Anna’s eyes widened, but she pointedly didn’t lift her gaze from her book.“That’s okay,” she said softly.“Don’t mind me. You’re good to come get whatever you need.” She did let her eyes dart up briefly.“Do you want me to like, hide under the covers or anything?”
Brooke let out a nervous laugh.“No, it’s fine. I just felt like I should warn you before I slipped in here in just a towel.” Brooke stepped all the way into the room then, shutting the door behind her.
Anna’s eyes dipped decidedly lower than the book she was reading. Brooke watched, as Anna forced herself to refocus on the page in front of her. Brooke pulled out a pair of sweatpants, a sports bra, and another oversized shirt—her second packed pair of house clothes. She shuffled back to the bathroom to slip into them and let herself fully blush and internally freak out over the way Anna’s eyes had lingered on her legs.
Brooke had always known that she had an objectively nice body. She worked out a lot, did yoga, and several forms of martial arts, so she knew that she had well defined muscles and that some people might be into that, but she also knew that she never dressed in such a way that really showed that off. She preferred her clothes to have function and quality over form and pre-purchased wear and tear. She could see now how Anna might not have had any real idea that her legs were as toned as they were. Her boxer briefs from the night before were one of her longer pairs, coming down nearly all the way to the tops of her knees, and besides, she had been drunk. She knew that there would have been no chance of Anna checking her out with her having been as drunk as she was. Brooke all but did a happy dance. She hadn’t expected to enjoy being looked at in that way, but she really and truly enjoyed it. She was proud of the way Anna had clearly had to force herself to look away.
Once she was fully clothed in such a way that would be appropriate to wander around Nate and Mel’s flat, she stepped back out of the bathroom. Anna had already made it up and into the kitchen. Brooke could see her doing a little stretch while talking with Mel. Anna smiled warmly at her as Brooke joined them.
“Feel better?” Anna asked, sliding a glass of water and a bottle of Nurofen across the kitchen counter.
Brooke fought the urge to whimper as she quickly overcame the childproof packaging and chased two painkillers with the entire glass of water. She nodded.“This will help, thank you.”
“Did you and Nate have fun last night?” Mel asked, a teasing smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She let out a laugh, unable to contain it.“He told me a very pretty woman was quite fond of you.”
Brooke blushed, remembering the woman from the night before. Her eyes shot to Anna in a panic.
Mel laughed.“Oh don’t worry. Nate nearly broke a rib from laughing so hard at your repeated use of the sentence‘I have an Anna.’Besides, we’ve all seen how you two look at each other. No other pretty woman stands a chance.”
Brooke wanted to change the subject and fast. She didn’t want to think about how many times she had said that she has an Anna. She didn’t want Anna to know, either.
Fortunately, Anna didn’t seem phased by the conversation. Amused, definitely, but not at all mad or annoyed. Brooke got a full look at Anna’s outfit then, almost laughing when she realized it. Anna had decided to steal her sweatpants after all. Brooke's heart fluttered. Anna looked so cute and casual in her black Adidas joggers. The best part was that Anna was a few inches shorter than Brooke, so she’d had to really push them up at the bottom and rely on the elastic band in the ankles. Brooke bit her bottom lip to keep herself from commenting on it.
“We’re working on a plan for breakfast,” Anna said, drawing Brooke's gaze up from her legs.
Brooke just nodded. She was a flood of emotions. She still hadn’t adjusted to the casual way in which Anna and Mel had bonded. And the memory of her pinky promise with Nate, that they had decided to remain close no matter what, spun around in her mind. Not to mention her moment with Anna this morning that had seemingly turned into a promise for tonight. She’d been up for less than an hour, but was already wondering if she should just take a nap.
“I’ve voluntold you to be my sous chef again,” Anna said with a disarmingly sweet smile.
Brooke blinked a few times.“Voluntold?”
Anna nodded.“Yep, I’ve volunteered your service on your behalf and am now telling you that you have to do it.”
Brooke let out a laugh.“I don’t think that’s a thing.”
“It’s totally a thing. And it’s happened to you, just now. So, come on.” Anna clapped her hands together twice as if to say chop chop.“Apron up, Honey.”
A scientific experiment should be done on the reaction that Anna giving her orders had caused in Brooke's body. But for now, she simply just did as she was told. She tied the apron’s string back behind her back, realizing as she did so that she hadn’t even realized that Anna had been wearing an apron. She’d been so focused on Anna’s legs in her own sweatpants. She also realized that that meant that Anna was back in the apron that said‘kiss the chef,’and Brooke was no longer wildly confused or concerned about if she was allowed to act on that. In fact, Brooke felt almost confident that Anna wanted her to kiss her, maybe as much as Brooke wanted to do the kissing. Before Anna could start into the actual plan for food, Brooke just leaned over and kissed her. It was gentle, and short, probably best described as a peck, but it left Anna blushing and Mel grinning at them from ear to ear.
“I am so glad you both have gotten comfortable around me,” Mel said, genuinely happy.“B, I will never know all the pain this family has put you through. But when you first got here, I could tell you weren’t comfortable even kissing your girlfriend in front of us and now look at you.”
It was Brooke's turn to blush. There would never be any way to explain that she just wasn’t kissing Anna period before she got here, so she just let it go, with a nod and small smile.“Me too.”
Mel left them there in the kitchen, presumably to double or triple check that she had everything she was going to need for the wedding. Brooke wasn’t quite sure how weddings worked, but logistically she had a feeling that Mel would be the type to do all of her getting ready at the actual venue. It seemed the most logical choice, and Mel seemed like a practical individual.
Anna just grinned at Brooke when Mel left the room before tugging on Brooke's apron to steal a few more kisses from her.“Okay,” Anna said, her voice a little wistful and dreamy.“I’ve told Mel that we could make everyone omelets for breakfast.”
Brooke nodded.“Yes, Chef,” she said, her voice intentionally a bit low and playful.
Anna’s eyes darkened immediately, but she just huffed out a laugh and shook her head.“You know, for someone who comes across as a little shy, I think you know exactly what you’re doing with that.” Anna put a bit of space between them and started to rummage through Nate and Mel’s refrigerator.
“And what’s that, Chef?” Brooke asked, leaning into it.
Anna nearly dropped the ingredients she was holding. She let out a slow, dramatic sigh as she started to pile up the vegetables, eggs, ham, and cheese they were going to be using.“Just, can you wash the veggies for me?” She asked, her words deliberate. She started digging through another cupboard for a proper sized pan.
Brooke let out a low chuckle, having entirely too much fun with her newfound ability to fluster the shit out of Anna Fourchette.“Of course, Chef. Wouldn’t want anything to be too dirty for you.”
That did get Anna to drop the pan she was holding.“Fucking hell, B. Do you want breakfast or not?”
