Brooke and Chase by Amicia Bianchi (good book recommendations .txt) 📕

After everyone had their fill conversation started swirling and people were trying to talk to us from the next table, before I knew it we were standing in two groups. Amanda and Eric were in one group but I managed to sneak into the other with Brooke without them noticing.

"So Brooke I didn't see your car…" I heard someone address Brooke.

"Yeah, I didn't bring it," she answered vaguely.

It wasn't long after that Brooke backed up into me, not knowing I was there. Without thinking about it I'd reached out and grabbed her by the waist to keep her steady so she wouldn't fall.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she apologized, turning her head around to see who she'd bumped into.

"Clumsy, clumsy you're starting to make a habit of this," I whispered teasingly, pressing my lips against her ear. I'd said it so low that at first I wasn't sure she'd heard me until I saw her smile.

"You've just caught me at two bad moments, that's all," she turned to tell me in a similarly hushed tone.

"Two? Even yesterday your footing was so bad it didn't take much to throw you off balance and pin you up against a wall," I clicked my tongue at her. "That's three strikes Brooke," she immediately blushed at the mention of yesterday.

"I can't believe you would bring that up right now," she whisper yelled at me. When I started laughing she elbowed me playfully. Someone asked her a question and she easily inserted herself back into the conversation. We stood around talking for a while longer before they decided to head to the beach.

"So we were planning on going to the beach you guys should come with us," Jennifer invited both Brooke and I.

"Sorry, I already have other plans," I replied.

"I can't either," she declined quickly, glancing at me.

"Come on you can ride with us and we can bring you home. You rode with someone else right?"

"Yes but I still can't," she answered.

Jennifer seemed suspicious and Sophie looked confused but they didn't say anymore. Brooke and I stayed there with her friends while everyone else was starting to head for their cars. After collecting her basket we said our goodbyes leaving just as Max approached Jennifer.

"Hey Jen... I managed to save some sandwiches could you hide them in your purse?" I heard him ask nervously.

"I'm surprised you could smuggle those in the middle of all that chaos earlier without anyone noticing," she laughed, "and here I thought you'd forgotten about me in the face of food seeing how you threw me out of the way to get to it."

"...Well I'm not giving you all of them just some in exchange for your silence," he hesitated.

"You are so sneaky, where are we eating them later? Your house?" she questioned.

"That depends, will you behave?" he teased.

"Sigh, I suppose I could misbehave for a couple hours but only because you asked me to," she replied sarcastically.

I smiled at their exchange it was funny how even though he clearly meant to give her all of the sandwiches he used them to get private time with her by suggesting she could only have some so they could eat it later, together. I also thought it was rather cute that she could read him well enough to know what he was really getting at.

I briefly parted from Brooke to grab the, now empty, cooler while she continued to my car. By the time I put the cooler in my trunk and got in I noticed Sophie trying to discreetly stare and Jennifer who was standing with Max by her car but was gazing over his shoulder in my direction.

"You see them too?" Brooke's voice made me turn to her.

"It's hard not to, with how hard they're staring," I remarked.

"Let's just hurry and drive away," she suggested.

"You know they're only like that because you didn't want to tell them that we came together," I told her as I cranked the car.

"That's easy for you to say but I'm the one who's going to have to deal with them later," she grumbled.

"I could be there with you, if we're both there we can explain everything," I offered as I pulled out into the street.

"I'm sure you wouldn't be any help and you'll only make it worse," she murmured under her breath not knowing I could still hear her.

"What are you so afraid they'll find out anyway? The cat's out of the bag already, everybody knows that you want me," I pointed out suggestively.

"And what about you? Do you want me?" she asked seriously.

Probably more than you'll ever realize. I want so much more than what we are right now but because I screwed up you've been cautious around me lately so if you don't feel the same because you're not ready yet I'm willing to wait and take things slow until you change your mind.

(Brooke)

"What's this, a plot twist? Little red offering herself to the wolf? Well of course I want you," he joked. Once again I saw the color of his eyes flicker but I knew it had to be the way light was hitting his eyes. I pushed it to the back of my mind as we got to his house and went inside.

"Well, you've been on a rather suggestive streak today Chase," I confronted, "since you've been hinting so heavily maybe I'll try too."

"I don't think so, you're about as subtle as a rhino in ballet," I rolled my eyes.

"But seriously though do you like me?" I asked coming back to my original question.

"Yes and I do mean that in a romantic type of way," he answered seriously, looking into my eyes.

"So at your birthday when you said that I'd made it clear that I liked you and was seducing you and you weren't complaining it was because..." I trailed off not knowing how to finish my question but luckily I didn't have to.

"Because our feelings are mutual, I enjoyed your advances because I felt the same way about you," he clarified.

"So this isn't recent?" I asked shocked.

"No," he answered, "is it that hard to believe?"

"Well I wasn't sure, you haven't exactly been the most forthcoming about your feelings," I stated.

"I'm not good with these kinds of things, that's why I prefer to let you handle stuff like this."

"Lazy boyfriend," I taunted clicking my tongue at him.

"So I assume this is why you ambushed me this morning? To pump me for information?" he inquired.

"Obviously. I feel like we should be more honest with each other because we are friends now, right?"

"Yeah, yeah..." there was something sad about the look in his eyes.

"And since we're being honest, what happened yesterday?"

"What happened yesterday was we had a deal," he laughed trying to evade talking about what I obviously wanted to know.

"Chase," I reprimanded but I couldn't help giggling. He sighed.

"Obviously with the way I feel about you I don't want you to be with anybody else and that's why I made that bet with you because I knew how I would feel about this. I was already jealous and nothing had happened so yes I was upset yesterday when he kissed you," he finally confessed.

"About that, Eric and I didn't kiss yesterday," I told him. "I'm pretty sure he wanted you to think that by how happy he was that you were mad but we didn't do anything and I couldn't help thinking you guys have such a weird friendship," I said.

"It's not so much that we're friends. We know each other, we've grown up around each other since I've been here, and I know he doesn't really have friends so I guess I can understand why he acts like he's desperate for a friend but he tends to really annoy me after a while so I usually don't spend too much time around him."

"I get that because everyone isn't your best friend especially when you don't really enjoy their company. It makes you feel guilty when you see them as more of an acquaintance but they want to be your friend so bad. You don't know what to say because you don't want to be rude but you don't really like them very much." I agreed with Chase about Eric.

"Exactly, that's why I didn't get the whole you-and-Eric dynamic. Considering how you are, I can't see you two being that close," he told me.

"Look at you, the unsympathetic boyfriend, you had an inkling that I was suffering and wouldn't come save me," I taunted.

"What am I supposed to do? Drag you away from Eric?" he laughed.

"Oh I would love that, please do," I pleaded, laughing with him. "By the way, I think I have to ask, what was the point of this agreement with Eric and Amanda?

"It was supposed to be my friends' crazy, roundabout way of getting to know my girlfriend," he cleared his throat.

"But I wasn't-"

"I wanted you to be, though," he inserted.

"And that was close enough? Wow, Chase your logic..." I shook my head.

"Well it was meant as like a fun joke kind of thing," he tried to explain, "it just didn't end up that way."

"Like these double dates Eric and Amanda keep cooking up are supposed to be? But they're so disorganized it makes you not want to go and not to mention I'm always the last person to find out," I complained. "As a matter of fact why haven't you ever told me when they tell you? We text all the time and you can't give me a heads up, not even once?"

"I didn't think about that, I'm usually not paying attention by the time Amanda starts talking about that stuff. I had actually forgotten about today so if you hadn't come to my house this morning I probably would have missed the picnic," he chuckled.

"I noticed that," I smiled at him, eyeballing his clothes again.

"Are we okay now?" he asked as we walked outside to my car.

"Yeah," I responded getting ready to leave.

"Hug?" I laughed.

When he hugged me I melted into his embrace, remembering that time at his birthday party but this was much different. This was no friendly hug. Neither of us said anything and it didn't seem that either of us wanted to let go.

There was so much meaning in this hug. I felt a bit of closure in finally having this conversation with Chase after I'd put it off for fear of his answer. I was ecstatic that he reciprocated my feelings and I was a bit sad that he hadn't said anything about wanting to take things further after the month was up. Although I wanted to be optimistic there was some finality in the hug that I couldn't figure out whether it was from relief that everything was out in the open now or if this was somehow the end.

This hug was leaving me torn and confused because now I knew that we both liked each other but sadly it seemed nothing was going to happen and we were simply going to be 'just friends'. I couldn't help being disappointed because I would've liked to be more than that.

Sure earlier we said we were 'friends' but after the month was over was that all we were going to be?

After this is over I want more but Chase never said anything about it so I assume that means he's fine with how our relationship is now. If he's content with the way things are right now and he's not ready to change anything then I guess I'm prepared to stay in the friend zone. When we eventually pulled away Chase leaned down to kiss me but I was turning to get into my car so it landed on my cheek again, like the last time.

"Wait, were you trying to- I'm sorry," I babbled, caught off guard.

"It's alright, just let me know when you get home," he smiled at me sweetly with a kiss to my temple.

"Ok," was all I could say as I awkwardly got