Derek and Casey drove back to London together for Thanksgiving break. Given their excitement to see their family over the holidays, there were only minor squabbles on the car ride over.
Upon their arrival, Derek opened the car door just in time to be squashed with an overly tight hug from Marti.
"Hey, Smarti!"
"Hey, Smerek!"
Although Marti had gotten taller over the last few months, Derek picked her up with ease nonetheless. Marti spotted Casey rounding the corner, and she pulled her into the hug, too, causing Casey to bump her head against Derek's cheek.
"Careful, Klutzilla," Derek laughed, massaging his jaw from the impact.
"Shut up."
"Casey!" Lizzie was the next to run outside and throw her hands around them.
"Derek!" Behind Lizzie was her right-hand man, Edwin.
"Edweirdo! Did you miss me?"
"Yeah, maybe a little." Edwin stood awkwardly beside them until he eventually gave in, reaching over to add to the already claustrophobic-induced hug.
"Where's Mom?" Casey asked Lizzie.
"She's busy with Simon, like usual. And get this: George is cooking dinner." Simon was a newborn and needed a lot of attention, but this was insanity.
"George?" Casey gawked.
It was never a good thing when George Venturi was left alone in the kitchen.
"My dad?" Derek chimed in.
His food was awful, to be quite honest, and Derek didn't mind telling him.
"He said he wants to help out more around the house. I think it's sweet."
"Sweet?" Derek snickered.
"It is sweet, Liz. And we'll all be very appreciative of his willingness to help. Won't we, Derek?" She gave him a look that said he better behave.
Nora was fortunate to have a partner willing to work long hours at work and help out around the house while she tended to Simon.
"Hey, I can't promise I can control my emotions."
Lizzie was the next to glare at her stepbrother.
"But I'll try," he added, not wanting to hear a lecture on behaving properly.
As they entered the house as a group, the familiar scene of Casey's home stilled her heart. She never expected to miss it as much as she did.
"It's exactly how I remember it," she smiled to herself.
Derek shoved her out of the way and plopped himself onto his favorite chair, wasting no time to recline the seat back.
"Edwin! The remote!"
"Yes, Derek!"
Casey's smile quickly faded.
"Ugh, you are so disgusting! You couldn't give it five minutes before you ordered Edwin around like he's your slave."
"I prefer to use the term servant. Hey, while you're up, can you make me a sandwich? It was a long trip."
"I drove the entire way, you jerk! Make your own sandwich." Casey was not Derek's slave or his servant.
"I see nothing has changed between the two of you." Nora walked in and handed the baby carefully to Derek before he could object and hurrier to hug her daughter.
"Hardly," Casey professed, giving her mom a warm hug she knew they both needed.
"I'm so glad you're back. This place has been a nonstructured disaster."
"I'm glad to be back, Mom. I'm happy to help out around the house while I'm here. Anything you need."
"If only my son could say the same." George hit Derek with the back of his newspaper as he came in. Tough love was their way of expressing their happiness to see one another. George knew his son wasn't into the dramatics of a hug.
"It looks like I have plenty of time to spare, considering Derek threw out all of my study notes from my suitcase," she sighed.
"Who studies on their break? Besides, you should be thanking me for zipping that suitcase in the first place," Derek expressed.
"Well, I would have preferred if you zipped your mouth instead," Casey tossed back.
If she knew he would throw all of her important stuff out of the bag, she would've zipped it herself.
Casey, as was customary, overpacked for her stay, whereas Derek packed a single duffel bag of clothes and a toothbrush. If it hadn't been for Casey, he might not have bothered with a duffel bag at all. He could, in fact, borrow whatever he wanted from Edwin while he visited.
"Enough, you two." Nora took Simon back into her arms, preferring the company of a baby than these argumentative teenagers. In some ways, they were more immature than Simon.
Marti, Lizzie, and Edwin swarmed inside the living room, overly thrilled to have their older siblings back for Thanksgiving. In the midst of so much happiness, Derek and Casey turned to each other and shared many unspoken words, realizing they would have to get along for the sake of their excited family.
When dinner was served that evening, Derek was way beyond the point of hunger. He was the first pitiful soul to dig into the plate of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Immediately, his eyes grew wide, and he put a finger up to his mouth, trying not to cough it up.
Casey rolled her eyes, thinking it couldn't possibly be that bad and that Derek was being a big baby. To prove her point, she stuck her fork into her food and brought it to her mouth.
Unlike her stepbrother, Casey managed not to cough or spit her food out, but she was quick to grab a glass of water, gulping it down until nothing remained. The kids were in a fit of giggles as their siblings struggled to get past the first bite.
"I have ice cream in the freezer," Nora suggested, realizing George was the butt of the joke.
"Hey, I worked really hard on this dinner," George sneered, sniffing the food for himself and placing the fork back onto its plate. He couldn't argue with the kids at this point. So much for being a wizard in the kitchen!
"We're really sorry, George," Casey apologized.
"I'm not. That was the worst thing I've ever had, Dad." Of course, this earned Derek a kick underneath the table. He was being totally inconsiderate!
"It's the thought that counts, George," Casey assured her stepfather.
"If he was thinking of others, he would've stayed out of the kitchen." Derek was ruthless, and his comment was uncalled for! Everyone at the table appeared to be upset with him.
"Oh really? Then I guess you wouldn't mind helping out by cooking Thanksgiving dinner," George announced.
"You want me to what?" Derek paused.
If he hadn't badgered his father, Derek could've left the dinner table unscathed, but there was a fat chance of that happening after those hurdled insults.
"Nora is busy with Simon, Derek. Who else do you think is cooking?" Edwin chimed in.
"Edwin burned toast last week, so he's out of the question," Lizzie laughed.
Edwin? Cooking? That would be worse than George.
"I can help!" Marti kindly offered her assistance, earning her a rightful tickling from George. Marti was a great helper, but her specialty was in jelly sandwiches, not Thanksgiving dinners.
"I think that's a great idea, George. Derek and Casey can do the cooking."
Casey snapped her head towards her mother. How did she get roped into this? Sure, she offered her help around the house, but working with Derek wasn't a part of that offer.
"Wait, what? Me and Derek? Cooking together?" Ew, no way!
"I'm sorry, is this an alternate universe of some kind?" Derek agreed this idea was preposterous.
"Relax, guys. Aren't you two sharing an apartment? Haven't you cooked together before?" Ah, Casey forgot she told her mom about Derek's roommate situation.
"We live together, yes, but he goes his way, and I go mine. We barely see each other at the apartment, especially not for dinner." That was a lie from the pits of hell; they often shared dinner together. With that being said, Derek preferred eating processed junk in the cabinet while Casey cooked for herself.
"Whatever the case may be, I'm sure you can get along for one day to help us out?" Nora was relentless.
Casey and Derek said nothing, knowing full well they were going to be forced into pulling off a Thanksgiving miracle.
It wasn't until that night that Casey started questioning the sleeping arrangements. She was under the impression that nothing had changed, but in fact, everything had changed.
George and Nora moved back upstairs into Casey's room, and Simon took Derek's old room. The basement was converted into a guest room, and guess which guests had the pleasure of staying there?
"I'm sharing a room with Derek?!" Casey hyperventilated.
"Honey, just for the holidays," Nora gently smiled.
"Aren't you the biggest inconvenience?" Derek whispered to Simon, cradling the baby in his arms.
"Aw, don't talk to Simon that way," Nora said.
"I was talking about Casey," Derek smirked.
"Oh." Nora said.
"Mom!"
"Sorry, honey, about all of this, but I have to take Simon to bed. Please, you two, be civil while I'm gone."
That night, Casey tossed her suitcase onto the bed next to an already resting Derek. Luckily, he took a shower before sitting there.
Casey rummaged through her bag, looking for her pink pajamas.
"Derek, did you toss out all of my pajamas, too?"
"How else was I going to zip that thing?"
"Ugh! I can't believe you!" Casey was rightfully irate.
"Calm down. Just borrow a pair from Lizzie."
"Lizzie isn't my size, Derek! So what am I supposed to wear?" Lizzie was much more petite than Casey. There was no way she could wear her pajamas!
Derek's thoughts ran rampant, and the side of his lip twitched when an idea crossed his mind.
"You can borrow a sleep shirt from me. Check my bag on the desk chair."
She had no choice but to comply.
Casey grabbed whatever she could find and went back upstairs for a shower. (Luckily, Lizzie did have a decent pair of shorts, so she only had to borrow Derek's shirt.)
When Casey came back from her shower, Derek lie frozen in bed. She was wearing an old Coldspray shirt of his that hung loosely against her chest and hovered just above her knees. He thought there must be a pair of shorts underneath, but he couldn't see them. It was like a wet dream the way she sauntered over to the bed in his clothes, her skin still glistening with droplets of water.
A wet dream? And Casey? Oh, no. This was so wrong. Derek wiped his sinful eyes, but even that didn't stop him from staring at her as if she were the object of all of his unfulfilled desires.
A million different questions scrambled through his tiny brain all at once. Why did he offer her his shirt? Why did she accept it? Was she wearing a bra? Christ, this was unnerving him! He had to get it together!
"What are you staring at?"
Crap. She noticed!
"Nothing. I'm surprised my shirt is big enough for you." Nice save.
Casey rolled her eyes but gave him no reply as she fluffed the pillows on her side of the bed. It didn't go unnoticed that Derek had taken off his shirt since the last time she was in the room. Shirtless Derek was nothing unusual to see, as she was accustomed to Derek barging in her room without one on, but this was different because they were sharing the same bed together.
Casey safely took the opposite end of the bed and tried to keep her distance from her stepbrother.
She was surprised when Derek clicked off the lamp as if he were going to bed, too. Suppose the trip and the welcome back were exhausting for the both of them.
"Don't hit me with your big feet tonight," he called out, slouching down onto his silk pillow.
"I won't if you don't fart on me."
"No promises."
It was around three in the morning when Derek stirred awake in bed. His circadian rhythm had clearly taken a hit, thanks to going to bed at ten.
He needed to pee, but something clinging to his leg wouldn't allow him to move. Adjusting his vision, Derek moved the comforter to see that Casey's leg had crossed over his overnight. Her skin was so soft against his. Too soft.
He tried to nudge her away with his knee, but she whimpered in her sleep, cuddling closer. He melted a tiny bit, coming to the conclusion he wasn't leaving this bed until morning. He spent the rest of the night with the urge to pee for the sake of Casey's beauty sleep.