A/N: It's been far too long. I'm very sorry to keep you all waiting. Chapter is extra-long and I left two surprises at the end. Hehe.

Third POV

Casey had left right after breakfast telling Derek she had to make sure Kennedy wasn't worrying about her. This left Derek alone with his thoughts…

Thoughts about Casey and what they had done the night before…

And the thoughts of wanting to do it again.

And again.

He had to plan something special for their lunch date with Kennedy. He wanted to make a good impression on the person who had taught Casey to chill out. Derek was glad Casey had her, he knew for certain the old Casey would have never helped him or proposed a pregame ritual. But this new Casey was confident and sexy and was exciting. Sure, she was still Casey, but Casey 2.0.

That's when Derek thought of the perfect place to take them both.

He dialed his teammate's number knowing he'd already be at work for food prep.

"Daniel? Hey man, it's Derek. Listen, I need a huge favor," Derek smiled into the phone as he told Daniel his plans for his girlfriend and best friend.

DASEY

Casey couldn't wipe the blinding grin off her face as she walked back to her dorm. As she approached her door it opened and Kennedy pulled her inside. Kennedy practically threw Casey onto her bed and rolled up her desk chair in front of her.

"Details. Now." Judging by Casey's blush Kennedy knew something major happened.

Casey rolled her eyes as she continued to smile. "We kissed."

Kennedy waited for her to continue but Casey had that far off look again. "CASEY!"

Casey jumped and giggled, "Sorry, sorry, sorry. We kissed and we decided to have a trail run at being together."

Now it was Kennedy's turn to smirk. "Together together?" Casey nodded her head. Kennedy smiled at her friend and at her happiness. But now she wanted to let Casey in on the feelings she had been holding back. "Casey, I need to tell you something, and I want you to hear me out before you say anything."

Casey wasn't sure how to respond other than with a nod.

Kennedy took a deep breath to try and gather her thoughts. "I think Derek is doing this whole 'trail' thing for your benefit. I think if it was up to him, he would have proclaimed his love to you! I think Derek has been in love with you for a very long time and because he knows you so well he's going slow… to not freak you out."

Kennedy leaned back in her chair and waited for Casey to absorb the information. She was fairly confident that this was news to Casey.

And it was. Casey was thinking back to how great and open Derek had been about their relationship. She went back to seeing Derek's smile the night she went into the locker room. She thought back to immediate acceptation of the pregame ritual. And then of course to the previous day of his proposal of the girlfriend/ boyfriend trail.

Derek was truly waiting for her. He was waiting for her to figure it out. Admittedly she felt kind of stupid for not noticing his careful approach.

"Wow," she whispered.

Kennedy just smiled knowingly.

Casey rolled her eyes and smacked her friend in the arm. "Thanks for the insight but there is no reason to be smug!"

Kennedy laughed, "Sorry, but even from hearing about all your stories from back home I knew then! I knew then that you had feelings for Derek. You just weren't sure what they were. You guys had to get away from the one thing that was holding you back and that was causing the problems in the first place."

"Family," Casey said nodding.

"No," Kennedy shook her head. "No, no. It wasn't your family. It was you guys! You were young, you had hormones filling up your body and coming out your ears! You had feelings for your step-sibling and didn't know what to do with them."

Casey still couldn't shake the feeling of not being accepted by her family.

"Casey," Kennedy pulled her from her thoughts. "Casey from what you told me, I'm 100% positive that you family will accept you."

"I hope so," Casey whispered as if sending a prayer.

Then her phone dinged alerting her to a text message.

Casey only meant to glance at her phone but when she saw it was Derek she smiled and opened the message.

Derek: Lunch at Mario's noon?

"Mario's?" Casey wondered out loud. "Don't you have to have like reservations weeks in advance for Mario's?"

Kennedy's eyes got wide, "Yeah. It's a really nice place I hear."

Casey didn't want to offend Derek but she wanted to make sure that neither of them would be embarrassed.

Casey: Don't you need reservations for Mario's?

Derek: Yup, but I've got connections Princess. ;)

Casey rolls her eyes, "He says he has connections."

"Ooo, nice," Kennedy wiggles her eyebrows at her friend.

Derek: Bring Kennedy with you. I would like to meet her.

Casey's eyes widen at this. "He wants to meet you!"

Kennedy smiles, "Really?"

Casey rolls her eyes, "Kennedy, you have no idea how much of a pain I was before I met you. Derek tells me all the time he wants to meet the person who made me chill out a bit."

Kennedy snorts. "I do remember. That's why I had to calm you down."

Casey quickly types Derek back to confirm and pushes up from her spot. "Come on, help me pick out something to wear."

Casey couldn't wait for Derek to meet Kennedy. And she couldn't wait to "thank" Derek for being so sweet.

DASEY

Derek made sure to arrive at the restaurant before the girls. He wanted to thank Daniel for helping him get a reservation. As Derek approached the host's podium he smiled at the sight of his teammate.

"Hey, man," Derek shook Daniel's hand. "I can't thank you enough."

"Sure, man! I told you I owed you one since you showed me that wicked slap shot. So, you're really trying to impress this girl. Mind if I ask who it is?"

Derek could feel the blush creep up as he scratched the back of his neck bashfully. "Uh, yeah, she's… Well, she and I are… Umm…"

"Holy shit, she must be something else to have rendered Derek Venturi speechless." Daniel laughed and slapped Derek on the back.

Daniel then took mercy on Derek and finally showed him to his booth. Daniel made sure it was in the back corner where he knew no one would disturb them. Derek thanked Daniel again and ordered a water while he waited.

Casey and Kennedy showed up not too long after Derek. Derek chuckled at his because he knew Casey was always early. He waved them over and stood up as they came closer.

Casey's heart was pounding. As soon as she spotted Derek her hands became sweaty and her mouth had gone dry. How was she supposed to act with Derek in the boyfriend role? Sure she had dated, but this was Derek. Everything was different with Derek. Simply because Derek was different. He was better and he would call her out on her bullshit. He… He deserved way better than nervous Casey.

Derek could spot nervous Casey a mile away. He wanted to laugh and tell her she made him just as nervous but he thought of something better. Derek throws on a smirk and bows as Casey and Kennedy stand before him. "Ladies," he drawls with a generic butler type voice. "Tonight we have a sea broiled trout. We serve it along with a side of vegetables and nothing else."

Casey instantly felt as ease. She laughed and waved for him to stop. "Please, Derek. Stop. You're embarrassing us!" She tried to control her laugher and scold him.

Derek smirked again but sat down. The round booth wasn't large nor was it small. Casey slid into the middle portion of the booth with Derek and Kennedy on either side. Derek was just close enough lean over and give Casey a simple kiss on the cheek. Seeing shy and nervous Casey come out again he turned his attention to Kennedy and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Derek."

Kennedy snorted, "As if I had to guess. You have no idea how much Casey talks about you."

Casey blushed further, "I do not talk about him that much."

Kennedy cut her eyes to her friend and smiled. "Casey, when I first met you I assumed you and Derek were dating with how much you talked about him."

Casey shook her head vigorously, "But I was telling you horror stories of when we used to live together. How in the world could you jump to a conclusion that we were dating?"

Kennedy shook her head in astonishment. "You have no idea the amount of passion you exert when telling those stories. There is a fire in your eyes. The sexual tension even with you was powerful, I wish I could've seen you both like that. It would've made my teen years a bit more interesting."

Derek couldn't help but choke on his water. He tried to cover it up with a laugh but he was sure the blush on his cheeks gave him away.

Casey nudged him with her elbow gently to get his attention. "I think she might even be more blunt than you, Derek."

Derek thought about this and gave a light chuckle. "Casey, she's almost like the girl version of me." Casey snapped her head towards him and gasped. "Seriously, Case, think about it. I bet she doesn't take any of your bullshit, but will still listen when needed be."

Casey turned to Kennedy again, "Oh my god."

Kennedy just smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

Derek leaned in close to Casey and whispered, "It's kind of cute, you know, when you think about it."

Casey turned to find Derek extremely close to her. Derek, being a bit taller than herself, was only a few inches away making Casey come face to face with his adams apple. Casey, already feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand, casted her eyes to meet his. "What's cute?" she spoke softly.

Derek's smirk grew even more cocky, if it was possible. "Well, in a way you sought out a person who was just like me. It was your way of missing me."

Casey's mouth hung open in shock. She didn't get a chance to respond due to the waiter coming over to take their drink order. Once he was gone Casey turned back to Derek, "I didn't find Kennedy; we were assigned roommates."

"Yes, but just because you're roommates doesn't mean you have to be friends. There are plenty of roommates out there who are not friends. Or you could have simply asked to be reassigned."

Casey narrowed her eyes at him. "I guess that's true."

Derek's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you… are you saying I'm right?"

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Casey's eyes widened and leaned close into him. "Of course not! I just… I just…" Casey let out a frustrating groan. "I just demand a continuation. New evidence has been brought to light and I need time to process it."

"No, no, no, no, no. A continuation shall not be granted. I demand your admittance that Derek is all great and powerful. Also, that Derek is always correct and that Derek is basically the greatest human of all time."

Casey gasped, "I will never say any of those things! And how cliché of you to talk about yourself in the third person."

Derek's smirk turned into a charming smile. He leaned in even closer; their nose slightly touching. "Come on, Case, just say Derek is the best and he'll make it worth your wild."

Casey's cheeks flushed as Derek's hand brushed alongside her outer thigh. Feeling Derek's breath on her, her eyes fluttered closed.

"Wow," Kennedy coughed.

Casey and Derek both snapped out of their flirtatious rant. Both backed away and sat up straight.

Kennedy chuckled, "You guys are way too entertaining."

Casey took a deep breath and sipped her water trying to calm her fast beating heart. She remembered the way Derek used to rile her up during high school but this was different. This wasn't fighting, this was flirting, almost like foreplay. That thought made Casey wonder about their high school fights… Was their fighting in high school flirting as well, just in a confused hormonal teenage angst way?

DASEY

The rest of the day went uneventful. Derek's game wasn't until seven that night so Casey tried to busy herself with last minute assignments. She was trying very hard not to become nervous about their first true pregame ritual.

Kennedy came in from her last class and found Casey on her laptop. "Trying to distract yourself?"

Casey smiled, "Yup," Casey paused for a moment and turned her chair towards Kennedy. "Can I ask you something?" Kennedy set down her book bag and nodded as she sat on her bed. "Do you hate me that I've broken our promise?"

That made Kennedy frown and sit up a bit straighter, "What are you talking about?"

Casey fidgeted with her fingers, "We promised each other that we weren't going to get serious about boys until after freshmen year. And now I've broken that promise."

"Casey, you remember when I said I thought you were dating Derek from all of the talking you did?" Casey nodded. "Well, I knew eventually you and Derek would get together."

"How did you know?" Casey inquired skeptically.

Rolling her eyes Kennedy let out a sigh, "I really wish I had seen you guy when you were teens. I bet all of your friends knew that someday you and Derek would get together. You spoke of nothing but him and compared everything to him. And after meeting him yesterday I can tell Derek's liked you for a really long time."

Casey was still skeptical, "I was going to ask him about that tonight."

"About how long he's liked you?" Kennedy asked. Casey nodded in confirmation. Kennedy's eyebrows rose, "That should be an interesting conversation."

As soon as Kennedy was finished laughing there was a knock at the door.

"I swear he always knows when I'm talking about him." Casey laughed as she pulled open their door.

There in the hallway stood a very nervous looking Derek. That's when it hit Casey again, their first pregame ritual would be tonight. Casey gave a tight smile and grabbed her book bag and purse.

"Bye Kennedy," Casey called.

"Have fun!" She called back.

That didn't help Casey at all.

Once outside Derek threw Casey the keys. As Casey drove them to his apartment she tried to think of ways to bring up her question. Should she bring it up before their ritual or after? All of the scenarios in her head just seemed stupid. She didn't want to just ask it bluntly. She wanted to build up to it. She wanted to be subtle, give him time to think about it.

"Why are you so quiet?" Derek asked as they stepped onto the elevator.

"When did you know you liked me?" Well, there went her plan. Casey mentally smacked herself on the forehead.

Derek had not once thought of his game yet. He was more concerned about the pregame. He was more concerned about Casey and her feelings. Sure he was excited but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable. He wanted to make sure she still wanted this.

When Casey blurted out her question it made him feel at ease. He knew that Casey was trying to distract herself from the pregame as well. But he also knew that she wanted confirmation of them as a couple. She wanted him to spell it all out for her again.

Derek chuckled and smiled at how well he knew her. He didn't answer her question right away, he figured he make her scrum a bit more. He unlocked his door and allowed her to pass him. Locking the door behind him he grabbed her hand and led her to his bedroom.

Casey on the other hand was in full freak out mode. Not only was Derek not answering her question but he was leading her to his bedroom. Derek let go of Casey's hand and climbed on the bed and propped himself against the head board and patted the spot next to him.

Casey left at the door slowly walked over to the bed and copied Derek's position- stiffly. Derek smiled and rolled his eyes at her. She was seriously turning him into a sap. Derek picked up Casey's hand and laced his fingers between hers.

"Case, my dad and I had a two hour conversation about you and your family moving in but he mostly focused on you. He knew, even then, that you were going to drive me insane! He knew then that I was going to be a wreck. He knew that Casey McDonald was going to be the exception to every rule that Derek Venturi made. But, it took Derek a little longer to figure that out for himself. Because Derek's dad wasn't going to let him in on the secret."

Casey held up a finger for Derek to stop, "Please stop talking about yourself in the third person."

Derek smirked but continued on, "I think I knew during our senior year- or rather I should say that I accepted the fact that I really liked you then. When I first saw you I couldn't get over how hot you were and thought this would pass. Then things started to get more complicated, the feelings weren't going away. I think the first couple of years I was trying to figure out how to not let you know my feelings and yet to keep your attention on me."

Casey chuckled, "You have no idea how much of my attention was always on you. You heard Kennedy, not only did I spend most of high school talking about you but I also went out and found your twin in college!"

They both laughed. "So," Derek dragged. "A guy who likes to prank you, play hockey, argue just for fun, and can't stop thinking about you all day and night going to be okay with you?"

Derek held his breath as Casey weighed her options.

"Well, as long as you're okay with a girl who still takes her grades seriously, who gets emotional after those 'just for fun arguments,' and who will be at all your games, and has always thought about nothing but you?"

Derek smiled, "I'll live."

"DER-EK!" Casey tried to hit him over the head with one of his pillows but he quickly grabbed it and kissed her.

Casey quickly slid down on the bed to lay flat as Derek nestled between her legs. They broke for air giving Derek the opportunity to kiss behind Casey's ear and maybe leave a couple of love bites on her neck.

Casey was already feeling the flush in her cheeks and the heat in her core. As Derek kissed her neck and grinned against her she lost all train of thought when she reached between then to feel him.

Derek pulled back and gasped. He sat up straight, still in between Casey's legs, and just started at her.

Casey bit her lip, "Did I do something wrong?"

Derek shook his head, "Where did you learn that?"

Casey caught on and smirked at him. "Textbooks aren't the only thing I read, Derek."

"Fuck," he whispered. He drove in after her and kissed her hard on the mouth. Demanding to be let into her mouth. Casey complied willingly. Derek broke the kiss, "If you get to touch me, then I get to touch you."

Casey shifted uncomfortably, painfully moving against Derek's – er— problem. "Do we have time for that?" Casey asked.

Derek glanced at his wrist watch. It was four thirty, they had minimal time but Derek was willing. He knew it wouldn't take long for him. "Yup, plenty of time."

Derek still sitting up felt Casey touch him again causing him to jump. "Hey!" He chuckled. "I'd rather we focus on you first."

Casey nodded and laid back down on the bed. Derek hovered over her for a moment trying to memorize how she looked underneath him, wanting him and waiting for him.

"Derek," she pleaded softly.

He made his move then. Derek began at her face. He kissed both cheeks, her forehead, her chin, and her lips last. The kiss was quick as he made his way to suckle on her neck. Casey tilted her back further to give him better access. As he continued his hands slipped underneath her shirt to fully cup each one. With her shirt already riding up he broke his kiss from her neck and guided her out of her shirt. Once off he continued his trail of kisses to collar bone then to her breast and unclasp her front bra clasp. He loved the way each filled his hand so perfectly.

But he didn't stay there long, Derek left love bites along her stomach continuing south. As he moved lower and lower he began to pull her jeans and panties down. Casey automatically lifted her bottom to help get them off faster. Derek skipped the most yearning part of her body as he continued his quest of kisses down her thighs and knees and ankles.

Finally everything was removed Derek settled between her legs again began to kiss her most sensitive area. Once he introduced himself Derek laid his tongue flat against her clit and got to work. He sucked and licked until he finally pushed a finger into her.

Casey was thriving on the pleasure high. She felt the tingles from head to toe as Derek gave her pleasure. Not long after his finger entered her— she was gone. Casey cried out his name in one large gasp.

Derek knew as soon as she screamed his name he would never get tired of hearing it. A thin sheen of sweat was covering her breast and stomach and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Derek climbed back up and kissed her closed eyelids.

Casey smiled and lifted her hand to cup the back of his neck and kiss him. She felt his hard-on against her thigh and wanted to repay him.

Casey's hand moved down her body and wrapped around Derek.

Derek let out a gasp not prepared for her touch again.

But before Casey could even get his pants down there was a knock at the door.

Knock. Knock.

They both lifted their heads up from each other and listened for more knocking. Both hoping whoever it was would go away.

Knock. Knock.

This time the knocks were louder.

Derek let out a frustrating growl as got up from the bed leaving a chuckling Casey.

Throwing on a shirt he stomped to the door.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm coming! Who is it?!" Derek shouted as he rounded the last corner towards his door.

"Now is that anyway to speak to your parents?" he heard a man's voice from the other side of the door.

Derek froze in his tracks.

"Dad?"