Chapter 8- Hello, Goodbye

Wednesday afternoon while Brooke was walking to her car after work she saw that she had missed 3 calls from Peyton. She frantically dialed her best friend hoping that everything was ok. When Peyton picked up, before she could even say hello, Brooke burst out, "Oh my God, Peyton, is everything okay?"

"Yeah Brooke, everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Peyton figured she string Brooke along a little longer. She had to admit, it was sometimes funny to hear Brooke flip out.

"Because you called me three times, I was freaking out, I thought something was wrong."

"No, everything is fine. I called you three times because I have really good news and I couldn't wait to tell you." Peyton would only make Brooke squirm a few minutes more.

"Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer, why are you doing this to me, you know I hate waiting! What is this good news?" Brooke hated it when Peyton did this to her.

"I am coming to visit you. Jake wanted to thank me for helping out with Jenny so much while he was interviewing for jobs, and now he found a job so he wants to treat me to a long weekend away before he starts."

"P. Sawyer, that is great news. When are you coming?" Brooke was so excited. She and Peyton hadn't had any serious girl time together in a long, long time. She was already thinking of all the things they would do.

"Tomorrow night. I remembered you telling me that you only had to go into work for a few hours on Friday mornings so I figured then we could spend the rest of the day together, and then the whole weekend. My flight back leaves late Sunday night so I will be back before Jake starts work on Monday." Peyton was relieved that she had a schedule that allowed her to take spontaneous trips like this. Karen, Lucas' mom, had surprised Peyton after graduation saying that she wanted Peyton to run TRIC for Karen so that Karen could start going full time to school so she could finally finish her degree. Karen had been going part time for years but finally wanted to just get it done. Peyton had been pretty involved with TRIC after it opened, finding bands to play and helping run an all ages night, but now Karen wanted Peyton to do it all. It was perfect for Peyton, because this way she could pursue her dreams as an artist part time.

"Awww, P. Sawyer, this is awesome. I can't wait. What time does your flight land tomorrow night?" Brooke could barely contain herself. She could not wait to spend time with Peyton. She also knew that Peyton needed some time away from everything, as much as she loved Jenny it sometimes overwhelmed her.

"My plane lands at 7. This isn't too short of notice is it Brooke?"

"Absolutely not, you are always welcome here Peyton. Seriously, you can just show up and I won't care." Brooke could always make time for her best friend, no matter what was going on in her life.

"Great. Well, I have to go and get packed. I am taking Jake out to dinner to celebrate his new job. So, I will see you tomorrow."

"Yep, tomorrow. I can't wait."

ooooOoooo

By the time Brooke was off the phone with Peyton she was almost home. She was so happy to see Nathan pulling into her drive way when she drove onto her street. He had called her to say he would pick up some chinese food and meet Brooke at home with it. This would be the first time that they were spending time together since they had their talk about what they both wanted.

"Hey there hot stuff." Brook said to Nathan as she got out of her car. "I hope you got a lot of egg rolls, those are my favorite."

"Mine too, you better be ready to fight me for them." Nathan walked up to Brooke and kissed her. "So how was your day?"

"Fine, I am still learning the ropes, but things are still going great." Brooke unlocked the door to her house, "Sorry about the boxes, I still haven't gotten all unpacked. And one more thing, I don't have a kitchen table yet."

"That's okay, as long as I am with you I will be happy even if I have to eat off the floor. Although, I do hope that you have plates." Nathan teased.

"Of course I have plates." Brooke walked towards the kitchen to dig out some plates, "But I don't have any silverware so I hope you can handle your chopsticks." Brooke teased as she reached into the fridge to grab a couple of beers. She tossed one to Nathan.

"Oh don't worry about that, I have skills with chop sticks that you have never seen." Nathan had to pause for a second after he caught his beer. This felt so comfortable. There wasn't any of the awkwardness that he usually felt when he was first dating a girl.

"So, I got some great news on my way home from work." Brooke couldn't wait to share her news.

"What?"

"Peyton is coming to visit! She is flying in tomorrow night and she will be here until Sunday night." Just saying it made Brooke get all excited again.

"That's great. I know how much you must miss her. What are you guys going to do?" Nathan was relieved that he and Peyton had worked out any weirdness between them years ago, he didn't want to have to go all weekend without seeing Brooke at all.

"Shop, definitely shop. We will probably head to the beach one day. Oh, and of course, there will be a lot of girl talk." There was a long list of things in Brooke's head that she wanted to cram into this weekend.

"Well, I would like to do something with the two of you, if that is okay. I haven't seen Peyton since probably this past Christmas." Nathan figured that Brooke had already told Peyton what was going on between them, and he really hoped there wouldn't be any weirdness. Sure, Nathan had dated Peyton years ago, but since that time he has been married and divorced. He figured it would all be fine.

"Definitely. I would love for the three of us to spend time together. You should come to the beach with us. This weekend is supposed to be super hot." Brooke was glad that he was so willing to spend time with the two girls.

"Brooke, trust me, you don't have to try and talk me into this. Spending the day with you in a bikini, I'll be there."

"Good, I am glad to hear it. If you liked that red one you should see what else I have. So, onto another topic, what did you do today?" Brooke was a little jealous that Nathan had all the time in the world to lay around and relax.

"Well I was looking through real estate listings, trying to find a place in Miami."

"I keep forgetting that you will be moving there. Did you have any luck?" Brooke didn't want to think about him leaving, at least they could spend plenty of time together up until then.

"Yeah, I found a couple of places that looked good. I will probably head there next weekend to see them in person. I would love it if you would come with me."

"Definitely." A weekend away with Nathan, how could Brooke resist?

"Great. I will probably have to live out of a hotel for a little while though, that will suck. It doesn't look like I would be able to close on a house quick enough to move right in." Nathan had been dreading what he was about to say next.

Brooke was a little concerned, she figured he would be here for at least a month, her closing had taken only taken a little bit over a month. "Why, when do you leave?"

"I start pre-season training in two and half weeks." Nathan hated the fact that he was going to have to leave so soon, but he had signed a contract and there wasn't anything he could do.

"Wow, two and a half weeks. That is really soon." Brooke wondered how she would be able to say goodbye to Nathan, she was already starting to feel attached.