Then I'll raise you like a phoenix

Then I'll raise you like a phoenix by nadiaa

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I pushed the door open of the boutique as I smiled, seeing Brooke hanging up clothes.

"Welcome." She turned towards me, "Hey you." She grinned.

I nodded, pulling out the vase of flowers out from behind my back, "Hi beautiful." I said, leaning over to peck her on the lips.

"What are these for?" She grinned as she smiled at the flowers.

"For the date that went south." I said, referring to her and I stumbling upon my half naked ex in my apartment.

She gave me a look, "I thought we established the fact that that wasn't your fault."

I shrugged, "I still wanted to apologize for it…"

"Well, they are beautiful. Orchids are my favorite." She smiled, taking the vase out of my hands.

"I'm glad you like it."

She smiled at me, "You always make surprise visits. Should I be expecting this often?"

I shrugged, "I like you seeing you." I told her, making her blush, "And I just got off work and I thought coming here would be better than going home."

"Well, I'm about to close if you want to watch me put things on clearance and dust the top shelves.

"I might…." I trailed off, trying not to stare at her long legs, "Are you going to be on a ladder for those top shelves?" I smirked slowly at her.

"Are you trying to get a peek up my skirt Nick?" She asked, tagging a dress and then turned back towards me.

I nodded, "Maybe."

She smiled slowly as she leaned into my body and I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around her and pull he run closer.

"You just had to ask." She whispered slowly as she blushed.

"F*ck you are so cute…" I trailed off, pushing the hair away from her face.

She eyed me, "Cute? Not exactly the adjective you're looking for when you're attempting to make out with a guy." She teased as I gave her a look.

"Making our in your shop? While you work? Brooke exactly what kind of girl are you?" I said, jokingly.

She smiled, "My family owns the store, I think I'm allowed to do anything I want."

I rose a brow, thinking of all the possibilities we could do… I picked her up, setting her on the table next to the register and cupped her face, "Anything huh?" I pressed a kiss against her lips as she moaned against mine, "Not just cute…" I added.

"What?" She asked, pulling away from me with a smile.

"You're sexy as hell Brooke…" I looked at him, imagining her naked.

"Maybe I can skip some closing stuff… we could get something to eat… maybe end up somewhere with no naked ex girlfriends around?"

I smirked, "Well I did have my locks changed." I grinned.

She grinned, "Oh yeah."

I nodded, "I'm the only one with the keys, so there will definitely be no naked ex-girlfriend on the couch."

"Good." She breathed out, "I just have to count the till… and make sure everything is okay… I can clean in the morning."

"Sounds good…" I breathed out, holding her body against mine tight as my hands trailed down her back towards her a*ss.

"You should let me go then…" She grinned.

I nodded, "I guess I should…" I trailed off as I let my arms.

She gave me a smile, "Thank you." She walked towards the door and turned the open sign over and locked the doors. I walked throughout the store, looking at everything wondering how many stuff did girls really need? I mean wow, girls needed a ton of things.

"I'm done." She spoke up, interrupting my thoughts as I turned around and she was all ready to go.

I nodded, "Let's go." I suggested as we walked out together.

"How about we go to my place…" She trailed off, biting her lip, "I can make you dinner." She suggested, "And there will be no risk of exes." She joked.

I nodded, "That sounds perfect." I told her as I held the door of my car open for her and drove to her place.

She opened her door and set her stuff down, "Make yourself comfortable." She said as I looked around the nice sized apartment.

"This place is nice."

"Thanks, my parents got it for me." She grinned, "So what do you want for dinner."

I shrugged, "Absolutely anything. I'm starving." I grinned.

"Men." She shook her head, "All they know is that they're hungry."

"I am a man…" I trailed off, joking with her, "I really do like anything so I'm not very picky."

"Okay." She smirked, turning around and rifled through the fridge and while she did, I managed to stare at her a.ss.

"Damn." I breathed out without realizing it.

She turned around, "What?"

I shrugged, trying to cover my a.ss, "You have a lot of food in there." I said stupidly.

She laughed, "Yes. I'm not your typical twenty something, but I am studying to be a chef… so…"

I smirked, "I'm beginning to think I'm a very lucky man."

She grinned as she pulled out a few things, "How about stuffed chicken?" She asked me.

"Stuffed with what?"

She shrugged, "Cheese mostly. I love cheese."

I grinned, "Definitely lucky." I nodded as she started preparing the food. I watched her as she did and she eyed me.

"So your ex wants you back…" She trailed off, eyeing me.

"Don't remind me please." I told her, shaking my head as she placed the chicken in the oven and turned towards me, taking off her apron, "You know I never thought a girl could look so sexy in an apron." I teased her.

She blushed, "Wait until you see me in just the apron."

I groaned, "I feel like you just read my thoughts…" I told her as I stared back at her.

"Hmmm." She started, "We must be on the same wave length…" She replied, walking up to me.

I grabbed her waist and pulled her into my hard body, "How long until dinner?"

"It has to bake for 45 minutes." She whispered.

"Damn…" I trailed off as looked at me and I looked back up at her, "Not nearly enough time."

"For what?" She asked me as I started to rub the exposed skin around her waist.

"Anything…" I said, trying to get my head out of the gutter.

"Like?" She bit her lip.

"I'm afraid to say anything in fear of getting slapped." I grinned making her laugh.

"Tell me… I won't care…" She looked at my though her lashes.

I swallowed, "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't pictured you naked…." I trailed off.

"Naked and what?" She bit her lip, urging me on.

"Moaning my name." I swallowed.

"Like this? 'Nick.'" She said in a breathy moan.

I could feel my jeans start to tighten as I let out a small groan, "You shouldn't do that, unless you're going to follow through…" I trailed off as she gave me an even bigger grin.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" She teased me.

I grabbed her hands forcefully, "I'll have to teach you a lesson…" I grinned as she bit her lip.

"I think I'd like that…" She blinked her eyes.

I swallowed as I grabbed her waist and placed her on the counter and kissed her deeply as I stepped in between her legs.

I kissed down her neck as she let out a moan, "Do you like that?" I asked her.

She nodded as I nipped at her neck, making her moan out, "More…"

I brought my eyes back to levee with hers and smirked, "More?"

She nodded, reaching more me as she ran her hands down my torso, fisting the hem of my shirt and then slowly pulled it up.

I was surprised that she was furthering it more, but I lifted my arms and let her take the shirt off.

She groaned as she looked at my body and I smirked, "Is that a 'I like what you see' noise?" I asked her as she nodded while running her hands all over my bare chest.

"That would be an understatement." She whispered, wrapping her legs around my waist to pull me back into her and then kissed me again.

Our tongues moved together as my hands moved slowly and cautiously up her thigh to play with the hem of her shirt, not sure if this was what she wanted, but I wanted to be careful, just incase…

She pulled back, looking into my eyes before holding her arms up in the arm, motioning me to take it off. I grinned before pulling it above her body and tossed it away as I took in her gorgeous body.

"You're so f*cking gorgeous Brooke." I trailed off with a grin as I kissed the swells of her breast.

"I'm not even naked yet." She teased breathlessly. I'm sure my imagination wasn't half as good as her body…

She grabbed my belt loops and pulled her harder into me as we just kept kissing over and over, our mouths barely stopping for breath.

"I want you so bad, Nick." She breathed out as my hands roamed her body.

I groaned against her skin as I trailed kisses down her body while I heard her whimper, "You are so gorgeous." I repeated to her as my hands hooked into the waistband of her skirts and I slowly inched it down her smooth thighs, just in case she wanted to object, but I didn't hear any complaints.

Her breaths came out ragged as I kissed the tops of her thighs, "Do you like this?" I asked, looking up at her as she quickly nodded.

"God yes…" She bit her lip as I kissed below her navel.

"Good." I said as I finally hooked my fingers into her panties and as soon as I did, the oven timer went off, beeping loudly and ruining the mood.

We both groaned as Brooke threw her head back, "Why does the world hate me?!" She exclaimed as I pulled away from her with a small grin.

"We have the worst timing, don't we?"I smirked running my hands through my hair.

She sighed, "God yes." She hopped off the counter and grabbed an oven mitt before bending over to take the chicken out and of course I couldn't help but stare at her a*ss as she did, "Well dinner is ready." She sighed.

I smirked, looking at the two of us, her in nothing but bra and panties and I was shirtless, it was like two high schoolers getting caught.

"I'm suddenly not hungry for chicken…" I trailed off, thinking about what I was doing before the timer went off.

"Oh yeah?" She laughed as her eyes traveled down my body and landed on the bulge in my jeans, god this was horrible. Think of anything else but Brooke… But it was quite impossible seeing as how she was standing there practically naked.

"It'll be f*cking impossible to focus on anything but you if that's all you're wearing…" I trailed off, speaking my mind before realizing I did.

"I always have dinner dates in my underwear." She joked with me.

"Lucky dates." I grinned at her.

"So…" She trailed off.

"Well… we shouldn't let your food go to waste." I suggested, but I didn't want dinner. I wanted her.

She nodded and pulled out dishes and started plating the food pretty fancily… Was that the word?

"Wow." I grinned at her as she looked up.

"What?" She asked confused.

I shook my head, "You really are a chef."

She looked down at the plate and chuckled, "Force of habit." She shrugged, adding the final touches.

"I wasn't complaining…" I trailed off as she grinned at me. She then went on the hunt for her skirt and slipped it on over her hips, making me upset… honestly, I wanted her to keep it off.

I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist as I nuzzled her neck, "You okay?" I asked her as she quickly nodded.

"Yeah, fine. Why?"

I pressed a soft kiss against her neck and pulled her tighter into me, "You tensed up."

She turned around in my arms and smirked, "Are you some kind of expert on body language or something?"

"Maybe." I smirked, "Oh maybe I just know you." I shrugged.

She blinked up at me, "But you don't… not really." She said sadly.

"I can tell when you're being Brooke and when you're being scared off. What did I do?" I asked her, worried.

"Nothing. You're perfect." She said as she pressed her palms against my chest.

"I don't know about that." I smirked, "Do you want to eat?" I suggested.

"Are you going to put your shirt back on?" She asked, biting her lip.

"I won't if you won't." I teased as she blushed again.

"Deal."

I chuckled, "Thank you for making dinner. I appreciate it. I mean I know I came up and surprised you and-"

"Stop talking." She grinned, "I like seeing you… so I'm not complaining."

I grinned as I took a bite into the chicken and moaned in response, "Oh my god. This is amazing…"

"Really?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah." I nodded quickly, "This is amazing! Is it some recipe?" I asked, taking more bites.

She shook her head, "No, just made what came to me." She shrugged.

"Jeez, this is amazing." I said, digging in, "You should cook for me more often."

She laughed, "I'd love to."

I quickly finished my plate as she gave me an amused smile, "What?" I asked puzzled.

"Do you always eat so fast?" She asked with a grin.

I nodded, "Yeah, it drove my mother insane… I mean she shouldn't complain since at least I ate all my food. Plus seconds. By the way, can I have seconds?" I asked as she nodded with a laugh.

"Knock yourself out."

"Thanks." I said, getting another plate and quickly wolfing it down.

She just eyed me, "Where do you put it?"

I swallowed the food, "What do you mean?" I asked confused.

She grinned, "You're sitting in my kitchen, shirtless and you're wondering why? I mean look at you! You have the body of a Greek god." I stared at my chest.

I smirked, "I take care of my body…" I shrugged, "I used to play football in high school and I still work out occasionally."

"Well it does you good." She bit her lip with a sultry look in her eyes.

"And what do you do?" I smirked, "I mean you're crazy gorgeous and you're a chef. I think you eat, but honestly, it doesn't look like it." I grinned.

"Psh, you're just saying that to be nice."

I shook my head, "You're gorgeous Brooke. Really sexy actually…"

"Well, the perks of being a chef is that you know how to make food that's good for you, taste good too." She winked at me and I grinned.

"Are you saying this is good for me?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "Well I cheat a little sometimes, but that's what the gym is for." I swallowed thickly, "What?" She asked.

I shook my head, "I'm trying not to think about you on a treadmill in tiny yoga shorts." I admitted to her and she started blushing.

"I do look good in tiny yoga shorts…" She admitted, taking a sip of water and that's all I could think about now, "Do you want to be my date to my friends party?" She asked suddenly.

"Sure." I grinned, not thinking twice about it.

"Well technically I'm throwing the party. It's my best friends birthday."

I nodded, "Mason right?"

She shook her head, "No my other best friend Scarlett."

"I'm dating a girl with two best friends?! Wow." I teased her as she wrinkled her nose.

"Mason will be there, I'm sure." She nodded.

"Sounds like a lot of pressure." I joked, but then I thought about it… was it too serious?

"Trust me, they'll just be happy I'm out with someone at all. The worst they'll do is chastise me for not jumping you yet." She told me.

I smirked, "Jump me?"

She bit her lip, "I have a habit of sticking my foot in my mouth…" She trailed off, "I might have told them that you're a little attractive… And it's been a while for me…"

I grinned, "Okay, I'm going to have a giant ego with you."

She grinned, "Shut up! I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be! It's cute and I'm am really flattered." I shrugged, "I'm kind of nervous to meet them to be truthfully honest."

"Why?" She asked with a grin.

I shrugged, "Because they're your friends. I don't want to mess up. Plus I feel like I'm going to be judged."

She shook her head, "They're not that bad. I promise and I'll protect you."

"Now you're making me sound like a girl." I smirked and she shook her head.

"I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that I'll just stand up for you, but in a way that assures that you're still a manly guy."

I laughed, "Thanks. I do appreciate that."

"So you'll come?" She asked once more and I nodded.

"Sure." I grinned, grabbing her hand and pulled her into my lap, "Though maybe I should jump you first." I slid my arms around her waist and leaned in, kissing her hard again as she pressed her body against mine.

"You could do that…" She breathed out as my lips trailed down my neck and my hands slid up her back to reach for her bra clasp… and then her phone rang.

She groaned, pulling away from me and I couldn't say I wasn't disappointed, "The. Worst. Timing." I told her and she sighed and reached for her phone and I saw the name on it. Mom. Damn. "I feel like you should ut your clothes back on for that call." She smirked at me, "What?! It's creepy.." I trailed off.

I put my shirt back on as she answered the phone and tried to get myself together. Being teased once is fine, but twice within minutes was the worst. I was going to have to take a day long cold shower.

She turned towards me and I didn't know what to say, "So…" She trailed off.

I pushed her hair back, "I'm going to go home and take a cold shower before I try anything and get interrupted again." I laughed as she bit down her lip.

"Well how about Friday you come over and I'll turn off my oven and my phone…" She trailed off.

I smirked, "Will you wear that skirt again?"

She shook her head slowly, "I was planning on wearing nothing instead." She whispered into my ear.

I groaned, widening my eyes, "You have… awesome ideas." I said, thinking of the first thing coming to my mind. I cupped her face in my hand and kissed her lips softly before pulling away, "Friday can't come soon enough." I winked as I headed out the door.

F.uck, she was perfect.