Brooke & Ben: Before Fate Interrupted (20 page)

“You knew what?”

“Nothing. And
just for the record, he’s actually kind of nice.”

Tasha frowned.
“Do not tell me you have fallen for this guy, Brooke. He’s a total player!”

“I haven’t
fallen for anybody.”

“Oh my God, you totally
have! This is the last thing you need right now.”

“We’re
just…blowing off some steam.”

Tasha threw her
arms out. “Look around, Brooke! You’re already living with him and you barely
even know the guy.”

Brooke opened
her mouth to rebut.

“How do you
think Mandy would feel?” Tasha asked, driving the final nail into Brooke’s
coffin.

She closed her
mouth as an ambulance or fire truck whizzed past outside, its sirens cutting through
the tension filled silence between them.

Tasha sat next
to Brooke on the edge of the couch and took her hand. “It is my job as your
friend to tell you when you are making bad decisions, and you are making bad
decisions.”

Brooke snatched
her hand back. “Oh, this coming from the girl who will bang anything with a
pulse.”

Tasha folded her
arms across her white coat. “Hand-jobs are not
banging
, and I’m not the one who is homeless.”

Brooke stood up.
“Don’t you judge me.”

Tasha got up and
blocked her from leaving the room. “You are my best friend and I love you, but
I will not just sit by and watch you lose a good friend over this guy.”

Brooke turned
her gaze up to searing and spoke in a low grumble. “I have to get to work.” She
pushed Tasha out of the way and grabbed her purse and the spare key Ben had
left for her on the counter.

“Yeah, you
better hurry before he screws that up, too.”

Brooke opened
the door and held it. “You’ve been talking to Mandy too much.”

Tasha grabbed
her purse and trudged past, stopping in front of Brooke. “Oh, that’s right.
It’s all Mandy’s fault. Little miss innocent prude, Mandy.”

“I didn’t say
that.”

Tasha pressed
her lips together. “You didn’t have to,” she whispered, strutting determined
steps down the long hallway and bursting through the glass front door into the
sun splashed day.

A weary sigh
seeped from Brooke. “That was fun,” she mumbled, shutting the door and locking
it behind her.

Chapter
Twenty

As soon as Mrs. Randall
left to go collect the linens from the dry cleaners, Brooke sank into the desk chair
in the office and considered her options. Eventually, she pulled her cell from
her pocket and scrolled to Mandy’s name. Her thumb hovered above CALL and for a
moment the issue was in doubt. One thing, however, was very clear: she would
have to lose Ben to get her life back. Her eyes strayed from focus as she
wondered what kind of life she would end up retrieving. She stared at the clock
on the wall through distant eyes, the second hand moving much slower than her
mind. A life with Ben fluttered through her mind: holding hands at Gray’s Lake one
minute and riding on the back of his bike to the bridges of Madison County the
next. Wind in their hair and sun in their faces, worries eating their dust.

The cell
vibrated in her hand. She answered. “Hey.”

“How’s shit creek?”
Evy asked.

“It stinks.”

“I bet.”

“It’ll get
better.”

“You didn’t stay at Tasha’s last night.”

Brooke wasn’t
sure if it was a question or a statement. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I ran into one of Tasha’s roommates at the
gas station this morning and she never saw you last night.”

“Oh, great, the
one time any of those girls are up in the morning...”

“So where’d you go?”

“A motel.”

“Why are you lying to me?”
Evy asked with
zero hesitation.

“Because I’m
tired of everyone gettin all up in my business.”

“So you lied when you texted me last night, saying
you were at Tasha’s.”

Brooke rolled
her eyes and got up, the chair squeaking with the lightened load. She went into
the kitchen and started pacing. “No, I changed my mind.”

“So where’d you stay?”

Brooke sighed.
“I stayed with Ben.”

A moment of
silence ran its course.

“The cute guy I met at the bar?”

“That’s the
one.”

“Ooh, are you two dating now?”

“No.”

“Well, he’s pretty hot.”
Evy hesitated.
“If you’re into tattoos anyway.”

Brooke stopped
pacing. “He’s okay, but I don’t see it going anywhere. Hey, how’s that
cock-ring thing going?” she asked, changing the subject and drumming her
lavender painted nails against the stainless steel countertop.

“It’s out of batteries. So are you staying at Ben’s
again tonight?”
Evy asked, changing the subject right back.

Brooke stopped
drumming her nails and glanced around the kitchen. “If you must know…maybe.”

Evy sighed into
the phone.
“Just promise you’ll keep me
in the loop. I’m not your enemy here, Brooke. You can tell me anything.”

“I know.”

Evy paused for
dramatic effect.
“Then why do I feel like
you’re not telling me everything here?”

Brooke shut her
eyes. “I am, and I should get going.”

“All right, but call mom and dad. They’re worried about
you.”

“Okay, talk to
you later.” Brooke hung up and wiped the phone’s screen on her jeans, feeling
better for the first time in days. She could see her and Ben at his place
tonight, curled up on the couch watching movies and ordering pizza. Just the
two of them and no one to get in the way. Regardless of what everyone else
thought, she would not let him get away without a good vetting first. The only
question was: which part of him should she begin with? She giggled softly,
envisioning him lying naked on his bed, holding his hand out to her with that
cocky grin plastered across his face because she was just as naked as he was. A
timer went off on the oven, pulling her back to earth.

***

A young couple
strolled past hand in hand, their shadows with a bounce in their step. They laughed
about something with the sun in their faces before disappearing from view. Ben
dropped his gaze to the assortment of earrings inside the glass case he was
leaning on, deliberating on where he wanted to take Brooke. Somewhere to get
away from it all, someplace where no one would find them. He sucked on a straw,
draining Mountain Dew from a QuickTrip cup and checking his watch, willing the
day to go faster. He couldn’t stop wondering if she would stay tonight or not,
and there was only one way to find out.

The bell rang
above the glass front door.

He looked up,
eyes pinching together.

“You,” the blond
said sternly, cat walking her pink heels across the room with authoritative
steps that clacked against the cement floor.

He straightened
up. “Hi Tasha.”

“Don’t
hi Tasha
me!” she snapped, coming to an
abrupt halt in front of the glass case. She folded her arms across the white
jacket setting off her eyes. “Do you get off on ruining people’s lives? Is that
it?”

Ben’s insides
twisted with her high volume. Doug was in the back and in one of his shit-storm
moods today. “Not exactly.”

“Well, try
telling that to Mandy.” Tasha leaned closer and, thankfully, lowered her voice.
“Do you know she hasn’t had a single bowel movement since the morning of the
party because of you?”

He opened his
mouth but nothing came out. Horror clung to his features with abrasive claws.

“And now look
what you’ve done to my poor little Brooke!” She nearly broke into tears. “She’s
homeless and her family hates her.”

“She’s not
homeless.”

Tasha jettisoned
a finger into his face. “Don’t even try calling that love shack of yours a
home! I don’t care how many Yankee Candles you have, that place is not
her home
and you know it!”

He shot a finger
into the air. “Although, I do have a fireplace and Scrabble, which is nice in
the wintertime.”

Her face went eerily
blank. “Are you fucking with me?”

He rapidly shook
his head. “No.”

Tasha slammed a
fist down onto the glass case, rattling the occupants inside and making Ben
jump. “This isn’t a joke, asshole!”

“Whoa!” He held
his hands out. “I think you are starting to let your imagination run away on
you, Tasha. Things will get better, and her family doesn’t hate her. She can
move back in with them anytime she wants and
you
know it.”

She snapped her
fingers and then pointed at him. “Mandy has offered to take Brooke back as a
roommate, but not if you are around!” She fought herself for composure,
lowering her accusatory index finger and softening her tone. “Listen Ben, I
know it may not be in your nature, but
you
know the right thing to do here is to back the fuck off and leave her alone.”

“She came to
me!”

“Because she has
nowhere else to go, you dumb-fuck, tattooed idiot!”

Ben opened his
mouth to give her a piece of his mind when Doug blasted through the black
curtain behind him like a pissed off bull.

Tasha
straightened her coat. “If you really want to help get her life back on track
there’s only one thing you can do.” She didn’t dignify waiting for a response
and whirled on her heels, stomping back out the front door with the same
ferocity she had coming in.

Ben watched her
vanish around the corner, his pulse pounding in his ears. Tasha was right and
he knew it. The scoreboard does not lie. So far, he had done nothing but screw
things up for Brooke.

“You must think
money grows in that cash register over night.”

Ben’s ears lowered
at the sound of Doug’s voice. Ben stared out the front window like he hadn’t
heard him, wishing he was anywhere but here. Tasha’s words drove Doug into the
far corners of his mind, needling him with her sharp tone. She was right. And
so was Will. Brooke deserved better. He had come into Brooke’s life like a
black cloud, casting gloom and doom over her everywhere she went.

“Do you think
those little green bills multiply like Gremlins when they get wet?”

Ben finally
turned to face him. “Do you need a nap, Doug? You sound cranky.”

Doug stepped
into Ben’s face. “What I
need
is for
you to do your job.” He pointed to the entrance. “And letting people walk out
that door without ink is not doing your job!”

Ben cringed as
Doug’s breath washed over him in a stale wave of hardboiled eggs and strawberry
protein shakes. “She didn’t want a tat,” he replied, bumping Doug’s shoulder as
he brushed past.

“You have to
make her want one, Ben!” He followed him to the other glass counter with
portfolios of the shop’s best work neatly displayed inside. “Did you already
forget our little talk about being a salesman?”

“How could I
ever forget such a compelling speech?” Ben grumbled, sucking on his straw again.

Doug laughed,
gesturing with his muscular hands. “You couldn’t sell hamsters to a science
fair!”

Ben frowned, his
drink choking as it ran dry. “I’m not sure that makes any sense.”

“I’ll tell you what
doesn’t make any sense, paying someone who doesn’t do what we ask.”

“Obviously,
Janna doesn’t feel the same way because she’s still happily paying me.”

Doug stepped
closer and spoke through clenched teeth. “Things are going to change around here
and soon. If I were you I’d up my game because I aim to take a larger role in
shaping the future of this company.”

“Won’t that cut
into your gym time?”

Doug pointed a meaty
finger at him that reminded Ben of Tasha. “I’m not playing, Ben.”

“You know what,
Doug? Bottom line is I don’t work for you, I work for Janna. This is her
business and, therefore, I answer to her. Not you.”

Red splotches
broke out across Doug’s face and neck. His lips puckered.

Ben struck while
the iron was hot. “If you don’t like the way I do things around here, talk to
Janna. Otherwise, stay off my back.”

Doug balled his
hands into fists. Veins popped out in his massive biceps, wrinkled with time.
“You really are a cocky motherfucker, you know that?”

Ben laughed.
“Why? Because I don’t take shit from assholes.”

Doug stood
speechless. “You calling me an asshole?”

“Do you really
need me to answer that or are you just buying some time to come up with
something witty to say back? Because I know you heard me.”

“You cocky
sonofa…”

Doug trailed off
when the bell rang over the front door and their UPS driver walked in with
three boxes in her arms. Ben released a pent-up breath, literally saved by the
bell, and rushed over to help her lighten the load.

***

Brooke fumbled
the key for Ben’s apartment from her purse and held it in her hand, a foiled
paper plate of chocolate chip cupcakes balancing in her other. It was quiet on
the other side of the door. She didn’t know if he was home from work or not but
decided to knock instead of using the key. It would feel weird if he was home.
A little too casual.

Footsteps on the
other side of the door injected a shot of adrenaline into her pulse rate. When
he opened the door, his face made her heart break into a full on stampede.

“Why didn’t you
use the key?”

“I don’t know.”

He stared at her
for a moment and stepped off to the side. She came in and slipped her purse onto
a chair as he shut the door,
SportsCenter
blaring on the TV.

“I brought you
some cupcakes I made,” she said, setting them on the kitchen counter.

“Oh, thanks.”

Her eyes
flickered to his. “Oh, that’s right, you don’t like sweets do you?”

“Not so much.”

She pulled back
the foil and held one out, getting chocolate frosting on her thumb. “Just try
one bite.”

“Maybe later.”

“Come on.”

A defeated sigh
passed his lips. He took the cupcake, examining it like it was a crime scene,
and took a reserved bite. His jaws chewed slowly, trying to find their rhythm.

She watched him
through confident eyes, knowing that no one could deny her sugary goodness.

His Adam’s apple
bobbed when he swallowed. He handed it back to her. “Not bad.”

“Not bad?” She
took it back and checked to make sure it wasn’t filled with worms. “You don’t
like it?”

He lifted a
shoulder to an ear. “It’s all right.”

“Just all right?
It has chocolate chip cookie dough in the middle!”

“Nice.”

“That’s it,” she
grumbled, returning the cupcake to the plate. “Now I’m going to have to bring
out the big guns.”