Anna sat their wine glass down immediately and grabbed Brooke’s hands.“Hey, hey, where’d you go?”
Brooke stared down at their hands and took a deep breath.
“Honey?” Anna tried.“B?” Anna reached up and cupped Brooke’s face with the softest touch.“Did I cross a line?”
Brooke shook her head, no.“It’s not you. It’s my mother.” Brooke tilted into Anna’s touch, letting herself seek comfort in her friend, sure something was potentially blooming between them, but Anna had truly become her friend.“I’m sorry, Anna.”
Anna shook her head.“Don’t let her ruin tonight. We’re having a good time. We’re getting to know Mel and her friends and I really like them. Come on,” Anna said with smirk.“Let’s send a real fuck you to your mother and buy something.”
Brooke snorted out an undignified laugh and reached for their shared glass of wine.
“Mel told me that we have some lovers in the house,” Kallie said, drawing back in the attention of the room.“I thought I might gear some of the products towards them.” She lifted her thick eyebrows suggestively, shooting a wink to Anna and Brooke.
Brooke coughed down the wine in her mouth.
All of Mel’s friends let out happy, supportive whistles and claps.
“Here’s our newest line of dildos.” Kallie pulled out four or five dildos and started passing them around the room.“As you can see, they’re all a soft silicone, completely dishwasher safe, we carry them in various sizes and colors, but all of them, and I mean all of them, are compatible with our easy rider harness.” Kallie produced a harness from her never ending Mary Poppins bag of sex toys.
Brooke and Anna’s jaws both dropped. Brooke's in horror, Anna’s in delight. Anna clapped excitedly as Brooke slapped her hand to her forehead.
“B, this is the perfect fuck you to your mother. We have to,” Anna whispered into Brooke’s ear.
Brooke groaned. It really, really was, but it was also in front of her soon to be sister-in-law, someone she happened to actually enjoy. It was at that moment that Mel decided to slide into the seat nearest Brooke.“This is okay, right?” She looked a little panicked, and nervous, like she might have committed a mortal sin.
“Are you kidding?” Anna asked, throwing her head back with a laugh.“This is fantastic. Brooke is a little—just a smidge—concerned about her mother being in the room.”
Brooke huffed and crossed her arms over her chest like a petulant child.
“Oh, Honey, don’t huff at me,” Anna pleaded, pouting with her bottom lip, and reaching back for Brooke's hands.
Brooke forfeited her hands almost immediately, of course she did. She would do anything to keep Anna’s hands in hers. She knew they needed to talk. For all she knew, Anna was thinking of this as a potential London fling. The thought alone hurt Brooke's heart.
Anna beamed at her and turned back to Mel, careful to not let go of Brooke's hands.“We’re having a great time and want to buy some things,” Anna said, looking very pointedly at the harness as it made its way around the room.“We just want to do so without causing any unnecessary drama.”
Brooke knew that was not true in the slightest. Anna wanted to buy the harness with her middle finger up and pointed directly at Brooke's mother while the card swiped through the reader.
Mel snorted.“God, I would actually buy you the harness myself just to see the look on Sybil’s face.”
Brooke let out a surprised laugh at that.“If her face after our kiss was anything to go by, I’d suggest you watch from a few meters away. I wouldn’t want you to be smote with us.”
“I wish I had her look framed. You two are legends,” Mel said. It was clear that she meant it, too.
“I like you,” Anna said to Mel easily.
Mel bit her bottom lip.“Can I overstep?”
Anna’s eyes lit up.“Please. I love it when people do.”
“If I buy you that harness, who's wearing it?”
Brooke choked on her wine for the second drink in a row.“Fucking hell,” she said, louder than intended.
Mel’s face pained.“I’m sorry, I knew that was inappropriate. Forgive me. That was horrid.”
Anna threw her head back with a laugh.“You made Brooke swear again. I think you’re my favorite human.”
Brooke downed the rest of the wine glass before anyone else could say something to make her choke on it. She also chugged it because she needed all the liquid courage she could get before she spoke again. Anna was right. Fuck her mother.“You’re fine, Mel. I just hadn’t expected the question. I know you meant no ill will.”
