“And tonight you’re going to a bachelorette party with her?” Christine asked. When Brooke never really responded, she continued,“what are you going to wear?”
“That’s kind of what I was calling you about. Can we switch to video chat?” Brooke asked.
Her phone immediately beeped, Christine hitting the video button before Brooke could even look at her screen.“What are you thinking?” Christine asked as her face filled Brooke's screen.
Brooke showed her the outfit she had selected, all laid out neatly on the bed.“What do you think?” Brooke asked.
“I think it’s perfect. You know you look amazing in a suit.”
“What should I do about these?” Brooke asked, holding up her bag of handkerchiefs.
“Match Anna if you can,” Christine said without a second of hesitation.
“Yeah? That’s a good idea?”
Christine nodded, clearly excited.“It’s a great idea. Don’t forget to take photos, too. I want to get to see you all fancy together.”
Brooke could feel herself blush at the thought. She liked the idea of more pictures with Anna.“Okay, Chris. I’ll make sure we get a few. Thank you for helping.”
Christine lit up with a smile.“Of course, B. I’m happy to.”
“Okay, enough about me. Did you and Todd get your cat?” Brooke asked, more than happy to turn the attention off herself.
“Yes, and he’s the cutest thing in the whole world. Hang on! I’ll go get him so you can see.” Christine disappeared from the screen.
There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, just loud enough to get Brooke's attention.“You may enter,” she called out, while waiting for Christine to catch her new kitten.
Anna stepped into their room and shut the door behind her. Brooke nearly dropped her phone. Her jaw however, definitely dropped. Anna was stunning. She was wearing a burgundy dress that was simply exquisite. Brooke didn’t know names or styles of dresses, but she knew that whatever Anna’s was, it was perfection. It stopped just below her knee, and was so well fitted, Brooke genuinely wondered how she had gotten into it. The neckline was classic, not too revealing, but definitely illustrated some of Anna’s best features, and the sleeves were a patterned lace that Brooke couldn’t help but want to trace with the tips of her fingers.
She was staring. She couldn’t figure out how to move or speak until she heard Christine’s voice through her phone.“And this is Furrrnando.”
Brooke blinked, shaking her head a little as if that might clear her mind.“Um, Christine’s cat,” she said, softly. She pointed at her phone screen. Anna, who had been frozen in the doorway under the intensity of Brooke's gaze, smiled.
She crossed the room in a few easy strides so that she could look at Christine’s new kitten.“Oh Chris, he’s adorable.”
“Holy shit, Anna. You look so hot,” Chris practically screamed.
Anna blushed and bit her bottom lip. Her lips matched her dress, the deep red lipstick was a perfect match. Brooke could tell from this close. She wondered if it would smear, that thought made her blush. She still hadn’t even said anything. She hadn’t even really seen the kitten yet. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Anna. She had regressed to not being able to speak at all in front of Anna.
Anna glanced up at Brooke, clearly nervous.“And what do you think?” The question was so quiet, Brooke wondered if Christine could even hear it.
Brooke couldn’t form words. She couldn’t really think about anything other than the fact that Christine was most definitely watching this exchange.“Um,” Brooke let out a shaky breath and lost the ability to stop her gaze as it traveled—and lingered—all over Anna’s body. She nodded, lamely.“Yeah.” She cringed internally. Um, yeah?? That wasn’t even a real thought.
For some reason, Anna seemed pleased with it. Her blush deepened, nearly to the color of her dress. Her eyes decidedly flashed to Brooke’s lips.
Before either of them could do anything insane, Brooke took a step back and handed Anna her phone.“I should get changed,” she whispered. She gathered up her clothes from their neat stack on the bed and shuffled out of the room, forgetting to even tell Christine goodbye.
In the privacy of the bathroom, Brooke finally exhaled. She had never seen anyone so radiant in her entire life. She was back to feeling completely overwhelmed. She hadn’t even been able to speak. She felt quite certain that she just threw that shot she’d thought she had right out the window.“Fuck,” she whispered to herself. Holy shit that dress had looked good on Anna. And her makeup might as well have been done by a professional. The way her eyelashes were so long they could kiss her cheekbones, and the way the eye liner swooped out to a perfect point. Brooke needed to bring her A-game.
She got dressed quickly. Clothes were easy. She knew she’d look good in them. It was the rest of it that made her nervous. She’d never been much for makeup, but she knew the basics. She didn’t really know how to describe what she was going for. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to make sense standing next to Anna. She wanted for people to see them and think,‘damn, that’s a hot couple,’not‘huh, wonder why they’re together.’
When she was dressed, she carefully did the smokey eye thing that Vivienne had shown her a few years ago. She knew it was a good look for her. It wasn’t often that she got hit on by women, but every time it had happened, her makeup had been done in the way that Viv had shown her. She had determined a while back that it wasn’t coincidental. She also pulled her hair back into its usual bun, only she very carefully selected a few strands of her hair to help frame her face.
When she was done, she took a few deep breaths. She could do this. She could form sentences around Anna. They would look good together. And if her mom dared to show up at the bachelorette party, well, then Brooke would at least be proud of how she looked and how absolutely perfect her date looked.
She knocked softly on their bedroom door and listened carefully for Anna’s answer.
“You can come in,” she heard Anna call out.
