Chapter 8

The lights were dimmed and a smell of raw tuna lingered through the air. Across the restaurant, toward the bar, the lights were red and hot beaming down on a table of five men in their mid thirties all sipping on sake. I narrowed my eyes focusing in on their every move. The biggest one, named Charles which I could tell by the way they said 'Oh Charles" while they laughed, leaned forward and started to tell a joke. The man across from him, whose name I did not know, raised his right eyebrow and tapped the red headed man seated next to him on the shoulder.

Brooke did the same to me, "Davis?" She said, waving her hand in front of my face. "Earth to Davis?" Her long brown hair was thrown atop her head and she chewed on her French manicured thumb nail.

I shook my head and whipped it toward her, "What's up?" I took a long drink from my glass of water and put a chopstick in my mouth. I chewed on the end of the stick as I drummed the other on the smooth mahogany table top. As I stared as Brooke I realized why she was the talk of Tree Hill. She had the most perfect eyes, the way they changed from green to brown to blue with out her even knowing, the way her dark brown hair was so shiny and smooth, and the way that with even the smallest grin her dimples caved in like valleys.

"So," She said with out moving her eyes from the chef in front of us, "I was thinking." She paused and leaned toward the Asian cook, "No cucumbers, please." She winked at him, "Thanks." He smiled and she continued, "Anyways." Brooke put her hands on my shoulders, "I've been thinking that we need to go on a vacation."

My mouth dropped open, but before I could speak she quickly continued. Waving her finger in my face she said, "No, no not a big one. Not like to Cabo San Lucas or anything but to maybe... I dunno, somewhere fun."

I crossed my arms over my chest and scratched my head, "I don't know how you are going to get your parents to let you do this. We have school, you have cheerleading..."

"Actually, cheerleading is really sucking." She took a sip from her diet coke and looked back up at me, "Peyton quit and I am one person short. The district games are in a week." The chef held up a plate full of California rolls and Brooke nodded. "There is no way I can find someone and teach them the routines in that short notice." She stuffed an entire roll in her mouth. "Its impossible," Brooke mouth was completely full and was almost inaudible.

I pulled the chopstick from my mouth and looked at her, "Well I don't know what to tell you. I'd help you if I could..."

"That's it!" Brooke screeched her mouth still full with the raw fish and rice mixture. All the men at the table in the bar turned to look at her. Charles mouthed something to the red head and he turned to look. He gave us a goofy smile and I rolled my eyes. "You can be the fill in." She jumped out of the chair.

I shook my head rapidly, "No Brooke. No way."

"Come on Davis." She took my hand in hers, "It'll be fun."

"No," I said as I pulled my hand away, "It won't be."

"Fine." Brooke said, sitting down on the chair. "If you want you're good ol' cousin to look like a fool in a week then that is just fine. Scouts from schools that want me to cheer for them will be there and then because our routine sucks serious ass they won't want me anymore ruining my dreams of cheering for collegiate football once and for all." She turned to me and cocked her head to the side, "How will you be able to sleep at night knowing that your loving cousin, moi, will never get to live out her lifetime dream of being a college cheerleader?" She closed her eyes, "All those fans in school colors following cheers for their college lead by me." She quickly opened her eyes, "Guess that'll never happen, now will it?"

I took a bite from the roll and looked at her, "Guess not."

"Bitch." Brooke said, as she rummaged through her purse for her cell phone.

"Slut." I said ripping the cell phone from her hand. I opened the phone before she had even realized I had it. "One missed call." I sang as I searched to see who it was. "Jake Cell?" I looked up at her, "Jake Cell!" I held the phone in front of her face, "What is Jake Jagielski doing calling you?"

"Hmm, guess that is for me to know and for you to find out." She said, taking the phone from my hand and standing up. "Now if you will excuse me..."

I grabbed her arm, "No I will not. What is going on?" I said through clinched teeth. I whispered, "What about you and Lucas?"

"That is seriously confidential information Davis." She started to walk away, toward the exit.

Before Icould think, I blurted out, "I will do the cheer thing if you tell me."

She whipped around and walked, quickly, toward me. Brooke put out her hand and said, "Deal."

Again without thinking, I agreed. I put my hand in hers and shook, "Deal."

"Well," She said, throwing her phone back into her purse, "Okay, so the other day Peyton and I got in that huge fight. This was when she quit the cheerleading squad." I nodded. "Well I was really upset and I ran to the first door that I could find. It just happened to be the guy's locker room." I smirk. "Davis, I wasn't embarrassed. Do you know how many times I have been in there? Well there was the time with Tim, the time with James Thompson, the time with... well the two times with Lucas..."

"Okay, please, back to you and Jake."

"Right, I got side tracked. So I am sitting in there on the bathroom floor and Jake comes in."

I interrupted her as I put another roll into my mouth, "Please tell me you didn't seduce him right there on the floor of the guys locker room. Other people could have walked in on you two."

"That's the thing," She started to whisper; "We didn't do anything. We just sat there and talked and... and I didn't mind." She threw her head down onto the table making a loud thud.

The men turned around again and smiled. I coyly smiled back and put my hand on Brooke's head. "That's all."

"That's all!" She lifted her head, "There is something wrong with me. Is there something wrong with me? There is an epidemic. Everyone needs to watch out it's like a disease, a disease that takes all your sex drive and throws it down the toilet never to be seen again." She looked like she might start crying, "I have lost my touch."

I ran my hand over her head, "Brooke you haven't lost your touch."

"I have so. I haven't had sex in... like..." She counted on her fingers, "Four months? Four months. Oh my god I am turning into... a nun or something. What is happening to me Davis? What the hell is going on?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know."

She rolled her eyes, "Pass me the wasabi. I think I am going to be here for a while. Waitress!" She said, throwing her hand in the air, "I need two black coffees over here."

"I'm really fine..." I put my hand on her shoulder.

"No, we are going to stay here until we have this sorted out." Brooke said, winking at the table of men in the bar. Charles stood up and started to walk toward us. He ran his hands through his blonde hair.

"Hey ladies. How's it going?" He asked, leaning in toward Brooke.

She leaned toward him, "Good. Better now that you have come over here."

He smiled, "Why don't you come over here and have a few drinks with my boys?"

I rolled my eyes and Brooke took his hand, "Okay, sounds good to me as long as you're buying."

"I'll buy you anything you want sweetheart."

She winked at him and I grabbed her arm. "She's seventeen!" I screamed in his face. I threw thirty dollars on our table.

Brooke hit me on the arm, "What the hell? Why did you do that?"

"Listen just because you haven't had sex in like four months doesn't mean that you want to sleep with the first guy who wants to buy you a drink."

"You're right." She looked back at the guy and winked. Then looked back at me, "I usually wait for the second or third guy.

"Come on. Let's go home." I said, pulling her toward the car.

"Can I at least get some coffee?"

"Stop by Starbucks on the way home. Get whatever you want. My treat."

"Hell yes." She said, jumping into the car.

I turned my head and stared out the window.

"Hey Davis." Brooke said.

"What?" I asked without moving.

"Thanks."

I looked back at her, "No problem." I smiled, "So how about that coffee?"