Brooke & Ben: Before Fate Interrupted (3 page)

Roger finally
released her hand and shook his head, his fake curly brown hair bouncing with
the movement. “I came with a friend.”

“Oh yeah? Who?”

“Todd.” He
licked his fingers, snuffed the joint and slipped it into a pack of cigarettes.
He offered her a smoke and she shook her head.

“You having fun
tonight?”

“I am,” he said,
pulling off his mask. “But this damn thing is hotter than hell.”

Brooke’s heart
came to a screeching halt, leaving skid marks across her lungs. Bells rang and
birds sang, which was impossible because only demon birds sang at night. She
couldn’t tell if the bright bursts of light streaking across her field of vision
were from the fire or something else entirely. “Yes it is,” she murmured under
her breath, unable to tear her eyes from his face.

Roger ran a hand
over his short brown hair and took a deep draw of cool air. “Nice night though.
We got lucky.”

“We sure did.”

“Never know
which way it’s going to go in Iowa. I remember trick-or-treating in the snow
before.”

“Oh yeah? Last
year must’ve been a rough one for ya.”

He stared at her
for a few nonplussed seconds before cracking a thin smile. “Funny.”

She tried
forcing a breath into her lungs but the scruff on his cheeks made it nearly
impossible.
Damn scruff!
“Did you try
the coffin brownies yet,
Roger
?”

“Naw, I’m not
big on sweets.”

Her face fell.
“Seriously?”

“Only kid in
school who gave his Halloween candy away every year.” He hedged for a moment.
“Okay, I traded some of it for Playboys but I donated the rest to the needy.”

She crinkled her
nose like she had just stepped in dog shit. “You don’t like sweets?”

“Never have.”

“What’re you an
alien!”

His laugh was
music to her ears and she wanted to make him do it again. His eyes roamed her
body and she didn’t mind. Not one bit. “Speaking of aliens, I love your
costume. That is…wow.” His eyes paused to hover over her golden emblem.

She folded her arms
across her chest. “Thank you, and Wonder Woman wasn’t an alien.”

“Pretty sure she
was.”

“She was from a
Greek island of Amazonian women who were tired of putting up with men’s bullshit.”

His eyebrows
furrowed as he thought about it. “So…she was a lesbian?”

Brooke laughed
drunkenly. “No, she wasn’t a lesbian!”

“But you just
said it was an island of all women.”

“That doesn’t
mean they were lesbians.”

“I think it does
by default.”

Brooke frowned,
unable to stop wondering what it would be like to kiss his full lips, start
with the top one and work her way down. She shook the random thought from her
head. “Maybe they had
visitor friends
.”

“
Visitor friends
?”

She shrugged her
bare shoulders. “Yeah, like overnight guests.”

“And what about
you?”

The fire popped
again.

“What about me?”

“Do you have a
visitor friend
?

Humming birds
launched in her stomach, their wings tickling her insides. “That all depends
upon your definition of
visitor friend
.”

He laughed, his
eyes coolly raking her body. “Well, either way, you look like a bona fide super
hero.”

“I bet you say
that to all the girls.”

An awkward
silence settled around them like a cold black wind. Brooke shifted in her high-heeled
boots, her sudden case of
not knowing
what to say next
making her fidget, the stubble on his cheeks making her
blush.

“You live here?”

She responded
with a slight nod, disappointed he beat her to the punch. “I do.”

“Nice place, I
love the decorations.”

She followed his
gaze to the quaint two story house behind her with its steeply pitched roof and
receding oaks that would bloom again next spring and shield the house from the hot
summertime sun. “It’s my friend’s house. Mandy. You know her?”

Roger considered
her while shadows skittered across his face, his lips now bending the other
way, a smile in reverse. “I do not.”

“Anyway, she
just bought it a few months ago and this is her first party.”

“Ah, I gotcha.”

Brooke found
herself wondering what he looked like beneath that soiled shirt and apron,
letting her mind draw up an image that made her lick her lips. She noticed he
was watching her undress him and quickly looked to the fire, which, thankfully,
masked the red blooming in her cheeks.

He shifted in
his stance and looked through the sliding glass door, affording her the sliver
of an opportunity to steal a glance at his derrière, but the damn apron blocked
her view. Her eyes followed his into the living room, where the conversation
level was rising with each passing drink. When his eyes drifted back to her she
turned away, unnerved by their heavy weight. Seconds passed with Roger drinking
his beer and Brooke avoiding his eyes. She knew she should go back inside and
check on Mandy, but wasn’t ready to leave him quite yet.

“Anything get
broken yet?”

Her eyes
thinned.

 
He nodded to the house. “Inside, I mean.”

“Oh.”

“Because you
know what they say - it ain’t a party till somethin gets broken.”

Brooke snorted.
“Just Mandy. She’s already out for the count. Too much punch.”

“Uh-oh, looks
like that puts you in charge.”

“I don’t mind,”
she said coyly. “I like being in charge.”

He swallowed
hard. “I bet you do.”

Once again, silence
wrapped them in its clammy arms as they exchanged cryptic glances over the fire’s
dancing light. Brooke shivered as the evening air soaked into her bones.

“You want my
shirt?” Roger asked, loosening his necktie.

She surveyed the
blood and grime coating his button down. “No thanks.”

“How about my
pants?”

She thumbed
inside the house, a light breeze tickling her magic lasso. “I’m going to grab a
drink.”

“Have anymore
beer?” His crooked smile fanned the flames of her desire.

“I’m sure we can
find you something.” Brooke smiled back. They stood there like that for a bit,
taking each other in with neither making a move to go inside. She wasn’t sure how
much time passed but it seemed like more than it should have been.

The patio door
slid open, the music instantly louder as Tasha stumbled out onto the patio. She
made a beeline for Roger, holding her bound hands out to him, fear blanketing
her soiled face. “You have to help me,” she sobbed, balling his bloody apron
into her fists. “Somebody’s trying to kill me.”

Confusion
tightened Roger’s handsome features.

“Is your cell phone
getting a signal?” She glanced over her shoulder like she had just heard
something behind her. “Call the police.”

Roger looked to
Brooke for help.

“She’s a scream
queen,” Brooke replied, shutting the door and killing the noise.

He laughed.
“That is so smart!”

Tasha twisted
back and forth, a bashful grin on her lips. “Aw, thank you,” she said sweetly.

He took a step
back and looked her over. “I think we have our winner right here, Brooke.”

On cue, Tasha
screamed loud enough to wake the dead. Roger jumped back, his leg bumping the
fire pit and sending a burst of embers spiraling up into the night.

“Tasha!” Brooke
hissed. “Stop doing that or someone is going to call the cops.”

A wide smile
quickly washed the terror from Tasha’s face. “Hi, I’m Tasha,” she said warmly,
extending her hand.

Roger took a
second to figure out which one to shake. “Roger.”

“Hi Roger.” She
smiled and lightly slapped his arm. “Oh snap, looks like somebody’s been
working out.”

“Thanks.”

“How’s Mandy
doing?” Brooke asked, interrupting Tasha’s grade-A cock-block.

“Sleeping like a
baby.” Tasha grinned up at Roger. “So how do you know Mandy?”

He cleared his
throat with a cough. “I came with a friend.”

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded. “Big
guy.”

“Big guy, huh?
Bigger than you?”

Roger laughed
and stole a glance at Brooke. “A lot.”

Tasha studied
his gruesome outfit in the pale orange light, her face brightening. “Can I ask
you a favor?”

He couldn’t
resist trading another look with Brooke before answering. “Sure.”

“Can you put
your mask on and drag me around the house by this rope? Pretend I’m your
captured victim.”

Brooke raised
her eyebrows in quiet anticipation, resisting the chill in the air and anxious
to hear his reply.

“Seriously?”

“Come on, it’ll
be fun. I’ll say stuff like:
He’s going
to kill me. Where’s your car? My family is looking for me.
Stuff like that.”

Roger frowned.
“I’m not sure....”

“Yay!” Tasha
squealed, doing a walrus clap. “This will be so much fun!”

The patio door
slid open and then slid back shut. “There you are, Dragon!”

Brooke stared up
at the large man standing just outside the glass door, her brow creasing.

The behemoth
came closer, wearing a patched leather vest and towering above them like a
skyscraper. His enormous hand made the can of beer he was holding look like a
doll house accessory.

“This is my
friend, Todd,” Roger said.

Todd’s eyes thinned.

“He’s Todd and
I’m Roger.”

“You already
said that part,” Brooke said.

Tasha craned her
neck and looked up at Todd. “Who are you supposed to be? The thing from
Cloverfield
?”

Todd’s broad shoulders
slumped. “I’m Opie from
Sons of Anarchy
.”

“Are those real?”
Tasha admired the colorful sleeves of tattoos wrapping his massive arms.

“Damn straight,
girlie.”

“They’re nice.”
She turned back to Roger and held up her hands. “Untie a little of my rope so
you can tow me around the house.”

“Oh shit,” Todd
laughed, winking at Brooke. “This party’s about to get started.”

“Now, don’t be
afraid to jerk me around a little if I start falling behind,” Tasha said,
watching Roger loosen the rope.

“Hey, where is…”

“The bathroom?”
Roger blurted, cutting Todd off in mid-sentence. “It’s down the hall on the
right.”

Todd frowned,
his leather vest flapping with the breeze. “Okaaaay.”

Brooke pinched
her eyes together, chilled to the bone and not sure why she was still standing
there.

“Okay, let’s
go,” Tasha said.

Roger diffidently
slipped his mask back on and took Tasha by the rope before turning to Brooke.
They held each other’s gaze in the crackling light. “It was nice meeting you,”
he said, the mask muffling his words but not the look in his eyes.

She smiled
weakly. “You too.”

He turned to
Todd and shrugged. “I’ll see you soon,
Todd
.”

“Have fun…
Roger
!” He slapped him on the back with
Tasha trailing close behind.

She hunched her
shoulders and brought the terror back to her face. “Why are you doing this?”
she cried.

Roger stopped
and turned. “Because you told me to.”

“No, I know. Just
keep going,” she whispered. “I’m getting in to character. There’s a fifty
dollar Target card up for grabs here so don’t blow it. We’ll split it.”

He stole one
last look at Brooke before dragging Tasha inside the house. The door slid shut,
quieting the music once again.

Todd turned to
Brooke with a wide smile. “Alcohol sure does make people do some weird stuff.”

“Tell me about
it.”

“One time, I
drank an entire case of beer and killed a man.”

Brooke blinked
at him in the thunderstruck silence that followed, his words ringing hollow in
her ears.

Todd burst into
laughter. “I’m just kidding!” He drew in a heavy breath and turned serious. “It
was only a twelve pack.”

Brooke shook her
head and laughed. “Is everyone drinking the punch tonight?”

“Not me,” he
said, taking a long drink of beer.

“Man, you’re
tall.”

Todd swallowed. “Thank
you. I’ve been working out.”

“How…”

“Six-eight,” he replied,
answering her question before she could finish asking it. He shook his beer
belly with his free hand. “Two hundred and ninety-five pounds of pure muscle.”