Author's Note- Edited.

Enjoy!

Forbidden

Anticipation

I really had nothing against Miranda. She was friendly and pretty and had a lot of things going for her as well as a bright future. And I wanted to be friends with her. I really did. But that was really hard to do when she was sapping any and all time I could be spending alone with Derek.

I took in a lot of comfort knowing that Derek wasn't too happy with her hanging around either.

I knew that things would have seemed easier if I had been able to confide in her just like I could with Liz and explain to her that, well, Derek was unavailable. But contrary to that desire, it would have made keeping the entire 'math professor dating one of his students' deal harder to manage. I didn't know Miranda well enough to know whether or not I could trust her with that kind of information. She didn't seem like a sleazy type of girl- despite her obvious attempts to get Derek's attention- but I couldn't be sure.

So Derek and I dealt with it.

We went back to secret glances and small, knowing smiles across the classroom during honors calculus as if the two of us had an inside joke that we couldn't get enough of. Derek would sit at his desk going through paperwork as he left the class to open study and I'd glance up at him to see him looking my way. I'd imitate falling asleep considering how dull the material was and he'd roll his eyes.

Then Miranda would squeal silently beside me and whisper something like 'Look! I think Professor Hottie is looking at me.' Then she'd give a cute little wave and Derek would glance away, as if he were studying his students to make sure that they were actually doing the work he had assigned.

It was worse during the study sessions. After the first week where Peter claimed he couldn't tutor Miranda, he told Professor Souza that he was available again but, Miranda insisted that she felt she was learning more having one on one time- or close to it seeing as I was very much in the way- with the math Professor himself. Derek couldn't fight that because, if she wound up failing, that'd be on his teaching credibility as an instructor. So she stuck around.

I half wondered as I sat on the sidelines observing- mostly to keep myself from blurting 'Back off, he's taken'- if I was just as bad as her as far as my prying questions and desire to get to know Derek. I liked to think that I wasn't quite as obvious seeing as how Derek was less than pleased and more than uncomfortable with Miranda's presence and constant questions. Most of the time, it was quite annoying. But there was this one moment that I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from breaking down with laughter. It was the following Tuesday and Derek was pointing out a few mistakes Miranda had made on one of the problems she was having issues with when she said, "Professor Souza you're so smart. Like genius smart. How is it that an intelligent, attractive man like yourself doesn't have a girlfriend?"

Derek's eyes flickered up to hers from her sheet of equations and his brows furrowed suspiciously, green orbs steeling over. My reaction however, was that of dropping my forehead to Derek's desk with a low thud.

"I do-" His statement was cut off with a grunt in response to me kicking his shin under the desk. He shot me a glare as I looked up and gave him a pointed look. I had missed Miranda's reaction but I figured her smile had fallen at Derek's confession, judging by her renewed, forcibly curious grin.

"Really? And for a moment I thought-" She let her comment fall before she asked with rehabilitated vigor. "What's she like?

Derek was silent for a moment, and I could see the gears in his head whirring as if he were trying to choose his words. I was sure that he wasn't about to go into explicit detail about his girlfriend. Hell, I was sure that he was going to change the subject and hope that she got the hint to mind her own business. But I still nicked his shin again for good measure when he opened his mouth to answer.

Derek slowly turned his eyes on me with a look that read, 'Kick me again and I'll start kicking back.'

"She's somewhat of a pain in the ass." He grumbled, still glaring at me. This time, when my foot moved, his came down on mine and held it there, his brow lifting as if in challenge.

To be honest, though Miranda replied with a goodhearted laugh and something that sounded like 'Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad,' I didn't really hear her. And I was pretty sure Derek wasn't really paying much attention to her either. As his hard look softened a hint and a light of mischief touched his green eyes, it was as if I couldn't really see, hear, or feel anything other than him.

Derek's large foot shifted off of my smaller one, but it never broke contact. It was nothing like some cutsie game of footsie or anything like that. He just simply left it beside mine and the physical contact, though minor, triggered something in my brain and my insides squirmed with a strange sense of anticipation. I chalked it up for the fact that Derek and I hadn't exactly touched each other since he kissed my cheek nearly two weeks ago at the diner.

It was getting more and more clear with each passing day that Derek and I needed to find some time alone together. If it wasn't school or work getting in the way, it was Miranda during our designated study time, Derek's family or even my friends. Though, Liz clearly got the picture because she was well aware of the fine line that Derek and I had to walk. However, Nate was oblivious and was simply easing his way back into being just friends. I was sure that Derek had told Simon- if Simon hadn't guessed himself- what was going on between us, but Simon was also occupying a lot of Derek's time lately with matters Derek merely categorized as important family business.

At least I had the upcoming weekend to look forward to. I had done as Derek had requested and had taken the eighth off of work as well as the ninth. I was pretty certain that he was taking me on a date- the idea in itself making my insides flutter with eager excitement- but he refused to tell me what we were doing on every phone conversation when I tried to bother him about it. I even threatened that I might not be that interested in going if he didn't even drop a hint as to where we were going. He saw right through that little fib and wasn't going to break. So I settled for sulking over it.

He did mention that I shouldn't really bother trying to dress up or anything like that, though, and I was introduced to the fact that Derek wasn't exactly a blunt man by choice, so to say. It was just his nature, like he was unaware of how his words would affect someone or how they would take it. Luckily, I just figured he meant that he wasn't going to drag me to some fancy restaurant or dinner on a yacht like you see in the movies. As if I wasn't already anticipating the date enough as it was. Now I was really stumped as to what Derek had in mind.

When Friday night came, I still had a bit of a struggle picking something to wear that wasn't the nicest clothes that I owned. I mean, I was so use to the whole 'dressing to impress' idea when it came to a first date after my minimal amount of such during high school. But then I had to remind myself that I didn't really need to impress Derek. Or that it was necessarily a first date. He already seemed interested in me seeing as how we've been 'dating' for the past three weeks and we had basically built up to a the moment of our first kiss over a couple months, so, this shouldn't have been as big a deal as my brain was making it.

I was ever grateful that I had Liz there to help me out.

"I'd just go with what you normally wear, Chloe. He specifically said not to dress fancy, so don't. But you don't want to look like a slob either." She added as she shuffled through my closet. "So you're everyday look would be more than fitting, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but my normal look is a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. That doesn't exactly catch his eye and make him think 'Wow. My girlfriend looks stunning tonight.'" I stated offhandedly, sitting cross-legged on my bed as I watched her shuffle through my shirts.

Liz laughed in a way that clearly expressed that she thought I was being silly. I didn't feel that way, though. I felt unsure. Again, this all shouldn't have been such a big deal, but I was so concerned about keeping Derek interested in me that I was worrying about things I never used to worry about. My appearance, for instance.

Perhaps Miranda's breathtaking presence was having a bigger effect on me than I thought.

"Chloe, relax. I'm sure Professor Souza almost worships the ground you walk on. At least, that's what Simon makes it sound like."

I blushed ferociously at the absurdity of her words, however, something about her comment diverted my attention.

"You talk to Simon?"

Liz beamed as she turned my direction, tossing me a deep, military green shirt that needed to be buttoned up and a light blue, V-neck t-shirt. She gestured for me to try them on before she answered my question.

"Yeah. When we left the diner the day he was there he offered to walk me to my car. But, as you know, I don't have one so I said I'd be happy if he walked me to my dorm instead and he did!" Liz squealed excitedly. "It's a bit of a walk so he asked me all these questions about myself and I thought he was just trying to be nice, you know? But then he said he thought I was funny and interesting so I gave him my number. We've been texting back and forth like nonstop. I can't believe I forgot to tell you this."

Liz bounced onto my bed as she gushed and I couldn't help the smile creeping onto my face at her apparent giddiness. I couldn't think of two people more right to meet each other than Simon and Liz. He was friendly, charming and sweet. Everything Liz herself was and deserved.

"So you like him then?" I asked, turning in front of the mirror as I looked at the blue top I had just tried on. I scrunched up my nose, not entirely fond of it.

"I don't know yet." She answered honestly, her tone dying down. "I mean, Peter and I did break up like right after I met Simon and I don't want to jump into an all new relationship just because he's nice, you know?"

I nodded as I buttoned up the green top, liking it more than the blue one before I even had it all the way on.

"That makes sense. But that doesn't mean you should push him away, Liz. Look at what you told me about Derek. Despite the impossibility of it, we're together because I went for it, just like you told me to. Maybe you should take your own advice."

"Yeah, you're right. But, I'm just going to give it a little bit of time. Maybe it's time that I let the guy make the first move."

I shrugged, accepting that Liz was done with the conversation. Usually, if she was the one closing something, that meant she didn't want to harp or dwell on it so that she could clearly think of a good solution or answer to her own questions. Nate was the same about these things in a way. I guess now I know that the reason he always seemed hesitant whenever I brought up girls was because he was interested in me. For Liz, it just seemed like she didn't want to feel as if she were moving on from Peter too quickly.

Liz agreed that the green top was better than the blue one but still suitable to Derek's suggestion. For the next half an hour we talked about things that might happen tonight, but Liz mostly expressed all that typical first date stuff and I was still sure that it wouldn't be anything like that. All I really wanted was to spend some time with him, talk to him like we did before break and my final for last term. Hell, I even wanted to kiss him again, even if it was nothing more than a small peck. We might see each other almost every day, but it felt like we hadn't really been around each other for a couple weeks.

When seven o'clock rolled around, Liz left my dorm and I grabbed my lightweight jacket and keys, making my way out of my room myself. Derek had thought about picking me up, however, it wouldn't really look good if anyone on campus saw a fellow student climbing into one of the Professor's cars. So he gave me directions to his apartment about an eleven minute drive away somewhere on W 66th street. Something about the street number nagged at my memory but I placed that thought on the back burner and followed Derek's -rather intricate, might I add- directions.

It wasn't until I pulled onto 66th that I realized exactly where in the city I was. Derek lived southeast of Lincoln Square, meaning he was only a handful of minutes away from Juilliard.

I noticed the address of the apartment complex and pulled into the parking lot. It was nothing fancy, but it wasn't anything dingy either. It seemed homey, the building being a large one, giving off the essence that the apartments inside were well spaced between each other as well as the apartments themselves. It was nice.

I spotted Derek's dark car before I noticed him. It was funny how I could hardly remember the one time I had been in it and could easily pick it out in a crowded parking lot. Derek was leaning against the driver's side door, eyes trained somewhere across the street. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans, much like what he wore every day and a rather form fitting plain, gray t-shirt. Though I had seen him in less formal attire before, this was probably the most dressed down I had seen him. Maybe because whenever he came into the diner he was wearing a jacket due to the fact that it was still winter. For early February, though, it was surprisingly warm so his attire was fitting. Not only that, I actually enjoyed seeing Derek like this. Sure, he looked nice in his dress shirts but, I liked the idea more of going on a date with Derek and not Professor Souza.

I pulled into the parking space on the left side of Derek's car, smiling when his eyes bounced in my direction as my intrusion pulled him from his thoughts. His lips quirked and he gestured towards his own car, beckoning me to get in. I shook my head and rolled down the front passenger window.

"I don't mind taking my car." I told him over the rattle of the old thing. "I wouldn't want you to waste any gas."

He leaned in, arm resting on the top of my car as he bent forward to address me.

"You don't even know where we're going."

"You can give me directions." I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Chloe-" He started, ready for an argument before I interrupted.

"Really, it's fine. Just get in already."

Derek rolled his eyes and straightened. He mumbled a quick 'Fine,' though he turned and started making his way around the front of my car. My brows furrowed as I watched him, confused by the fact that he agreed but still refused to get in. When he made it to my door I blanched as he opened it.

"What're you-"

Derek bent over and reached in past me, his fingers finding my keys and pulling them out of the ignition.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, still bewildered.

He then reached for my seat belt and undid it before grabbing my hand and tugging me out of my car as I protested. When we were both upright and Derek had shut the car door while prodding me in the direction of his, I threw a glare back at him.

"Do you have some sort of need to be in control?"

Derek smirked.

"Something like that."

He led me over to the shotgun seat of his car and even held the door open for me like a gentlemen. I wasn't having it. I huffed and remained rooted to my spot until he became impatient- which didn't take very long- and muttered "Would you stop being so difficult, Chloe."

I wasn't really the one being difficult here. We seriously could have taken my car and that would have been that. But I had to remind myself that this was Derek's thing, his date that he initiated and I might as well go with it and be cooperative.

But not without throwing in my own jab first, just because I had come to learn that it was almost fun to get that 'I don't really appreciate that' reaction out of him. He teased me occasionally, so why couldn't I have a little fun?

"You know, this can be classified as kidnapping." I said evenly.

Instead of getting the disapproving look that I was expecting, I got one that almost seemed like he was about to say, 'I'm going to leave without you.' I laughed and finally got into his car, a mixed smell of a typically clean vehicle and a hint of his own scent filling my nostrils as I did. Again, it was familiar despite my lack of memory from New Year's Eve.

When Derek pulled out of the driveway, I remembered my little discovery and said, "You never told me you lived a few blocks from campus."

"I don't," He rumbled, confused. "Campus is ten minutes back where you came from."

"No, I don't mean the University campus. I mean Juilliard." I explained gesturing in the general direction of the school. Realization dawned on his expression.

"Yeah, Simon and I played for which school we'd live closer to when we were picking out a place to stay since I work at NYU and he's over here."

"Played?" I asked. Derek shrugged.

"Rock, paper, scissors."

I raised my eyebrows and when he caught my expression he straightened somewhat and set his eyes back on the road self-consciously.

"Shut up." He grumbled. I resisted the urge to giggle and we fell into a comfortable silence as he pulled onto a bustling, Friday night highway. I wanted to ask where we were going- for the millionth time- but I knew the effort would be fruitless so I settled on eagerly anticipating our destination.

Though I lived in the city for the past couple of years, I never really spent too much time outside campus other than working at the diner. I spent a lot of time focusing on my studies knowing I'd have time to explore during my final two years of college when I expected to be taking a significantly lesser amount of credits. Because of that, despite trying to recognize any specific landmarks, I had no idea where Derek was taking me. We probably drove for about fifteen minutes on a route I wouldn't be able to copy, let alone even remember, when Derek spoke up and told me to open up his glove box.

I did as he said and found a maintenance manual for his car as well as a black scarf.

"You're going to have to put that on." Derek said, nodding at the small, dark cloth. I gave him a questioning look, not really understanding why he wanted me to wear a scarf. It was relatively decent weather for a February evening and I didn't really see the necessity of it. But then Derek added, "To cover your eyes."

"You're kidding," I muttered, eyebrows shooting up. He expected me to blindfold myself?

Derek turned his eyes on me and they were alight with an eager excitement that I wasn't sure I had seen before. He looked like a twelve year old about to visit an amusement park and I almost felt guilty for denying him of that fun. Whatever he had planned for me, he was clearly very zealous about it and I wasn't about to ruin his surprise with questions.

"Alright, I'm trusting you." I sighed before blinding myself with the scarf and tying it into place. The last thing I saw was the curve of Derek's lips and the flash of his white teeth as he smiled.

After what seemed like another five minutes, the car slowed. Derek veered to the left and the car came to a stop. I could only assume that he was parking and I was proven correct by the sound of the motor dying.

"Stay there." Derek's voice rumbled. "I'll come around to get you."

I agreed, feeling around for my seatbelt and clicking it undone. Derek was on my side in a matter of seconds and he opened the door for me and took my hand in his, helping me out of the car. To say the least, it was much gentler this time around than when we had argued over who was driving.

"You okay?" He asked once I was out, surely just checking to make sure I was still comfortable with the whole 'blind and unaware as to where the hell I was' idea. I nodded, unable to fight a smile.

"Just a little bit longer." Derek whispered, his warm fingers lacing in between mine and sending a zing through the length of my arm.

Derek guided me with his grip and his voice, slowly easing me through what I believed to be the parking lot until he stopped for a moment and there was the sound of keys clinking together. A door was opened and Derek ushered me through it. If I thought I was dying of anticipation before…

After a couple more minutes of turns and reassurances from Derek that we were almost there, there was the sound of another door opening and we walked through. Then Derek turned me to the right where we went forward a few steps more before he mentioned that there was a small ledge to step up onto on the left. I did and my foot came down on… dirt? Derek continued to pull me along as I listened and felt dirt crunching beneath my feet, completely out of guesses as to where we were at this point.

"Derek-"

"Almost, Chloe. Just a few more steps."

Not even a second after he said that, the terrain beneath my sneakers unexpectedly changed. I hesitated only a little as I felt something rough with texture underfoot, as if I were walking on really course carpet.

What the…

And then, Derek stopped. I glanced up in his direction, or at least made the motion to if I could see. Were we there? The question was on my lips as Derek moved behind me, releasing my hand. There were a few tugs on the scarf substituting as a blindfold as he undid a knot and I felt my heart stagger impatiently. I held in a breath as the grip of the cloth loosened around my temple.

"Ready?" He murmured, leaning into my ear. He held the scarf over my eyes, awaiting my answer. All he had to do was let go of it.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The fabric fell and my eyes snapped open. Suddenly, that air I had been holding in my lungs was whipped from them in a quick whoosh as the site rendered me utterly stupefied.

"Oh my God…"