Chapter Seven
You would have been lucky if you could hear any conversation from someone standing close to you. Laughter and yelling rang out across the yard, but that didn't stop Brooklyn from smiling brightly. This was what she wanted. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, and with the music blaring, and the food just about to be cooked, everything seemed to be working the way that she wanted it to. Her eyes moved across the yard and she couldn't help laughing to herself when she saw both Austin and Tim McGraw fighting over the grill, trying to figure something out.
She shook her head. "Boys and their toys," she muttered, moving to join one of the large groups of neighbors and friends that had made their way towards the end of the yard. A smile filtered onto her face as she joined their conversation, reassuring them that she was just fine. It was beginning to become a habit, but she didn't mind. There were people that she knew, people that she cared for, and she would do anything for them.
What she didn't know was that when JC emerged from the kitchen, going to fill up a large cooler with cans of soda again, he stood there for a minute, watching her. It wasn't like she had done anything special that day. She was wearing a plain white sun dress, making her tan seem deeper than normal. Her green eyes were sparkling with excitement, enjoying the fact that she was wrapped up in the middle of a party. She wasn't going to move if she was forced to.
There was just something about her. Something that kept drawing him to her. Despite all the noise, he could hear her laugh over everyone else's, and when it was heard, everyone turned to look at her. She wasn't the country star, Brooklyn Turner at the moment. Surrounded by her friends, she was just Brooke, how she liked it, and it made her seem even more beautiful than normal.
"I can't believe my thoughts are going this way," he muttered to himself, leaning against the house as he continued to watch her. The simple way that she tucked her hair behind her ears with her slender hand made his heart jump just a little more than normal. The way that she grinned and leaned forward to hug someone that she knew made him smile tenderly. It was these things that made him keep watching.
It really had nothing to do with the fact that he could see her bare legs or arms. It had nothing to do with the fact that the dress was a little more low cut than she normally wore. None of that mattered. It was her personality that was shining through, and that was what made him attracted to her. Although, he had to admit that he didn't mind what she was wearing. He just didn't like how it made a lot of the men look towards her.
There was a lot of watching going on that night, Chris mused as he looked over at his friend. He was stock still, watching Brooklyn circulate around the room, talking to everyone. Every now and then, JC would smile, causing Chris to roll his eyes. "This is getting ridiculous," he said to himself before starting over towards the grill.
"No, man, you do it this way," Austin was saying, playing around with it.
Tim rolled his eyes from where he was standing beside him. "No, you're supposed to do it like this," he said, playing around with the dials. They both looked at the grill like it was magically going to start up by itself. "I thought that you did this last time."
He shrugged his shoulders. "Brooke bought a new barbecue. I know nothing about this one," he admitted with a smile, turning to look at Chris. "Hey, Chris. This is Tim, one of Brooke's friends. Tim, this is Chris Kirkpatrick." They shook hands over the unlit grill before Chris looked down at it.
"Don't ask me," he said before they could say anything. "I don't do stuff like this. You're on your own. Uh...Austin? Have you noticed..." He trailed off and gestured off to the side with his head. Austin turned to look where he was gesturing to, and sighed. "Pretty obvious, huh?"
"Too obvious. This is starting to get a little old. The two of them can't just stare at each other from across a room and then pretend that there's nothing between them. At least she's taking a little initiative. He's still...staring like a stalker." Tim raised his eyebrows, looking between the two of them. "Have you guys decided what you're going to do?"
Chris grinned brightly, running one hand through his short hair. "We know what we're doing, the only thing is that we don't know if Brooklyn will notice or not. She knows about one part of the plan. She just doesn't know that we have another plan going at the same time, and it involves her." He leaned against the cold grill with a laugh. "Does he know about it?"
Austin shook his head. "Tim knows nothing, but that's normal for someone like him." The two smirked at each other. "You see that guy over there that's staring at my sister? We're trying to get the two of them together. They've been friends for awhile now, but they just finally decided that they want each other."
"And why am I not surprised that you're helping out, Austin?" he asked, looking back down at the grill.
"Well, what's this? Two country boys can't even light a damned barbecue. Out of the way, boys, I have arrived," Mia shouted from behind them before laughing. Tim and Austin moved willingly, as fast as they could. She settled her gaze on Chris for a moment. "Chris Kirkpatrick, right? So, you're the genius and mastermind behind the big plan to get Brooke and JC together. Nice going. I'm Mia, her publicist. Watch this one," she said with a smirk before bending down to the grill. In moments, it was lit. "It scares me that I know more about this than they do. Have you ever noticed that it's total chaos whenever I show up somewhere, and why haven't you at least said hello to me, cutie? I thought that you couldn't live without me."
She leaned forward and pinched Austin's cheek. "No, you've got it wrong, Mia. I've tried to live without you, but you keep turning up like a bad penny. Are we still going out in two days? I'm just wondering if I should check myself into the hospital before then."
Her eyebrow raised for a moment. "You're good. I'm keeping you around, big boy," she said before walking away. "I'm going to go work my magic on JC. You three don't fall in the fire now or anything. That could be dangerous. Interesting, maybe amusing, but dangerous. And I would have to be the one to clean up the media mess. Never mind. Disregard everything that I just said."
Chris was left standing there with wide eyes. "Uh...is that normal for her?" Both men nodded fearfully. "I have never felt so sorry for Brooklyn in my entire life. Maybe I should go save Jace."
Austin grabbed him before he could run off. "Don't worry about it. She'll do more good than harm. Just leave them for a little while."
He still hadn't moved from where he was standing, though Brooklyn had moved quite a few times. Stifling a groan, JC turned around when he felt someone walk up to him, and there was no way that he could mistake the perfume that floated out from the person. "Hey, Mia. Hands off," he said, turning to her with a smile.
"I'm taken, for right now. Mind if I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the side of the porch. He just shrugged as she sat down and reached beside her, taking a soda out of the cooler. "I see that the usuals brought their own drinks and are getting pissed beyond belief. Nothing new, I guess," she said, looking up at him. "Would you please sit down? I'm going to hurt my neck if I have to keep looking up at you. You and I need to have a little conversation."
Slowly he sunk down beside her and let his feet dangle onto the grass, looking down at it. "I'm scared when you come up to me and say that you want to talk. That could mean so many things."
Her head nodded. "It could, JC, but this is something important. Well, not important, but I want to have a little fun, you know?" He nodded this time. "Great, so just sit back, relax, and listen to Mama Mia, because she knows what she's talking about." She took a deep breath and handed him the soda can for him to open. He did so willingly and passed it back, watching as she took a sip. "Okay, so you're not exactly the most secretive guy in the world."
"Maybe not."
"Believe me, you're not. You've been standing there, staring at Brooke for how long now?" He had the decency to blush, and she resisted the urge to reach over and pinch his cheek. "I've been here for ten minutes, not that anyone would have noticed. That's only because my phone rang when I was inside, but I was watching you the whole time, watching Brooklyn. Oh, and Chris was watching you, watching Brooklyn. Austin was watching you, watching Brooklyn, and that guy over there? Tim McGraw? He was watching you, watching Brooklyn, watching his wife, but that's a little beside the point."
He turned to look at her with a confused expression. "So, basically, this all boils down to who's watching who?"
Her eyes scanned the yard before landing on his again. "And who is watching you right now, beside me? Take a look and tell me who's watching you."
He wanted to say 'no one', but that wasn't true. He could feel someone watching him. His head turned as he looked around the yard. His eyes fell on Brooklyn who was looking towards him. She smiled and waved, before going back to her conversation with whoever she was standing with. He could tell that they were talking about him from the way that one woman was gesturing in his direction. "Okay, so, New York was looking at me. What does that mean?"
"That means that while you were watching her, she was busy. Now that you're busy, she's watching you. Don't you guys get a little tired of this cat and mouse game that you have going on? I swear, I feel like I'm back in junior high. You look at her, then look away. She looks at you, then looks away, but never do you look at each other at the same time. Why would that be?"
There was no answer that he could give her, so he just shrugged his shoulders. "The reason that you guys never look at each other is because you know that you have the same sort of feelings, but you don't want to say anything. Who knows what the real reason is but you guys. Rejection, maybe embarrassment. Either way, you guys are acting like little kids, and really, we're all getting sick of it."
Sighing, he dropped his head again to look at the grass. "Mia, you know New York better than I do. You know that she doesn't want to get into any type of relationship right now. Hell, she's almost been ignoring me as of late. I don't know why, but..."
"Have you ever considered that she needs some time to figure this out. Look at the poor girl. She's confused beyond belief, and I think that she's at the point where she won't trust her own conscience, which I'm more than sure if just screaming at her to throw you into the closest bed and..." She coughed lightly when he looked towards her. "Well, you know. Anyway, she's just confused."
"There's no reason why she should be confused."
"Yes, there is. JC, she's confused because of you. That's all I'm going to tell you. I know when someone isn't listening to me. I've had enough practice with Brooke to know when something like that is happening. Just...think about everything that I said, and see if you can figure out what's going on. You're the only one that can. I can't tell you what to do."
He wasn't surprised when she stood up and walked away, but that didn't mean that he was happy about it. She was making him think, when he promised himself that he wouldn't think about this. Promises were becoming a bitch.
When the last person had left, the seven of them collapsed in the living room. Everyone was thrown on furniture and the floor in a tangle of limbs, laughing over the events of the night. "You never told me that," Brooklyn said in an accusing tone. She was sitting with her back turned towards the cold fireplace, legs pressed together and turned to the side.
Austin shrugged. "How does it sound for a person that just came back from a culinary institute in France to have dropped one of the burgers into the coals. It burned nicely, and I was going to feed it to Old Man Lewis, but I figured that I would be nice."
"Nice and Austin do not go together at all. Besides, Old Man Lewis is a nice man," she said in the older man's defense, pointing her finger towards her brother. He noticed that her nails were cut incredibly short, as if she had been chewing them. In fact, he had a pretty good idea that she had been chewing them.
Joey raised his head from where he was sprawled out in the armchair. "Wait, isn't that the guy with like three teeth?" Brooklyn nodded. "He was telling me I should go into country music and marry me a nice little country girl. Of course, he also told me that he was the person that invented the personal computer."
Everyone started to laugh again, and even Brooklyn couldn't help chuckling. "Okay, so he's getting on in his years, but it's not that funny." As if answering herself, she was hit by another fit of the giggles and caught herself in time from snorting. JC looked towards her with a warning look and raised eyebrows as her face flushed.
"Hey, Brooke, are you a nice little country girl?"
Her brother decided to answer for her. "Let's see. She's little, I'll give her that. She is a country girl, raised in Nashville. As for being nice..." She picked up the pillow beside her and threw it at her brother. He caught it and laughed. "Thanks, Brooke. It's nice to know that you care about me enough to give me your pillow."
"Yeah, that guy asked me when you and I are getting married, too," Joey added, letting his head fall back onto the arm rest. "You really weren't kidding when you said that you guys throw some awesome parties. And I did, unfortunately, meet Mia. I swore that my life was going to be over when she started to lecture me."
Her head titled to the side as she looked over at him. "What was she lecturing you about?"
His shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Wouldn't know. I wasn't listening. I don't know if she noticed or not, but she kept talking."
"I swear, she just likes to hear her own voice," Austin grumbled. "And I'm the one that's dating her. Figure that one out." The group started to laugh. "She has a heart of gold, I swear, but sometimes...sometimes I wonder what is going through the woman's head."
"Men in boxers. Men in Speedos. Men in nothing...want me to keep going, Cowboy?" she asked, grinning as she pushed her hair back. "Then, of course, there is business and work somewhere back there, but it's pretty well buried underneath all those guys that she dreams about. You're just the focus of those dreams right now." She broke off and shuddered. "Ugh, bad mental image there."
While they started to talk again, Brooklyn shifted to get into a better position. "Austin, can I have the pillow back, please?" He shook his head, not missing a beat in the conversation. "Good for nothing older brothers," she muttered as she moved back to where JC was sitting. "Hey there," she said with a stunning smile before leaning back to put her head on his stomach, stretching out. She finally relaxed, feeling more than comfortable where she was.
She started to laugh suddenly, covering her mouth. "Chris, I've been meaning to ask you. Where did you learn those messed up line dance steps?" she asked him, her eyes twinkling.
He started to laugh with her. "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. I was TRYING to copy what you and everyone else was doing, but like hell I could figure it out. You liked my smooth moves, huh?" he responded, a grin on his face.
"Smooth...sure," she said, drawing out the word as long as she could. "If that's what you want to believe, Chris, I'm not going to tell you any different. Just for the record, though...you're no Tim McGraw. Now HE has some smooth moves. Too bad he's married."
Austin made a small sound from where he was leaning against the couch. "Yeah, married to MY woman."
Her eyes rolled at that. "You wouldn't have a chance in hell with Faith, and you know it. Those two were made for each other. You deserve someone like Mia, though I never knew you went for the dominatrix thing. Guess you learn something new every day."
"Is that something that you really wanted to learn, though, New York?" JC asked, finally jumping into the conversation. She turned her head slightly to look at him, biting her bottom lip as she smiled at him. She shook her head, her eyes showing the laughter that she was hiding. "Didn't think so."
"You have to admit that Mia is definitely the dominating person in a relationship. Just look at her and me, and that's friendship. I've seen some really tough and independent guys totally crumble when she's around. Austin is nothing for her to conquer. This might actually be one that'll last."
He raised his head again and stared at his younger sister. "Not if I can help it," he said, grinning. Brooklyn smirked in his direction before closing her eyes.
It seemed like an unconscious act, but it sure as hell didn't feel innocent to Brooklyn. In fact, the moment that JC put his hand down to play with her hair, she felt the same tingles she had felt before spreading through her body. She had to force herself not to blush and giggle like a junior high student again. His fingers slipped through her hair easily, and she almost groaned at the feeling.
The movement wasn't missed by everyone else in the room, and they didn't stop themselves from smiling. The two of them looked adorable where they were, like they were already a couple. "Hey, Justin," Brooklyn said, without opening her eyes. "I saw you hitting on one of the neighbor's girls tonight. Don't tell me that you're falling for some country loving," she added, chuckling softly.
"I'm saving myself for you, sweetie," he shot back immediately. "Chris may have all the flowery speeches for you, but I, honey, have youth and longevity on my side." Brooklyn groaned through her laughter. "What, you know you want me."
JC frowned slightly from where he was laying, but didn't stop his ministrations on her hair. He didn't like how all of his friends seemed to be taking his place when it came to the playful flirting that usually went on between him and Brooklyn. In fact, now that he thought about it, they hadn't been that way for a long time, and he missed it. He missed his old New York. She seemed to have been going through a change, and while it wasn't all bad, he really did miss her.
"I want you so badly, Justin. You know where my room is, right?" she asked, opening her eyes long enough to wink at him with a giggle. Justin turned red and looked away. "I knew that would shut you up for a little while. Yes, Brooklyn Arizona Turner is the master," she said, raising both hands in the air. "And while she's the master, she's also heading to bed. Good night, guys," she said with a smile as she sat up before standing.
They said goodnight and watched as she went up the stairs towards her room before they all got up and went their own ways. In her room, Brooklyn changed into a pair of red plaid pajama bottoms and a white tank top, brushing her teeth. Her head popped up and she put her hair into two small pigtails before walking back into her room. She climbed underneath the mountain of covers and reached for her reading glasses and the novel that was on her night table.
As she stretched out, she felt something warm and...she couldn't tell, but she thought that it moved slightly. Her foot continued to poke it, until it finally let out a little grunt at her not too soft kick. Her eyes narrowed behind the glass lenses and she ripped the covers off of her, looking down at the laughing and wincing figure at the end of her bed.
With a sigh, she stood up and took the person by the collar of his shirt, forcing him to stand up before she walked him to the door. "Sleep in your own room, Justin," she said, throwing him out into the hallway. "How did you get in here, anyway?" she asked, looking back towards the bed. She hadn't made it from the previous night and all the covers had been bunched up towards the end of the bed, meaning that she never would have seen him if she had looked towards the end of the bed.
"I came in when you were brushing your teeth. You said that you wanted me," he said with an angelic smile before he pushed out his bottom lip. Her eyes rolled as she took hold of the door and shut it in his face. "Fine, be that way," he called back to her before she heard his footsteps go towards the room he was staying in.
"I'm living in a nut house," she whispered to herself before going back to her bed and smoothing all the blankets over top of her. She picked up her novel again and started to read. Two pages later and there was a soft knock at her door. Groaning, she put the book back down and walked to the door, opening it up.
JC stood there, scratching his head as he looked at her. "Well, I'm three members short before I can say that I had you all in my bedroom at some point. What can I do for you?" she asked, smiling tiredly as she leaned against the door jamb.
"Who was in here before?" She waved her hand, and in a way, waved away the question. "Okay. I just...uh..." What was he supposed to say? 'I just wanted to see you one more time before I go to sleep, so that I'm almost guaranteed to have good dreams featuring you'? 'I think I'm falling for you, and I don't know what to do'? 'How would you like to go out tomorrow night with me, on an actual date, not like before'?
As he was lost in his thoughts and wondering what to say, she leaned her head forward a bit and prompted him on with her eyes. "JC? Is there something that you want to talk about?"
The safe approach. The safe approach always works, he told himself. "Uh...no. I just wanted to...say good night. That's all."
She laughed lightly. "You already said good night to me downstairs before I headed up." She couldn't stop her heart from pounding a little faster than usual. It was nice to have someone knock on her door, just to wish her good night when he already had.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I just forgot." He smiled hesitantly down at her for a moment before sighing. "Night, New York." He bent his head and placed a kiss in her hair before heading back down the hall. She shook her head when she realized that he resembled a very lost person.
"Good night," she said quietly, so quiet that he couldn't hear before closing her door and jumping back into bed. For good measure, she took off her reading glasses and put them beside her novel before shutting off the lights so that no one could bother her again.
She groaned the next morning when she felt the sunlight hit her hair, but she ignored it as long as she could. Slowly, it seemed that the house was coming awake. What started out to be two voices soon grew, and so did the banging around in the house, while someone looked for something. Sighing, she swung her legs out of bed and reached for her robe, putting her arms through it, and tying it lightly around her waist.
Rounding the corner into the kitchen, she rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Everyone had gotten up before her, which was amazing. "Just please tell me there's some coffee," she said slowly, blinking when the sunlight reflecting off of the counter top hit her right in the eyes.
"Third pot of the morning," Austin said, jerking his thumb in the direction of the coffee maker. She nodded as she made her way slowly towards the machine, reaching up to pull a mug off of the shelf. She filled it with coffee and took one of the stools at the counter, turning it towards the kitchen table so that she could see everyone. The mug lifted to her lips and she sipped the coffee thoughtfully.
"Why are you wearing that?" she asked, looking at Austin's work clothes. They looked a lot different from most people's work clothes, consisting of a snow white double buttoned shirt and a pair of startling snow white pants. His name was stitched onto to the shirt in black thread.
He looked back at her. "I do have to get back to work eventually. Besides, the boss said that he wanted to talk to me about something to do with the restaurant. I'm coming in for the dinner shift, not the lunch, though. I guess our meeting is sometime in between."
Brooklyn smiled suddenly. "I could tell you what that meeting is all about, if you want. I was already spoken to about it, but I passed. You, on the other hand...Austin, I'm warning you. Pass on this, and I will seriously never talk to you again. We'll talk again when you get home, but this...this is something that you cannot pass on."
"Since when are younger sisters supposed to know more than their brothers?" Lance asked from where his forehead was leaning on the table. She chuckled and leaned over to rub the top of his head.
"If you're so tired, why are you up?" she asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "The reason that I know more than him is only because he was out of the country, while I was still around Nashville quite a bit. Besides, I went out there for dinner every now and then. It was nice to see the old crowd." She stretched her arms above her head. "Okay, so Austin is going to work today. I have to run into Nashville to get a folder from Mia at the studio. That'll take me all of about five minutes. What were you all planning on doing today, besides sleeping?"
Justin rubbed his eyes before looking at her. "You think we're going to sleep? We don't have that much time out here. You are going to show us everything that you can within a few days before we have to leave."
She nodded slowly. "How many days is a few days?"
"We leave in two days. Well, the third day, really, but in the morning." She looked towards JC as he said that. Her thoughts may have been confusing her the day before, but there was no mistaking what her mind was telling her this morning. She just didn't know why it took so long to find out that he looked incredibly, absolutely sexy in the morning.
Her cheeks flushed before smiling. "All right, well, I'm sure that I can figure something out. There's not a lot to do out in Belleview, so we might as well head into Nashville for the day. You guys rented a car, didn't you? I can't fit everyone into the jeep."
"Jace made some big fuss about getting a certain convertible. Can't understand it myself," Justin replied, yawning loudly. Her eyes brightened when she heard that, and she looked over at him, a small smile on her face. He smiled back when he knew that she understood. "What, did you guys bang in it or something?" he asked distractedly.
He never saw Austin's hand come out, but he did feel the slap on the back of his head. "No, it's just...you wouldn't understand."
Justin shook his head. "Man, lay off the slaps, would you?" He turned back to Brooklyn. "What was it, love at first red light or something?"
"More like love at first slippery when wet sign."
"I'm betting on love at first exit 32 sign."
"And I'm guessing that if we put all of your IQ sizes together, we still wouldn't amount to fifty," she said quietly, hiding her smile with her coffee mug. "Well, you asked for it. You were practically begging me to say something."
Four heads shook slowly before four pairs of eyes turned to look at Brooklyn, before going towards JC. The way that they were doing everything in unison was making Brooklyn shudder slightly. It was a little unnerving. "How do you put up with her all the time," Joey asked.
JC shrugged his shoulders. "She's always been great with me. You guys have finally met your match, that's all. If you accept that fact, it won't be as bad. Believe me, I learned that early on."
Everyone fell silent for a moment when the phone rang. Brooklyn reached beside her and picked it up. "Hello, Turner residence." She paused for a moment and cocked her head to the side. "No...why would someone put my mail in your mailbox, Gina?" she asked, taking the pigtails out of her hair. She used her free hand to pull out the tangles and make her hair fall like it normally did. "Yeah, I'll be right over to get it. Thanks." She hung up and sighed, standing up. "That was strange. Gina got a letter with my name on it, and her address."
Austin turned to look at her briefly. "It's easy to mess up, I guess."
"Cowboy, our address is 444. I don't know how you could mess that up and put 442 instead." She slammed her feet into a pair of sandals before opening the door and walking across their lawn to Gina's. The older woman was waiting with the letter, smiling at Brooklyn. They had a quick conversation, which was basically Brooklyn apologizing for the inconvenience before she went back to her house, stopping long enough to get the mail from her own box.
She walked back in and took her sandals off, looking through the stack. Mumbling under her breath, she separated the pile into three parts as she went back into the kitchen. Bills, hers, and Austin's. She didn't even bother putting the usual junk mail anywhere, since it would go straight into the garbage can.
Her hand shot out and turned on the radio before she sat back on her stool, singing under her breath. "This ain't no thinking thing. Right brain, left brain..." She was completely lost in the song as she handed Austin his stack of mail before looking through hers again.
There were a few fan letters, which meant that someone had obviously found out their address. She made a mental note to have all of her mail forwarded to a post office box that she had down in Belleview before the mailman could complain about having too much mail to put in her mailbox again. They got enough as it was. Besides those, there was one application for a credit card, two for CD clubs, and another for a book club. Her eyes rolled as she put those in the junk mail pile before looking at the letter that she had gotten from Gina.
"Wow, I'm rich," Austin said sarcastically as he looked at his bank statement. Brooklyn leaned forward and slapped him. "What was that for?"
"Payback for me?" Justin asked hopefully.
She smirked. "Not likely. He likes to make comments that he's poor, when in reality, his baby sister looked out quite well for him. Don't give me that, 'I can't afford anything' argument again." Her eyes rolled as she dug what was left of her thumbnail under the envelope flap, ripping it open.
Inside was a single folded sheet of paper. She took it out curiously and unfolded it, squinting her eyes as she tried to read it. The words finally came into focus as she brought the paper closer to her, ignoring the snickers she was getting from the peanut gallery, and the comments about how she looked like an old lady.
My little sweetheart,
Don't think that you're getting away from me that easily. I saw that you didn't want my little present from before. Don't worry, I'll have more coming your way.
Love always, your fiancé
"Uh huh," she remarked dryly, shoving the paper back into the envelope. "Just a fan letter that wants to know if they can get Austin's e-mail address. Nothing new," she said sweetly, putting the envelope underneath the real fan letters.
She wasn't going to let herself react the way that she wanted. Because she wanted to cry, rant, rave, scream, and hurt someone. That wasn't what she needed. The absurdity of the letter stopped her from growing pale and shaking, but she had been getting pretty close. She knew that there was no way that Tim could ever write her a letter. The letters were screened before being let out, and they had been informed that anything with Brooklyn's name or address wasn't allowed to be sent. It was part of a lengthy court order, which summed up to be a restraining order, really.
But she wasn't going to freak out. Not with six people staring at her as she looked off at nothing in particular, thinking about how she wasn't going to freak out. In fact, she was going to do the opposite of freaking out. She was going to act normal. Something like that wasn't going to bother her. "So, anyway, I'm going to head up for a shower. I need to be in the studio in...two hours. I better hurry up. I don't feel like breaking any laws today while I'm driving," she said with a smile, taking her mail with her as she went up the stairs.
When she got into her room, she slammed her head against the wall and took a deep breath. "I will not freak out. I will not freak out. Oh, hell, I'm going to freak."
"Well, hello, all you money hungry people, you," Brooklyn said brightly as she kicked the door to the meeting room in, grinning at Mia and Joe. "You two are the only ones here? That bites," she said, sighing as she walked in a little further. "I don't have much time. I've got five over-anxious kids to do something, and I'm not getting paid to baby-sit after all. Where the file?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
She was acting like the normal Brooklyn now. Everything about her was normal. The letter (and her ring) were the furthest things from her mind. Besides, she had thrown out the ring when she was in New York. "Here you go. Read everything over carefully, please," Joe warned her, handing over the bright red folder.
Shrugging, she scanned the papers quickly. "Okay, thanks. I better run. I'm afraid of what kind of damage those guys came cause." She walked out with a wave, pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes.
Brooklyn was practically skipping over to the elevator, where she looked at the numbers above it. As usual, it was at the top floor. Sighing, she pressed the down button, and looked up impatiently, tapping her foot. She had left the poor secretary at the front desk with the guys, and she was seriously worried about what could happen down there. They were already creating all kinds of chaos before she had even left the lobby. "Come on, come on," she muttered, stabbing the button a few more times. When it still didn't move, she gave up, throwing her hands into the air. "Yup, it's a great morning," she said to herself as she stalked over to the door marked 'Stairs'. She pushed the door hard enough for it to bounce against the wall before she started down. Her footsteps echoed through the empty stairwell, swinging herself around the corners. As she got to the next floor, she looked up and smirked. "Sure, now you decide to move," she said to herself, heading down.
When she hit the sixth floor, she looked down to see JC coming up. "What was taking you so long?" he asked her, in mock frustration.
"The elevator is my worst enemy," she said with a smile, jumping down the few stairs that separated them. "Don't tell me that you left them there all by themselves, JC." When he nodded, she hissed and crossed herself quickly. "I think I'm going to have a problem if I want to get another contract with Curb of Nashville," she said, as they started to walk down together.
Another door opened and slammed against the wall, like she had done. Before they had a chance to turn their heads, they heard Chris yell out, "Coming through!" before he barreled between Brooklyn and JC, running down the rest of the stairs as quickly as he could.
Brooklyn stumbled slightly, trying to get a hold on the banister beside her. JC reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her closer to him. She grunted slightly against the force that he used to bring her towards him, practically slamming into his chest. His arms tightened more so that she wouldn't move anymore.
For some reason that she couldn't fathom, she felt completely comfortable and at ease having his arms around her. They were stronger than they actually looked, and it didn't take much for him to keep her supported. "You're dead, Chris!" came the dual shout from above. Both of them looked up to see Joey and Justin slamming their way down the stairs in hot pursuit of their friend.
JC acted quickly and moved Brooklyn so that they would both be out of the way. He ended up pressing her against the wall, his body flush with hers so that he would take the brunt of the force if they got hit. She slid her arms around his waist just in case and closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Her forehead lowered until it touched his shoulder. Joey and Justin grinned at each other before shouting down at Chris again, who taunted them before running out into the lobby. The two passed without a problem, not wanting to touch the couple. The whole thing had been planned from the very beginning, and they knew it was going to work, only because Brooke was clueless about their other plan to get them together.
Sometimes their plans actually worked, unlike some in the past.
The couple waited until the door to the lobby had opened and shut again before Brooklyn cautiously opened her eyes. "Am I still alive, or is this Heaven?" she asked, smiling.
"If you're dead, then I'm dead. You make a cute angel, though."
Her cheeks turned red at that. She seemed to be doing a lot of blushing lately. The main reason that she had been blushing was not only from the comment, but because they were so close, they were whispering. She was definitely enjoying the feeling of his breath against her face and neck.
They both looked at each other, which had to be one of the biggest mistakes. The moment that she looked in his eyes, she was caught, and vice versa. It was pure torture to look at him and not know what to do. One part of her mind was screaming at her to just grab him and kiss him, while the other was shouting that kissing in a stairwell was one of the least romantic things she could think of. And she knew that the side of her brain that was telling her that was just trying to come up with excuses of why she shouldn't kiss me.
Still, they stared at each other, neither one wanting to move. JC tried to pull his eyes away from hers. Lord knows he tried, but he was lost in the bright green color of them, examining the gold flecks, watching them sparkle. One part of his mind was screaming at him to just grab her and kiss her, while the other was shouting that she was confused and didn't know what she was thinking. Wasn't that what Mia told her?
And the promise. That stupid promise. He hated promises. Promises meant nothing, really, but he was determined to keep his to her. Even if she knew nothing about it.
Luckily, she was the one that broke the spell. She crossed her eyes quickly before looking back at him. He started to chuckle, leaning his forehead against the wall so that he wouldn't have to look at her anymore. She giggled, still holding onto him around the waist. When she realized that her arms were where they were, she dropped them, clearing her throat. "Those guys are so dead," she said, leaning the back of her head against the wall.
"I'm with you," he said before pulling himself away. "Are you okay? You looked like you really got caught by surprise there."
She smiled and ran her hands through her hair. "There's one good thing about these cowboy boots. You can't twist your ankle easily in them. Are you okay?" He nodded before turning away. "All right, we might as well head down before Lance decides to come running down for some reason. Why were they on a floor other than where the lobby is?"
He looked over at her carefully. "Who knows with those guys. Are you sure you're up to entertaining us?"
"Please, it's not like it's a chore. It'll be fun. Besides, I have the perfect revenge planned in my mind. I wonder how they'll feel like doing a little roller skating," she said with a smile, tapping the side of her chin with her index finger three times.
JC laughed delightfully. "That's why I love you so much, you're sure to keep me on my toes." She shrugged, pushing her palm against the door that let her into the lobby.
As they looked around, Brooklyn had to stop herself from laughing. The secretary had a harried look on her face, watching the four of them huddled together in a corner. She knew what the secretary was thinking and pitied the poor girl. "Sorry about that. I'll be sure to put them back into their cages when we get back home," she said sarcastically, winking at her. She marched over to the group, peering curiously at them. Her hands rested on Joey's shoulders as she looked over at Chris, a grin on her face. "Did you think that that move was smooth, too, sweetie?" she asked, cocking her head slightly to the side.
"What, you mean it wasn't? You really wound me, Brooke. Right here, too," he said, pointing to his heart.
"Chris, either you have no heart or its black. Can we please go now? The secretary is ready to call security on you and I really don't want to know what you did to her. Besides, I have plans for today, and I don't want them messed up."
She started to walk away with JC before she turned back to them. "I'm not waiting all day for you guys to get your acts in gear. Come on now."
Outside, the group separated again into the two different vehicles. Brooklyn climbed into the driver's seat of the jeep, passing Chris her folder. "See if you can fit that in the glove compartment or something," she said, starting the engine as she looked back at Lance. "So, who planned that little excursion that happened in the stairwell?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as she backed out of the parking lot, turning onto the street. JC was leading the way in the convertible. She watched his hair blow slightly in the wind, and she couldn't help but smile as he reached for a pair of sunglasses, putting them over his eyes. She also couldn't help sighing.
"No, she's not obvious at all," Lance said, leaning in between the two front seats. Brooklyn hit him without looking as she turned the corner after the convertible. "We didn't plan anything, Brooke. Chris really did piss off Justin and Joe."
She rolled her eyes. They could be so transparent sometimes. "Really, and just what did Chris do to them?" she asked with a tired tone, turning down the radio.
It took a little while for Chris to remember what he was supposed to be saying, but he snickered to fill up the silence so it seemed like he couldn't say anything. He thought he deserved an Oscar for this performance. "I kind of tossed Justin into a potted plant. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't sat down in the dirt and then pulled at Joe to try and get his balance, who ultimately fell on Justin, and both of them blamed me. Figure that."
"Yeah, figure that," she remarked dryly. "We're here," she said suddenly, shutting off the engine. "Welcome to one of Nashville's greatest hang outs. The roller rink."
Chris turned to her with a surprised and slightly excited look. "An actual roller rink? Like, where you can get roller skates and not just Rollerblades?" he asked, holding onto her arm.
She laughed, pulling her arm away as she opened her door. "Yes, real roller skates. That's why this place is so popular. Most of the crowd is in school right now, so you don't have to worry about that. It's mainly the over twenty crowd right now, so you guys will fit in perfectly." They hopped out and met with the other group before going inside.
Once everyone had what they wanted, Brooklyn led the way into the rink, closely followed by JC. He knew exactly what she was going to do, and wanted to make sure that he was close enough to her so that he wouldn't end up in trouble, either. None of the guys noticed that the two of them had something up their sleeves. They were too excited to be able to go somewhere they really wouldn't be recognized, and someplace where they could have a little fun.
Nodding, she pointed over to the group that had started to play Crack The Whip. He grinned back, before motioning to his friends. JC caught onto the line before Brooklyn, who gave him a sarcastic smile when she realized what he was doing. He grinned back to see his friends, one by one, at the end. "I have to do it before anyone else joins on," she half shouted towards him over the music.
"There's no one else to grab one," he shouted back, turning his head to the front so that he wouldn't stumble.
Brooklyn grinned as the leader of the line started a turn, and in reality, whipping the other people around. Brooklyn waited until she was just entering the turn before letting go of Joey's wrist, who had been right behind him. She had been holding onto him, not him holding onto her, and that was his biggest mistake. The four at the end went flying across the rink, while JC and Brooklyn let go, laughing too hard to continue. Brooklyn skated over to them, and bent down, her hands on her knees as she looked at Chris. "Payback's a bitch, honey," she said, tapping the top of his ball cap before holding out her hand to help him out.
He groaned, rubbing his side. "Payback may be a bitch, but there's nothing in that phrase that says anything about a broken hip. I am older than them, you realize that."
"I never would have guessed by your attitude," she said with a smile. "Come on, you just played Crack The Whip, Tennessee style. Well, Brooklyn style, if you really want to get into it. It wasn't your fault that you can't lie worth a crap. I just paid you back." She stepped back and stared at him for a moment. "Don't think that you're sly. There's something going on in your mind, and I don't know what it is, but I do promise you that I'll figure it out one day," she proclaimed before skating away from him.
Shaking his head, he smiled. "Believe me, you're going to find out about it, but I can promise you that it won't be until after we're done."
Chapter Eight
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