopping with me soon? I could really use your input."

Casey smiled. "Sure, I can do that. It'll be fun. We'll make an afternoon out of it, what do you say?"

Lizzie beamed. "OK! Just let me know when it works for you."

Casey turned back around, but not before shooting back, "Will do, sis."


Dinner was a raucous affair, with the family, plus Sally, Sam, Ralph, Teddy and Bryan, a friend of Edwin's from the track team, all crowded around the table in the dining room. They were chowing down on chicken wings and cole slaw (a compromise from the steak Marti wanted), and were trying to keep from spitting their food all over the table in laughter as they listened to Sam and Ralph tell a story about their double-date last weekend. "So, anyway, this chick was stacked . . ." Ralph was saying, but was stopped short by George, who made a "clearing my throat" sound that indicated young ears, namely Marti, who was no fool and rolled her eyes at her dad.

"Dad, it's OK. I'm not a baby, you know," she said, straightening in her seat trying to appear taller.

"I know that, honey, but that still doesn't mean I want you hearing this," George said with an affectionate smile on his face.

"You can't have brothers like Edwin and Derek and not hear a few things," she said looking pointedly at Derek, who flushed and hung his head.

For some reason, this made the entire table crack up and Edwin beamed as he glanced around at the friends and family who meant so much to him. He couldn't ask for anything more. His eyes fell on Casey and he thought to himself, 'Well I could ask for more, but hopefully my wish will come true tonight.'

Sensing his eyes on her, Casey turned and looked at him, a small smile on her face. Her attention didn't stay long however, and Edwin knew it was because of everyone else around. She was still super-sensitive to anyone finding out about them, and not for the first time did Edwin wish they were older so they could live their own life – together – and away from judging eyes. After a moment of sulking, he snapped himself out of it and rejoined the conversation, which was now centered around Sally and her ribbing of Derek, who didn't look very happy about it. Edwin smiled to himself. He didn't feel as threatened by Derek as he once did, whether it was because of Sally or the fact that he knew that Derek and Casey didn't have much contact anymore, which was more than OK with him. It's not like he spied on them or anything, not really, but there was a time when he was definitely more aware of what they were doing than he was now. He grabbed another chicken wing and took a bite out of it. He couldn't wait to dig into the cake that Casey made for him. It was his favorite – yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Not very exciting, he knew, but he couldn't help what he liked. And he knew Casey made the best cakes-from-a-box that he had ever had.

"Edwin, would you like your present now?" His father's voice fixed his attention.

"Uh, yeah, that would be great," he said with a smile on his face. Unlike his brother, Edwin was a little more shy when everyone's attention was on him. He only wanted one person's attention – and that person was Casey.

"Great, I'll go get it," George said, getting up from the table and heading into the kitchen. Edwin looked at Nora, who seemed to be bouncing up and down in her chair, from excitement, he assumed, or maybe she just had to pee really bad. Her stomach was pretty big now, so who knew?

"OK, here it is," George said, handing over an envelope, which looked like nothing more than a birthday card.

Edwin raised an eyebrow, but opened it and found – a birthday card. He smiled and read it aloud, then opened the card, where a key fell out onto his lap. He picked it up and examined it. "What's this? Did you get me a Post Office box or something?" he asked, only half-kidding.

Everyone laughed, and George said, "No son, it's not a PO box."

Edwin tried again. "A locker at the bus station?"

"Nope," his father said, barely able to control himself.

"OK, I give up. Tell me," Edwin said, putting the key down on the table in front of him.

"Oh, come on, stop acting like you don't know . . ." Derek said impatiently before being cut off by George.

"Derek, shut it. This is your brother's day," he said before signaling with his hand for Edwin to follow him to the window. "Look."

Edwin shrugged and went to stand beside his father at the side window, which overlooked the driveway. He spied George and Nora's car, followed by the Prince, followed by another car. His heart leapt at the thought. No way, they wouldn't . . . would they? "Uh, Dad, is that a car?" he asked dumbly, making Marti snort behind him.

"Yeah, son. It's a car. Your car," George said softly in his ear, making Edwin turn to look at him. He looked totally serious and Edwin impulsively hugged him, making Nora tear up. Everyone at the table clapped and at that moment, he didn't care how stupid he looked hugging his dad; he was too happy to care.

Releasing his hold on George, Edwin moved back. "I, I don't know what to say. I thought we couldn't afford anything right now."

George smiled and shook his head. "Well, it's not much, son. It runs, but it needs work. I thought it could be a project for you and your brother to work on," George said, shooting his eyes to Derek who shrugged nonchalantly. Edwin knew Derek was trying to come off as uncaring, but he could see through his brother's act and knew by the smirk on his lips that Derek was pleased with Edwin's reaction. Edwin fought the urge to hug his brother, as that would just embarrass him even more. He vowed to thank him later.

"Wow, thank you so much Dad," he turned and met Nora's eyes, "you too, mom." Nora said nothing, but held her arms out and Edwin went to her and hugged her tight, thanking God that his father met someone like her.

"Well, are you going to go look at it?" Marti asked.

Edwin moved to his spot at the table and grabbed the key. "Hell yeah!" he said before thinking, quickly looking to his parents for their reaction. When they did nothing, he smiled and headed for the door. "I'm gonna take it for a spin, anyone want to come with?" he called behind him.

"Dude, everyone knows that when you get your first car, you have to take the ceremonial first drive by yourself. It's a rite of passage to becoming a man, even though we all know that you have a long way to go before that happens," Derek said snarkily.

Edwin was too happy to be pissed at that comment, and instead laughed. "OK. I'll be back in a bit," he said before heading out, leaving everyone to discuss his reaction and how happy they were for him.

Casey didn't say much, instead thinking of how upset she was when she first found out that George and Nora were buying Edwin a car. Why should he get his own vehicle when she had to share with Derek? "It isn't fair!" She remembered saying to her mother, who shrugged and said that they thought Edwin needed his own ride to get back and forth to all the meets and practices he had. They were finding it harder and harder to chauffer him around town, and with the baby coming, they were looking forward to it even less. Casey understood, she supposed, but she still didn't like it. However, as time passed, she changed her position on the subject, thinking that she could probably charm Edwin into letting her use his car if she really needed it.

A while later, after everyone had gone home, Casey was in her room, half-trying to concentrate on her homework and half-dreading the moment when she knew Edwin would be knocking on her door. The knock came sooner than expected, and she jumped. Shakily, she rose from the bed and went to the door, opening it to find not Edwin, but Derek. "Oh hey, I thought you were Edwin," Casey blurted out.

Derek's lip curled sardonically. "Well, I would say that I get that a lot, but really, I don't."

They looked at each other for a moment before Derek said, "Can I come in?"

Casey opened her door wider and motioned for him to enter. She closed it behind him and sat down on her bed. For some reason, her legs were shaking. "So, what's up?" she asked, not quite meeting his eyes.

Derek leaned against her desk and looked at her. "You look nervous," he commented off-handedly.

Casey twisted her hands together but didn't look at him. "Why do you say that?"

"I know you," he answered.

Casey forced herself to look at him. He was watching her with an expression on his face – it almost looked sympathetic. "Why are you here?" she asked softly.

Derek straightened up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Um, well, I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to go through with it – if you don't want to."

His statement made her freeze. 'What was he talking about? How could he possibly know about her and Edwin's plans?' She caught her breath and asked, "What are you referring to?"

Derek huffed out a breath and started to pace in front of her. "Case, I know, OK? Edwin hasn't exactly been quiet about it."

This made Casey whip her head up, a feeling of anger bubbling inside her. 'What the hell? Has Edwin been bragging to his brother about how he was planning on nailing his girlfriend on his 16th birthday?' Derek saw this and as much as he twistedly wanted Edwin and Casey to not get along, he couldn't let her think that Edwin had been bragging. Even he wasn't that low. "Case, chill. He only told me. He wanted advice," Derek ended softly, his eyes heavy on hers.

Casey let out a small breath. "Advice?" She was afraid to ask.

Derek snorted. "Yeah, apparently he doesn't think he'll be able to satisfy you or something." 'Damn, I didn't mean for it to come out like that.'

"Oh," Casey said softly, not looking at him anymore.

"So . . ." Derek said awkwardly. "That's all I wanted to say." He moved to leave and Casey jumped up after him.

"Wait!" she cried out, making him stop and slowly turn toward her, his face expectant.

"Why do you care?" she asked, her eyes pinning his.

Derek was silent for a moment. Why did he care? He didn't know, or maybe he did but just didn't want to acknowledge it. All he knew was he couldn't let the night pass by without telling Casey that. He dug deep for a smart-ass retort but came up empty. For once he decided to play it straight. "Because I care, that's all," he said before leaving. Casey stood there for awhile before flopping back on her bed and covering her eyes with her hands. Could her life get any more complicated?


She was sitting still as a statue at the end of her bed when Edwin came for her. Casey rose and opened the door to let him in. He immediately drew her into his arms and breathed deeply. "Mmmm, I never get tired of the way you smell," he said hugging her tightly.

She smiled and hugged him back but her fears remained. Moving back Edwin said, "This couldn't have worked out any better. I had no idea that we would have a car to use! I thought you would have to sweet-talk Derek into letting you use the Prince," he said, his eyes bright.

Casey looked at him and her heart ached. How could she back out now? "Yeah, that is nice," she murmured softly.

A somber look came over Edwin's face. "Case, what's wrong?"

She tried to make her expression blank. "What? Oh, nothing," she said turning away to grab her bag. Whatever did or didn't happen, she would be prepared for anything.

Edwin's hand on her shoulder made her turn back to face him. "Are you nervous?" he asked softly, his eyes earnest.

The look on his face and the tone of his voice made Casey want to sob right then and there, but she choked it down. "Yeah, I guess I am. I'm sorry."

"Oh Case," he said, putting his arms around her and rubbing her back. "God, I'm nervous too. I figure we'll get through it together, you know, teach each other things," he said into her hair.

Casey wanted to believe that everything would be all right, but she couldn't shake the uneasiness she felt about the whole thing. If she felt about him they way he feels about her, it would be different, she knew. And she didn't know if she could push that aside and just go for it.

Edwin moved back and ran a hand through his hair, which kept falling into his eyes. "Well," he said awkwardly. "Here's the plan: you're gonna tell Nora and dad that you're visiting Ashley and I'm giving you a ride on my way to a friend's house to work on a project for school. How's that sound?"

Casey nodded her head. It could work. "OK," he continued, "are you ready?" he asked, his eyes full of many meanings.

"Yes, I'm ready," she answered, squeezing his hand before following him out of her bedroom. On the way downstairs, they encountered Derek, who moved aside to let them by, his eyes heavy on Casey as they passed. She forced herself to keep moving and didn't look back.

After clearing it with the 'rents, they rode in silence to Ashley's apartment. Casey felt vaguely like she was going to throw up and tried to calm herself down, taking deep breaths, but trying to be discreet about it. She didn't want Edwin to know how much she was dreading this. 'Dreading? Really?' When they arrived, he parked his car in Ashley's spot and they exited, Edwin coming around to take Casey's bag and throw his arm around her. Casey felt like she was being escorted to her execution. She chanced a glance at Edwin, who looked like he had just won the lottery, but was trying to play it cool, no doubt for her sake.

Casey got out the key to Ashley's apartment and shakily opened the door. She gasped when she saw the place. Ashley had set the table with two dinner settings. The dishes looked new and were a deep red color. There was also a white tablecloth on the table, along with a centerpiece comprised of flowers and unlit candles. A box of matches lay on the table, along with a note, which Casey moved forward to read. She opened it and shifted away from Edwin to peruse it privately will he marveled at their surroundings.

Case – I took the liberty of dressing up the joint for you. I know you already had dinner, but there is fresh fruit, whipped cream and chocolate in the fridge. Use with caution, I don't want ants! No matter what happens, you deserve a special night. Love, Ash. P.S. If anything happens, I want all the details tomorrow!

Casey smiled. 'That girl!' No one else could put a smile on her face like Ashley. She folded the note up and turned to Edwin, who was standing by the door awkwardly scratching the back of his neck and shifting from one foot to the other. Casey felt a rush of affection for him and moved forward, taking his hand. "Come here," she said softly, pulling him in the direction of the couch. They sat down and Casey turned to face him, reaching out to smooth a wayward lock of his hair away from his face. Edwin closed his eyes at her touch and sighed contentedly.

They said nothing for a few moments, just gazing at each other. Casey's heart was racing and she was sure she was going to pass out. Long gone was the girl of a few months ago who made out with a stranger and her step-brother in the same night. Now she was just trying not to look like a baby and chicken out.

After a beat Edwin spoke, "Case?"

She reached forward and took his hand, their fingers twining together. "Yes?"

"I want you to know that these past few months have been the best of my life. Never in my wildest dreams did I think you would ever return my feelings," he paused to take a deep breath, then continued, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I could spend months, no years, looking at you." At this, Casey ducked her head, blushing hotly.

Edwin moved his other hand under her chin and gently lifted her head. "I mean it. But that's only the beginning. The real beauty is inside," he said, pointing to her heart. "You are the most caring, sensitive, smart, funny . . . well, there aren't enough words to describe what I feel for you." He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers gently before moving back again. "I love you Casey, and I want to show you. I want to be with you," he finished, his hand moving to caress her cheek.

'How can someone so young be so eloquent?' She thought to herself as her eyes involuntarily closed at the feel of his fingers on her skin. The touch of Edwin's lips on hers made her eyes snap open and she froze for a moment. He felt her stiffen and moved back, a quizzical look in his eyes. It passed quickly and he rose and moved to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and looking around. Curious, Casey got up and went to stand beside him. "What are you looking for?"

"Something to drink. I'm thirsty," he said, his eyes scanning the contents of the fridge. "Aha! Just what I was looking for," he said, grabbing a couple of wine coolers and pulling them out. "Thirsty?" he asked, offering her one.

Casey looked at the bottle for a moment before nodding and taking it from him. Those were actually her bottles anyway; Ashley knew that she liked them and bought them for when Casey would come hang out.

They opened their wine coolers and sat back down on the couch, but not before Edwin took the matches and lit the candles that were scattered around the apartment. He turned off the lights (except for the one above the kitchen sink) and went to sit next to Casey, who was trying to calm her nerves by drinking as much as she could as quickly as she could. "Whoa, you might want to slow down on that, otherwise you'll tip off George and Nora that something else went on than just you hanging with Ash," Edwin said.

Casey nodded mutely and put the bottle down on the end table next to her. Edwin did the same and moved closer to her until they were nose to nose. Looking deep into her eyes, he closed the distance and began to kiss her softly, his lips moving gently against hers. Casey closed her eyes at the sensation and tried to keep her breathing even. She and Edwin had made out hundreds of times, but this time was different. They both knew it. She could practically feel Edwin's racing heartbeat against her own, and it comforted her a bit to know that he was as nervous as she was. 'But was he nervous for the same reasons?' Well, she knew the answer to that, but the thoughts flew out the window when she felt Edwin's tongue at her lips, gently probing for entrance. Despite being torn, her body still responded to his touch and a small moan left her mouth. Edwin took that as permission to continue and deepened the kiss, his tongue moving against hers, almost in a rhythm. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him and scooted closer, moving him back against the couch and situating herself on his lap. She could feel his erection against her center and a rush of wetness flooded her panties. Her mind idly wandered as she kissed Edwin and she thought of the lingerie set she was wearing – one of the purchases she had made so many months ago. She wondered if he would like it. Casey could feel Edwin's hands moving over her back, down to her ass, where he squeezed and then moved to her hips to rock his body into her. She pulled away from his kiss to gasp for breath and buried her face into his shoulder, filling her senses with his smell. "God, Case, I want you so bad," he murmured, his tongue snaking out to caress the shell of her ear.

She groaned at the contact, but wanted to slow things down a bit. "Ed, wait."

At the sound of her voice, he leaned back against the couch, his eyes hooded with desire, his skin flushed from their kissing. "What?"

"Um, I want to turn on some music or something, it's too quiet in here," she said.

His eyes cleared and he straightened up a bit. "Uh, OK. Whatever you want."

She smiled and moved off his lap, going to the stereo and turning it on. Heavy metal blasted from the speakers, and she quickly turned it down, giving Edwin a sheepish look. "Oops," she said before turning back and looking through Ashley's CD collection, which numbered in the hundreds. 'This could take awhile,' Casey thought to herself.

A few moments later, she felt Edwin crouch down on the floor next to her. "Case, she has tons of CDs, you're not going to look through each and every one, are you?"

Casey whipped her head around to look at him, suddenly irritated. "Why? Are you in a hurry or something?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

He had the decency to look guilty, but didn't back down. "I'm just thinking we have to be home in like an hour and a half, that's all."

Casey hadn't forgotten their curfew. She knew exactly when they had to be home. It was the minutes leading up to that which made her . . . antsy. "No, I'm not going to look at each and every one, I just want to find something . . . perfect," she said, her eyes pleading with him to understand.

The look on his face changed and she knew that he did understand. "I'm sorry, baby, I guess I'm being a bit of an ass. Forgive me?" he asked, pulling out his pouty face, which always made her melt.

"Oh, alright," she said, leaning forward to peck him on the lips. "Hey, Ash said there's fruit and stuff in the fridge. Why don't you grab it and bring it over? We could feed each other," she said, trying to put him and herself at ease. 'I can do this.'

He smiled and rose. "OK, sounds good," he said before heading into the kitchen. Casey grinned and returned to sifting through the CDs, looking for the perfect music to make love to.


A while later, they were back in the car on the way home. Edwin lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, bringing a smile to her face. "Thank you for tonight," he said softly, "I had a great time."

She smiled back and answered. "I did too."

They drove for awhile until Ed pulled up in front of the house. He turned off the engine and turned to face Casey. "I love you, Case," he said sincerely.

"I love you too," she answered, because after all this time, she realized, she did.

I know, you hate me now, right? I'm sorry, I just had to do it. Could you find it in your hearts to review anyway?