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Thanks to a wonderful reader named Ashley, you guys will not have to suffer through poorly edited posts while I'm off doing things that are far less fun than editing my own posts (for example, right now, I am very likely working on a 16 page research paper).  She emailed me and volunteered to look over my posts while I'm busy with my other stuff, and I'm exceedingly grateful for her help.  A huge thank you, Ashley!
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An hour after our kiss in the snow, we were getting out of a cab in front of the club where we were meeting Lauren, Kinsley, Alex, and Christian.  I had swapped my flats for tall boots and ditched my coat, knowing it would be hot in the club.  We walked quickly into the building while Brody texted Alex to find out if anyone else was there yet.  Alex texted back that they had gotten a table on the upper level.

When we walked up to their table, hand in hand, 4 pairs of eyes widened in surprise.  Kinsley, never one for subtlety, jumped up.  "Are you guys...?" she asked, and squealed when we nodded.  She threw her arms around me, almost knocking me over.  "It's about damn time!" she declared.  Lauren was grinning at me.  I, of course, was blushing from the attention.

"Stop looking at me like that," I admonished her as I sat down.

"I knew you'd do it," she whispered before hugging me.

"You guys are being super weird."  I made a face.  Brody laughed.  "I feel like you all need Team Brody t-shirts or something."

"I wish you would have suggested that a week ago!" Kinsley exclaimed.  "I definitely would have worn one of those."

"For what it's worth," Alex said, "I was Team James.  Poor sucker."  Christian punched him in the arm and I blushed a deeper shade of red.  Brody went to get us drinks, and luckily, the others quickly became bored with our new relationship status.  As Alex and Christian went back to discussing tomorrow's football games, Lauren and Kinsley looked at me expectantly.

"Did you tell James?" Lauren asked. 

"Sort of," I responded.  "I'm going to have a more thorough conversation with him tomorrow, if he'll talk to me."

"So did you just call Brody and say 'oh hey, let's be together'?" Kinsley asked, looking around to make sure Brody wasn't coming back.

I laughed.  "Um, not quite.  I drove out to his house at 1 in the morning in the pouring rain, and luckily he was there, answered the door, and let me in even though I was dripping all over the floor."

"That's so romantic," Kinsley sighed.

"And so stupid!" Lauren exclaimed.  "What were you thinking?  What if he hadn't even been there?"

"I wasn't thinking," I admitted.  "But he was there, and it worked out."

I was spared any further inquisition when Brody reappeared with drinks.  I thanked him and took a sip, listening to Alex and Christian argue about quarterbacks.  Shortly after, the band began.

They were pretty good, and the venue was the perfect size.  There was standing room on the dance floor and the elevated areas around it, then tables up on the second floor loft area.  I was glad they had gotten here early enough to get us a table up here, because it was a perfect to listen and see, but it wasn't quite as loud or crowded as it would be down on the floor.

While the band was taking a quick break, I got up to get a drink.  As I turned from the bar, I heard a low chuckle and my eyes snapped up to lock on Jordan's face.

"Well, look who it is," he growled.  "Here with my brother, princess?"  I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.  I struggled to keep my face calm, but judging by the way he was leering at me, I was sure he could see the panic in my eyes.

"Hello Jordan," I said as calmly as possible.  "Please get out of my way."

"Oh, are we going to play that game again?" he asked, taking a step towards me.  It was loud near the bar, and no one seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.  I tried to push past him but he stepped into my path.  My breath caught and I tried to remind myself he couldn't really get away with doing anything with all these people here.  I forced myself not to flinch away as he reached out a hand and lightly stroked my hair with his fingertips. 

"Hey, man, get out of the way!  People are trying to get through!" came an angry voice from the other side of him.  Jordan turned to deliver a nasty remark back and I slipped past him and hurried back to our table.

Brody took one look at my face and shaking hands and stood up.  "What's wrong?" he asked, guiding me into my seat.  I put my face in my hands and took several deep breaths.  Lauren touched my back, but I shied away from her.  "Liv?" Brody prodded gently when I didn't respond.

"I..." I started, pausing to take a deep, shaky breath.  "Jor--the guy that grabbed me when I was out with James is here.  I just ran into him up at the bar."

Brody looked furious.  I shook my head.  "He didn't really do anything.  I mean, not now."  The words rushed out and I realized I was holding the arm that Jordan had bruised after the comedy show.  Brody reached for it.  I held it out to him for inspection.  "He didn't touch me this time.  I just panicked when I saw him."  Brody's jaw was set and his eyes were hard.  "Don't," I said, reading his mind.  "I'm fine, I'm just shaken up."

I was starting to feel a little ridiculous with all 5 of them staring at me.  I sat up straight and forced a smile onto my face.  "Seriously, guys, I'm okay.  It was just a little disconcerting seeing him.  There were so many people near the bar and I got a little anxious, but I'm fine."  Alex and Christian shrugged and turned their attention back to the stage, but Lauren, Kinsley, and Brody were still staring at me.

"Do you want to go?" Brody asked quietly.  "We can go.  You're white as ghost."

I shook my head.  "I'm fine, I promise.  If I change my mind, I'll let you know."  He sighed in frustration at my stubbornness but dropped it.  He shifted his chair and slid his arm around my shoulders.  I leaned into him and willed my body to stop shaking.  Lauren was still looking at me with concern.  I offered her a smile.  She narrowed her eyes, then turned back towards the stage.  I shut my eyes briefly and sucked in another deep breath.  When I opened them, I felt a little calmer, and returned my attention to the music.

We stuck around at our table chatting for about 20 minutes after the show ended.   As we were walking out, I caught sight of Jordan again.  I turned my head, hoping he wouldn't see us.  Near the door, I heard his voice boom, "Well, that certainly isn't my brother!"  Shit.  I looked at him.  He was looking at my hand where it was connected to Brody's, our fingers entwined.

"Your brother?" Brody asked in confusion.  "No, definitely not, and thank god for that."   I could tell by the set of his jaw that he had realized exactly who this was.

"Can't say I blame you," Jordan continued to me, ignoring Brody.  "This guy is much better looking than my idiot brother."

"Come on," I said to Brody, pulling on his hand.  "Let's get out of here."  The panicky feeling was starting to come back, even though Brody was in between me and Jordan, and Alex, Christian, Lauren, and Kinsley were right behind us.  Plus there were bouncers all over the place, since we were near the bar and the door.

"So soon?" Jordan asked, his face contorting into what looked like it was meant to be a friendly smile, but it missed the mark.  "I was hoping to get to know you and your friends better, sweetheart."  His eyes drifted down the length of my body.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't look at my girlfriend like that," Brody said evenly.

"Let's go!" I hissed at Brody.  This time he listened.  Brody was careful to stay between me and Jordan, but after we walked past, Jordan reached behind us and slapped my ass.  Brody didn't even hesitate.  He spun and punched Jordan square in the face.