Three
“Brooke Lynn Hytes is your sister?!” Vanessa whispered through her teeth.
“Step sister.” Brock said, hand on Vanessa’s lower back, urging her to walk forward towards the dinner table.
“How did we not know?”
Brock shrugged, “it was never important.”
“Vanessa, Brock normally sits here, why don’t you sit on his other side?” Brock’s mother called.
Vanessa sat down next to Brock and to her not-so much luck, Brooke sat across from her. Fuck.
Vanessa froze as she felt a foot run up and down the side of her leg. Her face turned red as she took a huge drink of water, ignoring the confused looks on Brock’s parent’s faces.
Brooke grabbed her fork and started to eat, a knowing smile painted on her lips.
~*~
"Vanessa, would you be a doll and help me in the kitchen with dessert?” Brooke asked, voice feigning sweetness as she continues to rub her foot on Vanessa’s leg under the table.
“Uh, I- um, yeah, Brooke Lynn, sure.”
Brock’s parents were oblivious to Vanessa’s clear lack of brain function, which Vanessa was glad about. She got up and glanced at Brock. He gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head and followed Brooke.
“Well well well,” Brooke says as soon as the door to the kitchen shut behind them, “you’re dating my brother, huh?”
“S-seems that way, yeah?”
Vanessa hadn’t noticed that Brooke had backed her right up into the corner of the kitchen, right against the counter. Brooke boxed the smaller girl in, hands on either side. She had a wicked gleam in her eye, a knowing look flashed across her face.
“Hm, such a shame,” Brooke whispered, she was close enough that the warmth of her breath was welcomed on Vanessa’s cheek, and she twirled one of Vanessa’s loose curls around her index finger, “I always thought that if you dated someone in this family, it was going to be me.”
Brooke punctuated her statement by running her nose across Vanessa’s cheekbone.
Vanessa’s eyes snapped shut as she tried to regulate her breathing, her knees were about to give out. Is Brooke Lynn going to kiss her? Vanessa leaned forward a little only to notice that the warmth of Brooke’s body was no longer there. She opened her eyes in time to see Brooke about to open the door to the dining room, shooting Vanessa a sneaky smile with a wink before doing so.
Fuck.
~*~
“JOSE!” Vanessa yelled the minute she walked into the house.
She was fucked, royally fucked.
“Jose! Where you at!?” Vanessa was freaking out.
“I’m in here,” he poked his head out of his bedroom door, Vanessa could hear a voice and she peered in to find Brock on Facetime with her brother.
“Brock, I need my brother for a minute, he will call you back. C’mon, vamanos!” Vanessa rushed.
Brock said a quick goodbye before Vanessa was hanging up the call for Jose.
“Ness, what’s your damage?”
“Do you know who Brock’s step sister is?”
“No?”
“Brooke Lynn Fucking Hytes!”
“Oh, shit,” Jose had heard that name enough to know the significance.
He knew about Vanessa’s giant crush on the older girl, knew about their little flirting matches they’d have sometimes.
“Yeah, oh shit is right, J, and she was flirtin’ with me real bad! Right there in front of God and everyone!”
Vanessa recounted what happened at dinner, the leg touching under the table and the cornering in the kitchen. By the time she was finished, Jose’s eyes were as big as dinner plates.
“She was definitely comin’ onto me right? I ain’t imaginin’ things?”
“No,” Jose says, “definitely not imagin’ things, sis. Wow, I mean, we always thought she liked you but now I guess it’s true.”
“I guess so.”
~*~
Brock was in his room waiting for Jose to call him back when there was a soft knock on his door. He popped up and opened the door to find Brooke on the other side.
“Can we talk?” She asked.
“Sure, B, is everything okay?”
Brooke shrugged and entered the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Vanessa Mateo, huh?”
“Yup.”
“Hm, I never thought you’d be her type.”
Brock played dumb, “why’s that?”
“Because I’m her type.” Brooke shrugged, “and I know that she’s not your type.”
“W-what do you mean? Of course she is.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. But it’s okay, because I understand.” Brooke’s voice softened.
“You do?”
Brooke nods, “I know that you’re-”
“Don’t say it, they might hear you.”
“Is that why you’re afraid to admit it? Because of them? Because that’s silly, Brock.”
“They told me not to hang out with Jose anymore and to get a girlfriend.” Brock’s voice was sad, “this was the only way it would work, B. I didn’t want to be without him.”
“So you like Jose?”
Brock nods.
“You have my support, Brock.” Brooke smiled softly.
They sat in silence for a moment until Brooke spoke again.
“I like Vanessa.” she thought out loud, “I have for a while, I think she knows. I’m not sure. I think she likes me too.” she said crestfallen.
An idea popped into Brock’s head, “we’re going on our ‘date’ tomorrow,” he starts, using air quotes around the word date, “it’s literally just me, V, and Jose going to the mall, do you want to come with?
Brooke raised her face and looked at her brother, her smile bright with gratitude.
“Really?” she asks, hopeful.
Brock nods. A grin spreads on Brooke’s face. Brock’s phone starts to ring and Brooke sees that it’s Jose, so she decides to leave them be and slips out the door. Excitement bloomed in her chest at what was to come. She hoped she wouldn’t fuck it up somehow.
~*~
Vanessa had already gone to bed when Brock told Jose the plan for the next day, so he decided to wait until the next morning.
“Morning Ness!” Jose called, bouncing into the kitchen, “guess what?”
“What?” Vanessa grumbled, she wasn’t normally a morning person.
“Brock is bringing a 4th for our date tonight.” Jose wiggled his eyebrows and Vanessa’s blood ran cold.
“Who…?” she was hesitant, although she could probably guess who.
“Brooke Lynn.”
“You jokin’. Don’t be fuckin’ with me, J, it ain’t cool.”
“I’m not fuckin with you V, she’s really comin with us.”
Vanessa beamed at her brother, trying to ignore the waves of emotions that came over her. Excitement, nerves, fear, she couldn’t tell which was more prominent, it didn’t matter. Brooke wanted to join them.
Brooke was normally confident, but there was something about Vanessa that made her feel vulnerable, so she made up for it with shameless flirting. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Vanessa at their house the previous night. She didn’t believe for a second that Brock and Vanessa were a thing. Vanessa and Brooke had been flirting on and off for the last few years, so she knew that Brock wasn’t her type.
Brooke got to school Friday morning just in time to run into Vanessa at her locker.
“Well, good morning.” she said, smiling her brightest smile.
“Hi Brooke,” Vanessa smiled, cheeks turning pink, “heard you gonna join us tonight.”
“Yeah, I am, I hope that’s alright.”
Vanessa nodded, cheeks still pink, and Brooke thought it was the cutest thing.
“I’ll see you tonight then.” Brooke winked and turned on her heels to walk to class.
~*~
“B, you ready?” Brock poked his head into Brooke’s room.
Brooke was putting the final touches on her liner, that was the last thing she had to do.
“Yep, let’s go.”
They got into Brock’s car and headed to the Mateo house. Jose and Vanessa walked out to the car and Brooke was mesmerized. Vanessa looked amazing.
The drive to the mall was quiet. Everyone seemed nervous. They had decided to go to the mall one town over. Chances of running into someone they knew were small.
“What are we going to do when we get there?” Brooked asked, and everyone just kind of looked at each other.
“Oh, I guess we never really decided.” Jose laughs.
“We could see a movie?” Brock suggests, and everyone agrees.
Brock pulls into a parking spot and gets out to open Vanessa’s door, and Jose does the same for Brooke. Walking inside, Jose decides to bite the bullet and grabs Brock’s hand. Brock stiffens with nerves until he realizes that nobody knows them here. Jose feels him visibly relax and he smiles.
In the movie theater, Brock and Jose sit in between Vanessa and Brooke. Vanessa is kind of thankful for that. Brooke looks so amazing that she’s not sure she could focus on the movie. As the lights dim, though, Brooke stands and moves to the open seat next to Vanessa, who’s heart starts to speed up. She tries to focus on the screen and fails once Brooke softly places a finger on Vanessa’s cheek and guides her to turn her head.
“Hi,” Brooke whispers.
“Hi,” Vanessa whispers back.
Brooke tucks a strand of hair behind Vanessa’s ear, softly brushing her fingertips along her jawline as she retreats her hand, leaving goosebumps in her wake.
“I need to tell you something.” Brooke says, looking into Vanessa’s honey colored eyes. She could get lost in them but she needs to focus.
Vanessa gave an encouraging nod.
“I like you, but I think you knew that.”
Vanessa’s lost her words for a moment, but the second they come back she says “I think I did too,” with a smirk.
Brooke chuckles and rolls her eyes.
“Vanessa, can I kiss you?”
Vanessa doesn’t answer with words, instead she leans forward and does something she’s wanted to do for years- she finally kisses Brooke Lynn Hytes and it’s the best kiss ever.
Beside them, Brock and Jose look on, smiles on their faces for how happy their sisters look together. Brock puts his arm around Jose as they settle in their seats, just in time for the movie to start. Jose rests his head on Brock’s shoulder after placing a soft kiss on his neck and warmth spread through Brock’s chest. He was still nervous and not quite ready to kiss Jose in public, but he made a mental note to make it up to him later.