Having Some Brie Ch 10

All characters are at least 18 years old.

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"So. The long-awaited weekend." Lexi wiggled her eyebrows at us from across the lunch table, and Brie and I both groaned. How was it that she could say something so indecent and yet give nothing away to eavesdroppers? "So are we headed straight back to my place after school, or...?" Her grin was devilish. I began questioning all over again whether she had cameras set up in her guest room.

"Practice," Brie and I both said at once.

"And then we need to swing back home to pick up some stuff for the weekend anyway," I added.

Lexi's eyes lit up. "Ooh, overnight bags! Very cool. You know I have stuff like toiletries stocked, so only bring the 'essentials.'"

Drew hadn't said a word, staring distantly out the window. He snorted once at Lexi but otherwise let the conversation pass him by. He was spending time with his mom again, visiting his grandparents in the next town over during the weekend. They were all very close, from all the way back when Drew's dad walked out on his mom before he was even born. He never talked about it, but I suspected that was part of the reason he felt the way he did about what my dad had done. In just the few months since the divorce, he'd made semi-frequent revenge fantasies for me to consider. Thanks to the revolving door of obsessions he has, each one was planned to be executed uniquely. It made me fear for his own dad if Drew ever got his hands on him.

"Hey," I murmured to him, leaning in so the girls wouldn't overhear. "We still cool?"

He looked at me, mildly surprised. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"C'mon, you know."

He chuckled and shook his head. "Told you it'd be weird for a bit. Got a lot to think about. Best bud's freaky as fuck." He said that with a grin to ensure there was no malice in his words. "Girl I like is off limits due to bro code. Hm, guess she's following a literal bro code, huh?"

I cringed at the same time as Lexi burst out laughing. Guess she'd been listening in at the end there.

"That was gold," she commented between dying giggles.

"And the next most available prospect is a twist," Drew finished.

"Hey!"

He gave her a challenging stare with a raised eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, bobbing her head in begrudging agreement. Brie gave her a look that managed to be both sympathetic and judgmental, which was impressive, and Lexi stuck her tongue out at her.

These lunches were heartwarming, and I was beginning to dread the end of school. It was likely we'd all go our separate ways, and it made me want to hold us together more, even add a few more friends to our little circle. Difficult to do if it came down to managing who was in the know about me and Brie, and it was too sentimental anyway. I cast it out of my mind and focused on this moment with them, laughing away our days together.

--

"So what do you think Lexi counts as 'essentials?'" Brie mused. We were freshly showered, and packing for the weekend. We were a bit skittish around each other, the tension and anticipation less hanging between us and more on the verge of snapping as we fought its pull, which threatened to slam us together and break us into pieces.

"Probably the seven dildos you keep around the house," I replied. She picked up a whole tray of pens off our desk and threw it at me, and I snickered as I shielded myself before setting to picking them up.

"Hate that we're related," she grumbled.

"For more reasons than one," I agreed with a wry smirk, and she blushed. "Doesn't explain all the stuff you had on the computer that day."

She gawked at me before suddenly flying at me. I used the beds to evade her before she tackled me onto one of them, and I grabbed her wrists while she thrashed around.

"You fucking liar!" she shrieked, and I laughed. "You fucking knew that day and..."

I pulled her down and kissed her and she kept humming protests into my lips, but she had no more words by the time we broke apart.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," I said with a grin, releasing her. She rolled her eyes and shoved me in the chest before standing and zipping up her bag.

"C'mon, Lexi's waiting for us. Hurry up and get dressed, I'll be outside."

She was wearing a white cropped tank under a black denim jacket, paired with blue jeans. I watched her ass as she walked out, thinking about what to wear. Not wanting to put Lexi's money to waste, I put on the outfit she'd bought me. I scooped my bag off the floor and headed out to where Lexi and Brie were waiting in the car. Lexi tipped her sunglasses down when she saw me, admiring my form and whistling. Brie was brushing nonexistent strands of hair away from her face, clearly flustered. Lexi stepped out and moved her seat forward for me to get in, a vulpine grin on her face.

"I think she approves," she murmured to me before I climbed in. I chuckled once then settling in the back seat.

"So what's the plan?" I asked while Lexi pulled away from the curb.

"I'm your chauffeur for the night," Lexi replied, flashing me a brilliant smile in the mirror. "It's date night, don't you know." Brie began to speak, but Lexi talked over her. "Ah ah ah, no arguments. Dinner first. Italian. Classic. And then some dancing! At Taboo." She winked.

"Pretty on the nose," I scoffed. "And Taboo cards you at the door."

Lexi groaned and rolled her head around. Thankfully we were at a red light and not on a highway. "Do you guys really think ol' Lex can't get her hands on some fake IDs?" As if by sleight of hand, she produced two driver's licenses with our info, our ages changed and Brie's surname, Thomas, changed to Lexi's, Rochester.

We took them, and Brie frowned down at hers. "Bouncers see fake IDs all the time. There's no way they'd let us in."

"When they card you, hand them over and start Frenching," Lexi instructed. "They'll let you in. Trust me."

We both looked skeptical. A problem for later. We arrived at the restaurant a short while later. Nothing fancy, or Lexi would've told us to dress up. Lexi led the way up to the hostess, who smiled with practiced geniality.

"Table for two, and table for one, please," Lexi said.

Brie grabbed her by the arm and hissed to her, "Wait, you're staying?"

"Wonderful," said the hostess, oblivious of the exchange. "And would you like adjacent tables?"

"No," Lexi answered with a grin, giving us a wink.

"Alright. Right this way, please."

"You are *not* staying," Brie said firmly as the hostess walked off with three menus.

Lexi gave a dramatic sigh. "I guess you're right. Good thing I brought my binoculars."

Brie stormed after the hostess, fuming. Lexi shrugged and we followed.

"She's gonna disown you," I chuckled.

"She's too smart for that. How about you? Do you mind?" She seemed genuinely curious.

I snorted. "Would it make a difference if I did? You have a habit of getting your way, maybe I've come to terms with that easier than she has."

Lexi shook her head. "She's just like this because girls are supposed to be reserved and demure. They only tell their girlfriends what they want to tell, without their guy knowing just who knows what goes on behind closed doors. But then most girls don't have somebody as sharp as me, who is also well-acquainted with their guy."

"You sure know how to toot your own horn, don't you," I noted with a smile. I think it might have been the first time I saw Lexi blush. Another crack in the facade. I guess familiarity cuts both ways.

"Here's the table for two," the hostess announced in that ludicrously bubbly tone of hers. When Brie and I moved to seat ourselves, she nodded at Lexi. "Right this way, miss."

"I'll see you guys later," Lexi said with portent, leaving the two of us alone.

"I'm gonna disown her," Brie growled, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"She said you're too smart for that," I replied, and was met with dissatisfied grumbling. "Hey. This is our first date." That got her attention. "Let's enjoy it, alright?"

She nodded mutely, looking over to where Lexi had been seated *almost* out of view. She sighed and turned back to the menu. We ordered our food, and then an awkward silence settled between us.

"So, what kind of music do you listen to?" I quipped with a grin. She smiled and shook her head, probably resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Never mind, there it was.

"Of course the virgin has never been on a date before," she sneered. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Being a virgin has nothing to do with the number of dates a person's been on," I pointed out.

"Then how many have you been on?" she challenged. When I floundered, she smirked and sat back triumphantly.

"Then I assume you're well-versed in this, smartass?"

"I would be, if *somebody* didn't chase off all the guys who wanted to ask me out." She raised an eyebrow and drummed her fingers on her crossed arms. I shrugged, neither denying it nor showing any shame.

"Then what are we supposed to talk about? We already know each other inside out. Well, almost inside out." I grinned lasciviously and she reddened, giving me a disapproving look. "So let's talk about the things we don't know."

"Stefan..." she said in warning.

"How long?" I asked. The question caught her off guard.

"What?"

"How long have you felt this way?"

She opened her mouth, then closed it and looked down at her lap. She was probably fidgeting under the table. She peeked up at me, then shot a glance toward where Lexi was sitting before turning back to her fingers.

"Maybe... Maybe after we started high school," she mumbled, and when my eyebrows rose in surprise she returned, "What about you?"

"Maybe halfway through middle school."

"Sick bastard."

"We're the same age."

"Still, age aside."

I leaned forward so she could hear me with my voice lowered, wearing a smug smirk. "You just admitted to being attracted to me for three years. I think it's time you dropped the judgy attitude, sis." She swallowed, and I straightened back up while I studied her. She really was gorgeous. In my opinion, she could've had any guy she wanted. I wondered to myself how things would've gone if I hadn't been so protective of her. Would she have *been* with one of the guys at school? One of my friends?

The thought made my blood boil.

"Stef," Brie said, her voice like a blade cutting through fog. I snapped back to attention. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"You're clenching your jaw and fists," she noted, wearing a worried expression. I looked down at my hands, at the nail marks in my palms. I gave a weak chuckle.

"Just thinking about some stupid shit. You know me," I deflected.

"I do." She reached over and took my hands in hers. "So whatever you're thinking, it doesn't matter. I'm yours."

We stared at each other, into each other's eyes like in those corny chick flicks. Turns out those people know their shit. I felt like I was falling, plummeting endlessly into the deep blue ocean of Brie's eyes. But I felt safe, because no matter how far I fell, I knew Brie would catch me.

Lexi was probably having a field day.

We broke apart when our food arrived, cleared throats and straightened hair after that intense moment. We talked about the food, mom and her new job, and finally our plans for the future. Neither of us were serious enough about sports to get a scholarship, and we didn't exactly have college funds. I raised the point about mom needing our help anyway, and if we were going to stick around then we could attend the local community college. Brie countered with the possibility that if mom began going steady with somebody, she wouldn't need us as much anymore. But the fact still remained that it would be cheaper and simply easier to stay put in town. It would mean we could stay together, funnily enough. Neither of us seized on that fact out loud, but I'm sure she was relishing it as much as I was. Before I knew it, we were wrapping up the meal with a shared Zuppa Inglese and joking around about our friends.

"We should probably get going," Brie sighed after finishing the last hard-fought bite of dessert. I nodded and waved our waiter down.

"Check, please."

"Your meal has already been paid for," the waiter informed us. "By the lady seated over there." He gestured to Lexi's table, but another waiter was already clearing it.

"Wonderful." I turned to Brie. "Shall we?"

"We shall," she agreed, affecting a vaguely British accent. Perhaps she was alluding to the characters in On the Waltz Floor. I wouldn't put it past her to try living out some scenes. Maybe I should have paid more attention so as to not disappoint her by saying the wrong things.

Or maybe it was all just a flight of fancy and I was overthinking it.

We stepped outside to see Lexi leaning against her car, tapping on her phone.

"She said we're going dancing?" I whispered to Brie as we approached.

"At Taboo," she agreed. "I heard they're real picky about clientele. No way we're getting in, even with Lexi's connections."

"She has connections at a night club? I didn't think her dad was in that kind of business."

"Beats me."

Lexi looked up as we neared, her smile wide and genuine. "You guys had fun. I saw," she added a bit sheepishly. "Looked like it was going well, so I made myself scarce."

"Thanks, Lex," Brie said softly.

The blonde minx grinned. "And speaking of fun, the night's just getting started! Hop in, we have a line to catch."

--

"You're sure they're not gonna turn us away?" Brie said warily.

Lexi was dropping us off curbside in front of the night club, and there was a short line outside the door with two bouncers at the head. Purple and magenta neon lights highlighted the name of the club on the facade, somehow lending it an ethereal quality. Taboo had a bit of a reputation, but I had no idea why and it was hard to tell the reason from the outside.

"As long as you do as I say," Lexi responded. "Remember, as soon as you hand them your IDs, start making out like the incestuous lovers that you are." We were about to protest when Lexi jabbed a finger at me. "Have her home by eleven." She laughed at our stunned silence. "Kidding. Text me when you're done and I'll come pick you up. Tata!"

Her window was rolled up before we could say anything, and she drove off and left us stranded in front of a night club of questionable repute. With a sigh, I took Brie's hand and led her to the end of the line.

"I'll say this," I muttered. "She's not boring."

Brie scoffed and looked down the line of people. It was an odd assortment. Couples with large age gaps, a group of five guys and one girl, and then just couples who looked fairly ordinary apart from how handsy they were with each other. I couldn't put my finger on it. But it was surprising to see that not one of the groups of people in line was a cluster of young women having a girls' night out. I had almost zero experience clubbing, but even I figured it would be hard to find a place without a crowd like that.

The line was moving slower than I'd expect. Not because the club was full, but because the bouncers took forever to let somebody pass inspection. I was getting increasingly worried about our fake IDs. When we reached the head, one of the bouncers held out his hand for our ID. We produced them and hesitated. I took the lead, cupping Brie's cheek and thrusting my tongue into her mouth. She whimpered a bit and then slowly got into it, running her hands through my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bouncer check the cards, then hold them out for his partner to inspect. They murmured something to each other and his partner nodded.

"Sabrina Thomas?" the bouncer said, and we broke apart.

"Yes?" she panted. And then we realized he'd said her full name. Not the one on the fake ID, but her real surname. My surname. He'd just caught us off guard, and now they knew that we were siblings who would make out with each other. Between Brie and I, Lexi wasn't going to survive the night.

The bouncer grinned and handed us back our IDs, then jerked his head as a gesture for us to enter. In disbelief and embarrassment, we took the cards without a word and stepped inside. The squat building was in fact just the lobby, with beautifully carpeted stairs leading down to the bar and dance floor. The woman behind the counter smiled at us as we passed, and she had a glint in her eye not unlike Lexi.

We descended into the basement, the action feeling deeply metaphorical. A large set of double doors blocked the majority of the music from seeping out, limiting it to the deepest of bass notes. When we opened them, dance music blasted us and we stepped toward the dance floor. And all at once I knew why we were admitted.

Nobody came to Taboo alone. Everybody was already paired up or part of a large group. We had seen one or two parties turned away at the door while we were in line, seemingly the most normal of the people waiting to get in. The clientele who'd been granted entry was altogether something else. The group of five men and a girl was in a booth, each man kissing and touching a different part of her body. Men were present with women half their age, and vice versa. There was one particular couple on the dance floor, a middle-aged woman grinding erotically into her partner who looked eerily like her. Except the guy couldn't have even been driving age.

"Guess that explains the name," Brie squeaked.

We were in over our heads. We didn't belong here. I'm fairly certain some of the stuff happening here was illegal.

"We should go," I urged Brie. "Call Lexi to come pick us up."

She nodded mutely and pulled out her phone. Unfortunately the music was too loud to be heard over, and the nearest respite was one of the booths. Brie pulled me into one and we sat ourselves on the circular bench looking out at the dancers and the bar.

"Lex, it's me. What the hell were you thinking? Yeah, of course, I should've known. Absolutely not! Just come pick us up, okay? No, not yet." She looked at me, appalled. "You can't be serious... No, I'm not gonna-- You can't just leave us here-- Hello?!" She looked at the screen of her phone and then shrieked.

"Well fuck," I sighed. Brie looked like she was going to be sick. "So we're walking home?"

She shook her head. "She agreed to pick us up."

"But...?"

"But we need to have at least one dance first. And stream the video to her as proof."

I buried my face in my hands for a moment, then dragged my fingers down my cheeks. "That fucking deranged bitch."

"What do we do?"

"Do you feel like walking?"

She looked out at the dance floor, weighing our options. "It's... It's just one dance, right?"

"Sure." She met my gaze, and I found I was leaning toward her. "I mean, she'll be watching, so let's just keep our hands to ourselves, yeah?"

"Right."

I don't know how I heard her whisper over the music. We were inches apart now, and I bit the bullet and kissed her. In public, around other people. People who probably knew that this kiss was something forbidden. But I had concluded that just rolling with it was the only way we'd get through this night.

When we parted, I noticed the middle-aged woman and her partner on the dance floor watching us while they danced. She had her back to the boy, her arm thrown behind her to pull his neck in close, biting her lip and giving us a libidinous smirk. I swallowed and took Brie's hand, leading her over. She whipped her phone out and began a video call with Lexi. Holding it up, I could see Lexi's gleeful expression staring back at us. No sound, of course; the phone's speakers were worthless in the face of the numerous subwoofers in the basement.

We began dancing apart from one another, Brie not meeting anybody's eyes and only occasionally glancing at the phone. The woman was still watching us, now holding her partner's arms around her waist and pushing her rear indecently into his groin.