Hidden Desires (2 page)

Brooke had a temper tantrum on the inside. "No, I guess it would be ok." she replied amiably.

"Great! You're a gem sweetheart!'

Brooke watched Grant get dressed distractedly.
Great, the country club
, she pouted.
Pretentious assholes all sitting around trying to out do each other...

"Maybe you'll wear that yellow dress?"

"Sure." She agreed numbly. She was too tired to disagree. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I have to go to my parent's house after work again tonight. They're staying by Gramma Millie's and I have to take care of Fred."

Grant frowned. "How long is that dog going to live anyway? God, he must be 100 years old by now."

Brooke narrowed her eyes and ignored him as she usually did. He just wasn't a dog person. "Gramma should be back on her feet tomorrow."

"Well good. You always smell like dog when you come home from there."

Brooke stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "I'll see you later, Hon." she said with little emotion as she kissed him on the cheek. An old saying of Gramma's floated through her head,
Never trust anyone that doesn't like animals.
She shook away the thought. Grant wasn't actually mean to animals, he just avoided them.

"I love you."

Brooke sighed. "I know. I love you too."

Cayden set her coffee cup on the sidewalk and pulled open the gate to her shop. Once it was all opened up, she picked up her coffee and started to panic. This was the part that she hated, running inside and shutting off the alarm in the dark, with a coffee in one hand. Many times she hit the wrong buttons and the alarm started blaring, making her even more panicked. After the fourth time, the neighboring shopkeepers stopped running over and helping her, and the alarm company reps stopped calling. They all knew when the alarm went off between 10 AM and 11 AM it was Cayden and her cup of coffee.

With the alarm taken care of, the tall brunette turned on the lights and the Fuzzy Belly Deli was open for business. "First things first." She said, running straight for the thermostat. The humidity of the New York summer had permeated the walls and the tall woman needed to fix it quick before the doggie treats began sweating.

Cayden inherited the shop from her parents, who opened it when she was just a kid. It made sense that they just passed it on to her when they retired, being it was the only job she really enjoyed. She tried other employment options but always came back to the little shop. When she was a teen, she refused to work on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, believing anything worth doing was done downtown, preferably in Greenwich Village. But after working in the Village, she realized they were more fake down there than they were uptown. Now, she liked this store and the quirky eccentrics, even the occasional snob that visited. She knew all the regulars, and welcomed all the newcomers happily. There were the occasional nutcases as well, but she dealt with them as best she could. The real perk of the job to Cayden was meeting all the fur people that accompanied their humans. Truth be told, she had a humongous soft spot for critters and often remembered them before she could recall the owner's name. If she was forced to admit it, she'd even tell you that she liked La La Bird, just a little.

Settled behind the short counter, Cayden took the lid off of her to-go cup and watched the steam rise from her coffee. The air conditioner had just kicked in and she almost felt human again. Someone appeared by the front door and she looked up as the bell rang to see her long time friend Jodie entering the shop.

"Mornin' hon!" Jodie waved as she approached the counter.

"Yeah." Cayden replied with a shrug. "I guess it is."

Jodie ignored her friend's grumpiness and leaned over the counter for a kiss. After pecking Cayden on the cheek, she flounced her way around the counter, flung her purse onto a chair and tore a hole into the top of her coffee container. "So, what's up?" She asked, leaning her elbows on the counter.

Cayden blew on her coffee before taking a big sip. "Nothing really. Wade set me up again."

"You said yes?" Jodie asked in disbelief. "After the Nazi Mother Goose?"

Cayden shrugged and continued to drink her coffee.

"Wow. What's she look like?" Jodie wondered, drinking her coffee too.

"Well, he didn't say much except she's not a midget, and she's got a cute ass."

"Hey, two big plusses if you ask me."

"I suppose. Hey, so how'd it go with Sherry?"

"Sharon." Jodie corrected. "It went okay. We went to a trendoid club, got drunk and boffed in the car."

Cayden shook her head. "I don't know how you do it? How can you sleep with someone you just met?"

"Easy, you just do." Jodie shrugged. "It wouldn't kill you to get laid too ya know."

"Not you too!" Cayden stood up and began pacing.

"I'm serious. You need to get some, Cayden. It would do you a world of good. When's the last time you had sex anyway? A year ago?" Jodie asked, jumping into Cayden's big comfy chair.

"I can't remember." The tall brunette replied while adjusting some containers of cookies.

"See? That's the point. A person should remember their last orgasm."

"
That
I can remember Jo." Cayden chuckled. "Thursday afternoon."

Jodie jumped up in surprise. "Here? You did that here?" She pointed at the chair she was just sitting on.

"No, you idiot. I went to the bathroom." Cayden said with a grin.

"Well, I suppose that counts for something. It
was
an orgasm." she nodded to herself. "But still, Cayd, don't you get tired of that?"

"Nope." She answered seriously. "I know what I like. No questions, no awkward moments, no naked confusion."

The bell above the door tinkled, ending their conversation.

Brooke put on her happy face as she walked through the large office space towards her desk. She offered the occasional smile and replied cheerfully to her co-workers when asked how she was this hot morning. Truthfully, she felt like shit and really just wanted to lay her head on the desk and cry, but they didn't have to know that. Finally reaching her cubicle, Brooke slung her pocketbook over her chair, and sat down heavily. Mechanically booting up her computer, she stared at the brown paper bag that held her breakfast without really seeing it. She was still pouting about having to spend Sunday with Mary at the country club when she'd rather be at home catching up on some sleep. Oddly enough, she was able to sleep in on weekends, if she was left alone, and was so thrilled to do so that she never questioned why.
Damn. I really should have said no,
she though sourly, then felt guilty.
But then again, Grant's been so nice to me lately, that I really should do this for him.

"Good Morning, Brooke!"

The blonde snapped out of her thought and looked up at the face popping over the side of her cubicle. "Good Morning, Beverly." she said with a smile.

Beverly was a sweet woman, only had a few years left until she retired. Some thought of her as a little weird but Brooke always thought, to each his own, and took her co-worker for what she was, a genuinely nice person. Beverly wore her salt and pepper hair in an old fashioned bowl cut, and dressed rather brightly. She always had some rainbow or another fixed to her clothing in support of her gay daughter, Sam. The older woman was highly involved in parents of gays organizations and was always bragging about her daughter. Brooke found this to be charming, while others were just annoyed. They'd rather not hear of the latest gay rights plan or charity dance. Beverly reminded her of the mother on that cable show about gay people that Brooke caught once or twice.

"Is it hot enough for ya?" Beverly asked with an exaggerated wipe across her forehead.

"You're lucky you take the express bus Bev. Can you imagine what the subway was like?" Brooke replied, finally digging into her paper bag.

"I don't envy you sweetheart. Say, is that a chocolate croissant? I never saw you eat sugar for breakfast." Beverly observed.

"Yeah, I need the kick this morning. Monday's are always the hardest." Brooke answered with another fake smile. "So, how's Sam's business?" Sam ran a website that sold products geared towards the gay community.

"Fine, just fine." Beverly smiled proudly. "Did you know that Sam and Nancy are thinking about having a child?"

Brooke bit into the croissant and cringed a little. The sweetness overwhelming her at first. "Really?" The blonde was actually interested. "How?"

"Well, Sam wants to carry the child so I thought they should use sperm from Nancy's brother, but they're going to go with an anonymous donor. They never listen to me." She said with offense.

"Nancy's brother?" Brooke asked in amazement.

"Well sure! Let's keep it in the family! After all if Nancy can't do the deed, at least let the baby have her genes!"

Brooke digested that, along with her breakfast. "You really like Nancy don't you."

"Of course I do! She is the best thing to ever happen to Sam." Beverly said with sincerity.

"Even though she's a woman?" Brooke asked, then realized how stupid that sounded. "I mean, did you really love her at first?" The blonde shook her head and blushed. "I'm sorry, it's not coming out like I want."

"Oh, never you worry, I know what you mean." The older woman reassured. "I always thought there was something different about Sam, but I wasn't sure what it was until she told me she was gay. Then it all fell into place. I wasn't upset or anything that she was gay, mind you. I was frightened for her because of society. I, personally, don't care who she loves as long as they make her happy and show her the respect she deserves. Nancy is the one."

Brooke smiled. "You're one of a kind Bev. Sam's lucky to have you."

"Don't I know it." Bev teased and laughed. "Well, gotta get to work!"

"Yeah, I guess we do." Brooke agreed reluctantly. At first, she only stared at her computer screen going over what Bev had said about Sam and Nancy.
They sound like they were made for each other. I'd love to meet them and see for myself. Can a couple like that really exist? Respect huh? I get respect don't I? I mean, Grant cares about me... most of the time. He worries about me, sometimes. Oh but, he's a man, that's just the way men are.
Brooke sighed in thought.
Can they really be that happy? It must be because they're two women, but there's gotta be a downside to that too. It must be murder when they ovulate, and they must do that together by now,
she grinned.
But the way Bev talks... They sound like the perfect couple. I wanna be that happy too.
The blonde clicked her mouse a few times and began working.
Maybe one day.

PART 2

C
AYDEN SHIFTED IN her chair and put a foot up on the counter. The Fuzzy Belly Deli wasn't a particularly busy shop, but was never the less profitable. The long spells of quiet allowed the tall brunette to indulge in her favorite pastime, which was watching television. Currently involved with John Edward, the guy who talks to the dead, Cayden leaned back and munched absently on gummy bears, swaying her chair slightly back and forth.

Jodie came clamoring in the door with a lawn chair, a handful of tabloids and a quart of iced tea, huffing and puffing dramatically. "No, don't get up... I got it." she said sarcastically as she struggled with her load.

Cayden glanced at her friend briefly, then brought her attention back to the television.

"Yeah, so, it's Egypt hot out there, thanks for asking." the short, brown haired woman said to herself.

Cayden turned to Jodie with a bored expression. "Well it wasn't my idea to sit out there and bask in Hell."