Author's Note- Edited.
Enjoy!
Forbidden
Ignition
The rest of the date was far less depressing but not any less personal. Derek walked us back towards the Yankee's logo painted onto the artificial grass and asked if I was hungry. Considering the fact that, despite not knowing where he was going to take me tonight, I did think that there was a possibility of food being involved, therefore I hadn't eaten since lunch. I told him that I was starving.
Derek walked back into the pit and pulled out a large picnic basket. So even if the stadium playing as the venue wasn't a huge cliché, the picnic dinner was and I teased him for continuing to take Simon's dating advice. The gesture was very sweet though, as he had packed slices of green apples. My favorite and his.
After that, Derek attempted to teach me what little he knew of baseball. That mostly consisted of him pitching and me trying vainly to hit the ball with the bat.
"Just keep your eye on the ball." He called over to me from the pitcher's mound after my umpteenth strike. I rolled my eyes.
"I am. I watch the ball, but that doesn't really help with trying to hit it with this thing." I said, waving the bat.
"That's because you're supposed to swing it, not flail it around like you're trying to beat someone with it." He muttered, I could tell he didn't expect me to hear him from as far away was he was standing, but I did and I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Nice." He deadpanned. "What are you, six?"
"Seven, actually." I laughed. Derek shook his head and prepared for another pitch, giving me time to gear up for the ball. I still missed.
I didn't really take that to heart though, as a thought crossed my mind when Derek questioned my maturity by my age.
"Wait," I started, lowering the bat. I glanced up in Derek's direction as he gave me a questioning look.
"You were adopted when you were five."
Derek frowned but still said, "Yeah."
"Then your dad waited ten years before he sent out a search for your mother, and ten years after that you still hadn't heard anything from her." I pressed on.
At this point Derek was giving me a look that read 'So get to the point.'
"That makes you twenty-five."
Derek's confusion fell to an annoyed expression. But he went with it.
"In about two weeks I will be."
So Liz had been right about her guesstimate of Derek and Royce's age, being no more than five years older than us. In this case, Derek was barely four years older than me and was already a college Professor. The whole time I had him pegged to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and considering where he was in life, him only being a good amount of years younger than that was quite impressive.
It didn't really matter to me though. Up until this point, I hadn't even thought of asking him how old he was. I guess age didn't matter to me. Unless of course Derek were a middle-aged man nearly twice my age. Then I'd probably be a little more concerned about our relationship. Hell, people found love in those instances, I just wasn't sure how I would have felt about it.
Regardless of all that, I had just learned a valuable bit of intelligence. Derek's birthday was at the end of the month. Definitely good to know. I was going to have to get in touch with Simon about that one.
"But," Derek added with furrowed brows. "You already knew that, Chloe."
"I did?"
He gave me a look as if wondering why on earth I couldn't recall actually knowing his age, which, I thought was strange, really. I know I had never asked before. Then, he seemed to realize something and a smirk played at his lips.
"You don't remember much of New Year's Eve, do you?"
I felt my cheeks flush. If I thought that I had already stressed enough about what else had happened that night in Derek's car, I was wrong. Why did I still have yet to ask him what else had transpired other than him scolding me for not taking better care of myself? To be honest, I had figured that that was all that had gone down. Derek lecturing me. And I simply thought that, if that were the case, then maybe I should just let it be a fuzzy memory. However, as the dark suburban scene fading into the lights of the city beyond the confines of Derek's car, as well as the uncomfortable tension being exchanged between us came into focus, I realized that perhaps I should have tried harder to unravel the mystery of that night.
"Regardless, you did something reckless and you nearly got yourself hurt."
Silence fell upon us for a moment and I couldn't help but wonder what Professor Souza was so angry about. I mean, I wasn't hurt, right? I was here, safe, with him and he had nothing else to worry about. So why was he so frustrated? Why was he coiled up so tight that it seemed he'd explode if you poked him in the wrong spot? Hell, why did he have to seem like that all the time?
"You're such a grouch."
Not the most mature response but it was true. I turned his way and watched as, though his eyes were on the road, his face went from agitated beyond comprehension to a 'Did I just hear her right?' kind of expression. His look brought a silly thought to my mind. One from a while before when Liz had been justifying the reason for the plethora of girls' attraction towards our instructors like Professor Souza and Professor Banks to Nate, but it had been later on that evening after my first study session had ended.
'Did you see Nate's face?' She laughed. 'If WTF had a designated emoticon, it would have been that face.'
I felt that statement applied here as Professor Souza shot me that very look.
"What?"
"You heard me." I stated factually. "You're a mean, old grouch."
"What does that even-" Professor Souza started, seemingly unsure on how to respond. I shrugged. It wasn't rocket science. Just stone cold facts.
"You can be really strict when you teach and sometimes you get snappy. You act like a grumpy, old man."
"I'm not snappy." He snapped, sounding awfully defensive. I raised an eyebrow and his grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point that his knuckles turned white.
He took a minute to recoup, inhaling deeply and calming himself before starting over.
"I'm strict because it's not my job to sugarcoat things for my students and hold their hand for the entirety of the term. I'll admit my patience isn't up to par, but that doesn't make me a- what did you call me?"
"Well, at first I said you were a mean, old grouch. But then I went with grumpy, old man. It seemed more fitting."
"I'm not much older than you, you know." Professor Souza rumbled, his annoyance very apparent. I thought about that for a second.
"The point wasn't so much your actual age but how old you act. So even if you're like eight or nine years older than me, that doesn't change the fact that you come across as a man ready for retirement."
Professor Souza rolled his eyes, showing me that he was done with this conversation. I took that as a victory and hoped that maybe he would think of my words the next time he wanted to belittle one of his students for not paying attention in class. Even if they deserved it.
However, my win was short lived as it became far too quite in the car for my liking. I was about to tell him the number of my dorm building so that he would know where to take me before he spoke.
"Try about four."
"Huh?" I mumbled stupidly, confused.
"That's how many years I am older than you. I'm twenty-four."
"Oh."
When everything past that moment started to fade again, I cursed the universe and mentally informed it that I wasn't very fond of this game it was playing here with its unhelpful little bits of memory.
"Right. No, I remember that." I muttered.
"What else do you remember?" Derek asked.
"Just that in reaction to you lecturing me."
"I wasn't-" Derek stopped when he caught my smirk and frowned. "I didn't want to discourse you, Chloe. If it had been just another one of my students, I would have done the same, but left the lecturing as someone else's job. But it wasn't just another student. It was you and I was-" He seemed to struggle for a moment to find the right word and I smiled.
"Worried." I said for him. His shoulders notably slacked and I could have sworn that I heard an exhale of relief that I understood.
"Yeah."
If we hadn't been standing so far apart, I probably would have kissed him. Derek had the right intentions, but not the greatest ways to go about them. I'm sure that might become bothersome in the future- Derek being the seemingly overprotective and looming over your every mishap type- but, in the moment, it was sweet. It made me wonder just how long Derek has been looking out for me, cared for me.
Instead, I settled for smirking and lifting up the bat.
"Are you going to throw the ball or what? I know I can hit it this time."
Derek pitched for what seemed like an endless amount of time and I still had trouble hitting the damn ball. When I had failed to swing so bad that the momentum left in the swing had brought the bat all the way around to hit me in the back of the head, Derek announced that we probably had enough of baseball for one night.
I was disappointed. I had really wanted to hit at least one and, when Derek saw my forlorn expression, he heaved a sigh and came up to me from the pitcher's mound. He told me to hold the bat as if I were about to swing. He made his way around me before he started adjusting the position of my arms and legs from behind me. I felt my cheeks heat as his large hand touched the small of my back and he murmured for me to adjust my posture.
"I think your problem is your stance." He commented.
"Are you sure?" I asked. "I mean, it's not that hard to stand in one spot and swing. Maybe the bat is too big for me."
"No, it's aluminum with no added weight."
My brows furrowed, trying to concentrate on his words despite feeling his hands now on my waist as he turned me a little to the right, positioning me perpendicular to the pitcher's mound.
"And that means?"
"It means that it's no more than about twenty ounces. Considering your height is around sixty inches, you can handle anything between twenty-four and twenty-six ounces. So you can't blame you're lack of ability to swing a bat on the bat."
I could practically hear the smarmy little quirk of his lips.
I grimaced as he motioned for me to bend my knees a little.
"So suddenly you're an expert?"
"Yes."
He touched my shoulders, suggesting that I relax them.
"But you said that you didn't like baseball."
"I don't. But I do appreciate the amount of physics used to play it, which is probably what my mother was reading from when she thought I was so compelled by it."
"How is physics involved in baseball?" I asked, wrinkling my nose in distaste towards my newest least favorite subject.
Derek's hands slipped from my shoulders and he stepped forward so that he could meet my eye, scowling along the way.
"What?" I blanched. "I literally just started a basic physics class."
"But you went to high school. I assumed the only reason you enrolled in a basic course was to jog your memory of all the concepts, not because you had never taken a science class before."
"Well, biology and chemistry were mandatory to graduate. Physics wasn't."
Derek made a face like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, then shook his head and stepped away from me while picking up a discarded baseball.
"I'm just going to act like I didn't hear that."
Derek walked his way back up to the pitcher's mound and I kept myself in the position he had left me, poised to hit the ball. He told me to watch the ball and swing before it flew past me, not while it was doing so. I waited patiently before he pitched the ball. Doing just as he said, I swung before the ball passed, an audible smack ringing through the stadium when the ball and the bat made contact. I stared, disbelieving as the ball skipped past third base and rolled outfield.
I hit it.
Suddenly, without really thinking about it, I dropped the bat and started running. I was halfway to first base when Derek glanced back at me and called out, asking what the hell I was doing.
I kept running without answering. If he didn't get it, then I had more of a chance of making it around all the bases. That was the idea of the game after all. Hit the ball and run the four bases for a score.
I stepped on first base and started for second. That must have been when it clicked in his brain, for Derek suddenly lunged and he was bolting off towards where my ball had rolled off to. My heart picked up its uneven tempo as I ran past second and was half way to third when Derek finally reached it. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and a light flutter erupted in my chest when I noted out of my peripheral vision that he was sprinting back in my direction. An uncontrolled, giddy squeal broke through my lips and I pushed my legs to move faster.
I hit third base.
At this point, I was no longer paying attention to where Derek was. My mind was trained on two things. Reach home plate and don't get caught. The thrill of the chase overwhelmed me and I was startled when I heard a sudden burst of laughter echoing around me. It took me half a second to realize that it was my laughter.
I ignored my heaving lungs with only a few feet left to go before I was able to grasp victory. There couldn't have been more than four or five steps between me and the home base.
Three.
Two.
One-
Something solid wrapped around my torso and I was ripped away from the home base just before my extended foot could land on it. I released a sound that was a strange mixture of a defeated cry and a string of elated giggles as Derek swung me around and away from my target.
I had lost.
However, when I was on my feet again, beaming from ear to ear and turning in Derek's arms to meet his eyes, I didn't care. Because I found him smiling too, jade eyes vibrant and alive with his own apparent exhilaration from the chase and I was lost. I forgot the stadium, college, Nate and my concerns around Professor Banks. I forgot that Derek was my teacher and that Rae was missing. Hell, I forgot my own name. Because Derek was leaning closer to me and his arms were secure and warm, and my heart was missing several beats, and my toes were curling in my sneakers. Because in a cruel and confusing world I was never more grateful for this moment.
Derek's lips brushed mine and I sighed.
"Souza!"
And just like that, the moment was ripped away from me.
Derek exhaled a frustrated breath and pulled away, directing his attention towards the pit where his addresser had called from. I followed his gaze and found a slender man well into his fifties that greatly resembled Sam Elliot. Based on the conversation that transpired between him and Derek, I assumed that this man was Jon, Derek's mother's friend from all those years ago that allowed her and young Derek access into the stadium. They spoke for a moment, then Jon extended his hand and Derek shook it. Before he turned to leave, Jon nodded an acknowledgement in my direction that I returned. He smiled softly, taking one more look between me and Derek, then left the stadium.
"We're being kicked out." Derek said, making his way back to me.
"Bummer. I was winning." I teased. Derek snorted.
"In what universe?"
"The same universe where this night doesn't have to end." I murmured, realizing now that we had to leave, the date was over. Derek lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well, I was planning on going to a movie if the whole stadium thing turned out to be a bust. However, I doubt any theaters play movies after-" He glanced at his watch. "-eleven."
It was already eleven?
"I have plenty of movies." I chirped.
"Shocker." Derek muttered.
"I'd suggest watching one back in my dorm room, but-"
"That's not the best idea," Derek finished for me.
"Yeah."
For a second, we both fell silent. I couldn't help feeling a bit disheartened. It was hard for us to get some alone time like this. Derek was a busy man and I had a job on the weekends that I couldn't just keep asking for days off from. Before Miranda joined our study group, it hadn't exactly been a problem. Now, though… when would be the next time I would get to be with him like this? See him like this? The Professor put away as he relaxed and goofed around, completely at ease with just me and no other students or teachers around.
"We can try my place. I have to get you back to your car anyway." Derek suggested as he gestured for us to start heading out. As we walked back to the parking lot we made plans to hang out at his apartment for a couple hours as neither of us really wanted to go our separate ways.
I had a feeling that even Derek wondered the next time we'd get to be together like this.
"I'll give you a tour, but, I have to admit that it isn't much." Derek said as he unlocked the door to his apartment. I squeezed his left hand and he glanced over at me with a somewhat bashful expression.
What did he have to be embarrassed about?
As if he read my thoughts by my expression, he chuckled and said, "You're not going to like my movie selection."
"It depends on what you have." I laughed. "It's not about the quantity, just the quality."
"Well, including that Harry Potter movie I told you I watched, the quantity is one."
I shook my head but caught myself from laughing at his words when I noticed the turn in his features. He still looked somewhat embarrassed, but more anxious now than before. As if he knew how much I liked movies and hated the idea of disappointing me with his lack of interest in the subject, evidenced by his minimal amount of them. It wasn't really his fault. I mean, coming here was a spontaneous decision and he didn't really have any time to prepare for my visit as I know he would have if he knew beforehand. Besides, as long as I was with him, we could watch Twilight and I wouldn't give a damn.
To express this to him I stood on my tip toes, using my grip on his hand to tug him in my direction and caught his unsuspecting lips with my own. It was a chaste kiss and I met his perplexed gaze with a smile.
"Harry Potter sounds awesome."
The corners of Derek's lips curved and his jade orbs flickered with a slight sense of appreciation. He seemed to relax then, growing at ease like he was at the stadium. He lifted his free hand to my face, cupping my cheek and sending a thrilling warmth down to the pit of my frantic stomach. Then he ducked his head and, instead of swiftly pecking my lips as I had just done to him, he molded his own against them firmly.
It really hadn't been that long since I had first kissed him after taking the final from the previous term. There had been many small attempts before, but most of those had been unfortunately interrupted. Now, however, with the way it affected me, as if I were feeling every sensation racking through my body for the first time, it almost seemed like it had been an eternity since that distant day. My body was instantly on fire, toes curling, every nerve ending vibrating to life. Derek's other hand detached from mine as he placed it symmetrical to his first. Mine crawled their way up his torso to his chest, venturing their way around his neck. Before I could secure them there and fully flush my body against his, there was the sound of an impatient cough.
Derek and I broke apart, again, glancing down the hall of the apartment building where we found an older woman who greatly resembled a bird giving the two of us a disapproving look as she unlocked the door to her apartment. I blushed and saw Derek nod in her direction out of the corner of my eye as he reached for the door knob to his own apartment. He opened up his door, called a polite 'Goodnight Ms. Talbot' then pulled me into his home. I couldn't fight the fit of giggles that escaped me as Derek rushed me into his apartment, the nosy woman known as Ms. Talbot's eyes following us the whole time until Derek shut the door behind me.
I didn't even have time to look around or question Derek about his haste around his neighbor before his lips were on mine again, far more unyielding than a moment ago. I didn't mind, honestly. Welcomed and encouraged it even. Derek's arms wrapped around my waist and mine happily went around his shoulders, fingers testing the short, dark tresses at the nape of his neck. Derek's hair was soft, feathery and light. I buried my fingers deeper into his locks, my nails scraping against his scalp. A noise reverberated from his chest and suddenly my back was against a wall. Or perhaps the door, I wasn't really sure nor did I care. I did release a surprised gasp however and Derek's grip tightened on my hips.
Everything felt so hot, the air around us becoming humid with each exhale and gasp for breath. Derek kissed me as if he never wanted to stop and I kissed him back, the fluid movement of our lips in a synchronized desperation for more. I'm sure I would have been surprised by my actions if I were an outsider looking in. The way I gripped and pulled at Derek's shoulders to mold our bodies closer together- if that were even possible- was so unlike me- yet, how did I know that for sure when nobody had ever made me feel like this before?
Deep within the recesses of my mind, some absurd sense of rationality leaked through the puddle of jelly by brain had melted to and with each break of our lips I breathed out, "Weren't you supposed to give me a tour?"
Derek made a noncommittal grunting noise in agreement, his lips moving away from mine to skim across my jaw and linger along the length of my neck.
"This is the entryway," He murmured against my skin, sending shudders down my spine. I opened my eyes, giving the hall a quick scan. Despite it being dark since Derek had yet to flip the light switch upon our entrance, I could see that the walls were an off-white and there was a light wooden door standing across from us. A coat closet. Beside it was a small table with a medium sized, plain glass bowl that had a set of keys and some miscellaneous change. Otherwise, the entryway was relatively bland and empty.
"Quaint." I smirked.
Derek silenced my startled gasp with his lips again as his hands cupped the back of my thighs and hoisted me off the ground. I wrapped my legs around his waist, smiling against his own smarmy quirk of his lips and held my arms tighter around his neck as he maneuvered us away from the front door. Due to being heavily distracted, I wasn't exactly sure where we were going. Before I knew it though, I was sitting on a hard surface and Derek was rumbling something about a kitchen. I could only assume that he had carried me to his kitchen counter.
"Mmm," I hummed, trying to sound intrigued in spite of the fact that I was no longer interested in his tour. I think Derek could sense that and he lifted me up again, steering away from the counter, lips still crushing mine. Less than a second later, he hit something; it sounded like a chair. Derek muttered against my lips, "The dining room."
I laughed and relished in the sound of his own chuckles.
When I met Derek's kiss again, it was a little less rough. A little less desperate. He lowered me to my feet as he kissed me slower, deeper and more methodically. His hand drifted from my hips up my back, his touch causing me to curve into him. Cold air tickled my skin as my blouse followed his fingers. He didn't seem to have the intention to take it any farther than that.
But I did.
I reached my hands over my head, hinting, letting him know that it was okay.
My shirt was discarded somewhere across the room.
I shuddered as Derek's large hands skipped from my shoulder blades, to my sides, to the small of my back, leaving a trail of warmth as they slid over my skin. I released a sigh against his mouth.
Soon I followed suit the removal of my shirt by bunching up the hem of Derek's and pulling it up to his chest. I was a little short, though, to finish the job so Derek took over. As he tugged his shirt over his head, I marveled at what was hidden underneath. I mean, I knew Derek was a big guy, his arms and broad shoulders expressing that he was relatively muscled, but I never imagined that he was-
He pulled my gawking gaze away by placing his finger beneath my chin and guiding my lips back to his once again. I let my hands graze over the glorious planes of his torso and Derek sucked in an uneven breath.
For what seemed like forever and, at the same time, not enough time at all, we stood there, kissing and exploring each other. Derek's thumb brushed the lower regions of my right breast, sending a jolt of pleasure to course through my body and escape from me in the form of a low moan. Slowly, he dragged his fingers across the fabric of my bra until they met the clasp in the back. I held my breath as he undid it and pulled my bra away. His jade eyes descended and he took in the sight of me.
He said nothing. Just quietly threw my bra aside before laying his hands back against my hips, eyes drinking me in.
I wished I could see them so I could tell what he was thinking. I'd never been overly developed… or averagely developed really. The bra he had just discarded was barely a C-cup. For a split second, I feared that I wasn't good enough for him. I felt silly for it after that second, but I couldn't shake the lingering doubts.
"Derek?"
His green orbs found mine and my galloping heart tripped a few beats. His eyes smoldered me, rooting me motionless with his gaze as he looked at me from beneath his lashes. They were a dark storm of lust and I squelched those inane feelings of not meeting his standards.
He wanted me.
"You h-haven't showed me your r-room yet," I stuttered in a whisper. He released a soft breathy laugh, lips tugging in that lopsided smile of his before he bowed his head.
He pecked me once more, then took my hand and led me to his bedroom, intentions to simply watch a movie forgotten.