[2022 Watty's Shortlist]
*OMT's SEQUEL*
Emmy and Brooks made it work One More Time. Sure, it was messy and not always sexy but that's what their love is about. It's low key unhealthy and high key relatable.
Dealing with Trix and Travis's wedding pl...
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Brody stalks off with our bags, disappearing down a long tiled hallway. Brooks gives Lauren and me a short tour. Kitchen. Powder room. Mudroom. Really just wanna see the bedroom.
We settle in and I steal glances left and right at every corner of the mabin. The great room is ethereal, decorated with greens and whites, with vaulted cathedral ceilings and exposed wooden beams. Old timber ladders climb up the back wall, leading to an open loft that overlooks the kitchen below it. Shaggy carpet covers the entire room, a nice contrast to all the wood.
A magnificent fireplace is the centerpiece of the room. Built into the stone wall, its mouth is at least three feet across. Leftover embers from tonight's fire are smoldering in the grate. Tarnished trinkets, loose turkey feathers, and dried flowers cover the mantel, a thick weathered log. My eyes move on to explore the next room. Moonlight spills through the floor-length windows, veiling the kitchen in shades of blue.
We stay up for another hour, drinking and catching up. Alex makes a killer salsa dip and Nate coerces everyone into pounding one last shot. Only when Trix keeps falling asleep in Travis's lap does she agree to call it a night. Meg and Nate are first to leave. Trix plants a sloppy kiss on my cheek before Travis can haul her off to their room. Brody and Lauren say goodnight. Then there were two. I stand, stretch, and look at Brooks.
"Bed?" He asks.
"Please." It's got to be almost 2 AM.
"Right this way, Ems." Brooks ushers me from the now dimly lit great room.
We tiptoe down a narrow corridor, past closed doors, in the direction of what used to be his parents' room. I remember because it was the one room we weren't allowed in. Brooks pushes the door open revealing the master bedroom behind it.
Its walls are wood and stone like the remodeled lobby downstairs; the wooden ceiling and its beams slope sharply downward creating a cathedral effect. A small bundle of logs rests beside the fireplace, next to an icy skylight window that covers the entire ceiling.
Moonlight illuminates the entire room, casting a cool glow through the window. Multicolored animal hides decorate the walls and the chairs, pairing well with the antler chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. Under it, plush blankets drape over the bed resting in the middle of the room.
"I'm in a dream," I sigh.
Brooks comes up behind me and I lean into him, feeling more content than ever. This can't be real.
"We're in the same dream, then." Brooks's mouth moves against the top of my head. His chest rises beneath me.
Before I know what's happening I am facing him and we are kissing, my front pressed against his. Brooks's warmth spreads through me, setting me on fire. Parts of me.
I open my eyes and spot my bag on a bench next to the bureau. Suddenly the prospect of changing is too tempting to ignore. I've been in these jeans since I left my loft this morning. Which feels like last century. The promise of a toothbrush is an even greater lure.
"I'll be back in two minutes," I say.
I disentangle myself from Brooks's arms and leave him pouting on the edge of the bed. I unzip my duffle and grab my black nightie and toiletry bag. It reminds me I'm BeYOUtiful.
"Bathroom?" I look around.
"Through there," Brooks mutters, eyeing the door behind me.
A perk of being the master bedroom: En suite.
The door creaks when I push it open. Soft firelight glows inside the room and I've never seen a four-poster bed look so inviting. Brooks is sitting on the edge just where I left him. His eyes are like burning charcoals and there's a look on his face I can't place.
"What?" I ask, stopping halfway between the door and the bed.
"Nothing, it's nothing," he utters, shaking his head. The corners of his lips turn up and I know he's failing to suppress a smile.
"What?" I insist. "Tell me."
"Nothing," Brooks says, reaching for my hands and pulling me to the bed. I stand in between his legs, gazing down upon his perfectly sculpted face, chiseled from marble. The usual.
"I don't believe you," I smile. "Please, Jay."
Brooks tosses his head back and sighs, laughing it off. "If you must know. I was just thinking how much I love you. Just amazed that I have you. I was just sitting here when you walked into the room and brought my whole life with you."
For. The. Win.
"Man after my own heart," I quip, embarrassing myself before I can help it.
"Only fair, considering you already have mine." Brooks brushes the loose curl from my face.
My heart bursts at its seams. I reach down and pull his face to mine. My lips dance across his stubble, down his jaw and his neck. I feel his body stiffen beneath mine. Brooks stands, pulling me up by the waist and lifting my legs until they hook behind his back. My skin stands on edge when Brooks's mouth finds my ear, nipping playfully, his breath hot and heavy.
I laugh, squirming to get away, but the truth is I love how it tickles. Brooks swings us around and drops me on the bed. It's like falling into fluff, mountain breeze-scented fluff. I stretch my arms out on either side of me and feel the cool blanket beneath me. Brooks studies me from the foot of the bed, like he's trying to figure something out. I smile and raise my hand to me.
"I'm waiting," I say, in my best low sultry tenor.
He tilts his head back with one long howl of laughter. The dark chocolate tendrils of his hair fall into his eyes before he can swipe them off his forehead. It reminds me how he pushes the curls from his face when he gets out of the ocean, how he tucks the long pieces behind his ear, how his head is wet with salt. How his skin tastes like summer.
