Page 108 of I Really Do

“Thanks, Viv!” Anna shouted as she tugged a black tank top on.

“Don’t fuck this up, Fourchette. I’d hate to have to kill you. I quite like your restaurant,” Vivienne added.

Anna just giggled.“Noted.”

Christine had finally stopped screaming.“Oh my god. Have you two… ya know?”

Vivienne made a horrified sound.“Christine, that is none of our business.” There was a pause.“But I mean, if you want to answer that, no one would be mad.”

Brooke finally started to get dressed. Anna had on enough clothes that she could finally focus again.

“We have,” Anna supplied, shooting Brooke a playful look.“Several times. We actually called you two so that we would stop for long enough to get ready for this dang brunch.”

Christine screamed again.

“And with that. I’m going to let you all have a lovely afternoon. Let us know when you land safely,” Vivienne said, her voice back to all business and absolutely zero amusement.

“Bye, Vivienne,” Brooke said, her smile almost as mischievous as Anna’s.

Vivienne’s line went dead, but Christine definitely did not end her’s.“Oh my god, did you use them?”

Brooke blushed. Anna’s eyes widened.“You told her about the strap?” Anna whisper-yelled.

“Wait, time out, she only told me because she was proud of traumatizing her mother. I’ve just been hoping that you two would use them ever since I found out they existed,” Christine supplied quickly.

Anna just pointed at Brooke, indicating that that level of detail was all Brooke's decision.

That was way more information than Brooke had ever shared before, but she wanted to. She wanted to run out onto Nate and Mel’s back porch and scream about how much she loved Anna Fourchette for the whole world to hear. She cleared her throat.“Um, yeah. We definitely did.”

Christine screamed again.“I am so fucking happy for both of you.”

“Thanks, Chris,” Anna said, beaming.

“B, how fucking amazing are you feeling right now?” Christine was still shrieking.

Brooke just chucked.“I’m feeling pretty fucking fantastic.”

“Alright, Chris. I think I’m going to have to steal my girlfriend for a minute before the car comes to take us to brunch. I may or may not have put us in a pickle,” Anna said with a frown, her eyes focusing on Brooke somewhere south of her face.

Brooke went from feeling all warm and fuzzy from Anna calling her her girlfriend, to confused by the rest of her sentence.“Wait, what’s wrong?” she asked, not caring that Christine could still hear them.

“Your collar didn’t cover your neck,” Anna said rather matter of factly.

“Okay. And?” Brooke asked, still confused.

“God I fucking love the two of you together right now. Anna, I’m going to let you take care of that. B, I cannot wait for all the details when you get home. And none of your normal question evasion tactics. I’ll get the details out of your girlfriend if you won’t give them to me.”

Brooke was still confused by the level in which Anna seemed to be concentrating on her neck, but Christine’s threat had just sent a new wave of warmth over her.“Sounds good, Christine. I’ll let you know when we land.” The line disconnected.“Why does it matter if my shirt covers my neck or not?”

“You might have a few visible… um… hickeys on your neck right now,” Anna’s smile was definitely apologetic.

The marks—Brooke was too dignified to ever use the word hickey—had to have come from their shower. They hadn’t been there prior to it. She had also never had one before. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do now.

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Anna grabbed Brooke's hand and dragged her back into the bathroom.“Honey-B, I am so sorry.” Anna couldn’t seem to make eye contact with Brooke in the mirror. Brooke on the other hand watched as her own blush crept up her neck, a much lighter shade of red than the four visible marks littering the sides of her neck.

She didn’t really know what to say. Honestly, part of her just wanted to laugh. It was weird, and entirely new, this notion of feeling proud and claimed. She didn’t quite have the right words to describe how she was feeling.“It’s okay, Darling,” her voice was surprisingly calm.