Chapter 10

They didn't talk about what Brooke referred to mentally as 'the Episode' for quite a while after that night. Brooke wanted to give Ian time and space to relax and possibly shake off whatever embarrassment he might be feeling—even though Ian didn't seem like the type to be plagued by embarrassment. He seemed too far above it all, in her opinion.

Their next few dates were sweet. They went to a few nice restaurants out East, a Tiki bar on the south shore, had a picnic in the park, and went back to the zoo to visit with Kelly and ate dinner on top of the largest rock in the elephant enclosure. By that time, the pachyderms were all in their inside enclosure, but the view at sunset was still beautiful.

Ian had been so great at "taking it slow". Though there had been some brief moments of explosive heat, they were always doused. Usually, it was by Ian, who insisted on not wanting to take Brooke farther than she wanted to go and then have her wake up with regret. Even so, after a few weeks Brooke could tell that he was getting restless. She felt bad, but she just wasn't sure she was ready to take that next step in their relationship yet. When she consulted her friends, the response was a unanimous eye-rolling.

"If you have to ask us if you should," Amy said smartly, "Then you shouldn't be doing anything."

"He isn't pressuring you, is he?" Michelle "Chelly" Darling was quick to jump down any man's throat. The past few years hadn't been good to her, and though they all knew she meant well, it seemed to her friends that Chelly wasn't exactly happy when her friends found themselves in relationships (unless of course, she was in a relationship too).

"Not at all," Brooke replied. "It's like I'm trying to pressure me into it. I want to, but I don't. I also don't want to lose him. I just feel like—"

"If he really likes you, sex shouldn't even matter." Chelly crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't like the sound of this Brooke. I mean, he's obviously a hound, he's a decade plus older than you, and he has a daughter. And you're obviously feeling pressure from him to have sex or else you wouldn't have brought it up. I think that you're projecting what this guy is pressuring you to do out to the world, but you're self-blaming and—"

"Would you shut the fuck up?" Brooke finally snapped, narrowing her eyes at her friend. "Just because you haven't gotten laid in a long time, and just because your last two boyfriends sucked, doesn't mean that you have to vomit all over everyone else's good time, or pretend that you are some relationship-psychologist-guru." Brooke took a breath, a little ashamed of her outburst but not necessarily apologetic. She looked to the group for support. Instead, she found averted eyes and worried glances.

Chelly slammed her soda bottle on the table. "I don't need this, especially from you. Good luck with whatever the hell you're trying to make into an actual relationship. Because you're so good at those." As Brooke's mouth dropped agape, Chelly stood up from the table and stormed out of the food court at the mall.

"Are you going to go after her?" Amy asked.

"I don't think that would be the best idea right now," Brooke replied.

"I'm with you on that one," Jen agreed with a slight nod of her head. "She needs some time to cool down." She paused. "That was a low blow, Brooke."

"I know," Brooke said. "But you know how she's been the past few months—just plain nasty toward anyone who brings up a relationship. I know Jacob and Greg were assholes and that really sucks, but that doesn't mean every single man in the world is. I'm already insecure enough about this damn relationship, I don't need her dumping all over me."

"You two will have some talking to do," Amy reasoned. "Eventually. And hopefully, when she meets Ian, she'll see the side of him that you do, the side that does give you faith in the relationship."

"When are we going to meet Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome, anyway?" Jen replied.

"This Saturday, actually," Brooke replied with a smile. "My parents are having a barbeque in Levittown, and of course all of you are invited. Ian's already agreed to come, and Kelly might come too."

"How will your family feel about your new boyfriend bringing his kid to the party?" Jen asked.

"I think they'll get over it," Brooke replied. "They were able to get over the whole dinosaur thing once I took a good couple of hours to explain it all to them."

"Good luck, my friend," Amy said with a shake of her head. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Brooke replied. She bit her lip and stared past her friend, gazing absentmindedly into the windows of the nearest shop in the mall. "Lord knows I'm going to need it."

x-x-x

Even with his limp, Ian didn't just walk, he strut. Not always, but usually, and it became very apparent when he was feeling especially confident, upset, or slightly nervous. Brooke first noticed this on one of their dinner dates, but it really stood out the night of the barbecue. She had picked him up from his ex's house. Though Ian had insisted she go in the house to wait while he talked to Kelly's babysitter. Brooke refused, and remained in her car.

There was something that didn't feel right about entering the house. Brooke felt like she would be breaking some code, some unwritten law among women. She didn't know what kind of relationship Ian had with his ex because he didn't talk about her much. Even so, Brooke almost felt like a mistress. She knew she wasn't, and she knew it was slightly irrational. Even more so, it was a complicated feeling to portray, so she would just tell Ian "It doesn't feel right."

In her own mind, Brooke reasoned that it had something to do with Kelly. The child complicated things. If she were to step into Ian's ex's house, she felt she would be crossing a line, invading territory. She didn't want to do that, so she and Felicity said hello to Kelly on the front stoop, and then went back to the car.

Drumming her fingers along on the wheel to Runnin' With the Devil, her gaze shifted back and forth from the house, to the street, to the neighboring properties. She zoned out a little, running over her theories of why elephants were prone to certain diseases and why their cognitive structure was so similar, yet so different to a human adult. For years, the only animals hypothesized to have human-like intelligence were our human-like "cousins": chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, and even some higher monkey species. The evolution of elephant and dolphin large reptile cognition was a strange concept to most, but it was one of Brooke's key interests.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the front door fly open. Felicity barked in the back seat in excitement. Ian appeared, dressed in black as usual. Jeans, shoes, belt, button-up, even the rims of his glasses were all black. Brooke shook her head lightly, a small, nervous smile creeping onto her lips. Ian looked past the car for a moment, then caught her gaze. A smile spread across his lips and Brooke's heart skipped a beat. He had an award-winning, heart-breaking smile.

His shoulders were cocked back slightly, his chest broadening. His cane was held loosely in one hand, not touching the ground. His chin was up as he took his first steps down the stoop, looking proud as ever. His stride was huge, and he made it to the car in only a few steps. But in those moments, Brooke noticed something she found very interesting. When he strut, with his shoulders cocked and his chest broad, he looked like he was bracing himself for impact. He walked with such confidence it made her believe if a car ran right into him, it would be deflected. He was bracing himself for something, outwardly showing his pride, so as not to be easily attacked. It was a similar strut to what some male leaders in the animal kingdom did to protect their territory or impress prospective mates. Brooke's mind worked quickly, sorting out his behavior.

"Are you nervous to meet my family?" she asked him as he slid into the car. He leaned over the center console and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Nervous?" he asked with a raise of his brow and a smirk forming on his lips. "I've, uh, faced Tyrannosaurus, people—people don't scare me."

Though she didn't say it, Brooke thought could tell he was bluffing by the way he adjusted his seatbelt, played with the buttons on his shirt, and ran both hands through his hair.

"I'm nervous," she admitted, glancing over as she pulled out of the driveway. Ian looked at her with mild surprise.

"And why is that?" Once they were out of the driveway, he took her hand very gently off the steering wheel, gave a little squeeze, and held it in his own. He kissed the back of her hand. "You're not ashamed of me, are you?"

Brooke could hear that he was joking, but she still shook her head fervently. "No," she said. "Of course not. I've just been having a few…issues with certain friends that are going to be in attendance tonight. My friend, Michelle, blatantly disagrees with my relationship choices."

"Oh, I see."

"No, I'm making it sound worse than it is," Brooke glanced over at Ian at a stop sign and tried to smile reassuringly. "She hasn't had the best luck with guys, so she automatically assumes all men are scum. And then there's Jen, who is in the math world, so she knows your public dating history—which I don't care about at all—so Michelle is all over that. I know I shouldn't be nervous, though, you'll blow them all away."

"Pull over," Ian said gently. Brooke obliged, her heart racing.

Pull over? What did that mean? Was he going to get out of the car and leave her then and there? Was he going to tell her he wasn't ready to meet her family and friends? Did he not want to?

"Stop." The softness in Ian's voice invaded her thoughts and cleared her mind. Brooke parked the car looked at him to see him smirking just slightly. "You're overthinking. I can see—see the gears in your brain, uh, turning. Look at me."

Despite the blood rushing to her cheeks, Brooke met his eyes. "Relax," he told her. "We're going to be fine." He kissed her gently on the lips, and pulled away only slightly so their noses were inches apart and Brooke had no excuse but to meet Ian's gaze. He gently slid his hand to her upper arm, wrapping his fingers around her bicep and caressing her skin gently with his thumb. "I can't promise your friends will love me, but I don't care about that." The volume of his voice dropped. "I care about you. I-I'll do my best to show just how much tonight so that all of the doubt that's swirling around in their heads and yours will be gone." He waved his free hand gently as if dispelling a pesky flying insect. "We'll be fine." And he kissed her again.

In that moment, Brooke's heart swelled and she kissed him back with fervor. Weight seemed to wash off her shoulders as they parted. She took his hand in hers and held it tightly. They were going to be all right.