“Pick her up? She ran out of here about half an hour ago for that class she signed up for at the last minute.”
Both of Brooke’s eyebrows found their way into her hairline. “My sister signed up for a class on a Friday night? You’re kidding?”
Sam shook her head. “Nope, I’m serious. It has something to do with the realm of stars in the night sky or something like that. She needed another elective and decided on that.”
Brooke ran her hands through her hair, then let them rest on the bed behind her as she leaned back. “I can’t believe I drove all the way out here to pick her up and she’s not here.” The older woman looked into Sam’s eyes and with a twinkle added, “Can you believe my own sister dumped me?”
Brooke watched as Sam threw her head back and laughed, the honest reaction causing the woman across from her to smile.
“I’m sorry, Brooke. She must have forgotten. What were you going to do?”
“Oh, nothing special. We were going to go see ‘Clueless’. It’s playing at the Quad tonight. It’s one of my favorites,” Brooke answered.
“Alicia Silverstone.”
“Yep. It’s a few years old but it’s a great movie.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never seen it,” Sam admitted.
Brooke’s eyes widened at the admission. “You’re kidding? Well, I’d hate to have wasted a trip out here. Would you like to go?” Brooke asked.
Sam’s eyes widened at the offer. “You mean…you’d take me with you?” Sam couldn’t believe her luck. She quickly ran the last few bits of conversation back over in her mind. No, she hadn’t heard wrong. But why…why would this woman want to go with me?
Brooke simply shrugged her shoulders. “Sure. Why not?” Brooke waited for an answer. She was secretly hoping that Sam would say ‘yes’.
Determined not to let this opportunity go by, the young blonde spoke up. “You’re right. Why not.”
“Alright then,” Brooke stood up, excited that she’d still get to see one of her favorite movies. Well, I hope that’s why I’m feeling excited. It didn’t matter that she had the movie at home on DVD. It just didn’t have the same affect as seeing it in a theater.
“Great! Let’s go!” Sam joined her, grabbing her keys as they made their way out the door.
Before Sam had the door closed all the way, she stopped. “Oops, almost forgot my campus I.D.,” Sam turned back into the opened doorway. “Besides, I’d better leave C.C. a note, since she won’t see your car here.”
“Okay, I’ll wait out here for you.” Brooke stood patiently in the hall, wondering how the rest of the evening would run its course, as she watched the small blonde disappear out of her sight. It sure wasn’t what she had planned for so far.
Sam scribbled out a note, leaving it on C.C.’s pillow. Passing by the small mirror on the wall, she touched up her hair and proceeded to meet Brooke out in the hallway.
“Ready?” Brooke asked at the reappearance of the blonde.
Sam nodded her head. “Yep. Let’s get this show on the road.” The blonde’s smile was inviting as she walked toward the elevator.
The two women took the short elevator ride, making their way downstairs and over to Brooke’s car. The taller woman unlocked the passenger’s door for Sam, holding it open for her.
“You know, I could have done that,” Sam pointed out. She watched as Brooke removed her jacket and placed it in the back before Sam got in.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind,” Brooke replied as Sam got in and the taller woman shut the door after her.
“Neither do I,” Sam mumbled under her breath, then reached over and unlocked the driver’s side door.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, Brooke started the engine, then pulled out of the parking space and drove the short distance to the campus theater.
“This is a nice car,” Sam commented as she looked around at the interior.
“Thanks. Out of every car I’ve ever had, this is my favorite,” Brooke spoke fondly of her 300.
“And how many is that?”
Brooke smirked at the question, sure that C.C. had warned Sam of her driving. “A few,” she shrugged her shoulders, keeping her eyes on the road ahead.
The short drive didn’t afford getting into more details of her driving history before Brooke had parked the car once again. After grabbing her jacket out of the back seat, she held the door once more for Sam and together they made their way up to the ticket window. Sam reached into her pocket but Brooke waved her off as she paid for the tickets.
“Don’t worry about it. My treat.”
“But I didn’t…” Sam sighed.
They walked away from the window as Brooke asked, “Didn’t what?”
“Didn’t mean for you to treat me. I’m not a freeloader, Brooke.” Sam said the last part a little more harshly than she had intended.
Brooke was surprised by Sam’s reaction, being so used to C.C.’s constant assumption that the older sister pays for everything. After studying the younger woman’s face for a long moment, Brooke looked down at her feet then back up into Sam’s green eyes. “I didn’t think you were. It’s just a movie. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.”
The look on Brooke’s face bothered Sam, especially since she knew that she had caused it. Tentatively, she placed a hand against the brunette’s arm. “I’m sorry, Brooke. I just don’t want you to think that I’m another one of your little sisters. You know, someone for you to watch over?”
“I didn’t think that at all.” Brooke found it hard not to stare into those green pools of understanding. Nope, I definitely don’t want to have you as a little sister. On the other hand, someone to watch over…well, we could give that another thought.
Sam saw the truth in that statement behind Brooke’s eyes and it made her smile. “Good. Because, I don’t really want to be your sister.” Sam paused for only a moment, showing her shyness by casting her gaze to the ground then back up to Brooke. “Mind you, that’s not a bad thing. I’d rather just have you think of me as a friend.”
Sam’s suggestion brought a smile to Brooke’s face. “Well, friend, you can buy next time. How’s that?”
“Deal,” the blonde’s nose wrinkled as the smile on her face grew in size. “My treat next time.”
Brooke held a hand out in the direction of the theater door as she invited her new friend. “Let’s see a movie then, shall we?”
“Sounds good to me,” Sam replied as they walked into the theater together, each one thinking the same thing.
There’s going to be a next time.
****
The two women easily agreed on sitting in the back of the theater on the end of an aisle to accommodate Brooke’s long legs. Within a minute or two of being seated, Sam soon realized the advantage of being shorter than her friend. Brooke sat as she always did with her feet out in the aisle, crossed at the ankles, which caused her torso to lean in toward Sam’s seat. No sooner had they gotten comfortable in their seats, the movie started.
Although Brooke had seen the movie enough to know every line backwards and forwards, she found herself concentrating on Sam more than reciting her favorite lines as she usually did. Her gaze might have been on the screen in front of her but Brooke’s full attention was on the young woman at her side.
With her senses tuned like a predator on the prowl, she listened intently to the rhythm of Sam’s breathing and inhaled the scent of her shampoo as the young woman shifted positions in her seat. With each intake of breath and its gentle release as Sam sighed or giggled at certain parts in the movie, the young woman was driving the brunette crazy and was none the wiser to it.
No movie goes good without a tub of popcorn and in sharing one between them, every once in a while they happened to reach in at the same time. The casual touch of their hands at first was somewhat shy, eliciting a quickly pulled back hand and a whispered, ‘Sorry’, from both. But as the movie continued and the touches increased in number, each one resigned herself to the fact that it would happen. Little did they realize that each time it occurred, their touch lasted a little bit longer than the last time. There was something about the touching that added to the excitement of being at the theater, watching the movie on the big screen.