Chapter Eleven
The room was filled with the delicious sight of early morning sun when the door to the room opened ever so slowly. JC's twinkling eyes looked around before they fell on the sleeping woman. Brooklyn had curled herself up into a little ball, her blankets wrapped around her as tight as possible.
Leaning against the doorframe, he looked more closely, and couldn't resist smiling. A lock of honey brown hair fell in her face, the sun picking up the blonde highlights. One slender arm had come out from under the covers and lay ahead of her, almost limp. The sun had just started to creep over her face, enhancing the few freckles that were scattered across her nose.
His smile turned devilish, and he moved away from the door, walking down the stairs as quietly as possible. He stopped in the kitchen and looked around for some sort of weapon that he would use to wake her up. As he turned, his gaze landed on the refrigerator. Chuckling under his breath, he took a plastic cup out of the cupboard and looked at it curiously. Snoopy, with a Christmas hat, looked back at him. "I don't even want to know why she keeps this around," he said to himself, opening the door to the fridge. He poured a glass of cold water, and looked towards the ice compartment. "Am I that evil?" he asked himself, picking up one of the clear cubes.
"Yup." Another chuckle from him, and the door was shut. He was desperately trying to quiet himself as he walked back into her room, kneeling down beside the bed. She had shifted when he was downstairs, and was now turned away from him. The tee shirt that she had worn to bed was now pulled tight around her front, meaning there was a large gap between her back and the material. He looked down at the melting ice cube in his hand and shrugged.
As carefully as possible, he took hold on the shirt and pulled it away a little further before the ice cube dropped down her back. He stood up and waited for her reaction. When she didn't move, he began to wonder if it had made it down her shirt. Suddenly, she screamed and sat up, pulling at her shirt. Her head turned towards him as she pulled out the ice cube and looked at it. "Just because I was a little hot with all the covers didn't mean that I wanted to have an ice bath this morning," she said, throwing it at him. It bounced off his chest and landed on the floor by his feet.
Her eyes challenged him, and he grinned again. "Oh, I didn't know you were hot. Would you like a little help cooling off?"
"I think you did fine already, thank you very much." Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't take notice of the fact that his other arm was behind his back. In fact, she missed it completely. She was too involved in the staring contest.
"No, I don't think I did." Before he could stop himself, the arm came out, and he tossed the contents of the water over her. Her mouth dropped open, and she looked at the shirt that was now soaked. "Sorry, was that a little too cold?" he asked, crossing his arms. Her head raised slowly, allowing him to take a look at the dripping hair and wet face.
A sweet smile spread on her face, and she pushed the somewhat wet blankets off of her before standing up. "JC, I have one word for you. Run. You don't want to know what'll happen if I catch you." Seeing that she was serious, he dropped the cup on the floor and headed towards the open door. Her laughter rang out as she chased after him, holding onto the banister beside the steps so that she wouldn't fall as she went down. JC hit the floor and started towards the living room when she jumped on his back. "Might as well get both of us wet," she shouted, her wet hair falling against his face.
"It's not going to work!" They were both laughing too hard to keep their balance, and when the door opened, both of them went crashing down to the floor. Brooklyn groaned and pushed his arm off of her stomach, her eyes remaining closed. "Was it good for you? It was good for me."
One more groan escaped her. "Oh, yeah. What I always wanted." Her eyes opened cautiously, and saw Tim standing over her, a confused expression on her face. "Um... good morning, sweetie." She smiled and reached for his hand, pulling herself up. She bent down beside JC and kicked him softly. "You're not dead are you?" He shrugged, smiling, but stayed where he was. "Lord forgive me for what I'm about to do, but I'll be nice and help you up. If you so much as try to pull me down, Tim and I will go tag team on your ass, and then we'll see how you feel." She smiled, and pulled him up, before turning to her boyfriend.
"Just out of curiosity, did you two children just get up from your nap?"
Brooklyn's mouth dropped open for the second time in five minutes. "I think he made a joke. The world is going to end." Clearing her throat, she smiled and moved a lock of wet hair away from her eyes. "JC is just paying me back for a little wake up call that I gave him months ago. You'd think that he would be a little more creative, but no."
He grinned and felt the back of her shirt. It was completely soaked. "What can I say, you deserved it."
"That I did. I will agree to that, but you deserve this." She pushed him down to the ground again and twisted her hair together, letting the excess water land on him. Smiling, she pushed past the men and walked into the kitchen, pouring herself a mug of coffee. Her eyes raised as both men walked into the kitchen. "I don't suppose that either of you picked up the paper from outside, did you?" she asked. When both heads shook, she sighed, and walked out to the front door.
Bending down to pick up the paper, she heard laughter coming from the yard beside her. "Morning, Gina. Don't ask," she warned, smiling as she turned around to walk back in. She sipped her coffee as she walked in, and half listened to the conversation they were having. She flipped to the entertainment section and winced when a picture of her stared back. Scanning the article, she expected it to be about Tim. Instead, she got a pleasant surprise.
As she was reading, the phone rang, and she reached for it. "Hello, Turner residence. Oh, hey, Joe. Yeah, I'm reading the paper now." She nodded. "No, I didn't know that they released the nominations yesterday, but I guess I do now." Both men turned towards her when she said that. "Am I going to have to make a statement or..." Trailing off, she handed her mug to Tim as he walked by. "I love it. I have to drop JC off at the airport tomorrow, so I'll swing by and we can meet then. Later." She hung up and took the mug back, sipping it thoughtfully.
"So, what was that about?" JC asked, opening the cookie jar on the counter. Neither of them caught Tim's look at how comfortable the other man seemed around the house. "Did you have Justin's three headed illegitimate child?"
Her eyes sparkled back at him. "Nope, Lance's three nippled illegitimate child. I thought I told you that." She pulled one of the cookies out of his hand, and still none of them caught the look that Tim shot her way this time. "That was about the ACMA nominations. Joe called me to remind me to look in the paper, but I was ahead of him." She shrugged and bit into the cookie.
Everyone was quiet for a moment, and JC decided to break the silence. "So...what did that mean?"
"That meant that I'm doing just as well as last years event. Four nominations again, and I'm against myself for song of the year this time." She smiled brightly, and brushed her hair away with her free hand. "He always wanted to tell me that I'll be performing that night. Wow, more practices to add to the list." She turned to look at the calendar and flipped the page to look at January. "You have to love these thirteen month calendars. The awards are on the fourteenth, and I'm booked for practice both that day and the day before. Wow, this is going to be fun."
Tim finally spoke up from where he was sitting at the table. He didn't have a very happy look on his face, but only Brooklyn caught onto it. "Congratulations, Brooklyn."
JC grinned, turning back around. "You know you love it, New York. Let out the scream. Come on, you wanted me to scream all those months ago, now it's your turn." She smiled and put down her mug, brushing the crumbs off of her hands. Backing up, she took a deep breath. Still smiling, an ear piercing scream filled the air and she jumped up and down, clapping her hands together. When she stopped, she gave herself a moment to compose herself, before taking a sip of coffee. "Ow."
"Yeah, it's hard on the throat, too. I can't wait. I have to get a dress, and figure out what song to sing. I have to...do a million things before the show is near. Ten to one says that I end up with gray hair before I get up there to perform."
His eyebrows raised much like Brooklyn's did, and he cleared her throat. "Um...New York, you forgot one little yet very important detail. You're date for the awards show. Have you figured out who it'll be yet?"
That was the true test, she realized when she looked at Tim. His eyes widened slightly, reminding her of what he told her. She shook her head slowly when she looked back at JC. "No, I haven't yet. Tim never wants to go to the awards shows," she paused to shoot him a bad look, "and Austin isn't going to be able to make it. I'll find someone, I'm sure." She was thinking when she spoke the next part. Her mind was elsewhere, on the teasing that both of them did to each other. "Although, I'm sure that there's a certain five pop stars that wouldn't mind if I brought it up once. Who knows?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders. "I could just get out of it easily and take Joe, or one of the band."
As the mug was lifted to her mouth, her eyes darted over to her boyfriend. He looked at JC's back before pointing to it, and shaking his head. She pursed her lips as she swallowed before smiling brightly. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs for a shower before you and I hit the town, so I'll see you guys in a little bit. Tim, the movie that you wanted is on top of the VCR." She turned and walked up the stairs.
Once she entered her room, her motions became more angry. Yanking clothes off of the hangers, she stomped into the bathroom and shut the door tightly before locking it. "Damn it. I should really think about getting JC and Austin to go tag team on TIM's ass." She shook her head and reached for a towel. "Nah, a handicap match sounds so much better."
"What did you do, try to hit that little old lady on purpose?" she asked, swinging out of the cab of the truck. JC looked at her innocently from over the hood as they both locked their doors and headed towards the front doors. "Oh, don't give me that look. You're not as innocent as you pretend to be."
He raced to catch up to her, and picked her up by the waist, throwing her over his shoulder. "You're right. I'm not, but I try." He pushed open the front doors and stopped when the music blasted out at him. "I don't remember it being this loud last time I was in here," he practically shouted.
From where she was hanging, her green eyes rolled. "Uh huh. You're not trying hard enough." He let her slip down, and she worked to fix her hair before walking up to the counter. "Hey, can I get a pair of roller skates, women's size eight, please." Smiling, she waited for JC to ask for his, but she turned with a shocked look when he picked out Rollerblades. "Are you crazy? There aren't that many roller rinks around, and you're going to blade? Wait, it's either that you're crazy, or just plain dumb."
Grinning, he took both of their pairs of skates and led her over to a bench by a row of lockers. "It's been years since I've roller skated, and I'm not about to embarrass myself. You can skate, I'll blade, thank you very much." She pulled off her cowboy boots, and while his head was down, he looked at them curiously. They didn't look like they had that many years of wear and tear, but you could tell that they weren't as young as you would first think. What she told him the day before came into his head. Shaking it off, he finished buckling his Rollerblades and leaned back to put their shoes in the locker. "Are you sure that everything is going to be safe in there?" he asked.
She reached into the locker and pulled off the key from underneath the shelf. Tucking it into the pocket of her jeans, she smiled. "I'd say that it's going to be perfectly fine," she said, closing the door and locking it. He reached for her hand and pulled her up. They made their way delicately to the rink. He stood there, watching everyone skate by before she tugged on his hand. "This is one time that the mountain won't come to Mohammed. You have to actually go out there and skate."
He turned to look over at her and shook his head. "Is everyone here a professional or what?" She grinned dangerously and let go of his hand, gliding out onto the rink. She stopped and looked at him before she started to twirl around.
"Now, where do you think I spent most of my afternoons after school? Come on, already," she yelled, waving him over. Against his better judgment, he headed out there and watched as she skated circles around him. He just stood there, his hands on his hips, as he watched her move around him. She stopped, breathless, and moved the hair out of her face. "Well, aren't you going to join in the fun? Everyone falls. Watch this."
To prove her point, Brooklyn started to skate away from him, before she made herself fall to the ground. "I don't suggest it, though," she added with a groan, rubbing her backside. "Do you think you could help me up?" she asked, declining the hand of another skater.
JC sighed and started to skate towards her, bending down. She popped up without his help and grinned. "I thought that you needed help."
Her head shook slowly from side to side. "Nope, I just wanted you to move that butt of yours. Now, come on. This is a great song." He let her pull him around, while she laughed and sang.
"New York, this is one of your songs," he shouted to her, as she forced him to do a circle.
"I know." He laughed and let go of her hand, taking off without her. "Oh, now that's cruel. Get back here!" She headed off after him, dodging people left right and center. He laughed over his shoulder as he watched her struggle to match his speed. People whizzed by them, and around them, as the song finally changed. "I swear, I'm going to-" she started to say when she caught up to him. He turned his eyes in the direction that she was looking, towards a group of young girls. "I suppose this is what you would call a fan attack. Come on," she shouted, when she saw that they had roller skates on.
The girls started to chase after them, skating frantically. "You know, this is the first time that you walked right into a fan attack with me," he shouted to her. Her head just nodded as she grabbed him around the waist and spun him around so that his front was facing her.
"Just skate," she panted, pushing him as she tried to gather more speed. "Tell me if they get close or not."
His eyes widened. "Oh, they're getting close and I don't think they're very happy with you." She didn't bother looking back, but instead, watching the group ahead of her. "New York, what are you doing?"
She grinned dangerously. "You're about to play Crack The Whip, Tennessee style," she said with a laugh, pushing him towards the group. "Ready? One, two, turn!" She whirled him back around, just in time for the to break into the line that was created. "I have a feeling that this could get messy really quickly. Just...follow my lead, all right?" He nodded, holding onto the person in front of him while they turned the corner. "I feel really bad for this. Sorry, guys!" she called, and broke away when she saw the opening to outside the rink. The girls had caught onto the end of the line, and Brooklyn was about to give them the ride of their life.
She let go of the person behind her, the same time that JC let go of the person ahead of him. They started towards the exit when the entire line seemed to collapse in a mess of tangled limbs. She just shrugged, as she made her way off the rink and stumbled when she hit the lip. JC caught her around the waist, and pulled her along to where their locker was.
The girls had somehow gotten out of the mess, and started towards them. "Uh oh," he said, pointing. She just rolled his eyes and took his hand. "Yo, Scott! We're stealing there. Don't worry, I'll pay for new wheels," she shouted at the man working the desk before pushing open the door. "Follow me." She headed around the corner, pulling him along with her. Leaning against the wall, they both tried to catch their breath.
"I should have known that something like this was going to happen. You and I had been way to lucky lately." She looked over at him, panting. Despite the red face from the exercise, her eyes were twinkling brightly.
Her hand came out and pushed him hard. He started to slip towards the ground, and she grabbed him before he could hit. Instead, both of them landed on the ground, though more softly than they would have originally. "What I go through for you. An ice bath this morning, and now this. You owe me so big, it's not even funny. I'm talking 'bow down on your knees and kiss my feet' sort of thing."
JC smirked, his hands resting on her lower back. "Somehow, I don't think-" She broke him off by putting a hand over his mouth. She leaned down to press her lips against her own hand, and hissed under her breath.
"Don't look now, but psycho fans one, two, three, and four just walked by. Lay here like the good little boy you are, all right?" He nodded slightly, closing his eyes. "Now, you really owe me. I'm talking huge here." He nodded again, listening to the discussion of the girls as they made their way past again.
Their feet stopped, and he could just imagine them looking towards them. "Oh, gross. Look, someone's making out in the alley." Brooklyn started to shake with laughter then, almost ruining the effect. He tightening his hand, and chuckled beneath the hand that covered his mouth. He shushed her when she started to snort.
"Shut up," he whispered, moving his hands so they disappeared under her shirt.
"What the hell are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down.
She could feel his grin underneath her hand, and the chuckle that followed. "Wait, I'm getting rid of them." His hands snuck a little further under, and she giggled when one finger tickled her back. It stopped instantly when his fingers rested on her bra strap. "Believe me, I'm not getting any enjoyment out of this."
"My ass. You're a man, aren't you? Don't even get me started on the difference in our sexes." She listened as the girls walked away gagging, before sitting up. "If something was remotely close to moving down there, you wouldn't be having children. You're incredibly lucky."
He sat up, and watched as she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Yup, I know." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "You're the best, New York. Most people would have thrown me to the wolves. You rock."
Grinning, she stood up and brushed off her jeans. "I know. No applause is needed." She reached down and helped him off the ground. "If we don't get these back, Scott is going to royally beat me. Not a good thing." She skated to the edge of the building and peeked around. "Coast is clear. Maybe you should bring some bodyguards with you or something next time."
He made a face as they skated cautiously back to the roller rink. "I don't think so. You're good enough. Why have a mountain covering my back when I can have you pretending to make out with me?"
"All for the sake of your safety. I swear." She laughed and opened the door to the rink. "Believe me, I've had to do this once before, when I just started. That was when country music was that big hysteria, and everyone seemed to be listening to it. I skated around Nashville for an hour before I lost all of them. Now that was bad. This was tame." Brooklyn stopped her glide at the counter and bent down to take off her skates, putting them on the counter. "I am so sorry about that, Scott. How much do I owe you for new wheels?"
He looked at the two pairs and smiled. "Nothing. No damage was done, so I don't need to change them. You're lucky this time, Brooke." She just smiled and walked over with JC to the lockers. Both pairs of eyes looked around nervously every now and then as they pulled their shoes back on, and stood up. Brooklyn threw her purse over her shoulder, her keys dangling from her hand.
"Hey, are you hungry?" she asked, as they walked back outside. The slight breeze was more than welcome on her warmed and reddened cheeks. He turned slowly to look at her, his eyebrows raising. Her purse swung around and hit him in the stomach lightly. "That's my look, if you didn't know. I have it copyrighted, trademarked, and registered. I could sue you for that."
He just smirked, as she unlocked the passenger door for him. "Oh, so you're driving this time? Are we going to the diner?"
"Yes, and yes. I don't want you to try and run down anymore little old ladies, and I figured that since neither of us have stopped in to see Molly lately, it would be nice to drop by and grab a bite to eat." She sighed as she started the engine. "Don't give me that look. I've been busy lately and...yeah."
The seatbelt was pulled tight over JC's shoulder, and he locked it into place. "Okay, if you say so." He didn't mention that he had seen something in her eyes that told the opposite. He knew that she hadn't been that busy lately, since this was her vacation. He didn't think that she had even been around Tim lately, but that was another story, altogether. One that he had no idea about.
The ride to the diner was short, and void of conversation. Once they walked in the door, it was completely different. "My Lord, will you two cuties get over here? Just where have you been hiding?" With bright smiles, JC and Brooklyn made their way to the counter and sat down. Before they could even say hello, Molly was talking again. "JC, for once, you look like you've gotten enough sleep." Brooklyn chuckled behind her hand, trying to muffle it as much as she could. "You, Brooke...you need more sleep. You're looking like a raccoon today."
Her mouth dropped open and she jabbed JC in the ribs. "Hey, blame it on him. He woke me up this morning with cold water and ice." Finally, she grinned brightly. "How has everything been here lately?"
"You, young lady, would know that if you came in here. Now, I know that it's your vacation time, but please. Normally, you would be in here every day."
"Just wait. Practices are starting soon, and I'm going to be a permanent fixture here. If Joe the slave driver lets me out, that is." She made a rueful voice. "I'm about to die from hunger, Molly. Want to yell out a Brooklyn for me?" she asked.
Molly turned to look at JC, her hands on her hips. "And you?" Once he selected his meal, she leaned back and started to shout. "One Brooklyn, one burger plate and hurry up for once!" The two looked at each other before laughing and shaking their heads.
Brooklyn hung up the phone and sighed. Another phone call from Tim, reminding her that JC would not be asked to go to the awards show with her. She was getting a little sick of the possessive attitude that he had been showing lately, but she didn't want to call him on it. They were trying to make their relationship work again, back to where it had been.
She rolled over on her bed and looked at the wall. They had been fighting for a long time, but it seemed to have gotten worse ever since JC had showed up. That's when the actual physical abuse had started, and she started to wonder if he had something to do with it. She was hoping that he didn't, because she thought of him as a wonderful friend, but this was becoming a little too much. Tim was fighting someone that he didn't have to.
There was no way that he was attracted to her, she knew that. JC was just a friend, but for some reason, Tim had a problem believing her. He never had a problem with that before, but things had changed. Another reason that she was speculating on was the sudden explosion of country music that had started a few years ago. For some reason, people started to take notice of the music, and since then, it had only become more popular. People like Faith Hill, Martina McBride, and Tim McGraw had been in a big factor with that, and Brooklyn Turner was the next person that everyone started to notice.
Record sales went up, concerts were sold out within an hour, and all of it had escalated into more personal appearances and interviews. In short, more time away from home. People started to demand to see her, to hear her, and she wasn't around as much as she used to. That, also, could have been the reason. She wanted it to be the reason, but something was telling her that it wasn't that. It wasn't JC. It had to have been something bigger.
Groaning, she rolled over again, and looked up at the ceiling. She could hear JC and Austin talking about something downstairs, though their words weren't coming up to her. She could hear the laughter, and the smiles in each of their voices when one would suddenly exclaim something. It was very comforting. When she had first started to date Tim, she had always thought that it would be her brother and her boyfriend that would do that, but there was something that neither of them liked about the other. It was never talked about, never mentioned, but she knew it was there. It was there, and it was beginning to tear her away from both of them.
She didn't know who to confine in. Both parties wouldn't have anything nice to say about the other, and she didn't want to pull JC into her twisted life. Instead, she forced herself to go through it alone, plastering a smile on her face, and forcing herself to laugh. This wasn't what she wanted when she signed on the dotted line, but it was what she had received. It was what she was living.
"Screw this," she whispered to herself, before reaching for the stack of paper she kept in the drawer of her night table. "I'm going to live my life for myself, for once." She chewed on the end of a pen while she thought, the clean sheets sitting in front of her. With a sigh, she started to write.
Dear Lance,
Well, hello there, neighbor. It seems to be impossible to get ahold of you lately, so this was my best bet. I know that I can trust JC to give you this. So, I'm going to skip the usual "what's happening in my life" part for a moment, and hit you with the question. I found out that I've been nominated at the ACMAs, and I'm performing. Go me, right? My big problem is that I don't have a date for the awards show. Austin (my brother) isn't able to go this year, my boyfriend Tim doesn't like them, and I want to bring someone that I can trust. That's where you come in. How would you like to rub elbows with some of country music's greatest (myself not included, of course). You're my first, last, and only hope, and if you don't go...I'll be quite upset at you. Just kidding. Seriously, I hope that you can come.
She shook her head and looked down at the paper. This wasn't living her life the way she wanted, but the last thing she wanted to do was cause problems between her and Tim. She was warned not to take JC, but he had never mentioned Lance, even though she had. It probably wouldn't be a big deal. Lance was definitely just a friend, and someone that she had never met before. In a way, she was killing two birds with one stone. She wanted to meet him, and she wanted a date. It all worked out in the end...for her.
The pen continued to scratch against the surface of the paper as she filled him in on what was happening, and the room was filled with silence. The men had quieted down, and all she could hear was the pen. It was starting to drive her crazy. She finished the letter as quickly as possible, signing her name quickly at the bottom without even thinking. The paper was folded and put into an envelope. She sealed it, wrote his name on the front, and looked at it.
"Is this really what I want to do?" she asked herself. "This is just running away from the problem, I know." With a frustrated sigh, she dropped the pen on the floor. "Love stinks. Plain and simple."
Standing up, she walked to the hope chest that was pushed against the bed, and opened it. Again, the smell of roses floated out, and she closed her eyes as she breathed it in. They opened and looked down. The note that she had read from Tim all that time ago was looking back at her. The "Garbage/Love" letter that always made her frown. The envelope was dropped ontop of it, making her smile. "I have until tomorrow to think about it. That should be okay."
She walked out of her room and downstairs, listening as the men burst into laughter again. Rolling her eyes, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of soda before walking into the living room, sitting down in the armchair. "You should have seen it. Her face was bright red. I thought she was going to kill me."
"Oh, man. You're telling him about the time that you pulled down my skirt at that school talent show? Thanks, Austin. I love you too," she said sarcastically, taking a sip of pop.
Both of them continued to laugh, causing the blush to come back onto her face when she thought about it. "I'm sorry, New York, but...I can just...imagine your face." She crossed her arms and frowned when they wouldn't stop laughing. That was definitely a night that she would never forget. Brooklyn has signed up for the student talent show, and was in the middle of singing an old song, when her brother decided to be mischievous. He ran up on stage behind her, and pulled down her skirt, to show everyone the ruffled underwear that her mother had still made her wear back them. She had stomped off crying, and she still hadn't forgiven him for that incident.
Austin stopped laughing quickly when he saw her look, but decided to get an extra dig in. "I've still got the pictures of that if you want to see." Even Brooklyn couldn't help smiling a little. Without waiting for an answer, Austin reached for the photo albums that were hidden in the end table, looking for the right one. Once he found out, Brooklyn moved over on the couch beside JC and picked out another from the stack, opening it.
While they laughed over the pictures of her, she looked through the document of her past, smiling and chuckling to herself. After they were finished, Austin excused himself to go to bed, while the two stayed up. She had moved so that she was sitting cross legged, the album resting in her lap. "The old house," she said to herself, running her fingers across the plastic. "That tire swing there was nothing but trouble. Austin used to push me on it, and he would almost always knock me out of it somehow. After awhile, we weren't allowed to touch it."
JC smiled to himself and shifted so that he could see the album a little better. His arm stretched out on the top of the couch, and he leaned over, examining the next picture a little closer. "They aren't in very good order. Let me guess, your baby picture?"
She started to laugh. "Yeah, look at me. I was so fat them. Nine pounds, I think, when I was born. My cheeks are so big I can't open my eyes. Look."
"I like the blonde hair thing that you had going on back then. I can't imagine what you would look like with bright blonde hair." She grinned brightly and flipped through the pages, pointing to one of her, around ten years old, and sitting on Santa's lap. "It's cute, but I think I prefer the brown that you have."
A hand went protectively over her hair, and she smiled. "It started to turn this color when I was twelve. I was so upset when it started. I loved that color hair before, but now, I'm glad it's gone. Even if I did cut it short."
Smiling, he tugged on the end of her hair, and started to laugh when she tried to pull it out of his grasp. "You call this short? You must be crazy."
Neither of them noticed the person standing outside the window, hidden in the shadows. Tim's eyes narrowed when he saw JC sitting so comfortably beside his girlfriend. His arm was practically around her shoulders, and she looked completely comfortable. His eyes were mere slits when he watched him run his fingers through her hair, trying to smooth it.
The anger was practically radiating out of him when Brooklyn turned and smiled at him brightly, leaning back so that she was against his arm. It slipped off the couch and rested on her shoulders, while they continued to look through the photo album. JC was too comfortable with her, and she was far too comfortable with him. He was going to have to change that, and he knew how.
His hand came down and patted the pocket of his jacket. Tim was definitely going to change what was to happen. With that change, a lot of was going to be different, including the country singer and the pop star.
Chapter Twelve
pepsicolagurl@shaw.ca