But as soon as Holly’s name left his lips, Anna tightened her hold on Brooke’s arm. She leaned in unnecessarily close, her nose grazing the shell of Brooke's ear.“The Holly?”
Brooke felt a blush creep up from under her suit. She nodded, so small it was almost imperceptible. What was noticeable, was the less than pleased hum that left Anna’s lips mixed with the complete change in her posture. Brooke turned all of her attention to Anna then, the way that Anna’s arm had circled tighter around Brooke's waist, her hand even dipping under and up the side of Brooke's jacket. Then there was the fact that Anna’s smile was incredibly forced, her chin was held higher, she had leaned herself into Brooke more—possessive. Brooke felt herself blush as she realized it. Anna Fourchette was jealous and being possessive, and even weirder still, Brooke genuinely liked it.
To say that Holly looked shocked to see Brooke, was an understatement. It was also clear that she didn’t know what an appropriate greeting would be. She went for a hug at the exact same time Brooke went for a handshake. It made for an awkward half hug. One that Brooke got out of as quickly as possible.“Holly, what a surprise. This is Anna, my girlfriend,” Brooke said, happily gesturing to Anna by way of wrapping her arm around Anna’s waist. Brooke was not usually the one to initiate this level of contact, but she was immediately rewarded with Anna practically melting into her side.
Anna’s gaze lingered on Brooke's profile for a bit before she gave Holly even an ounce of attention.“Holly, hi. It’s nice to meet you.” Anna smiled, but Brooke knew it wasn’t Anna’s normal, happy, easy smile. This one had a bite behind it.
Holly looked wickedly uncomfortable shaking Anna’s hand and Brooke couldn’t help but revel in it. She extended her own hand to Holly’s husband.“Daniel, right?” She asked, she’d heard Holly introduce him to her parents, there was no point in pretending she hadn’t heard it. More importantly, there was no sense in pretending that she cared. She had been blindsided by Holly being here, but she surprisingly didn’t care. She had moved on. Not even because of Anna. Just in general, Holly didn’t hurt her anymore. Point eighty-seven to Susan, Brooke thought wondering if there was an appropriate thank you gift to give your therapist.
Daniel seemed completely oblivious to all of the awkward tension. He nodded, pleased that Brooke knew his name.“Sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” he offered, kindly.
“Brooke Kent. I’m Nathaniel’s older sister.” She resisted the urge to say something dramatic about being absent for all these years. In fact she had resisted the very palpable urge throughout every introduction. She was proud of herself. She was also exhausted and ready to sit down. She wouldn’t mind dinner either.
Fortunately, then Jasmine and some of the other women from the bachelorette party arrived. They were a welcome distraction. Brooke surprised herself with just how easy it was to greet them all with happy hugs. It felt like she had been able to make friends with them the night before, genuinely. She had spent so much of her life with only a handful of friends. Her gaze shifted to Anna. She let it linger. She also felt her blush creep up under the collar of her button down again. She should look away. She should figure out who was speaking and give them her attention. Her blatant staring must have gotten Anna’s attention, because they were soon making eye contact. It was only broken when Anna’s eyes flashed down to Brooke's lips.
Then, as if possessed, Brooke leaned forward and pressed the softest kiss to Anna’s lips. She didn’t care if her mother could see, she didn’t care if her father could see either. Anna was lovely and wonderful, and Brooke had fallen, and besides, Anna’s the one who looked at her mouth first.
“Sorry,” Brooke whispered as she pulled back. She had specifically asked Anna to not do that very thing.
Anna just blushed and shook her head.“No, no. You really can do that whenever you’d like.”
Brooke felt herself swallow nervously. She had to remind herself that they were still standing five feet from her parents and that they were in a room full of esteemed dignitaries. All she could think about was Anna. Anna and the possibility of endless kisses.
Much to the entire group's delight, they hadn’t had to continue greeting guests for much longer. Soon after Mel’s friends arrived, they were all allowed to be seated. Sybil and Augustus did forcefully request that Nate and Mel didn’t just sit with their friends, but they gave no such warning to Brooke and Anna, likely because they were still very painfully obviously processing the fact that Brooke had introduced a woman as her partner to every single one of their fancy friends. And worse—in their opinion—no one had batted an eye. Not a single one of their colleagues or friends or illustrious acquaintances who must have been socially advantageous enough to merit an invitation had reacted negatively to Anna at all. They had all been gracious and welcoming. Many of them had gone out of their way to say how nice it was to see Brooke again. And, as a result, her mother couldn’t find it in herself to even look Brooke in the eye.
Mel shot Brooke and Anna a pained look as Nate all but dragged her to a table filled with stuffy, tuxedoed, elderly couples. Anna slipped her hand into Brooke's and tugged a bit, keeping her in her place as Brooke's parents and Nate and Mel dispersed.“Hey,” Anna said softly, biting her bottom lip.
Brooke stepped closer then, letting herself hover just outside of Anna’s gravitational pull.“Hi,” she said back, taking Anna’s other hand in hers.
“I’m really really proud of you,” Anna said, stepping a little bit closer.
Brooke liked how holding both of Anna’s hands felt. She liked any contact with Anna, honestly. She blushed at Anna’s sentiment and stared down at their hands.“Thanks,” she whispered, unsure of how to take the compliment. Her eyes scanned the room.
Anna stepped even closer still, shaking her head. She let out the softest, most gentle laugh.“You’re really amazing, did you know that?”
Brooke frowned.“I didn’t even do anything.” She leaned back, daring to look Anna in the eyes.
“But you did. You just charmed the shit out of everyone here. If I had to deal with everything you’ve endured, I would have come in middle fingers up, but instead… Instead you greeted everyone with smiles, politeness, and genuine civility. And!” Anna had to pause to lower her voice.“And you introduced me as your girlfriend to all of your mother’s peers, right in front of her. And that, Honey. That makes me want to”—she caught herself then, just before she finished her thought.
Brooke was desperate to know the rest.“No, what? What does it make you want to do?”
Just then Jasmine all but ran over to them.“Please please please come fill out our table.” Her dark eyes were almost frantic. Brooke looked over her shoulder and saw that most of Mel’s bridal party had claimed a table with a bunch of guys close to their age. Brooke wondered if the guys were their dates or Nate’s groomsmen. It was probably a combination of both, but it was clear that Jasmine was trying to save them the last two seats of their table. It was incredibly kind of her, but she also kind of wanted to judo chop her for interrupting whatever Anna was about to say.
Anna smiled warmly at Jasmine, and nodded.“Of course, yeah. Let’s go, Honey, before we get stuck with your mother.”
Jasmine threw her head back in a laugh. And with that, Brooke followed them to the table still desperate to know what it was that Anna had almost said.
Chapter Seventeen:
After dinner came the inevitable in an event like this, many of the older men folk slunk off to smoke cigars in one of the many smoking rooms, while live music started to play in the grandest of ballrooms. The lighting dimmed ever so slightly, helping to build an ambiance of dancing, only the music was a waltz, and not many of the people who would dance knew how to dance to music like this. Brooke was pleased to see the Higginbotham’s breaking the ice and being the first to step out on the dance floor. This was one of the only dance styles she was actually confident in, if only she had the ability to work up the courage to ask Anna to dance with her. She knew that Anna would never reject her. Not now, but it was the prospect of waltzing with Anna in front of everyone that shook her to her very core, and left her rooted in her seat.
“I wish I could waltz,” Jasmine said, sipping her wine.
“Oh, same,” Anna said, holding her wine glass up to Jasmine’s, letting them clink together in corroboration.“God, I have watched every season of Dancing with the Stars. I would love to be able to ballroom dance. Any of them. All of them.”
This was it. This was her moment. Brooke cleared her throat.“Would um. Would you like to learn?”
Anna’s eyes shot to hers.“You can waltz?” The question was so sharp it was almost accusatory.
