Hidden Desires (39 page)

"Yeah, and she'll come running for afternoon tea with Harriet the inquisitor." Bert snickered.

Cayden held back a chuckle at the overheard comment. "Thank you ma'am."

"Ma'am? Oh, you don't have to call me that! Call me Harriet!" Mrs. Hewitt insisted. "So, what are you doing on this hot day?" She turned around and gave Bert a glare to shut up.

Cayden sighed, and sat down on the couch. "Just had a late breakfast, I don't plan on much today, it's my only day off." She replied politely.

"Oh really? You keep the store open 6 days a week?" Harriet said, ignoring Bert's sour face. "So, do you own the shop?"

"Harriet!" Bert whispered loudly. "Leave the poor girl alone."

"Yes, I do."
She's picking me for information.
Cayden thought.
Probably seeing if I'm good enough for Brooke. Funny, the father doesn't seem that worried.
"My parents gave me the shop when they retired, it's a decent living, and I enjoy the work."

"Oh, so it's a
family
business." Harriet said as much for Bert's benefit as her own.

Bert's ears alerted at that, after all, he was a family man.

Harriet smiled, Cayden was proving to be quite polite, nothing like the monster Brooke made her out to be. "So, I take it you like animals?"

"I love them ma'am... Harriet." Cayden turned to look at La La. "Pets are innocent, they depend on you for survival, they don't judge you."

Hmm, interesting choice of words.
Harriet pressed further. "I certainly understand. My Fred doesn't care if I do my hair in the morning or not, he just loves me for me."

"Yeah," Cayden pet La La lovingly. "Its unconditional."

Bert watched his wife get a thoughtful expression, then smile warmly.

"Yes dear, we could all use some of that."

Cayden squirmed uncomfortably. "I suppose."

"Shall I leave a message for Brooke?"

"Sure, tell her I called to thank her for seeing to me when I wasn't feeling so good."

"Oh, I certainly will! Does she have your number?"

"I'm sure she does. Thank you, Harriet."

"You take care!"

Cayden hung up the phone, her ears were pink and her hand was sweaty. She didn't figure that Brooke wouldn't be home, and her mother caught her off guard. "I was polite to her though, so that counts." she said to the cat who was standing on the couch next to her. "It wasn't
too
bad. She seems pleasant enough." She thought about the conversation a bit with pursed lips then shook it off. "Well, that should get the ball rolling. Brooke will call me back, maybe we'll get together, and when she starts acting too pushy, I can tell her to back off. What do you think La La?"

The cat yawned then turned over on his back.

"Yeah, it isn't hard to please you." Cayden said as she scratched his soft belly.

 
*  *  *

The four women made small talk all through their meal, and now with lunch finished, Bev, Sam and Nancy all looked at Brooke with anticipation.

Brooke smiled and stirred her coffee. "So, I bet you want to know what happened."

"YES!" They all replied in unison.

"Okay! Well, I got to the party and Cayden wasn't around. Her two friends, Wade and Jodie, told me she was in the store room. I took a beer and headed that way, I thought it would be a better idea to tell her what I had to say in private."

"What exactly were you going to tell her?" Sam asked.

"I needed to tell her why Grant confronted her, thinking we were having an affair." Brooke explained. "Well, you wouldn't believe the reception I got! She slammed the door in my face! That pissed me off and I intended to go in there and let her have it but damn, she's so sexy, and hot and I lost it for a while."

Sam snickered and Nancy elbowed her. "What? I think its cute." Sam explained.

"You want to talk cute? You should have seen her ass, good lord!" The blonde fanned herself.

"Yeah? Is it round and happy?" Nancy wondered, gesturing an ass with her hands.

"Oh yeah, you could put a drink on it. It's perfect." Brooke recalled dreamily. "Anyway, we started yelling at each other first. Cayden was being a bit snarky, so I got even madder, but it seemed the more angry I got, the more she liked it, so I toned it down and started talking. All the while, she was staring at my breasts."

As if practiced, everyone looked at Brooke's breasts. She raised an eyebrow and stuck out her chest. "It was the bra, trust me."

"You're doing fine just like that kiddo." Bev said with a snicker.

"Mom!" Sam wagged her finger. "So? She was staring at your chest..."

"It was getting hard to concentrate, she started getting all sexy, and droopy eyed and I could tell she wasn't listening to a word I said... that is until I told her I dream about her. Once I confessed to talking in my sleep, I swear, steam shot out of her ears. She just got closer and closer until I was backed up against the wall and then she kissed me."

"She kissed you? What was it like? Tongues?" Nancy asked.

"Oh yeah, tongues. It was incredible! I've been dreaming about what it would feel like almost every night, and the dreams paled in comparison. And then there was the second one..." Brooke closed her eyes to savor the memory.

"The second one?" Bev turned sideways in her seat to face Brooke.

"Well, we were kissing the first time and I dropped my beer, the crash made Jodie and Wade come in and they caught us. Cayden freaked out, she was unreasonably upset about kissing me. She blamed my breasts for making her do it."

Bev, Nancy and Sam erupted in laughter, Brooke wanted to be offended, but realized how silly the statement was and joined in.

"She was totally fixated on them, in fact, I had to lift her face to mine at one point and that's what started the second kiss."

"So tell me about this bra." Sam joked, wiggling her eyebrow.

Nancy leaned across the table, and smiled evilly, "I'll tell you my secrets if you tell me yours."

Brooke blushed. "I don't have any secrets, this is all new to me."

"Oh sweetie, we're just teasing. I guess this is a bit hard for you isn't it." Sam sympathized.

"I thought it was just like getting a man, but its not, and I'm confused." Brooke confessed.

"No, its not much different you just have a tough woman. Think of it as an uncooperative man, only with a killer ass." She joked. "So, then, how'd you get a second kiss?"

"I made her stop ranting and come over to me. She fought it at first, and I could see her warring with herself, but one glance back at my body and she just kept moving. Once she was in front of me, I wanted her to actually
hear
my confession, so I began to explain myself, but she said I talk to much and kissed me again!"

"Oooo, a shut up kiss!" Nancy said excitedly.

"There doesn't seem to be a lack of passion between you two." Bev noticed.

"No, see, that's what I thought too. That time while were kissing, she picked me up off the floor and I was all wrapped around her. I never felt anything like it in my life! My knees were weak, my heart was pounding in my ears and I could hardly breathe from the adrenaline rush! She was so into it too, she groaned and squirmed... the way she said my name gave me goosebumps. I don't know what came over me either! I tasted her neck and I think I even bit it, everything was great and the she suddenly dropped me on the floor and ran out! I'll be damned if I know what happened!"

"Major issues." Sam announced.

"You're telling me?" Brooke agreed. "She's impossible. I know she wants me, even though she denies it. I have solid proof. She keeps telling me I'm straight, but how can I be straight if I want her so bad? Why doesn't she see that? What do I have to do to show her?"

"Well, she's attracted to you, that's for sure." Bev said, "But she keeps running away, she's afraid of something."

"So tell me about this solid proof." Sam wondered.

Brooke blushed instantly and cleared her throat. "No, I shouldn't. But trust me on this."

"You could be misreading it, you say she blamed your breasts, she may only be interested in your body. It may be new for her or something." Bev offered.

"Yeah, and she keeps insisting your straight, she may be put off by someone she thinks is straight wanting to experiment with her. Being attracted to you, would just piss her off." Sam added.

"No." Brooke said, yet thought about it. "You think?"

"Could be. Have you talked about it?" Bev asked.

"Well, not really. Listen, I was at her house, the day after the party, she was hung over and sick and I took care of her against her will. She was obnoxious and argumentative with me, but even that night we kissed again, and I felt something in that kiss. It was more than just physical...much more, and believe me, it did something to her too." Brooke trailed off suddenly hearing Cayden calling her name while she touched herself. "I don't even think I care if it's just my body she's interested in."

"Are you sure? Brooke, then that IS an experiment." Sam said seriously.

"But I dream about it! I can hardly close my eyes without imagining us ... you know..."

"Are you sure its just not your body she wants?" Bev asked.

"I'm quite sure, I hear from her friends that she's been acting the same way as I am. They tell me she wants me and she's afraid."

"What is she afraid of? Maybe you two should talk."

"I'd love to, but we get together and start bickering right away." Brooke frowned. "What do I do?"

"You have to call a truce. You're both grown adults, and you need to talk like you are. I doubt she'll confess her fears to you just like that, so I think you both need to do a lot of talking before anything is to happen." Nancy offered.

"Then again, if its just the sex you want, you can always torture her with your body until she gives in." Sam added.

"Sam, that's not what she needs right now." Nancy chastised her lover.

Brooke narrowed her eyes. That wasn't such a bad idea.

 
*  *  *

"She's afraid of love honey!"

Brooke jumped in surprise as her mother ambushed her at the door. "What the heck are you talking about? Who's afraid of love?"

"Cayden!" Harriet exclaimed with a self-satisfied smile.

Brooked stared in puzzlement at her mother.

"Harriet, I said you should stop jumping to conclusions!" Bert yelled from the living room.

Brooke's eyes widened in fear. "What did you do?" she asked loudly. "How did you...you didn't call her did you?"

"Oh nooo,
she
called you." Harriet explained innocently. "I just picked up the phone."

"MOM! Oh my god! You didn't!" Brooke threw her hands in the air and stomped off to the living room. "Dad, what happened?"

"Cayden called to speak to you and your mother tried to pry." he shrugged.

It just sunk in, and Brooke took a seat heavily. "Cayden called to talk to me?"