Family Dinner

Posting this one a little early so I can post Alex's perspective on the date tomorrow night!
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I slept well that night for the first time since the incident at the bar the weekend before, but I woke up the next morning when Brody's phone rang.  I groaned sleepily as I rolled over. Brody grabbed his phone and silenced the ringer, then muttered, "It's my sister."  He rolled out of bed and slipped quietly out of the room, answering on the way.

I hadn't made any progress on falling back asleep when Brody returned a couple minutes later.  "Sorry," he said, grinning wryly.  "Jen apparently forgot that it's two hours earlier here than in Philadelphia."  He got back into bed and wrapped his arm around me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, everything's good.  I guess she's going to be in Denver on business this week and wants to get dinner with us.  My mom might come up too.  Do you want to go?"

"Definitely," I replied.  "Jen's awesome!"  

"I'm glad you think so.  She thinks you're pretty great too."

"She's not wrong!" I joked.

Brody laughed.  "She certainly isn't," he responded, pressing his face against the back of my neck.  We did manage to fall back asleep for about another hour.

While we ate breakfast, we decided on plans for dinner with his sister and mom, since she had told him to decide on a good evening and let her know.  "Tuesday?" he asked me.

I shook my head.  "I'm having dinner with Cassie on Tuesday.  I can reschedule if nothing else works, though."

"No, don't do that," he said quickly.  "How about Wednesday?"

We agreed on Wednesday and when we were done eating, he called his mom to see if Wednesday worked.    I listened to his side of the conversation while I washed the dishes.  "No, Mom, you're not going to get a hotel room.  You can stay with me..." he paused, listening.  "Don't be ridiculous....Okay, fine, I'll ask her."  He turned to me, covering his phone with his hand.  "Do you care if my mom spends the night at my house on Wednesday after dinner?"

I made a weird face at him.  "Why would I care about that?" I asked.  He shrugged.  "Of course she should spend the night at your house." 

"Mom, she also says it's ridiculous for you to spend the night in a hotel room," he said into the phone.

"I DID NOT!" I yelled, throwing a dishtowel at him. 

He laughed.  "Okay, well she didn't say that exactly," he admitted.  "But yes, she says you should spend the night at my house."  He listened again for several seconds, then grinned.  "Okay, good.  I'll talk to Jen and we'll figure out a time."

After he hung up, he shook his head.  "She's so stubborn, but she finally agreed.  I don't know why she thinks she needs a hotel room, I have plenty of space."   We spent the rest of the day being lazy, and it was perfect.

On Monday during my lunch break, I kept my promise to Brody and did some google searching for a potential therapist.  I quickly ruled out any local agencies, since I had applied for a job at most of them, and concentrated my search in surrounding towns that I didn't imagine myself ever wanting to work in.  I found a couple possibilities and wrote them down to call.  Someday.  Maybe.    

On Tuesday, I met Cassie downtown for dinner after work.  After we had ordered, I looked at her.  "So, what's the deal with the men in your life?  James?  Nick?  Fill me in, because we haven't gotten a chance to talk about this yet!"

"Ummm..." she said, hesitating and looking uncomfortable.  I raised my eyebrows and stared her down.  "I'm kind of sleeping with both of them," she finished in a rush.

I laughed.  "Seriously?  You minx.  Do they know?"

"Of course they don't!" she exclaimed.  "And you'd better not tell James, either."  I held both hands up in surrender.  "Anyway, I don't really want to hook up with Nick anymore.  James is way better in bed.  And hotter.  Not entirely sure why you cut that one loose."

"I'm delighted that you find his performance satisfactory," I said, rolling my eyes.  "So are you guys just hooking up, or what?"

"I guess so," she replied with a shrug.  "I mean, we went out to brunch on Sunday, but that doesn't count for anything, since I went over to his place at like, 1 am the night before and all we did was bone then sleep." 

"Are you good with that?  Is he good with that?" I asked.

She shrugged again.  "I'm fine with it," she responded.  "I guess I'd be open to dating him too, if he wanted that.  I don't really have strong feelings either way right now, I barely know him."

"Fair enough," I said, nodding.  "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."  She then filled me in on how things were going at work, and I was happy to hear that she was still really happy working for Brody's company.  We talked about the plans for dinner with Brody's mom and sister the next night.  When we were done, I brought Cassie home and we made plans to meet up over the weekend.

On Wednesday I got stuck at work a little late and made it home with just enough time to get ready for dinner with Brody's family.  Brody was picking me up and we were staying at his house after dinner.  He rang my doorbell as I was upstairs putting on my boots, and I was glad when he opened the door and walked in a second later.    

"I'll be down in a second!" I called, zipping up my second boot.  I heard him start up the stairs anyway.  He appeared in my doorway as I straightened, and I smiled at him.  I wondered if I'd ever not feel butterflies when I saw him.

He smiled back and stepped through the door towards me.  "Hi, gorgeous," he said, kissing me.

"Mmm, hi," I replied after the kiss ended.

"Ready for round 2 with my family?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, with the women in your family, anyway," I replied.  "I don't know if I'm ever going to be ready for round 2 with your dad or brother."

Brody grimaced.  "No one is."  I took one last look at my hair and makeup and we left.

Jen was at the restaurant already when we got there, and she hugged me right away.  "I'm so happy you came!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Hello, dear sister," Brody said sarcastically.  "I'm excited to see you too."

She grinned and hugged him.  "You were only invited because I didn't think Olivia would come on her own," she teased.

"I agree!" came a warm voice from behind us.  We turned and saw Brody's mom, Thalia, approaching. 

"Thanks a lot, Mom!  Is no one on my side?" Brody said, laughing while he hugged her.  He turned and looked at me.

"I don't know, I mean, I don't really feel like your presence is completely necessary..." I joked, smiling innocently.

He shook his head.  "I guess you're staying in a hotel tonight," he said, looking at his mom, then turning to me, "and you're walking home!"

"I'll give her a ride," Thalia said, smiling.

"And she can stay with me!" I finished.  Brody threw up his hands in surrender.

Once we were settled at our table, conversation flowed easily.  The service was slow, so we all had lots of time to catch up.  We spent a good portion of it harassing Brody, of course.  He took it in stride.

"Well, I guess I'm glad you guys like Liv, at least," he said, as we walked out.  "And it's good to know whose side you're on!" he finished, looking at me.  I grinned at him.

His mom followed us back to Brody's house.  When his driveway became visible on the dark street, he frowned.  "Who the hell is that?" he asked, peering into the darkness as we approached.  There was a large, dark SUV in Brody's driveway.  As he started to turn into the driveway, the driver's door swung open abruptly and a man stepped out.  "Shit," Brody muttered, stopping just shy of the car door his father had just swung open.