13: Daydreaming

Collapsing on the couch, I felt my body tremble from my sobbing. This was all just too much too fast. Was Brooks trying to say Mike wasn’t right for me? Was I moving on from Steve too quickly? Was I even over Steve? Was I ready to move across the country? I couldn’t stop thinking. I just wanted my mind to shut down. Give me a few minutes of just complete . . . nothing. Yet my mind wouldn’t stop reeling. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to say. Let alone what to think. I was thinking about everything I didn’t want to think about.

The door swung open and Brooks walked straight to me, sitting down next to me and pulling me into his arms. “I’m so sorry Niko. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

"Wrong with you?! Look at me Brooks! What the hell is wrong with me? Am I making a mistake with Mike? You need to be honest with me, because all of a sudden I feel like I'm jumping in too soon. I feel like you don't approve."

He pulled me away from his shoulder and held me at arm's length, looking me straight in the eyes. His eye contact was so intense I felt goose bumps crawl over my arms. "Niko, Mike is a great guy, and like you said, it's been nine months. It's okay to move on from ex's. It's totally okay."

I almost felt like telling him I didn't want to get over Steve, but I knew deep down that I had to get over him. I could never fully enjoy life if I was still dwelling on the past. Fuck, Brooks is right about everything. We continued to stare at each other, but his eyes kept drifting down to my lips. There was that feeling again, low in my stomach. Hot, churning, breath taking. Does he want to kiss me? My mind kicks into overdrive once again at the thought of his lips on mine, overanalyzing everything I can possible think of. What!?

My hand drifted up to my lips and I rubbed my hand over them, as if he was trying to tell me I had something on my face this whole time. He released my shoulders and got up from the couch, heading straight for the bathroom. Dumbfounded, the only thing I could do was to collapse on the couch again. And that's when everything began to happen.





I didn't get much sleep nor work done my last week in Seattle. I'd been having daydreams. So much so that my boss told me if I wasn't already leaving he'd fire me for spacing out so bad on the job. I couldn't get these images out of my head though. I don't exactly know if I want them out of my head. Some would make me smile, others would make me breathe hard, or even cry some. Yet most of my day was spent spacing out on the 'what if'.

"NIKO?! Fuck, you're starting to creep me out."

"What?" I asked snapping myself back to reality as I looked over at Brooks.

"You sure you're okay? You've been spacing out a lot this week."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Really. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Okay, well as I was saying before I realized you weren't listening . . . we have to ship the last of your stuff, and then you're free." A big grin broke out over his face and I pulled him into a hug, whispering a small 'thank you' into his ear. I feel his muscles work behind my hands as he squeezes me tighter and I begin to daydream again. "Why are you so spacy all of a sudden? Is the move freaking you out?" He asked after I realized he had pulled away.

"Um, yeah. I guess. It's a big move Brooks. You're use to moving around with hockey and all, but me? Not at all."

"It'll be fun aright? Has Mike told you anything about your move lately?"

I give him a skeptical look as I shake my head from side to side. "He's coming to DC to help you move in. Then once you are all moved in, we're throwing a welcome to DC party. Just the three of us, and a few bottles of Johnnie Walker."

"I don't drink."

"And I don't play hockey," he laughed as he walked over to the last of my boxes in my now nearly empty apartment. I had worked it out with my landlord to leave all of my furniture behind. It was all mostly new, and pretty nice stuff, so he planned on taking full advantage of it. In return, he was letting me out of my lease early. It didn't hurt either that I was his only tenant without a drug problem and/or having the cops called on them constantly.

Once Brooks began hauling the boxes outside, I pulled my phone out and called Mike. He didn't answer at first so I just left him a voice mail telling him I knew about his 'surprise'. If it was even a surprise to begin with. Knowing I'd be seeing him in two days got me excited though, and I actually went more than ten minutes without drifting in to la-la land. It didn't take long though. Brooks walked through the front door and smiled at me before picking up the last box. I rested my hands on my stomach and my daydreams went in a whole different direction. One in the future.





As Brooks and I walked onto the plane that was taking me to my new life, my phone beeped alerting me of a new email. I pulled it out, planning on just shutting it off, but after seeing the email was from Steve, curiosity got the best of me.

We set a date. Should we even bother sending an invite?

"You're fucking kidding me right?"

"Hey sailer, we're out in public now, watch the language."

"Look at this," I half shouted as I handed him my phone. I took my bag and stashed it above our seats and sat down next to the window. I felt Brooks sit down next to me and he handed my phone back to me, with an empty reply window on the screen.

"It's time to be a bitch. Stand up for yourself Niko. Tell him what's really on your mind right now, and you better hurry up before they tell you to shut your phone off."

My fingers moved faster than my mind did, and I had to go to my 'sent' file to read what I wrote.

No thanks, and don't bother sending me a notification when you get divorced because I won't care then either.

Brooks sent out a low whistle as he read over my shoulder. I looked over at him with shock washed over my face. "That was really mean of me wasn't it?"

"I'm actually kind of in shock right now. It's about time you stood up for yourself toward him. I think I can fall in love with you for that one."

That's all it took for me to drift back into daydream land. Life with Brooks in a way I'd never imagine before, and most of the thoughts flooding my head were those of sexual ideas. Brooks' naked body pushed up against mine. Just the thought caused me to inhale sharply. His hand landed on top of mine. "You okay?" I couldn't look at him, not with his naked body in my head. He's my best friend, always has been always will be.

"Yeah, sorry, just nervous," I mumble as I pinch my legs together tightly and close my eyes. The strange part? I don't exactly want these daydreams to go away.





The tension in my body released once we arrived in the baggage claim of the DC airport. This was it. This was my new home. Two weeks, that's all it took. I picked up my whole life in two weeks, and now here I am. I noticed a shady figure off to the left, and looked over to see a guy dressed all in black, with his hood pulled up and black sunglasses on holding a sign. Veronica and her slave. I dropped my bag at my feet and ran toward Mike, launching myself at him.

His lips landed on my and it was at that point I wanted all of those daydreams to disappear. Mike made me feel wanted, while Brooks made me feel sane. That's how things should be. "I missed you," I mumbled against his lips.

"I think I might have missed you more," he laughed, uncomfortably shifting his legs. I looked down between us and quickly realized how much he really did miss me.

"We better hurry then, eh?" I smiled kissing him one last time before headed back toward baggage claim to grab my bag.

Once we arrived at Brooks' house and my bags were thrown in my room, I settled in the living room next to Mike. Brooks, exhausted from packing over the last two weeks, called it an early night and went to bed. "So is everything okay with you and Brooks?" Mike asked as he drew circles on my palm with his finger.

"Yeah, it was just one big misunderstanding." I think. I still wasn't one hundred percent sure what we were arguing over to begin with.

"Well that's good, I don't think I could handle my girl and my best friend fighting."

"I thought we agreed on no titles," I smiled at him, I didn't have any problem being called his girl, not anymore anyways.

"I can't call you 'girlfriend' even though I tell everyone you are my girlfriend. Just as long as you don't hear it, then we're good. Right? I thought long and hard about this."

"Let's not talk about it anymore, I have a new bed to break in," I smiled devilishly at him and he immediately jumped up from the couch and grabbed my hand pulling me behind him. I was a confused mess, and I realized that as he took two steps at a time heading up toward my room. I craved Mike, yet I couldn't stop thinking about Brooks.

12: The Blowout

"What the fuck are you trying to say? That you want to be with me? That I'm too fucking blind to see what might be good for me?!" I screamed at him, which then caused him to pull the car over to the side of the road. I looked at him expectantly, but he just shut the car off and got out, slamming the door behind him.

I climbed out of the passenger seat and looked over the top of the car at him. He was pacing the length of the car, his jaw clenched.

"I'm just fucking sick and tired of you picking the wrong guys Veronica. I know you feel like crap when you get burned time and time again because of these guys, but how do you think I feel?"

"I don't fucking care how you feel Brooks! I'm the one that gets hurt over and over again. You know, I thought I had pretty good judgement when it came to bringing men into my life. I have you don't I? Or is having you as just a friend not enough?"

"I don't know Veronica, but I get asked every fucking day that I wake up if we're together or not yet. Have you never thought about it?"

"Of course I have, when we were both eighteen!!" He stopped pacing as his face dropped as he looked over at me for the first time. Where was all of this coming from? I was a mixture of emotions, not knowing what was dominating what. I was angry, confused, sad, excited, enthralled. I just didn't know if I should lash out at him or run up to him and kiss him. KISS HIM?!?!?!

"I'm sorry, let's just get back home and go to bed okay?"

"No. No we will not. I need to know what you're talking about Brooks. I am so fucking confused right now." Now I was the one pacing.

"Have you ever asked yourself 'what if'?"

"Of course I have, but I can't dwell on 'what if' everyday Brooks. I live my life."

"You live your life?! You really think you've been living your life to the fullest? That you're making all the right decisions to make your life better? You just spent nine months dwelling over an abusive relationship! I'm practically dragging you out of Seattle because you have nothing here. If you at least had some fucking friends I'd let you decide on moving by yourself, but you have nothing Veronica. Nothing!"

"Do you think that I'm such a low life that you have to come to my rescue!? That I need to be saved? Is that where you get off Brooks? Do you get a fucking hard on knowing that you're saving me from this hell I'm living in?!"

Our shouting match had drawn people outside of their homes that we were putting on a show for. Yet now, all those emotions I was feeling before turned into one, pure anger. The only thing keeping me from pounding my fist into his chest was the car. "Niko, please can-"

"No! Don't you dare Niko me. I get it now Brooks, I understand. You just feel sorry for me, but you know what? I don't need your pity! I-"

"That's exactly it Veronica! I feel sorry for you! I'm sorry that you were once this vibrant, outgoing young woman! I'm sorry that you were once so spontaneous that you got me in trouble with coach! I'm sorry that no matter what you do, you can't be happy!"

It was those last few words that hit me like a train. I felt all the oxygen in my body escape and the dark sky above us, suddenly became darker. He was right and he knew it. He also knew that I knew he was right. Steve ultimately did this to me. He had turned me into a zombie and Brooks was right about everything. I didn't have any friends besides him. I use to be spontaneous. I use to be outgoing. Now I was like the old cat lady next door no one wanted to associate with. I was a zombie influenced with the thoughts that I wasn't good enough. So that's what I became. Someone that wasn't good for anything. I collected a pay check, paid my bills and that was the extent of my being. Who was I? What had I become? I felt the tears hit my hands before those knowing arms wrapped themselves around me.

"I'm so sorry Niko, I didn't mean it," Brooks whispered into my ear. I wanted to tell him he was right, but words weren't forming correctly in my brain, all my words were jumbled up and I knew if I tried to talk, it'd be a disaster. "Come on, let's get you home."





I woke up the next morning, alone in bed. I glanced around for any evidence that Brooks slept in my bed the night before, but there was none. The left side of my bed was still neatly made and no clothes were thrown about. I sat up and leaned back against the headboard, replaying the previous nights argument over in my head. I was still so confused about what Brooks was trying to say. I knew there was more to it than what he was revealing.

Why is it that everyone around us, everyone, wants us together . . . except for you?

What did he mean!? I knew our few mutual friends and family would joke about us being together, but they weren't serious. They were joking. Did Brooks actually think they were being serious this whole time? We could never work together. It just wouldn't work. "Why though?" I asked myself out loud and begin to ponder the many reasons as to why. Yet I can't come up with anything. Well one thing.

Mike.

I grab my cellphone off the night stand and flip through my contacts until I land on his name. I just needed to hear a voice that wasn't Brooks' at this point, and Mike was my number one guy after all.

"Hey beautiful, you're up early."

I glanced over at the clock to see it was just past 6:30 in the morning. "I was out like a rock last night. How are you? How was your night?"

"It was good. Stayed in, played some guitar and practiced on the drums. I was actually just thinking about you."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Well Brooks just texted me regarding you."

"What?! Why?"

"Don't worry about it. All you need to know is that he is playing the best friend role and he will always have your back."

I felt my heart sink and confusion wash over me at the same time. "We got into a huge fight last night," I mumbled into the receiver hoping he wouldn't be able to hear me.

"You and Brooks? Why?"

"I don't know. But I need to tell him he was right. I think I'm just stressed out from this move and overly sensitive to everything. He might have said something kind of funny and I probably took it the wrong way. I was drinking wine."

"Well whatever it was, I'm sure it's not such a big deal, just a misunderstanding." Not a big deal? I like to think it is a big deal, whatever it is. We finished up our conversation and I stepped out of my bedroom and into the living room where Brooks was sitting on the couch surrounded by pillows and blankets.

He looked up at me with regret and sorrow in his eyes. I glanced down at my hands and played with my fingers. "I'm sorry Brooks, you were right. About everything. I've allowed myself to turn into this zombie and I just don't know how to be happy anymore. But I know when I get to DC and being so close to you, and being close to Mike, that the old me will be back. I have no doubts about that." I brought my eyes back up to his and his jaw was clenched and his right hand was balled up into a fist.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," he grumbled as he got up from the couch and walked out of my apartment, slamming the front door shut behind him. I stood there stunned, not knowing what to think. What else had I done to piss him off so badly? What was happening between us?

11: Love Birds?

"We need to talk," I announced as I walked into my apartment at the end of the day. Brooks was sitting on the couch watching the news and he glanced over his shoulder at me with a worried look.

"You didn't quit did you?"

"No I did." A big smile appeared on his face and he jumped up from the couch and went to pull me into a hug but I stopped him.

"No, this has been eating away at me all day, and I almost forgot but I didn't. So we need to talk." I walked around him and sat down on the couch, he slowly approached and sat down next to me. "What the hell is wrong with you Brooks?"

"What?"

"At the reunion, Jodi told me you had a rough afternoon and hit the bottle pretty hard. Then driving home yesterday you seemed uptight. What's wrong?"

I could feel him tense up as our once brushing shoulders now felt feet apart. "It's nothing."

"No it's not Brooks Laich. I can see straight through you, what's wrong?"

"If you can see straight through me you would know what is wrong, but you can't, so therefore, nothing is wrong."

"You're lying, I know you are. Just tell me. We've been best friends for years, since when can you not tell me what's wrong?"

"What if it was-" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. "I'm just stressed out, okay?"

"Because of hockey?"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry if it's effecting you, I don't mean to do that."

"I just worry about you sometimes."

"I know, I'm sorry. Once I get you in DC though, things will be okay. So how did it go anyways? Quitting?"

"He was upset, offered me everything he could to get me to stay. If I knew that's all it took to get a raise I would have threatened to quit a few years ago. But the girls are already planning a going away dinner for me."

"So you told them you were moving?"

"Yeah, well he asked if I got a new job and when I said no he started asking more questions so I just told him I was moving to DC. That I needed a change in scenery."

As I was cooking dinner that night, I put my bluetooth in and called Mike. Was he going to be excited to hear I was really making the move? Or was our weekend together a total fluke? I could feel myself grow with nerves as I chopped up some peppers. "Hey beautiful," he smiled into the phone.

"Hey Mike, how are you?"

"Doing much better now. Are you cooking?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I am, how could you tell."

"I can smell it."

"Whatever you dork. So look, I wanted to tell you something. I quit my job today."

"Does that mean what I hope it means?"

"That I'm moving to DC?"

The phone went silent and I panicked. Then I heard something fall and break. "Mike?"

"Sorry, I got so excited I jumped up and just broke a glass table. Oh I can't wait! When do you get here?"

"We fly out on the 9th."

"Who will you be living with?"

"Brooks. Who else?"

"Oh, just wondering. How did this happen? I mean just the other night you said you weren't, now you are."

"Brooks means a lot to me, and I know you know that. It's time, and he knows that as much as I do."

"Well I can't wait! I won't be back in DC till the beginning of September, but when I get back, I'm taking you out for a night on the town."

"That sounds perfect to me. I miss you."

"I miss you too babe, but I have to go, I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay, bye." We ended the conversation and I ripped the bluetooth out of my ear to finish making dinner.





Excitement ran through my body as I drove over the 520 bridge toward Kirkland, back to our old stomping grounds. Brooks had called Kent and Barb, his old billets, earlier in the week, and now Saturday night, after taking a break from packing, we were heading to their house for dinner.

Kent and Barb had pretty much become a second set of parents to me. If I wasn’t at home after school, I was at their house cooking with Barb, waiting for Brooks to come home from practice. That was how my junior and senior year of high school was spent.

I tried to meet up with Barb as much as possible after Brooks left, but this would be the first time I would see her after some five or six months.

I pulled into the all too familiar neighborhood and a smile broke out over my face as well as Brooks’. “Ready?” He asked once we were parked in the driveway. I nodded my head and jumped out, popping the trunk to pull out my wine case.

The door flung open before we made it up the steps, and I was attacked by Barb. “Oh my two love birds,” she smiled warmly into my shoulder. I glanced up at Brooks confused but he only laughed. She pulled away from me quickly and wrapped her arms around Brooks. “Come, come,” she smiled motioning us to follow her inside. I stepped next to Brooks and looked up at him, “love birds?” He only laughed just a little bit more.

We greeted Kent, who was in his chair, like he always was so many years ago. “It’s so good to see you two finally together,” he smiled at us.

“We’re naahh-“

“Took me forever to convince her we were meant to be,” Brooks interrupted me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. I glanced up at him confused. He just smiled and kissed my forehead.

We sat through dinner, and I managed to hog the bottle of wine I brought. All of these fictional relationships were confusing me, and it was wrong to mislead Barb and Kent like this. Everytime I felt the urge to speak up and tell them, Brooks would step on my foot.

“So Niko is moving to DC with me. She leaves this weekend,” Brooks announced after I helped Barb bring the cake into the dining room.

“Oh darling, that’s wonderful news. You know, we’ve been waiting for this day to happen. We knew you two would end up together. We can just tell by the way you look at each other.”

I felt myself blush and shrink in my seat. This was so embarrassing for me. I didn’t see Brooks that way, and I’m sure as hell that he didn’t see me like that either. Well I’m sure there were times in our nine year friendship where we asked ourselves ‘what if’, but not anymore. He’s a ladies man, and well I’m . . . I don’t know what I am anymore, but I’m sure Mike can help me with that.

Our visit with Kent and Barb finished up a few hours after the last bite of dessert was taken. Barb made me promise her that I would send a wedding invite. She of course will receive one, but I don’t know who the groom will be. That’s years down the road anyways.

Brooks took the car keys from me, and I climbed into the passenger seat no problem. “What the fuck was that about?” I asked once we were out of view from their house.

“What?”

“You told them we were dating?”

“You have no idea what they put me through when it comes to you. So I told a little fib, we’re both leaving. We’ll see them maybe once a year from now on. Barb concocted this whole story in her head about how we finally confessed our feelings to one another, what was I to do? Break her heart?”

"We're not together though! She's expected a wedding invitation in the mail sometime in the near future!"

"Why is it that everyone around us, everyone, wants us together . . . except for you?"

10: Heading . . . Home?

Kelly had her arms wrapped around me in a goodbye embrace. As happy as I was to leave the weekend behind me, I had to admit I was going to miss spending time with this family. And this, more than likely, would be the last time I would see them.  I pulled away from her and looked into her eyes, she knew as well this would be the last time. "Take care of yourself."
   
"I will, I'll miss you Kelly."

"I'll miss you too Veronica."

I waved goodbye to the rest of the family and climbed into the passenger seat of the car where Mike and Brooks were patiently awaiting me. "So we have to get Mike to the Vancouver airport within the next six hours. So no stopping!" Brooks explained and I nodded my head and he pulled away from the roller coaster of a weekend.

"So wait, when do you fly back?" I turned to ask Brooks.

"The 9th."

"What? How come you didn't tell me you'd be staying around for two weeks?"

"I just changed my flight. There are some people in Seattle I want to visit, like my old billets. I also wanted to spend more time with you before the season starts back up again."

"Oh, okay."

The drive was long and boring, nothing like our drive up. Mike was asleep in the back, Brooks was quiet, and I still felt drunk. That's probably why Brooks insisted on driving. I was grateful for the silence though, I don't think I could handle discussing what happened.




I wrapped my arms around Mike's neck outside of Vancouver International Airport and stuck out my bottom lip looking up at him.

"Oh stop," he laughed as he leaned down and kissed me, pulling my body into his.

"I'll miss you," I whispered against his lips and he mumbled a 'mm-hmm' against mine.

"Greener, your flight leaves in forty minutes," Brooks called out and we reluctantly pulled away from one another.

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay, bye Mike."

"Bye Veronica." I stood on the curb and watched as he walked away, slowly fading into the crowd that was bustling around the airport.

"Ready babe?" Brooks asked from his position leaning against my car.

"Don't call me babe," I smiled at him and shoved him with my shoulder to climb back in the passenger seat.

I offered to drive, knowing he had already been behind the wheel for five hours, and we still had another two or three to go, but he declined. Instead, he just rolled all the windows down and turned the music up as loud as it would go without blowing my speakers out.

"You know if you're tired I can drive!!" I yelled to him once we were a few miles away from the border. I watched as his jaw clenched and he pulled off at the next exit. We swapped seats quietly and the second I pulled back onto the highway, his eyes were shut and the chair was leaned all the way back. The poor guy. The crap he had to put up with this weekend, and it's all my fault. I knew I shouldn't have gone. Sure it would have pissed Brooks off for me to back out, but a weekend at home was better than what I had just gone through. And what I had just put him through. Brooks hates drama, it's a well-known fact, and all this weekend was, was drama. I glanced over at him once I stopped in line for the border. A small smile was playing on his lips and his right hand was smashed between his thighs. He sure was an image.

Once we arrived in Bellingham, a hippy college town just south of the border, I pulled into the town’s only T-Mobile store. I looked over at Brooks, who was still in a deep sleep. The border patrol officer had asked me to wake him up, but all Brooks did was mumble a few choice curse words, and the officer waved us through. I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook him around until he woke up.

"Are we home already?"

"No, you owe me a new cell phone," I smiled to him and got out of the car.

We walked into T-Mobile side by side and was greeted by a kid, no older than eighteen, in black slacks, polo T-Mobile shirt and bright pink skater shoes. Brooks immediately started laughing upon seeing them. "How can I help you today?"

"This big guy over here threw my cell phone out the window on the freeway, so he'll be buying me a new one," I explained to the kid who then looked at Brooks with a shocked expression on his face.

"What? We were on vacation. No cell phones while on vacation!" Brooks defended himself and I just laughed as the salesman brought us up to the counter and Brooks dished over the four-hundred dollars for my phone.

"Happy now?" Brooks asked as we left the store and he reclaimed his spot in the passenger seat.

"You know I can't fully survive without my cell phone. I wasn't even able to Twitter that you threw my cell phone out the car window at 70 fucking miles per hour!"

"You did not just say Twitter."

"What? It's entertaining."

Once we got out of Bellingham and hit the straight-aways of Skagit county, it felt like no time before I was parking outside of my apartment.

"Do you work tomorrow?" Brooks asked as he carried both of our suitcases up to my third floor apartment.

"I do," I grumbled as I opened my door and held it open for him. I would love to take another day off just to unwind, but it was hard enough getting days off as it was. I wouldn't dare ask for one more day.

"I'm going to take a nap. Make yourself at home," I smiled to him as I grabbed my suitcase and dragged it behind me into my room.

"Hey, can I use your computer? I have to print something out real quick." He asked me before I reached my room. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at him.

"Of course."





When I woke up from my nap, I quickly realized it was just past 5:30 the next morning. I sat up in bed and stretched my arms up over my head. I looked next to me to see the other side of the bed disrupted, but Brooks was no where to be found. I stumbled out of bed and swung the door open to peak into the living room, he wasn't there, but the smell of sausage filled my nose.

I walked into the kitchen to find him cooking in just his boxers. "Hey, why are you awake so early?" I asked him as I took a seat at my small kitchen table.

"It's a big day for you, so I wanted to cook breakfast."

"Why is it a big day? I'm just going to work."

I watched as he walked over to my purse and plucked out a white envelope and handed it over to me. I was confused, but he just turned back to the stove to continue cooking. I pulled a folded white piece of paper out of the envelope and began to read it.

Dear Dr. Robert Larson,
Please accept this letter as my two-weeks notice of resignation. My last day of work will be August 7th. While I have been very satisfied at Larson Family Dental, I have decided to make this move to advance my career. I have enjoyed working with you and appreciate the opportunities I have been given here.

"This sounds like you copied it off the internet."

"I did."

I laughed and then it hit me. "What?! Why did you do this?!"

"I'm not leaving Seattle without you. We have a flight booked for the 9th, now I don't have to be back in DC till the beginning of September, so I can easily change the flights to a later date, but I'd rather not."

I held the letter in front of me, starring at the blank space where my signature should be. Thinking about everything Seattle was to me, I felt myself begin to cry. I loved this city, it just didn't love me back. Brooks set a plate down in front of me, and then kneeled down next to me. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm scared," I admitted.

"Don't be scared. This is a good thing for you Niko. Would it make you feel better if I was doing this more for me than for you?"

"What?" I sobbed out lifting my hand up to my face to wipe away my tears. He grabbed my free hand, and held it tightly in his.

"I just need you with me. This is going to be a rough year on me, I'm not that rookie kid no one knows about anymore. There are rumors flying around that I'll be captain, more than likely not this year, but that's a lot of pressure on me. I need my Niko there for support. Besides, I thought now that you and Mike were an item you would be more open to the move."

"If you need me there so badly . . . then okay."

"Okay? Just like that."

"Yeah. Well, I guess. You're right Brooks, I don't have anything here."

"Mike is going to be one happy guy."

"We're not an item by the way. We're dating. No titles."

"So it's nothing official between you two?"

I shook my head from side to side and could see the smile he was fighting to hold back. He stood up and quickly kissed me on the forehead before retuning to the kitchen. When he returned to the table with his own plate, he handed me a pen and I quickly signed my name in the blank spot on the document, officially sealing my future.

I was moving to DC.

9: No Titles, Not Yet

"Do I tell her?" I asked Brooks after arriving back at the resort.

"Tell who what?"

"Ashley. About what happened with Steve yesterday morning."

He took a deep breath before glancing over at me. "How would you feel if your new fiance's ex-girlfriend told you he kissed her a few hours before they got engaged?"

"I would think she was lying, trying to get back together with him."

"Exactly, so I wouldn't say anything."

"But I don't want to get back together with Steve."

"She doesn't know that. She doesn't even know you."

"I just feel sorry for her. I don't exactly see their marriage lasting."

"I don't either. Now let's talk about something else, like you moving to DC."

I groaned inwardly. Brooks just couldn't understand that unlike him I just couldn't pick up and move my life across the nation. It would take imense amount of planning and a nice big lump sum of money to make the move. I can't just snap my fingers and appear in DC so easily.

"Don't stress yourself out over it. You know I'll take care of everything. Besides I haven't gotten laid in awhile and you're not going to spread your legs for me anytime soon. I need my wingwoman back."

"Ugh! Try not having sex for nine months!!"

"Why are we wasting our time sitting here then? There's a lock on our door."

"You're unbelievable."

"You know I'm always messing with you, but seriously, I've always wondered . . .." He looked out into the thin air like he was in deep thought.

"I hope you're not trying to imagine me naked."

"Always am sweetheart," with that he laughed and got up from our spot on the couch and made his way toward the elevator.





Once the thunderstorm from the previous night finally rolled away, I laid myself out on the beach to try and darken my pale skin. Mike laid down next to me, while Brooks, his brother and sister and some of their cousins rented jet skis and went crazy out on the lake.

"Veronica? Hi darling, how are you holding up?" Kelly asked me as she sat down on the lounge chair next to me. I held up my margarita and smiled at her.

"I can't believe he did that to you, I just wanted to come out here and apologize. I-"

"Kelly, you don't have to apologize for your son. Please don't apologize for your son. It's okay. I'm going to be okay.'

"Good. So, we're going to start cooking dinner here soon, and I know what an excellent cook you are, so Gram and I were wondering if you would help?"

Cooking could be an easy escape for me. It would keep my hands and mind busy, but was I too drunk to cook? Was I even drunk? Or was I immune to the tequila now? "I'd love to," I smiled as I got up from the chair and nudged a sleeping Mike. "I'm going to help cook dinner, don't fry out here."

"Okay baby, have fun," he mumbled grabbing my hand and squeezing it gently before drifting back to sleep.

We gathered in Kelly's suite in the kitchen and got to work right away. Just like old times. Mid way through dicing up four pounds worth of tomatos, Ashley joined us in the kitchen. "Can I help with anything?" She asked with a smile and a sparkle in her eye. I smiled back at her, remembering that feeling of cooking with the mother and grandmother. It's a bonding experience.

"No, that's alright dear, why don't you go make sure the boys are staying hydrated," Grandma Jaharus suggested and the smile on my face dropped. Her smile on the other hand went from a genuine one to a fake one. The poor girl. My heart was breaking for her. Once she left the suite I turned to Gram.

"She could have helped, actually she should help, she's about to become family."

"Veronica, I don't like her. At all." I was taken back by her bluntness and looked over at Kelly who was rolling her eyes.

"Why not?" I asked, curious to see if there was a real reason.

"She's not you." Those words hit harder than I first expected they would. I felt my mouth go dry and stepped away from the tomatoes and excused myself. I headed back to my room down the hall and grabbed a new bottle of tequila. Was I an alcoholic? Absolutely not, not even close. But this weekend? Yes.

When I reentered Kelly's suite she glanced down at the bottle in my hand and smiled. "Can you make one for me too?" She laughed and I smiled at her all while nodding my head.

By the time dinner was done, and we had the boys take it down to the beach, Kelly and I weren't exactly sober anymore. Neither was Brooks for that matter. I arched an eyebrow at him as he stumbled a bit on his feet, a goofy grin on his face. "He's been hitting the bottle I see," I commented to Jodi.

"He had a rough afternoon."

"Really? Why?"

"Eh, we had a brother-sister heart-to-heart. I'm sure he'll explain it to you when he's sober." I nodded my head, but kept my eyes on Brooks. He was laughing hysterically about something Aaron had said. A smile cracked my face as I felt a warm body envelope me from behind.

"Hey baby," Mike cooed in my ear and chills shot through my body.

"Hey yourself," I smiled leaning back into his chest.

"Are you drunk?" He laughed and I turned around in his arms, and threw my arms around his neck, pushing my chest hard in to his. Suddenly not only craving contact, but craving skin to skin contact.

"Can I lie and say no?" I smiled, my eyes fixated on his lips.

"Can I lie and say I absolutely do not want you to kiss me right now?" The corner of his mouth curled up and that's all it took for me to attach myself to him.

"Get a room," Aaron laughed from behind us and I pulled away from Mike's lips.

"I think we will," I smiled up at Mike and grabbed his hand and dragged him back inside.





After cooking for what felt like hours, I wasn't hungry anymore. Yet looking over at a very naked Mike next to me, my appetite came back, but it was only for him. I wanted more of him, I just couldn't get enough of him.

“What are you thinking about?” He asked after his breathing returned to a normal, steady pace.

“What I’m going to do to you next,” I smiled crawling back on top of him.

“You’re feisty tonight.”  

“It’s been a long weekend, and you leave tomorrow. I don’t know when I’ll see you again. I just want all of you right now.”      

“I want all of you too,” he grinned, reconnected his lips to mine, as we fell back into that sensual movement we found together only an hour before.



Trying to keep my screams to a minimum, I flopped onto my back and felt my whole body go limp. Mike grabbed my hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing my palm down to my wrist and back. “I think you’re amazing Veronica. All around amazing, and the sex? Wow. Just wow. I want to see you more, I want to start dating you.”

“Mike-“

“No wait, hear me out. I’ve had my eye on you since I met you, but I never did a damn thing because you are Brooks’ best friend. I didn’t know if making a move would be stepping over that boundary line or not, but this afternoon he chewed my ass out. Hard.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Because he basically gave me his blessing to make this fictional relationship between us real, but if I break your heart, he’ll break my neck.”

“Was this before or after he started drinking?”

“Before.” I stayed silent, still trying to figure out why he had such a ‘rough afternoon’. “So anyways. I like you. I think you like me. We obviously have chemistry in and out of bed. Why don’t we give this a shot.”

“Nothing official.”

“What?”

“Nothing official. We can date, but you know what I’ve gone through. I can’t just throw myself back into a relationship, especially with someone that lives so far away. We date, then we’ll discuss ‘titles’ later on.”

“Brooks said you’re moving to DC.”

“Brooks says a lot of things.”