Chapter Fifteen
A sharp wolf whistle cut through the air and Chris spun his finger in the air. "Turn for me, baby." She laughed, spinning around for him to see. His eyes bugged out. "I know I said that the dress would look fantastic on you, Brooke, but you never showed me the back of it. I know that you got something else to wear. Your brother would thank me if I told you to put on the other dress."
Brooklyn faced him again and smiled. "Chris, I think it's cute, but please don't go all over protective on me like Austin. You don't know how many times I've beaten him up for doing something like that. If your reaction was like that, this is a keeper. There is no way that I'm changing after that."
"You have your driver's license with you, right?" he asked.
Her brow furrowed. "Of course. It's in my wallet, why?"
"Because you're going to be driving Jace to the hospital. The poor guy is going to have a heart attack when he sees the back...or lack of material at the back of the dress." She shot him a bad look and went back into the bedroom, sitting down on the bed to take off the heels that she was wearing. Chris followed her and sat down beside her. "Brooke, there's like...okay, remind me that you're going out with JC, because I am this close to grabbing you and stealing you for myself."
Laughing, she smoothed her skirt and hit him, pointing to her brush. He handed it over and watched as she pulled it through her short hair. "I love you for comments like that, Chris." She paused in mid stroke, and looked at him curiously. "Maybe I should put on the other dress," she said.
He shook his head. "Well, if I told you to put on the other dress, I'd be on your brother's good side for the rest of my life. I'd also be on JC's bad side for the rest of my life. If I tell you to keep that dress on...don't tell your brother that I told you that? Hell, don't tell him that I helped you pick it out. Don't tell him that I was even involved in this. I know that he could easily beat me up."
She giggled and nodded. "All right, I won't tell him a thing. Up or down?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair.
"Down. So, are you all ready for tonight? Huh? Huh?" he asked, pushing her as his eyebrows moved up and down three times. Shaking her head, she looked towards the mirror and nodded. "Oh, come on, Brooke. You're more excited than you're showing. This is what you've been waiting for, right? God, I'm going all girlie now."
"I always knew that you played for the other team, Chris," she said with a laugh. Falling back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling and smirked. " am excited. Well, more nervous than anything, which is what I don't understand. We've gone out before, but not like this. I guess that's what the problem is."
He pulled her back up to sit beside him. "Whoa, slow it down a little, sweetie. Don't freak out. It's just a date." He grinned when he said that. "Just the date that you've been waiting for all your life." Dramatically, Chris swept his arms through the air.
Brooklyn shook her head and pushed him. "You deserve a spot in a soap opera, the way that you over act. I'm sure they could use some new actors." Her shoulders shrugged. "Oh, God, I feel like I'm going to throw up."
With a laugh, Chris took her hand and pulled her out of the bedroom, taking her down the stairs to his kitchen. "Brooke, here's a piece of advice for you. Barf breath is never good for a first day." He pulled out a can of gingerale and popped the top, pouring half of it into a glass for her and sipping the rest from the can. "You're going to make yourself crazy with all this stress. It's not THAT big of a deal, is it?"
Her eyes rolled. "You were the one that was telling me it was such a big deal the whole time that we were shopping, and then you tell me it's not? Make up your mind, please." She put the glass back down and sighed. "Do you know how much, at this point, I want to say, 'Where's my mommy?'. I mean, I don't want her to be here at all, as bad as that sounds, but it's just that desire to want someone." She broke off and looked out the window. "No, I want Molly, but she would be too excited to actually sit down and talk to me. She's been bugging me for the longest time to date someone, anyone, and I know that she really likes JC...is any of this making sense? I don't think it is."
"The babbling of a person in love. This is making me sick." She shot a bad look at him. "Okay, I'll stay away from the word love for now, but you can't hide from it forever."
"As long as possible," she said with a sweet smile.
He returned the smile. "That won't last forever, Brooke. Tell me the truth. Six months from now, did you expect to be at my house, bitching that you're nervous about going out on a date with your best friend?" he asked her. She shook her head, her fingers nervously going towards her necklace. "There you go. Six months ago, you would have locked yourself in the house, stayed in bed all day and maybe watched television, because you thought that what happened was all your fault. Now look at you. You're on tour again, your album is at number one on the chart, and you're about to go out with one of the most eligible bachelors in the world. Gee, you're life isn't good at all."
Her eyebrows raised. "Planning on working for a greeting card company if you guys ever quit? I don't think Hallmark would be able to fit that on one card." She smirked and tapped her nails on the counter top. "That's it, this date is causing me far too much stress. I think I'll just go back up, get my jeans and everything back on, and tell him that I can't do this tonight. Not ever, but not tonight."
Chris groaned. "You're going."
"No, I'm not. I can't. This was a stupid idea to begin with, and-"
"You're going, Brooke."
"I can't. Think about it, Chris. I'm going out with my best friend. I'm trying to see if I can start a relationship with my best friend. This isn't some random guy that I've met on the street and given my number to. This is JC. He knows every singe little thing about me. He was the first person to learn my secrets. He was the first one that I ever told about my parents. Only Austin, Joe, and I knew about what happened. He knows my favorite color. He knows what I like to have for breakfast. Hell, he knows what movies make me cry and which ones make me hide my face. He knows every single little thing about me. This isn't a normal date. A normal date would be two people learning about each other. What is he supposed to learn about me now? What kind of birth control I take? What type of Tampax is high up on my list? Knowing JC, he probably already knows all that, and don't you DARE ask me the answers to those questions," she added, pointing her finger at him.
He raised his hands and looked at her with wide eyes. "Just a little too much information there, Brooke. Do you need a tranquilizer or something?" he asked. "I'm sure that I could find you one somewhere, but you do realize that it would mean not going out with Jace tonight."
If she could have dropped down on her knees without wrinkling her dress, she would have. "PLEASE get me that tranquilizer," she begged.
"Forgive me for using your full name, but Brooklyn Arizona Turner, you are going on that date whether you want to or not. I feel like a proud father who's daughter got the perfect date for prom. There is no way that you are going to tell him that you're not going, and there is no way that I am going to kick your ass in that dress, because I will if you don't stop thinking like that. You're making ME go crazy right now, and that's not a good thing."
A pleading look went over her face. "Am I doing the right thing, Chris? I feel like running back to Belleview right now, and running to my brother, of all people. He always knows what I should do, he's always right. Why am I feeling like this...and who the hell are you calling, anyway?" she asked when he picked up the phone and dialed quickly.
Chris held up a finger to quiet her and grinned when someone picked up. "Hey, Austin. What's up?" He nodded a few times. "Oh, you and Mia are...no way, man. That's awesome. Well, maybe not for you, but for Mia, that's awesome. Listen, would you mind doing me a favor? I've got Brooke here and she's completely freaking out because she and JC are going out tonight." There was an even longer pause. "Oh, yeah. The two of them finally smartened up and he asked her out for tonight. Anyway, she's completely freaked and she said that you always have the right answers, so tell me. Do you think she should not go out tonight, or should she go out with him?"
Brooklyn groaned and dropped her head in her hands, listening to one side of the conversation. Finally, Chris hung up and turned to look at her with a grin. "Austin said that if you don't go out with Jace tonight, he's going to send Mia down to beat you up. Meanwhile, I got a nice piece of news from him. From what I was told, Mia has been dropping hints for Austin to propose to her."
Her head snapped back up and her mouth dropped open. "Oh, no way. He would NEVER agree to something like that so soon. Then again, Mia usually gets her way, but they haven't been dating that long. Only about four months. Do you think he would?"
He shrugged and pulled himself up on the counter to sit across from her. "Austin didn't say much about that. Then again, he was completely against dating her."
"No, he wasn't," she said after shaking her head. "He was never against dating her, he just wanted people to think that. Come on, do you think he wanted the world to know that he was interested in a little fireball like her? My brother is incredibly stubborn, and he always said that he would never date anyone like Mia. He didn't want his friends to know that someone like her finally got him down." She rolled her eyes. "I really can't believe that he's thinking of proposing to her. Six months is absolutely nothing."
Chris turned from the window and grinned brightly. "And some people would have said for the time that you and Tim were together, the engagement should have come quicker for you guys."
She shuddered visibly. "Please, I could have been married to the ass by the time that everything happened. Then, I would have asked for a divorce and I would have had to split my assets with him. That doesn't bother me, the splitting everything that we would have accumulated together, but the fact that Tim would have had half of everything that I owned? That thought alone frightens me more than you know." She finished off her soda and looked over at him. "Besides, I thought that you weren't supposed to talk about ex-boyfriends when you have a date."
The grin was back on his face. He seemed to have been doing a lot of that, ever since he had found out that his friends were going out that night. "So, you're going out on the date after all, are you?"
"Did I just say that, because I didn't mean that. No, not at all," she said quickly, shaking her head. "No, I'm not. I can't, I'm not, and I won't."
"There she goes again," Chris groaned. "You're going, you will and you are. That's it, Brooke. Final answer, and all that stuff, all right? That's it. You're going and-" he broke off and looked up. "And that would be the doorbell. I'll go let him in, you go...do your girlie finishing touches thing, all right?" As he pushed Brooklyn off to the stairs, he started to grumble under his breath. "After all I do for them, this is how she tried to repay me. By telling me that she's not going. Well, I've got news for her, because she is damned well...hey, Jace, come on it," he finished, opening up the door for him. "Brooke's upstairs, doing something or other. She'll be down in a second."
JC narrowed his eyes and came into the foyer. "Chris, have you been bothering her at all today?" he asked.
A smirk appeared on his friend's lips. "Protectiveness, I like it. Okay, I have a few ground rules for tonight." JC's eyebrows shot up like Brooklyn's would have. "Drop the glare. Number one, no sex. There is no way that I'm going to hear that Brook is pregnant, all right? Yes, now I'M going all over protective on you, but her brother will definitely thank me for that one. Number two, she has to be in by midnight, and number three, you're bringing her back here, all right? Don't you dare bitch at me for this, but she is coming back to my house after your date and she'll be spending the night here. Those are the only rules that I have." He shrugged. "I could have come up with more if I thought about it, but I didn't have the time. You'll thank me for this later, believe me, will you thank me for this later."
"Sure," he said, crossing her arms. "Does she even have anything to change into later tonight, or should we make a stop at my place for her?" Why was he giving in so easily, he wondered. Probably because he was right; it would have been better if Brooklyn didn't stay at his place that night.
Chris shook his head. "I think she bought more than enough. She's got something to change into. Granted, she doesn't know about this yet, and I'm not going to be the one to tell you. I'm leaving that up to you. I really don't want to be on the receiving end of whatever she thinks about that." He turned around. "BROOKE, are you EVER coming down? You're making me miss the movie on NBC right now. I swear, she's taking forever," he added to JC, leaning against the wall.
He couldn't help laughing at that. "For some reason, you seem more anxious than I am. You're not the one that's going out with her tonight." They both looked up when Brooklyn started to come down the stairs, a genuine smile on her face. Chris closed his eyes for a second and then looked back at her, nodding. She had finally gotten over the nervousness, apparently, and was doing better than she had been five minutes before. She smiled back and walked down to the two men.
"All right, I guess we're out of here. Thank you, Chris, you've been such a sweetheart tonight," she added, kissing his cheek before he handed her the leather jacket that she had brought with her that day, and he opened the door for them. "Say goodbye to Chris, and let's go. I'm starving," she said with a laugh, draping the jacket over her arm. She turned and started to walk out the door.
JC's eyes widened and he looked back at Chris. The older man nodded with an evil grin. "I know, I helped pick it out. You owe me, so big for that one," he said with a laugh, pushing him. "See you later." JC forced himself to take a deep breath and walked over to Brooklyn, unlocked the passenger side door of his car. He opened the door for her, and took her hand, helping her into the seat before closing the door.
He went around to his side of the car and got in, starting the engine as he reached for his seatbelt. "I...uh, didn't tell you this, but you look fantastic tonight, New York. Really fantastic."
She turned to look at him with a smile, her cheeks flushing. "Thank you. You're...damn, you're looking great tonight," she said quickly, her mouth dropping open after she said that. "Did I just..."
"Yeah, you did," he said with a laugh. "You said that. Oh, Chris didn't tell you, but apparently the two of you are having a little pajama party tonight." He waited for the explosion, the 'who the hell is he to tell me what to do' or even the funny comment, but he didn't get either.
Instead, a smile spread on her face. "Really? That's sweet of him. I haven't had much time to spend with him, so I don't mind. Otherwise, I'd be kicking his butt for saying something like that," she said with a light laugh. "So...are you going to tell me what we're doing tonight, or is it supposed to be a surprise."
He shook his head. "It's no big surprise. Actually, we're going out for dinner, and then we're going to see a play." When he saw her brow furrow, he started to laugh. "It's nothing special, but my cousin ended up snagging the lead role in her high school play, and she sent me two tickets to come and see it. Actually, she told me that I had to bring a date with me. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind."
"Of course not," she said with a smile. "What are they performing tonight?"
"I'm...not entirely sure. From what she told me, they're doing a spin on two different plays, but it's something that they call 'coarse acting'. I don't get it myself, but apparently, she had a pretty big part in it."
Brooklyn nodded. "When I was in high school, we did a day or so on coarse acting. It's actually kind of funny. You learn how to do a play the proper way, and then you learn how to purposely screw it up. Doors don't open at the right time, people speak to the back of the stage, the props are all wrong...it's hilarious. Watching coarse acting is always a ball."
He looked over at her quickly, his eyebrows raised. "I didn't know that you took acting classes in high school. Was it something that you wanted to get into instead of singing?"
She shook her head. "No, I took it for easy credits, but it didn't turn out to be as easy as I thought. All my friends took it, and most of us ended up in the same class somehow. It was a total blast for that. I was never good at lying, so I wasn't very good at acting." Looking down at her fingers, she smiled. "Still, it was something to do, and it was fun for three years. I probably wouldn't have taken acting classes if I had ever gone to college."
"Are you thinking about going? I mean, I've never heard you really talk about it."
Her shoulders moved in a slight shrug. "I might. I can't use the 'I'm too old' excuse, because there's eighty year old women going back. If I do, it'll most likely be through correspondence. I don't think that I could take off enough time to work on campus and everything. Have you ever thought of going?"
JC grinned as he stopped the car in the parking lot. "Yup, and I think I am. I've already applied, now I just have to see who will take me. I'll be doing it through correspondence, too, but it's about time that I decided to do this. I know that my parents are happy that I'm going to some college."
Her eyes widened as she got out of the car, and she stopped him from walking in any further. "You're kidding! That's fantastic. I'm sure that any college will take you. Who wouldn't want to be able to say that a famous person is working from there." She laughed and reached up, wrapping her arms around him. "Now all you have to do is convince me to do that," she added with a laugh.
He hugged her loosely, his hands resting on her warm and satiny skin of her lower back. JC sucked in his breath quickly, and closed his eyes. From the moment that he touched her, he could feel tingles working their way from his finger tips until they spread throughout his body. The feeling alone was incredible. "Thanks, New York. And I'm sure that between me, your brother, and Chris, we could get you to go to college."
She raised her head to look at him and smiled brightly. "No fair ganging up on me. Now, can we please get inside and order, because I'm about to faint from not eating today. A quick lunch at the mall did nothing for me." She laughed and pulled away from him before lacing her fingers through his and pulling him towards the front door of the restaurant.
JC pulled into the driveway, and shut off the engine, watching as the headlights faded. "I can't believe that you're still laughing over that."
She wiped the tears away from her face. "JC, the guy kept loosing his pants. It was hilarious. I told you that coarse acting was funny. And the glass that was super glued to the table?" She laughed again, throwing her head back. "That was pure genius. Your cousin was awesome, too," she added, laughing still as she opened up her door.
He met her in front of the car and chuckled, taking her hand. "She was pretty good. The outfit alone was hilarious." He brought her up on the porch and grinned down at her. Brooklyn shook her head and looked in the window. "What are you looking for?"
"Chris. Knowing him, his ear is pressed against the door and he's anxiously waiting for us to do something that he can interrupt. I'm starting to learn how his mind works, and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried the old 'turn on the porch light' thing that only fathers are supposed to do."
He shook his head with a smirk. "I think it's time that we limited your contact with him. I think he's turning you into one of him, and that's can't be good." They both waited to hear the shout of protest, but didn't hear a sound coming from the house. They looked at each other before JC winked and turned to look at the door. "You know, New York, I think you were right. We'd probably be better off just being friends." She looked at him curiously before she caught on.
Still, no sound. "Wow, I think he actually left us alone. This is amazing. For once, no one's trying to butt in on our conversation." Brooklyn grinned and leaned against the door. "I...uh...guess I better get in before he opens the door and I go flying to the floor," she said with a chuckle. "Next time that you talk to your cousin, tell her again how good she was tonight."
He nodded and looked down at her. "Sure. She loved the fact that you were in the audience. She's always been a big fan of country music, and when she heard that I knew you, I thought she was going to faint."
A grin overcame her face. "Well, then, when you talk to her, tell her that she and I have a lunch date the next time that both of us are free. Besides, I'd love to pump her for information on you." She laughed. "Oh, look at that. I have five minutes before my curfew is up. I wonder what Daddy Chris would think if I came in two minutes later," she said with a playful smile.
"We could wait out here and find out."
She bit her lip and smiled up at him. "Oh, but he might tell me that I'm not allowed to date you anymore. I might be grounded, too. You don't want me to be grounded, do you?" she asked. "He might take away my phone and television privileges while he's at it. Plus, if I'm grounded, then I can't go on with the tour. Poor me."
He laughed quietly, trying not to attract any attention from inside. "If he grounds you, I'll climb up the side of the house to your bedroom window. We can stick some pillows under your blanket and make it look like you're asleep in bed, and then we'll go out. How does that sound?"
"So, we're going to chance this? I have three minutes left," she said, checking her watch again. "He's probably watching the clock right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he was. I can't believe that we're even talking about this," she added with a giggle. A piece of her hair fell in her eye and before she could brush it away, JC brought up his hand and tucked the hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"No problem." He continued to look at her before a smile spread on his face. "You know, there's only one thing missing here," he said, chuckling.
Her hand came out and pushed his shoulder. "No, there's two things missing here. I was expecting to get flowers, too. I mean, normally, on a first date, there's flowers, right? You missed that part of it," she said, trying not to laugh.
He shook his head. "No, I was going to get some of you, but none of them looked nice enough, compared to you. Then again, you're cuter than a bouquet of weeds any day."
"I'd like to think that I look better than weeds, but you never know. So, enlighten me before Daddy Chris comes busting out here, threatening to call the cops on you. What is missing right now, because I can't think of anything, other than flowers. I'll probably never forgive you for that, either," she said with a deep sigh, looking down at her nails. She raised her eyes under her lowered lashes and he could see the glint of laughter hidden in them.
He took his hands out of his pockets and stared at her for a moment longer. "One minute, huh?" he asked, grinning.
"You're changing the subject here," she said in a warning tone. Hell, she knew what he was talking about, but she was going to play along as much as she could. She could tell that he was almost nervous about what he was going to do. It was cute, and definitely endearing to her.
"Yeah, well, I'm a little distracted right now."
Her head raised and Brooklyn looked at him curiously. That was the last thing that she expected him to say. She didn't even think that he would say something close to that. "You're being distracted?" she echoed. "Distracted by what?"
His shoulders moved in a shrug, but there was no way that she could miss the smile on his lips. "You're the one that's distracting me. Do you know how hard it is to think straight when you're standing right in front of me? I don't think I've been thinking straight all night." He picked up her wrist and looked at her watch. "Thirty seconds left."
She faked a scowl. "Yeah, and someone's taking their sweet time about something, and keeps changing the subject. Daddy Chris is going to come out here with a shotgun, chasing you across the lawn in his pretty striped pajamas. You don't want that, do you?"
"Why not? I have a feeling that he's not going to be too happy when he finds out why you were coming in late tonight. Then again, maybe I shouldn't make him mad," he said with a grin. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Is something bothering you, New York? Because if something is, I would love to know what it is."
"Wouldn't you," she said, smirking. "Well, good night," she said, turning away from him. Her hand just touched the door knob when his hand covered hers and he turned her back around. "I'm sorry, Mr. Chasez, is there something that you need to say before I go in? I don't want to make Daddy Chris mad at me, after all," she added, trying not to laugh.
His head shook slowly. "Not something that I need to say, but something that I have to do before I go completely crazy here," he whispered before he brought his face down...and kissed her forehead. She groaned and hit him again. "Is there a problem, Miss Turner?" he asked her innocently, blinking at her for effect.
Her hands went on her hips and she smirked at him again. "Okay, now I'm really going in. I'll call you...in a few days, I suppose," she added, going to turn away from him again.
JC was quicker, though, and before she expected it, his lips just barely brushed hers. Brooklyn closed her eyes and brought herself closer to him, and let herself sink into the sensation she felt when she was wrapped in his arms. It was almost like the world had exploded all around her, not that she would have noticed. Everything that could be was focused on JC, and it didn't look like that was going to change anytime soon.
She pulled away and groaned when, like she had suggested, the porch light over their heads turned on and practically blinded them. "Remind me that Chris is my friend, and I'm not supposed to strangle friends," she said in a sweet voice, leaning her head against his shoulder.
"Strangle away. That's my only suggestion. I better get out of here. I know that he doesn't have a double barrel shotgun, but I know that he has a double barrel water gun, and the thing is probably full and ready for me." He pulled away and looked down at her flushed face with a smile. "See you in the morning, New York."
"Yeah, you too," she said with a laugh, reaching up to kiss him quickly this time. She turned around and opened up the front door, closing it behind her before she had the urge to climb into his car and go back to his apartment with him. "Chris, you have some explaining to do," she said in that same sweet voice, kicking off her shoes and dropping her jacket on the ground over top of them.
His head came out of the living room and he smiled innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Brooke. You better go up and get changed. You might be a little uncomfortable in that dress. I'll wait down here for you," he said, walking back inside to sit on the couch.
She rolled her eyes and started up the stairs. "Good for nothing, meddling, bratty pop star," Brooklyn hissed under her breath. " What the hell am I going to do with you, Chris?" she shouted back down to him.
"Tell me that you love me and then tell me everything that happened tonight!" he yelled back as she went into the room she had stolen earlier that day. She sighed and opened the door to the spare room and took off the dress she had been wearing, tossing it across the bed before she dug out the pajama set that she had bought earlier that day. More specifically, the pajama set that she had talked about for fifteen minutes after seeing it before Chris forced her to go back to the store and buy it. She decided that she was no longer going to shop with him, since it took up too much of her money. Anything that she liked had to be bought that instant, according to him.
Brooklyn stopped long enough to pull her hair up in two small pigtails before she went back downstairs and jumped on the couch beside him. She narrowed her eyes and watched him as he shut off the television and turned to look at her. With lightening fast speed, she pushed him down on the couch and wrapped her hands around his neck. "I never knew you felt that way about me, Brooke," he choked out, pulling her hands away. "Damn, you've got a tight grip there."
She sat back up and huffed impatiently. "You...are...a...complete...ass!" she exclaimed, pointing at him. "Why in the hell did you turn on the porch light? Don't you think you could have given me a little privacy. And while we're at it, why do I feel like I'm screaming at my brother right now. He pulled the same stunt one night, and I don't think he's completely recovered yet. Of course, he tells all his friends that it was an old football injury, but that's just bull. You have a HELL of a lot of explaining to do."
He started to laugh at the expression on her face, but when he looked in her eyes, he sobered up immediately. "I guess I forgot to tell you that my light is still on a timer from the last time I was out of town. It comes on every two hours or so. I can't remember when I set it for."
"It was a timer?" she asked. "I thought that you were...ugh, you're still an ass, though," she said, folding her arms and slouching on the couch. "Other than that, the date was fine."
Now it was his turn to narrow his eyes. "Just fine, Brooke? Are you sure about that?"
"Okay, it was fun."
"Just fun?"
"Absolutely, incredibly, totally exciting?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "You know, I've noticed that whenever you don't get the answer that you want, you keep repeating yourself until you do get that answer. It won't work for you forever," she warned him.
Chris smirked. "It worked against you how many times? It works with Jace, too, now tell me what you guys did, because I'm almost dying from the anticipation here," he said in a dry tone, trying to look bored.
She laughed, dipping her head down. "Chris, would it offend you if I told you that you've almost replaced Mia's position for my best girl friend? I swear, you ARE going all Waiting To Exhale on me, and it's kind of scary. Is there something that I should now, so that I can warn the rest of the guys? Do you wear a lot of pink and purple, Christopher? After all, purple is the national gay color...I think."
He stuck his tongue out. "Not funny at all, Brooklyn. You even used my full first name, which I don't particularly care for. Are you going to tell me what you guys did, or am I going to have to guess my way through this." She nodded her head stubbornly. "Fine, did you guys go out for dinner?" She nodded again. "Dinner is scratched off the list. Okay...walk on the beach?" Her head shook. "Right, you guys did that last time. Uh...went to go see a movie? That's pretty ordinary, though, and I can't see you doing something ordinary." Her head shook again. "I give up. What did you do besides go out for dinner, and you can't tell me that you just went out for dinner, because six hours is a little long for one meal."
"Unless you count dessert," she said with a bright smile. "No, he took me out to see his cousin's play, too. Now that was probably the highlight of the evening, considering your porch light which happens to be on a timer ruined what was supposed to be the highlight of the evening, but of course, I can't blame you for that. It was just a mistake, right?" she asked in a sugary sweet tone.
"I'm sorry, Brooke." He stuck his head out towards her. "Choke away if it makes you feel better."
She rubbed her hands on her pajama pants and sighed. "It would make me feel better, but then I would be in jail for killing you. Sure, millions of people around the world would be rejoicing, but the jury would have to convict me, and then I would be stuck in that little jail cell for how long? Besides that, I don't look very good in orange, so that jumpsuit is so out of the question. I think you're safe for now," she told him, patting him on the head.
Chris breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, I thought I was a goner for a second. I heard about what you did to...ahem...loser ex-boyfriend who's name I won't mention...and I don't want the same thing to happen to me."
"Oh, but you forget that he had it coming to him. You, unfortunately, do not. That's what sucks about the whole deal. And do you really want me to break your table, because that's the only way I would be able to do it."
"Nice scar that you're sporting, by the way," he said, pointing at her eye.
She smiled and touched it. "You think? It's left over from the incident. Besides the memories, that's all I have, and that's all I want. The doctor told me that if the piece of lamp that had cut me had come any closer to my eye, I would have been blind. Who knows, maybe someone up there is looking over me."
Sitting back, he stretched his arms above his head. "Your parents?" he asked.
"If it's anyone, I would say that it's my grandparents. I was always really close to them. They died about twenty years ago, but I loved them so much. My mom wouldn't care at all about me. She probably would have wanted Tim to kick my ass. She was funny that way, but my dad...maybe my dad. It still hurts to think that I was so close to getting along with him again, and he died that same night that we started to get along. It's almost like someone wanted to take that away from me."
He couldn't help shaking his head. "If anything, it made you a stronger person, Brooke. Look at you, you wouldn't be doing half the stuff you are today if your parents were still around. Sure, you'd probably be a singer, I'll give you that. Someone would have seen your talent, and you told me yourself that your mom was pushing you to be a famous country singer. Somehow, though, I don't think that you would be sitting here with me, or back from your date with JC if your parents were still around."
Her eyes lowered. "Probably not. My mom would have me doing some sort of publicity right now, I'm sure. I doubt that she would have let me do the collaboration with JC, either. Then again, you never know. Things happen for a reason, right? Maybe I wouldn't be sitting here at this very moment, but I might have been sitting here at some other point. I was always rebellious when they were alive. I'd probably still be rebellious."
"I don't think that you could ever be rebellious, sweetie. I could never see you like that. You're too...sweet and innocent."
She stood up with a smile. "I put myself off as innocent, but I'm far from it, Chris. Far from it. Goodnight."
"You should have warned me what she looks like first thing in the morning. When I woke her up in New York...that was NOTHING like this morning. I thought she was one of the living dead," Chris proclaimed. Brooklyn laughed from where she was in his arms, and suddenly dumped into JC's. She looked up at him and grinned. "She's all yours. Who else is here?" he asked, walking in.
Chris went into the kitchen and poured himself a mug of coffee, looking over at the two. "You two do realize that I have two legs that work perfectly fine, and I should be able to walk on my own, right? Or is it just the fact that I'm so cute and so deserving to have man servants?" she asked, laughing as JC carried her out to the balcony. "Oh my God, put me down. I haven't had a chance to see you since...since you were at my place. Lance, my neighbor, how come you never called me, you ass?" she asked, her feet firmly planted on the ground. She reached over and wrapped her arms around him, before kissing his cheek.
"Sorry, Jace, I think she's mine now," Lance said with a laugh. Brooklyn swatted at him and took one of the two available seats. "It's not my fault that first, Joe kidnapped you...well, we told him too, but still. Then, JC kidnapped you. Then Chris, then JC, then Justin, then JC, then Chris...should I continue here?"
"Are you feeling left out? Would you like to kidnap me, too," she said, taking a coffee cup from Chris. "Thank you. I think you better go steal that other chair before...too late. JC already got it."
He shrugged. "That's okay, I have a seat," he said before sitting down on Brooklyn's lap. She laughed and shifted so that she could see around him. "Do you want to switch? I'd be more than happy to have such a beautiful woman on my lap, but you might like the idea of having such a hot stud on your lap."
She nodded with a smirk. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. You're a skinny little thing. Then again, I learned that you HAVE a skinny little thing last night, didn't I?" She started to laugh when she saw his face and slapped palms with Joey. "Oh, yeah, Brooklyn has an attitude today, so you'd better look out. Maybe you should go sit on Justin's lap."
Justin nodded quickly. "Oh, please, Chris. All my dreams will have come true if you just come and sit down in my lap. Mom would be so proud when she hears about that one," he said sarcastically. "Sorry, but I think I'll keep my lap to myself. Besides, I'd be too scared that Chris would feel me up."
Her eyes widened. "I told you that you were gay but would you believe me? No, of course not. You never listen to me, because my opinion doesn't matter at all. Brooklyn is always wrong." She rolled her eyes and sat back. "The least you can do is hand me my coffee, because there is no way in hell that I'm going to reach for that, and end up touching Little Chris by accident."
"Now we know who Brooke's favorite is," Joey said, grinning at her. "Are you sure that you wouldn't like to say hello to Little Joey, too?"
She winked at him. "Did you forget about that night in New York? I found out that Little Joey was actually Big Joey."
JC started to laugh. "Have I got some competition, New York? Maybe I should be worried. Little JC isn't getting any attention over here."
"This is turning into nothing but a smut fest," she groaned. "I may not pay attention to Little JC, but Lord knows that he's saluted me more than once. God, I'm turning into one of you guys. This is disgusting! I'm this close to retching right now. The last thing I want to do is talking about your little buddies, and don't you two ask to be involved, otherwise your little buddies are going to end up on eBay and don't think that I won't. I happen to be an Internet happy person," she said, sticking out her tongue as she looked around Chris.
He reached back and patted her back consolingly. "It's okay. If you want, we can go back to my house and find some way to entertain ourselves." He bent down beside her ear. "Besides, Little Chris loves you." She hit him, not missing a beat as she took a sip of her coffee. "She's abusive today. You're going to have some fun tonight, Jace."
Her hands were thrown up in the air after she handed her mug back to him. "I can't believe you guys. I'm really considering calling up Mia and asking her to come out early, because being around five guys, I really need a girls night. I usually hate them, but I really want to watch some sappy movie so that I can cry my eyes out, eat a ton of ice cream, and guy bash for a few hours."
"Don't you mean lusting over my manly body?" Justin asked with a mischievous grin.
She sent one right back at him. "Don't you mean lusting over your scrawny body with your girlish arms and chicken legs? Yeah, that really turns me on, Justin. Those legs...you should be a spokesperson for Kentucky Fried Chicken! Do you shave your legs, sweetie? If you do, I can recommend some great, fruity smelling shaving gel. You won't get a nick or a cut," she said with a winning smile. He slowly started to turn red until he was the color of a tomato. "Yes, my goal for the day is complete. I made the superstar blush. Thank you, thank you," she said, bowing as much as she could with Chris on her lap. "I'm on a freaking roll today."
JC glanced over at Chris with an accusing look. "Did you feed her any sugar this morning?" he asked. He nodded sheepishly. "No wonder she's so hyper. She's almost as bad as you."
Her shoulders moved in a shrug. "Hey, you were the one that said I was staying at his place last night. You didn't tell him that he couldn't feed me any sugar. Actually, he was the one that offered up the container of brown sugar. That stuff is like heaven on Earth. Have you ever eaten pure brown sugar?" When five disgusted looks were directed towards her, she started to laugh. "Oh, come on. Austin and I just die over that stuff. It's fantastic. Brown sugar goes good on a lot of stuff, but eating it right out of the container? Then, it's absolutely fantastic."
"You are very sick," JC said, pointing his finger towards her.
She smiled back sweetly. "And to think that you were the one that asked me out for yesterday. What in the world were you thinking?"
His head shook slowly. "I know exactly what I was thinking, New York. Believe me on that one." Her hand clamped over her mouth. "What's your problem now?"
"I'm about to have a girlie moment, and there's no one around but Chris to share it with. Did you guys know that he's like that? I'm warning you right now, he may hit on you. He was seriously scaring me last night. He had at least four Waiting To Exhale moments, as he puts it. That was the LAST thing that I needed. Hey, maybe he's the one that shaves his legs?"
"Twice a day, every day," he said with a laugh. "Brooke, I'm starting to really corrupt you, and I like it. You never acted like this before."
She looked around his shoulder to smile at him. "Oh, yes, I did, you just never saw it. It's the hidden, teenage, REBELLIOUS side of me. You know, the one that you said you never thought you would see? Just wait until I ask you to go skinny dipping in some random guy's pool. I've done it before...but that was back in high school," she added thoughtfully. "Either way, it was fun. You wouldn't believe some of the things that I've done before."
"Do you mean singing in front of an audience with your skirt around your ankles, New York?" Her eyes slowly turned towards JC as he told the story to everyone about how Austin had pulled down her skirt. She was surprised that he still remembered it; they had told him that ages ago. "Austin and Mia have told me a lot about your high school days. I know more than you think. I even know stuff that you don't know that your brother knows."
Her brow furrowed and she leaned across the table towards Lance. "How many times did he say 'know' and did you understand half of what he said?" she asked him in a stage whisper. He just shook his head.
"Dude, she's got her hand on my hip, not yours, Jace. I think she wants me."
Her eyes rolled quickly. "The only reason I did that was so that you didn't go sliding down to the ground, but I see now that it was a mistake, and I should have let that happen. Sorry, my bad," she said with an evil grin. "Should I try again, or do you want to take me word for it?"
While four people told her to try again, Chris told her that he would believe her. "Besides, you're a little dangerous today, and I wouldn't put it past you. Do you know what she did to me today when I was backing out of the driveway? All of a sudden, she screams, 'Look out!' at the top of her lungs, so of course, I slam on my brakes, looking around for the kid or the cat that I'm about to hit. She just smiled and says, 'I just wanted to tell you to look out for the red lights, because the last thing I want is for you to get a ticket for running one'. How cruel is that?" he asked.
"I knew I liked you for a reason, Brooke," Justin said from across the table.
"Thank you, Justin. At least someone can see that I do have a little bit of an evil streak," she said, pushing Chris. He grabbed onto the edge of the table so that he wouldn't go flying. "Is that why you like me, JC? Because of my evil streak?"
He shook his head slowly, a smile starting to spread on his lips. "One of many reasons, but who says that you're ever going to get those other reasons out of me?" he asked. She smiled back brightly before turning around to hit Chris.
"Would you lay off of the abuse, please? I know that a lot of people pick on the old and the frail but come on, I'm not THAT much older than you."
Brooklyn started to laugh. "Chris, compared to me, in my mind, you're so far over the hill, it's not even funny."
Chapter Sixteen
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