New Normal

Remember when I said no more bonus posts for awhile? Well, I'm clearly not a lady of my word. I'm probably going to regret this because I now have to write a post to insert into an already completed storyline so Thanksgiving doesn't happen before Thanksgiving, but I really want to thank you guys for your loyalty and readership. And the best way to do that is to ply you with bonus posts ;) enjoy!
_____________________________________

It wasn't long before the birthday girl was no longer functional.  I wanted to take her home, but a few people wanted to stay.  We had enough people that wanted to go that James could take us and there would still be enough room in Brody's car for Christian to drive everyone else later, so James, me, Kinsley, Damien, and Kevin left.  When we pulled up to Kinsley's house, I offered to help Damien get her inside and to bed, and he gratefully accepted.  He pulled her along the walk and up the stairs to her house.  She stumbled occasionally but mostly was barely plodding along.

James took Kevin home, promising to come back for Damien and I.  Damien sat Kinsley down carefully on the bed, and then stepped out while I tugged Kinsley's clothes off and yanked a tank top over her head and shorts on her.  She was about as cooperative as a doll, even though she talked my ear off the entire time.  Damien came back in with a bottle of water and instructed her to drink, which she did.  20 minutes later when James came back to get us, Kinsley was a little more lucid and was already bemoaning the fact that she was going to be miserable the next day.  Damien said goodnight to Kinsley, smoothed her hair away from her face, and kissed her on the cheek before going downstairs.  I was about to follow when I heard Kinsley's voice.

"Liv, he kissed me tonight.  He's a good kisser."

"Well, that's an excellent birthday present, then," I responded with a chuckle.

"Should I be upset that he isn't staying?" she asked, her words slow with alcohol and drowsiness.

I sat down on the edge of the bed.  "No way, you goon.  You should be glad.  He doesn't want the first time you hook up to be when you're drunk, and you don't want him to see you in the morning when you're barfing."

She laughed sleepily.  "Good call.  Thanks for everything, Liv."

"You're welcome.  Where's your extra key?  I'll lock the door and drop it off tomorrow."

"Junk drawer.  Next to the fridge."  I said goodnight and went downstairs.  It took several minutes of digging in the junk drawer and swearing to find the right key.  We left and I locked the door.  James brought Damien home, then looked at me.

"My place or yours?" he asked with a devious grin.

"Whose is closer to Kendra's house to get my car tomorrow?" I asked.  Practical.

"Mine.  Let's go."  He drove us to his place, which turned out to be a small but well-kept condo.  "This is why I'm looking for a new place," he said, gesturing around.  "It was fine when I was in my 20s and a cop working 60 hours a week, but now it would be nice to have some space."

"Do you have a bed?  That's all I care about at this moment," I said, raising one eyebrow.

"What if I didn't?  We'd have to make do without one...like this, maybe."  He crossed the room in 3 steps and kissed me hard.  He backed me up to the kitchen table and lifted me up to sit on it.  He pulled away long enough to pull my shirt over my head.  "I've been thinking about this since we kissed in the car," he said huskily near my ear.  He bit my earlobe gently as he unhooked and removed my bra.  I leaned back so I could pull his shirt and belt off.  He lowered his head to my chest, his tongue flicking against a nipple as I undid his pants and slid them down his legs.

I stroked him as he kissed along my collarbone and up my neck.  He fumbled with my jeans, then pushed my hand away from his hardness.  "You're distracting me," he objected, finally getting my jeans unbuttoned and unzipped.  I leaned back onto my elbows and lifted my hips so he could pull them off and he did, roughly.  He didn't bother taking off my thong, just slipped his fingers under it to stroke me.  I moaned and arched back against the table.  When the pressure of his fingers stopped, I looked up.  He pulled a box of condoms out of a drawer and quickly rolled one on.  He stepped back to me and pushed my underwear to the side, pushing into me with one hard thrust.  I gasped and laid back, wrapping my legs around his hips.

He held my hips firmly and thrust hard against me, making the table rock back and forth.  I moaned and dug my heels into his ass, gripping the side of the table.  He paused and leaned forward.  His hands slipped under my back and he pulled me into a sitting position.  I wrapped my arms around his neck and he slid his hands under my butt, lifting me to a different angle and keeping the hard edge of the table from digging into me.  The new angle was amazing and I soon cried out, locking my legs tightly around his hips and pressing my face hard into his neck.  He drove into me 3 more times before groaning and leaning into the edge of the table.  He put one hand against the table to steady himself, and dropped his forehead onto my shoulder, breathing hard.  After several seconds, he lifted his head and kissed my shoulder, my collarbone, the base of my neck.  He lifted his face to mine and kissed me, slowly now.  I ran my fingernails down his spine and he shivered.

"Well, I guess we didn't need a bed after all," I said softly.

He laughed.  "Nope," he agreed.  "But now I do need a bed, I'm beat."  I nodded against his chest.  He lifted me carefully off the table and handed me my pants.  I pulled them and my shirt on while James pulled his jeans up and buttoned them.  He took my hand and led me upstairs.  He showed me the bathroom and gave me a toothbrush.  I brushed my teeth and washed my makeup off.  When I came out, he asked if I wanted something to wear to bed.

"Do I need something to wear to bed?" I asked with a smirk.  He laughed and shook his head.  I pulled my clothes back off and slid into his bed.  He went into the bathroom.

I was close to sleep when he slid in next to me.  He scooted close and pulled me against him so my back was pressed against his chest.  "Ow!" I yelped in surprise.  My shoulder blade was tender and it hurt when it pressed against James's chest.  He flipped the light on next to his bed and pulled back the blanket. 

"Huh," he said, surprise in his voice.  "Looks like the table got you good.  You have a bruise."  He ran his fingers lightly across the spot.

"Well that wouldn't have happened in a bed," I pointed out, laughing.  "Hanging out with you is proving to be awfully dangerous."

"Sorry," he murmured in my ear, wrapping his arm around me again, not quite as tightly.  "I couldn't help myself.  The bed was so far away and I didn't want to wait."

"It was worth it," I declared.  "I do have one question though.  Why the hell do you have condoms in your kitchen drawer?"

He laughed.  "I just bought them earlier today.  I was running late so I just threw them in the drawer, figuring I'd grab them when we got back here.  Good thing I did too, because it wouldn't have been as much fun to have to run upstairs to grab one in the middle of that."

"Maybe you have ESP," I joked.  I shifted so I could lean into his chest without putting pressure on my tender shoulder blade and sighed happily. 

"Maybe," James said into my hair.  I yawned.  "Goodnight, beautiful," he said softly.  

That statement, combined with my sleepy, post-sex stupor, made me briefly think I was laying in bed with Brody, not James.  Before I could think too much about it though, I was asleep.

I was woken up by James's fingers trailing across my stomach and hips, and his lips against the back of my neck.  Without even opening my eyes, I arched against him, inviting his hand lower.

"I thought you'd never wake up," he whispered gruffly, his fingers moving against me.

20 minutes later, I was laying with my head on his chest while he ran his fingertips up and down my spine.  My eyelids were drooping heavily and I finally gave in and just shut my eyes again. I slept about another hour, and woke when James gently shifted.

"Sorry," he said apologetically.  "I'm starving."

We ended up stopping for breakfast before getting my car.  Then, after we got my car, we ended up going back to James's house, where we spent the entire day on his couch, watching terrible horror movies.  It was an excellent day and I didn't leave until after 7.


On Monday morning, I dragged myself out of bed.  I was tired, but I felt ready to face the week.  I had a busy day, and it went fast.  Charlotte popped into my office around 4 and asked if I wanted to go out for drinks after work.  6 of us went, and we went back to the same bar around the corner we had gone to the first time we all went out.

I had finished my first drink and was walking up to the bar for a soda when I heard someone say my name.  I looked around and spotted Brody walking towards me.  He hugged me automatically and I let him.

"I've been to this place twice, and both times I've run into you," I mused.  "That's sort of weird.  Especially with how big this city is."

"Told you, this is the best bar in the area," he replied with a breezy shrug.  "You guys get Kins home okay on Saturday?"

"Yeah, once we got her in the house she was fine.  We kept her up long enough to drink some water, and she said she only wanted to die for a couple hours in the morning.  Could have been worse!"

"I thought for sure she'd want to die all day, so I'm impressed," he responded with a laugh.  Then his face grew serious.  "James seems like a good guy," he said carefully.

"You said that on Saturday," I replied.  "And he is."  Brody nodded.

"Good," he said firmly.  "Look, Liv.  I just want things to be normal.  Can we shoot for that?"

"I'd like that," I replied.

He reached out as if to touch my arm, but stopped.  Then he decided to go for it, and lightly touched my upper arm before sliding his fingers down to my forearm.  The touch made me want to throw my arms around him but I stayed put and forced a neutral smile onto my face.  Normal, ha.  Something to work for, I guess.