Breaking Brooklyn (23 page)

Authors: Scott Leopold

Tags: #phycological and mystical

BOOK: Breaking Brooklyn

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"My old last name never really belonged to me,
and after my mother died I wanted to make a clean start. I know it
may sound weird but my grandma’s last name has a lot of meaning to
me."

I hadn’t seen Brooke since high school. I
couldn't believe it took all this time for us to bump into each
other.

“
You really do look great,
Brooke." The feelings I had for her quickly rushed back to me like
a child who has found their lost puppy.

It wasn't long before we sparked up our old
friendship. We had morning coffee, then met for lunch almost every
day. Sometimes in the evenings we would jog through the pine forest
together, and still in running clothes, we would sit and talk for
hours. It seemed just like old times, but much better..

Every morning when I woke, I would think,
it’s only 45 minutes until I get to see Brooke for coffee
.
Then one morning Brooke didn’t show. I sat there alone, a million
questions whipping through my mind. Was she okay? Was she sick? Had
I done something that made her unhappy with me? When the next
morning came and she didn’t show again, I went looking for her.
When I found her she just blew it off like it was no big deal. Over
the next few weeks she become more and more distant.

Then one night like a car wreck I was
blindsided with the truth. The Finnish students had put together a
costume party for all the Americans. It was going to be a real
blowout.

No one recognized me when I walked into the
party with my face painted like Gene Simmons from Kiss. Brooke knew
it was me right away. When we were kids she would watch me draw
different versions of the band members.

Brooke was dressed as Pocahontas. Her hair was
braided into pigtails, and she was crowned with an Indian style
headdress. Hugging her slender body was a revealing light brown
skirt with slits on each side, and fig leaves sewn on at the hem.
She had the eye of every guy in the room. I couldn’t fight the urge
to look at her. I loved everything about her.

When Brooke saw me, she smiled. I was sure
that was my cue to walk toward her. Halfway through the room, she
turned to Mika, one of the Finnish chaperones. Her eyes twinkled as
he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
What??
My heart
didn't just sink, it dropped into the pit of my stomach like a
giant bolder. No amount of makeup could cover my
sadness.

What was that about? Was Brooklyn dating Mika?
That would explain why she's been so distant,
I
thought.

I tried not to look at Brooke, but I couldn’t
get her out of my line of sight. All night I watched as they talked
and flirted, while the empty hole in me grew. Then, Mika took
Brooke's hand and they left the bar. She didn't even stop to say
goodbye.

Although there wasn’t enough alcohol at the
bar to dull the pain I was feeling, I tried anyway. Straight shots
chased with beer, then hard-cider chased with more shots. I was
sure taking another girl home would make me feel better.

At this point, I had no inhibitions. I was the
life of the party. By the end of the night I had become friendly
with a local Finnish girl. I saw three of her, but was planning on
leaving with the one in the middle. I didn’t know her name, but it
wasn’t like I was going to remember it anyway. Even if I did there
was no way I could pronounce it in my drunken state.

As we continued to talk it became apparent
that we found each other intriguing, maybe because we were so
different from one another. Her complexion was almost translucent,
draped with flowing blonde hair that accentuated her blue
eyes.

When we left I invited myself to her dorm
room. I was ready to redeem myself. Peeling off layers of clothes,
I haltingly explored her body with my hands. Then I kissed her
neck.

Suddenly unbidden images of Brooke ran through
my head. Just like all the corny love stories I thought were so
cliché, I pulled away. I couldn't do it.

Sliding down onto her bed, I shook my head,
wishing Brooke's image would just get out of my head.

“
You are in love with the girl at
the bar, the one you kept watching. I saw how you looked at her. I
think it's cute," said the Finnish beauty in her sexy
accent.

Then she curled up in my arms, pulled the
blanket up over both of us, and turned off the lamp. There in the
dark, in lonely silence, we lay together, wrapped in each other’s
arms.

For the next few days, everything was in slow
motion for me. The end of the trip was only a few weeks away. I
could hardly wait to board the plane for Indiana.

The following week we had our class trip to
St. Petersburg to see a Russian Ballet. When we got there the girls
went there way and we went ours. Markus, the chaperone for the
guys, slyly told us he could get some homemade champagne. We were
in! Within an hour Markus was back with enough bubbly to knock
every one of us on our ass.

We drank until the sun came up, then drank
some more. After all, a bunch of guys going to a ballet sounded
pretty unmanly. Later that day, the girls made it to the show hours
before it was scheduled to start. They went window shopping, had
lunch, and watched Russian people go about their lives. Right on
time, they picking up their tickets.

The guys didn’t feel like doing much of
anything but dying. We were so busy trying to recover from our
wicked champagne hangovers that we lost track of time. We had to
rush to get to the show before it started. Running up to the will
call window at the last minute, we feared our tickets had been
given away. We were lucky; they were still there.

Once inside the Mariinsky Theatre, I stopped
at the second level, while the rest of the guys continued to the
third. My ticket clearly said I was on the second level.

“
Hey guys, doesn’t your ticket say
second level?”

“
No,” they all replied.

Glancing at my ticket, I confirmed that my
seat was on the second level. There was no mistake about it. When I
got to my seat I found Brooklyn sitting in the seat right next to
mine.

“
What are you doing here?” I
asked, completely confused.

You’re not going to believe this, but all the
girls are on the 3rd floor and I’m the only one on the
2nd."

“
You’re kidding, me too!" I
shouted.

The moment suddenly changed from a strange
coincidence to something divine.

"I thought you were mad at me, Brooke." I
murmured.

Brooke gazed at me for a moment, her eyes
telling me all I needed to know.

The lights slowly dimmed as the curtain went
up revealing two dancers swimming in a pool light. It was
absolutely stunning. It wasn’t just a dance, it was poetry, with a
stream of motion that told a story.

I felt Brooke’s eyes on me as I marveled at
the dancers. Reaching over I slipped my hand into hers. I felt
complete.

When we returned to Finland our class was
invited to take a cruise to Stockholm as a going away
gift.

It just happened to be Brooke’s 21st birthday
and it was the first time we were intimate. Although, Brooke was so
drunk she doesn’t remember. It all started at dinner on the ship.
Brooke was slowly getting wasted while I was keeping my cool and
pacing myself.

The dining room was elegant with crystal
chandeliers and round tables dressed in white tablecloths. Brooke
sat next to me while I made small talk with one of our economics
professors. Under the table, however, her hand had a mind of its
own. Firmly gripping my thigh, it massaged its way up my groin. I
pulled my legs inward and glared at Brooke to stop. I think this
turned her on because next thing I knew she was rubbing her foot
against my leg. Then she grabbed my crotch as she bit down on her
bottom lip.

What the hell? I had never seen Brooke this
way before. There was a mixture of emotions whirling around inside
of me. I was aroused, but something didn't feel right. This was
Brooke! She wasn't that kind of girl.

After dinner we went to the ship’s disco.
Brooke grabbed my hand and guided me through the crowd until we
were in the center of the rotating dance floor. Next thing you know
she was grinded on me like a stripper.

"Y-y-ou knooow whaaaat I n-n-need?" Brooke
slurred as she pulled on my shirt.

"What's that?" I replied.

"I n-n-need my caaaamera! Cooome wiith me to
geeet my caaaamera, Jaaack!" Then Brooke whispered in my ear.
"Leeet's g-g-go noooow!"

Her warm breath sent chills down my neck. When
we got to her room, Brooke was all over me like she was on the
dance floor. Then she started taking my shirt off. Next thing I
knew we were both naked. I wasn’t making love to her like I had
always envisioned. Instead, I was fucking her like an
animal.

Then I heard a retching sound. Brooke was dry
heaving as hung off the side of the bed. I think she was trying to
keep the room from spinning. Picking her up I carried her to the
bathroom and resting her head on the plastic toilet seat. After
sitting with Brooke for a while I cleaned her up then put pajamas
on her.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

“
Hold on a minute!” I
yelled.

Closing the bathroom door I quickly put my
clothes back on. When I answered the door I saw the after party
standing in front of me. They asked where Brooke was and I
explained how she wasn’t feeling well.

"Come down the hall to Chris's, we're playing
drinking games."

I wasn't sure that was a good idea with Brooke
being sick and all. So, I declined at first.

"Come on, she'll be alright!" they
pressed.

Regretfully, I agreed.

The next day Brooke looked like she had the
stomach flu. Things were definitely awkward between us on the trip
back home. Later that week Brooke approached me discreetly. She
directed me to a conference room where she started integrating me
like she was trying to solve a cold case.

"Did we have sex that night on the cruse?" She
asked.

She didn't remember?!
I
thought.

"Yes," I said, not sure how best to answer the
question.

Brooke immediately began to cry. I felt like
an asshole but I didn’t do anything wrong. Anyone else in my
position would have done the same thing. If I would have known how
this was going to haunt our relationship I would have never let her
talk me into going back to her room. I said the only thing I
thought would fix the situation.

"Brooke, I love you!”

"This is not how it was supposed to happen,
Jack!"

"We were drunk, Brooke, and you were all over
me."

"You should have been a gentleman and done the
right thing!"

"Look, I am sorry. I love you." It was all I
could say.

Brooke

Chapter
twenty-eight

“I am living in hell from one day
to the next. But there is nothing I can do to escape. I don't know
where I would go if I did. I feel utterly powerless, and that
feeling is my prison. I entered of my own free will, I locked the
door, and I threw away the key."
~ Haruki Murakami