I finally got over my writer's block! Yay! At least for now...
I hope you enjoy this story. I'm leaving it as a one-off for now. Honestly, I'm surprised I even wrote this. I'm not sure I'll be able to continue with the Alice and Lucy story for personal reasons, as much as I would like to. Anyway, enjoy!
Cassie was both excited and nervous about dropping off her book donations at the library. The librarians were always complimenting her outfits, and her in general. She still wasn't used to it after losing so much weight and gaining some more confidence. Today, though, she would be debuting her drastic new hair color.
Cassie had gotten a wild hair over the weekend and dyed her dark blonde locks to a chestnut red color. She loved it, but the fact remained it was a big, noticeable change. She steeled herself as the elevator doors opened.
"Oh my God! Your hair looks so good!" were the first words she heard as she stepped out. As usual, she blushed and sheepishly thanked them. In return, they thanked her for the box full of books and went about their business. Well, everyone but her friend, Brook.
She and Brook had slowly become friends over the years that Cassie had been taking her kids to the library. Seeing and talking to her became one of the highlights of her week. Brook had a great sense of humor, if not a little dark like her own, was whip-smart, and, if she was being totally honest, was easy on the eyes with her long, straw-colored hair and dark blue eyes.
"I freaking LOVE your hair!" Brook pulled her to the side and gushed. Compliments from her always made Cassie feel some kind of way. She laughed nervously and thanked her. Suddenly, she was being pulled into a hug.
She couldn't help stiffening up at first. It had been months since she'd gotten a hug from Brook. Which had been her own fault. Cassie's intrusive thoughts had finally gotten the best of her and she confessed to her friend that she hadn't been flirting for fun as she had. It was one of the scariest things she'd ever done. Luckily, Brook hadn't been freaked out by her confession and they were still friends. Unfortunately, it also seemed to have put an end to their hugging, which was especially unfortunate since it had been a relatively new development. Cassie couldn't blame her, though Brook
had
been the one to start the flirting nonsense to begin with.
"I don't think I've ever seen you like this," Brook pulled away, but held Cassie at arm's length.
"Like what?" she laughed.
"You seem more...confident. It looks good on you," Brook's smile faded into a strange expression the longer she looked at her. Cassie was suddenly aware of how close they were still standing to each other and panicked.
"Well, I guess I better get home," she became sheepish again, turning to leave. She only made it a step or two before turning back towards Brook, who was still standing there watching her.
Probably looking at my ass,
she couldn't help the intrusive thought.
"Can I...Never mind," Cassie balked at the last second. No, she scolded herself.
You're being stupid, greedy even. Don't push your luck again!
She turned to leave again, but felt a soft, tiny hand grab her wrist a second before she reached the elevator.
"Ask me," Brook demanded gently, an intense seriousness on her face now.
Busted. It was painfully clear her friend knew exactly what she was about to ask.
"Can I hug you again?" Cassie asked shyly. Why was it so hard for her to say the words? She knew why, but tried not to think about it.
"Yes," Brook answered just as quietly before moving in to wrap her arms around her. Cassie happily reciprocated, but tried hard to keep the unwanted thoughts and feelings at bay. She'd missed her friend's hugs, feeling the warmth of her soft body pressed against her own, the firm, but gentle, squeeze of her arms. Brook gave the best hugs. Cassie's heart raced and she had the silly worry of her friend being able to feel it.
She lost track of how long they'd been standing there like that, but had an inkling it had been too long to be normal. Just when she was about to pull away, she felt Brook's lips lightly kiss her neck.
"Meet me in the downstairs bathroom," she spoke low in Cassie's ear, more a demand than a question. A cold chill ran down her spine. It couldn't be helped, her friend's lips being that close to her ear.
Cassie couldn't believe what was happening. She'd had just about every inappropriate thought you could about Brook, but never actually expected anything like this to happen. Dumbly, she got in the elevator, speechless. Brook winked at her as the doors closed. That alone was enough to make her knees weak. She was so damn sexy when she winked. Just another one of the million things about her that drove Cassie nuts and made it difficult for her to just see Brook as a friend and nothing more.