Change of Plans

Brody let me drive myself to work on Friday, but only after I assured him I had no plans to stop at my house.  Really, I didn't have any plans to do anything but go to work, then go back to Brody's house.  This week had worn me out, and I had to work on Saturday.  So I went to work, worked, and went back to Brody's house, just like I'd planned.

I knew Brody would be at work late, so I made myself a quick dinner and then settled on the couch.  I'd just gotten into the book I was reading when my phone rang.  I was surprised to see it was James.  I was a little nervous about him calling, but decided to answer.  "Hello?"

"Liv, hi," he answered.  He didn't waste time on pleasantries, and said, "What's going on with Cassie?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I replied, confused.  "You probably know more than I do."

"All I know is that she said what she said to you last Saturday, then Brody fired her this week, and I haven't talked to her since--"

"Whoa, hold on!" I interrupted.  "Brody most certainly did not not fire her.  She quit."

James was quiet for several seconds and then said, "Well, that's not what she told me."

"Then she lied to you," I said bluntly.

James chuckled.  "That honestly wouldn't surprise me."  That wasn't the response I was expecting, and I didn't reply.  James continued, "Have you talked to her?"

I told him about our conversation on Monday, then our brief exchange on Wednesday.  Then he asked, "So what kind of information do you think she has?"

I snorted derisively.  Frankly, this whole situation was starting to seriously annoy me.  "You tell me, Mr. PI."

"Liv, I don't know anything.  I'm actually a little insulted because I'm pretty sure you're insinuating that I've been out trying to dig up dirt on your boyfriend.  Brody doesn't strike me as the shady business type, but on the off chance he was, I wouldn't want that on my hands.  This has nothing to do with me and I'm staying out of it.  I'm just worried about Cassie."

"I don't know what to tell you," I said, my tone softer now.   "All I know is that this whole thing is irritating the shit out of me."

"I don't blame you," James replied.

I paused, then said, "So you don't know anything about where she's getting this?"  I don't know why I asked.  I didn't quite believe that he'd tell me if he did know something.  He had a lot more reason to be loyal to Cassie than to me.  And I didn't believe for a second that Brody was up to anything he shouldn't be...but I also didn't believe that Cassie was completely crazy.

"Sorry, Liv.  I really don't know anything.  I'm just as confused as you are."

I sighed, then said, "Want me to let you know if I hear from her?"

"Could you?"

"Definitely."  He thanked me and we hung up.  I wished I hadn't answered.  I had managed to pretend that none of this craziness had happened for most of the day, and now I was frustrated all over again.  I picked up my book and managed to distract myself again.

I must have distracted myself exceptionally well, because I woke up to Brody crouched next to the couch, kissing me softly on the cheek.  I didn't remember falling asleep (though who does?) and was a little disoriented.  "It's not that late," he teased me gently.

"What time is it?" I croaked.

"9:30," he replied.  I stretched and sat up, blinking sleepily at him.  He laughed and sat down in the spot that my upper body had recently vacated, and I promptly laid back down, resting my head in his lap.  "Sorry I'm so late," he said, running his fingers through my hair and lightly scratching my scalp.  "I called to let you know, but you didn't answer."

"My phone is...somewhere around here."  I shifted and shoved my hand underneath my body, finally fishing it out.  I saw one missed call, one voicemail, and two texts from Brody.  "Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"It's okay," he said, laughing.  "I just wanted to let you know I'd be late and the texts are asking if you wanted me to pick anything up while I was in town still."

"How was your day, besides long?" I asked, struggling to stay awake long enough to at least have a short conversation with him.

I felt him shrug, then he said, "It was fine.  I promoted one of Cassie's former assistants into her role and got that position posted.  Pete found an auditor and he's coming next week.  I turned down two new clients because I can't take any more right now.  The usual."  I reached for his hand, which was still playing with my hair and massaging my scalp, and linked my fingers with his.  He squeezed gently and we sat in silence for a couple minutes until I yawned.

"I need to go to bed," I groaned.

Brody chuckled.  "Clearly.  I'm not quite ready yet, but I'll come up with you.  I need to change."  I sat up and stretched, then stood and followed Brody up the stairs.   I washed my face and brushed my teeth and got into bed, yawning the whole time.  I was surprised when Brody climbed into bed and snuggled up behind me.  I shifted to press my back to his chest and entwined my fingers with his when he slid an arm around me.

"I thought you weren't ready for bed," I said.

"I'm not," he replied.  "I just want to lay with you for a couple minutes, then I'm going to get up.  I'm going into the office tomorrow, do you want to ride into town together?"

"Do I have a choice?" I joked.  I could practically feel Brody rolling his eyes.  "Yeah, it would be dumb for us both to drive if we're going in at the same time, then looking at houses after."

"That's what I was thinking," he replied.  After cuddling for a few minutes, he got up, kissed me, and headed downstairs.  I fell asleep right away and didn't even wake up when he got back in bed later.

Saturday morning I drove us both into town and dropped Brody off at work before heading to work myself.  The day was uneventful, and when I was done, I picked Brody up and we went to look at houses.

We looked at 5 more houses, and none of them were the one.  Elena made a couple phone calls and then took us to see one more, one that she promised we'd love.  It was a great house; we couldn't find anything to complain about.  But I just wasn't excited about it, and I could tell Brody wasn't either.  Elena looked confused and a little frustrated, but said she'd try to set up some more showings for us in the coming week.  We thanked her and got in my car.

We were quiet the first half of the drive back.  Finally, Brody said, "What didn't you like about the last one?"

"I liked it.  But it just didn't feel like our house.  That sounds stupid, but it's true.  What didn't you like?"

He chuckled.  "I liked it too.  But not as much as I like my house now."

I nodded in agreement.  I was quiet for several seconds and then said, "You know, maybe we should just stay in your house."

"We'll find something sooner or later," he replied.

"I'm sure we will," I agreed.  "But I love your house, and you love your house, and this is already not fun anymore.  And you've got enough going on.  Plus, every time I try to think about how I want to do payments and the title, I just get completely overwhelmed.  I don't want to do this right now.  I want to move into your house."

Brody didn't say anything at first, and I could feel him watching me.  I glanced at him quickly, and he said, "Are you sure?  Or are you just saying that because you're frustrated?"

"I'm not frustrated," I protested.  "Looking at other houses made me realize how much I really love yours.  And with everything that's been going on, I don't feel like adding the stress of house hunting and moving is a good plan.  I think it makes more sense for me to move in with you for now.  Maybe further down the road we can look again, and find something new, together."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his lips twitch into a smile.  "If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do," he said. 

I grinned back and said, "That's what I want." 

I pulled into Brody's driveway and parked as he said, "Well, I'll let Elena know.  And I guess I'll need to make room for your car in the garage, huh?"

"That would be nice," I said with a laugh. 

As we walked inside, Brody flipped on the flight and turned to me with a smile.  "Welcome home," he said.

I snorted.  "You are so lame," I replied, but I couldn't help smiling back at him. 

"I'm hurt," he said dramatically, pretending to be offended, while he pulled me close to him.  He kissed me hard, pulling my hips against his before sliding his fingers underneath my shirt and brushing the tips across the bare skin of my back.  I shivered.  "Was that lame?" he asked, pulling away just enough to look down at me, one eyebrow cocked.

"Only a little bit lame," I teased.

His other eyebrow joined his first, then he kissed me again.  This time his fingers skated up my back to my bra, which he easily unhooked.  One hand stayed on my back, trailing lightly up and down my spine, while he brushed the tips of the other hand's fingers lightly across my breasts.  When he rolled one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, I moaned into our kiss.  Then he pulled away again.  "How about that?  Still lame?"  I shook my head breathlessly.  "Are you sure?  Because I can do better."  He didn't give me a chance to respond, and kissed me again, backing me up towards the wall. 

His hand on my back kept me from hitting the wall, then he moved it away and pressed me firmly back against the wall.  His hands went for my pants, unbuttoning and unzipping them with ease, then pushing them down my legs.  He crouched down and tugged them away while I stepped out of them, then nudged my feet apart with his knee.  He hooked his thumb under my underwear and pulled it to the side, and I gasped and grabbed his hair when his tongue touched me.  His other hand held my hips steady against the wall, which helped my shaking legs support my weight.  After I came, one hand gripping his hair tightly and the other on his shoulder, he stood, quickly got rid of his pants, and in one smooth motion lifted me and thrust into me.  I cried out as he pinned me between the wall and his body, grinding his hips into mine. 

I came again within minutes, and he followed shortly after me.  He kept me pinned to the wall for about 30 seconds while we both caught our breath, then he carefully lowered me back to the floor and made sure I was steady before letting go and taking a step away.  "Dinner?" he asked, grabbing his pants and pulling them on.

I leaned against the wall and just stared at him.  "Uhhh...yeah," I responded dazedly.  Brody grinned and kissed me, then bent down and grabbed my pants.  He handed them to me then disappeared into the kitchen.  Guess he showed me.

Once I had composed myself and pulled my pants back on, I followed Brody into the kitchen.  We made dinner together then sat down to eat.  "So when you do think you want to get moved in?" Brody asked. 

"I don't know, I guess I'll just start packing and moving some stuff over as I do it.  I don't know what I'm going to do with my furniture, it's practically brand new."

Brody nodded and said, "I've been wanting some new stuff for awhile; this all came from Miami with me.  I was thinking we could get rid of most of my stuff, move your stuff in, and then get a few new things together too.  Maybe it will feel a little more like 'our' place then, too.  What do you think?"

I pondered this.  My couch and chairs would work well in his living room, but it was a much bigger space than mine, so we'd definitely need a few more pieces to fill out the space better.  I also loved the idea of merging his house with my furniture and a few things we picked out together, and I was happy that he was trying to think of ways to help me feel like this was my home too.  "I like that idea," I agreed.  "But I do like your bed better than mine, so let's keep that."  Brody agreed, and after we finished eating we made a list of some things we wanted to look for once we got my stuff moved in.

I was surprised to find myself getting excited about this.  It helped confirm that I was making the right choice.  Later, as we were laying in bed, Brody said, "I didn't expect you to be moving in by spring, but I'm really happy you are.  I can't wait for this to be every night." 

"Me neither," I agreed.  "Lauren's worried we'll become hermits."

"It will be tempting to stay in with you every night, but I think we'll actually go out more, since we'll get to see each other more.  Plus, I'm still really hoping that things will settle down soon at work and I'll have more time in general."

"I hope so too," I said. 

He tightened his arm around me and said, "So now that we're not house hunting, how about that vacation we were going to go on?  I don't want to set anything in stone until I see how things are going to shake out at work, but I'm thinking somewhere that we can turn our phones off and lay on the beach and relax."

"That sounds awesome," I said excitedly.  "Why don't you let me plan?  I won't book anything until you let me know when you want to go, and you can just relax and let me figure everything out."

"I love idea," he said, tightening his arm around me.  "I'd love to be able to go by the end of the month, but I'll have a better idea after the auditor does his thing this week." 

"Sounds good, I'll start doing some research tomorrow."  The wheels were already turning in my head, and I was bound and determined to make this an amazing trip for both of us.