Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed--every time I receive a new one I literally dance in my seat! (it's very sexy). Keep them coming!
Disclaimer: If I owned Life With Derek, it would be set in Saudi Arabia, fourteenth century. Derek would be a prince, and for his sixteenth birthday his father King George buys him a servant girl named Casey. She's an exotic dancer, a perfectionist, and Derek's personal sex slave… Unfortunately, LWD is still set in Canada, where prostitution and slavery are both illegal.
"It was a bet," Casey announced.
Emily turned to her friend in confusion—after all, the movie had been playing for fifteen minutes without either of them saying a word. "What are you talking about, Casey?"
"A bet! It's the only logical explanation. Derek must have made a bet about kissing me with Sam, and he got out of it by kissing me on the forehead. It's the only logical way that that would have happened!"
"Casey…you and Derek hate each other," Emily said in exasperation, wanting to return to Casa Blanca. "Why would he make a bet where he had to kiss you?"
But Casey had already worked that out during the opening song. "He must have been bragging about all the girls at school liking him, and Sam told him to prove it. So they made a bet of who could kiss a certain girl first, and Sam chose me as the girl because he thought Derek wouldn't do it!"
Emily gave up completely on trying to hear the movie over Casey's tirade and hit the pause button. "Casey, you're his stepsister. Not even Derek would go through with a bet like that."
"What about the time Derek got George put on probation at work by pretending his boss was a telemarketer? And he almost sat through a punk concert so I couldn't go on that date with Trevor—"
"Okay, okay. So maybe it was a bet. But why does it matter? It's not like Derek kissed you on the lips. I kiss Dimi on the forehead all the time."
"Dimi isn't seventeen!"
Emily sighed, running a hand through her curls to brush them out of her face. "Look Casey, that isn't the point. Stop dwelling on this and just be glad that Derek was being nice to you for once."
"Emily, I don't dwell on things. I'm not a dweller! If I had a list of things I don't do, 'dwelling' would be at the top. Actually…I do have a list of things I don't do…and I'm going to put 'dwelling' right above football. In capital letters." She breathed for the first time since the beginning of her rant. "In big capital letters."
"Casey…"
"Oh." Casey sighed ruefully. "So that's what you meant by dwelling. Okay, so Casey McDonald is a dweller. But can we get to the problem here?"
Emily waited to respond while Lizzie and Edwin came running down the stairs, arguing about what to do for their joint birthday party that year. When they were safely out of earshot, having left to go to the local pool, she asked, "Casey, what problem are you talking about? I don't see how this is an issue. Just stop dwelling and forget about it."
Casey sighed, muttering, "I am not dwelling," under her breath, and grabbed the remote to play the movie again. Emily settled back into the couch, glad to have solved the problem.
Pacing the room, Casey muttered to herself, "Call him…don't call him…call him…don't call him…call him…" for several minutes before finally pulling out her phone. Dialing a number by heart, she listened to three rings before it finally picked up.
"Hello?"
"Sam, it's Casey."
"Hey Casey, what's up?"
"I know calling you is kind of awkward, since we broke up a few months ago, but I really have to ask something. Did you and Derek make a bet about me?"
There was a pause. "Who told you? It was supposed to be a secret!"
"Oh—um—I don't know. I just heard it around somewhere."
"Well," Sam paused. "I'm sorry if it offended you. I didn't want to hurt you, I swear. No hard feelings?"
"Of course not!" Casey laughed, thinking, "Not towards you, at least."
"Anyway, I'm in the middle of a game of Babe Raider, so I'll see you at school, okay?"
"Yeah, it was good to talk to you, Sam. Want to meet for lunch tomorrow?"
"Sure. Bye, Casey."
"See you tomorrow!"
Derek pulled away from the vent in his room that connected to Casey's, prepared to barge in there and give her a piece of his mind. Although he had only gotten to hear the last minute of the conversation, what he had heard was Casey flirting and making plans with Sam, who she had broken up with months ago! And even worse, she was dating that idiot football player now.
It wasn't right for a girl to mess with a guy's emotions that way.
Yanking his door open, he strode down the hall to Casey's room and strode in.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" they both demanded at the same time.
Casey glared. "Der-ek, get out! You're so inconsiderate!"
"Me? Inconsiderate? You're the one messing with Sam's mind when you're dating that football dunce!"
Casey felt her face turn red with anger, and felt her fists clench. "What are you talking about? First of all, I would never cheat on Max, who is not a dunce, by the way. And you are the one messing with my mind. You pretend to be nice to me, and then I find out it was all for a bet!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb!" Casey exclaimed, shoving him backwards, only pushing him a single step back. "Sam just confirmed it!"
"Space Case…The only bet I've made about you with Sam lately is about how long it'll be before that scumbag dumps you."
"His name is Max!" Casey placed her hands on his chest and pushed, this time pushing him two steps. "And if this isn't about a bet, then why were you pretending to be nice to me?"
Derek smirked. "I'm always nice to pretty girls."
This time Casey pushed him so hard he hit her bedroom door. "Don't pretend I'm one of the blonde bitches you're hot for, okay?"
Derek grabbed her wrists and spun her so that she was the one pinned against the door. He leaned very, very close until she could feel his chest against hers every time she breathed, could feel his leg against her own (she still couldn't put weight on it) and had to look up to see his eyes, which suddenly seemed darker than usual.
Derek leaned in and Casey turned her head away in disgust. His lips were right next to her ear; she could feel his warm breath and it sent shivers down her spine.
"Sometimes," he whispered, "I get hot for brunette bitches."
Hey, please review! I love getting feedback because I want to know what you guys think. Plus, I'll get the next chapter up by the time I get 12 reviews for this chapter. Hope you liked it!