Also, this chapter is fluffier than normal. I don't know what's come over me. :)
Brooke peered over the back of the couch into the doorway of the kitchen. She could hear the boys shuffling around and the sound of the refrigerator door clinking open. Satisfied that they were for the moment, alone, she turned back to her very dearest friends.
Haley laughed at Brooke's pleased smirk and she said, "Beer? Come on Brooke."
Peyton had to agree. "Two out of three of us are pregnant and you don't drink beer."
Brooke waved a dismissive hand and said crisply, "Oh, who cares? They know it was just a polite way of telling them to get lost."
Peyton took advantage of the empty couch and stretched her long legs over its length, her feet resting squarley in Brooke's lap. The brunette looked down at them questioningly, but seemed to think better of scooting them out of her lap alrogether. Peyton smiled; wondering whether she had her pregnancy, or simply the amount of time between their last visits to thank for Brooke's accommodation.
When Brooke gave her socked feet an affectionate squeeze, Peyton assumed that her friend had simply missed her.
Haley watched with a smile on her face. She knew that the distance was one of the things Peyton and Brooke really hated about their current situation. Haley could only agree. Any time she saw either one of them she couldn't resist trying to entice them to move back home. She told herself it was only done in jest but she knew that if she was honest, it was a strong desire to have her two best friends back within driving distance.
Haley's lips quirked when she remembered the sudden, Machiavellian thought that had occurred to her earlier when she had realized that now that Peyton was having her own baby, it might be easier to convince her to move back to Tree Hill.
Shaking those thoughts away for later, Haley said, "So give up the goods, Brooke. How was the honeymoon?"
Peyton had to smile as she saw Brooke's face light up. They had all been somewhat surprised when Brooke and Mouth began dating nearly three years before. Though Peyton and her friends knew what a great guy Mouth was, she also knew that Brooke's LA friends had been thoroughly shocked by the union. Brooke hadn't really dated seriously during college. She'd had a string of nice, doting boyfriends who had reluctantly discovered her unyielding commitment to her fledgling clothing business but little else. Most had been guys with model good looks so Peyton could understand Brooke's friends' attitudes.
She also knew that Mouth made Brooke happier than she had ever been. He was devoted to her in every way. Peyton was thrilled for them.
"Yeah. Tell us, Brooke."
The brunette could hardly contain a contented sigh as she said, "It was fantastic. We had a ball. Mouth had never been so I took him to all the landmarks I could think of. Everything important."
Peyton snorted and interjected, "Yves Sant Laurent? Chanel?"
Haley chimed in, "LaCroix?"
Brooke feigned a look of superiority, saying, "Yes. Those too."
Peyton said placatingly, "I'm glad you kept your priorities straight. Did you at least hit the Louvre, or Musee D'Orsay?"
Brooke gave Peyton's toe a tweak and she narrowed her eyes in mock irritation. "Yes, we did the museum circuits. We even did a tour of Venice by gondola. Happy?"
Grinning, Peyton placed her hand over her heart and said seriously, "Ecstatic."
Brooke craned her neck to check that the boys were still in the kitchen and said quietly, "Seriously though, I know I've said it before and all, but Marvin? Amazing in bed!"
Peyton fell back playfully onto the pillows, crying, "Ahhhh. Brooke. TMI."
Haley leaned forward interestedly though, Peyton's discomfort only making her slightly more curious.
"Really? I just- can't picture it."
Brooke said quickly, "I don't want you picturing it. I'm just letting you know, it's my girlfriend duty, that he is incredible. And I feel I have to have something to show here, you know?"
Peyton questioned mildly, "Something to show?"
Brooke nodded, gesturing at Haley's rounded belly and Peyton's still-flat one as she said, "Yes. I'm sitting here with two pregnant ladies, so yes, I just want to point out that my husband is a virile, animal of a man."
Peyton shut her eyes, leaned her head back onto the couch and said, "That will forever be the way I think of Mouth. Next time someone asks me, 'What's Brooke's husband like', I'll tell them, 'He's virile. An animal in the sack.'"
Brooke smacked her playfully and said, "Don't say that."
Peyton said, "I hope I never have to think it."
Haley decided to intervene, saying, "What about it, Brookie? Have you two talked about kids?"
Brooke wagged her finger in front of them, "Oh no. Just cause you two are brooding, doesn't mean I have it on my mind yet. Eventually. But not now. I am way too involved in the company, and Mouth's reviewing job offers right now. Who knows where we'll end up."
Peyton said sharply, "You didn't tell me Mouth was considering a transfer? What teams are interested?"
Brooke's grin shone with pride as she said with obvious enthusiasm, "Syracuse, Boston University, Duke-"
Haley's eyes flashed with her own enthusiasm as she said, "Duke! Brooke that would be fantastic. You'd be so close!"
Brooke laughed at Haley's near-frantic excitement.
"I wasn't finished, Hales. UNC, Cornell. Mouth's got people interested all over the coast. We've been talking about it for a while. The LA store is really taking off and I want to open a store somewhere on the East Coast. Maybe New York. He told me a few months ago that he wanted to move back here, be near our family."
Peyton smiled, knowing that by "family", they weren't just talking about Mouth's parents. Brooke's were out on the West Coast. By family, Brooke meant all of them.
Haley grabbed Brooke's hand and said eagerly, "So when will you know for sure?"
"Mouth flies out here again in two weeks to do meetings. Probably within the next three weeks we'll have decided"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was around ten o'clock when the doorbell rang. Peyton turned down the stereo, where Wilson Pickett was belting "In the Midnight Hour". Luke put his drink down to answer the door, turning before he went into the hall to say wryly, "Does anyone else feel like we're in "The Big Chill'?"
The others laughed, though Nathan seemed unsure of why. When Luke got to the door he heard Haley explaining the premise of the movie to him.
Opening the door with a grin, he saw Skills and Bevin Taylor standing on the doorstep with Rachel and Chase. All of them had an armful of groceries.
Luke said happily, "You made it! Come on in."
Skills and Chase waited for the ladies to enter before he leaned in close to Lucas and said, "Sorry we're late, dawg. Bevin and Rachel insisted that we go to the store first."
Lucas said, "It's cool. I hope you brought wine. That crew in there is just guzzling it down."
Rachel, waiting in the hallway, said drily, "Better curb Peyton's habit now, Luke."
"I heard that, bitch!" Peyton's voice came from the living room and Rachel shouted back, "Just checking, Blonde Wife."
Lucas rolled his eyes at the familiar nickname. Rachel occasionally called him Blonde Husband, and once, after drinking a tad too much, she had tried to explain why. He'd simply leaned over and squeezed her shoulder, saying, "I get it, Rach."
Still, she'd said insistently, "No. No. It's cause you're both Blonde"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Crap!"
Nathan dropped the piece of plastic as if it had burned him. Heaving a frustrated sigh he said, "Why can't we ever switch teams?"
His wife picked up the Electronic Catchphrase gamepiece and examined it carefully. "Because we can't. We always play girls versus boys."
Rachel took a celabratory sip of her wine and said, "Correct. And if I'm not mistaken, Scott. You were the one who picked those teams on that fateful night so long ago."
Sullenly, Nathan said, "Whatever. You girls cheat."
Peyton's ears perked up and she said, "Hey, now, Nate. Don't hate."
Brooke gave her a wry look and Peyton shrugged. "I didn't mean for it to rhyme."
Lucas said, "Give it up, Nate. It's a communication game. Girls always win them."
Mouth nodded solemnly, "It's true."
Nathan looked mutinous. "Well, maybe we should play a differerent game."
Brooke said challengingly, "What game do you think you could win, Scott?"
Nathan faltered under her gaze and he finally said, "Basketball."
Haley cracked up. "Well, I hope you could win at basketball, considering you have six inches on us."
Skills said helpfully, "This man is drunk. He is wine drunk. Like a lady."
Lucas had to agree. He liked the occasional glass of wine with dinner but he much preferred beer. Unfortunately, his mother didn't feel quite the same way.
Bevin poured herself another glass and raised it cheerfully in a toast, saying, "To getting drunk. Like a lady."
Everyone lifted their glasses, preparing to drink, until Bevin continued, "Or to being pregnant and not drinking. Like a lady."
When they were sure Bevin had finished, everyone toasted, saying, "Like a lady"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Luke's mom got home around midnight, just after Mouth and Brooke headed out. The jet lag had begun to get to them and Brooke had nearly fallen asleep on the couch. Nate and Haley collected a sleeping James from Karen's car, and with Haley behind the wheel, they disappeared.
The others said their goodbyes and when Karen and Keaton had both gone to bed Lucas scooped Peyton into his arms and deposited her on the bed. Her eyes were already drooping and he carefully tucked her in, pulling off her socks and jeans gently.
He was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when he felt her padding up beside him.
Softly, he said, "I thought you were asleep."
She shook her head and mumbled blearily about brushing her teeth and taking her contacts out and washing her face.
Lucas scooted over to make room. When he finished, he sat down on the edge of the tub to wait for her.
Still feeling the effects of the wine, he felt a blush in his cheeks as he watched her.
Long, endless legs that only stopped at pink, lace fringed boy shorts. Her white undershirt was riding up, exposing the small of her back. She had taken her wavy blonde hair down and it cascaded over her shoulders.
Finally, she turned and when she saw that he'd been staring, she grinned.
"Are you drunk, Mr. Sawyer?"
He put his hands on her hips, looking up into her eyes with a mischievous sparkle in his own.
"Quite possibly, Mrs. Scott."
She stepped closer into the open space between his legs, placing one hand on his shoulder as the other one smoothed his hair back gently.
Lucas was always incredibly tender with her and she usually soared in between the twin peaks of awe and elation.
Pushing the hem of her shirt up slightly, he pressed his palm against her belly for a moment. His hand was warm against her and she smiled when she caught him grinning in wonderment.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------