“Nope, back on the fucking Easter Islands where they were stolen from,” Anna said, rather loudly.
Brooke actually snorted at that one.“Darling, why did you want to come to the museum?”
Anna grinned at her.“To do this. I thought that was obvious?” She rocked up on her toes and pressed a kiss to Brooke’s cheek. She shot a wink at Brooke after and started tugging her along, into the next room. Brooke’s breath caught in her throat. She wondered if that would ever get less disorienting. If Anna’s endless stream of kisses to her cheek and winks cast in her direction would ever stop causing her heart rate to spike and her cheeks to flush.
“This is so much fun,” Nate said, bumping his shoulder into Brooke.“I’m glad you’re with someone who’s fun.”
Brooke rolled her eyes, though admittedly, she was having way more fun than she ever had in a museum before.
Nate just bumped into her again.“You guys want to ditch this place and get some ice cream?”
Anna skipped.“Yes, holy shit. Yes, I do.”
“Sorted,” Nate nodded towards the exit.
They walked in silence down the busy and bustling streets, letting Nathaniel lead them to what Brooke could only assume would be an ice cream shop. While they wandered, it gave her time to think. Anna occasionally squeezed her fingers, which were still interlaced with her own, but mainly Brooke was just finally able to let herself brace for the inevitability of seeing her mother. After this amazing morning with her brother, she was finally certain that he wasn’t going anywhere. And the more time she spent with Anna, the more she was beginning to suspect that Anna would say yes if she asked her out on a date for real, so why shouldn’t she just face the music with her mother? She already had what she wanted most.
“So, I’ve been thinking about this evening,” she said, probably a little suddenly for her companions.
“Oh?” Anna asked.“What are your thoughts?”
“I think we should go to Mel’s bachelorette party.”
Anna actually squeaked with excitement. Nate looked incredibly pleased.“She’s going to be thrilled, B. She really likes you,” Nate said, with a smile.
Brooke blushed. She’d hardly done anything to earn that, but thinking about it, she already liked Mel, too.
Brooke had never been to a bachelorette party, so she wasn’t entirely sure if any of the clothes she brought would be appropriate. Nate told them what he knew for sure would happen that evening. They knew that it would start with a nice dinner at an upscale restaurant, that there would for sure be dancing, and probably at some point something scandalous like male strippers. He clarified that, while that wasn’t really Mel’s thing, her friends were wild, yet oddly predictable like that.
Brooke didn’t know how to dress for the possibility of male strippers, but she did know that her navy suit with a plain creamy, off-white button up under it would be fine for dinner and adequate for dancing. She wondered desperately what Anna was going to wear. All she knew was that with every outfit change, Anna looked more and more radiant. Brooke sorted through her suitcase. She had packed everything neatly, rolling every garment in such a way that there wouldn’t be any wrinkles. She pulled out each item as she uncovered them, the button up shirt, the navy slacks and the matching suit top. She pulled out her brown dress shoes and matching belt from their accessories compartment. She also dug through her undergarments for her plain white bra and her navy socks. She pulled out her small bag of neatly folded handkerchiefs. All of them would coordinate with her outfit, but if she knew what Anna was going to wear, there was a good chance that she could match her. The thought made her stomach flip. She was worried that might be too much.
She looked at her watch and counted backwards through the timezones in her mind. It would be a good time to call Christine. She’d love to catch her up and maybe ask for some advice. She still hadn’t been able to shake herself out of how good it felt to kiss even the back of Anna’s hand, how much her heart rate spiked every time that Anna pressed a kiss to her cheek, or just how good of a night’s sleep she had gotten on a couch just because Anna had been in her arms.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit call on Christine’s name.
“B! Oh my god, hi!” Christine shrieked through the line.
Brooke chuckled.“Hey, Chris.”
“How’s it going? Tell me everything? How’s Nate? Have you seen your parents? How’s it going with Anna?”
If it had been a text message, that last question would have had a million question marks. Brooke sorted through them all and started rapid firing answers.“It’s going really well, actually. Nate and Mel are both wonderful. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to get to know them. I haven’t seen either of my parents yet, but we did walk past my childhood home and I didn’t have a panic attack, so that’s a win. We might see my mother tonight. Mel has invited me and Anna to her bachelorette party, technically Mother has also been invited. There’s hope she won’t show up, but not much.”
“I’m so glad things are going well with Nate and Mel. Seriously, that makes me so happy,” Christine paused, clearly not wanting to push.
Brooke sighed, listening intently to make sure that Anna wasn’t coming down the hall or anything. She had gone to get ready in the bathroom, something about needing a mirror and better lighting.“And Anna is…” Brooke let out a dramatic hum.“Wonderful? Perfect?”
Christine let out a loud laugh.“I get it, you love her. Have you figured out if she feels the same?”
Brooke didn’t even fight Christine’s word choice, but she did blush at the question.“I think I might have a shot.”
Christine squealed so loudly into her ear that Brooke had to actually move the phone away from her head.“And? What happened? Did you kiss in front of a bunch of people for show and it just felt real?”
Brooke’s eyes widened. No, that had decidedly not happened.“Um, no. But I fell asleep on the couch and she chose to sleep on top of me.”
“Have you kissed at all?” Christine asked.
Brooke's mouth went dry at the thought. She cleared her throat.“No, not really. She keeps kissing my cheek though.”
