Over You

Morgan and Garcia

Chapter Five

July 2011

Penelope was fueled by a deep longing for a wonderful romantic love of her own, after watching JJ marry Will. It had taken so much bravery for JJ to get past her lifelong fear of commitment and marry the man she had loved for years now.

It made Penelope weep in joy and also pain, for she feared she could never have that for herself. She was lonely, sad, aching to feel loved, and she knew not one of the men who she had dated since breaking up with Kevin fit the bill for what she so desperately wanted to be able to feel tonight.

Derek was the only man she knew who could make her feel close to the kind of exciting, tender, smoking hot, huge and scary, big and crazy feelings she longed to feel, though they were simply friends who flirted and friends who had long ago decided not to cross that line.

Did she fantasize about crossing it daily? Of course! But she figured that he couldn't see her that way since they had been friends over seven years. They were old news to each other now, like a comforting blanket and not a sporty, just off the showcase floor, corvette. She wanted corvette kind of love.

Looking in his eyes, as they sat on the beach, she felt the usual jumble of wanting and needing boil up inside of her that she got when she looked at him. The feelings she always blew off cause she knew she could want him as much as she wanted but it wouldn't get her anywhere.

Tonight though she thought about how Derek's love life sucked like hers. He couldn't find compatibility with anyone he ever met but he had it in spades with her. They had something so good between them, unlike anything she'd ever known with another man, so why couldn't they have more?

The need for love made her bold as she told him, not for the first time in their lives, "We would be so good together," and soon after she went to show him, with a soft and sweet kiss, kinda testing the waters of kicking things up another notch.

Before she could bring her lips to his, she watched as Derek's eyes went from surprised to filled with lust and raw need. He closed the small gap between them, took her in his arms, and kissed her as if he had waited all his life for the chance to do so.

She shivered as they broke apart, her mind fuzzy and body humming, her fingers clutching his shirt.

"Mmm, so good together," Penelope murmured, in a slight daze.

Derek twisted a strand of her hair around his finger and then his hand stroked over her check and throat again before his thumb slipped under her chin to hold her head so that she was forced to meet his gaze. Even though there was only moonlight to illuminate them she could still see how intense his eyes were, how serious and filled with feelings for her.

Her already fast beating heart skipped a few more beats then, fluttering like it hadn't ever before in even her most passionate moments. She had never known a moment quite this powerful and moving. She couldn't remember, in all her life, any man ever looking at her in quite the way Derek was tonight- as if she was his reason for breathing- and if he some man had then it didn't touch her the way it did because it was Derek giving her that look. A look she would forever cherish having seen in his eyes.

"Baby," he cleared his throat "baby girl, you're right. We could be so good together, if we just give ourselves the chance." He leaned over and kissed her another time, slower and softer, before leaning back, breaking the moment, his eyes falling to the sand where he saw his tipped over beer. Lifting the bottle he said, his tone a little nervous, "Looks like I need a refill. Ready to head back?"

"Already? Can't we stay in our own little world for a little while longer?"

Derek turned and met her eyes. Their gaze held for a second before he said "Sure, anything for you."

That night they sat under the stars together, talking quietly about everything but the fact that they had kissed and later walked back to the wedding hand in hand, ready to start taking chances on each other finally.

Just when they had both been sure they were so over each other...is when they went and fell for each other all over again.

THE END