Same disclaimers as the last ten parts...

Please don't sue me; Sam and Brooke are college kids; feedback makes me very happy; thoughts; ((memories/flashbacks.))

It's been a few chapters since Brooke and Sam actually appeared together, so without further ado...

Chapter 11

Brooke frowned, as she felt a shadow pass in front of the sun, which had previously been comfortably shining on her. She reluctantly opened one eye, squinting up at whatever obstacle was currently in the way of her perfect tan.

Sam stood in front of her, grinning. And wearing a very sexy green bikini.

Damn, where are my sunglasses? If I had them, then I could safely ogle Sam.

Brooke studiously kept her eyes from wandering over Sam's body. Instead, she managed a fairly accurate impression of "nonchalant annoyance," as she glared at her step-sister. "What do you want, Sam? You're in the way."

"I want you to get up off your lazy ass, and come swimming with me!"

"What, are you crazy? My hair was acting all funky this morning, and it took me a while to get it right. There's no way I'm going to mess with it."

Sam just scoffed. "Oh, come on. It's Spring Break. We're in Florida. On a beach. And the ocean's probably about eighty degrees. Katie and Alex are already in there. You HAVE to go swimming! Besides, your hair always looks good, so no worries."

And with that, Sam reached down, grabbing one of Brooke's hands in both of her own, and heaved the reluctant blonde upwards off the towel.

"Saaaaaaam." Brooke extended the name into a protesting whine. But Sam was stronger than she looked, and she apparently wasn't taking "no" for an answer.

So Brooke found herself standing next to a triumphant Sam, who quickly kneeled in the sand to pull down Brooke's shorts, leaving her in an equally stunning blue, white, and pink striped bikini.

Brooke, who had several fantasies involving Sam undressing her, felt a deep blush spread across her face. She noticed Sam hadn't stood up again yet, so she glanced down to see why. Sam was staring straight ahead with a look on her face that Brooke couldn't quite read. She felt herself flush even redder as she realized that Sam was staring at her scar. The one that led from the side of her left thigh, up and around towards her groin area. It was why she always wore shorts while sunbathing.

To break her sudden discomfort, Brooke lifted her foot to playfully push Sam backwards onto the sand. Sprinting towards the water, she looked back over her shoulder and called out, "Fine, I'll go swimming! But last one in buys dinner!"

Brooke laughed as she saw Sam instantly struggle to her feet, muttering something about "cheater" and "SO not fair!"

But there were so many people on the beach, that reaching the ocean proved a more difficult task than originally imagined. And Sam was gaining on her. Brooke reached the ocean, right as Sam reached her. She let out a yelp of surprise when Sam wrapped her arms around her, tackling her as they both fell into the water.

Brooke felt like she should be upset, but they could both only burst out laughing as they lay in the shallow water, not even attempting to regain their balance right away.

As their laughter died down, Sam's expression turned more serious. "Brooke, I'm really sorry I was staring. I just...I dunno, I just had never seen that one before. I mean, I totally wouldn't have noticed it if I weren't, you know, right there, and you really shouldn't be embarrassed about it or anything, because it's really not a big deal, and..."

Brooke just giggled. Normally she would, in fact, be extremely embarrassed about this. But she was determined to stay in a good mood and not let her insecurities ruin her vacation. "You're babbling, Sammy. Don't worry about it. I totally understand, so no need to apologize. Now come on, didn't you mention something about swimming, not just sitting in the water?"

Brooke stood up, and now it was her turn to reach down and pull Sam to her feet.

It had been Katie's idea for them all to head down to Florida. Her grandparents had a condo in Daytona Beach that they only used during the winter, so they were able to stay down there for the week for free. Jason couldn't come, though, and after a few subtle hints from Sam that she didn't really want her boyfriend to come along either, Katie informed a disappointed Luke that her parents didn't want any boys staying in the condo, and it was too late to even think about being able to find him a hotel room.

So Katie, Sam, Brooke, and Alexis had the place to themselves, although they actually weren't there too much. They slept and ate about half of their meals there, but the rest of the time was spent out on the beach, or shopping, or snorkeling, or riding bikes, or whatever else they felt like doing.

That night, the four friends were getting ready to head out to a club. Sam was in the shower, Katie was getting dressed in the room she was sharing with Alexis, and Brooke and Alexis were hanging out in the other bedroom, as Brooke applied her make-up.

Alex had returned to what seemed to be her favorite topic lately -- Brooke's newfound questioning of her sexual orientation.

"I just don't understand why you haven't told Sam and Katie, yet. You know that you don't have to worry about what they'd think, right? It's totally not as big of a deal as you seem to think it is."

Just then, Sam and Katie both entered the room, Katie from the doorway to the hall, and Sam from the adjoining bathroom. "Haven't told WHAT to Sam and Katie?" they both asked simultaneously.

Shit! Damn it, Alexis...horrible timing!

Alexis just stared at Brooke apologetically, as Brooke looked back and forth between the two curious newcomers. "Uh, nothing much. Just that...that Charlie asked me out last week."

Alexis' look changed from apologetic to surprised. Brooke's admission was certainly true, but it wasn't the one Alexis had been expecting.

- - - - -

Sam was dancing. Smiling brightly as she moved to the music, completely at ease. Sam wasn't drunk, but Brooke knew that a little alcohol always helped her loosen up more. And Brooke couldn't tear her eyes away from her. She mumbled something about needing some fresh air, and bolted away from the tight circle of her friends. She found some space at the edge of the room, but maneuvered herself so she could still see Sam.

"I'm not sure if you're even aware of it, but you've been watching her all night."

Brooke looked sharply to her right, to see Katie smiling at her shyly.

"What? Watching who? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Watching Sam, of course. I'm guessing that this, and not the romantic attentions of Charlie, is what you and Alexis were really talking about earlier?"

Fuck, am I that obvious?

Brooke just stared at Katie, her expression gradually shifting from tense and ready for denial to panic-stricken.

"Oh, Katie. What am I gonna do? I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But I mean, it's SAM, of all people! I shouldn't be spending my night watching SAM!"

Brooke felt her heart pounding. It was the first time she had admitted aloud her crush...

Who am I kidding? This is way more than a crush, at this point.

...or whatever it was that she felt for Sam. It was both a huge relief, to have it out in the open, and completely terrifying at the same time.

Katie just reached out and pulled Brooke into a comforting hug, as she whispered soothingly in her ear, "It's okay. Really. It'll all work out, somehow. I mean, I'll admit that the situation kind of sucks, but you'll be okay, Brooke. Whatever happens, you'll find a way to pull through. And I'm totally here for you, if you want to talk about it, or whatever."

Brooke just clung tightly to Katie, trying to will herself not to cry. She was mostly successful, but a few tears fell silently down her cheeks. Slowly, she calmed herself down and pulled back from Katie. "Thanks. Sorry about the freak-out. Oh, and um, Alexis and Jason know that I like both guys and girls, but they don't know about which girl in particular led me to that conclusion. I'm just not quite ready to tell everyone that yet. So, I know I can totally trust you, but I'd appreciate it if this didn't go any further."

"Yeah, sure Brooke, of course."

Suddenly, Sam and Alexis appeared, laughing about something. Sam was the first to notice the serious expressions on her two friends' faces. "Hey, is everything okay?"

God, I don't know if I can handle going out there and dancing any longer. Because I want to dance with HER, not with her, Katie, and Alexis.

Thankfully, Katie seemed to read her mind. "Yeah, everything's great. But I'm getting pretty tired, guys. Would it be okay if we head out?"

Brooke gladly breathed in the cooler night air, as they all exited the club. She was extremely grateful to Katie, both for being so awesome about the whole situation, and also for cheerfully carrying on the conversation, covering for Brooke's thoughtful silence.

Crawling into bed that night, she felt both elation and misery. Because there was only one bed. So she got to share a bed with Sam -- so close to her, but not close enough.

Sam was asleep within a few minutes, but restlessness stayed with Brooke. She froze when she heard Sam sigh contentedly in her sleep, and then reach an arm across Brooke's stomach, pulling her tight against Sam's body. It was pure agony. Brooke knew that she wouldn't be sleeping much tonight. Because she couldn't let herself relax into Sam's arms. If she did that, she'd never want to leave.

I wonder…does she even realize that it's me that she's hugging? Does she think I'm Luke? That would completely suck. Or maybe I just make a good pillow, and there's nothing more to it than that.

But now that the unbidden thought of Sam and Luke in bed had entered Brooke's mind, she couldn't get rid of it.

(( Brooke was thinking about starting her psych paper when she heard a knock at her door.

"It's open!"

Sam entered, closing the door behind her. She quickly glanced over to Alexis' side of the room, but Alexis had just left for her early-morning run.

"Hey, Sam. What's up?" Brooke was puzzled by Sam's obvious nervousness. Sam opened and closed her mouth several times, apparently trying to figure out what she wanted to say. After a few moments, Sam drew her eyebrows together and seemed to make some kind of decision.

"I slept with Luke," she blurted out.

Brooke felt some color drain from her face, and her eyes widened. It was way too early in the morning to deal with this.

"You what?" Brooke's voice was barely above a whisper.

"I slept with Luke." Sam's voice sounded stronger this time, but she still looked a little shell-shocked.

"Oh."

If Brooke was honest with herself, she was actually surprised that this conversation hadn't happened earlier. Still, that didn't make it any easier to take.

So that's it. They're sleeping together. They're really serious. I mean, they've been dating for so long, how could it not be serious? But I held some small bit of comfort in the fact that they hadn't had sex yet. Oh well. There goes that. But I can't let myself freak out right now. This is so big for Sam, I have to be the good friend that she needs.

"Okay. You slept with Luke. That's…well, I'm happy for you guys. That's a big step forward for you. Are you okay? I can't tell whether you're happy or not."

Sam shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I don't know. It was okay. Not quite what I was expecting. I mean, last night, he was just being so perfect, and it all felt right, and I made a conscious decision to go ahead with it, but it was just weird, somehow."

"Wait, so this just happened last night? Sam, it's only 7am. Did he leave already?"

Sam looked sheepishly at her feet. "No, he's still in my room. I felt too weird, being in there, awake, while he slept, so I came down to talk to you. He sleeps like the dead, though, and probably won't even start waking up for at least another 2 and a half hours."

Brooke hated that Sam had obviously spent enough time sharing a bed with Luke to learn his sleeping habits. She also noticed that Sam was acting more and more agitated. "It's just…I definitely wouldn't call it bad, but I wouldn't call it good either. Do you know what I mean? But that's just because it was the first time, right? It'll get better?"

Brooke felt her heart skip a beat at those words. She didn't know which would be worse to hear -- that sex with Luke was great, or that the sex was only so-so, but Sam planned to keep having sex with him anyway. But Sam looked so lost. Brooke stood up, took two long strides, and pulled Sam into a hug.

"Don't worry, Sammy. It's okay. It usually takes people a little while to adjust to each other like that and learn what's good for each other."

Sam kept her arms around Brooke as she mumbled into her neck, "Josh is the guy you've had sex with the most, right? Did it get better with him?"

"Honestly, not really. But Josh and I was never a good idea. So you shouldn't exactly take us as a model."

Poor Josh. Now I understand a little more why that never could have worked out. I think, in a way, I was crushing on Sam even way back then.

Brooke closed her eyes, gently stroking Sam's hair. She could smell Luke's cologne clinging to Sam's body, and it almost made her physically sick. More than the smell itself, it was the idea of what the smell meant. Still, she held on until she felt Sam relax, and then finally released her hold on her step-sister.

"Well, I should probably get back up there. Thanks, though, Brooke. I'm really glad I could talk to you."

She quickly hugged Brooke once more, and then left without another word. As soon as the door closed, Brooke collapsed back onto her bed, releasing a strangled sob.))

Unfortunately for Brooke, that morning was not the last time she had to endure a tortuous conversation with Sam about sex with Luke. Because for some reason, Sam seemed to have decided that Brooke should be her post-sex analysis buddy. Brooke secretly thought that sex shouldn't require that much thought, but it did for Sam, apparently. Now, Brooke allowed herself to turn and look at her bedmate.

Oh, Sam. You could do so much better than Luke. He's a really sweet guy, but I can tell from listening to you that he's not nearly as good for you as you deserve.

The next morning, Brooke dragged her extremely tired self into the kitchen. She glared around the room at her three very awake-looking friends. They all took one look at her and decided not to comment, just point towards the fresh pot of coffee.

After two cups of coffee and a bowl of cereal, Brooke started to feel better. She had come to a conclusion that night, as she lay sleeplessly in bed, and decided that now was as good a time as any to share it.

"You know, I think I'm going to say yes to Charlie. And I'll clean my dishes later, but I'm going to go take a shower now."

Brooke turned and quickly left the room, but after a moment's pause, she heard someone jump up from the table and follow her. Once inside the bedroom, she turned to face Katie, who closed the door and then looked back with a very confused expression on her face.

"You're saying yes to Charlie? Why?? I mean, last night...I thought it was pretty clear that Charlie's not the one you're interested in."

"No, he's not. But I can't handle this. I can't handle Sam right now. I can't handle the way I feel around her. I can't handle listening to her talk about Luke. Talk about the pros and cons of FUCKING Luke. I need some kind of distraction. Any kind of distraction. So, Charlie lucks out by being the right kind of offer."

Brooke pled silently with her eyes for Katie to just let it go.

After staring at Brooke for another few seconds, she just shrugged her shoulders. "Fine. I don't think it's a great idea, but if that's what you need, then fine. I understand."

It's not what I want, but it's what I can have.