Soooo sorry guys, I am the worst updater ever! lol It's been almost a year (since Brooke's bday is next week) & i'm still updating lol I made this chapter pretty long & I hope you think it was worth the wait, will hopefully have more posted soon! Enjoy! xo


Brooke woke up for the second morning in a row, wrapped in Lucas's arms, but today, instead of sneaking out of bed, she snuggled into him more. She looked up to see his eyes still closed, his face peaceful as he slept. She smiled to herself as she ran her fingers up and down his chest, thinking about last night. After they got out of the hot tub and dried off, they had stayed up talking for hours, catching up on every detail of the others life for the past year. She had forgotten how easy it was to talk to him, how all the things she wanted to hide from the rest of the world just seemed to pour out to him. That was one of the things that scared her about him, she was always able to open up to him; he knew her heart, her secrets, her insecurities, all of it. Sometimes Brooke hated that he knew her so well; it was one of things that made it so easy for him to hurt her. Her brows furrowed as she continued to draw circles with her finger, her smile now a small frown, she could almost feel that pain again just thinking about it; that gut wrenching, knife in the heart, world crumbling pain, she knew it was always just right at the surface and Lucas was the only man that could make her feel so broken. She shook her head, she didn't want to think about that, it was a long time ago, that was the past. They were both different people now. Besides, Peyton was married to Jake, they were having a baby, she tried to rationalize to herself, hoping to shut up the thoughts that seemed to be plaguing her insecurities and making her head hurt. But what if she wasn't married, would he still want her? Does he want her now but know he can't go there because she is with Jake? She groaned loudly, feeling frustrated with her conflicting thoughts, when she heard a small laugh.

Looking up she saw Lucas staring at her, a smile on his face, "good morning to you too," joked, pulling her into him, "you ok?" She nodded, looking up at him, one look in those eyes and every thought her in head stopped. This is why they needed to take things slow, the conflicting thoughts within her head and her heart were proof of that. "Did you wanna go get breakfast? I don't know if anyone's up yet, but we could go to the café at the lodge.

"I think that's a good idea," she laughed as her stomach growled, "I'm gonna go to my room to get ready," she said giving him a quick kiss before getting off the bed and heading out of the room.

Lucas just laid there for a few minutes after watching Brooke leave the room. He thought about the day they had yesterday and how he had fallen asleep with her in his arms two nights in a row. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face if he tried, shaking his head he laughed to himself, "this woman will be the death of me."


Lucas knocked on Brooke's door before letting himself in; she was standing in front of the floor length mirror, contemplating her outfit choice. "It's just a small ski resort café, we're not gonna run into paparazzi on the way," he joked taking a seat on the bed behind her.

"Ha Ha," she replied, turning to face him, "I'm ready." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him out of the room.

They quietly left the cabin, thinking everyone was asleep, not realizing Mouth was sitting in the common area reading over sports stats on his laptop. He looked up from what he was reading, seeing the two of them sneak out, holding hands and smiled.

"Ok, it is freezing out here," Brooke said as Lucas pulled her closer in an attempt to keep her warm as they walked through the snow.

"No one told you to walk outside in a sweatshirt," he laughed as they approached the café. Brooke rolled her eyes at him, but was relieved seeing the lit fireplace inside the lodge. Lucas went to order their food while she found them a table, one closest to the fire. "Here, thought you could use this," he said taking a seat next to her, handing her a cup of hot chocolate, "don't worry, there's extra marshmallows."

Taking a sip, she smiled, "thank you, this is perfect."

"I do know a few things about you Ms. Davis." She just smiled at him and took another sip, this felt good, natural, she missed it. "Ok, so other than your successful clothing line, what else is going on?"

Shrugging she put her drink down on the table, "not much, that's really all there is to me these days."

"Oh come on, you're Brooke Davis, there's gotta be something exciting happening."

"Nope. Just working…I don't know sometimes I feel like my clothes are all I have. It's great, it's my legacy, but it gets lonely." She could feel her walls slipping, she couldn't stop it, it was something that happened with Lucas; he always had a way of bringing out her vulnerability.

Taking her hand, he rubbed over it with his thumb, looking up at him, she gave him a sad smile. "I know how you feel. Living alone away from everyone can be hard. I thought that when I left Tree Hill, I'd be doing myself a favor. I was helping my career, I was getting out and seeing the world…but I realized it doesn't matter if I don't have anyone to share it with."

Brooke understood all too well how he felt, she hated that he was going through the same loneliness she was. She also knew that him leaving Tree Hill wasn't the thing to blame though. When she was in New York, she thought that was her biggest problem. That once she was home things would be better. They were for a while, but the more she saw her friends happy and moving on and living their lives, the more she realized how truly alone she was. She knew that they loved her and they'd be there for her, but they all had their own lives and families. Before she had a chance to say anything, the waiter brought them their breakfast.

"You've been quiet," Lucas said taking the last bite of his French toast. She shrugged finishing off her pancakes, the truth was she didn't like where their conversation had gone, it hit too close to home, brought up too many bad feelings. This trip was supposed to be her escape from all of that stuff. Grabbing her hand, he squeezed it, causing her to look up, "come on smile, it's your birthday weekend. What happened to the Brooke Davis who jumped at the first chance to celebrate anything, but especially her birthday?"

She shrugged and pulled her hand out of his, standing up, "she grew up." Lucas just sat there for a moment as her watched her walk away. He didn't know how their breakfast had gone from happy and fun, heartbreaking and silent in a matter of twenty minutes.

Catching up with her outside, he grabbed Brooke's arm so she'd turn around and look at him, "Hey, what was that back there?" She shrugged and continued to walk before he ran up in front of her this time, stopping her from going any further. "Ok, what just happened?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing, you were fine, we were fine," he said reaching for her hand, but she pulled away.

"Look, I just think that we shouldn't read too much into this, when this week is over you'll be going back to your life and so will I. We should just focus on our friends and having fun. And whatever this is," she said gesturing between the two of them, "it was just us getting caught up in the moment." She could feel the tears starting to well and had to get inside before he saw. She quickly walked around him and headed back to the cabin. She saw that her friends were up and getting ready to plan the day, she moved into her room before anyone could see her though, closing the door and letting out a big sigh.

Shaking her head she ran her hands over her face and through her hair, she didn't actually mean anything she had said, if she was being honest with herself all she wanted was to tell Lucas that being with him again is all she's wanted for years, but she couldn't. She wasn't going to take that risk, when she thought about their lives and busy they both were and the fact that he lived in another city, it just made it all seem impossible.

Walking toward her bed she took off Lucas's grey hoodie, a sad smile resting on her lips as she laid it down. "Well look who decided to wake up," Rachel said coming into the room, breaking Brooke out her thoughts, immediately plastering on a smile. It wasn't completely fake, Rachel could usually her laugh or smile, even when she didn't want to. "ok, so what's with the look? You've clearly been spending much time with Mr. Broods a lot," she meant it as a joke, but Brooke didn't react. "Ok seriously what's with you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine. So what did you have planned for tonight? I know you're gonna wanna party it up this week," the brunette said quickly changing the subject.

The red head smiled devilishly as she plopped onto the bed, "well, I figured we could hit this club I found. It's been a while since we've all gone out together, plus we're celebrating your birthday."


When Lucas came into the cabin he had his usually brooding look on his face, but it was also mixed with confusion. No one really noticed he had come in so it was easy to side step everyone and head to his room. Or almost everyone he thought when he heard a knock on his door. When he opened it he revealed his best friend standing there, a curious look on her face. "And where have you been all morning?" she asked pushing passed him and taking a seat on his bed.

"No where."

"Oh please, I saw you sneak back in. What's going on?"

"Nothing, Hales, I really don't wanna talk about it," he said plopping down next to her, running his hands over his face.

"Talk about what? According to you, there's 'nothing' to talk about," Haley replied, half joking in her response, she knew the best way to get her best friend to open up, wouldn't be to push.

He glanced her direction, then let out an annoyed grunt, getting up from the bed, he paced in front of it as he began to rant, "I just don't get it. Things were going great, or at least I thought they were. We were catching up, she was letting me in," he ran his hands through his hair, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice, he stopped and looked at Haley, "we kissed Hales and it was amazing, it was like everything I've wanted for the last year was possible, but then she just walked away…again."

Haley sat there taking everything he said in, but couldn't hide the confused look on her face. Her mind immediately went to Peyton, but she knew Lucas wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything with her, not when she was not only married, but pregnant on top of that. Then it clicked, Brooke, he was talking about Brooke. They had been spending a lot of time together this trip now that she thought about it, that also meant that Nathan was right, but that was something she would deal with later. Reaching up, she took Lucas's hand, trying to comfort him, "She's scared Luke. You can't blame her given your past."

He sat down next to her and nodded, "I love her Hales."

She gave him a sad smile, "You're gonna have to show her that."


It had been hours and Brooke and Lucas were still avoiding each other. Brooke not wanting to talk about what happened this morning and Lucas not knowing how to approach her. They were all finishing up dinner, Haley, Peyton, and Jake in the kitchen cleaning up while Brooke, Bevin, and Rachel sat at the counter talking. Nathan and Skills playing NBA Live while Lucas just sat back taking everything in.

Mouth walked over, standing next to his friend, smiling as he saw him looking at Brooke. He followed his gaze and also smiled at his wife. If you would have told Marvin McFadden that he would be married to Rachel Gattina, he would have laughed in your face. But here there were, years later and happier than ever. "It's funny," he said more out loud.

"What is?" Lucas asked leaning back against the wall where Mouth was.

"Life," he said shrugging like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "The way things work out. I mean look at me & Rachel, no one would have thought that the nerdy guy would have gotten the hottest girl in school." Lucas couldn't help but chuckle, he wasn't wrong there, but some how the two of them fit, they made sense. "And look at you and Brooke, I bet you didn't think that this week you guys would be reconnecting."

"Well actually we're not."

"But I saw you guys sneak out this morning, I thought…"

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Luke said with a dry laugh, "I don't know Mouth, I guess I just have to wait and see what happens."

"Ok come on, I'm ready to get my party on," Rachel whined from across the room, causing both men to laugh.

"Ok ok, we're done," Haley said walking out of the kitchen, throwing the towel onto the counter, "you know it would have gone a lot faster if you guys would have actually helped us."

Rachel just rolled her eyes and walked over to where the guys were, "come on boys, game time's over," she said as she walked right in front of the tv. The guys groaned as the tried to peak around her to keep playing, but it wasn't working. Eventually Nathan paused the game and got up.


When they all got to the club, they fanned out a little, the girl heading straight for the dance floor, the guys for the bar. "Come on P, Sawyer, live it up now, in a few months you won't be able to," Brooke laughed pulling Peyton into her so they could dance.

Rachel came over with shots for everyone, minus Peyton, she held hers up and toasted to being free and of course to Brooke's birthday. As much as she wasn't thinking her birthday was all that much of a big deal these days, Brooke had to admit it was nice to be celebrated. She downed another couple shots, courtesy of her friends and she had to admit, she was feeling pretty good. That was of course until she looked up at the bar and saw Lucas talking to some girl. She knew she had no right to be jealous, she had practically pushed him out of her life this morning, but that didn't change that fact that she loved him, always had, always will.

Rachel caught her gaze and pulled Brooke over to her to dance, forcing another drink in her hand. "Ok look, I know you said it's nothing, but whatever happened with you two, you have stop starring. Let it go, have fun! How often do you get to go out drinking with your friends these days?" She smiled, taking a sip of her new drinking and nodded, Rachel was right, she deserved to have fun and not wallow for a night. "Besides, hottie waiter has been checking you out all night, forget about Lucas and mingle."

"I don't know Rachel, I…"

"You what? Come on you're the only single one, do it for both of us," she said pushing her friend in the direction of the waiter, who was now leaned up against the side of the bar.

"Hi," Brooke said awkwardly smiling at the guy.

"Hi," he smiled back, "you know I'd offer to buy you a drink, but you already have one. I'm Brian."

"Brooke."

"Nice to meet you. I'm off the clock in a few, give me a minute to get clocked out, then we can really chat." She nodded as he disappeared into the back of the restaurant. It had been a while since she had done anything like this, probably too long. Rachel was right, something like this probably was good for her, but she could feel Lucas's eyes on her back, she tried not to think about it, or him. She tried to remember that only a few minutes before, he had a blonde on his arm and was doing the same thing. It didn't really make her feel better, but it did make her want to flaunt the waiter.

When he came back, he was out of his work clothes, and was now dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. "look, I practically live in this place, you wanna get out of here?"

"I'm actually here with friends," Brooke answered looking around, trying to find at least one of them to back her statement. The only one who was actually concerned with her situation at the moment was Rachel who was just giving her two big thumbs up, causing the brunette to just shake her head.

"It's cool, you wanna dance?"

"Yeah, sure," she smiled following him to the dance floor.

Lucas sat watching them from the bar, barely paying attention to the women who had been clearly trying to get his attention all night. She was pretty and would have gotten the attention of any guy, but Luke has mind on someone else. He had to admit her hurt seeing Brooke talk to someone else, but when he saw them move to the dance floor he could feel his hurt turning to anger. Anger at himself for never knowing the right things to say to her to get her stay, for always just letting her walk away, anger at her for playing these games with him, and of course anger at the guy who was now dancing just a little too close to his girl. He watched as the guy pulled her closer, wrapped his arms around her, slid them up and down her back, he was able to keep his cool until he saw the guy's hands slip and his lips touch her neck.

Getting up from his spot at the bar, he stormed the dance floor, he tapped the guy on the shoulder and punched him square in the jaw. Brooke looked at him with confusion and anger, "What the hell man?" the waiter asked getting up, looking between Brooke and Lucas as he rubbed his jaw.

Luke just stood there a minute, the realization of what he'd just done sinking in. He had never done anything like that, but Brooke had really gotten under his skin and before he knew it, he was off of his bar stool and knocking this guy to the ground. He just looked between Brooke and the guy he had just hit, shook his and walked away. He quickly paid his tab at the bar, then left the club.

Brooke turned and looked at Brian, standing there still rubbing his jaw, "I'm sorry," she said before following after Lucas. Who did he think he was? He didn't own her, he had no claim on her, she could dance with whoever she wanted. As soon as she walked outside, she found another reason to wanna kill him, making her go out into the freezing cold and walk back to their cabin in the snow, she was getting angrier and angrier with each step.

Finally making it back to the cabin, she found him in his room, packing. He looked up, when he heard the door open, he shook his head and the continued to put his clothes into his suitcase. "What are you doing?"

"Getting back to my life."

"Are you kidding me? What the hell is wrong with you? You punched a random guy and now you're just gonna leave? Lucas what has gotten into you?"

He stopped and walked toward her, her could feel the tension in the room building with each step he took. She was clearly pissed and his frustration was building. How could she not know? "You! God Brooke, after the last couple of days I thought maybe we could actually be together, but then this morning after what you said, I don't know. Then I see you with that guy at the bar, I just…why is it always games with us?"

"It's not my fault you went all crazy and punched a guy," she shot back.

"I don't get it; why won't you give us a chance?"

"I've given us a chance Luke, twice and both times, I end up with my heartbroken," she replied trying to keep the pain out of her voice, it was better to stay angry.

"And I don't?"

"Please, Luke, we both know that you have no problems moving on."

"Are you kidding me? Do you know why me & Peyton broke up? Did she ever tell you? It wasn't just Jake. She found your letters. I refused to throw them away, Lindsey and I used to fight about them too. As much as I tried to move on, I never really did, Brooke you were always there."

"Then why didn't you ever tell me? Why wait until now?"

"Because I wasn't sure. I didn't want to put you through that again, not unless I was sure. And I am, Brooke, you are all I've thought about for the last year. I love you."

"Don't say that, you can't say things like that to me, you can't…" She was cut off by Lucas's lips against hers. She pulled back a little at first, ready to push him away, but gave in as he deepened the kiss. The tension of the day getting the best of both of them as they aggressively kissed and starting grabbing at each others clothes. He pushed her up against the wall and starting kissing her neck as Brooke wrapped her legs around his waist. She pulled her shirt over her head and let it fall to the ground, before reaching for his. He pushed her further up the wall to better reach the buckle of her pants. She reached down and unzipped his jeans as he carried them over to the bed, dropping her down and climbing on top of her. He continued to kiss down her body, causing a moan to escape her lips.


Lucas smiled down at Brooke as he laid on his side, his head resting on his hand, while the other one ran through her hair. She snuggled into his side, playing with the top part of the sheet that laid across her chest, "I'm sorry about what happened at the club, I don't know what got into me, I just."

"It's ok," she said laughing lightly, if she was being completely honest with herself, she liked that he had stepped in, that the thought or sight of her with someone else made him crazy… "I'm sorry about this morning, I just kind of freaked out," she spoke quietly, not looking up at him, her focus staying on the sheet, "it's just hard everything in our past and the way our lives are now…"

"I know. I get it, but I'm not gonna hurt you again."

She looked up at him with a sad smile, "I've heard that before."

"I know, but it's different this time. We're not in high school anymore. And for the first time in too long, I actually know what I want and it's you…You know you and Peyton both asked me in high school who I wanted standing beside me when all my dreams came true, but since then I've realized that that doesn't matter. It's who's gonna be there for you when they fall apart, when you feel like nothing is right and you don't know what you're gonna do about it…I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that that person was always you." She nodded, trying to keep the tears in her eyes at bay, "I do love you Brooke Davis."

"I love you too," she said in almost a whisper before snuggling into him and closing her eyes. He almost didn't hear her words, but his heart skipped a beat when he did. He kissed the side of her head and pulled her in closer to him. He knew it would be a bumpy road, but he wasn't going to give up on them this time.

She always wanted him to fight for her and now he was proving that he would, even it if it meant literally. He couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the thought, he still couldn't believe he hit that waiter tonight. He knew the guys would have a field day with that tomorrow and never let him live it down, but he didn't care. Not if it meant that he got to hold Brooke every night, not if it meant that she was willing to give them another chance.


The next morning Brooke woke up alone in Lucas's bed, she felt around for him, but was disappointed when she only found cold sheets. She pulled on his grey hoodie and a pair of sweats and walked out in the living room. She expected everyone to be out there, lounging or playing games, but she found an empty cabin.

As she continued into the kitchen, she found Lucas brewing a pot of coffee. Walking over she laced her arms around his waist and rested her head on his back. He smiled and lifted her hand to his mouth, placing a soft kiss. "Good morning birthday girl."

"Morning boyfriend," she said with a giggle, a big smile on her face. He turned around to face her and smiled back seeing her dimples in their full glory. He leaned down and kissed her lips, before she pulled away slightly. "Where is everyone?"

"Out on the slopes. We slept in pretty late," he laughed gesturing towards the clock that now said 11:45. They had been getting up no later than 9 everyday to get out and make the most of their day. "I got up as everyone was leaving, I told them I'd pass today. That also means we get the cabin to ourselves all day."

"I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday."


They spent the majority of the day lounging around, snuggling on the couch and watching movies. Lucas had actually talked Brooke into playing NBA live with him, in exchange for watching the Notebook.

He was currently kicking her butt, but he had to admit, she was doing a lot better than he expected. He couldn't help but laugh every time she would just push a bunch of buttons on her controller trying to get a combination shot. And the little dance she did every time she actually made a basket.

When the game ended, she pouted at her loss, but it was more of a cute puppy dog pout. "Can we play again? This game was actually fun," she said excited, Lucas getting a glimpse of the Brooke he hadn't seen in years, it made his heart smile.

"What about the movie?"

"Boy and girl fall in love, girl gets old and forgets boy so he spends his life telling her their love story, then they die together. Can we play now?"

Lucas just shook his head and laughed, "Seriously?"

"What?" she shrugged nonchalantly, like it was no big deal.

"You just told me the whole movie."

"Not really, I just kind of summed it up. Did you really wanna watch it?" she asked arching her brow.

"Well, kind of," he said trying to maintain his manliness while confessing he actually wanted to watch one of the girliest movies on the planet. "Skills said it's really good."

Brooke laughed, "Ok, baby we'll watch the movie." Getting up, she pooped in the movie, then sat back down leaning into Lucas as her wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her head. Neither one of them ever wanted this day to end…and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.

She couldn't help but smile as she looked at Lucas, watching him watch the movie, actually seeming to enjoy it. The feel of his arms around her, the smell of his scent around her, she was on cloud nine and couldn't help but think to herself 'best birthday ever.'


Ok, i hope you guys liked this chapter. I'd love to hear your feedback, reviews are always welcome...& hopefully i'll be able to get the last of this story posted soon/in time for Brooke's bday lol