Chapter 18
The screams wake him up, and, as he jumps out of bed, so does Brooke. By the time he finds his pajama bottoms, Brooke has already put on his t-shirt and rushed out. When he arrives at Sam's bedroom, Brooke is kneeling next to the screaming girl, her hand on the girl's head. It's been over a month without the nightmares, but Brooke has seen it before.
Lucas lies down next to Sam and wraps the struggling girl in his arms, while whispering. "You're safe, baby girl... you're safe. Everything is fine..."
The thrashing and screaming persist for a few minutes, and then stop. Sam's face loses the straining fear and becomes that of a young woman, sleeping peacefully. Brooke looks at Lucas, a silent request for instructions and Lucas mouths the word 'Tea'.
Lucas holds Sam for a few more minutes, and when she seems fully settled, he carefully untangles himself. It's best if she doesn't wake up. He looks at the sleeping girls for another minute, calming himself from the adrenaline shot. Brooke shows up, two steaming mugs in her hands and gives him one. Lucas sips his cup, enjoying the warmth and the smell of chamomile. He holds her close, her head against his shoulder.
They walk down to the kitchen, still sipping their tea, sit on the living room couch and cuddle.
"How long?" Brooke asks. "Without nightmares, I mean."
"Five weeks, give or take." A small silence follows before Lucas continues. "She's doing fine. The doctors say she may never be completely rid of the night terrors."
"Hm."
"She's a little nervous about the trip."
"I thought she's been looking forward to it."
"She has. But..."
"Why is she going, then?"
Lucas shrugs. "Her doctor says a change of pace is good for her." Brooke frowns and looks at the stairs, clearly unconvinced. "Tay will take good care of her, Pretty Girl. I promise."
Brooke sighs. "Where is she going again?"
"Cherokee reservation down in Georgia. Tay is staying at a farm, teaching martial arts." Brooke gives him a skeptical look. "I've been there, Brooke. It's a nice place, with good people." Brooke cuddles closer and grunts, still a little uneasy. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For caring." Lucas gives her a peck on the top of her head. "It means the world."
"She's a great girl."
"Yes."
"We're going to miss her."
"It's just two weeks." Brooke looks into his eyes with a slight frown. Lucas looks down and snickers. "Yes we will."
Brooke giggles. "Good boy."
It's around nine next morning when Taylor comes to the house to pick up Sam. Lucas and Brooke are in the kitchen, preparing breakfast, sweaty and glowing from a stiff work out. Taylor stands near the front door, checking them out with a half-smile. Lucas sees her first and greets her with a smile of his own. "Hi. Care for some breakfast?"
"Sure." Taylor approaches them and sits at the breakfast counter, still staring.
Brooke gets a little uncomfortable. "What?"
A light mocking tone. "I was hoping to catch you guys at it again..."
Lucas interrupts her. "Sam is upstairs, sleeping." He places a hot cup of black coffee in front of Taylor. "We try to keep it in the bedroom when she's around."
Taylor sips her coffee, and her smile broadens. "Pity."
Brooke glares at Taylor. "What's your problem?"
Lucas wraps his arms around Brooke and looks sadly at Taylor. Taylor answers Brooke in a cold tone. "No problem, Princess."
Brooke growls, shakes Lucas' arms off, plants both fists on her hips and raises her voice a little. "We're sharing a shower after breakfast, slut. You're welcome to join."
A startled silence follows. Lucas looks at Brooke, trying to figure out what's going through Brooke's head, without success. Taylor also stares at her, pressing her lips together, trying to keep silent. After a while, she answers. "Sorry, Princess. I'm currently taken."
Taylor can't avoid pushing. And Brooke won't stand being pushed. Lucas, his imagination betraying him as it always does, tries very hard not to think what a shower with both women would be like. He knows them both very well. Fun would quickly turn into fierce competition. He shudders. And tries a quick change of subject. "Is it Shade?"
Shade is a little older than Taylor, half-Cherokee, former biker and martial artist, turned reservation cop. "Yup." Brooke gives up the challenging stance and snuggles up to Lucas, caressing him possessively through his pants. She is too worked up to be still.
Lucas ignores Brooke. "He's a good one."
Taylor gives a sad smile. "I'm not."
Brooke is still annoyed. "That I agree..."
Lucas interrupts Brooke. "Don't sell yourself short. You're pretty great."
Taylor dismisses Lucas with a wave and changes subjects herself. "Where is Sam?"
Brooke gives the short answer. "Asleep."
"She had a night terror."
Taylor frowns. "Bad?"
Brooke has no way to judge and just shrugs. Lucas replies. "No, not by a long shot."
Taylor looks worried. "When was the last time?"
"About five weeks ago. I think last night was triggered by the trip."
Taylor shakes her head. "She doesn't have to come."
"She wants to go. She's just nervous."
"I thought maybe the change in routine..." Taylor lets her words fade.
"The doctor thought it was a good idea."
Taylor nods slowly. "She's going to enjoy it, I think." She turns to Brooke, who is following the conversation with a concerned look. "We're staying at a big ranch house that belongs to Shade's older brother. It's a great place. Shade's nephews and nieces are a rowdy bunch, but kind."
"How many are they?" Brooke asks.
"Five. An eighteen-year-old girl, a pair of fifteen-year-old twins, boy and girl, a twelve-year-old boy and a cute eight-year-old little girl."
"Wow."
"Do you know the place?" Brooke asks Lucas.
"Yup. Spent a couple of nights there once."
Taylor turns around and heads for the stairs. "I'm going to her room."
Brooke and Lucas wave her on, and turn their attention back to each other..
Lucas lets his anger show. "Are you crazy?"
Brooke flinches. She's never heard that tone from Lucas. At least not directed at her. She mumbles something indistinct. "Mmf."
"You invite Taylor for a threesome? What if she had accepted?" Lucas knows Taylor. She could have accepted. Easily.
Brooke lifts his nose in the air. "Then you'd fuck us both. What's the problem?"
Lucas draws closer and raises his voice a bit. "The problem, Brooklyn Penelope Davis, is that you didn't ask me first."
She puts her fists on her hips again, and pushes her chest forward. As always, Lucas heart misses a beat. "So what? You're telling me you'd refuse? Taylor and I?"
"Yes."
She shakes her head. "You gotta be joking."
"I don't just fuck people, you..." He was about to call her stupid, but he stopped himself. One thing he would never, ever do is call Brooke stupid. He gathered himself, breathed in and out and continued in a more reasoned tone. "If you want a taste of Tay, go for it. Just keep me out of it." Lucas can't understand this. Brooke is as straight as they come.
Brooke looks at her own feet and her face becomes as pink as her hair. "I don't want her."
"Then what were you thinking?"
Brooke answers in a near whisper. "I wanted to see you with her, maybe. She saw us together, why can't I?" Brooke makes a disgusted face. "I was even willing to lick some cunt in exchange."
The image of Brooke making horrible faces while licking Taylor is a bit much. Lucas' anger leaves and he breaks down laughing. "Just kill me, Pretty Girl."
Brooke giggles and looks sheepish. "Not one of my brighter ideas, Hm?"
"No."
They make out in the shower, slowly and sweetly, but don't go further. They are both a little on edge. Lucas pays close attention to Brooke, who appears to have something in her mind. He snickers. "Brooding, Pretty Girl?"
She starts. "No! That's you. I'm too sexy for brooding..." She shakes her boobs at him for emphasis.
Lucas takes his time to caress her left nipple, making it hard and eliciting a small moan. "So, what's on your mind?"
"Well..." Her words fail as Lucas repeats his action with her right nipple.
He laughs. "What?"
"I can't answer. You're too distracting."
"How about I keep my hands to myself?" He sits on the bed, on top of his own hands.
"And I'll put on a shirt." She flounces to the closet, grabs one of his clean t-shirts and put it on.
"All right. What?" Lucas finally asks, after shaking his head, trying to clear his mind from the pink haired vision in front of him. It's hopeless.
Brooke kneels close to him on top of the bed. "You know... Taylor intimidates me. Makes me feel a little inadequate."
"Like most everyone." Lucas sighs, very familiar, and quite appreciative, of the Wonder Woman act Taylor puts on. "I think she works hard to achieve exactly that."
Brooke nods. "Before the attack. She was living with you."
"Right."
"She was actively trying to seduce you, wasn't she?"
"On and off." More 'on' than 'off', if truth be told.
"But you chose me. You chose to come after me." Brooke purses her lips into a thin line and a faint concentration crease appears between her eyes.
"Yes. That's what I wanted, and Taylor herself encouraged me."
Brooke looks into his eyes. A piercing stare that seemed to look right into his soul. "Why?"
"The heart wants..."
She cuts him off with a sharp gesture. Lucas catches a glimpse of her hidden steel, and a fresh wave of desire courses through him. "C'mon! Who in his right mind would choose me over her? It makes no sense."
Lucas smiles. It's obvious to him, both her doubt and his certainty. "She makes me feel safe, but not comfortable. She doesn't let anyone near her be comfortable. Always pushing. She's the best teacher I've ever known." Brooke looks puzzled, so Lucas continues with an example. "She taught me a game."
"A game for two?"
"A game for two lovers. Slow sex, very attentive to your partner. The goal is to bring your partner to the very edge of orgasm. And hold her there. Your partner does the same to you. Skill is to make the game last. Whoever comes loses." Lucas snickers. "We held one another at the brink for more than half an hour, many times. I hardly ever won."
Brooke frowns. It looks almost like anti-sex to her. "Sounds exhausting."
Lucas' smile turns distant. "It is, some. But it has its moments."
"Do you miss it?"
He looks at Brooke and his smile turns back to the present. "Not even a little." He continues. "Sex with Tay always has this little edge of competition, of keeping on your toes. With you it's almost the opposite. It's about letting go, enjoying yourself to the fullest in the moment, something you taught me long ago."
Brooke's minds flies back to the awkward, bookish boy she seduced back in Junior year. This brings a smile to her serious face. "I guess I did."
Lucas knows he is not done answering her question. "But it is not about sex."
She knows that, but she is not ready to acknowledge it, even to herself. "What is it about then?"
Lucas smile deepens. "You rock my world, in every way, Pretty Girl. Taylor is great, but she just... doesn't."
His stupid way with words. Something tight and uncomfortable uncoils inside Brooke's chest. She breathes once, twice and tears show up at the corner of her eyes. Her voice is a nearly silent whisper. "I'm sorry."
Lucas, however, hears it. "What are you sorry for?"
"For not believing."
"You've come a long way, haven't you?" She nods and jumps him in a tight, tight hug.
Finally, she pulls back, wiping her eyes. She looks at him, a little grimace on her lips. "Brooklyn?"
"He, he..." A slap on his shoulder. "Ouch! No violence!"
She shakes her head. "Just don't."
They decide to go out for lunch before Taylor and Sam leave. Sam is asked to choose the restaurant, and in rebel teen fashion she decides to take her three health-food maniacs to the Rib Shack.
The place is at the edge of town. An old truck stop converted to family restaurant a few years back. It's famous for the large, messy portions and the secret recipe barbecue sauce.
The mouthwatering smell reaches all the way to the highway. The shack itself is a one-story cinderblock structure, its walls masked by rough wood planks bolted in. Aside from a large indoors seating area, there's a broad outside deck with picnic tables. The midday sun is strong enough to mask the chill December air, and the four of them decide to be brave and sit outside.
Lucas can't avoid the scowl as he checks the menu. Nothing even remotely healthy. He doesn't need to lift his eyes to know about the matching scowls on Brooke's and Taylor's faces, and the mischievous smile on Sam's. He growls a bit. She's going to be away for two weeks. Might as well humor her and enjoy it. He lifts his eyes and looks at Sam. "Share a large plate of ribs?"
Her smile is all the recompense he needs. "Sure! Homefries?"
"Yeah, all right." Might as well go all the way. "And buttered white corn."
"You got it, Pops!" Taylor and Brooke both look up from their menus, just in time to catch Lucas startled smile and Sam's smug one.
Taylor drawls in an amused tone. "Did you just call Lucas 'Pops', girly?"
Sam answers in the same tone. "Ah sure did. Is that a problem?" She looks at Lucas.
He shakes his head, emphatically. "Not for me."
"Not for me either, as long as you don't call me that," Taylor adds.
Sam smirks at Taylor and Brooke bursts out laughing. "You can call me 'Mom' anytime you want, baby." Brooke adds.
Sam replies in a slightly offended tone. "I have a Mom, Brooke."
"Sorry. I was just kidding." It's the first time she's hearing about Sam's family. Brooke begins to get mad at Lucas for hiding stuff, but then she realizes she hasn't given Lucas much opportunity to talk at all. She knew Sam was somehow connected to the attack at the store, that something horrible happened to her, and that Lucas and Taylor somehow rescued her. That's about it. She promises herself to try to control her libido long enough to have a few long talks with her boy toy.
"Fine."
Brooke and Taylor also share, chicken with the sauce on the side, slaw and boiled greens. Lucas, Brooke and Taylor get fresh cranberry juice, and Sam asks for a Coke.
As expected, the food is delicious, but the mood on the table is quiet and tense. Sam is a little shaken by her barely remembered nightmare, Lucas and Brooke are strung out by the rough night and the emotionally intense morning they shared. Taylor, bless her soul, is just fine, flirting playfully with Brooke and Lucas, without getting much response. Sam has apple cobbler for dessert, which Lucas tastes and the others skip.
Lucas catches Brooke and Taylor looking disdainfully at Sam and her dessert. "Teens have a different metabolism."
"Well, this teen needs some serious exercise." Taylor replies pointedly.
Brooke adds. "Yeah, this stuff goes right to your thighs."
"Fuck you both and the horse you rode on." Sam replies with her mouth full.
Lucas frowns at her, more over the bad table manners than the cursing, while Brooke smirks and Taylor laughs. Sam notes Lucas' disapproval and mumbles an apology.
After Lucas settles the check, Sam gives Lucas a big, lingering hug. "I'm gonna miss ya, Pops."
"Be good, kid. I'm gonna miss you too."
Next, Sam stands aside and Taylor approaches Lucas. Brooke is surprised at the vulnerable look in Taylor's eyes. "Brooke's invitation..."
"A mistake, Tay." They continue facing each other. Lucas takes in Taylor's conflicted look. He gives her a brief, sweet kiss on the lips. "And no regrets."
Brooke frowns, a small spike of fear and jealousy, quickly dispelled with Taylor's response. Taylor's face turns serious and she nods. "None."
"Be good to Shade. And look out for our girl."
"You know I will."
Brooke and Sam exchange a brief hug. "Take care of Pops. Brooke."
Brooke nods. "I'll miss you too, you know?"
Sam snickers. "Well... and me thinking you were just dying to get rid of the stupid fifth wheel."
"Not at all, baby girl. I like having you around."
"I like being around. Sometimes."
Lucas and Brooke embrace as the other two put on their jackets and helmets and climb on the hog, quickly disappearing with a roar. They stare at the empty road for a bit.
"Sorry for the kiss, Pretty Girl."
"You did nothing wrong, Luke." Brooke climbs on tiptoes and gives him a searing, lingering kiss.
They drive back, and spend the afternoon with house chores and stupid TV shows. It's lights out, after a bit of lovemaking when Brooke asks the question in a soft voice. "Half an hour at the edge of orgasm?"
Lucas smiles in the dark. "Yup."
A long silence.
"Good night, Broody."
"Night, Pretty Girl."
