Have You Convinced Him?

Brody was up early Saturday morning to get a little work done before getting stuff ready for the cookout we were hosting as a "thank you" to his staff.  I had done most of the grocery shopping earlier in the week and picked up a bunch of beer and wine but we still needed the meat, buns, and some other things.

I started to prep some of the sides while Brody finished up what he was doing, and then he joined me to help like he had promised.  We worked together getting things ready and cleaned up and then Brody asked me if I wanted to stay home and relax for a little while while he went into town and picked up the rest of what we needed.  I decided to go with him and we took off.

We were back with plenty of time for me to shower and get ready while Brody finished up.  I pulled on a sundress and a light cardigan and put on just a little makeup.  I went downstairs to see if there was anything else Brody wanted me to do.  "No," he replied, "but I wouldn't mind if you just kept me company."  He was outside sweeping off the deck and the patio and I gladly sat and watched him work.

He finished up about 45 minutes before we were expecting people and we sat down to enjoy the sunshine while we waited.  Brody (or I guess I should say "we") has an amazing outdoor kitchen on his patio, with a large barbecue, small outdoor fridge, and a sink, along with some other things.  "Want a drink while we wait?" he asked.  He grabbed himself a beer from the little fridge and held up a bottle of wine.  I nodded and he opened it and poured me a glass.

Neil and his wife Valerie were the first to arrive.  I was wary, since Valerie was Josh's sister, but they both seemed nice enough.  We ended up with a pretty good turnout and Brody was busy manning the grill and chatting with his employees.

I was hoping his snotty receptionist, Arlene, wouldn't show up, but she appeared eventually with another woman that Brody introduced as Jennah, from the HR team.  I got the same chilly treatment from Arlene that I had gotten the few times I'd stopped at Brody's office, but I couldn't help but notice how her personality changed when she was speaking directly to Brody.  It was impossible not to notice, since she was following him around like a puppy.

I ran into Brody in the house after a trip to the bathroom.  I didn't see Arlene, and I said, "Looks like you lost your one-woman fan club."  I said it lightly, with a smile, so he knew I was joking.

"I thought you were my one-woman fan club?" he said.

"I'm the official, sanctioned fan club," I replied.  "Arlene is the wannabe fan club."

"Hmmm, you're not jealous, are you?" he asked.

I snorted.  "No," I answered honestly.  "A little annoyed, maybe.  I just think it's rude to blatantly hit on someone when their significant other is around."

"Fair enough.  To be honest, she's annoying me a little too.  Just be nice, and hopefully she'll leave soon."

I frowned.  "I've been nothing but nice," I protested.  "I'm not going to stop now."

"I know," he soothed me.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest otherwise."  He kissed me on the cheek and pulled the fridge open, looking for something.  "I'm almost done grilling," he said when he turned around.  "Have you eaten yet?"  When I shook my head, he said, "Want me to bring you something when I'm finished?  We can eat together."  I agreed and headed back outside with him on my heels.

True to his word, he brought two plates full of food over to the table about 15 minutes later.  He sat down next to Pete, who was sitting there with Valerie, Neil, and someone whose name I couldn't remember.  I looked at my wine glass, which was empty.  I looked over towards the fridge but remembered I had poured the last of the last bottle we had down here when I got this glass.  I stood and looked at Brody.  "I need more wine.  I'll get you another beer while I'm up," I said to him.  I looked around the table.  "Does anyone else need anything?"

Brody stood and pulled out the chair next to him.  "You should sit and eat," he replied.  "I'll get drinks."

"I need to go up to the house to get another bottle of wine anyway," I assured him.

He, smiled, motioned to the chair, and said, "I'll get that too."  Well, I wasn't going to argue with that.  I sat as he went first to the outdoor fridge for his own beer and one for Pete, then up the deck stairs and into the house.

Valerie leaned closed to me and in a hushed tone asked, "Did you convince him yet?"  She wiggled the fingers of her left hand at me while she asked.

"Convince him?" I parroted, confused.

She smiled at me like one might smile at a small child.  "To propose," she whispered.  "You might have a chance at actually enjoying him doing nice things for you while you're married if you hurry up.  Plus, the sooner you get that ring, the sooner you can quit that soul sucking job of yours."  She looked at me expectantly, like she thought I would be so excited about her advice.

"I...like my job," I said slowly, not even wanting to touch the rest of what she said.

She raised her eyebrows.  "You plan to keep working?"  When I nodded, she shook her head.  "Oh sweetie," she replied sadly.  "Men like Brody don't want working wives.  If you want to marry him, you need to accept the lifestyle that goes with it--working is not compatible with that."

I blinked at her and tried to very quickly think of something to say that was 1. appropriate, and 2. would end this conversation quickly.  I couldn't think of anything quickly enough, but luckily Brody returned then with his hands full of drinks.  "Thank you," I said as he sat down.  He smiled and brushed a quick kiss across my cheek.  Under the table, he squeezed my leg briefly before shifting so his thigh rested against mine.  As I pulled my eyes from him and looked across the table to Pete, who was starting to talk, I accidentally made eye contact with Valerie.  She shot me a pointed look before turning her attention to Pete as well.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  Arlene left before it even got dark, which was a relief to me.  Valerie didn't say anything else along the lines of proposals and "the lifestyle" that apparently goes with marrying Brody, and I enjoyed chatting with everyone else.

When we finally said goodbye to the last guests, I walked into the kitchen and frowned at the mess of grilling utensils, leftover food, and glasses.  We got to work right away putting away the leftover food that hadn't already been taken care of.

"Let's clean up the rest tomorrow," Brody said, taking a glass out of my hands and setting it back down on the counter.  "I'm tired, but I'll help you in the morning."

"Okay," I agreed easily.  I turned and leaned against the counter, looking at him thoughtfully.

"What's up?" he asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow.

I had been thinking about what Valerie said, and I was curious.  "If we got married," I started, careful to keep my tone light so he didn't think I was upset (because I wasn't), "would you want me to quit my job?"

He furrowed his brow and looked at me carefully.  "If we got married, do you want to quit your job?" he asked, sounding confused.  When I didn't answer right away, he said, "I feel like this is a trap."

"No, it's not," I assured him.  "I promise.  Right now, at this moment, it doesn't matter what I want.  I just want know what you would want.  It probably won't influence any potential decisions either way, if that helps."

He didn't even pause.  "I want you to do whatever you want to do.  It's not my life to make choices about.  If you wanted to quit your job, I make more than enough money to support us both and would be happy to do it.  If you want to keep working, I think that's great too.  I just want you to be happy."

I nodded, satisfied.  "I knew your answer would be something like that."

"Okay, now you need to tell me why you're asking this," he said pointedly.  "Because it didn't seem like a casual inquiry."

I explained my one-sided conversation with Valerie, being careful to assure him that I wasn't worried that he would propose and then demand I quit my job, but that I was more just curious what he would really want.  I told him I was pretty sure he probably didn't care either way, but that she got me thinking about it, so I wanted to know.

"Ahh," Brody said, understanding.  He leaned against the counter and looked thoughtful.  "You know, my mom didn't work.  And it will probably not surprise you that that was my dad's doing.  She was far easier to control when she had no income, few social supports, and didn't really have her own identity.  My mom now is a completely different person than she was when she was married to him.  I know that you'd still find a way to be independent, be social, and be involved in your own things if you chose to not work--but it would have to be your choice.  I don't ever want to be responsible for turning someone into a shell of a person that can't even decide what groceries to buy without permission."

I frowned.  "That sounds awful," I said.

"My mom was much happier without him," Brody agreed.

"Thanks for talking about this with me," I said gratefully.

Brody smiled and reached out, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to him.  "I'm glad you asked," he said.  "I like having these conversations a lot better than the ones where you assume or overanalyze and don't say anything until you're already upset."

"I'm working on it," I said, sliding my arms around his waist and leaning against him.  He wrapped his arms tightly around my back and kissed the top of my head.

"Anything else?" he asked.  His hand had found its way to my neck and his thumb was working gently against the muscles there.  I relaxed against him further and shook my head.  "Are you ready to go to bed?"  I nodded, but didn't move, letting him continue to rub my neck.  Finally I pulled away and we headed upstairs.

When we were settled in bed, Brody said, "I have a question for you."

"Okay," I replied, shifting to get a little more comfortable.

"You asked me if we got married, if I would want you to quit your job," he said.  I nodded in the dark.  "So does that mean you've thought about us getting married?"

My stomach twisted itself into a knot, but the darkness of the room was soothing to my nerves.  "I have," I replied finally.  "Have you?"

Brody laughed softly.  "I wouldn't have asked you to move in if I didn't want to marry you, Liv.  I also assume you wouldn't have moved in if you didn't want to marry me, but since you brought it up, I thought I'd confirm it."

"I didn't say I wanted to," I teased him.  "I said I've thought about it."

"If you're willing to joke about it, I'll take that as a positive sign," he replied.  "At least you're not running for the door."

"I don't have anywhere else to go this time," I bantered back.

"Touché," Brody replied.

I turned over to face him.  "But," I said softly, taking a deep breath, "I do want to marry you."

Brody didn't say anything, just kissed me.  He readjusted his arms around me and pulled me against him, then ran his hands down my back, over my hips, down my legs, and back up to my waist.  As his kiss grew more urgent, I hooked my leg over his and pressed my hips to his.  He pushed my leg down long enough to slide my shorts over my hips and down my legs.  I kicked them off as I pulled his down.  He drew my leg back up and over his hip and eased into me.  Still laying on our sides, facing each other, the angle kept things slow.  My back arched and gave him access to my neck, which he pressed his lips to as I came, my leg tightening around his.  He followed not long after, and we laid there, still tangled together, catching our breath.

Brody kissed me, then said, "You're absolutely beautiful, kind, brilliant, funny, and strong willed and I'm lucky that you're in my life."

"Strong willed is a good thing?" I asked, laughing softly.

He pressed his forehead against mine.  "It is on you," he replied.

I grinned in the dark and said, "Well, you're easily the hottest guy in at least the entire state of Colorado, if not the U.S.  Probably the world."  He laughed and shook his head.  I took a deep breath and continued, "But you're also driven, smart, and generous.  You always seem to know what I need, even when I don't, and you give it to me without a second thought.  You're loyal as hell and committed to the things that are important to you.  And I can't believe I'm one of them."  Once I started, the uncomfortable feeling decreased, and it became easier to say all the things I should have been telling Brody every day, but hadn't because it was hard for me.

"Well, holy shit," he said lightly.  "Who are you, and what have you done with my girlfriend, who is usually terrified of her own feelings?"  I was glad he had made a joke, because I didn't think I could handle being serious for much longer.

"Alien abduction, probably," I said, smiling against his lips as he pressed them against mine.  We hadn't moved and I felt him hardening again inside me.  He surprised me by rolling both of us over and pinning my hands above my head.  I moaned softly as he thrust hard against me.  I was soon dying to touch him, to run my hands over his smooth, taut muscles.  Several seconds later he released my hands, and my fingers went instantly for his arms.  I ran them from elbow to shoulder, then down his chest.  I had just slipped them around to stroke his back when he slid an arm under my back and propped my hips up off the bed.  The sudden change in angle and sensation sent me over the edge and I dug my nails into his back as I arched up further against him.  He groaned and came, dropping his head down onto my shoulder and tensing above me.

"Jesus," Brody muttered, his breath tickling my collarbone.  I tilted my head towards his, my jaw resting against his temple.

"I love you," I said to him softly.

He raised his head and kissed me.  "I love you, Liv," he replied.  "Alien abduction or not."