-1The next afternoon Peyton and Brooke met for lunch at Bob Evans. They had just finished ordering and Peyton stirred her iced tea with her spoon while she and Brooke talked.
"So let me get this straight…you and Lucas are in the middle of having sex and…Haley called cause Nathan broke his ankle?" Peyton asked looking at Brooke from across the table.
"Sprained…and yes and we were but we weren't in the middle of it we had just started" Brooke took a drink of her Sprite and reached down for her purse.
"That sucks….You know you could have just told Haley no" Peyton said looking at her cell phone to check her missed calls.
"What was I supposed to say Peyton…sorry Haley I'm riding your best friend right now so I can't watch Jamie for you…I don't think so" Brooke pulled her I Phone out and did the same thing as Peyton.
"That's a shame because…I did it with you the other night" Peyton raised an eyebrow and looked at Brooke.
"Wait so you really didn't take Jenny and Emily to see Kung Fu Panda?" Brooke asked.
"Oh no…they saw it…my dad took them…Jake and I needed a night alone" Peyton took another drink of her tea and smiled.
"I really don't want to go back to work…They're sending someone from Orlando to talk to me about a new store" Brooke told Peyton as their food arrived.
"That's exciting though…I mean you have to be looking forward to that…Florida is a big deal" Peyton picked at her food as she talked to Brooke.
"I know I was just hoping I'd get out of the store early….I hate that Hannah has to spend all her time with the babysitter" Brooke took a bite of her food and looked around the restaurant.
"I really wouldn't call Andy a babysitter and nine times out of ten she comes to work with you" Peyton said
"I know I just miss her when I'm not with her I don't like for her to be out of my sight since everything that's happened with Dan" Brooke looked at Peyton who shook her head.
"Brooke….things are fine don't worry" Peyton assured as she looked down at her watch "Hey I've got to get back to work but I'll call you tonight and you can let me know how your big meeting went"
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Brooke sat in her store waiting for the person who was going to meet with her about the new store. They were already 15 minutes late and Brooke rubbed her temples and tried to fight off the headache that she had had all day long. The door to the store opened and the gentleman walked in carrying a briefcase, she didn't really recognize him at first but once he removed his sunglasses she knew in an instant who he was.
"Chase?" Brooke said looking at the guy in front of her he looked almost the same a little older but still the same guy she remembered.
"How have you been Brooke?" Chase asked smiling. He watched as Brooke walked around from the back of the counter. She wore a black halter top and skinny jeans with black high heals. He had to remind himself that she was a married woman, he remembered when he heard the news that she and Lucas had gotten married and it really hurt him, he always thought Brooke deserved better than Lucas and he knew that he was better than Lucas.
"I'm really great…how about yourself?" Brooke asked and she leaned in an hugged him.
"I just got a whole lot better" Chase replied, he buried his head in Brooke's neck and inhaled deeply. She smelled so good still wearing her signature "Curious" perfume by Britney Spears.
Brooke pulled back and Chase took a hold of her left hand. He looked at the ring that adorned her finger. The ring wasn't too showy it was a platinum ring with a 1.5 karat princess cut stone, the wedding band was just as simple it had tiny diamonds all the way around it. It wasn't something he thought Brooke would like but what did he know they only dated almost all senior year.
"How long has it been…I mean I don't think I've heard from you since you came back to Tree Hill like 3 years ago" Brooke pulled her hand away from Chase's and ran a hand through her hair.
"You were getting ready to get Angie I told you if you needed a husband to call…but I can see that you found one of those…how is Angie by the way?" Chase asked
"She's great…she's 4 now….I'm just happy that her parents keep in touch with me…They invited Luke and I to come and see her for her birthday but…I've got one of my own now so I don't think that's going to work out" Brooke smiled
"Wait…you have a baby?" Chase asked.
Brooke nodded and walked over to her desk and handed Chase a picture frame "Yeah Hannah…she's almost 14 months old"
"She's beautiful….She looks just like you" Chase handed the picture back to Brooke and forced a smile.
"Thank you….She's so amazing….I hope you get to meet her…how long are you in town for?" Brooke put the frame back on her desk and turned around.
"Um…a week…I'm staying at the Comfort Inn in town" Chase told her.
"You should come over for dinner tonight…you'll get to see Lucas and Hannah…It'll be great" Brooke smiled and folded her arms showing off her signature dimples.
"Sure…sounds great" Chase smiled
"Great…I'll write down the address and we usually have dinner around 6" Brooke grabbed a pen and notepad off of her desk and wrote down her home address and handed it to Chase.
"Thanks…well listen since I'm going to be here for a week we can really do this whole meeting thing tomorrow" Chase shifted nervously and smiled.
"Ok…well I'll see you tonight" Brooke waved at Chase as he walked out the door.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Brooke stood in the kitchen and stirred the spaghetti sauce that she had made. Lucas was setting the table and he walked over to Brooke and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the shoulder.
"You know I don't know how much I like the idea of your ex having dinner with us" Lucas murmured against Brooke's shoulder.
Brooke turned in his arms and wrapped her own arms around his neck. "I'm sorry…you know I only love you Luke…and if you're good out here…I'll do that thing you like in there" Brooke said gesturing to the bedroom.
"What thing is that?" Lucas asked nuzzling Brooke's neck.
"Well if I have to remind you…it has to do with you and chocolate syrup" Brooke whispered and kissed Lucas on the chin.
Lucas raised an eyebrow and leaned in to kiss Brooke.
"Dada" Hannah said from the doorway
Lucas turned mid-kiss and looked toward Hannah who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen with her pink monkey hanging from her right hand. He walked over to her and picked her up.
"Hey baby girl" Lucas kissed Hannah on the cheek and carried her to her high chair.
The doorbell rang as Lucas placed Hannah in her chair and he walked over to the door and opened it. He noticed that the smile on Chase's face fell as he realized it was Lucas who had answered the door.
"Hi Lucas" Chase said.
"Hey man…long time no see" Lucas put his hand out for Chase to shake. Chase in turn put his own hand out and shook Lucas' hand.
"Lucas you can invite him in" Brooke teased as she walked into view.
"I was just about to pretty girl" Lucas stepped out of the doorway and let Chase walk in.
"Your home is really beautiful Brooke" Chase complimented and handed Brooke a bottle of wine.
"Thank you…Lucas is the one who bought it for us…I love it. It's warm in the winter cool in the summer and looks spectacular in Christmas lights" Brooke smiled and looked at Lucas before looking at Chase.
"Sounds nice…I don't get to do much in my condo…you know with work and all" Chase said as he followed Brooke and Lucas into the kitchen.
"What do you do if you don't mind me asking…do you work in fashion or something?" Lucas asked.
"Actually…I'm a lawyer" Chase informed and took a seat at the table.
"Oh…well that's great to hear" Lucas took a seat next to Hannah who was eating a cracker.
Brooke came over to the table carrying the bowl of spaghetti and sat it down on the table. The three of them made small talk during dinner and afterwards they sat in the living room and did the same. Hannah had fallen asleep in her high chair and Lucas had put her down for the night. He had went back in the living room afterwards and tried to make the best of the situation. Something about Chase rubbed him the wrong way and Lucas couldn't help but notice that Chase had kept his eyes on Brooke all night. He also noticed the way that Chase's eyes narrowed when Lucas wrapped his arm around Brooke and kissed her cheek as they sat down on the couch. There was a storm that had came in right after chase arrived and it had only gotten worse.
"You know….I should be going…I'll see you tomorrow Brooke" Chase got up from his seat and walked toward the door.
"Well let me walk you out" Brooke offered standing up from the couch.
"No…really it's fine" Chase opened the door and walked out on the front porch.
"Chase it's really bad out…maybe you could stay in our guestroom for tonight" Brooke told him as she walked to the door.
The thought of being in the same house with Brooke for the night filled Chase's mind with thoughts of all the dirty things they could do together. Then he remembered that she was married and he sighed deeply and turned around
"Are you sure you don't mind?" Chase asked
"No we don't mind…besides you're not really supposed to be on the roads when it's this bad out" Brooke held open the door and smiled when Chase walked in.
"Thanks Brooke you're a great friend" Chase touched Brooke's shoulder gently.
"It's no problem…do you have clothes?" Brooke asked
"Yeah my suitcase is in my car…I'll get it and be right back" Chase walked out the door and shut it.
"What the hell was that" Lucas asked looking at Brooke
"Luke baby it's just for tonight…and it doesn't change anything….especially my plans for you" Brooke walked over to Lucas and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll just have to be quiet tonight"
"Yeah" Lucas frowned when he saw Chase walking back up the front porch steps and when he opened the door. Lucas placed a kiss on Brooke's temple and locked eyes with the guy he didn't feel comfortable being in his home.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
A few hours later everyone was getting ready for bed. Brooke had checked on Hannah who had woken up and Brooke was putting her back to bed. Lucas looked down the hallway to the guest room and shook his head. After his wife so generously offered their home to him, he'd been walking around smiling like a kid in a candy store. He probably had some idea that he and Brooke would end up in some romantic situation together and that made his blood boil. He walked into the bedroom and laid down on the bed. He heard the door open and he saw Brooke walk in and get in bed next to him.
"You've been awfully quiet tonight" Brooke laid down and curled up next to him.
"I just don't have much to say" Lucas closed his eyes when he felt Brooke run her hand along his chest.
"Well I could do something about that" Brooke kissed Lucas on the jaw and then moved to straddle him.
Lucas opened his eyes and looked up at her he rested his hands on her hips and sighed "I'm kind of tired so do you think we could just take a rain check on our "night" together?"
Brooke nodded and kissed him before moving off of him "Yeah…night"
"Night" Lucas said softly and he wrapped his arm around Brooke when she rested her head on his chest. He reached over and turned the light off and closed his eyes. He didn't know why though because he knew he wouldn't get much sleep tonight. He just listened to the storm outside and hoped the week would go by fast.