Author's Notes: Started this right after I updated Under Cover of Darkness and it's probably one of my favorite chapters. I got really inspired and this is the result. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this story and those who are continuing to read it. I really hope you like this chapter as much as I did. Title is by Sound City Players.
Disclaimer: Don't own nuthin except the plot bitch.
Chapter Five : From Can to Can't
Lucas rolled over in bed and his hand met a warm thigh. In his morning grogginess, he froze. He prayed he hadn't slept with a stranger he met last night. He never wanted to go through the awkward morning after with someone he barely knew. Then as he lifted his head and saw the familiar chocolate brown hair, a minor smile graced his face.
Brooke.
Then he remembered what had happened. He had to be honest; he was surprised she was still here. He kept expecting he would wake up alone once she fell asleep last night. The sex was great. It was always great with Brooke. But once they were done, she rolled away from him so fast as if they hadn't just been intimate. He couldn't see her face, but he knew she was crying. He couldn't take falling asleep while she was in so much pain. So he waited. He waited until he was sure she was asleep before even attempting to close his eyes.
He would've bet money on the fact that she'd be gone before 6 am. But she was still here. In his bed. Sleeping right next to him. Yet it still felt like she was miles away. He just watched her sleep for a good 15 minutes – the rise and fall of her chest, the way she would let out a deep breath every few minutes, the slight twitch of her fingers – before being interrupted by his cell phone. He thanked god it was on vibrate and the annoying ringtone never came. He didn't want Brooke to wake up and leave. He wanted her here, for just a few more minutes at least.
"Hello."
"Luke? Hey…it's me."
His words got caught in his throat and he felt himself begin to stutter like an idiot. "P-Peyton?"
"Hey…" she said again. "Can we talk?"
"We are talking."
He could almost feel her roll her eyes. "You know what I mean."
Anger boiled inside his chest. He never knew what she meant. "No Peyton, I don't. I thought I knew what you meant; I thought I knew what you wanted. But I guess I was wrong."
She sighed on the other end. "If you would just listen– …I've really wanted to talk to you. I've missed you."
A year ago his heart would've soared at her confession. But a lot has changed since then. His and Peyton's relationship hadn't been the same in a while. Like he had said, he'd been feeling lost for a very long time now. Even with the curly blonde in his life, he felt like it was going nowhere – they were going nowhere.
"If you wanted to talk to me so bad, why didn't you call me when I left? Why wait two days?"
"I was scared." She admitted quietly. "You walked out of that room and…you just gave up. I thought you might've moved on."
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. Moved on in two days? He initially thought of that as crazy – she was crazy. Then he thought back to last night and the things he had been thinking. If he was honest with himself and her, the moving on had been–
"You shouldn't have walked out, Luke." She said, breaking through his thoughts. "You should've waited."
His anger boiled again at her words and he felt the need to punch something. He glanced at Brooke's sleeping form. He almost felt disgusted with himself. How could he even think about committing to Brooke if one conversation with the curly blonde got him this worked up?
"Waited? For what!" he screamed. "You fucking said no!"
"I never said no!" she countered but he was too angry to hear it anymore. He didn't know why he hadn't blocked her number yet.
Slamming the phone shut, he walked out the room slamming the door, seemingly forgetting the brunette sleeping in the bed. He marched to the kitchen and went right to the liquor cabinet. There was nothing more that he wanted to do then get good and drunk in the early hours of the morning.
…
…
Lucas' mood soured as he checked his watch once more. 7:30
He cursed under his breath. They had been waiting for nearly an hour already and still hadn't gotten a table. He watched people come and go, yet they were still waiting. He guessed it was his own stupidity for not making a reservation a fucking month in advance. This place was obviously too high maintenance. He was seriously considering going to the fast food place around the corner they had passed while driving here.
Lindsay must've noticed his change in mood because she placed her hand on his knee. "It's okay Lucas, it's probably just a few more minutes."
"We've been waiting for an hour Lindsay." He grumbled. "These people are dickheads."
"Lucas, we can go somewhere else you know. We don't have to eat here. It's obviously very exclusive and expensive."
Lucas sighed. She had said the same thing when they first walked in here.
"Lucas! This place is amazing! I hear if you're lucky, you can catch a celebrity every now and then. But it is so expensive! Are you sure about this?"
"I've got the money, babe."
And he did have the money. His book was selling like crazy and he was doing really well for himself. He wanted to show that off. He wanted to splurge for once in his life.
"I just really wanted to eat here." He mumbled and cringed at the way he sounded like a 5 year old kid so he added; "I wanted this date to be special."
Lindsay smiled and it almost cheered him up. Then they called another couple that had come in after them for a table and he cursed loudly.
"SIR!" one of the attendants chastised. "If you cannot behave appropriately, we will be forced to ask you to leave."
He stood up and was just about to tell the server where exactly he could shove it when he heard a familiar laugh. His ears perked up and his heart sped up. He turned swiftly, and just as he expected, there she was.
Brooke. He almost choked on his spit at the smile on her face as she was walking through the door and then took in her outfit.
She looked fucking beautiful.
He felt his pants tighten at the shortness of her dress and sat down quickly. She looked so different from when he had seen her at that café earlier today. She looked…happy. The thought disturbed him that she was happy without him and he rubbed his chest to try and relieve some of the pressure.
Once Brooke came all the way in, he hugged Lindsay close to him to hide his face in her hair and still see Brooke.
"Luke, are you okay?" he heard Lindsay ask but his attention was focused solely on the damn hand around the brunette's waist. It was taunting him.
Who the hell was this guy? Why didn't he know about him? What were they doing here?
"Yeah." He answered distractedly and hugged her tighter. "I just like to have you close."
He knew it was the perfect answer once Lindsay let out a giggle and wrapped her arms around him.
Her head landed on his shoulder. "This is nice, isn't?"
"Yeah." He muttered as his eyes drifted back to Brooke. "Tell me about your day." He said just to keep her talking but he wasn't listening even in the slightest. His attention was only on Brooke.
"Hello. We'd like to eat here tonight." He heard her say as she neared the counter with a smile that made him want to get her naked.
"Do you have a reservation?" the attendant asked without even looking up. He wanted to punch the guy.
Brooke looked up at the bastard she was with in a questioning manner and he looked back at her sheepishly.
"Sorry. Are there any tables available?" he asked.
"Not at the moment. You'll have to wait in our waiting area."
Lucas swallowed. He could not be in such close proximity with Brooke for an hour and not jump her. Lindsay excused herself to take a call and walked outside. Just as he was about to follow and suggest that they ditch this place, the attendant behind the counter suddenly let out a scream.
"Brooke Davis? Brooke Davis the fashion designer?!" he shrieked. The jerk had finally looked up at Brooke's face.
"Yes, that's me." Brooke replied looking a little freaked.
The attendant ripped off his jacket to show an original Clothes Over Bros shirt. "Clothes Over Bros!" he squealed and Lucas, along with probably the rest of the restaurant, just realized that this snobby attendant was gay. "I have every one of your pieces!"
"Oh my god, that's awesome!" Brooke laughed looking genuinely happy. He knew she loved meeting her fans.
"Excuse my excitement, we have a table for you girl. Right this way."
But Brooke stopped him. "I really don't like to use my status as a way to get things. Please don't take away someone else's table just for the sake of giving me one."
He smiled at her selflessness, another proof that she was too good for him since he had in fact tried to bribe the attendant with the little detail that he was a published writer. And it would've worked had this guy been more into books than fashion.
Brooke insisted they wait for a table to be ready and he barely registered that that meant she would be waiting in the waiting area with him because whoever this douche was she was with had just slipped his hand on the small of her back. But the attendant merely shrugged and said;
"Girl, we've had empty tables for hours waiting for celebrities to walk through that door. Get over here!"
Brooke smiled hesitantly back at him and they followed the attendant. Lucas rolled his eyes as he realized him and Lindsay had been waiting almost two hours for no reason.
Fifteen minutes later, Lindsay finally came back from her phone call.
"Sorry," she apologized as she neared him. Then she smirked. "Writers. Who knew they could be so damn complicated?"
His arms snaked around her waist. "Good thing I'm not one of them." He grinned and pecked her cheek. "Let's ditch this joint." He murmured into her hair. Then he felt a tapping on his back. He turned to find the attendant.
"Sir, we have a table ready for you two now."
He almost groaned in annoyance as Lindsay shrugged her shoulders and looked at him with an expression that said; 'Why not?'
…
…
Lucas tried so hard.
He really tried so hard to pay attention to what Lindsay was saying, to act like he was having a good time. But Brooke's damn laugh kept drifting all throughout the immense restaurant. He seriously wondered if anyone else could hear it or if he was the only one.
His mood was utterly killed and he just wanted to snatch Brooke out of her chair and take her home to do dirty things that even Rachel would blush at.
They were seated in different sections but he still had a clear view of the back of her and could see exactly every time she laughed. She hadn't seen him yet and he was thankful. He couldn't take the underlying hurt he would see in her eyes whenever she'd look at him lately.
"Lucas? Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?"
His head snapped up to see Lindsay staring at him…more like glaring.
"I asked if you wanted to share a smoothie." Her eyes held no mirth like they did a second ago and her voice sounded bored. He honestly felt a little bad. He did ask her out after all.
"Uh yeah sure."
She put down her menu. "What is going on with you? This is like the third time I've had to get your attention."
"I'm sorry, Linds." He sighed as Brooke let out another laugh. She just wouldn't stop. "This place just really rubbed me the wrong way – making us wait an hour and then no one even comes to take our order."
Lindsay's eyes softened a bit but she still looked a little mad. "Plus I'm just thinking of the new book I'm writing." He added.
At the mention of the book, Lindsay lit up with excitement and started spitting out questions one after the other. What was it about? How long was it? When would he be finished?
He knew exactly what to say to get her to keep talking. "Well it's a lot different from my last book. It's kind of a mystery."
Her face fell and he knew he was about to hear a bunch of thoughts from her.
"Lucas." She said in almost a motherly disappointing tone. "But you're not the mystery writer type. You're a romance writer." She sighed and put her hands down flat on the table. It reminded him of all the meetings they'd have where she'd be looking hopeful for some new material from him, only to hear him say that he wasn't working on anything. Then her mood would go from disappointed to angry.
"The fans don't want to see such a drastic change in a writer they like. You need to stick to what you know, to what sells…"
He tuned her voice out as he went back to watching Brooke. Just from the back of her he could tell she was in flirt mode. The way her head was cocked to the side, the way her legs were crossed, the way she leaned on one hand slightly and had the other on the guy's arm.
This nameless guy was really starting to get on his nerves.
Brooke then got up to go to the bathroom and his feet twitched as he intended to follow her.
"Do you understand, Luke?" Lindsay's voice cut in.
"Uh yeah, I'll start over." At least he had an excuse not to write for a while now.
She looked down at the table. "I feel really bad. You've probably been working really hard on it and I bet it's even good. But maybe we can save it for later in your career."
"Sure Linds." He rushed. He stood from the table and dropped his napkin, his eyes on Brooke's retreating form. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom."
"Oh! I should too." She popped up next to him. "I need to freshen up."
"No!" he said before thinking about how it came out. Her wide eyes stared at him in confusion. "Someone's gotta be here when the waiter finally comes."
She pouted but relented. He thanked the lord when she finally sat down and set off to follow Brooke.
Lucas walked to the back of the restaurant in time to see Brooke walking into the restroom. Hurrying his steps, he caught up to her and pushed her into a stall, his hand muffling any screams. He locked it and turned her around in his arms. Brooke's eyes had shot open in shock then rounded softly as she realized who it was. His hand cautiously lowered to only be replaced by his lips on hers.
He had been craving her all night and he would finally get to have her.
"No," Brooke rasped through the kiss and her tiny hands came up to his chest to push him away.
"What's wrong, babe?" He asked though he wasn't really listening as his lips returned back to hers.
Brooke pulled away again, scoffing. "I'm on a date, Lucas. God."
He didn't think she really cared about this guy. But something in her eyes made him mad. As if she actually did care. So he laughed at her. "You? A date?"
"Yes!" she hissed. "Why is that so hard to believe?"
He was mad. She was gonna blow him off for some lousy date?
"I didn't know whores dated."
The smack that graced his face a second later reverberated throughout the bathroom. The pain throbbed relentlessly across his cheek.
"Fuck you." Her voice trembled as she pushed him back and unlocked the stall door. She didn't get far though.
His hand locked around her wrist as he pulled her back into the small cubicle. She went chest first into the door as he locked it again.
"Leave me alone, Lucas." She growled, fighting the hold he had on her hands.
He simply shook his head, touching his lips down on the warm skin of her neck, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. She fought the moan that bubbled in her throat as he continued down and then licked back up. "I'm not gonna fuck you in the bathroom of a restaurant."
Lucas arched an eyebrow as he moved both her hands into one of his and his other hand roamed her body freely. "Why not? You like playing frisky, right?"
His hand continued its journey as it fell onto one of her breasts. He kneaded it gently through the fabric of her dress and she fell against the door, finally letting out the moan. He chuckled lightly knowing he had her and released both her hands. Her palms went flat against the door as he unzipped her dress from the back.
He turned her around roughly and slammed his lips onto hers. Their lips battled as he pressed her hard into the door. The strapless dress fell around her waist as he sucked on her bottom lip and tugged her bra down until her breasts spewed out freely. He took her nipple into his mouth. Brooke gasped loudly, resting her head against the door and arching her back. His tongue worked deviously, flicking and licking until her hips were rocking against his.
"Luke," she moaned into the air with closed eyes. "y-you have got to s-stop…"
His lips smacked away from her breast and he looked at her with hard eyes. "Do you really want me to stop?"
She stayed silent. One look, and all bets were off. His hand trailed down her font at a snail's pace and towards her center, their eyes still locked. He saw the anticipation in her green irises as he moved her underwear to the side, then he began to touch her.
Her eyes snapped shut, head knocked against the door as she let out a loud moan not even bothering to hold it back. Her hand fell onto the wall for support. Then he removed his hand and disappeared under her dress, a mischievous glint in his eyes. She was sure the whole restaurant heard them as she had her orgasm, not bothering to be quiet. When he came back up, her lips immediately when to his, tasting herself.
She sighed into the kiss – her heart beating violently in her chest as she was still reeling from the after effects. He walked them backwards and sat on the edge of the toilet, bringing her down on his lap. His hand went wrist deep in her hair as he tossed her head to the side to reach her neck. He sucked on the pulse point at her throat, on her collarbone before finally moving down and taking the other nipple in his mouth. Brooke's back arched so far and her head was thrown back in ecstasy. His hands splayed across her back as he pressed her painfully into him and devoured the hardened nub. He sucked like a mad man and she moaned in delight as she ground her hips into him. He couldn't help but think back to a few minutes ago when she was angry as hell at him.
Brooke let out short quick breaths as his tongue swirled around her nipple. He flicked it a few times and she longed for him to fill her center. One of his hands caressed her ass under her thong while the other still kept her pressed up against him. She pressed his face against her chest with both hands and still felt like this close wasn't close enough.
"Do I make you feel good?" Lucas murmured huskily against her as if he read her mind.
"So good…" she moaned in response as her hands darted to the zipper on his pants. "I want you to fuck me."
He chuckled at her vigor as he hooked his finger around the waistband of her underwear and tugged. Brooke tensed in his arms suddenly and as he was about to ask her what was wrong, he heard the clicking of high heels against the floor. He hadn't even realized someone had walked in.
He held his finger to his lips and continued pulling down her underwear.
Brooke moved to get off him and his eyes flashed in warning. "Don't you dare." He muttered low enough to only be heard by them.
They heard the sink turn on and off, then it was quiet for a few seconds. Then he heard a small and vulnerable; "Where the hell is Lucas?"
His heart dropped. Lindsay?
Brooke's eyebrows crinkled together in confusion as she looked towards the door, then back at him, seemingly putting two and two together. He realized he never even told her why he was here in the first place.
"Lindsay?" she mouthed to him. He looked away instead of answering and gazed in the little space between the door and the wall, willing Lindsay to leave. She finally walked out and when his eyes returned to Brooke's, hers were hard as stone with an underlying disgust in them.
"Put me down."
Lucas' face scrunched. "Fuck no."
"Fucking put me down now, Lucas!"
He did so immediately and stood up as she pulled her bra back up. "What the hell are you doing?"
She scoffed. "Leaving."
"We're not done here."
"Like I said, I'm not fucking you in the bathroom!" she hissed.
He rolled his eyes. "Right, because you weren't just begging me to fuck you a minute ago."
"You came here with someone. A date! A girl who really likes you and is sitting out there, waiting for you, wondering why you're taking so long in the bathroom!" she took a deep breath to calm herself before looking at him again. "I'm not doing this here. I'm here with someone too. I'm here with Liam."
Lucas fought the urge to throw up. So that was his name.
"Do I look like I give a fuck about Liam?" he spat angrily.
"I really like him." Brooke admitted quietly.
"You like him?" he repeated, noting the jealousy that seeped off each word.
She nodded in response. "And I'm not gonna do this with you, I won't do this to him. He doesn't deserve that and neither does Lindsay."
She lost control of herself – almost giving into him and having sex in a public restroom while she was on a date. That made her want to go home and curl up in a ball and cry. She barely recognized herself when she looked in the mirror anymore. This was not her. She didn't do this.
Lucas let out a frustrated breath and shook his head.
"Tonight, I promise Luke. But not now, please."
He sighed in defeat and unlocked the door then helped her zip back up her dress. He did have to get back to Lindsay. But he could still taste her in his mouth and it took all the self-control he had to watch her walk out the stall and not pull her back in. He watched as she fixed her hair in the mirror, adjusted her dress, and pulled out a tube of lipstick.
"You look beautiful by the way." He murmured then left.
…
…
Brooke sat down in her seat and picked up the menu. She scanned it for a bit before taking a sip of her margarita. They were seated in the "famous" section. She knew this because she spotted Sarah Jessica Parker and fought the urge to squeal like a little girl. She also spotted 50 Cent with some unknown blonde. She thought she'd get a picture and send it to Nathan just to tease him.
She took another breadstick from the pile in the middle of the table. "Did the waiter come yet?"
When she heard no response, she looked up at Liam questioningly. "Did the waiter come?" she repeated.
"No."
Brooke's eyes narrowed at his weird tone. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You took thirty minutes in the bathroom. I thought I'd have to come save you from explosive diarrhea." He finished with a slight laugh but Brooke could tell he was still worried.
She smiled. "I'm sorry. I just…ran into an old friend. She likes to talk."
"Oh cool. Where do you know her from?"
Brooke forced a smile. "High school."
Liam took a drink of his water but kept his eyes on her. She loved that he actually paid attention. "Were you guys good friends?"
Brooke felt her face get hot as she thought back to what had transpired in the bathroom. Good friends didn't even come close to describing it.
She almost let out a laugh. "Very."
The waiter finally came up to their table and took their orders. She was thankful for the distraction. The food came less than ten minutes later.
"That was speedy." she murmured.
Liam cleared his throat. "Well…he actually did come when you were in the bathroom and he let me in on a little secret. For all the celebrities that come here, they have every meal prepared and cooked already so whenever you order, the food comes fast. That's why everyone who's famous is seated in one section."
Brooke sighed. "I hate it when they treat us like we're better than everyone else. The other people deserve for their food to come fast too."
Liam smiled at her. "You know, I really admire your personality. You have very good traits."
This time when she smiled, her dimples were in full effect. "Thank you."
"You don't find many people like that today."
For some reason her mind drifted to Victoria, then straight to Lucas.
"Tell me about it."
…
…
Once dinner was over they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. The place had good food, but she didn't think she'd go there again.
"I can't believe I got a picture with Sarah Jessica Parker!"
Liam scowled. "Who is she again?"
Brooke gasped and slapped his shoulder as he laughed. "Liam! I told you, she's on Sex and the City! How could you have not even known her in the first place?"
He chuckled. "Well personally, I'm more excited that we got to meet 50 Cent."
"Yeah." She nodded in agreement, her eyes sparkling. "My friend Nathan will be so jealous!"
"Hmmm."
Her eyebrow kinked at his response. "What?"
Liam put his arm around her and leaned close. "Should I be worried about this Nathan person?"
"Mmm, yeah you should. Especially since he's married and got a two-year old. You know what they say about the terrible twos..."
He held his hands up in defeat and laughed. "Alright, alright. I get it."
She patted his cheek and stopped in front of him. "Don't worry babe. I'm all yours for the night." she whispered as he looked down at her.
She saw the quick glance he made at her lips and stepped a bit closer so that he knew it was okay. His large hand came up and caressed her cheek. "You're so beautiful, Brooke." he whispered.
Her eyes widened for a second before she beamed at the compliment and without hesitation, planted her lips firmly on his. Her hands took their place around his neck and pulled him closer. His hands landed on the curve of her waist.
It was a sweet, simple kiss. And she thoroughly enjoyed it. It was different. He was different.
Just as she was about to deepen it, she heard a laugh from across the parking lot. It was a girl's laugh and she would've carried on had she not recognized the voice. She pulled away from Liam's lips and unwillingly glanced towards the pair.
His dark eyes shot right into her and she had to catch her breath. Lindsay was laughing at something and she assumed he had been laughing too before he saw them. She could feel the air shift and suddenly, she didn't feel like kissing Liam anymore. She took a step back and hit the brick wall of the restaurant.
"Brooke?" Liam's voice said and though he was right next to her, his voice sounded far away. His face looked blurry. "You okay?"
"Y-Yeah." she stuttered. Lucas led Lindsay to his car as he kept his eyes on her. "I just – someone might take a picture of us and post it on the internet and I'd hate for that to happen." She surprised herself at how fast she came up with the excuse.
Liam nodded in understanding. She looked up at him and marveled at how different he was from Lucas. Just the thought of him made her want to scream and cry. Her eyes twinkled slightly as they washed over with a light coat of tears. She felt Liam's hand on her cheek in an instant. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." She whispered and watched Lucas' car speed out of the parking lot. "It's nothing."
She stared at the fabric of Liam's shirt trying to compose herself, willing the feeling of shame to go away and for Liam to not pry into her problems. She didn't want to bring him into that and if she let out the floodgate of tears, she wouldn't be able to stop.
"You sure? You got kind…down on me all of a sudden."
"I'm okay." She forced the tears back and stood on her tiptoes to peck his lips once more. That ought a distract him.
He grinned in appreciation. "You still up for that movie?"
"Actually, could we just go hang at your place?"
He nodded. "Mind if we go to yours instead? I wouldn't want you to have to drive back late at night."
Her heart swelled at how much of a gentleman he was and without hesitation, she agreed. Her arm linked with his as they strolled to the car.
In a second they were curled up together on her couch, watching reruns of Friends. She tortured him with one episode of Sex and the City before finally getting something they both could like. His arm was wrapped lazily around her body while she snuggled into his chest. She really surprised herself at how comfortable she was with him, though she still barely knew him.
Brooke let out a dreamy sigh. "I think it's really cute how Phoebe drives Ross to the airport to try and stop Rachel."
Liam chuckled. "Well he is in fact her lobster."
Brooke giggled. "I just love how after everything they went through they still ended up together in the end."
"You obviously watch way too many chick flicks."
"I actually haven't watched one in a long time."
Liam's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah." Brooke shrugged a shoulder. "They kinda make me sad…" She trailed off and stopped herself from going any further.
She had no idea why she was opening up to him like this. She liked him, of course. But she barely knew anything about him. Sure they had shared a few stories over dinner. But those tidbits weren't enough to really know a person. That obviously wouldn't have stopped her from jumping into bed with him before, but she had matured greatly since high school and realized the drunken one night stands with strangers just didn't satisfy her anymore, they never really did and she was tired of pretending. Plus every time she thought about initiating a hotter kiss than the one they had shared in the parking lot, Lucas' face would flash before her eyes and she'd get this guilty feeling for some reason. As if she was cheating on him!
Her mini crying session she had in the bathroom when he left soured her mood and she just wanted to forget all of it. She was hoping Liam would be the person to help her. But the more she tried to force a connection, the more she thought of Lucas. She genuinely liked him. But she wasn't trying to mess this up by moving things too fast and pretending with him that everything was alright in her screwed up life.
She looked up and noticed him staring at her. " What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing it's just… I–"
Before he could finish, they both heard a loud moan from one of the bedrooms and Brooke flushed in embarrassment.
What the hell?
"Oh! Yes! Ahhh…right there. Oh, yes! YES!"
Liam stood up, a slight smirk on his face. "Who the hell was that?"
"My asshole of a roommate." Brooke grumbled as she marched right to the redhead's door.
"Wait! She could be naked!" Liam yelled but Brooke merely scoffed and slammed open the door.
The redhead was lying on her back reading a magazine. "Oh yes! Right th–" she stopped mid-sentence once she noticed Brooke lurking in the doorway. "You know, I could've been naked."
"Rachel!" the brunette scolded. "I have company over."
"Yeah, I know." Rachel merely shrugged. "How ya doin handsome." She sent Liam a wink.
"Rach," Brooke's tone softened as she realized her friend probably felt ignored. They had been at the apartment for over an hour and she didn't say anything to her. In spite of their mini fight earlier, they never let a disagreement last for more than an hour really. And Brooke knew she was in the wrong anyway.
"I thought since…you know…"
Rachel eyed her for a moment before sitting up in the bed. "Give us a minute, will ya gorgeous?"
With a quick glance at Brooke, Liam trotted back to the living room and left the two friends alone.
"Brooke, I'm over it. I was kinda in a bad place earlier and there were some things I needed to get off my chest but, I'm over it." She said indifferently, not one to get all emotional. "How did the date go?"
Brooke knew Rachel was just embarrassed by how she had acted. But if anything, the redhead was right in everything she was feeling. Brooke was being unfair and dishonest. She sat down on the bed next to her, determined to make this right.
"No Rach, I owe you an apology." Rachel was her friend – the only friend she could bare to deal with right now with all the drama in her life. It would do her no good to push her away. "I should've told you, I should've been honest with you. We are in that place where we can be honest with each other and I never want you to question that."
Rachel smirked. "You make it sound like we're a couple."
"I'm serious!" Brooke reproached as she hit the redhead on her shoulder but couldn't fight back the smile no less. "You know I care about you."
Rachel smiled briefly before turning her attention back to the magazine. "Once again, how was the date? Please tell me you didn't bring him back here so you could have sex with him. Knowing you–"
Brooke glared. "No I didn't. And the date was…great. I got a picture with Sarah Jessica Parker and 50 Cent."
Rachel's eyebrow arched. "Just great?"
Brooke nodded and rolled her eyes. Of course, meeting celebrities wouldn't distract the crazy observant redhead.
"What happened?"
"We talked and got to know each other. It was nice."
Brooke was being too blasé about it. Rachel wasn't buying it.
"Something threw you off…must've been Lucas." she murmured to herself. "Did he call you or something?"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "Not everything has to do with Lucas."
Rachel's ears perked. "Now I'm really interested. Seeing how you're getting all tensed up, I know something must've happened. What did he call in the middle of your make out session with the Calvin Klein model in there? Or, let me guess, you ran into him?"
She snickered to herself at the possibility of them actually going to the same restaurant then looked up and saw Brooke's face. It all clicked then. "Oh my god, you ran into him! You had a quickie in the bathroom, didn't you Slut?"
Brooke's face flushed scarlet red. "No! I didn't! I…I have company over. I need to get back." She rose from the bed and moved hastily towards the door.
"You're drowning, Brooke." Rachel hollered from the bedroom causing Liam to sit up from the couch.
"Everything alright?" he asked pulling her into his chest.
"Yeah." she whispered. "Everything's fine."
She forced a smile onto her face and met his lips in a brief kiss, which soon turned heated. Brooke pushed her chest against his and felt rather than heard him groan. Somewhere during their spit swapping and face sucking, her phone vibrated loudly on glass the coffee table. Liam pulled away from the kiss with a grunt and she turned over and reached for the object. After her eyes scanned the screen, she pulled out of his embrace completely.
"Um…I have to take this. I'll be right back, okay?"
Liam nodded as Brooke sauntered off to her room. She picked up on the final ring. "Hey Luke." she breathed heavily.
"You promised me tonight." He reminded her.
"I know, I know." Brooke glanced towards her bedroom door briefly and sat down on her bed. "I'm still here with Li–"
"Get rid of him." Hard and demanding came his reply.
A soft growl rumbled low in her throat before she spat, "Fine."
Nearly ten minutes later, she was walking out the door with the feeble excuse of a work crisis and Rachel's disappointed eyes following her every move. But that didn't stop her, it never did.
…
…
Footsteps echoed in the distance and a second later, Brooke stalked into the room slamming the door and marched towards the bedroom.
Lucas chuckled. "I see you got rid of him."
She crossed her arms. "Shut up and do what you have to do."
"What's with the attitude?" he questioned, pulling off his shirt.
"Attitude? Lucas, I was on a date. Not to mention you fucking attacked me like some kind of psycho in the bathroom. What the hell is your problem? You're not like this!"
He rose off the bed at her sudden outburst and towered over her. "My problem is…" he began calmly as his warm breath hit her face. "I don't share." She opened her mouth to say something but he covered his lips with hers instead. "We have a fucking arrangement, Brooke. I'm not sharing you with some other dickhead out there."
He busied himself with taking off her coat as she stood there dumbfounded. "I don't belong to you." she whispered.
The coat slid off her body and hit the ground. "You do as long as you're here."
"No!" she stepped out of his embrace and stared up at him with defiant eyes. "You were there with Lindsay! You're such a fucking hypocrite, Luke. God, you could at least have some ounce of respect for me!"
"How do I not have respect for you?"
"You don't want me to go on one date when you were there on a date yourself. How does that even make sense?" her lips pressed into a thin line. "I haven't even slept with him yet, I just met him."
"I don't care." Lucas growled through clenched teeth. He didn't like the guy. He didn't want her with him. The fact that she even kissed him made his blood boil.
Brooke chuckled dryly. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. You treat me like a whore!" she yelled. "Liam is different. Liam actually wants me. He wants ME, Luke. He wants my heart, my mind, my everything while you…you just want me for what's between my legs."
Her words cut into him like knives and he stepped away from her and sighed. "That's all you ever offered me."
She blinked in disbelief. "What?"
"That's all you ever fucking offered me!" he repeated angrily.
Brooke stood there biting her lip, trying to figure out what he meant. She searched her mind for some clue. That's all she offered him? She offered him her heart, her mind, her everything many times. And he didn't want it. He wanted Peyton.
"Say you're not over Peyton."
"Brooke you've got to trust me. I won't hurt you again, I prom–"
"Just say it, please."
Lucas walked up to Brooke and cupped her face in his hands. "That's all you ever offered me. And I'm taking it."
Before she could think his lips were back on hers and he was fighting the zipper on her dress. She couldn't even respond properly from the shock of it all.
That's all she ever offered him?
He pushed her against the wall and his tongue fought entrance into her mouth. His hand grazed her leg as they wrapped around his waist and he lifted her off the floor. Carefully he made his way back to the bed and laid her down gently. He pulled away to work on the button of his jeans. She laid there, silent and breathless, watching him. Once his jeans were off he came down to remove her clothing.
"Wait." Brooke let out and sat up. She held the unzipped dress up against her chest. "I don't wanna do this."
"What?"
"I don't want to do this." She repeated and held the dress more firmly against her.
Lucas' eye narrowed. "Why not? You were doing just fine."
She ran a hand through her hair. "I-I think we should stop this here…forever."
Lucas stood then leaned down in front of her. "I don't want that."
"I do."
"No you don't. You know we're not going to stay away from each other, we can't. It's us." His hand ran along her neck, creating goose bumps. "You're gonna miss the way I make you feel, the way I can only make you breathless. Not even Liam can compare to that which is why you ditched him today."
She pushed him away and stood up from the bed. "It doesn't matter." she sniffled. "We were never really anything to begin with and you'll never be over Peyton so–"
"I am over Peyton."
"Then what is the point!" she yelled brokenly, tears streaming down her face. "Tell me Lucas, what is the fucking point of this!"
Brooke let out a sob then swallowed back another as she picked up her coat from off the floor. She shook her head, "You make no sense. And I'm tired of feeling this way."
She turned away to leave but his voice stopped her. "Feeling what way?"
"I don't exactly know my feelings for Peyton right now. But I do know my feelings for you never completely went away – tonight just proved that. I need you, Brooke…more than you'll ever know."
With more confidence, he added, "Like you could love me?"
He was met with dead silence. A whole minute passed before she answered firmly, "I'm leaving."
His hand on her wrist stopped her and he pulled her into his chest. He touched the back of her head and connected their foreheads. "Please stay." he whispered. "Stay."
She fought the urge to kiss him while being this close and shook her head lightly. "No."
"Please." His lips grazed hers and her tiny hands gripped the fabric of his shirt, her coat sliding forgotten to the floor. He pulled the dress she had yet to zip back up down and kissed her mouth full on. She moaned lightly into the kiss as he backed her up against the wall again.
All her clothes came off, as did his. It was inevitable. She knew this was wrong. This was so wrong. She should be halfway to her house by now. Yet she was here with him, succumbing to temptation.
Her tears still fell in waterfalls when he entered her. His head fell against her shoulder as he breathed in her scent. "God Brooke." he uttered out.
She didn't make a sound – not on the first thrust, not on the second, and not the third. She held her breath so tight that she felt as if she was about to explode. Then he pulled himself all the way out, and slammed right back in. She cried out in emotional pain and pleasure. She had to – she couldn't hold it in any longer.
His lips kissed the space between her shoulder and her neck. He angled himself and knew just where to hit to get her screaming. His thrusts got quicker and her moans got louder, even as she tried to hold them back. She had no control over herself around him.
She was getting close. So close to going over the very edge. Her tears still cascaded down her cheeks. She knew this was the end. The very last time.
It had to be. She couldn't take it anymore. They had to stop.
"Brooke…" Lucas groaned as her walls tightened around him and locked eyes with her. The intense look in his eyes told her he wasn't done with her, he never would be.
Her orgasm hit her like a ton of bricks as she deflated against the wall closing her eyes. A second later, she heard him whisper; "It'll never be over…" as he came too. She had this dreaded feeling that he was right.
They both stayed there – breathing heavily, pressed up against each other on the wall. His hand reached up to wipe some of her tears away but they only began to fall faster.
He placed a chaste kiss to her lips and carried her over to the bed. Covering her with the blanket, he hesitated before gathering her in his arms. She didn't want it. She didn't want to be here, he knew that much.
But he needed her. He couldn't explain why, he just did.
…
…
3:00 a.m.
She struggled to get on her heels with shaky hands. Losing her balance, she crashed to the floor with a thump and quickly looked back towards the bed.
He was snoring.
Lucas was snoring in la la land. She rolled her wet eyes and scrambled to get up from the floor. She had to get out before he even had a chance to wake up.
Her eyes scanned the floor for her phone which had fallen out of her purse, finding it under the dresser. She flipped it open and saw she had two texts. She fought to read the first one from Liam with the never ending tears blurring her vision. They didn't stop falling at all that night.
'Had so much fun tonight. Can't wait to see you again Beautiful.'
Her heart ached. The tears fell more swiftly from her eyes. Here she had this nice guy who seemed to really care about her, and she ditched him for a quick fuck with Lucas that left her broken and lost.
She looked back towards the bed in disappointment and got up from the floor. She checked the last message while walking out the bedroom. It was from…Haley. Sent almost eight hours ago.
'i'm sorry I brought up Lucas. will you please just talk to me?'
Reading it, the tears flowed like a river down her cheeks. Seeing this made her feel immensely guilty and she almost tripped over her own two feet as she walked from the overwhelming emotion. Leaning against the wall and closing her eyes, she released a breath as she dialed the familiar number and made the call she should've made eight months ago. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it.
Considering the time, she picked up on the fifth ring but before she could even say anything, Brooke broke down.
"I can't do it, Haley." she cried, and spewed out a few more incoherent sentences before cutting the talking all together and just crying profusely. Her emotions got the best of her and she slid down against the wall and sat on the floor.
She didn't know what was going on? A panic attack? A mental breakdown? She was just losing it. He was making her lose it. She tried and failed once again to transfer something that sounded close to English to Haley. The only thing that kept coming out was gasps and sobs.
Taking a few deep breaths, she managed to get a hold of herself after ten minutes of bawling and wiped her eyes. She heard nothing on the other end of the phone, the only way she could tell Haley was still there was by her soft breathing.
"Haley?" she croaked after two minutes of silence.
"Come to Tree Hill."
Her eyes widened in surprise. "What?"
She heard a sigh come from the young mother. "Come to Tree Hill, Brooke."
She weighed her options though the decision was pretty much already made. Staying here was doing no good for her. Being with Lucas was no good for her. Being away from her family was no good for her. She needed to go home.
She needed to go to Tree Hill.
"Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Ok."
…
…
Let the Lucas hate begin ;)
Tigger23: This review seems so long ago since you mentioned GG – I should've updated sooner, this hiatus was cray. But yeah, I was all for Nate/Serena. The GG writers messed up big time.
caiteexx: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter.
GottaLoveThis: I loved your long review! Yes, our B and L are both torturing themselves. But in this chapter you kinda get what you want, clean break…well sorta. Anyway, thanks for the review! I promise not to take too long next time. And no. Lucas hasn't been honest with anyone – not even himself. More Haley is needed! And will come.
dianehermans: Jealous Lucas you got. He's hot isn't he?
bjq: Lucas acts like a 4 year old most times so don't expect a big love speech anytime soon. But all kids soon grow up, my love ;)
amybell: I've never heard my stories called addictive before, thank you so much! I'm glad you like them and thanks for the review!
GoodGirlGoneBad1984: Uh…we're all Team Brooke. We should have like our own t-shirts or something. This shit is real. And Lucas wakes up…eventually. He's a zombie right now lol. Thank you for your review!
sunshine: I'm feeling a bit of both too! Lol, sometimes I seriously wanna make Liam fall off a cliff and make a Brucas happy ending. Then I remember, stories have build-up and progress…little by little (plus I'm the one who brought him in). And it wouldn't be realistic. And I'm all about making this as real as it can be because I hate when things are just obviously fake, you know? Like tv shows, even though they're of course not real, I love realism.
boothimyours: You put sugar on top…now I feel like an ass. Anyway, you hit the nail right on the…coffin? Head? I forget what it is but yeah like everything in your comment is right! Thanks for the awesome review!
BpDs89: Seems like you really hate Lucas. Not that I blame you. Laugh at his pain, please.
meeeee: Here it is! Lol.
bdavix: No, thank you :)
Guest: Uh, I hope you're still reading, hehe. This is beyond late but it's here now. Thank you so much for the review!
LaurenKERRY: Thank you for liking it! I hope you continue to read!
LittleRedDevil8: Thank you for liking it! I hope you like this chapter!
