What a Coincidence

I woke up late the next morning with a pounding headache, and my frustration hadn't faded as I'd hoped it would.  I rocked my head back and forth.  I had been so tired I had slept without moving, and my neck was stiff from the way I'd had it positioned when I fell asleep.  I decided that yoga was a good choice, and moved mechanically through my house, getting ready for a 1pm class.  After 75 minutes of Yin, I felt better--physically and mentally.

I let the shower beat mercilessly on my neck and back as I pondered the events of the night before.  Someone who wasn't interested in me wouldn't remember my favorite deli, wouldn't massage a week's worth stress from my neck, wouldn't suggest alternate plans at the last minute to avoid cancelling a date.  Would he?  I nearly gave myself another headache thinking about it and decided to save the analysis for girls' night.

We were all meeting at Lauren's house at 8 for apps and a little pre-partying and then we planned to find somewhere to dance.  At 7:50, Cassie knocked on my door, wearing a hot little black dress and sky high heels.  "Well hellllllllllooooo, gorgeous!" I greeted her.  She curtsied and stepped in.

"So, I saw one large black SUV in your driveway for several hours last night," she said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I frowned.  "Ugh.  Yeah.  I'll tell you alllllll about it when we get to Lauren's," I said.

"Hmmm," she responded.  "Not the answer I was expecting.  I'm intrigued."

We drove to Lauren's, picking up Kinsley on the way.  Lauren had a bunch of delicious looking appetizers and snacks set out, and we quickly filled up plates and wine glasses.  I looked skeptically at the empty wine glass in my hand and turned to her.  "Do you have anything stronger?"

She cocked an eyebrow at me.  "I have some vodka, and various things to mix it with, will that work?"

"Perfect," I said, grimly.

Once we were settled with drinks and food, I spilled the story of last night.  They were appropriately horrified and furious.

"Mortifying,"  Cassie declared, patting my arm sympathetically.  "What the hell is his deal?"

"So bizarre to go from fucking anything that moves to turning you down mid-hookup," Kinsley mused.  Lauren shot her a look. 

I blurted out the thought that had been bouncing around in my head since last night.  "He told me he never would have slept with Savannah if he had known she wanted more than he did.  What if we want different things?"

"No.  There has to be a good reason, and that's not it," Lauren insisted.  "You don't plan elaborate, amazing dates for someone you don't want a relationship with."  I was not used to Lauren being the voice of reason, but sex was involved, so I guess it makes sense.  Cassie and Kinsley quickly agreed, but I couldn't shake the thought and the hollow forming in my stomach.

We debated potential 'good reasons' for the next 15 minutes, eventually throwing out more and more ridiculous suggestions, until everyone was laughing.

"I know he's not waiting for marriage," I said, "but if he's decided to become a born-again virgin, I'm out of here!"

After we had settled back down, Lauren made a surprising announcement.  "Well, I met a guy.  And I think I might actually want to date him."  Lauren doesn't date.  She's never really been into it.  Something about "canned attempts to impress each other dissolving into indifference" getting in the way of good sex.  She sometimes found someone with whom to hook up with for an extended period of time, but even then she wouldn't let him take her on dates.  She told us about the guy.  She had met him through a networking event for her company.  His name was Quinn, he was 29 and lived in a nearby city.  She said they had left the event to get something to eat and had talked for 3 hours.  They were going out tomorrow.

By this point, I was two very strong vodka and grapefruits in, and starting to get antsy.  We walked to a nearby bar that does a DJ on Saturday nights (the actual clubs are full of underage college students with fake IDs, gross) and I immediately tugged Cassie up to the bar with me.  I am not usually a big drinker.  A few glasses of wine or a mixed drink here or there, but 2-3 is usually the most I drink.  I was already feeling a little buzzed from my two drinks at Lauren's house.  I ordered another, and we moved out to the dance floor.

The DJ was pretty good, but by the end of my third drink, my long week combined with our light dinner and my anxiety about the Brody situation had me a little wobbly on my feet.  I told Kinsley I was going to the bathroom, and walked there unsteadily.  I was running water on the insides of my wrists when the door opened, and I turned to see Savannah stroll in.  My heart leaped into my throat as I remembered her words to Kinsley and Lauren the other night.  I wasn't prepared to deal with her bullshit right now.

"Hi, Olivia," she chirped sweetly.  "Are you having a nice night?"  I regarded her carefully, trying to read her face and figure out the motive behind the syrupy sweetness.

"Yeah," I said, shortly.  "I am.  Thanks."  I turned back to the sink.

"I am too," she said, smiling at my reflection in the mirror.  "We didn't know you guys would be here though!"  I wasn't interested in taking the bait, and refrained from asking who "we" were.  I was curious, though.

"That's great," I responded flatly.  "Excuse me."  I pushed past her and walked out of the bathroom.

I returned quickly to Cassie, Lauren, and Kinsley and filled them in.  We watched Savannah flounce out of the bathroom and followed her trip across the crowded dance floor.  With everything that had happened, I half expected to see Brody was who she was there with, but I didn't recognize the guy she walked up to and put her arms around.  Lauren, however, gasped in surprise.  "That's Quinn!" she exclaimed.

Mixed Signals

In honor of hitting 15,000 views (holy crap, you guys!), here is a bonus post for you, my lovely readers.  Thank you so much for reading :)
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If Monday and Tuesday were busy, the rest of the week was insane.  By the time Friday rolled around, I could barely haul myself out of bed, and I entertained a fleeting thought of calling in sick and sleeping all day.

I did the best I could with my makeup to try to make myself look awake, and stopped for a large latte on the way to work.  By lunchtime, the thought of going out later made me want to curl up and die.  I called Brody.  "Hey, so...I know you said you were going to plan something low-key for tonight, but whatever it is, can we bring it down even lower?" I asked, tentatively.

"Is everything okay?  You sound beat," he replied.

"This week has been insane.  There was the extra work I picked up, but it must be a full moon or something too, because I've had three client crises since this time yesterday.  I still really want to see you, but I can't bear the thought of going out.  I'd be an awful date tonight."

"I'll understand if you just want to reschedule, but I'd be good with just grabbing some takeout and watching a movie," he suggested.

"That sounds great," I said, relieved he wasn't upset about changing plans.  "I'll be lucky to get out of here by 7 tonight, can you come over around 8?" I asked.

"8 sounds good.  I'll grab some food on my way," he confirmed.

"Perfect.  I have wine and a couple bottles of beer--if you want something else I can stop and grab something on the way home."

"No, wine or beer works," he said.  "I'll see you at 8.  Hope the rest of the day lets up a little."

We said goodbye, and I quickly ate my lunch and got back to work.   I made it out the door a few minutes before 7, and was not sorry to see the last of my office for the next couple days.  When I got home, I threw my hair up and showered quickly.  I pulled on leggings and a lace-hemmed tunic, then pulled my hair into a messy side braid.  I reapplied a little makeup and had just opened a bottle of wine when the doorbell rang.

I pulled the door open and smiled at Brody.  He held up a bag from my favorite deli a couple blocks over.  "You remembered!" I said, surprised.  I had mentioned the place while we were hiking last weekend.  I was suddenly a little overwhelmed by the gesture and the sight of him standing on my porch.  I stepped back so he could come in.

"Of course I did," he scoffed teasingly.  "I even got the giant brownies, because it sounds like you earned one this week."  I took the bag from him and set it down.  I brought him back a bottle of beer and he slipped an arm around my waist as he took it.  He kissed me on the forehead and pulled me towards the couch.  We found a movie to watch and settled next to each other, eating the delicious food he had brought.  When we finished, I started to get up to take the trash into the kitchen, but he stopped me and took care of it, even bringing me back a refill on my wine.  He sat back down next to me, pulling me against him.

I relaxed into him, and was on the verge of sleep when his hand found my neck.  His fingers worked at the knotted muscles I had accumulated over the week.  He gently shifted me so he could get both hands up, and massaged my neck and shoulders, melting the week's stress away.  "Your neck and shoulders are a disaster," he commented, working at a stubborn knot.

"I know, I've had a non-stop tension headache since Wednesday night," I admitted.  He continued working my tight muscles for several more minutes.  By this point, I had given up completely on the movie.  I had no idea what was going on, and it seemed likely I had dozed off at some point.

I twisted towards him and put my hands on his shoulders, pulling myself almost upright.  I slipped my hand behind his head and tilted it down towards mine.  He wrapped his arms around me, supporting my weight, and kissed me.  We kissed with increasing intensity, and his hand found the hem of my long shirt.  He slid his palm along my hip, under the shirt.  I felt goosebumps rise when his fingers found my bare skin.  He dragged one finger along the the skin above the waistband of my leggings, from my hip to my stomach.  His finger left behind a tingling trail of hot skin, and I wanted more.

I sat up, straddling him on the couch.  I curled my fingers into his hair and pulled his head to mine.  He laughed softly before kissing me hungrily.   Both hands now traveled up my sides, beneath my shirt.  I gasped as he unhooked my bra and slid his hands over my breasts, trapping a nipple between his fingers.  His mouth moved to my neck and I sighed, pushing my hips against his.

And then, as suddenly as it had started, his hands fell off my breasts and he pulled his face back from my neck.  I shift back slightly, looking at him.  He was breathing faster than usual, and his hair was disheveled from my hands.  I leaned in to kiss him again but he put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"You're exhausted.  I should go, and you should sleep," he said, quietly.

"This is the most awake I've been all day," I said, trying to keep the confusion and frustration out of my voice.  "I can think of plenty of things I'd rather do right now than sleep, and then I can sleep after."

He shook his head, shifting his eyes away from mine.  He put his hands on my waist and easily shifted me off his lap.  He stood up and began putting on his shoes.  I sat there mutely, having no idea what to say.  Did he seriously just get me going and then push me off, telling me I needed sleep?  I sat, silently fuming, while he tied his shoes and grabbed his phone from the end table.  He leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.  "I'll call you," he said, walking towards the door.  At the door, he turned.  "Sleep well, beautiful."  Then he was gone.

What. The. Fuck.  I fought back frustrated tears as I heard his SUV start, then pull out of my driveway.  "Sleep well, beautiful?"  No.  I stormed around, re-corking the wine and sticking it in the fridge, chucking Brody's beer bottle into the recycling.  As I brushed my teeth, I wondered if he really would call.  At this point, I wouldn't be shocked if he didn't.
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What do you think, faithful readers?  Is he going to call?  What do you think he's up to?

Lunch Date

Author's note:  You guys rock.  I've hit 15,000 views, which is insane, considering this blog has existed for all of 2 and a half weeks.  Come back tomorrow morning for a bonus post to celebrate, and thank you all for reading!
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"Wait, what you mean you invited him in and he said no?" Lauren shrieked.  I had called her as soon as Brody's SUV had pulled away.  I hadn't even taken off my boots.

"Exactly what I said, Laur," I replied with irritation.  "We could barely tear ourselves away from each other to get out of the woods before getting eaten by a mountain lion, but when he dropped me off, he wasn't interested in coming in to pick up where we left off."

"I told you hiking was a terrible second date," Lauren replied, matter-of-factly.  I could always count on Lauren for a good 'I told you so.'  "You guys are probably sweaty and disgusting and I wouldn't have wanted to come in either.  That's all."

"It didn't seem to bother him an hour earlier," I snipped back.  I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but I was seriously confused and her attitude wasn't helping. 

"Sorry," she said, softening her tone.  "All I'm saying is that there is a difference between a spontaneous make out session in the woods after a sunset picnic--which, by the way, is completely lame, and I'm completely jealous--and coming in with the planned intention of getting naked for the first time after you spent 6 hours romping around the forest."

I had to admit that she had a point, and I did feel very much in need of a shower.  I relaxed a little.   I suddenly remembered the not as awesome part of the date.  "Hey, Lauren?  Did you know that Brody and Savannah used to hook up?"

"Uh-huh," she said, sounding distracted.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I didn't know for sure, but I had always wondered.  She really didn't start acting all weird and crazy until shortly after Brody joined our group.  I've never been close to her and he was brand new, so I wasn't privy to the inside information, you know?" she explained.  "Wait, did he tell you about that?  On your second date?"

I explained how I had brought up Thursday and asked him if he knew about it, and how he had filled me in on the back-story.

"You are seriously socially impaired sometimes, Liv!" she said.  "He must really like you, to have spilled all that after you bring up a terrible topic 15 minutes into date number 2."

"Whatever, I'm glad I did.  Everything felt better after, at least for me."  I could almost hear her rolling her eyes at me. 

We made plans to hang out the next day, and I hung up to go shower.  I was still a little confused about Brody, but after talking out a plausible explanation with Lauren, I wasn't quite as hurt.


Sunday passed in a blur of lazy reality TV watching and gossiping with Lauren.  Monday morning came too soon, and I mentally prepped myself for my busy week on my way to work.  I got there an hour earlier than usual to prepare for a group I was leading that week.

Our agency had an audit coming up, and while it didn't affect me much, being brand new, my coworkers were in a frenzy preparing.  Wanting to make a good impression, I had offered to take on a little extra for the next couple weeks to help them out.  I was leading two groups this week and three the next, and it created a considerable amount of extra prep and paperwork.  Luckily, the day went by quickly.

I was sitting in the office after the Tuesday morning group, completing contact notes, when my phone vibrated.  I saw a text from Brody: "Do you have time for lunch today or tomorrow?  Friday is a really long time to wait to see you again."  I smiled to myself as my cheeks grew pleasantly warm.  I responded: "You're in luck, my 1:30 canceled today.  If you can wait that long, I'll have an hour."  He responded immediately: "That's perfect.  There are a few good places close to your office.  I'll meet you outside your building at 1:30."

At 1:32 I walked out of my office building and saw Brody leaning against a tree, buried in his phone.  He looked up as I approached.  He pulled me into a hug.  He was wearing a dove gray shirt, lavender paisley tie, and black suit, and I felt under-dressed next to him in my sleeveless blouse and pencil skirt.  As if reading my mind, he flashed me a perfect smile and said, "You look nice."  I thanked him as we walked towards a coffee shop across the street.

We settled into a table near the window with our sandwiches and drinks.  "Thanks for texting earlier, I needed to get out of the office."  I told him about my crazy week and he listened sympathetically.

"Volunteering for extra stuff was a good move as a new employee," he agreed, "but I bet you'll be happy when the audit is over."  Understatement of the year, right there.

45 minutes passed too quickly, and too soon, we were heading back in the direction of my office.  We stopped in front, and Brody turned to me.  "So, with your crazy week, maybe something low-key for Friday?" he asked.

"That sounds good," I responded.  He hugged me again, and kissed me briefly.  I looked at my building with a frown.  "I guess it's that time.  I'll see you on Friday."  He said goodbye and squeezed my hand before walking back in the direction of his office.

I sighed, and walked back into my office, ready to face the rest of the day.

Perfect Sunset

Saturday morning I got up and went to a yoga class at the gym, hoping it would help work out some of the tension that had made itself at home in my shoulders since Lauren had told me about the happenings at happy hour.  I'm not sure if it was the Yin yoga or the almost-too-hot shower I stood under for almost 20 minutes after, but when I stepped out of the shower and rolled my neck, it felt a bit better.

I pulled on sweats and grabbed some leftovers for lunch.  I looked at the clock on the microwave while I ate.  12:13.  Brody was picking me up at 1.  I ate quickly, then went back to my room to survey my closet.  What the hell does one wear on a hiking date, anyway?  I pulled out my beloved lululemon WunderUnder crops (can't buy many of those on a therapist's salary!) and found a top.  I grabbed a long sleeved shirt to throw on over it, because I knew it'd be cooler in the mountains.  I found my small hiking pack in the closet of my second bedroom and tucked a light jacket, a few bottles of water and some snacks, extra socks, and my small first aid kit into it. 

I regarded myself in my bathroom mirror.  I pulled my hair into a bun at the crown of my head and decided on just a little light makeup.  As I was applying a thin layer of BB cream, my phone vibrated.  I looked at a text from Brody: "So sorry, I'm running just a little late.  Had to pick up some things and it took longer than I expected."  I texted him back that it was no problem and finished up my makeup by adding a hint of blush, lightly lining my eyes with gel liner and applying a coat of a waterproof mascara.

I was still trying to decide between my Merrel Moab low hikers or my heavier boots that covered my ankles when the doorbell rang.  I pulled the door open and motioned Brody in, telling him I just needed to decide which hiking boots to wear and then I was ready.  He looked at my options.  "The low ones should be fine, I think," he said.  He had low hikers on too, so I grabbed them and laced them up quickly.  I grabbed my pack and we headed out the door.

Brody kept up a steady stream of chatter as we drove, telling me about some PR crisis that had happened the day before.  After about 15 minutes, he looked briefly over at me.  "Hey, are you okay?  You're awfully quiet."

I debated silently for a second if I should tell him what was on my mind.  I decided I might as well, or I'd probably be off the whole trip.  "Did you hear about Thursday's happy hour?" I asked, quietly.

Brody's jaw set, and he nodded.  "Alex told me."  He paused, and I remained silent.  He glanced at me again, and then continued.  "This probably isn't the best second date conversation, but it's a long drive and with what happened, I might as well get it out there."  I looked over at him, confused and apprehensive.  He took a breath, and then went on.  "When I first moved back here from Miami about a year and a half ago, I fell back in with some guys I had known before we moved to Seattle.  Obviously we had all grown up, and they were pretty hard partying.  They went out all the time, took home a lot of random girls.  It was pretty easy for me to get sucked into it.  I saw Kevin occasionally, but never really hung out with his group.  They seemed boring to me.  I had lived in Miami for 8 years, and was used to a faster paced party scene.

"About 6 months ago, I just realized I was too old for it.  My work was suffering and all I did was party.  I didn't have any real friends, and I hadn't gone on an actual date in almost a year.  I stopped hanging out with them and starting hanging out with Kevin more.  One night, we ran into Savannah.  Kevin knew her through a friend and we got to talking.  She seemed fun and chill.  I wasn't long divorced from the party scene, and I ended up going home with her."  At this he paused and I made a face.  He caught it and smiled grimly.  "Like I said, not the best second date conversation, but since Savannah sucked you into it, you deserve to know."  I nodded, and he continued.

"We slept together a few times.  To me, it was no big deal.  I didn't realize she wanted more from me.  If I had, I never would have slept with her.  She introduced me to a few of her friends, which is how I met Alex, Lauren, and the rest.  Alex and I really hit it off and began hanging out more.  He's the one that clued me in to Savannah's feelings.  As soon as I realized he was right, I stopped sleeping with her.  She got upset and confronted me about it, and I apologized and told her I hadn't realized she wanted a relationship.  She was furious.  I felt terrible, I really did.

"By this point, I was hanging out with the group all the time.  I wasn't going to just stop seeing friends because Savannah was upset.  I figured she'd get over it.  As you can see, I was wrong.  Christian told me that she's now upset that I 'used her' and 'stole her friends'.  Maybe I should have just stuck with Kevin and the people I'd met through him, but I didn't, and now we're here."

He stopped and took a deep breath.  I looked out the window, processing all the information.  Savannah suddenly made a lot of sense.  I even sort of felt sad for her.  But then I remembered Brody's lips on mine, and how she had almost punched Kinsley, and that feeling quickly left. 

I realized I had been silent for a long time when Brody said, "Olivia...?"

"Oh!" I said, seeing the distraught look on his face.  "I'm sorry.  I was just processing.  I didn't mean to freak you out.  I just...well, it's a lot to take in.  I'm glad you told me though.  It helps make sense out of the situation."  Brody's face relaxed a little.

"I figured if I was going to stick around, the least I could do was be a gentleman.  I was always nice to her.  I always invited her places even though I wanted nothing to do with her.  I didn't want to give her any more reason to be nasty to me and make things awkward.  No matter how she acted towards me or around me, I never let myself get angry at her.  I tried to be as nice as I could without making her think I wanted anything.  The closest I ever came to losing it with her was last weekend at the cabin when she called you a slut."

I slid my hand into his.  He glanced at me and smiled.  "I appreciate that you wanted to defend me and that you told me all of this.  You're right, it's not typical second date conversation, but for some reason, I feel better about the situation," I said.   "So what do you say we forget that Savannah exists for the rest of the day?"

"That," he said, lifting my hand to his lips and kissing my knuckles lightly, "sounds like an excellent idea."

We arrived at a little after 2.  Brody gave me a run down of the trails he was thinking about, and I choose a 6 mile loop.  We set off, enjoying the beautiful weather, the scenery, and the company.  Where the path was wide and flat enough, we walked hand in hand, ambling along in no hurry.  There was way more of the path that wasn't wide and flat though, and we spent plenty of time in comfortable silence picking our way through scree and scrambling up rocky obstacles.  We crossed a couple streams as well.  One was swollen with late high-altitude snowmelt.  The water flowed an inch or so over some of the concrete blocks sunk in the stream to help with crossings, and others were above the surface but slick with recent overflow.  We crossed carefully, and were rewarded a short way up the trail with a beautiful vista.  We paused to have some water and a snack, and Brody pointed out landmarks and peaks. 

He knew the trail and surrounding lands well, and I asked if he spent a lot of time here.  He smiled, looking out across the valley.  "This area is one of my favorite places in the world."  He paused, then looked at me.  "It's nice to share it with someone."

I stepped closer to him and he caught me around the waist, closing the rest of the distance.  We kissed for a long minute, bodies pressed together.   Finally I broke off, pulling in a shaky breath.  Brody pushed back strands of blonde hair that had worked loose of my bun, and traced his fingers over my face.  He kissed me again, short and sweet, and reluctantly stepped away.  "I guess we'd better keep going," he said.

We continued on the trail, pausing to look at scenery or birds.  As we made our way down the last mile of trail, a slight shaking in my calves reminded me that it had been a long time since I had completed such a long, steep hike.  The rest of me felt amazing though, and I didn't regret choosing the trail I did.  We made it back to the trailhead over 5 hours after we had started.  "Just in time," Brody commented, looking at his watch.

"In time for what?" I questioned.  He just smiled and ushered me towards the car.  We got in, and drove a few miles up the mountain road.  He pulled his SUV into a small turnoff and turned off the engine.  I got out while he opened the back and pulled out a cooler and a blanket.

"Dinner," he explained.  I grinned.  "Come on."  He motioned for me to follow him.  He walked up the road a way, and then pulled me onto a barely visible deer path through the trees and rocks.  After a short jaunt through the brush, we exited into a small, hidden clearing with sweeping views of the valley below and the opposite peaks.  I saw the sun sinking towards the opposite peaks and realized this was the perfect spot for sunset viewing.

Brody was spreading the blanket and opening the cooler.  He pulled out a small half bottle of sparkling wine, two bottles of water, fruit, cheese, crackers, hummus, olives, and smoked salmon.  I raised my eyebrows, completely impressed.  "This is what made me late.  I hope it's worth it," he said with a smile.  I sat down and realized how hungry I was.  He poured a glass of sparkling wine into a plastic wine glass and handed it to me.  It was amazing, and perfectly complemented the picnic spread.  We ate in silence, side by side, watching as the sun sank lower.

We finished right as the surrounding sky began turning pink and orange.  Brody quickly packed up the garbage and leftovers in the cooler and moved it to the side.  He pulled me towards him, settling me against his chest.  I leaned back and enjoyed the gorgeous sunset and his warm body behind me.  After a few minutes, I sat up and swiveled sideways, draping my legs over his right leg and turning my face to him.  Our lips met and as we kissed, his hand traveled from my neck down my arm.  It lingered for a second at my hip, pulling me closer to him, then trailed lightly down the side of my leg.  His fingertips grazed my left calf from knee to ankle before beginning to manipulate and massage the tight, sore muscles there.  I sighed into our kiss, then slid one hand up to grip the back of his neck.  I raked my nails lightly up and into his hair and he shivered.  Our kiss grew more intense, almost desperate, before he pulled back.  I sucked in a deep breath, trying to slow the racing of my heart.

"We missed most of the sunset," he teased, resting his forehead against mine.

"Worth it," I declared.  He nodded.

After a long moment just sitting there, breathing the same air, he leaned back.  "As much as I really want to stay here, we should probably get going before the animals come prowling."  I was disappointed until I realized it was quickly growing dark in the small clearing.  Suddenly the thought of mountain lions sneaking silently through the trees beat out my desire to stay in this clearing with Brody forever, and I got to my feet.  I reached a hand down to him and he took it and stood.  He pulled a flashlight out of his pack and grabbed the cooler.  I grabbed my flashlight as well and we walked quickly back down the deer path that brought us here.

We settled ourselves into the car and Brody started down the mountain.  He drove slowly and carefully.  We saw several elk and mule deer along the road and I was glad for his caution.  The drive passed quickly, all earlier thoughts of Savannah gone.  When he pulled up in front of my house, I again felt disappointed that we were here.  He grabbed my pack from the backseat and walked with me towards the door.

I turned towards him.  "Would you like to come in for awhile?" I asked, eager to continue where we had left off earlier.

He smiled, but shook his head.  "I'd better get going," he said.  I was disappointed, but I forced a smile onto my face.

"Okay," I said, tightly.  I took a deep breath and the next words came out sincerely.  "Thank you.  This was the best date I've ever been on.  It was perfect."

He touched my cheek, and kissed me lightly.  "Good," he said firmly.  "Because you deserve it.  When can I see you again?"

I mentally went through my work schedule for the next week.  It was going to be a really busy week, and I told him so.  I had a girls' night planned with Lauren, Kendra, Kinsley, and Cassie for next Saturday.  He thought for a minute and said, "Ok, how about Friday?  I don't think I can top this date, but I'll think of something."  I agreed to Friday.  He kissed me one more time, his fingers lingering at my waist, then said goodnight.

A Good Friend Fights for your Honor

I woke up to a text from Lauren: "Dinner tonight?  I want to hear EVERYTHING!"  I texted back with a time and place, and got in the shower.  I was still giddy from the night before, and happy I had back-to-back clients so the day would go quickly.

At 6, I saw my last client out, quickly wrote up the contact note, gathered my things and headed out to meet Lauren.  She squealed and hugged me, much to the annoyance of the people around her.  "Laur, I went on a date.  I didn't cure cancer.  Stop being weird."

"I'll be weird if I want.  Your first Colorado date is exciting.  Especially since I'm completely responsible!"  She tossed her hair and wiggled her eyebrows at me.  I couldn't help laughing at her enthusiasm.

"I wouldn't go that far," I said, "but I do have you to thank for introducing us, at least."  She nodded with superiority.    "And I'll have you to hate when something horrible happens and he breaks my heart," I finished, cocking an eyebrow at her.  She rolled her eyes.

Over our appetizers, I recounted the evening for her.  She sighed audibly in relief when I told her about our kiss.  "Now Kinsley won't have to rearrange his face.  I'm glad.  It's such a nice face."

"We're going hiking tomorrow," I said, ignoring her.

"Hiking?  What kind of awful second date is that?  You'll get sweaty, and not even in the fun way to get sweaty on a date."  Lauren has always had a bit of a one-track mind.

"It's an awesome second date.  I'm excited for it.  Sorry it's not your style, princess."

"As long as you're happy," she said laconically.

"Did you guys do happy hour last night?" I asked, changing the subject.

Lauren's face darkened for a second.  "Yup.  Hey, these mozzarella sticks are awesome, you should try one."

"Lauren?  Tell me about happy hour," I said, apprehensive.

She took a deep breath, then the words tumbled out.  "You're going to find out eventually, so I might as well tell you.  Savannah was there.  She asked where Brody was.  Christian told her he was on a date with you.  I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him.  Anyway, she was pissed, as expected.  Alex looked a little surprised too.  It was awful.  She started ranting about how horrible you were.  Of course, Kinsley and I stood up for you.  We got into it.  We...we got kicked out of the bar.  She actually took a swing at Kinsley.  Alex got her away in time, but as he was pulling her away she said that you 'would be sorry.'  She's crazy, Liv.  I can't figure out why Kendra keeps inviting her places.  She shouldn't be allowed in public."

I sat in stunned silence, staring at her.  "I...wow."  I put my face in my hands.  "Maybe I shouldn't go out with him again," I said, looking up at her.

"Are you kidding?  You can't not go out with him again.  You can't give that stupid bitch what she wants!" Lauren exclaimed.

"Part of the reason I moved out here was to get away from this drama bullshit.  I'm too old for this."

"Oh, knock it off.  Don't be so melodramatic.  Savannah is a crazy person, and she shouldn't stop you from doing what you want to do."

I nodded.  She was right, of course.  But I didn't have any desire to deal with such a crazy person.

"Hey," she said suddenly.  "When is your dinner with John?"

I had forgotten all about my plans with John.  "Oh.  Two weeks, I guess.   He flies in that Tuesday and flies out Friday morning.  He has training all day Wednesday and Thursday.  We're doing dinner Thursday night."

"Are you going to tell Brody?" she asked.

"I have no idea.  I haven't even thought about it.  I guess I'll see where things are at then.  If Savannah hasn't killed me in my sleep, anyway,"  I joked.

We finished up our dinner and walked to the door.  "Well," Lauren said, eying me skeptically.  "I hope you don't like, break an ankle or get West Nile on your hiking date."

"Thanks, that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me!" I shot back sarcastically.  We both laughed and headed home.

Date Night

Author's note: I am so blown away by all the amazing comments I've received over the last few days.  Thank you all so much for reading and sharing your kind words with me.  I know you guys are eager to read about the date, and I'm eager to share it so here's a bonus post :)
__________________________________________________________

On Thursday, I woke up before my alarm.  I was to work early, and got started on some paperwork.  I was antsy all day and had a hard time focusing.  I wished I had more clients, because I focused much better during those sessions than just doing paperwork.  When I got done with work at 4, I headed straight to the gym for a quick workout to get rid of some of my nervous energy.

I was home by 5:30 and showered, carefully exfoliating and shaving.  After drying off and putting on lotion, I threw on my robe and dried my hair.  I pulled on my dress, did my makeup, and did my hair, curling it into loose waves and pulling it into a simple low side ponytail to show off the back of the dress.  The dress was dark purple, with a modest neckline in the front, but a deep V down the back.  It hit about 2/3 of the way down my thigh, showing a perfectly classy amount of leg, but without danger of accidentally flashing someone.  My pewter colored peep toe pumps would put me at eye level with Brody's chin.

I was applying my NARS Velvet Matte lip crayon when the doorbell rang.  I looked at my phone.  6:58.  I grinned.  I love when guys are on time.  I went quickly down the stairs and opened the door.

"Wow...you are seriously gorgeous," Brody said, his eyes sliding up and down my body.  He kissed my cheek and I breathed in his cologne.  I stepped back and looked appraisingly at him.  He looked hot in dark jeans, a pale green shirt, and a dark gray blazer.  Total guy date uniform, but it looked good on him.

"You are too.  I mean, you look really nice."  My face got warm.  I felt like I'd never spoken to man before in my life.

Brody laughed.  "I love when you blush," he said, taking my hand.

"That's good, because it happens a lot," I grumbled.  He laughed again, and I locked my door and we walked out to his car.  He opened the car door for me, and waited while I adjusted my skirt and put on my seat belt before he shut it.  We pulled up to a restaurant downtown and by the time I had my seat belt off and the valet had the door open, Brody was there, offering me a hand to get out.  I stepped up onto the curb and he adjusted his grip, intertwining his fingers with mine.  

When we walked in the door, the host's eyes lit up.  "Mr. Adler, good to see you.  The table you requested is ready.  Please follow me."  He nodded politely to me and then turned crisply and walked to a table in the corner.  The restaurant was small, and didn't have many tables.  The tables were far enough apart to give an illusion of privacy.

After we were seated, I looked at him.  "This place is amazing.  Do you come here a lot?  The host knows you."

He smiled.  "My cousin is the executive chef.  I don't come for dinner often but I've had a few drinks here recently."

We settled into easy small talk about our weeks while we waited for our wine.  The conversation flowed into the basic getting-to-know-you chat.  I couldn't believe I had known him for almost a month (not to mention almost kissed him three times) without really knowing much about him.  He told me about his mom, a first generation American born to Greek parents who had moved here when they were in their 20s.  He told me about growing up with a pro-football player for a dad, moving for his contracts.  He was born in Texas, but they moved to Colorado when he was 3.  They stayed here until he was 14, then moved to Seattle.  He went to Miami for college, and his dad had moved out there when he divorced his mom.  Together, they started the athlete PR company that brought Brody back to Colorado.  His dad is still in Miami, running the main office, and his mom had moved back to Colorado a few years ago.

Halfway through our meal, a tall, white-coated man approached our table.  Brody stood up and hugged him, introducing him as his cousin, Costa.  Costa smiled at me.  "How is your meal?" he asked.

"It's fabulous," I said truthfully.  His smile grew.

"That's wonderful!" he said kindly.  The only thing I knew about executive chefs is what I saw on Iron Chef, but Costa did not fit my chef stereotype.  He chatted with us for a couple minutes, then said, "Brody, it was good to see you.  I'll leave you to your beautiful date."  He nodded to me and left.

We finished our meal and our wine.  As we walked out, Brody turned to me.  "I can take you home if you want, otherwise we can find a place to get a drink."

"Let's get a drink," I said, not ready for the date to end.

We found a lounge nearby and settled into a corner booth in the back.  His leg slid against mine as he turned towards me.  He slipped his fingers between mine.  "I'm glad you didn't want to go home.  I wasn't ready to take you yet."  My heart was racing; being so close to him was intoxicating.  I inched closer to him, smiling.  We talked easily, like we had known each other forever.  Time flew, and when Brody looked at his watched and announced, "Well, you may not have to be to work until 11 tomorrow, but I have to be there at 9, so unfortunately, I should probably get you home."  I craned my neck to see his watch, and my eyes widened when I saw it was after 1.  He touched my cheek, turning my head towards him.  His face was inches from mine, and I tilted my face up towards him.  He closed the distance between us, and finally, our lips met.  The kiss was soft and sweet, and it sent heat coursing through me.  Too soon, he pulled away.  He pushed a stray piece of hair away from my face, and smiled.    

He slid out of the booth and offered me his hand.  I stood on slightly shaky legs and we walked out, hand in hand.  When we got outside, he slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him as we walked back to get his car.  The drive back to my townhouse was too short, and when he parked in front of it, neither of us moved for a bit.

Finally, he got out and I followed.  We walked up to my door.  I leaned against it and looked up at him.  "Tonight was great.  I expect a repeat soon."

He looked down at me, his green eyes intense.  "Good.  I'd ask you what you were doing tomorrow, but I have a work commitment.  The weather is supposed to be perfect this weekend, though.  How about a hike on Saturday?"

"Good idea.  Let's do that."

He put his hands on my hips and leaned close, kissing me again, more intensely this time.  This kiss was even more electric than the first, and I leaned into him.  He pulled away, but I pulled him back to me and kissed him again.  It felt like every nerve ending in my body was humming with energy.  I had never kissed anyone like this before.  Finally, I pulled back.  He kissed my forehead and reluctantly let his hands fall from my hips.  "I'll see you on Saturday."  I stepped inside and turned back.  He kissed me once more, this time a quick, gentle kiss on the lips, and then turned and walked back to his car.  I stood in the doorway, watching until he pulled away.

I wanted to call Lauren, but it was almost 2 in the morning.  I changed into pajamas, got ready for bed, and laid in bed reading until the electricity stopped buzzing through my veins and I drifted into sleep.

Guest post at Love Life LA today!

Hey guys!  I know that a lot of you have come to me from Love Life LA and I'm so happy that you gave my blog a chance too.  When Marci approached me to do a guest post on Vanessa's story, I jumped at the chance (literally...I had the post written within 24 hours of her first email to me).  The post that I wrote for her is a little darker and a lot grittier than what I usually write here, so it was fun to do something a little different. 

Head over to Love Life LA to check out my perspective on how Vanessa came to be the villain that she is.  Thank you to Marci who gave me the opportunity and free rein to take it where I wanted!

And come back here Friday at 6am CST to read about Liv and Brody's date :)  Thanks for reading!

Back to Reality

I was seriously exhausted Monday morning.  I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower, cursing my tendency to wake up cheerfully on the weekend but not during the week.  I sent Cassie a text to see if she wanted to have dinner later, and tried not to think about the text from John.  Of course, that was impossible.  He was coming here?  Should I see him?  I didn't even know if I wanted to see him.  Part of me did.  No matter how much I didn't want to be his girlfriend, I did miss a lot of things about him.  But I knew that he wouldn't be able to have dinner with me as just a friend.

I pondered it my whole drive to work.  But thankfully, once I got there, my brain was occupied by work.  I was finally starting to meet my clients this week and I was excited about that.  It made it easy to focus on work and ignore both John and how tired I was.  The morning flew by, and the afternoon went even faster.  By the time I was walking out the door to go home, I was no longer concerned about John.

I picked up some groceries on my way home.  Cassie came over and we walked to a nearby burger place.  I filled her in on my weekend, and she was appropriately scandalized by Savannah's name calling and gleeful about my pending date.  I told her about John and she considered my conundrum.

"I think you should do it," she declared after considering for a minute.  "I think you need to show him that you're good here.  I think it will be good closure."

I regarded her skeptically.  "Me moving 1000 miles away wasn't closure.  Why would having dinner with him be?"

"Because you moved out here with nothing.  One friend, no furniture, a brand new job...you hadn't even seen your new house in person.  In his mind, there was probably a high chance for failure and for you to come back," she explained patiently.  "But now you have friends, your job is going well, and you're starting to date.  You're happy.  It will show him that you're here to stay."

I nodded thoughtfully.  "Ok, that actually makes sense."

"Of course it does," she scoffed.  "I don't make a habit of illogicality."

I snorted.  "Good word, Dr. Logic."

My phone, which I had tossed towards the center of the table and forgotten about, rang.  Cassie saw it and grinned excitedly, shoving it at me.  "It's Brody, answer it!"

I did.  He greeted me and then asked what would be a good night for our date.

"Thursday is my early night at work this week, and I don't have to be to work until 11 on Friday.  So how about Thursday?" I suggested. 

"Thursday is good," he responded.  "Do you like Greek food?"

"Love it!" I said back.

"I'll make a reservation.  I'll pick you up at 7."

"I can't wait," I said, smiling.

Cassie was smiling broadly at me when I hung up.  "You are sooooo in love with him," she teased me.  "You're giddy!"

I rolled my eyes.  "If you saw him, you'd be giddy too.  He's easily the most gorgeous guy I have ever actually spoken to.  I'm kind of confused why he wants to go out with me."

"Don't be stupid.  You're beautiful, smart, funny, and you have a rockin' body.  Why would he not want to go out with you?"

I loved Cassie's bluntness.  But I still wasn't so sure I agreed with her assessment.  

Tuesday and Wednesday passed a little more slowly than Monday.  I went to the gym with Kinsley on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday Kinsley and Lauren came over to help me pick out an outfit for my date.  They lounged on my bed while I modeled various dresses and accessories for them.  We finally agreed on a dress, shoes, and accessories.  Lauren played around with my hair, trying to decide how I should style it.  "At least you can do your own makeup," she said.  "We don't have to do everything for you."  I grabbed the pillow at my feet and swung it up over my head at her.  She dodged it, accidentally yanking on my hair in the process.  I shrieked and we dissolved into laughter.

I kicked them out a little later and got ready for bed.  I heard my phone beep while I was washing my face.  I grabbed it as I got into bed, and saw a text from Brody.  "Sleep well, beautiful.  Can't have you yawning through our date tomorrow ;)"

Apparently, Kissing is Hard

As had been the case all weekend, I was the first one up.  I went into the kitchen and started my now familiar routine of cleaning up.  I was washing the last of the dishes when Brody came into the kitchen, bleary eyed and tousled.  And so, so hot.

"I thought I'd find you here," he said, smiling sleepily.  He switched on the Keurig and then grabbed some of the clean dishes.  He dried and put them away while the Keurig warmed up.  When they were done, he put in a K cup while I jumped up onto the island and sat, facing him, wanting to say something, but not knowing what.  He turned to me as he pulled his mug out of the machine.  "Need a refill?" he asked, motioning to my almost empty mug.

I nodded, handing him the mug and requesting Cafe Vanilla.  When it was done, he walked over to the island.  He handed me the mug and then turned and leaned back against the counter next to me.

"You know," he started, gazing out the window above the sink at the brilliant morning sun glinting off the trees.  "You're not anything like I imagined you'd be."  This was not what I was expecting, and I looked at him dumbly.  He chuckled, and continued.  "When Lauren said a friend from Wisconsin was moving out, I was expecting...well, I don't know.  A big, dumb, farm girl, I guess.  I'm sorry.  That's awful.  It's a terrible stereotype.  But whatever I was expecting, it wasn't a smart, petite, gorgeous girl like you."

My brain got stuck on the "gorgeous" part and I didn't hear anything else for awhile.  After a moment, I realized he was still talking.  "...only driven through part of it once, and all I saw were cows and corn.  So I guess that's what stuck in my mind."  He looked up at me.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I can throw hay bales with the best of 'em," I joked.

"I don't doubt it, even if they might be as tall as you are," he said, laughing.  He's lucky I'm not sensitive about my height.  It's taken me awhile to come to terms with it, but I'm pleased with my 5'1" height at this point in my life.

I rolled my eyes and kicked at him halfheartedly.  He grabbed my foot and turned so he was standing in front of where I sat on the counter, between my knees.  His hands skimmed up the outside of my thighs before he planted them on the counter top on either side of my hips.  Even though I was sitting on the counter and he was standing in front of me, I would have had to tip my chin up to rest it on the top of his head.  I trailed my fingers from his wrists up his forearms to his biceps and smiled at the goosebumps that raised.  He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me down from counter, setting me on the floor in front of him.

Pinned between him and the counter, I didn't hear the footsteps approaching the kitchen.  Brody must not have either.  His hand was at the side of my neck when we heard Savannah's sharp voice say, "I can't believe this!"  I started, and we both whipped our heads towards the hall.  Savannah stood in the doorway, her face an impressive shade of red that I don't think even mine can achieve.

Brody regarded her calmly.  "Savannah," he started, his voice low.

"No!" she snapped.  "Shut up!"  Then she turned to me.  I could see the hatred etched into her face.  I didn't say anything.  Is there really a right thing to say in this situation?  'Sorry that I just almost kissed the guy you're obsessed with, even though he's not interested in you,' doesn't really seem appropriate.  She stood, staring at me, her body rigid.  Then she spit out, "Fucking slut!" 

Brody's face hardened immediately.  As she spun around to stalk off, Brody started to open his mouth.  I squeezed his arms, hoping to stop him.  "No, please don't," I murmured.  It wasn't worth it.  Anyways, she was already gone.  I rested my forehead against Brody's chest and sighed.  His whole body felt tense.  He took a step back, and I lifted my head.  He looked furious.  When we made eye contact, his face relaxed and then he just looked a little sad.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head and running his fingers down my spine.  "She is so out of line."

"It's not your fault," I replied, sliding my hands up his arms and down onto his chest, hoping to redirect things back to where they had been headed before Savannah's rude interruption. 

"It is," he said solemnly, "but that's a story for another day."  My plan seemed to be working, and he stepped closer again, smiling down at me.  His thumb had found the hem of my shirt and slipped under it, and he was rubbing it in small, slow circles along the small of my back.  I shivered and gripped the front of his shirt, raising up onto my tiptoes.

Just as he was bending his head down to mine, we both heard the footsteps and voices moving towards the kitchen.  I leaned back against the island again as Brody muttered, "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" under his breath.  He stepped back as Kendra and Christian walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Kendra said cheerfully, unaware that they had just become the third and fourth people this weekend to prevent us from finally kissing.  "What time are we planning on leaving?"

"Morning," Brody said back, shortly.  I glared at him, and his next sentence came out a little kinder.  "Whenever everyone is up and packed and we've gotten things picked up.  I'll have a service come do a good cleaning, but I don't want to leave it a complete mess either."

"Fair enough," she responded, nodding.  "What would you like us to do?"

Brody gave some suggestions and Kendra and Christian got to work.  He smiled at me ruefully as I walked out of the kitchen to go pack up my stuff.

A couple hours later, we were hauling stuff out to the two vehicles.  Savannah and Allie had, unsurprisingly, opted to ride with Kendra and Christian.  I can't say I was sad about it.  When everything was packed, Brody opened the front passenger door for me and motioned that I should get in. 

"I don't actually get--" I started, but he cut me off.

"So what?" he asked.

"Well, I sat in front on the way up, what if someone else wants to?" I responded.  To be honest, I felt a little awkward about everything that had happened and didn't want to feel Alex's eyes drilling the back of my skull for the whole ride.

"I don't really care if anyone else wants to.  It's yours if you want it."

I realized that sitting here arguing what seat I'd sit in was ridiculous, and even with the weirdness, I did want to sit there.  So I got in.  He waited until my feet and hands were out of the way and shut the door firmly.

The ride was pretty quiet.  Every time I looked back in the rearview mirror, I saw at least two people asleep.  I was tired too, but I was enjoying the mountain scenery as we drove.  When we pulled up to Brody's house,  I was disappointed.  Even though there had been some really uncomfortable moments, I had had fun and wasn't looking forward to going back to work.

Once everything was unloaded and transferred to the vehicles that everyone arrived in, I knew I couldn't prolong the inevitable departure for much longer.  I was shutting the back of my SUV when Brody came over.

"I'd like to look at your foot before you go.  Make sure it looks ok.  Will you come in for a second?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied, suddenly feeling anxious.

I followed him in.  He pulled out a chair from his kitchen table and gestured for me to sit.  I slipped my foot out of its flip flop and he lifted it gently.  He pulled the tape off the gauze I had applied this morning after showering and tipped it from side to side, looking at it.  "Does it hurt at all?" he asked, looking up at me.  I shook my head.  "It looks good," he concluded.

I smiled.  "Probably because I had such a talented surgeon to remove the glass from it."

Brody laughed.  "Well, lucky for you, huh?"  He paused to re-cover it.  "Feet can get infected easily, so keep an eye on it until it's all closed up.  If it gets red, sore, or swollen at all, you should get it checked out."   He stood, pulling out a chair to sit.  He leaned forward, looking intensely at me with his gorgeous, strange light green eyes.  He almost looked nervous.

"I'm really glad you came this weekend.  I enjoyed getting to know you better.  I'm not quite satisfied though.  Can I take you out this week?"

Finally! I thought.  "Yes, I'd like that," I replied, smiling. 

His face relaxed and he grinned broadly.  "Good.  I'll call you tomorrow and we'll plan it, ok?"  He offered me a hand, and I took it and stood.  He let go and his hand moved to the small of my back as we walked towards the door.  He paused with his hand on the door before we walked outside and pulled me towards him.  This is it, I thought, thinking we would finally be able to kiss without interruption.  I was disappointed when his lips landed on my cheek.  He pulled back and smiled.  "I'll talk to you tomorrow.  Drive safe."

I walked outside, simultaneously excited and frustrated.  He'd better be a fucking good kisser, because after all this build up, I'd be pissed if he was a slobberer.

"Well?!" Kinsley asked, the second my car doors were shut.  Lauren looked at me impatiently.

"My foot looks good," I deadpanned.

"OLIVIA!" Kinsley shrieked.  "You know damn well we were not sitting here waiting on news about your FOOT!"

I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise.  "Well thanks for your concern!"  Laughing, I told them what had occurred this morning, since it was the first time we'd been able to talk since then, and then about the conversation we'd just had.

"So he didn't even kiss you in there?"  Lauren asked, skeptical.

"No," I confirmed.  "He didn't.  I don't really get it.  If he doesn't kiss me after our date, this shit is over."

"If he doesn't kiss you after your date, I will personally kick his ass," Kinsley said decisively. 

We all laughed, and then talked about Savannah's antics this morning.  I dropped them off and finally made my way home.  I picked up a salad for dinner at a cafe a couple blocks down because I was pretty sure I didn't have anything good in the fridge.  When I walked into my house, I felt really alone.  There had almost always been someone around this weekend, and I had gotten used to it.  I missed having a roommate, though there were definite cons to roommate life too.  I unpacked my bag and started a load of laundry before crashing on the couch with my salad.  I turned on my phone for the first time since Thursday afternoon.  It beeped at me immediately, and I looked down to see I had two voicemails and a text.

The text was from John.  My heart fell as I read: "Work is sending me to a training.  I'll be out by you towards the end of the month.  I'd really like to see you.  I miss you."

Posting Schedule FYI

Hi readers!

My plan was to stick with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday morning posting schedule, but as I said on a previous post, I have a ton of posts written ahead of time that I'm really eager to share, and I'm going to try to get closer to real time.  I will probably throw in an extra post a week until I can get caught up a little bit, then back down to Monday-Wednesday-Friday.  So for the next few weeks, I'll plan on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I will let you know when I switch back to Mon-Wed-Fri.

Unfortunately, once September comes, I'm probably going to have to bump down to twice a week with an occasional bonus post.  We'll see how it goes though!  I just wanted to give you heads up so it wasn't a surprise.

For right now though I'll be posting the next post tomorrow morning at 6 CST.  Then one Wednesday, and one on Friday.

Thanks for reading!

Public Enemy #1

I managed to avoid any one on one encounters with Brody or Alex for the rest of the night.  I plunked myself down between Kinsley and Lauren when we went out for a fire.  I went in to use the bathroom, and when I came out, Lauren was waiting in our room.  "So..." she said conspiratorially, "I overheard Alex telling Kevin that he 'interrupted something' when he went to talk to Brody about the matches."

I snorted derisively as I flopped on the bed.  "That's not quite right.  More accurate would be that he prevented something."

"Ok, and?" Lauren asked, looking a little irritated at having to drag it out of me.  "Prevented something like what?"

So I told her the whole story.  And that I was reasonably certain that given 30 more seconds, Alex would have interrupted something.  That I was pretty sure even Brody didn't run around petting girls he wasn't about to kiss.  But that I was a little confused at the ease in which Brody had walked away.

"Liv, he didn't have a choice!" she exclaimed.  "Alex was standing there, staring you guys down.  Does Brody know that Alex asked you out?"

"I guess I don't know.  Do guys talk about that stuff like girls do?  Probably not."  The words were coming out rapid fire now.  "He might not know.  But I guess he might.  I have no idea.  Do you think he knows?  Does it matter if he knows?  Do you think--"

"Olivia, get a grip," Lauren broke in.

I stopped and took a deep breath.  "Lauren, I like him.  And it's insane, because I've known him for about 5 seconds.  And, I mean, I know about his reputation for casual sex and I have no idea if that's what he wants or if he likes me, or if people are just really, really friendly where he comes from.  I actually don't even know where he comes from to even hazard a guess!"

Lauren tried to hide her laugh, but couldn't.  "Liv, I'm pretty sure that if he just wanted to bang you, he'd have made a move a long time ago.  And I don't think people are just that friendly anywhere.  Unless it's suddenly the 70s again."

At that, I laughed too.  "You're right.  And I'm ridiculous.  I just hate the not knowing for sure."

"So talk to him.  It's actually not all that hard."

"Easy for you to say.  Your face doesn't turn into a tomato the second you're within a 50 foot radius of an attractive male!" I shot back.  She rolled her eyes and patted me on the shoulder before pulling me up and propelling me towards the door.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully.  I was once again up first, and cleaned up the dishes and beer bottles from the night before.  I was back out on the deck with my Kindle when Alex came out.  "Oh!" he said, surprised.  "Um...hey.  I didn't think...I didn't think anyone was out here.  I'm just going to..." he trailed off.  I furrowed my brow as he disappeared back inside.

"Well, that was awkward," I muttered to myself.  This weekend was not going at all how I had planned.

No one else appeared out on the deck for over an hour.  Lauren finally stumbled out, looking confused.   "Good morning, sunshine!" I chirped in an overly cheerful voice.  Sleepy Lauren glared at me, then collapsed in the chair next to me.

"Why are you so cheerful?" she groaned.  "Did you get some last night after all? Or this morning?"

"Sex is not the only reason to be cheerful, Lauren."

"It's the only reason to be cheerful in the morning," she grumbled back.  I just laughed.

Lauren wasn't the only grumpy one in the group that morning.  Savannah, looking like death warmed over, appeared in the kitchen as I was looking for some lunch and more coffee.  She stood in the doorway and stared at me for a second before quickly grabbing some water and leaving.  "What the hell?" I said to Lauren.  "When did I become public enemy #1?"  Between Alex, Lauren's non-morning-person persona, and Savannah's dagger glares, I'd had about enough for the day.  I put my K-cup back in the drawer and headed to the room for a nap instead.

I must have been more tired than I thought, because I was woken up almost 3 hours later by Kinsley sitting on the edge of my bed bouncing up and down.  "Get up and shower, sleeping beauty!  We're going to town this evening for some dinner and a townie bar!" 

"What time is it?" I groaned, feeling a bit like Lauren in the morning.

"It's almost 4.  We want to leave around 6.  I figured you'd need some time to wake up so you get the first shower.  Go!"

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready.  I was awake by the time everyone was ready to go.  Kendra said that her headache was gone but she wasn't taking any chances on it coming back, so she offered to drive.  Against better judgment, we all crammed ourselves into Brody's Sequoia.  I slid into the middle row, getting a funny look from Savannah and Kevin.  Too late, I remembered my "car sickness."  Oh well.  Brody slid in next to me. Because of how many people we were fitting in the car, I was sandwiched between the window and him.  Leg to leg, arm to arm.  I'm pretty sure the flipping sensation in my stomach wasn't because of car sickness.

It was a pretty quiet car ride.  Dinner was uneventful, and we walked to a bar down the street from the small restaurant.  We walked inside to loud Top 40 pop music playing.   Lauren and I quickly dragged Kinsley onto the dance floor.  She protested, stating that the music was awful.

"It IS awful," I agreed.  "But that's half the fun!"  She rolled her eyes but joined in.  After a couple songs, Lauren elbowed me, and then said in my ear "Don't look, but Savannah is practically in Brody's lap."  I waited a full minute before pivoting carefully to look.  She was as close as she could be without being on top of him, with one arm wrapped around his back, and her legs crossed so one of her calves fell between his.

"So?" I asked.  "Nothing I can do about it."  I wished I felt as nonchalant as I sounded.  But I never wanted to be that girl, throwing myself at the guy that wasn't interested.  It was bad enough he made me feel the way I do.

Lauren shrugged, and we danced a few more songs before heading to the bar to get fresh drinks.  We walked back towards the two tables the rest of the group had commandeered.  Savannah was now nowhere to be found.  I sat down in the seat she had vacated, after moving it a respectable 6 inches to the left.

Brody grinned at me.  "Looks like you guys are having fun," he said.

"We are.  There's nothing quite like dancing like fools to awful pop music!" I responded genuinely.  He laughed.  I took a deep breath, then said, "You should come dance like a fool to awful music with me."  His smile faltered for just a second and then he laughed again.

"I don't dance.  Trust me, no one wants to see that."  Well, I did, but I guess no one asked me.

"If you're not going to dance with her, I will," Kevin said, from the other side of Brody.  I didn't really want to dance with Kevin, but I did want to dance with someone, and at least Kevin was cute.

Brody gave him a look that I couldn't decipher, and then said, "Now this I have to see."  Kevin laughed, stood, and pulled me to my feet.   I saw Kinsley coaxing Alex out onto the dance floor too.

We danced a few more songs before I sagged against Kevin.  "I need a break," I said.  "I think I might step outside."

"May I join you?" Kevin asked.  I didn't know what to make of that, but shrugged and motioned for him to follow me.

We walked outside and leaned against the facade of the building.  Kevin looked across the street for a few seconds, then turned to me.  "You know," he said, "I've known Brody for a long time.  He grew up here.  We stayed in touch when he moved to Seattle and then Miami.  We've been friends since we were 6."

"Oh," I said, curious to where he was going with this.

"And sometimes, he's a really big idiot."

"Oh," I said again.  What am I supposed to say to that?  Kevin was looking at me.  He obviously was wanting me to pick up on what he was saying, but I had no idea.  He was an idiot for almost kissing me?  An idiot for not kissing me?  An idiot for a completely different reason?  "I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head.  "You're going to have to pretend I'm the idiot and spell it out for me."

He chuckled.  "Sorry, I guess I'm being a little cryptic.  Brody likes you.  But he doesn't know how to read you.  Throw him a bone, ok?"  My stomach was flipping again.  I was excited, and also surprised that Brody might lack the confidence to just make a real move without knowing how I'd react.  He didn't seem the type to be shy.

"Thanks for telling me.  To be honest, I don't know how to read him either.  So this was good."

Kevin smiled at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me up.  We started back in as Lauren was coming out.

"Hey!  Kendra is ready to go.  It's almost 1, can you believe it?  Anyway, she sent me to find you."

We all squished back into the car.  Unfortunately, I didn't end up next to Brody this time.  My nap earlier combined with the alcohol made me drowsy.  I barely kept my eyes open long enough to brush my teeth and change into pajamas when we got back.

What's a Fourth with no fireworks?

Friday morning I was up before anyone else.  I felt antsy right away.  I went down into the kitchen, and started quietly cleaning up some dishes from the day before.  Once the dishes were done, I wiped down the counters.  I couldn't find a broom, so I snuck back into the room and grabbed my Kindle and a sweatshirt.  I made myself a cup of coffee, and went to sit on the deck and read.  It was chilly, and I marveled at the difference a couple thousand feet of altitude makes.

After about a half hour, the door onto the deck opened and Savannah's friend, Allie, came out.  "I always feel like I'm the first one up everywhere I go," she said, yawning.  "I'm glad someone else is up!"

I laughed.  "I've only lived here for a few weeks, so I'm pretty sure my internal clock is still ahead an hour."

We chatted about my move, the differences in weather, and the noticeable lack of mosquitoes (compared to Wisconsin, anyway) for close to 45 minutes.

By this point, people were starting to get up.  Brody and Kevin came out onto the deck.  "Did you guys clean?" Brody asked.  Allie shook her head.

"I did," I said.  "I was feeling restless."

"Well, thanks, you didn't have to," he said, smiling.  "But I get the restlessness.  There's a hiking trail nearby, we could go in a bit if you wanted."

"That sounds awesome!" I said.  I love to hike.  "Do you believe I haven't been hiking yet since I moved out here?  It's tragic."

"We have to remedy that.  That's not acceptable!" he responded, chuckling.

We headed inside where Lauren, Kinsley, and Alex were making breakfast.  After we ate, Lauren and I got ready to head out with Brody and Kevin.  No one else wanted to hike, so it was just the four of us.  The trailhead was about a half mile back down the dirt road we'd driven in on.  Brody said the trail went about 5 miles out to a lake.  We walked a mile and a half down to a gorgeous overlook.  Along the way we saw 3 fat marmots sunning on the rocks.  We took a break at the overlook.  The path was minimally maintained, and my feet were a little sore from walking over the sharp rocks in just my sneakers.

I walked close to the edge overlooking a gorgeous valley.  I could see the lake where the trail ended down below in the distance.  Lauren and Kevin were exploring off to the side of the small clearing, and Brody had sat on a rock behind me to dig a pebble out of his shoe.  "Be careful," he called to me.  "Some of that rock at the edge is loose."

"I won't get too close," I replied, turning so he could hear me.  "I love the view!"

"So do I," he said, raising his eyebrows and smirking.  "It's even better from back here, but if you come back to look, the best scenery will disappear."

I glared at him for a second before laughing and rolling my eyes.   He just kept smirking at me.

We decided to turn around and head back.  Walking back, I was disappointed that the marmots were gone.  My restless feeling was gone, and I was glad Brody had suggested a hike.  We made it back in time for lunch, and found that while we were gone, Christian and Kendra had arrived. 

After lunch, Alex suggested starting up the hot tub.  Hot tubs aren't usually my thing, but hell if I was going to waste my 4 trips to the gym this week!  When Lauren, Kinsley, and I came back out from changing, the guys were already out there, pulling the cover off the hot tub.  I shamelessly checked out all three guys.  Kevin clearly spent a lot of time at the gym, and his biceps were roughly the size of my head.  Alex and Brody were both lean but well-muscled, and I saw flashes of a tattoo across his ribs.  Lauren saw me looking and elbowed me in the side.  I almost yelped, but managed to contain it as a strangled, snorted laugh.  At that, Kinsley and Lauren both burst into laughter.  Alex walked over with three beers in his hands, but stopped a few paces from us.  "I was going to offer these, but I'm not sure any of you need them!" he said, eying their red faces.  Lauren was bent double.  It wasn't that funny.

"Are you kidding?  I've never needed it more.  You try sharing a room with these weirdos."  I grabbed a beer from him and nodded thanks.  Lauren had managed to get herself together but Kinsley was still gasping.  Brody had gotten the hot tub going and we got in, joined quickly by Christian, Savannah, and Allie.  Christian said that Kendra had a headache and was going to lay down for a little while.  I had managed to score a spot next to Brody, but of course Savannah weaseled in on his other side.  Oh well, so far she had been relatively tame.  Alex slipped in on my other side, his leg brushing mine.  I suddenly felt a little lightheaded and a lot uncomfortable.

We ended up spending a couple hours in the hot tub, drinking and laughing.  Savannah drank quickly, putting away 3 beers before I had finished my first one.  I raised an eyebrow at Lauren across from me and she gave a small shrug.  When Kinsley declared that she couldn't take the heat anymore and got out, I followed.  We grabbed towels and went inside to change.

As we walked down the hall after quick showers and changing, I heard what sounded like arguing coming from the living room.  We walked in in time to hear Savannah begin yelling, swearing at Alex and Allie who seemed to be arguing with her in the corner.  Suddenly, an empty beer bottle was flying through the air.  It smashed into the wall 6 inches from my head and shattered.  Kinsley and I jumped out of the way.  Everyone else froze, including Savannah.  Then she started crying.  Alex and Allie each took one of her arms, hauled her up, and half dragged her towards the room she was sharing with Allie.

Kinsley and I were cleaning up the glass when Lauren and Kevin walked in.  "What the hell happened?" Kevin asked.

"Savannah happened," Kinsley snapped back.  "And now we're cleaning up the mess."

Awhile later Alex and Allie came back out, Savannah-less.  Brody had reappeared as well, helping us get the last of the glass we could find cleaned up.  "At least it was empty," he said.

"Fucking optimist," Kinsley muttered.  Brody laughed and squeezed her shoulder as he walked past.

We talked about going into the small town for some of their Fourth festivities, but decided against it with Savannah and Kendra both out of commission.  We lounged in the living room for a bit.  The windows were open, and a cool breeze drifted through.  I got up to grab a sweatshirt, but as I was walking from the living room into the hall, I yelped in surprise as something stabbed me in the foot.

"Oh shit, did you guys miss a piece of glass?" Kevin asked.  I lifted my foot off the ground and sure enough, there was a piece of sharp, brown glass embedded in my heel.

"That was the ONE piece that you were supposed to get, Kevin," Kinsley said, smiling sweetly.  "Way to blow it."

Brody had walked over and crouched down to look at my foot.  "That should be easy to get out.  Come on, there's first aid stuff in my room."

I followed him to his room, walking carefully on my toes to avoid shoving the glass further into my heel.  He sat me down on the edge of the tub and knelt in front of me, holding my ankle carefully to see the glass.  He rinsed my heel with some water, disinfected a pair of tweezers, and grabbed the glass.  I grimaced.  He pulled the tweezers away and looked again. "It must have gone in at an angle," he said, pulling my foot up a little higher.  "It's partially underneath the skin.  Hold on."  He grabbed something else out of the medicine cabinet and wiped it off with alcohol.  Before I could even think about what he was doing, he had made a tiny slit in my heel with a razor blade and neatly plucked the piece of glass out.  He washed the cut carefully, inspected it again, and put some Neosporin and a small square of gauze on it, held in place by medical tape.

"That was impressive," I said, as he cleaned up his surgical tools.  "It didn't even hurt."

"I went to college in Miami," he responded.  "I was a lifeguard there.  I pulled more glass out of feet than I did just about anything else." 

"Well, I'm thankful for that," I said, smiling at him.  He pulled me to my feet and gestured for me to walk ahead of him out of the bathroom.  I walked into the bedroom, but stopped by the window.  This window faced the gorgeous valley I had noticed the day before.  I put my hands on the sill and gazed out.  I was suddenly conscious of Brody close behind me.  One of his hands slid onto my hip, while the other swept my hair over my shoulder, his fingertips trailing fire across my neck, over my shoulder, and down my arm.  They stopped at the inside of my wrist, and I shivered involuntarily. He turned me gently towards him, keeping his left hand on my hip.  His right traced along my hairline, across my jaw, and down my neck.  It had just started a path across my collarbone when I heard footsteps coming down the hall.

Alex appeared in the doorway.  I stiffened.  Brody let his hands fall away and turned towards the door.  Alex didn't say anything for several seconds, then said "Um, sorry.  Did you have any matches?  Or a lighter?  The starter button on the grill..."  He trailed off, cheeks red, but stubbornly staring directly at us.

"Sure.  There are some in the kitchen drawer," Brody responded, starting to turn back towards me.

"Yeah, we looked.  Couldn't find them.  Can you come look?"  Alex made no move to leave.

I couldn't see Brody's face, but the red of Alex's cheeks darkened slightly.

"Ok.  I'll be there in a second."  Still Alex stood, not moving towards the kitchen.  Brody sighed, and turning to me with an apologetic look, he said quietly, "Come on.  Let me know if it hurts when you put weight on that heel.  It's ok if it's a little sore, but if there's sharp pain, I might have missed some glass."

I swallowed hard, irritated at the intrusion and baffled at Brody's ability to walk away right now.  Then I nodded, and walked towards the door.  Alex was watching me.  He didn't look mad.  He didn't look surprised.  He just looked embarrassed.

My Present Self has a little advice for my Past Self

Author's note:  I've written a bunch of posts ahead of time.  I'm in grad school and I work full time, and I want to be prepared when I go back to school in September so I can keep posting, even when I'm swamped.   But then they just sit there, scheduled and waiting, and I get so impatient to post them.  So, in honor of my lack of ability to wait for ANYTHING, here is a bonus post for the weekend :)  I welcome your feedback and suggestions, and appreciate you reading!
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As expected, my work week dragged.  I was still shadowing coworkers that had been around for awhile and spending a lot of time reading client files.  The repetitive, boring tasks did nothing to make the days go faster, and my anticipation of the weekend compounded it.  I tried to stay busy after work.  I met Kinsley at the gym Monday and Wednesday (nothing like the thought of wearing a bikini in your gorgeous crush's hot tub for motivation!),  and had dinner after work with Charlotte and Sam on Tuesday.

Lauren came over on Tuesday after dinner and helped me pack.  I'm a horrible over packer, and I didn't want to look too high maintenance.  She stayed for an hour, vetoing shoes and shirts, and helping me decide between swimsuits.

Finally it was Thursday.  Most of my coworkers had taken the day off, but there were a few around.  At about 10, my supervisor told me that there was no point in staying and I should go ahead and take off around lunchtime.  At 12:15 I shut down my computer and walked out with Charlotte.  We were the last ones out.  I knew Lauren was at work until 2, so I made a quick trip to the gym.  I texted her letting her know I got out early and would be there around 2:30 to help her pack, since she had been so helpful for me.  After my workout, I showered, dressed in shorts and a cute tank top, put on just a hint of makeup, and picked up Kinsely.  We drove to Lauren's apartment.  She was mostly packed, but I helped her get rid of a few things.  By 3:30, we were on our way to Brody's house.

We pulled into his driveway shortly before 4.  He was outside, loading some stuff into his Sequioa.  Alex walked out of the house, carrying a duffel bag, and Savannah sat on the front steps with a girl I didn't know.  I looked questioningly at Kinsley, who nodded.  "Yeah, that's who she brought last time."

Brody was over to my SUV before I even had the door open, and he pulled it open for me.  I stepped out and walked with him towards the back.  We transferred our stuff from my car into his.

"We're just waiting for my friend Kevin," Brody said, after I locked up my vehicle.  "He should be here any time.  Brian was going to come too, but he's sick, and Christian and Kendra are meeting us up there tomorrow, so we can all fit in my truck."

"Liv gets carsick, she should sit in the front," Lauren said suddenly.  I turned to her, about to argue, because I most certainly do not get carsick.  She gave me a look, and I realized what she was doing.  I could have killed her.  My cheeks got hot as Brody laughed. 

"She definitely should sit in the front then," he agreed.  "That would be a horrible way to start the weekend."  I glared at Lauren when Brody walked into the house to grab something, and she shrugged.  A car pulled up then, and Kevin got out and loaded his stuff into Brody's SUV.

I slid into the front passenger seat, feeling anxious and self-conscious.  I felt Savannah's icy glare as she climbed into the back row.  The butterflies wore off about 15 minutes into the ride, as Lauren told us a story about her neighbors' screaming match about a TV show the night before.  We were laughing and then chatting easily, talking over each other and arguing about the radio.  The rest of the drive flew by, and soon we were stopping in the small town about 15 minutes from cabin.  We loaded up with groceries and plenty of alcohol and drove the rest of the way.

I use the word "cabin" loosely, because when I picture a cabin, I picture a small, older building in the middle of the woods, perhaps without electricity or running water.  This cabin was about the size of Brody's house, if not a little bigger, with a perfectly landscaped yard.  It wasn't in the middle of the woods, but there were plenty of trees, and an excellent view down into the mountain valley off one side.  We all helped unload the SUV, and Brody led Lauren, Kinsley, and I to a room with our stuff.

"This is the best guest room.  It's small, but it's got a private bathroom and a decent view," he said, pulling back the curtains.  It did have a nice view.  It wasn't head on to the valley, but the valley was visible off to one side.  We thanked him and got our stuff settled.

When we came out, Kevin was fiddling with the grill while Alex struggled to open a pack of hot dogs.  "Childproof?" I asked with a laugh, pulling a knife out of a partially open drawer and handing it to him.  He hadn't yet said anything to me, but he laughed at this and his face relaxed.  He got the pack open while Lauren grabbed hamburger out of the fridge.  We grilled burgers and brats and then Alex and Brody started a fire in the fire pit.  We spent the rest of the night sitting around the fire, drinking and talking.  Savannah sat next to Brody, touching him often, and laughing even more often. I tried to ignore it and keep a positive attitude, but she was already grating on my nerves.

Finally people started drifting inside.  Kinsley, Lauren, and I took turns in the bathroom getting ready for bed.  I realized I could use some water and walked out of the room and down to the kitchen.  Alex was there, grabbing a bottle out of the fridge.  "Toss me one too, please?" I requested.  He did, and I smiled my thanks.  I leaned against the counter and drank some of the water, feeling Alex's eyes on me.  I turned towards him, and when I made eye contact, he held my gaze.

"I'm glad you came," he said simply.  I felt guilty.  He was perfectly hot, perfectly nice, and perfectly interested in me.  But I wanted nothing from him.  I wished I could go back in time and make my lack of interest more obvious.  My diplomatic answer to his request for a date had felt right at the time, and had minimized hurt feelings, but it hadn't been totally honest.  And I hoped it hadn't left him feeling like I was open to the idea of a date someday.

"Me too," I said, still feeling guilty.  "This place is amazing."

"It really is," Alex agreed.  He continued to watch me.

"Well...goodnight, I guess."  So awkward, Liv.

He paused, then nodded. "Goodnight."

And with that, I hurried back to the room I was sharing with Lauren and Kinsley before I could make anything else weird.

Close Encounters

I spent Friday completely distracted.  I was planning my cabin wardrobe and daydreaming about the way Brody's arm felt around my shoulders as we walked to my car.  I was sitting in my small office, finishing up some paperwork, watching the clock tick agonizingly slowly toward a time I could leave without raising eyebrows.  Charlotte poked her head in.  "Hey!  A few people are going to grab a drink at 5:30 around the corner.  Come with?"

I glanced at the clock on my computer.  4:43.  I could manage 47 more minutes.  I think I had another client file to look through.  "Sounds good, I'll swing by your office and we can walk together!" I responded, happy I was making work friends too.  Plus, I had finally figured out the public transit system here, and didn't have to worry about driving home.  Just had to make sure I got on the right bus.

I busied myself with my client file, and the last 45 minutes were probably the most productive I'd had all day.  Whoops.  Not the best way to act at the end of my first week at a new job.  But I had noticed that everyone seemed a little distracted today.  I had also noticed that there were few people in the office today.  Flexible scheduling has its perks!

At 5:29 I saved my work and shut down my computer.  I grabbed my purse and popped into Charlotte's office, three doors down.  She was shutting down her computer and we walked out together, meeting up with a couple other coworkers as we headed towards the door.  The bar was close, and we were walking in before I even had a chance to process the switch between air conditioning and warm summer air.  We headed immediately to the bar while one person from our group found us a table.  I looked around.  The bar was right in the middle of mostly office space, and it seemed to cater to the after-work crowd.  There were people in business attire all around, and the bar had great happy hour specials.

We settled ourselves into a large corner booth, and I quickly found out that my laid back coworkers were a rowdier group that I imagined.  We were laughing and sharing stories easily.  Before I knew it, it was almost 7 pm.  I walked up to the bar solo to grab drink #3.  I was leaning against the bar, waiting for my drink.  The place was downright crowded now, and I had been waiting a couple minutes when finally the bartender started back with my drink.  I had started to pull out my money when someone put their arm around my waist from behind and a jacketed arm shot out with a bill.  I turned, ready with a sharp comment about personal space, and found myself face to face with Brody.  He grinned at me.  I closed my mouth, my eyes widening in surprise.  "You know," I said, cocking an eyebrow at him, and turning the rest of the way around so my back was to the bar and my hips dangerously close to his, "you shouldn't just put your arms around people that don't know you're there.  You're going to get a knee to the groin someday."  I slid my foot between his feet, so my knee rested between his knees.  Was I...flirting?  I didn't even blush.  Liquid courage, I guess.

He tightened his arm around my waist, pulling me away from the bar.  "I wasn't too worried," he retorted, smirking.  In that moment, I could see what Lauren had warned me about.  But I didn't mind.  He could cock off as much as he wanted with his hips pressed against mine and his arm around my waist.  But then, as if he couldn't come up with an excuse to keep our position any longer, he released me.  I took half a step back so I could look up at him more easily.  I had only ever seen him in jeans or shorts, so I took a second to take in his black dress pants, light striped shirt, and charcoal jacket.  It was a good look for him.  Someone who looked as though he'd been at the bar drinking since lunchtime stumbled away from the bar towards us, and Brody pivoted automatically so the guy ran into him and not me.  Drunk Guy bounced off and continued on his way.  "Your office is on this block, isn't it?" he asked, without missing a beat.

"Oh...yeah, around the corner.  Is yours nearby too?" I responded, still a little distracted.

"We're about two blocks down, but this is one of the best bars around.  I usually come down with a couple people from work once a week or every other."

As if on cue, a tall man who looked to be in his early 30s called from a couple people away, "Brody!  We're heading down the street to get some food, come on!"  Brody smiled apologetically.

"It was good to see you," he said.  "I guess we're heading out.  What time do you think you can make it out to my house on Thursday?"

I was confused for a second, before remembering the cabin.  "Oh, my coworkers said that everyone usually takes off pretty early the day before the 4th.  I figure I can get out around 3.  I told Lauren I'd drive her too, so hopefully we can be out there by 4, 4:30."

"Perfect," he said, smiling with perfect white teeth.  "I was hoping to leave around 5.  It's an hour and a half drive.  We usually stop in the little town nearby for groceries and booze, they stay open late on the 3rd for the cabin crowd, but late is 8, so we need to be there by 7 at the latest if we want to be able to eat and drink." 

"Come on, dude, let's go!" said another man, punching Brody in the shoulder as he walked by.

Brody leaned down and slid his arms back around my waist briefly, saying quietly near my ear, "I'll see you then."  And then he was gone.

I ran into a coworker, Sam, as I made my way back to our table.  "I was looking for you!" she said.  "You didn't come back and we got a little worried.  I hoped you hadn't been crushed at the bar or kidnapped by a creepy middle aged businessman!"

"Oh!  I'm sorry, I ran into someone I know, and I stopped to talk."  Now I was blushing, and Sam saw.

With eyebrows raised, she questioned, "A cute someone you know?"  I cut my eyes at her, and she laughed.  "I'll take that as a yes."  With that, we walked back to the table, where people were starting to filter out.  I sat long enough to finish my drink, then headed home for the night.


I was way more wiped than I should have been after my full week of work, so I took it easy on Saturday.  I slept in (waaaay in), and then spent most of the day lounging on the couch, catching up on my DVRed shows.  I got bored about 7, and invited Cassie and Lauren over to drink wine and watch movies.  We found The Purge on On Demand, but I can't say we were impressed.  Cassie and Lauren got along fabulously though, which made me happy.  They left around 1am, and I slept like a baby.

The next morning I woke up to a text from Kinsley, Brody's friend who lives near me.  "Hey girl!  I am in desperate need of some gym time but seriously lacking in motivation.  Help me out?"  I responded that I was in the same boat and asked what time she wanted to go.  We made plans to go that afternoon.  In the meantime, I ran to the grocery store and did a little cleaning.  I threw on my gym clothes and walked over to the gym.  Kinsley was standing outside when I got there, and she grinned wickedly at me.  "Ready to get your ass kicked?" she asked.

She had talked me into trying one of her favorite classes.  It was a combo class with 30 minutes of Spin and 30 minutes of weights.  An hour later, my ass was indeed thoroughly kicked. (And sore...who thought that those spin bike seats are a good idea?)  As we laid on our mats, "stretching," she said, casually, "So, Brody said you're coming to the cabin this weekend."

"Yeah, he talked me into it.  Are you going?"

"I am.  We went up over Memorial Day weekend too.  It was a blast, but close quarters with Savannah for a whole weekend was kind of a drag," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Ok, does anyone actually like Savannah?" I asked, feeling relieved that Lauren and I weren't alone.

"Kendra does.  They've been friends forever, so she knew Savannah before she went off the rails.  I guess she used to be likeable," Kinsley explained.  "And Savannah's uncle owns some bars and a couple restaurants in the city, so a few people want to keep her around for the perks.  I think that sucks, and I never go to that stuff.  She's impossible to please."

"I see," I said.  I paused, then added, "I get the very distinct feeling that she wishes I'd go back to Wisconsin."

At this, Kinsley burst into laughter.  When she caught her breath, she apologized.  "Sorry.  I'm laughing because Savannah doesn't really like anyone.  But she will definitely never like you.  Brody got too friendly too quickly with you, and regardless if anything happens between you and him, she will forever blame her lack of luck with him on you.  That's what happened to Jenna," she finished, referencing another person I'd met at the barbecue.  "Nothing ever happened between Brody and Jenna, but since they flirted a few times, it was the end of Savannah's world."

"Sounds a little obsessed.  So I take it she's going too?" I asked.

"Not positive, but most likely.  I don't think she'd miss an opportunity to spend the entire weekend breathing the same air as Brody.  She brought a friend with her Memorial Day.  I didn't know the friend but she was pretty cool.  Maybe she'll bring her again.  She seemed to mellow Savannah out a little."

"Well, we can hope!" I said, starting to sit up.  "Ugh, I am going to be sorry I let you talk me into this."

"If it makes you feel any better," Kinsley said, groaning, "I'm going to be sorry too!"

We walked around the track a few times and then walked out together.  We headed our separate ways, and I cursed her silently with every step I took on my way home.

I spent far too long in the shower, letting the hot water sooth my sore muscles.  When I got out, my phone's alert light was flashing.  I dried my hands on my towel and grabbed the phone.  I had a text from John.  "Hope your first week went well.  We made our annual firework purchase today.  Won't be the same without you."  Why couldn't he have just left the last sentence off?  I'd love to be able to just be friends with John, but he made it pretty hard.  I sat in my towel, debating whether or not to respond for 3 solid minutes before going with a neutral response.

"Hey, it went well, thanks!  I really like the agency so far."  Then I tossed the phone on the bed and pulled on some sweats and a t-shirt.  He still hadn't responded when I was finished getting dressed and combing out my hair.  He still hadn't responded when I called it a night around 10pm.  It was weird, but not heartbreaking.  I went to bed thinking about how the week was going to drag.