And then, finally, he'd gone into jittery overdrive during that small span of time before he and Amanda finally stepped into the house and he met Huey and Martha Franklin, along with Amanda's stepbrother, Nolan.
From that moment on, he wasn't nervous at all.
Amanda had introduced him as a client--though Derek wasn't entirely sure any of the three believed that. Notwithstanding, they didn't press for details. Instead, they pampered him. Inviting him to sit and watch football with Huey and Nolan while Amanda and Martha set the table. And providing him with ample beer to take the edge off.
"Beware my brother," Amanda said before she disappeared into the kitchen. "Just because someone pays him to make an ass of himself on the radio, he thinks he's funny."
"Nonsense," Nolan said. "Mostly I think it's funny that they pay. Ba-dum-ching."
She rolled her eyes. "Lame. If you're going to riff when my friends are here, at least be clever."
He shot her the finger.
"Nolan," Huey said, in the kind of tone one used with a twelve year old.
Nolan and Amanda caught each other's eyes and snickered, while Derek watched Amanda, and realized he couldn't wait for her to meet Mellie. Probably not the best thought to have considering her no-relationship policy. But she'd also coded his door with their pseudo-anniversary. And she'd invited him to her parents' house for Thanksgiving.
Maybe not conclusive proof that there was something growing between them, but pretty damn close.
He'd slowly been sneaking up on it, but watching her now, he couldn't deny that he wanted that. Not her, but that. The shared family. The realness. The closeness.
He wanted a relationship and all that came with it.
And even if she wasn't admitting it out loud yet, he was certain Amanda wanted that too.
"All right, you two," Martha said, bustling into the living room and aiming her daughter toward the kitchen.
"We're all about gender roles here," Amanda quipped. "Go. Be manly and watch football."
"She hates football, and she loves hanging with Mom in the kitchen," Nolan told Derek. "She only pretends to be put out."
"I heard that," Amanda called from the kitchen, and Nolan winked at Derek conspiratorially.
At half-time, Nolan took him to see the dock which, considering it was about as average as a dock could be, Derek assumed this was so that Nolan could play the role of protective sibling. When Nolan told him flat-out that if Derek hurt his sister, he'd figure out a way to have him flayed on social media, Derek knew he'd been right.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he said dryly.
"Don't hurt my sister, and it won't. She's been through more than enough hell with that prick Leo. She doesn't need any more of that shit."
"I'd sooner cut off my own arm than hurt her," Derek said, filing away the name Leo for future reference.
"That can be arranged, you know," Nolan said.
Derek laughed. "You're almost as funny in person as you are on the radio."
Nolan's eyes widened. "You listen to my show?"
"Whenever I can."
"Well, shit, man." He clapped Derek on the back. "Forget everything I said. You're practically one of the family."
Amanda's voice carried from across the yard, interrupting them. "What are you guys up to?"
The guys looked at each other, then back to Amanda with equally innocent expressions.
"Not much," Nolan said. "Just telling my buddy Derek here to be good to you."
"Sweet thought," she said as she got closer. "But did you miss the part where we're just friends?"