Light as a feather

by Clavyus

BRUCAS. She is twenty and he is twenty four, both living in NY. They are slightly acquainted from Tree Hill. They meet, and quickly fall hard for one another. A complete story.

6. Chapter 6

AN: The story is essentially over with this update. The next chapter will be an epilogue, briefly showing the Christmas party, the ball, their wedding and their children. I would like to thank the reviewers for their attention to this effort. As usual, I own no part of OTH.

Chapter 6 – Lucas

We pass the "Welcome to Tree Hill" sign a little before midnight. I texted my mother from our last stop, and she told me to come home with Lilly, that she would be waiting. So we drop Nate, Haley and Jamie at their place, and head home. Mom hears the car arriving and comes outside, picking up sleeping beauty from the car seat to her bed, while I unload the car. Lilly has my old room, with a dresser in front of the outside door, and made up into a beautiful little girl's room, decorated with a princess theme. The old living room sofa became a foldable full size futon, which is where I sleep when I'm home. Mom had already made my bed. I just change into boxers and a t-shirt, brush my teeth and come to the living room, with a beer and a book, with the intention of relaxing a little before going to sleep. I'm very tired, since I slept little the night before, and did most of the driving today. Of course, when I get there, mom is sitting on the futon, waiting to talk.

"Hi mom. I'm glad to be home. I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart. I'm not going to keep you long. We can talk tomorrow. I just want to know. How are things between you and Brooke?"

"Actually, they couldn't be better. Last night we talked, mom. Really talked."

"That's fine, dear. It's all I needed to hear. We will talk tomorrow. Good night."

"Good night, mom."

Before I turn off the light, I send Brooke a text. "Home safely. Miss you. xx.", A reply comes back thirty seconds later. "Good. Miss u 2. Kss to K and L. xox."

I wake up with a weight in my chest, and a pair of large blue eyes staring at me. "Good morning Lilly bear. What time is it?"

"Good morning, Ukie. Mommy said I could wake you. She made pancakes."

I check my cell. It's nine, and there is a message from Nathan, from half hour ago. "Rivercourt?" I reply "Ten ok?", and a few seconds later. "Fine. See u there."

"Do you want to go to the Rivercourt, princess? I'm going to shoot some hoops with uncle Nate."

"Sure. Can I use my cheerleader outfit?"

"Of course, sweetie. Why don't you go put it on, and show mom the routines Brooke taught you and aunt Haley?"

Mom is setting the table when I come into the kitchen. I pick up some coffee and sit, and she drops a stack of pancakes in front of me. "Good morning mom."

"Good morning Lucas. Oh, my!" I look behind me, and there is Lilly, in her cheerleader outfit and her pom-poms."

"Look mommy, Book made me a cheerleader dress. I was in her squad, mommy, Book, aunt Haley and I, and we cheered for Ukie's team! And we won!" She launches into one of the routines they were using yesterday. "One... two... three, Gooooo, Panthers!"

"Oh! That was very nice, sweetheart." She turns to me, her eyes brimming. "I wish I had been there."

"If you had been there, I think you'd have been recruited for the squad too."

Mom blushes a bit. I suspect she would have enjoyed that very much. "Brooke, Haley and Lilly..." And, after a pause. "How did Brooke convince Haley to play?"

"It wasn't Brooke. It was princess here, and her knight Jamie. Brooke just made the outfit."

Mom laughs. "I guess she wouldn't say no to those two."

"You should have seen Nate's face."

"I wish I had seen yours. I'm dying to see you and Brooke together."

Lilly decides to improvise her own routine. "Book and Ukie, Ukie and Book. Gooooo, Brucas!"

Mom and I burst into laughter. "That was very good, sweetheart."

"We have a natural, ladies and gentleman. I give you, your future cheer captain, Lilly Roe Scott."

Lilly bows with a flourish. "Thank you, Ukie, thank you mom. Can we go to the Rivercourt? I want to show uncle Skills my new outfit."

"In a few minutes, Lilly bear. Practice your routines, and let me talk with mom." I turn to mom. "What do you think?"

Mom laughs, softly. "I think you should ask Brooke for another couple of cheer outfits. We are going to have a hard time getting her out of this one."

"True. I'll call her and ask."

"So, last time I talked to you, Brooke had ran away, and you wrote a story. From what I hear, Brooke, Haley and Lilly were, all three of them, cheering at your game yesterday. I also saw yours and Brooke's face, on the cover of a tabloid at the supermarket a couple of days ago, so I gather a lot has happened. Do you mind filling me in?"

"It's a bit of a long story, mom. How about this. You close the Cafe today at ten, right? I come by, help you clean up, we have a bowl of chili and we talk? Lilly can spend the night at Haley's."

"That's fine, sweetheart. Come back half past noon and we will have lunch before I go to the Cafe."

"I'll go pick a tree with Lilly this afternoon and I'll bring down the Christmas decorations."

"You two go to the Rivercourt, then. Have fun."

When we get to the Rivercourt, Nate and Jamie are there, together with Skills, Fergie, Junk, and a young fellow I haven't met.

Lilly runs ahead, straight to Skill, Fergie and Junk. "Uncle Skills, look at me! I'm a cheerleader now."

"And a very pretty one, princess Lilly. Where did you get this dress, baby girl?"

"Book made it for me! She's Ukie's girlfriend now, but she was my friend first."

"Book, hm? You mean Brooke Davis, former captain of the Tree Hill High cheer squad and famous fashion designer?"

"That's her, uncle Skills."

He looks at me with the corner of his eye, nodding his head. "Lucky, lucky dog."

Lilly starts going through her cheering routines, but her knight companion is having none of that. Jamie grabs her hand, pulling her along and yelling, "C'mon, Lilly! Let's go play." She gives him an annoyed look, then shrugs, smiles and runs after him.

Skills gives me a half hug. "So, Brooke Davis, dog? Good job!"

Skills went to college in Wilmington, which is less than an hour away, so he was probably coming to the Ravens games regularly. "You know her?"

"I know of her, man. For three years, she was the only thing worth watching during the Raven's games. The team itself was sucking ass real bad after Whitey left. It still is."

Fergie interjects. "You're exaggerating, man. Jake's curly blonde was pretty hot too, and there was that smoking redhead, the year the girls won the Sparkle. Boy, the squad was fine that year!"

"Well, this young man here is Matt Hougan. Matt, these are the legendary Scott brothers, Nathan, of the Bobcats, and Lucas. Matt here is a sophomore at Tree Hill, but a little fairy told me he's going to be the Raven's varsity point guard next year. So, I thought to invite him here to our school, and teach him a thing or two."

We split teams, and it was me, Skills and Matt against Nathan, Fergie and Junk. Of course Nathan unbalanced things, but Skill and I still had some of our old Rivercourt magic, and the boy was actually very good. We lost, but we held our own until the last few baskets.

I decide it was worth doing it again. "That was nice, guys. What do you say? Rematch, say, Thursday night at nine?"

"What do you guys say?" Nods. "All right, big brother, you're on."

"Nate, can I drop Lilly off for a sleepover tonight? I need some quiet time to talk to mom.

"That's fine, Lucas. You know she's always welcome, isn't that right, princess?."

"I'll drop her off after dinner. I can take them both off your hands tomorrow, if you and Hales want some time to yourselves."

Nathan smiles. "I'm sure that will be fine too, big brother. Me and the missus need some quiet time as well."

"Brooke is arriving Thursday morning. Could we have the beach house?"

"It's been empty for a while, Lucas. Actually, I would be glad to give you the damn thing. I'm not going to use it. Too many bad memories." I don't particularly want anything that belonged to Dan, but I guess that ship sailed the moment I was conceived. It's a nice house. I don't really have any bad memories of it, just a few wild parties. A couple of times, I hanged out with Jake, Peyton and Brooke there. And now I guess we could use a decent home in Tree Hill.

"That's ok, little brother, I can buy it from you."

"No, I wouldn't feel right selling it to you. It should have been half yours anyways. I'll give you the keys tonight and I'll have a deed made out to you Monday. Just get someone to do some serious cleaning and airing before you use the place."

At lunch, we were joined by mom's boyfriend Andy. He's a little younger than mom, rather good looking, and, given that mom was dating him, probably a very decent guy. He was clearly very confortable with Lilly, and vice-versa. We talked about basketball during lunch, discussing this morning's pick up game, and I went on, to talk about my Panthers, and about New York's city league. He was then talking about his business, how he tried a internet businesses, and, after a few failures, he got one big success, which he cashed in, and, since then, he kept a distant hand on some of his investments, and had the spare time to teach courses on business practices at the community college. I told him that my girlfriend was a business woman, and talked a bit about Clothes over Bros. I mentioned CoB was under accelerated expansion, and he said he would like to talk to Brooke at length, and eventually share his experience with planning and financing business expansion.

After lunch, we went to buy a tree. Now, I've been doing this with Lilly since she was one year old, and we are very particular about Christmas trees. The right size, the right amount of foliage, the right shade, not too dry, firm needles. We went to a tree lot, and spend two hours looking at every single tree, until we found the right one. We brought it back home, driving the Caddy with the top down and the tree in the back. We put the tree in its place, and I got all the ornaments down from the attic, to go about decorating it. By six, we had the job in hand, all done except for the star on top. We would leave to add that, and plug it in to check the lights when mom was around. After we were done, Lilly went around the tree one last time, adjusting some of the ornaments. She finally turned to me and said. "We are missing some gifts. Did you buy something for Book?"

"I had something made for you to give her. It should arrive tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"It's a lily. I had a brooch made in the shape of a lily, with sparkling stones."

She smiled, and her eyes brightened. "Good idea, Ukie. I think she will like that."

After that, she asked me something that had probably been in her mind since she found out about Brooke and I. She almost whispered, "Ukie, are you and Book having babies?"

I kneeled down in front of her, and took a bit of hair out of her face. "I hope so, Lily bear. Not right now, but someday. You will be their aunt."

"I will?" She clearly found the idea of being an aunt pretty amazing.

"Sure, You will be aunt Lilly bear, princess of the Scotts."

"Is Jamie going to be their uncle?"

"No. He will just be cousin Jamie the brave, knight of the Scotts." Now, that got me a double wattage smile. Jamie was never going to live that one down.

"You're silly!"

"I thought you were silly Lilly."

"I'm silly Lilly, you're just silly."

She went to shower and changed her cheerleader outfit for a pretty dress, I tried, for the hundredth time, to braid her hair, with mixed results, packed her an overnight bag, and we left for dinner at the Cafe.

Mom was cooking. We sat at the counter and shouted together "Hi mom!"

She smiled at us. "Hello, children! Let me guess: Cheeseburger and a chocolate shake for the gentleman, spaghetti and meatballs and a glass of wine for the lady."

Lilly sighed, "No mommy, I can't drink wine. A glass of milk for the lady."

"Coming right up!"

I honestly don't know how I managed to live away from these two for so long. After dinner I take Lilly to Nathan and Hales. I stop for a second to talk to Hales. "Hi hales, I have a few questions. First, Christmas dinner is going to be here or at mom's?"

"Here. Royal and May are coming, by the way."

"Do you need any help setting up? I imagine you and mom have the food thing under control."

"Decorations is Nathan's business. He might want some help."

"Have you invited Whitey?"

"Sure, he is coming. The Rivercourt gang is going to come by, but they have their own parties to go to."

"Brooke doesn't have family, but she would spend Christmas with Peyton and her father, plus Jake and his parents. Do you mind if I invite them?"

"Not at all. The more the merrier. Just tell your mom."

"All right, see ya later."

Next I hunt for Nathan. "Hi little brother. I offered help with setting up the party, and I was told to report to you. Anything I can do?"

Nathan gives me a relieved smile. "Just set the day aside for me tomorrow. Say, be here at nine. We'll go buy a tree on your Caddy, and you can help me with the outside decorations." Nathan knows I'm much handier than he is. The advantages of growing up poor... "By the way, here is the key to the beach house. Enjoy."

"Thanks. I left Lilly's bag in the living room."

Finally I go to Jamie's room, where Jamie and Lilly are watching Little Mermaid, Lilly's choice, probably, and kiss them goodbye. On the way back, I stop at the Sawyer's, and find Jake and Peyton there. I give Jake a hug, and kiss Peyton on the cheek. Brooke is right. The skinny blonde turned into a remarkably beautiful woman.

"So, I hear you two are getting hitched. Congratulations."

Jake smiles. "So, you finally got it on with Brooke. Sure took you long enough."

I laugh. "She looks a little different now. So do you, goldilocks, you've become quite the knockout, haven't you?"

"Thanks, Luke. You don't look bad yourself."

Jake grabs Peyton and pulls her in. "Hey, this knockout is mine. You have yours. So, since you snagged her maid of honor, would you mind being my best man? I know we haven't been in touch, but we used to be close, and you were there when we got started."

"Wow, Jake. That's quite an honor. I'll be happy to do it. You can count on me for a bitchin' bachelor's party too."

"Listen, guys, I came on a simple mission. We are having a gigantic Christmas party at Nathan and Hales place. Would you guys like join us? The invitation includes Larry and your parents, Jake. Also, Brooke and I are staying at Dan's old beach house. I would really like it if the two of you came by to get drunk and hang out, just the four of us, when Brooke gets here. For old times' sake."

"Definitely yes for the second, and we'll get back to you on the first after consultations."

"Ok. Very good. I'm off then."

Peyton, who had been strangely quiet during the conversation, pulls me aside. "You know, you are one very lucky guy."

"I know that."

"Take good care of her. You are the first guy she's ever been in love. Protect her. Or else."

This is her best friend, and I love her for her protective impulse. I look straight into her eyes and put all my sincerity in my voice. "I intend to spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her, blondie."

Peyton giggles. "She did say you have a way with words. And with other things as well."

I give her a kiss in the cheek. "It's going to be fun, girl. You'll see. Ah, I have a business question for you. Would you have any interest in collaborating on a series of children's books? I had an idea this afternoon..."

"I'd love that, Lucas."

It was close to ten when I parked in front of the Cafe. Mom had already finished cleaning up, and was waiting for me, sitting at the counter. "Hi mom, sorry for being late."

"It's ok, dear, I just finished up. So, do you want a bowl of chili?"

"Sure. You're having some? I stopped at Peyton and Jake. I invited them, together with Larry Sawyer, and the Jagielskies for the party on Friday."

"Yes for the chili, and that's fine for the guests. God, I've missed you so much!" A mother's hug.

"I've missed you too." We pause a moment, as we set up to eat. "So much has happened in the past week." I start talking, relating everything that happened as factually as I can, leaving out just the intimate moments. She listens without interrupting, with a pleased smile in her face.

"Well, congratulations, I guess, on both contracts and on getting Brooke back. I always thought the two of you would be good together. I argued with myself for years if I should make up an opportunity for the two of you to meet. At first, she was too young. Then there was the Maddie business. Lately you were both in New York, and I knew there was a small chance you would meet without my interference. I was seriously considering asking her to come for Christmas in Tree Hill this year, just because Lilly and I missed her so much."

"They are amazing together, Brooke and Lilly."

"They hit it off from the start. Lilly was two years old when she first met her Book. If there were twenty people in the Cafe, Lilly would always make a beeline to Brooke's lap. And then there is our relationship."

"She thinks of you as a mother."

"I see a lot of myself in Brooke. You know I love Haley like a daughter, but Brooke always felt like a piece of myself. I hate her parents so much for what they did to her. Deep down, she feels unlovable. You know what rejection by one parent feels like. Imagine being rejected by both parents."

"She told me you helped her through a lot."

"She grew up so much those two last years of high school. She was really lost when I met her. She found herself, and I think I played a small part in helping her. I hate her parents for what they did to her. Deep down, she thinks she is unlovable. That's why she protected her heart so fiercely, she didn't really believe anyone would love her back. I don't understand how, but you blew right through her defenses. You need to keep proving to her that she is worthy of love every day."

"Oh, I intend to. She told me about her parents, but I don't think I realized the extent of it. She seems so strong, so fiercely independent, that it is easy to forget there is vulnerable girl in there too. I guess being raised by you taught me to see behind the strength and the independence. In truth, I think I saw her hunger for love from the start. I was attracted by her amazing beauty and her strength, but I really fell in love with the sweet dreamer hidden within."

"I think you need this." Mom takes a little black box from her apron. "It's the ring Keith used to propose to me. Take it."

I don't reach out for it. "This belongs to Lilly, mom."

"No, sweetheart. She will get hers from a man who loves her. This ring is mine, and I am giving it to you because I believe she is worthy of you. Keith would have loved her, you know."

"I know." I take the little box, and I open it. It's a beautiful ring, a large round cut stone surrounded by smaller ones. "I am going to offer it to her this week. I know it's too soon, but it feels right. I heard this advice somewhere, that you shouldn't offer a girl a ring unless you already know she will accept it. I always found this strange. I mean, how can you ever know? Well, I do know. We both know we are forever. The ring is just a formality."

"It's going to fit perfectly too. We use the same size."

I called Brooke early the next morning, to tell her about my day.

"Hi, boyfriend."

"Hello, pretty girl. How was your Sunday?"

"Busy. Finished school work, finished my sketches for the spring line, and I am going to spend the next three days working at Victoria's Secret. I don't particularly like the pre-holiday crunch, but I'm looking forward to this. I like selling clothes to actual people."

"You're good at it too. But, in my experience, you tend to flirt with the customers."

"Only the cute ones. But don't worry, I'm so taken it's not even funny."

"I'm glad to hear that. So, news. First, do you remember Dan's beach house? Post games parties were often there."

"Yes."

"It's ours. Nathan gave it to us. Dan gave it to him before he went to prison, but Nathan never wanted it, and hasn't set foot in it since. He didn't want it, and didn't want to sell it. He made it as if we were doing him a favor by taking it from his hands."

"It's a nice house, if I remember correctly. Gorgeous location by the beach."

"That's right. It's a little out of the way, about half an hour to downtown, but it's a wonderful place to rest. Anyways, my mom's house is small, and I think we needed a place in Tree Hill, so there. We have one. I'll have the deed made in both our names."

"Our first home. How sweet."

"I went to see Jake and Peyton. I invited them for the big Christmas bash at Naley's home. They are getting back to me on that. I also invited them to hang out with us at the beach house, just the four of us, and they accepted. What do you think, Thursday night?"

"That's perfect, Luke. You're the best. I'll buy a basket of goodies from Zabar's for our hang out."

"Nice. Now the big news. Jake asked me to be his best man." Brooke starts babbling loudly from the other side. "I know, you have to call Peyton. Just one more thing. I am thinking of writing a series of children's books. I got the inspiration the other day, from Lilly and Jamie playing together. I asked Peyton if she would like to partner up on that. She accepted, so she might be visiting a few more times than usual in the next few months."

"I love you, I love you, I love you. Thank you boyfriend, that's the best news."

"I know, you need to call Peyton. Ah, before I forget, I need a favor."

"What?"

"Can you make two more copies of the panther's cheer uniform, little girl size? Me and my mom are afraid someone will use the one she has until it rots."

Brooke giggles. "It wouldn't rot, boyfriend. It's made of a polyester blend. It would just grow thin with friction and eventually fall apart. But understood. It's actually pretty easy."

Bye, pretty girl. Love ya."

"Bye."

I spend the rest of the day working with Nathan, on decorating their house. They moved there a couple of years ago, and so we had to buy some new trimming lights and specific pieces, but, by the end of the day, they had a nice tree, and their house was looking properly christmasy. The following day, I spent doing the same job in my mom's house. In the middle of the afternoon, I got a call from Lindsay.

"So, Linds, what d'ya think?"

"I loved it, Luke. I really did."

"No shittin'?"

She laughs. "No. You know I wouldn't. Editor's code and all."

"The good news is that it's basically up to spec. That's no surprise, given that you've been putting books up to spec for the past two years. I have, maybe, half a dozen points I wish to discuss with you, but I think we can send it to print and distribution with a week or so of work."

"Now, I've never heard of moving a manuscript to print so fast. "

"This is actually lucky. That way, we can start promoting your book piggybacking on the splash of your short story in the New Yorker. That means putting together a promotion campaign really fast after New Year, so be ready to put your nose to the grindstone."

"I want to pitch something to you. It occurred to me to make a series of books for children, inspired on the playing between my sister and my nephew. I want to make up a series of adventures with a young boy and a young girl as main characters. It would be directed at the four-to-eight segment, boys and girls. I would do it in partnership with a really talented graphics artist as illustrator. Just mull it over, and tell me what you think."

"All right, Luke, it sounds like a good idea, if it wont distract you from your other commitments."

"I have a pretty good idea of what the two books I owe your father will be about."

"I'd love to hear about it."

"We will discuss it later. For now, thank you. And Merry Christmas."

On Wednesday I went to the mall for some last minute shopping. Of course, the place was jammed, but I managed to do the things I needed. At night, it was pizza, popcorn, ice cream and movie night, Charlie and the chocolate factory, the Gene Wilder version, and Chitty-chitty-bang-bang, at home with mom and Lilly. I couldn't sleep that night. I felt like a teenager before his first date. She was coming home.

I am waiting for her at the baggage claim, with a single red rose in my hand. Down she comes, a turquoise tube dress, long sleeves black boots and a black belt, and a plain cream echarpe. I approach her, looking into her eyes, and I can see the same happiness mixed with nerves that I am feeling. I give her the rose, and hold her face, for a very chaste, but long drawn kiss.

"Thank you, boyfriend."

"It's so good to see you, pretty girl."

Why are we so tense? I think it's being a couple in public, and very soon, a couple among our loved ones. I whisper in her ear. "Home is wherever you are, my love." I can see her shoulders relax a bit, and her smile become a little less strained.

She mutters, half to herself. "How the hell do you know exactly what I need to hear?"

"Let's go home. There's a large bathtub waiting for us there."

Soon her suitcases come out, two large ones, and we head home.

As I open the door, she asks. "What's the plan for today, boyfriend?"

"Relax for now, lunch and afternoon at my moms, early dinner at Naley's, a pick up game at the Rivercourt at nine, and late drinks and snacks back here with Jeyton."

"So, we have about three hours before we have to leave again."

I smile at her "That's right."

"Very clever, boyfriend, very clever. Help me get out of these clothes."

All right, girlfriend. Let's start with these boots. I kneel in front of her, pull down the ziper of each booth, and carefully remove the boots. Next I get up, find a clasp at the neck of the dress, and I kiss her, as I release the clasp and pull down the zipper of the dress. The dress pools down at her feet and I pick it up, fold it, and place it on the sofa. I remove excess jewelry, necklace, bracelets, earrings and I loosen her hair, letting it fall on a chestnut cascade across her back. We are left with pantyhose, which is the next to go, and a set of black lace undies, a half bra and tiny panties. Next we get rid of the bra, letting her beautiful breasts loose, and finally the panties. I pick up my gloriously naked girlfriend and carry her upstairs, to the master bedroom. So far she has been quiet, passively helping when required and following my actions with a quiet half-smile.

We get to the master bedroom, and I gently place Brooke on top of the huge bed. I take a step back, and take a breath to enjoy the view. Next I begin to strip, slowly removing my shirt, socks and shoes, pants and underwear, let her appreciate the view as she wishes. At last I am naked as she is, with a large erection standing in her honor. I place the tip of my right index finger in my mouth, and I touch her lips with my moistened finger, gently coaxing her to open her mouth and lick my finger. I slowly bring it down, tracing a line at the center of her body, slightly pressing the nail against he flesh, so as to leave a faint trace behind. Down from her mouth, her chin, her neck, down between her breasts, slowly. She is trembling now, her eyes smoky with desire. I keep going down, her toned abdomen, her beautiful belly button, further down, the mons, against her folds. She whimpers, "Lucas". With my finger finally inside her. I kneel down, I go down on her, softly first, and then a bit more forcefully, licking and nibbling her folds, while I still playing with my finger. She arches her back and cries out. "Faster, Lucas. Faster." I put another finger inside her, sliding them back and forth, and very soon the love of my life is coming loudly around my hand and my tongue. As as sit in the bed, she stands up, holding my face on both her hands, and kissing, tongues intertwined, as I play with her breasts. She takes a step back, smiling at me. With her rough voice. "I want to taste it, Luke. You are going to come in my mouth now."

She pushes me down, so that I lay flat on my back, while she stands on the floor, between my legs. She slides her nails gently across my chest, driving me crazy with the sensation. I pull myself up, supporting my upper body on my elbows, to keep watching what she is doing. She has both her hands in my shaft, and she is looking me in the eyes. "This is very nice, boyfriend. And it's all mine." Keeping her eyes in mine, she slowly licks the length of the shaft, stopping with her lips at the engorged tip. She teases the tip with her lips and tongue. "Brooke!" With a smile, she takes it in, swallows it entire. I feel myself going down her throat, where it is tight. She starts back and forth, with her lips going from the tip all the way down to the root. "Faster, Brooke, faster". She makes it faster, taking me repeatedly from tip to root, and helping with her hands. It only takes a minute until I unload a week's load straight into her throat, while screaming her name.

"Your stuff tastes good, boyfriend." I kiss her, and I can sense the salty taste of my own cum in her mouth.

"You're a very talented little girl, baby."

She smiles broadly, dimples showing. "You bring out the best in me." A pause. I heard a rumor of a bathtub?"

It is a large bathtub, that fits us both comfortably. We are lying across one another in the foamy tub, after having done a thorough mutual soaping. "It's going to be a happy life, if I just get to wash my little Brooke like this every once in a while."

"That's right, boyfriend. As I keep telling Rachel, it's all about clean living," with a lascivious look, "and pure thoughts." That gets a reaction, which she feels in her thigh. "Ah, something stirs, down under. You're ready for more?" I just nod.

She gets up, and stands there, glistening gloriously. She plays with a nipple in one hand, and on her folds with the other, while looking me in the eyes, hungry for my reaction. My girl is an exhibitionist, indeed. "You're a goddess, Brooke Davis."

"Then worship me, boyfriend."

She lowers herself down, taking me inside and resting her hands on my chest. She kisses me, as she begins to slowly wave her hips back and forth. This is nice, but position is a strain in her legs, so, after a while I stand up, still inside her, still kissing her, and I gently lower her into the bathtub, but lying on her back now. I begin to move my hips, going in and out of her. I watch her face, as her eyes begin to loose focus, and she moans softly. I intensify the motion, and, as she melts around me, I come again.

The master bedroom has a balcony overlooking the sea. It's cold, and overcast, and we sit outside, wrapped around each other, under a thick down comforter we took from the bed.

"I can get used to this, Lucas."

"I hope you will."

A long silence. "We need to talk about the future, boyfriend."

"I have a good place to start, pretty girl. Come inside with me." I take her by the hand and lead her inside, closing the balcony door. She drops the comforter on the bed and just stands there, naked, smiling at me. I go to my pants and fish the little black box from my pocket. Her eyes brighten, as she sees what is coming. I go down in one knee in front of her, holding the open box. "Brooke Davis. It's been less than two weeks since I walked into that store, and everything changed. In this time, you've become more precious to me than life itself. My greatest desire is to spend the rest of my days making you happy. Will you marry me?"

She just looks at me, a soft smile, tears in her eyes. "That was perfect. You do have a way with words, Luke. " She sighs, and collects herself. "Nothing would make me happier than spend the rest of my days at your side. Yes, my love. I will marry you."

I get up, and we kiss, a long romantic one. Although, I might add, it takes a little fortitude. It's challenging to stay romantic while kissing a naked Brooke Davis.

She pirouettes around the room, making girly noises while looking at the ring with her arm extended. "It's beautiful, fiancee. You have good taste."

I smile. "I didn't choose it, pretty girl. This is the ring Keith used to propose to my mother the second time, days before he died."

She stops and stares at me, and then at the ring. In a small voice, she says. "Really?" Brooke has the same concern I did. "Shouldn't this be Lilly's?"

"I asked my mother the same thing, when she gave me the ring. She said that Lilly would get her ring from a man who loved her. She said that this ring was hers, and that she wanted it to be yours, because she felt you were worthy of me. Her words."

Brooke bursts into tears, falling on her knees. I wrap her around my arms as she sobs. She whispers to herself. "Oh, Karen, thank you, thank you." She looks at me. "We should go see her."

I text, warning my mom that we are on our way, so she and Lilly are at the sidewalk when we arrive. Lilly jumps into Brooke's arms "Book!", as my mother checks Brooke's right hand with a smile and speaks softly. "You don't waste time, sweetheart." She gives me a hug. "Congratulations!"

"I told you she would say yes."

Brooke lets go of Lilly and gives mom a long hug. "I can't thank you enough, Karen. For everything".

"I love you girl, and so happy for you, for both of you."

Lilly realizes there is something going on and starts looking at me, Brooke and mom, her sight finally landing on Brooke's hand. "Hey! That's an engagement ring? You and Ukie are getting married?"

Brooke answers her, holding her hands. "That's right, sweetheart. Your brother asked me to marry him this morning, and I said yes."

She looks at me and Brooke. "Wow! There's going to be a wedding? Book, you're going to be so beautiful!" She stops, thinks and asks Brooke. "Can I be the flower girl?"

Brooke looks at her, smiles, and says. "Nope."

"Nope? Why, Book?"

"Flower girl is for babies. You're a big girl, and you're going to be my sister. I would like you to be a bridesmaid, if you want."

Lilly jumps up and down, "Of course, Book. Big sister." Lilly laughs. You're going to be Brooke Scott!"

I laugh. "That's right, Lilly bear. Brooke is going to be a Scott princess too."

Lilly is still jumping up and down with excitement, but, all of a sudden, she frowns, and turns to me. "Ukie, what's a bride's made?"

Mom answers her. "A bridesmaid is one of the bride's closest friends. She helps her prepare for her wedding."

"I see. I'll be happy to help you Book. And who helps Ukie?"

"Lucas will be the Groom. He will have a best man, and some groomsman too."

"You can ask Jamie. He is a big boy too."

"I will, princess."

We sit around the dining room table, after eating lunch while Lilly is watching cartoons.

"So, children, what are your plans now?"

I look at Brooke, and she nods me to go ahead. "We haven't discussed much, mom, but we know a few things. First, nothing is going to change much in the short run. I'm going to keep my apartment, at least until the city tournament is over, probably longer because I'm going to be doing a book tour for the release of Ravens. This means long absences for, maybe, six months. When I am around, and Brooke can make time on her busy schedule, we'll be together."

"Karen, can I call you mom now?"

"Yes, dear. Of course."

"Well, mom, we want to establish ourselves in Tree Hill. This means I need to prepare Clothes over Bros to be split into two pieces. One, which includes my design atelier and the production, will be moved here to Tree Hill. The rest will stay in corporate and marketing offices in New York. I'm going to open a storefront in New York, and I would like to open a store here as well. I think this will take most of next year to accomplish, although I can probably move here by the end of summer."

"So, a summer wedding? It's a little short notice."

"A small ceremony, closest friends and family, at the beach near our home, and a reception in the house. What do you think, Luke, mom?"

"That's perfect for me. If you don't object, pretty girl, I would like to talk to the school board here and try to convince them to hire me as coach for the Ravens, for next year. This means I would be stuck here after September."

"I think that would work just fine."

"There is one thing, Luke. I hope you don't get mad."

"I doubt it fiancee. What is it?"

"You know I love your apartment in Queens. But I want a bigger place in Manhattan for the two of us."

"Oh, I kinda expected that. What do you think? A bigger apartment or a brownstone? We can go house hunting in New York when we get back."

"This is going to be fun..."

Nathan and Hales live on a bright, modern mansion, with a large pool area outside. When we arrived, Jamie was nowhere to be seen, and Lilly immediately vanished to the same place. It took Hales about ten seconds to spot the ring.

"Hey! Is that... It is! You guys got engaged! Congratulations!" She jumps on my neck and gives me a kiss in the cheek. "Good work, dork! She is certainly a keeper." She gives Brooke a big hug as well, "I'm so happy, sister, finally making an honest man out of this fool."

"Congratulations, big brother. Did you have to drug her to take your ring?"

"No. That slightly dazed look in her face is happiness, not an altered mind state."

"Hey, whaddya mean dazed?" A slap in the arm. "Don't start getting fresh with me just because I took your ring, buster."

"Congratulations, Brooke. I know you can do better, but I'm glad you took pity on my brother."

"Hey, he is well-spoken and easy on the eyes. And since you're already taken..."

He gives her a big hug. "I like this girl."

"So, when?"

"Next august, here in Tree Hill." I look at Nathan. "Best man? Please?"

"Of course, big brother. It will be an honor."

"Haley, would you mind being one of my bridesmaids? "

"I'd love that, silly."

Haley turns to me. "I'd keep the talk of weddings quiet tomorrow night. You know May will want to go overboard."

"Ok. By the way, we are planning to move to Tree Hill after the wedding."

"Oh wow! That's good news. You're planning to live in the beach house?"

"Yes, for now. We will keep an apartment in Manhattan as well."

After dinner, we go back to the Rivercourt for our rematch, and we lose again. This time we are actually up a couple of times, and it takes a big effort on Nate's part to snag a victory at the end. Young Matt is a little raw, but he clearly is an excellent player, and I foresee a good season for the Ravens next year, if I can get my hands on them. After the game, we head back home, and I text Jake that we are on our way. We arrive essentially at the same time. Peyton is wearing skinny jeans tucked into a pair of high heeled black boots, a green blouse and a suede jacket. Jake is wearing a formal jacket over jeans and t-shirt. This is the first time I've seen Brooke and Peyton together since high school, and they don't disappoint. They squeal, and they hug, and they talk on top of each other. After about thirty seconds Peyton notices the ring and they start another round of screaming, of hugging and of talking one over the other. I turn to Jake. "It's been six years since the last time we've been together..."

Jake laughs. "And things haven't changed all that much."

"Surely, they look hotter, but sound more or less the same."

"Finally they seem to remember we are also there. Peyton turns to us and asks."

"What are you two fools muttering about?"

I smile and answer. "Just about how hot our fiancees look."

"All right, a good subject." She gives me a tight hug. "Congratulations, Luke.. You snagged a really good one."

"I know, blondie. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."

We walk right in, and I go fetch bubbly and glasses. I open the bottle and serve everybody. "To happily ever afters."

Brooke asks Peyton. "Do you already have a date?"

"Yes, June fourteen. It happens to be a Saturday."

"It's Peyton's birthday, Luke. She will be twenty-one. I will too. I turn twenty-one in a couple of months. Where are you doing it?"

"The Presbyterian church downtown. My parents have belonged to that congregation since before I was born."

"What about the reception?"

"We haven't settled on a place yet. Jake's mom is looking into it. She is going to do most of the organizing, since she is the only one living here. We can sit down tomorrow at the Scott Christmas Bash, Brooke, Ms Jagielski and I and talk wedding a bit."

"So, you are all coming? Great! Does she know I'm designing your dress, blondie?"

"I'm pretty sure I told her."

"Don't worry about your tux either, Jake. I'll take care of that. Can you send me his measurements, PSawyer?"

"Sure. So, BDavis, what about you guys?"

"Well, first things first. PSawyer, will you be my maid of honor?"

"Well, I did promise, didn't I?" More squealing and hugging.

"Jake, I'd also like to ask you to be a groomsman. My brother will be best man."

"Of course, Luke. It will be an honor."

"You're getting married in New York?"

"No, here in Tree Hill too. We are thinking August, right here. Wedding outside at the beach, reception here in the house. Pretty much just the people that will be tomorrow at the SCB, plus a few friends from New York. Maybe thirty people altogether. You don't have to worry about organizing, I'm pretty sure Karen will take care of everything."

"BDavis. Do you remember us discussing this scenario? Me marrying Jake, you marrying Lucas? "

"I sure do, Goldilocks. I did have a serious crush on this one, didn't I?"

"I'm sorry I was a bonehead, pretty girl. I just imagine all the fun I missed these past six years."

She snuggles up on my lap and gives me a kiss. "We'll just have to make up for the lost time, gorgeous."

"A room?"

"You can sit your bony ass on his lap too, blondie. We're among old friends here."

Our little party degenerates into a parallel make out session for a while. I set some slow music on the stereo, and we dance. Afterwards we sit back again. Brooke breaks the silence this time.

"There's another bit of news. We are moving here after the wedding, for good."

"Really?" Jake and Peyton share a glance at each other, Jake nods, and Peyton speaks.

"We've been talking about doing exactly that. It depends on Jake getting a job teaching music at the high school. They are having an interview after New Year."

"What about school, PSawyer? I'll be done with coursework by the end of Spring. I'll still have a couple of courses to finish, but the work can be done at a distance. I'm thinking of opening a small recording studio and doing freelance artwork. Luke's proposition of doing a series of children's books may just be the icing on the cake."

"About that, I spoke to my agent. We need to flesh out the proposal, and she will be happy to pitch it to some publishing houses. I want to spend half an hour tomorrow telling you what I have in mind. There is something else. My mother is not very happy with the guy who is managing Tric. You might get the job back, if you want it. And there is a nice space adjoining the club that is not being used, and you could turn into studio. You can talk to mom tomorrow."

"I hope it works out, PSawyer. I'd love to live close to you guys."

After they leave, we walk upstairs hand in hand. I strip down to my boxers, and Brooke removes her make up, ties up her hair in a ponytail, and joins me outside under the comforter.

"It's all coming together, pretty girl, close to the finish line. I can't believe we got here so fast."

"We've been in such a rush, my love. We are young." She giggles. "I can't even drink legally yet. I need time, Luke. Time to enjoy this incredible family of ours. Time to enjoy just being with you. I'm not going to spend the best years of my life running like crazy, turning clothes over bros into a huge conglomerate. I love designing clothes, and I love selling them to people, but I want to accompany you on your book tours. I want us to spend a spring in a winery in Tuscany, eating, drinking and making lazy love. I want to cook with your mother, and watch your sister grow up. Most of all. Most of all, my love. I want your babies."

"We can make this happen, pretty girl. You can wrap up CoB for sale, and, after we move here, you can open a little store and atelier downtown. You know Millie went on a couple of dates with my friend Marvin, and they are really into each other. Maybe they could move here, and Millie would help you manage your business, so you could have the time you, no, we want."

" It's been a long day, Luke. Make lazy love with me."

And so we did.

.