Hidden Desires (18 page)

"She'd think I'm crazy calling her like that! Why am I even answering you?"

"I would call." Jodie said with a shrug.

"That's you. I'll wait to see her in the shop if anything. I'm still pissed at her for using me as a scapegoat."

"Yeah, but you're still hot for her so you'll get over it." Jodie said with a smirk.

"Shut up."

 
*  *  *

Oh my God... where the hell would Grant get Cayden's name from? How did he know anything? Am I talking in my sleep?
Brooke walked with Fred and panicked.
Holy Jesus! I must be talking in my sleep... good Lord! How long have I been doing this? How long does he know I've been having dreams of Cayden?
Brooke stopped walking and furrowed her brows.
Just because I dream of someone, doesn't mean I'm having an affair. How does he even know Cayden is a real person? I know I never mentioned her before. To anyone.
She glanced down at the dog.
Ok, so I told Fred, but unless Fred can talk...
She froze.
FRED! The cologne! The bag! Grant went through my pocket book? That son of a bitch!
Brooke fumed.
How dare he!
She bent down, bagged Fred's poop angrily and threw it into the trash can, hard. She continued to grind her teeth as she headed back to her mother's when thought occurred to her.
Wait a minute, just because I scribbled her name on a paper bag doesn't mean anything. It could just be a name I liked or... oh no... maybe he put two and two together and ....
Brooke's mouth went dry and she looked up the street in the direction of The Fuzzy Belly Deli.
He couldn't... he's not that smart. Is he?
She turned on her heel and walked as fast as she could with the old dog in the opposite direction.
Oh my god. If he did I'd just die!
she thought, horrified with the very prospect of Grant confronting Cayden.

 
*  *  *

Cayden finally got Jodie to leave and she spent the rest of the day laying around in her holey underwear until Wade came home. He was exhausted from, he claimed, fighting off the sweaty herd of thong wielding, freebie sucking, housewives. He wanted nothing more than a hot shower and his bed. He left Cayden alone to watch TV to her heart's content. The tall woman toasted up a grilled cheese for a late supper and pretended to hate the cat for the rest of the evening.

 
*  *  *

Brooke had been sitting at her desk for hours, her work kept her busy until her stomach growled and she realized she hadn't touched the muffin she brought for breakfast. Looking at her watch she was surprised to find it after lunch time. "No wonder I'm starved." she said to herself.

"Whats that hon?" Bev asked from her cubicle.

"Nothing Bev, I'm hungry. I'm going to lunch now."

"Hey, I was just going too, wanna join me?"

Brooke shrugged. "Why not?"

They wound up at Au Bon Pain and sat down at a small table after they got their sandwiches.

"What's new? You seem extra quiet today." Bev inquired, unwrapping her lunch.

"A lot has happened this weekend, Bev."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Brooke sighed. If anyone would understand, it would be Bev, but was she really ready to talk about it yet?
Screw it
. "I think I'm a lesbian." She blurted out in a hushed voice.

Bev dropped her sandwich with a plop. "What?" she asked in disbelief.

Brooke turned pink and squirmed. "I have a horrible crush on a woman... and..." Someone walked by and she stopped.

"Oh Brooke, a crush is harmless. It's perfectly normal for a woman to have a crush on another woman." Bev consoled her distraught friend.

"Well, no. I think it's more than a crush." Brooke admitted shyly. "I dream about her."

Bev smiled knowingly, maternally. She felt very pleased that Brooke chose her to talk to. "Is this the first time you've spoke to someone about this?"

The blonde nodded and picked at the seeds on her sandwich roll.

"Do you feel better for it?"

"Not really, but I had to tell someone. I figured with Sam and all... you'd understand."

Bev nodded proudly. "So you dream about her do you?"

Brooke blushed harder and nodded.

"Oh honey, it's ok. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I don't feel ashamed. Just confused. I never felt anything for a woman before. I mean, where did it come from?"

"Who knows. But it happened. Are you sure it's not just a crush?"

"Vivid dreams Bev, even when I'm awake." Brooke said, eyes wide.

"Well then, definitely not a crush. Is she close to you? Do you see her often?"

"No. She works in a shop I went to once, then I saw her again in the park. It's not like I can have her anyway Bev, she's taken. She's so beautiful though. Sexy and tall."

"She's taken? Oh, well that sucks." Bev frowned. Brooke was definitely ga ga over this woman.

"I really wasn't planning on making anything of it anyway." Brooke said sadly.

"Even if she was single? Is she interested in you?"

Brooke perked up instantly. "I think so. I think she tried to pick me up the first time we met. Then when she looked at me in the park... god... the way she looked at me, Bev. No one's ever looked at me like that before."

Both of the older woman's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"Oh, Bev, it made my knees weak." Brooke said dreamily.

"Well, look at you, honey. I believe you, this is way more than a crush. Are you sure she's taken?"

"Very sure. There was this woman hanging all over her at the park." the blonde said, crestfallen. "To make that sort of public display..."

"But, isn't that when she looked at you that way? Perhaps she isn't serious about this hanging woman. How much do you know about her anyway?"

"Not much. Hmm, maybe you're right, maybe they weren't serious. Cayden didn't seem very receptive now that I think about it, and she did look at me like she was very interested. Oh, Bev! Now you got me thinking!"

"Cayden, what a pretty name." Bev remarked.

"It suits her. She's tall, has long beautiful black shiny hair, a great body, and her skin, it looks so flawless I just want to touch it. I think I'm obsessed with her hands!" Brooke said in a frightened voice.

Bev smiled reassuringly. "It's ok, baby. I say you get to know her better. Who knows?"

Brooke sighed. "Yeah, who knows."

"What does Grant think of all this, or does he not know?"

"Please, Grant is history. He's made his bed." Brooke replied bitterly.

Bev's head cocked to the side. "What happened?"

"You wouldn't even believe it. Suffice it to say, he's gone." She said adamantly.

The older woman sat back and studied her friend. She looked very serious. "Is this because of Cayden?"

"No, it's been a long time coming. I think that Cayden was just the icing on the cake."

 
*  *  *

For a Monday, Cayden was pretty busy. The Fuzzy Belly Deli had a steady stream of customers, some regular, some new, and of course, ones who drove Cayden crazy by walking all over the place, picking things up and putting them down in the wrong place. If that wasn't enough, Ida Friedman called a total of 6 times to inform Cayden of her baby's brilliant escapades, her newest incompetent psychiatrist and her homeopathic remedies for everything from plantar's warts to dandruff. By the time Jodie decided to pop in, the tall shopkeeper was a wreck and she left her friend to mind the shop as she went out to take a break. Knowing

Jodie could only stay a short while, Cayden couldn't disappear and she opted for sitting on the sidewalk a few stores down to drink a tall, cold, can of iced tea. The awning from the store she sat in front of, kept the sun from hitting her upper body, but it didn't prevent the glaring heat from attacking her long legs. She frowned as she felt herself start to burn. It wasn't only hot, it was humid too and Cayden knew that once the iced tea was gone, the thrill of her reality break would be over, so she sipped the cold liquid slowly. Just as she closed her eyes and began to relax, Jodie popped her head out of the shop with the cordless phone dangling from her fingers.

"Oh Cayden, sweetheart, darling, angel." she said, mimicking Ida Friedman.

"Nooooo...." the tall woman groaned.

"Yes, it's your biggest fan. I didn't know you were being considered for sainthood." Jodie teased.

"She has nobody. I listen to her." Cayden shrugged. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked rhetorically.

"Aren't you the bees knees, angel pie."

Cayden sighed. She really didn't feel like talking to Mrs. Friedman again, but knew if she didn't now, the eccentric old woman would only call back later. "Oh alright. Give me the phone." She reached out reluctantly, and started getting up.

Jodie watched with amusement as Cayden pressed the hold button and started nodding instantly as she walked back inside.

The tall shop keeper eventually hung up the phone and banged her head on the receiver a few times before expelling a frustrated growl. "She drives me crazy Jo!"

"Yeah, but you're going to heaven. She said so."

"Great. I'll have no fun at all."

The two friends stared out the front window blankly as the tall woman began to relax again.

 
*  *  *

Brooke was distracted for the rest of the day after she confessed to Bev. Every so often, she'd catch the older woman peeking over the cubicle with a knowing smile on her face. At first, it made Brooke blush, but after a while she started to feel relieved that she told Bev. As the day progressed, she started to feel more and more comfortable with herself and more assured about her attraction to Cayden. By the time she was ready to leave, Brooke almost had a cocky air about her.

"You have a great night, Brooke." Bev said with a wink.

"Oh I will. Trust me." The blonde replied confidently. She had been thinking of Cayden all afternoon and her predicament. She came to a decision that regardless if Cayden had a girlfriend or not, she was going to talk to her. She needed to know more about the tall woman, and if she had a girlfriend, so what. Brooke couldn't go without knowing, at least, Cayden's last name, or how old she was... little things like that drove her crazy. The problem was, as much as she needed to know, she couldn't face Cayden if Grant had gone in there and done something stupid. She volleyed between walking confidently into the Fuzzy Belly Deli and running away in the other direction. But she knew, in order to get the information she wanted, she'd have to confront Cayden in one way or another.

After a quiet dinner alone, Brooke made her final decision on what to do with Cayden. She was going to use Fred. Not the most confident approach, but Cayden seemed genuinely interested in animals and if Fred was going to be the catalyst, then so be it. Brooke was going to go into the shop and feel Cayden out. She'd know instantly if Grant was there depending on Cayden's reaction. Then she was going to make her move. She hoped and prayed that Grant hadn't confronted the tall woman. If he did, and ruined any opportunities she could possibly have at being at the very least, friends with Cayden, she'd have to kill him. Plain and simple. Grant would be toast.