“So, what’s the plan for tonight? A little lounging and cuddling perhaps?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Hmm…it’s a good plan, but maybe we could amend it just slightly?”

Brooke nuzzled into Sam’s neck with a trail of kisses to her cheek, working her way to the young woman’s ear and whispered, “Amend it?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I was going to add,” Sam giggled, “lots of kisses.”

“Not a problem,” Brooke interspersed each word with a kiss.

Sam smiled as another kiss was bestowed upon her. “Yeah, I didn’t think it would be a problem.” She turned toward Brooke and was greeted with a multitude of soft kisses, the last one being placed on her lips.

CHAPTER BREAK

The reflection in the mirror didn’t look as bad as it had the day before. The area of discoloration on Sam’s cheek no longer looked as angry compared to her natural skin shade. In fact, it was beginning to fade. Grabbing for her purse, the young woman took out the small compact and the bottle of foundation that she hardly ever used anymore. She leaned in toward the mirror and set to work with the task of covering up any reminders of her unfortunate accident. She’d seen the look on Brooke’s face every time the bruise caught her attention. It was almost as if the woman was blaming herself and Sam wanted nothing to mar their first time Christmas shopping together.

Stepping back to take a look at her work, Sam smiled. The blonde turned her face from side to side, studying it in the mirror. “There we go, looking good as new.” The woman smiled as she placed a finishing touch on a stray lock of hair, then turned to walk over to the bathroom door.

“Hey, Hon… I’m going to start getting dressed for the big outing today. We are going shopping, right?”

“Yes Baby,” the garbled sound came through the door. “I’ll take you anywhere you’d like to go.”

“Hmm…” Sam’s face took on a devilish smile. “Where I’d like to go and shopping are two different things,” the young woman muttered under her breath as she walked over to the armoire and opened it. “Well, let’s see what’s going on in the world these days.” She turned on the TV and chuckled. “Oh, I must be feeling better.”

Taking the remote with her, she walked over to the bed and sat down as she flipped through the stations, finally settling on her favorite, MTV. She set about getting dressed as she sang along with a hit from the past, Anti-Zero’s signature song. When the song ended, Sam looked over to the bathroom and smiled. “Who would have thought?” Out of the corner of her eye, Sam suddenly saw the flashing changes on the television screen as images of James came on. “What the…” she grabbed the remote and raised the volume as she walked closer to the set.

And this hour on MTV news, Former Anti-Zero vocalist & guitarist, James Anderson, was arrested this week and is being held on charges of assault against former band mate Brooke Loran.

Sam’s eyes grew bigger as she watched old images of both Brooke and James flash across the screen. “Brooke, you’d better come in here…NOW,” she called out to her lover, as her gaze stayed fixed to the TV, listening for the next snippet of information.

Anderson was arrested after a heated argument where it has been reported that he struck out at Loran’s as of yet unidentified live-in girlfriend…

Shocked by the publicity that the story was generating, Sam moved back toward the bed and slowly sat down on the edge of the mattress with her mouth agape, and her eyes still fixed to the screen.

We’ll bring you more as this story unfolds. Stay tuned next hour to MTV news when we try to interview former bass player, Peter Butler. MTV News… Where you here it… first.

Still in shock, Sam mumbled the beginnings of a curse very slowly under her breath. “Son of a…”

“Those bastards!” Brooke slapped the doorframe with her open hand as she came out of the bathroom, letting the towel she was using on her hair come to rest over her shoulder.

Startled, Sam looked over to see her scantily clad lover fuming as she came into the room. “How did they…” the blonde stopped, then started again, “Why did he… Brooke, what are you going to do?”

The tall woman turned around, her eyes narrowing as they glowed with hatred at the media play that she knew would come. With each second, the anger grew until her mind set off its own little warning, release or explode. She could feel the pent up energy building as her heart rate skyrocketed and her blood surged wildly through her body. Brooke’s fingers twitched at first and then extended outward as far as they could. The drummer knew what would happen next. She turned back toward the bathroom. Years of drumming had built up the muscles in her upper extremities and she needed to let her rage out on something that could withstand her fury. She could already feel her fingers closing into a fist as her arm began to cock back to deliver the blow.

Sam closed her eyes as she saw Brooke’s arm begin in backward draw. She held her breath as she waited for the sound to fill the room. It took only a few seconds before it was there, reverberating into the walls of the house.

“THUNK!”

Dear God, don’t let her hurt herself over this. The makeshift prayer ran across Sam’s mind as she heard the impact, then she opened her eyes to see how bad the damage had been. The blonde watched as Brooke pulled her hand back from the door, stripping the towel that was hastily wrapped around it out from the hole that had been made. “Oh my God, Brooke… your hand.” Sam got up from the bed and hurried across the room.

Brooke cast the towel aside and grabbed her jeans, pulling them on, she raised her gaze to see Sam standing before her.

“Did you hurt your hand?”

“No.”

“You sure?” Sam whispered meekly as she tried to look at the hand that was being shielded by the tall woman’s body.

She turned around, her anger still present as she tugged her jeans into place before fastening the button and sliding the zipper shut. Brooke reached out and grabbed her T-shirt, sliding it over her head and yanking it into place as her eyes came to rest on Sam. Almost immediately, the anger began to lessen. Brooke took in a deep breath, and then let it out as she opened her arms, inviting Sam into her space.

Without hesitating, Sam entered the embrace and held onto her lover desperately. “I’m sorry for all this trouble.”

“Baby, it’s not your fault.” Brooke’s jaw tensed when she felt Sam’s body as it began to shake. “I’m sorry I got so angry and I’m sorry that you’ve been pulled into all of this shit.”

“I didn’t mean to have anything…”

“Baby, this is not your fault.” Brooke leaned down to kiss the top on Sam’s head and felt the small arms tighten their grip on her body.

“So, what… what are we going to do now?”

The tall woman sighed. “Love each other more and just deal with it.” Brooke’s mouth quirked into a half grin. “Welcome to the music industry, Darlin’. I think you’re going to see firsthand some of that media hype about Loran come blasting at us from out of the past.”

“Are you going to be able to deal with that, Brooke?”

“Do I have you by my side?” Brooke leaned back to gaze down at the blonde.

“Where else would I be?” Sam giggled nervously until she saw the smile come to her lover’s face. “So, you still love me, huh?”

“Still. Always. Forever.” Brooke raised Sam’s chin with her finger and kissed her gently. “Sam?”

The young woman marveled at how sweet and soft Brooke could be only one minute after erupting like a volcano. A smile came to Sam’s face as she realized that Brooke’s anger would never be directed at her. “Yeah?”

Blue eyes gazed into green. “There’s probably going to be a lot of shit now. You know that, right?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

“Hopefully this will all blow over…”

“But it’s his word against ours,” Sam finished her lover’s sentence.

“I’m sorry baby. James always was the spotlight child. Everybody loved him.”

“You’re sorry… for what?” Sam pulled the woman back into her arms. “For being you? For being good when he was an asshole?”

“I’m… I’m sorry that you got hurt. I’m sorry the press is trying to pull you into it.” Brooke took in a deep breath. “Loran hasn’t been around for over three years. I just don’t know what kind of circus they’re gonna try and turn this into.”

“Well, I’m a part of your life now. I’m here and I’m not budging, no matter how bad it gets.”

“Promise?” Brooke’s voice was little more than a whisper.

“You betcha. It’s going to take a pretty big circus to scare me off. Loran or no Loran, I’ve got the Brooke that I love and I’m holding on tight.” Sam squeezed with all her might, nestling into Brooke’s body.

“I love you, Sam. I wish I knew the words to tell you just how much.”

The young woman leaned back and eyed her lover suspiciously. “Hmm… care if I help you out there, Hon?”

Brooke found herself intrigued with the playful look in Sam’s eyes. “Sure, go ahead.” She watched as the blonde saddled up to her seductively, letting her small hand slide across Brooke’s chest, sending sensations to all points of the tall woman’s body.

Seeing that Brooke’s T-shirt now boasted two very aroused nipples, Sam smiled. In her best sultry voice, the young woman instructed, “Repeat after me.” She looked up to see two very attentive eyes staring back at her. “Let’s go…” Sam waited for the words to come back to her in Brooke’s richly toned voice.

All of Brooke’s attention now riveted on Sam as she said, “Let’s go…”

“SHOPPING!” Green eyes dazzled and a huge smile came to Sam’s face as she pushed off of her lover’s body and headed for the bedroom door. “Come on, I’ll race you to the toy department.”