I Will Follow You Into the Dark

CHAPTER 23

Derek wandered back down the quiet hallway lost in thought. By now, he was convinced that he had a wonderful, loving family. He was also a bit shocked by the memory of his father that had come to him while his mother was talking. Was it weird that he remembered the dead family member and not the living? He knew that the brain compartmentalized things. Maybe memories of dead people were stored in a different place than memories of those one dealt with more recently. Who knew?

He tried to console himself with the fact that he had remembered something about Boston and that he remembered a family member whose photo had not been sent to him. It gave him hope that he'd eventually remember more.

Fingering the photo he always kept near his heart, Derek paused a moment before entering the busy family room. If only he could remember her. Well, he didn't want to remember her if he could only remember dead people, but he wanted to remember her. He also wanted to see her. He had fully expected her to be there today. And he hadn't seen her......not yet.

Hoping against hope that he'd walk out and be greeted by the vision of her hair and her beautiful eyes, Derek stepped into the family room and stood in a corner. He carefully—but not too obviously—scanned the room for her face. Sadly, she was not there. As he glanced around, he felt a tiny hand hold his once more. He turned to smile down at Kelly, and she gave his hand a caring squeeze, "Were you looking for me?" she asked sweetly.

"I sure was," he lied to make her happy. "I'm glad you found me," he said honestly, looking at the sweet little girl tenderly.

"Let's go out back," Kelly suggested. "You need some air."

"Good idea," Derek admitted as she led him back through the kitchen toward the back door.

Derek felt a hand tap his shoulder. He turned to face Lauren, his second oldest sister. Lauren looked at Kelly kindly and said, "Honey, Uncle Derek might want to stay inside and talk with the grown-ups. Why don't you go out and play with your cousins?" Kelly looked up at Derek expecting him to agree with her stepmom. Grownups always did that—interfered when little kids had plans—good plans—for making things better.

"No. Really. It's OK. We're just gonna get some air," Derek said smiling and nodding to the little girl. Kelly broke into a huge smile and said in a very grown-up voice, "We'll be back soon, Lauren. I won't montopolize all of Uncle Derek's time."

The two adults exchanged a knowing glance and a smile before Derek let Kelly lead him outside.

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Derek's mother's house was on a decent-sized lot, but that part of the neighborhood backed up to a forest, so the view from the back deck was breathtaking. Kelly led Derek down the path that wandered from the backyard full of children playing noisily toward the quiet of the woods. Derek instantly relaxed in the more quiet, remote setting. He smiled down at Kelly who had stopped to pick some flowers. It was as if she had known exactly what he needed to relax. They walked several hundred yards down the path before stopping at a tree stump to sit.

After settling onto the stump, Derek reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the photos he always carried. "Do you know her?" he asked Kelly. She examined the photos carefully.

"She's pretty. Nope. Never met her."

"Oh," Derek said sadly. Kelly watched him gaze at the photos mournfully and noticed how sad he looked, "We could ask other people about her," she began.

"No. Not yet," he replied sadly.

"OK," Kelly said softly. She reached over and took his hand again. She stood up and started walking back toward the house with Derek in tow.

"Do you remember the rainforest?" she asked full of curiosity.

"Yeah," Derek said as he continued to be lost in thought.

"Was it pretty?" she had to know.

"Yeah," Derek replied.

Kelly loved animals, so she had to ask, "Were there cool animals there?"

"Yeah," said Derek as he smiled over at her enthusiasm.

By this time, they had returned to the hustle and bustle of the backyard. Kelly led Derek over to the swing in a partially shady spot, and they sat down. He tried very hard to listen as Kelly chatted on as only little children can do. "There are my cousins. There's Kimmy and Jessie. Oh, and that's Tiffany, my mom says she's boy crazy too early whatever that means. There's Alli playing with Leanne. And that group over there? That's Mara, Rachel, and Angel. Katt, Holly, and Tess are Mrs. Williams' kids—they live down the street. Bettina, Cinny and Maaike are Mrs. Johnson's kids from next door. I'm sure you'll meet the boys later. I prefer not to talk about them. Most of the ones near my age are creepy."

Kelly was so happy talking to a grown up who actually let her talk that she hadn't noticed the change in Derek's expression. He was lost in time and space. He had listened for a while, but the motion of the swing had awakened a long-lost memory--a big one. He remembered the girl in the photo.



Flashback:

Derek noticed the way the sunlight illuminated her hair as she sat basking in the afternoon sun. Swaying softly, her hair fluttered in the small breeze the swing created as it moved gently back and forth. He was stricken with that feeling that always hit him when he stopped long enough to ponder her beauty. And that smile.....he loved the way it lit up a few notches when she noticed him walking toward her. The sparkle in her eyes simply dazzled him.

Derek continued his approach and reached out his hands to grasp hers. He pulled her into a tight embrace, and kissed her deeply. In a matter of moments, passions flared, and his hands were roaming freely.

"Derek," she whispered in an attempt to retain her sanity, "your mom........"

"Who?" he asked not wasting any time moving to nibble down her neck in that way that drove her crazy.

"Your mom's inside," she whispered, this time more than a little breathless from the power of his lips and his hands on her body.

"She knows I love you," Derek muttered softly in her ear before nibbling on it and resuming his advances.

"Well, we can't be so obvious," she said, trying to resist but slowly admitting defeat.

"Why not?" he asked, kissing her deeply again. He loved every inch of her and longed to lay claim to her fabulous body.

"We just can't," she said, pushing him away gently and pouting enough to get his attention.

Sighing audibly, he groaned inwardly and refused to press her. "Fine," he said trying to think logically with his hormones raging. He ran his hands through his wavy hair and sat down in the swing. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at her submissively, "You sit on my lap, and I'll let you control our behavior."

She appeared to consider whether this was wise, but gave in quickly to that adorable look he gave her. He saved it—the tilt-your-head-a-bit-and-beg-her-with-your-eyes look—for special occasions. This, he had decided was a special occasion. It actually wasn't. It was an ordinary day. Except that neither of them had class until late tomorrow, and they were spending the afternoon, and hopefully the night, together.

She sat down on his lap and immediately realized her error. He was obviously seriously turned on. She gasped a little as that reality hit her. Taking advantage of her newfound knowledge, he leaned over and whispered into her ear how much he wanted her.......all of her........

She tried to breathe, but he leaned closer and did that thing to her ear that always made her moan. So she moaned, and he moaned right back. Panicking at what she wanted to do and realizing where they were, she jumped up and turned sideways so that she wouldn't get caught up in that look she knew he'd be giving her. "That," she said seriously, "was a bad idea."

He grinned at her with that devilishly handsome smile and said, "Really? I thought it was inspired."

She turned to look at him and was frozen by his stare. The heat radiated between them, and he saw that she realized the danger she was in. He'd lost the capacity to think of anyone except her, but he could see her thoughts racing. His mother was nearby, there were children playing next door, they might as well have been out on a public street. They had to control themselves. And self control was often a problem for both of them. Having no other coherent thought aside from flight, she turned and raced down the path to the woods. He wasted no time in chasing after her. By the time she had reached the clearing beneath a thick patch of trees, he had closed the distance. Racing up behind her, he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face him. They both stood there completely out of breath, but their thudding hearts had nothing to do with the race they'd just finished.

Staring ravenously at her without even attempting to hide his longing, he quit trying to behave himself. Crushing her lips with his, he lost all sanity just as he drove her to lose his. Her lips parted for him, and they kissed more deeply and passionately than ever before. Hands were roaming under and over clothing with an intensity matched only by the sensations felt in response. Bodies merging, they stumbled and landed against a tree. Pausing only to look around quickly, Derek pulled her with him into a shady space out of sight. He sat down quickly and pulled her onto his lap. Lying down without ever taking his lips from hers he heard her moan in response to his ever present longing for her. Knowing that she would fight him no longer, he started removing her clothing and helping her to remove his.

They made love in the shadows of the dusky sunlight. As caught up as he was in the experience, the vision of her in the light of that magical sunset was forever etched in his memory. Exhausted but deliriously happy, they finally lay back and held each other. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly as he pulled her closer to him. "I love you," he said sweetly, earning a loving smile and an "I love you back" from his girlfriend. "You can be in charge anytime......" he added with a mischievous grin that earned him a playful slap which only served to stir their passions to the breaking point once again.





So I hope this was the perfect place to leave you. Mer/Der suss in this fic--who would have imagined??? Tell me you're happy about that. And no major cliffs or angst......I tried to behave myself.....really I did!