A/N: Hey everyone…new story, no I haven't forgotten about my other ones, just couldn't help it on this one. A little background: it's six years after graduation from high school, Brooke's in California, Lucas and Rachel are in New York (no, they're not dating) and Peyton stayed in Tree Hill. Brooke has her clothing line, Lucas has published his first book and is in the middle of promoting it, and everyone else has pretty much fallen to the wayside. This story is primarily Brucas, Peyton wont be making an appearance in it, but Naley will. Hope y'all like it, and leave me reviews if you think I should keep on with it, or turn it into a two or three chapter story and end it. Thanks everyone! Look forward to your reviews!
The slender woman opened her front door and entered the sprawling house. Three years she'd lived here, and each day seemed to fly by. It seriously felt like just yesterday when she'd signed the papers and accepted the keys to her very own place. Home, she thought.
Throwing her bag and keys onto the side table in the entryway, Brooke walked forward into the living room, passing by the answering machine and hitting play.
"You have four new messages…" Wow, four huh? People must miss me, she smirked to herself. Four new messages was actually pretty small, she usually walked in to at least eight. Not that she ever really listened to the messages, she just liked knowing she had them. Some things don't change.
"Hey slut! You too good to pick up a damn phone and call me? Or have you fallen off the face of the fucking planet?? But seriously, I'm in town for a couple weeks and wanted to crash with you. Call me!" Rachel's voice echoed throughout the large space, and Brooke peeked her head out of her bedroom. Rachel? Cool! It had been a year or so since she'd seen her friend last; it would be nice to have some company in this big town.
"Brooke, it's mom. Your father and I are flying to Rio tomorrow, just wanted to let you know we'll be out of town for a couple months. We need a break. Everything's the same as usual, if you need anything, help yourself. Security's going to take care of the house, so you don't need to worry about that. Hope you're having a good week, we'll check in later. Love you, bye." Another break? Geez! I don't see why they don't just MOVE to Europe or something, they spend so much time there! Brooke had grown closer over the years to her parents, but they'd never had that true family connection. The fact that her mother was even calling was a huge step for them. Well, have fun mommie dearest!
"Hey Cheery, long time no talk. I got your number from Rachel, I'm in town with her, long story. She just informed me she invited us to crash at your place, and well, I…" The rest of the voicemail went unheard as Brooke stood stunned. Lucas?? Here?? With Rachel?? Staying with her?? Huh?!?
The sound of the door buzzer scared her and she jumped a good foot in the air. She came down wrong on her ankle, twisting it. "Fuck! Today is just not my day!" She limped to the door, the buzzer going off insistently.
"I'm coming! I'm coming! Geez, what's the emergency!?" The pissed off brunette jerked open the door, and nearly screamed in shock.
"Bout damn time! Did you not get my voicemail?" A huffy Rachel pushed her way past her friend, a sheepish looking Lucas shuffling in after her.
"Rachel? What the hell?" Brooke stood in the open doorway, shock and something as yet unnamed on her face.
"I called, or don't you check your messages? Besides, since when have I never been allowed in your place?" Rachel stood, arms crossed, a wicked grin on her face.
Since you brought him with you, Brooke thought. Sighing, she closed the door and limped over to the counter, easing into a barstool.
"Uhm, you okay?" Lucas noticed her limp and was instantly worried.
"Yeah, I just twisted it is all. Hey Lucas," she winced as she put her foot up on the stool next to her, and smiled shyly at the boy, correction, man she hadn't seen in six long years.
"Hey there. Sorry to just drop in on you like this, but well, Rachel…" he trailed off, not really knowing what to say or do.
"I what? Oh please, like I seriously forced you here against your will. Whatever. But seriously, you need anything Brooke?" Rachel felt guilty for barging in on Brooke like they had, but she'd had enough of Lucas pacing and stressing out and panicking, and well, Brooke had just taken too damn long to call back. If they hadn't come to the house, there'd have been headlines the next morning when they found a blonde writer in a dark alleyway or something.
"Yeah, can you grab me an ice pack? This is going to swell," Brooke sighed, again, and just grimaced. She was going to have to figure something out for tomorrow, she was going to have to do a lot of walking.
"Here, I'll get it," the blonde beat the red head to the freezer, rummaging through the contents til he found the ice pack. He turned the corner, slipped his ex girlfriend's shoe off her dainty foot, and gently placed the ice pack around the injured ankle. The moment he'd touched her skin he felt that familiar electric shock and it was all he could do not to tremble. After all these years, she still held him entranced.
"Thanks Luke. So you guys are in town for a couple weeks?" She'd felt the shock too, and had to remind herself to breathe. She'd held herself in check for so long, she had almost forgotten what it was like to feel again. Then again, the man standing in front of her had always had that power over her.
"Yep! I needed a break from New York, and Lucas here has been entirely too wrapped up in his book. So I dragged him along with me. You know I don't like flying alone." Rachel took the stool to the other side of Brooke's foot, shrugging off her jacket and sighing in relief. Lucas leaned on the other side of the counter, not really sure what to do with himself.
"Ha! Yeah right. You never had a problem going anywhere alone you whore. Anyways, you both are of course welcome to crash here. I've got a big shoot the next two days so I'll be working, but for the most part I'll be free. As always, you've got excellent timing."
"Well duh! I mean, we are talking about me here. I'm perfect," Rachel preened, as she sat up nice and tall. Brooke giggled and Lucas chuckled, and for a moment, things looked like they might be okay.
"You sure it's cool if I stay? I can get a hotel or something," Lucas' deep voice brought Brooke back to reality, and she looked over at him for a moment. He was squinting, that signature move that was all Lucas Scott, Brooding Boy of Tree Hill. Like she could ever forget how his eyes glinted when he did that, or how the corners of his lips would pull up slightly when he was trying hard not to show what he was feeling. God, how she'd missed him. She was going to kill Rachel when she got the chance.
"Don't sweat it Broody. Really, there's tons of space in this house. You're always welcome, any of my friends are." And she meant that, which surprised everyone, even her.
He smiled, and her heart flipped over. Rachel grinned, and Brooke smiled, the patented Brooke Davis smile, dimples and all. It was Lucas' turn for his heart to flip over.
"Listen, you guys get settled, Rachel can show you where the rooms and stuff are. I literally just got home-" she threw a look at Rachel, "and I desperately need a shower. I'll be back in a little bit." She limped down the hallway and shut the door behind her, easing over to her bed.
Oh man, what am I going to do? The feisty woman thought back to all that had happened in the span of six years. She'd left Tree Hill with the intention of never going back, and to this day she'd held onto that determination. Sure, she'd seen her friends, run ins while in New York for Fashion Week, visits to see her in California. But there were a select few that she'd managed to avoid. Peyton being one, Lucas the other. It wasn't that she hated either one, it was just too painful to go back down that road again.
Now Lucas was presumably getting settled in one of her spare rooms, and she was going to be around him for a whole two weeks. She groaned, and decided a long hot soak was preferable to a shower, which would require standing on her bad ankle.
She flipped on her radio, music being one of the few things she simply couldn't live without. It was a change, she knew, one that would surprise the man who had just walked back into her life. But she'd learned to enjoy the comfort of the music echoing through her house, and it was immensely more upbeat than the tv, which had turned into nothing but depressing news and dramas. She'd lived enough drama in her 24 years to fill a hundred tv shows, she didn't need to watch someone else struggle through a make believe world.
"I love this house," she said out loud, satisfaction in her voice as she sank down into her garden tub, bubbles covering the surface. Brooke had always been drawn to the beach, something that had moved with her when she left Tree Hill. While Malibu wasn't exactly the same as the quiet shores of Tree Hill, the sunset in the evenings was breathtaking. When she'd finally found the house, she had jumped at the chance to own it. By then she'd already been established as a successful designer, and had the funds to buy it out right. Sometimes, money was a very good thing. A very good thing indeed.
Absorbed in her own thoughts, Brooke lost track of time. Her bathroom door suddenly flew open and she nearly choked on the water that sloshed into her mouth as she jumped.
"Jesus Rachel! Seriously! You need to quit!" She'd finally managed to get out, after coughing to clear her throat.
"Sorry, but you've been in here for an hour! We're hungry! Besides, Lucas hasn't seen the kind of life you have here, and he needs to unwind too! So get your wrinkled ass out of the damn tub and let's go do something!!!" Rachel reached down into the tub and pushed the plug. The two had grown incredibly close over the years, and were like sisters now…well, sisters that argued all the time anyways.
"Okay! Okay! Give me ten minutes to get dried off and dressed, alright?!" Brooke heaved a huge sigh and stood up. The soak in the tub had done her ankle good, and she was able to put pressure on it.
"Hurry up! I want to eat!"
"Brooke? Rachel?" Lucas peered around the corner of the bathroom, and immediately clapped his hand over his eyes. "Oh god, I'm so sorry," he mumbled, his cheeks turning slightly red.
Rachel snickered, and Brooke laughed lightly. "It's alright Luke, really. Not like it's anything you haven't seen before," she replied, reaching for the towel that Rachel handed to her. "I'll be out in a minute, you guys figure out what kind of food you feel up to eating. It's my treat tonight," she stated, shooing them out in front of her.
"Hurry up slut!" Rachel shot at her, again. Brooke just rolled her eyes and firmly shut the door in her best friend's face.
Laughter bubbled up from Brooke's chest and soon she was laughing so hard tears were forming in her eyes. Rachel had a stunned look on her face while Lucas tried to help Brooke stay upright, finding it hard to do so himself as he laughed along with the woman leaning on him.
"Well, I never…" Rachel muttered, turning back to her friends. "Would you two quit? That was so not funny," she whined.
"Oh…yeah….it was," Brooke managed to get out between gasps for air. She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to regain her composure. Lucas was still chuckling; she could feel the vibrations through the hand she had rested on his chest. Still as toned as the last time I'd been this close, and she immediately snatched her hand back, as if burned, her cheeks reddening slightly at the memories that flashed through her mind.
Rachel eyed her nervous friend, having noticed the sudden change. She made a mental note to ask her about it later.
"Shut up Luke! It's not funny!" Rachel swiped at the tall man's arm, trying hard not to get caught up in the laughter. He just kept chuckling, using the situation to keep his hand on the slender waist of the woman he'd loved for so long he'd almost forgotten what life was like before he loved her.
"You've got to be kidding, I don't know how you can't see the humor in this," he replied.
"I have to agree sugar. That was classic."
"Bah. Whatever. Come on, let's blow this joint." Rachel tried hard to feign indifference, not wanting to admit just how shocked she was. Her, Rachel Gatina, had just been turned down. It just didn't happen.
Giggling, Brooke nodded, and Lucas grabbed the jackets and purses as the two friends walked arm in arm out of the restaurant. Every male glared at him as he slipped between the gorgeous women, wrapping arms around their shoulders. They'd all gotten furtive glances and outright drooling stares while they had eaten, from both women and men. All three were drop dead sexy and they knew it. He just grinned, and the girls, realizing he was hamming it up, laughed harder and wrapped arms around his waist. He was particularly thrilled when he felt Brooke's fingers thread through one of his belt loops.
"So where to now Brooke?" Lucas opened the car door for Rachel, not so subtly hinting that she was riding in the backseat this time. She just glared and accepted the purses and jackets as she slid into the back.
"Well, it's been a while since I've gone out and partied. Believe it or not, but I've actually calmed down quite a bit," she replied, smirking at Rachel when she snickered in disbelief in the back.
"No, seriously! Besides, I've got a shit load of work tomorrow. How about the beach? We can walk the shore for a while, I know how much you miss that Rach," Brooke eagerly suggested. She'd come to love walking the shore at night, the moonlight reflecting off the waves.
Her companions nodded in agreement, and Brooke parked a short while later in front of her house. They walked inside, swapped out high heels and skirts for bare feet and jeans, and stepped out on her back porch.
"Wow Brooke, this is amazing," Lucas whispered, awed at what amounted to her backyard.
"I'll never grow tired of this, Brooke. If you ever sell this house, I'll kill you," Rachel sighed, taking peace in the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.
"Trust me, I won't ever be selling this house. It's mine, forever and always," Brooke breathed, finding her own center as she stepped out onto the sand. "Come on you guys! Let's go for a walk!"
Brooke stretched on her back porch, cooling down from her morning run. She'd needed the fresh air to clear her mind, and her ankle help up nicely. She knew she wouldn't have any problems with her shoot later. As she finished stretching her thoughts moved back to the night before. After their walk on the shore Rachel had stumbled to bed, claiming exhaustion from the flight, leaving a nervous Brooke and shy Lucas to sit awkwardly in the kitchen. Not really sure what she was supposed to say, she'd offered to get him a drink if he wanted, to which he'd declined, not wanting to get drunk. Drinking had led to way too many accidents and bad things for him, and he didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with the woman he'd just found again.
"So how'd you run into Rachel?" She had fumbled for something, anything to say to break the strained silence.
"She's actually helping me with my promotion for the book. I ran into her, oh, I guess, a little less than a year ago, and she agreed to help me market and stuff." Lucas had been genuinely surprised when Rachel had turned out to be so helpful, he'd always pegged her as a bit flighty and self-centered.
"Yeah, she's actually a really good person. I couldn't have made it through high school and the last six years if it hadn't been for her. So she dragged you out here huh?"
"I've come to realize that there's a lot about her I hadn't known. She really is a great friend. I swear, if I'd known that she was going to be crashing with you I'd have thought twice about coming out here with her though." Lucas ran a hand through his hair, realizing that had come out completely wrong.
"Oh really? Too good for me now?" Brooke cocked her eyebrow, that move that only she could pull off, and memories flooded him again. He gulped, trying hard to calm his nerves.
"That's not what I meant, sorry. For being a writer, I'm horrible at finding the right words sometimes," he admitted embarrassed.
Brooke laughed, and with that, they'd fallen to small talk and inconsequentials for a little while. Then Brooke caught herself yawning, and Lucas had told her to go to bed, she did have a big day coming up, after all.
"Hey, you're up early," a masculine voice said behind her, sleepiness making it deeper, more guttural. She shivered, trying hard not to remember what it was like waking up to that voice every day. She turned to face the man standing in the doorway, his hair messy, in nothing but a tank and sweats. The sunshine glinting off the waves set his blue eyes to sparkling, and his muscled arms and chest were evident in all their glory. Brooke took a deep breath, get ahold of yourself woman. You're acting like you're back in high school!!
"Yeah, I went for my morning run. You sleep okay?" She managed to talk in a passably calm voice, and was relieved when she didn't squeak. Lucas stared at the woman in front of him, chocolate brown hair tied back in a messy ponytail, a tank top and shorts showing off a lean waist and slender, incredibly long legs. He remembered what it felt like to have those same legs wrapped around his waist and for a moment considered walking up to her and pinning her against the back wall and having his way with the sexy woman.
"Uh, Luke? You okay?" Brooke waved a hand in front of his face, and he snapped out of his day dream to suddenly realize the woman he wanted more that life itself was standing dangerously close to him.
A clearing of a feminine throat behind the pair starring into each other's eyes broke the tension and they shot apart, both blushing just that tiny bit. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I break up something?" Rachel said, just a tiny hint of sarcasm and humor in her voice.
"Uh? What? No, um, I was just getting ready to take a shower and head into the office," Brooke stammered, trying hard to regain her composure. She'd been so close to Lucas, she could feel his breath on her skin, shit, she could still smell that scent that was distinctly Lucas Scott. Damn, she thought.
"Listen, you two can hang out here for the day and just unwind, there's plenty of movies and food in the fridge, or you guys can wander around town. Here's a spare key to the house and keys for the truck. I've got to go into town for the shoot and work at the office for a little bit. I'll be home late, most likely," Brooke said as she slipped past Lucas, her bare shoulder grazing his chest. She bit her lip, struggling hard not to give into her body's incessant nagging.
"You think we could come by later for the shoot? I've always loved to watch you work those things. All those tall skinny bitches jumping to do your every command, it's hysterical!" Rachel said, following Brooke inside to the kitchen. Lucas, taking big, deep breaths, followed more slowly, trying hard to shake the images that kept running through his mind.
"Sure, if you want, you're more than welcome. Call Emily later and she'll give you the location. Or I can have a driver come get you guys later if that's easier?" Brooke smiled, taking shelter in the safer conversation with Rachel.
"Yeah, a driver's probably a better idea. I don't know LA that well." Rachel was certain she'd just interrupted a serious moment between the two friends, and she remembered the odd incidents the night before. She'd have to get Brooke alone soon to find out what's going on.
"Alright, the shoot's at one, so I'll have a driver come get you guys before lunch. We can eat together and then head for the lunch. That's alright with you, right Lucas?" She had finally gotten a firm hold on her feelings, and was able to turn to the hunk standing in her kitchen again.
"Yeah, I'd love to see you in action," he smirked, falling back on flirtatious joking in place of serious conversations.
"Well then it's settled. Be ready around 11:30. I've got to go take a shower and head into the office, I stink."
"Yeah, you do!" Rachel shot after her, to which Brooke just turned and sneered, before winking at Lucas and disappearing into her room.
"Ms. Davis! There's been five calls already, the models are running late and the magazine wants you on the cover! The photographer is panicking, claims he can't shoot without more models, and he wont stop calling!" As soon as Brooke opened the door into her office, her assistant, Emily, bombarded her with problems.
"Whoa! Calm down! How many models are we talking about? And you know Jacques always throws fits hours before a shoot. Just send him a bottle of wine and a note saying it'll be alright, and he'll calm down. The magazine wants me on the cover? Whatever for?" Not that Brooke hadn't been on covers before, but she normally had weeks notice ahead of time.
"They said that with the popularity of your line lately, they want you on the cover. But they want more than just you, they said they want like, a friend or something." Emily stammered, trying hard to keep up with her boss while she shucked jacket and purse. Emily nearly dropped her planner as she struggled to hold onto her boss' stuff, all without spilling the coffee she was holding. She sighed when Brooke relieved her of the coffee. You'd think after two years of doing this she'd have the routine down pat by now.
"A friend? What? That's crazy! What for?"
"I don't know, they wouldn't tell me. The editor told me to have you call him when you got in though," Emily said, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
"Oyi. It's going to be a long day, I can tell. Do me a favor Emily, call Rachel – you remember her right? Good. Call her and tell her that I have to cancel lunch, and then arrange to have a driver show up and pick her and my other friend up and bring them to the shoot. I'll go talk to Timothy." Brooke sighed. She'd been looking forward to lunch, but it seemed like things just weren't meant to go that way today. She had too many fires to put out, and a certain editor that she needed to talk out of a cover shoot.