_ BROOKE : I have to say it wasn't too bad.
_ LUCAS : Okay, I guess I'll settle for that...
_ BROOKE : Actually, it was pretty good.
_ LUCAS : Really ?
_ BROOKE : Really, yeah !
_ LUCAS : You should really come see me at one of my concerts... To see for yourself.
_ PEYTON : Oh yeah Brooke, I'd love to take you sometime ! You'll see, the atmosphere is great !
Brooke looked at her sister, so excited at the idea and delighted to see that a cordial understanding was developing between her and Lucas. The idea of finding herself in the middle of a crowd of people standing and swaying their hips didn't really excite Brooke. On the other hand, the idea of seeing Lucas in his element, his guitar in his hand, appealed to her quite a bit.
_ BROOKE : I'm not saying yes yet, but I'll think about it seriously this time, I promise !
_ PEYTON : So cool, Brookr ! It means a lot to me, you know... So, thank you!
_ LUCAS : I agree with Peyton, it means a lot to me too...
Brooke and Lucas' eyes met again... But Brooke immediately looked away when Julian spoke.
_ JULIAN : I would take you there with pleasure, I like this musical style.
That night, something new, more intense had happened between Brooke and Lucas. Brooke alone was aware of it... Well, Lucas too, maybe. But no one else. From that night on, Brooke saw him through different eyes... He was no longer just her sister's annoying boyfriend. He had become this man who had aroused her curiosity more than was reasonable if she considered that he was already taken. This man for whom she now felt very clearly an almost contradictory attraction. The one who succeeded, a little more than the others, in making her vibrate and feel sensations long forgotten. But that was not to say that her heart was racing or that her soul was rejoicing... Since an important detail upset all that ... A crucial and elementary detail. Peyton was madly in love with him. And if there was one thing that should not be touched, it was the man of her best friend or her sister. Brooke was well aware of it, and the next few days were already looking complicated.
Brooke was determined to get him out of her mind ... But that was without counting on his daily presence under the same roof.
A week later
Brooke was home alone. Peyton was invited by a famous cosmetics brand for promotion on its social networks. Even though she had a nice degree in psychology, the life of an influencer seemed to suit her much better for the moment. Lucas, for his part, had a concert this evening... Brooke therefore had the house to herself and it was perfect.
That night, she had watched a whole season of her current series and it was almost past midnight now. To be sure not to run into Lucas, she had finally convinced herself that it was time to go to sleep... Just after a quick shower... Well, quick was a big word when you were paralyzed in the legs. Indeed, from her wheelchair, Brooke had to lift herself onto a stool and then finally reach the bench provided for this purpose. She had been doing relatively well since then. One could even say that it had become a routine... Even if the physical effort it required of her before and after made the pleasure of the shower more questionable.
Once she was relaxed under the hot water, Brooke grabbed her shower gel... completely empty.
_ BROOKE : Grrghhh, Lucas !
Immediately, she thought of her annoying tendency to use her shower when Peyton was in the second one upstairs. Brooke should have checked before but she preferred to directly complain about the culprit of her next acrobatics. She had to go get a new shower gel from under the sink ... In her annoyance, she executed the movements quickly ... A little too quickly. Completely helpless, she felt herself slipping on the wet bench as his hands tried to carry her. She tried to grab onto the stool but she took it with her in her fall... A stupid fall. His elbow and hip hit the stone violently, and his lower body crashed limply against the shock quickly gave way to pain, a throbbing, diffuse pain... But also to helplessness. The helplessness of being completely unable to get up, the helplessness of not being able to call for help... The helplessness in the face of the hot water that continued to flow over her skin without her being able to reach the tap. Despite trying to keep her cool, the pain and the excruciating feeling of infirmity overwhelmed her. She grew more and more angry trying to get up, she pushed, pulled, and exhausted all her strength.
At her wit's end, she had finally collapsed, in tears, against the fortunately warm floor of the shower tray. Time passed... Maybe half an hour, maybe more... She had no idea. Until finally, she heard a noise... It was still far away but she had already cried for help. Then, everything had happened very quickly since just a few seconds later, Lucas was leaning over her.
_ LUCAS : Brooke !? What happened !? Tell me if you hurt !?
Completely panicked, he didn't seem to realize that Brooke was naked or that he was now completely soaked.
_ BROOKE : Just help me up !
Brooke was angry... Angry at herself and angry at him. It was all his fault. She was even more angry at him because she already had a hard time feeling comfortable around him... But with this on top of it! And at the same time, she had absolutely no choice but to call on him. Yet, Lucas didn't even seem to notice the incendiary tone in Brooke's voice or the rage in her eyes. And this for the simple reason that he was scanning her body to make sure she wasn't hurt.
_ LUCAS : Ok, Brooke. I'm here, don't worry... I'll take you in my arms.
Brooke read the fear in his eyes, the fear that she was suffering, the fear in front of so much vulnerability and the fear of hurting him.
_ LUCAS : Put your arms around me and I'll do the rest.
Lucas's hands had become delicate as they passed behind her back... His forearms, however, were more powerful. He lifted her with disconcerting ease, one of his arms being under Brooke's back, the other under her knees.
_ BROOKE : Put me in my chair and give me a towel right now !
_ LUCAS : No way ! I'm taking you straight to your bed, Brooke... You need to lie down !
Brooke didn't have time to reply as Lucas had already walked down the hallway, determined and focused. The drops of water from their two soaked bodies dripping onto the parquet floor, and Lucas still walking fast, still panicked. He entered Brooke's room and gently placed her on the bed, sitting on his knees on the floor in front of her. He gently removed his arms from between Brooke's body and the mattress and grabbed the towel he had brought with him. He got up to spread it out to cover his body. He then took a seat right next to Brooke and began rubbing her skin with the silky cotton of the towel. Brooke then realized that it had been several seconds since she had protested, that she was letting him do it.
_ BROOKE : It's okay, Lucas. I'm okay. You don't have to do this.
Focused on Brooke's battered and life-damaged body, Lucas finally looked up at her.
_ LUCAS : You just spent I don't know how long on the tiles of your shower, Brooke... So no, I can't believe that you're okay... Psychologically especially. Let me take care of you.
_ BROOKE : Lucas, I'm naked under this towel...
_ LUCAS : You're still completely soaked, you're going to catch a cold if we don't dry you off quickly.
_ BROOKE : But look at you... You're soaked too !
_ LUCAS : I know, Brooke ! But I'm taking care of you first and that's non-negotiable.
His smile was warm and irresistible... His eyes were worried, concerned but also caressing. And as he finished passing the towel over Brooke's legs, he went around her sex to dry her belly. Uncontrollable shivers ran from the hollow of Brooke's back to the top of her spine. He was so gentle, so delicate... She had never imagined him capable of that... And at the same time it frustrated her. It was clear that Lucas considered her more as a fragile little thing that needed to be taken care of... And not as the woman, naked and lying down, that she was... This woman who had been being touched up by a man for so long a long time. The precautions he took and the delicacy he showed did not reflect any virile or sexual desire... While for Brooke, she felt herself melting more and more under his hands, under his gaze and under his attention. And at the same time, this side of him pleased her... A lot even.
After finishing drying every inch of Brooke's skin, Lucas took off his soaking wet shirt.
_ LUCAS : I'm going to get a towel and be right back.
Brooke looked at his athletic, toned body again, those defined, harmonious muscles.
_ LUCAS : Can I leave you alone for two minutes ?
_ BROOKE : Just pull the blanket up over me please... Otherwise I'm really going to catch a cold.
_ LUCAS : I'm stupid ! I'm leaving this wet towel on you when you're dry.
In a hasty reflex, Lucas grabbed the towel just before grabbing the blanket at Brooke's feet. But Brooke's naked body revealed itself to him again... And it was as if he was seeing it for the first time. He remained frozen, his eyes moving along the length of her body, from her ankles to her neck. Brooke felt terribly exposed, completely naked in front of him, standing and topless... She had an effect on him. She had even had such an effect on him that he had become, himself, even more feverish and confused. Lucas's mouth opened slightly, it was as if he was searching for his words and at the same time he couldn't say anything. He was mesmerized, totally focused on Brooke's feminine curves which unfailingly offered themselves to his burning body.
_ BROOKE : Lucas... Please...
Without managing to look away, Lucas answered her in a disjointed voice... As if mechanical.
_ LUCAS : Brooke... You are...
The confusion and even the excitement she caused in him were no longer just a feeling or an impression. Helpless, Brooke felt her nipples harden under his warm and amazed gaze... Her clitoris was pounding wildly.
_ LUCAS: You are so beautiful... Even more beautiful than anything I could have imagined.
_ BROOKE: Lucas, please pull up the damn blanket!
_ LUCAS: Oh yes, sorry...
Lucas, returned to reality, then hastened to pull the blanket up over his body... His eyes connecting with hers.
_ LUCAS : Excuse me... For that...
_ BROOKE : Something makes me think you're not completely sorry...
_ LUCAS : I'm just a man, Brooke... And you're a beautiful woman.
_ BROOKE : I'm mostly a helpless woman at your mercy right now.
Lucas leaned over to Brooke, his fingers brushing away a strand of her still-wet hair.
_ LUCAS : You're so much more than that...
_ BROOKE : Stop it...
_ LUCAS : What do I stop, Brooke...? Telling you how beautiful you are...? How much I admire you ? How much I like you ?
The vulnerability and sincerity that Brooke perceived in his eyes and in his voice intoxicated her as much as they seized her.
_ BROOKE : We can't do this, Lucas...
_ LUCAS : Do what? I'm just telling you how I feel, Brooke... Nothing else. For now, anyway.
_ BROOKE : This is too much, Lucas. It's already completely out of place and inappropriate for Peyton.
This reminder was meant to make him step back, to reason with her too... But Lucas didn't move. Lucas pushed the vice a little further by sitting on the edge of the bed at the same time. Brooke's arms could have pushed him away in this rapprochement but they remained inexorably still. Unlike his legs, they were valid, however.
_ LUCAS : I like your sister, you know... She's really a nice girl... But it's not you... You only have one word to say, Brooke... Just say the word and I'll be yours.
_ BROOKE : I'm not breaking my sister or my relationship with her for one night, Lucas. Even if I like you too... Even if I want to... But this is all irrational, Lucas.
_ LUCAS : I find it very rational, me. At least as rational as desire can be... I like you and you like me ...
Lucas leaned in a little more, his face only a few inches from Brooke's.
_ LUCAS : I don't just want you, Brooke... I want to be with you...
And as his hand returned to Brooke's face, his fingers now caressed her reddened cheek. This was all too much for Brooke, too much at once, too surreal, too complicated...
_ BROOKE : I'm not the one for you, Lucas... And you're not the one for me either.
_ LUCAS : I don't agree. You're everything I need, on the contrary !
His two palms circled Brooke's face and his fingers slid in front of and behind her ears.
_ LUCAS : You are the sweetness that my broken heart needs... You are the strength and the fighter that my false courage lacks.
His thumbs traced Brooke's lips, jaw and cheekbones with infinite gentleness.
_ LUCAS: You are the light to my darkness and it scares me that you are illuminating it... But it also makes me feel so good. You are the one who managed to make me realize that I still have a heart, Brooke. Thanks to you, it beats stronger and faster... Don't reject me, I beg you.
The tears were there... Just at the edge of Brooke's eyes. Tears of happiness but also of sadness. Lucas moved forward... His lips landed on Brooke's and she wanted to let him. She needed this contact as much as she dreaded it. But she savored the kiss regardless.
But as Lucas placed his lips on hers for a kiss, Brooke didn't kiss him back. She just closed her eyes. Lucas placed a second kiss and then another, then delicately catching Brooke's bottom lip with his teeth. Brooke felt the desire rising inside her, and she would have loved to let herself go, to abandon herself to him...
_ BROOKE : That's enough ! Go away now !
His reaction was brutal, for him as for her. The contact between them broke and Lucas moved away instantly.
_ LUCAS : You want me to go away !?
_ BROOKE : You have to !
She had trouble holding his gaze. She perceived that it hurt him as much as it hurt her.
_ LUCAS : What if I don't want to leave, Brooke !? If being here, with you, is the only place I want to be !?
_ BROOKE : Whatever, Lucas ! You have to leave, because I'm asking you to and because you have to!
_ LUCAS: Why !? Talk to me! If it's the fact that I'm with your sister... I can call her right now to break up.
_ BROOKE : No ! You can't do that... Not like that... And even then, it doesn't change anything! Whether you're my sister's boyfriend or the ex she's madly in love with, it doesn't change a thing! I'm just asking you to bring me my wheelchair, and then not come back to this room, Lucas !
So Lucas stood up, his eyes were no longer soft and tender. He was torn and hurt... But he kept silent... An unbearable silence, heavy and oppressive. He looked at Brooke then left the room.
Brooke's face tightened as this situation was so unnatural, as her body struggled with her mind. As her heart squeezed so hard and her stomach hurt so much all at once. She then began to cry, quite unable to hold back her tears... And she turned to the wall so she wouldn't see him. She heard him come back to the room, the wheels of his wheelchair squeaking against the parquet floor. The noises got closer, and she knew Lucas had just entered the room. He approached the bed and she had maintained her position. The message was clear, she didn't want to continue this conversation. She didn't want to submit to his burning and dangerous gaze anymore, she didn't want to play with fire anymore. She just waited painfully for him to decide to leave. But he remained frozen behind her for a few moments, hesitating and finally ended up leaving and leaving the room. Each of his steps that took him away from her was like a stab to the heart.
As Brooke tossed and turned in her bed unable to fall asleep, she suddenly heard the music start up. Music that she found much too loud. Her first hypothesis was that Lucas was doing it on purpose... To get her to get up and join him, to react. And although she knew full well that she shouldn't give in, she had a video conference tomorrow at dawn. Sleep having already decided not to join her right away, the music on top of that was too much...
Brooke turned the light back on and found her wheelchair where Lucas had left it earlier. This time, she took her time to hoist herself up and sit down properly before heading to her dressing room. And even though the bad idea of putting on something sexy crossed her mind, she reasoned with herself and put on a long t-shirt. She then set off, heading down the dark hallway, then into the living room. After turning down the volume of the music and spotting Lucas, Brooke had joined him on the porch.
_ BROOKE : It's a free nightclub for the whole neighborhood !?
It was only at the sound of his voice that Lucas seemed to come out of his thoughts and torpor.
_ LUCAS : If music relaxes them as much as it does me... Although it's not working very well tonight...
_ BROOKE : Maybe you should have chosen a calmer and more soothing sound for that, don't you think !?
Lucas still hadn't turned his head towards Brooke. He took a drag on his cigarette as he stared at the stars.
_ BROOKE : I took the liberty of turning down the sound because I would really like to sleep, I'm getting up early tomorrow.
Still impassive, Lucas observed the curls of smoke coming out of his mouth in the darkness.
_ LUCAS : I thought you were already sleeping, sorry...
_ BROOKE : Let's just say that, like you, I may be having trouble getting to sleep tonight.
Brooke waited for a possible reaction... But nothing came. So she decided it was time to turn around.
_ BROOKE : Well... Good night, Lucas.
_ LUCAS : Brooke ?
_ BROOKE : Hmm ?
_ LUCAS : If your sister and I hadn't been together... Would you have given me a chance ? I mean, I know I sound like an asshole... But did you see anything else in me ? And if so, I'd really like to know what... And if not, consider that I never asked you that question.
As Brooke looked at him, she let go of the wheels of her wheelchair. She wanted to find the right words.
_ BROOKE : Lucas... I... I think you're a man full of quality in addition to being talented. I think that, in other circumstances, I would have much more explored all these facets of your personality... And to be completely honest with you... If my sister wasn't here, I would have let you make love to me tonight.
Lucas moved forward a little in his seat to look first at the ground. Then he turned his head towards Brooke.
_ BROOKE : Because just now, there was nothing I wanted more than to feel your hands on my body.
Lucas just looked at her deeply, smiling sadly.
_ BROOKE : I felt safe, pampered, protected... But the most powerful thing was feeling wanted.
_ LUCAS : If I want you, it's because you're beautiful, Brooke. Any man would agree with me !
As Brooke blushed even more and Lucas' words caressed her pleasantly, Lucas lowered his arm. He grabbed something in the darkness and it was only when he brought it to his lips that Brooke realized what it was. A bottle of whiskey.
_ BROOKE : So is that your solution ? Loud music, ciragettes and drinking whiskey straight from the bottle !?
_ LUCAS : At this point, these are the only things that bring some pleasure and comfort to this shitty situation.
_ BROOKE : The situation would have been shit if we had given in, Lucas ...
_ LUCAS : Brooke, it's not just a question of having given in or not and you know that very well.
Of course she knew... That it was good that more than that. They hadn't satisfied what their bodies were telling them to. But that wasn't why they didn't realize how attracted they were to each other, on the contrary. And from now on, we would have to continue living with that, with this lack and with this impossible and aborted story.
_ BROOKE : You know what !? Give me a sip of whiskey... I need it too and it's been so long !
Smiling more openly, Lucas handed her the bottle. Their hands touched, electrifying their skins respectively. Brooke's first sip burned her throat a little but the second was already easier and even pleasant.
_ LUCAS : Look at us... Drinking to console ourselves. It's laughable, right !?
_ BROOKE : A little yes... But at least, we're close to each other... With the right distance.
_ LUCAS : You're right. It's better than nothing and I prefer that to being far from you...
_ BROOKE : Any news from my sister?
_ LUCAS : She called me earlier. She'll be back at dawn I think, she seemed to be having fun.
Lucas and Brooke, already more peaceful, spent more than an hour on the porch in front of the house. They discussed Lucas' music, his projects, Brooke's desires for travel and rehabilitation. Brooke discovered this man she had been able to glimpse, this sensitive and interesting man.
_ BROOKE : Anyway, I'm glad I'm in a wheelchair for once !
_ LUCAS : Why !?
_ BROOKE : I would have staggered to my room if I had been on my legs... I think I drank a little too much !
_ LUCAS : You didn't drink that much, you know.
_ BROOKE : It's a whole... The mixture of strong alcohol, the fall, the emotions...
_ LUCAS : The emotions were intense, it's true ... On this good moment, if we went to bed ?
_ BROOKE : With pleasure, I feel that Morpheus is ready to take me in his arms now.
_ LUCAS : Morpheus is very lucky ...
Brooke smiles at him, embarrassed.
_ LUCAS : Shall I take you back to your room ?
_ BROOKE : It'll be fine, Lucas ... Thanks anyway. Good night ?
Lucas, who had gotten up in the meantime, knelt down to be at the same level as Brooke.
_ LUCAS : The friends kiss each other on the cheek to wish each other goodnight... Can I ?
_ BROOKE : You can...
Lucas pushed his lips forward... His hand cupped Brooke's other cheek as if to bring the other one harder against his mouth. His kiss was delicious... Both tender and tasty. Brooke instinctively closed her eyes. But when Lucas' lips left her skin, she felt them shift to the hollow of her ear.
_ LUCAS : I think I fell madly in love with you a long time ago, Brooke...
Brooke shook and shivered like a leaf. She should be angry but quite the opposite had happened. His vulnerability, his restraint and his gentleness had already envied her but his words had finished doing the job. Brooke no longer thought of anything other than Lucas and this magical, timeless moment that they were experiencing. His face turned and both hands came to Lucas's face to pull him against his eager mouth. This time, it was her lips that rushed to his, their sweet and chaste kiss quickly becoming much less demure. Brooke's tongue forced its way through Lucas' mouth to finally take what she wanted so much, what she needed so much.
Lucas moaned into her mouth and his hands imitated hers by also landing on her cheeks. Very quickly, and in front of Brooke's enthusiastic initiative, Lucas took control and put even more passion into it. Brooke's hands spontaneously wrapped around Lucas' neck and he lifted her with disconcerting ease. His hands and forearms held her against him at hip level since her feet weren't touching the ground.
_ LUCAS : I don't give a damn about the consequences of what we're about to do Brooke... I want you so bad !
_ BROOKE : Do what you want with me, Lucas... But only tonight... I'd rather have one night with you than nothing at all.
Not even thinking about whether they would be satisfied with it, nothing mattered anymore... Nothing mattered anymore but his hot, wet mouth devouring hers... Nothing mattered anymore but the intensity of each caress, each kiss, each sigh.
_ LUCAS : I really need to tell you something before I take you inside and take off this t-shirt...
_ BROOKE : Something that can't wait !?
_ LUCAS : I'll have forgotten in a few seconds because I'll be so distracted by the sublime woman I'll have before my eyes. And I'll soon no longer be able to speak because my mouth has many other projects...
_ BROOKE : Oh yeah !? So tell me while you still remember...
_ LUCAS : I've never seen a girl wear a shapeless and faded t-shirt so well... You're even sexier in it...
_ BROOKE : Even sexier than what !? Than completely naked !?
_ LUCAS : That's impossible !
And he had taken her inside laughing. It was a perfect night... Between hot sex and passionate sweetness. But it was also the only one between him and her, since the next day, Brooke was determined to turn this page. Not that she wasn't dying for their story to be written in a novel in several volumes... A book that, full of love and after many adventures, would have ended like the fairy tales; "they lived happily ever after and had many children". But they were not going to live happily ever after... In any case, not together. Because behind this page that was turning there was Peyton, her only parent now.