Chapter 27 - Deacon

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

I’ve been trying not to laugh my ass off at the sounds drifting through the wall for the last half an hour, while I lean against the cupboard, somewhat drinking my coffee.

I have no idea if she knows I can hear her as clear as day, but hell, it is the entertainment of the damn year...

She does not have the voice of an angel, but it still brings a smile to my face, just hearing how much fun she’s having with it. I almost have to bite down on my fist to keep from loosing it as she hits the chorus once again, the sounds getting louder as she belts the song out.

I must say in her defence, she has a diverse range of genres in there. Everything from pop, to dance, to what border lines on rock, but her attempts at rapping have to be my all time favourite.

Something that will stay with me for a long, long time to come.

Almost hauntingly...

  
   
     

The sounds are still coming by the time I’ve hit the shower, and I can’t help myself any longer. Grabbing a pair of jeans to throw on, I almost trip over listening to her rendition of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Galway Girl’, before finding my footing again. Still pulling my singlet down, my fist hits her door as my bottom lip comes into bite while I listen to her voice coming closer, still singing her perfect ass away. She stiffens up fast as her eyes land on me, and I loose my battle, the grin spreading quickly across my face.

Ahh, crap. I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?”

My grin widens as I step in to her, my hand winding around her waist as she raises her eyebrow at me, still waiting for a reply.

“I see that sexy look in your eye, so tonightttt.. Kiss me like it’s do, or die. Take me to the other side.”

She blinks once before she looses it, her head falling back as she laughs, and laughs damn hard. There are tears in her eyes as she brings her head back up, and I loose it laughing too. Hell, that’s addictive.

“Well, that answers how long you’ve been listening then, and just so you know, you have the words sooo muddled up right now.”

My other hand runs along her jaw, watching her eyes come alive as I lower my head to hers. My lips brushing her own lightly, in a gentle kiss. I love the way her eyes flutter a little when I pull away, causing my voice to be a little more heated and thicker, than I really mean it to.

“Details, and it was fucking adorable to listen to.... Wait, what is that smell?.. Holy shit, did you actually cook something?”

Her hand whacks me on the arm as I let her go, and slip past her in search of what the heck she’s making. I mean I honestly thought she didn’t or couldn’t cook, as I have yet to see her use any kitchen to do anything, other than finding snacks in it. My feet stop moving, my eyes bugging out, as I round the corner and see the piles of mess.

Wow, just seriously... wow..

With her ridiculous ordering system she has set up where everything has an assigned space, I kinda figured if she did in fact cook, she’d be a clean one.... but damnnnn.

There are bowls stacked high in towering piles next to the sink, while ingredients scatter the entire surface of the long island bench. It’s honestly amazing, and mind blowing how many things she’s used, while being almost impossible to spot the final product.

“Don’t judge, I haven’t cleaned up yet... I can still hear you silently judging, you know.”

My eyes blink once more before I take a cautious step forward, finally spotting the object on the stove the smell’s coming from, and move straight towards it. Her shoulder brushes my arm as she comes to stand beside me, while my eyes travel the mouth watering cake in front of me. The banana smell is so intense, but there’s also some sort of spice surrounding it, taking the sweetness down a peg.

“You made this?”

“I’m offended by the shock in your voice, actually scratch that.. Highly offended.. but yes... I, in fact, did.”

My arm slides to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her into me, while I keep my eyes on the cake. Genuinely believing that if I take my eyes off it, it might disappear. I’m mean I’m mostly the one who feeds her, when it’s not the take out delivery guy.

Let’s face it, that’s usually me too...

Her hand comes to rest on my chest, a little harder than necessary, and I finally pull my eyes away from my full on stare.

“It looks good, like really good.”

Her eyes narrow down, and I have to bite the inside of my lip to keep myself from laughing at her. It’s honestly fucking adorable.

“You can stop sounding sooo shocked now.”

This time her hand does hit me harder, and I chuckle while she untangles herself from my arm. There’s a bit more of a stomp in her steps as she moves away, and my hands find her waist quickly while I slide in behind her. My jaw grazing the exposed skin of her neck, while the escapee curls from her ponytail she has today, tickle my cheek.

“I’m sorry.. but I have never even seen you hold a spoon before, let alone actually make something that resembles food. Opening packets does not count.”

Her arms slide along mine, wrapping them around herself, while she leans back to snuggle in tighter against me. It makes me groan a little, earning a smirk from her, and extra signals straight down south for me.

“Ok, I will give you that, as in reality, this is really the only thing I can make...”

Her shoulders shake as she giggles the moment I nip at her neck, before smacking me once more on the arm she’s holding.

“.. But it ain’t finished. So back you, and down to your other parts. There is important frosting to attend to.”

I let her slide out of my grasp, before nabbing a seat the other side of the island to watch her, her eyebrow rising while I sit down. She tries so hard to keep her straight face, but I catch the wide smile just before she turns, and begins to fuss with the cake still in a tin.

“So what’s the occasion? If this is the only thing you really make, why pull it out today?.. And why Banana? I’m a chocolate man, myself.”

The tin clangs a little as she half drops it, her hand shaking for a second before nabbing a towel. Sucker must still be a little hot.

“Noted there, but it’s a tradition. The recipe’s an old one, passed along in the family, and it’s always been made today for as long as I can remember. Gotta keep traditions alive, you see.”

My head twitches while I listen, feeling like I’ve missed something crucial. Her back’s still to me, keeping her head turned so I can’t see her face, but I can see the way her shoulders have tenses up now. The words flowing so freely from her, that I’m not entirely sure she meant to tell me so much. I’m watching her a little closer, as I ask the one question she didn’t answer.

“Why today, Brooke?”

She freezes up for a moment, and I’m about to round the island to find out what’s wrong, when she spins, her butt leaning back against the oven door as she watches me.

Well... As it happens, it’s actually my birthday... today.”

It’s my turn to freak out, and I mean full on freak out.

It’s her what?

Fuck, shit... How the hell didn’t I know that?...

My brain racks itself for any mention she’s made of the fact, but comes up empty the same time I realise, I never actually asked her.

“It’s your birthday today? Shit, Brooke, why didn’t you tell me?..... I don’t.. I don’t have anything for you..”

Her face creases into a small smile while she stays where she is, but the happy demeanour of earlier has vanished, and I start to watch her even closer. Her eyes are a little wider, her lashes brushing her cheeks quicker, while she shifts from looking at me to around the room.

Something’s very wrong here...

Before I get a chance to ask, she’s spinning, her back blocking me while her hands work away in front of her.

“.. Brooke?

“You know you don’t have to get me anything, anyway. I’m more of a low key celebration person... I mean Penny and I have this one thing we do every year for it, that’s actually a lot of fun, but that’s pretty much it...”

I don’t even think she’s noticed I moved, as the moment my hand runs gently along her arm, her head snaps up sharply to look over her shoulder.

Brooke..”

She sags her back against me, looking utterly defeated, and nothing like what I’m so use to from her. She once again beats me to asking, and I make a mental note to get in quicker around her.

Craps.... My mum was an incredible baker... The most amazing smells of pasties, cakes, and biscuits wafted out of our kitchen and into the rest of the house constantly. She use to make this cake every year for us, while my dad was self named, The Magnificent Icing King... My brother and I, oh, I have an older one by the way. Currently lives in London at the moment though...”

I stay silent, letting her tell her story, and soaking up every detail she decides to give me. My arm drifting around her side, curling her into me more, and holding her tight.

“.. Ah, anyway.. We use to sit by the counter and watch the two of them dance around the kitchen while they baked, the laughter and smiles absolutely filling it up... My grandmother made it for my mum as a kid, so when we came along my mum wanted to continue the tradition, and she recruited my dad to help out too.. Almost like something they could create together with love...”

Her side brushes my chest as she turns herself around, her head staying down, while her eyes focus on a spot lower on my singlet.

“.. It’s actually Dom’s worst nightmare. My brother. He secretly hates bananas, always has, but every year he would suffer through it as he knew how much it meant to our mum... When I was about.. 15 and Dom was 18..”

My hands shift and come to slide around her shoulders, pulling her towards me to lie on my chest. I’m not sure where her story is heading, but can’t help to notice the past tense in all this, and the look on her face. The hurt I see there, completely eating away at me.

“.. the night before my 16th, they headed out to a dinner for my dad’s work.. The road was really wet that night.. I remember it howling with rain for half the night.. The lines, and the lights of other cars on the road were hard to see, or at least that’s what I’ve told myself all these years. Either way, the truck didn’t see them.... and they never made it home to us...”

My grip tightens on her, holding on and trying to stop the pain I can hear in her voice from spreading out.

“.. Anyway, I woke the next morning, the thought of celebrating my birthday the last thing on my mind.. but standing in the kitchen with a peg on his nose was Dom.. Mixing away on this bowl of what he described as ‘the most revolting cake he’s ever eaten’, as he knew how much my mum would have wanted to keep this alive, and to keep us going... Quite frankly, she would have risen to slap us both on the back of the head, if we even thought about cancelling my birthday because of them...”

Her shoulders shake lightly as she laughs, and I smile warmly down as her. The tears in her eyes are unshed while she smiles back at me, her hands coming to run around my sides to half hug me back.

“.. So every year I make it... I’ve managed to include chocolate for Dom before he moved, so he did eat it with more gusto than previous years.... but it’s still the same recipe in heart. It’s like having a little piece of them all with us still.”

We stand there looking at each other, the whole world falling away, while all I see is her.

This strong, wild, fearless woman, who’s just opened herself up to me. Telling me something I can tell she doesn’t tell many others.

My mouth tries to open, but her lips cut me off, reaching up on her tippy toes to press hers lightly to mine. The thoughts disappear, the emotions running through me the same, and all I know is her. One of my hands slides along her cheek, holding her with the ease and gentleness I haven’t showed another for a long time, completely letting her lead this. We pull back after a few moments, her mouth curving into a blinding smile, and pulling one from me too. My eyes flick to the cake behind her, hoping she can understand the meaning, and thought behind this.

Even if I can’t get myself to say it out loud.

“What’s the next step, and how can I help?”
  
    

    
         
I’m not sure anyone should ever trust me with an icing bag again, but hey the cake is ‘technically’ iced by the time I’m done.

Although I’m not sure it will ever win any cake competitions...

Brooke almost cracks a rib she’s laughing so hard at my efforts, and I end up trying to concentrate harder, loving that I can make her laugh like that. Forget the seriousness of what we’re doing, and let her feel ok to go back to having some fun with it.

      

My head tilts as I watch the finished creation, more than aware Brooke’s sinking her teeth into her bottom lip so she doesn’t loose it again.

“If you look at it from this angle, it’s perfection...”

Her head follows mine, and she’s done. Her hand coming up to hold her side as she cackles away.

And I generally mean it.

It’s loud, uncontrollable, and border lining on snorting any moment now. I stand there and watch her, attempting to look serious.

“.. Well, I’m proud of it. I don’t think I’ve iced a cake before.”

You’d... never.. tell... really.

Brooke's voice is hiccupped between giggles, and I shake my head while I scoop her up to throw over my shoulder. Her giggles turn to squeals, just as I hear Penny calling out while she lets herself in.

I seriously have to steal that fucking key back off her.

“In here, Pen.. Enter at caution. I had help this year with the cake, and it could collapse at any moment. Ticking time bomb, and all.”

Brooke slides down my body as I set her down, before leaning in to growl softly at her.

“I’ll give you a ‘ticking time bomb’..”

Her head tilts, and quite honestly I don’t even know what I mean by that, but the moment I throw her a wink, her eyes light up.

That damn amazing, dirty, and intriguing mind of hers...

“Oh, wow... Ah, it looks.. homemade?..

I smile proudly over at Penny, who nods back encouragingly at me, also trying not to laugh her ass off.

I mean the thing’s a little leaning, and the icing is thicker in more than one spot than others.. while somehow melting in another.. but hey.. I half made that.

Go, me.

She moves forward, and fans a card at me, my eyebrow raising as I take it from her.

“.. Relax, it’s not my number, although I’m more than happy to throw that at you if you wish to ask for it... I blanked the other day, and forgot to give this to you. However by your attempts here, I’d say you know what today is, and are a yes for tonight. Happy birthday hun!!!..”

I move aside, while Penny grabs Brooke in a big hug. A larger wrapped box being pulled from her bag the instant they let go, and drop my head down to look at the card in my hand. Their heads turn to me as I scoff at the place named on the card, knowing perfectly that it’s Brooke, and having an insane idea of my own at the same time. I’m half moving towards the archway when I catch Penny’s words, my feet skidding and almost taking me down, before I lash out to save myself.

“.. and this one’s for little Brookie Jr, to open in private away from male eyes. But I’m fairly sure you have to charge it as they never sell it with full batteries. Which would be preferable, I mean come o...

The girls smile over at me the moment they see I’m glued, still half falling, and half holding the doorframe so I don’t end up on my ass. Brooke's eyes change in that way I fucking love, that mischievous look, while she stuffs something I can’t make out back in the paper.

Oh, I am so finding out about that later.. even if I have to torture it out of her..

Her grin widens, and I shake my head while I pull myself up, before bending low to excuse myself.

“I’ve got an errand to run quickly, but I’m a yes for tonight. I’ll see you ladies then..”

It’s her turn to look suspicious, as I turn and head out. The phone in my hand texting the guys before I get too far, and waiting till I’m outside to hit ring. They answer on the second ring, and I know before I even ask this, I’m going to be fending off a million and one questions for eternity about it.

“Hey, yes I know I haven’t actually called you in a while... and yes I know I should do more often. I was hoping I could ask you a bit of a favour. If I send you a picture of something, would you be able to make it before seven tonight?”

My eyes are on her door, while I listen to the reply, my head dropping back to groan at the one and only question back in my ear.

“.. What makes you think this is about a girl?”

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net