Covered In Paint: Book Five of the Art Of Love Series (6 page)

“Okay. Here’s my spin. You’re worried Drake is
the one
. You’re hanging back because you’re worried that when he does finally get his hands on you, you won’t want to be with anyone else ever again. Yet at the same time—you’re worried about how it will go between you because of the difference in your life experiences.”

Brooke narrowed her gaze. “Drake is not
the one
.”

Jessica lifted her wine glass and sipped. “I never said he was. I said you were worried he might be. But there’s only one way you’re going to figure it out for sure.”

Sighing in defeat, Brooke nodded. “I know. You’re right about that—as usual.”

She tried to eat a cracker, but ended up swallowing it in a dry lump that almost choked her. She gulped wine to chase it down.

“What if he is the one, Mom? What will I do?”

Jessica shrugged again, but his time she sighed too. “I don’t know, honey. That’s where my strange mother mojo becomes totally useless. It’s every woman for herself when it comes to figuring out that sort of thing. What are you most worried about where he’s concerned?”

Brooke pulled a lock of her reddish-brown hair around to the front and started picking the strands apart. It gave her something to do besides staring into her mother’s concerned gaze.

“The future—because I’m not living in denial. Drake has already had the life I’ve been wanting to have for years. He’s done the whole family thing and is frustrated Brandon still needs so much parenting work. No one would blame him for being done with kids and car pools and Little League and whatever. I get that he’s probably not going to want to start over with anyone from scratch. So he can’t be
the one
, Mom. It just isn’t logical for me to even give that option any thought.”

“The philosophy department at UK must not stay very informed. Haven’t you heard, Dr. Daniels? Love is the most illogical thing in the world.”

Snorting at her mother’s attempt to be charming, Brooke spilled her wine as she tried to drink it. Her hands were quivering just talking about Drake.

“Why am I this—hell—
invested
? I barely know the man. I am definitely not in love with him yet.”

“Of course not,” Jessica declared, waving the idea away with a hand. “But it’s a short fall when it finally happens. Trust me—I know. It happened subtly with Will, and without me even realizing it. You start to see good things about them. Then suddenly this little voice in your brain will not shut up about how great they are. Throw sexy into the mix and it’s a woman’s worst nightmare.”

Jessica picked up her wine and sipped, her thoughts on how hard it had been to admit her feelings for Will. And why she finally had.

“Falling so hard can also be your best fantasy times ten. When it happens to you, I’m praying you end up with a really good man. That’s all a mother can do.”

Drawing imaginary circles on the table with her finger, Brooke tried not to think about the way her mother’s warning resonated inside her. Drake kissed well and was a great guy. Sure, he was socially awkward at times and didn’t always like her sense of humor. And now and again she saw a side of him that made her grind her teeth.

Not that he didn’t have many good qualities too.

What she liked most was the way Drake made her feel like the only female he had ever wanted…
oh hell
. No. No. No. She was not that interested in the man.

“I think I’m just obsessed. My goal is to get the man into my bed and out of my system as soon as I can,” Brooke declared.

Jessica was grinning as she shook her head in disbelief. “Except you didn’t take him home with you when he asked tonight. You passed up the most sure opportunity you’ve had so far.”

“He had a house full of kids to take care of,” Brooke exclaimed.

“He had a house full of
college kids
. It’s not like they require a babysitter, Brooke.” Jessica held her daughter’s belligerent gaze.

“Okay. You found me out, Mom. I’m scared—okay? Drake scares me. His kiss scares me. He makes me forget my own name until he says it again,” Brooke all but yelled.

“Oh honey—I’m so sorry,” Jessica said, pushing her bottom lip out in a pout. “You’re a goner already.”

Brooke put both hands on the table and leaned forward. “Mom—the man promised to step in front of me in case of a zombie attack. What am I supposed to do with someone like him?”

Both Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow. It’s not everyday you come across a man willing to sacrifice his brain for you. Drake must be as desperate for you as you are for him.”

Brooke raked a handful of crackers into her hand and proceeded to pelt her laughing mother with them.

Chapter 5

“When did you first find the lump?”

“A few days ago when I did my monthly breast exam. Normally I do it on the last day of my cycle. I was a little late doing it this time because I’ve had a lot going on,” Brooke replied.

She felt Dr. Mason press down as she palpitated the tiny, hard knot.

“Are you having any unusual discomfort in your breasts?”

“No—just the normal tenderness before my period—but none after. I’ve had these lumps before. They tend to come and go. If we need to change my birth control, I’m okay with doing that. I’m not sexually active right now anyway. This would be a good time.”

“You can sit up now, Brooke.”

Brooke rose to a seated position, refastened her bra, and pulled her shirt back down. The doctor waited patiently and then smiled kindly at her before launching into more explanation.

“Lumps can sometimes be the result of hormonal fluctuations, but it is usually safest to rule out everything of concern before accepting any one conclusion. Given your history of these lumps happening over and over, I’d like to do a mammogram and see what it shows us about your breast health.”

Brooke nodded numbly. “Okay. Sure. When do you want me to get it done?”

She watched the doctor lift the tablet and key in some information.

“When you check out, the front desk will print the mammogram order for you to take with you. They can also schedule the appointment. Let’s get it done quickly and then we’ll call if we need to see you again. You have a lot of fibrous tissue in your breasts, which sometimes makes it challenging to get a clear reading. You’re a smart woman to do your self-exams so faithfully.”

Brooke nodded. “So what happens if we find something that needs to be addressed?”

“We’ll do some more tests—probably a biopsy of the existing lump or maybe even remove the entire thing to really be sure. Either way we’ll get everything tested for malignancy. Many tumors are benign, but some are not. Early detection is key to fighting the spread to surrounding tissue.”

Brooke eased out a breath and stared at the wall. “Okay. Thank you. I like to be prepared for what has to happen.” She flinched when the doctor touched her arm.

“Try not to worry about the results. It’s a small lump, and we don’t know what it is yet. Don’t let concern stop you from living your life,” Doctor Mason advised.

Brooke nodded and watched her slip quietly out the door.

***

Another two weeks passed and finally Brooke couldn’t stand waiting any longer to see Drake again.

She knew it was his classroom because she could hear Drake talking inside. She grinned as she heard him starting to lecture. That sexy voice of his was melodious and very soothing. Hearing him speak so low and so seriously caused a reaction in her underwear that was no longer surprising even if it was always mildly uncomfortable. It certainly gave her a sudden and full comprehension of why so many female students and faculty lusted for the elusive man.

But what was she thinking? Wasn’t she one of them? Wasn’t that why she was here?

Lust had her wanting to know everything she could about him. Her epiphany about her feelings after talking to her mother made her even more nervous than she would have been normally. It also made her uncertain of what to do now since she had invaded Drake’s work area this far.

She was still standing outside the classroom chewing her lip when two non-traditional female students came from their sidewalk smoke break obviously late to his class.

“Hi,” she said when they stared at her. “I came to audit Dr. Barrymore’s ass today.”

She didn’t know what to think when they looked at each other and burst out laughing. They covered their mouths to hold it in as much as they could. When they calmed, both grinned at her. Up close, she could tell they were close to her age.

“Honey, we’d all like to audit Dr. Barrymore’s
ass
. The man has a great ass,” the first woman declared.

“Not ass. I meant
class
—I meant I’m here to
audit his class
,” Brooke whispered fiercely, her face heating over her tongue slip.

“Uh-huh. Sure you did,” the second woman commented, rolling her eyes.

The first woman laughed again. “A word of advice, honey. Don’t bother volunteering to model. We’ve all tried it. We’ve never seen Dr. Barrymore react to a naked woman. If it wasn’t for the art teacher he’s banging in Louisville, I would swear the man was gay.”

Brooke told herself not to ask any questions, but it was beyond her.
What the hell?

“He’s seeing an art teacher in Louisville?”

“Yeah. We think she’s his booty call when he needs a fix. He told Melanie about her when she hit on him. Tell her, Melanie,” the first woman ordered the second.

“Yep. Dr. Barrymore said he was dating a teacher in Louisville,” the second confirmed.

“Although I have heard different rumors lately,” the first said, peeking into the classroom and then looking back.

“What rumors?” Brooke prompted, another nosy question popping out on its own.

“I’ve heard he’s got a thing for a new teacher on campus,” the first said.

“Who…who…” Brooke cleared her throat so she could get it out. “Who is it?”

They both answered with a shrug, and she visibly relaxed. Wow. Campus gossip practically flew around here. U of C had never been like this…not that she had known about anyway.

“Well, we better get in there. He’s started lecturing already. We’re working on form today. You picked a boring class to audit. Where’s your stuff? Aren’t you drawing?”

Brooke shook her head. “No. Not today. I just thought I would see what it was like.”

“If you like drawing naked women, you’re in the right place,” the second snipped, slipping into the room.

“Come in quietly so you don’t get the evil eye. He’s been known to kick people out for disrespecting the models,” the first advised, following her friend.

After they had both gone into the classroom, Brooke reached back, twirled a lock of hair and caught herself. She dropped her hands and lifted her chin.
What on earth was she nervous about?
“So you have a booty call woman in Louisville, eh? Well, we’ll just see about that, Dr. Barrymore.”

Her intention was to march into the room and take a seat, but instead she stopped short at the door. Her gaze was arrested by the sight of a naked and attractive twenty-year-old blonde reclining on a red cushioned bench at the front of the class. Everyone could see the full back of her body from hairline to toes.

Pacing near her, Drake asked her to turn her upper body slightly toward him and put her gaze on the ceiling. She did as his low voice commanded until one hard-nippled, perky twenty-year-old breast pointed skyward under his intense gaze. Drake nodded in approval of her new position and returned to pointing out the curves of her spine and hips. And yes—her now pointy-nippled breast too—as he explained how to capture the curve of it in a drawing.

She was both stunned and humiliated.

Brooke guiltily recalled how Drake’s mesmerizing voice had shut down her mind a time or two. This wasn’t taking into account the fact that the man had silenced her tongue every time he had kissed her. Yet nothing she knew about him had prepared her for what she felt, seeing him standing so close to a naked woman who wasn’t her.

After staring at the scene for several long minutes, her rapidly firing brain started offering dozens of logical deductions. It was absolutely the fastest set of conclusions she’d ever drawn in her life, but she was too shocked to enjoy her mind working so brilliantly. All her reservations about getting involved with the dark and brooding man she craved were suddenly explainable.

She knew for sure now that Drake wasn’t
the one
—could never be
the one
. Their age difference was widely reflected in the sum of their life experiences. But his intense gaze on the naked twenty-year-old made every conclusion she was drawing even more crystal clear.

Suddenly all the time she had spent wondering how Drake would react to the first sight of her youthful body rose up to embarrass her. It was obvious now her personal angst had been for no good reason. Obviously the man was used to seeing perky breasts every damn day. Why would he be impressed with hers?

The naked breast she could see plainly, even from the back of the cavernous room, was still pointing at the ceiling and looking like an advertisement for a silicone implant. Brooke knew her very real breasts were still quite nice, but they weren’t anything extraordinary.

And they certainly weren’t twenty anymore.

Not that any man had complained about her breasts to date, but still…hers couldn’t compare to the perfect set all his students were scrambling to capture on their sketch pads.

Brooke shook her head, as if the motion might help to sort out her scrambled thoughts. Future possibilities danced over her realizations, leaving doubts on top of doubts in their wake.

What if—God forbid—the lump in her breast became a genuine cause for concern? What if something were to happen to her real breasts?

Thinking about Drake having access to perfect breasts anytime he wanted to view them made her nearly ill. The lump might be nothing or not, but now the potential loss of that body part was not something she could imagine ever sharing with the man pacing in front of a set of perfect ones.