Trophy Wife

Thank you all for being understanding of my week off!  I didn't get as many posts ready to go as I would have liked, but I have enough for a few weeks, so hopefully I can just keep getting some written regularly now and keep up.  Unfortunately, I am going to go down to twice a week.  I'm not sure if it'll be a temporary change or permanent.  You all know how much I love to post my bonus posts, so I'm sure as soon as I have more time and energy to write, there will be some extras here and there :)  I plan to post on Sunday and Wednesday evenings for now.  This one is coming today, on Saturday, because I have a very special "thank you" bonus planned for tomorrow!  There may come a time when I have to skip a posting day, but I will be sure to at least let you all know.  I know it's a pain when bloggers are inconsistent and take breaks, so please be patient with me!  In return I promise to do the absolute best I can to keep up and keep you all informed! 
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Lauren was at Alex's house and Brody and I were being lazy at my house on Sunday morning when my phone rang.  I looked at it and saw that it was Sarah calling.  I hadn't heard from her since we had exchanged numbers when we met.  I had thought about calling her, but didn't want to push anything.

I answered cheerfully, but could barely hear Sarah's quiet, sullen greeting on the other end.  "How are you?" I asked sincerely.

"Fine," she replied shortly.  She said nothing else.  Okay, this wasn't going to be easy, but I was determined to make an effort.

"Did you do anything fun this weekend?" I tried.

"Not really," she said.  Again the heavy silence quickly took over.

"Well that's too bad," I said.  I paused, making a face at Brody.  Talking to teenagers that aren't sitting in my office is hard.

I was struggling with what to say next when she spoke up suddenly.  "Do people call you Olivia?" she asked.

Taken aback by the sudden question, it took me a second to make sense of it.  "Oh, well, sometimes.  Most people call me Liv.  It's just easier."

"Can I call you Liv?" she asked shyly.

"Absolutely," I replied, smiling.  "Sarah, did you just call to chat, or is something on your mind?" I asked, finally deciding to just jump in.

"I don't know," she replied, and the sullen note was back in her voice.  Shit, bad move Liv.

I scrambled for something safe to ask about that might get her talking.  Why was this so hard?  "Do you guys have any pets?" I asked finally.  Luckily, she started talking about her grandparents' dog and actually strung a few upbeat sentences together.  I told her about my dog growing up, and we talked about animals for several minutes.

"Liv?" Sarah asked hesitantly after our animal conversation had tapered off.

"Yeah?" I replied curiously.

"There's a girl at school spreading rumors about me."  Her sentence was abrupt, and she didn't provide any details.

"That's the worst," I offered sympathetically.  "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," she said.  "What do you think I should do?"  Ah, the real reason for her call.  I was impressed that after the painfully difficult start to this conversation that she would ask for my advice.  We talked for a few more minutes through her options and the pros and cons of each.  When she was satisfied with the options, she said she had to go and we said goodbye.

"That was weird.  Good, but weird," I said to Brody after we hung up.

"Teenage girl drama is always weird," he observed.  "I never did understand it."

"Don't worry, neither do teenage girls."

We decided to go out to brunch, and after brunch I dragged Brody to the grocery store with me (but why, I have no idea...he's the worst at the grocery store).  When I got home, I saw Lauren's car parked in the driveway.  Brody parked on the street and helped me bring my groceries in.

When I walked in the door, I looked around in shock.  It looked like a tornado had torn through my house.  Half-folded laundry was all over the living room.  I walked into the kitchen and quickly realized that I had nowhere to put down my grocery bags because the counter was covered in the aftermath of brownie baking.  Lauren was nowhere to be seen.

"Laur?" I called, listening for the shower but not hearing it.  No response.  "We were only gone for a couple hours," I muttered.

"I know, this is an impressive mess to make in that amount of time," Brody said, chuckling.  His laughter stopped short when I glared at him.   "I mean...want some help cleaning it up?"

"Good save," I snapped.  "But no.  I'm not cleaning this up.  It's not my mess.  I'm just going to put my groceries away and...and..." I looked around.  I couldn't cook because the kitchen was a mess.  I couldn't sit in the living room because of Lauren's laundry explosion. 

"And then we can go out to my house," Brody finished smoothly.  "Here."  He quickly cleared a spot on the table for me to set my bags down and then helped me put everything away.  He waited while I went upstairs and grabbed clothes and makeup for Monday.  On my way back out the door I paused and looked over the mess again, shaking my head.

"What are you going to do?" Brody asked, once we were headed to his house.

"I don't know," I moaned.  "Nothing, probably...she's one of my best friends.  I offered to let her move in knowing she's messy.  I didn't realize it would bother me so much.  I don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget it."

Brody changed the subject and chatted away about something work-related, distracting me.  When we got to his house, we settled on the couch with a movie.   Brody grabbed his laptop and did some work while we watched.

After the movie, I got up and rummaged through Brody's kitchen, pulling things out of the fridge and cabinets.  "What are you doing?" Brody asked, leaning against the doorway and watching me with an amused smile on his face.

"Cooking.  It's what people generally use this room of the house for," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, just because your roommate can't keep anything clean to save her life, it doesn't mean you should be a jerk to me!" he protested.  He was right, of course, but I wasn't in the mood to be called out right now.  I turned my back to him and busied myself deciding what to make from the random things I had pulled out.  Brody, maybe figuring out that any other comments he might have would probably only make the situation worse, said, "Can I help?"

"Sure," I replied, feeling guilty.  "Can you chop this please?" I handed him an onion.  He took it and pulled out a cutting board and knife.  I grabbed another knife to cut a lemon in half.  "Sorry," I muttered softly.  "Also, if you want to say 'I told you so,' you might as well just get it over with."

"I would love to say 'I told you so,'" he said with a smirk, "But you have a really sharp knife in your hand, so I'll pass."  I glared at him, and he grinned and waggled his eyebrows at me, and then I started laughing.  I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation, and at the stupid face he was making, and at everything else that wasn't even funny.  Once I collected myself, we were able to finish making dinner.

After eating, Brody grabbed our dishes and stood to take them to the sink.  "That was good.  Someday when you're my trophy wife, we won't even have to hire someone to cook for us."  He looked over his shoulder at me with a devious smirk, knowing his trophy wife comment would rile me up.  I glared back at him.  "What?" he asked with mock innocence.  "You don't want to be someone's arm candy for the rest of your life?  Or at least until you lose your youthful good looks and get traded in for a newer model?"  I balled up my napkin and threw it at him indignantly.

He walked back to me and pulled me up from my chair.  I didn't respond to his lips against mine.  "Oh, come on," he said softly against my ear.  "I think we both know you'd make a terrible trophy wife because you're way too smart and driven to be a brainless Stepford. Plus you're too pretty to be a trophy wife, you wouldn't have any plastic surgery to discuss with the others."

"Trophy wives everywhere are offended by that," I replied, trying to maintain my stoic composure as his lips moved from my ear to my neck.

"Sucks for them," he murmured, before sliding his tongue across my collarbone.  I resisted the urge to lean against him as his lips moved back up my neck, his teeth grazing lightly across the sensitive spot where shoulder meets neck.  I was enjoying his seduction way too much to give in that easily.  "Nothing?" he asked, before nibbling gently on my earlobe.

"You'll have to do better than that after your trophy wife comment," I said aloofly, struggling to keep my voice steady as his fingertips traced the skin just above the waist of my pants.

"How much better?" he asked, moving his lips to the other side of my neck while his hands crept up my sides.

"A lot, probably," I replied, but my resolve was already crumbling.  His hands slid around to my back and he pressed his fingers into my skin, massaging the tight spot between my shoulder blades before unhooking my bra.  As he moved his hands back around and cupped my breasts, brushing his thumbs across my nipples, he tried kissing me again.  This time, my lips melted into his and I kissed him back.  I stopped as soon as I felt his lips turn up into a smile against mine.  "Don't get too cocky," I warned him.  "You haven't fully convinced me yet."

"Hmmm," he mused, "I think I need you to come upstairs with me if you need further convincing."  I pretended to consider this for a second, and as I considered, he turned me towards the stairs and pressed his lips to the back of my neck.  "Come on," he said, nipping at the back of my neck before nudging me forward.  I gave up my reluctant facade and pulled him upstairs with me.

Once we got upstairs I required very little further convincing.  Since I made him work so hard to even get me upstairs, I made sure he did very little work once we got there.   "What time is it?" I asked, settling against him when we were finished.

Brody rolled over to look at his clock.  "Almost 9," he said, rolling back towards me.

I groaned.  "I don't want to get up and wash those dishes.  I just want to go to sleep."

"I'll do them," Brody said.  "You did most of the cooking, and I need to get some work done before I go to bed anyway."

I raised myself up on one elbow and met his eyes in the dark.  "What's the catch?" I asked.

He laughed.  "The catch is you don't say a word about me getting up out of this bed to go do some work."

"Deal," I agreed.

"That was easy," Brody said.  He leaned forward and kissed my cheek before rolling away from me and standing up.  I heard him pulling on pants and a t-shirt.  "I'll try not to wake you up when I come to bed."

He succeeded, because the next time I woke up, gray dawn light was filtering into the room around the edges of the curtain, and Brody was silencing his alarm.  We both got ready in a surprisingly coordinated way, managing to time it all perfectly to never be in the other's way. 

"Well, that's an impressive skill I won't need once I'm a trophy wife," I said wryly, as Brody flipped off the bathroom light.

Brody yawned and shook his head.  "Actually," he replied, "I changed my mind.  I don't want a trophy wife.  I want to be a trophy husband.  You can run my business and stay up until 3am on a Sunday night, and I'll go to bed at 9."

"Nothing would ever get done," I pointed out, as we started down the stairs.  "I'm physically incapable of staying up until 3am."

"That's true," Brody agreed.   He dropped me off at my house so I could get my car.  I couldn't even bear to go inside because I didn't want to spend my whole work day annoyed if the mess was still there.  We said goodbye, and went our separate ways to work.

He's Got it Bad

I have some bad news.  I'm very quickly running out of pre-written posts, and the ones I do have need some work.  I'm going to be taking this week off.  Don't worry though, it's only a week!  I need some time to get back into my story so I can fix what I have and write a little more.  When I come back, I might go down to posting twice a week so I can get through this semester without having to take any more time off from blogging.  I appreciate every single one of you, and I feel crappy about having to take time off, but I just can't do it right now.  I'd write awful posts, and no one wants to read awful posts!  Thanks to everyone who is hanging in there with me :)  Enjoy this post, and I will see you guys again next Sunday!
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I felt much better after nearly a full night's sleep.  I'd had a nightmare about Jordan, but it was less intense than usual, and I fell back asleep much quicker and easier that I'd had in the past.  I was thankful at that moment that Brody (and I guess James too) had convinced me to start talking to someone about it, because it seemed like it was helping.  I was already having fewer nightmares, and now they seemed to be lessening in intensity too.  That shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.  Apparently, I'm a terrible advocate for my own profession. 

When I got out of the shower, I had a text from Brody.  It said, "Working from home for most of the day.  Come keep me company tonight?"  I was surprised.  He must really be not feeling well if he wasn't going in today.  I texted back that I'd come out after work and asked if he wanted me to pick something up for dinner or bring anything else.  

I didn't get a response until around lunchtime, when he texted me his dinner request and said he didn't need anything else.  I had a pretty good day at work, and my last client canceled so I even got to head out early.  I texted Brody that I was on my way and went to get food.  He texted me back to just come in when I got there.

I drove out to his house and let myself in.  I found him sprawled out on his couch in sweatpants and a sweatshirt, looking disheveled and rather miserable.  He looked up from his laptop when I walked in, and smiled halfheartedly.

"You look miserable," I said.  "Are you hungry?"  He said he was, so I went into the kitchen for plates and utensils and brought the food out to him.

"Thanks," he said.  "I don't even want to move off this couch.  I was going to try to go into the office this afternoon for a meeting but I got so dizzy just showering that I decided it was probably a bad plan."

I frowned.  "Do you have a fever?" I asked.

"No, just a really bad headache and I'm shaky, dizzy, and exhausted.  Just generally feeling crappy.  So it could be worse.  But I don't get sick often, so it seems horrible," he joked.

"Well I'm glad you stayed home to take care of yourself," I replied.  He sat up and put his laptop aside when I handed him a plate.  I noticed him grimace as he righted himself.

"Are you staying tonight?" he asked, after he had eaten a little bit.

"I have stuff to stay, but I think I should probably go so you can rest," I responded.

"No," he said stubbornly.  "I want you to stay."

"We'll see," I said.  He gave me a dirty look.  I quickly changed the subject.  "So, guess what? My coworker Josh is Neil's brother in law."

"Are you serious?" Brody asked.  When I nodded, he laughed.  He answered my questioning look with, "Neil tells me often about his brother in law that he can't stand.  I don't know how many he has, but he only talks about one."  I laughed too.  

"Apparently Neil speaks very highly of you," I said with a smile.  "He really likes you."  Brody's face flushed a little, the closest thing to blushing I've ever seen him do.  He was clearly pleased with the feedback.

"Oh, speaking of work," he said suddenly.  "I was talking to Todd today and looking into scheduling my trip to San Diego.  Did you want to come out for a few days?  We should figure out when, if you do."

"I'd love to," I replied.  We talked about that for awhile, and settled on a long weekend towards the end of the month.

"So I'll go about a week and a half before, to get things with Todd taken care of.  That way I can be done with business by the time you come out."  He grabbed his laptop and a few minutes later he reported that he'd just purchased plane tickets for both of us.

"I'll request the days off tomorrow," I said, grinning.  I was going down on a Wednesday night and we were flying back together on Sunday night.  It was my long weekend week, so I only needed to take Thursday and Monday off work. 

I yawned, and looked at my phone.  It was a little after 10.  I needed to leave here around 8:30 the next morning if I was staying.  Brody saw me looking at the phone and said, "You should just stay."  At this point, I agreed.

"I can sleep in the guest room if you want, so you can sleep better," I suggested.

"I'll sleep better if you sleep with me," he replied stubbornly.

"Fine," I conceded.  "But if you don't sleep, it's your own fault." 

"I'll sleep," he insisted.  He stood and made a face, wobbling slightly on his feet.  "I hate being dizzy," he complained.

15 minutes later we were in his bed, and he pulled me to him, my back pressed against his chest.  "I'm glad you're here," he said softly, yawning.  

"Me too," I agreed.  "Now go to sleep."

"I love when you're bossy," he mumbled.

I woke up early to an empty space in the bed next to me.  I rolled out of bed and wandered downstairs.   Brody's living room and kitchen were dark still, so I walked back to his office.  He was there, hair tousled, sitting in front of his laptop with a cup of coffee.

He turned when I knocked lightly on the door frame.  "Good morning," I said.  I squinted at the small clock on his desk.  It read 5:42am.

"You should be sleeping," he said gently.

I cocked an eyebrow.  "So should you," I pointed out.

He grimaced and shook his head.  "I did sleep," he promised.  "But I woke up about an hour ago and I was stressing out over how much work I've missed.  I figured I'd get up and work for a couple hours and then go back to bed for a little bit."  My face didn't change.  "I feel a lot better this morning anyway," he insisted.  "I've just got a little bit left that I want to finish, and then I'll go back to bed.  An hour, I promise."

"Okay," I relented.  I walked into the room and kissed him on the cheek.  "I'm going back to bed, then."

"Thanks for making sure I'm taking care of myself," he said, smiling wryly.  I stuck my tongue out at him like the mature adult that I am, and left his office so he could get some stuff done and come back to bed.

I drifted back into a light sleep, and I woke when the door opened.  I looked at the clock and saw it was a little before 7. Good.  I didn't want to be bossy, but I wanted him to take care of himself.

He slid into bed and scooted close to me.  I settled against him as he threw an arm over me.  "Get some stuff done?" I asked softly.

I felt him nod against the back of my head.  "Yeah, enough so that I feel like I can sleep for a few more hours.  Being sick sucks when you have your own business."

"Being sick sucks in general," I agreed, squeezing his arm gently.  We fell back asleep, and I woke up just before my alarm went off at 7:45.  I didn't want to wake Brody up, so I carefully slid out from under his arm and got out of bed.  He didn't move, just continued to sleep peacefully.  I grabbed my work clothes and makeup and took it to the bathroom attached to his guest bedroom, not wanting to wake him up by using the one attached to his room.

I pulled my hair into a bun and quickly showered and got dressed.  I took my hair down and brushed through it, frowned at it in the mirror, and put it back in a bun.  After a quick application of makeup and brushing my teeth, I went downstairs to find something for breakfast.  I grabbed a granola bar and an apple and left Brody a note to give me a call if he wanted me to bring him something to eat later.

Work went fast and I headed home afterwards, hoping to spend some time with Lauren.  I heard the shower running when I got inside and I grabbed a snack and flopped onto the couch.  I had missed a call from Brody during my last client and I pulled my phone out to call him back. 

He greeted me and then asked if I had plans for the night.  I told him I hadn't thought about it yet.  "Well," he replied, "Alex called and said that he wanted to go out tonight.  Lauren's going, but I don't know about anyone else.  Do you want to go?"

"You must be feeling better," I commented.  "That sounds fine to me."

"I am," he said.  "Almost back to normal.  I'm at the office right now, I can come  meet you at your house when I'm done here.  It'll probably be a couple hours though."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

I heard the shower turn off as I said goodbye to Brody.  10 minutes later, Lauren was walking down the stairs.  "Hi," she greeted me with a smile.  She grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and joined me on the couch.  "We're going out tonight, are you coming?" she asked once she was settled.  I told her I was, and we discussed where we wanted to go.  After we figured that out, we went upstairs to get ready.

I let Lauren pick out my clothes because I wasn't super excited about anything in my closet right now.  She put together an outfit that worked for me, then she did my hair, and I did her makeup.  We hadn't gotten ready together in a long time, and it was fun.  We blasted music and danced around between our rooms, and I felt like we were in high school again.  At least until Brody interrupted our dance party by ringing the doorbell.

"Should we just leave him out there until we're finished?" I asked, making a face at Lauren.

She laughed.  "We could.  I'm not sure he'd find us as entertaining as we find us!"

"Definitely not.  We'll just leave him."  We both exploded into a fit of laughter as the front door opened.  "Damn it, he ruined it!"

"Ruined what?" Brody asked, coming up the stairs.  He surveyed our explosion of clothes, makeup, and hair styling tools and quickly said, "I'll...wait downstairs."  Lauren and I looked at each other and burst into laughter again as he returned to the living room to wait us out.

A few minutes later we'd collected ourselves and cleaned up our mess, and Lauren went into the bathroom to finish her hair.  I walked downstairs to where Brody was sitting on the couch watching TV.  "Hi," I greeted him, grinning.

He stood up and pulled me into a hug before kissing me.  "Hi.  You look good.  I feel under dressed compared to you guys."  Lauren and I had had fun putting together outfits and doing our hair and makeup, and were probably far overdressed for what we were doing, but sometimes you just have to dress up a little.

"You look hot," I protested, smoothing my hands over the shoulders of his striped button down shirt.  "You know I love this shirt."

"I know you do," he agreed with a smile.  "That's why I wore it." 

"Can you guys go make out somewhere else?" Lauren yelled from upstairs, starting down the stairs.  "Oh, you're not making out.  Good.  I just wanted to make sure I had my bases covered."  I rolled my eyes.

We took a cab to the bar where we were meeting Alex.  He wasn't there yet, but we found a table and got settled.  Alex arrived about 10 minutes later.  "Is Kinsley coming?" I asked Lauren.

"She said she might stop out later, but I don't think she will.  She's with Damien," Lauren answered.

We sat and talked and drank for awhile.  After we had been there about an hour, I heard someone say my name.  I looked around and saw Josh.  I groaned inwardly.  He walked over to our table and said hi.  I introduced him to Alex and Lauren, and noticed that he was slurring his words a little as he greeted them.  He was pretty drunk, and I had no desire to entertain him, so when he pulled up a chair, I had to bite my tongue to keep from being rude.

While we were sitting and listening to Josh tell some random story that I wasn't really paying attention to, Brody got a phone call.  He frowned at his phone, then said, "I'll be right back," and stood.

When he was gone, Josh moved into his seat next to me.  "A work phone call on a Saturday night?" he asked, leaning a little too close to me.  "And while he's out with his beautiful girlfriend?  That's not right."

I leaned away.  "Josh, don't," I snapped with irritation.  I shot a look at Alex and Lauren, and recognizing the silent plea, Alex engaged Josh in conversation, distracting him.  "Thank you," I mouthed at him.

It felt like forever until Brody came back, though it was probably only about 10 minutes.  He paused when he saw the new seating arrangement.  "Can I have my seat back?" he asked Josh mildly, interrupting his conversation with Alex.

"Oh sure," Josh said, though he didn't move.  "I was just making sure someone was keeping Olivia entertained.  Can't leave an empty seat next to a beautiful woman."  Brody stared down at him, his face unreadable.  "Okay, okay, I'm moving," Josh said drunkenly.  He got up and moved back to the chair he had pulled up to the table by Alex and Brody sat down.

Brody slid his arm around my shoulders and kissed me on the cheek, then said softly into my ear, "Still think he doesn't want you?" I looked at him and he was smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes.  "I guess you're right every once in awhile."  He laughed and stroked my shoulder with his thumb, keeping his arm firmly around me.

After a few minutes, Josh finally wandered away.  "He's going to feel like an idiot on Monday," Alex commented.

I groaned.  "He's so annoying.  I hadn't even talked to him before Wednesday and I already want him to just disappear."

"I don't think that's going to happen," Lauren said.  "He's got it bad."

My face turned bright red and they all laughed at me.  I eventually joined them but was thankful when Alex changed the subject.  We stayed for about another hour and then Alex and Lauren left for Alex's house while Brody and I went back to mine.  

Hi guys!  Thanks for hanging in there with me while I've been less than attentive to you all.  I've had some requests for a Lauren/Alex post.  I really, really want to write one.  Unfortunately, life is off the wall right now.  If I can get in the right headspace to write a good post this weekend, I will.  But I don't want to turn out a shitty post just because, so I make no promises.  I'm sorry!  I miss writing and doing the perspectives but I can't commit to any for the foreseeable future.  Please be patient, and I promise they'll be back (regularly) some day!
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I woke up before Brody's alarm went off on Thursday.  I squinted at the clock and saw we had over an hour before we had to get up.  I considered going back to sleep, but changed my mind.  Brody was sleeping on his side, turned away from me.  I pressed myself against his back and slid my hand across his hip.  He stirred and began to stiffen beneath my fingers when I wrapped my hand around him and stroked him gently.  He rolled over onto his back, eyes still closed, and one hand found my shoulder and pulled the strap of my tank top down.  I paused in my ministrations to pull my top off, then returned my hand to him, now completely hard.

"This is the best goddamn alarm clock I've ever had," he joked, finally opening his eyes.  His fingers slipped back up my arm before moving to my breast.  I quickly wiggled out of my pants and straddled him, sliding down onto him.  He groaned and grabbed my hips as I moved on top of him.  I leaned back and planted my hands on his thighs and he slid one hand up my stomach to my breast as I moved faster.  The other quickly found its way between my legs and I gasped and quickly came.  Not long after, Brody groaned and pulled my hips down hard against his as he finished too.  I stayed put for a second, catching my breath, then rolled off and laid down next to him.

He wrapped an arm around me and pressed his face into my hair.  "That was a hell of a way to wake up," he said softly.  "We even have time to go back to sleep for awhile." 

"That was my plan," I replied, yawning. We dozed until Brody's alarm went off, then I got up and got in the shower.  Brody was sleeping again when I came out of the bathroom and I woke him up to go shower.  We got ready quickly and quietly.  We were both obviously still tired.

"We have time, do you want to stop and pick up some breakfast and coffee?" Brody asked, when I finished throwing my things back in my bad.  I nodded sleepily.  He had perked up considerably, but I was still groggy.

We stopped and grabbed breakfast sandwiches and coffee before Brody dropped me off at work.  I leaned over and kissed him before I said goodbye and got out.  I was yawning in my office when I became aware of someone in the doorway.  I looked up from the contact note I was working on and saw Josh leaning against the doorframe.

He raised an eyebrow as I took a drink of my large coffee.  "Late night?" he quipped, smirking at me.

"Good morning, Josh," I replied, ignoring his remark.  "How are you?"

"Fine," he said, still smirking.  "So, what does the boyfriend do that he was away?"

"He owns a PR company," I said.  I was trying to be pleasant but I really wanted to be left alone so I could get my work done in peace.

"Corporate stuff?  Social media and shit?"

"No, their clients are mostly professional athletes, they--" 

"Wait," Josh interrupted.  "Is your boyfriend Brody Adler?"

I blinked in surprise.  "Yeah, you're familiar with the company?" I asked, confused.

"My brother in law works there.  Neil Procter."

"Oh, small world," I said.  "So you've probably heard a few things, I guess."

"Only good stuff, actually.  Neil thinks your boyfriend walks on water.  I can't imagine having a boss I liked that much.  The worst I've heard is that he's sometimes a little controlling."  I laughed.  "You agree, huh? Control issues?" he asked, and the smirk was back.

That irritated me.  "Only at work," I replied shortly.  

"I guess when you have your own company, that's kind of what you have to do though," he mused.  "And it sounds like that company is the most important thing in the world to him."  He gave me a long, pointed look when he said that, and irritation stabbed me in the gut.  Then he smiled and said, "Well, I'll let you get some work done, see you later!"

As much as I tried to not let him get to me, I couldn't help but dwell on his last words.  Josh didn't know anything about our relationship, but I couldn't help the insecurity that arose when I thought about the idea that his company might be the most important thing in the world to him.

I pushed it out of my head and focused on work.  Around 4, Brody called me.   "So, I hate to do this after I was just gone," he said after I had answered, "but I'm not feeling well, and I think I'm going to go home early and try to get some more sleep.  So I obviously won't be at happy hour."

"That sucks, do you need anything?" I asked.

"Just sleep, I think," he replied.  "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course," I said.  "Let me know if you need anything.  I hope you're just super tired and you feel better after you catch up on some sleep."

"Thanks, Liv, me too.  I'll see you tomorrow, I love you."

"Love you too, bye." I replied.  As much as I wanted to see him, I wasn't feeling happy hour either, so I wasn't too disappointed.  After work, I went home in a crabby  mood.  I rolled my eyes when I saw Kinsley's car outside.  I just wanted to go sit in my room and be crabby by myself.  Hopefully she and Lauren wouldn't expect me to be too social.

"Hey," I greeted them, as I walked inside.

"Hi!" Kinsley said brightly. 

Lauren was a little more perceptive and immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

I sighed, flopping down on the couch next to Kinsley.  "Nothing, I'm just in a bad mood."  Lauren looked at me skeptically, prodding me with her eyes.  I stared her down for about 30 seconds before caving.  "Fine, my coworker said something stupid and I let it get under my skin and now I'm obsessing about it.  Happy?"

"Nope, tell us more," Kinsley coaxed me.

So I explained what happened with Josh the day before, and Brody's observations.  Lauren broke in, "You really are clueless about guys, aren't you?"  I rolled my eyes and kept talking, telling them about what Josh said that day about Brody's company being "the most important thing in the world to him."

"Don't be ridiculous," Lauren said matter-of-factly.  "Of course his company is the most important thing in the world to him.  It should be.  He's sacrificed a lot and put everything into it.  I'd be surprised if it wasn't."

"You suck at this, you know that?" I snapped irritability.

"You really do," Kinsley agreed.  She turned to me.  "Okay, let's pretend for a second that Lauren has tact and empathy and that she didn't just say that.  I think we all can agree that Brody's company is one of the most important things in the world to him, right?"  I nodded.  "But you have to consider that he made major changes to his work habits when they were upsetting you and cutting down on your time together."  She paused, waiting for me to roll this over in my head.  I agreed.  "So he clearly values you and your relationship and it doesn't matter what's more important because he's making time for you.  And I think a case could be made that he thinks you're more important, otherwise he wouldn't have made the changes he made."

"True," Lauren agreed, but she quickly qualified with, "But you probably shouldn't ask him about it, because that will put him in a really awkward position and you will be devastated if he doesn't give you the right answer."

"Well, come on, give me a little credit.  I wasn't planning on asking him if he thinks his company is more important than me," I protested.  "I know I'm important to him, and I'm well aware of the changes he's made. I was just planning to brood over it tonight and probably be over it by tomorrow morning.  I honestly don't even know why what Josh said got to me so much.  Brody's been really great lately with work stuff."  I swear, Lauren can be super sympathetic and supportive, but sometimes she is abrasive and expects the worst of me.

Kinsley squeezed my hand and said, "Lauren knows that, she's just being extra asshole-ish today."  Lauren threw a throw pillow at Kinsley.  

"So, is no one doing happy hour today?" I asked, changing the subject while I could.

"Alex and Christian and Kendra might be," Kinsley said with a shrug, "but we weren't feeling very social.  Where's Brody?"  I told them that he went home from work not feeling well.

"Want to order pizza or something?" Lauren asked.

I groaned.  "I feel like all we do is order food or go out.  I'd rather make something."

After a quick survey of fridge and cabinets, we were all in the kitchen making spaghetti, meatballs, salad, and garlic bread.  It was super simple but way more fun with all three of us cooking.  I already felt like I was out of my funk from the day and was glad Kinsley had been here.  I don't think I could have abided Lauren's attitude without Kinsley there to even it out with her empathy. 

After Kinsley had left, Lauren turned to me.  "You know, I realize that maybe I should have asked before I invited Kinsley over.  I'm sorry, I've got to get used to living in someone else's space."

I shook my head.  "Don't be ridiculous.  This is your house too, you're paying half the rent.  Having Kinsley over is fine.  I'd only expect a heads up if you were going to invite a bunch of people over.  Or Savannah."  We both laughed at that.  "And even then, you don't have to ask, just let me know so I'm prepared and can go elsewhere if I don't feel like being around a bunch of people.  I'll do the same for you, obviously."

"Okay, cool," Lauren said, smiling. 

"Hey Laur?" I asked after a pause.  She raised an eyebrow at me.  "Is everything okay?  With you?  And with you and Alex?  You've seemed a little...off."

She frowned and sighed.  "Yeah, you're right.  I mean, everything is fine.  It's really just been an adjustment living with someone, you know?  I've only been here a few days and I already feel like I desperately need some time to myself.  Don't get me wrong, I love you and I'm grateful to be here but it's a big change from living alone for so long."

"Oh, trust me, I get it.  It's an adjustment for me too.  But if you ever need some space, just let me know and I'll head out to Brody's house, okay?"

"Okay, I will," she said with a grin.  "And look, the last thing I want to do is blow our friendship over living together for awhile, so I really do want you to tell me if I do something that pisses you off, okay?"

"I promise I will," I swore.  "But now, I'm going to bed.  I need to make today go away.  Thanks for the reality check earlier, even if you were a little...harsh about it.  I needed it."

"You know I'll always do that for you," Lauren said, laughing.  "That's a guarantee."

A New Friend?

When I got home from work on Monday, Lauren was in the kitchen, swearing.  She looked up and smiled brightly at me as I shut the door and slid my boots off.  "I'm making tacos," she proclaimed proudly.

I laughed.  "Are they edible tacos?" I asked cautiously.

"Not even I can screw up tacos," she said, making a face at me.  "Go ahead and change or whatever you do after work.  It'll be done in 5 minutes or so."

I headed upstairs, calling down, "I could get used to this.  Coming home to dinner cooking...like you're my 1950s housewife!"

"Watch it, or no tacos for you!"  Lauren yelled back.

The tacos were indeed edible, and it was kind of nice to hang out with Lauren while we ate and cleaned up together.  "I was super productive today," she said, taking a freshly washed pan from me and drying it.  "I got the rest of my stuff unpacked and my room all organized, did some grocery shopping, cleaned the fridge and organized it so we know whose stuff is whose, and made us this delicious dinner."

"That's awesome, thank you for dinner and for taking care of the fridge," I replied, impressed.  Maybe this whole roommate thing wouldn't be so bad, after all.  Brody called while we were cleaning up, and when we were done, I went up to my room to call him back.

"How's Chicago?" I asked him, after we greeted each other.

"Cold," he replied.  I laughed.  "Neil and Pete have everything under control.  We're probably going to be here until Thursday, though.  I want to try to get back by Wednesday but I don't think it's going to happen."

"That's a bummer," I said, scrunching up my nose in disappointment.  "I guess I'll survive one more day without you."

He laughed.  "That's good.  You did just fine for 26 years of your life without me, what's another day?" 

"I think we need to have a conversation about what 'just fine' means in your world, because I'm not sure I agree with that statement," I replied. 

We talked for about 5 more minutes and then hung up, and I joined Lauren in the living room, where we watched TV together for about an hour before I went upstairs to get ready for bed and read for awhile.


On Wednesday, I hadn't heard anything from Brody indicating they were going to be back, so I assumed that he had been right and it would be Thursday.  A coworker invited me out for drinks after work, and I gladly accepted.  As many good things as I had to say about this job, this was the first time I'd gone out with coworkers.  People didn't seem as close and friendly here as at my old job.  I sent Lauren a text telling her that Brody wouldn't be back and I was going out, so it was her call if she wanted to stay at Alex's like she'd been planning to give Brody and I some space, or if she just wanted to stay at our house.

She texted back asking where we were going and saying she'd probably still go, but she'd talk to Alex and let me know.  I told her the name of the bar that my coworker told me and she said she'd never been there.  We texted back and forth a couple more times, then I got back to work.

I'd ridden the bus to work so I got a ride with a coworker when we left that evening.  His name was Josh and he had the office across the hall from mine.  We hadn't done much more than exchange pleasantries and have brief conversation about clients or the weather, but he seemed nice enough.

When we got to the bar, he offered to buy my drink but I politely declined.  He didn't seem at all bothered by that, and we joined the rest of the group that was trickling in at a table in the back.  I ended up sitting between Josh and a girl named Haley who was a little newer than me.  She turned out to be not terribly interested in talking to me, so Josh and I did a lot of chatting.  He was from Illinois, so we talked about the Midwest and relocating.  At one point, I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I got back, there was a new drink on the table at my spot.  Josh grinned at me and said, "Yours was gone.  Thought you might need another."  I thanked him, a little irritated that he'd bought me a drink when I had refused his first offer.

After we had been there for a little more than an hour my attention started to wander, and my eyes drifted around the bar while Josh talked.  He was saying something about an Illini/Badgers game he'd been to when someone touched my shoulder.  My head snapped around and I was shocked to see Brody standing there.  I stood quickly, completely unaware of Josh's irritation at the interruption, and hugged him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him excitedly.  "You didn't tell me you'd be back today!"

He kissed me lightly.  "I wanted to surprise you," he said.  "I went to your house, but Lauren told me you were here.  So I came here."  I smiled, happy he was back already.

"Sooo...." Josh said, looking up at us.

"Oh," I said, remembering where I was.  "Josh, this is my boyfriend, Brody.  Brody, Josh."  I realized Haley was watching us too and repeated the introduction for her.

"I heard," she sniffed, turning back to the person next to her.  Brody squeezed my waist gently.

"Nice you meet you," he said, holding a hand out to Josh.  Josh let Brody stand with his hand extended for just a beat too long before shaking it briefly.  He then sat and stared awkwardly at us as we talked. 

"What are your plans?" I asked Brody.  "I'm sure you want to go home."

"Yeah, I was hoping we could grab some takeout and head back to my place, but I can stay for a drink if you want," he replied.  I could tell that he would do it without complaint, but that he really would prefer to just pick up food and head home.

"Let's go," I said.  I pulled my coat on and grabbed my purse.  "Bye Josh, thanks for the ride here!" I said before we left, flashing him a smile.  He nodded curtly and turned back to the table.  I thought I saw him roll his eyes as he turned. 

"So, you made a new friend?" Brody asked once we were outside.  I saw him smirk when he said it.  He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me tightly against his side. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Instead of answering, he asked another question.  "Did he buy your drink?"

"He tried to buy the first one, but I wouldn't let him," I replied, confused.  "Then I went to the bathroom and came back and he had bought one while I was gone."

Brody laughed.  "Thought so.  He wants you."

"No way," I protested.  "That was the first actual conversation we've ever had.  He was just being nice."

"He gave you a ride, tried to buy your first drink, successfully bought your second drink, sat next to you, was talking happily even though you were barely paying attention, looked pissed and acted like a child when I showed up, and suddenly went from trying to be your BFF to barely acknowledging you when you said goodbye.  He wants you."

"Oh," I said, dumbfounded.

Brody grinned and squeezed my shoulders with his arm.  "I love that you're completely oblivious to the effect that you have on men," he said. 

"Are you going to be weird about it?" I asked.

He laughed.  "Not at all, unless he does something stupid.  I actually love that other men find you so attractive, as long as they keep their hands off you."

I rolled my eyes.  "You're such an alpha male," I grumbled, but I was secretly pleased.   I had been fighting Brody's protective nature, but I was starting to realize that it came without the possessive jealousy that usually--at least in my limited experience--seemed to accompany the protectiveness in other people, and I appreciated that.

"I think I'll choose to take that as a compliment," he replied.  He pulled open his car door for me.  "Do you want to spend the night?  We could stop at your house so you can get clothes for tomorrow." he asked.  I nodded. Before he shut the door, he leaned in, planting one hand on the back of my seat and one on the dash.  "By the way, I missed you."  He kissed me softly before moving his right hand from the dash to the back of my head, wrapping his fingers in my hair, and kissing me harder.

"Mmm, I guess you did," I managed, once he had pulled away.   He grinned and carefully shut the door.  Once he was driving in the direction of my house, he reached across the center console for my hand.  "Did it go as well as you were hoping?" I asked casually.  I was dying to know if Neil and Pete were going to be able to take over on-call responsibilities so I could have dinner (or breakfast, or lunch, or sex) with my boyfriend without worrying about his phone ringing and him having to leave.

He yawned, then said, "It was great.  They did a really good job and I'm ready to let go of a little control, I think."

I smiled broadly.  "That's awesome!" I said, not even trying to hide my excitement. 

Brody chuckled and squeezed my hand.  "I had a feeling you'd be happy about that," he said.  "I think I'm going to try to work out a schedule this weekend, if I have time."

"Well if you need some help, let me know," I said.  "I will gladly do anything I can to help take some of this responsibility off your plate."

"I'm sure you would," he replied with a grin.  He yawned again.  "I am so looking forward to sleeping in my bed tonight."

We parked in front of my house and I was surprised to see Lauren's car in the driveway.  "Hi," she said, when we walked in.  "I can go to Alex's...?"

I shook my head.  "No way.  Only if you want to, otherwise the place is all yours.  I'm just getting some stuff and then we're going out to Brody's house.  Sorry, I didn't know he'd be back tonight."

Lauren looked relieved.  I made a mental note to make sure everything was alright with her the next time I saw her without Brody lurking in the doorway.  He sat down in a chair and chatted with Lauren as I ran upstairs to grab work clothes and makeup for the next day.  We quickly ate the food we had picked up, said goodbye to Lauren, and headed out.

"Can I talk you into driving?" he asked, holding out his keys. 

"Absolutely," I replied.  He grabbed my bag from me when I took the keys and threw it in the back.  On the drive to his house, he chatted with me for a few minutes, then leaned his head back against the seat and shut his eyes.  I let him sleep and concentrated on driving, and soon we were at his house.

He insisted on carrying my bag and his suitcase in, and hauled everything up to his room right away.  I changed into sweats while he showered, then I went downstairs and flipped on the TV.  Brody came down about 10 minutes later, and laid down across the couch with his head in my lap.  I raked my fingers through his still damp hair and massaged his scalp.  "That feels amazing," he mumbled sleepily.  "But I can't tell if it's turning me on or putting me to sleep."

"I'm pretty sure that if you even have to wonder, you should probably just go to sleep," I said, laughing. 

"No, I need more time to decide, so don't stop," he instructed me.

I kept massaging his scalp, and in less than 5 minutes he was asleep.  I knew that when he traveled for work, he liked to get things done as quickly as possible, which often meant that he didn't get much sleep.  He was always exhausted when he got home.

I watched TV for another 20 minutes or so, but then I was yawning too.  I squeezed his shoulder and he groaned softly and shifted.  "Hey," I said softly, gently shaking his shoulder.  "Let's go to bed."  He nodded, but didn't get up.  "Brody," I said more insistently, nudging him.  "Bed."  He sat up and stretched.  I stood and pulled him up.  He barely even managed to get under the blankets on his bed when we got upstairs.  By the time I was done washing my face and brushing my teeth, he was asleep again.

Moving Day

"I can't believe I actually considered moving in with Alex," Lauren grunted as she hauled a box into my house.

"I thought you had been abducted and replaced with an alien that looked just like you when you told us," I replied, surveying the boxes Lauren had just brought in.

"Thank god you guys talked some sense into me.  I owe you big time, even if you were total assholes about it."  I cringed.  We had been.  "I owe Brody too."  We turned and glanced out the window as Brody's Sequoia pulled up in front of my house.  He had put aside his negative feelings about Lauren staying with me to help her move her stuff.  She had put most of it in storage as I had a table and couch and kitchen stuff, but she obviously needed her bed, clothes, and personal stuff.  And luckily, her full size mattress and box spring fit in the Sequoia.  Well, "fit" is a bit of a stretch, but the guys made it work.

Lauren was going to pay half of my rent and utilities, which was awesome for me.  I asked for a third of the rent since her room was smaller than mine and she'd have to go through my room to get to the shower, but she insisted on half, and I didn't argue too hard against it.   It was still less than she had been paying at her apartment, so she was saving money too.  We were also going to coordinate some days she could spend at Alex's house so that Brody and I could have some privacy at my house.

I hurried to the door and pulled it open for Brody and Alex, who were carrying Lauren's box spring into the house.  They hauled it up the stairs and then came back down.  A few seconds later, they were carrying in the mattress.

"This is a shitty way to spend a nice Saturday afternoon," Lauren complained.

Alex shot her a dirty look as he came down the stairs.  "Are you serious right now?" he asked.  "I see you sitting on the couch while Brody and I haul your furniture inside.  Tell me more about how shitty it is."  I snorted and Brody tried not to smile while Lauren gave Alex a seriously affronted look.

"I'm bringing in boxes," she protested.

"Hooookay," Alex replied, walking back out the door.

"Don't mind him," Brody said with a grin.  "He's just mad he's not sitting on the couch.  He's not used to working out."

"I fucking heard that!" Alex yelled from the porch.

"Good, because I said it loud!" Brody yelled back.  He grinned at us again before following Alex back out.  I didn't understand Brody's cheerful attitude, but I wasn't complaining one bit.  It was a week and a half since our argument about Lauren moving in and he hadn't mentioned it since.  When I told him she was definitely moving in, he asked if she'd need help moving her stuff.  I wrote our argument off as the result of my lingering stress from meeting the Sanders and Brody's stress from everything with his dad. 

Lauren and I resumed bringing her stuff in from her car.  She and Alex would be moving the rest of her stuff into the storage unit next weekend, and I didn't envy them.  Moving is the worst.

Once the guys had all her furniture in and we had the stuff out of her car, we all collapsed in the living room.  "Pizza?" Lauren asked.  "On me, of course."  She had also stocked my fridge with beer (for the guys) and wine (for us), and I went and pulled out a bottle of white and a couple bottles of beer.  I delivered the beer to Brody and Alex and poured two glasses of wine for Lauren and I. 

"Thanks, you guys," Lauren said, after she had called in a pizza order.  "I really appreciate it." 

"No problem," Brody replied.  Alex grumbled something that I couldn't make out, but it was probably better that way.  "Lighten up," Brody said, rolling his eyes.

"He's just hungry," Lauren postulated.

"We have so much in common," I replied with a laugh.  "I turn into an asshole when I'm hungry too."

"She does," Brody agreed.  Alex drained his beer and stalked into the kitchen to get another one.  I raised an eyebrow at Lauren, who rolled her eyes.

Sure enough, once the pizza had come and Alex had eaten two slices he was much happier, talking and joking with us.  Once we relocated all the rest of Lauren's stuff upstairs, she and Alex put together her bed frame.  They left shortly after.  Lauren was spending the night with Alex and coming back tomorrow to unpack.

"Thank you," I said to Brody, after Lauren and Alex were gone.  "I really appreciate you helping her and being so cheerful about it."

"She lives here now, the last thing I want is her being pissed at me, and by extension, you," he replied.  "But, now that she's gone, I want to enjoy our last night of privacy here."  He reached for me and grabbed me by the waistband of my jeans, pulling me towards him.

"Don't be so dramatic, we'll have plenty of privacy still...it'll just have to be scheduled privacy," I said, laughing as I stepped closer to him.  "But we can certainly make the most of it tonight."


Brody left to go to work for a couple hours on Sunday, and Lauren came back around 11.  "I hate unpacking," she moaned, as we looked around at the stuff in her room.  Luckily, it was mostly clothes and toiletries and there really wasn't that much.  I helped her hang up some clothes in the closet as we chatted.

"So, was Alex upset that you didn't move in with him?" I asked curiously, folding a sweater and setting it on the small closet shelf.

"I actually think he was relieved when I said I was moving in with you for a little while," she responded while shoving some socks in her dresser drawer.  "I think he offered out of obligation or without really thinking and was glad I said no."

"Well that's good, at least," I said.  "I just remember how fast things went downhill when John and I basically started living together."  We had never actually lived together, but we were spending every night together and had stuff at each others' apartments and sometimes were there without the other person--which is as close to living together as it gets without actually living together.

"So I assume you're in no hurry to move in with Brody?" she asked.

"Not really.  I feel like it would be different with him because our relationship is just a lot better than my relationship with John ever was, but I'm still okay with just taking our time.  I mean, we still haven't been together that long."

"That makes sense.  You and John were just....ugh."  That was enough said, because I agreed.  "Do you ever think about marrying Brody?"

I was surprised by that question.  I had thought about it.  I liked the idea of it...in the future.  I said as much, and Lauren nodded.  "I don't think I want to marry Alex," she declared.

I gave her a funny look.  "Lauren, two months.  You shouldn't be marrying anyone after two months."

"It's not just Alex," she admitted.  "I can see myself with him for the rest of my life, actually."  This surprised me.  Lauren has never been a "the rest of my life" person--about anything.  She saw my surprised look and continued.  "I know, it's really weird.  But even so, I still don't see myself ever marrying him.  Or anyone.  I need to have options.  I can't get stuck like my mom was.  Is it weird that I want to maybe spend my whole life with someone, but I still feel like I need to have a way out?"  She had stopped unpacking and was sitting on her bed, looking pained.

"Laur," I said, sitting next to her.  "It's not weird.  And like I said, two months.  Who knows what will happen and if you'll change your mind.  In any case, it's not something you need to worry about now."

"Says the queen of worrying," she replied, rolling her eyes.  But then she laughed.  "You're right.  I think this whole relationship thing is just so new to me that I can't help but have my mind run away with everything, you know?"  I agreed and we got back to unpacking.

Brody picked me up that evening for dinner.  "So," he started, once we had sat down.  "I got a call this afternoon.  I'm flying out to Chicago late tonight."  I wrinkled my nose in disappointment, but quickly forced my face back to neutral.  "Hold on, because I think you'll like this."  I waited for him to continue, curious.  "Pete and Neil took one of these calls while I was in Miami, and it sounds like everything went really well.  So they're both coming, and I'm only observing.  If everything goes well, which I'm sure it will, I'll set up an on call schedule and it won't just be me anymore."

He was right, I did like that.  "Really?" I said excitedly.  "So fewer phone calls?  And trips?"

"Yes, and you'll know when they might happen.  Which means, once I get everything settled down and get our new people trained, we actually can take a vacation if you want to." I nodded, smiling.  "So I was thinking that once things were calmer and we had the schedule worked out, I'd figure out some time to go out to San Diego to meet with Todd, and maybe I could plan to stay a few extra days and you could come out.  We can do it over one of your long weekends so you don't have to take a ton of time off work.  And then, depending on what you want to do with that two week chunk you have to take off, maybe we can plan a real trip then."

I was thrilled by this idea.  "Maybe this summer?" I asked, thinking.

"That's what I was thinking.  We can go anywhere you want.  I thought if you wanted to take part of the time to maybe go home and visit Lynn and your family, then go somewhere cool for the rest, that would work out really well.  But I'll let you decide what you want to do."

"How do Neil and Pete feel about this whole on call thing?" I questioned curiously.

"Well, considering they both got a promotion and a substantial raise, and will get a bonus every time they have to travel, they were practically begging me for it," he said, grinning. 

I smiled at him.  "This is awesome.  And it all went quicker than you thought."

"It did, I have good people.  Thank you for putting up with it all for the last several months.  Your support means a lot to me."

I blushed, because I knew I hadn't been even close to good at putting up with it at times.  "What time is your flight?" I asked, changing the subject.

"We fly out at 1:15am," he responded with a frown.  "I hate flying so late, but it was the soonest flight we could get."  I nodded.  "Hey, something else." I waited as he fished something out of his pocket.  He set a key down on the table.  "I have yours, it's only fair that you have mine.  I figured that way, now that you have a roommate for awhile, if you ever need some space you can have it, even if I'm out of town or working super late.  You can go there whenever you want, even if I'm not there."  I found the whole situation a little funny, considering my conversation with Lauren earlier, but I took the key gratefully.  It would definitely be nice to have the option to get away if Lauren was driving me nuts or had Alex over or I just needed some privacy.

"Thank you," I said.  "I hope I don't need this, at least not to get away from Lauren, but I will be very glad to have it if I do.  I appreciate it."  

We finished our dinner leisurely, lingering while I finished my wine.  Brody clearly wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere and I wasn't either.  We finally made our way back to my house around 9, and I was surprised to not see Lauren's car.  When we got inside, I saw a note a from her saying that she couldn't handle the boxes and had gone to Alex's again.  She had taken Monday off work and was planning to finish unpacking then and she'd see me Monday when I got home.

"Well," I said, leaning against the counter and looking up at Brody, "Looks like we have one more night of privacy.  And," I looked at the clock, "two hours before you need to leave."  He was meeting Neil and Pete at the office to drive to the airport at 11:15.

"Mmm, you're right," he replied, closing the distance between us so I was sandwiched between the counter and his body.  He leaned down, kissed me, and slid his hands beneath the hem of my shirt.  I pouted when he pulled away, but he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. 

"I'm going to miss being able to do this," I said, pulling off my shirt while I was halfway up the stairs.

"Maybe Lauren would appreciate the show too," Brody suggested.

I stopped short and turned around.  "Don't get any ideas about roommate fantasies or anything like that," I advised him, trying not to laugh.

"I'm offended that you'd think I'd ever even imagine such an improper thing," he protested, fighting a smile.  He was a few steps below me, and he wrapped his hands around my hips and pressed his lips against the skin just above the waistband of my jeans.  His mouth followed the waistband across my lower stomach until he came to my hip bone, which he nipped at gently.  That was enough to render my legs nearly useless.

"If you don't stop so we can get up the rest of the stairs, my legs are going to stop working and you're going to be figuring out a way to finish what you started right here," I warned him. 

"Or," he replied, looking up at me briefly before pressing his lips back to my skin and starting to go back in the other direction, "I can torture you a little longer, and then just carry you the rest of the way."  And that was exactly what he did.

I was nearly asleep when he pulled his arm off of me and sat up.  "Is it time for you to go?" I asked groggily, rolling onto my back so I could see him.

"It almost is, unfortunately," he replied softly.  He disappeared into the bathroom, and a second later, I heard the shower running.  It stopped after just a couple minutes, and then he came back out and pulled his clothes on.  He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to kiss me.  "Wednesday or Thursday, I think, but I'll let you know, okay?"  I nodded.  He kissed me again, then brushed his lips across my forehead before standing.  "I'll lock the door.  I love you."

"I love you too," I responded. 

Roommates?

I got out of work late on Tuesday, so when I got to the restaurant where Kinsley, Lauren, Cassie and I had arranged to meet, they were already working on appetizers.  But this was the first time I have ever been stuck at this job later than I planned, so I considered it a win.

I greeted them and accepted the plate of random appetizers that Lauren offered me.  "I figured if we didn't save you some, you'd probably kill us," she said.

I rolled my eyes and when our server came I ordered a drink and we placed our food orders.  "So," Lauren said, after the server had left, "I have to tell you guys something and you're all going to freak out."  She stopped and didn't say anything else.

"Okay, and?" Kinsley said, prodding her impatiently.

"Alex asked me to move in with him."

"I'm sorry, what?!" I yelped, probably much too loudly for our setting.  Cassie was laughing and Kinsley was staring at Lauren with her mouth open.  "You're not going to do it, are you?"

Lauren didn't answer.  "You're going to do it?" Kinsley asked in shock.

"I don't know," she said finally.  "My apartment lease is almost up and they're raising the prices a ton.  I haven't found anything else that I like, which is how the whole thing even came up.  I'm running out of options."

"Lauren, you can move in with me," I suggested.  "Even if it's just for a little while until you find something.  You guys have only been dating for what?  Two months?  You can't move in with him."

She glared at me.  "You're the one that forced me into dating him," she accused me.  "You can't be mad if I consider moving in with him."

Kinsley and I exchanged looks.  "Laur?" Kinsley said tentatively.  "You're super defensive.  I get not feeling like you have options, but is that what's going on?  Do you really want to move in with him, or do you feel stuck?"

"I don't know," she moaned.  "I don't really want to move in with him, because it hasn't been very long, and because I'm not ready to give up my space.  But...now that he asked me, I'm scared if I say no that he'll be mad and it will make things weird."

"If he gets pissed that you don't want to move in with him after dating for two months then you're better off without him," Cassie pointed out.

"Says the girl fucking two guys at the same time," Lauren snapped.  We all looked at her in surprise.  Lauren was brutally honest and could be surly, but she was rarely downright rude.

"Like you've never done that," Kinsley tossed back, quickly jumping to Cassie's defense.

Lauren turned and was about to say something back when I interrupted.  "Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on here?" I asked. 

"I don't know," Lauren said, lowering her eyes.  "Sorry Cassie, that was shitty."  Cassie nodded.  "I never had a problem with people questioning my decisions when I was out doing whatever I wanted, but now that I have to consider someone else's feelings, I feel like everyone has an opinion and I'm not used to that."

"Look, do whatever you think is best for you," I said, "But if need a place to stay for awhile, I'll get my shit out of that second bedroom and it's all yours."

"Thanks," Lauren replied with a smile.  "I'll let you know, okay?"

Kinsley looked like she wasn't quite ready to drop the subject but I wasn't interested in a drama-filled dinner and quickly shoehorned us into more neutral territory.  The rest of dinner was uneventful, thankfully.

I was telling Brody about the conversation when we were having dinner together on Wednesday.  "Wait, you did what?" he asked after I told him that I offered my spare bedroom to her.  "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

I raised my eyebrows.  "I'm just using it for storing some of my stuff now.  Why shouldn't she stay with me for awhile if she needs a place?"

"Do you really want a roommate?" he asked carefully.

"No, not particularly, but I also don't want Lauren moving in with Alex if she's not ready to, just because she has nowhere else to go," I responded, struggling to keep my voice calm.

"But you're not responsible for her.  If Alex asked her to move in, and she does it, then she's his problem."  I blinked at him, completely speechless for a second.   "What?" he asked, seeing my face.

"That's one of my best friends you are calling a 'problem'," I replied through gritted teeth.

He shrugged.  "I didn't mean it like that.  I'm sorry, I'm just 30 years old and pretty anti-roommate at this point in my life, unless it was a significant other."

"Well it's a good thing you won't have to live with her," I snapped.  I continued eating silently, occasionally glaring at Brody like the very grown up 27 year old that I am.  He decided his best bet was to also remain silent, and we finished our meal quickly and silently.

"Do you still want me to come over?" he asked tentatively, as we walked out of the restaurant. 

"Do whatever you want," I replied.  "I don't have a roommate yet, if that factors into your decision."  I stalked towards where I had parked my car.  Brody easily kept up with me, and when we got there, he put a hand on my driver's door, preventing me from opening it. "What the hell, Brody?" I snapped.

"I can't decide what I'm going to do tonight until you tell me if you're going to continue acting like a child all evening," he said.  He was maddeningly calm, and I resented that, because I was pissed.

"I can't decide if I'm going to act like a child all evening until you tell me if you're going to keep judging my decisions of what to do with my own living space," I spat back.

"Okay, how about this," he replied.  "Let's go to your house and we can continue this there.  Is that okay?"  I nodded and he pulled open my car door for me and held it open while I got in.  He closed it carefully and walked back to his car.  I knew I was acting like a brat, but I hadn't expected him to be so negative about the whole situation.  I tried to calm down as I drove home, and I was feeling a little better by the time I pulled into my garage.  I turned on the outside light so Brody could see, and he walked in a couple minutes later.  I handed him a beer, my peace offering.

"I'm sorry that I was such a brat," I said, once we were both settled.  "I wasn't expecting you to be so negative about it, and then when you said Lauren would be 'Alex's problem' it really rubbed me the wrong way.  The way you said that you're 30 and anti-roommate felt like you were questioning my maturity.  And it all just felt like you were telling me what I could and couldn't do with my own house.  It's so easy for you because you have plenty of money and can pay your mortgage on your really great house, but to be completely honest, having someone to help out with my rent for a couple months is going to be really great for me."

Brody looked confused.  "You read way too much into that," he started matter-of-factly.  I glared at him.  "What?"

"I apologized and your response is that I read too much into it?"

"I really didn't mean any of those things the way you think I did, what am I supposed to say?" He looked like he was starting to get frustrated now.

"You're supposed to say that you're sorry for not thinking before you spoke," I huffed.

"This is ridiculous," Brody muttered.

That was the final straw for me.  I stood up and turned to him.  "Okay, well I'm going to bed.  I'm not a big enough child to kick you out and make you go all the way home, so feel free to stay, but enjoy the couch."  I turned and walked up the stairs, proud of myself for resisting the urge to stomp the whole way up. 

I was fuming by the time I got upstairs, as if every step I went up had made me more angry.  In the long run, yeah, this was a stupid thing to fight about.  Mostly because it could have been over if he just would have apologized for being a judgmental jerk about it all.  But one of my biggest pet peeves is when people tell me that something I'm pissed about is a stupid thing to be mad about.  I had to seriously talk myself out of stomping back down the stairs and yelling at him.

I decided to take a quick shower, hoping it would help me calm down.  My quick shower turned into 20 minutes, but I felt a lot better when I got out.  I dried off, brushed my teeth, and pulled on a pair of a shorts and a t-shirt, then climbed into bed.  It was only a little after 9, but a little extra sleep never hurt anyone.

I had been in bed for about 5 minutes when I heard footsteps on the stairs.  I rolled over so my back was to the door.  I was honestly surprised that Brody hadn't just left.  He opened the door and knocked lightly on the frame.  I sullenly remained silent.  "I know you're not asleep because I just heard you roll over when I was walking up the stairs," he said.  I still didn't say anything.  He took my silence for acceptance of his presence and sat on the edge of the bed.  I kept my back to him.

After several seconds of my petulant silence, he laid down and scooted over next to me.  I stiffened slightly as he slipped his arm around me.  "I'm sorry," he said softly.  "I think we can both agree that I have no actual idea why you're so angry, but I'm ready for you to explain it to me so I can apologize properly.  We've both been so stressed out lately and I think this got a lot uglier than it needed to."

I considered this for several seconds, then wiggled out of his grasp and sat up.  "I'm so angry because the things you said, while you didn't mean anything by them, hit a nerve.  And when I told you that they hit a nerve, instead of apologizing, you just blew it off and put it on me by saying that I read too much into it.  Then you said that it was ridiculous, which sent me over the edge because I was mad, and if I'm mad, regardless of how dumb it is, it should be important to you.  Just like if you were mad and I thought it was dumb, it should still be important to me because you're mad about it, whatever it is."

"Okay, that makes more sense to me.  I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything negatively against Lauren or your maturity, it came out all wrong and it was dumb of me to say.  I actually think you're far more mature than most people in their mid to late 20s.  You're definitely more mature than I ever was when I was 27.  Probably more mature than I am now.  And you're right, I reacted to you poorly here.  I was frustrated and I just gave up.  I'm sorry for blowing you off."

"Thank you.  And do you know how hard it was for me to apologize first?" I asked, with a small smile.  "You've ensured that that will never happen again." 

"Shit, I really screwed that up, huh?" he replied, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me back down next to him.  "Can I tell you why I reacted the way I did to you telling Lauren she could move in?"

"Of course," I said.

"I spend a lot of time here," he pointed out.  "And a lot of it is after work, and it's nice to just come here and be with you and be able to relax.  It will be different with someone else here, and I very selfishly don't want to share you and your space with another person."

"That's fair," I replied.  "I hadn't really thought of that.  And really, I don't want to share my space for a long time either.  But I also can't leave Lauren hanging.  Hopefully she finds something else soon, or she doesn't stay here for long.  I'm reasonably certain she's not going to move in with Alex.  And maybe we can coordinate for her to spend a night or two a week with Alex so we can still have some privacy here too.  I know she already does that now.  And even though it's a little more driving, we always have your house."

"You're right, we'll make it work," he said, pressing his face against my neck.  "Do you still want me to sleep on the couch?"

I laughed.  "No, you can stay here.  Thank you for coming up to talk.  And I'm sorry that I acted like such a brat about it all."   

"I forgive you.  After all, we have to account for your limited maturity, right?" he teased me.  I shrieked and tried to scoot away from him in mock anger, but he held me tightly and laughed as I struggled fruitlessly against his grasp. 

"You're a jerk," I gasped, after I had given up on getting away. 

"Yet somehow, you still love me," Brody said.

"Somehow," I agreed. 

Attack of the Clones

I sat in the parking lot of the restaurant in my car until I saw Nadine and Jon's car pull up and park.  I got out, feeling nervous again, and walked towards them.  By the time I got there, everyone was out of the car and I couldn't hide my smile as I watched a small boy bounce around, excitedly talking to Nadine about something.

"Hi again," I said in greeting.  The little boy stopped and stared awkwardly at me for several seconds before breaking into a huge grin.  I smiled back.

Nadine introduced us.  "Sarah, AJ, this is Olivia.  Olivia, this is Sarah.  She's 14.  And this is AJ, he's--"

"NINE!  I'm nine!" AJ shrieked joyfully, before turning back to Nadine.  "Can we go inside?  I'm hungry!"

Jon chuckled.  "These kids can eat.  You'd never believe it, with how small they are."

"Actually, I would believe it," I replied.  I looked at Sarah.  She was peering sullenly at me through a curtain of long, blonde hair with bright purple streaks.  Aside from the purple streaks and the scowl, she was the spitting image of 14-year-old me.  It was actually a little off-putting.  She was tiny--they both were, and any lingering doubt I might have had about whether or not these kids were related to me was wiped away.

"Hi Sarah," I said to her, smiling kindly.  "It's nice to meet you."

"Hi," she replied, her voice so soft I barely heard her.  She didn't smile, she didn't say anything else.  Just stared up at me.

"Have you been here before?" I asked, motioning towards the restaurant we were starting to walk towards.  She shook her head silently.  "Me neither.  I haven't lived here very long.  I've heard it's good."  She nodded, looking for a second as though she was going to speak, then she lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Ahead of us, AJ was babbling away to Nadine and Jon.  His sandy blonde hair flopped into his eyes from his cowlick just like mine does when it's shorter.  I suddenly felt completely overwhelmed by the fact that these people were the relatives of a father I never knew, were my relatives, my siblings.  Once we were seated, I excused myself to go to the bathroom, but slipped outside instead.  I pulled my phone out and dialed Lauren's number, praying she'd pick up.

"Hey Liv!  How'd the meet and greet go?" she asked cheerfully when she answered.  I sighed in relief.

"I'm having lunch with them and the kids.  The kids, Lauren.  My god, they're like....mini mes.  It's so weird."

"Wait, you're doing what?  With the kids?  Seriously?  Wow.  Are you okay?"  She paused for a second then said, "You're not okay, because you're calling me when you should be eating lunch with them."

"I don't know.  I was fine, but then I just got really overwhelmed.  This was a bad idea.  Maybe I should just go.  I should have just stuck with meeting Nadine and Jon today, and met the kids another time.  I'm freaking out."  My hands were starting to shake and I sat down heavily on a bench near the door.

"Breathe, Olivia," Lauren prompted me.  "If you need to go, then go.  I'm sure they'll understand.  I think you might regret leaving now, though."  I knew she was right.  Just talking to Lauren had a weird, calming effect and I was already feeling a little better.

I heard a familiar male voice in the background, and Lauren said something back that I couldn't hear.  "Are you with Alex?  I can let you go, I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Don't be dumb, Liv.  Yes, I'm with Alex, but you have nothing to be sorry for.  If I was busy, I wouldn't have answered.  We can talk as long as you need to."  Thank god for Lauren.

"Thanks, Laur.  I think I'm okay, I should get back in there.  Thank you for listening."  We said goodbye and hung up.  I took a deep breath and walked back inside.  I made my way back to the table.  "Sorry," I said sheepishly.  "I got a phone call I had to take.  I hope you weren't waiting for me."

"The kids ordered, but we haven't yet," Nadine said kindly.  I looked at the menu quickly and was ready to order when the server came back.  We ordered and Nadine instructed him to go ahead and bring the kids' food out as soon as it was ready.  Sarah sat across from me, and I'd notice her watching me from behind her hair occasionally.  As soon as I'd look over and smile, she'd return her eyes to her cell phone in her lap.  At one point, Nadine leaned over and whispered something to her.  Sarah scowled and shifted, presumably shoving her phone into her pocket.

Sarah barely said 3 words through the whole meal.  AJ, on the other hand, talked my ear off about school, movies he'd seen, and skiing lessons.  He had so much energy and enthusiasm, and I couldn't help but smile every time he talked.  Nadine and I tried hard to pull Sarah into the conversation, but she resisted our efforts.  My heart went out to her.  Her dad had died, she had been removed from her mom's care, moved to a new town, and entered the awkward adolescent phase, all within a few short years. No wonder she was sullen and quiet.

We were at the restaurant for over an hour, and I relaxed throughout the meal.  As we walked out, a small hand on my arm stopped me right outside the door.  I turned to Sarah, who said, "Do you think...could I text you sometimes?  Grandma is great, but she's kind of, well...old, and she doesn't get it sometimes."  I was surprised to hear full sentences coming from her, and even more shocked that she was asking to contact me.

"I'd be okay with that," I replied carefully, "but if you don't mind, I'd like to check with your Grandma first.  I don't know what her rules are, and I don't want you to get in trouble or anything."  I smiled warmly to show her that I was interested in talking to her more.

"That's fine, I don't think she'll mind," Sarah said.  Then, she dropped her head, hiding once again behind her cascading blonde and purple hair, and walked towards the car.  When we got there, I pulled Nadine aside and explained Sarah's request.  She beamed at me, her eyes shining.

"If you're okay with that, it would be wonderful.  She's been through so much, and we have her in therapy but she won't talk much with her therapist.  It would be so great for her to have someone to talk to."  Nadine looked like she was starting to get emotional again, and I started to feel a little overwhelmed for the second time in the last hour.

I nodded, though.  "Yeah, it's totally fine with me.  I'd be happy to chat with her sometimes.  I'll give her my number."

Nadine's face got stormy for a second, and she said, "Olivia?  I...worry about her sometimes, and well...if she tells you anything..." she trailed off, her eyes pleading with me to understand what she couldn't say.

"If she tells me anything concerning, I'll let you know right away," I assured her.  "Otherwise, her crushes and friend dramas are safe with me."  It was my way of letting her know that I'd tell her anything that was alarming but I wouldn't be providing a full report of every conversation.  That seemed to satisfy her and she nodded happily.  I walked over to Sarah and we exchanged cell numbers.  She flashed me the smallest, briefest smile before she got into the car--the first time she had smiled since she got out of the car.

AJ threw his arms around my waist in a surprising and hasty hug before bounding back into the car.  Just watching him run around was making me tired.  Jon shook my hand and patted my shoulder before climbing into the driver's seat.  Nadine turned to me.  "Would it be okay if I hugged you?" she asked tentatively.  I smiled and gave her a hug.  We said goodbye, with Nadine promising to let me know the next time they were in the area.

I got into my car and blew out the deep breath I had been holding while I walked from their car to mine.    I sat for a few minutes while I gathered myself, and I sent a quick text to Lauren that said, "You were right, glad I stayed.  Went well, tell you later."  Then I sent one to Brody letting him know I was on my way home and he could come over whenever he was done.

When I got home, I thought about calling my mom and filling her in, but I decided I wanted to wrap my head around it all a little more first.  Instead, I called James.

"Who can I investigate for you today, Miss Olivia?" he answered.

"Do you ever just say 'hi'?" I asked.

He laughed.  "Sometimes.  How are you?"

"I'm good.  I just wanted to let you know that I met Nadine and Jonathan today and it went well.  So thanks again for the info on them.  I really appreciate it."

"Good to hear.  And I told you, it's no problem and I was happy to help.  Did they tell you anything about the kids?" he asked curiously.

"Actually," I replied, "I met them too.  They look just like me.  It was really weird."

"Well, at least you know they're related to you then," he said.

"Yeah, they definitely are."  We talked for a few more minutes and then said goodbye.

I still felt a little unsettled but got up to take care of the cleaning I wanted to get done.  I was vacuuming when Brody walked in.  I quickly finished and turned off the vacuum.  He hugged me.  "Good thing you gave me that key," he said with a grin.  "I rang the doorbell twice and knocked."

"So what you mean is that you can't take a hint?" I asked, smirking at him. 

He laughed.  "I guess I'll go then," he said, starting to turn back towards the door.

"Noooo," I said, laughing.  I flopped on the couch and he took off his shoes and sat next to me. 

"How'd lunch go?" he asked, once we were settled. 

I grimaced and shrugged.  "I'm not entirely sure.  The kids are obviously related to me.  Something about that made me panic, and I almost left.  Lauren talked me down, but I literally walked out of the restaurant and called her, freaking out.  The boy, AJ, is 9, and he has tons of energy and was lots of fun.  Sarah is 14, and she said about 5 words until we were walking out.  She pulled me aside and asked if she could have my number.  Nadine says she's in therapy but doesn't talk to her therapist.  She looked so...beaten down.  But I bet there's a really sweet girl under there somewhere.  I ended up having a nice time and relaxing, so I'm glad I didn't leave, but it was definitely a little unnerving to see two carbon copies of younger me get out of their car."

"I bet," Brody replied, putting his arm around me.  "I'm really impressed that you went and met them, especially the kids.  I was thinking about it and I'm not sure I could have done it."   

"It was mostly curiosity.  I'm really glad I did it.  I hope Sarah gets in touch with me.  She looked like she could use a friend."

Brody stayed for a couple hours.  We ate leftover pork from Friday and did absolutely nothing else besides lay on my couch.  Brody left around 7 after we made plans to meet for dinner on Wednesday. 

I called Lauren and filled her in on how the rest of lunch went, and made plans to meet her, Kinsley, and Cassie for dinner on Tuesday.

After I hung up with Lauren, I thought about how I'd never have made plans to go out with friends so much in Wisconsin.  Between dinner with the girls, dinner with Brody, and happy hour on Thursday, I'd barely be home this week.  I was such a homebody in Wisconsin--granted, I was in school and had so much homework to do most of the time that I didn't have time to make fun plans, but it was crazy how much that had changed.  I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

The Sanders

A short bonus post for your Monday/Tuesday :)
________________________________________


I woke up way earlier than I needed to the next morning.  Brody was already up and I wandered downstairs to find him.  He was sitting at his kitchen table with his laptop.

"Good morning," he greeted me with a smile.  I frowned and walked over to his Keurig, searching through the K cups for something appealing.  "Sorry, I forgot I shouldn't talk to you before you've had your caffeine."

I turned and glared at him.  "Why are you so cheerful?" I grumbled.

"Because I'm home, and you're here, and I got to sleep in my own bed last night," he replied.  I selected a K cup and pulled out a mug.  When I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I went and sat across from him.

"Well, I guess that's a good reason," I admitted, smiling.  "Are you working already?"

"I was, yeah," he replied.  "I don't want to have to spend a ton of time at the office today."

I nodded.  "When everything settles down, you should take a vacation and go somewhere awesome that's not here.  Or Miami."

"We should take a vacation," he corrected me.  "You work your ass off too.  Where should we go?"

We spent the next half hour planning about 17 hypothetical trips, each one getting more extravagant and ludicrous, ending with a year long tour of every tropical island on the planet.  We made breakfast as we planned, but I was too anxious to eat much.  I tried to clean up after but Brody sent me up to shower.  I was nearly finished when his bathroom door opened and he joined me.  "You really must have missed me," I quipped as he wrapped his arms around me.  "I can't even get you away from me long enough to shower."

"I know, it's a good thing you have plans today or I don't think I'd make it into the office," he replied, sliding his hands over my wet skin and lowering his lips to my neck.

We stayed in the shower until the hot water ran out, then moved our party to the bathroom counter.

"Did you even get clean?" I asked him after, as I pulled a comb through my tangled hair. 

"Clean enough," he replied with a shrug.  I made a face at that and he laughed.  I quickly finished getting ready and then we parted ways, him to his office and me to the coffee shop I was meeting Nadine and Jonathan at.

I pulled up and parked at 10:23.  I debated whether I should sit in the car staring nervously at the clock or just go in and get a drink while I waited.  I decided to go in and I stepped out of the car at the same time an older couple stepped out of a car a few spots away.  We made eye contact and the woman's face immediately broke into a huge smile.

"Olivia?" she asked tentatively.  I nodded, mute.  "Oh, sweetheart, we are so happy to meet you," she gushed.  She looked as if she was considering hugging me, but thankfully she didn't.  "This is Jon, your--my husband."

"Hi," I said softly.  I cleared my throat nervously.  "It's nice to meet you."  Social skills.

"Let's go inside," Jon said in a gruff voice.  I nodded and led them in.  We got drinks and sat down at a small table in the corner.  Nadine was grinning from ear to ear and she looked so happy that I couldn't help but smile back. 

"So, Olivia," she said happily, "tell us about yourself.  How did you end up in Denver?  What do you do?"

I told them about my job, and about moving here for something new, and to escape the Wisconsin winters.  "Oh, they're the worst, aren't they?  The summers aren't much better!" Nadine agreed.  Her friendliness was infectious, and after I got over my initial nervousness, we spoke easily.  Jon was mostly quiet but would add a comment or question here and there.

When my stomach growled, I looked up at the clock was surprised to see it was nearly noon.  Nadine looked too, and made a surprised sounding noise.  "Oh, goodness," she said.  She turned back to me.  "Olivia, we can't thank you enough for taking the time to meet with us.  It really is a dream to be sitting here with you." Her voice was heavy with emotion, and she paused to collect herself.  "We have to pick up...well, I mean, we have lunch plans with our..."  She trailed off.

"It's okay," I said quietly.  "I know about his kids."

Her eyes widened, but then her face showed relief.  "You do?" she asked.

I felt my face get warm.  "Um, well," I started, not sure how to explain that I had them investigated without hurting their feelings.  "When you asked to meet me, I wasn't sure, and I, well, I have a friend who does investigation work, and..." I stopped, my face completely hot.

Nadine and Jon surprised me by bursting into laughter.  "Don't be embarrassed," Jon said.  "It was smart for you to do that."  I was relieved that they weren't upset.

"Do you want to meet them?" Nadine asked hesitantly. 

"The kids?" I asked, surprised.  "Do they...do they know about me?"  Nadine nodded.  "They're dying to meet you, but we told them they'd have to wait to see how things went today.  You could join us for lunch."  I paused, not sure if I was ready for that.  "Of course," she added hurriedly, "Don't feel obligated.  There's always another time, if you even want to meet them.  I understand this whole situation is probably awfully strange for you."

I thought for a second and then said, "Actually, I'd love to meet them."  They told me where they were going for lunch and I promised to meet them there.

When I got to my car and pulled out my phone, I saw I had a text from Lauren wishing me luck, and a text from Brody saying that he hoped it went well and to call him when I was done.  I texted Lauren back and called Brody.

"Done already?" he answered.

"No, actually, I'm about to go meet them and the kids for lunch," I replied.

"The kids?" Brody asked, sounding surprised.  "Really?  Wow.  So I take it it went well?"

"It did," I replied.  "They're really nice.  Nadine is so friendly and enthusiastic.  It was really weird at first, but it got less weird really quickly.  How's work?"

"Don't ask," he groaned.  "It's bad.  I'll be here for a couple more hours.  Can I stop by when I'm done?"

"Sure, I'm just going to go home and clean, come over whenever," I said.

"Okay, I will.  See you later then."  We said goodbye and I hung up and drove to the restaurant where we were having lunch, wondering if I was completely out of my mind to be meeting these kids.