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.