"Casey!"

The sound of Derek's booming voice hits me instantly. I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks and smooth the hair back from my face, trying desperately to compose myself. I stand up from the bed and glance in the mirror, horrified at the smudged makeup around my eyes and the wild hair cascading down my shoulders.

"Case!" pound, pound, pound. "Casey!"

I roll my eyes as the sound of Derek pounding on door after door continues to reverberate through the walls. I unlock the door and open it before he can cause an even bigger scene than he already has. Across the hall, on the other side of the railing, Derek's talking to some naked guy who has a pillow positioned in front of his junk.

"Dude! I'm telling you, she's not in here."

"I swear to God if…"

"Derek," I say to grab his attention, one hand placed on my hip in annoyance. I give him my best what the hell do you think you're doing face as he whips around to glance at me. It only takes a moment for his long strides to reach me. He pushes me back into the room, kicks the door shut, and locks it behind him.

"Are you okay?" he asks, taking my face between his hands. I can't focus on the warmth or the way his thumb is moving across my cheek. I can't tell if he's genuinely concerned or on the verge of screaming at me.

"I'm fine," I say, pushing his hands away. "I just needed a minute to myself."

I sit back on the edge of the bed, not bothering to pull my short dress down in the process. I'm too tired, both emotionally and physically, to give a damn.

"Have you been crying?" he asks softly. The old Derek wouldn't have even asked that question. He would have turned around and ran, pretending not to notice in the first place.

I clear my throat. "I'm just tired, Der."

"What the hell did I do?"

His question catches me off guard. Not because he's asked if he's to blame, but because his voice breaks in the process. For the first time, I allow my gaze to meet his own. I can feel my earlier anger slipping a little at the sight. My lip's part, and then close. I repeat this motion several times before the words finally slip out.

"You almost kissed me," I say, swallowing hard at the silence that follows.

Derek looks surprised, then confused. It's clear he's taking my words in. And then…he chuckles, a low and condescending sound that I don't much appreciate.

"Seriously? You ran away because I was going to kiss you? Come on, Case. You can't tell me you're that shocked after everything we've been through recently."

"You've never even hugged me!" I burst out, standing up so quickly, that a dizzy feeling overcomes me. I close my eyes and breathe deep until the feeling subsides, pushing my unruly hair back with both fists. I'm unable to finally not speak my mind.

The things I've wanted to say so many times, but haven't, come bursting forth, as I count each unforgettable instance on my fingers. "I have tried and tried over the years with you, Der. I've tried to hug you. I've tried to get along. I've tried to help you when you needed someone. And all I've gotten in return is glue in my shampoo, cruel nicknames, shattered dreams…a step-brother I never asked for!"

"Fuck, Case," Derek says, his breathing labored as his face swiftly changes from concern, to hurt, to anger. "Why don't you tell me how you really feel?"

"See! That's what I'm talking about. You aren't even listening to me! You're just getting angry."

"I am listening to you! That's the problem. I tried to kiss you because I wanted to. There was no ulterior motive. So, I haven't hugged you. Big fucking deal! Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why I don't touch you? Why I run every time you try to have one of your feel-good family moments? Because I won't be able to stop myself," he says, his long strides catching me in moments as his hands once again find the sides of my face, forcing me to look up at him. "Because you're the step-sister I never asked for."

My breath catches as he throws my own words back in my face.

And that's when it happens. I crash my lips against his in a mixture of desperation and something much more. This kiss was years in the making. All of our fights. All of our stolen glances. All of the times I'd use to sit on the other side of our shared wall and simply wonder what would happen if I forced myself to finally burst into his room and give in to the dark thoughts that the perfect Casey McDonald was suppressing for the sake of society and her own sanity.

A soft sigh escapes my parts lips, and I falter a little, pulling back from the scorching kiss. But he doesn't let me get far. His dark eyes had somehow grown darker in the dim room. It was almost terrifying.

Almost.

"Come here," he says in a low growl, the sound incredibly sexy. This time his lips find my mind in a much softer rhythm, his tongue gently teasing my mouth apart to allow him entry. I can taste the alcohol on his lips, but he doesn't seem to be drunk.

With one arm braced around my waist and the other behind my knee, he lifts me easily, my legs wrapping around his lean hips. Our lips never part as he lays me on the bed, his body covering my own.

I've never found myself in this position with a guy before. I'm eighteen. I'm trying to tell myself it's natural…normal. But that doesn't seem to keep my entire body from blushing. It was incredibly intimate. Of course I've been kissed before, but not like this. This had to be what making love felt like. The gently caressing of our tongues entwined. His warm hand gliding up and down my bare thigh, squeezing lightly as his hips rocked the slightest bit against the part of me that was on fire and pulsating. Only a few thin layers of clothes separated us from actually coming together.

Derek released my lips, and I instantly felt the separation. That was until his soft kisses began to make their way down, starting at the corner of my lips, along my jaw, and down to my collar bone. He licked lightly, causing my hips to rise and lust filled sighs to escape my throat.

He chuckled.

I'm glad he was finding my torture to be amusing.

Just then, he raises his head to look down at me, his hips still moving gently in a dangerously slow rhythm that both terrified me and left me wanting more.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you are?" he asks, his hot breath tickling my ear as his finger traces the exact same spots he had just kissed, dipping lower until it finds the top of my breast.

I bite down on my bottom lip at his seductive words. Never in my wildest imagination would I ever expect Derek to say something like that to me. I smile. "I want to go back to our apartment, but I'm a little scared."

He raises an eyebrow in question. "Why?" he asked, a genuine grin lifting to meet my own.

"You said…" a suddenly burst of embarrassment overcomes me. I can't quite say the words. Not the way he had effortlessly said them to me downstairs when we'd been dancing. "I'm sure it was the pot and little bit of alcohol that made you say it."

I glance away, noticing the clock on the bedside table reading 1:18am. It was so late. How had the time gotten away from us?

"It's-it's getting really late."

"Why don't you want to go home?"

"What you said to me downstairs..."

"Mmmm," his chest reverberated the sound. Derek dipped his head slowly, catching my lips once again in a searing kiss that left me wanting more. Much more. And it terrified me. "You mean the part about not being able to live with you without making love?"

"Mmhmm," I nod my head in a quick gesture, unnerved by the sound of those two little words coming from his sinful mouth.

"Hey. Look at me," he whispers, taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger until his gaze caught my own. His eyes were so sincere that it tore at my heart. "I would never force you to do anything you didn't want to. You don't have to be scared to live with me."

"I know that. It's just – I'm not sure I trust myself, either."

"Is that such a bad thing, giving in to whatever this is?" he asked a little teasingly.

"And what is – this?" I ask, gesturing between the small amount of space where our chests weren't currently touching.

"Whatever you want it to be."

Whatever you want it to be. He was throwing the ball in my court, allowing me to decide where we went from here. It was all too much.

"We're supposed to get an annulment next week. We'd be lying about an annulment if we slept together." I say the words that are weighing heavily between us. He had to be thinking it to. How could he not?

I swear I see hurt on his expression as a sound of exasperation leaves him. Derek finally backs away, my body instantly feeling cold from where his warmth had only been moments ago. I close my legs quickly and sit up, backing away until I'm fully leaning against the headboard. I watch as he leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees. Several silent seconds tick by until he finally speaks.

"Do you honestly think I would have sex with you and then still go through with an annulment? Do you think that little of me?"

I hold my breath. What? What did he just say?

"We're still teenagers, Der. Freshman at university. What will Mom say? And George."

"I don't give a fuck what anyone has to say," he bursts out, causing me to instantly go silent. "You have always tried to please everyone. What…do…you…want?"

"I – "

"Just be honest with yourself, Princess. What do you want?"

Be honest with myself? I spent years lying to everyone around me, myself included. And as much as I've always loathed Derek, I've never hated him. Not truly. What started out as a stupid, immature bet has developed into so much more. I want to be a lawyer. I want to do the right thing and get married at 28, have my first child at 30, and have Derek be the fun uncle that will love my kids while still making my own life a living nightmare.

But that's not the reality I'm living in any longer.

When I look at Derek, it's not the fun uncle I see.

I see him as my children's father.

I can feel a hot tear escape down my cheek. I had no idea I was about to cry. Where had that come from?

I find it hard to suddenly breathe at the realization. When had it happened? When had I fallen in love with Derek?

"Casey," he whispers, coming to sit beside me again. He isn't running from the tears; he's kissing them away.

"I want you," I let out, sobbing the words I'd spent so long denying myself. "I want you, Derek. I've always wanted you."

Derek places a supportive hand behind my head, leaning it forward to rest against his shoulder, gently rocking me back and forth as the sobs continue to coarse through my body.

I hold onto him with every fiber of my being as his own declaration washes over me.

"I want you too, baby."