Mel rolled her eyes.“Admittedly, he was supposed to just be a hookup.”
Brooke's jaw dropped and Anna let out a surprised laugh and the tension in the car was eased back to normal.
They pulled to a spot outside a rather nice flat a few blocks away from where Brooke and Nate had grown up.“Home sweet home,” Nate said, cutting the engine with the press of a button.“Let’s get you settled in. I’m sure you’re exhausted."
Brooke was well and truly emotionally and physically exhausted. And for every ounce of her that wanted to sit and try to learn about every important moment of Nathaniel’s life over the past thirteen years, there was another, equal ounce, that needed to take a brief nap or Brooke might have an emotional breakdown.
The four of them each grabbed a bag from the trunk and hefted them up and into the house. Brooke smiled. It felt like a home. It was sleek and modern, sure, but there were photos of Nate and Mel and some people that Brooke had never seen before. That thought might make her cry again. She had no idea who Nate’s best friend was. Or what they looked like. She didn’t know anything, except for the fact that Anna’s hand back in hers was keeping her grounded in a way that she couldn’t explain.
Nathaniel must have been able to sense her overwhelmed levels of emotions.“Here, let me show you to your room.” He looked at his watch, worn the same way as Brooke's, on his right wrist with the face on the inside.“It’s just after seven, why don’t you two get a quick nap in. Might make the jet lag ease a bit, yeah?”
Anna nodded, but both she and Brooke knew that she had slept soundly on the plane. It was Brooke who could use a minute of rest.
Brooke almost protested, but Anna wrapped an arm around her waist.“Come, Honey-B. Just an hour or two. I won’t let you sleep the day away.”
Brooke could feel a blush spreading across her cheeks. She was glad that Nate was going to show them to their rooms and she could have a moment to herself to just breathe and relax.“Sure, Nate. That sounds great actually.”
He grinned at them both and waved them farther into his home. Brooke wanted to stop and look at everything. She wanted to ask about every piece of artwork on the walls, every framed photograph. She didn’t recognize any of the faces or the places. He had lived a whole life without her and she just wanted to know about it. But they were both right, she should get a little sleep first.
“There’s a lavatory just through here, should you need one,” Nathaniel said, gesturing through a door frame.“And then your room will be right here next to it.” He pushed open a door to reveal a nice sized guest room. Like the rest of the house, its style was clean, minimalist, and modern. There was a nice queen sized bed with a plush, light gray tufted headboard, and a white fluffy duvet. There were two, matching circular bedside tables and a cozy little reading area complete with a classic wingback chair.
Brooke nodded.“Perfect, and where am I staying?”
Nate frowned.“What? Through here.”
“Okay, Anna then,” Brooke said, too tired to figure out what Nathaniel was implying.
Nathaniel frowned and looked from Brooke to Anna and back.“I’m not making you stay in separate rooms, B. This isn’t Mother’s house. And I’m not some naive child anymore. Okay? Mel and I both live here.” He let out a laugh.“And I can tell you, that is neither of our rooms. Okay? It’s fine. I would never split up you and your girlfriend.” He paused.“Shit, partner? Am I already fucking up?” He scratched the hair on his chin nervously.
Brooke didn’t know what or how to process. She wished she’d managed a nap prior to this conversation. And since when did Nate say fuck? Brooke could feel how red her face was, but yet she couldn’t get words to form.
Anna finally let out an easy laugh that seemed to hold none of the anxiety that must have clearly been written on Brooke's face.“Thank you, Nate. It’s perfect.” She dared a glance at Brooke and shot another genuine smile back to Nate.“She’s just nervous to have to spend almost a week straight with my kicking.” When Brooke never managed a response, Anna continued.“Partner or girlfriend works just fine for us. You’re not fucking up.” She supplied him with an easy wink.
Nathaniel laughed at that.“Well, I’ll let you get settled in. What do you say, three hours?”
Brooke nodded and blinked in confusion. What was happening? She had to get Anna out of this. She’d rent a hotel. They could just blame her childhood trauma as her need for privacy. Shit that burned a little real. Nathaniel retreated down the hallway before Brooke could manage to protest again. Before she could start apologizing to Anna, Anna grabbed her wrist, pulled her into the bedroom, and shut the door behind them. Brooke’s eyes slowly shifted to the bed and widened with fear.
“Anna, you have to know this was not my intention. I had no idea he would even think to put us in the same room,” Brooke started launching into an apology.
Anna just smiled a soft, easy smile and shook her head.“B, I’m not mad. I fully expected to share a bed with you.”
Brooke frowned even harder, none of it made any sense.“What?” Brooke felt completely out of control. She took a deep steadying breath.
“Hey, hey,” Anna’s voice was soft.“It’s okay. I’m not mad. I don’t think you’re going to try anything.” She reached out and started rubbing circles on the small of Brooke's back.“Come on, you’re exhausted.” Anna nodded towards the bed.“I’ll rock, paper, scissors you for the right side of the bed.” She lifted an eyebrow playfully, trying to tease the stress out of Brooke.
“Why’d you think I’d prefer the right side of the bed?” Brooke asked, not bothering to lift her hands to play despite the fact that Anna was at the ready.
“I’ve been in your bedroom,” Anna said, pumping her fist once.“Come on, throw on shoot.”
“The bed was made,” Brooke said.
Anna sighed, and dropped her hand.“Yes, but the coaster, actual old school alarm clock, andThe Three Musketeerswere all on your right bedside table. There was just a plant on the left bedside table.”
Brooke’s mouth fell open,but no words came out. She stared at Anna for far too long before she cleared her throat.“You can have the right.”
Anna fist pumped.“It’s for the best. I would have beaten you at rock, paper, scissors.” Anna smirked as she rounded the bed to its right side and started unloading the contents of her pockets onto the incredibly modern bedside table.
“You can’t possibly know that,” Brooke said, rolling her eyes as she moved to the left side of the bed. She didn’t have it in her to tell Anna she would prefer the left side of the bed inthisroom. If she admitted that, it would force her to admit that she would always pick the side of the room closer to the door when it came to sharing a room with Anna, and that would be admitting that she cared, that above everything else, she’d want to keep Anna safe.
