Unbroken Season 1

Chapter 4 What Do You Look For In A Stalker?

“…I think you’d like my bedroom, too… walls covered in you; pictures of you…”

The raven-haired form got out of bed sometime around nine on Saturday morning. Brooke hadn’t been able to catch more than two or three hours of sleep off and on all night. After another hour or two in her studio, she had spent her time awake, laying in bed, thinking of the movie and the woman she had taken to it, Sam. When you got right down to it, the kisses shared with Sam after the movie was what Brooke pondered about more than anything else.

Not quite sure exactly what her feelings were for her sister’s roommate; Brooke tried to take a good, long look at them. She knew she was attracted to her. In fact, she was attracted to Sam to the point of distraction. She had admitted that to herself as she walked into the dorm room the night before, when she saw Sam dancing around half-naked. The woman closed her eyes and could still see Sam’s green eyes staring back at her.

Brooke had driven back to the dorm after the movie where both women confirmed what a great time they had with one another. She had declined on Sam’s offer to go upstairs when she noticed her sister’s truck parked a few rows down. Sam could not hide the disappointment in her eyes as she smiled and started to get out of the car.

Before the smaller woman had the chance to get the door open, Brooke placed her hand on the blonde’s arm. Sam turned to face Brooke as the older woman leaned forward to kiss her, softly. As they pulled away, no words were exchanged. Their eyes said it all.

After making sure that Sam got into the dorm safely, Brooke found herself driving home on autopilot. Her every thought was of jade eyes and golden hair.

She didn’t remember how she got home, but found herself in her basement studio. The array of technology before her spanned the recording industry timeline, from the latest recording equipment to some of the classics or antique junk as C.C. termed them, they all could be found in the woman’s possession.

For some unknown reason, Brooke found herself looking through her old reel to reels. Everything Anti-Zero had ever recorded was there. The next thing she realized, she was listening to their first single by the same name as the band that had recorded it. She found the track sheet inside the case, designating the track that each instrument was recorded on, as well as all of their mix-down notes.

Studying it carefully, Brooke placed the track sheet on the clipboard at the top of the soundboard and started the tape. She listened carefully as she played around with all of the settings and before long, had remixed the entire song. The overall drum volume had been brought up a notch while adding a bit of reverb to the snare. As an afterthought, she added a chorus effect to James’ lead vocal track and brought up the volume a bit on the background vocals recorded by her and Peter.

Once she was positive it was mixed to her liking, she recorded it on DAT, CD, and saved it as an MP3 file. It was this last action that found her logging onto the company server and e-mailing Sam at three in the morning.

Subj: Anti-Zero

Date: August 25, 3:07:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time

From: Brooke Loran

To: Sam Moleson

File: (901492 bytes)

DL Time (44000 bps): 6 minutes

Hi Sam, I thought you might like this. It’s a sound byte I found of the song, Anti-Zero. I guess you could say that Brooke Loran and I have known each other for a while, hence the addy. And yeah, I do have quite a bit of collectibles with her playing on them.

Brooke

Hitting the send button, she scowled, furrowing her brow, thinking about how impersonal the e-mail had sounded. She noticed the time at the bottom right of the computer screen, promising herself to remedy the situation later. Although Brooke wasn’t the least bit tired, she knew she needed to try and get some sleep.

Now, here she lay hours later and still could not get the thought of Sam out of her head. It’s no use. I might as well get up and shower. The woman climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

The shower had done little for her mental state as it was still occupied with the events of the previous night. She sat at her computer, idly checking her e-mail, as she tried to bring her mind to the present. That was when Brooke noticed an e-mail from the band manager earlier in the week, confirming the signing of their contract at eleven this morning.

“Shit. Forgot about that,” Brooke cursed. She had just enough time to finish checking her e-mail before she had to leave. Her heart skipped a beat as she scrolled down to Sam’s e-mail addy. Subject: Apologies. Brooke hardened her heart for the letdown she knew she would find upon clicking the ‘Open’ button.

Subj: Apologies

Date: August 25, 3:16:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time

From: Sam Moleson

To: Brooke Loran

Brooke,

I’m sorry for the mix up last night. I should have never taken the initiative. But then again, if I hadn’t I’m afraid that you may never have acted on impulse.

I’m not really that forward, but the timing just felt so right. I know you think that I’m young, maybe even too young, but this I can tell you, I’d really like to get to know you better, without the rest of your sisters around.

Hey, before I forget, thanks for that sound bite of Anti-Zero. I…ah…I was just wondering, how good are you with other bites? You know, you don’t have to answer that, really.

If you’d like, maybe we could use a chat room or something Saturday night and just talk. Plan out the next time or so. Nothing heavy, just some good old talk. If you can let me know…

Well, time for me to go dream of stars and kisses and clueless nights.

“Nothing heavy…what the hell is going on here now.” Brooke sat staring at the screen. “Don’t tell me I’m getting caught up in some collegian’s bad girl fantasy.” She leaned back in the chair and let her head rest in her folded arms on top of the chair. Staring off dreamily into the ceiling, she thought about the small blonde. “She’s cute, but do I really want to….” The dark-haired woman shook her head, trying to get the image out of her mind. “Hell, what do I want?” She slumped forward and propped her elbow on the desk, allowing her head to lean on her hand. “I could be a bad girl…I’ve got the leather, got the shades. Hell, I’ve even got Loran’s rep.” Brooke thought about all the stories that were made up by the record company’s publicists about the ever-elusive Loran that helped to sell their songs. “Why did I ever agree to let them do that? You know why…cause you wanted to keep your true identity a secret, that’s why. But…do I really want to start that again?”

Sighing deeply, the woman shut down her programs and pushed herself away from the computer. “Not right now, Sam. I’ve got to think about this for a while.” She got up and headed for the door. “And I know just what will keep me distracted. Besides, I’ll let it mull around in there for a while. I’m in no hurry to rush into anything.”

One brown eye opened slowly with the sound of “You’ve got mail” for the twentieth time. “What the hell are you doing over there, it’s only noon, for Christ’s sake.” C.C.’s right hand groped until she found want she was looking for, then flung it at the offending noise, hitting Sam in the process.

“HEY! What are you hitting me for?” Sam picked the pillow up and tossed it back at the cocooned person in the bed. “I’m just checking my e-mails.”

“It must be pretty damned important for you to be checking it every two minutes.” She rolled over and drew her long form up into a ball, settling back into the fetal position she had just left. “It’s Saturday. Don’t you ever sleep in? Jeez, you got in later than me last night.”

“Yes, and I was out at the movies.”

C.C.’s head popped up at that answer. “Oh, yeah, what’d you see?”

“Ah, Clueless, why?”

With a Cheshire cat grin, C.C. sank back into the bed. “I didn’t think that it got over that late.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “What are you, my mother?”

“That depends,” C.C.’s head craned up off the pillow, “Is your dad cute?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“C.C. be serious.” Sam turned back to the computer and logged on again.

“Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.” She stuck her tongue out at the blonde and cringed as the e-mail greeting cheerfully announced, “You’ve got mail.” With the annoyance of a scared feline, the brunette shot straight up in the bed and screamed, “Aargh! Will you read it already? Who is that important anyway?”

She looked at Sam, watching the blush run rampant across the woman’s skin. “You went out with someone. Didn’t you, Roomie?”

“Ah, me…ah…”

“Oh yeah, you.” She leaned closer to the red-tinged woman. “Spill it.”

“It wasn’t a date. I just kind of went to the movies with someone.”

“Good looking someone?” C.C. eyes widened as she waited to hear.

“C.C., why would you care? I’m not interested in your type of date.”

“Inquiring minds want to know. Did you get any?”

“I don’t…I mean…”

“Don’t you remember?” C.C. rolled her eyes. “Was it that bad that you don’t remember, or so good that you don’t want to tell?” The brown-eyed woman leered, thinking about the possibility of some good juicy gossip.

“Well, ah…we didn’t do anything at the movies, just watched the film.”

“Who said that I was referring to just that dark movie theater? How about afterwards? That ‘someone’ did escort you home, didn’t they?”

“Well, that ‘someone’ wasn’t an immature kid. Of course they dropped me off.”

“Yeah, and that is such a long drive from the Quad.” C.C. thought for a moment, “Must have taken them a while to warm up that engine or did you just go straight to overdrive?” The brunette winked at Sam, enjoying the deeper shades of red that the girl was showing, as each layer worked its way up her face.

The blonde’s eyes grew bigger. “I’m not promiscuous with just anybody.”

“Well, I figured that ‘someone’ was a woman…” C.C. shrugged her shoulders, “automatic transmission.”

“What’s that have to do with it?”

“You told me that you don’t do stick shift.”

Sam looked at her puzzled as she reran the statement through her head, while C.C. leered, waiting for the full effect to take hold.

Hiding her face in her hands, Sam realized what C.C. was implying. “Oh my God, no.”

“So, you going to tell me who she is or do I have to guess, cause I really don’t like guessing games. Brooke,” C.C. paused to clear her throat, noticing that Sam was gulping air like there was no tomorrow, then continued, “does that to me all the time.”

Hearing the mention of Brooke’s name, Sam could feel the start of a full-blown scorcher of a blush coming on. The heat starting in her chest and rising rapidly up her neck, heading for the top of her head where she thought steam would escape out her ears.

“What’s the matter? Why is your face turning so red? Sam, are you okay? Do you need some air?” The brunette opened the only window in the room and made motions to help the air come in. Then C.C. stood up posing with her hand on her hip and tilting her head. “You are just so not the conversationalist today. Did you at least kiss her goodnight?”

Sam fanned her face with both hands, trying to decrease the heat she could feel as the questions came too close to home. She wasn’t ready to say anything, especially to C.C., about her and Brooke. But then again, was there even a ‘her and Brooke’ since she still hadn’t seen a reply? “If I tell you, will you shut up?”

“Only if it’s juicy enough.” The taller woman grinned evilly.

“I kissed her. There you have it.” Sam sat mortified by what she was saying.

“Just one? Is that it?” C.C. held up a single finger and stared at it. “I hope it was at least a good one. Could she roll her tongue?”

“Well, it was more than one,” the blonde cringed. “She did kiss me back.”

“Gee, if I would have known you were like that, I could have asked to borrow Brooke’s leather for your new dominatrix get-up. You are such the little aggressor.” C.C. walked past her and leaned in, giving a little growl as she did so. “I’m taking my shower, play on that e-mail all you want.” She strode off into the bathroom, leaving Sam to think about what she had just said.

“Brooke has leather?” The half-whispered words gave rise to new thoughts as Sam twisted her neck trying to imagine the dark-haired woman clad in leather. “Boy, it’s getting hot in here.”

The dark-haired woman pushed open the door and stumbled into her house. The meeting for the signing took a lot longer than she had anticipated. Looking at her watch, she decided that a quick call for pizza was in order since most of the local restaurants would be crowded during suppertime on a weekend evening. Grabbing her cell phone, Brooke made the call, then headed for her office on the second floor. Passing through the room, she booted up her computer before heading to her bedroom to change.

The loose-fitting clothing was helping to put her at ease as she slipped back into the office, finding her favorite companion sitting in her chair.

“Mario, you better not be surfing those puppy porn sites again.” The woman laughed as she reached out to hug her four-legged friend. “Come on, boy, get down. Maybe I’ll let you play later.”

The husky followed her command and took a seat on the floor next to her feet as they exchanged places.

Once into the company’s server, she opened her e-mail file and looked at the long list of waiting communications. Scrolling down the list she dismissed them all until one in particular caught her eye for the second time that day.

“Guess it’s time to deal with you,” Brooke sighed as she stretched her neck, lessening the mounting tension before she clicked on the e-mail from Sam and reread its contents. She took a minute to fully absorb its meaning and then slowly blew out a breath before hitting the reply button.

Subj: Re: Apologies

Date: August 25, 5:37:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From: Brooke Loran

To: Sam Moleson

You know, you are probably right. I would have never acted on impulse if you hadn’t kissed me first. I spent the majority of the night thinking of where we might stand now and all that I’ve decided is that I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve even thought of letting anybody get close enough to touch me the way you did.

Sam, I would like to give this a try but I need time to figure out what exactly “this” is. Maybe you could help me out with that one if you think you’re up for the challenge.

About that talk you wanted to have tonight, sorry but I got tied up at work. Maybe we can plan on it for next week instead, when my schedule settles down a bit. Let me know when a good time would be for you.

Talk to you soon,

Brooke

“Okay, Mario,” she hit the send key, swiveling her chair away from the computer, “pizza should be here any minute. I’ll race you to the door.”

The bathroom door opened and the freshly showered woman emerged from the steam-filled room. “God, that felt good.” Sam sauntered over to the computer and did what she’d been doing all day, checking for her e-mail.

Sighing simultaneously as she hit the mouse to open her account, she mumbled to herself about wasting her time. “I don’t know why I’m trying this again.” The list slowly scrolled by and the returned subject line drew her eye. “Whoa, she did answer me.”

Opening the e-mail site she quickly downloaded it, holding her breath the entire time. “Okay, let’s see what she says.” The green eyes skimmed the words, and upon reaching the end, she could feel the excitement in her chest as her heart felt all fluttery. Trying to calm her emotions down, she started reading the letter over, more slowly this time.

Without thinking, Sam’s fingers began typing in response.

Subj: Re: Apologies

Date: August 25, 9:01:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time

From: Sam Moleson

To: Brooke Loran

Brooke,

Do I think I’m up for the challenge? It’s not a challenge but more like destiny. Things happen for a reason and that’s why I’m matched up with C.C. It’s fate, believe it or not, that I’m here to meet you. I’m not sure why or how but I do believe that there is a reason. Crazier things have happened, you know. I’m not trying to rush anything here. I’m just saying that things will happen along the way to show us.

Where do you think this is taking us? I don’t think that you can really say that you didn’t feel something. I saw the looks that you were giving me at your family’s dinner. The question remains…what did you feel?

I’m open for suggestions. How about you? Let’s talk about it next weekend…say Saturday at 8 PM, okay?

Oh, and that kiss…it may have been impulse but my heart knew it was right.

Later,

The blonde read it over once, then sent it without another thought. She paused only long enough for the message to be transmitted before shutting down the computer and climbing into bed.

“God, who would have thought waiting for an e-mail could be so tiring.”

She lay on her side facing C.C.’s empty bed and wondered what trouble the brunette was wreaking on the male population of the small college town. Then in a hushed tone, she muttered out her last words of the night.

“G’night, C.C., where ever you are.”

The blonde shut her eyes and let sleep fill her soul.

Checking her e-mail one last time before bed, Brooke saw the name that was becoming so familiar to her, Sam Moleson. Taking in a deep breath, she opened it and ran through the lines, stopping every so often as her mind tried to comprehend what really was being said.

“Destiny…fate…rushing things…open for suggestions…?” asked the stunned woman, “What’s this about? One series of kisses?” Brooke pushed her chair back from the computer as if to put some distance between her and the words on the screen. “What the hell am I getting into here?” Both hands ran through her long, dark hair as her legs pushed off to raise her body from the chair. She did what she always did when things started closing in on her. She paced.

“Maybe crazier things have happened, but not to me.” She shook her head letting the long tresses cascade freely around her shoulders. “Not because of me either, not any more. I am nobody’s destiny.”

The woman looked back to the computer screen as her nerves felt the tingle of a good panic attack coming on. She knew how they felt; she’d been in that same situation before when she was forced to choose between her true self and what everyone made her out to be. Deciding to give it a rest, she did exactly that.

“Come on, Mario. It’s time for bed.”

The sound of six feet shuffled out of the room and headed toward her bed. Dropping down onto its edge, she rolled over, pulling the comforter in place as her faithful pet climbed in beside her, expecting his nightly routine of ear rubs and gentle hugs.

Feeling the dog’s cold nose on her skin, Brooke just grunted, “Not tonight, Mario, I’ve got a headache.”

The animal whimpered for a moment then laid his head down and snuggled closer to his mistress.

It was late Thursday morning by the time Sam had left for her first class at 10:30. The young girl had been moping around since she sent that e-mail off to Brooke Saturday night, waiting for a reply. She hadn’t heard anything from her since.

Finally, alone in the room for the first time all weekend, C.C. sat staring at the computer screen, feeling in total need of a break from the assignment that she was working on. Leaning back in the chair, she did a slow swivel and let her eyes take in the changing view of the small room. When the ride had come to a stop, she found her eyes gazing on the numerous posters above Sam’s bed that proclaimed Anti-Zero number one, and acted like a shrine to the band’s drummer, Brooke Loran.

“Hmm…I wonder how Brooke is doing.” She pivoted and reached for the phone. After punching in a quick succession of numbers, she leaned back again and waited for the voice of her sister.

The sleep-filled voice croaked out a monosyllable answer to the lively ring. “What?”

“Good Morning, sunshine. You have a late night?”

“Bite me, Chase,” came the automatic reply.

“Ah…must not have been a good one.”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t we coherent this morning.”

“What do you want?”

“Just checking in on my favorite sister. You know I haven’t seen you for over a week. Not to mention that someone hasn’t been to work all week or she would have returned my phone calls. Besides, I’m bored and need someone to tease.”

“Why can’t you tease your roommate?”

“Well, she’s not here and you are…well, at least I think you are.”

“You thought wrong,” Brooke sighed. “Maybe later tonight but not now.”

“Is that an invitation for dinner? It sure sounded like one to me.”

“Whatever…when and where, C.C.?”

“Pick me up at the room and we’ll go from there,” C.C. giggled. “I don’t think you’ll remember any more than that.”

“Are you happy?”

“Sure, why?”

“`Cause you’re spending my money again.”

“Awww… but I’m you’re baby sister Brooke. Don’t you love me?”

“If you say so.”

“Okay, think you can be here by six?”

“What time is it now?”

“Eleven.”

“Better make it six thirty.” She pulled in a deep breath, “It’s going to take me a while.”

“Gee, sis, I forgot how long it takes for old people to crawl out of bed. I wouldn’t want you to rush and break a hip.”

“C.C.?”

“Yeah.”

“Bite me.”

“Hopefully you’ll take me somewhere that will serve enough food and I won’t have to. Bye, Brooke.”

“Hmphf.”

C.C. listened to the sound of the phone being thrown to the floor ending the conversation. “God, I hate when they just toss you away.”

The long strides of the tall woman carried her exhausted body down the carpeted hallway of the dorm until she stopped at the designated room. Leaning up against the doorway, Brooke rapped on the door and waited. She closed her eyes and let her head lean onto the surface of the door, while she let her knuckles tap out a rhythmic sound as she tried to get the attention of the room’s inhabitants.

“Come on, C.C., you’ve got wheels. Why do I always have to come to you?” She eyed the doorknob and reached for it, starting to rotate her wrist as she gripped it. “What am I doing? Remember what you found the last time you opened that door.” She let the go of the doorknob, like it was on fire, and knocked even louder again.

“C.C. open the GODDAMN door.” She pounded the smooth surface of the door with her open palm.

There was a muffled voice from the other side of the door that got louder by the second, until the door was yanked open, almost causing Brooke to fall in the room.

“Been waiting long? I was just finishing my make-up.” Taking a good look at her sister, C.C. reached out and offered her a hand into the room. “Good God woman, you look like shit.”

“You want to explain to me why you call me to set this up and when I get here seven and a half hours later, you’re not ready?” Brooke came in and sat down on the chair at the desk. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“Well, I can see that coffee is the first order of the dinner.” She headed back over to her closet. “I just have a few things to do.” Looking over again at Brooke, she voiced her opinion. “I guess jeans are the order of the day.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

The older woman made herself comfortable in the low-backed chair, tilting it backward as she let her head hang over its edge. Her blood shot eyes roamed from the ceiling to the wall behind her. She was surprised to see her own upside-down image on the wall next to Sam’s bed. Brooke blinked, then blinked again. The image didn’t change. Sitting bolt upright, she spun the chair around and stared directly at her image gazing back at her with that sultry bad girl look.

“C.C.! What in the name of hell is this?” Her long arm stretched out and narrowed down to the single index finger that pointed at the images on the wall above Sam’s bed.

The girl turned around with a shirt in one hand and jeans in the other. “I think they call it a collage.”

“I know what it’s called, smart ass. Why is my face the center of it?”

“Hey, I didn’t put it there. Ask Sam. She’s the one who downright worships Anti-Zero.”

Brooke rolled her eyes and in that action, noticed that the bathroom door was closed. She got up from the chair and crossed the small room in two steps until she held her sister’s shoulders in her hands. Through clenched teeth she loudly whispered, “And it never crossed your mind to warn me about this?”

“About what? Why the hell are you whispering?”

Brooke stole a look at the bathroom door. “You don’t find it the least bit odd that your new roommate,” her head motioned to the collage, “has my rock star face plastered all over that side of the room?”

“Actually, I find it quite funny. I thought I wouldn’t see you as much when I moved out.”

“This isn’t funny,” Brooke whispered. “Shhh, she’ll hear us.”

“Of course it is. She’s still got a crush on Loran…deal with it. Why do you care anyway? Besides, those pictures of you were up when you came here for the movie. You mean to tell me that you didn’t see them then?” C.C. pushed away from her sister and started to change her clothing. “And Brooke, I wouldn’t worry about her hearing us. She’s not here.”

Brooke stuttered around her answer before shyly and quietly admitting, “I…I was…was…ah…preoccupied with something else.” She could feel a slight blush slowly creep up her neck, before stopping suddenly as she realized what C.C. had said. Besides, those pictures of you were up when you came here for the movie. You mean to tell me that you didn’t see them then?

“Speaking of which, Chase…why in the hell did you tell me to pick you up for a movie, if you knew you wouldn’t even be here?”

C.C. quickly tried to change the subject so her sister would not figure out her plan. “Whoa… look at the time. You know, Brooke, I’m really getting hungry.”

Brooke rolled her eyes, deciding for the moment to let it drop. “Whatever. Hurry up, let’s get going.” Brooke waited until the clothing was in place, then opened the door. “I’ll meet you in the car.”

“Hey, I gave you an extra half hour and you can’t even give me another five minutes.” C.C. shook her head. “Guess she’s at that stage of her life when she feels the clock is running out.”

The restaurant was crowded, the service was slow, but Brooke was even slower as she sat with her head in her hand, pushing her food around the plate in front of her.

“You going to eat that food or wait for it to decompose first?” C.C. watched, as her sister didn’t acknowledge her words. She tapped the handle of her knife on the table, then waved her other hand in front of the woman’s face. “Your battery dead or what?”

“Huh?” Brooke looked up and tried to fit into the conversation. “Good food, but you’re right. The service sucks.”

“Are you ignoring everybody in general, or is it just me? Who the hell threw you for a loop?”

Brooke’s eyes darted from C.C. to her plate and stayed there. “Had a lot on my mind lately,” she mumbled, “and your roommate didn’t help any.”

“What did Sam do?”

“You tell me. What kind of crush does she have on Loran?”

“Why? Your inbox low on fan mail?”

Blue eyes glared at the younger woman across the table. “I’m not ready for that stage to start up again.” She tossed her fork down onto the plate. “Damn it, C.C., you could have warned me,” she growled out.

“Hey, keep it down.” C.C. motioned with her head to the people around them. “You want everyone to know that you’re acting like a crazed lunatic?”

“I am not a crazed lunatic. I’ve…I’ve just been in a piss poor mood for thirty years,” came the instant response.

“Brooke, what’s the big deal? She’s got a crush. It’s not like she’s stalking you.”

The older woman’s eyes widened as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “Maybe she is.”

C.C. let her arms go limp at her sides and rolled her eyes. “Oh, pleeease. Sam’s as harmless as Spider Woman.” The brunette thought for a moment then added teasingly, “Just stay away from her kisses.”

Brooke subconsciously brought her fingers to her lips and considered the thought. Kisses…did she say kisses? Oh, God.

The younger woman watched the contemplative look on her sister’s face. “Brooke, are you okay?”

“Ah…I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Just seems like you’re not that interested in dinner.” She took another sip of her drink. “You know, I remember that the venom of a spider has a tendency to make you sick to your stomach. I’ll have to remember that for Trivial Pursuit.” The young woman eyed the food still remaining on her sister’s plate. “You haven’t been bitten lately, have you?”

“C.C., you’re digging.”

“I know and dirt usually gets better the deeper you go.” The woman looked around. “Hey, look, I think that’s Mom over there.” C.C. stood up and shouted in the direction of their mother, “Hey, Mom!” Waving her hands wildly, C.C. yodeled, causing everyone within earshot to look at her as they grimaced, “Yoo-hoo…over here!”

“God, you are the baby of the family.” Brooke hung her head and covered it with her hands.

Within seconds, Mabel Gordon was seated at her daughters’ table. “Hello dears,” she looked from one child to another, “How are you today?”

C.C. piped out, “I’m doing just fine but Brooke thinks she has a stalker.”

The angered woman grabbed her napkin off of her lap and threw it at her sister; just barely missing her mother’s outstretched hand. “Say it louder, they didn’t here you back on campus.” Brooke turned her gaze toward her mother. “What are you doing here, Mom? I didn’t think you’d come this far out for dinner.”

“Oh, I was just doing some shopping with Edith, spending some of your father’s hard-earned money. She just loves the old shops near here.” Mabel then shook her head as if to clear it. “But that’s not important. Honey, what’s got you upset?”

The blue-eyed woman pointed to C.C. and spat out. “Her roommate started it.”

Mabel looked at both daughters, then centered on C.C. “What did Sam start?”

The younger woman rolled her eyes at the childish antics of her older sister. “Not a thing. The big baby over there is just being paranoid.”

“I’m not a big baby.” The woman pushed her lower lip out as she let out a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” The soft touch of a mother’s hand rested on her trembling daughter’s arm. “Tell me, Brooke.”

Very calmly and hardly above a whisper, Brooke’s face was serious as she said. “I think she’s a stalker.”

Having raised four daughters with varying personalities, Mabel knew that all insecurities needed to be dealt with accordingly. “Has she followed you?”

“No,” Brooke answered as she cast her eyes down toward her lap.

“Does she bother you at the office?”

“No,” Brooke began to twist the corners of her shirt.

“Does she hang out around your house?”

“NO!”

“Does she call you on the phone? Or leave notes on your car?”

“No.”

“Honey, then how can she be stalking you?”

“God, Mom, she’s got my face as Loran plastered all over the wall above her bed, and C.C. told me she has a crush on me.”

“Loran, Brooke. A crush on Loran,” C.C. corrected her sister.

“Same difference.” Brooke fired back.

“I don’t really think that constitutes a stalker, Brooke.” Mabel patted her hand trying to soothe her.

Brooke tried to think of anything that she could tell her mother to prove her theory. “Well, she did send me a couple of e-mails. Does that count?”

C.C. looked interested. “Did you answer her?”

“Well, yeah. The first one was a thank you for dinner last Sunday.”

“Mom, did Sam e-mail you with a thank-you? I mean you did make the dinner and it was at your house.” C.C. looked at her mother.

Thinking for a moment before answering, “Well, she did say thank you that night before the two of you left, C.C.”

“I guess that’s because you don’t have business cards for C.C. to hand out,” Brooke glared at her sister.

“Oh, puh-leeease,” the younger woman rolled her eyes. “I was only trying to get you a little…”

“A little what?” Mabel looked stunned at first, then caught on. “Your sister can do well enough for herself. Well… most of the time.”

“Business, Mom, a little business.” C.C. shifted in her seat. “Sam’s in the Public Relations Program at school.”

“Oh?” Mabel looked surprised.

Brooke’s eyes widened, “Oh great, now you want me to have her working for me so she can stalk me easier.”

“Now take it easy, Brooke. She might be good at what she does.”

The blue-eyed woman ran a replay through her mind of the kisses from the other night, then sighed heavily.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she muttered under her breath. “Excuse me, I’ve…ah…I’ll be right back.” Brooke got up and made her way to the restroom on the far side of the restaurant, while C.C. and her mother continued to discuss Brooke’s paranoia.

“I’m worried about her, Mom.” CC watched her sister walk away. “I think her wanting to keep Loran buried is getting the best of her.”

“I don’t know what she’s worried about. Sam’s a nice girl, not some crazy lunatic fan.” Mabel shook her head as she remembered the days of Loran and Anti-Zero. “Why…Brooke doesn’t even look anything like she did when she was in that group. The blonde streaks have all grown out and her hair isn’t short anymore.”

“I know, Mom, but try telling her that.” The younger woman dug into her food deciding that she’d need all the energy she could get in case Brooke decided she needed to run away from her imagined stalker. She’snot sticking me with this bill.

Splashing some cold water on her face, Brooke could feel her sense of equilibrium coming back to normal. Okay, go out there and finish dinner with C.C. and forget about all this talk of stalkers. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yeah, right. She’s a kid. Younger than C.C. even. How much harm can she be? She stared at her lips, remembering the soft hungry kisses that the blonde so eagerly placed on them. A lot… a whole lot.

She straightened up, dried her hands off on the paper towels, and walked out into the bustling restaurant. Turning the corner of the hallway into the main dining area, she stopped short when a familiar blonde head came into view. Gosh, she is following me now. The tall woman slid into the corner behind a booth and watched through the silk foliage of the planter that surrounded the top of the partition.

The hostess was leading a party of three women through the crowded tables with the ease of a skater on ice. As the party came closer, Brooke was able to get an unobstructed view of all three. The first in line was an older woman of about sixty with neatly styled, gray hair. Her short body moved briskly on the heels of the hostess. After her, was a taller, younger woman with shoulder length blonde hair. Her features were similar to the first woman and Brooke soon figured them for a mother/daughter combination. The final member of the party looked much younger with her long blonde hair and milky complexion. The small form of the woman carried her clothing well, even with the lightweight jacket that covered her upper torso.

Brooke stood mesmerized by the sight. “Sam,” she whispered only loud enough for herself to hear as she watched. The hostess was now turning in the direction of the empty booth that the tall woman was hiding behind.

“Oh, shit.” She ducked down lower into the jungle of plants around her.

The hostess showed the location to the women and they filed in around the half-circle table, taking their seats. Sam slid out after a minute and proceeded to take off her jacket, revealing a well worn T-shirt that appeared a little smaller than it should have been. The shirt featured the now defunct band, Anti-Zero.

The plants seemed to sway in the breeze as Brooke moved them to get a better view. “Oh my God!” She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her words. Damn, could it get any tighter?

The perky blonde looked around her. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what, dear?” the older woman asked.

“Nothing, Aunt Sandy, I guess it was my imagination.” Sam sat down and picked up the menu.

“You always had a good one of those, Sam.”

“Yeah, I guess I did when I was a kid. Hey Crystal, remember how we used to pretend that we were Anti-Zero’s biggest fans and went on tour with them? You with Peter, and me with Loran.”

“Oh, so that was only pretend…hmmm?” The older woman couldn’t help teasing her niece.

“Oh, Mom. You know what we mean.” Crystal shrugged it off and defended her cousin a bit. “We’d never be anything in their eyes.”

“Well, enough about pretending. What about that young lady that you met, Sam?”

God I can’t stay here all night listening to Sam talk about her love life. Brooke let the foliage gently fall back into place as she withdrew from the hiding spot and started to step away, pausing long enough to let a small child in a cowboy hat, waving his fluorescent water gun, step in front of her.

“Who are you talking about Aunt Sandy? Brooke?” The young blonde asked flashing a smile.

Brooke turned in mid step at the sound of her name and moved back into the greenery. With all her senses on full alert she waited patiently to see where the conversation was headed.

Her aunt smiled as she thought how ironic it was for the woman to have the same name as her niece’s teenage crush. “So… you’ve met your Loran, eh?”

“Brooke, Aunt Sandy. I met a Brooke.” Sam corrected her. “She’s nothing like Loran. Nothing at all.”

Crystal’s face lit up in hope. “What does she look like? Anything at all like your idol?”

Sam thought for a moment. Then shook her head. “No, except that she’s tall like her, but the hair is wrong and she’s way too nice to be a rock star.” The blonde put her menu down. “Brooke does work in the music industry. Though, I’m not sure doing exactly what. Besides, Loran couldn’t hold a candle to Brooke. She’s just…” she closed her eyes and dreamed for a minute, “I don’t know… real. She’s someone that I can actually touch.” Sam smiled remembering the soft kisses they shared.

It finally dawned on Brooke that she could possibly be wrong, very wrong, about her stalker scenario. She really doesn’t have a clue yet. Somewhat relieved, the woman closed her eyes and nodded approvingly to the bushes around her. That’s when the sudden shock of an icy, wet substance first made itself known between her shoulder blades.

Stone cold, blue eyes now pinned the young child as he gleefully shouted, “You’re dead, I killed you.” The boy quickly became quiet as he began backpedaling away from the glaring adult who remained hidden by the plastic shrubbery.

“Well, I think it’s nice.” Crystal slid out of the booth and stood, turning to see the full room.

“Yikes.” Brooke saw the woman looking directly at her as she had turned her attention back to the table and away from the child. Now, I’ll really be dead. She crouched down to hide behind the plants and looked for someplace to scurry off to. Without looking, she darted across the small hall and pushed open the door to the ladies room.

“This should be safe.”

That thought didn’t last very long before she heard Sam’s voice on the other side of the door.

“Shit.” Brooke moved boldly to the front of the line, “Pardon me. Excuse me, pregnant lady coming through.”

She paused only long enough to let the other woman leave the stall before stepping inside it and locking the door. That worked well. Got to remember that one for some of those concerts. She breathed a sigh of relief that was somewhat foreign to the surroundings.

“Wow, I guess there’s a little bit of a line.” Crystal turned to Sam. “You sure this was a good idea?”

“Yeah, when you gotta go, you gotta go,” she teased.

“So, Sam, what’s this mystery person like?” Crystal asked as the line moved forward.

“I told you.”

“No… I want the dirt,” Crystal laughed. “Not the PG version that you’re feeding my Mom.”

“You would. Jeez, Crystal, can’t I have any secrets?”

“Not from me,” She winked at her cousin. “So, have you gotten a taste of the lips yet?”

“Well, yeah,” she cleared her throat. “I sort of initiated that one.”

“You go, girl!”

“I don’t know. I think it may have been the wrong thing to do. I haven’t heard a thing from this person since the day after.”

“Day after?” Crystal blinked. “How’d you do that?”

“E-mails, hon. Got to love the modern technology. Anytime, anywhere, it’s in your mailbox.”

“How long has that been, the e-mail message I mean?”

Sam sighed. “Four days.” She made a pouty kind of face. “I don’t think she likes me.”

“Hey, Sam, maybe it’s just not a good time for her now. You know some people do get pretty busy with work and all,” Crystal whispered so their conversation would not be overheard by the other patrons.

“I know, I was just hoping to hear something more at least.”

“Hey, I’ll meet you back at the table if not in here,” Crystal left the front of the line and headed for the open door on the right side of Brooke.

“You got it, Crys,” Sam replied, happy to see the stall two doors left of Crystal’s was now becoming vacant. “I’m right behind you.”

Brooke stood frozen in place as she heard the two familiar voices take up residence in the stalls on either side of hers. She hung her head with guilt and banged it repetitively against the door of her stall. Why me?

Not knowing whether to bolt and run, or wait it out, Brooke was jolted to her senses by the pounding on her door.

“Hey, pregnant lady, you all right in there?” The washroom attendant sounded concerned.

“Fi…” coughing to change her voice to a higher pitch, “Just fine, thanks for asking, I’ll be out in a minute.” She turned around and flushed the commode, then opened the door stepping out into the room. The tall brunette made her way to the sinks on the wall opposite the stalls.

Brooke glanced into the mirror, looking back at the two stalls located on either side of hers. Damn, one of the doors is open. Panic set in as she considered that it might be Sam’s. Okay, hurry up and make like you’re washing your hands.

She bent over to hide her tall form from view. Reaching for the space under the faucet, she was startled to find another pair of hands already there. “Oh, sorry.” She looked to her right to see Crystal standing next to her. Oh, shit.

“That’s okay, I’m just about done. See, all yours now. Help yourself.” She grabbed a towel and called out to her cousin. “Sam, I’ll see you at the table.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a second.”

The blue–eyed woman looked down to her soap-covered hands and quickly shoved them under the faucet, rubbing them briskly to help the stream of water wash the suds away. She pulled a towel from the dispenser and rubbed it across her palms, then stepped over to the trashcan to discard it. Just then Sam pulled open the door to her stall and stepped out.

“Hey, Brooke. Funny seeing you here.”

“Huh? Ah… yeah, isn’t it.” She stepped back into the room, trying to conceal her slightly wet hands. Not knowing what else to do with them, she shoved them into the front pockets of her jeans.

“So, I guess you’ve been busy this week?” Sam asked, nervously, as she glanced at Brooke’s reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah, I have actually. Ah, Sam?”

“Yeah, Brooke?” Sam turned from the sink and dried her hands off.

“We could still have that talk Saturday night if you’d like. I mean, if you don’t already have something planned.” Brooke shuffled her feet and then kicked at the floor, waiting to hear the young woman’s answer.

Feeling her confidence return, Sam moved over closer to Brooke and turned to make sure they were alone. Satisfied that they were, she ran her hand down the side of the taller woman’s cheek and smiled. “I’d love that.”

Brooke grinned from ear to ear. “Really?”

“Really.”

Okay, dumb ass, you got another shot, don’t blow it. The taller woman leaned into the blonde, kissing her lightly on the lips. “Saturday night then,” Brooke whispered before she turned and walked out into the restaurant.

Sam stood still for a moment, not believing what had just happened before she followed Brooke out.

The washroom attendant slowly opened the door, more than the crack that it was already. Exiting the supply closet, she shook her head not wanting to believe what she had just witnessed. “Poor pregnant woman, kissing that other girl like that. Her hormones have got to be all screwed up.” The woman shook her head. “Damn glad that all mine were girls. She’s got to be having a boy.”