Brooke walked up to the door at Mouth's townhouse home. Nervously, she banged the knocker on the tall red door. Not even a minute later, Mouth opened the door, dressed nicely in black slacks and a white button up, collar shirt.
"Hey Brooke," he greeted, "come on in."
"Thanks." Brooke said as she stepped inside and Mouth closed the door. " You look really nice, Mouth."
"Thanks, but you look…incredible."
Brooke blushed and after another moment of silence, Mouth asked, " So would you like some wine…or something else?"
Wine or something else? Brooke thought. Wine…Mouth all dressed up for me…this is a little weird. She'd never tried romance with anyone but Lucas before. And wine, dinner alone in Mouth's home, with fancy clothes was definitely romantic. Yet, she was standing here in a fancy red dress as well. So this must be what she wanted.
"Wine sounds great." She replied, smiling.
"Here you go, Lilly." Jenny said as returned to the living room with a bowl of popcorn.
"Thank you." Lilly replied, taking the bowl as Jenny sat next to her on the floor.
Jenny took a few pieces of the popcorn and asked, "So what do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Lilly replied through a mouthful as she shrugged.
"Well we could watch a movie or play a game or color…"
"Let's play Barbie's!" Lilly said excitedly as she stood up. " I brought some with me!"
"Okay." Jenny replied to Lilly, who was already returning with a suitcase of Barbie dolls.
"Wow…you sure have a lot." Jenny remarked after Lilly opened the bright pink case.
"I like Barbie's a lot." Lilly reasoned. As she pulled out two adult Barbie's and several Kelley, Tommy, and Ken dolls, Lilly said, "Jenny, did you know my mommy went out on a date tonight?"
"Yeah, my mom told me." Jenny replied as she picked up a Barbie.
"My mom likes Mouth, but not as much as she liked my daddy. She really loved my daddy and no one can ever take his place."
Jenny smiled and Lilly asked, " Jenny, did you know my dad?"
"Uh, huh." Jenny said nodding her head. " Your dad Lucas was a really fun guy. I don't remember much about him because I was only seven when he died. But I remember him a little."
"What do you a 'member?" Lilly asked curiously, no longer interested in her Barbie dolls.
"Well…I know he used to play basketball on the same team as my dad and your uncle Nathan. And he liked playing basketball on the River Court too."
"Ooh, I like that place! Uncle Nathan takes me and James and Andy there sometimes."
"Yeah, well our parents used to hang out there when they were in high school. I know Lucas loved that place."
Lilly frowned and said, "Man, I really wish I could know him. I only have pictures of him, but pictures can't talk to me or play basketball with me."
"I know Lilly. And I'm sorry you never got to meet him. But he's always with you and he'll always love you cause you're his baby."
Jenny wrapped her arm around Lilly's shoulder and continued, " And you know what else? If you really want to meet your dad, you can meet him in your dreams."
Really? How do I do that?"
"Well, first you have to concentrate really hard on where you will go in your dream right before you go to sleep. Then you have to think really hard about whom you want to see in your dream. Once you have the place and person stuck in your mind, you let yourself fall asleep and dream."
Lilly stared up at Jenny admiringly and said, "Wow…that sounds really easy. I think I'm gonna try that. Thanks."
"You're welcome. You just make sure to tell Lucas hi from me, okay?"
Lilly nodded her head and hugged Jenny.
Brooke sat across the table from Mouth in his dining room. The mood around them was nice, simple and romantic with dim lighting, candles on the table, and soft music playing in the background.
"This is all so nice, Mouth." Brooke said, laying her fork down on her plate and it made a clank. "And the roast was wonderful."
"Thank you." Mouth replied. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. But I have to be honest…I've been nervous about tonight since I asked you out and I was really surprised that you said yes."\
Wow, Brooke thought. Mouth was nervous too?
"Really? Why?" She asked.
"Lots of reasons, I guess. You and I were good friends in high school and we've been good friends again since the reunion and I don't want to mess up our friendship. But I've mostly been nervous and afraid about this because of Lucas. He was my best friend and I feel guilty about liking you so much because of that. And I know how much you loved him and how you must still really miss him. And as much as I like you, I was afraid to ask you out because I was almost certain you'd turn me down because of Lucas."
"Brooke was relieved to hear that she was not the only one nervous about tonight. And she was even more surprised to learn that Mouth was afraid for almost the same reasons she was. She was afraid to act on her feelings for Mouth because she thought it meant her feelings for Lucas would disappear or that he would be angry with her. And he had been afraid to ask her out because he sensed she would turn him down because of her feelings for Lucas. Maybe they had more in common than she thought. And now…maybe there wasn't much to be afraid of.
Brooke smiled and said, "It's strange to me that you were so nervous about tonight considering you asked me out. But now I understand why you were afraid. And you're right…I was nervous about tonight too because of Lucas. He was my first and only true love. But I know that I can't ever forget him or what I felt for him. And I have to be honest now too. I have been crushing on you for awhile, especially after tonight."
Mouth chuckled and Brooke continued, "So if you like me like I like you, then I think we should act on those feelings. And if you're up for it too, I'm willing to trust this thing we've got going on and not be afraid of it anymore."
Mouth considered, smiled and said, " I am too."
Brooke smiled before offering a toast of wine to tonight.
Jake returned to the bedroom and closed the door behind him.
"The girls okay?" Peyton asked as Jake climbed on the bed next to her.
"Yeah," Jake replied, kicking off his slippers and wrapping his arms around Peyton. " Jenny just put in a movie for Lilly and Emma is fast asleep in her crib."
"Good." Peyton said, resting her head on Jake's chest." That little girl had a big day today."
"Yes she did. Learning to use the potty is a big step a two year old."
Peyton chuckled, " Yeah, but I don't think she's got it down quite yet. Today was the first time. It's going to take her a few months."
"Oh well, she'll learn when she learns. Until then, we'll have twice the amount of diapers. I have a feeling this may end up being simpler than we are anticipating."
Jake smiled and rubbed Peyton's bulging stomach.
"Well I am certainly ready to meet this baby. You know, now that I finally have the nursery finished."
"Right," Peyton laughed, "I can't wait to see it tomorrow. And hopefully doctor Byrnes will let me off bed rest after my appointment next week. That way I can help you put the rest of the baby things in the nursery."
"Well even if he does let you off bed rest, I don't want you worrying about any of that big stuff. You stick to sorting baby clothes and choosing names and let me handle the nursery and furniture."
"Fine."
"So speaking of baby names, do you have any picked out yet?"
"I do actually. For a boy, I've always loved the name Hunter Matthew and for a girl, I really like the name Riley Anna."
"Those sound like fitting names. They both have a nice ring to them. So do you think we will be adding Hunter Matthew or Riley Anna to our family?"
"I'm not sure. But we'll find out in a few weeks, won't we?"
"Well I hope you enjoyed yourself tonight." Mouth said as he walked with Brooke to the front door.
"I did." Brooke said with a smile. " I had a wonderful time. Who knew you could be so romantic?"
Mouth laughed. They stared at each other quietly for a moment before Mouth asked, "So do you think we could go out again sometime?"
Brooke smiled and replied, "I'd say you'd better ask me out again, if you know what's good for you."
They smiled at each other in quiet again. As if both of them were reading each other's thoughts, both Mouth and Brooke leaned in for their first goodnight kiss.
