Brooke kissed down the center of Anna’s body as far as she could kiss without having to let go of Anna’s wrists.
“B, seriously?” Anna giggled as Brooke nipped at her ribs.
Brooke sighed.“I really don’t know. I have good grip strength from different fighting styles. And in general I just enjoy working out, but I promise, I’ll let you go whenever you ask, Darling.”
“It’s not that I want you to let go…” Anna’s eyes softened.“Um, what if I told you that I liked it when you were rubbing my back,” she all but whispered.
“Okay. Would you like a back massage?” Brooke asked, letting go of Anna’s wrists.
Anna bit her bottom lip.“Yes, but I’ve never had one.”
“Talk to me, Darling.” Brooke brushed Anna’s hair back behind her ear and cupped her cheek.“What’s stressing you out right now?”
Anna swallowed nervously. Her eyes closed as her face scrunched up in thought.“I think I’m afraid that you’ll see my back and regret making this real. Like logically, I know you, and I know that you won’t. But it’s just a little scary.” The last bit came out as a whisper.
Brooke waited patiently for Anna to open her eyes. When it seemed like Anna might not do that any time soon, Brooke asked gently,“will you look at me, please?”
“So much changed after that wreck, B.” Anna’s eyes were still squeezed tight.“I was just a normal kid. Maybe a little small for my age, but normal.” A single tear snuck out of the corner of her eye and Brooke quickly wiped it away with the pad of her thumb.“I had to relearn how to walk. I had a back brace and one of those forearm crutches for a few years. And the other kids, they were just so mean.”
Anna’s first kiss not being until she was nineteen and not ever going to a school dance was starting to make sense. Brooke’s heart broke for her. She wanted to swoop in. She wanted to say something dazzling and reassuring, but she didn’t want to close Anna off.
“Not to mention how behind I fell in school. And the back and forth with my dad because my mom could only do so much after...” Another tear fell.“I’ve just never done this before. Sure, I’ve dated a few people, but I’ve never done this. I’ve never slept naked in a bed, or thought about massages. I’ve hooked up with guys in clubs in bathroom stalls, or after a few shitty dates and then left afterwards. What if I’m a shitty girlfriend? I’ve never really even been a girlfriend.” Her eyes blinked open with that startling realization. She looked a bit panicked, if Brooke had to label Anna’s emotion.
“Anna, I’m in love with you. Nothing that you’re saying is even remotely going to scare me away.” Brooke ducked down into Anna’s gaze.“Hey, look at me?” Brooke waited for Anna to return her gaze.“It’s okay that we have different dating histories. I’ve never exactly had a successful or healthy relationship. Just because a few of them had a label didn’t make them any good.” She offered a small smile.“I want to learn how to do this with you. I might not have been a good girlfriend before, but I want to be a good girlfriend to you.”
“I find it hard to believe you weren’t a good girlfriend,” Anna mumbled.
“And I don’t know how anyone lucky enough to catch your attention for even a minute would not do everything in their power to keep it.”
“I’m still nervous,” Anna whispered.
Brooke leaned forward to kiss Anna’s forehead.“Anna, loving you, all of you, is a privilege and an honor. I do not take it lightly. I’m not going anywhere. Unless you tell me to bugger off I guess, but that would make me very sad.”
Anna rolled her eyes.“Seriously, do you have a degree in being the perfect human?”
Brooke laughed.“No, I’ve simply gotten good at treating others how I’d like to be treated.” She tilted Anna’s chin up so that she could kiss her properly.“Can I ask you a question?”
Anna hummed, in response.
“With you never having had a massage, do you always have the little knots in your back?”
Anna groaned.“Yeah, actually. My back hurts on a low simmer most of the time. Especially after a long day at the restaurant. I think dancing in heels last night might have left me a little sore today.” Anna blushed and tried to lighten the mood with flirting after their heavy conversation.“Or maybe it was something else I did last night.”
Brooke nodded, but didn’t take the bait.“So where do we fall on the me giving you a back massage situation?”
Anna’s breath caught in her throat.“You’ve made it back to that?”
“Yes. Darling, I want to make you feel good. Always, and if your back is bothering you, I’d like to help.”
“Careful with that, you’ll end up forced to give me back rubs every day.” It was clear that Anna was trying to tease when she was still clearly caught in her fear of being rejected. Brooke would just have to show her, every day, that that would absolutely never happen.
Brooke took up the light-hearted tone, lifting her body up into a one armed plank to look down in between them.“Question, would you be topless for these everyday back rubs?”
Anna let out a laugh of disbelief.“I still can’t get over how you can go from being the world’s most charming person to solely focused on my tits in like, half a second.”
“Ah, the duality of man,” Brooke mused.
Anna reached up and cupped Brooke's face.“I’m sorry I got so serious on you.”
