Guess Who's Back?

On Thursday, I looked forward to happy hour for the first time in awhile.  I felt like it wouldn't be awkward and I could enjoy myself.  I was actually getting used to my constantly busy work schedule too. 

I spotted Lauren right away.  I sat down next to her and Kinsley, and a few minutes later, Brody came back from the bar and sat in the empty chair across from me.  He smiled and turned to Alex.  I was talking to Lauren when she suddenly interrupted with, "shit!"  I looked at her curiously.  "Savannah," she said, motioning with her head.

I turned, and sure enough, Savannah was flouncing over.  She was always flouncing.  She squealed and hugged Brody, who was trying to keep the irritation off his face.  She sat next to him and launched into conversation with him about Miami.  Lauren made a face at me.  Well, there goes my shot at a non-awkward happy hour.  And my dreams of never having to deal with Savannah again.

I went up to the bar for a drink, and in a familiar gesture, Brody appeared next to me, sliding one arm around my waist while handing the bartender money for my drink.  I stiffened a little and he took a half step back, but didn't take his hand off my waist.  I turned and looked at him questioningly. 

"Normal, right?" he asked with a cocky smirk. Well, his attitude was certainly back to normal.

"Not quite what I had in mind," I said, but I didn't move, and neither did he. Finally, his smirk turned into a genuine smile and he shifted, keeping just the lightest pressure on my lower back with his hand.

"So, catch me up then," he said.  "How is work?  Did Lynn come visit?"

"Work is...the same.  They hired two, but then another one quit, so I'm back to working crazy hours.  I'm almost starting to get used to it," I said.  "But a lot of my coworkers are really unhappy so it's tense around the office.  I need to get out of there when my 6 months are up."

"That sucks.  People's attitudes can really make or break a place," he said sympathetically.  "And Lynn?"

"Lynn came.  It was awesome.  Kinsley loved her, and she loved Kinsley.  Obviously Lauren knows her already.  We had a blast."  As I talked, I thought again about how Brody should have been there to meet her.  Pushing this thought out of my head, I spoke quickly as we started back to the table, "So, you're back, and your company is really yours, so now what?"

"Now we grow," he responded matter-of-factly.  "Our marketing person was technically one of my dad's employees, so he tried to pull him when I bought out, but the guy didn't want to go to Miami so he quit.  I've got my attorneys working on getting him out of his non-compete so he can stay with me, which is what he and I both want.  For now, I'll be starting interviews to build him a new team so we can pull in more clients.  I want to open more offices at some point, too."  His face lit up as he talked, and it was obvious he was really excited about his plans for the company and being in charge of it on his own. 

"Sounds like a lot of work, but it seems like you've put a lot of thought into it," I said.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time," he confessed.  "I just didn't think I'd be able to buy him out so soon.  So it's pretty much what I've always been working toward."  By this point, we had reached the table and sat down together.  Lauren and Kinsley were giving me puzzled looks, but I ignored them and focused on our conversation.  We talked for several more minutes until Alex called to Brody from the other end of the table.  Brody nodded at him and then looked back at me apologetically.

"I'm going to go see what he wants," he said.  "But it was nice to catch up."

"It was," I agreed.  "This is the normal I had in mind."  He grinned and stood up.  I moved back over by Lauren and Kinsley. 

"What was that about?"  Kinsley asked, looking at me curiously.

I shrugged.  "We were catching up.  We're working on being normal."

"Normal," Lauren repeated dubiously.

"Isn't 'normal' for guys, like, tearing off each others' clothes constantly?" Kinsley asked.  I sighed.  This wasn't going anywhere.  "Can you be normal?" she followed up.

"We're going to try," I said firmly.  But I was wondering the same thing.


On Friday, James and I decided to try for an actual date again.   Dinner went well, and we joked that it went so well that someone was bound to end up with food poisoning.  As we were sitting in a dark corner booth at a bar around the corner from the restaurant, James said, "So, I'm on this recreational kickball team, and we have a really big game in the morning.  We're a co-ed team, and we have to have a certain number of women or else we have to forfeit, and we're one short for tomorrow.  Don't suppose you'd want to play?"

"I love kickball!" I said excitedly.  "I'll definitely play."

"Does that mean you're good?  Because if you can actually contribute and not just be a body to fill a roster spot, that's even better."

"Well, it's been awhile since I've played, and I'm terrible in the field, but I can kick and run," I responded.

"Good, we don't even need you in the field.  It'll be perfect!" he said with a grin.


I rolled out of bed the next morning and was bent over pawing through the clothes on my closet floor when James put his hands on my hips from behind.

"Well, good morning," I said with a laugh.

"Quickie for good luck?" he asked, holding my hips against him.  I stood up and turned around.  He grinned at me, wearing nothing but a pair of basketball shorts.

"You know," I responded, sliding my hands across his hard abs, "I've read that having sex before athletic competitions decreases athletic performance for men."

"I'm pretty sure that being horny and distracted by the beautiful woman on the team decreases performance even more," he said, before bending his head down to kiss my neck.

"Hmm, it's possible," I considered, while sliding my fingers under the waistband of his shorts.

He grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder.  "A chance I'm willing to take," he declared, tossing me onto the bed.


The kickball game was awesome.  It was so much fun to play.  The best part was my first turn kicking.  The other team clearly underestimated me and weren't paying much attention when I booted the ball right between the shortstop and third baseman.  It bounced past the outfielder, who tripped while trying to grab it, and I made it to third before I had to stop.  I got home on the next person's kick.  We ended up winning the game by 3 runs.

After, we went out to lunch with the team.  One of James's teammates requested I play with them every week.  "You're way better than Kelsey," he said.  "She can't run to save her life."  After lunch, we went back to my house.  Post-shower, I heaved myself onto the couch.

"I don't think I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow," I groaned.  "I thought I was in good shape, but apparently I am not even close to in good kickball shape."

James laughed.  "Thanks for playing, we couldn't have played without you.  And you did awesome.  I'm pretty sure you'll be the official backup now."

"It was fun!" I said.  "I had a great time, even if I feel like I got hit by a bus now." 

"Are you going to be able to make it game night?" he teased.  This evening I was going to Kendra and Christian's house to play Cards Against Humanity, while James had dinner with his dad and brother.  I definitely wasn't interested in seeing Jordan again. 

"I'm not worried about getting there.  I'm worried about sitting there for a few hours, having a few drinks, and losing all use of my legs!" I said, before dissolving into laughter.

"I should go," James said about an hour later.  I lifted my head from his lap where I'd been half asleep while he stroked my hair and massaged my scalp.  He helped me sit up, and I yawned.  When I stood, I wobbled for a second before gaining my balance.  "You're kind of a disaster," he said with a laugh.

"I won't argue with that," I agreed.  At the door he leaned down to kiss me.  When he left, I fought the urge to collapse back onto the couch and I went to get ready for game night.