Brooke & Ben: Before Fate Interrupted (4 page)

“Wow.”

 
“Well, maybe two hundred and forty-five pounds
of pure muscle.”

She smiled at
him and they grew quiet, the flames jumping between them. Something scurried
into the bushes bordering the back of the rectangular yard.

“I didn’t get
your name.”

“Brooke.” She
watched her hand disappear inside of his when she shook it.

“Nice party.”

“Yeah, I love
Halloween.”

“Me, too.” Todd
tipped the can back and drained it, glancing at her magic lasso. “Soooo…you want
me to tie you up and drag you around?”

Brooke pretended
to mull it over. “Mmm, I guess not.”

“You wanna tie
me
up?”

“Not so much.”

“Sonofagun,” the
big man grumbled, crumpling the can in his hand.

Chapter
Three

Brooke brushed wet
strands of hair from Mandy’s face, watching her friend draw in deep breaths of
slumber, relieved to see she hadn’t choked to death on her own vomit. After she
was certain Mandy was okay, she glanced at the alarm clock next to the bed and
decided it wasn’t too late to have some fun - with or without her girls. She had
put a lot of work into this party and now it was time for a little return on
her investment.

The bedroom door
locked softly behind her. She stuffed the key down her corset, turned and jumped
when Tasha sprang from Mandy’s room across the hall. “God, you scared me to
death,” Brooke said, clutching her chest. “Will you stop doing that?”

Tasha shut the
door behind her. “Thank God you’re here,” she whispered, taking Brooke’s hand
in hers. “I need a huge, huge favor.”

“What are you
doing in there?”

“I’ve got Roger
in there and I’m going to jump his sexy ass bones, but I need you to stand
guard and make sure no one comes in.”

A short laugh
fluttered Brooke’s lips. “What?”

“Please.”

“No way!”

“You have to.
There isn’t a lock on the door.”

“I know there
isn’t a lock on the door.”

“Brooke, please!
I’m begging you.”

“Are you insane?
You just met him! He’s probably got bed bugs or something.”

Tasha lowered
her voice to a throaty growl. “Listen, I haven’t been laid since Craig dumped
me. Four. Months. Ago.”

“What about the
guy with the ponytail?” Brooke asked over the music. “You said he went three
times in one night.”

Tasha sighed. “I
lied, okay? He couldn’t get it up and I was too embarrassed to tell anyone.”

Brooke went slack
jawed.

“That’s right. Are
you happy now? You have publicly shamed me on one of my favorite holidays.”

“Maybe he was drunk,
or gay and trying to fight it.”

“I tried
everything, Brooke! I mean, I went to work on him like a paramedic on a heart
attack victim and nothing.” Tasha’s eyes welled up with tears and Brooke wasn’t
sure if it was real or not. They had taken drama together in ninth grade and
Tasha had been a natural from the moment she had first donned that frilly,
white dress and played Juliet to a tee.

“He was just drunk.”

Tasha squeezed
Brooke’s hand hard enough to leave white imprints. “Brooke, I really need to
get laid. I get cranky when the wind blows these days, and I’m not sure how
much longer I can go on.”

“I think you’ll
survive.”

“Do you have any
idea how much money I’m spending on batteries?”

“Why don’t you
come and get a drink with me and we’ll talk about it some more?”

Tasha pulled
Brooke back to her. “Please?”

Brooke stared
back with a blank expression.

“Brooke, this
guy is hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch and I’m about to cream my
pants.”

Brooke let out a
breath that made her chest fall. “That makes no sense.”

“Sorry, I’m just
nervous.” Tasha took a deep breath and released it. “I mean, what if he can’t
get it up either? What if it’s me? What if I’ve been cursed by some crazy old
cat lady to turn every guy’s boner into Jell-o Pudding?”

“It’s not you;
you’re beautiful and you know it.”

Tasha didn’t
look so certain.

“You look like
Rachel Bilson’s sexy blond sister!”

Tasha looked
down to examine her costume. “Not in this mess I don’t.” She shut her eyes and
cringed. “Why didn’t I go with the hot Batgirl outfit? Stupid!”

“Tash, he’s
dressed up as Leatherface, for God’s sake. You two go together like bad endings
and M. Night Shyamalan movies.”

Tasha’s eyes
jerked back up to her. “So you’ll do it?”

Brooke tucked a
long strand of brown hair behind an ear. “No, I’m about to get my drink on.”

“Thank you,
thank you, thank you,” Tasha squealed, hugging her tightly and kissing her on
the cheek. “I’ll make it super quick. I promise.” She grabbed the doorknob to
Mandy’s room and twisted before Brooke could stop her.

“Evenin,
ladies.”

Tasha released
the knob and slowly turned to the cowboy standing in the hallway. He tipped his
big black hat to them, a toothpick wiggling in the corner of his mouth.

“Looks like I
rode into town just in time for the show,” he said in a bad southern drawl. He
rested a hand on the butt of a six-shooter tucked into an old leather holster
and shot Tasha a devilish wink.

“Craig! W-What’re
you doing here?”

“Why, I’ve come to
win back the love of my life.”

Tasha laughed
sharply and tried folding her arms across her chest only to realize they were
still tied together. “Well, you’re shit out of luck. Lisa isn’t here.”

He shifted in
his black cowboy boots and pushed his hat up. “I know she’s not here. I told
her to hit the cow trail last week.”

Tasha’s face
crumbled in slow motion and Brooke didn’t like it one bit. “Why?” Tasha asked.

Craig came
closer. The smell of his cologne made Brooke’s eyes sting. “Because she made me
realize how big a dad-gum fool I’ve been.”

Brooke tilted
her head to the side. “And was that because you dumped my best friend or
because of your last haircut?”

Craig turned to
her and spread a cocky grin. “Touche, little lady. Reckon I had that comin.”

“You reckon?”

Craig exhaled a
sour breath that reeked of alcohol. He turned back to Tasha and dropped the phony
drawl. “Listen, can buy you a drink?” He hesitated, eyes flickering over to
Brooke. “In private?”

Tasha almost glanced
at the bedroom door behind her but stopped short. “Ummm…”

“One drink and
if you don’t like what I have to say I will never bother you again. I swear to
God.”

Tasha scratched
at her wrists, the thick rope beginning to leave a rash. She traded an uneasy
look with Brooke before hitting Craig with a cold glare. “One - drink.”

His grin made a
comeback along with his southern drawl. “Hot diggity, darlin! You just made me
happier than a pig in slop.” He held his arm out and Tasha reluctantly let him
wrap it around her shoulders and escort her down the hallway.

“Ya got the pig
part right,” Brooke muttered, watching them disappear. She inhaled a deep
breath and turned to Mandy’s door, her mind reeling. After a few seconds, she started
down the hall, heading for a cold beer in the kitchen. She stopped in her
tracks and looked back over her shoulder. A slow grin stretched her lips.
Brooke went back to Mandy’s room and gently twisted the knob. She held her
breath as the door clicked open. The hallway light slipped inside the dark room
first, cutting a white stripe across the floor. Sinuously, she followed the
stripe and shut the door behind her, driving the light from the room.

A voice startled
her from across the room. “Look, I should get back out there. My buddy is
probably wondering where I’m at.”

Brooke cleared
her throat and tried on her best impersonation of Tasha. “Sometimes the best
things come from bad ideas,” she whispered.

Roger responded
with a resounding silence, his figure blending into the shadows. “Say what
now?”

She bit her lip to
keep from laughing. “Don’t you like it when good things…
come
?”

His silhouette
rose from a chair by the far wall, barely noticeable against the thick curtain.
“I’m just not into…”

“What? Don’t you
like me?” she asked in a sultry voice, wishing she could see the look on his
face.

“I do, Tasha, but…”

“I’ll let you do
whatever you want to me.” She covered her mouth to keep the giggles at bay, her
eyes watering. His throat clicked when he swallowed and she almost lost it.

“I’m just not
big on taking advantage of drunk girls. Not my style.”

“Oh, I’m not
drunk, sweetie.” Brooke smothered another snort. “Just horny. Now come on,
what’s your favorite position?”

An uneasy laugh
somersaulted from Roger’s lips and planted itself in the darkness between them.
“I don’t really have a favorite…”

“Aw come on,
Roger, don’t get shy on me now. You can tell me.” She leaned forward and
lowered her voice. “It’ll be our dirty little secret.”

His lack of
response made Brooke hold her breath to stifle the laughter trying to shoot
from her nose.

“Come on, I want
to know.”

He cleared his
throat. “Well…doggie-style is pretty good, but...”

Brooke flipped
on the lights, bringing the room’s orange-painted walls to life. “You little freaking
pervert!”

Roger held up a
hand to block the glare, squinting to see her. “What the hell?”

Brooke set her
eyes to
scowl
. “Trying to take
advantage of my drunk friend you don’t even know!”

Roger wrung the
mask in his gloved hands like a wet towel. “I wasn’t trying to…”

“This isn’t even
her room!” Brooke shot daggers at him like a knife thrower, trying to ignore
the way his beautiful face made her weak in the knees. “What kind of a sick
man-whore are you?”

“I wasn’t trying
to do anything with anyone. She told me she was going to get a bowl to smoke out
of.”

Brooke sauntered
closer, one boot after the other, her glare as cold as a November tombstone.
“Oh, I bet something was going to get smoked all right.”

Roger refused to
back down and made a similar advance, closing the distance between them. “What
do you care anyway?”

She looked hurt
at the prospect of such a silly question. “Because I care about my friend!”

“Sure you’re not
jealous?”

Brooke inhaled a
sharp breath, clearly offended. “Don’t think that just because you’re hot as
hell you can waltz into my house and get your disgusting jizz all over my
roommate’s bed!”

He came closer,
his chest rising and falling. “I wasn’t going to do anything” he growled.

“Ha!” Brooke jerked
the magic lasso from her hip. “Well, we’ll just see out about that!”

Roger’s eyebrows
drew together as she pulled off his gloves and threw them to the floor.
“What’re you doing?”

“This is a magic
lasso,” she told him, wrapping the golden rope around his wrists. “It will
force you to truthfully answer all of my questions.”

One corner of
his lips pulled into his cheek. “Okay.”

She took a step
back and crossed her arms, purposely giving her breasts a tiny lift they didn’t
need. “What day is it?”

He held his
bound hands out in front of him. “Saturday.”

“What’s your
name?”

“Roger.”

“Were you going
to have sex with Tasha in here?”

He sighed. “No.”

“Why did
Todd
call you
Dragon
?”

Roger hesitated,
studying her intensely. “What?”

“He called you
Dragon
out on the patio. Why?”

His eyes
wandered the room for a moment and then returned to find Brooke. A fond look
softened his gaze. “Because I like dragons.”

“Why?”

He shrugged.

“Don’t even
think about lying to me because the lasso will shock your balls off.”

Roger laughed.
“I don’t know, I just do.”

She tapped a boot
and sharpened her gaze. “Why do you keep staring at my chest?”

“Because your
nipple is poking out.”

Brooke looked
down and gasped out loud in horror. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she shrieked,
scrambling to readjust.

“I thought you
wanted me to see it.”

“What?” She
hiked up her corset. “Why on earth would I want you to see my nipple?”

He lifted a
shoulder to an ear. “Thought maybe you were an exhibitionist.”

“I bet you’re
one of those guys who plant cameras in women’s restrooms all over town.”

Anger flashed
across his face. “Yeah, that’s right. Mainly in retirement centers.”

“You would! Bet
ya get em all liquored up playing bingo and just bend em right over their
walkers.”

He clenched his
jaw, staring hard into her green eyes. “You know somethin, you’ve got a real
mouth on you.”

Her voice
lowered to a guttural growl. “Don’t you judge me.” She grabbed him by the lasso
and yanked him against her. “I want you out of this house.”

“Fine. Untie
me.”

Brooke’s rage
morphed into bewilderment. “What is that?”