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Chapter Twenty Two - St. Louis, Missouri

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

Aunt Angel was waiting up for me when I finally got to the hotel. It was almost 5'o clock in the morning. I was tired, but I still couldn't help but laugh at her exuberance.

"Thanks."

"Where is it? You gotta show me," she said.

I smiled. "I already had it sent home. I'm sorry."

Angel pouted. "I'll just have to see it when we go home for Halloween. Are you tired?"

I smiled. "A little. I didn't sleep that much on the plane."

Aunt Angel suddenly went into mom mode. Within an hour, I was crawling into bed.

"If you're not up by one, I'll have to wake you," she said. I stifled a yawn.

"I know. VIP..." I said drowsily.

She said something else, but I didn't comprehend it.

I was already heading off into dreams filled with visions of floating trophies.

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I woke up to the sounds of a noise-filled hallway. I glanced bleary-eyed at the clock.

It was eleven. Who could be making so much noise at eleven in the morning?

The sound of a male yell propelled me out of bed. I grabbed my robe, wrapped it around my waist and walked out into the hall. I let out a gasp.

Nate and Trevor were rolling around the floor. A potted plant was tipped over. There was a big dent in the wall. My security guards were trying to get the two untangled. There were two very squashed bouquets of flowers strewn all down the hallway.

"Hee-hee-hoo-hoo."

I jumped. I hadn't realized Jasper had snuck up on me. He had one arm raised and his hand crooked under his armpit. He looked like he was enjoying the whole fiasco.

"Chimps want blonde banana," he grunted. I smacked his side.

"This isn't funny!" I said.

"I beg to differ."

With a swift yank, the guards got Nate and Trevor separated. Trevor's lip was cut. Nate's eye was swelling rapidly. Both of their shirts were torn. Trevor tried to aim a huge wad of spit at Nate, but Nate turned just in time. Unfortunately, the wad hit my guard.

"You little shit-ass punk," he growled.

Jasper wrapped his hand around my arm.

"You might be better off in your room Fay Wray."

Jasper led me back into my room.

"Who's Fay Wray?"

That made him actually laugh.

"She's the chick who King Kong took up the tower."

"Another chimp reference?"

Jasper shrugged. "They're both primates."

I groaned and sank down in my chair. "What the hell is going on?"

Jasper leaned against the wall. "Well, I got out there a little before you did. I'm no Encyclopedia Brown, but I'd say that they were both bringing you flowers to congratulate you on getting an award and to fawn over your hotness. When they saw each other, well..."

He made a few jabs in the air.

I sighed. "Yeah, I understand that much."

I stood up. "I'm going to go talk to them."

"Hopefully not together," Jasper said. I shot him a look. He made a zipping motion with his mouth and I headed back into the hall.

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Trevor was first. The door to his room was open. He was resting with an ice pack. One of the Grenadine mom's must have taken pity on him. When she saw me, she made a swift exit.

"Hey," I said. He glanced at me.

"Hey."

I pulled out his desk chair, turned it around and straddled it.

"What happened this morning?"

Trevor's face contorted with anger.

"That asshole was bringing you flowers."

"So?"

Trevor looked confused.

"So? You're my girlfriend. He shouldn't be bringing--"

"Trev," I said quietly. "I'm not your girlfriend."

His forehead creased. He winced as he lowered his icepack from his lip.

"Of course you are. What about the gym?"

"I slept with you," I said. "But that doesn't make me your girlfriend."

I realized how horribly slutty that sounded. I shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't understand," he said slowly. "How could your first time not be special?"

My fingers played with the ties on my robe.

"Trev, that wasn't my first time," I whispered.

He looked like someone had hit him. Again. The icepack fell from his hands and he didn't bother to pick it up.

"What? But..."

I licked my lips. "Nate was my first time."

The change that came over Trevor scared me to death. He leaned forward and his eyes bore into mine.

"What do you mean Nate was your first?"

"I slept with him," I said softly.

Trevor laughed. It wasn't pleasant.

"So you're just whoring yourself out between the both of us?"

Tears sprang to my eyes. "Trev, it's complicated. I--"

He stood up and cleared the distance between us in seconds. His hands wrapped around the chair I was sitting in. He leaned close to me.

"I thought I knew you. How could you have just...just...used me?"

"I didn't use you," I said. "You wanted to do it."

"DON'T TALK!" he shouted. I leaned back. He raised his left hand and spread his fingers wide. All I could imagine was that hard palm going across my face. It brought back memories of the little girl curled up on that mattress...

I closed my eyes.

But the slap didn't come. After a few seconds I opened my eyes. Trev had taken a couple steps back. He was looking at his hand in shock. I swallowed hard and stood up.

"Brooke, I--" he started to say. I backed up.

"Trevor," I said shakily. "I think we're done."

And I left.

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I went back to my room and showered before I saw Nate. After the incredibly emotional confrontation with Trev, somehow the fog had lifted from my brain. I was totally calm as I knocked on Nate's door.

Nate's eye was completely black and blue.

"Hey Brooke," he said.

"Hey," I said. "I want to talk to you. Will you go downstairs with me and get something to drink?"

Nate didn't look totally surprised. He closed the hotel door behind him.

"Sure."

Ten minutes later, Nate and I were sitting across from each other in the hotel cafe. His hands were wrapped around a cup of coffee. I took a sip of my orange juice.

"I'm really sorry about this morning," he said in a rush.

"Me too," I said.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked.

I sighed. "Because this whole thing has gotten out of hand."

Nate nodded. "I agree."

"Really?"

I got a dimpled smile from him. I still loved that smile. "My uncle's about ready to kill me. I was coming to see you this morning to let you know I'm going home."

I didn't know what to say. I opened my mouth, but I couldn't think of anything except 'really?' and I knew he was serious.

"I think it's the best thing to do. I won't know the results of the DNA test for a few weeks. Plus, I'm ignoring my online classes. I'm flunking all but one."

"I'm sorry everything turned out like this Nate," I said softly. He reached over and took my hand.

"Me too. I just want you to know that I didn't use you for sex. I really do like you Brooke."

I took a deep breath. I had a feeling that if it hadn't come down to both of us being immature and all of the interruptions and drama, that we could have really had something. I squeezed his hand.

"Thank you. That really does mean the world to me."

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. We took our cups and stood up.

"When are you leaving?" I asked.

"After the show tonight," he said.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.

In the course of a few short hours, I had broken up with not one, but two guys.

Most girls would have been devastated.

I knew I had done the right thing.

I needed to take a little vow of chastity for awhile.

I needed to get back to being Brooke.