Unwinding

Alright gang, last random post before I come back for real on Sunday!  Sunday will kick off a full week of posts.  I love everyone's requests and will do my best to accommodate as many as possible.  I'm really excited about a three-part series of some more of Liv's backstory that I'm working on, so you have that to look forward to.  There will be lots of perspective posts next week, and a few regular storyline posts as well.  Then things will fall back to normal with 2-3 posts a week.  I haven't decided yet if I want to/can go back to 3 posts a week regularly, but we should be good to go for at least two a week.  And let's be real, posting bonuses is pretty much my favorite thing to do.
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We ended up falling asleep like that, stretched across the bed sideways.  I don't even know how either of us could be tired enough, but being out in the sun will do that, I guess.  When we woke up, it was midafternoon and we decided to check out the pool closest to our room.

We dropped our stuff in the last empty shaded spot next to the pool, and I pulled my dress over my head.  I followed Brody over to the pool and down the stairs.  I was surprised to find the water was pleasantly cool.  Just cool enough to be refreshing without being shockingly cold.  I stepped off the last step and took a few steps forward before bending my knees to submerge myself to my shoulders.  Then I ducked under the surface quickly and bobbed back up, smoothing my now wet hair away from my face.

We stayed in the water for about a half hour, then got out and dried off.  It was ridiculously hot and I was glad to have snagged a shaded spot as we settled down in our chairs.  Brody and I people watched and chatted for about a half hour before he got back in the pool and I pulled out my Kindle.  We hung out by the pool until it was time to get ready to go have dinner.

I showered, dried my hair, and put on just a little makeup before searching through my suitcase for a dress.  When I was finished getting ready, I wandered out to the sitting area, where Brody was flipping through the TV channels randomly.  He stood up and smiled broadly when I came into the room.  "You look beautiful," he said, kissing me.

I blushed, my stomach fluttering like it still did from time to time when he looked at me like that and told me I was beautiful. "Thank you.  You look pretty good yourself."  He chuckled and brushed his thumb across my warm, flushed cheek.

We walked hand in hand across the resort to the restaurant we'd chosen for dinner.  It was a little late for dinner, so they weren't too busy anymore and we got a table after just a short wait.  We sipped our drinks while we waited for our food, and discussed what we wanted to do that evening.  The resort had several bars, including a sports bar and a club-type bar, plus various live entertainment, but we decided tonight we'd just head back to the room.  Neither of us were feeling terribly social.  In fact, I think we were both probably still unwinding a little.

The service at the restaurant was agonizingly slow, but I didn't mind much.  We didn't have anywhere to be, after all.  When we left the restaurant I was surprised to find it was nearly dark.  We took a detour down to the dark, deserted beach and wandered back slowly.

When we got back to our room, Brody kicked his shoes off and sat on the couch, then tugged me down next to him.  He slid his fingers along my jawbone and then curled them around the back of my neck, pulling me towards him.  I kissed him hungrily.  Maybe the ocean air was an aphrodisiac, or maybe it was because we were both finally relaxed and without distractions, but I couldn't get enough of him.

He clearly felt the same.  He traced his fingers over my shoulder and across my collarbone, then dragged them lightly over the tops of my breasts, which were barely accessible with the fairly modest neckline of my dress.  I shivered slightly and leaned into his touch.  His hand slipped around to the back of the dress, looking for the zipper.  When he didn't find it, he pulled his lips from mine and said, "Take this off."  I was happy to follow that direction, and I stood and pulled down the zipper that was hiding under my arm.  "That's a terrible place for a zipper," Brody said, smirking as I stepped out of the dress.

"No, it's a great place for a zipper, because I can actually get dressed without help," I pointed out.  He shrugged, clearly not interested in zippers that I could zip by myself when it meant it impeded his ability to undress me.  I reached behind my back to unhook my bra but he shook his head and pulled me down onto his lap.

"Hold on, not fair," I quipped, reaching for the buttons of his shirt.  He let me unbutton them then he leaned forward slightly and pulled it off.  I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders before leaning forward to kiss him again.  His fingers slipped across my skin, tracing the outline of my bra before he finally unhooked it.  I shook it off my arms and dropped it to the floor.  I flushed as Brody's eyes left my face and drifted over my body before he kissed me again.

He shifted me to the side and I laid across the couch.  He hooked his fingers under the lace of my thong and dragged it slowly down my hips and thighs.  I pulled my legs out of it and kicked it to the side.  He knelt between my knees and his gaze traveled the entire length of my body again.  I shivered when he ran his hands up my legs and then stood to take his shorts off.  He left his boxers on and settled back between my knees, lowering himself above me to kiss me.  He avoided my lips and instead kissed my cheek, along my jaw, and down to my neck.  "You're beautiful," he said softly near my ear before sucking gently on my earlobe.  "It was torture looking at you in that bikini all day and having to keep my hands to myself."  I sighed and turned my head to the side so he had easier access to my neck.

Brody continued kissing and nibbling on my neck as his fingers brushed across my breasts.  His lips were making their way back up to mine as he slid one hand down my side and to my hip.  I winced when that hand found its way between my legs.  Even with as turned on as I was, my body was still protesting the idea of having sex for the fourth time in just over 24 hours.  Brody must have been watching my face, because he immediately withdrew his hand and brought it back up to my breasts.

I groaned in frustration, but my frustration didn't last long because he quickly shifted towards my feet and scooted to the end of the couch.  He settled between my thighs and trailed light kisses from my right knee up to the top of my inner thigh.  His tongue moved gently over my skin and I moaned softly.  "Better?" he asked, looking up at me.  I nodded and he returned his tongue to me, increasing the pressure until I was moaning and squirming under him.  After I recovered, I gladly returned the favor and we cuddled on the couch until Brody suggested we try the hot tub on the balcony.

I wrinkled my nose.  "Do you know how many people have probably had sex in that thing?" I asked him.

He laughed.  "Do you know how many people have probably had sex on this couch?" he retorted.  I considered that for a second, and then he said, "At least they probably clean the hot tub."

"Good point," I replied.  That was enough to get me off the couch and into a (dry) bikini.  Brody called room service and ordered a bottle of wine to the room, which was a pretty sweet perk, even with the "delivery fee".  I let Brody figure out how the hot tub worked, and quickly pulled a robe on when there was a knock at the door.  I was surprised at how quickly they arrived with the wine--it had only been about 15 minutes.    They delivered our requested Pinot Grigio chilled and with two wine glasses.  The employee showed me the bottle and when I nodded approval he opened it and poured me a small sample.  I took a sip and smiled.  "It's great, thank you," I replied.

"Very good," he replied.  After he left, I grabbed both glasses and the bottle and headed out to the balcony.

"That was quick," Brody commented, nodding at the wine.  I poured two glasses and handed them both to him after he had climbed into the tub.  I climbed in after him and took my glass from him after I got settled.  "You're too far away," he complained.

I looked at the 4 or 5 inches of space between us then back up at him.  "You're not tired of touching me yet?" I teased, closing the tiny gap between us and settling against him as he put his arm around me.

"Not yet," he replied.  "Maybe tomorrow, though."  The wind had picked up a little, and while we were sheltered from it here on our balcony, the waves were louder than they had been earlier.  I relaxed against Brody and enjoyed my glass of wine.  When we had finished our glasses, Brody climbed out of the tub and brought the bottle back over.  He filled up both our glasses and set the empty bottle back on the small table.

When we finished our wine, we got out, dried off, and went back inside.  The air conditioned air was cold on my damp, bare skin, and I shivered and pulled the robe back on.  Brody wasn't ready for bed and I didn't want to go bed by myself, so I joined him in the living room of the suite after we'd both changed into dry clothes.

He turned the TV on and found VH1 was playing late 90s and early 2000s music videos (in English).  I laid on the couch with my head in his lap and we made fun of the boy band fashion.  I freed my hair from its topknot prison and Brody's hand immediately went to my head, his fingers massaging my scalp and sliding through my hair, pausing to carefully untangle any knotted strands.  Soon his fingers were sliding easily through my hair without hitting any tangles, and my eyelids got heavy.

I woke up in the bed and was reasonably certain I hadn't gotten there under my own power.  Brody was asleep next to me and I rolled over to face him and moved my arm over until it rested against his.  Then I fell back asleep.

In the morning, I woke up before Brody.  I resisted the urge to run my fingertips across his cheekbones.  My eyes fell to his exposed torso, and I read the words of the stanza of the poem dedicated to his sister across his ribs. I thought back to the first time I'd really read it: the morning after the first night we spent together. Little had I known that I'd be waking up next to him in a luxury suite in Mexico nine months later.

When I let my eyes drift from his tattoo back up to his face, I saw he was awake.  He was watching me with sleepy eyes, those strange and beautiful light green eyes that I loved.  "Good morning," I said softly, smiling.

He smiled back, sleepily, and shook his head.  "Not morning enough," he said.  He rolled onto his side and motioned to me.  I scooted over and rolled onto my side, relaxing against him as he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me in close to him.  I wasn't sleepy anymore, but I was content to lay here for a little longer.

We didn't feel like getting dressed and going out to get breakfast, so we ordered room service.  We laid in bed until our food arrived.  Then the rest of the day was spent in a similar fashion to the day before.

"Are you getting bored?" Brody asked me later that evening.

"No," I replied truthfully.  "Are you?"

"Not at all," he said.  "We could think about doing something off the resort at some point though, if you wanted to."

"It honestly doesn't matter to me," I said.  "I might change my mind in a couple days, but for now I'm perfectly happy to lay by the pool or on the beach most of the day."  He agreed and we decided to play it by ear.

On Thursday Brody decided he wanted to find something to do, so we booked a snorkeling trip.  We spent the afternoon snorkeling in the clear water and once I got over my fear of everything that moved, it was a lot of fun.  When we got back, we took a lazy nap in the hammock on the terrace together, then went to dinner.  After dinner we decided to check out one of the resort's bars.  It was crowded and we didn't stay long, but we did have a conversation with a young married couple from Miami.  It was fun to watch Brody get excited talking about the city he'd lived in for so long.

As we walked back to our room, I asked, "Do you ever wish you still lived in Miami, or want to move back?"

"What?" he asked, sounding surprised.  "No way.  Why?"

I shrugged.  "You just looked really happy talking about Miami.  I was curious."

"Ah," he replied, nodding.  "I loved Miami; I still love Miami.  But now I just love to visit.  Miami and I don't really fit well together anymore."

"More of a bachelor city?" I asked with a smirk.

"Yes," he agreed, laughing.  "Definitely more a bachelor city.  Plus I always missed the changing seasons, and even the snow.  And the mountains."

When we got back to our room, Brody flopped onto the couch and said, "I can't believe we only have two more days.  I'm not ready."

"Shhhh," I said.  "If you don't acknowledge it, it won't happen." I climbed onto the couch, straddling his hips and looking down at him.

He grinned up at me, then sat up and rested his hands on my waist.  "And this is one of the reasons I'm not ready," he said, his voice low.  "I'm thoroughly enjoying having sex with you whenever we want."

"Who said we're having sex?" I said innocently.  "You're just taking up the entire couch and there's nowhere for me to sit."  Brody looked around the room, his gaze lingering pointedly on the two arm chairs and the three chairs at the table.  "Oh, right," I said.  "Well, since I'm here..."  I leaned forward and kissed him.  He wrapped his arms around my back and laid back down, pulling me down with him.  His hands slid down my back, over my ass, and down my legs.  Then they slid back up the backs of my thighs, slipping under my dress as they went.

"I like all these dresses," Brody said as his fingers brushed along the edge of my underwear.  "It makes things so easy."

"Except when you can't find the zipper," I said with a smirk as his lips moved to my neck.  I laughed as he playfully nipped my neck, then groaned as his fingers got closer to where I wanted them.  We had playful, fun sex, then shifted around so we could lay next to each other on the couch.

"It's going to be really hard to go back to work and being busy," I said. "I'm really enjoying spending all this time with you."

"I know," Brody said.  His hand found mine and he wove his fingers between mine.  "I am too.  And it's probably going to be crazy when I get back."  I nodded and tried to press myself closer to him.  He tightened his arms around me and we laid there for a long time, quiet and relaxed.  We went to bed not long after.

The last couple days of our trip were as awesome as the rest had been so far.  We briefly discussed leaving the resort again to do something but our laziness won out and we stayed, spending our last couple days at one of the pools, on the beach, or on our terrace.  By the end of the week, I felt so relaxed it was like everything with Brody's dad and with Cassie hadn't even happened.

"I'm not sure I even remember how to do my job," Brody joked, as we waited at the airport for our flight back to Denver.

"Hmmm, you might have to quit then, bummer," I teased back.  I leaned back in my seat and sighed happily.  As great as this trip had been, I had to admit that I was ready to get back.  I missed ourbed and having more than 4 TV channels in English.  I was even starting to miss cooking and going to the gym.  I was surprised that I didn't miss my cell phone or my laptop, though.  Even though our resort had free WiFi, we'd agreed at the beginning that we'd both avoid our phones completely.

After a long flight, a longer customs line, and the drive back, I was ready to eat, shower, and go to bed.  "It feels good to be home," I said as we walked in.  Brody grinned.  "What?" I asked.

"I'm happy that you called it 'home'," he replied.  I smiled back at him.

We ate the food we had picked up then took turns showering.  When I got out of the shower, Brody was sitting on the edge of the bed with his phone to his ear.  He seemed to be listening to voicemails, but he watched me get dressed.

After he hung up, I asked, "How many were there?"

"17," he replied, making a face.  "And 42 text messages.  I'm not even going to open my email tonight, otherwise I know I'll be up all night working.  I'm going to enjoy my last little bit of vacation before I have to go back in the morning."

"You're going to be really busy this week, huh?" I asked, sitting next to him.

He put an arm around me and nodded.  "I probably won't get to see much of you this week."

I frowned.  "That's going to be a hard adjustment after having you all to myself for a week."

"I know," he replied.  "And I'll be on call this week too.  But I meant what I said about Sundays when I'm not on call.  No work.  No phone.  We'll figure out a way to make more time for us, okay?"

"Okay," I replied.  And I knew we would.