It's My Party

On Saturday, I slept in and went to the gym.  I was trying to avoid thinking about my birthday because despite what everyone said, I was still a little worried.  When I came home from the gym, I showered and put on yoga pants and a tank top while I did my hair and makeup.

I still had over an hour before Brody was supposed to come pick me up for dinner, so I decided not to get dressed quite yet, and sprawled across my couch with my Kindle.  When the doorbell rang about 20 minutes later, I was surprised to see Brody on my porch.  I was even more surprised to see a wrapped package in his hands.

"I thought you agreed to not get me anything!" I said, after I had let him.

"Hello to you too," he said, kissing my cheek.  "I missed you too.  And, if you remember correctly, you tried to get me to agree with that, and I believe what I said was that I'd take it into consideration."

"Sorry, hi, I did miss you, and I'm glad you're early, but what is this?"

He set the package down and led me to the couch.  I sat down next to him and waited.  "Look, I knew you'd be mad," he started.  "But there are three reasons I'm giving you this.  Actually, there were only two reasons when I actually bought it, but now there's also a third, which works."

"Okay..." I said, waiting for him to continue.

"First reason is that I just really enjoy spending my money on you.  It's there, and I don't really spend a ton of myself now that I have my house, my cabin, and my car.  I have a ton set away for retirement already, and my investments are doing really well.  So, I'd rather spend it on you, and on stuff that we can enjoy together like dinners out and weekend trips, than on stupid stuff that I don't need."  He paused, and I nodded.

"I'm not going to tell you the second reason until you open it, but the third reason is that your birthday is important to you.  And I want you to know that that makes it important to me too.  I know that giving you a gift is not the best way to show you that it's important to me, but it is one way.  And, for the most important way, I'm giving Pete full on-call responsibilities for this weekend, so there is as small of a chance as possible that I will have to go in to the office, or be on the phone, or leave to go handle something."  Any frustration I felt at Brody disrespecting my wishes for him to not get me a gift was gone, and I smiled at him.

"So if your troublemaker in Dallas needs something, you're not going?" I asked.

"Nope.  I'm spending this weekend here, with you.  I may have to field some phone calls from Pete, because I did ask him to run anything major by me so I know what he's doing, since he's never been on his own yet, but this is like a trial run for him.  I want him to handle anything that comes up."

"That honestly means more to me than anything that could possibly be in that box," I said, hugging him.

"I know," he replied.  "I handled some situations poorly in the past, and things are still so busy, but I really am moving forward with making it better, and I appreciate how patient you've been with that.  So, will you open your gift?"

"Of course I'll open it," I said, grinning.  "I'm not a completely immature brat!" He laughed, then stood and carried the box over to me.  I pulled the paper off of it and opened the box to find myself looking at a pair of snowshoes and poles.

"So, reason number two is that you said you really liked snowshoeing and wanted to go again soon.  I thought, if you wanted to, that we could go tomorrow, or maybe next weekend.  But either way, it's something we can do together."

"It's perfect," I said.  "I love them.  Thank you.  I'm sorry I was a brat about it."  I threw my arms around him and he chuckled as he hugged me back.

"Well, actually, I anticipated more of a fit about it so I'm pleased with the situation!"  he teased me.  I pulled away and smacked him gently in the arm.

"Come upstairs and help me get dressed?" I asked with a smirk.

"I prefer the undressing part, will there be undressing?" he replied, sliding his hand up my leg.

"Well, I have to get undressed before I can change, so yes.  I will let you handle the undressing," I said back, swatting his hand away and standing.  He followed me up the stairs and into my room, then spun me around to face him.  He pulled my shirt off, then kissed me as he unhooked my bra.  I walked backwards towards my bed while he slid the straps down my arms.

He rolled my yoga pants down.  "No underwear?  What a scandal!" he teased, before moving his lips along my neck.

I stepped out of them and replied, "Ew, who wears underwear with yoga pants?  I never do."

He stopped kissing my neck and looked at me with raised eyebrows.  "I will never look at yoga pants the same again."

"Why are you talking?" I asked, kissing him.  He picked me up and put me down on the bed, moving his mouth from mine and trailing kisses down my neck, chest, and stomach.  Every place his lips touched felt like it was on fire.  He pushed my legs apart and settled between them, kissing along my inner thigh before finally putting his mouth where I wanted it.   I came in record time thanks to his skillful tongue and fingers, and I tugged him back up the bed towards me.

"You have waaaay too much clothing on," I complained.  He was still fully dressed, which was pretty much the opposite of what I wanted.

"Actually," he said, glancing at his watch, "You don't have nearly enough on.  I don't think the restaurant--which we have to be at 20 minutes--is going to let you in like that, even if it is your birthday."  He grinned and kissed me before starting to sit up.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards me.  "Well I guess the restaurant is going to have to wait for us, because I'm not done with you here."  I sat up and reached for his belt, starting to undo it.  As I pulled it off, I looked up at him, smiling slightly.

"Oh, you are killing me with that look," he groaned.

I started unbuttoning and unzipping his pants, and said, "At least let me properly thank you for my birthday gift."

In the end, I got what I wanted.  After, we got dressed quickly and I touched up my makeup.  We were 20 minutes late to dinner when we finally got to the restaurant.  I had texted Lauren to let her know so she didn't think I was ditching out on my birthday dinner.

"Nice of you to join us, birthday girl," Cassie quipped, as we made our way to the two empty seats.  I hung my coat on the back on the chair, but when I pulled the chair out to sit down, it slipped off.  Brody bent to pick it up, and Alex laughed.

"You missed a belt loop when you put your pants back on, stud," Alex pointed out, sliding Brody's shirt up to bare the guilty belt loop that had become visible when he bent to grab my coat.  I immediately turned bright red, and Lauren, Kinsley, and Cassie howled with laughter.

"You should have just said you were going to be late because you were busy getting some," Kinsley said, once she had caught her breath.  "I'm sure we'd have all been a little more understanding then!"  My face was burning and I was pretty sure it was the brightest red it had ever been.

"I hate you all," I grumbled, sitting down.  Even Brody was laughing, and I glared at him.  That just made him laugh harder.

"Don't be such a prude," Lauren scoffed, rolling her eyes.  "We all know you guys have sex."

"Alright, that's enough talking about our sex life," Brody said, finally coming to my aid. 

"You just make it so easy sometimes," Kinsley said.  Then she and Lauren looked at each other and started cracking up again.  "I mean," Kinsley gasped, wiping tears from her face, "to make fun of you.  Easy to make fun of you."

Eventually they settled down and we were able to enjoy our dinner.  After dinner, we headed to a nearby bar, where James, Damien, and Nick, the guy that Cassie had gone out with a couple times, were going to meet us.  A couple of my former coworkers, Charlotte and Sam, had said they'd try to stop out too.

Brody and Alex went up to the bar for a round of drinks right away while we found a table.  I turned to Lauren.  "So you and Alex?  Things going well?" I asked, curiously.  She smiled and nodded.

"They are.  It's kind of weird dating him now after we've been friends for so long and hooked up and stuff, but it's good.  I guess dating isn't so bad, after all," she admitted.

"Awwwww, our widdle Wauwren is growing up!" Kinsley cooed obnoxiously.  We laughed.  Lauren, seeming slightly embarrassed, turned the focus back on me.

"So is that why you guys were late?  Birthday sex?"  She smirked when she asked it.

I rolled my eyes.  "Yes, Lauren, that's why we were late.  Want a play by play too?"

She laughed.  "Actually, yes, but only because I'd love to see you actually try to say it all out loud!"  I blushed again.  "For always being the boy crazy one," Lauren continued, "You sure are shy about talking about sex sometimes."

I shrugged.  "It's private.  No one needs to know about it," I protested.

"Know about what?" Brody asked, setting a drink down in front of me.

"The freaky things Liv likes to do in the bedroom," Cassie supplied helpfully.

Brody laughed and put his arm around my waist.  Then he changed the subject.  I was thankful for that.  Luckily, James and Damien arrived shortly after, and everyone forgot about my sex life.  Brody's arm tightened around my waist when he saw James, and I saw the muscles in his jaw flex as he clenched his teeth together a little.  I knew he was still upset about what had happened at James's housewarming party, and it looked like there would be no bromance tonight.

James came over to say hi and I wriggled out of Brody's grip and hugged him.  "Happy birthday!" James said.  "Tomorrow, right?"  I nodded.  He turned to Brody.  "Hey, how's it going?" he asked cautiously.

"Good," Brody replied shortly.  I elbowed him subtly and he said, "You?"  James answered similarly to Brody, then went up to the bar for a drink.

I turned to Brody and started to ask him to try to be polite, but Brody stopped me.  "I know," he said, before I could even say anything.  "I'll try, because it's your birthday.  I'm still mad though."  He kissed my forehead, then told me he'd be right back.

I turned to Cassie, who was texting Nick to see when he was coming.  "I texted him while we were waiting for you at the restaurant, but he hasn't responded," she said, looking up at me.

"Did you have your second date yet?" I asked, not remembering when she had said they were going again.

"We did, and I don't know if he read a book or what, but his kissing technique was much better this time.  And his, um....other techniques were good too."

I laughed.  "Well, I'm glad to hear that," I said. 

Brody returned with a new drink for me.  I raised my eyebrows at him.  "I don't want to be hungover tomorrow," I warned him.

"Then drink slowly!" he advised me.  I rolled my eyes and thanked him for the drink.  Alex and Christian moved over to sit by us and were talking about some football game that I had no interest in.  I turned back to Cassie, who was staring at her phone with irritation.

"Nothing?" I asked.  She shook her head.  I frowned.  "That sucks."  She shrugged and started spinning her phone absently on the table.  James and Damien returned from the bar.  Damien handed Kinsley a drink and then stood behind her chair with his hand resting casually on her shoulder.  I was so excited that they were seeming to get serious.

I heard a phone vibrate and looked down at the table.  Cassie grabbed hers and clicked on the display.  She read the text and then she frowned.  "Well, I guess he's not coming.  Too busy with his friends."  She looked disappointed for a second, then forced a smile onto her face.  "Oh well!  His loss."

I walked up to the bar with her.  She was getting another drink, and I was getting some water so I could avoid getting too drunk.  James followed a second later.  "So, he's pretty pissed at me, huh?" he asked, when he joined us at the bar.

I grimaced.  "Yeah.  I don't know if it's at you so much as the situation, but he's still pretty pissed."

"Well, if it were me, I'd be pissed too.  I'm sure he blames me for what happened to you, since Jordan is my brother.  I would do the same."

"He does," I confirmed.  "I tried to convince him it wasn't your fault, but he wasn't hearing it.  Then again, he also blames himself, so who knows." I changed the subject then, and was glad when James followed suit.

"You guys up for a birthday shot?" James asked.  Cassie agreed immediately, but I frowned.

"I really, really don't want to get drunk tonight," I said.

"One shot won't kill you, come on," Cassie urged.

"It's your birthday," James pointed out.  I agreed then, and James bought us shots.  Brody came over while we were finishing them.

"Making some extra work for me tonight?" he asked.  He smiled as he said it, but there was a hard edge to his voice.

James regarded him briefly before grinning back.  "One shot shouldn't do too much damage," he replied easily.  "You shouldn't have to worry until after the second or third."  Then he grabbed his drink and walked back towards the table.  Cassie went with him, leaving me and Brody standing at the bar.

I sighed and grabbed my water.  "What?" Brody asked.  I shook my head and started to turn to walk back to the table.  "Hey," he said, putting a hand on my arm.  I turned back to him.  "I'm sorry.  It's just hard for me to be around him now.  He's got two strikes against him, since Jordan is his brother and he's the guy you dated while I was gone."

I looked at him in confusion.  "But you guys were fine, friendly even, before everything happened at the housewarming party."  I didn't understand why Jordan showing up to James's house uninvited changed everything so much.

"I made myself pretend that he wasn't a guy you had dated, and just got to know him.  I knew he was friends with Kinsley's boyfriend and that he'd probably be around.  He's a cool guy, Liv, but after his housewarming party, everything that happened with his brother just pisses me off too much.  And even though I'm not mad that you dated while I was gone, since that's exactly what I told you to do, it's still not fun thinking about you dating someone else."  I nodded, but didn't say anything.

Brody put his arms around my waist, pulling me away from the bar.  "Look, it doesn't bother me at all that you guys are friends.  This isn't a jealousy thing or a trust issue.  It's just that his face pisses me off, because every time I see it, I think about what happened to you.  I'll be nice for the rest of the night, I promise.  And the last thing I want to do is argue with you about this tonight.  I'm sorry.  I just wanted you to know that I'm not just being a jerk because it's fun, okay?"

"I get it," I replied, finally.  "I wouldn't like hanging out with one of your exes.  I mean, Savannah is bad enough."

"I deserved that," Brody said with a laugh.  "Luckily for you, my exes don't exist."  We were about to walk back to the table when Brody's phone rang.  He pulled it out and frowned.  "I'm sorry, it's Pete.  5 minutes, okay?  No more."  He kissed me on the cheek and then walked towards the door, answering the phone.

I walked back to the table.  Lauren and Alex were so close to each other that I wouldn't have been surprised if they started having sex on the table.  Kendra and Christian were talking to Kinsley and Damien, and James and Cassie were deep in conversation.  I grinned, hopeful for a love connection.  They looked up as I approached.  James gave me a funny look.

"Is everything okay?  Where is Brody?" he asked with obvious concern.  Apparently, he was quite aware that we had just been having an unpleasant discussion.

"It's fine, he got a phone call," I replied.

"A work call?" Cassie asked, raising her eyebrows.  "It's your birthday."  James looked confused.

"Yes, but it's from the guy that's on call this weekend."  I explained what Brody had arranged for the weekend.  Cassie still looked skeptical when I was done, but she nodded.  I was spared any further explanation when Brody came back.  He didn't look happy.

"What's up?" I asked, when he came back.

He shook his head and smiled.  "Nothing, it's taken care of," he said, slipping his arm around my waist.

He didn't get any more phone calls, and the rest of the night went smoothly.  I managed to stay perfectly buzzed without getting drunk enough to be hungover.  James and Cassie ended up leaving together, which made me positively gleeful.  We headed out around 1am.  That was way past my bedtime in my newly acquired old age. 

We had decided to stay at Brody's house that night, and as he drove, I found myself thinking again about how I acted when Brody was in Miami.  Before I could fully process if it was a good idea or not, I had blurted out, "Did you ever get mad at me while you were in Miami?"

"Is this about James?" Brody asked, glancing at me quickly.

"No, it's about if you got mad at me for how I acted  between when you left and when we got back together."

"Liv, are you sure you want to talk about this now?" he asked.  I could see the confusion on his face.

"Yes," I said firmly.  As an afterthought, I added, "Please.  It's important."

"Okay, then no.  I didn't get mad at you while I was in Miami.  I got frustrated a few times, and I was mad at the situation, but I wasn't mad at you.  I've only really been mad at you twice." I asked when.  "When I found out about what Savannah did, I was mad that you hadn't told me yourself.  And I got mad when we argued before I went to Dallas the weekend we were supposed to go to Breckenridge.  Why are you asking about this?"

I paused, considering how to answer.  Instead of answering, I asked another question.  "Were you upset that I didn't call on your birthday?"  He glanced at me again, looking even more confused.

"I had hoped that you might," he admitted, "but I didn't expect you to.  Liv, what's going on in your head?"

"I've just been feeling really crappy for the way I handled the whole Miami situation," I replied.  "I was pretty immature about it all, and I feel really bad that I didn't at least call on your birthday.  I'm sorry."  By this point, we were at Brody's house, and we sat in his car in the garage, continuing our conversation.

Brody turned in his seat to face me a little better.  "Liv, I don't hold anything that happened before I came back against you.  The whole situation was shitty and we were both put in bad spots.  I don't love the way I handled it either.  I should have given you an option instead of just deciding for you that you shouldn't sit around and wait for me.  But it's over and I've put it behind me.  I wish you'd do the same, and stop beating yourself up over it."  He reached across the console for my hand.  "Is something else wrong?" he asked, when I didn't say anything.

"No," I said, smiling at him.  "That's just been bothering me for awhile and I needed to get it out and apologize.  Thank you."

"Are you going to stop beating yourself up now?" he asked.

"I'll try," I replied.  Then I yawned.  Brody looked at his watch. 

"It's only officially been your birthday for an hour and a half and you're already being a party pooper," he teased.  "Come on, let's go inside, old lady." 

"You'd be watch who you're calling old.  If I'm old, you're ancient!"  Brody laughed and pulled me into a hug.  It was chilly in the garage, but I barely noticed.

"I love you, Liv.  I'm glad you told me how you've been feeling."

"I love you too.  I'm glad I told you too.  Now let's go in before you have to carry me to bed!"