Matt & Brooklyn: A Standalone in the "Again for the First Time" Family Saga (AFTFT Book 2) (11 page)

Shaking my head at her, I draped an arm over the back of her chair and leaned back in my seat, getting more comfortable. We did a little people-watching; I listened to her gasping over other women’s dresses; we had more champagne when it was offered to us… and then… I just went for it.

“We should dance.”

Brook looked like she didn’t know what to say. A slow song had just ended, so neither of us had any idea what was coming next, so it was kind of a crap shoot.

“Matt, I—”

Knowing she was thinking up an excuse, I stood, took her hand, and helped her out of her seat. “Nope. Come on. We’re doing this.”

Taking small steps, she tugged at the hem of her dress where it’d crept up her thighs a few inches. When we reached the dance floor, there were only a few other couples out there, which I knew was part of the reason she tried to back out: she didn’t want people’s attention on her.

The music queued up and Brook’s head went back when she laughed. I took her hands in mine, pulling her toward the center. “No, Matt. I am
not
about to clown with you
in front of all these people. No way. Nope.”

She knows me well
.

The next song the DJ played was
‘Teach Me How To Dougie’
; the same song she and I requested and danced to at my sister’s last birthday party to get the guests up and moving, to break the ice.

“Come on… you’re not gonna leave me hanging, are you?” I begged, already starting to move.

She was laughing so hard now no sound was even coming out. I did the dance by myself and didn’t care that everyone was watching.

I looked Brook up and down, challenging her with a glance. I knew she’d kill me for this later, for putting her on the spot, but I was determined to get a
yes
out of her. Her chest rose and fell when she sighed heavily, stepped out of her heels, and then kicked them aside.

“I can’t believe you have me doing this in front of these people,” she said under her breath.

A smile spread across my face when I realized she was about to give in. She shot me a look, unable to fight the urge to laugh. Her movements were stiff at first because she was more concerned with who was looking rather than having fun. People were definitely staring, but it had nothing to do with her dancing; it was simply hard
not
to look at her. She was having a hard time getting out of her own head, so I grabbed her hands again and demanded her attention.

Mouthing the words, “Relax,” I started showing out a little, embarrassing myself, just to make her laugh. It worked and she loosened up. I let her hands go after that, but she didn’t look away. She finally began to move on her own without coercion. And damn did she move… Her hips rocked and swayed, catching every beat. I had to shift my eyes north—that dress was gonna be the death of me.

Surely, but slowly, her nerves eased up and she started doing the dance right and actually had fun with it. She dipped lower, but was still mindful of having on a dress. It was good to see her let go for a change. For the most part, she always did what was expected of her, steering clear of anything spontaneous, so on the rare occasions when she let loose and just enjoyed herself, it was a sight to behold.

She fully owned the music now and I loved it, loved seeing her be free. Halfway through the song, the dancefloor was just about full. A few of the ladies were trying—and failing—to mimic Brook’s every move, while I caught a few guys eyeing her for other reasons. She didn’t notice, though. All she saw was me.

Finally
.

When the song ended and a slow one came on, I was actually disappointed. Brook’s smile stretched from ear to ear as we walked back to our seats. She held my arm again and I was starting to think she wasn’t even aware she’d made a habit of that tonight.

“I swear you slipped me something. There’s no way I would’ve gotten out there and done that in front of all those strangers—those… those
stars
.” It hit her that her audience mostly consisted of celebrities and her cheeks reddened.

I shrugged. “What can I say; I bring out the best in you,” I joked.

She grinned again, but didn’t respond. That was something I heard her sisters tease her about often. They loved to point out that, aside from family, I was one of the few people Brook was actually nice to; one of the few she tolerated.

I pulled her chair out, but before she sat I had a change of heart. We were having a good time and I could see from the window that the night sky was almost as beautiful as she was. It made sense to enjoy it.

“We should go get some fresh air,” I suggested. This time, she didn’t hesitate to follow me. We bypassed the now crowded dance floor and stepped out onto the boat’s deck where only a few other guests had wandered. The clouds had completely cleared, allowing the moon and stars to light the yacht’s path. In my peripheral, I saw Brook lean against the metal railing, gazing upward toward the sky. The light scent of her perfume drifted toward me in steady currents. This night was perfect for so many reasons, but all of them were punctuated by her being here.

“I’m glad you came.” The words came out in one monotone breath because I looked at her and got distracted. Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak. Instead, her gaze fell and she watched the water moving below us. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. The first thought that came to mind was that she felt differently than I did, but I could tell by looking at her that she was having a good time. It had to be something else.

A nervous laugh rose from her throat. “I’m glad I came, too,” she finally admitted. “I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I agreed to visit.”

That didn’t surprise me. Seeing as how she declined several invitations before this one, I knew she clearly had some reservations. It was my hope that she’d leave here feeling differently, though. I wanted her to go back home wondering why she’d been so resistant and looking forward to coming back.

“Well… I hope I changed your mind.”

She smiled at that and lifted her eyes again, to me this time. The words, “You’ve definitely changed my mind,” touched my ears, and I detected a double meaning in them, but didn’t ask for clarification. The very next instant, I think she realized that I hadn’t missed the undertones of her statement and she shut down again, looking away.

“So… your friends seem pretty cool.” The transition from one conversation to the next was anything but smooth, but I went with it. “Especially Mara,” she added.

I managed to sneak her up to meet them between the last dinner course and dessert, but it didn’t surprise me that she and Mara had hit it off just that quickly. I gave a nod. “Yeah, they’re good people. I knew you and Mara would get along.”

Brook’s deep, brown eyes narrowed inquisitively. “What made you so sure?”

The truth was that their personalities were very similar—somewhat abrasive at times—so I told her that verbatim. The sound of her laugh filled the air.

“Matt… don’t start with me. I’m a very nice person. You and my sisters all like to tell people that I’m mean, but that’s the biggest lie ever.”

I laughed a bit, too. “The thing is… I think you really believe that.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny,” she added, pushing her straightened hair behind her ears, revealing the small diamond stud at the top. “Anyway, thank you for bringing me here tonight.” Her eyes flashed to me quickly and then focused on the water instead. “I’m having a good time,” she added as casually as she could manage. “Will they be attending the premier tomorrow, too? I mean, I know they just got married and all, but I know things work differently around here,” she said with a smile. “I’m not sure if a honeymoon would trump a public appearance or the other way around.”

I smiled at her perceptiveness. “Mara’s gonna be doing her reporting/correspondent thing, but chances are she’ll be so busy you won’t even see her. And I’m not sure if Dean is planning to come out or not. He didn’t mention it.”

Brook was thoughtful for a moment and then asked, “So what should I expect exactly? Will we be dodging camera flashes and microphones being shoved at you all night?” The corners of her mouth lifted, drawing my attention to her lips.

“No, it won’t be like that. I mean… yeah, expect a little attention, but that’s it. It’s usually pretty low-key for me. People recognize me, but I’m not an A-lister or anything—or even a B-lister, for that matter—so I still have privacy, which I don’t take for granted,” I added. The few times I’d seen Mara and Dean get ambushed made me positive that I preferred to be on the back end of the camera, not in front of it. Mostly only people in the industry recognized me—reporters, actors and actresses, producers, people like that. My name was far more recognizable than my face for now.

“I think you’re just saying all this so I don’t get nervous, but okay.” She smiled again.

“Nah, it’ll be cool. Promise. If I thought it was going to be wild and crazy, I’d definitely prepare you.”

A look of trust and understanding passed between us and we lingered in a long gaze. It wasn’t until Brook shivered that I came to myself.

“Cold?” I asked.

She hugged herself and nodded. “A little. It’s a bit cooler out here on the water, I guess.”

Without hesitation, I slipped the jacket to my tux down my arms and onto her shoulders. Her painted fingernails clutched the lapel, holding it closed in front of her.

“You kept it nice and warm for me,” she joked.

I rolled my shirt sleeves up a few inches and leaned my elbows against the rail. “Yup… I am pretty hot,” I teased, staring out at the ocean.

Brook snorted by accident when my response caught her off guard, nudging me playfully as she settled right beside me with her arm pressed against mine.

“You’re all right, I guess,” she said back.

I made the mistake of peering over at her at the wrong moment—or maybe it was the
right
moment—just as she looked up at me. The words, “You’re beautiful,” were only supposed to be thoughts, but somehow they broke free and I said them out loud. Now, Brook stared, clearly stunned by my honesty.

She whispered a shy, “Thank you,” that made me want to tell her again.

Even as a teen, with raging hormones and the excitement of puppy-love, no girl or woman had ever had me wrapped around her finger. But Brook did—without even trying very hard, might I add. There was just something about her, something that told me she was worth the chase even when I got tired of her running away; something that made me believe she was the one.

The boat dipped and swayed with more force all of a sudden and Brook leaned into me. It wasn’t until her breath touched my mouth that I realized what was happening. I took a moment to gage whether this was my doing or hers, the disappearance of the space between us, and to my surprise, it was
her
who had come closer.

The hairs on my arms stood on end as she tilted her head to the side, aligning her lips with mine. I couldn’t even think straight as we hovered in limbo, somewhere between friendship and something more. Just below the surface, our untapped emotions smoldered, burning slowly, intensifying.

Her breath touched my skin and my pulse quickened at the sight of her eyes closing; at the sight of her letting go, of her letting me in.

“Matt!” Someone yelled. It only took me a second to realize it was Dean. “We’re gonna be heading back to dock in a sec. You two rolling with us tonight or what? It’s gonna be wild.”

Snapping back to reality, Brook pulled away, putting a few inches of space between us. I cursed to myself inwardly, wanting to kill Dean for ruining such a pivotal moment, a moment I couldn’t guarantee I’d get back anytime soon.

I gathered myself and nodded. “Uh… yeah, we’re in,” I finally answered.

He braced a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Cool. Ten minutes.” The next second he walked away, completely unaware of what he’d just done.

Brook eased my tux jacket off her shoulders and handed it back with a tight smile. “I umm… I’m gonna head back inside.”

I felt her pulling back again.
“Brook—”

“I need a drink,” she cut in, recoiling just like I knew she would.

With that, she walked off, leaving me to stand there wondering how much damage Dean had unintentionally done by walking up at the exact wrong time. If I had to guess, Brook would now be hyper-aware of how we interacted with one another, and it’d be a while before I was able to tear down her walls again. Tonight, our almost-kiss, had taken me over two years to achieve. The thought of all that being undone had me heading back inside for a drink, too.

A strong one.

Probably several.

*****

Brookly
n

What was that?

The bartender placed a glass of champagne in front of me and it was half empty before he even walked away. I needed it to calm my nerves. My hands were shaking like crazy and it was all because of Matt—because, a moment ago, I almost kissed him.

My chest and throat tightened and I felt like I’d hyperventilate.

I was hesitant to come here because, in the back of my mind, I knew something like this would happen; however, I was sure it would’ve ben Matt who crossed the line, not me. After all, I was the one insisting we were nothing more than friends, but considering what I just tried to do out on the deck, I was beginning to lose ground where that argument was concerned.