AN: I was tickled pink by the response to last chapter. Thank you for the long, heartfelt reviews. I guess I did skew things a bit by not including Lucas' point-of-view and ended up giving the wrong impression. So, I wrote this next installment fast, to try and fix things. This is Brucas, and she is no second choice. But I hoped to stir things a bit, so Taylor doesn't become just an outspoken Mary Sue. We'll see if I have succeeded. Anyways, thank you all for the reviews! And I don't own anything related to OTH.
Chapter 8
Lucas awakes with Angie's crying. He checks his watch. It's half past four in the afternoon. He shakes his head, clearing the fog. He gets up from the sofa and picks up Angie from her crib. It's a little early for a bottle. He rocks her a bit, humming some old movie tune, as she grabs his shirt in her pudgy little fingers and hides her face on his shoulder. One handed, Lucas picks up a fresh bottle, fills it with water and adds the correct amount of formula. Fifteen seconds on the microwave, and Angie is happily suckling.
Someone opens the front door. Lucas turns in time to see Peyton walk in, with a roll-up suitcase and a thin brunette in tow.
A broad smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey Luke!, Meet Nora." The brunette has a grungy look even more marked than Peyton, using large camo pants, a tight plain white t-shirt, a jeans vest and worn out black converses. Her brown hair is cut roughly, about shoulder high, with neon green highlights. Many earrings, a brow piercing, bangs and tats on her arms. She's pretty, in her way, and looks twenty or so.
Lucas dips his head and smiles. "Nice to meet you, Nora. This young lady here is Angie."
Nora approaches Lucas and Angie, while Peyton stays back and observes. Nora gives Angie a little finger wave. "Oh, hi there. You're a cutie!" Her voice is high register but not unpleasant.
There's an awkward silence, which Peyton breaks. "So, where is Brooke?"
Lucas sighs. "Hi, Peyton. You're looking good." In fact, she is. Black leather jacket, tight black jeans, a band tee and strappy low heels. Hair in cut straight, short, light brown with pink highlights. Light make-up accentuates her gorgeous eyes. "Brooke is at the store. She should be back in a couple of hours. Can I help you with anything?"
"We're dropping our stuff upstairs and going to the studio."
"That's fine." They head for the stairs. "I've been using the guest bedroom..."
Peyton stops and turns back. "Oh, don't worry. Nora is sleeping with me." She grins, grabs Nora by the back of her head and plants a soft, sloppy kiss on her lips. Then she looks at me with a mix of fear and defiance in her eyes. "Any problem?"
Lucas works hard to remove the surprise and the shock from his face. He probably doesn't succeed, since Nora grins and Peyton looks annoyed. He can't find anything reasonable to say. He finally just gives up. "No problem, Peyton." He looks at Nora, who has a slightly glazed look and an impish grin. "Welcome to Tree Hill."
"Thanks."
Angie is playing with colored blocks on the floor and I'm working on the latest round of revisions of The Comet when Brooke walks in. Lucas has his back to the door, but he knows she's angry, just by the sharp tapping of her heels on the floor. He turns around fast. Shoulders tense, eyes bright, her lips a thin line. Lucas stares. She is breathtaking when she is angry.
"Stop ogling me, Lucas!" The harsh tone and words are betrayed by her subtle preening.
Lucas smiles a bit and does an insolent toe-to-head check with half-lidded eyes. "Sorry."
She growls at him and throws herself at the sofa. "You won't believe the day I had..."
Lucas saves his work, closes the laptop and gets up, half listening to her rant. "... a girl, some kind of teenager tried to shoplift..." He pours half a glass of red and gives it to her. She takes it, without pausing. "... she lays her dirty hands on me..." Lucas walks around the sofa and starts to knead her shoulders from behind, looking for the knots. "..and when I finally get home a pervert... Hmmm..."
She closes her eyes and leans forward, giving him better access. He continues the back rub, soft, pleased moans under his hands. "You'd make a perfect wife, Broody."
"Thanks."
She whispers in a sexy drawl. "What about the complete job, Broody?"
His eyebrows shoot up. "What?"
"A foot rub, jackass." She is skirting stupid, dangerous territory.
Without a word, he laughs and kneels in front of her, taking her shoes off and starting on her poor, abused, perfectly shaped arches. "Peyton is back."
"Hmmm..."
He continues. "You won't believe it."
A single eyebrow goes up. "What? She brought a girlfriend?"
Lucas stops the massage and stares at her. Brooke frowns at him. "You're scary, sometimes."
She smiles, pleased. She shoves her foot forward and closes her eyes, smiling. "Don't stop!" Giggles. "A girlfriend? Really?"
"Funky looking kid. Pretty too. Her name is Nora." Lucas switches to the other foot.
"Fuck! When did you get so good at this?"
He drawls. "Whatever is worth doing..."
"Is worth doing well. I know." She giggles again, all her anger gone. "What about Angie?"
"A great afternoon. She will need a bottle in an hour or so. Could use a fresh diaper, I think."
By the time he is done, her whole body is tingling, and her panties are sopping wet. He looks into her eyes, his face less than two feet away from hers. His blue eyes... the impulse to kiss him is nearly impossible to resist. Fear. Fear and Angie's presence stop her. It's been more than a year since she's been with a man.
He feels her pulling back. "I should probably be going..."
"Let me take a quick shower and change first." A cold one.
"Sure."
=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=
The knock is harsh and insistent. Annoyed, Haley lifts her head from her grading and scowls at the door. She wanted to finish grading her tenth grade essays, and if she kept getting interrupted... The knock again.
"Who is it?"
Without a reply, the door cracks open and Taylor's face shows itself. "Hey, Haleybob!"
"What do you want?"
"I was hoping to take my baby sister out for lunch..."
"I'm busy, Tay."
"Hey, that's fine." She smirks. "I'll just park my puckered little tushy some place it is wanted." She starts closing the door slowly.
Haley closes her eyes and sighs. "Wait..."
The door opens again. Taylor and her broad, mischievous smile reappears. "Change your mind, littl'bob?"
Haley sets down her pen, gets up and grabs her purse. "Where are you taking me?" She checks her watch. "I've got about an hour."
"What about the Korean shack?"
"Fine, lets go."
They pick up their lunch orders and take a table. Haley is under no illusions that this is a social visit. Taylor has something in her mind for sure. "So, what can I do for you?"
She goes completely out of character. Eye avoidance, wringing her hands. Clearly uncomfortable. "I need to apologize."
Haley raises her voice a bit. "Apologize for what?" Her mind goes straight to Lucas. "What the fuck did you do? Did you sleep with him?"
"No!"
Haley shakes her head in disbelief. This can't be her outspoken, in-your-face sister. "What, then?"
Her voice turns to a whisper. "I think I'm falling for him..."
It takes a second for Haley to process it, and when she does, she can't avoid laughing. Taylor frowns and replies in a slightly angry tone. "You think it's funny?"
Haley takes her time to get her funnies under control. Once she does, she speaks, her tone still amused. "So, you've been drinking the Lucas Scott kool aid." Taylor nods. "And you like it." Again, the nod.
"Fuck."
"I'm sorry."
Haley spaces out for a bit thinking. "What?"
"I said I'm sorry. I was mean to you. I had you pegged as really bad friend to Lucas. Not that you're perfect..."
Haley grimaces. "Thanks."
"I guess things are more complicated than I thought."
Haley quashes another bout of laughter. "Right. Apology accepted, sis." She moves around the table and gives Taylor an awkward hug. "Did he come onto you?"
"I wish! The damn boy is perfect. Kind, attentive, sweet and sexy as fuck. And head-over-heels with the princess."
"Well, you can join the club." Taylor laughs weakly. Haley looks distant for a bit. "Karen raised a very good boy, you know?. He's smart, sensitive, caring... It's not his fault. He likes women and he loves openly and generously. So, women he believes are his friends end up falling for him and his idiotic soulful stares.
"Did you?"
"Of course I did."
"Damn, I feel like a fool."
"He tries to make it work. The tricky thing is that he always keeps a piece of himself apart. You know, observing, studying... That's what I think really happened to Lindsay. She could feel he was not all in."
"Even after years together?"
"He was truly in love with her. I'd say she was just a bit more. Then his writer's block just evaporates when Brooke and Peyton come back into his life..." Haley goes back to her seat. "There's only been one girl that really got to him all the way."
"Do you think she's gonna give him a chance?"
"I honestly have no idea."
"If she doesn't, I'm gonna go for it."
Haley giggles. "Good luck with that. I think you could have a chance, actually. You're a lot like her."
"The fuck I'm like her! Are you crazy?"
Haley smiles. "Right. Sorry, Tigger."
o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o
It's a bit past seven, and two large, shirtless men try eagerly to pass one another, in order to hit the hoop with a large orange ball. Despite the fresh breeze from the river, their sweat glistens with reflected light, as their muscles move under their skin.
Sitting on top of the picnic table, a pretty brunette and a young blonde boy watch, entranced. Another brunette, pushing a black designer pram approaches. For a few minutes she stands there, reluctant to break the magic of the moment. After a particularly athletic dunk by the dark haired giant, the little boy screams. "Way to go, daddy!"
Both men look at the boy and smile. "Thanks, son." Nathan starts again, but Lucas steals the ball. Nathan body-checks Lucas as he tries to slide around him for his own dunk." Lucas complains. "Hey! Watch it!"
Nathan's voice is breathless and hoarse. "No foul, three! Just play."
"What's the score, Tutormom?"
"Lucas is killing Nathan. Eight to three."
I frown. That doesn't make much sense. "Is his back bothering him?"
"Well... not really. He's still recovering, for sure. But that's not it. Luke is on fire, for some reason."
"Taylor has been putting him through his paces. Jogging, kickboxing, weights..."
Haley looks at the two men for a second. "He's certainly in fine shape."
Brooke moistens her lips with the tip of her tongue. "Yeah... fine."
"What is it, Aunt Brooke?"
"I was just out for a walk with Angie. Didn't expect to meet you here. Did you already eat?"
Before Haley can answer, Lucas bodychecks Nathan, and they tumble down on top of each other. There's a moment of panic for the two women and the little boy, which quickly dissipates as both men start laughing hard.
"Now, that's a foul, Twenty-three!"
All five laugh. "Damn right."
Both Haley and Brooke are still a little unsettled by the scare as the two men approach them, broad smiles on their faces. Nathan pushes playfully at Lucas with his shoulder. "What happened to you, Big Brother?"
"Three months of hard labor under Sargeant-Major Taylor?"
"Hm." Nathan takes a hard look at Lucas chiseled torso. "Can I join?"
"Of course. Ten sharp at my place. Five mile jog."
"She sets the pace?"
Two women frown. Two men grin. "Yup."
"So, dinner."
"Sorry, Tigger. We've eaten. We were going for ice cream. Wanna join?"
"Sure." Brooke looks at the three Scott boys. "Can't let you have all the fun, can I?"
Brooke lets Nathan, Haley, and Jamie walk ahead and holds Lucas back. "I wanted to tell you first. They scheduled the surgery for Tuesday."
Lucas stops and looks at Brooke. "About time,"
"She does seem to be fading a little."
"She's going to be fine, Pretty Girl."
"I know." She grabs one of his hands and intertwines her fingers with his. A suggestion of tears. "You'll be there."
"Of course."
"Six in the morning." She whispers, almost inaudibly. "I couldn't do it without you, Broody."
He shrugs. "Of course you could. But you don't have to."
