Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter Seven: Conversation and a Stroll

He was already there when she walked into the coffee shop. Derek smiled widely when he caught sight of her. Like a gentleman, he rose and helped her off with her coat.

"Thank you," she murmured, sliding in the booth across from him. He looked handsome in a dark blue pullover sweater with a white t-shirt underneath. His hair, as always, looked purposely "messy" and Casey had no doubt that he worked to make it look as such.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me," Derek said somewhat formally. He didn't want to come on strong, for he felt that communicating with Casey was similar to trying not to spook a deer in the forest. You never knew when she would run off.

"Well, I figured I couldn't turn down the guy who saved me," Casey said with a small smile on her face.

Derek tried not to stare openly at her, but she was so beautiful that he had a hard time. Today she was wearing jeans and a red t-shirt with a white hoodie over it. Her hair was down, except for a few pieces around her face that were clipped back. Derek didn't know much about make-up, but he knew that she wasn't wearing a lot of it. It looked like she was only wearing lip gloss and maybe some mascara. She was the type of girl who could wake up and go and still be the most beautiful woman in the room. Derek loved that about her.

"So . . ." her voice broke into his thoughts. "How are you?" she asked, her fingers picking at the placemat in front of her.

"I'm good," Derek answered, suddenly unsure of himself. "You?"

"Same," she said, her eyes down. She didn't know why she always felt so uncertain around him, but she didn't like it. Casey was used to shutting guys down and not feeling a thing about it. With Derek it was different. There was still a part of her that didn't want to get involved with anyone, but something about him attracted her. No doubt the fact that he rescued me, she thought.

"So, tell me about yourself," Derek said, his gaze intense.

Casey shifted uncomfortably. "What do you want to know?" She was hoping that he wouldn't launch into a grand inquisition. That always made her leery.

"Well, I assume you live around here . . .?" Derek trailed off, waiting for her answer.

She smiled. "Yes, I do." But she offered nothing more.

Okay . . ., he thought. "Do you live alone?" he tried again.

"No, I live with a co-worker and my sister," Casey answered, taking a sip of the water in front of her.

"Oh, you have a sister? Is she older or younger than you?" Derek could talk family if it meant getting to know more about this fascinating creature in front of him.

Casey sighed. "She's younger, but thinks she knows it all," her eyes distant, no doubt thinking of said sister.

"Oh yeah, I know all about that. I have a younger sister too. She's great, though. I would do anything for her and she knows it," he said with a slight laugh.

Casey smiled at the affection in his voice. She liked families that were close, unlike her own. The whole of her family was just her and Lizzie. "My sister knows how to push my buttons also," she agreed, starting to feel a little more at ease. This isn't so bad.

"So what do you like to do, Cassandra?" he asked, not realizing that the use of her full name and the way he said it made her skin tingle.

Casey took a deep breath. She didn't know why she was feeling suddenly short of breath, but she had to get control of herself. "I like to do a lot of things. I like to read, watch movies – but only ones that have happy endings – I like to dance, and take pictures, and be with friends . . ." she stopped at the look on Derek's face. "What?" she asked self-consciously. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked, brushing her hand over her skin.

Derek snapped out of his reverie. "What? Oh, no, I'm sorry. I was just enjoying watching you talk is all. I think you're fascinating," he said deeply.

"You think I'm fascinating," she said, making it sound more like a statement than a question. "Wow, you must not get out much."

This made Derek laugh. "Why do you say that?"

Casey shrugged. "Because I think I'm a pretty boring person."

"Oh, I doubt that," he said, his eyes caressing hers.

She felt her mouth go dry and took another sip of water. "So, are you hungry? I haven't eaten anything all day, and I'm starving," she said, grabbing the menu in front of her.

Derek was surprised. He was under the impression that they were just here for coffee and not a meal. A meal meant that they would spend more time together while they ate, which made him happy. He wasn't hungry, however, having had a big lunch just a few hours before. But he was more than happy to watch her eat – hell, he would be happy watching her do anything – take out the garbage, clean a bathroom, whatever. "Um, I actually already ate, but please, feel free to get something," he said, hoping she would take his advice. She looked like she needed to put on a few pounds.

Casey hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted to eat in front of him if he wasn't also eating. Her stomach, however, made its desires known with a loud rumble. Derek smiled, and she blushed. "OK," she said, waving the waitress over.

Lizzie was bored. With Casey out doing god-knows-what (she was very vague about where she was going), and Steph sleeping on the couch (and snoring loudly), Lizzie was about to go crazy. She had no real friends, seeing as she had only been attending the school she was now at for a few months, and there were no other kids her age in the apartment building. The only person she really knew besides Casey and Steph was Bob, and Casey explicitly forbid Lizzie from hanging with him. What she doesn't know won't hurt her though, right? She smiled and headed out the door.

A half hour later, Derek watched as Casey demolished a club sandwich and chips. She had quickly gotten over her fear of eating in front of Derek and was attacking her food with gusto. Derek thought she was the cutest thing he had ever seen. It always bothered him when women were self-conscious about eating in front of men. He liked a woman who wasn't afraid to dig in and enjoy herself. He was a big fan of food, and the woman he wanted to end up with better be too.

"Ugh, I am so full," Casey said, pushing her plate away. She caught Derek's eye. "I usually don't eat that much, really."

He laughed. "Case, don't worry about it. It's obvious you were hungry. There's nothing wrong with that. Besides, I think it's cute," he said before thinking. He hoped he wasn't coming on too strong.

Casey raised her brows but said nothing, instead wiping her mouth with her napkin. She glanced at her watch. She really should get home to Lizzie, who was probably climbing the walls from boredom by now. "Well, I hate to eat and run, but I really need to go," she said, motioning for the check.

The waitress came and dropped the check on the table, but Derek grabbed it before Casey got a hand on it. "Let me get this."

Casey shook her head. "No, that's OK. I didn't come here expecting to get a free lunch."

Derek smiled. "I know that. I want to."

His sincere look made Casey relent. "OK. Well, thanks. That's very nice of you."

His eyes sparkled. "You're welcome." They smiled at each other until the waitress returned to take the money.

"Can I walk you home? It's a nice day," Derek said, hoping she would agree. He was loath to part company with her just yet.

Casey looked unsure for a moment, but seemed to accept it. "Uh, sure. That would be nice."

They rose and Derek helped Casey with her coat. Together they walked out of the coffee shop.

Lizzie was already regretting coming here. She watched as Bob loaded his pipe with marijuana. He lit it and took a deep drag before handing it to her. She shook her head. "No thanks."

Bob exhaled and raised his eyebrows. "Why not? Isn't that why you came here?"

Lizzie refrained from rolling her eyes. "No. I came here because I had nothing else to do." Damn, her life was boring.

He inhaled again and held it before exhaling yet again. "Well, whatever. I'm just glad you're here," he said wagging his eyebrows at her.

Lizzie shifted uncomfortably. "So, where's your mom?"

He waved his hand in the air. "Probably at the bar getting drunk."

"Oh," she said, not knowing what to say to that. She let her eyes roam around the apartment. It was in even worse shape than theirs. Every available space was covered in dirt and clutter, and the place had a smell to it that indicated that either something had died, or their toilet was backed up. She rose to leave.

"Where you going?" He said, his eyes squinting through the haze of smoke.

"I'm gonna head home. Casey will probably be there soon, and she'll kill me if she knew I was here."

Bob laughed. "I can't believe you're afraid of your sister," he said mockingly.

Lizzie felt a flash of anger. "I'm not afraid of her! I just don't feel like getting into an argument with her about it."

"Yeah, whatever. Why don't you come back when you want to be a grown up," he sneered at her.

Lizzie huffed out a breath and left, slamming the door behind her.

Derek and Casey were standing on the stoop of the apartment building. "Well, this is it," Casey said, turning toward him.

Derek smiled. "So, now I know where you live," he said jokingly.

Casey felt a flash of fear before it passed quickly. Not all men are like Sam. "Well, you know the building but you don't know the apartment number," she retorted with a smile. The more time she spent with him the better she felt. Which in and of itself would usually concern her, but she felt none of that with him.

"So, are you going to tell me?" he pressed, his eyes on hers.

Casey thought for only a split second. "It's 2B."

Derek smiled widely. "2B, got it," he paused and added, "may I have your phone number? You know, in case I feel the need to watch a beautiful woman eat?" What the hell does that mean? He thought to himself.

She laughed then, a musical sound that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He could so get used to that. "I actually don't have a cell phone at the moment, but I tell you what, I still have your number, so I'll call you, OK?"

Derek felt like jumping up and down. "Will you really call me?" he asked before thinking. Oh, smooth, dude, real smooth.

Casey's eyes were warm. "I said I would and I will."

Derek couldn't ask for anything more. Well, he could ask when, but he didn't want to push it. "OK, I'll take that," he said. "Well, Casey, I had a great time hanging out with you and I hope we can do it again," he said with a slight bow.

Casey blushed. "Thanks. I had a nice time too, and thanks again for paying."

"It's no problem, really," Derek said softly, wanting so much to kiss her, but not having the guts.

She surprised him by moving forward and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Have a good day, Derek," she said before going inside, leaving him to stand there holding his cheek like an idiot.

He walked back to his car already thinking about the next time he could see her again.

Casey walked in to find Steph still crashed out on the couch. She snorted in disgust and headed for the bedroom. Inside, Lizzie was lying on her bed reading a book.

"Do you have your homework all done for tomorrow?" Casey said, not wasting any time nagging her sister.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "Yes, boss. It's all done."

Casey heaved out a breath and sat on her bed. She was feeling drowsy from the big meal she had.

"So where were you?" Lizzie asked, her eyes curious. Casey rarely ever went out without Lizzie, and she never not told her where she was going. Her big sister's vagueness was piquing her interest.

"Oh, well, I just took a walk. You know, it's such a nice fall day that I wanted to take advantage of it," Casey said, getting up and moving around, obviously nervous.

"Uh huh," Lizzie said not believing her for one minute.

Casey ignored her and continued to tidy up around the room. Lizzie sighed and didn't push it, too wrapped up in trying to keep her own secrets.

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