Wow. Thank you for all the comments everyone! They were piling in by the minute! I just want you guys to know that a lot of this is based on a guy I met over vacation. I mean, it's exaggerated for entertainment purposes (AKA, he wasn't my parents driver and it was Florida, not Cali), but the characters are a lot like the two of us. The only thing that's missing is my (or Brooke's) entire family watching every move she and "Lucas" make! Hahaha! Thanks for reading!
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Within an hour, Brooke had unpacked, changed into her bathing suit, and was laying out by the pool in her parents backyard. A book sat in her lap as she tried concentrating on it. But, truth be told, she was already bored.
"So, is this what you intend to do for two weeks straight?" Lucas asked, approaching her from the other side of the pool. He had changed into a more comfortable outfit of blue board shorts and a white ribbed tank top (she had no clue where he had gotten the extra outfit) and his tattoo and well-defined arms were now in full view.
She looked up from her book. "Maybe. Occasionally, I'll probably swim or even lay out and tan on a raft in the pool… just to switch it up a little," she teased.
He smiled as he slid into the lounge chair beside her. "So…" he started. "You never told me a secret."
"First, you tell me one," she said, pretending to be in-depth with her reading.
"That's not fair, I told you my background!" he protested.
"But that's not a secret. A secret is something no one else knows besides you. And maybe your parents if it has to do with some embarrassing body deformity you have."
He laughed at the comment. "Fine. Here's my secret; I tell people my tattoo is the Chinese symbol for 'strength' when it really means 'yoo wan' fortune cookie?'" he said, making sure he emphasized the 'Chinese' accent at the end.
She turned to face him before bursting into laughter. "So, a rebel and a comedian," she said once she caught her breath. "Any other occupations I should know about?"
"Well, don't tell anyone, but I used to be a porn star. That's a secret you have to keep."
She laughed again and gave him a playful shove.
"Now, you tell me a secret," he said with a smirk.
"I have no secrets," she replied mysteriously before standing up and diving gracefully into the pool.
She sank underneath the cool water and smiled to herself. She loved being on vacation where she could be anyone she wanted to be. Having that power made her feel strong, like she could change anything about herself with just a small lie. Unfortunately, Brooke was a girl who couldn't change herself for all the money in the world, vacation or not. But having the power made her feel mysterious.
She swam to the surface, her head breaking the cool water swiftly. She looked toward the lounge chairs to find them all empty. Lucas was gone.
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Her parents' house felt empty and lonely, and it had only been a few hours.
The sun was setting outside and Lucas had been no where in sight since their rendezvous at the pool.
"Miss Davis, will you be eating dinner here?" Rosalita asked her in her heavy accent as she sat at the kitchen counter.
"I guess so…" Brooke sighed. She wished she knew someone here, someone who could take her out, to bring her to a good restaurant. Someone she could be with so she didn't have to be alone.
"No you're not," a voice said from behind her. She turned her head to find Lucas standing in the kitchen doorway, clad in the same outfit as she had seen him in before.
"I'm not?" she asked in confusion.
"Na, I'm taking her out, Rosie. Take the night off," he said focusing on the housekeeper. He gave her a quick wink and Rosalita chuckled and waved a hand dismissively. Rosalita left the room, leaving the two alone. Lucas walked over toward Brooke.
"You are?" Brooke said from her chair.
"Yeah. I mean, unless you want to eat alone."
She contemplated for a moment, only to tease him. "Hm, I guess I'll go with you."
"Well, I'm sure you'll have a good time with me. Am I dismissed of my chauffeuring duties to go home and change out of this dirty shit?"
"You're dismissed," she said before sticking her tongue out.
She couldn't help notice that he smelled like cologne that was just dipped in weed and cigarette ashes.
"I'll pick you up around 8?" he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
"Sounds good," she smiled to herself.
And with that, once again, he was out the door.
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"Okay, I kind of lied…"
They were sitting in Lucas's old red convertible driving down Sunset Boulevard. "I'm not taking you for a real dinner."
"Then where are we going, Rebel Driver?"
He smiled at the nickname. "Hm. I like that. Makes me feel…"
"Rebellious? Or like a chauffer?" she finished. He nodded and rolled his eyes playfully. "So, you kidnapped me, and now where are we going?"
Her curly brown locks blew in the wind and she had to continuously push back her stray hairs. Lucas was wearing a white button up with dark jeans. He cleaned up well, that was for sure. But, the smell of cigarettes still lingered on him.
"This fancy hotel down the block. Brand new. Since it's vacation, that's where everyone from around here as been hanging out at night."
"That's so tourist-y, no?"
"It is," he admitted. "But the beach is gorgeous and they have three bars, four restaurants and other retarded tourist shit. And, they take my fake ID."
She laughed lightly. "Sounds good. I could use a drink… And speaking of fake IDs, you never told me how old you are."
"Eighteen," he said swiftly.
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. When I first met you, I thought you were in your thirties!"
"Confession. I'm fourty-two," he blurted with a smile.
"That's lie number two of the night, you better watch yourself…" she teased.
"Fine, I really am eighteen. Turning nineteen in a month. How about you?"
"Seventeen," she said softly. She felt so young and inexperienced compared to him. He had already seen more in his nineteen years than most people see in their lifetimes.
Suddenly, Lucas's cell phone rang from his pocket. As they pulled up to a red light, he quickly fished it out. He looked at Brooke apologetically before answering the phone.
"Hello?... Hi… Yeah, I know… Are you having fun?... Yeah, it's okay… Listen, I'm driving… To the hotel… Okay, I'll call you tonight."
Brooke couldn't help but feel curious. His tone was so abrupt, as if he was ashamed to be on the phone in front of her.
She took a deep breath, holding back her question. But, it only was a matter of seconds before she blurted it.
"Girlfriend?"
"Na, not really," he said instantly.
"Not really? What does that even mean!?" she chuckled.
"She's a close girl friend…"
"…who you're completely platonic with?" she hoped aloud.
"Yeah," he answered. Brooke didn't want to push the subject further, and plus, they were coming up the driveway of the hotel. "This is it."
The hotel was beautiful. There were two towers that were connected by two bridges between them that people were able to walk through.
Lucas pulled up to the closest valet and stepped out of the car. As Brooke reached for her own door, it opened to Lucas standing before her, his hand on the handle. "After you, madam," he said in an English accent.
"Wow, you're really getting good at this whole 'driver' thing," she commented as she stepped out of the car.
They walked into the lobby to find a giant Christmas tree dressed in gold ornaments. "Oh, wow, that's beautiful," Brooke commented.
"Yeah, it is. Let's go find some people for you to meet. My friends are around here somewhere…" he thought aloud. She nodded and trailed behind him as he made his way over to a table occupied by teenagers. The group was rowdy, all of them laughing and sipping martinis, margaritas and other exotic drinks.
"Lucas Scott!" one girl yelled once she saw him approaching. The other five at the table immediately turned their attention to him.
"Hey Rach," he said, coming behind the redhead girl and pecking her on the cheek. "What's up, everyone?" he announced, addressing the whole table.
The table erupted in talking once again as Brooke stood by Lucas' side in silence. "Hey, everyone, this is Brooke Davis. Brooke, this is Skillz, Rachel, Krystal, Owen, Mouth and Peyton."
Everyone started saying hi, asking Brooke questions. Where are you from? How old are you? How do you know Lucas?
Soon, Skillz had pulled over two chairs for both Lucas and Brooke, and the entire table was chatting. Brooke immediately felt welcomed by Lucas's friends. Brooke was soon absorbed in a conversation with Rachel while Lucas talked to Mouth about basketball. He would look over at her every now and then and throw her a quick wink or smile, just to let her know that he hadn't forgotten about her. She would occasionally glance over at him while he wasn't aware and notice that he was text messaging under the table. She would also hear the occasional vibrate of his cell phone, but she disregarded it.
About an hour had passed when she felt a hand on her arm.
"Do you wanna go get a drink and then go take a walk on the beach or something?" Lucas whispered into her ear once he had gotten her attention.
This sent chills up her spine instantly. She nodded. They quickly said their goodbyes to the group, Lucas explaining that Brooke wanted a tour of the pool deck, and they headed toward the closest bar. As they stood in front of it, Lucas slipped out his fake ID and ordered a bottle of champagne. "Ready?" he said once he had the bottle with two glasses in his hands.
With a wide, dimple encrusted smile, she nodded and the two headed toward the revolving doors that led to the pools and beach.
The entire upper pool deck was black besides the glowing aquamarine pool. It had a glass bottom so that the people on the lower deck could see who was swimming above them. They walked down the stairs to the lower deck, and then around the cabanas toward the beach entrance. The hotel's outside was gorgeous, at least from what Brooke could see in the dark.
They finally found their way to the entrance ramp to the beach. She slipped off her sandals and rolled up her skinny jeans to her knees revealing half of her toned legs. Lucas took off his sandals as well but didn't bother rolling up his jeans.
"Let me take those," Brooke offered, grabbing the sandals. Lucas's hands were occupied by the champagne bottles and glasses. He didn't need another thing to carry.
"Thank you," he said and smiled at her. They walked down toward the edge of the beach, where the water met the sand.
Brooke pulled off her jacket and put it onto the sandy ground, where she planned on sitting. The beach was cool, but it felt good against her bare arms. Lucas plopped down next to her easily. He was a safe distance away, which made Brooke smile. It should've been awkward, but it wasn't at all.
Lucas poured champagne into each glass as Brooke stared at the crashing waves.
"I love it here," she mused.
"California or just the beach in general?"
"The beach. It's just so…"
"Perfect," he said, finishing her sentence.
"Yeah, perfect," she said with a small smile.
Lucas handed her a glass of champagne and she took a small sip allowing the bubbles to tickle her throat.
She turned to face him rather than the ocean making complete eye contact with him.
"So, what's the deal with this girl that you've been texting all night?" she asked nonchalantly.
