A/N - I know I took a long time for this update. Sorry! Been busy, which led to me suffering from writer's block. But that changed today when I got a blast of inspiration courtesy of watching a film filled with blood and gore. (weird i know). Anyway, hope you guys like it, and please review. Thanks to all those who did, and all the encouragement. Now I'm nervous as to whether or not I delivered.
Anyways, thanks to all, and Enjoy!
P.S. - Do not own the actors, producers, sets or costumes. The show? Maybe ;)
Chapter 2-----
"Have you seen Casey?"
Emily Davis looked up instantly to meet the man of the hour. Panic settled in her stomach as she swallowed in vain. "Who?" She croaked.
Ben looked at her quizzically. "Casey McDonald? My bride to be? The person you're a maid of honour for?"
"Oh.. yeah.. Casey! Of course I know her." She said shaking her head nervously. "She was just.." She looked to her right, down the empty hallway.
"She went out?"
"Um.. yeah.. she did."
After a moment of looking at her intensely, Ben sighed. "Is she getting cold feet?"
Emily had to stop herself from choking on her own air. "No! No, she's not. She just felt stuffy."
"Oh. Okay. I'll just go check on her then."
Emily watched as the groom jogged out of the building. Opening her handbag quickly, she pulled out her cellphone and dialed her best friend. "Casey McDonald! I don't know if you've noticed, but you're not where you're supposed to be. At the rehearsal dinner! Where are you? You better get your butt here before we send out a search party. Soon." She sighed. "Call me." Hanging up the phone she went looking for them.
Where were they?
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"Sign it."
"I'm not signing it."
"Sign it."
Derek sighed. "I'm not sighing it."
"You have to sign it. I cant get married until you do."
Derek glared at the two individuals sitting opposite him. "I'm not signing it."
"Mr. Venturi." Daniel George said soothingly, earning another glare. "If you read the document before you, I believe that you would find Ms. McDonald's request is completely logical."
Derek ignored him, instead focusing his attention on the woman. "Completely logical? I can't believe you dragged lawyers into this."
"One lawyer, Derek. And he's a friend of mine who happens to work at a firm." Casey defended as she crossed her arms across her chest.
"I told you, you could trust me."
"And I told you, that if you really didn't have a problem with it, you should sign it."
"I'm not signing that."
Casey let out a slow breath. They were going in circles. Nothing was being done. "Just sign it."
He glared at her again. "No."
"Sign it." She said through gritted teeth.
He smirked. "No." Standing up with a flourish, he bowed slightly to the two of them. "Ms. McDonald, Mr. George I think we're done here. And as for the document, if you really want me to sign it, you could kiss my ass first."
With a final wink in Casey's direction, he left. Her hands which had formed into fists, hurt her.
Daniel turned towards her. "Maybe he wont say anything." She raised her eyebrows at him. "Or maybe he will." Handing her the papers, he stood up, ready to go back to work. "Get him to sign this. But if he's going to be difficult about it, I suggest bribing him. And if that doesn't work, go home and get dressed. You have a rehearsal dinner to get to in a few hours."
Casey looked down at the papers thoughtfully. "Thanks Dan. But don't worry. The one thing I can do, is to get Derek to do things he doesn't want to do."
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"You know, some people might think that you're stalking me." Derek mumbled as he stepped away from the apartment door, having left it open.
Casey glared at him before stepping inside and locking the door behind her. She was determined not to let him leave until she gets what she wants. "Stalking? No! But following? Yes!" She said sweetly as she tightened the jacket around her. In half an hour she was supposed to be at her rehearsal dinner, which her fiance and best friend had already left for, she didn't have time to play games. Unlike Derek, who was obviously planning on getting late, if the loose tie around his still-to-be-buttoned shirt was any indication. She watched him as he stepped in front of the hallway mirror and buttoned up his shirt. He ignored her, deftly going through the moves. "Why won't you just do it?" She asked in frustration. Watching him should not have brought back memories of the night before. Intense, hot memories.
He stilled, his hands now holding onto the silk fabric of his tie, his eyes still focused on his reflection. "I told you I won't tell him. You don't need to bring the legal world into it."
"Of course I do." She scoffed. "One day we'll be at a Christmas party with my six year old daughter and four year old son, and I would get mad at you for something stupid that you would do, and you would announce to the rest of the world that I slept with you days before my wedding. I can't let that happen."
Derek ripped out the knot he had just tied in frustration before facing her. "And you think that the only way to stop that, would be to threaten to file an action if I break our confidentiality agreement?"
Taken aback, she paused. "Yes." She whispered.
Derek covered his face in frustration. "God Case! You're just so... so..."
"So what?"
"You drive me crazy!" He advanced towards her. "We hooked up. Big freakin' deal. Lets just get you married off already."
"If you're not planning on telling anyone.." She pulled out the papers and pressed it into his chest. "Then sign it."
He looked down before he narrowed his eyes at her. "And we pretend that it never happened?"
"And we pretend that it never happened." She agreed.
He scoffed before turning on his heel and heading back to the mirror. Confused, Casey followed him.
"This is just a way to make sure that none of us slip up." She said calmly as she leaned against the wall next to the mirror as Derek tried to unsuccessfully ignore her.
He pulled at the tie a bit too violently. "I'm sure I won't slip up. You, I don't know."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What does that mean?"
He continued to watch his reflection as he tried to get a proper knot done a second time. "That means, that I know I can keep my mouth shut. You on the other hand, are a screamer." He said smugly.
Casey felt herself getting flushed. He was obviously talking about the previous night. "I'm not..."
"If you didn't want us to do the deed again, all you had to do was ask. You don't need to slap me with an injunction."
She was about to choke through a fit of coughs. "The fact that we will never do that again is obvious."
Derek stopped, his gaze meeting hers intensely. "Is it?"
She was choking. "Yes! Yes, we would never.." Her chest hurt. She couldn't breathe. He was suddenly very close to her. Staring at her. Just staring at her like he knew something she didn't.
He stepped even closer, closing her in against the wall. "You have to admit, we had a great time." His voice was soft. Barely above a whisper. His eyes seemed to be undressing her. Casey jumped as she felt his hand against her hip. He moved his fingers gently against her, teasing her through the layers of clothing she wore. She found it ridiculous that he could excite her even without technically touching her. "I would have never thought that I could enjoy kissing you so much." His other hand touched her thigh, just above her knee. "Here." His hand travelled up, resting on her hip. "Here." His palm was flat on her stomach. "Here." The side of her breast. "Here." His hand lightly moved up to her collar. "Here." He gently cupped her neck. "Here." He stopped, his eyes holding hers. It felt like the minutes were dragging. She wanted him to make a move. Her whole body was screaming to touch him and be touched by him. "And here." He whispered as his thumb brushed lightly over her lips.
What she should have done was push him away, demand that he sign the papers, gotten out of there, and got a restraining order against him that very night. But what she did was, lose her breath, enjoy his scent, and when he leaned forward and kissed her, she let him. And to make things worse, she responded, parting her lips and allowing him access. She kissed him back enthusiastically drinking him in any way she could. She moaned, and when she grind-ed against him, so did he. It was all so wrong. She could feel it crawling up her skin. But the pleasure drowned the little voice in her head. He was kissing her like she was his, which was ridiculous since she belonged to someone else. She belonged to someone else.
It took all of her strength to push him off her. "Fuck!" Derek swore violently as he moved away from her. His breathing was just as ragged. He took a few deep breaths before facing her. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
Why was she shaking? "I know." She ran her fingers through her hair which had been in a sophisticated bun, but now fell in messy waves across her shoulders.
He stared at her, his eyes heavy with realization. "I can't not touch you."
She was hearing things. Wasn't she? "Derek.."
"This is just crazy. We have a brother! Our parents are married. You're about to get married to my best friend. And.. I hate you." He sighed. "I hate you."
"You have a funny way of showing hate." She whispered.
"And so do you. I'm not denying it, Case. All I want right now is to take you in my bedroom. On my bed, against the wall, it doesn't matter. I just.." He reached for her before dropping his hands against his sides. "And I know you want the same."
She covered her face with her hands. "Oh God." He was right. She felt the heat rising within her just as he mentioned how he wanted her and where. "Oh my God." She was whimpering. But she couldn't help it. Was any ones life just as complicated? Taking a deep breath, she tried to relax and calm down her rapidly beating heart. If this technique had worked for her before countless concerts why shouldn't it work now? "Okay then. We will not stay in the same room unless chaperoned. Does that sound good?" Derek looked at her as if she had gone mental. "It's settled then. Let's leave now before we get late."
"That's it?" Derek called after her.
Pausing on her way to the door, Casey turned to look at him. "That's it."
"Okay then." Picking up his jacket, he led her into the hallway. It looked like he had easily shaken off everything that had happened.
The truth was she was supposed to be happy with his 'normal, insulting' attitude towards her, but she wasn't.
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Emily sat down and beamed as the others continued applauding at the touching, thoughtful and funny toast she had just delivered. She gave herself a mental pat on the back. Things have gone well. Everyone loved the food, and the drinks. Both families were getting along very well, and even Derek had behaved himself without adding any lewd remarks during his toast.
"I thought you were going to wear your hair in a bun." Emily said casually as she took another bite of the desert.
"What?.. Yeah.. I was.. Changed my mind." Casey mumbled distractedly as she straightened the curls around her.
Derek was staring awfully hard at Casey even though he was part of an animated conversation with the groom and other groomsman. His eyes met Emily's, then dropped to his own plate. What was going on?
Emily couldn't help it. She was like a psychiatrist who had two patients. Anything the step-sibs did was number ten on the interesting scale. The fact that they were having stolen glances at each other was in fact very interesting. She would have been distracted if Casey was talkative like she always is, but since she was mute this evening, this form of entertainment was welcome.
It was not only Casey who was blatantly staring when her cousin Vicky took the empty seat next to Derek. She was awfully touche. A pat on the shoulder. Her hand against his arm. Leaning into him. Whispering sweet and no doubt slutty things into his ear. Was she so frustrated that she had to move her hand across his chest? Was no one else seeing this? This was beyond inappropriate.
In one swift movement, Casey stood up, startling her, excused herself mumbling something about a restroom and left. Emily was too busy staring after her before she noticed that Derek had left his seat and was leaving the dinner. She looked around. No one noticed their absence. That's the price they pay for having a nice buzz. Curious, she followed them.
They had gone into an empty room. After waiting a few seconds, she softly opened one of the doors allowing her enough access to see at least half of the room. They stood at the two sides, Derek pacing as if he was agitated and Casey hugging herself. Again she wondered, what was going on?
"What I do with Vicky is none of your business."
"Of course it isn't." Casey snapped sarcastically. "Especially when she was blatantly flinging herself at you at my rehearsal dinner."
"Yeah. Your rehearsal dinner. You're the one getting married."
They were staring at each other. The tension could be felt even where she stood.
"I thought you said we should be chaperoned." Derek sighed.
"We should. But you followed me because you wanted to talk. So talk."
"I didn't want to talk. I wanted you to admit that you were jealous."
Casey scoffed. "Me? Jealous?"
Derek straightened in confidence. "Yes. Jealous. Admit it. The thought of Vicky and me on my bed.."
"Derek.." She whispered, her glance fixed on the floor.
"She kissing me.. and my hands.."
"Derek.."
"With me on top.."
"Stop it alright?" She snapped.
Derek smirked. "I think I finally got my answer."
Casey's eyes narrowed. "I'm just as jealous as you are."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ben? My fiance? Ring a bell?"
"I'm not jealous of him."
"Sure you're not." She started walking towards the door. "Then you wont mind me joining him in the coat rack."
His hand moved fast grabbing her arm to stop her. "You're not the type to go at it in a coat rack."
"Like I'm not the type to sleep with my step-brother two days before my wedding?"
Emily's jaw which had systematically been lowering with shock simply dropped. Her eyes, she was sure were probably the size of a china dolls'. Before she could comprehend anything else, she heard her name being called behind her. Casey and Derek turned towards the sound, only to see her shock filled features a second before she closed the door completely.
Turning around, she smiled grandly at the intruder. "Mrs. M, what are you doing here?"
Nora looked quizzically at her daughter's best friend. "I'm looking for Casey. Have you seen her?"
"Hm? Casey?" Emily looked down both hallways in panic. She couldn't lie on the spot. Could she? "She's in the bathroom. Needed to freshen up."
"Oh." Nora started moving away, but just as Emily sent out a sigh of relief, she turned back towards her. "What's in the room behind you?"
"This room? Oh, nothing. Just a completely empty room." Even to her own ears, her laughter sounded nervous.
Nora eyed her suspiciously. Pushing a protesting Emily out of the way, she opened the door and stepped in. Emily felt like her heart was going to burst in fear. But as she saw the empty room her mind drew a blank until she saw the open window leading onto a patio. She let out a relieved breath.
Nora turned towards her. "I'll be going back to the dinner. Just find Casey, okay?" Still looking suspiciously at Emily, she left.
Emily waited until her best friend's mother left before she rushed to the window. Everything was dark, she couldn't see the two figures she was looking for. Rushing out again, she closed the door behind her, determined to somehow find her best friend before anyone else notices that she's missing. She was about to reach for her cellphone, when Ben appeared around the corner.
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His breath was hot against her neck. "We should stop this." She moaned, her head falling back against the wall.
"We should." He muttered against the base of her throat. His fingers were fumbling with her dress. He cursed as he realized that her zipper was supported with buttons down her back.
"Derek.." He kissed her, stopping her protest. She was pulling at his shirt, having discarded his coat and tie. Within seconds, it dropped to the floor, and her hands grabbed for his belt. When her own dress fell to the floor, crumpling around her feet, he suddenly stopped and moved slightly away from her, his arms still holding onto her.
"Emily knows.."
"I saw her too, Derek." She tried not to snap. She was practically nude in front of him, and all he wanted to do was talk.
"And you don't care?" He asked her in surprise.
"Of course I care. I care about everything that has happened. Don't you think I realize that our parents are practically in the next room?" He instantly let her go. Bending down he picked up his shirt and put it on. Nothing says mood killer like mentioning your parents. Feeling embarassed, she did the same. She watched him as she zipped up her dress. "I think it's obvious why this keeps happening."
"Oh?" He mumbled, trying to conceal his interest.
"I'm nervous about the wedding and you're.. well.. you're always horny. I'm just another one of 'those girls'." She bent down to tie her shoes, enjoying the fact that her hair hid her features. She hadn't meant to say that. But she did. And she meant it. And the most important thing was, it hurt her.
"Do you have any good opinion about me?" He snapped.
Taking a deep breath, Casey set her face to be as neutral as possible and stood up to face him. "I'm giving you a compliment, Derek."
"A compliment?" He scoffed.
"You have successfully gotten rid of my nervousness. Now I am no longer anxious about my wedding, and you need not worry about this ever happening again." She sounded like she wanted to convince herself.
"You know what? Fine! We'll go with that story." Derek said sarcastically.
She couldn't believe they were having this conversation. "Good." She said uncertainly.
"Good." He snapped.
"Good." She always had the tendency to say the last word.
They stood there simply looking at each other until Derek turned on his heel and stormed out of their 'hiding place'. Casey followed, knowing that it was time to go back to her fiance and family, but the thought of her wedding in the midst of all this chaos weighed her down. She took her seat at the head of the table and smiled, accepting the wishes people heaped on her. Emily stayed silently by her side. Her gaze burning holes through her head. Casey knew that her best friend wouldn't rest until everything was explained to her. Looked like she had a long night ahead of her.