Maybe it was stupid. Maybe it was crazy. Maybe it was both. No, it most definitely was. It was both.
“You…you want to stay married?” Brooke asked, looking at Vanessa like she had three heads.
Vanessa just nodded as though she was answering the simplest question in the world.
“You don’t think that’s crazy?”
“Of course it is. But we did this. We put ourselves in this position. What if it’s meant to be?”
Brooke rolled her eyes.
“Don’t you believe in fate, Mary?” Vanessa asked.
“No.” Brooke said, shaking her head, “no, I don’t. That sounds like it comes from fairy tales.”
Vanessa shrugs.
“What if it doesn’t work out?” Brooke asked, “what if we get wherever we are going and we end up hating each other?”
“What if it does work out?” Vanessa countered, “what if we get wherever we are going and we end up falling in love?”
Brooke just stared at her.
“It works both ways, mami.” Vanessa smirked, knowing her victory.
~Two hours of arguing, and another three hours of sex later~
“I don’t even know you’re last name!” Brooke said, sitting on the couch across from Vanessa.
“Mateo.” Vanessa shrugged. Brooke’s heart warmed a little.
“I don’t know where you’re from either.”
“Puerto Rico, New York, and Tampa.”
“I know nothing about…your family.” Brooke Lynn was racking her brain for reasons.
“Lived with my mom and abuela until I was 14 then my mom and I moved into our own place with my brothers. I’m the middle child.”
“Your age.”
“28.”
Brooke furrowed her brow. Vanessa answered everything she shot her way so confidently. She’s quite charming. Brooke’s heart softened a little more.
This was crazy. She’s married to a complete stranger, who wants to stay married.
~Two more hours of sex~
Brooke’s legs were jell-o. They were curled up together in the bed, panting, and sweaty. If this was what their marriage was going to consist of- great sex- then Brooke was in. Okay so that wasn’t the only thing that mattered, but at this point it was pretty damn great.
“Where will we live?” Brooke asked.
“Wherever you want, baby.”
Brooke thought for a second. “I want to live near the ocean.”
Vanessa nodded. “How about kids?” she asked
“Definitely someday.”
Vanessa smiled.
“So we are really doing this?” Brooke asked.
“We are really doing this.” Vanessa confirmed, “We can end it whenever we want, but I don’t want to. I may not love you yet, but I sure like you a whole damn lot.”
Brooke just laughed.
“Do we hyphe- hypa- combine our last names with the little line thing?” Vanessa asked, stumbling over her words like she does.
“We can, if you want.” Brooke kissed her temple.
“Mateo-Hytes.” Vanessa said.
“Hytes-Mateo?” Brooke asked back.
“Why’s your name first, Mary?”
“Alphabet.” Was all Brooke said. Vanessa rolled her eyes, cueing another argument about how dumb that was.
“Literally all we’ve done is fight and have sex!” Brooke yells, “how can we make a marriage work?!”
“By fighting and having sex.” Vanessa laughs, “That’s normally how marriages go.”
Brooke lets out a small chuckle.
“Look,” Vanessa said softly, the softest voice she’s used yet, “I can’t make you stay. If you really want to end this, then we can. But I want you to be sure.”
“Vanessa, I just don’t think this can work right now. We are strangers.”
Vanessa nodded, and let Brooke stand up from the bed. A somber feeling came over the room as Brooke collected her things and prepared to leave.
“Where are you going to go?” Vanessa asked.
“Well I’ll get my own room for the night and then figure it out in the morning. Once I decide where I’m going and I get there, I’ll have my lawyer send you the papers.”
Vanessa just nodded. Sadness filled her honey colored doe eyes. Brooke kissed her cheek and then left the room, slowly making her way to the lobby to get her own room.
~A sleepless night~
Brooke Lynn didn’t sleep at all that night. It was her first night in 4 years by herself. The bed was too big. The room was too quiet. It was too dark. It just didn’t feel right. Her mind kept going back to Vanessa. She missed her already. How do you miss someone you don’t even know? Brooke just kept seeing the sadness in Vanessa's eyes. It made her heart ache.
Vanessa sat at the window. She hadn’t slept either. She missed the soft sound of Brooke’s snores. Vanessa looked at the clock. 5 AM. She internally groaned, got up and crawled in bed. Brooke’s pillow she used the previous night still smelled like her. It was calming. Vanessa got comfortable and smiled to herself.
Vanessa had just drifted to sleep when there was a frantic pounding on the door.
"What the-"
She jumped out of bed and ran to the door, opening it without even checking the peephole.
On the other side of the doorway stood the blonde beauty.
"Brooke Lynn what you doin here, bitch?" Vanessa said, in most definitely not a 6am-people-are-sleeping voice.
"I changed my mind. Please tell me its not too late."
Vanessa couldn't believe her ears.
"Bitch, you think you can just come up here in the middle of the night and things will be fine and dandy?"
"Vanessa, I want to try. I've already had a sleepless night without you and judging from the dark circles, yours hasn't been much better."
Vanessa self consciously rubbed under her eyes. She was ready to pull Brooke back into the room and worship every inch of her body, but she didn't want to act so fast. Gotta make em sweat ya know?
"How do I know you won't leave again?" Vanessa asked, looking Brooke Lynn up and down.
"I mean you don't, but you gotta know that I will come back." Brooke shrugs.
"Now who sounds like a fairy tale, bitch?" Vanessa suppressed a laugh.
What happened next, happened fast. Vanessa pulled Brooke inside and slammed the door. Brooke found herself pressed against the door once it closed, with Vanessa pressed against her. Her hands in Vanessa's soft brown hair, their lips met in hot and fast kisses.
Brooke knew where this was going so she reached down, picked Vanessa up underneath her butt, and carried her to the bed.
The ladies didn't know how they were going to explain this decision to their loved ones, but they had a lifetime to figure it out.
