"Well it would appear you girls enjoy the heat more." I go to jump away from Brooke at the sound of the chauffeur's voice, but she's apparently not ready to let go just yet.

She lazily turns her gaze to the older man, keeping a firm grip around my waist, her entire body still pressed into me. "Trust me Tom, scorching." She shamelessly starts to trail her hand towards my ass, determined to give the poor man a show. "You apparently left the doors locked."

His face turns almost ashen, the smile disappearing immediately. "Oh my god Miss Davis, I'm SO sorry. I don't know how I could have done that." He jams his fingers into his pockets, furiously searching around for what I assume is another set of keys. Relief floods his face as he pulls out the small metallic ring, almost stumbling over himself to unlock the door and hold it open for us. "Please, my deepest apologies."

Brooke pulls me away from where we had been pressed up against the car and guides me towards the welcome cool relief of the air conditioned interior. "Tom, would you stop. It was an accident, it happens. Besides, I'm certainly not going to be complaining any time soon." She winks at him, her hand reaching out to playfully smack my hip as I'm climbing into the expansive back seat of the limo. As the chauffeur is disappearing out of view, I can see the beginnings of a fevered blush spread across his cheeks, Brooke's insinuations registering with him.

She talks with him for a few more moments, hushed though, so much so that I don't have a clue what she's saying to him. Knowing Brooke though, she's got something else up her sleeve. While she talks to the older man, I glance around the inside of the car. Leather upholstery of course, with a nice sized wet bar in front, underneath the divider. As Brooke finally gets in beside me and shuts the door, my gaze lands on the bouquet of red tipped yellow roses carefully arranged in a vase attached to the door opposite us. "Brooke….." I trail off, one of those hated dopey expressions passing over my face, I can just feel it.

Brooke snuggles into me, pulling us back into the comfortable expanse of the seat. "Took you long enough to find those Goldilocks." She pulls herself closer, draping a tanned leg over my own and looping her arm into mine, finally cradling her head into the crook of my shoulder. It's really amazing how easily we fit together.

I look back over to the oversized bundle of roses, trying to remember what the color means. Though I doubt Brooke even gave that any thought. "Friends falling in love." She murmurs against my throat, where she's started to place light kisses along the underside of my jaw. She really is full of surprises tonight. She pulls away to meet my gaze, eliciting a moan from the back of my throat in disappointment. I really could get used to this affectionate side of her.

I lean in to place a quick kiss against her soft lips, pulling back before I can get sucked in again. "Who knew you were so romantic?" Really, I've never seen Brooke like this, she's always the one getting wined and dined, being romanced. It's a very surreal moment, realizing that she's done this for me, for us.

"Apparently I have all kinds of layers." She winks, her lips curling into a playful smile for a moment before her eyes turn serious. She trails her palm up, tucking a strand of errant blonde hair behind my ear before coming back to gently stroke my cheek with her fingertips. "I did do my research." I raise my eyebrow at that, I don't think she has any idea what Google even means. "Ok, so I asked the florist what I should get for my girlfriend who's also my best friend."

Girlfriend? Not that I'm complaining, not at all. But wow, apparently Brooke's already made the 'we're dating' leap. That releases whatever tension her kisses hadn't chased away in my body. I tug a bit on her shirt, dragging her almost completely into my lap, so that I can reclaim those gorgeous lips of hers. A surprised squeak slips past before we're once again tasting each other.

"Miss Davis, we're here." Mr. Chauffeur Guy has really bad timing. Although I hadn't even realized we had been moving. I wonder how long I was caught up in the incredible sensations Brooke's lips spark in me.

Brooke pulls away reluctantly, taking one last nibble at my bottom lip before extracting herself from my hold and sliding towards the door. "Come on Peyton, your surprise awaits." Ok, I had assumed we were just going back to her parents place. I can't even begin to wonder what she's been plotting. Though I'm thankful for small favors when she doesn't try to blindfold me.

Tom opens the door to the limo and I'm assaulted with the sound of peals of laughter floating past my ears. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the bright neon lights, a stark contrast from the relative darkness of the limo interior.

"The Santa Monica Pier." Brooke explains. I've heard of this place, in movies and on tv mostly. It looks so much bigger in person, larger than life really. I think my jaw has gone a little slack as I glance around, taking it all in. My gaze sweeps back towards Brooke, determined to show her the delighted smile when I take notice of the massive ferris wheel occupying the entire end of the boardwalk. Brooke must see the surprised expression crossing my face, because she laces our fingers together, pulling me away from the car to head towards the giant, brightly lit wheel.

"You didn't think I remembered, did you?" I'm afraid that my slight shock is going to upset her, but her tone is light and playful. "Trust me Peyton, I could never forget that day."

'That day' was back during the summer in between seventh and eighth grade. My father was on a job off the coast of Myrtle Beach and he came back up over the weekend to pick Brooke and me up to the spend the week down there with him. It's always been nice, knowing my father makes such an effort to include Brooke as a part of our family. I don't think we've ever been on vacation without her. At least not since my mother died. I remember the entire car ride down the coast, Brooke was plotting out the whole damn trip. I hadn't remembered her voice ever being quite that enthusiastic before. Of course she didn't really have much of a plan.

Beach. Boy gazing. More beach. Boy gazing ON the beach.

And she wanted to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Café sometime that week too. Go figure. But that had pretty much been the extent of it. By the time we actually had gotten to my father's company rented apartment, Brooke was almost bouncing out of her seat. I remember finding her behavior completely baffling, she was acting like she had never been to the beach, never seen the ocean.

We live on the coast.

I still to this day haven't quite figured it out. So goes the lovable enigma that is my best friend.

"You were so terrified." Brooke chuckles, glancing back to the towering ferris wheel she's leading us towards.

Well yeah! I was scared to death of heights up until, well, still. And Brooke got it into her head that the best way to christen our vacation was to drag me onto the tallest possible thing on the whole damn shoreline. I literally had sunken myself down into the sand once she had told me her plans. I was determined to have no parts of it. But Brooke plopped down beside me, pouted furiously, while giving me some sob story about her parents never letting her go on the ferris wheel when she was a kid. I knew she was full of shit, even back then, I knew her better than anyone else. And things really haven't changed all that much. I'm still as bendable to Brooke's iron will as I was years ago.

"You knew I was before I even stepped foot into the chair!" She was determined to make me ride the blasted thing. So after laying on the patented Brooke Davis pout for a good ten minutes, I hesitantly got on, what looked to me, like a giant wheel of death. To her credit she never once let go of my hand.

"Well I never expected it to get stuck!" Brooke blushes faintly, the carnival lights reflecting off the water and back onto her face making her already beautiful skin glow ethereally.

No, I'm sure she didn't expect that. Otherwise I doubt she would have gone to such lengths to sucker me into getting on board in the first place. Brooke smirks a little as we finally merge our way into the fairly long line. "But aren't you glad it did now?"

"Who knew the lengths you'd go to get me to shut up." It's my turn to smirk now.

"Not shut you up P Sawyer. Calm you down. Two very different things." She smiles devilishly, pulling our interlocked hands to rest draped over her shoulder.

"You really thought that was the best way to calm me down." I ask her incredulously.

"Well it did shut you up." She's moved to stand behind me, her lips dangerously close to my ear.

"I thought that wasn't the point?" I fire back, completely enjoying the playful, affectionate side of her.

"I didn't hear you complaining."

"It was kinda hard to get much out past your tongue shoved down my throat." She's right, I really didn't mind her methods of relaxation. But at the time I certainly wasn't going to mention how it enjoyable it really had been. Not to my incredibly boy crazy best friend. We were thirteen. SO not the best age to lay something like THAT out there.

"You were scared. I wanted to comfort you." Brooke's tone doesn't even try to hide the sarcasm dripping in every syllable.

No shit I was scared. Two minutes into the ride that had taken a half hour to just get on in the first place, it suddenly stopped. With our chair at the very peak. The waiting had done nothing to calm my nerves, so when we were jerked forward in our seats so abruptly, I might have slightly panicked.

Flashback

"Peyton, would you please chill out! They're probably just letting someone off." Brooke tried to not let the irritation she was starting to feel towards her best friend's antics bleed through to her voice. She loved Peyton dearly, but sometimes she could be SUCH a baby.

"Brooke, it does NOT take THIS long to get off this damn death wheel!" Peyton was far beyond the point of panic, hysteria was starting to set in.

"Sweetie, please just try to relax, it's fine. I'm sure we'll be moving soon." Brooke tried to reassure her friend, starting to wonder herself now just what the hold up was.

"Oh my god!" Peyton all but jumped into Brooke's lap as the ocean breeze picked up, sending the small two seater chair they were sitting in, swaying along with it.

"Peyton please!"

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down again! We're going to plummet to our………" The blonde's ramble was cut off by the press of Brooke's surprisingly gentle kiss. She sat in stunned silence, not even aware if she was reciprocating. She WAS aware however of the sensation of a moist tongue sliding it's way into her mouth, swallowing up whatever babble fit she'd been in the middle of.

They continued, delicate kisses shared between them, for uncounted moments. Until the sound of a throat clearing brought them out of their panic induced haze "Sorry girls, one of the gears got stuck. We had to get our mechanic out here to grease her down." The operator smiled sheepishly, opening up the gate to let them out. They blushed furiously, making sure to not touch each other as they walked along the boardwalk. The awkward silence settled over them almost immediately.

Finally Peyton couldn't stand it any longer. "Ok, what the hell was that Brooke?"

The brunette plastered on her best flirtatious smile. "That guy was pretty cute."

Peyton wanted to press her, wanted to shake her until she got the real truth from her. But she knew she'd only get some runaround half answer. So she dropped it, not wanting to provoke a fight and push Brooke away when they were supposed to be having the time of their lives.

End Flashback

"And we never did talk about it. You realize that?" It's been something that stayed with me all these years. I wondered if she ever knew she was my first kiss.

"I didn't want to talk about something I didn't even understand myself." Brooke whispers into my neck, the feeling of her breath ghosting over my skin making my entire body tingle. "That's why I brought you here. Because I get it now. That was the beginning, that was our beginning. And it wasn't until I read your journal that I understood that."

I turn around in her arms, confusion wrinkling my forehead. "I don't remember writing about Myrtle Beach in that."

She kisses me on the cheek, smiling indulgently. "You didn't. I go back and I wonder why I did it. You and I both know I didn't have to do THAT." Brooke's smile turns flirtatious again before just as quickly her look sobers. "The thing is though, I wanted to. I remember just looking at you and wanting to kiss you. It was the most natural feeling. Still is." She leans in, capturing my bottom lips with both of hers. A delicate kiss, nothing like the heat that had been racing between us earlier at the airport. But incredibly sweet, Swiss truffles bathed in strawberries kind of sweet. "Of course after I did it I was scared to death."

I nod my head in understanding. "Hence the shutdown."

Brooke blushes a little, a small sheepish smile curling her lips. "You know me better than anyone Peyton. I've always been sure you understood. And by the way, I love you for not pushing me about it."

"You said it Brooke, I knew you were freaking out." I tease a bit, sticking my tongue out in her direction.

"So, did I rock your world baby?" She snuggles into me as wait in the slowly moving line. Her lips teasing a trail up my jaw line. I can feel the stares of some of the people around us, but I'm too preoccupied with the sensation of Brooke's touch to care in the least bit.

"Then or now? Cause right now you're doing a pretty damn good job." I'm fighting so hard to suppress the moan building in my throat.

It's like she's trying to rip the increasingly lust filled exhalation from my lips. Because after she pulls away for a brief moment to giggle at my frustration, she returns to my neck. This time flattening her tongue against the already over-sensitized skin, dragging a trail of liquid fire from my collarbone to the base of my earlobe. I can feel my eyes starting to roll into the back of my head, ecstasy beginning to take full control of all my basic motor functions.

"Pretty damn memorable first kiss I'd say." Brooke sounds infinitely proud of herself. The protest forming on my lips at the sudden lack of contact between us is swallowed up as the surprise of her comment sinks in.

OK, how the hell did she know?

Brooke must see the stupefied expression flitting across my face, because she rolls her eyes good naturedly before explaining. "Come on Peyton. I'm your best friend. I would have known if there had been someone else before me."

It's my turn to blush. I'm so busted.

"Aww, isn't that cute!" Brooke is enjoying this far too much. She comes around from behind me, reaching up to soothe my enflamed cheeks. "Peyton, of course I knew. And I was honored. I only wish you had been my first too." That's really not helping to chase the blush away. Brooke creeps in closer, pulling our bodies as tight together as our standing position will allow. "I wish you had been my first everything." She must have read that part of my journal. I can feel the heat racing up through my chest to stain my cheeks a dark crimson now. Brooke's sentiment, it's just………wow. Of course if I HAD been her first kiss, we would have been six.

"How many?" We've finally arrived at the front of the line. Brooke shoots the operator her classic 'duh' look. We're standing here, wrapped around one another, and he has to ask how many?

Brooke's mouth opens to bite out some sarcastic retort, but I pull her along towards the waiting chair, taking pity on the poor, not incredibly swift, operator. "Just let it go sweetie."

The fight drains out of her, letting me drag her down into the seat and snuggling us together as close as we can in the cramped compartment. It's for my calm as much as anything really. I still hate heights.

As we reach the peak of the ride, coming to a stop to let other riders on, Brooke tucks her head into my shoulder, nuzzling against my neck. "Why did we wait so long Peyton?" Her voice sounds sadly wistful.

I chuckle a little to try and lift the rapidly declining mood suddenly hanging over us. "We're only eighteen Brooke." My tone is light, but I understand how she's feeling. I keep thinking, if only I had said something. Even a year ago. All that time that we can never get back.

"But Peyton, this feels………perfect." I think I can actually hear her pouting.

I lean down to nuzzle my nose into the mane of chestnut silky hair splayed across my shoulder. "It does. So that just means we have to figure out a way to make up for lost time." And if anyone can do that, it's certainly Brooke Davis. She was born with the dominant seduction gene.

AN: Thanks for still sticking with this story. It's just about at it's conclusion, but I'm to decide if I want a certain, ahem, scene, to go in. But I'll try to have it all wrapped up shortly. And btw, the stuck at the top bit? That actually happened to me. Sadly without the smoochies.