Chapter 10 Brooks
brOOKS
Fuck.
I didn’t want it to end like that.
I didn’t want it to end, period.
I wanted to keep her in my bed, under my arm all fucking night. The next night too. I scrub a hand down my face as I let the steaming-hot shower wash over me, trying to get my energy up to go to this stupid gala tonight.
I don’t want to go.
Not unless she’s on my arm, lighting up the whole fucking room like she always does.
In a few minutes time, I’m dressed in my tux, and the intercom is buzzing to let me know the car is ready downstairs. My phone buzzes, and I check it immediately, praying it’s from her.
I’ll see you in twenty minutes, Carolyn says.
I roll my eyes.
Fuck.
The elevator doors open into the garage, and Eddie is standing outside the door, waiting for me. I get in, and just as he’s about to put the car in drive, I tap his shoulder.
“We’re making a pitstop,” I tell him.
He raises an eyebrow, but then he just nods.
“Okay, Boss,” he says. “Where to?”
I smile.
“Brooklyn,” I say.
“I’m not trying to talk you out of anything,” he says, “but I feel like I just need to remind you that that is very much not a pitstop and that you will most definitely miss the gala.”
I smile at him through the rearview mirror.
“To Brooklyn,” I tell him again. He nods his head and fights off a smile before pulling out and heading in the right direction. I don’t even give him an address. He knows where I’m going.
The city traffic is on another level tonight, and my knee bounces up and down nonstop for the whole drive.
Finally, we’re pulling up in front of her apartment building, and I practically jump out while the car is still moving.
I jog up the front steps, timing it right so that I can slip in as someone else is walking out of the building.
Then I slip inside and up the four flights of stairs to her door.
I pause for a minute to catch my breath, and then I knock.
I wait for a minute, then knock again. I hear her come to the door, wait a beat, and reluctantly pull it open.
She stares up at me, confusion on her face, her eyes puffy.
“What…what are you—”
She’s been crying.
“You left before we finished,” I say. She tilts her head, still not inviting me in.
“Before we finished what?” she asks.
“I’m not really a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy,” I say. She raises a suspicious eyebrow, and I chuckle. “Okay, I admit that I have been. But not with you. I like to be cuddled after sex.”
I can tell she’s trying not to smile, and I know I’m warming her back up.
“You took off before I could explain that I don’t like to be left alone.”
She looks around me then back to me.
“Aren’t you supposed to be at a gala?”
“No,” I say matter-of-factly. “I’m supposed to be with you. So are you going to invite me in or not?”
She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me for a moment, her eyes narrowed on me.
I realize in this moment that she still doesn’t trust me, and half of me fucking hates it, and the other half is determined to change that.
I need her to know that she is safe with me.
Especially after everything that’s happened and everything that hasn’t yet.
We stand still for a moment, and I wish I could read her thoughts.
But finally, she slowly opens the door and lets me inside.
As I follow her through the apartment, I can smell popcorn. I can hear what sounds like Golden Girls reruns playing on the TV, and I see her in her pajamas. She walks toward the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest and sitting on her feet.
“I don’t understand,” she says. “Aren't you supposed to be across town somewhere? It certainly looks like you’re ready to go.”
I smile and plop down on the couch next to her, unbuttoning my shirt and slipping my tux jacket off.
“No, actually,” I tell her again, “I’m supposed to be right here with you.”
Her eyes flash up to mine, and she looks at me, confused.
I reach across the couch and put my hand on top of hers.
I intertwine our fingers and gaze down at how good our hands look.
“A few hours ago was the most amazing experience of my life,” I tell her.
She shoots me a look and narrows her eyes. “What did I say?”
“You are the son of the richest man on the planet. You have money, and palaces, and boats, and a whole bunch of other shit out the wazoo. You’ve dated singers, and actresses, and literal supermodels.
But you’re sitting here, trying to tell me that having sex with me in your apartment a little bit ago was the most amazing experience of your life?
Do you just have, like, a slew of lines that you use? ” she asks.
I laugh, leaning into her, but she pulls her hand from mine and crosses her arms over her chest. So, I reach over, put my hands on her hips, and pull her across the couch to me.
“Sex is sex,” I tell her, and I bring my lips close to her jawline and her neck.
I drag my lips across her skin, but I don’t kiss her.
When I get to her other ear, I bring my lips to it.
“You’re right,” I tell her. “I’ve had sex with a lot of people.
But never, after any of those experiences, did I still crave that person.
Never did I feel like I needed them once the physical part was over.
Never, while I was having sex, did I still have the thought in the back of my mind that I wanted more.
Never…until about two hours ago.” Her eyes are open wide now as she looks up at me, even though I have her tucked in as close as possible.
She still leans back, silently protesting my affection.
I reach my hand out and cup her chin, tilting her face up to me.
“No woman has ever left me,” I tell her.
“So this is the first. But I want you to know that I will never be the one to leave when it comes to you. You’ll have to do that part. ”
I see her swallow as she looks up to me, her eyelashes batting as she blinks.
“Why?” she asks.
“That’s a good question,” I tell her, “and it’s honestly one that I’m still sorting through myself.
I can’t really put my finger on why, but I do know that, as far as I’m concerned, you are mine.
I don’t want anyone else to have you in any way, and I will never let anybody hurt you, including my family. ”
She reaches her hand out slowly, playing with a tuft of hair behind my ears before she pulls me down to her and takes my lips with hers. I kiss her gently, letting her know how much I mean every single word I said.
“So,” I say, “now that we got that out in the open, you owe me.” She raises her eyebrows, and I smile, kissing her softly again.
“What do I owe you?”
“You owe me an extra-long snuggle session to make up for the one that got cut short.” She’s laughs, leaning forward for one more quick, soft kiss before she curls up next to me.
“God, you’re so needy,” she says. She pulls a big gray throw off the top of the couch and puts it over top of us.
Then she grabs a bowl of popcorn off the table and sets it on my lap.
And I realize that I never need another gala, or board meeting, or tropical island, or royal dinner ever again.
All I want is her and a bowl of popcorn.
I wake up as my phone is vibrating on the coffee table in front of us violently, but thankfully, she doesn’t even stir. She’s sound asleep on my lap with my hand on hers, and I reach for it as slowly as possible so as to keep her that way.
I look down. Sixteen missed calls. Some from my dad, some from my brothers, some from Carolyn.
Yeah, I’m gonna feel it for missing this one. But when I look down at her sleeping like the beautiful fucking angel she is, it’s so hard to care.
I don’t give a shit about disappointing my dad. After a lifetime of it, it barely affects me anymore. But I am a little concerned about my brothers. I lift her head gently, sliding a pillow underneath it, and tiptoe into her bedroom, closing the door quietly behind me. I dial Julian.
“Where the fuck were you?” is how he answers the phone.
“I…I’m sorry. Wren is…she’s…she had a rough afternoon after this morning. I didn’t want to leave her alone. I’m…with her.”
I hear him sigh on the other end.
“Goddamn it, Brooks. Now is so not the time for you to grow a conscience and fall for someone—especially her.”
I sigh, brushing a hand over my face as I peer out the door at her, still sleeping.
“I—” I start, but he cuts me off.
“You should have been there, Brooks. It doesn’t look good. If you keep missing shit, he’s going to start asking questions. And we can’t afford that. If you won’t do it for us, do it for her. If they find out you two know each other—let alone that you’re fucking her—she could be in literal danger.”
I freeze.
My first instinct is to ask him how he knows we slept together, but it’s likely that, with me, he just assumed. I know that’s my reputation, but that bothers me now when it comes to her. She’s so much more than that.
But I can’t stop focusing on what he said after that.
She could be in literal danger.
He’s right. Skipping that meeting and now the gala…that was reckless. And if I’m not more responsible, I could foil the whole plan before it even goes into play.
“You’re right,” I admit. “I’m sorry. I’ll make up some bullshit with Dad, and it won’t happen again.”
“I’m sorry, Brooks. If the situation was different, I’d be ecstatic that someone finally has you acting like an adult.”
I smile.
He’s right.
“I’ll fix this,” I reassure him. As I’m hanging up, I hear the door creak. She’s standing there, sleepily, her bun falling out as she rubs her eyes.
“Everything okay?” she asks. I smile and pull her into me, kissing the top of her head.
“Yes,” I tell her. “Just family stuff.”
“Uh-oh. Did you get in trouble for not going?” she asks. I shrug and smile, making sure to keep it light. She has enough to worry about.
“It’ll all be fine. So, what now?” I ask, raising my eyebrows up and down. I would love a second round, but I also could just sit and watch her snooze all night. She laughs.
“Now, it’s actually bedtime. I have to be in Jersey tomorrow morning,” she says. Tomorrow’s Sunday. The Empire plays at one. I smile and nod.
“Game time?” I ask.
She nods.
“Yep,” she says. “I try to get him to a few home games a season.”
I lean down and kiss her gently.
“Well, then you better get to bed,” I tell her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Goodnight, sweet girl.”
She smiles, pressing up on her tiptoes to kiss me again.
“Are you leaving?” she asks, disappointment dripping from her voice. I chuckle and wrap her in my arms, pulling her into me.
“Oh, thank God,” I say dramatically. “I thought you’d never ask.
” I undo the rest of the buttons on my shirt, unbuckle my pants, and let them pool at the ground.
She giggles and climbs onto the bed, pulling the covers back for me.
I smile at the view: her in her little bed in her little apartment in Brooklyn.
She’s wearing an extra-large t-shirt and tiny little shorts that I want to pull off with my teeth, but I’ll save that.
Right now, I just want to snuggle the fuck out of her.
I take a mental picture of her like this as a reminder that this is all I ever really need to be happy.
I climb in the bed and pull her into my chest, where she very quickly falls back to sleep, as if she is meant to sleep there. And then I do too. Because, I realize, she is.