Author's Note: Okay I know how you guys are wondering what the hell am I thinking of making a Leyton story of all things—news flash I'm not nor will I ever. They are friends only in this story who just so happens to be engaged to get married. Couples are: Brucas, Jeyton, and Naley. Friendships are: Breyton, Leyton, Jucas aka Jake and Lucas, Laley aka Lucas and Haley etc…
I honestly don't know how long this story will be or when I can actually update it due to wrecking my brain trying to finish my other two works (which they are avoiding me again ugh). But I can tell you that this may or may not be three to four chapters long. Maybe longer if I get truly inspired. As to my other brainchild Behind the Mask I put it in the corner so I can make it better because I didn't get the response I was hoping for. There I said it. I told you guys before that I do read and appreciate your reviews and I know that I can make it better…I just don't know how yet hehehe. I am still working on Let's make a deal but again it's avoiding me like a plague at the moment as is Invitation. No lie Invitation is like the spoiled child that literally gets away with being too stubborn. Annnd I may be a little off considering that I am referring to my stories as children lol. Okay enough of that. Please read and enjoy and remember to review.
-x-
Marriages arranged by family ensured a match that benefitted the family name, budget and stability. Lucas Scott understood that and always had—well technically he had to get that particular point drilled in his head more than once since he was the age of twelve—nevertheless the point was received that he would have to marry Peyton Sawyer, his betrothed. Her father Larry Sawyer thought it would be a good way of sealing the 2.5 billion dollar deal by not only merging Scott Financial with S Holdings but merging their families as well.
As the dutiful son Lucas didn't really mind that he had to marry in order for the company to become more powerful along with helping out the Sawyer's who were essential friends to the Scott's for five decades. And he actually liked Peyton. He didn't exactly love her but they were really close, having spent all of their lives around each other and he was actually comfortable with the knowledge that he would marry her when he and Peyton both turned twenty-four and they both graduated college. Well… according to their parents wishes that is.
Lucas was now twenty-three considering that he just had a birthday on May 20th. Peyton would be twenty-three on July 12th and graduation was right around the corner on the 28th of June and it was now the 11th. He was kind of nervous having two life changing events so close together but he was prepared for it nonetheless.
He sighed and went back to studying for his upcoming test.
His stomach began grumbling interrupting his thoughts so he headed out. He walked five blocks and ended up at his favorite burger dive that also served as a bar. It was a five minute walk from campus and he always went there for lunch during his three years being in Duke University. Its located on a busy street near his school. Its small and hectic most days with the most amazing burgers in all of North Carolina. From the outside it wasn't impressive to look at with its rustic design but it more than made up for it with the food and drinks.
Lucas entered the restaurant and found it packed with people, laughing and conversing with each other while eating their lunches. It was warm, cozy and charming with a pleasant atmosphere.
"Hey Lucas! Welcome to The Melting Pot how may I help you today?"
"Hey Shelley. What happened to all the waitresses here?" he asked, noticing that no one was waiting tables.
"Well according to my boss they all got really 'sick' which is code for: they got into the supply closet and got wasted. He hasn't found any replacements yet so you customers will have to grab your food here and take it to the table yourselves until we can get a wait staff. So now I have to take orders and run the cash register and serve the non-alcoholic beverages."
Lucas was shocked at the news and said, "Damn that must put extra work on you."
"Nah it's actually ok—I worked at McDonalds before as a fry cook and cashier—it's just like that only without frying fries. Now what can I get ya?"
"Can I get a medium root beer and your Patty Melt and fries please?"
"So your usual?" She smiled when he shrugged in answer to her question. She then punched in his order and said, "That'll be 7.39. Will that be for here or to go?"
"For here." Lucas replied as he handed her his credit card.
Shelley swiped his card then handed him his drink and his receipt, "Your number is on your receipt. I'll call it out when your order is ready."
"Thanks Shell." He said before walking away with his drink and receipt in his hand. Lucas was about to find a table when he ran into someone head on.
"Ohh!" they both gasp as their cold beverages were spilled on their bodies.
"Oh my God! I'm a total klutz—" a girl said in a rush—her raspy voice taking him by surprise with how hot it sounded—as she tried to remedy the situation by trying to remove the brown and red liquid off his crisp white shirt by rubbing it with the napkins she just picked up.
Lucas looked at her and was stunned speechless by how beautiful she was at first. He then shook himself mentally and remembered that she was still apologizing, practically talking a mile a minute until he said, "It's alright—"
"No I should've looked where I was going!" she said going for more napkins.
"It's okay! No use in crying over spilled milk—or in this case spilled soda." He chuckled, as he grabbed a few napkins himself and dabbed his shirt. He looked at her shirt and noted that she got it just as bad as he did and said, "What about you? You're pretty much soaked too."
The brunette looked down and it was as if she just noticed that she was just as messed up as he was. "Right…yeah I guess I was just trying to make amends by cleaning you up." She said as she began wiping at her own purple top.
Lucas tried to remember that he was a gentleman but he couldn't help but notice how hard her nipples were poking through the material. "If you want to make amends you could join me for lunch?" he found himself saying.
She gave him a once over and smirked, "Sure why not."
"Shell can we get two more cups? We crushed ours." Lucas said with a slight chuckle as he walked to the counter. Shelley nodded and handed him two medium drinks one root beer and one tropical punch. "Thanks." He then turned towards her and asked, "Where were you going in such a hurry?"
"I was actually in a hurry to find a table to wait for my food. My feet's been killing me since I got here." She admitted with a wince.
"You from around here?" he asked as he led her to his usual window seat. He was sure that he would have seen her somewhere if she had been—hell he practically knew everyone on campus.
She tossed her reddish brown hair slightly as they took a seat then replied, "No. Actually I was visiting a friend. She goes to Duke University."
"What a coincidence I go there. Maybe I know her. What's her name?"
"Peyton Sawyer."
Lucas stiffened and was a tad shocked that this girl knew Peyton. "Yeah I definitely know her. We were practically raised together since our families are so close."
"Really? That's so funny—she's been one of my best friends since high school. I'm Brooke Davis." She said as she shook his hand.
"So you're Brooke. She has mentioned you from time to time now that you mention it." She hadn't but Brooke didn't need to know that. "I'm Lucas Scott."
She looked at him as if she were assessing him and said, "Huh so you're Lucas…she has told me some things about you."
"Really?" He hoped that Peyton hadn't told her about their families arrangement. He didn't want to analyze why he didn't want her to know about it so he asked, "Like what?"
She smirked and gave him another quick once over then said flirtatiously, "Nothing dirty—although now that I'm looking at you I'm wondering why not."
"With me and Peyton it's not like that." He was quick to say, and he filed that in his mental file cabinet under things he had to analyze later.
"What's it like?" she asked curiously, her expression so openly interested.
"We're just friends." He said in the simplest way possible. Even though it was a slight white lie. They were friends but they weren't just friends—they were getting married next year. And for once that thought caused a bit of unease through him. Shaking himself out of his mini mental panic he asked, "So what things were the things Peyton mentioned about me?"
"Like how you two would spend entire summers together and that you're like her best friend besides me…I was totally jealous of you for that by the way." She noticed that he gave her a confused look then rolled her eyes and explained, "Okay not like that—I was jealous because she would be gone for six long weeks doing secret stuff—obviously with you—that she refuses to tell me about. Then when we're back in school, we're thick as thieves again. Is she like that with you?"
He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a loud, "Order 32! Order 32!"
Lucas looked down at his receipt and was able to read the wet paper. "That's me."
"Then go on up there—I'll be here waiting. Unless my numbers called next." She said with a playful wink.
Lucas grinned and walked to the counter.
Shelley looked at the table he had been sitting at and said, "Hot date?"
He shook his head, "No we share a mutual friend. I just met her today."
"Seems to me like sparks are flying over there but I will take your word for it. Here's your meal." She said with a teasing smile as she gave him his tray of food. "Order 33! Order 33!"
Brooke walked passed him with a smile and gave a little skip to the counter and began talking to Shelley for a bit. Lucas took the opportunity to take her in; she had on bejeweled heels that showed off her nice feet that happened to have a silver toe ring on her left pinky toe, his eyes then traveled up toward her denim mini skirt that displayed the sexiest legs he ever seen, the sliver of creamy skin of her abdomen that was revealed by her purple cami top—she was now walking toward him with a bewitching smile on her face that exhibit deep dimples and he could've sworn that his heart began to pound at the sight of them.
"Now where were we?" she asked as she sat down across from him. She then gasped with widened eyes and said, "Right, now I remember…I asked you if Peyton ever disappeared on you then become thick as thieves with you again?"
Lucas took a bite of his deliciously cheesy sandwich and took a moment to think. "Not really…she's always been there since we were little. Her dad's best friends with my dad so our family has always been close that's why we had vacations together."
Brooke looked down at her food and casually swirled one of her crispy parmesan baked chicken strips in the dipping sauce then said, "I'm surprised that we haven't met sooner because I used to practically live there sophomore year."
Lucas had an aha moment and remembered times when Peyton would call him and cancel their usual meet ups in favor of hanging out with some mystery friend of hers. "Well I guess you and Peyt had your own world and she and I had ours."
"You make it sound like we inhabit different planets or something." She said with a husky chuckle that sent an indescribable yet very pleasant feeling through him.
He had to laugh at that but the truth of the matter was—they kind of did. Lucas was sure that Peyton had her reasons for hiding their…future partnership? from Brooke. What he wasn't sure about was whether he should tell Brooke of it himself or if he should leave it for Peyton to do. In the meantime he was enjoying her presence. "I didn't mean to imply that. I only meant that maybe she gets different things from us. You provide something and I provide something."
"What is it that you provide for her?"
"Friendship, a male point of view on the world, we talk about art, books and—"
Brooke rolled her eyes a bit then interrupted him saying in a playful rushed tone, "Okay so you provide her with the boring things in life—got it."
"I'm not boring!" He protested mildly, offended that she would assume that of him. Even if it was kind of true.
She gave him a bold once over and replied, "So you say."
"I'm not!"
Brooke cocked her head to the side as if observing him and calculating notes in her head as she looked him over. "Okay well judging by your looks Lucas, I'll wager that you're a good boy. You follow every rule set in front of you. You're a point A to point B type—one that never colors outside the lines. Boring." She made sure to smile at the end.
Even her condescending smile was stunning. Lucas rolled his eyes more at himself than at her and said, "That's not who I am."
"That's not what Peyton told me…" she said before sipping her drink.
He narrowed his eyes then asked, "And what did she tell you?"
"Ooh you're getting all broody there Luke!" she teased with a chuckle. "Alright fine I'll tell you before you kill me with that ultra hot stare of yours." She said with a wink, her dimples once again making themselves known. "Peyton told me that all you guys do is hang out in her room or your room and talk and listen to music but mostly talk."
"What's wrong with talking?" he asked, unaware that he was falling for her trap. He then polished of his sandwich in record time.
"Absolutely nothing wrong with it—but what is wrong is if that's all you do." She pointed out before taking a bite of her chicken strip. Her tongue flicked out and licked her lip of the sauce that dripped on her bottom lip. "Tell you what…" she then leaned in and narrowed her eyes in a playful manner then said, "Prove to me that you're not boring as I think you are and I might consider taking back what I said about you."
Lucas chuckled then looked at the ceiling briefly then settled back on her very pretty face, "I won't do it until you agree to fully retract your statement."
She grinned like a cat that ate the canary then said, "Ooh negotiations—I like a little fight in a guy." She then nodded still grinning. "Okay I will take it back if you agree to spend a night with me, ask no questions and follow my every whim. Do you agree?" she asked, a sexy little smirk making her look entirely devious but in the hottest way possible.
"Fine. I agree." He said not exactly sure what he was getting into. But he was fascinated by the way she finished her chicken strips—he never thought himself to have an obsession with watching a woman eat but watching her he could definitely see the appeal.
She took one of his fries then rose gracefully from her seat and said, "Good. Meet me in front of the statue of JB Duke at 7:30 tonight. And don't be late." Lucas watched her walk out of the restaurant, wondering just what she had in store for him.
-x-
At seven twenty-nine Lucas made it to the statue it was a little balmy despite the sun having gone down. What if she decided not to come and left him standing out here like an idiot? He looked down at his phone and saw that she was six minutes late. Sighing he was about to walk back to his dorm room when he spotted her. She was wearing a black off the shoulder top, tight jeans and black skinny heeled boots and a ready smile on her face. "You showed. I half expected you not to come."
Lucas shrugged then replied, "I had to prove you wrong."
She smirked then shot back, "You still have to get through tonight. Come on, my cars over there." Brooke led him to a powder blue Volkswagen Beetle, pressing the unlock button she then said, "Now's your chance to get out of this—speak now or forever hold your peace…"
Lucas purposely remained silent and opened the passenger side and got in.
Brooke chuckled then got in and started the car. "OK…" she then turned on the radio and Liz Phair's 'Why Can't I' was playing. "Ooh I love this song! Get a load of me, get a load of you Walking down the street, and I hardly know you—"
"Ugh can you please turn it to something else?" he asked groaning, unable to believe that his ears weren't bleeding from the sound of such crappy pop music.
"You sound just like Peyton." She said with a laugh. "You could sit and take it. Or you could back out now—I can turn this car right around and—"
Lucas gave her a look and said point blank, "No chance."
"Well my car—my tunes so deal…" she then continued singing the tune softly as she maneuvered through traffic. Brooke drove aimlessly seemingly with no destination in mind which made Lucas nervous since he wasn't used to being kept in the dark. He was now cursing the no questions policy she came up with but kept quiet. Their first stop was in Raleigh—which took two hours and 38 minutes to get to. He looked at her with a light laugh as she parked in the parking lot of Sky-zone.
"What are we doing—"
"Aht-aht no questions remember?" she said as she parked her car. She then got out of the car which prompted him to do the same. "but I will say this…There's no harm in having a 'play date' let's go." she said with a smirk.
Lucas followed her into the building and wondered what she had up her sleeve.
After paying admission they jumped on the multitude of trampolines where Brooke displayed her many athletic and gymnastic abilities at one point Lucas could only stop and stare at her. That was until she jumped next to him and asked, "Why aren't you taking advantage of these awesome trampolines? I want to see what you got!"
Lucas looked over to where there were basketball goals of differing sizes and said, "Alright. Watch and learn."
He made his way over and started doing insane stunts worthy of Michael Jordan and Shaq—or any NBA superstar known for their dunking abilities, slam dunking the ball with ease. Brooke watched him avidly from the sidelines as he showed off for her. He also made three pointers back to back, barely missing any. Once he was done Brooke made a fanning motion with her hands accompanied by a thrilled grin, "Wow you're really good—like on fire good. Do you play on a regular court?"
"My brother and I used to play for our high school varsity team the Ravens back home. He was considered the better player but I have my talents too. He actually plays for the Blue Devils. In fact he has a game tomorrow now that I think about it."
She grabbed the ball from him and asked, "Why aren't you playing college ball?"
Lucas shrugged then explained, "It's Nathan's dream of making it to the NBA one day while I always played for fun. We still play together from time to time when we find time."
"So what's your dream?" she asked before shooting a jump shot and missing.
"Well my dream is to get published before I'm thirty… I'm getting my MBA to please my parents but I'm also taking English lit for myself." He then watched her try the jump shot again and laughed softly, "Okay this is getting embarrassing." He then grabbed the ball and stood next to her then instructed, "Alright square your shoulders to the basket…and you gotta bring the ball right past your nose like this…" he then demonstrated the proper stance she should take. He then stood behind her and instructed, "Alright bend your knees a little…" he then framed her hips and said, "Relax you hips a little…then just shoot."
She did and it got near hit the hoop this time. She gave him a look then said, "I thought that it would sink in!"
"Well it wasn't as terrible as your first two shots." He said after retrieving the ball. He then handed her the basketball and said, "Try it again."
Brooke smirked then did it again this time making it easily. "I just wanted your hands on me for a little while. We gotta go."
They ended up at Ikea in Charlotte which was a two hour and forty minute drive. Once out of the car Brooke took his hand in hers and led him just before the entrance. She looked at him seriously then instructed, "Lucas I want you to close your eyes and count to twenty, once you're done counting—search for me."
He looked at her with a dubious expression then asked, "Hide and seek in Ikea? That's what you want—"
Brooke rolled her eyes then scolded him, "No questions Lucas now close your eyes and get to counting…"
Lucas exhaled and rolled his eyes before closing them, then began counting, feeling like an immense idiot but he was curious about where she was taking this. He felt a couple of people pass him by and heard them chuckling in his direction, probably wondering if he had some sort of disorder about counting before entering a store. Once he was done he entered the warehouse. He was supposed to find her in this huge space? "Doesn't matter—I'm up for the challenge."
He looked around subtly, not wanting to draw attention to himself and the fact that he was engrossed in a childhood game all the while wondering where she would hide in this place. He tried the living rooms, wall units & media storage, the kitchens & dining and had no luck. It wasn't until he reached the bedrooms & bathroom section that he caught sight of her—casually testing out a fully decorated pink, brown and white bed by bouncing on it. She then looked up and saw him and smiled, "Took you long enough. Now you gotta catch me!"
"Don't think I won't!" he warned, finding that he actually liked this.
"Alright come and get me then!" she taunted before bolting out of the bed and running as fast as she could. Lucas gave chase, running after her, careful to not run into anyone. He heard her breathless laugh as she made a quick right, disappearing in a crowd of middle aged women. Lucas looked and saw that she really had disappeared. He was once again on the search for her, looking through the showroom. He spotted her, waving at him near the sofas before taking off again. "God Luke you're such a slowpoke!"
Lucas then turned a corner and found that there were no traffic of people in this particular area then quickened his steps, taking lunging steps to eat up the distance between them from where he last spotted her while looking through the gaps of space to see if he could spot her. Which he did within a few minutes, she was looking around for him, looking adorably lost. He took that opportunity to surprise her and sneaked behind her and tagged her. She immediately jumped and screamed then laughed in surprise. He smiled down at her then said, "Caught ya."
Her hazel eyes twinkled in the florescent light of the tubes above them as she grinned, her dimples on full display. "So you have…which means you get to continue to my next whim."
Where to? He thought and struggled not to voice it. He didn't. Instead he bit off the question he wanted to ask then replied, "Lead the way Pretty girl."
The nickname sort of slipped out but he found that it fit her perfectly. She looked at him in slight shock then smiled at his little shrug. "Come on charmer…" she said as she grasped his hand for the third time that night. And just like the first time it sent strange little electric shocks from where they touched to the rest of his body.
While in Charlotte Brooke stopped at Fahrenheit a restaurant with an incredible view of Charlottes skyline on the 21st floor. She ordered shrimp tempura and calamari as an appetizer. she had the calamari while he enjoyed the delicious shrimp—which she happened to steal a couple of. After eating the appetizers she paid for the food and told a very confused Lucas that they needed to get going. She then drove eight minutes to another one—Beef n bottle, a dark and cozy restaurant with wood paneling and decades-old photographs on the walls. Brooke made sure she ordered them both the 16-ounce choice cut ribeye which came with a salad and choice of one side for their entrée. Once done with the cooked to perfection steak that practically melted in his mouth—Brooke once again paid for their meal and walked out.
She drove nine minutes then parked at Crave Dessert Bar then smirked, "Now for dessert!" Lucas wanted to ask why she wanted to eat at three different restaurants when they could just have stayed at one but he remembered the no questions clause. So he remained quiet and pulled out her seat for her for the third time that night. She then looked at the waiter and ordered the molten lava cake—a chocolate cake, dark chocolate ganache topped with fresh fruit and powdered sugar.
After dessert Brooke stopped by a gas station and had Lucas fill up her car while she paid for the gas and bought a six pack of beer. She then walked to the powder blue car and found him leaning against the trunk looking handsome and broody. "You drive right?"
"Yeah I can drive."
"Good." She tossed him the keys which he caught without hesitation and replied, "You're driving."
"Where to?" he asked as they entered the car.
Brooke looked at him and shrugged, "Why don't you surprise me? Take me somewhere that we can just chill out for awhile. Unless you want to call it a night—"
Lucas chuckled as he began pulling out of the gas station, "Technically it's morning…but no. I don't want to call it a night yet."
She gave him an observing look and smiled softly at him then said, "Good…because I don't want to either…"
After an hour of driving Lucas parked at the beach. Brooke looked at him with a surprised smile. "Wow—you actually read my mind…"
Brooke rushed out of the car and ran along the beach, stripping out of her clothes, giggling along the way. Lucas felt as if he was gut punched by lust after seeing her naked silhouette going into the water. This girl is out of her mind…he thought as he heard her infectious laughter as she splashed in the surf. After reminding himself to breathe he also had to remind that he was gentleman. Multiple times.
After her impromptu swim she skipped over to him and Lucas offered her his sweatshirt. Mostly to cover her curves to get rid of the temptation of her body. "Figured you would be cold."
Brooke flashed him a grateful smile and said, "Thank you gorgeous. Maybe next time you'll join me." She said with a wink before pulling the grey hoodie over her head.
She then spotted him smiling and narrowed her eyes playfully then teased him saying, "Is that a smile? Is Lucas Scott actually having fun?"
Lucas rolled his eyes, knowing what she was implying. "I have fun."
Brooke laughed then replied, "Luke no offense but you're literally the most serious guy I ever met. Sure I just met you but you give off this studious vibe—and combined with what Peyton said…honey you needed a night like this for a long time."
As much as he wanted to argue with her—he knew that she was right. Technically he never went on a real date—considering that he and Peyton were promised to each other. He then caught on to what she said and narrowed his eyes and asked, "Wait what else did Peyt tell you?"
She thought about it then shrugged and answered, "That you can be moody, you take everything seriously—that you don't have any time for fun…well besides spending time with her and your brother—and considering I have to force Peyton to let loose most of the time—that told me a lot."
A few minutes later they just laid out on one of the blankets she happened to have in her trunk, drinking a few beers and just talking while watching the sun come up. "I can't believe that we stayed out this late…" he said as looked away from the scenic sight of the sunrise. He had never spent so much time with someone other than Peyton—in fact he hadn't thought of the curly haired blonde since Brooke mentioned her. Instead he had been thoroughly enjoying hanging out with her very gorgeous best friend.
"I know…I usually get in around four but this is a whole new record for me." She chuckled that was immediately broken off with a long yawn. "Oh my gosh—I'm so sorry it's just I never stayed up this late." Brooke let out a soft laugh and rolled her eyes as she corrected, "At least not just talking."
Lucas nudged her and cracked a smile, "See? It's not bad just talking."
Brooke finished off her third beer then giggled, "Yeah I guess I can see the benefits of that."
"I really had a great time Brooke." He said as he studied her face in the florid orange glow of the sunrise, the way her chocolate locks brushed her cheeks in the gentle breeze. It was like they were frozen in time, his attraction to her growing by the second.
"Me too—for someone that kept my clothes on for most of the night." She said as she sent him a teasing grin. "We should go…I'm pretty sure you have homework to do."
Lucas chuckled then answered, "I actually got done with it before I met you at the statue."
"Ohh…okay well that's really good. But we still should go—I have to get some beauty sleep. And I'm sure you could use some too. Come on…" she said as she walked to the Volkswagen beetle with him following close behind. Before he knew it he was back at Duke, laying in his bed. Dreaming of Brooke Davis.