A/N: Thanks for the reviews for last chapter, guys!

~Angie

Derek craned his neck around the bleachers as far as he could without appearing too obvious, and then he checked the sidelines. It was the middle of the second quarter; he hadn't seen Penelope yet, and Desiree hadn't mentioned her. He was getting antsy just to get a look at her. "Where's your friend?" he asked his sister, feigning disinterest.

Desiree turned to look at him. "Penelope?"

"Oh, yes. That was her name," he said, as if he couldn't remember. "I thought you were meeting her here."

"I am. But she texted me earlier. Her flight was delayed, so she's going to be late." Desiree looked at her watch. "She should be here anytime. Did you ever meet her?" she asked as her eyes returned to the field. "Penelope Garcia?"

"Umm…" He pretended to think about it for a moment. "Maybe a few times in passing," he answered.

"I'm surprised you even remember her," Desiree said dryly. "You don't remember any of my other high school friends."

"That's because none of your other high school friends were really friends," he said bitterly. "They split not long after you had Carter. She was the only one who stuck around for you."

Desiree looked at her brother in surprise. "How many times did you say you met her?" she asked.

"Just a time or two," he said again.

Desiree grinned. "She really left her mark, huh?"

Derek chose not to respond to that, focusing intently on the game and his nephew instead.

Penelope Garcia put her hands in her jacket pockets and with a wistful sigh, she shivered.

"Cold, Penny?" her brother Payton asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they neared the football field.

Penelope laughed. "Not really," she answered. "I was just thinking how much I miss Chicago winters."

Payton's wife turned her head to look at her. "You know what will cure that?" she asked.

"What?" Penelope asked.

"Spending it here."

Penelope laughed again. "I don't miss them that much." She was surprised how much hadn't changed since she'd last been here. Bowen High School was just as she remembered. Structurally, anyway. But it somehow looked smaller to her now, less intimidating than when she'd attended all those years ago.

Aside from her brother, she hadn't seen a single soul she knew. While most of the people she'd gone to school with were too young to have kids in high school now, she hadn't seen anyone she knew from Payton's class, either. "What happened to everyone we knew?" she asked aloud.

"They got out of dodge," Payton answered. "Just like you did, Little Sister. Why don't you set a trend and move home?"

"My life is elsewhere now," she reminded him.

Payton sighed. "Elsewhere, USA. Sounds fabulous," he commented dryly.

Penelope laughed. "If you ever want me to come back again then stop giving me a hard time," she warned teasingly.

"Fine," he conceded. "Oh, look. There's your nephew."

Penelope's gaze followed his pointed finger. "Oh, there he—oh!" she said, her hand flying to her throat as James took a hit. "I forgot how brutal high school football can be."

Payton's wife, Darby, turned to look at her. "Tell me about it."

Penelope absently reached down and wrapped her fingers around the rope that sectioned off the field. Sweeping her eyes across the field for her nephew again, she spied a jersey that read Morgan across the back. She couldn't help but wonder if it was Desiree's son.

"Thanks so much for watching Carter for me tonight, Derek," Desiree said. He was six months old now, and she hadn't spent a night away from him since he'd been born. Not that she'd be out too late, but still…she'd be without him. She grinned. "Especially on a Friday night. I know how you like to prowl."

"Not a problem," Derek said, plucking his nephew from his sister's arms. He hadn't been 'prowling' in a few weeks—since he'd met her friend Penelope for the first time, in fact.

He wasn't sure what it was…possibly the fact that most women his age were looking for the same thing he was…and it was getting tired. But she'd been young and un-jaded, and he'd found it incredibly attractive. He'd been pathetic—hanging out at his mother's house in hopes of seeing her again, but he hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of her.

"We won't be out too late," she said.

"We?"

"Yeah—"

Desiree was cut off by footsteps on the stairs. "Thanks for letting me change here."

Derek's eyes flew to the staircase and he watched as Penelope descended the steps.

"Every time I get out of work I smell like 'Bubba's', and I can't go out smelling like a restaurant," she said. "Oh." She stopped short when she saw him. "Hello again."

"Hello again to you, too." The last time he'd seen her, she'd been sitting. Standing was much better. Standing, she gave him a generous glimpse of her womanly figure. Her curves were incredibly lush despite her age; he could tell by the painted on jeans she was wearing.

"Ugh," Desiree said studying her friends form. "This is why I never wear jeans around you."

"Why?" Penelope asked, looking down panicked. "Do they look horrible?"

"No," Derek and Desiree said at the same time.

Desiree gave her brother a dirty look. "They look fantastic," she informed her friend. "It's just that I don't have a curve in sight, and I'm a bit jealous."

Penelope laughed. "I am willing to share. I had all I could do to get these jeans up over my—" She'd been about to say hips, but that had just seemed too personal with Desiree's hot older brother standing there. "Ankles," she finished lamely as she felt her cheeks heat.

"Your ankles?" Desiree asked confused.

"Yeah. You ready to go?" Penelope asked quickly.

Desiree nodded, and without thinking, Penelope walked over to Carter, who was cuddled in his uncle's arms, and gave the baby a soft kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Buddy," she'd said softly.

He'd gotten a whiff of her scent then, and by the time she'd walked out the front door, he'd been so turned on he couldn't stand himself.

The boy in the Morgan jersey had just passed the ball to another player in the end zone, and Penelope cheered and clapped with the crowd around her. And then, suddenly, instinctively, she reached her hand up, surprised to find the little hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Her head flew around and scanned the bleachers before landing on a pair of dark chocolate eyes that were fixed on her.

Penelope's breath caught in her throat when she realized her gaze was locked on Desiree's older brother. She hadn't thought about him in years.

He'd done things to her insides that, at seventeen years old, she'd had no business knowing about.