Hidden Desires (30 page)

The tall woman followed her nose up the stairs and onto the street where the coffee cart was calling to her. She bought the largest cup possible and prepared herself to face Jodie with a slight jerk of her chin. She would have stood taller and
thrust
out her chin, but she didn't have the strength.

 
*  *  *

Jodie looked up at the bell tinkling and tried to conceal her mirth as Cayden took two steps, tripped over her own feet and made a show of inspecting at the spot on the floor.

"Stupid carpet"

"Yeah, I just hate when it jumps up and bites my ankle."

Cayden almost wasted good energy on a glare, but realized Jodie wouldn't get the full effect until she took off her sunglasses, and that may not happen for a week.

"So, did you puke?" Jodie asked cheerfully.

"No." Cayden sat down carefully.

"Oh," Jodie said, amused by her friends apparent hangover.

"You sound disappointed." the shopkeeper barely whispered into her coffee cup.

"Nah, just smug." The waitress began lightly rubbing Cayden's shoulders.

"Oh Jo..."

"There, there, I'll make it all better." Jodie hummed softly.

Cayden tried to narrow her eyes but they kept going and closed. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"Just making my friend feel better," Jo replied innocently.

Cayden slunk away from Jodie's hands. "There's an agenda. There always is," she said skeptically.

"Well, now that you mention Brooke."

Cayden moaned. "Now, I may just puke."

"What happened last night?"

"We kissed, that's it." Cayden said, feigning exasperation.

"There's more. Kissing shouldn't have been so damned traumatic that you had to drink yourself into a stupor."

Cayden rolled her eyes, "Ow." It hurt. "I really don't feel like talking about the "B" word right now."

"Oh no, you are completely at my mercy. I'm not letting this opportunity pass. Drink that coffee and talk to me."

"Jo..." Cayden groaned. "My head is splitting. Please." she begged.

Jodie stood over her friend and breathed on the top of her head, "No visible fissures. I think you're safe for now."

Cayden swivelled her chair so her back was facing Jodie.

"Brooke, kissing, spill it."

"Sounds like a good idea, maybe I will puke."

Jodie turned the chair back to face her and straddled Cayden's lap. "Talk to me stud. Did you know that Brooke lost the ability to walk, you wild woman?"

Cayden couldn't help the corner of her mouth from lifting.

"Miracle lips, sizzle kiss, magic tongue."

"Okay, I get the hint Jo, Jeez."

"Is that a blush?" Jodie inspected Cayden's cheek. "You have a clogged pore, lemme squeeze it?"

"God Jo, you're gross. No." She attempted to buck her hips, which took all of her strength. "You wanna get off?"

"Ooo, it starts with a kiss in the store room and now she thinks everyone wants her. Sure, what did you have in mind, sweet lips?"

"My lap, get off my lap." The tall woman sighed heavily. "Jo, I'm hung over." she finally admitted.

"No shit." the waitress climbed off. "It will be much less painful if you whisper but you will talk."

Cayden closed her throbbing eyes and sighed out a groan of defeat. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Goody!" Jodie clapped her hands and laughed maniacally until she saw her friend practically fold herself into a ball. "OOo, shh... sorry," she whispered. "So, how'd it start? What happened afterwards? Did you touch her ass?"

Jodie had already heard Brooke's side of the story from Wade, but she really wanted Cayden's version.

The brunette squirmed uncomfortably. "We were yelling. No, actually, first she was yelling, then I was yelling, then her tits provoked me, then her lips..." Cayden drank some coffee and purred as it went down. "Before I knew it, I was kissing her. it was like I had no control over myself. I tried to stop, but she made me come back. Did you know she has freckles on her nose?" Cayden's head fell heavily onto the back of the chair, she was exhausted.

"You're in love with Brooke." Jodie stated.

The tall woman's stomach flipped. "Okay, now I really am gonna heave."

"Admit it. Its so freaking obvious, you two are made for each other. You want her. I can see it now. Brooke and Cayden, I now pronounce you bitter, cranky, mean head and wife."

"No, Jo, I mean it, I'm gonna puke."

"No you won't, you'll never do that here in front of me. Admit it, you love her."

"I do not, you're being ridiculous. Insane!"

"Then you very much like her." Jodie tried with a smirk.

"I hate her."

"I knew it! Woohoo!"

The tall woman groaned and slumped her shoulders. "I don't know what I feel."

 
*  *  *

Jodie continued to prod and annoy Cayden until she did, indeed, throw up. Feeling really awful about it, she sent Cayden home in a cab, with the shop keeper complaining about a waste of perfectly good caffeine. Immediately after Cayden left, Jodie called Wade, they had a lot to talk about.

W
ADE HID BEHIND a rack of mid-length nighties as he spoke to Jodie. He was thrilled to have his suspicions proven and find out that Cayden was in love with Brooke. The tall woman never actually
said
so, but Jodie insisted that she was. Jodie also said that Cayden was practically panicking over her feelings, and they both were determined to find out why.

After his long talk with Brooke in the storage room, he knew without a doubt that she was in love with Cayden. Now the impossible tasks of getting Cayden to first admit it, and then putting them together lay before him and Jodie. Wade wasn't entirely convinced that Cayden puked from her hang over either. His tall room mate was most likely petrified at herself and her runaway emotions.

After hanging up the phone, Wade stared expectantly at Brooke's phone number. He was very excited when she gave it to him, instructing him to call her should anything change with Cayden, or if he had something juicy to tell her. He thought this definitely qualified as juicy. Cayden was home sick needing some heavy duty TLC and, maybe some chicken soup. He grinned deviously.

 
*  *  *

Brooke was skeptical. At first she fought Wade, knowing she was probably the last person Cayden wanted to see, after all, Brooke felt responsible for the tall woman's predicament. However, after hearing how sick Cayden was, she felt bad, bad enough to go with Wade's devious plans. Stepping out of the haven of her room, she was surprised to see her parents gone. Not knowing how much time she had, she quickly changed into much smaller clothes, took out a frozen container of Gramma Millie's chicken soup and threw that along with some Pepto into a bag. On her way out the door, her mother caught her.

"Brooke! Where are you running?" she held Brooke by the hand.

"Ma!" Brooke squirmed away. "You scared me! I'm just going out for some air." she said, looking away.

Mrs. Hewitt narrowed her eyes and tapped her foot. "It's 100 degrees out there." She peeked into Brooke's shopping bag curiously.

"Okay, I'm going to take soup to a sick friend," she confessed.

"Cayden." Harriet said, tight lipped.

"Mom, she's sick and home all alone." Brooke batted her eyelashes and pouted.

"Poor dear! Is she alright? What happened?"

"Umm, I think its a stomach thing."

"Well, Gramma's soup should do it." Harriet said confidently, as Brooke inched her way towards the door. "Oh honey, did Cayden actually
invite
you this time?"

"Uh, yeah?" Brooke tried.

"Hmph, well you just go tend to her." Mrs. Hewitt wasn't sure Brooke wasn't being taken advantage of. After what happened at the party, why would Cayden suddenly want to have Brooke at her sick bed?

 
*  *  *

Wade snickered evilly as he thought about Cayden's reaction to seeing Brooke show up at the door. Cayden absolutely despised company when she was sick, she hated coddling even more and Brooke was certain to mother her. He couldn't wait to get home. He already pictured Cayden in a napkin bib.

 
*  *  *

Brooke was surprised to find Cayden's apartment door open when she arrived. She checked the number on the door several times before becoming alarmed. As she was about to yell inside to see if Cayden was there, a gigantic cat came waddling through the house and sat at her feet. She raised both eyebrows in amusement. "Wow, aren't you enormous?" she said as she squatted down to let the cat sniff her.

"MAOW!"

"Is your mommy home?"

"MAOW!"

"You're no help at all, are you." She sighed and stepped over the cat, closing the door behind her. She was a little spooked about the door being open, and scanned the room for anything unusual. A muffled groan emanated from somewhere inside and Brooke grimaced in sympathy. "I bet I know what that means." she mumbled, searching for the bathroom. When she found it, she sighed. Cayden was draped across the toilet groaning.

Sensing company, Cayden glanced to the right and then banged her already aching head on the toilet seat. "Kill me now." she whimpered.

"Cayden! Stop that!"

"I want to die." she groaned, and not from the hangover.

"You poor baby." Brooke squatted down and pulled Cayden's damp pony tail off the back of her neck and blew on the damp skin.

"You leave the door open and anything can wander in." The tall woman tried to shrug Brooke away then groaned painfully.

"Are you gonna throw up again?"

"Well you know," she half whispered, "Once you open those flood gates..."

Brooke rubbed Cayden's back as she heaved, frowning guiltily at how clammy she was.

"Go away." the tall woman squeaked.

"No." Brooke left the room and started opening closets.

"Then slit my throat." Cayden moaned.

Brooke returned with a wash cloth, wet it with cold water and put it on the back of Cayden's neck. "Feel good, you big baby?"

"No, I hate it, I would like to be alone please. This is kinda personal."

Brooke ignored her completely. "Can you stand? Are you finished?"

"God, Brooke, can't you just go?" Cayden begged.

"If you think I'm going to leave you here laying on the floor with your face in the crapper you got another thing coming! Shit, why do you have to be so stubborn! I'm here, you're sick, I'm going to take care of you. Dammit, Cayden."