As the days slowly crept closer to the divorce, Garrison continued to come to see Brooke. It had been a month since Derrick had moved out and Garrison decided it was time to start working on his courtship with Brooke. Wanting to start out slow, he invited her out to dinner, and was quite surprised when she accepted his invitation.
During dinner, they kept the conversation off Derrick, the pending divorce, and of course their kiss. After they had returned to her home, he asked if he could come in for a few moments with the hope of stealing another kiss from her.
He was prepared for her to refuse to let him in, and was he was astonished when she told him to come in and she would fix them each a slice of apple pie she had made earlier that day. As soon as she closed the door behind him, he pulled her into his arms, brought his lips to hers, and gave her passionate kiss.
His kiss had set her on fire, but she couldn’t let it go any further. “Garrison, what has come over you lately?” she asked nervously. “The other day you kissed me on the front porch and now this.”
He tightened his hold on her. “I love you,” he stated, keeping his eyes on her face.
At first, his words didn’t register in her dazed mind, as she couldn’t believe he just told her he loved her. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?” she asked, trying to push him away.
“No, I’m serious,” he said as he tightened his hold on her to prevent her from moving out of his arms. “Look at me.”
Brooke looked into his eyes, and for the first time, she realized she was seeing the love he had for her looking back at her. “Garrison, in all the years I’ve known you, you’ve never gave me any indication you felt anything for me other than just brotherly love.”
“I’ve been in love with you since the first day we met, but once you started dating my brother, it was too late to tell you how I truly felt about you. When you two were married, I had to hide my feelings for you, but now that you are free of him, I can show you how I feel.” His lips reached for hers.
She stopped him before their lips touched again, as she was still married. As she looked at Derrick’s brother, she wondered if a relationship with him was possible? What would the consequences be if she became involved with Garrison? The only one she could think of was the brothers’ relationship with each other, but other than that, nothing came to mind. “Garrison, have you thought how our new relationship will affect yours with your brother?”
“Since he is ending his marriage to you that means he doesn’t want a life with you any longer, so you are free to be with whoever you want. He can’t have a say on your life if he is with someone else.”
“If you are sure about this then once the divorce it’s over, we can see if a relationship between us is even possible. Meanwhile, I refuse to get sexually involve with you until my marriage to your brother has ended,” she stressed, as she had to make sure he knew she wasn’t going to cheat on her marriage.
“Can I still come over to see you?” He hoped she wouldn’t say no, as he didn’t know what he would do if she refused.
She gave him a hard look. “Only if you abide by my wishes and refrain from kissing me again.”
Garrison gave her a weak smile. “I will try my best.” He meant it, but he didn’t know if he could restrain himself, for whenever he was with her, he wanted her in his arms and his lips on hers.
* * *
They didn’t go out to dinner again as it felt too much like dating to her. Instead, Garrison would come over for a home cooked meal or he’d bring in takeout. Sometimes they would watch television together and other times they would sit on the front porch and watch the neighborhood children playing.
As it turned out, she was the first one to initiate the next kissing incident, as she was losing her heart to him and needed to feel the touch of his lips on hers. They had just finished doing the dishes, and before pulling the plug on the drain, Garrison stuck in hand into the water, brought it out and shook it at Brooke. She let of scream of surprise, then reached passed him, took a handful of water and threw it at him.
Laughing, planning to do the same to her, Garrison reached into the water, but before he could, Brooke grabbed his hand, turned him to her and placed on kiss on his lips that was full of passion. She moved her hand to his zipper and rubbed it, as she was aroused and wanted him to know she wanted him.
Garrison knew she wanted to wait until the divorce was over before having sex, so it was up to him to be strong, as he knew the consequences of such an action could hurt their fragile relationship. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss and quickly moved away from her instead of going to the next step and headed them towards the bedroom.
They stared at each other, both breathless, as well as sexual frustrated.
Embarrassed, Brooke’s face was red. “I’m sorry Garrison.”
He laughed. “There isn’t any reason to be sorry.”
Tears filled her eyes. “I told you there wouldn’t be any kissing, and then I practically attacked you.”
“I’m glad you did, as now I know you have strong feelings for me.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand how this has happened. Suddenly, you are all I think about, which make me wonder how long I’ve had these feelings for you.”
Her words warmed his heart, as he wasn’t quite sure if she felt the same intensity as he did. “Maybe we were meant to be a couple all along, only we were too young when we first met for it to happen.”
She pulled him back into her arms. “Oh, Garrison, that’s exactly what Skyler said to me. I wonder if she had you in mind when she said it.”
Garrison wouldn’t be surprise if that was true, as he knew Skyler had seen his eyes full of love for Brooke for years.
* * *
As the days passed and things got more serious between her and Garrison, Brooke knew one of them needed to tell Derrick about their relationship. Since she wasn’t really for him to know she was in love with his brother, she never called him, as she knew he would ask questions, such as how did happen or how long had it been going on. Questions she wasn’t sure she could respond to, even if she did know the answers. She didn’t know how to ask Garrison she wanted him to talk to his brother about them.
She and Garrison stayed away from the bedroom, and she was relieved that he didn’t try to change her mind, as it wouldn’t take much coercion on his part to do so. It wasn’t easy for either of them, but since it was important for her to respect her marriage vows to Derrick, they didn’t give in to their desires.
* * *
On the day of the divorce, Garrison wanted to be with her in the courtroom, but she asked him to wait for her at his apartment. Brooke would love to have him with her, but she wasn’t sure how Derrick would feel if he knew his brother was there for her, instead of for him.
Garrison wasn’t happy with her request but did as she asked. He should have told her, he was afraid that when the time came for the court to shear their union, Derrick would realize he was about to lose the best part of his life and call the whole thing off. If Darrick decided not to end their marriage, where would that leave him and his relationship with Brooke? While he waited, he paced his apartment, constantly glancing at the clock on the wall, cussing each time as the clock’s hands weren’t moving fast enough for him.
Meanwhile at the courthouse, Brooke was nervous about to seeing her husband for the first time in two months. When she looked over at Derrick and saw him with his new girlfriend, she was surprised that she wasn’t upset he had left her for this woman. Instead, she was relieved that their marriage was ending today, as she would be free to be with Garrison.
When the girlfriend noticed Brooke looking her way, she leaned forward to show off her bust line, as to say, ‘I have more than you’. Brooke quickly looked over at Derrick to see his reaction to his girlfriend’s actions, but he hadn’t noticed as he was talking with his lawyer.
The judge entered the room and silence filled the room. After determining there wasn’t any chance of them mending their marriage, the court proceedings progressed quickly, and then with a pounding of the judge’s mallet, their marriage was terminated.
As Brooke walked out of the courtroom, she was smiling as the judge had stated that the house was to be hers, which was only fair since she had bought it with her inheritance. She left without speaking to Derrick, not because she didn’t want to talk to him, but because he and his girlfriend seem to be having angry words.
When Brooke arrived at Garrison place, he pulled her in his arms and kissed her. “How did it go? Was it hard on you to see Derrick?”
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She smiled at him. “Not at all, as I have you now. Have you met his new girlfriend? She came into the courtroom with him and was hanging all over him. Her blouse was cut so low I don’t know how she kept her breasts from falling out.”
“Double sided tape,” he said without blinking or cracking a grin.
Brooke laughed as she moved out of his arms. “What would you know about that sort of thing?”
“I’m just going to say I had a girlfriend that used it and leave it at that.”
She chuckled at his reply.
“I bought something for you,” he said as he took hold of her hand and started for the table.
It was then that she noticed the bottle of champagne on the table. “Is that for me?”
“Yes, it’s to celebrate your divorce.”
“It’s certainly a celebration as we both know I’m better off without him.”
He didn’t comment, as he was unsure what to say, as they were talking about his brother. Instead, he opened the champagne and poured into each to the glasses.
They click their glasses together and then drank the bubbling wine to celebrate, the end of one part of her life, and the beginning of another. As soon as they finished their drink, they placed them down on the table and started for his bedroom as now that they were free to express their love for each other. Soon their clothes were thrown all over the floor and the rest of the world was forgotten as they fell onto the bed.
Afterwards while Garrison played with her hand, her mind was on the fact that she’d had sex with her brother-in-law and started to panic, but then corrected herself, as now he was legally her ex-brother-in-law. She expected to feel guilty about the fact they’d had sex, but she was now free to be with anyone she wanted, including Garrison.
Garrison suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace. “Let’s fly to Las Vegas and get married tonight.”
She was shocked by his statement, as she was unprepared for this development. “Don’t you think you’re rushing this a bit?” she asked.
Her statement was like a slap to his face, as he thought she would have jumped at the chance of marrying him. “You want to date other men?” he asked with a hurt filled voice.
She pushed him away from her. “Of course not,” she replied angrily.
“I don’t want to lose another day without you in my life and in my bed, I’ve waited for you too many years as it is,” he said as he pulled her back into his arms. “Is it because I’m younger than you are?” he asked, thinking that was the reason she was hesitating.
The age difference between them didn’t bother her, just the fact that Garrison was Derrick’s brother. “No, it’s just that my marriage to your brother was just finalized today.”
“You think I’m like Derrick and somewhere down the road I’m going to leave you for another woman,” he hissed.
She put her right hand on the side of his face. “Garrison, all I’m saying is I just don’t want to rush into a relationship where one or both of us could be hurt.”
“Brooke, who knows how long we’ll be here on Earth and that being so, I don’t want to waste another moment waiting for you to be my wife. Please say yes.”
She wasn’t sure if this new relationship would work for them or not, but for some reason it seemed right. Was she crazy to be contemplating marrying Garrison so soon after divorcing his brother? She could hardly think while she was in his arms, but she did know how she felt when she was away from him.
“Okay, I’ll marry you,” she put her hand up to keep him from speaking. “But not tonight, as it’s too soon,” she told him.
Garrison leaned down to kiss her and so it was several minutes later before they could discuss about when they wanted to get married. Because they didn’t want to be apart a second longer than necessary, they decided the wedding would be as soon as it could be arranged.
They decided to start packing up some of his belonging he wouldn’t be using for a while, so when the time came, most of his stuff would be ready to move into her house. After working until about ten that evening, they returned to Garrison’s bed, and they made love once more.
After Garrison fell asleep, Brooke just stared up at the ceiling, as her mind was trying to make sense of how this relationship had come about between the two of them. All she knew was once the kissing had started; there wasn’t any way for either of them to stop. Their lovemaking was as if someone had put a match to a stick of dynamite, with the end being explosive for both. Even in the beginning of her marriage to Derrick, the sex hadn’t ever been this exciting.
When Brooke looked at the clock on Garrison’s bedside table, she was stunned to see how late it was. It was time for her to return home, as she needed to be at work extra early in the morning to make up her lost time from this afternoon. She loved her job at a greeting card company, as she got to use her imagination to create beautiful cards.
She dressed quickly in the dark so not to wake Garrison, as she knew if he woke up, he would try to prevent her from returning home. For some reason she wasn’t ready to face him just yet but wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she felt a tiny, bit guilty about making love to him so soon after her divorce from his brother.
Once she was dressed, she soundlessly slipped out of his apartment. Needing to talk to someone about what had transpired with Garrison; Brooke called Skyler Collins. When she told Skyler about marrying Garrison, her friend wasn’t surprised, as if she just knew they were meant to be together.
When Brooke turned onto her street, she noticed Derrick’s car was in the driveway. She was confused, as this was the last place, she thought he would be, especially at this time of night. She told her friend that Derrick was at her house, and so she needed to go. Skyler’s last words to her were not to let Derrick back in her life, as he would just hurt her again.
As Brooke got out of her car, she assumed Derrick would be waiting for her in his car, but as she got closer to it, she saw he wasn’t in it. Realizing he must be in the house, she was filled with anger, as how dare he use his old house key to enter her home.
As soon as she opened the door, without any type of greeting, he jumped out of the chair he’d been sitting in and started questioning her. “Do you know what time it is? Where have you been? Have you been out with some guy?” A serious facial expression covered his face and his voice was accusingly vile.
“Well, hello to you too. What are you doing here?” Brooke refused to answer his questions because she didn’t have to anymore.
“This is my home,” he told her, as if that explained it all.
“I don’t see how it is your home since you don’t live here anymore,” she said with a slight tone of defiance. “It’s late, I think it would be best if you left and we can talk tomorrow evening.”
When Derrick took a step closer to her, a muscle flinched in her jaw, as he reeked of the alcohol, which surprised her, as he wasn’t a heavy drinker.
“Brooke, I’ve made a mistake and I want to come back to you,” he said, taking another step towards her.
She took a quick step back. “I don’t think so,” she replied in a cold voice. Even if Garrison wasn’t in her life, she wasn’t about to go back to the husband who had dumped her for another woman.
“Well why not?” He watched her closely, as he had expected her to jump at the chance of getting back together with him.
“Did you forget we ended our marriage this afternoon because of your love for Peggy?”
“That’s over.” He reached out and took hold of her hand. “I want us to get remarried.”
“That’s not going to happen as I’m now involved with someone else.”
“How long has that being going on?” he asked as he gave her a hurt look.
Her face filled with anger, as he didn’t have the right to ask such a question. “That sir isn’t any of your business.”
“Well, tell him you have reconciled with your husband,” he stated strongly.
“That would be a lie, as you aren’t my husband anymore. It was your choice to leave me so you could be with your girlfriend, so now you have to live with the consequences of that decision.” She moved away from him, as she didn’t feel comfortable with him being so close.
“I want another chance,” he murmured as he started stripping off his pants.
Brooke’s eyes grew round as he began undressing in the middle of the living room floor. Sheer black fright surged through her as in his present condition, she wasn’t sure if she could stop him if he decided to force himself on her. “Derrick, what do you think you are doing?” she asked nervously.
“I want us to make love so I can show you how much I love you. It has been such a longtime since we have been together,” he said longingly, as he came towards her and when he reached her, he slowly put his hands on her right breast.
“No,” she croaked, as she roughly pushed him away. He stumbled backwards only because she’d surprised him by her sudden action, that and the fact he was drunk. Otherwise, she probably wouldn’t have been able to move him away from her.
He tried to pull her back into his arms. “Baby, don’t be mad at me.”
“Derrick, I want you to leave,” she told him as she side stepped his reach.
“I’m not going anywhere except to our bedroom.” Standing in just his underwear, he turned and started walking in the direction of her bedroom.
With sex on his mind, Brooke wasn’t about to go into that room with him, especially not in his present condition. Knowing she had to get away from Derrick before he could return to the living room, she rushed out of the house to her car, locking the door as soon as she could. When she arrived at Garrison’s apartment complex and saw the lights were on at his place, she frowned, as that meant he knew that she’d left. When she lightly tapped on his door, it was opened immediately and seeing the fuming man glaring at her, she knew she had some explaining to do.
“Where have you been?” he demanded. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he instantly knew something was wrong. “What is it? What has happened?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.
“Derrick was in the house when I went home.” She rested her head on his shoulder.
Garrison gave her a panicked look as her statement floored him. “What did he want?” he asked, holding his breath, as he was afraid of her answer.
She moved away from him to set her purse down. “Besides getting back together, he wanted to have sex with me,” she told him.
Garrison expression quickly changed to one of distress, as now that Derrick wanted her again, he was afraid Brooke would go back to him. “Your divorce was finalized just this afternoon and already he wants you back. What happened to the new girlfriend?”
“I don’t know anything about the girlfriend, nor do I care. All I know is that when I left the house, Derrick was heading for the bedroom in just his underwear. Since I could tell he’d been drinking, I figured it would be best if I just left,” she told him as tears glistened in her eyes.
“I think you did the right thing.” Garrison pulled her back into his arms holding her tight. “Do you think he’ll left your house now that you aren’t there?”
She shook her head. “He’s probably passed out on the bed, but since the court gave me the house, he hasn’t the right to be in it anymore. I could call the police, but I don’t want to deal with any of that tonight.”
“Does he know about us getting married?” He watched her expression closely as he waited for her reply, as he was curious if she had told Derrick about them.
Brooke laughed. “How could he? I didn’t know about that until earlier this evening.”
“We could move up the wedding date,” Garrison told her.
“If we do that, then we’ll have to change all the plans we’ve already made,” Brooke uttered as she shook her head. “Let’s see what happens with Derrick before we start changing any of our plans.”
Garrison was disappointed by her answer, because if they moved the wedding date up, it was a sure way to prevent his brother from remarrying her.
“We better get some sleep, as I need to leave here early enough in the morning, so I’ll have time to run home to change for work.”
The couple returned to bed, and after they cuddled together, she closed her eyes and was instantly asleep. Garrison would have liked to have a repeat performance of their earlier activity, but Brooke needed her rest, so he let her sleep instead waking her to make love to her again.