BrookLyn's Journey (8 page)

BrookLyn
didn’t have the answers. She
straightened
her
clothes, combed
her
messy
hair down with
her
fingers, and looked at
her
freshly brushed teeth
. Had
she
become
Gabriella’s
girl overnight or was
she
just trying to have a life?
She
inhaled deeply and
open
ed
the bathroom door.

“So, you my girl or what?” Gabriella
didn’t miss a beat. She
flash
ed
her million-dollar smile as soon as
BrookLyn
walked into her bedroom
, causing her
heart
to
skip a beat
and
sending a shock down
her
spine.

“I don’t even know what that means
,
Gabriella. Can I think about it?”

“Yes. Just know that I want to be with you. I’ll protect you and make you happy.”

She
believed
Gabriella
.
She
believed that she would protect
her,
with every bit of her heart
, but she doubted that
she could protect
her
from
her horrible
parents. No one had this far.

“What would I have to do?”
BrookLyn had
never
even
thought about being with anyone before
,
let alone another girl. All
she’d
ever thought about
before
was
her
books,
her
grades and
her
great escape
—
college.

“BrookLyn, you would only have to be you. I want to see and spend time with you
,
more than
just
at church. When you’re ready to go to the next level we can. Not before then
.
”
She
smiled.

Gabriella made
her
feel good
,
even if only for one night of kissing and hugging. She made
her
believe that
she
was safe.
BrookLyn
smiled back
.
Could it hurt to say yes?

“I really don’t know what I’m saying yes to
,
but
okay,
I’ll be your girlfriend. I’ll be grounded forever
, though,
so we won’t get to see each other that much.”
BrookLyn’s mouth suddenly went dry.

“We’ll work
it out. We’ll see each other.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“I have my ways
.
I’m good at this believe me
.
”
There was something even more stunning about
Gabriella
that
BrookLyn
hadn’t noticed last night.
She was positively beaming, as if a genie had just granted her three wishes.
She had this glowing aura about her that
surpassed
her beauty.
Not exactly
a halo
,
but there was definitely something there.

BrookLyn
looked at Gabriella as she stared deeply into
her
eyes.
She felt as though they
were almost touching
her
soul
as she
leaned in closer
and then kissed her.
God
I’m not
sure if
I’m
supposed to be doing this
,
but it
feels
good. No, that’s a lie
. It feels
great.
She thought this
must be what
her
friends felt
,
even though they were with boys. It was nice to be touched
gently for a change
.

When Gabriella finally stopped, BrookLyn forced the words out,
“I have to get home
.
”

“I wish you could stay
,
but I’ll see you later.
” Gabriella hopped up from the bed.
“
I’m gonna give you something of mine to wear. Will you wear it?”

BrookLyn sat up.
“What is it?”
She
might
be inspected from head to toe when
she
got home
, s
o
she
couldn’t go with anything that would
get noticed.

“This is my favorite necklace.
”
She put the long chain
around BrookLyn’s neck.

BrookLyn looked down.
It was a beautiful diamond heart necklace that
her
father would definitely notice.
“Thanks. I’ll keep it under my shirt
,
but can’t promise they won’t see it and take it. I could tell them my brother sent it to me
,
but I’ll worry about that if it happens.
”

“
I want you to take my hat too. It’s my favorite.”

BrookLyn
smiled
.
No one ever gave
her
anything.
“
I won’t wear the hat around them since I can’t hide it.”
She
’d put the hat in the back of
her
jeans under
her
shirt until
she
got home. Then
she
’d put it in the closet.
This was
all so
new to
her
.
She’d gone
to a party never having been kissed by anyone other than aunts and uncles
, and now
BrookLyn
was
a girlfriend to a girl
,
and going home with diamonds and a cool hat.

“Think of the necklace as a ring until I can put one on your beautiful, soft hand
.
”
Gabriella
smiled
and
caress
ed
BrookLyn’s fingers.
“Please don’t take it off. That way I’ll always be with you.”

“
But
I have nothing to give you,”
BrookLyn
said as
Gabriella
kissed
her
softly.
She
had to go home but
part of her
wanted to stay.
She
was already in trouble so
why not
enjoy it while
she
could.
This may be the last time
.

“I don’t need anything other than you. Are you ready to go?”
Gabriella
motion
ed
for
her
to stand up.

“I know that I should go but I’m not ready. I’m already in trouble, right?”
BrookLyn
shrugg
ed
her
shoulders
.

“Who are you?”
Gabriella teased as she took BrookLyn
in her arms.

“Not sure
,
but I like it and want more of it
.
”

“Oh, I like your thinking
.
”
Gabriella
leaned in to kiss
her.
They
lay down on the bed and started kissing like
they had
last night.

The electricity invaded her body again as
BrookLyn
started to feel good
all over
and
Gabriella’s
question invaded
her own
intimate thoughts.
She’s right.
Who
am
I
,
and why
am
I laying on this bed kissing a girl when I should be on my way home to receive my punishment?
She
couldn’t put a name
on
what
she
was feeling
,
but it h
eld her in its grip.
In an instant
her
life
had
changed. One kiss, in one moment, and
her
life wasn’t the same as it was yesterday.

She
couldn’t explain it
,
but as scared as
she
was about getting in trouble,
BrookLyn
couldn’t make
her
self
stop or
leave
Gabriella’s
bed.
She
should be downstairs waiting for Max
,
but
she
liked where
she
was too much to do that.

Gabriella reached down again toward the button on
BrookLyn’s
jeans.

“Stop,”
BrookLyn
whispered, “I’m not ready for that yet.”

“I’m sorry.
I got carried away.
Even if its twenty years from now I’ll wait for you.”
Gabriella smiled sweetly.

“In twenty years
,
I’ll be thirty-eight. I hope I’ll be ready before then. If not, you’ll be somewhere else
.
”
BrookLyn
giggled nervously
.

“I’ll be standing right next to you
,
waiting.”
They both
laughed
,
falling back down onto the bed.

“
Hey, w
here’s your aunt?”
BrookLyn
hadn’t
see
n
any signs of her last night or this morning.

“She went away with some friends for the weekend. She goes away all the time. I am almost nineteen,
you know.
”

“Almost
,
but not yet
.
”
BrookLyn
smiled.
“
My parents
have only left me alone a few times
.
”
BrookLyn
had the pleasure of going with them wherever they went except
her
father’s job.

“So, have you ever snuck out of the house?”

Never.

“How could I? One of my parents always ha
s
at least one eye on me. The only privacy I ever ha
ve
i
s in school. If they could sit in my classroom
, I
’m sure they would.
”

“Do you
want
to spend the weekend with me?”

She hesitated.
“Maybe
.
”
BrookLyn
wasn’t sure
,
but it sounded like it might be fun.
She
didn’t know what was happening to
her
. It was only one night
,
but
she
felt different
,
safe
,
which, was something foreign to
her
.
“So, what if I did want to stay over?”

“I’ll meet you at your window tonight
,
after your
mother goes
to bed.”

“My
father
works
at
night. He leaves home around
nine
thirty
and my mom goes to bed after he leaves. We have an alarm. How am I going to get out without setting it off?”

“How many windows do you have in your room?”

“Two. I sleep with them open so you can tell which ones are mine. I like the cool air.”

“If you sleep with the windows open, then they aren’t alarmed. So, that’s how you’ll get out
.
”
Gabriella had a
convincing look in her eyes.