A VERY (DREE) THANKSGIVING

[aubrey rose jenkins]

Bree could have went home for Thanksgiving but instead wanting to make up for a summer of abandonment by making Derek dinner. She had never really cooked an entire dinner, so to prepare for Thanksgiving she found herself watching the food network all the time. She burnt many cookies, treats sucked, and her main courses never looked (or tasted) as good as the ones on TV. Bree wanted Derek to really enjoy himself for dinner so she pulled out all the stops and bought everything she thought they'd need.

For starters she cordially invited him in a hand written letter to dinner. She gave him her address and told him the time to be there, and a week before Thanksgiving she put a stamp on the envelope and off it went in the mail. She bought herself a nice dress that she could wear for the evening, and she even bought herself an apron so she wouldn't get her clothes dirty while she cooked. Everything was perfect for when the day came.

The week went by quick and soon Thanksgiving was here, so Bree woke up early to get the turkey ready to go into the oven. This required her mother on speakerphone telling her the seasonings that went on top before the bird was hoisted in the oven. She thought it looked pretty good as she put the finishing touches of seasonings on and moved the rack to the bottom so she could fit the big pan. She slid the turkey into the oven and set the timer after it preheated. She then pulled out a serving tray and started to do as her mother did so many years and open jars of pickles, olives, and other condiments that she could spread out for finger food. She started putting the cream cheese on the celery sticks like she did as a kid and put those on the tray as well.

She wasn't sure what time she told Derek to be here, so as hours past she kept searching outide for him as she started peeling potatoes.

OUTFIT

[darius jereme whitfield]

Her handwriting had seemed almost foreign at first glance, Derek had had to reread the words scrawled on the page a few times to be sure of what his eyes were seeing. Aubrey Jenkins was inviting him to spend Thanksgiving with her; he wasn't entirely sure whether she could cook or not, but she was showing she wanted to move forward. Or at least that was how it had appeared. And the ball was now in his court.

His hazel eyes feverishly scanned the sprawled out piece of paper on his bed as he buttoned all but the top few buttons of his shirt before buttoning up his vest, the day had crept up on him and he'd been rushing around to get ready to go over to her place. The whole week he'd continuously picked up the letter, contemplating whether to go or not, only to set it aside and try to push it out of his mind. But the day had come and he'd come to the conclusion that he did want to go, if only he hadn't waited so long and wasn't rushing to get over there so she wouldn't think he stood her up.


Pulling up in front of her place Derek shut off the engine before climbing out of his car and locking the doors, walking up to the front door he tried to peek in the open windows to see her and thought he'd seen something dart past the window. His brow arched up as he remained unsure of what he saw, drawing in closer to the door his hand rose up in the air and formed a fist ready to connect with the door. But his hand was frozen in the air as the door was opening before him, "You weren't waiting for me were you?" His hazel eyes swept over her and eyes widened slightly, even if he'd seen her in a dress there still something pleasantly shocking about it. "Didn't think you were that kind of girl Jenkins." Finding his voice once again his gaze reluctantly tore away from her legs. "Don't you look...good enough to eat."

outfit.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

Aubrey was getting frustrated when she kept cutting into the potato with the knife she was using, so she called her mother for about the twentieth time this morning. Her mom laughed and carried on about how special this dinner must be, but through the embarassment Bree heard her tell her to use the vegetable peeler to take just the skin off. It was so easy that she should have thought of that. She thanked her mother and the two hung up as she walked to the appropriate drawer and pulled out the peeler. She walked back to the table making sure she could see outside so she didn't miss Derek show up.

Bree's hands were all potato peelings when she saw his car pull into the driveway, so she ran to the sink and washed her hands quick as she patted them on her apron before taking it off and throwing it over the chair at the table. She walked to the door checking her appearance in a mirror hanging on the wall, and when she saw him coming up the steps she opened the door in time to come face to face with him. "Derek, hi," Bree grinned as she leaned over pulling him into a hug as she kissed his cheek. "How are you?" She pulled away as she stepped out of his way so he could come into the house. She checked out his outfit as he passed with a stupid grin on her face, damn did he look good.

"Thanks for coming over. I'm glad you got my letter," she motioned for him to follow as she lead him into the living room area. "You look great, but you do realize you didn't have to dress up right?" She laughed as she motioned for him to come into the kitchen. "I've got my mom on speed dial so you don't have to worry about the food, I promise." Her first attempt at cooking for someone so of course she hoped he wouldn't get sick. "Bathroom is upstairs to the left, and dining room is right over there. What do you think? Not bad right?" She hoped he'd approve of everything.

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[darius jereme whitfield]

Stepping over the threshold he moved out of the way so she could close the door, looking over his shoulder to get another look at her. His heart faltered a beat, she was beautiful and he knew he was glad he'd come. "Honestly?" His eyes darted up to meet hers, his brows arched up as he bit down nervously on his lower lip. "Alittle nervous, I mean us being normal isn't something I'm used to." That didn't even begin to cover how he was feeling but there was no reason to alarm her or to possibly make things worse.

Derek's face hinted at the ghost of a smile as he leaned closer to her, once they'd come to a halt in the living room, his face inches from hers. "I appreciate you taking the time to write it, anyone else might have not done something like that. And I do love letters." The quick tour of the house wasn't something he'd expected to happen, but his hazel eyes did wonder around curiously as she led him from room to room to show off where she was staying; it was a nice place, something about it just didn't scream Aubrey Jenkins to him. Waving off her comment his eyes swept over his outfit as she mentioned it, "Whitfield tradition to always dress up for Thanksgiving. It's just ingrained in me to do so, but maybe I also, just a little bit, wanted to look nice for you." Shrugging nonchalantly he went back to looking around her place.

"Well I can honestly say it's not what I pictured at all." Shaking his head he looked over at her as he thought back to what he'd seen in the living room. "I always thought your first place would have to have a basketball court in the living room. Probably best you don't have one, then you'd be more focused on beating me in a game then cooking." Moving closer to her a faint smile crossed his face. "It seems like a great place. Now I can't show you mine." he shook his head as if there was no way he could.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

It was nice hearing that he'd felt nervous about today, because she was too, but for his reasoning she had to laugh. "How long do you think we could keep this up?" Being normal for the two of them was weird, but still possible. "If it gets to weird for you just say the words and i'll go change into some sweats and throw a game on." That sounded just as nice as this meal they had planned, but she couldn't change her plans now.

Bree still couldn't believe that he'd never came to visit her house, so it made her quick tour all the more special. When they stopped in the living room she spun around to see him, grinning as he thanked her for the letter, "you're just lucky I found a pen." She would have bought one special for that letter if she hadn't found one at work. She continued her tour of the house making sure to stay right beside him. "Why didn't you-" she would have asked why he hadn't gone home for the day, much like she hadn't, but as he continued she shut up and just stood there with that grin still present.

Looking down at her own outfit she had done the same, not that it'd been tradition in her family, but she did want to look nice for him. "You look great so mission accomplished." She laughed as he so quickly moved onto talk about the house. She looked around shrugging, "well I didn't really have much say, it's not really my place, I just rent the room." She had control of the entire house with him gone now, but she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to front the bill. "Like I have to be all that focused to beat your ass," she smirked thankful Derek hadn't been serious about the sport of basketball. "I could do it blind folded with one hand tied behind my back."

When he mentioned not being able to show her his she just laughed, "it's okay, I wouldn't want you to embarass yourself." She teased, smirking with a wink.

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[darius jereme whitfield]

Derek shrugged his shoulders with uncertainty, his hands burrowing into the recesses of his pocket. With the two of them it was safe to say any good moment could be ruined in the blink of an eye, so to try and pin point an exact time seemed impossible; there was also a point that he was going to actually try to not let the little things upset him, but that seemed like wishful thinking on his part. "You can wear whatever you want Aubrey...I'd be okay with it if you wanted to go around naked the rest of the night." A mischievous grin snaked it's way across his face, his hazel eyes gleaming with delight as they swept over her frame once more. "Don't let me stop you from being comfortable."

Even though she hadn't finished her thought his lips hinted at a smile, always the curious girl about the workings of Darius Whitfield. Watching her from the corner of his eye he noted how her face had lit up from what he had said and he couldn't help but nudge her gently, "To dam easy to please. Just to keep that smile on your face I'll come right out and say it, I stayed for you." Derek had an inkling she'd come to that conclusion herself but couldn't help himself, wanting to see if that grin stretched even further.

Allowing his head to tilt to the side he looked at her baffled, his hand pressing against his chest as he feigned offense. But before he could utter out his defense he quickly perked up, eyebrow darting upwards as the corners of his lips began to curl into a smirk. "Are we still talking about playing basketball? Because blindfolds and hands tied have my mind wandering elsewhere."

Shaking his head in disappointment his gaze fell down to the ground, "Always trying to hurt my feelings. Thankfully I have thick skin." Peeking up at her before he glanced around the kitchen curiously to see what all was there, "Should I leave you to it then?"

[aubrey rose jenkins]

She should have known he was going to say something like that as she silently informed him that it would not happen. "Me naked around a hot oven? Could spell disaster," she teased glancing down at the small bulge underneath her shirt, and soon continued to draw her attention to her shoes. "These actually aren't all that uncomfortable today, shocking." By tonight they'd probably be killing her, but she could handle it.

His nudge helped remind her that this was all happening and not some elaborate dream, and she even laughed as he picked on her. Her laughter dwindled for a second longer before that grin forced itself back up taking control of her entire face, her eyes lighting up as her cheeks tinted red, "now are you just saying that or do you mean it, that's the real question." She had known the answer though, of course he meant what he said. He didn't seem like someone who'd lie just to please her, and if he was then why the hell was he so blunt the past four years?

Bree should have known again he'd take her words and throw them out of context, but instead of quickly denying she once again played along. "Everyone knows the best way to work off a Thanksgiving Dinner is to play around," she smirked, although she hadn't thought of things going in that route today. "I don't have handcuffs though, last time I played with those I lost the key and it wasn't a good time," it was true though, but not in the context he'd think. Sure she lost the key, but she was also twelve and her friend had cuffed her to a postal box. Talk about the looks she got when people came to drop their letters in.

She looked over at the potatoes on the table nodding, "only if you want to eat on time," she walked to the table and grabbed the peeler. "Make yourself comfortable." She finished the potatoes, and soon had them on the stove heating the water up to cook them.

[/justify][/size]

[darius jereme whitfield]

Crooking his elbow around her slender neck he moved in closer to her like he had some big secret to tell; as if someone else would hear when they were alone. His hazel eyes were focused on the change in pigment in her cheeks for a second before lowering to her lips, finally darting up to her meet her eyes; always taking his time to look over her face, as if he'd miss something if he didn't. "Always pushing the limit even when I make it so simple a child could understand?" Heaving an over exaggerated sigh he rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, "I didn't decide on coming for the food. Because frankly you could serve me burnt toast and I wouldn't care." Though honest he was hoping she'd be serving something else.

His eyebrow's peaked up as his head began to teeter to one side, he wasn't sure he'd heard her right. "Don't you say such things to me if they won't happen. Or you are going to get it little lady." His eyebrows remained arched up in challenge, hoping she'd test him. Not so he'd find some reason to start a pointless fight like usual but he had something rather out of character up his sleeve. "Oh lucky you I can use a belt or find something to tie you up with...I know a little something something about knots." Reaching out for her hands he held them in his as he examined them and her wrists, "Don't worry I can make sure they're tied up."

Staying out of her way Derek lingered in the kitchen a while longer to watch her at work, it was an interesting thing to watch her move about the kitchen. As she began to prepare another dish he had wondered up next to her, his eyes darting from her face to her hands. "You're kind of sexy when you cook." It was all the warning she got before his lips were pressed against hers, moving his lips against hers he didn't want to remove his lips from hers; he could never get enough of her.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

"How'm I supposed to know what is going to happen after dinner?" She smirked, still remembering what he'd just said about coming over for more than just the food. She could have found a way to verbally thank him, but the look of admiration on her face she hoped could be payment enough. She just hoped her meal would be decent today so they could mark this as a perfect holiday together. "Am I supposed to be afraid of you?" She tried to look horrified but couldn't keep the face as she burst into laughter giving him a teasing wink.

Bree could have pulled away but instead she took notice to his exam curiously. What in the world was he doing? As he started to explain she tried to hold her giggles in, but she just couldn't as they began to break free from her lips. She pulled her hands away from him and hid them behind her back. "Don't be getting ahead of yourself Darius," she spoke up using his entire first name with a smirk plastered across her face. Damn was he fun to play around with (when he was in a good mood).

She knew if they continued with the games dinner would never get done, so as he reminded her of what she'd been doing she went back to it. She was confused when she found him still sticking around in the kitchen, but all became clear as she had little time to react to his lips pressed against hers in the middle of preparing another dish. Bree released the spoon she was using to stir whatever was in the pot, and found herself reaching her hand up and behind his neck letting her fingers slip through his hair pulling him closer to her. His lips were intoxicating, and although she'd had no warning she knew immediately what she should do. Usually she could pull away and make some remark, but today all she could do was press herself closer to him letting her other hand rest on his side. "What was that for?" She finally asked as their lips parted hesitantly.

[/justify]

[darius jereme whitfield]

---several hours later---
Pushing his chair back from the table Derek's eyes were fixed on the remnants of food that littered his plate, it hadn't been the best Thanksgiving meal he'd ever had but he'd some how ate enough of it to get through almost two plates. "Well you shouldn't consider opening your own restaurant or anything but it was decent." He offered not wanting to hurt her feelings, she had invited him over and things were going so well he didn't want her to start to throw things at him for criticizing her food.

Mussing with his dark locks of hair he was trying his best to avoid her gaze but couldn't resist any longer and stole a peek at her, half expecting her to be giggling at how he seemed nervous all the sudden; it had to be an odd sight as he'd never acted this way in all the time they'd known each other. "Jenkins..." He let her name hang in the air as he reached for his glass and took a sip, suddenly feeling rather hot all the sudden; his throat dry and making it hard for him to continue. And his heart, the dam thing was beating so fast. Why was it beating so fast?

Taking a few more sips he set down his glass, noticing he'd some how managed to drain it in such a short time; wishing it'd been something a lot stronger to help him out right now. "...Aubrey. Are we...that is...is this an unofficial...date?" He almost choked on the word, it shouldn't have been that hard and yet it was. He knew not only for him but for her as well, the way he was leading the conversation he was aware things were about to become hard for the two of them. "It's not so terrible if it was. And maybe..." Drawing in a deep breath he knew he could just stop now. "...we could do this officially? Or maybe even date...like a couple?" This all felt so strange and he wouldn't blame her if she said no, maybe they were just suppose to have fun and he was ruining it.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

Bree picked up her napkin and dabbed the corners of her mouth after finishing her meal. It wasn't the best meal but damn did she feel accomplished for cooking it all herself. She thought things were going smoothly for them until it looked like Derek was starting to sweat. "Oh shit, the turkey was done, you can't be getting sick already," she checked it's temperature and it was perfect, he better not be getting food poisoning.

His question had her placing her napkin on the table as she stared at him in disbelief. She had no words for what he was saying, so instead stayed silent glancing around at the mess she'd made while preparing the food. She took a deep breath, then another, and soon she was raising her glass to take a drink. "Derek," she looked down at her glass focusing on the liquid trembling within it. She was visibly shook with him having caught her so off-guard. "I know that turkey makes you tired after a big meal, but I didn't think it made you delusional." This just wasn't the side of Derek that she knew, and to be honest she was a little bit frightened right now.

"I should probably start picking some of this mess up. If you're not feeling well you can go lay on the couch or something," maybe he just had an upset stomach and wasn't thinking straight. Could he be serious? She stood from her seat and reached for her plate and glass so she could bring it to the sink having to keep herself moving or else she'd end up exploding or something. She still couldn't believe that he'd used the word 'couple' around her, asking her to make it official, but instead of being mad about it she found herself with the sliver of a smile resting across her lips. Would they even make a good enough couple?

She knew that she was avoiding the subject and he could get mad, but damn he dropped a bomb that she was still fumbling to catch. It wasn't a bad idea though.

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[darius jereme whitfield]

After she got up to start clearing the table, and to get away from the conversation, he was left to sit there in silence and deal with how he was feeling. "Yeah forget I said anything, it was stupid...I'm just not feeling well." It wasn't a complete he was suddenly feeling a bit nauseous, and as he slowly stood from his seat he felt rather shaky and light headed; it was all he could do to not let on to how he was really feeling. Though not even he was sure of what he was feeling, it was new and it was strange and he just needed to get out of there before he possibly did something even more stupid.

"I'm gonna get some fresh air." He was already heading towards the door as he informed her of what he was doing, and before she could utter a word he was out the front door. The slight chill that hung in the air was helping him though it wasn't completely chasing away all the feelings he was experiencing. The knots in his stomach didn't seem to want to go away, no matter how much he kept telling himself not to be surprised by what had happened. Really he hadn't been surprised by her reaction, he'd just been hoping for something different.

His fingers slid into his pockets to retrieve the packet of cigarettes and the lighter that normally resided there, but instead he felt nothing and his eyes cut over to his car. "Of course." Thankfully his keys were there in their absence and he withdrew them as he headed over towards his car; maybe one of his cancer sticks would help to calm him down, if not he'd happily stay out here and smoke as many as he needed until he pushed these feelings aside. Unlocking the door he slid into the drivers seat and began to rifle around for what he needed, but for some reason he couldn't find it. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Where the fuck is it!" Things were looking like they were about to get worse fast, and he wasn't sure he could handle that.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

Bree nodded letting him know she'd heard him, not that he could even see her, as she watched him head towards the door. She still couldn't believe what had just came out of his mouth, but as she watched his frame leave the house she started to feel guilty. Without actually doing so it was like she laughed at him by cracking that joke about delusion.

She tried to stay focused on clearing the table, but she kept looking at the empty seat where Derek had been sitting and feeling bad. She made sure to get whatever food was left out, put it in whatever it needed to be in for storage, and found a space for it amongst everything else in her fridge. She left the rest of the dishes for now as she walked towards the door to apologize for being rude.

As she stepped outside she expected to be gagged by the smell of smoke, but Derek wasn't near the door like she thought he would be. She searched the yard until some commotion lead her straight to his vehicle. She couldn't run all that well in the heels but she could walk briskly as she tried to get to the car as fast as she could. "Derek, whoa Derek, calm down." She sighed looking up and down the road not seeing anyone else within earshot.

"Look, i'm sorry," Bree stepped away from the vehicle hoping he'd stand up so she wouldn't be talking into his car. "You sorta took me offguard with that one back there don't you think?" She waved her arms back towards the house. "Where's the Whitfield I know who would have just pointed in my face and told me my damn potatoes weren't cooked enough, or that the turkey was too dry or something?" She started to shiver since what she was wearing wasn't really outside attire. "Please, just come back in the house before we both freeze," at least he had a shield from the wind sitting in his car. "We should probably talk." One thing she always had a hard time doing, but she'd try.

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[darius jereme whitfield]

"I would calm down if I could find my damn cigarettes." He growled out the words; his aggravation growing from not finding those dam things to take the edge off, mixed with the slight annoyance he felt at her for what had happened. Looking up at her as she stood outside the car his brows knit together, her being out there didn't make any sense. She was suppose to still be inside trying to avoid what had happened not out here apologizing as he soon heard her utter the words I'm sorry.

His eyebrow hiked up though his features didn't soften, before climbing out he glanced once more around the car but didn't see any sign of what he wanted. Shutting the door he shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said forget I said it. It's fine...we're just having fun and that's alright." Noticing she began to shiver he reached out and rubbed her arms with his hands, it was all he had as he hadn't brought a jacket with him. "You really have to tell me what Whitfield you want at what time...since I often times am not the one you want." His mind flashed back to the night in his dorm room and his eyes fell to the ground. He reluctantly followed her back inside, but he only did so so she would stop shaking like leaf; the last thing he wanted was for her to catch a cold on his account.

"Aubrey..." Sighing he ran his hand over his hair, he didn't really want to talk about it; thinking the only thing they'd talk about is how she couldn't possibly want to be with him that way. "...I don't want to talk about it. We should just finish out the night like it didn't happen. You made dessert right?" Making his way towards the kitchen he didn't look back at her, moving about the kitchen to find what they'd need to eat the dessert. The sooner they could put behind them the mistake he made, that she'd date someone like him, the sooner things could return to normal.

[aubrey rose jenkins]

Bree followed him into the kitchen and stood idly while he walked all about the kitchen trying to get dessert ready. She watched as he pulled the pie out of the fridge and put it on the counter, and since she'd showed him where the silverware was before she knew where he was going next. She quickly ducked around the island of cabinets that sectioned off part of the room, and soon found herself sliding between Derek and the drawer he was reaching for. "You're not getting out of it this easily"

She sighed as she placed her hands on his arms making sure she'd keep his full attention. "I can't have you saying something like that and then just forgetting about it." She shook her head, it just wasn't going to happen. "So you're going to just stand there and hear me out, and don't even try to talk because i'll just get louder and i'll annoy you until you hear me out."

She sighed as she wrapped her hands around his arms pulling him even close blocking herself against the counter. Sure Derek could pull away at any second, but she hoped he was smart enough to just hear her out. "I've already told you I liked you," she came right out and told him as she took a deep breath and looked to the ground. "It's not like I was trying to hide it, and maybe I thought about us being more than just friends at least once in the past, I don't really know."

She must have thought about it at least once before, but she'd never really kept it in her mind because she knew he wasn't the type for that. "I don't even know if we'd work out as a couple, I mean neither of us have the best track record with past relationships." She shook her head imagining her last relationship, Marcus, boy was that one fucked right up. "You really think we could make it work?" She knew he didn't want to talk about it but she just couldn't let it go, not something this important.

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