Chapter Sixteen
Her eyes went down to the offending piece of technology in her hands when it rang. "He owes me so big for making me carry this thing around," Brooklyn grumbled, pressing the talk button. "I haven't gotten lost yet, JC. You don't have to worry."
An impatient sigh sounded on the other end. "I don't understand you. You went clothes shopping with Chris two days ago, and now you're shopping again? New York, you've never been one of those girlie people, and you never like to spend money. You've bought yourself a new jeep, you've done so much shopping lately it's not even funny...you're going to max out your credit card if you don't slow down.
She unlocked the driver's side door of his convertible and slipped into the seat. "I don't use a credit card. I have one for emergencies...have you been going through my wallet? Anyway, for me, it's always cash, because that way I can keep track of everything that I spend. Now, if you don't mind, I believe that I'm going to hang up on you. If I get lost, which is a very slim possibility, I will call you. Otherwise, let me shop in peace, thank you very much." She pressed the talk button again and dropped the phone into her purse. "He really owes me. He owes me so big that it's not even funny. That is the last time that I carry a cell phone with me when I'm not on tour."
With a groan, she pulled out of the packed parking lot, and turned the car to face the road. It had taken a little while to get used to the fact that she was driving a standard that day, since she was so used to driving automatic vehicles, but she was doing pretty good so far.
Her hand reached out and turned up the radio as she drove back towards his apartment complex, which wasn't that far away. It seemed like every ten minutes, JC would call and ask if she was lost. It was cute, at first, but she couldn't take care of herself. That was one thing that Brooklyn was very strong on.
She almost gave a shout of relief when she saw the underground parking lot. Now she wouldn't have to deal with the constant phone calls. The radio started to fizzle out as she drove underneath, and she turned it down again, rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. The car went around the tight turns until she found his spot, and pulled the car into it. The engine was silenced after one more rumble, and she got out of the driver's seat, carrying the keys with her. She reached back in and took her purse, pushing it over one shoulder.
Spinning around, she shut the door and pressed the button on the keychain, locking all the doors before she made her way around to the back of the car. Just as she was going to put the key into the slot for the trunk, two strong arms wrapped around her waist. "Very funny, JC, but I'm not falling for the Helter Skelter, run away to Morocco thing this time. Nice try, though," Brooklyn said, a smile filtering onto her lips. It was flattering to know that he couldn't wait to see her, but one thing nagged at the back of her mind. He had just called her from his apartment, and he didn't know that she was going to be heading back so soon.
Her head craned to the side to see who it was and her brow furrowed. Whoever it was, they disguised themselves pretty well. "What the hell?" she asked, mostly to herself, but the arms that held her captive pushed her towards the trunk of the car. Brooklyn grunted under the force, her hands bracing her against the somewhat cooled car. Her attacked, whoever he was, spun her around before his fist came out towards her. She managed to bring her arms up, and block the blow from her face. Instead, her wrist took the impact, and she could feel a dull warmth spread throughout it.
The only thing she could think of was something that she was going to try before. Her purse strap slipped down to her hand, and she swung the bag in a large arc. She still hadn't cleaned it out, and there was just as much crap in it as the time she had almost tried the move on her own brother. Luckily, she hit her target, and her purse smacked solidly against the side of the person's head. The hit was enough to make the guy think twice and he started to run off.
With almost frantic movements, she pressed the unlock button on the keychain with shaky fingers and opened up the driver's door with her left hand, getting back into the seat. She slammed the door shut behind her and put the key in the ignition, turning the car onto accessory mode before her finger stabbed at the power lock. Brooklyn knew that the radio didn't work in the underground parking lot, but she was hoping that the cell phone would, as she dug it out of her purse, hoping to hell that she hadn't busted it when she flung her purse at the guy's head.
It was still working when she pressed the power button, and she dialed the number to JC's apartment. She really didn't know who else to call at the moment. Her eyes looked around the parking lot and in the mirrors as she waited for him to pick up. "Come on, come on. Why can't you be hanging around the phone now?" she asked, still watching nervously to see if the guy was coming back. The top was up on the car, but it wouldn't take much to break a window and reach for her. The thought alone made her shudder.
"I told you that you were going to get lost sometime today," JC's teasing voice said to her.
As soon as she heard it, she burst into tears. One sob came from her before she took a deep breath. "I'm not lost. I'm in your damned parking space and someone attacked me. He ran, but he could come back and...my wrist is really killing me right now," she said, looking down at her right wrist. It was swelling, and fast.
He was taken aback by her tears in the first place, but when he tried to decipher what she just said, he was stunned silent for a moment. "New York, explain that to me, very slowly, all right?"
"I can't! The loser is probably coming back with a crow bar or something worse! Can't you call someone or something. I'm totally freaking out here. Knowing my luck, I probably broke the damned-"
"New York, just wait a second. I'll be right down there."
Her eyes widened briefly. "No, wait, don't-" She broke off when he hung up on her. "Damn it, why is he doing this? Oh, great, I'm going to be in the headlines for the fact that I got him killed. Wonderful, I'm going to be outcast from the world. This is the last thing that I need right now, and he decides to go all super hero and come down to save me. Or would that be the knight in shining armor? I don't care, Brooklyn, just keep talking. It makes you less nervous." She paused to take a deep breath. "You should have known that something like this was going to happen sometime soon. Something always happens to you when you think your life is going great. You've got a great track record, honey. Might as well keep it up."
She had just fallen silent when she heard someone trying to open up her door. That did it. She screamed as loud as she could and tossed the cell phone, which was still in her hand, into the air. It landed on the passenger seat, ontop of her purse. "New York, unlock the door!" she heard.
Brooklyn hit the lock again, and watched as JC pulled open the door. He bent down and ran his fingers over her face, checking to make sure that there were no cuts there. Once he was happy with that, his hands went down her bare arms, both hands stopping just before her wrists. "Okay, move over, New York. I'm going to drive you over to the hospital, and then we're going to the police station, all right?" he said.
Her head nodded frantically, and she moved into the passenger seat, lifting her feet over the stick shift before kicking her purse down to the ground. JC got into the driver's seat and slammed the door, hitting the power lock again before turning the key from accessory. The engine rumbled once before it settled into an even purr, and he backed out of the space, heading towards the exit. "You have a strange way of getting my attention," he told her, forcing a smile on his face.
"Oh, yeah, I had this planned," she countered, reaching over her shoulder to pull on her seatbelt. It clicked into place and her eyes shut as she leaned back. "If I really wanted to get your attention, I would have walked into your apartment wearing nothing."
His eyebrows shot up. "Sounds interesting. I think I'm going to ignore you for a little while now." He turned the corner and sighed when the hospital came into view. "Hey, New York, isn't Mia supposed to be coming into town today?"
The country star opened her eyes wide and turned to stare at him. "Shit, she's supposed to be at the airport in twenty minutes. I'll be fine if you want to leave me here. It'll most likely take longer than it will to pick her up. I have to have x-rays done and everything, I'm betting."
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to leave you here. Pass me the phone." She pulled it out of her bag and handed it to him, wincing when her wrist brushed against her stomach. He dialed with one hand, not taking his eyes off the road. "Hey, Chris. Listen, man, can you do me a favor? New York and I are going to be a little tied up for a little while. Can you go over to the airport and pick up Mia? She's on the American flight from Nashville. Gate...what is it?" he asked her.
"Twenty three."
"Gate twenty three. She's booked into a hotel room, but can you get her to check in and then bring her over to my place? We'll meet you there. Thanks." He hung up and handed Brooklyn the phone. "Here, stick this in the glove compartment. I can't take it in the hospital." JC turned to look at her. "Who knows? If you're nice, the doctor might give you a sucker."
She turned to look over at him, a frown on her face. "I hope to hell that the doctor is cute, because I am this close to forgetting about you. Sucker my ass," she grumbled, getting out of the car and slamming the door behind her.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Chris said to himself, pulling down his ball cap even further as he looked around the airport. It didn't take long to find the right gate, but the last thing he wanted to do was pick up Mia. He knew, from experience, that she could be a handful. "They're probably too busy making out on the couch," he added, standing up when people started to spill into the waiting area. "Yo, Mia, over here!" he shouted above the din, waving his hand.
The small woman looked up and jogged over to him, a large shoulder bag banging into her side. "What the hell are you doing here, Kirkpatrick?" she asked in a hiss. "Brooke said that she was going to come and pick me up." An angry look went over her face, and her hands were on her hips.
Chris shrugged. "I got a call from JC about ten minutes ago, telling me that I was supposed to pick you up because he and Brooke are 'a little tied up'. You don't think that involves handcuffs, do you?" He looked over his shoulder quickly. "Can we get your luggage and get the hell out of here? I didn't bring a guard with me."
Mia smirked, grabbing his arm, and pulling him along. "You are such a wimp, you know that? What, you think that I can't protect you? Brooke doesn't need a bodyguard when I'm around, sweetheart. Oh, look at that! My luggage is actually here before I am. Isn't that the shock of all shocks. Those three bags right there, thank you very much." When Chris stared at her blankly, she laughed. "I just got a manicure. There is no way in hell that I'm going to break a nail getting those off of there. That's your job as the man."
"They owe me SO big," he whispered, wrapping his hands around the handles of two of the bags, bringing them onto the ground. The other bag started by him, and he reached for it, slapping it down beside the other two. "I suppose you want me to take them out to the car for you, too?" he asked in a sweet tone.
She laughed, moving closer. "I think I can take one. You can take the other two. I swear, I'm not that mean. It's just that it's really hard to get a good manicure now, and when you get one, you don't want it to be ruined." She pulled out the handle of her suitcase and the two of them started outside. When they got to the parking lot and she saw his Explorer, she looked at him with a grin. "Hey, can I drive the sucker? I've never driven an Exploder before."
He dug in his pocket, ignoring the nickname for his SUV, knowing that he should never say no to Mia. As the keys landed in her hand, he crossed himself quickly. "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I feel no fear, because I'm the meanest son of a bitch in the desert." Mia gaped at him as she unlocked the doors. "That's the fun version of it."
"Obviously. Remind me to remember that one," she said with a laugh, lifting her suitcase to fit into the back of the Explorer. "I swear, I pack far too much," Mia grumbled, climbing into the driver's seat. "Oh, wow, I feel so...tall in this. Can I go all monster truck and run over some other vehicles?"
"Not in this thing, unless you want to pay me back for this. Refrain from crushing over vehicles, please. I just got this sucker a few weeks ago, and the fans don't know the license plate yet. PLEASE keep it under the speed limit, PLEASE don't cause an accident, and PLEASE let me live. All I ask is that you let me live."
Slowly, her top lip curled up and she brought her head around to look at him as she stared at him. "How do people put up with you. That's what I want to know. For some reason, Brooke has taken to you, and I don't see how. I can understand why she has such cool friends like myself, but you? You're like a freak of nature. You're something that never should have happened. Something happened in the genetic gene pool and whatever it was happened was horribly wrong."
Chris looked over at her with wide eyes. "Uh..." he started.
"Don't ask, because I'm not telling until later."
"Just shut up and drive."
"Do you hear that?" JC asked before he slipped his key into the lock. Brooklyn was busy looking down at the cast on her arm. It wasn't a sprain, as she had thought, and it wasn't a break. Instead, she had a hairline fracture on her wrist, and they ended up slapping on a cast. The only thing she liked about it was that it was light blue. Most of her wardrobe could be worked around it.
Her head raised and she stared at him. "I don't hear anything. Why?"
He leaned against the wall and sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. Chris was supposed to bring Mia over here, and I KNOW that she's here, but...they're not talking. The television isn't even on." They both stared at each other, wide eyed. "Do you think she killed him?"
"Or vice versa? They both better be alive and breathing. I swear to God..." She took the keys from him in her good hand and stuck them in the lock, turning it quickly. She pushed open the door and stormed into the living room, looking around. Chris and Mia were sitting across from each other, practically shooting darts at one another with their eyes. "Thank God, I thought that one of you killed the other. I knew this was a bad idea." Brooklyn flopped down on the couch and massaged her forehead, letting her other hand rest in her lap. "This day has only gone from bad to worst. How about you?" she asked, looking down at her wrist.
Mia followed her eyes and her mouth dropped open. "Brooklyn Arizona Turner!" she shouted, bringing her hand up to her mouth.
She looked over at her and her mouth dropped open as well. "Mia Michelle Coltrain!" she screamed in response.
From his chair, Chris shrugged. "Should I pull out your full name, too, or should we wait and see why they're screaming at each other."
JC scratched his head. "I think I can figure this out, since they both seem to be frozen. New York has a fractured wrist and is now wearing a cast. Mia has a diamond ring on her finger and...whoa, when the hell did that happen?" he asked, turning back to Mia.
"I'd rather find out why the hell Brooke has a cast on her wrist," Mia shot back. "What did you do to her, JC. Did you break it on purpose, or was it an accident."
"No, we're going to talk about why you're wearing a diamond ring on your ring finger, like I used to. When did you and that idiot older brother of mine get engaged? I should be keeping a score card. So far, three engagements have crapped out, is the fourth time really a charm?" Brooklyn asked sarcastically.
"Don't you go doing that to me, Miss Country Star. First, you're going to tell me when you got that cast on your wrist, because I want to know what happened. Are you okay?" She slipped out of her chair and came to sit beside her friend, looking down at the plaster encasing her wrist.
A smirk appeared on her face. "Welcome to the wonderful world of Brooke Turner. I got attacked today down in the parking lot, and I brought my hand up to block his punch. Needless to say, I ended up fracturing my wrist, I have this cast on for quite awhile now, and the ass decided to disguise himself so that I wouldn't be able to give his description to the cops. The funny thing was, he never went for my purse or my wallet or the car keys. That's what I don't understand."
Before Mia could even move, Chris shot off his chair and ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her. "You're still okay though, right?" he asked her. "When did this happen?"
When he pulled away and looked down at her fractured wrist, she forced a laugh. "This afternoon. I just came back from shopping, and this guy grabbed me in the parking lot. I thought it was JC for a second, and said something before the ass turned me around and tried to deck me. I ended up using my purse to hit him like an eighty year old woman, and he ran with his tail between his legs. When we called you to pick up Mia, we were on our way to the hospital."
JC grunted from beside her. "You should have seen her eyes light up when she saw the doctor, too. Made some comment about how he was sexy enough to be on ER. He seemed to like her."
"He was being nice to me," she told him, in a chastising tone. "He's been bitching about this since we left the hospital. He even told the police officer that."
Mia stared at her for a moment. "Police officer? You filed a report?" Groaning, she rolled her eyes. "Something for me to cover on my vacation, I guess. Entertainment Tonight will be the first to pick it up, like always, make a comment on it, I'll let you make your own comment, and then the Enquirer will put a spin on it and make it sound like JC did it. You might want to call your publicist and get them ready for it, because I know the way that their minds work. Are you okay, though?"
"Besides the pain because of the fact that the doctor was wearing a long lab coat that covered his butt, I'll be fine," Brooklyn said with a laugh. "I think I'm taking this better than most people. I have painkillers with me if I need to use them, but you know how I feel about that." Mia nodded knowingly. "So, I'll most likely dump them down the drain and go on through the next few weeks bitching about the pain. Okay, we've covered the fact that I'm wearing a cast. Now, we're going to hit on the reason you're wearing a diamond ENGAGEMENT ring. Spill."
She watched as her friend's eyes went down to her hand. "Well...Austin and I were sitting around, and I made some comment like 'why don't we run off and get married then.' He told me that he couldn't get married without you, and then told me that we could be engaged. Who am I to say no?" she asked with a grin. "I came out early to make sure that you're okay with it, though. I figured that calling you wouldn't be the best way to tell you. Brooke, ARE you okay with it?"
A growl escaped her throat and Brooklyn used her good hand to grab the collar of her shirt, pulling her closer. "Are you going to break off this engagement like the last three?" Mia shook her head. "And you're not going to cheat on my brother like you did with that weird looking guy that played in a punk band? What was his name...Spike? Skid?"
"Sliver, and no, I won't."
"You're going to be a happy little couple with a white picket fenced yard, two point three kids, and a checkered table cloth?"
She frowned. "I wouldn't go that far. Never, in my life, will there be a checkered table cloth on my kitchen table."
"You're going to make me a happy aunt, though, right? There's a reason that I have an older brother. That reason would be so that he can make me an aunt and I can spoil the kids beyond belief."
"Uh huh, I'll go along with that. Brooke, you're beginning to choke me here."
"Tough. You do realize that I'm going to be you presents that are non-returnable, because this ISN'T going to end up like the other guys."
"Right, absolutely."
"Fine, I'm happy for you then." She let go of her and grinned. "I can't believe this," she squealed, wrapped her arms around her friend.
The two of them disappeared into her bedroom to talk about the planning of her wedding and the such, when Mia's eyes landed on the bags on the floor. "You went shopping?" she asked. "Oh, that's right. You just told me that."
Brooklyn shook her head, sitting on the bed. The whole time, her wrist was being cradled in her lap. "No, that's from when I went shopping with Chris. That is just one of the many things that I bought. Don't get all excited by the name of the side of the bag. I know that it says Victoria's Secret, but it's not what you think."
"You mean, it's not something kinky," she said with a laugh, pulling the bag over to her. "Okay, let's see what our little prude Brooke bought this time." Her hands dipped into the bag, and the first thing she pulled out was a long robe. "Ooh, silk. Maybe she's not so much of a prude after all. It's cute, though. The color will look great on you. Is there anything else in here?" Brooklyn nodded. "All right, here we go." The robe was placed on the bed between them and she pulled out the matching night gown. "You're evil, you know that?"
She grinned and leaned back. "What, you think that I'm going to wear that around here?"
Mia nodded slowly. "I see what you mean. There's no back on it."
"That's not the problem. JC has seen me wearing something that has no back on it...don't ask me, because I'm not telling. The reason that I'm not wearing it? Don't you think it's a little much. I mean, I got it so that I could relax at home. You're always telling me that I should get a silk night gown so that I feel all diva like when I'm kicking around the house after a bubble bath and a facial. That's the reason I bought it."
Sighing, the night gown went atop of the robe. "Brooke, listen to me. You're evil for the fact that you're not going to wear it around the boy. Don't you think he deserves to see a little something that you have to offer? Wait, that sounded SO dirty that it's not even funny. What I really meant was that...he's interested in you. We've established that part. You're interested in him. We've established that part. So...make him even more interested. Why don't you wear this darn thing tonight?"
Her mouth dropped open. "Mia, you're being nasty. I love it!" She giggled and looked back at her friend. "I couldn't."
"Yes, you can, and you will if I have a say in this." She looked down at her watch. "Well, maybe not tonight, because I have to go. I have a few phone calls to make, and I have to call Joe and tell him what happened. He'll want to put more security on tour. You...are continuing this tour, aren't you?"
Brooklyn grinned and brushed back her hair. "Sweetie, a fractured wrist will not stop me from performing. I've learned from the last time. No, I'm sticking with this one. I wouldn't dare cancel another one," she told her with a laugh. "Come on, I'll walk you out."
The two started out of the room, and Mia stopped long enough to say goodbye to JC and take the keys from Chris before running towards the door. Brooklyn watched as Chris crossed himself before walking out the door. "You be careful, all right?" Mia said when she reached to hug her. "And you definitely have to wear that night gown tonight," she added with a whisper. "I saw how his eyes lit up just when he saw you. Give him something to really make his eyes light up."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Go, call Joe. I'll call you in the morning," she added, still laughing as she shut the door. "That woman is psycho, I swear. I'm going to go get changed."
A smile curved her lips when he saw him blush a little. "Uh...this is going to sound wrong, but are you sure that you're going to be okay doing that yourself?" he asked.
"I think I'll manage. If you hear me scream, you have my blessing to come running in and help, but otherwise, I'll do it myself. Thank you, though." Brooklyn walked back into her room and shut the door, going to her suitcase. She pulled out a pair of track pants and a tee shirt, looking at them. "Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought," she whispered, sighing as she gingerly pulled her shirt off. Only once she had to wince before the shirt was on her bed. Undoing her bra one handed was a little bit of a challenge, but it wasn't as hard as she thought.
Her hand reached out for the tee shirt and she stopped halfway, staring at it. Mia's words bounced back at her, and her eyes switched to the night gown. They kept bouncing back and forth before she sighed once more. "You had to make this hard for me, didn't you, girl?" she asked, dropping the tee shirt back on her bed.
At least the night gown was easier to get over her head than the tee shirt would have been, she thought as the hem fell softly towards her feet. She undid her jeans and kicked them off before she reached for the robe, slipping it over top of the gown. Her hand grasped the ties and tried to put them together, but they kept slipping away. Brooklyn even tried using her right hand, or at least her fingers, but it was too much pain, and she stifled the scream she could feel was rising. It wasn't so much screaming from the pain as it was screaming about the fact that she couldn't do anything about it.
Her lips pursed as she opened her door and walked out. "Hey, JC, do you want to do me a favor?" she asked, resisting the urge to grin evilly.
He looked at her from the side of the couch. "Yeah, sure." Now she resisted the urge to giggle when she heard the tone of voice that he had used. It definitely made a girl feel good.
"I...uh...oh, this is great. I can't tie this, and I was hoping that you could?" It came out more like a question than a statement. Brooklyn laughed when he vaulted himself off the couch as soon as he could and came to stand in front of her. "This is not an opportunity to feel me up. This is just tying my robe for me, all right? Are we clear?" she asked.
"Crystal, New York. Crystal clear. Would you like it tight...loose...what?" Now a brilliant smile spread on his face.
Her eyes rolled but she couldn't hide her laugh. "Loose will do. I like to be able to breathe, you know. Go for it." Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea she had ever had. JC was taking his sweet time reaching around her to grasp the ties of her robe, and bring them around her waist. Slowly, his eyes raised towards hers, and she raised her eyebrows with a suppressed smile. When his eyes went back down to her waist, she watched closely as his tongue slipped between his lips, wetting them.
Brooklyn reminded herself to breathe and closed her eyes. That was the last thing that she needed to see. "Damn, you had to buy silk, didn't you?"
"Uh...satin, actually. Why?" Her eyes opened slowly and she chuckled when she saw that he had dropped the ties, much like she had done in her room. "Why do I get the feeling that you're doing this on purpose?"
"I would never, ever, do anything like that. Are you kidding me, New York? I can't believe that you said that. Never in my life would I mess up on purpose when I'm with you." He fell silent and reached for them again. "Could you step a little closer? It's hard to do this when you're standing as far away as possible."
Her foot tapped a few times before she stepped closer to him. "You know, there's a reason why I was standing that far away."
"Can't resist me, can you?" he asked with a laugh. "New York, is there a reason why you have your eyes closed, or is it just the fact that you're enjoying this as much as I am."
A growl sounded from her throat. "You keep doing that...that...lip thing."
He let go of the ties and stared at her for a moment, shoulder shaking with laughter. "Lip thing? I'm sorry but I don't think that I do any kind of lip thing. Could you please explain this to me?"
Her eyes opened, and she looked at him. "The lip thing! You always do the lip thing when you're trying to concentrate on something. I picked up on it when we first met, and now you're doing it again, but it has a different effect on me now. Well, things have changed since then," she started to explain and then broke off. "There, you did it again! Would you please stop doing the lip thing?"
When his eyes raised to hers, she could see the mischief dancing in them. "Oh, you mean THIS lip thing?" Slowly, he repeated the movement. Brooklyn bit her own bottom lip. "Is that the lip thing that you were talking about?" Her head nodded slowly. "Are you sure, because I was thinking that it was more like this."
The first time he had done it, his tongue had slipped from the left to the right. Now, it went from the right to the left. "Nope, left to right. Definitely left to right," she said in a strained voice.
His head cocked to the side. "Are you sure that it wasn't right to left? Maybe you should watch again and see if you were right."
"Don't. Please don't. I...don't want to end up in the hospital for the second time today, because if you do that one more time, I'm going to...never mind. Just tie me up, please. No! I didn't mean it that way. Just...tie my robe, please." He nodded, and he brought his hands around to her back to pick up the ties, and this time, he let his hands brush against her waist, bringing them to the front. "I'm supposed to keep breathing, right? Because it's beginning to get harder and harder."
Nodding, JC began to slowly tie the straps together. "Breaking is good, New York. I don't want to see you turn blue on you. Then again, I do know mouth to mouth, if that helps. I know it helps me feel better."
"I'm sure it would," she grumbled, looking down. "You did it again. Stop doing the lip thing. Can't you stop doing that, or is it something automatic."
"Unconscious, I'd say. There, you're done." He rested his hands on her hips. "Are you sure you don't need me to tie anything else?" A smile spread on Brooklyn's face as she put out her good hand and laid it flat on his chest, pushing him as hard as she could. JC flipped over the arm rest of the couch and landed staring at the ceiling. "Wow, last time that I used that line, I got slapped. I only got pushed this time."
Her hand landed on her hip and she looked down at him. "I wouldn't push me, JC," she said with a laugh before turning towards the kitchen. She pulled open the fridge and pulled out a clear bottle, putting it on the counter. "Hey, where did you get the raspberries, or have you been holding out on me."
She jumped when his voice sounded beside her. "I wouldn't hold out on you. I got them yesterday, why?"
"Just wondering. Do you have any champagne flutes, or do you just have wine glasses."
"Above your head. New York, what are you making now?" Her eyes rolled and she reached up, taking down one glass. She grabbed another and turned to look at him. "Sure, but I still don't know what you're doing."
She disappeared under one of the cabinets. "Oh, Austin taught me how to make this drink once, but I haven't made it for awhile. Good you have some. Tonight, even if they aren't here, we're going to celebrate the fact that my brother, who is incredibly stupid, is engaged. I still can't believe that he did that."
JC pulled himself up on the counter and watched as she dusted off the bottle of alcohol. "Uh...New York? The tone of voice that you used didn't sound that great, and you told Mia that you were happy for her. You are, aren't you?"
With a sigh, she turned around. "Of course I am, JC, but it's just...I can't lie to anyone I'm close to, you know that, right?" He nodded. "I can't lie to you anymore, I can't lie to Austin, or Joe, or even Chris, but Mia is my best FEMALE friend. That's one person that, no matter what your morals are, you can lie to them." She turned back around, and she took out the container of raspberries. "Of course, I didn't lie, but I didn't tell the whole truth." He watched as she dropped three berries into the bottom of each glasses and then open the bottle of sparkling raspberry flavored water, filling the glasses up almost all the way. "I'm not too sure about it, that's all."
Now, she unscrewed the cap of the bottle of vodka and splashed a little into each glass. "Homemade coolers. Pretty cool. Do they make these at the restaurant?" She nodded and followed him out to the living room with her glass. "Okay, so what aren't you sure about."
"How it happened. It was so fast and...and rash. My brother is not the type of person to just out and out say, 'let's get married', you know? He's a planner. He has to look at something from every angle before he says yes. They haven't been dating that long." She sunk down on the couch and curled her legs up underneath her. "I'm just afraid that they're making a mistake, but there is no way in hell that I would say that. I saw the damage that Mia did to you when she thought that you were the one that attacked me."
"Yeah, I remember that one, too," he said, rolling his eyes. "I don't think I'll ever forget it. You can't say that they're making a mistake, though. You can tell that the two of them are in love. What's so wrong with getting married?"
One of her fingers tapped nervously at the side of her glass. "Well...nothing. I was going to go down the same path. Maybe I'm just cautious about those things after what I went through. Marriage is a big step to take. I probably wasn't ready for it, but I would have done anything to prove my love for Tim at that point."
His head turned towards her. "Can we not talk about him for one night? Getting that call this afternoon from you in the parking garage brought back everything from that day, and that's the last thing that I want," he said quietly, reaching out to finger the very edge of her night gown. "I'm sorry, it's just that..."
Her shoulders moved in a shrug. "I understand. I forget that some people still have problems with that name. I've pretty well accepted it. ANYWAY, I was going to ask you something. If Mia and Austin had never gotten together, do you think that Mia and Chris would have?"
JC laughed. "I don't think so. Those two would have killed each other by now."
"Can't say that for sure. I mean, they're a lot alike. Maybe that's the problem. They would have made a cute couple, though."
His head shook stubbornly. "Nah, they never would have made it. It would have lasted maybe three weeks, and then it would have ended. That much I know for sure." He quieted down, before smiling. "Did I ever tell you that you look fantastic in peach?"
Her head turned to the side for a moment. "Hm...I don't think so. I've heard white, blue, black...and I think purple, but never peach. Thank you." Her legs stretched out and landed on his lap as she sipped slowly at her drink. Just like the lip thing, it was an unconscious movement for him to rest his hand on her leg.
Brooklyn sucked in her breath quickly. "Oh, wow, your hand is like ice right now."
"Really?" he asked, leaning forward to put his glass down. With an evil grin, he put the other one beside his first hand and laughed when he saw her twist uncomfortably. "You really don't like that, do you?" Her head shook, and he smirked, leaning forward even more to rest his hands against her arms.
She made the mistake of looking up at him. "You're doing the lip thing again," she whispered, her eyes moving only when she felt JC take the glass out of her hand and reach over to put it on the table.
"I thought you'd like that."
JC opened his eyes, trying to ignore the sunlight that was coming through the windows. What he couldn't ignore was the fact that there was something leaning against his chest, and when his eyes went down, he saw honey brown hair spread out. A smile filtered on his lips when he thought back to the night before. That didn't mean that his back hurt from sleeping on the couch with Brooklyn.
Sometimes after the (for lack of a better term) makeout session, they had fallen into a whispered conversation that didn't seem to make sense at all, even if it didn't matter then. Sometime after the whispered conversation, and the pure joy he got from looking in her sparkling green eyes, they had fallen asleep. He remembered looking over at her and seeing that her eyes had drifted peacefully shut, and listened to her even, light breathing. He had even toyed with the idea of picking her up and putting her in her room, but apparently, he had fallen asleep like her before he had the chance.
"Whoa," he whispered, taking a light hold of her arm when her cast clad wrist was about to slam down on her side. He gently lowered it onto him and continued to watch her. He wasn't going to get up, because that meant that she would wake up. It was funny, when he thought about it. He would rather cause himself pain than wake up Brooklyn.
She was laying on one of his arms, but he brought his other one up, the one that was laying on his own side, and gingerly touched her hair, afraid that any movement could make her eyes open. When they didn't, and he was feeling more adventurous, he let him fingers play through the strands. They fell back onto her shoulder, catching the light.
"I don't know what I'm doing here, New York. I really don't, but I'm willing to try if you are."
The last thing he expected was for her to open her eyes lazily and turn up to look at him. "I thought I already told you that I was giving this a chance," she said quietly. JC took the opportunity and sat up, stretching his back. "You wouldn't believe how numb my arm is," she said with a laugh, rolling her shoulder a few times.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I'm hoping that it's strong enough to hold up a mug of coffee. The coffee maker shut off about two minutes before you woke up. Do you want some help?"
"Please," she asked with a smile, holding out her hand. JC helped her up and watched as she straightened her night gown and robe before shuffling off towards the kitchen. "Are we going to sit outside? It looks gorgeous out there."
His eyes turned towards the clock. "No wonder. It's ten in the morning," he said, rubbing the back of his neck as he followed her. She handed him a mug and squeezed past, heading towards the balcony. He joined her in a moment, and took his normal chair, looking out to the street. "You must have been pretty tired last night," he said, still looking out.
She sipped her coffee before yawning. "Consider all the excitement that we had yesterday. The parking garage, the hospital...with that cute doctor, the police station...with that cute police officer, and then finding out that Mia was engaged, it had been a long day. I'm surprised that I didn't fall asleep before that."
"You forgot the lip thing," he said with a chuckle, turning to look at her.
"Don't you dare," she added, sticking out her tongue at him. "So, what's the plan for today, or do you think that you and I can actually get a chance to just lay around and do nothing for once."
His eyebrows shot up. "Mia's in town. I know that you have a practice sometime today." He watched as her eyes widened and her head fell forward. "I know, it's scary how I remember these things sometimes. Besides, you forget that between the two of us, six very nosy friends of ours are somewhere around us, just waiting to piss us off by walking through that door and sitting around."
Brooklyn smiled. "No matter how much I love all of them...you'd think I could have one day to myself," she said with a giggle.
"Exactly." Both of them turned when the door banged open, and JC's groan started a second before Brooklyn's. Justin stormed in the door with Mia thrown over his shoulder, followed by the other four stooges. "You asked for it, New York. I'm blaming this on you."
Her mouth dropped open. "Don't make me use this cast as a weapon, buddy. As much as I like you, I will hit you." Turning, she grinned. "Morning, guys. And how are you all doing this morning?" she asked, trying to hide her sigh. It was going to be another very long day.
Chapter Seventeen
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