Hidden Desires (33 page)

"Aww, she really had no choice. She was quite unable to fight. You have no idea how I pictured the scenario, I prepared for the worst after speaking to Wade. I thought she'd kick me out on my ass, but she was easy."

"Easy?" Wade laughed. "Just wait until she gets her fire back, you, my dear, are in for trouble."

"Please, if that's the worst, I can take her."

"Apparently. You had her head in your lap, not to mention your hand tangled in her hair at one point. Care to explain?" Jodie asked curiously.

Brooke blushed. "Well, you see, she was bitching and I thought some good head scratches were in order, and before I knew it she had fallen asleep."

"Ah, but you never took your hand away from her head did you." Wade asked with a silly smile.

"No." The blonde admitted. "It felt too good to stop."

Jodie smiled knowingly.

"What else did you do to her when she was sleeping?" Wade asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Nothing like
that
, Wade." Brooke said with a nervous giggle. "I only touched her lips, her cheek... and her arm, her ear, oh, and her fingers. She has such long, sexy fingers."

"Oh yeah, you got it bad." Jodie said with a chuckle. "You couldn't possibly have found anyone more difficult, Brooke."

"So I gather." Brooke said distractedly. "So, how did you all meet?" She asked to change the subject.

"I met Cayden when she came to live with me." Wade started. "She was looking for a roommate and she found me through a friend of a friend. We were living in Brooklyn at the time, both of us younger and poorer back then. She was the perfect roommate, spending all of her time in her room, you hardly ever knew she was there. Sometimes I didn't see her for days. Now, though, she's my best friend. She may not act like it but she's proven it on many occasions. She's very loyal and she'd give you the shirt off of her back."

Brooke smiled, she knew there was more to the tall cranky woman than met the eye.

"No kidding." Jodie agreed. "She doesn't have many friends, in fact I think we're it. She's a very private person in some ways, she likes to be alone. Sometimes, I force myself on her because I hate that she's sitting here alone." Jodie shrugged. "Sure, she says she's happy that way, but she's not. She really does want someone," Jo cut her eyes to Brooke, "We all do."

Brooke smiled and nodded. "I gotta tell you, I was drawn to her the minute I saw her, I don't know what happened. I thought I was fine, I thought I was happy, and I didn't know just how unhappy I was until I met her. Jodie, you never said how you two met?"

"I tried to pick her up. I fancy myself a sort of Casanova, and was totally baffled that she would have turned me down. I pretty much stalked her until she finally gave in and kept me around. She never did want me that way, but we became really close. I'm glad too, cuz if it would have been any different, she wouldn't be my friend right now." Jodie smiled warmly at the thought. "I know how you met Cayden, but tell me what was happening from your point of view."

Wade moved closer to Brooke and giggled. "Ooo, I love girl talk." He pulled La La onto his lap and listened intently.

"Well, I just happened to get out of a cab in front of the store, I had no idea it was even there and my parents live a few blocks away. Go figure."

"Karma." Wade said.

"Don't start with that what's meant to be will be crap." Jodie warned.

"Yes ma'am." Wade snickered. "So, you went into the store and..."

"I was cranky, and hot, and there was this man droning on and on about his cat. I was getting very irritated with him when I heard her voice and everything stopped. I remember that I thought it was sexy and I surprised myself." Brooke blushed at the memory. "So, finally this man stepped away and I saw Jodie. I thought you were retarded at first." She admitted.

"What? Why?" Jodie asked with a loud snort.

"You were looking at me with this expression, it was amusing."

"Ohh, yeah." Jodie snickered in remembrance. "I had just made a bet with Cayd to try and rap to the first woman that walked into the store. I was quite pleased to see you standing there."

"She talked to me because I was a dare?" The blonde asked in offense.

"Brooke, you do recall that she hardly said two words. She was dumbfounded by you. It was funny as all hell to watch."

"True. I thought she was retarded too."

Wade laughed. "Yeah, I still wonder about that myself."

"Anyway, something about her voice, it did something inside of me. I couldn't get her out of my head. Her voice, her eyes, I was totally confused about what was going on, but I knew I had to see her again."

"Lust at first sight." Jodie teased.

"I don't know what the hell it was, but I needed to see her, so I came back later. I was fascinated by her hands." Brooke recalled clearly. "Then the dreams started..." She drifted off in thought.

"Wow. That is so cool." Wade said. "You know, she was pretty upset after talking to you that night." He informed the blonde who raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, she was trying to pick you up as best as she knew how and you said you had a boyfriend. She was sure you wanted her until then."

Brooke frowned. "Yeah, in retrospect, I realized she was flirting with me, but at the time I had no clue. Actually, I have no idea why I brought up Grant."

"Subconscious fear." Jodie said.

"Shut up, Freud. Since when do you know this stuff?" Wade threw a pillow at her.

"I watch Dr. Phil." Jodie stuck out her tongue.

"Dr. Phil is banned from this house. Him and soap operas, they're poison according to Cayden."

Oh no... but she let me watch....
Brooke's eyes widened and she cleared her throat nervously. "You really watch Dr. Phil?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, he's a pip, entertaining as all hell. I love to watch him."

"Then you'd know enough not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

All heads turned to see Cayden standing with her arms folded and a scowl on her face.

"Hey Cayd, come join the party." Wade said, patting the couch next to him.

"No thanks. That couch is evil." She said, narrowing her eyes at Brooke. "What are you still doing here?"

"Cayden!"

"Never mind her, Jodie, she's just cranky because I saw her throw up. She'll get over it."

"Hey! I am not cranky!"

"Oh? So, you're normally this irritable? Maybe you should look into Pamprin." Brooke offered.

"You did NOT just call me hormonal." Cayden said, steamed.

"If the ovary fits..." Wade interjected.

"Shut up. No one asked you." The tall woman shot back.

"You know, Cayden, you don't scare me with your rude behavior. In fact, it gets my juices going." Brooke announced.

"Well then, you better get up off the couch, Wade hates that sort of thing on his furniture."

"Oh, you're a regular riot, Cayd." Wade snorted.

Brooke smiled sweetly. "I could always go sit on your bed, Cayden, I'm sure my juices are welcome there."

Jodie and Wade laughed uproariously. Cayden looked flabbergasted.

"What happened Cayd, La La got your tongue?" Wade managed to choke out between guffaws.

"I do not want your juices on my bed." Cayden insisted, though she was blushing deeply.

"Oh yeah, that's believable." Jodie teased her red friend.

Brooke simply sat and blinked demurely.

"Well, I don't! And what do you look so pleased about?" The shop keeper asked the blonde.

"Please," she waved her hand around. "You want me." Brooke said boredly.

"I do not!"

"You'll come around." The blonde said confidently. "Just give me time."

Wade and Jodie looked as if they were watching a tennis match, mouths agape and eyes wide.

"You're crazy! You can't make me do anything I don't want to!" Cayden insisted.

"Yeah right," Jodie said, "Hey, Brooke, how's those drool stains on your lap?"

"Shut up, Jodie!" Cayden stomped her foot in frustration. Everyone was ganging up on her.

"That was mature." Wade joked.

"Fuck you all." The brunette pouted.

"Aaaanyway..." Brooke started, "I'm glad you feel better Cayden, it was my pleasure to have you on my lap. Feel free anytime."

Cayden narrowed her eyes. Her blush was just dissipating and now it was back.

"I'm thinking, maybe next time, you'll want to hold off on the groping in mixed company though." Wade joked.

The shop keeper's nostrils flared. "I was sleeping! I didn't know what it was."

Brooke smiled saucily. "Again, it was my pleasure."

La La Bird jumped up and headbutted Brooke's leg, she began to pet him, while Cayden looked on with a frown.

"You know, Cayd, you're going to have to get used to Brooke. We like her and we're going to keep her." Wade informed the scowling woman.

"Fabulous." The tall woman stomped off into her room.

Brooke, Wade, and Jodie all snickered quietly at Cayden's behavior and drank their coffee in silence.

Brooke had learned a lot about the tall woman from her two friends, and was digesting the information. She was relieved to know Cayden wasn't as impossible as she seemed. The blonde kept her confident airs. Even though she acted smug, telling Cayden how much the tall woman wanted her, there was always that bit of doubt pricking at her. She needed some sort of proof. Of course the kisses in the store room were a good start, but Cayden was drunk. Brooke needed more than that and was trying to think up a way to get better proof.

Jodie was thinking how awesome it would be for Cayden to have a lover, she always wanted that for her friend. The tall woman was fighting this like crazy, and Jodie could understand the trepidation, if Brooke hadn't come here today. The blonde proved herself a hundred times over, Cayden wasn't an experiment. Brooke truly cares for her, and is willing to face her down. Cayden was always a tough nut to crack, but once Jodie figured out her bark was much worse than her bite, and that underneath that scowl was a brilliant smile, she always wanted to see it. Cayden rarely smiled genuinely, and Jodie thought that when she did, that smile and those sparkling, clear blue eyes could bring world peace. Jodie thought Cayden was hot, she never denied that she found the tall woman highly attractive, and the thing that most attracted her was her friend's eyes. She saw those eyes take on all sorts of emotions except love. Her heart warmed for Brooke, she desperately wanted Brooke to see those eyes looking at her with love.

Wade was studying Brooke, wondering if this blonde woman who came out of nowhere really was capable of breaking through Cayden's barriers and getting into her heart. He hoped she could, it was time Cayden knew what it was like to be wanted not only for her looks, but for herself. The tall woman's striking good looks caused more than a few problems when it came to women. Women were hardly ever interested in Cayden as much as they were in her looks. Wade really hoped his friend gave Brooke half a chance. Brooke was apparently trying her damnedest, no one ever stuck around long enough to see past Cayden's cranky demeanor. His tall friend was spoiled and stubborn, always being by herself made her a very uncooperative, if not impossible partner. However, he didn't think she would put up this kind of fight. Granted, she and Brooke got off to a rather unusual start, but Cayden should have seen by now, that Brooke meant business. It had to be hard on the blonde, her first real feelings surface and of all people it would have to be Cayden.