“You say you don’t want to open a door. But it bothered you watching me with Robin tonight. You say all you want is a cordial friendship, but you don’t like seeing me get attention from other women. So, what do you want? Do you want friendship? Do you want to date me? Because there’s no way for your intentions to be any less clear,” Drew leaned back in her seat, resting her case.
She watched a wave of thoughts flood across Brooke’s face all at once.
“You’re right. I haven’t been very clear. You’re beautiful, funny, and very sweet.”
“But…” Drew began.
“But I’m not looking to intertwine my life with someone else right now. So going forward I promise to strictly give friendship energy to our connection.” Brooke’s promise rang hollow to Drew.
“That’s you. I think you’ve clarified what I want from our connection as well. I won’t fall for someone who refuses to acknowledge they want a deeper connection.”
“Good, you deserve someone who doesn’t give you mixed signals.”
“I do deserve that,” Drew acknowledged.
“We should get inside. I have an early day tomorrow,” Drew cut in quickly, shutting down anything else that Brooke might have said. Brooke gave her a disappointed smile but nodded her head.
Once safely inside her own apartment Drew slid down her living room door. She tried desperately to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Brooke had kissed her, then pulled away. Drew knew this was the opposite of what she needed in her life. If Brooke couldn’t give her more than stolen kisses, then Drew couldn’t allow her heart to go any further.
Chapter 7
Brooke’s mother sat on her couch with her perfected non-judgmental expression plastered on her face. The look would probably fool anyone else. But Brooke knew her mother too well. Susan Foster was nothing if not prone to judgements. At least she was making an effort. In the years since her parents got their divorce things had been strained between Brooke and her mom. Still, when her mom had offered to come over for tea, Brooke had been excited for her visit.
To the outside world the two of them had always favored one another. Brooke had inherited her mom’s nose, mouth, and eyes. But the most striking feature they shared was their long and naturally blonde hair. The similarities ended with the physical, and that had perhaps led to their estrangement. Susan was a born extrovert, she lived to be the center of attention. While Brooke couldn’t get out of the spotlight fast enough. Brooke had always been more like her father in regards to personality. Her dad, who was a professor at a local university, was also quiet. He had also never been prone to much variation in his moods. Where her mother was a constant tempest, her dad had always been a calm sunny day.
Pearl jumped up on the coffee table to stare Susan down.
“Dear heavens, are you still alive?” Susan asked the cat.
“Mom,” Brooke gasped.
“What? Honey, this cat was ancient five years ago.”
“Mom, Pearl is barely five years old in total.”
“Really. Well, she certainly acts grouchy. She must be fueled by spite alone.”
Brooke rubbed her temples and sighed. Susan recognized that it was time for a conversation pivot.
“I saw your new neighbor when I was on my way up. She’s quite a looker. You should ask her out,” Susan suggested.
It was almost uncanny how easy it was for her mother to spot a lesbian out in the wild. Unfortunately, Drew was the last person Brooke wanted to talk about right now. Things between them had been tense for the last few days. Ever since the kiss. Brooke was still kicking herself for the whole debacle.
“We haven’t talked much,” Brooke lied. She desperately wanted her mom to pick any other topic. If Susan could pick up on her hesitation to speak about Drew she certainly didn’t let on.
“I just mean that you’re never going to meet someone if you don’t put yourself out there.”
“I don’t want to meet someone,” Brooke insisted.
“Don’t be ridiculous, honey. Just about everyone on the planet wants to be with someone. No one wants to die alone. You don’t want to be alone, you’re just afraid to be with someone. And I know that I share some of the blame for that.”
The words stunned Brooke. For a solid moment she couldn’t speak. This was the first time in years that her mother had referenced the divorce. Let alone taking some responsibility for how the divorce had affected Brooke. She’d considered having conversations with her mom for years. Telling her mom about how out of the blue the entire thing had felt. Now that her mom had opened the door Brooke didn’t know how to proceed. She must have waited too long because it was her mother who broke the silence.
“I hope I didn’t overstep,” Susan sighed. Brooke could tell that her mom was trying.
“You didn’t overstep. I just wasn’t expecting you to make any kind of acknowledgement. I guess it kind of threw me off.”
“I suppose that’s understandable. Brooke when you were growing up and you’d talk about your future it always included a family. A wife and possibly kids of your own someday. Then after the divorce you stopped talking about having a family of your own. I thought you’d grow out of it. That sure the divorce stung, but that you’d be able to move through it with time. Now I see that I should have addressed this sooner. I don’t want you to be afraid of love just because things didn’t work out with your father and I.”
