“Well, isn’t that… incredibly uncomfortable?” Brooke asked, still clearly distraught.
Anna nodded while waiting for Maddie to pick up.
“I can hold your phone.” Brooke’s eyes dropped for half a second.“Where’s your wallet?”
Anna was laughing too hard to reply to Maddie as the first set of “hello’s” came in through the phone.
“Anna, are you good?” Maddie asked, clearly concerned.“Are you laughing or crying?”
“Both,” Anna wheezed.“Mainly laughing though. But I called because I need an explanation as to why Brooke is about to start pacing because she promised you that she wouldn’t ride in a limo and here we are, the last two members of a bridal party, holding up a limo.
Maddie coughed out a laugh.“Tough shit, no limos.”
“See, I told you,” Brooke muttered.
Anna huffed.“No, both of you. This is ridiculous. I’ve never gotten to ride in a limo and I want to, but I’m not about to leave Honey-B behind.”
Maddie let out a long dramatic sigh.“Fine, but Brooke-middle name-Kent, I swear to God, if you break any more of that promise I will fly out there with my shovel.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Brooke said, all but trying to shake Maddie’s hand through the phone.
“You two are seriously weird. I was gone for less than ten minutes,” Anna looked both fond and annoyed about the fact that Brooke and Maddie already seemed to have an inside joke… inside something… between them.
“Yeah, yeah,” Maddie said.“Oh, and by the way, Chris and Viv say hey.”
Brooke frowned.“Chris and Viv?”
“Yep, Shan and I invited them over today for drinks. We’re just discussing how ridiculous it is that”—
Anna unceremoniously hung up the phone.“See, we can ride in the limo.” She smiled warmly then, like she hadn’t just hung up on her best friend. She held her phone out to Brooke who stared at it dumbly, more than a little aware of the fact that it had just been stuffed inside Anna’s bra.
She swallowed uncomfortably, but took the phone from her, tucking it safely into the inside pocket of her suit.“You never actually answered the wallet question,” Brooke said, her voice laced with fear.
Anna chuckled again, but simply pressed a kiss to Brooke's cheek.“My I.D. and credit card are in my phone case. I’m not that skilled.”
Brooke blushed, that made so much more sense.“I’m glad.” She smiled softly.“I have them if you need them.”
Anna winked at her before grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the limousine.“Come on, Honey. Let’s go stress your mother out.”
Stop two of the bachelorette party tour was a nightclub. If there was an exact opposite of Brooke’s‘scene,’this would be it. The music was blaring, the drinks were flowing, and her mother was still with them. She could not for the life of her, figure out why her mother decided to join them for anything after that incredibly awkward dinner other than spite. Anna seemed quite determined to keep it from ruining their night.
Brooke was sitting awkwardly in the corner of a little VIP area that Mel and her friends had reserved for a few hours that night. The reserved area made the whole situation a lot more bearable. It wasn’t just that her mother had decided to tag along, Anna was hot, and men (and women, honestly) were staring. Brooke knew she didn’t really have a right to be jealous. She also knew that Anna would have rejected anyone who hit on her, she was very pointedly making sure that anyone who hit on her knew that she was there with Brooke. But still, despite the fact that Anna’s loyalty as a friend was on full display, Brooke hated watching as other people swarmed every time Anna got up to dance. It was enough to almost tempt Brooke out of the booth to join her, but club dancing had never been her forte. Ballet? Absolutely. Jazz, tap, waltzing even, but hip hop? Unfortunately, not. She didn’t have the confidence.
Anna ducked under the little velvet rope that partitioned their section off from the rest of the club. She headed straight for Brooke and wiggled across the bench of the booth until she was practically sitting in Brooke's lap.“Dance with me, B?” Anna asked. She was so close to Brooke's ear, Brooke could feel her lips.
It was so that she could hear her, Brooke reminded herself. It didn’t have anything to do with wanting to be that close to her, it was just so that Brooke could make out the words. She felt certain. She leaned her head back to look at Anna’s face, and immediately forgot how to breathe. Wanting. It was the only word she could think to describe the look in Anna’s eyes. Brooke swallowed, nervously.“I’m not a very good dancer when it comes to music like this,” she answered, letting herself take up as much of Anna’s personal space as Anna had hers. Mirroring, she was vaguely aware that that was the term.
“I don’t care.” The look that followed sent a wave of heat through Brooke’s body more profound than anything else in her life ever had. She nodded lamely in response. Her eyes looked down at her hand as Anna laced their fingers together and all but dragged her out of the booth.
The dance floor was packed, sweaty bodies in various states of intoxication and undress moved together. A woman in lingerie weaved through the crowds carrying a tray of shot glasses. Anna flagged her down and snagged two of the full glasses. She lifted an eyebrow playfully. Brooke, under any other circumstance would have said no. She wasn’t a fan of taking drinks off mysterious trays in overfull dance clubs, but she also really needed the liquid courage.
They clinked their shot glasses together and tilted their heads back, swallowing the harsh liquid in one go. It wasn’t the worst shot she had ever taken. She stared at the glass in surprise.
“It’s a lemon drop,” Anna yelled over the music, stacking her empty shot glass with Brooke's and placing them back on the woman’s tray.“Come on,” Anna continued, biting her bottom lip and dragging Brooke further onto the dance floor.
The song changed. Brooke was vaguely familiar with the words pumping through the club. She didn’t have time to try and place the lyrics before Anna spun around in front of her and backed her entire body into Brooke's front. This wasn’t dancing. Brooke had danced in clubs with friends before. This was absolutely not that. This was Anna grinding into her, rolling her entire body into Brooke's.
Brooke didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know what was appropriate, or what would cross some unspoken line, and she sure as hell did not know what to do with her hands. Fortunately, Anna never missed a cue. She grabbed Brooke's hands and guided them around her waist to her hips. The moment was over almost as quickly as it had begun, because soon Anna was spinning and taking a step back, letting air flow between them. Brooke missed her instantly, but was thankful for the chance to catch up. They danced and laughed their way through the next several songs until Brooke had worked up an actual sweat.
