"Why did you sleep with Roxy after you touched me the way you did?"

Casey looked deep into Derek's eyes, expecting an honest answer that she would never get. This was Derek she was speaking too. Her devious step brother; the master of lies. He had never been truthful about anything. Why should he start now? Especially when it concerned her.

She watched him lean his head back, drinking the remaining contents of the steaming black coffee before placing it on the nightstand. Leaning forward; elbows on his knees, he looked to be in deep concentration as if he were choosing his words carefully before speaking. There was a first time for everything.

"What do you want me to say, Case? I am who I. Roxy's not the first girl I've slept with and she won't be the last."

"But why last night?"

"Why not," he shrugged his shoulders and continued to speak with his dark curls bent forward. "God knows I'm not perfect. I don't even try to be, but..."

Derek's voice trailed off. Casey was listening to him with interest and understanding. Now was not the time to argue or pretend that nothing had happened between them. She wanted to know...needed to know.

"But?" she pressed him to continue.

Casey leaned forward on her knees, placing a gentle hand on his bare shoulder. His skin was warm and soft to the touch. She welcomed the feel. He tensed beneath the graze of her hand, but made no move to pull away.

"But you ran." Casey hadn't expect that. "You ran away from me so I pulled myself back to reality."

This conversation was not going to turn on her when it was his fault. "Just because I needed a few minutes to myself?" she kept her voice suprisingly calm. "That's why you had sex with Roxy?"

"You and I," Derek said with an exasperated smile, looking at her for the first time. "This can't happen. We both know it, so why does it matter?"

"Because it does."

"No, Casey, it doesn't. Do you think that I have enjoyed fighting with you all these years? Sometimes, yes. But not always." Derek stood from the bed and began pacing, his hands placed on his hips causing his boxers to ride a little lower. Casey's mouth went dry at the sight but she willed herself to focus on his words. "Dad told me hands off months before I ever met you. He told me how pretty you were both inside and out, how determined and headstrong..., and how beneath you I was."

"How beneath you I was," echoed inside her mind. She had told him that very same thing nine hours prior to this conversation.

"That's not something George would say," she commented softly.

"No?" his eyebrows shot up. "But it's the truth. Isn't it, Case? He did tell me that, in thoughs exact words. Just like you said it to me last night. I know that Dad was just trying to scare me...piss me off so I wouldn't even try. And it worked. I would watch you being so perfect, confusing myself on what feelings I had towards you. Annoyance, envy, hatred, lust; they were all blurred together. They still are."

Lust? "You never answered my first question."

His head shot in her direction. "Huh? Yeah, I did. I said it's because you ran and this couldn't happen."

"That's not a real answer and you know it!" Casey raised her voice for the first time.

Derek leaned down at an accelerated pace, placing both hands on either side of her hips, causing Casey to lean back against the wall. "I like sex. I fucked Roxy because I wanted to. Is that the answer you wanted, Spacey? You want the truth? If I could have gotten it from you, I would have. But this," he took her small hand into his large one and placed it against his rapid heart. "This is not what I felt with Roxy. I've never felt anything...for anyone, except you. I never asked for this." Derek face was mere inches from Casey's. She coudn't believe what she was hearing. He was pouring his heart out to her and the entire time she had stayed all but silent, letting him speak words to her, words that were truthful and honest.

"We're dangerous together, Case. Everything we touch turns to fire and one or both of us is going to get burned."

His words were forthright to a fault; all except for one.

"You arn't beneath me, Derek."

"Save it, Klutzilla. I don't need your fuckin' pitty." Derek turned away from her but she reached out, grabbing his arm and forced him to sit next to her. Casey placed both hands around his shoulders and leaned a chin against him. "Its not pitty. I was..." she knew that if Derek swallowed his pride, she could do the same. "I was jealous."

He glanced at her sideways with a look of suprise written on his gorgeous face. "Huh?" he asked in disbelief.

"I was jealous," Casey repeated. "I'm not like the girls that you date. I can't allow you to dance with me and then just let you into my bed. It doesn't work like that."

Derek remained silent and unstirring before nodding his head in understanding yet reluctance.

"I'm so confused right now." Casey said.

"That makes two of us."

They sat in silence for a long time, neither daring to be the first to speak. Where was a conversation such as this one suppose to go? It baffled her mind. She had been crazy about Sam, Max, and Truman...but this was where she had ended up. With her arms around Derek. Never had she been this close to any of her former boyfriends.

"When we leave tomorrow, maybe reality will strike us and things will become more clear."

"Were not leaving tomorrow."

She raised one perfect eye brow while her head still rested against him. "What do you mean?"

"There's water standing everywhere. We drive, we're liable to drowned. Not to mention, Prince is already under water. We can't get out."

"So what? We just stay in here for days and starve?"

"Naw. There's a convenience store across the street. I'll put on some shorts and swim over there." Derek pulled away from her gently, puttin on a pair of shorts, sandles, and a black t-shirt.

"You want me to come with you?"

"No. Stay here. I shouldn't be long. Anything specific you want?" he asked.

"I'll take a few bottles of diet coke. And make sure you pick up more than chips, please."

He smiled, turned to leave, then paused. Derek's steps retreated, making there way back towards Casey. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forhead that lingered. The act was so gentle that tears began to prickle behind her blue eyes. She held them back until the heavy door clicked behind Derek.

And then let pour down her face.

Thank you for reading and please review. I hope you enjoyed.