You Don't Know Jack

On Saturday morning, I woke up confused for a second, then remembered I was still in Miami with Brody.  I shifted a little and grinned when he stirred, his arm tightening around my waist.  I had always needed my space when I slept before I started dating Brody, but I quickly started to enjoy sleeping with our bodies pressed together.  Now I felt weird when I was sleeping by myself.

"Good morning," he murmured sleepily against the back of my head.

I wiggled around until I was facing him and wrapped both of my arms around him.  "Good morning," I said, pressing my face against his chest.  We laid like that for several minutes until Brody's phone rang.

"Damn it," he muttered irritably, and we quickly untangled ourselves so he could get up and grab it from the table where he had left it last night.  He was out in the living area of the suite for several minutes, then he came back into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed.  "Do you want to order room service?  I don't feel like getting up yet, but I'm kind of hungry."  I agreed, and after we ordered he laid back down next to me.  He pulled me over against him and I settled my head against his chest.  We laid in bed talking until breakfast came, then we ate in bed and laid there for another hour or so.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked, finally.

I stretched while I considered this.  "Hmmm, something outside.  It's so nice out compared to Denver."

We ended up going to a nearby state park and wandering around on the "hiking" trails and the beach for most of the afternoon.  While we were driving back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner, a sharp, shrill ringing came from the car speakers.  He glanced down at his phone in the cupholder and swore before hitting the bluetooth button on the steering wheel.

I peeked curiously at the phone while it was ringing and saw the unfamiliar name Jack Friedrich on the display.

"Hey Jack," Brody said.

"What the hell, Adler?   You're in Miami and I have to find out from Alexa?" 

Brody rolled his eyes.  "Well it's not like I sought her out.  I'm here on business, I haven't had much free time."

"Speaking of free, Alexa mentioned that you had a girl with you.  A girlfriend.  She didn't seem to think much of her, but she must be one hot piece of ass if you--"

"Watch it, Jack," Brody warned.  He glanced at me and mouthed, "Sorry."  I shrugged.

"Shit, am I on speaker?"

"You are, but even if you weren't..."

Jack interrupted, "Okay, okay.  Point taken.  Anyway, I want to see you, and so does the rest of the old crew.  Come out tonight.  Bring the girlfriend."

"I'd love to," Brody said, "But Liv is only here for the weekend and I'd really like to spend the evening with her."

"One drink," Jack wheedled.  "You guys are probably going out to dinner, right?  Just one drink after dinner.  Then you can go fu--spend time with your girlfriend."

Brody glanced over at me and I nodded.  As much as I wanted to spend the evening with Brody in his hotel room, I knew very little about his years in Miami and was curious to meet the people he had been friends with here.

"Are you sure?" Brody whispered.  "They haven't changed much since college."

I shrugged.  "So what?  Yeah, let's go."

"Hello?" came Jack's impatient voice from the speaker.

"Sorry, I was checking with Olivia," Brody replied.  "One drink."

Jack told him where they would be and when they were going.  When Brody hung up, he sighed.  "Alexa might be there," he warned me.

"Okay," I replied, but I wasn't thrilled at the prospect.  "What are you so worried about?"

"I just haven't seen much of them since college, but I've heard enough to know that they're still 21 in their heads.  I just don't want you to judge me based on them."  By this point we were back to the hotel and he turned off the SUV and turned to look at me.

"I'm not going to judge you based on them," I replied reassuringly.  "Look, I know very little about Miami you, and I gather that there's a reason for that.  But it's not like I don't know you weren't exactly an angel before we met.  I'm excited to meet your friends.  We'll have one drink, then we'll come back and relax.  But if you really don't want to go, that's fine, we definitely don't have to."

"No," he replied quickly.  "I actually would like to see them, I just don't want you to be uncomfortable.  If you're fine though, we'll go."

We got out and Brody handed the keys to the valet.  When we got to the room, I started for the bathroom, but he grabbed my arm.  "What's the rush?" he asked, pulling me towards him and kissing me.

"I'm all sweaty and gross," I protested.

"Sweaty maybe, but definitely not gross," he countered, grabbing my hips and pressing his body against mine.  I started to argue but he pressed his lips against mine, silencing me.  I still would have preferred to shower first, but his fingers sliding beneath my shirt was enough to convince me otherwise. He tugged off my shirt and my bra and was rolling a nipple between his fingers when he asked, "Do you still want to shower first?"

"Shut up," I gasped, reaching for his shorts.  He chuckled and pulled his shirt off before backing me up to the bed.

When we were finished, we got into the huge shower together and then quickly got dressed and ready to go out to dinner.  We decided to take a cab because Brody didn't feel like driving.  When we were seated at the restaurant, I smiled at Brody.  "So, what should I know about your friends?" I asked.

He laughed.  "They're wild and immature.  Be prepared to hear some less than savory stories about everything tonight, including me."

"Especially about you, I hope," I replied with a smirk.  He shook his head, trying not to smile.  He did look a little nervous though.

We enjoyed our dinner, then walked over to the bar that Jack had said they'd be at.  It was not my type of place at all.  It was dark, hot, crowded, and loud, there was a packed dance floor (already?  It was only 8:30) in the middle of everything.  "It's quieter upstairs," Brody said in my ear, motioning with his head to the stairs in the corner.  He laid a hand on shoulder, stroking the nape of my neck with his thumb as we walked over and up the stairs.

"Get a drink first?" he asked, gently turning me towards the bar.  I nodded.  We walked over and his hand dropped from my shoulder and settled on my waist, pulling me close to him.  While we waited for our drinks, Brody turned and scanned the bar.  He must have found them because he waved and turned back to me.

After we got our drinks, we made our way through the people to a table in the corner which was occupied by three guys and a girl.  Two of the guys stood up and gave Brody an awkward man half-hug.  The other smirked at him and said, "I'm not standing for an asshole who can't even tell me when he's in town."  But then he broke into a huge grin and jumped down from his stool and gave Brody a real hug.  "It's been way too long, man, it's good to see you." 

He turned to me and Brody quickly introduced me to Jack, Aaron, Chris, and Erica.  I kept mixing up Aaron and Chris in my head, so I decided I wouldn't actually say either of their names out loud.

"It's nice to meet you," Jack said, throwing a charming smile my way.  I couldn't help but notice how hot he was.  He was a perfect opposite of Brody, features-wise.  Blonde hair, blue eyes, a little taller than Brody, similar build.  No wonder they got into so much trouble together.  "I'm honored to meet the woman that got Brody to settle down."

I laughed.  "I'm not sure how much credit I can take for that, but it's nice to meet you too."  They shifted their seats so we could sit.

Jack eyed up Brody's IWC watch.  "Looks like you're doing well for yourself," he commented.  "I don't even know what kind of watch that is, but it looks expensive."

Chris (or Aaron?) laughed.  "I'd bet that watch cost more than you make in three months, Jack."

Brody shrugged, looking uncomfortable.  The watch, which he had bought in celebration of buying out his company, was an out of character splurge for him but I knew he loved it. 

"Seriously, though," Jack said.  "I heard through the PR grapevine that you bought out Denver and don't work for your dad anymore.  That's awesome, congrats."

"Thanks," Brody said, the smile returning to his face.  "It's been a lot of hard work, but it's pretty great to have my own company now."  They talked about the company for awhile and then the guys caught Brody up on what they were up to.  They were loud and a little rowdy, but overall I thought Brody had exaggerated on their lack of maturity.  Erica didn't say a word, and occasionally glared at me.  Okay then.  I made a relevant comment or asked a question here and there but I was mostly quiet while they caught up.

When they were done, Aaron (I think?  Maybe it was Chris) turned to me and with a smile asked, "So Olivia, what do you do?"  I told them about my job and the guys asked me a few more questions.  Erica was buried in her phone.

When I finished my drink, Brody leaned over and whispered, "Do you want to stay or go?"

"It's up to you.  I'm fine if you want to stay, it seems like you're having fun."

"One more drink," he replied.  I nodded.  We excused ourselves and went up to the bar.  "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Do I look not okay?" I replied, laughing.  "I'm fine.  Your friends are nice.  Well, besides Erica, what's her deal?"

Brody rolled his eyes.  "She's Alexa's friend.  I'm sure Alexa told her to be an ice queen.  She's actually usually pretty cool if you can catch her without Alexa."  I wasn't quite sure I believed that, but at least  I understood why she wasn't my number one fan.

When we returned to the table, someone was sitting in my seat.  It took me a second to process, but I realized it was Alexa.  Great.  Brody groaned.  "I'm rethinking these drinks now," he said.  I agreed, but we continued to the table.  There was only room for 6 stools at the table, so Brody stood so I could have his, since mine was taken.  Aaron-or-Chris immediately offered to give up his seat so Brody could sit too but Brody waved him off.  He stood slightly behind me, almost between me and Alexa.

"Oh, sorry," Alexa cooed insincerely.  "Did I take your spot?"

"No, he was clearly standing the whole time in anticipation of your arrival," Jack said, rolling his eyes.

"He would," Alexa retorted with a smirk.  "I think we all know that."

"Well, this got weird really fast," Chris-or-Aaron muttered. 

"I'm impressed with how much you've matured, Alexa," Brody commented sarcastically, draining his drink.

Alexa laughed.  "And I'm not impressed with how you think you're too good for us now, with your fancy suits and your cute little 'girlfriend' and your very own little company."  She turned to Jack.  "Did you know Brody was down here for two months in August and September?  Did he call you once?  Shoot you a text to see how you were doing?"

Jack looked at Brody.  "Is that true?" he asked, clearly hurt.

Brody sighed.  "It's true, Jack, but I was working from dawn to midnight nearly every day.  My dad barely let me out of his sight.  It's not like I purposely avoided you.  I really would have loved to see you." 

"Yeah, let's talk about your dad," Alexa continued to the topic that had been tactfully avoided up until this point, undeterred by the looks she was getting from everyone at the table except Erica, who sitting in her seat watching the goings-on with a tiny smile on her pretty, smug face.  "Really mature of you to leave him hanging.  And now he's out of the country and can probably never come back.  Do you feel good about that?"

Brody gaped at her. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked, shocked.  "And how do you know so much about this?"  Alexa simply smirked in response and Brody's look of shock quickly turned to a look of disgust.  "Never mind, I can use my imagination."

"You fucked his dad?!" Jack yelped, immediately drawing the attention of the people at tables around us.  "Wow, even I didn't think you were that desperate and dirty, and you know I've never liked you."  Alexa just laughed.

"Let's go," Brody growled in my ear.

"Gladly," I replied, quickly finishing my drink.


As we walked out the door, Jack caught up to us.  "Look, Jack--" Brody started.

"No, don't," Jack interrupted.  "I'm not mad.  I'm sorry she ruined what started as a good evening.  Look, how long are you around?  Can we get dinner or a drink or something?"

"I'll be here for about another week.  I'll call you so we can catch up uninterrupted."

Jack grinned.  "That sounds good." He turned to me and extended his hand.  "It was really great to meet you, and I'm impressed that you kept your cool while Alexa was popping off at the mouth in there.  Brody's a lucky guy."

I gave him a tight smile.  "I'm pretty lucky too, no matter what she thinks."  He smiled back and walked back into the bar while Brody looked for a cab.

Brody was silent on the short cab ride back to the hotel.  I gave him his space, while I silently cursed Alexa for putting him in a foul mood on my last night here.   When we got up to the room, Brody stormed around for a few minutes before going through the bedroom into the bathroom and slamming the door.  I heard the shower start.  I changed into a pair of comfy shorts and a t-shirt and sat on the couch flipping through TV channels. 

Brody came out of the bedroom a few minutes later in shorts and a t-shirt.  He sat down on the other end of the couch and motioned me towards him.  I laid down and rested my head on his leg.  "I'm sorry, that was a clusterfuck," he apologized, running his fingers through my hair.

"She was pretty wretched, are you okay?"  I asked, rolling over to look up at him.

"I'm fine," he replied, brushing a piece of hair out of my face.  "Thanks for letting me have some time."  I nodded as I sat up and wrapped my arms around him.  He hugged me back and kissed the top of my head, and we sat there for a long time before untangling ourselves and heading to bed.