“You’re a really good kisser,” Anna said, smiling just a little mischievously.
Brooke blushed at the compliment.“Um, thank you?”
Anna nodded and leaned back.“Yeah, like ten-out-of-ten, would recommend. It’s addictive. Holy shit.”
Brooke let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of Anna’s sentence. She did like the sound of Anna being addicted to kissing her. As weird as it was to phrase it that way, she certainly felt the same way. It was definitely not something she had ever been complimented on. Nor something she had ever complimented someone else for. She tried to parse together the words to return the compliment, but Anna spoke first.
“My lipstick is a damn liar,” Anna teased, thumbing over Brooke's bottom lip.
Brooke kissed the pad of Anna’s thumb, not caring at all that Anna meant that there was evidence of their kissing left on her own skin.
Anna’s eyes drifted dangerously back down to Brooke's mouth.“We’re at your brother’s rehearsal dinner,” Anna whispered, though it might have been more to herself than to Brooke.
Brooke nodded and slowly and painfully stepped back.“Right.” She paused, fortifying herself to allow for a moment of vulnerability. She needed reassurance, and she trusted Anna enough to ask for it.“And you’re not mad, right? Like, you’d tell me if I crossed a line?”
“Oh, Honey, I would definitely tell you. But also, I slammed you up against a door.” Anna let out a low chuckle.“I think it’s safe to say this was my fault.”
Brooke blushed.“Well, it’s not like you acted alone.” She straightened her suit jacket and smoothed out the collar of her shirt.“Do I look okay?”
Anna bit her bottom lip.“I think we’re going to have to stop by a bathroom.”
“That bad, huh?”
“I swear my lipstick is supposed to be the non-transferable kind.”
Brooke’s eyebrows raised.“Understood. Guess I should lead the way?”
Anna nodded, but before they left the room, she leaned forward and kissed Brooke once more. This kiss was much less heated, but it was nice. It was a promise for more.
Brooke couldn’t help but laugh at Anna’s lipstick smeared along the edges of her mouth. The whole thing was honestly ridiculous. Anna was waiting very patiently outside the bathroom for Brooke to get cleaned up. It was a single stall unisex situation, that neither of them wanted to risk getting caught in together.
She shut off the water as she wiped at her mouth with a damp paper towel. Her blood ran cold at the sound of Anna outside the restroom.
“Oh, Sybil. Hello,” Anna said, her voice friendly and welcoming. Brooke scrubbed faster, willing the lipstick to come off.
There was a pause, too long for anyone’s comfort before she heard her mother say,“you may call me Mrs. Kent.”
Brooke groaned. Her mother was truly a piece of work.
Thankfully, she heard Anna let out a breath of a laugh and retorted with a simple.“Noted.”
“Is Brooke in there?” She heard her mother ask her question much sharper than necessary.
She couldn’t hear Anna’s response, but she had gotten most of the lipstick off by now. It was as good as it was going to get. She dried her mouth and quickly unlocked and opened the door.“Mother,” Brooke said through gritted teeth.
Her mother’s glare moved between Brooke to Anna and back.“You would do well to not let your lustful nature get the better of you. I know that’s something you’ve always struggled with.” Her mother’s words cut quick and to the bone. It felt like Brooke had been sucker punched in the gut.
Anna stepped in between them, so close to Brooke that her back fully touched Brooke's front.“And I see that you struggle with being a complete bitch when you think no one is watching.”
Brooke’s eyes widened with shock.
Her mother looked like she’d been slapped.
“Unfortunately for you, I don’t care,” Anna continued.“We left the hall so as to not embarrass you. But if you’re so concerned with how that might impact your reputation, I promise, we can just kiss in front of everyone from now on. If you’ll excuse us.” She grabbed Brooke's hand and led her back to the main room before Brooke had even figured out how to form a complete sentence.
“You just called Mother a bitch,” Brooke whispered as Anna all but set her down in her seat.
Anna very genuinely harrumphed as she sat down in her own chair.“She was being a bitch. And she was doing it the shady way, too. Too bad for her, I learned a long time ago that if someone is intentionally rude to you in a place where there are no witnesses, they can’t do anything about your response without first outing themselves.”
