Hidden Desires (4 page)

Brooke shook her head. "Oh, he's far from a baby, in fact he's really old and I'm afraid he won't make the walk." She said sadly, suddenly wanting to spend more time with this weird duo. "Maybe we will." she blurted out, then mentally smacked herself. She'd have to carry Fred the whole time and then she'd really smell like dog.
Grant will hate that
, she thought.

Cayden suddenly found her tongue. "I'd love to meet Fred."

Jodie glanced at her friend with mirth. "Yeah, Cayden just loves the tiny ones." she said as she gave Brooke the once over.

Cayden, huh?
The blonde thought with a goofy smile, then caught herself.
What is wrong with you?
"Oh, well, I better get going." Brooke said holding up the bag. "I have cookies to deliver."

"So, don't be a stranger!" Jodie piped in.

Brooke smiled and left the store. For some reason she kept repeating the tall one's name over and over in her head.

Jodie laughed herself stupid as Cayden just stood there and watched. "Oh god! That was too good! No wonder you don't like it Cayd... you suck at it!"

The tall woman rolled her eyes. "I'm not usually so idiotic, Jo. I don't know what the hell happened."

"Damn, she was fine!"

"Fine? She was gorgeous! Are you kidding?" Cayden said excitedly.

"You're just lucky that I'm booked all week or I would have asked her out myself. Damned cute she was."

"Jo, she wasn't just cute, she was edible." Cayden groaned the last word out.

"Need to use the bathroom, Cayd?" Jodie teased.

"Hardy har har." The tall woman drawled out, trying to hide her blush. Truth was, she found the blonde extremely attractive and it lit a spark in her groin. If Jodie wasn't there, she just might have used the bathroom. "Her name is Brooke. Brooke Hewitt."

"See, even her name is cute. Watch out, Brooke Hewitt just may be back with Fred."

"Don't scare me. Oh, and very funny making that crack about me liking the tiny ones."

Jodie snickered and gathered her belongings.

"Where are you going?" Cayden asked nervously.

"Home." The shorter brunette replied with a charming smile.

"I'm not closing yet." Cayden panicked.

"Translation: what if she comes back?" Jodie whined in imitation of her friend.

"What if I start acting stupid again?"

"You'll figure something out." Jodie winked, and was gone.

Brooke filled Fred's bowl absently, inexplicably distracted by Cayden's blue eyes. "Fred, you should have seen them. They were... electric. I swear I felt them look right through me." She said, then shook away her uneasiness. "Come on Brooke! You act like you've never seen blue eyes before!" Fred ate eagerly as Brooke gave him fresh water. "She had the sexiest voice too..." she started to confess then caught herself. "That's the second time I thought that." she said surprised once again with her thoughts. She crouched down and pet Fred as he ate. "When you're done, I have some cookies for you." She said, still distracted by Cayden.
That's not so weird, to think another woman's voice is sexy cuz it was! It was smooth and smokey... it fit her well. She was smooth and smokey... Cayden. Cayden with the blue eyes and sexy voice.
Brooke didn't know how long she was lost in thought until she heard Fred whimper. Blushing at herself, she looked up to notice the teeny dog standing expectantly by the front door. Straightening out of her crouch, she grabbed Fred's leash and headed out. "Let's go baby."

Cayden's head shot up as the bell tinkled over the door. She visibly relaxed when she saw it wasn't Brooke, but cringed just the same.

"Hello my Angel Darling!" Mrs. Ida Friedman exclaimed, her arms wide and flailing.

"Hello Ida, how are you?" Cayden asked politely, hoping and praying that Brooke wouldn't come in now. Not with Ida.

"Oh, Angel, Sweetie, my beautiful mamala... I'm an old woman, you know that." Ida paused dramatically and swept her arms around in a large circle. "I shouldn't complain, god has been so good to me, blessing me with the most wooooooonderful babies!" She ended her statement in a high shrill squeak, raising her clasped hands to the ceiling.

"Well, I'm always happy to hear that." Cayden smiled, her eyes darting back and forth between Ida and the door. "What can I do for you?"

"Well... Honey... "The old woman started in her odd broken way of speaking, "I just came in..." Ida swallowed and took a huge breath. "Because my little sweetheart, you know my little Honey Pie who I found in a puddle exactly 73 days ago, she was so small you could drop dead..." Ida took another dramatic breath, this time with a little dance step involved. "Well, I should tell you how I fattened her up she was on the brink of death... OH I LOVE HER MORE THAN LIFE ITSELF!!!" Here, Ida became weepy and had to stop to gather herself.

Cayden forced a smile, all the while dividing her attention between Ida and the door.

Composed, as composed as Ida Friedman can be, the old woman leaned all the way over the counter. "You know, I get so verklempt over my babies... I love them so... they are my life... I'd be dead, DEAD without them, god bless every little hair on their bodies." The elderly woman wearing a floral housecoat and an orange beret, did a complete pirouette. "My Suzy Sunshine needs a new toy. You know the little balls with the bell in them, well I got a four pack for two dollars and fourteen cents last time, you remember don't you Sweetheart, Darling, you'd remember better than me, an old woman... well they came in all different colors... white with orange..."

Brooke took Fred outside and avoided touching him for Grant's sake. She led him to the nearest fire hydrant and waited while he sniffed around.
It's not so wrong for me to think Cayden is sexy is it? Does that mean I'm gay? I should have asked Bev how Sam knew... no, that's none of my business and besides, I should ask Sam not Bev and what am I getting so nervous about anyway? Just because I think Cayden is sexy? Hell, l I think women are sexy all the time. Take that woman from Witchblade... now, I think she's sexy, that don't mean I'm gay.
Brooke snorted to herself.
Honestly, it's not like I want to sleep with Cayden. I just thought she was attractive.
Brooke's eyebrows went up.
Attractive? Where'd that come from now? I only said she was sexy... actually it was her voice that made me shiver.
The short blonde swallowed nervously.
Is that normal? Her voice made me shiver. That's never happened to me before, not even from Witchblade
. This whole line of thinking made Brooke very uneasy, but not as uneasy as how she felt when she looked at her surroundings. She was standing directly in front of The Fuzzy Belly Deli.

"So Cupcake
Junior
, not
Senior
, Senior died 3 years ago Wednesday in May, when Cupcake
Junior
pulled the bell out of the ball, and the lord in heaven only knows how she did it... a genius... A GENIOUS I TELL YOU. I was so upset I cried for an hour. Of course I had to call my doctor, Dr. Myron Fentziger, only the best Psychiatrist around because you know I'm not a well woman Darling." Ida paused and looked around as if the walls had ears. "You know I lost my husband and child and had a breakdown honey, I was going to be a famous singer Sweetheart, Angel."

To Cayden's complete and total horror, the door opened and in walked Brooke carrying the tiniest dog she'd ever seen in her life. The tall shop keeper paled and swallowed hard.

"So, Cayden, Sweetie baby... Honey, my angel, the reason I'm here is because I need to get some more toys for my babies... the GENIOUS I SWEAR TO THE GOD THAT KEEPS ME LIVE SHE'S BRILLIANT!"

Cayden's gaze darted nervously to Brooke who had both perfect eyebrows raised comically high. Cayden would have given her a helpless look if Mrs. Ida Friedman wasn't standing there ranting and raving with an orange beret.

"Did I tell you, Angel, that my little Cupcake Junior saved my life? She understands English!" Ida broke into a fit of hilarious laughter. "I'm telling you! She knows every word I say!"

Brooke bit her bottom lip in an effort not to laugh.
This woman is nuts! Certifiable! Poor Cayden!
However, having this lunatic in the store allowed Brooke to study the first woman that ever made her shiver. Her eyes fell immediately to Cayden's hands as they lay flat on top of the counter. She traced the long fingers with her gaze, noting the short trimmed nails and the ring she wore on the middle finger of her left hand. The skin looked soft and she wondered what it would feel like. Suddenly embarrassed, she averted her eyes to Cayden's left arm, then began to slowly follow it's length, noting with a twinge of uneasiness that she was tracing the well defined muscles of her biceps.

Cayden felt a little thrill when she noticed Brooke giving her the once over. She decided right then and there, that with or without Jodie, she was going to pursue this further. Mrs. Ida Friedman raved and danced on and on just like she usually did, flailing her arms laughing at nothing. Where before this moment, Cayden actually didn't mind the eccentric old woman, now, she was finding her a little annoying. Brooke was standing right there, apparently interested in her or she wouldn't have come back and Ida Friedman was screaming like a crazy person.

"The mouse with the string for a tail? You know the one, well I can't have those in my house no more!!" Ida slapped the counter for emphasis. "I once found a mouse with no string, which means one of my precious babies ate it. OH THE NIGHTMARE!"

Cayden watched Ida twirl around in endless circles, shrieking her grief and began to get impatient.

Brooke's gaze dropped back down to Cayden's fingers as they drummed on the counter. For a split second she imagined those strong looking hands touching her. Not a sexual touch, but gripping her shoulder tightly. She gasped in surprise as butterflies began to flutter around in her stomach.

"OKAY, so, Ida" Cayden began, coming out from behind the counter and quickly running to a display. "These are the safest cat toys in the universe!" She declared, holding up a package. "If your little Cupcake
Junior
, not
Senior
manages to tear these up, they will refund you the entire three dollars!"

Brooke drank in the length of the tall woman's body, especially her legs, with envy and something else... something that made her blush.
Oh my god! I think In have a crush on Cayden!
she thought, horrified.
No.. I DO have a crush on her!

"OH! My delightful, heaven sent, Angel!' Ida cried "You should live and be well! You sweetheart! Those are perfect!" She twirled around several times, clapped her hands together in joy and broke into a loud aria.

Startled by the old woman's sudden operatic talents, Brooke clutched Fred tightly to her, never taking her eyes off of the crazy woman.

Cayden ran back behind the counter to bag the toys then thrust the bag at the singing woman in the orange beret. "Here you go Ida. You make sure that they all get their own ball now!" She said excitedly, "Remember what I told you." she added, almost in a conspiratorial way to make Ida think they shared a secret.

"My sweet! I love you! God will be good to you!" She began whispering loudly. "You know I don't get my Social until next Thursday on the fifteenth, I swear I'm good for the money, where am I going? " She clutched her hands to her chest and looked upwards. "May he strike me down dead, a charred old lady right here on the spot if I'm lying!" Ida threw her arms out as if waiting for the bolt of lightening. "I will pay you next Thursday for the indestructible balls!" she laughed loudly at nothing in particular.

"You be well Ida." Cayden called after the old woman who she just noticed now, was wearing two different colored flip-flops.

Brooke couldn't help herself, and whether it was Ida or her nerves, she burst out in uncontrollable laughter, which in turn caused Fred to howl along with her.

Cayden raised her eyebrows and bit her cheek, but it didn't help. Fred's tiny little neck was extended to its very limits as he howled his heart out and Cayden joined in on the laughter too.