I glance at my cell phone as it rings and freeze when I see her number light up the screen. I can feel my pulse race as the phone continues to ring. I lift the phone to my ear. "Brooke?"
"Hey…." I close my eyes for a moment when I hear her raspy voice.
"Brooke, honey, why are you calling me so late?" I say quietly as I sit down at the desk in my den and glance at the clock.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you." Brooke sniffles.
"Brooke, why are you crying, is everything OK? What happened?" My voice is barely above a whisper now.
"Lucas, why are you whispering?" Brooke asks and I pause for a moment.
"Peyton's asleep in the next room." I say slowly. There's another pause.
"I understand…" I can almost see Brooke nodding her head as she speaks. "I hope I didn't wake her, I just really needed to talk to you tonight."
"I'm glad that you called." I say honestly. "I've missed hearing your voice." I lean back and close my eyes again. Even after all these years, just hearing Brooke Davis' voice still makes me weak in the knees. I glance at the clock again, silently praying that she won't hang up yet. I don't want to say goodbye to her just yet. Right or wrong, I can't say goodbye to her yet.
"I've missed hearing your voice too." The tone in her voice brightens a little and I know that she's smiling. "I had a dream about you, Broody."
"You had a dream about me? Really?" I laugh a little. "I've had a couple of dreams about you myself." There's another moment of silence. "What about Chase, Brooke? I don't want this to start another fight between the two of you."
"Chase left. That's part of the reason I called." Brooke pauses. "What about Peyton? Does she know that you and I still talk?"
"No, she doesn't." I say after a moment.
"That's probably a good thing. I don't think that she would really understand, do you?" Brooke says somewhat bitterly.
"You're probably right about that." I glance at the photo of Peyton that is on my desk. There is no way that Peyton would understand.
"I miss you so much Luke." Brooke's voice has taken on an intimate tone.
"I miss you too, Pretty Girl." I find myself matching her tone, even though I know I shouldn't.
"You haven't called me Pretty Girl in a really long time." Brooke laughs a little and my heart skips a beat, the same way it always does when I hear her laugh.
"You'll always be my Pretty Girl, you know that." I can't keep the emotion out of my voice.
"Good, I'm glad." I can hear her smile. "I always liked being your Pretty Girl." There's a long moment of silence. "Luke… would it be wrong if I asked you to come over? I just… I don't want to be alone right now. It's OK if it's too weird."
"Brooke, I…" I begin but pause. Logically, I know that I should end this conversation right now. "I can be there in 15 minutes." When it comes to Brooke Davis, logic always seems to go out the window.
"Thank you, Luke. I'll see you soon." The line goes dead. I take the phone away from my ear and stare at it for a moment before quickly scribbling a note to Peyton, just in case she wakes up, saying that I couldn't sleep and I went for a drive. 5 minutes later I'm in my car, heading across town toward my wife's ex-best friend's house. I pull in her drive way and sit staring at her house for a while. I know I shouldn't be here. I also know that the moment Brooke asked me to come my mind was already made up. I've never been able to say no to her and most likely I never will. I slowly walk to the front door and ring the bell. It opens a moment later and I lay eyes on Brooke Davis for the first time in months. "Hey." She says with a tiny smile as she steps aside to let me enter and then closes the door behind me. "Thanks again for coming, Luke. I just really needed someone here tonight."
"Anything for you…" My hand gently caresses her cheek, almost as though it has a will of its own, and Brooke smiles, showing me her trademark dimples.
"Did you want something to drink?" Brooke asks as she leads me to the living room.
"No thanks." I shake my head as I sit down on the couch and pat the seat next to me. "Sit down, Brooke. Tell me what's going on."
"My life is a mess, Luke." Brooke sits down next to me with a sigh.
"You and Chase had a fight?" I ask and Brooke is quiet for a moment.
"It was more than a fight." She sniffles. "It's over. He moved out tonight."
"What happened?" I ask as I reach for the Kleenex and hand the box to her.
"He found someone else." Brooke says after a moment as tears spill from her eyes. "Apparently he's been seeing some woman at his office for the last 4 months."
"Oh Brooke…" I immediately wrap my arms around her and she rests her head against my chest. My blood is boiling and all I want to do is find that bastard and beat the crap out of him. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. You know, maybe you're better off without him." I pull away to look into her dark eyes. "If he doesn't appreciate how amazing you are, then it's his loss and one day he'll realize the mistake he's made. I know from personal experience."
"The thing is, Luke, he said that the reason he started seeing her was that he knew that I could never love him the way he loved me because…" Brooke's eyes soften as she looks at me and gently touches my cheek. "…because I was still in love with you." Brooke stands suddenly, moving to pour herself a drink. "I think he may have been right." She turns to look at me as she sips her vodka. "I don't know if I've ever loved anyone the way I loved you."
"Brooke, I…" I begin but she stops me.
"Luke, it's OK, you don't have to say anything." She returns to couch and sits down again. "I know you don't feel that way about me anymore." She smiles a sad smile and before I can stop myself, I pull her to me, kissing her firmly on the mouth.
"How can you possibly think that I don't love you, Pretty Girl?" I whisper as I hold her tightly against me. "My feelings for you never changed, you have to know that."
"Do you mean that?" She looks up at me and although I know I should leave this second, all of my will power is gone. I lower my head to kiss her again and she wraps her arms tightly around me as settles herself in my lap, straddling me. She pulls away to look at me as she slowly pulls her sweater over her head. Her breathing is shallow as she takes my hands and gently places them on her body. Her eyes close and her head falls back as I lower my head to kiss her breasts. "Luke…" She breathes my name and I seem to lose all control. I need to have her immediately. I lift her easily and she wraps her legs around my waist as I stand and carry her into the bedroom. I lay her gently on the bed and stare down at her for a moment. I slowly remove the rest of her clothing and my own before joining her on the bed. I'd forgotten how soft her skin was and how her body fit to mine perfectly. "Luke…" She moans my name as she lowers herself onto me.
"Jesus… Brooke…" I bury my face in her hair as I gently rock her back and forth. A few moments later, I feel her body tighten around me and she cries out with pleasure. I groan loudly as I reach my climax. We're both silent for a long time as we lay together, our limbs entangled.
"What does this mean, Luke?" Brooke finally asks the question that both of us are thinking.
"I don't know, Brooke." I say honestly. "I really don't know." I glance at the clock and sigh heavily. It's almost 2 a.m., Peyton is probably freaking out. I know that I need to get up out of this bed but when I feel Brooke cuddle closer to me all thoughts of leaving are gone. All of a sudden my cell phone starts to ring. I instantly recognize the ring tone as Peyton's.
"Are you going to answer that?" Brooke asks as she sits up and pulls the sheet around her. I look at her for a moment and consider lying.
"It's Peyton." I finally decide on the truth, knowing that Brooke would want it.
"Oh…" Brooke looks away. "You should probably go then."
"No, Brooke, I don't have to go." I whisper as I turn her face towards me and gently kiss her mouth.
"Luke…" Brooke begins to protest.
"Do you want me to go?" I ask and she looks at me for a long time before slowly shaking her head.
"You know I don't." She looks away again. "But Peyton…"
"Peyton's not here." I whisper as I pull her into my arms and kiss her temple. "Brooke, I don't know what's going to happen but I know that right now this is where I want to be for as long as you'll have me."
"What about forever?" Brooke looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "Does forever work for you?"
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Peyton's waiting for me when I get home at 6:00 a.m. She's sitting alone in the living room when I enter the house. She looks up at me and I can see it in her eyes that she knows. She knows exactly where I was and who I was with. I expect her to start crying and yelling, instead she stands and calmly walks over to me. "I'm glad you're home." She kisses my cheek quickly. "I was worried about you."
"I didn't mean to worry you." I say slowly, wondering what the hell she's doing. She knows. I know that she knows so why is acting as though I was simply late home for dinner.
"It's OK." She looks at me for a long time before turning away and heading toward the kitchen. "I'm going to make some coffee, do you want some?"
"Ugh, sure…." I nod. "I'm just going to go shower." She nods silently before disappearing into the kitchen and I slowly go upstairs. I pause for a moment as I peek into Natalie's room. I smile as I watch my three-year old daughter sleep. She looks exactly like her mother, blue eyes and blonde curls. My mind wanders back to Brooke and what she said right before I left.
"What about forever?" Brooke looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "Does forever work for you?" I stare at her for a long time before gently brushing a piece of her long dark hair out of her face and wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"If you want me forever, Brooke, I'll be here forever." I pause for a moment as I look at her and slowly lower my head to kiss her. "It's always been you, Pretty Girl. It's always been you."
"I love you, Luke." Brooke says seriously. "I always loved you and when you married Peyton, I felt like I wanted to die."
"Brooke, I married her because I thought you didn't love me anymore." I sigh heavily. "You were with Chase and everyone kept saying that Peyton and I were supposed to be together. I never should have listened to them. I shouldn't have listened to my head… not when my heart was telling me that you were the one."
"Luke?" The sound of Peyton's voice brings me back to reality. I look up to find her watching me from the top of the stairs.
"Sorry, I was just watching Nat." I look back at our daughter. "She's so beautiful when she sleeps."
"Yes, she is." Peyton says after a moment. "She's always beautiful." The tone in her voice causes me to look at her. Her eyes are empty as she looks at me.
"Peyton…" I turn to face her completely.
"How's Brooke?" She asks suddenly and I'm at a loss for words. "Did she ask about me? Or did you not get around to pleasantries?"
"Peyton, I…" I quietly close Natalie's door and turn to face my wife. "I don't know what you want me to say."
"I don't want you to say anything Lucas." Peyton shakes her head as tears fill her eyes. "Maybe you could just tell me the truth for once." She turns on her heel and heads into our bedroom.
"Peyton, I'm sorry." I say as I follow her and close the door behind me. "I don't know what else to say."
"You're sorry?" Peyton spins to face me and I cringe when I see the pain in her eyes. "You're out all night fucking your ex-girlfriend and all you can say is I'm sorry?" All of sudden Peyton is flying towards me, her fists striking out to hurt me. "You're such a bastard; you're such a stupid bastard! How could you?!" She continues hitting me and I don't try to stop her. I deserve it. I know I deserve it. After a few minutes she seems to lose her drive to punish me and abruptly stops hitting me. She turns away from me and sits on the bed slowly. She's quiet for a long time before slowly looking up at me. "How long…?" She asks finally. "You and Brooke, how long has it been going on? How long have the two of you been making a fool of me?"
"Peyton, it's not like that." I say slowly and, although it's the truth, I know Peyton will never believe it.
"Oh, really, it's not like that?" Peyton lets out a bitter laugh and shakes her head. "Just answer me one question, Luke. Why? Why now? Why Brooke?" She looks up at me with a slightly desperate expression. "Wasn't I a good wife to you?"
"Peyton, it was never about you." I sigh and lower myself into a chair.
"That's the problem." Peyton's voice cracks with emotion. "I'm your wife. It should be about me."
"I'm sorry Peyton." I look up at her with tears in my eyes. "I wish that things were different. I wish that I was the husband that you want me to be."
"Luke, you are the husband that I want you to be." Peyton says finally. "The only problem is that you want to be that husband to Brooke."
Update: So a few people asked me to continue this story so I decided to give it a shot. Chapter two is up, so please let me know what you think.