10. Brooke
Chapter 10
Brooke
I stirred in my bed as I stretched my arms over my head. These sheets were so soft; I didn’t recall ever buying such soft cotton sheets.
“ If you’re awake, leave.” I sat up on the bed, surprised by the manly voice that came from the door.
“ What are you doing here?” I asked in a small voice as I pulled the blanket over my chest, realizing that I was still in my dress from last night. Oh , that’s right; I had been rejected.
“ Kicking you out,” he rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off the door and walked away. What was I doing in Asher’s apartment?
“ You didn’t?—“
“ I’m not that desperate. Now get out.” What did he mean by “desperate”?
I got out of his bed, feeling extremely embarrassed that I had been rejected once again and this time called a desperate option. Asher was mean.
I made sure to fix his bed as best as I could before I left his bedroom. I smoothed down my hair as I took small steps toward his door, and just as I was about to leave, a pair of small hands wrapped themselves around my waist, and a head was pressed against my back.
“ Brooke , did you come to play with me?”
“ Hi , Anne !” I greeted her as I turned around and gave her a hug, meeting her father’s eyes from across the room. I still had no idea how I had ended up in Asher’s apartment. “ I came for...uh—” I looked at Asher desperately, hoping he would help me out.
Anne’s eyes looked into mine, waiting excitedly for my response. Why did it feel like I was sneaking around with Asher ? He tilted his head to the side as he crossed his arms over his chest, and I stared at him. Help me out here, Dad !
“ Your father,” I started, and she also tilted her head, looking so much like her father in that moment. “ He ...”
Did I have to beg?
“ Did you forget we have a date today, Anne ?” He finally spoke up, and I sighed, relieved, as Anne looked at her father with guilt.
“ Of course not, Daddy ! I just wanted to see if Brooke wanted to play with me, but she failed the test.” Failed ? Is that how she was covering her ass?
“ You wound me, Anne ,” I groaned as I clutched my chest, and Asher cleared his throat, bringing my attention to him.
“ Brooke , where are your apartment keys?” he asked me, and I pointed to my handbag.
“ In my bag.”
“ No .”
“ Yes .”
“ Search it then,” he sighed, and I rolled my eyes as I searched my bag, ready to prove him wrong. But , fuck, they weren’t in there. “ So ?”
“ They’re in here,” I lied in a small voice.
“ You don’t know where they are, right?”
“ Will you get me kicked out if I say ‘yes’?” I asked him, and he sighed as he rubbed his forehead. “ I’m sorry.”
Why was I apologizing? They weren’t his keys!
“ I’ll find them for you,” he offered, and I tilted my head to the side. Why would he do that for me?
“ Uhm , okay, thank you,” I took a step back. “ I’ll leave you guys be. Enjoy your date!”
I almost ran out of there, but I remembered grace and took much calmer steps as I left his apartment for mine. But wait, if I didn’t have my keys, how was I going to get in?
I decided to test my door before returning to Asher’s apartment and asking for his help, but thank the Lord I had a nosy best friend who was shaking her ass in my kitchen while she cooked up breakfast for us.
I was saved!
“ Marie !” I cried out as I hugged her back, and she turned around and slapped my shoulder. “ Ow !”
“ Where have you been, young lady! You haven’t been answering your phone, and you didn’t sleep at . I was worried sick!”
“ Couldn’t you have just said that instead of hitting me?” I asked as I rubbed my assaulted skin, and she continued hitting me, emphasizing just how worried she was about my safety.
“ Okay ! I’m sorry I didn’t text you last night when I left the bar!” I cried, and she huffed as she rested her hands on her hips.
“ So , where have you been? Cause I know you weren’t with Matthew ; he called me when he couldn’t reach you.” I rolled my eyes as I strolled over to the couch, suddenly feeling sad at the mention of his name.
Why did I have to be such a sore loser?
“ Really ? What did he say?” I asked her and brought the throw pillow onto my lap.
“ That after your really great date, you said you would text him when you arrived home safely.”
“ Great ? He called our meeting ‘great’?”
“ Yeah ,” she answered softly as she looked at me cautiously. “ It was great, wasn’t it?”
“ It was the worst!” I huffed as I pressed my head against the back pillow of the couch. “ I was rejected.”
“ What ?” Marie yelled softly as she got up from beside me.
“ Yeah ,” I muttered as I stared at her. “ He said he liked you.”
“ What ? ” This time she yelled loudly as she took a step back, seeming shocked by the information I had just given her.
“ Yup , my crush has a crush on you,” I nodded slowly, and she shook her head.
“ Brooke ,” she spoke softly, and I smiled as I patted the space beside me. “ I — I’m so sorry.”
“ Why ? It’s not like you made him like you. Just like me, he just happened to have feelings of his own,” I told her, and she still looked guilty.
“ But still. Maybe I shouldn’t have hung around you guys so much.”
“ It wouldn’t change anything. I’m not mad at either of you,” I told her honestly as I took her hand in mine, softly rubbing her knuckles. “ I’m hurt, but not mad.”
“ Ugh , I’m gonna kill him,” she gritted, and I giggled.
“ No , you’re not.”
“ Yes , I am! He took over the number one spot of most hated that Asher was reigning in. Asher is now number two.”
I groaned as I shook my head. Nobody would ever dethrone Asher from his royal seat.
“ No , that man will always be the king of number one most hated. That throne belongs to Asher ,” I told her, and she looked at me, confused.
“ What did he do now?”
“ He kicked me out of his apartment and said I would be a desperate option for him.”
“ Wait , I’m confused. What are you talking about?”
Oh , I was hoping I could gloss over that part of my embarrassing night.
“ Hmm , I kinda spent the night at Asher’s apartment,” I spoke softly, and Marie tilted her head to the side.
“ What ?”
I got up from the couch and went to the fridge to get a bottle of water.
“ Yeah , I slept in Asher’s bed last night. No big deal,” I shrugged as I drank the water, feeling incredibly thirsty.
“ No big deal?” She laughed as she followed me into the kitchen, and I was unable to turn around to face her. I was so ashamed. “ Why did you sleep at his place?”
“ Sex ?” I tried, afraid to tell her how I decided to get so shit-face drunk that I lost my keys.
“ No ,” she smiled as she leaned against the kitchen island, her scrutinizing eyes watching my every movement as I pretended to busy myself in the kitchen, but I really had nothing to do but watch as the muffins raised in the oven. “ Brooke , why did you spend the night at Asher’s place? I could go over there and ask him myself.”
“ Okay , fine! I got really drunk last night, and when I came back home, I tried to open my door, but I didn’t have my keys, and then Asher came out in the hall, and then I think I hit on him or something, and then I passed out by his door. When I woke up, I was in his bed, and he was kicking me out!”
I took a deep breath in as I watched her process everything I had just told her, and she looked around the kitchen, tilting her head and opening her mouth just to say nothing.
“ So , he was friendly last night?”
“ You’re not going to tell me I was irresponsible?” I whispered as I looked at her from under my lashes, and she rolled her eyes.
“ Of course you were irresponsible, but Asher let you sleep at his place?”
“ Yeah , and offered to find my apartment keys for me,” I spoke softly, and she nodded her head as she pushed herself off my kitchen counter.
“ Would you look at that?” She had a mischievous smile on her face as she clapped her hands.
“ What ?” I asked, afraid as she approached me with her hands motioning in and out.
“ One door closes and another opens on the same night.”
“ Absolutely not; they better stay closed! Both of them!”
“ You can’t fight it; you and Asher are going to be a thing.”
“ Ew !”
“ It’s just a matter of time,” she fucking cackled!
“ I rebuke him!” I screamed, and she shook her head as she laughed at whatever ideas were concocting in her head. “ Marie , no!”
“ Unfortunately , you can’t deny fate. So , here’s what you’re going to do from now on. Make sure you get dressed in your coolest yet sexiest clothes whenever you leave the apar?—“
“ Can you please go out with Matthew ?” I interrupted her, and she looked at me, disturbed. Not as disturbed as I was when she was trying to find ways to create fate for Asher and me.
Marie continued staring at me as if I had just suggested the most disgusting thing in the world, and I looked around the room before finding her green eyes along with a scowl, and I offered her a simple shrug. “ If you want.”
“ No .”
“ Okay .” I tried for you, Matthew . That was my final act of love for you.