Claire's Story: Chapter 12

“A rodeo? You want me to go to a rodeo with you?” Brooke asked pompously as she lay on her stomach on Claire’s bed.

“Yes. And what’s wrong with a rodeo?” Claire questioned, her feelings hurt.

“Nothing for you, you’re going to watch ‘Mr. America’ there. I don’t blame you for wanting to go. But then you’ll up and leave me all alone with no one to talk to but his fat side-kick.”

“I didn’t say Bryce was fat, I said stocky. And he’s not the one you’re going to meet anyway, that’s Ryan. Ryan’s the Andy Roddick look-alike that you’re gonna love, I promise!”

“Okay. But I’m only doing this for you so you don’t have to sit alone in the stands while they’re roping or whatever. Now tell me about tonight and what happened with Sean!”

Claire was glowing as she told Brooke about meeting his friends and the flattering things they’d said. She described how he’d placed his hand at the small of her back to guide her, and how they’d held hands as they walked.

“So, did he kiss you when you walked him out to his truck?” Brooke probed, the excitement spreading on her grinning face.

With a low moan Claire fell backwards onto the bed, her feet kicking the air in frustration. “Nooo, and I really thought he was about to. It’s like we get to that moment when it’s really tense, and you either kiss or go home, and then he hugs me,” she lifted her arms and shrugged her shoulders in mock surprise to emphasize her confusion. “I shouldn’t complain, it’s not a bad thing, I just felt like after the hug he was about to go for it. He kinda ran his fingers through my hair, looked into my eyes…”

“Ohhh.” Brooke’s moan rivaled her friend’s. “I love it when they do that,” her eyes glazing over. “Of course it’s much better when it leads to a long, passionate kiss. But hey, at least you’re getting there right?”

“Yeah, we’re getting there. I guess I am rushing it, it just seems like we’ve known each other for longer than we really have,” she reasoned. “It’s only been a little more than a month.”

They lay on the bed in silence for a few minutes, both of them engrossed in thoughts of romance and passion.

“So isn’t he as beautiful as I described?” Claire asked with a smile as she rolled onto her side to face her friend.

“Uh, yeah he is! He’s like straight out of a magazine or something!”

“That’s what I said! That he belonged in a pin-up calendar!”

The girls burst into laughter. “So this means that his friend is pretty hot too huh, since we have about the same taste in guys?” Brooke asked, suddenly showing an interest in attending the rodeo.

“Yeah, he’s cute. Not on Sean’s level, but still pretty dang cute.”

“Pretty dang cute is okay with me then,” Brooke determined with a toss of her long blonde curls, her chin cupped in her hands. “Does he know I’m lonely and desperate and a terrible date?”

“No, silly. I only say that kind of stuff to your face. I’d never tell a potential man those things about you, or you’d never get another date,” Claire said with a sarcastic grin, poking fun at her best friend’s recent span of first dates that hadn’t materialized into anything more.

With her face immediately the hue of Claire’s red bedspread Brooke rolled her eyes and sat up to deliver a hard punch to her comrade’s shoulder. “You shut up! It’s not funny that I have an unknown fatal flaw and I’m destined to never fall in love and be a virgin forever!” Brooke spewed, her feelings on the subject obviously more than a little delicate.

“Brooke, you know I’m just giving you a hard time. And we both know that’s not true, you’ve just hit a rough patch.” Claire sat and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “The one is out there for you, I just know it. Don’t be mad,” she said with a squeeze. “Besides,” she explained as she stood and walked to her closet, “Ryan doesn’t even know you’re coming, so there won’t be any of that blind date awkwardness. And I’ll be there, and I promise I won’t run off and leave you.”