Brooke Roberts

The week passes in a blur, between preparing lessons and activities and the usual home routine. Due to some visitors the guys are expecting next week, I barely saw them, as they were busy getting everything ready for work. Even Raffi was leaving the house early, from what I heard. The only one I talked to every day was Seth, in the morning when he came to get the coffee I always had ready before heading to school.

And in the blink of an eye, it's Friday again. Rehearsals for the final play are in full swing, and since today the kids could try on their costumes, the chaos was substantial.

“What are your plans for the weekend?” Trevor asks as he helps me tidy up the theater, now that all the little ones have gone home.

“I don’t have any, I think. Nothing planned at least,” I reply. “I mean, tonight I’m going to Underworld with Olivia; it’s becoming a ritual every Friday,” I joke.

“Is Patrick not going?” I make a face.

“We broke up two weeks ago,” I say, sorting a pile of costumes and placing them into one of the large plastic bins.

“Sorry, Brooke. I didn’t know.”

“Not like you could have if I didn’t say anything,” I shrug. “Don’t worry about it, Trevor. I’m fine.”

“I should have noticed. Are you sure everything’s okay?” he asks, touching my arm.

“I am, it was about time,” I reply, and my tone makes it clear I don’t want to discuss it further. “And how’s Drake, is he sleeping through the night yet?” I change the subject, noticing his guilty expression.

“I wish. He wakes up every two hours and has had colic three nights this week. Millie and I have decided to spend the next few days vegging out with him. We’re going to watch every movie on Netflix,” he says with a smile.

“Sounds like a great plan. Has she decided if she’s going back to work?”

“Not yet, but I know she’s considering staying home until he’s a year old.”

“That’s a tough decision.”

His phone rings, drawing his attention, and he steps away to answer it. I finish putting away the rest of the accessories and the few props from last year’s play, which we’re using to practice this year’s.

I grab my bag and say goodbye while he’s still on the phone, and Trevor waves back. I quickly text Olivia to let her know I’m heading home and that she can come over whenever she wants. She replies when I’m reaching my car, saying she’ll be another hour before leaving the office.

I’m greeted by three wet noses as soon as I cross the front door, and after a few minutes, I head upstairs to my room. I drop my bag on the desk and head to the bathroom. I emerge wrapped in a towel with damp hair and wearing a robe, still undecided about what to wear tonight. I grab my phone and lie on the bed, scrolling through my Instagram feed, losing track of time until Olivia opens my bedroom door.

“Seriously, do you think there’s any vacant room in this castle?” she asks, closing the door and flopping down next to me on the bed.

“I think mine was the last vacant room, unless you convince Kyle to turn the office on the first floor into a room for you,” I reply.

“It’s so unfair, you have your own entrance! By the way, thanks for letting me know I was coming so I wouldn’t get turned away again.” She smiles and continues counting on her fingers. “You have a gym, a heated pool, a huge garden, three perfect dogs; you know they’re lying right outside your door?”

"I didn’t know, I usually go downstairs to work out during the week and end up giving them cookies on the way, so the poor things must be waiting."

"Not to mention the three pieces of eye candy you share your roof with. Speaking of which, how are things going?" she asks, leaning her shoulder against mine.

"Nothing happened, you gossip queen." I give her shoulder a playful smack and stand up. "Are you ready?" I ask, changing the subject. I don’t need Liv reminding me how perfect they are and what happened between us. When I didn’t see them on Monday or Tuesday, I started to suspect they were avoiding me. After all, none of them usually date. Come to think of it, except for Kyle’s high school days, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a relationship.

"Look at me, do I look ready?" It’s a rhetorical question, but I notice her outfit; she’s still wearing her office attire from the interior design firm.

"I think the secretary look is in these days," I joke, and she rolls her eyes.

"We prefer the term executive assistant," she replies, smiling and turning her back to the mattress, propping herself up on her elbows to look at me. "Which would be an upgrade since I’d stop being just an intern. But I’m hoping to be finally hired as part of the design team next semester."

"You will be, you’re an amazing professional."

"Want to call my boss and let her know? They don’t give me any responsibilities beyond making copies, managing emails and social media, and of course, coffee orders." Olivia dramatically collapses back onto the bed.

"At least they pay you, better than being an unpaid intern."

"That’s the minimum, but I really want to work on the projects," she says in a low voice, covering her eyes with an arm. My friend sighs and I sit back down next to her.

"I know, Liv. What if you create your own version of whatever they’re working on and present it? I’m not sure if it would help, but maybe you could show your talent that way."

"That’s not a bad idea. The worst that can happen is continuing as is," she sits up and looks at me. "Thanks, B. I didn’t mean to ruin the mood," she adds.

"You didn’t ruin it, you have every right to be frustrated." I smile and hug her. "Now go get ready, there are clean towels in the last drawer of the bathroom dresser, go shower while I dry my hair."

"Yes, ma’am." My friend stands up and does a dramatic bow. "Put on some music to get us in the mood, something upbeat, no more sadness," she requests, heading to the bathroom.

"I’ll put on an Ariana Grande playlist."

"I love it!" Liv exclaims, and I hear the sound of the shower as soon as I hit play and "Thank U, Next" starts to play.

I’m styling the last sections of my hair when she joins me in the room, wearing black faux leather pants and a wine-colored tank top with a modest neckline.

"What do you think?" she asks, giving a twirl, explaining why the neckline is so modest, as the back is completely open. The slight tan from last week matches perfectly with the color of the light, shiny fabric.

"You look beautiful, as always. What are you going to do with your hair?" I ask, since unlike me with my hair that goes halfway down my back, Olivia’s reaches her waist.

"I think a high ponytail."

"Very Ariana style, I like it," I agree, and she positions herself behind me at the full-length mirror to brush her hair. I pin the front sections of my hair with a clip at the top of my head, letting the waves I just styled fall freely down my back, not covering my face.

I walk to my closet and start moving the hangers back and forth in search of something to wear. It’s not that I don’t have anything to wear, I’m just not finding anything in the full closet that makes me think, "This is it!" Until, on the penultimate hanger, I come across a dress I bought almost two years ago and never wore.

It’s made of light blue satin fabric with a draped neckline, and I know it fits like a glove, hugging my curves and ending in the middle of my thighs.

"Liv?" I call her attention, holding up the dress still on the hanger, and she turns.

"By the gods, how have I never seen this dress before?" she asks, approaching. "Is it new?"

"I’ve had it for about two years."

"And how come I’ve never heard of its existence before? Were you afraid I’d steal it? That’s actually a possibility."

I purse my lips before responding.

"You-know-who said it was too short and vulgar."

"Vulgar is my hand in his face. Good riddance!" she exclaims, and her irritation is almost palpable as she puts her hands on my shoulders. Her voice softens as she adds, "Brooke, wear the dress. It’s another ‘screw you’ to him. Not that he deserves even a millisecond of your time, but let’s exorcise him slowly."

As I’m dressed, staring at my reflection in the mirror, and reconsidering my choice, my best friend whistles.

"You’re going to break some hearts tonight, girl! You look amazing, and I’ll definitely borrow it at some point," she comments, making me smile. The tiny seed of insecurity that tried to form in my chest was crushed.

"We are going!"

We finish our makeup to the sound of Ariana Grande’s "7 Rings," singing and dancing together. Olivia opts for dark eye makeup, highlighting her blue irises, and a nude lipstick, while I go the opposite route, with just eyeliner and mascara, paired with red lipstick.

A loud knock on my door grabs our attention.

"Yes?" I call out, lowering the volume of the music.

"Are you ready?" Raffi asks, without entering the room.

"Almost, just putting on our shoes," I reply.

"Don’t take too long, the driver is already here," Raffi says, knocking on the door again for emphasis.

"Okay, okay, we’re coming down," I complain. "Two minutes."

"Oh, right. I forgot to add to the previous list, now you have a driver," Liv teases.

"We had one too. We just called it an Uber, Raffi likes the idea of them being his personal drivers," I laugh, standing up after putting on my silver sandals. "Ready?"

She nods and grabs her bag, leaving the room. We head downstairs, and I can feel Raffi and Seth’s eyes on us with each step, making me reconsider my choice once more. I hadn’t thought about the effect it might have on my friends.

"It’s about time, you look beautiful, by the way," Raffi compliments as we reach the entrance hall.

"That’s why we took our time; you shouldn’t rush works of art," Liv says, passing him, blowing a kiss, and heading out to the patio.

"Thorne just said he left the office now and is heading straight to Underworld," Seth comments, putting his phone away and heading toward the door.

"He and his work addiction. He made us stay late every day, even though we have until Wednesday to get everything done, but no, Thorne wanted everything ready by Friday," Raffi grumbles, gesturing for me to follow Seth out of the house. As soon as I cross the door, he locks it and offers his arm to help me down the front steps.

"Tonight’s going to be interesting," he murmurs outside the car. All the irritation from the previous topic disappears from his tone, drawing my attention to him, as he looks at me with a hungry gaze.

"Why?" I ask, and he leans in to whisper in my ear, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Because that dress makes you even sexier, babygirl. And I have my suspicions it will decorate the floor of some room tonight; I just hope it’s mine." The combination of his deep tone and his words sends a shiver down my spine. He opens the door for me to get in, and I do, not knowing how to respond.

I settle next to Liv, and Raffi quickly sits on my other side. My friend looks at me with raised eyebrows; I know she wants to know what just happened, and I just gently shake my head, dismissing the moment as if it were nothing, while the driver starts the car and we head out.

***