by R. S Burnett
“You forgot this” he grumbles to me and passes me the jacket.
“Thanks” I grin and slip it on.
“We’re going shopping for something to wear tonight, did you invite Andrew?” Sophie asks excitedly.
“No, why would I?”
“Brooke” she whines.
“Look, if you want to have sex with him carry on but I’m not” I roll my eyes at her.
“What?” Tucker asks looking at us both as if we have lost our minds.
“Sophie and Katie both think Andrew is hot and want me to have sex with him because I’m the only single girl here and then they want me to give them a detailed play by play afterward” I explain and Sophie hits my arm.
“What? It’s not like the whole table couldn’t see you staring at him” I roll my eyes at her.
“He’s hot?” Tucker asks looking disgusted.
“Hell yes, the hottest guy I’ve seen in years” Sophie sighs.
“Oh my god, I’m glad he’s not coming if you’re going to be drinking. Matt would end up in a fist fight with him by the end of the night”
“Did she invite him?” Katie asks Sophie when she joins us.
“This is crazy” I sigh.
“Give me your phone” She holds her hand out expectantly.
“Fine, but don’t ask him to come for me” I hand over my phone defeated.
“You got his number?” Tucker asks me quietly glaring at me.
“I couldn’t say no” I shrug watching Sophie and Katie both huddled over my phone texting and giggling.
“You could have” he snaps still whispering.
I don’t have a chance to reply because Sophie hands me my phone back. I wince when I look down at the screen and hear Tucker huff.
Can you meet me for a drink later? I’d really like to see you again to catch up on old times.
“Soph” I practically scream. Tucker takes my phone off me and reads the text she sent my phone beeps and the girls snatch the phone back then both squeal.
“What did he say?” I manage to grit out.
“He says ‘Sure no problem, where are you headed. I’d like to see you again too’ with a winking face”
They start texting him back and Tucker makes an annoyed sound.
“Oh please, you have a different girl almost every night. Brooke deserves some fun. Might as well be with someone hot” she shrugs at him and walks off with my phone followed by Katie.
“Brooke?” Tucker stops me from following them and grips my arms looking into my eyes.
“I’m not going to sleep with him” I tell him honestly.
“Damn right you’re not” He snaps but then sighs “Do you want to?”
I frown at him not sure he actually just asked me that. “Umm no … do you?”
“No but I wasn’t the one holding his hand”
“Neither was I, he held mine” I defend.
“They’re going to be pushing you onto him tonight”
“And … Sophie pushes me onto men every weekend, I’ve never given in before. What makes you think I will now?”
“I don’t know, they both think he’s good looking so obviously he is”
“Yes and I also know his type. He’s a player Tucker, yes he will try to get into my panties but as soon as he realises it’s not going to happen he will be trying it with the next girl. I’m not having a one night stand. No matter what anyone says. They might want him but I can guarantee you that he only wants me because he’s already had every other girl in this town. I’m not interested in someone who goes through girls that quick”
He winces and lets me go as I realise what I just said. He is exactly what I just described.
I sigh as he walks back in to the restaurant.
“Tucker, that’s not what I meat” I call to him but he doesn’t answer or look back.
“If we’re going shopping then lets go” I snap at Sophie and Kate as I reach the table not bothering to sit down “And give me my phone back”
“Touchy … you know maybe you need to get …”
“Enough” I cut her off pocketing my phone.
They both start giggling so I shake my head and walk out of the hotel to get a taxi into town. They will catch up with me once they have calmed down. They do catch up with me just as I’m shutting the taxi door.
I have to sit through the whole taxi journey with them talking about Andrew, they don’t stop as we head into different shops and start giggling to each other as they try on dresses.
“You both realise you have boyfriends right” I say dryly after they ask me for the third time if I think Andrew will like the current dresses they have tried on.
“Don’t be a spoil sport Brooke” Katie pouts at me.
“Whatever” I grumble and pay for my chosen dress that I haven’t even bothered to try on.
“The boys have already headed to the pub” Sophie calls from the dressing room.
I’m a bit disappointed that I won’t get to talk to Tucker before we go out but push it back.
I follow Sophie and Katie into the pub and notice that the guys are playing pool but Sophie and Kate aren’t headed towards them they are walking to the end of the bar that’s on the other side of the room, I roll my eyes when I see them reach Andrew. He turns and I watch his eyes travel down my body taking in my strapless blue dress I’m rewarded with a grin.
I lift my hand and wiggle my fingers in a weak version of a wave then head over to the pool table.
There are a few girls crowded round the guys but I walk through them.
“Save me” I grumble to Luke as we watch Tucker take his shot.
“What’s up?” he asks not looking away from the table.
“Your girlfriend and Sophie are trying to set me up”
“With who?” He asks frowning and finally looking at me, “Where are they?”
“At the bar” We both turn and watch Sophie and Katie giggle at something Andrew has said to them I roll my eyes but Matt glares at me.
“Why did you have to invite him?” he demands.
“I didn’t, they did”
“What do you mean they did? I think Sophie fancies him” he frowns.
“God you should be a brain surgeon” I tease trying to make light of the situation.
“What the hell?” Matt says grabbing my attention and I turn to see he’s spotted his girlfriend. “Brooke, do something to get my girlfriend away from him” he points his cue at me.
“What the hell do you want me to do? She’s your girlfriend you go get her”
“I don’t know, go distract him, flash him your tits or something so he start chatting with you instead of my girlfriend”
I stare at him unable to process his request and take it serious.
“Brooke” Tucker says with a hint of warning in his tone.
“Please Brooke” Luke asks eyeing Katie.
It’s obvious that what ever I do tonight I’m going to be upsetting someone.
“You’re boyfriends are looking for you” I tell Sophie and Kate when I reach them.
“Who?” Sophie asks and then slaps her hand on her mouth “Oh … shit” she winces and slowly turns to look at Matt.
“Yeah ... shit” I say dryly.
“Hey Brooke, you look beautiful tonight” Andrew grins at me.
“Thanks” I smile and accept the drink he hands me along with a shot.
“So your friends tell me your single?” he asks as soon as we’re alone.
“Technically I am but I’m kind of seeing someone at the moment” I smile back at him.
“Not any of them I take it” he nods over to my friends and I turn to see what he means. Sophie is now wrapped in Matt’s arms and Luke is kissing Kate but what catches my attention is that Tucker has one arm on some girl’s shoulders the other holding his drink.
“No none of them” I tell him and manage a smile as I turn back to the bar “So what can you tell me about Will? I’m meeting him tomorrow” I sigh.
“Will’s great, he and your dad were very close. He actually manages a club not far from here, you should check it out later. I’ll take you if you like”
He offers.
“I suppose I could, it would be easier if I know who he is before I meet him. I’m trying to remember things but nothing is coming back to me. It’s never been this bad before” I shake my head at myself.
“It’ll come to you, just give it time” he assures me.
I take the time to look around the bar that was my dads favourite. It had a nice feel to it. The decorating is a bit dated but it isn’t distasteful. There are two pool tables, a jukebox, small stage and a bar that goes around the whole room with the only gap in it for the two bathrooms and front door.
“Want a game of pool?” Andrew asks pulling me from my inspection.
“Sure” I shrug and follow him to the pool table “I’ll rack, you break” I offer as we reach is.
I try my best to ignore my friends as the game progresses but it isn’t easy when they are only about ten feet away from us.
“Come on Brooke” Sophie cheers.
“No fair, you get cheerleaders” Andrew chuckles tapping me on the shoulder with his cue as he joins me at the top of the table so I can line up my shot.
“You have your fan base” I smirk and nod my head at the group of girls that are huddled by the table watching his every move.
“Bend over any more and you’ll give your fans a heart attack” he smirks back at me and nods to the bar, I turn to see a group of men staring down my dress.
“Ass” I mutter as I take my shot much to his amusement.
“Tis a very nice one” He winks at me and hits my backside with his stick.
“You’re just jealous because I’m more entertaining to watch” I tease him.
“Want to bet on that?” he asks raising an eyebrow.
“What’s in it?” I ask not about to back down from the challenge.
He takes a step towards me so only our pool cues in front of us are separating us and lowers his voice.
“I bet that I get approached by someone of the opposite sex before you do”
“That’s not fair, you know everyone here”
“Not everyone, people we know aren’t included”
“What happens if I win?”
“If you win, I’ll do what ever three things you want, you win and you have to do three things I want and just so you know in advance it will be very embarrassing so back out while you can” he smirks at me.
“No chance” his arrogance surprises me, he’s so sure he’s going to win. “You’re on” I whisper and lean up to kiss his cheek.
“Go tell your friends not to come up then” he smiles at me.
I head over to the table where they are all sat, I walk around Tucker who hasn’t even noticed my approach because of the girl sat on his knee and make a beeline for Matt who is thankfully not sat down but just returning to the table.
“You owe me, so make sure no one I know comes over to me at the table no matter what I do next okay?”
“What are you going to do?” he asks looking amused.
“You don’t want to know, but I am going to kill you tomorrow and not speak to you for a month” I grumble as I head back towards Andrew who is racking the balls setting up for a new game. “Your break” he grins at me.
I bend over to take my shot but stop when I catch sight of him lifting the bottom of his shirt up to scratch his stomach revealing a few muscles I’m sure he spent hours at the gym to get. I hear a few giggles from girls around the bar and roll my eyes when I notice that one of them is Sophie’s.
Once I have taken my shot I look up at the ceiling and pretend to look thoughtful.
“What’s wrong?” Andrew asks coming around to stand next to me and look at the ceiling as well.
“Just wondering how I’m going to make it obvious which itch I need scratched” I shrug and he bursts out laughing.
“Watch and learn” he winks at me bending over so his rear is at the right angle for the ladies to ogle.
I position myself so I’m in direct sight of his corner vision and directly in front of the guys sat at the bar as I wrap my leg around the pool cue three times.
He misses his shot and turns his head to get a better look at my leg I pull the cue out from the coil instead of unwrapping my leg from it and smile sweetly at him “Did you miss?”
He shakes his head at me and watches at I bend over the table slowly to take my shot, my ball goes in and I stand at the side of the table, I don’t look at Andrew I just look at the table putting on a concentrated expression and mindlessly run my index finger from my throat to my chest and back up a few times. I bend over the pool table still at the side and look over at the men sat at the bar and smile shyly at them looking up from under my lashes.
I miss the shot and pout at the table.
“Brooke” Luke says and I hear him ask someone what I’m doing. I look up to see Matt pull him back down when he tries to stand and shake his head at him. Everyone at the table is watching me, Matt looks amused, Sophie and Kate look impressed, Tucker looks annoyed and the girl who is still sat on his lap is looking at me curiously.
One of the men from the bar stands up and starts to walk towards us but Andrew strips his shirt off then makes a point of looking at his shirt and then his cue before he looks around helplessly, as if timed a girl steps out of no where and takes his shirt from him making him grin and raise his eyebrows at me as the guy from the bar finally reaches me.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asks staring at my chest.
I glare at Andrew who just smirks at me.
“I’m sorry, that’s very generous of you but I’m actually here with my fiancé” I tell him putting disappointment into my voice and slipping my left hand behind my back as I gesture towards Andrew, the girl he’s with hears me and walks away from him pouting.
“Oh, sorry” he says then returns to the bar shaking his head.
“So we’re engaged?” Andrew chuckles down at me as he wraps and arm around me and pulls me under his arm.
“You cheated; I have no clothes I can take off!” I accuse adding a pout for good measure.
“Uh huh, not gonna work on me” he ruffles my hair and then grabs my arms spinning me around so I’m face to face with him.
When it’s too late I realise he still has no shirt on and I let my eyes trail over his upper body, “What do you want me to do?” I ask nervously when I drag my eyes up to his.
“We’ll get to that in a minute, see that girl sat on your friends lap behind us?” he asks and I move my head to the side to look at the girl on Tuckers lap. “What about her?” I ask still watching her.
“Look at this” he pulls his phone out of his pocket and logs into Facebook, after a few minutes he passes me the phone and I’m watching a video. It’s of two young girls and two young boys, no older than ten.
“What am I looking at?” I ask looking up at him.
“Just keep watching” he says and I move my eyes back to the video.
The camera zooms in and I notice the little girl is me, I’m dancing in a paddling pool and calling out to someone called Mel, the second little girl joins me in the pool and dances with me, then we both start screaming when two boys run past us and throw what looks like ice cream in our hair. The video goes blurry as me and the girl start chasing the boys around the garden.
“That’s me, but I don’t understand” I admit looking up at him once the video has ended.
“That’s me, you, my brother and the girl in the video is Mel. Mel is also sat on your friends lap over there”
“Okay…” I frown and look back to the girl who is apparently Mel. I squint at her but still don’t recognise her at all not like when I saw Andrew in the restaurant.
“I don’t remember her” I tell him turning back.
“I don’t think she remember you either so don’t worry about it”
“How many more videos h
ave you got?” I ask looking at the phone in my hand.
“There’s a few, get your phone out and I’ll add you on Facebook and tag you in them”
I walk past him to the table my friends are sat at.
“Can I have my phone please?” I ask Sophie, she has my phone and purse in her bag because I didn’t bring one.
“Why? He already has you’re number” she frowns at me getting her bag off the floor.
“He’s sending me a video” I reply impatiently.
“You have to show me it!” she exclaims handing me my phone I shake my head at her and return to Andrew logging into my Facebook app.
“Brooke Daniels right? Which one is you?” he asks showing me the list of Brooke’s that have come up from his search, I point to the third one and accept the request on my phone.
“Okay I’ll tag you in them later, want you’re first challenge?” he asks me smirking.
“Of course” I nod at him and prepare myself mentally.
“You have to get eight people to do a body shot”
I turn to the table and count six people, I look back to Andrew and note he’s the seventh; he notices me trying to work it out mentally and grins. I turn and head to the bar to order the eight shots, limes and some salt.
The girl with Andrew shirt comes to stand next to me at the bar and I smile to myself as an idea comes clearly into my mind.
I place the tray of shots, lime slices and salt onto the table and gesture for Andrew to join us.
“You six have to do a body shot, each, off each other” I announce to them.
“What? Why?” Luke asks but is cut off by Katie nudging him.
I clear the table and gesture for Matt to lay down, I set him up for the shot and Sophie comes to take it, as soon as he is up and off the table Sophie lays down and I set her up for one. I do the same for Katie and Luke then Tucker lays down on the table I call Mel over and everyone except Andrew is surprised that I know her name, they all stare at me and I look away when she starts licking the salt off Tuckers stomach. She lays down on the table once he is up and he does the same to her but again I look away. I set Andrew up for the shot as soon as he is led down and just like I told her the girl from the bar does the shot. Everyone sends me different looks but I ignore them and set the girl up for Andrew to take his shot.