Anna relaxed back into Brooke's arms.“This is literally so comfortable. You should come with a warning label. Secretly the best snuggler ever.”
Thinking back on it, there were very few people in the world that could serve as reference for that. Brooke had snuggled, genuinely snuggled with four people in her entire life, and that was including Anna.
“Hey, love birds,” Mel said, breezing into the room. She was already dressed for the day. Brooke suddenly remembered that Melanie had invited them to join her for her bachelorette party. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Brooke's stomach when she remembered that her mother had also been invited to it.
“Morning, Mel,” Anna chirped, slowly lifting herself all the way up so that she was seated in the teensiest space available between Brooke and the edge of the couch.
Brooke realized then that at some-point a blanket had been added to the mix. She wondered if that had been Anna’s doing or if Nate or Mel had tucked them in before going to their own room.
“I would ask if you slept well, but you were both practically unconscious when Nate and I went to bed,” Mel said with a chuckle.“And I see that that has barely changed,” she teased.
Brooke managed a hum. She hoped it came off as equally playful, but her mind was racing.
“So, today, I have to actually do a lot of wedding stuff, run by the venue, go do last minute prep for the bachelorette party, all that jazz. Any chance you’re coming to the party tonight?” Mel asked. She was hopeful, that much was clear. And it was nice to feel wanted, but Brooke's mother could potentially be there and that sounded awful. Brooke would rather be stung by a thousand wasps than deal with her mother.
“I think you broke B,” Anna said with a gentle laugh. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the side of Brooke's face, her bottom lip actually making contact with the corner of Brooke's mouth. Anna turned her attention back to Mel.“Let me get some tea and maybe some food in her system and we can try to get an answer out of her.” Anna reached down and rubbed a soothing hand down Brooke's arm as she said it.
Brooke’s throat tightened. She had never been taken care of before. She’d never had anyone buy her more time, or help her avoid things she really didn’t want to do. She’d never been given that option. Left to her own devices, Brooke would have caved immediately. She would have said yes to the bachelorette party out of respect for being invited, but Anna was pressing for her to continue to have an option and she was giving her the time and space she needed to make a choice. Brooke caught Anna’s hand in her own as it made a long sweep down the expanse of her forearm and brought it to her lips. She brushed her lips against Anna’s knuckles. The action had caught them both off guard. Anna with a blush and a smile, and Brooke with the overwhelming desire to have her mouth on more of Anna’s body.
“That sounds good,” Mel added cheerily.“And again, there’s no pressure. I just think you’ll have a good time and I think you’d really get along with some of my friends.”
“Thanks, Mel,” Brooke managed, though her thoughts had not left the feeling of Anna’s skin against her lips or the blush it had caused to creep up the side of Anna’s neck.
Mel waved at them, clearly unaware of the speed in which Brooke’s heart was racing.“Alright, well I’ll see you at some point today I’m sure, but I hope you have a nice day.”
“Bye, Mel,” they both called after her. They stayed frozen in place as they heard Nate stumble through the kitchen and kiss his almost wife goodbye.
Anna turned her attention back to Brooke.“Tea? Coffee? I don’t actually know what you drink to start the day. I never thought to ask that.”
Brooke blushed, the intimacy of learning this type of thing about someone else was so foreign to her.“At home, it’s usually a nice cup of tea. But, if I’m out and about, I do enjoy coffee with just a splash of cream. Just enough to remove the bitterness. Hot chocolate for you?” She asked, teasing.
Anna bit back a smile.“Orange juice, if that’s an option.”
“Wild one, you,” Brooke flirted. Her heart took a tumble. That’s exactly what this was, it was flirting. Brooke could really use a scalding hot shower and a phone call with Christine. She needed guidance, she needed advice, she really just needed someone to remind her that this wasn’t a terrible, horrible, awful idea.
“Hey, Honey?” Anna asked before getting up.
Brooke gave Anna her undivided attention, firmly telling her thoughts to calm down for half a second.
“Do youwantto go to the bachelorette party tonight?” Anna asked. Her question was gentle and understanding. Brooke knew that there was no pressure either way.
She shrugged.“I would love to go meet Mel’s friends. And I’ve never actually been to a bachelorette party, so it would kind of give me some ideas for Christine’s–which just feels inevitable at this point, but…” Brooke sucked in a breath.
“Honey, I know you’re scared that your mom might be there, but hear me out,” Anna said, gently. She squeezed Brooke's hand comfortingly.“This might be a good time to see her. There won’t be the added pressure of the rehearsal dinner, or actual wedding, and I think Mel has made it perfectly clear that she’ll protect us both if she needs to,” Anna added with a laugh, but she sobered up for the next bit.“You don’t have to decide now, B. I just want you to know that if you want to go and meet Mel’s friends and have a good time, I’ve got you. And I think so does Mel.”
Brooke nodded, not knowing what to say to that.
Anna just smiled, clearly knowing how to read Brooke well enough that she knew when to push and when to give her a moment. She leaned down and pressed another kiss to Brooke's cheek.“I’m going to go find you tea or coffee, whatever they have that’s hot and caffeinated, and then I’m going to take a shower. Sound good?” She asked, more just to make sure that Brooke had followed along.
Brooke knew she must be visibly short-circuiting. She just nodded, lamely as she watched Anna stand and do the world's cutest little morning stretch. Part of Brooke wanted to tell her that she’d actually do her muscles a larger favor if she leaned into her stretch a bit more and straightened out her legs, but the other part of her, the part that thankfully controlled her mouth at the moment, told her to shut up and watch as the pajama shirt lifted, revealing the narrowest slit of skin. Brooke's thoughts drifted to the feeling of Anna’s knuckles under her lips. She should say something. She should have let Anna know how she was feeling, but that old nagging fear of rejection coupled with the impending doom of seeing her mother again, forced Brooke's mouth shut with a snap. It could wait. She could get through this with a friend and risk it all when they made it home.
Chapter Twelve:
They took it pretty easy that day, opting to spend the majority of it walking around the British Museum with Nate. Brooke spent most of the visit shushing Nate and Anna as they continually got louder and louder with their remarks about stolen history and the returning of relics to their rightful homes, but she couldn’t help but laugh with them at their antics. They were right, they were just loud and were getting increasingly likely of getting them all thrown out of the museum.
“Oh, you know where this would look great?” Anna asked, coming to stop in front of the Moai.
Nate dramatically crossed his arms over his chest and scratched at his dark chin hairs.“Back in the room just prior to this one?” He asked playfully.
