“Hmmm…Is that good or bad?” Sam asked.

“That depends on if you mind or not,” Brooke replied as she looked back up into Sam’s eyes.

“Me? Mind you paying attention to me?” Sam shook her head as if the thought of her not wanting this woman’s attention was completely absurd. Which, it was. “No, I don’t mind at all.”

Brooke’s radiant smile vied for the right to illuminate the room in competition with the candles that were placed all around. “Really? Then you wouldn’t mind if…” she paused for a second, “…if I wanted to pay attention to you a little more often?”

Sam became speechless at the offer being placed at her feet. Searching for words, she finally started, “Brooke, what can I say? I’d like that…very much.”

She leaned in for a kiss when Mario halted their advances and jumped up to join them on the couch.

“I’m kissing you, Brooke. Not that dog,” Sam stated as she threw her head back in laughter.

Brooke grinned as she scratched the husky behind his ears and stared into Sam’s eyes. “Sorry, I guess he got jealous. Come on, boy. Get down.”

“Do you think it’ll be enough if we get down on his level?” Sam asked as Brooke continued to laugh softly.

“We could try, I guess.”

Sam removed herself from Brooke’s lap and sat down on the floor. “Come on, Brooke. I said ‘we’,” the blonde curled her finger inward beckoning the beauty, “that means you, too.”

Brooke slid down onto the floor next to the blonde and was soon followed by Mario who placed his head in Sam’s lap. “Yeah, but you’re younger.”

“What’s the matter? Are you too old to get back up? I’ll help you, Auntie.” Sam found it impossible not to tease the woman sitting next to her.

“You’ll help me get up? Then yes, I’m too old. Hell, I’m so old; I owe Moses a nickel. No, actually, come to think of it, that would be Randi.”

“Brooke, didn’t your mother ever teach you not to exaggerate?” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Hey, I never exaggerate,” she said with a devilish grin plastered on her face.

The woman arched her own eyebrow at Brooke’s statement. “Well, from what I’ve seen so far, I guess I can take you for your word. Would you like another berry?”

“Only if I get a kiss with it.”

Sam grabbed a strawberry and started to place it against Brooke’s mouth, then pulled it away. “Hey, what do I get in return?”

“I don’t know. What would you like in return?”

“Hmmm…I’ll think of something,” Sam answered as she gave the berry to Brooke only to have her fingers captured and cleaned of any remnants of chocolate.

“See, you kind of made a mistake the other night when you kissed me. Now, I’ll always want to kiss you.” Brooke pointed out as she released Sam’s fingers, much to the younger woman’s dismay.

“Well, that kind of mistake I can live with…for a long time.” The words were out of her mouth before Sam could stop herself.

“You sure about that?” Brooke asked, scared to hope.

“I think so…yeah,” Sam answered with a gentle nod as she smiled and leaned in to give Brooke a quick kiss. “Are there any other mistakes that I should be careful of making?”

“Don’t know yet. I guess we’ll find out along the way.”

“I guess we will.” She grabbed another strawberry and offered it to the dark-haired woman before grabbing one for herself as well. After eating it, she leaned into Brooke and kissed her, catching the other woman off-guard and causing her to topple over onto the floor.

Brooke’s only response was to laugh and pull Sam down with her.

“Is Auntie alright? Has she fallen and can’t get up?” the blonde teased.

“Yeah, laugh it up, Darlin’. I’m old remember? I might break a hip. Besides you’ll be here one of these years,” Brooke brushed a strand of blonde hair behind Sam’s ear.

“I hope so. Right here with you.”

“You’d like to be here in ten years?”

“Ten thousand years,” Sam answered as she placed her head on Brooke’s shoulder and hugged her. “But, I don’t think the strawberries will last that long,” she added with a giggle.

“Sam, there’s a lot you don’t even know about me.” Brooke heavily stressed her last words, “A lot.”

“I’m young. I’ve got time,” was the muffled response as Sam sat up and looked down into Brooke’s eyes. “Brooke, you don’t have to go into anything tonight. We can learn everything about each other, little by little,” Sam reassured the woman beneath her, scared that she had revealed too much too soon.

“Well, I really…what I mean is…I uhm…” Brooke leaned in as if to reveal some deep, dark, hidden secret and whispered, “I like peaches, too.”

Sam laughed, hysterically, happy that Brooke’s mood wasn’t as morose as it seemed a moment before. “Peaches, huh?”

“Yep. I love peaches,” Brooke added with a lick to her lips.

“I’ll have to remember that for the next dessert I bring you.”

“I will not be responsible for myself if you show up with peaches,” Brooke pointed out.

“Then we’ll just have to save them for later…”

Sam leaned over and kissed Brooke’s forehead. “You know…” she kissed Brooke’s right cheek, “like for another time that you invite me over.” She kissed Brooke’s left cheek, “Maybe after we get to know each other a little better.”

She tried to kiss the older woman’s nose but was stopped as Brooke kissed her deeply on the mouth.

“Mmmm…or next month…whichever comes first,” the words were whispered by Brooke as their kiss diminished.

Both women laughed nervously, letting it casually trail off. That’s when Brooke remembered to mention C.C.’s birthday. “Well, actually, you’re invited over on Saturday for C.C.’s birthday. But, you’re welcome here whenever you’d like.”

“I really don’t think that would be the appropriate time for peaches, Brooke…with your family around…do you?”

The older woman laughed at the way Sam refused to let the ‘peaches’ conversation drop. “Maybe not. Hell, my Mother is way too nosey for you to bring peaches over here. Speaking of birthdays, what do you plan on doing for yours?”

“My birthday?” Sam ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. “Nothing, like always. All the excitement is always the day after my birthday.”

Brooke placed a hand behind her head as she looked at Sam.

“Yeah? Why is that? What’s the next day?”

“Halloween. I was born on Devil’s Night.”

“Ahhh…I shouldn’t be scared, should I?” Brooke asked as she teased the woman next to her.

Sam leaned in until she was almost nose to nose with the older woman and whispered, “Watch it, I’ll cast a spell on you.”

“Yeah, what kind of spell? What are you going to do, turn me into a sex monkey?” Brooke asked as she noticed the twinkle in Sam’s eyes and the evil grin on her face.

“Not exactly.”

“Okay, so what then?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Sam answered as she touched her finger to the tip of Brooke’s nose.

Brooke rolled her eyes, “Okay, don’t try to change the subject on me, young lady. What would you like for your birthday? I mean, if you could have anything?”

“Hmmm…” Sam thought for a moment, then asked, “Anything?”

“Anything at all,” Brooke confirmed.

“That’s easy. I’d love to see Anti-Zero in a reunion concert. But, we all know that’s impossible. I know it’s a pretty hefty order but, what can I say? It’s always been my dream.”

“You’ve never seen them?” Brooke asked, wondering if there would be something a bit easier and less painful to pull off for her friend’s birthday.

“Only on the videos. Never in person,” Sam elaborated.

“Never saw them in concert?”

“Nope. Remember, Brooke…I’m the young one here.”

“Well, uhmm…if you want…I think I have some old concert videos around here somewhere. You can have them if you want.”

The tall woman started to get up to go check her video cabinet when Sam placed a soft hand on her arm and stopped her. “Brooke, you don’t have to find them now. Let’s enjoy the evening together. Just you and me.”

“And Mario?”

Sam laughed as she modified her previous statement and pulled Brooke down onto the floor next to her, “And Mario. Now come on, Brooke. Sit down here, put those strong arms around me and just hold me tight.”

Brooke smiled as she grabbed some pillows off the couch, scattering them around her, then wrapped her arms around Sam drawing her closer.

“I’m all yours, Darlin’.”

Two strong arms gathered the small woman closer as they settled in for a relaxing night. All talking was ceased and the task of communication was solely left up to the music that played softly in the background and the touching of their lips. Silently, each woman offered her own prayer of thanksgiving for the perfect date.

Chapter 7 When I Wake Up In The Morning

“…If all I need is your crystal heart to get me right, won’t you be my fix tonight?…”



With her mind still in a daze, the woman’s body functioned automatically as she found herself sucking in a mouthful of air. The warmth that was generated from the body beneath her made the woman more reluctant to stir from her position. The small blonde raised one of her hands slowly toward her mouth then, after removing the few strands of hair that had decided to take up residence between her lips, she stifled a yawn, letting her body stay where it was. Now, through fluttering lashes she tried hard to focus one weary green eye on what was in front of her. After staring at it for what seemed like forever, Sam finally realized that she was looking directly at an unclasped button on Brooke’s open shirt. Sam turned her gaze toward Brooke’s eyes and smiled when she saw the sparkling blue.