Chapter 12

Addison's POV

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked sexy. Or as sexy as I could look without having a professional stylist and makeup artist at my beck and call. No one can ever say I'm a quitter. Nope, not me.

When Derek asked me if I wanted to get dinner, I thought I was going to faint. And I mean that quite literally. My body felt weak and my heart was racing. I could hear the humming of birds in my ear and everything in my world was bright and wonderful.

All because Derek asked me to dinner. I know, I'm a bit of a sad case, but that's what it's like when a guy you like asks you out. It's magical. Magical.

I grabbed my handbag as the clock on the wall turned to eight and then I stopped for a few seconds to make sure I was ready.

Black heels. Check.
Sexy underwear. Check.
Handcuffs. Check.

Derek waiting for me naked in his large king-sized bed with nothing but a sexy smile on his face. I hoped that would be a check real soon. Like tonight soon. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I checked my handbag to make sure I had my box of condoms (I wasn't going to let protection be the one thing that prevented me from getting down and dirty tonight).

I had my red lipstick and I had some strawberry lip gloss. I had a small bottle of Vera Wang's Princess perfume because it made me smell divine. I was going to spray myself with it again once I got to the restaurant because the scent never seemed to last long. I had a pack of mints because I wanted to make sure I had fresh breath and I knew a good blowjob trick with a mint in your mouth. I also had my cell phone. Forty dollars in cash. My driver's license, in case I got carded when ordering my cocktails.

I also had a small teddy bear that I always carried around with me. It was a bear that Derek had given me when I was a little kid and he had won it at a fair. He probably didn't even remember that he'd given me that prize, so many years ago, but I made sure to carry it with me everywhere.

It was one of my prized possessions. Sometimes when I was in bed, late at night, and feeling lonely, I would grab that teddy bear and squeeze it and kiss it and hold it close and imagine that somehow it was making me close to Derek. It was a juvenile thing to do, but it was something that always comforted me.

"He's here, Addie!" Amelia screamed down the corridor. "I saw his car pull up."

"How do I look?" I hurried out of my room in my short black and white dress and Amelia whistled.

"Uhm, hotter than the Sahara Desert."

"Hotter, huh?" I grinned and twirled around in my dress. "I feel pretty hot."

"You're more than pretty hot, you're super-hot." She laughed and came over to me. She poked her finger into my arm and screeched.

"What's wrong?" I asked her with a confused frown.

"You're so hot you just burned me." She grinned and we both burst out laughing.

"You're a goof," I said. "It's a good thing you're not a man. You'd never get laid with pickup lines like that."

"I think I'd make a good man," she said with a smile. "I'd know exactly what to say to get the girls."

"Uh-huh." I grinned, and she looked me up and down slowly and licked her lips.

"Man, girl, you look good enough to eat." She paused and licked her lips again. "And I'm hungry, you want to show me some sugar?"

"Oh my God, no, just no!" I started laughing again. "You will never get a woman with words like that. No to the no, to the hell, to the no."

"Haha, that bad?" She grinned at me and then laughed. "Yeah, that was pretty bad. Thank God, I'm a woman and have Link."

"Yeah, you lucked out with Mr. Miracle Tongue." I smiled. "Smooth with his words and his tongue."

"Well, not always smooth with either." She winked and I groaned. "Amelia!"

"What?" She laughed. "I'm being honest. He's not always smooth. Sometimes he's rough and bumpy."

I groaned again and then froze as the doorbell rang. He was here. Derek was finally here and I was going on what I thought was my first official date with him. I wanted to scream. "Amy, I think I'm going to faint," I said, my throat suddenly dry.

"Why?" She looked concerned. "Do you need some water?"

"I'm going on a date with Derek," I groaned yet again as the doorbell rang another time. "Why is he so impatient?"

"Because he's Derek." She rolled her eyes. "He has the patience of a dog."

"I guess I'd better go and let him in."

"Yeah, do that before he bangs the door down." She made a face and then gave me a sweet smile. "You do look gorgeous though, Adds. That idiot is lucky to be able to take you out."

"Thanks, Amy," I said and hurried to the front door. I opened it quickly to find Derek standing there with his hand in the air. "You weren't about to ring the doorbell again, were you?"

"I was." He smiled and looked me up and down, his eyes widening as his gaze fell on my black heels. "You look nice tonight, Addison."

"That's it?" Amy walked over to the front door. "She looks nice?"

"Yes, she looks nice." Derek looked at his younger sister with an annoyed expression. "Don't you think so?"

"Addie looks bloody gorgeous," Amy said and shook her head. "Like a million bucks."

"Thanks, Amy." I laughed and I could see Derek shaking his head at his sister.

"Yes, Addison, you do look beautiful tonight." He reached his hand forward. "Very, very beautiful."

"That's more like it," Amy said, and he groaned.

"So, are you ready to go?" Derek muttered. "I'm afraid if I have to listen to my sister anymore tonight, I might go crazy."

"I don't have time to drive your crazy tonight, dear brother. Link is taking me out to dinner as well." Amelia smiled at her brother and then continued. "And I know he's taking me to a nice restaurant, not a Burger King."

"More the fool him, then," Derek joked, and Amelia glared at him.

"Let's go," I said and turned around to give his little sister a quick hug. "See you later."

"Bye, don't do anything I wouldn't do," she said, and I quickly opened my handbag and let her see the contents. "Or maybe not." She giggled as she saw the handcuffs.

"What are you two giggling about now?" Derek said with an interested expression, but I quickly closed my handbag again and turned back towards him.

"Nothing," I said innocently and hurried out of the front door. "Let's go and eat. I'm starving."

"I'm feeling pretty hungry too," he said, and I felt his hand slip around my waist as we made our way out of the building. "I'm just not sure what I'll get to eat yet."

We made our way to his car, and Derek hurried forward so that he could open the passenger door to what appeared to be a new black Mercedes C300. "Not driving your Lincoln Navigator anymore?" I asked in surprise.

"No, it's at home."

"Oh, so this is a second car?" I raised an eyebrow at him. He had a Lincoln and a Mercedes now?

"Yeah." He nodded and then closed the door after I slid into the luxurious tan leather seat. It felt plush and warm against my bare legs, and I sank back into the seat with a happy smile on my face.

"Why did you get another car?" I asked him as he got behind the driver's seat.

"Because I wanted to." He shrugged. "Why? Don't you like Mercedes?"

"They seem fine. I've never been in one before."

"Oh. They're very smooth." He turned on the engine and looked over at me. "Hear how it purrs for me?"

"No, not really." I shook my head, and he put his hand to his ear and growled.
"You don't hear that?"

"No, and thank God. If I heard that sound coming from your engine, I wouldn't still be in your car."

"Touché." He laughed. "Okay, are you ready to eat?" "I've been ready."

"How is your knee?" His right hand reached down and touched my leg. My skin tingled as his fingertips gently brushed across my skin and to my kneecap.

"It's okay. It tingles a bit, but it will be okay."

"Good." His fingers moved back up my leg and my thigh, and my breath caught as they worked their way toward the middle of my leg. "I love your dress, by the way," he said and moved his fingers back to the steering wheel.

"Thank you," I said and looked over at him. "You look very dapper in your shirt and tie."

"I'm glad you appreciate the tie."

"I always appreciate a tie," I said, and he looked at me with a smile.

"In all circumstances."

"Yes," I said, barely breathing as he gazed at me.

"Good." He changed the gears suddenly and pulled out into the street.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as we zipped along the road with the other cars.
"I figured I'd take you out for a nice steak dinner," he said as I adjusted in the seat and fiddled with the radio. "Anything but Top 40, please."

"What's wrong with Top 40? I love Top 40."
"I don't need to hear Katy Perry or Beyoncé screeching in my ear about how they love being single."

"They don't screech. And they aren't single." I rolled my eyes at him. I stopped at a country music station and looked at him. "Is this better?"

"Nope. I don't want to hear about anyone taking their dog and their pickup truck to the lake to get over their ex."

"That's horrible." I laughed. "Not every country music song is about pickup trucks."

"There's enough for me to veto this station."

"What about this one?" I stopped it on a Spanish station and we listened to a man singing his heart out.

"I have no idea what he's saying." Derek frowned. "Something about balancing?"

"No, he's talking about dancing." I laughed. "Bailamos is what he's saying, not balancing. Bailamos doesn't even sound like balancing."

"Hmm, I don't mind listening to this station if you're going to continue talking to me in Spanish."

"Oh?" I asked him curiously. "All I said was Bailamos."

"And you sounded sexy saying it. I have a thing for Spanish accents."

"My accent isn't even that good."

"It's good enough, my sexy señorita."

"Oh, Derek." I rolled my eyes. "Or maybe I'll call you Juan."

"You can call me whatever you want, señorita."

"You're an idiot," I said, and we both laughed.

"Seriously, though. I'm glad you came to dinner with me tonight."

"It's not like you gave me a choice," I said. "It was more of an order."

"Well, thanks for obeying orders."

"You're welcome," I said, and he reached over and squeezed my hand.

"I wanted to talk about the—" he said at the same time that I said, "What's going on with you and Meredith?"

"I guess we're both ready to talk, then?" He looked at me with a smile. "What did you want to talk about first?"

"What were you going to say?"

"I wanted to talk to you about that night you came to my room."

"Oh, again."

"I wanted you to know that I don't want to be your best friend's creepy older brother."

"You're not creepy at all."

"Sometimes I think I am." His voice sounded frustrated. "You and Amy have been best friends for so long, and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to horn in on that relationship."

"Derek, I don't know if you remember, but I was the one who snuck into your bed. Not the other way around," I said with a small laugh. "I was the one who wanted you."

"I wasn't sure if I'd led you on."

"How had you led me on?" I asked curiously.

"You know when I used to tutor you," he said and glanced at me before switching lanes.

"You mean when you tutored me for math?" I thought back to when I was in ninth grade and he'd spent a summer helping me figure out pre-calc and algebra.

"Yeah. And helped you figure out how to kiss." His voice dropped. "I still feel guilty about that."

"Why?" I looked at him in shock; I was surprised that he'd even remembered those days.

"I was your first kiss." He sighed. "And the first guy you slept with. I kind of felt like an asshole."

"Der, you were my first kiss, and you were amazing." I laughed. "If anything, I was the asshole. I was the one who practically forced you to teach me how to kiss."

"You didn't force me."

"I begged you for two weeks." I laughed. "And practically grabbed your face that one time."

"You were a bit aggressive, yes."

"And you were so sweet," I said to him. "You led me to Amelia's bed, laid me back, told me to close my eyes, and then kissed me softly"

"And then you shoved your tongue down my throat." He laughed. "And Amy came in and screamed."

"That was hilarious." I giggled. "I can still remember the look of horror on Amelia's face when I told her that I'd kissed you and that you were my first kiss. She looked like she wanted to throw up."

"She never let me forget about it." He grinned and then pulled into a parking spot. "I think that was part of the reason I didn't bring up us having slept together with you. I didn't know how you felt, and I didn't want there to be any awkwardness in your relationship with Amy."

"Oh, Derek." I sighed. "I thought you hated me. I thought you thought I was some sort of crazy slut or something and you were embarrassed."

"Never." He shook his head and turned off the engine and faced me. "You know I've always been attracted to you."

"You have?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"Hasn't that been obvious the last couple of months?" He grinned. "I can't keep my eyes o" of you."

"Well, you have kept your hands off of me," I said and realized he'd said eyes and not hands. "Oops, I mean eyes."

"I've had a hard time keeping both off of you." He looked directly into my eyes. "I think us all getting together for Teddy's fake engagement, and then with Link and Amy has made me see what I've been missing."

"Yeah, we have been around each other a lot recently," I said with a small smile. "I've had a hard time keeping my eyes off of you as well."

"Well, I am super handsome." He gave me a smug smile, and I hit him on the shoulder.

"And modest as well."

"Always modest." He grinned. "Shall we go in and eat?" "Yes, please. I'm hungry."

"Well, that's not good. We can't have you hungry." "Oh, why not?"

"Because that will make you too weak for tonight." "What's happening tonight?" I asked him, my heart racing.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He grinned and I watched as he got out of the car. I unbuckled my seatbelt and looked into my handbag and smiled at my handcuffs. I was pretty certain I was going to check that last box tonight as well. I was going to see Derek on the bed and both of us would be wearing nothing but our smiles.