Dancing in the Florida Sun (Completed)

17- FS Grace, Truth, & Bedtime Songs

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     Brooke wiped tears from her eyes so she could see the road. Jacob was leaving tomorrow for Europe and would be there a month. He told her after helping put Noah to bed.

     "Brooke, I'm sorry for just springing it on you like this. I mentioned it before, but hadn't said when I was going. You've had so much going on that no time seemed to be good: your mom, all the stuff with Tyler, then your new job. I didn't want this to take away from your excitement about that."

     He had pulled her into his arms, and seemed to be affected by the situation as much as she was. She wondered if he truly would miss her as much as she would him. He had been a great friend, and helped her immensely through her hardest times, but it was more than that. There was an attraction, and she thought he felt it too, that they were heading somewhere more serious with their relationship. But what if they weren't? It was too soon for a serious relationship, but they had been taking things slowly and it was working. This separation might just set things back. "Agh!" It was so confusing! Couldn't her life just be easy for a bit? At least she was meeting some women who could be in her life without all the drama that guys brought.

     A car behind her honked, bringing Brooke's attention back to the road as she exited I-4. She looked at the clock and was early as planned. Hopefully Elise would be early too. She really needed a shoulder to lean on, and could tell that Elise would be more than happy to listen to her woes.

     Sure enough, Elise was early, and sorting through some papers when Brooke arrived. Elise instinctively knew something was wrong the moment she saw Brooke, so she pulled out a chair and waved her over. "Hey. What's going on?"

     The tears started again, as Brooke filled Elise in on the Jacob situation.

     "How awful." Elise wrapped her arms around Brooke and gave her a motherly pat, though they were close in age. "I have just the solution. My friends have a band that's playing at a local bar Friday night. You've got to go with me!"

     "I'm not looking to pick up a guy."

     "I get it. I'm not trying to get you to replace Jacob, but I think you could use a fun distraction. How 'bout it?"

     Brooke hesitated, thinking through the reasons she should and shouldn't, but finally decided it was time she started to live a little even though she has a son. "You're right," she finally smiled. "I'll go."

     "Yay!" Elise clapped her hands. "You'll love it. The band is a lot of fun; we've all been friends since high school. Plus it's at a local hangout, not packed with tourists."

     Grabbing a tissue, Brooke dabbed her eyes and cracked a grin. "Okay mom, I hear you. Just send me all the details. I'll let you get to it, then."

     Exiting the elevator, Brooke caught sight of Eric. She smiled and turned away, only to have him call out. "Brooke, could you come to my office for a minute?"

     She turn and followed. Eric offered her a chair and sat next to her with a look of concern. "Are you okay?" He pointed her face. "It looks like you've been crying."

     Her eyes went wide. She didn't want to start her new job being known as the woman who cries all the time. She thought she was finally past that. "I'm sorry, I promise it won't affect my ability to work. I just-"

     "That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you. Something has clearly upset you." He reached for her hand, then at the last minute, patted her shoulder.