I See Sparks Fly Whenever You Smile

Brook

"I know we have only known each other for about three days, and it's probably none of my business, but is everything okay with you and Alex?" Kristine, Matt, the band's tour manager's girlfriend asked me. 

WAfter the accidental "I love you" between Alex and myself, our fight over the charm

"What were you guys fighting about?" Cassadee asked. 

I paused, looking away briefly because at this point I didn't want to talk about it. I'd have some time to think it over and there was a good chance some people could find my behavior bratty. 

"Brook," Cassadee narrowed her eyes at me. 

I sighed. "Okay, fine," I caved. "Alex has this habit of always needing to buy me things. Or do something nice for me, as he puts it. And don't get me wrong, I appreciate it. But after a while I've started to feel uncomfortable with it. Sort of like he's doing it to make up for other stuff."

"Other stuff like what?" Ellie asked. 

I shrugged. "Being away all the time? It almost makes me feel like he thinks he needs to buy my affection or something and that bothered me."

"So you yelled at him?" Kristine asked. 

I nodded slowly. "Sort of," I said before explaining what my mom had told me and what he did with the charm. 

The three girls around me stared at me when I was done, as if they were waiting for more, when they realized I was done Ellie spoke first. 

"So, you got pissed because your boyfriend was determined to get your ass to Hawaii because he thinks you're wound up tighter than a plastic wind up toy?"

"I know how it sounds," I said, shifting uncomfortably under their judgmental glances. 

"It sounds like you just can't accept that you have a boyfriend that can afford to spoil you a little - let him," Kristine said. "I've known Alex a very long time. And I've seen him with a large number of different female companions. And I will tell you, not one of them made him the slightest bit happy that you do."

"Really?" I asked, glancing up at her. 

The three girls nodded in unison. 

"I know you guys haven't said it yet, but he totally loves you, Brook. A lot," Cass said. 

"Actually," I bit my lip. "In the middle of our big blow out, he sort of spilled out an I love you and I said it back. It was kind of like neither of us realized it until way after. He actually realized before I did."

I felt a little less judged by the girls as their faces all changed to big goofy smiles. 

"Brook," Cassadee squealed, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. "Finally!"

I laughed a little. "I know. I know."

Kristine raised her eyebrow at me. "So, it must have been really hot than..."

"What must have been really hot?" I asked, confused. 

"Well, it's obvious now that you were late because of the sex you were having. Not the fight."

I blushed. "Okay..."

"And it wasn't just I love you sex. It was also make up sex."

"Okay..." I said again, probably blushing even more. 

"So, answer her question. How hot was the sex?" Ellie chimed in. 

I shook my head. "I don't know why that's relevant."

"Brook," Cassadee nudged me. "Come on."

I cracked a smile. "It was really hot. I was kind of the one in control. That never happens."

The girls all exchanged glances as they giggled and for a second I thought they were laughing at me. But I brushed that off because it was ridiculous. These girls were my friends and I needed to stop being so insecure. 

"Wait until you see them perform tomorrow. You'll totally be taking control more often," Cass spoke up.

"Really?" I asked. 

Cassadee nodded. "Watching Rian play was one of my favorite things to do the first time we toured together. Granted it was a little awkward because he had another girlfriend at the time... But y'know, everything worked out eventually."

Ellie shook her head.  "I'm still not convinced that you guys didn't hook up while he was still with her."

Cass tilted her head to the side. "You've met Rian, haven't you? Does he seem like the cheating type?"

Ellie nodded. "True."

"As much as I would love to talk about Rian and Cassadee some more," Kristine started, rolling her eyes slightly. "I'm more interested in Brook and Alex."

I felt uncomfortable again as her stare became a little intimidating again. Kristine was a very sweet girl, but she was also quite scary. 

"What about Brook and Alex?" I asked carefully. 

She shrugged. "Why do you fly off the handle when he does nice things for you?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know," I shrugged. "I guess I don't like feeling spoiled. I dealt with that growing up with my dad and my older brother and then with my ex-Fiancé..."

"Your what?!" All three girls gasped at the same time at the mention of Josh. 

I squeezed my eyes shut. I did not want to get into this right now. 

"I was engaged before I met Alex. I ended up calling off the wedding not too soon before the date because I found out he was sleeping with our wedding planner."

The three girls stared at me blankly, none of them daring to say or ask anything. 

"That's why you told me you swore off marriage forever," Cassadee  finally said. 

I nodded. "It's not really something I like to talk about."

Kristine gave me a warm smile. "So, Alex got himself a damaged one, huh?"

I laughed. "Oh, you have no idea."

"Does he have an idea?" Ellie asked. 

I nodded. "He knows everything. He was pretty supportive about it," I said  with a smile. "He's pretty supportive of a lot of things," I added, looking up at that moment and catching Alex's eye across the roof. I smiled bigger when he blew me a kiss. 

"Gross," Kristine muttered causing the rest of us to laugh. 

"So? Brook, moral of this story?" Cassadee asked. 

"Let Alex spoil me," I said with a slow nod. 

"That a girl," Ellie smiled, patting my back. "It will wear off eventually," se assured me. "And the first time he ends up forgetting your birthday or Valentine's Day, you'll be wishing for these days."

I nodded again, laughing a little. "You're probably right."

Ellie smiled wider. "Girl, I'm always right."

A little while passed while the girls and I talked more about less serious things when Alex came over, slipping his arm over my shoulder. 

"Ready to head back to the room?" he asked, yawning. "I sure am exhausted."

I tilted my head to the side and looked up at him. "Exhausted?"

He nodded, yawning again, and this time I knew he was faking. "So tired. Can barely stand," he muttered, leaning his body into mine. 

I laughed a little, looking back at the girls. "Looks like it's bedtime."

They all nodded, poorly stifling their giggles as we said goodnight before making our way back to the guys to say goodnight to them. 

Alex and I had made it to the elevator without saying anything to each other but the second the elevator doors dinged closed, Alex lunged himself at me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing all over my face. 

About three floors later, the doors opened again, and an older couple, that could have been my grandparents, stepped onto the elevator and it took all the strength I had to push Alex and his lips away from their assault on my neck. 

"Six more floors," he whispered in my ear. 

"Alex," I hissed, the smirk on my face betraying me as Alex's hand rested a little too low on my back. 

"Are you two here on your honeymoon?" the old lady turned to us and asked. 

"Yes. " Alex answered before I could say anything, a big goofy smile on his face. "I haven't been able to keep her hands off me since."

"Alex," I gasped, smacking him lightly in his chest, a slight pink blush creeping up my cheeks. 

"Isn't that lovely," the lady smiled. 

The elevator door dinged again and the older couple stepped out, the woman mumbling something about young love.

"You're such an idiot," I laughed, shrugging Alex off when he came at me again once the doors shut. 

"Whatever dude," he shrugged. "I'm an idiot, but you love me, so what does that say about you?"

I laughed again. "I'm a bigger idiot."

"Sounds about right," he said with a chuckle before kissing  me gently.

The doors opened again at our floor and Alex slipped his hand into mine as we silently made our way to our room. It dawned on me that the mood between Alex and I was so light-hearted, there was no way he was still bothered by the fight we were having before - which in a way bothered me, because there was still so much that was left unsaid. 

"Finally," Alex said under his breath once we were inside the room, his arms instantly wrapping around my waist. His lips instantly attached to the side of my neck and once again I needed all the strength I had to shove him away. 

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking one step back. 

"Nothing," I shrugged. "I just need you to focus for a second. We really need to talk and I need to keep your attention before you get too far gone in sex mode and there's no getting through to you."

He smirked, moving into kiss me lightly. "You better hurry. I'm almost at that point," he said, moving into kiss me again and I moved out of his reach. 

"Please. It's important."

He nodded, stepping back. "I thought we said all we needed to before."

"No," I shook my head. "I haven't."

Alex nodded again and walked deeper into our room, taking a seat on the big bed in the middle of the bedroom area of our room.  "Okay. Do you want to change first? Or do you want to stay dressed up all nice while you yell at me for being a shitty boyfriend?"

I stared at him for a second. While he tried to keep his tone of voice light and playful, I could see the annoyance and even a little hurt in his eyes and it essentially broke my heart. 

"I'm not going to yell at you," I said, my voice sounded quiet and very far away. 

Alex

My head snapped up to look at Brook. I could sense a change in her attitude almost instantly by the sound of her voice. "What?" was all I could ask. 

"If anything, I'd actually like it if you started yelling at me," she said, her voice a little shaky as she took a few steps closer to the bed. 

"Why on earth would I start yelling at you, Brook?"

I wasn't sure what was going on, but I do know that as soon as I saw Brook's eyes turn watery with the threat of tears spilling over her eyelashes, my heart leapt into my throat. 

"Because I'm the shitty one in this relationship," she said, finally taking a seat next to her. 

I looked at her for a second trying to figure out if I was more surprised by the fact that she just cursed or that she would ever think to say something like that about herself.  I grabbed her hand in mine and gave it a light squeeze. 

"No," I shook my head. "No way, Brook. There is nothing at all shitty about you. Stop that right now."

She shook her head. "Alex, don't pretend like it was okay what I did before. All you've ever done is try to make me happy and all I've ever done in return is piss you off about it. And that is so wrong," she said, a small hiccup escaping her lips at the end of her sentence - a telling sign that she was trying not to cry. 

"But you're right, I do go overboard. I get that. And I'm sor-"

"No," she cut me off, pressing her index finger to my lips. "Do not apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who's sorry."

I kissed her index to finger lightly before she pulled it back. "You don't have to be sorry either, Brook. I understand that you've been through a lot and some times you have your moments and that's okay."

"No it's not," she argued, shaking her head, a few tears successfully slipping from her eyes onto her cheeks. "I sound like an ungrateful brat."

"No you don't," I assured her, but at this point I figured there was no point. 

"Look," she said, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't get upset if you want to do something nice for me because I know you're just doing it because you-" she paused for a second, a smile creeping onto her face. "Because you love me."

I smiled, a weird chill rushing through my body at the sound of her words. "And I know that you love me, even if I wasn't doing nice things all the time for you," I added, reaching over and touching her cheek lightly, brushing a few tears away with my thumb.

"I do," she said, a new batch of tears welling up in her eyes. "I love you."

I smiled bigger, leaning in a pressing my lips gently to hers. "I love you, too, Brook."

She smiled, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me into a tight hug. I slipped my arms around her middle and squeezed her close. 

"I promise the next time you get me something or surprise me with something, I will just smile and say thank you," she said, kissing my cheek before pulling back from the hug. 

I smiled, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "And I promise to let you pay for dinner every once in a while."

"Really?" she asked and I couldn't help but laugh at the new round of tears welling in her eyes. 

"Really," I nodded. "I wouldn't want to take away your independence."

"Thank you," she said before launching herself forward and covering my face with kisses. 

I grasped her face in my hands and carefully guided her lips to mine.  Brook quickly moved so she was straddling my lap as she accepted my tongue into her mouth. 

"Have you finished saying everything  you wanted to say?" I asked, a little out of breath as Brook moved her lips from mine to the side of my neck as behind my ear. 

She pulled back, looking into my eyes, holding contact there for a second before she spoke. "I love you."

"I love you," I said back before pressing my lips up to hers. "But you're away that there is no turning back now, right?"

She nodded, grasping one of my hands and guiding it behind her to the top of her dress where the zipper was. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. The look in her eye said it all. She wanted me. 

The thing about Brook was she wasn't a very openly sexual person. But I've noticed the longer we've been together and the longer we've been sleeping together, she's definitely gotten more comfortable with me in that sense. For instance, earlier when she took control and climbed on top of me, that was nothing that had ever happened between us before really, and it was fantastic. 

I've also learned what Brook likes and what Brook really likes. I've figured out exactly how to get her to the point where she is so turned on, she's practically begging for it. And while she would probably never admit it, I know that she loves that. 

Slowly, Brook and I removed each others' clothing, only breaking from our kisses when absolutely necessary. I laid her back against the pillows and began to flutter gentle kisses over her bare skin. 

After having kissed and licked and gently nibbled at every one of her weak spots, I placed my head between her legs and closed my mouth over her weakest spot. Brook sucked in a long breath of air as she tangled her fingers in the hair at the back of my head. 

She moaned softy as I flicked and swirled my tongue exactly how she liked it. I continued these actions until her body gave me every sign that she was close to her peak and that's when I moved away and brought my lips up to hers. 

Immediately Brook locked her legs around mine and lightly rested her hands on my cheeks, as I kissed her slowly. "You're a tease," she mumbled against my mouth causing me to laugh softly. 

I pulled back from her kiss and rested my hands on either side of her head, holding myself above her. "And you're beautiful," I whispered, my eyes scanning every inch of her face. 

She smiled, leaning upward and kissing the corner of my mouth. "I love you," she said softly and again I felt this surge of energy pass through my body. 

I linked my fingers through Brook's, pinning her hands above her head, against her pillow. "I love you, too," I replied, pressing my lips firmly to hers as I slowly slid myself into her body. 

The seconds and minutes that followed began to fall into one another. Time essentially stood still as I moved my hips against Brook's in a steady motion. The deeper I went, the quicker the pace went and before I knew it, Brook was fighting against my hands as her body shook with an orgasm and seconds later my knees bucked against the mattress and I follow right after her. 

I collapsed down on top of her, resting my head on her chest. I released her hands and they immediately moved around my back, her fingers slowly dancing their way up the back of my neck and into my hair.

We stayed like that for a while until I shifted so I was laying beside her, resting my head on the same pillow as her. She smiled at me sleepily as she nestled herself into my chest. I kissed her shoulder lightly and pulled a sheet up around us because I knew Brook had to be freezing. 

"What are you thinking about?" I finally asked her when the silence between us had become a little too much for me. 

She shifted a little and looked up at me. "I was actually thinking about my mom."

I chuckled. "Really? That's funny. So was I."

She shook her head, kicking me gently underneath the sheet. "Jerk..."

"I'm sorry," I laughed. "But I have to ask... Why would you be thinking of your mom after that?"

Brook rolled her eyes and leaned up on her elbows. "She was convinced that something special was going to happen between us here."

I nodded. "She did."

"Well," she shrugged. "Maybe she was right."

I laughed. "I looks like she was."

Brook smiled, resting her head back against my chest. "I love you," she said sleepily. 

"Marry me," I asked her and she practically jumped up. 

"What?" she asked, the word coming out breathy. 

"Marry me." I repeated. "I mean, we love each other, right? And I'm pretty sure there's no one else I would rather spend my life with... Let's just do it."

Her eyes tripled in size and I was sure she was about to vomit. "Alex. I-I-"

I finally cracked a smile. "Oh, for the love of God, Brook, breathe. I was just kidding."

"What!" she gasped. 

"It was a joke. I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself."

She kicked me again underneath the blanket, this time a lot harder. "I standby that jerk thing."

I laughed. "Aw, baby, I'm sorry."

"I was literally a second away from throwing up all over this bed," she groaned, a tiny smirk on her lips betraying her. 

"Oh please. The other day you were all 'I'll say no right away, Alex. I swear!' You didn't say no, darling."

She shook her head quickly. "I couldn't say anything! I can't believe you just did that to me," she huffed, kicking me again. 

I laughed. "Whatever dude. I just like having the satisfaction of saying I asked you to marry me and you didn't immediately say no."

Brook rolled her eyes. "I'm going to kill you," she said with a giggle. "I love you, Alex. But I'm seriously going to kill you."