Party
Derek Venturi stands from his step-sister's bed in her dorm room, tugging his jeans back on and fastening the button and zipper. His jeans are slung low on his hips and he's sifting through the pile of clothing on the floor for his t-shirt.
"So, what do you think?" Derek asks, his eyes fixed on Casey, lying on her side, her thin comforter draped over her still-naked body.
Casey props her head up on her hand, her other arm holding her comforter over her chest.
"I don't know," she muses, biting her lip. "Why do you want me to come?"
Derek laughs, shaking his head, leaning forward to press his lips to hers.
"Because if I skip one more party for you, the team is gonna revoke my man card," he jokes, standing back up and pulling his shirt over his head.
Casey scoffs, sitting upright, dragging the comforter along with her.
"You're getting laid," she points out, laughing lightly. "Isn't that the goal of going to a frat party? You're just skipping a step."
Derek crouches back down in front of her, placing his hands on her knees.
"Just come with me," Derek says, pulling his best half-smile.
Casey rolls her eyes, biting her lip, knowing she can't resist that smile.
"Fine," she concedes. "But won't it be kind of weird?"
Derek shrugs.
"Why? They know about you."
Casey sighs.
"Yeah, but they don't know. And it's not like I'm your girlfriend or something. Isn't it kind of weird to introduce the girl you're sleeping with to your friends?"
Derek laughs, standing, taking her hands in his and pulling her up with him. His arms wrap securely around her waist, her naked body pressing against him.
"You're the closest thing I've got to a girlfriend," Derek states, which makes Casey bite her lip. "You're my best friend, not just the girl I'm sleeping with. So, no, it won't be weird."
Casey's eyes scan the room. She recognizes a few people— random classmates of hers or people she's seen around campus, but she doesn't actually know anyone but Derek.
His hand is wrapped around hers as he leads her through the crowds of people, and she follows easily.
She feels out of place. Casey's been to a couple of parties since starting university, but it's definitely not her usual scene. She'd rather hang out with her closer friends in her dorm or even study, and most of her friends are like-minded.
Speaking of friends, Casey does finally see one person she knows across the room— her friend, Natalie, from her Biology class. She's standing against a pool table, twirling her hair as she talks to a guy Casey is pretty sure is on Derek's hockey team.
Derek leans up against a wall, his hands immediately moving to Casey's hips, pulling her close.
"Not so bad, right?" he drawls, tilting his head down to brush his lips against the corner of Casey's mouth.
Casey 'hmms', turning her head to kiss him, her hands dragging up his arms before coming to rest on his shoulders.
Derek always used to have this thing against PDA, but he started it, so Casey guesses he doesn't mind it now. And it's not really 'affection'. Affection requires feelings, which Derek Venturi decidedly doesn't do.
Casey's fingernails trace the line of Derek's jaw as his hands move to cup her butt, dragging her flush against him.
Casey wonders why Derek even brought her to this party if this is all he wanted to do. He could've just as easily kissed her and touched her in the privacy of her dorm room. He could've done a lot more too, but instead, he wanted to bring her to a party.
Casey stops thinking, though, when Derek's tongue swipes across her bottom lip, deepening the kiss.
Casey decides she can worry about Derek's motives later. Later, after he stops kissing her like he is and her brain turns back on again.
"Is that her?" Jake, one of Derek's teammates, asks, his arm draped over the shoulders of the pretty dark-haired girl he's been talking to all night.
Seth, another hockey player, shrugs.
"Must be," he says.
"Who are you talking about?" the dark-haired girl— Jake thinks her name is Natalie— wonders, trying to follow the two boys' line of sight.
Jake points to a couple on the opposite side of the room, a brunette guy and girl, arms wrapped around each other, attached at the mouth.
"That's Derek Venturi, he's on the team too," Jake explains. "And he's been hooking up with the same girl for like, five months, but he won't tell us anything about her."
Natalie laughs lightly, understanding. She'd be curious, too, if her friend was keeping a secret like that from her.
The couple across the room pull apart, but only just, presumably taking a breather. That's when Natalie recognizes her.
"Oh my gosh!" she shrieks, but it sounds quiet in comparison to the thumping music. "That's Casey McDonald!"
Jake and Seth look at her, eyebrows raised in confusion.
"She's in my Bio class! Nicest girl ever," Natalie smiles, taking note of the way Casey smiles up at Derek before he dives back in and captures her lips again. "We're friends. We talk all the time. She's never mentioned a friend."
Seth chuckles and Jake shakes his head.
"Well, if it is her, she's kind of an icon in our dorm," Jake laughs, his arm still lying across Natalie's shoulders. "Derek's 'S.O.S Girl' has been the topic of many a conversation in our room."
Natalie laughs in return and Seth nods in agreement.
"I find it fascinating that if Casey is the girl you guys think she is, then that means I know literally nothing about her," Natalie says, her tone light. "She always struck me as a steady boyfriend type of girl, not a casual sex girl. She literally doesn't even talk about boys— ever."
Natalie eyes the body language of the pair. She watches as Derek's arms coil tightly around Casey's waist, pulling her close. She sees how Derek looks down at Casey and brushes his thumb along her cheekbone as he cups her cheek when they pull apart.
Natalie also watches the way Casey's hands trace over Derek's chest, and how she looks up into his eyes and smiles, biting her lip nervously. And she certainly doesn't miss the half-smile Derek quirks when he leans his forehead against Casey's.
Natalie sighs. Derek's teammates are probably right. The attraction between Derek and Casey is so blatantly obvious, it's likely she is the girl Derek has been sleeping with. But Natalie also sees more. She sees the way they look at each other.
Natalie knows, just by observing the pair for a few minutes, that there's much more to Derek Venturi and Casey McDonald than meets the eye.
It's clear there's a physical attraction there, Natalie would have to be blind to not see that. But she suspects, maybe there's love there too— even if they don't know it yet.
Hello, friends. First, for those who knew, my surgery went well. I'm home recovering. Thank you for your well wishes. I appreciate it more than you know. Second, this one-shot is part of a series. It falls after "S.O.S." and before "Red-Handed", which are two other one-shots I have uploaded. This one, "Party" takes place approximately two months after "S.O.S." and one month before "Red-Handed". I do recommend reading the other one-shots in this series. I'm quite proud of them all.
After this one, the next one-shot will be the first one to take place after the events of "Red-Handed".
Thank you for reading.