Brooke let out an uncomfortable laugh, she really needed to work on receiving compliments.“I’m sure I can offer him some pointers.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes.“So on top of Brooke being charming, she’s also humble. I’m starting to regret being a heterosexual.”
Anna laughed, playfully adding,“back off, Jaz, she’s mine.”
“Oh, we know. The whole room knows. You two practically float when you dance. If I hadn’t watched her teach you, I would have thought it was choreographed,” Mel said.
Brooke didn’t think it was possible to blush any harder.
“Yeah, well I guess I need to get her to teach me some more fancy spins before tomorrow night,” Anna said, clearly salty and referencing Brooke's dance with Holly.
“Oh, don’t worry, Brooke looked nauseous the entire time that dance went on. Nate almost got up and intervened. You doing alright, B?” Mel asked.
Brooke shrugged.“I’m much happier now with where I am as a person.” Her eyes shot to Anna, unable to stop herself.
Anna smiled warmly at her, accepting the alluded compliment.“I prefer where you’re at, too.”
Mel chuckled.“I guess here’s where I tell you that you can leave whenever you’re ready. There are several drivers on standby to help guests get home safely. Nate and I are going to be stuck here for another hour or so, but you really don’t have to wait.”
Brooke’s mouth went dry. The thought of getting to leave now, with just Anna was nearly overwhelming. Anna, who was still wearing Brooke's suit jacket, who only a few hours ago had Brooke pinned to a door in the trophy room, who’s lipstick was still smeared across Brooke's bottom lip. Anna, who was now blushing just as badly as Brooke.
The whole table must have followed Brooke’s train of thought because Mel just laughed.“Right, well then. I will see you both in the morning I suppose.” She and Jasmine both politely excused themselves and bid them good night.
Brooke finally dared to look up from Anna’s hand to her eyes.“Um, are you ready to go? Would you like to dance again? Or another dessert or anything?”
Anna smiled softly at her then. Her expression was almost timid. A word Brooke would never have associated with her before. She shook her head no.“I’m ready to leave whenever you are, B.”
Brooke looked around the room. Most of the guests had left or were leaving. After Anna’s showdown with her mother, they had been left alone by her parents, so she didn’t really feel the need to find them to awkwardly say good evening. That being said, there wasn’t really anything left for them to do. She nodded.“Yeah, we can leave.”
She and Anna stood rather quickly after that. Anna moved to shrug out of Brooke's jacket, but Brooke stopped her.“Don’t, Darling. It’s fine. You’re cold.”
Brooke was getting used to the many smiles of Anna Fourchette, but some of them, some of the more reserved, softer smiles, the kind of smile that didn’t show teeth even, were becoming Brooke's favorites. Mainly because it seemed she was the only person with the ability to produce them. Instead of pulling the jacket off, Anna buttoned the buttons and linked her arm through Brooke's as they walked towards the exit and the waiting chauffeurs.
They spotted their same driver from before and, with just a shared look, decided to ask him for a lift back to Nate’s. He was more than happy to oblige. As they slid into the back seat, Brooke realized that the privacy divider was up. Anna realized it immediately as well and as soon as they had pulled away from the Wentworth Country Club, Anna unbuckled her seatbelt and all but climbed into Brooke’s lap.
“Darling, this is probably dangerous,” Brooke murmured through Anna’s sudden flurry of kisses.
“Okay,” Anna whispered, flicking her tongue against Brooke’s bottom lip.
Brooke did nothing to stop her. Instead, she simply opened her mouth, letting Anna explore. Her hands fluttered back to Anna’s waist, very aware that while Clarence, the lovely driver, couldn’t see them, he could possibly hear them.
“Do you want me to stop?” Anna asked, pulling back suddenly to search Brooke's eyes.
Brooke blinked a few times, the whiplash from the kiss to the question jarring her.“No, I was just pointing out that we should probably be wearing seatbelts.” Brooke was nervous she might have overstepped. It was Anna who had been in a traumatic car accident as a child, she just didn’t want anything bad to happen while they made it back to Nate and Mel’s. On the other hand, it was close to an hour long drive with traffic and she didn’t exactly want to go the whole time without kissing Anna, either.
Anna blushed.“Right, right.” She slipped back into the middle seat and buckled herself in.
Brooke’s heart was pounding. She couldn’t believe any of this was really happening. She’d had a crush on Anna for so long. The fact they were just making out, left her practically vibrating. She bit her bottom lip and ducked under the shoulder strap portion of her seatbelt so that she could turn to more properly face Anna.
A mischievous smile pulled at the corner of Anna’s lips.“Brooke Kent, are you about to break a safety rule right now?” She lifted one eyebrow.
Brooke shrugged.“Maybe. I didn’t mean that we had to stop kissing, I just wanted you to be safe.” She leaned fully into Anna’s personal space, waiting with a breath between them.
Anna’s eyes didn’t leave Brooke's mouth, her hands tugged at the collar of Brooke's button down, and Brooke let herself be pulled in. She never wanted to stop kissing Anna. Brooke knew she was gay, obviously. She had lost her family over it, but there had been certain moments in her life that had just confirmed her sexuality to her all over again. This was one of those moments. The feeling of Anna’s lips against her own, the way Anna’s whole body was pressing against hers, how Anna’s hands were desperately seeking unexplored skin. Brooke felt Anna tug at the bottom of her button down, the shirt slipping loose from the waistband of her slacks.
Clarence the driver was long forgotten. Anna’s fingers worked the buttons of Brooke's shirt undone, her hands a bit clumsy but her path was certain and determined. Brooke didn’t let herself over think it. She undid the two buttons of her own suit, and eased it down Anna’s shoulders. Brooke wanted to trace that ridiculous slit, the whole way down the front of Anna’s dress with the tips of her fingers. Anna shuddered as Brooke’s pointer finger slid from the very bottom of the cut up along the edge of the dress.
Brooke stopped when her finger hit the very bottom diamond of Anna’s new necklace. In her mental map of Anna’s sinfully stunning outfit, she knew that meant she was just south of Anna’s sternum. Anna shivered, pulling Brooke from her thoughts. She broke their kiss to search Anna’s deep brown eyes.
