“Girlfriend,” Brooke pointedly corrected. Her eyes scanned for Anna as they turned. Finally she found her and shot her a pleading glance. Brooke's heart raced when she saw that Anna looked well and truly pissed. She hoped that rage wasn’t directed at her, but rather Holly. Brooke was so done with whatever game Holly was playing at.
It was in the next spin that Brooke noticed just how sad Holly looked.“I’m sorry,” Holly whispered.“I know I was awful to you. I just wanted the opportunity to apologize. I’m glad you’re happy, BK. She seems lovely.”
Brooke softened then. They had both been so young, and had gone through so much.“It worked out, yeah? You’re happy, too?”
Holly nodded, though her smile seemed forced. Brooke's heart ached at the thought. Holly had made her choice long ago, but it was then that Brooke realized it was a choice she was still making every day. The song thankfully, finally came to an end.“It was nice seeing you again, Brooke,” Holly said softly.“Thank you for the dance.”
Brooke nodded and gave her a soft, understanding smile. She moved quickly and deliberately back to Anna. She didn’t even say anything; she just held her hand out, waiting, hoping that Anna would take it. Anna’s smile was soft, but clearly pleased. They made it back to the dance floor in time for the next song.
“Are you okay?” Anna asked, not bothering with posture. Instead, she leaned into Brooke, wrapping both of her arms around Brooke's neck as they had slow-danced together at the club the night before.
Brooke did nothing to try and correct Anna into any sort of proper form. She just let her hands rest comfortably on Anna’s hips, swaying to the music with her.“I’m fine,” she sighed.“Admittedly, I would have preferred it if you had come to call her a bitch, too.”
Anna let her head fall back in a laugh at that.“Oh is that all I am to you?”
Brooke shook her head.“No,” she whispered.
Anna smiled softly at her then. She leaned forward and kissed Brooke on the cheek.“Good,” she whispered. Her smile was dazzling.“Can we fancy dance again?”
“Darling, I would love nothing more.”
Anna laughed and leaned back, excitement shining in her eyes as she resumed her hold position.“Will you teach me a spin?”
Brooke stopped them smoothly.“Of course. Here, let me show you an underarm spin.”
“I think I like trying new things with you,” Anna said, her voice filled with joy as she followed Brooke’s lead through a few practice underarm spins.
“I like it, too,” Brooke whispered, her heart racing with the thought of all the other things they could try.
After their dance ended, desserts were brought out. Anna all but dragged Brooke back to their seats. When they sat back down, Anna scooted her chair as close to Brooke's as she could. Brooke didn’t mind at all, until she could see the little goose bumps on Anna’s forearms.“Are you cold?” Brooke asked, running her hand down Anna’s arm.
Anna blushed and nodded.“A little, but it’s okay. It’s just because we danced. I got a little sweaty and now I’m sitting still.”
Brooke quickly slipped out of her jacket and held it out for Anna.
Jasmine leaned around Anna then and lifted an eyebrow, she mouthed the word charming. Brooke just smiled at the two of them while Anna shrugged on her jacket. It was just the slightest bit baggy on Anna. It had been tailored specifically for Brooke, so it made sense that it was a little long and the slightest bit oversized for Anna. But the longer she let her gaze linger, Brooke couldn’t help but think about how good Anna would look in a well tailored suit.
Her train of thought was interrupted when they were presented two options for dessert, lemon bars and a triple chocolate cake.“We should each get a different one and then share so we can try them both,” Anna leaned over to whisper. Her nose nuzzled against Brooke’s ear. Her hand slipped higher on Brooke's thigh.
Brooke swallowed nervously. She knew that at this close of a range, Anna had to have heard it. Brooke's eyes shifted down to Anna’s hand on her thigh as she nodded in agreement. When she leaned back enough to search Anna’s eyes she saw a hunger that had nothing to do with desserts. Anna looked as heated as she had in the trophy room.“What do you want?” Brooke asked, her voice suddenly much lower than it had been before.
Anna’s eyes dipped to Brooke's lips.“You,” she whispered. Immediately she leaned back and blinked a few times.“I mean… I meant”—she corrected—“you pick.”
Her hand didn’t leave Brooke's thigh though, and her eyes certainly didn’t leave Brooke's mouth. Brooke could feel her face redden, but she wasn’t uncomfortable about it this time. She smiled a bit shyly, unsure of how to respond. She cleared her throat and decided it would be best to stick to the desserts. They’d be free to leave soon enough after the desserts were passed out and Brooke was pretty ready to get back to Nate and Mel’s.
“I’ll take the lemon bar?” Brooke asked, but Anna just nodded, her focus clearly not on dessert.
Chapter Eighteen:
As the crowd finally started to thin, Mel slid into the seat next to Brooke with a heavy sigh.“How’s it going over here?” She asked, stealing some of Brooke's wine without even bothering to ask. Brooke didn’t mind. She liked how familiar she and Mel had become over the past few days. It was something she wasn’t used to, but something that was surprisingly welcome. She wondered how much Anna had factored into her ability to make friends here.
Anna and Jasmine leaned around Brooke, they had been chatting animatedly for the past few minutes about the potential of Jasmine coming to visit, and Brooke had stopped trying to follow the conversation and had taken to playing with her own signet ring on Anna’s finger. Anna spoke first,“it’s brilliant, Mel. I’m genuinely having a blast.”
Jasmine nodded excitedly.“Truly, you struck gold with your soon to be in-laws.”
Brooke blushed at the pluralization of in-laws. Her fingers stopped fiddling with the‘K’ring on Anna’s pinky. Anna just squeezed her hand reassuringly, immediately Brooke relaxed and resumed her game of twisting her own ring back and forth and around Anna’s finger.
“Well, my evening has consisted of investment advice, retirement advice, the best boats on the market, oh, and the best places to buy a summer home.” Mel rolled her eyes.“You all looked lovely dancing though. B, I might have to talk you into teaching Nate how to dance tonight. He’s horrible at it. We took lessons for tomorrow’s first dance, and it was like he was playing whack a mole with my feet.”
