Whose Wedding Are We Talking About?

I hope you guys enjoyed the week of posts!  Tonight's post is a little short because of how it made sense to break things up with the next post.    But I have Liv backstory posts ready to go for the next two weeks, so for the next two weeks there will be three posts.  I'll be posting on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  
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When I woke up in the middle of the night, breathing hard from the nightmare I hadn't had in awhile, Brody's body was still pressed against mine.  I could feel his chest rise and fall against my back as he breathed deeply in his sleep.  The regular rhythm lulled me back to sleep and I didn't wake up again until Brody got up to go to the bathroom in the morning.

I was expecting him to go downstairs and work and was surprised when he got back into bed and curled around me again.  "Good morning," he murmured before pressing his lips against my shoulder.
"Good morning," I replied, snuggling back against him.

His fingers ran up and down my forearm as he said, "Last night you said you wanted to marry me."

"I know," I said wryly, "I was there."

Brody laughed, his breath tickling my shoulder.  "I just wanted to make sure I didn't imagine it."

"You didn't," I assured him.

"Can we talk about it some more?" he asked.  I stiffened involuntarily, and he began to stroke my forearm again.  "We don't have to," he said hurriedly.  "Sorry."

I forced my body to relax and said hesitantly, "No, we can.  What do you want to talk about?"

"Just talking hypothetically," he started, his fingers still running gently up and down my forearm, "What kind of wedding would you want?"

I shifted, fidgeting uncomfortably.  "I don't know," I replied.  "I haven't thought about it much."

He slid his fingers down to mine and interlocked them.  "Maybe we can talk about it more later."  He could clearly feel my discomfort and was giving me an out, but I could detect the note of disappointment in his voice.

We laid in silence for several seconds before he said, "What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"Hmmm, can we just hang out here?  Or maybe go out to dinner?"

He kissed my shoulder again and said, "We can do both.  I should get some work done first, okay?"  I nodded and he rolled away from me and got up.

When he had left the bedroom, I curled into a ball and wondered why talking about the future was so hard for me.  Once I was alone, I was able to actually think about his question.  It was still uncomfortable, but not as much.

I finally rolled out of bed and showered and got dressed.  As I walked downstairs, I realized that I had forgotten we were planning on cleaning up from the day before.  I sighed.  So much for Brody helping me clean up.  I resigned myself to just doing it because I didn't want to spend precious moments of our time together this afternoon doing it.

When I walked into the kitchen I saw that all the dishes were washed, dried, and put away.  All the mess from the day before was cleaned up.  I felt simultaneously guilty for assuming he forgot and happy that I didn't have to do it.  I swept the floor and mopped it, taking care of the last traces of yesterday's party.

I was warming up leftovers for lunch when Brody appeared in the kitchen.  He pulled open the fridge and grabbed a soda, and I handed him a plate.  "Thank you," he said, kissing me.

After we sat down, I took a deep breath and said, "I'd want a small wedding, I think.  Not super small, but maybe like 50 people?  I don't think I want something huge and crazy, that sounds like a nightmare to plan and I think I'd only want my closest friends and family to watch me get married."  The words came out in a rush as I pushed pieces of a leftover grilled chicken breast across my plate.  When I finished, I looked up at Brody.

He was watching me carefully and then he nodded.  "I never wanted a huge wedding either," he said casually.

I grinned and added, "Add let's be real, it's not like you have time to help plan a huge wedding, and fuck if whoever you're marrying is doing that alone."

"Wait," he said, holding up both hands in mock confusion.  "You mean men are expected to help plan weddings?  Nobody would actually want my uneducated opinion on flowers, would they?"

"I don't know, you did a pretty good job on the bouquet you sent last week," I replied.  He smiled.  I got quiet again, looking down at my plate.  Then I said, "How do you feel about shorter engagements?"

"I never really saw the point in being engaged for a really long time.  By the time I'd ask someone to marry me, I'm ready.  I don't want to wait around for another two years.  Especially if there's not a giant wedding to plan."

I looked up and smiled.  "And do you have any thoughts about fall?"

"Fall is gorgeous around here, but the weather in the mountains can be unpredictable.  Assuming, of course, that the parties involved wanted to get married in the mountains."

"Well maybe I wouldn't mind snow on my wedding day," I replied.

"Oh, are we talking about your wedding?  I thought we were talking hypothetically," he teased.

I blushed and said, "We're talking about our wedding."

"In that case, fall in the mountains sounds pretty nice," he replied, smiling.  I returned his smile and then focused on my lunch.

After we finished eating, I grabbed our plates and started to wash the dishes.  Brody came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  He kissed the side of my neck and said, "I can do that."

"I know," I replied, continuing to wash.  "You proved that by washing everything this morning.  Thank you for that, by the way."

"Mmhmm," he responded, his lips back on my neck.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in bed, alternating between napping and...not napping.  We dragged ourselves out of bed to shower together and get ready to go out to dinner.  True to his word, Brody didn't even bother taking his phone with us.

When we got to the restaurant, we sat and and surveyed the tables around us.  "First date," I murmured, motioning subtly to a table behind Brody.  He turned carefully and observed the couple, looking awkward around the room and laughing nervously.

"Definitely," he agreed.  He cocked his head to the left.  "Together for far too long," he said.  I turned my head and nodded when I saw the couple who was paying no attention to each other, each too absorbed in their own smartphone.

"Aww," I said, my gaze landing on a youngish couple holding hands over the table and smiling at each other.  "Young and in love."

Brody grinned.  "If they're young and in love, what are we?" he asked.

"Not quite as young but definitely in love?"

He laughed softly, but our game was interrupted by our server bringing us our drinks.  We enjoyed our dinner and decided to get dessert to go for later, since we were both full.  We took our dessert home and ended up on the couch, doing a whole lot of nothing for the rest of the evening.  And it was perfect.

Monday morning came too soon, and I was slow to wake up.  Brody wasn't in a hurry to get up and moving either, and we ended up riding into town together.  I had successfully avoided Josh for over a week and was starting to hope that maybe he had gotten the hint and was going to leave me alone.  Of course, I had no such luck, and at lunchtime he stuck his head in my office.  "I hear you met my sister," he said casually.

"I did," I replied.

"My brother in law is kind of a douche, isn't he?"

I frowned.  "No, I thought he was fine."

"You must not have spent much time with him then," he replied with a shrug.  "Well, see you later!"  I didn't even have time to process the strangeness of the exchange before he was gone.  I rolled my eyes and returned to eating my lunch.

I skipped the gym after work in favor of hanging out with Lauren.  She invited me over and I picked up takeout on my way.  She had a glass of wine waiting for me, and I happily indulged since Brody was driving me home.

"How'd the cookout go?" she asked, once we were settled.  I filled her in on Valerie's comments and she rolled her eyes.  "She seems lovely," she said sarcastically.

"No kidding," I replied.  "So how have things been since the 'I love you' incident?"

She sighs.  "He says it all the time now.  Like, every day.  It's kind of weird."

I snorted.  "That's what happens after the first time," I replied.  "People just expect you to keep saying it."

"It doesn't even mean anything when you say it all the time!" she complained.

"Do you regret saying it?" I asked, concerned.

"Of course not!" she snapped back.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you.  I don't regret it.  It's just weird.  This is all brand new to me and I don't know what to make of it."  I reassured her that it would get easier and then she changed the subject.

It was weird to be back in my old house.  It almost looked completely different with Lauren's furniture and decor.  It was also not nearly as clean, but that's my Lauren.  Brody had planned to stay late at work since I was hanging out with Lauren anyway, and it was nearly 9 when he called and asked if I was ready.  He stopped in when he got there and spent a few minutes chatting with Lauren before we went.  He hadn't eaten, so I gave him my leftover Thai takeout and he sat and ate while we all hung out.  I loved having a boyfriend that my friends actually liked.

"So," he said, when we were on our way back home.  "I was looking at flights to Madison today."

"You were?" I asked, confused.

"Are we not going to visit over the 4th of July?"

I had forgotten that we'd talked about that while we were in Mexico.  "Oh yeah, we are, aren't we?"

Brody laughed.  "Anyway, prices are pretty good right now, should we book tickets when we get home?"

"Sure," I replied.

When we got home, we booked tickets and got a rental car.  Now that we had talked weddings, I wondered if his plan was to talk to my parents about proposing to me while we were there.  It would explain why he was so eager to go.  I had mixed feelings about it.  I was simultaneously excited and terrified by the thought of being engaged this summer.   And if we both really did want a short engagement, that meant we'd potentially be married within 6 months.  I was surprised at how much this didn't freak me out.  Don't make me have a conversation about it, of course, but it was relatively safe to think about at this point.

It also made me realize I had been in Denver for almost a year at this point.  That was pretty crazy to me.  It had been a hell of a year--luckily all the amazing things outweighed the bad things, though there had been plenty of bad things, unfortunately.

"Liv?" Brody said, leaning against the bathroom doorframe.

"Huh?"  I realized I'd been standing at the bathroom counter, toothbrush in hand, lost in my own thoughts for several minutes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I replied.  I nodded to reassure him and then stuck my toothbrush in my mouth.  I brushed my teeth and then when I turned, I saw Brody was still standing in the doorway.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked.

"I've been here for almost a year," I replied.  "That's crazy.  It's gone so fast."

"Wow, you're right," he said thoughtfully.  "I didn't even realize it until you said something.  Are you happy?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Happy that you moved here, I mean?"

I laughed.  "That shouldn't even be a question.  It's easily the best decision I've ever made."

He frowned.  "Here I thought that choosing me would be the best decision you've ever made," he teased me.

"Couldn't have done that if I hadn't even moved here," I pointed out.

"Fair point," he conceded.

I grinned.  "You'd better get used to it before you're stuck with it."

He rolled his eyes and nudged me out of the way so he could brush his teeth.  "Keep dreaming," he replied.

We teased each other until we were settled in bed.  I relaxed in Brody's arms as I thought about the past year, and drifted easily to sleep.