"Hey Luke" Mouth called out as he walked onto the river court.
"Hey man" Lucas said "Where you been, I haven't seen you in a while"
"I been working…my boss is the devil himself" Mouth said laughing "So I heard you're engaged…to Peyton"
"Yeah" Lucas said smiling
"Yeah"
"This is the part where you say Congratulations Lucas"
"Oh, of course, sorry man….I guess I just always thought it would be Brooke" Mouth said
"Seems a lot of people thought it would be Brooke" he said smiling "Have you spoken to her….how is she" Lucas asked
"I actually just came from the store; she's got it looking great, it doesn't even look like it was broken into a week ago"
"That's Brooke Davis for you" Lucas said shaking his head
"Are you really over her Luke"
"You know what Mouth, I don't think I'll ever really be over Brooke Davis, and if you were ever in love with her, you'd know what I mean" Lucas said smiling "But I gotta go man" he said heading towards his car "I'll catch you later man"
"Trust me, I know what you mean….I just hope you know what you're giving up Luke" he muttered under his breath.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hey P. Sawyer" Brooke said smiling as Peyton entered the store
"Brooke, it looks amazing, you'd never be able to tell someone broke in here at all"
"I know" Brooke said twirling around
"And you did this all by yourself"
"Well almost" she answered "Mouth was in here this morning, and he helped me a little bit, but besides that, I did everything else"
"That's incredible Brooke…..I'm really happy you're getting through this, and to think I was worried about you" she said smiling
"I have to get through this Peyton, I have no choice"
"So have you heard from Victoria at all?" Peyton asked
Brooke shrugged her shoulders "Not yet, it's not like I'm sitting by the phone waiting for her to call, if she never calls again, it'll be too soon"
"I know what you mean" Peyton told her leaning on the counter
"Listen P. Sawyer, your dress is gonna be ready for you to try on later so come back at around 4, I can't wait for you to see it!"
"O.K, I'll be back then, I'm gonna bring Haley too, I want all of us together when I try it on for the first time"
"O.K see you then best friend" Brooke said as Peyton gently closed the door behind her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hello, Is this Brooke Davis?"
"Yes it is" Brooke said into the receiver "How can I help you?"
"Brooke, my name is Margaret Fields; I work with the agency that found Angie for you"
"Angie? Oh my god, is she O.K, is it an after effect of the surgery?"
"No, no, no nothing like that" she said quickly "This may actually seem like a stupid question but did you take Angie to a zoo while she was with you?"
"A zoo, no I don't think I did" Brooke told her "Why?"
"Well it seems she can say only one word, and well its monkey"
Brooke laughed "Monkey….well I bought her a little stuffed purple monkey…but I forgot to send it to her..I'm sure that's what she wants"
"Well, I hope this isn't too much to ask but would you be able to bring it here so we could send it to her, I know she'd love to have it"
"Oh, of course, I'll bring it right over" Brooke told her
She knocked on Lucas' door and fumbled with her keys as she waited. When she noticed his rumpled appearance she knew she had woken him up.
"Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry for waking you up"
"Brooke, what's wrong? Are you O.K? He asked looking concerned
" it's just that well I know I gave it back to you but Angie's asking for the monkey, and I'm gonna go take it over to her so I was wondering if well, maybe I--,"
"Of course, come inside" he said pulling her in" I'll go get it"
He returned the monkey in his arms "You want some company? He asked "I know It's a long drive"
"No, it's O.K, I can go by myself"
"I wanna go with you Brooke"
"That would be great Luke" she said smiling
Let me go throw some clothes on he said disappearing behind his bathroom door.
The drive was indeed a long one. But Brooke didn't mind. She and Lucas talked the entire way and by the time they got to the agency Brooke was still in a fit of giggles. She had forgotten he had a sense of humor in sync with her own and she missed just hanging out with him. He opened her door for her as they walked into the agency and he waited in the waiting room as she spoke to the receptionist. She gave them the small bag with the monkey inside, and walked back to Lucas
"I really hope she gets it" she said
"She will, don't worry" he said rising to his feet "Are you ready?"
"Yes" she told him "I'll drive" she said a smirk on her face.
Brooke smiled as she looked over at Lucas who was fast asleep in the front seat. Her smile faded as the wheel vibrated under her hands, and a thick smoke rose from under the hood. She pulled over to the side and looked over at Lucas who woke up when a loud noise erupted from the car
"Brooke, how long has that light been on?" he asked pointing to the dashboard "Ever since we left the agency, I thought it was pretty" she said "I guess I should have said something"
"Yeah Brooke, you should have said something" he said opening his door and popping open the hood of the car. She walked up next to him and asked him worriedly "So…can you fix it Luke?"
"No, not tonight anyway, you need a new battery Brooke, and it's late, we're not gonna be able to get one tonight"
"So what are we gonna do? Brooke's voice rose and her gaze shifted from the car to Lucas
"We're gonna have to find a hotel" he said closing the hood of the car "Let's start walking cheery" he said tugging at a strand of her hair
"I feel like we've been walking for hours Luke"
He smiled "We're in luck, there's a bed and breakfast"
"Yes!" Brooke said pumping her fist in the air "Come on Lucas, pick up the pace"
"Hi, can we get two rooms" Lucas said walking to the desk
"No, I'm sorry but you can't"
"Are you saying there are no rooms available?" Brooke asked the receptionist worriedly
"Not at all" she said "but I can only give you one room so if you're willing to share, you're in luck"
Brooke cast a sideways glance at Lucas who met her gaze
"It's up to you"
Brooke didn't have to think long. The curious excitement that surged through her at the thought of spending a night with him was enough to send up a warning flag. Brooke had long ago resolved that she wouldn't place herself in any situation to tempt herself. This was her best friend's fiancé, there was no way she was spending the night with him.
"This can't be our only option" Brooke said "There have to be some motels nearby that would have two rooms available"
"I can give you a list and some numbers, but there's a convention in town and I think you'll find them all in the same boat we are"
"We'd still like to check" Brooke said
"I can hold the room for half an hour. But I'll have to know by then if you want it or not" the proprietor said apologetically "I have others calling
"I understand" Brooke said. She knew the room situation would be tight, but she couldn't believe there weren't two rooms available in the whole area. Twenty-five minutes and a dozen phone calls later Brooke conceded defeat. Brooke clicked off the phone and turned to Lucas.
"I guess you and I are going to have to be roomies after all"
"Do you want to share a room?" Lucas' gaze searched hers. "I mean, is that okay with you?"
Brooke looked into his face and her heart fluttered. No, it wasn't okay with her. The thought of spending the night in the same room with Lucas was way too appealing to be okay.
"I don't think we have a choice" Brooke sighed. "Between the two of us, we've called every place in a 20 mile radius and they're all full.
"There is one other option" Lucas said quietly "You could take the room and I could go sleep in the car"
"No way" Brooke shook her head. "We're two responsible adults. Just because we sleep in the same room together doesn't mean anything"
Lucas' gaze lingered on her face and her heart flip-flopped. "I'm gonna call Peyton and tell her what happened"
Brooke's gaze followed him out into the hall. He looked so cute in his jeans and navy shirt.
"Oh yeah, it's gonna be a long, long night" she thought to herself.