Brooke watched as Anna set the black bag down on the little chair that was in their room. She couldn’t believe that Anna had kissed her, more than once. She forced herself to move, to go gather her pajamas. Anna was moving much faster than she was. She probably hadn’t had as much to drink. She seemed far more coherent and capable.
Anna triumphantly held up her pajamas.“I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
Brooke nodded, still trying to take everything in. Anna had kissed her. She had also downloaded a show for Brooke and wanted to snuggle? It was all so much more than Brooke had expected. Brooke had expected separate rooms, holding hands at most. They needed to talk, but now was not the right moment. There was a really good chance that Brooke wouldn’t remember any of this anyways.
She quickly shed her suit and slipped into the pajamas that Anna had gotten for her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered that they should wash their pajamas tomorrow, per Good Housekeeping's article on pajamas, she knew it’d be time, but Brooke was still hung up on the fact that Anna had gotten her silky pajamas in the first place, not to mention the fact that they still smelled like Anna’s laundry detergent.
Anna knocked softly on the door.
“You may enter,” Brooke called out, ready to go brush her teeth and get ready for bed. Bed. Anna wanted to snuggle. Brooke's thoughts were on a loop. Anna looked so perfect having already completed her nightly routine. Not that she hadn’t looked perfect all done up in her dress with her makeup all done, but also just like this. Brooke smiled at her fondly.“You looked stunning tonight,” she said before she could stop herself.
Anna blushed.“Thank you.” She sounded surprisingly shy as she draped her dress over the back of the chair.“I was expecting it, but it’s still worth saying, you really, really can rock the shit out of a suit.”
It was Brooke's turn to blush. She swallowed nervously.“I’m uh, I’m going to go get ready for bed.”
Anna nodded.“Sure, I’ll pull up the show.”
When Brooke came back from the bathroom, Anna was all tucked under the covers with a tablet in her hands. Brooke was just trying to not psych herself out. She was letting the alcohol keep her confidence up. Anna kept kissing her, not the other way around. She slipped under the covers on her side of the bed and laid flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. She wasn’t sure how to go about snuggling, hopefully Anna would take the lead.
Anna let out a little laugh from beside her and held out the tablet for Brooke to take. She wasn’t too sure how she could snuggle Anna and hold the tablet at the same time, but she was curious enough to not argue.
“Come on, B,” Anna whispered, nudging Brooke's shoulder.“Roll over.” There was another soft chuckle.“Let me snuggle you. You’ve had one helluva evening.”
Brooke froze, Anna wanted to snuggle her? Brooke had never really thought of herself as‘the little spoon.’She shot a nervous glance at Anna who was just smiling softly at her, waiting patiently. Brooke slowly rolled over, facing away from Anna, both a little confused and a little touched. Anna wiggled an arm under Brooke's pillow, right at Brooke's neck level. She scooted closer until her entire front was pressed up against Brooke's back.
It was actually incredibly comforting. Anna reached over Brooke and pressed play on the show. Brooke fully expected Anna to leave her arm there or to maybe move it to her waist, but instead, Anna’s fingers raked through her hair. Anna’s short nails scratched against her scalp. Brooke all but moaned. Anna was right, she really did like her hair played with.
She felt herself slowly sinking into it. Into the feeling of Anna’s body pressed against her own, into the feeling of her fingers running through her hair. She hadn’t expected to enjoy being held like this, but before the first episode had even finished, Brooke had fallen peacefully and blissfully asleep.
Chapter Fifteen:
The first thing Brooke noticed when she woke up was that the sunlight was already filtering in through the windows. She must have slept through the entire night for the second night in a row. The second thing that she noticed is that she was unable to move. Her eyes fluttered open. At some point in the night, she had rolled onto her back and Anna and rolled completely on top of her. The third thing she noticed is that her heart rate was completely normal. She smiled, wondering which moment over the past few days had been the exact second that had taken Anna from someone who caused her heart palpitations to someone that brought her an overwhelming sense of calm.
Brooke thought about Anna’s lips against her own, and even the thought of it caused her pulse to spike again. So, not that second. No, it was somewhere between the protective way in which Anna’s hand had stayed in hers all night and the way she had run her fingers though Brooke's hair until she had fallen asleep. Brooke smiled softly and wiggled one of her arms free.
“No,” Anna whispered into her neck. Her breath tickled against Brooke's jaw.“More sleep,” she snuggled in tighter, her face smushing against the sides of Brooke's throat. God her voice was heavenly like this, deeper, thicker, more intimate.
Brooke swallowed nervously and immediately felt the small tug of Anna’s lips into a mischievous smile against her own skin. What was she thinking about heart rate earlier?
“What time is it?” Anna asked, her face still fully buried in Brooke's neck.
Brooke fumbled with her phone on her nightstand. Her eyes widened immediately, it was almost eleven. Brooke hadn’t slept this late in her entire life. She tried to sit up, but Anna just tightened her grip and held her in place.“Anna, come on we have to get it up. It’s nearly eleven.”
“Okay, and?” Anna asked, not moving in the slightest.
“And, we’ve wasted like half the day.” Brooke hated feeling like she wasted time.
“Honey?” Anna said softly, lifting herself up so she was hovering over Brooke.
Brooke froze, afraid to move or breathe or say anything that might shatter the moment.
“We don’t have anything on the agenda until this evening. The rehearsal dinner. Remember? We’re on vacation. We were out until like two in the morning last night. It’s okay that we slept. It’s good, even.”
“But…” Brooke didn’t actually have anything to counter that with. Anna was right, Brooke was just bad at relaxing. God Anna was beautiful hovered over her like this, her dark eyes soft with sleep, her hair all mussed from the bed. Brooke's eyes flickered down to Anna’s lips. She couldn’t stop herself. She knew how soft they felt against her own. They should talk. In the sober, quiet of the morning, they should talk. Just as Brooke was about to say something, Anna leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek and then shuffled off of her. Immediately after requesting more sleep? Brooke was going to get whiplash.
Brooke had never been so sad for her personal space back. She frowned. What had just happened? She wondered if she said something wrong, or maybe didn’t say something right. Either way, Anna had already gotten out of bed before she could process. Brooke couldn’t shake the sinking feeling that last night's kisses had been more alcohol induced than they had been anything else. The thought made her heart burn, but she shook the thought aside. She should go back to her original plan. They just needed to get through the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and then the flight home. In a few days, without the pressure of her family, she could ask Anna on a real date and they could start from the beginning, for real this time.
“We should make brunch,” Anna declared, pulling Brooke from her thoughts.
