Lauren: The Institution of Marriage

Several people have asked if we'll ever hear from Brody and Liv.  They'll definitely still be involved, since they're friends with Lauren and Kinsley and company.  I can probably arrange a post from one of their perspectives from time to time as well!
________________________________

"So, are you next?" Liv's mom asks me, smiling.

I have to force a smile onto my face.  She is, seriously, the fifth fucking person to ask me that (or some variation of it) tonight.  "Who knows?" I reply.  "Probably not though.  They're probably next."  I motion to Kinsley and Damien, who are slow dancing at the far corner of the dance floor.  Even from here I can see Kinsley's smile as Damien says something in her ear.  I look away.  I'm still not quite buying what he's selling after the whole breakup debacle.

When Liv's mom turns to talk to someone else, I excuse myself and wander out of the room.  I make my way down the steep stairs, which are now dimly lit.  I weave through the hallways and offer a small smile to the bored-looking hostess in the foyer before I step outside.

It's chilly out, and I'm not prepared for the blast of cold air that hits me.  I wrap my arms around myself, wishing I'd thought to grab my jacket before coming out.  It's not unbearable, but it's not comfortable either.  I make it about two minutes before I turn to go back inside, choosing warmth over precious solitude.

I don't even make it one step before the door opens and Alex comes out.  "Everything okay?" he asks softly, concern etched into his furrowed brow.  His jacket is in his hand and he doesn't even think twice before draping it around my shoulders.  I'm grateful for the warmth.

"Yes," I said, smiling as if to prove it.  "I just need a little air, it's too warm in there."  He scans my face critically and I know he doesn't believe me.  But he lets it go for now.

"And it's too cold out here," he points out, cracking a smile.  He reaches for my hand and I let him pull me against him.  I burrow into his chest and take a deep breath, finally feeling warm when he wraps his arms around me.  "Are you ready to go in?" he asks.

I shake my head and make him stand outside with me for a couple more minutes.  When I finally get my shit together and shake off the annoyance of being constantly asked if I'm "next", I pull away from him.  I smile genuinely at him and say, "Okay, I'm done standing in the cold."

"Good," Alex replies.  "My fingers are damn near numb."  Then he touches them lightly to the back of my neck, which makes me gasp.

"Jesus, knock it off," I yelp at him.  But I'm laughing, and he catches me around the waist and kisses my forehead.  "Kiss me right," I demand, tipping my head up towards him.  He smirks at me and presses his lips to mine.  Then he sucks lightly on my bottom lip, which makes me shiver.

Misinterpreting that, he pulls away and says, "Let's get you inside before you freeze."

I follow Alex back inside.  When we get up to the banquet room, I immediately see Liv and Brody dancing in the far corner of the dance floor.  She's looking up at him like she can't see anyone else in the room and saying something, and you can tell how much he adores her as he listens, then responds.  They both laugh, and then she shifts closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder.  I want that, but do I really need to jump through all these stupid wedding hoops to get it?

"Laur?"  Alex is watching me curiously.  I had stopped to stare at Liv and Brody.

"What?" I ask innocently.  I start walking again, following him over a table where Lynn and Jen are sitting and chatting.  I take a breath and clear my head so I can enjoy the rest of the evening.



"What's on your mind?" Alex asks later once we're back in our room.  I slide off my shoes and sigh in relief, pointing and flexing my toes.

I almost say 'nothing,' but I know that won't fly.  Instead, I sit down on the bed and look up at Alex.  "What do you think about marriage?" I ask tentatively.

"Oh no," he replies, shaking his head.  "I'm not playing this game."

I narrow my eyes at him in irritation.  "What game?"

"The one where something is bothering you, so you ask me what I think about it, I inevitably answer incorrectly, and you get mad at me for something completely hypothetical without even telling me what you're thinking about."

I open my mouth to argue, then snap it shut.  He's right.  I do that to him all the time.  I grimace, sigh, and say, "I don't want this."  I motion around the room as if that makes my statement make any more sense.  Too late, I realize that "this" could mean any number of things.

Luckily, Alex understands.  "You don't want a wedding, or you don't want a marriage?" he asks, sitting down in the chair in the corner and looking at me thoughtfully.

"Either.  Both.  Neither.  Whatever."  I'm flustered enough that I've forgotten how the English language works.  I get even more flustered (and irritated) when I see the corners of Alex's mouth twitching.  He's fighting the smile but he's losing.  "What?" I snap.  "Never mind.  If you find this so funny, I'd rather just skip right to being mad at you and not talk about it anymore."

"I'm not laughing at you," he protests.  I frown, and he stands and comes over to the bed.  He reaches for my hand as he sits next to me and I let him lace his fingers through mine.  "Laur, if I had things my way, I would like to get married.  But I knew going into this that there was a very good chance if it worked that marriage wasn't a thing that would ever happen for me."

"You...what?" I ask.

He smiles, and this time it doesn't irritate me.  "Can you estimate how many times you've railed against the 'fucking institution of marriage'?"

I snicker, then it turns into full-blown laughing, and soon we're both laughing.  Once I get a hold of myself, I shake my head.  "I plead the fifth."

"Of course you do," he says.  Then he looks at me, and he looks serious again.  "But seriously, being with you is more important to me than being married.  Because I'd wager if I was married, there's a solid 90% chance it would not be to you.  And yes, I'm also well aware of and okay with the fact that you don't want kids."

I huff out a sharp breath and narrow my eyes at him again.  "Have you ever considered that the amount of things you know about me is more than slightly creepy?"

"I don't think it's creepy to know that your girlfriend probably doesn't want to get married and definitely doesn't want kids.  Especially when you've been friends with said girlfriend for 9 years."

"No wonder you're so good at trivia," I mutter.  I enjoy doing trivia with Alex about as much as he enjoys doing math with me.  Needless to say, we do neither trivia or math together.

Alex smirks and says, "Look what we can accomplish when you just tell me what's on your mind instead of setting me up to fail!"

"Shut up, you're annoying," I reply.  I stand up and stretch, then reach for the zipper at the back of my dress.  I fumble for the pull but can't quite get it between my fingers.  Alex stands and tugs the zipper slowly down, dragging one of his fingers down the freshly exposed skin as he does.  I shiver as he slides the sleeve down my shoulder, quickly dropping his mouth down onto the skin he's revealing.  I sigh in pleasure and tip my head towards the opposite shoulder, giving him more room to work.

"I love this dress on you," he says huskily.  "But now I want it off of you."  I reach up to tug down the other sleeve, but he grabs my hand and puts it back down at my side.  Then he slides his fingertips up my arm, leaving a trail of a goosebumps it its wake, and starts working the sleeve slowly off my shoulder.  I wait for his mouth to follow and I'm not disappointed.  He licks, sucks, and bites unpredictably, and I want to lean back against him.  I know if I do that he won't be able to reach my shoulder, so I stay perfectly still.

By the time he has the top of the dress around my waist, I'm done being patient and still.  I bend and tug the dress down, then turn and push him back on the bed.  I climb onto the bed, straddling his hips and leaning down to kiss him.  My hair falls in a curtain around my face and Alex pushes his hands into it, pulling some of it back from my face and keeping it from getting trapped between our lips.

He pushes the hair from the left side of my face up and over my shoulder to the other side, trapping it with his other hand.  His free hand slides down my back, over my hip, and down the back of my leg.  When his hand gets just above my knee, he tugs, pulling my leg forward.  Then he slides his hand back up my leg and snakes it over my hip so it's under me.  He pulls my underwear aside and strokes me for several seconds before pushing a finger inside me.

I moan against his lips then pull my face away from his, dropping my forehead onto his shoulder.  "Why do you still have clothes on?" I manage to ask, reaching under my body with one hand to start unbuttoning his shirt.

"Why are you so good at undoing buttons with one hand?" he replies, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I pause and look at him.  "Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

"Probably not.  But I'm guessing 'practice' is a safe guess."

I raise my eyebrows and smirk before going back to undoing his buttons.  He's got one hand on my leg and one running up and down my back as he kisses me again.  When I finish his shirt, I manage his belt and the button on his pants one handed but can't quite get the zipper.  "You were on a roll," Alex says, worming a hand between us to help.  His forearm bumps my hip hard enough to knock me off balance, and we both start laughing as I tip onto the bed next to him.

"It's about time you got out of my way," Alex teases me, standing to pull his pants and shirt off.  He climbs back onto the bed and grabs my ankles, tugging me back towards him.  Alex lifts one of my legs until my calf is close enough for him to reach and he dips his head, kissing along my leg until he finds the random spot that makes me crazy.  He had discovered it by accident one night a couple weeks, and I groan as he sucks and gently bites it.  Then he moves his mouth back towards my ankle and lightly drags the tip of his tongue across a ticklish spot he knows is there.

I yelp and yank my leg back, and Alex laughs.  "Don't be a dick," I say, but I'm laughing now as well.  He reaches for me but I roll away, sit up, and pounce on him, knocking him sideways onto the bed and pinning his hands to the mattress.

"Careful," he warns me, smirking.

"Or what?" I retort.  I shift and use my knee to roll him onto his back, quickly shifting my grip on his hands.  I position myself carefully since my hands are occupied and unavailable, and slide onto him just a tiny bit.

Alex groans and tries to thrust his hips up towards mine but I raise myself up so he doesn't get anywhere.  "Oh, you are evil," he says in response.

"Careful," I reply, my smirk mirroring the one he had when he said the same thing less than a minute ago.  Alex can easily overpower me if he wants to, but he's gladly letting me have my fun teasing him.  I torture him just a little longer before I let go of his hands and finally sink all the way down onto him. I lean back and plant my hands on his thighs behind me, giving his wandering hands full access to my body.

Neither of us is in it for the long haul after our extended, teasing foreplay, and I'm soon cuddling up to him, satisfied and tired, because it's now really late.  Taking advantage of my sleepiness, Alex asks, "So have you been miserable all day about this wedding thing?"

"Not at all," I assure him.  "I wasn't miserable at all.  I actually had a lot of fun.  It's just that everyone kept asking me if I was next and it got me thinking about marriage and weddings, and then I started worrying that you would want to get married, and my brain just spiraled out of control from there."

"Good," he replies.  "I mean, good that it didn't ruin your night."

"It could have if you hadn't called me out on my bullshit," I say, laughing.

Alex chuckles.  "That's what I'm here for."

"I thought you were here for the sex?" I ask, feigning confusion.

"Well, that too.  Sex and calling you out.  Definitely not for marriage, though.  In case you were wondering."

I laugh and shake my head.  "You are so weird."

"Seriously?" he asks.  "I'm weird?  Come on.  You can't even say that ironically."

"I'm not weird!" I protest.

"Okay, switch sides of the bed with me tonight."

"What?  No!" I exclaim, horrified by the idea.

"See?" he says triumphantly.  "That's weird."

"Oh no it's not!  People have sides.  That's normal.  That's a thing.  It's way more weird that you can just sleep on whatever side you want."

"I don't believe you," he replies.  "I'm going to take a poll tomorrow."

"Fine," I respond, laughing again.  "Take your poll.  I'm confident that we'll find out the truth--that you're the weird one."

"What happens if I'm right?" he asks, squeezing my ass.

"You'll have the honor of being right and being the normal one," I reply, swatting his hand away from my ass and rolling my eyes.  "About this, at least.  But you're not right, so don't get too attached to the idea."

Alex chuckles and kisses my forehead.  "I love you, Lauren."

"Even if I won't switch sides of the bed?"

"Especially because you won't switch sides of the bed."

"Good.  I love you as long as you don't make me switch sides of the bed."

Alex starts to reply but is interrupted by a yawn.  "You're keeping me awake too long with your trash talking."

"That's not trash talking, it's witty banter," I argue.

"See?  There you go again.  And I think we need to define 'witty', because you're clearly confused.  But not tonight, because we should probably sleep soon."

"As much as I want to argue with you, I actually agree with that."

"Oh?" Alex asks.  "You agree that you're clearly confused?"

"No!" I poke him in the ribs so he squirms.  "That we should sleep soon."  I yawn to prove my point and we quickly quiet down, my witty banter (seriously) quickly forgotten as Alex strokes the back of my neck with his thumb.  Alex knows exactly how to push my buttons, and also exactly how to put me to sleep.  I'm out within minutes, lulled to sleep by his touch.

Something About You Being My Wife

We had planned to take the shuttle back to the hotels and get a ride back here in the morning to get Brody's SUV, but Damien was sober and had ridden the shuttle here and offered to drive us back in Brody's car.  Brody and I climbed into the very back, and I swore as I wrestled my dress in through the door.  He sat in the middle seat and wrapped his arm around me, and I snuggled against him.

"Tired, baby?" Brody asked.  I nodded, yawning as if to prove it.  The drive back to the hotel seemed to take forever, but Damien finally parked in the parking lot.  Brody helped me climb out of the SUV, then took my hand as we walked in.  We parted from Damien, Kinsley, Jack, and Alyssa at the elevators, going to the second bank that went to the top floor.

"How tired are you?" Brody asked, once we were in the elevator.  He raised his eyebrows, his eyes sparkling.

"Not too tired," I replied, smirking.  "I do need a shower though, I feel disgusting."

"Can I help?" he asked, tugging me over to him.

"Only if you're actually helpful!"

"I promise I will be," he assured me, tilting his head down to kiss me.  We kissed until the elevator doors opened, then we made our way to our corner suite.  Once we were in our suite, I kicked my shoes off, took the combs out of my hair, then started on the bobby pins Kinsley had added to get my hair off my neck.  I watched Brody take off his shoes, his jacket, his tie, his belt, and his vest, tossing them all against the plush chair in the corner.  Then he undid his cufflinks, zipping them carefully into his bag, and unbuttoned his shirt.

"How many of those things are in there?" he asked, watching me pull pin after pin out of my hair.

"Probably close to 100," I estimated.

"We're going to be here all night just undoing your hair," he said, laughing.  He stepped over to me and moved to the side I wasn't working on, then began to help pull the pins out.  The deftness of his fingers surprised me, as he gently but quickly pulled pins out of my hair, setting them on the dresser with the pile I had created.  Within minutes we were finished and he was unbuttoning and unzipping my dress and helping me step out of it.  "You're gorgeous," he said, for probably the 50th time today.

I smirked.  "My hair is probably a disaster, I'm sweaty, and I bet my makeup is messed up too.  You, on the other hand, still look as sexy as you did when I saw you all dressed up for the first time today."

"I love your hair all messed up," he teased, winking at me.  I laughed.  He ran his fingers over my necklace, then stepped behind me to unclasp it for me.  I laid it carefully on the table and took the earrings out as he went into the bathroom to start the shower.  I gathered shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, then joined him in the bathroom.  He let me push his shirt off his shoulders and unbutton and unzip his pants, and then we stepped into the giant shower together.

Once we were both in the shower, he took the body wash from me and squeezed some into his hands.  He rubbed them together then began to slide his slippery, sudsy hands down my arm.  He did my right arm, then moved to my left arm.  I winced as he moved along my left arm, and Brody moved it away from my body.  We looked down to see part of my inner arm rubbed raw from my dress.  He carefully rinsed the soap away and leaned his head down, pressing his lips gently against the intact skin next to the angry red patch.  I shivered, despite the warmth of the water.

He continued on, being as helpful as he promised, rubbing his soapy hands all over my body.  When he knelt in front of me to do my legs, he kissed my hip, then moved his mouth inwards until his tongue was dancing across the warm, wet skin between my thighs.  I moaned, steadying myself with my hands on his shoulders.  The entire time, he continued to run his soapy hands up and down my legs, gently massaging the muscles that were sore from dancing and too much time on my feet in heels.  When he finished my legs, he stood, abruptly ending my pleasure.

I took the body wash from him and returned the favor, making sure he was just as clean (and just as turned on) as I was.  When I finished, I stuck my head under the shower spray, getting my product-covered curls wet.  Brody dumped some shampoo in his hands and turned me around so I faced away from him, then began to wash my hair.  He worked the shampoo carefully through the strands, then began to massage my scalp.  It was even better than any scalp massage and shampoo I'd ever gotten at a salon, because I was in a warm shower with my ridiculously hot husband.  I groaned as his fingers worked against my scalp.  Eventually I had to rinse the suds out, and then he worked conditioner through my hair.

While I let the conditioner sit, I turned back to Brody.  He sat on the wide ledge at the back of the shower so I could reach his head, and I began to massage shampoo into his scalp.  He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer.  When he was sitting and I was standing, he was eye level with my breasts, and took advantage of it, flicking his tongue across a nipple while I massaged his scalp.  He squeezed and kneaded my ass while he sucked and lightly bit at my breast and I paused, moaning softly.  "You're distracting me," I scolded him.

"Mmmm, sorry," he apologized insincerely, not moving his mouth away from my skin.  The vibration of his words made me knees weak, then I shuddered as he tugged on my nipple with his teeth.

When we finally got out of the shower and got dried off, I didn't want anything to do with any more foreplay.  Brody, however, had a different idea.  He seemed determined to kiss, lick, or suck every inch of my body.  Desperate to have him inside me, I tried to tug him back up towards me as he worked his way down my inner thigh, but he ignored me.  "Brody, please," I groaned.  He moved one hand between my legs, easing two fingers into me while his thumb moved against my clit, a satisfactory compromise for now.  He hadn't even made it to my ankle before I came, clamping my legs around his hand and gasping.

Finally, he made his way back up my other leg, then up my stomach and chest, my neck, my jaw, and then at last back to my lips.  I kissed him desperately and pulled his hips against mine, and he pushed into me.  I moaned in pleasure at finally having him inside me.  Luckily he was just eager as I was, and he didn't waste any more time with being slow or gentle.  I was so turned on from our seriously extended foreplay that I came two more times before he finished.  My skin was so sensitive that I rolled away from him, breathing hard.

Brody reached for me, stroking my back.  "No," I groaned.  "Give me a second."  He chuckled and withdrew his hand.  I felt the mattress move as he shifted and got settled.  Once I caught my breath and my skin stopping pulsating, I rolled back over and cuddled up to him.  We were both asleep within minutes, tangled together on top of the sheets.

When I woke up in the morning, the room was bright and I was covered by blankets that I hadn't been covered with the night before.  Next to me, Brody was sprawled on his stomach under the blankets with one arm flung across my torso.  I looked at the clock and saw it was a little after 9.  We had a brunch planned for 2pm with whoever wanted to come.  I was glad we'd scheduled it so late, because I didn't feel like getting up and getting ready right now.

I was starving though.  I carefully slid out from under Brody's arm.  He stirred and I saw his arm move under the blanket, reaching for me even in his sleep.  When he didn't find me, he sighed and curled onto his side, never opening his eyes.

I rooted quietly through my bag and found a pair of shorts and a tshirt to pull on, then I went out to the living area of our suite and ordered room service.  They were actually really quick, and Brody was surprisingly still asleep when they came.

I brought our breakfast into the bedroom and climbed back into bed.  Brody stirred again, then stretched and yawned.  He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily at me.  He lifted his arm and beckoned for me to come closer.  I slid under his arm and snuggled into him, letting my eyes fall closed again.

"Why do you have clothes on?" he mumbled sleepily.  "I don't like them."

I laughed softly.  "Because I ordered breakfast.  And I'll take them off again after we eat, but I'm hungry."

Brody groaned and rolled onto his back.  He stretched and then sat up.  Then he turned and smiled at me.  "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," I replied.  He stood and found a pair of shorts in his bag, then grabbed the tray of food and brought it back to the bed.  We sat in bed together and ate, talking about the day before.  It still hadn't full sunk in that we were married.

Once we were done eating, Brody set the tray and our dishes in the living room and came back.  I was standing next to the bed, tying my disastrous hair back.  He tackled me onto the bed, causing me to erupt into a fit of laughter.   I felt his lips move into a smile against my neck, and my laughter quickly faded out as Brody kissed a path down to my collarbone, then back up to my ear.

I was glad we'd arranged for late checkout, because by 11 we were still laying bed, and now we were naked again and nowhere near ready to vacate the room.  "Do you want to know where we're going?" he asked.

I was half draped across him, my head on his chest, my arm slung across his chest and arm, and one leg flopped over his.  I looked up immediately, resting my chin on his chest.  "I've wanted to know for months," I replied.

Brody reached for his phone on the nightstand and I impatiently waited.  Finally, he handed the phone to me.  "We're going to Turtle Island," he said, as I started to scroll through the website.  "It's a private Fijian island.  There are only 14 villas on the island, so there are never more than 28 guests."  I navigated around the website, seeing that there were private beaches, pretty much any outdoor activity you could imagine on an island in the south Pacific, and that everything was included, including high end champagne by the bottle.  My kind of place.

"This place looks amazing," I said, handing the phone back.  "But don't places like that book out like a year in advance?"

"Generally," he said, and I felt him shrug.  "I called because I figured it couldn't hurt.  They were booked, of course.  So I was talking to someone that works for my dad's company who I know vacations there a lot this time of year, asking for some other suggestions of resorts to look into.  He gave me a few ideas, and I was looking into them.  Then someone from Turtle Island called and let me know that someone had canceled their reservation for their premium villa with the private beach.  It didn't line up perfectly with the days I wanted, but it was close enough.  So we're spending Wednesday and Thursday at a resort on the Fiji mainland, and then Thursday night we'll go to Turtle Island."

"You are the most ridiculously lucky person I know," I said, rolling over onto my stomach and looking at him.

Brody grinned.  "I know, I got to marry you."

I rolled my eyes, but I smiled too.  "That's not what I meant, and you know it.  Things like that don't happen to normal people."

"Then I'm glad I'm not normal," he replied.  He sat up enough to kiss me, then looked at the clock.  He grinned mischievously and cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Seriously?" I teased him.  "Save some for the honeymoon."

"I can't help it," he said back.  "Something about you being my wife is really fucking hot."  He stopped talking and cocked his head to the side slightly, then laughed and said, "If you would have told me a year and a half ago that I'd ever say something like that and mean it, I would have laughed in your face."

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to happily married now either," I said.

"Did you expect to be unhappily married?" he asked with a smirk.

I shook my head and laughed.  "Don't be a jerk.  I didn't expect anything.  A year and a half ago I didn't even know where I was going to be living at this point.  I just knew I didn't want to live in Wisconsin anymore."

"Well," he said, shifting and moving my hips to straddle his, "I'm glad you found your way here."

Music, Laughter, and Conversation

Well, I lied in my little author's note.  I got it finished after all :)  If you didn't see my note about the future plans, make sure you scroll down to catch it.  The next post will either come tomorrow or Saturday.
_______________________________

"You're freaking out," Lauren observed, once Brody was inside.

"Yep," I agreed.  "Completely.  So many people...and they're all going to be watching me."

Lauren slid her arm around my waist, a rare show of affection for her, and squeezed gently.  She left her arm there and said, "On the plus side, you're the bride, so you can do pretty much whatever you want to today, and no one is going to say a word to you about it!"

I laughed.  "True. Too bad the craziest thing I'll probably do is cry through my wedding ceremony."

"Where did that come from?" Lauren asked suddenly, pointing to my bracelet.

"Where do you think?" I asked, rolling my eyes.  But I couldn't fight the smile on my face as I lifted my wrist for Lauren to take a closer look.

Lauren narrowed her eyes in much the same expression I'd made when Brody had told me he had something for me.  "I thought you guys had agreed no gifts."

"Yeah, well, he doesn't always follow directions well," I said, laughing.  "But I love it."

"He's the worst," she replied, smirking.

Just then, Lauren's phone lit up.  She looked down at it, then looked up at me.  "Ready to go in?"  I took a deep breath, nodded, and we walked inside.  I drew more than a couple looks as she and I walked past the dining room towards the narrow stairs that led up.  Once we got to the top of the stairs, I saw Leigh, who appeared to be directing traffic.  She guided me over to the side where my dad was waiting.  Lauren walked over to Alex and handed him her phone, which he slipped into his pocket.  Alex flashed me a thumbs up, which made me roll my eyes and laugh a little.

My dad was watching me, and I felt tears prick the back of my eyes when he held out his arm to me.  I could faintly hear the music, and Lynn and Jack were now disappearing into the banquet room, which meant I was next.  "Holy shit," I breathed.

"Olivia Renee," my dad scolded me, and I burst out laughing, earning a disapproving look from Leigh.

"I'm getting married, and you're concerned about my language?" I asked him.

"You'll always be my little girl," he said stoically.  "But I guess at least you don't have a mouth like Lauren."

I laughed again, clapping my hand over my mouth to muffle it.  Leigh walked over and handed me my bouquet.  "When you hear the song change, it's all you," she said with a broad smile.  "You look absolutely stunning, but don't forget to smile."

Laughing immediately before I started to walk down the aisle proved to be a positive thing.  I smiled, I didn't cry, I didn't trip.  And as soon as I saw Brody waiting for me, I did forget about everyone else.

I had never questioned wanting to see Brody and take photos before the ceremony, but I did worry that walking down the aisle towards him wouldn't be nearly as special as it could have been if we wouldn't have seen each other.  I was wrong.  He was still looking at me as though it was his first time seeing me, and it was perfect.  Halfway down, I got a little emotional and a couple tears escaped, but I managed to mostly keep it together.  When my dad handed me off to Brody, Brody paused and brushed the tears off my cheeks before taking my hand.  The simple gesture made several people in the crowd say, "Awwww," which drew my attention back to the fact that there were indeed over 50 other people in the room.  But at this point, I didn't care as much.

Our ceremony was short and simple, with just two brief readings done by Jen and Kinsley and our vows.  When it came time to exchange the rings, I felt a brief moment of panic.  I had no idea if Lauren had Brody's ring or not.  Luckily, when I turned, she handed it to me.  When I watched Brody put my wedding band on my finger, I did a double take.  I looked up at him, and he was watching me and grinning.  I looked back down, because the ring he'd just slid onto my left hand was not the plain band I'd picked out and purchased.  In fact, it looked suspiciously like the drawing Don had made of the potential custom band.  I looked back up at Brody, and mouthed, "What is this?"  He just shrugged and mouthed back, "Your ring."

"Olivia?"  I looked up, realizing that the officiant was waiting for me to repeat her words and put Brody's ring on.  I blushed, and she repeated the words that went along with the ring ceremony.  I got them out without tangling them and slid the ring onto his finger.

I barely heard the officiant tell us we could kiss, because I was entranced by her saying we're now husband and wife.  I smiled shyly at Brody and he stepped forward, tugging me towards him by my hands.  Then he slid his hands around my waist and kissed me.  Everyone clapped, but I didn't care  about them anymore.  When our kiss ended, he leaned his forehead against mine and whispered, "I love you, Olivia."

"I love you too," I replied, and he kissed me again.


We met our officiant in a smaller room down the hall from the banquet room.  We all signed the marriage license, and she congratulated us both.  As she collected the document and stepped out, Brody looked at me with concern.  "Are you okay?" he asked, not for the first time today.

I thought I was keeping it together pretty well, but I should have known that I couldn't hide it from him.  "I am," I said, smiling at him.  "Just a little overwhelmed."

"Let's take a few minutes?" he suggested.  I nodded.  He kicked the door to the room shut, then walked back over to me and hugged me.  I leaned into him, breathing in his scent.  Soap, cologne, and mountains.  The familiar scent comforted me.

There was a plush, overstuffed couch in the room, and he sat and pulled me into his lap.  I leaned down to kiss him, and he smiled against my lips.  When we broke apart, he kept his hand on my face, lightly brushing his thumb across my cheekbone.  "You're easily the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he said softly and sincerely.

The look on his face made me melt, and I shifted so I could (carefully) lay my head on his shoulder.  "Thank you," I said.  "I love you."

"I love you too, Liv," he replied, stroking my back between my shoulder blades.  "I can't believe how wonderfully everything came together.  You did a great job."

"We did a great job," I corrected him.

He chuckled.  "Well, okay, but you did more than I did.  Especially the little details."

"You want to talk about little details?" I asked, looking at him.  "What is this?" I held up my left hand and waved it around a little.

He laughed.  "That's the ring that Don designed for you.  If you don't like it, we can't take it back, because it's a custom piece.  So you're stuck with it."

"I love it," I said, smiling while I looked at.  "But I would have been okay with the plain band.  It's not about the ring."

"I want you to have something that you love, not something that you're just okay with, even if it's not about the ring," he said, shaking his head.  Then he grinned.  "Don said he could tell you really liked the sketch, and he couldn't figure out why you didn't want it.  I knew exactly why you didn't want it, and I decided to disrespect your wishes and have him make it anyway.  Are you mad at me?"

"No," I said smiling.  "But don't make a habit out of disrespecting my wishes."

"I only did this time because it seemed like you really did like this one better," he assured me.  "I hoped it would be a nice surprise."

"It was," I said, turning my head to kiss him again.

We sat together in the small room, chatting for a couple minutes, then just silently enjoying each other's company for a few more.  Finally, I stood and said, "I'm ready when you are."

"Kiss me again, then I'm ready," he said, smiling.  I happily obliged him, hooking my arms around his neck and kissing him deeply.  "Mmm," he groaned, pulling away and then resting his forehead against mine.  "Can we just skip the reception and go back to the hotel?"

I laughed and stood, tugging on his hand.  "No way, I'm starving.  You need to feed me first."


I barely made it past dinner before I was irritated with my hair.  Even though it was cool outside, it was warm in the restaurant, and even lighter wedding dresses are heavy and hot.  The back of my neck was damp with sweat and my hair was sticking to it, leaving sticky hairspray remnants behind.  Kinsley saw me pulling at my hair and swatted at my hand.  "You're going to make all the curls fall," she scolded me.

"I want it off my neck," I said, frowning.  "Can you fix it?"

She pulled me into the bathroom and dumped the contents of her clutch on the counter.  She fished out a plastic bag full of bobby pins.  "In case of emergency," she said, grinning.  She started pinning pieces up, and within 10 minutes she had my curls all pinned loosely to my head in a cute, makeshift updo.  "Will that work?" she asked.  She held out a compact mirror and I looked at the back.

"I like it!" I said.  "Thank you."  I looked down and saw that what had been a half-full snack sized ziploc bag of bobby pins now only held a handful.  That was going to be fun to get out at the end of the night.

We left the bathroom and made it back to the banquet room, where I wandered around until I found a few people at a table that I hadn't gotten much of a chance to chat with yet.  I sat down and was there for about 15 minutes before Brody walked up.

"Dance with me?" he asked, holding his hand out to me.

I smiled and set my wine down on the table.  "Of course," I replied, standing and taking his hand.   We had split up for a little while to chat with our guests and I felt like it had been hours since I had seen him last.  He pulled me close to him on the dance floor and I sagged against him.  I was tired already; it had been a long day.  I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes as we danced, enjoying the couple minutes that I could shut everyone else out and be close to my new husband.

"Are you having fun?" he asked me.

I opened my eyes and nodded.  "Are you?"

"I am," he replied.  "I'm getting tired though."

"Me too," I agreed.  "What time is it?"

I felt one of Brody's hands move from my waist, and his head moved as he looked at his watch.  "11:40," he replied.

I laughed.  "It's not even late.  I feel so old."

"Well, you are an old married woman now, so I guess it makes sense," he joked.  I shook my head, then nestled it back against Brody's shoulder, closing my eyes again.

When the song was over, we made our way to the table where Lynn, Lauren, Alex, and Jen were sitting.  We were only there for one song before James approached the table.  When we'd been making the guest list, I hadn't even mentioned James.  I figured Brody would be firmly against it.  He was the one who brought him up and we decided to invite him.  He smiled as he walked up.  Looking between me and Brody, he asked, "May I dance with the bride?"

Brody laughed and said, "If you think I have any say at all in who my wife dances with, you don't know her very well."

I rolled my eyes and smacked him playfully in the arm.  "That's enough out of you," I said, laughing.

"See?" Brody asked pointedly.

James laughed as I stood.  He held a hand out to me and I took it.  "I'll be back," I said to Brody.

"This is the easiest way to talk to you," James said, as we made our way onto the dance floor.  "You're a popular woman tonight."

"Yeah," I said, smiling.  "I guess that's what happens when you wear a long white dress to a wedding!"

James chuckled.  "Well, congratulations.  I can't believe how happy you look.  Beautiful too, of course.  Can I say that?  Your husband isn't going to break my face for saying that, right?"

"Not unless I tell him to," I said, smiling sweetly at him.  He laughed and shook his head.

"Where are you guys going for your honeymoon?" he asked.

I shrugged.  "I actually have no idea," I said.  "All I know is we're leaving Monday and we're gone for 12 days.  And that it's tropical."

"Well, I'm sure it won't disappoint."

"I'd be shocked if it did," I answered.  "So, no Haley?"

James snorted.  "No.  No Haley," he confirmed.  "That was over before we even made it back into town after camping.  Some day I'll find someone who isn't crazy and won't leave me abruptly for their future husband.  Maybe."

I laughed.  "Maybe," I agreed.

When the song was over, James walked with me back to the table we'd left, and sat down next to Lynn.  I sat in the chair next to Brody, and he took his eyes off Jen to smile at me.  He slid his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him, trying to figure out what he and Jen had been talking about.  She was telling a story and I had clearly missed the important information, so I just relaxed against Brody and listened quietly to the sounds around me.  Music, laughter, and conversation were coming from all directions, and it made me smile.  That was exactly what I had wanted our wedding day to be like.

Just You and Me

I had barely knocked on the door when Lynn threw it open and shrieked.  "It's about time!  I'm so excited!"

"Where have you been?" Lauren asked, frowning at me.

"Having breakfast with my soon-to-be-husband, Mother," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Speaking of your mother, she came here looking for you about 20 minutes ago," Lynn said.  "You should call her and let her know you're here."   I fished my phone out of my purse and did exactly that.  While I was on the phone, someone knocked at the door.  It was the stylists that were coming to do our hair and makeup, and I was pleased that we had decided to spend the extra to have them come here.  I didn't really feel like trekking out anywhere right now.  I let my mom know that I was here and she said she'd be around in a little while.  I also sent a text to Jen, who texted back immediately that she and Thalia would be there in a few minutes.  I'd invited them both to get ready with us and they had happily agreed.

Erin, the stylist that would be doing my hair, directed me to a chair and got started on my hair.  Everyone else was getting their makeup done as well, but I'd be doing my own.  I never liked it when I got it done, and it was one thing I could have full control over today, which eased my nerves slightly.  I showed Erin the picture of what I wanted for my hair, and she seemed a little disappointed that I wanted something so simple.  But it fit my requirements: down, out of my face, and would work perfectly with the beautiful jeweled combs my mom had given me.  When it came to my hair, my usual style was relatively simple, and I didn't want to do anything too drastically different.  Erin quickly hid her disappointment and got to work curling my hair.  

Jen, Thalia, and my mom all arrived shortly after, and we all sat around chatting while Lauren and I got our hair done.  Lynn and my mom would be next, then Jen and Thalia.  While Erin was working on getting my curls just right, there was another knock at the door.  I gave Lynn a weird look, because she was the only person in my current line of sight, and Jen jumped up to answer the door.

"Ken?" I heard her say.  "What's this?"

"Special delivery courtesy of the groom," came Ken's voice.  Jen laughed, and my mom got up and walked over to the door as well.

"Whatever it is, thank you, Ken!" I called.  "I can't move my head or I'd come say hi."

"You're welcome, Olivia," he called back.  "I won't interrupt, I'm just the errand boy.  Enjoy your day!"

I thanked him again and then saw what Jen and my mom were carrying in.  Several to-go cups from the nearby coffee shop, a bottle of champagne, plastic champagne flutes, and orange juice.  Jen handed me an envelope, grinning.  "Did you know about this?" I asked her.

"Yes," she replied.  "Someone had to make sure all the coffee orders were right!"

I laughed as Lauren said, "You guys are already thinking alike."  I had sent a bottle of nice Scotch with Alex for him to give to Brody for them to enjoy.

I carefully took the cup Jen offered me.  "Large dirty chai for you," she said.  She handed out the rest of the coffee as I sipped mine, then set it to the side and opened the envelope.

Inside was a card, and on the inside of the card, in Brody's crooked, boyish handwriting, was written, "I figured you could all use some caffeine to get you through your marathon of getting even more beautiful than you already are.  Then I thought that the caffeine might make you even more jittery than you probably already are, so I threw in some champagne to help you with that.  I've been looking forward to this day since I first met you, and I can't wait to see you.  I'm sure you'll be even more beautiful than I can imagine, and I'm already the luckiest man in the world.  I love you."  

I bit my lip, this time a little overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness.  Lynn said, "If you're going to cry, do it now before you have makeup on!"

"Like that will stop her from doing it later," Lauren quipped.

"Shut up!" I said, laughing.  At least laughing stopped me from crying.  The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed quickly, and it wasn't long before my mom was handing me a sandwich and insisting that I eat something.  I did as she asked, chewing mechanically, barely tasting anything.  We opened the champagne and drank mimosas with our lunch.  The champagne did little to calm my nerves, which were now in full force.  I was looking forward to seeing Brody in a couple hours when we did our first look, because I knew seeing him would help a little.

When it was time to put on my dress, shoes, and jewelry, I got oddly calm.  That lasted all the way until my dad knocked and came into the room.  When he saw me, his face lit up, but then he blinked hard a couple times.  "Don't you dare," I warned him, feeling my own emotion bubbling up in my throat.  "I just finished my makeup and I have to go take pictures."  Lauren, Lynn, Thalia, and Jen excused themselves, leaving just me, my mom, and my dad in the room.

"Sweetheart, you look beautiful," my dad said, smiling at me, his face filled with emotion.

"Thank you," I said shyly.  "I feel...nervous."

"You don't look it," my mom said helpfully.  I smiled gratefully at her.  My dad pulled me into a careful hug, conscious of my hair and makeup.  "Here," my mom said, handing me a champagne flute.  "Finish it up."  I laughed.  I knew I could count on her to not be too sappy.  She was just like me--a hopeless romantic failure.  I sipped the delicious champagne as my mom and dad chatted for a couple minutes, then when Lauren texted me that the coast was clear and Brody was where we were meeting for our first look, we walked to the elevator.

Much to our photographer's disappointment, we didn't want him in the room for our "first look".  We wanted the time together to be intimate and without an audience.  The hotel had allowed us to use one of their smaller conference rooms that wasn't being used for another event, so it could be completely private, but so we could still check out of our rooms.  One of the hotel staff directed me to the right room while my parents joined Lauren and Lynn, who were waiting in the lobby.

I pushed the door open, and Brody--who had been looking out the window--turned as I came in.  I wish I could describe the look on his face, but I think the most obvious indication of his feelings was that he had absolutely nothing to say for several seconds.  He just stared at me.  "Hi," I said softly, feeling a little self-conscious.

"Liv," he replied, closing the space between us with three steps.  "You're absolutely gorgeous."  He placed his hands on my upper arms, holding me at arm's length while his eyes traveled up and down.  He reached out and gently touched my necklace--the one his mom had given me.  "Wow."

"You look pretty damn good yourself," I replied, laying on my hands on the lapels of his jacket and smoothing invisible wrinkles away.  I bit my lip, trying not to get emotional.  "Thanks for the coffee and the champagne," I said to distract myself.

"You're welcome," he said, pulling me closer  "And thank you for the Scotch."  He kept his hands on my arms but leaned down and kissed me softly.  "Can I hug you?  Or will I ruin your hair and makeup and dress and day and life?"  I laughed and hugged him, feeling much calmer.  He hugged me back carefully.  "I have to admit I was little nervous," he said, his arms still around me.

"About what?"

"I was nervous you wouldn't look like you," he said.  "I always see people's wedding photos, and I think, 'Nope, that's not you.'  It's weird when people don't look like themselves on their wedding day.  You look like you, and you look beautiful."  He very gently touched a curl of hair, then grinned and said, "I have something for you."

I narrowed my eyes.  "We weren't going to do gifts," I protested.

"It's not a gift," he replied.  "It's something you need.  And anyway, what do you call that expensive Scotch you supplied us with?"  He had me there, and I shrugged.  He turned and grabbed a small flat wrapped box from the table behind him.  I hadn't even noticed it.  He handed it to me and I carefully removed the ribbon and the paper, then opened the box.

I gasped as the gorgeous diamond and pearl bracelet was revealed.  "Brody..." I said softly.

"You have a necklace and earrings, I didn't want your wrists to feel left out," he said, smiling at me.  He lifted the bracelet--which coordinated amazingly well with the jewelry his mom had given me--out of the box and then gently took the box from my hand.  I held out my right wrist and let him clasp the bracelet around it.

"It's beautiful," I murmured, turning my hand this way and that so the diamonds caught the light and the slightly iridescent pearls shimmered.  I raised my eyes to his.  He was watching me, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.  "Thank you," I said, stepping towards him and reaching for his hands.  I tugged him closer and kissed him.

"You're welcome," he replied, his lips moving against mine.

We took a couple more minutes to ourselves, then emerged from our little room into the world.  We had picked out a pretty park to take some pre-wedding family and wedding party photos at, and we all got in vehicles to go there.  We had a shuttle running from the hotel to the wedding venue, and everyone else would head back there after pictures to get the shuttle, while Brody drove the two of us there.

By the time we were almost finished taking photos, I was starting to get crabby.  It was a combination of nerves and just being over being told to smile and look this way and sit like that.  Brody, picking up on my crabbiness, asked the photographer for a break.  He focused on taking some pictures of our small wedding party, my parents, and Brody's family.  Brody, meanwhile, was making stupid faces at me behind the photographer's back.  He soon had me cracking up, and our photographer managed to snap a few quick, candid pictures of me laughing my ass off and Brody making ridiculous faces at me.  Those are probably getting framed.

Before I knew it, it was time to head towards the venue.  The photographer was following us there because there were a few pictures we wanted to take in a spot closer to the venue.  We got there just in time to get the sunset pictures that I wanted, then headed to the restaurant.  I jiggled my leg nervously as we drove until Brody reached across the center console and laid his hand gently on top of it.

Lauren was waiting outside the restaurant when we got there, and she walked up to the car. "I'm supposed to wait with you, Liv," she said.  "And you," she looked at Brody, "Are supposed to go inside right away."

Brody must have seen the anxiousness in my eyes at that, because he squeezed my leg reassuringly.  We both got out and I walked around to his side of the car and let him pull me into a tight hug.  "I can't wait to marry you," he said, smiling at me.  I smiled back.  He laid his hands lightly on either side of my face, just like he had that morning.  "Don't be nervous," he said softly.  "Just you and me, remember?"  I nodded and closed my eyes as he kissed my forehead, then pressed his lips to mine.  "See you soon," he said, grinning at me. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied.  I took a deep breath and watched him walk toward the restaurant.

Last Minute Preparations

This one is a liiiiittle shorter than my normal posts, but it made sense to cut it off where I did, so that's what happened.  The next guaranteed post will be Friday.  I'd like to be able to get one up tomorrow but I can't promise that.  And Thursdays are pretty crazy for me.  So, stayed tuned to see if I can pull off anything on Wed or Thurs, but I promise a post for sure on Friday!  (And on Saturday, for that matter.)

_______________________________

As I had predicted, Friday morning hurt.  Brody woke me up as gently as possible at 8:30, which was when I had requested to be woken up (I made that request while sober, knowing that Drunk Liv would have other ideas).  "Nooooo," I groaned, shoving my face deeper into the pillow.

"I know, it sucks," Brody said, with way more sympathy than I deserved.  "But you have a list of things we need to do before the rehearsal, including a 2pm salon appointment."

I groaned again, but rolled onto my back and opened one eye.  "Fuck," I said.

Brody laughed.  "Come on.  Get in the shower and I'll make some breakfast.  And coffee."

"No, no food," I protested.  "Coffee yes.  And tylenol."

"Coffee, tylenol, water, and something we can take on the road for when you inevitably decide you're suddenly starving. Got it.  Oh, and here.  Drink this first."  He handed me a bottle of Gatorade, which was a welcome sight.

"I don't deserve you," I replied, sitting up and trying not to groan again.  "You're amazing."

"I know I am, but you definitely do deserve me," he said with a chuckle.  "Up." I took the bottle of Gatorade and tentatively took a drink.  When I didn't immediately feel the need to throw up, I drank about a third of it.

Once I got myself dragged into the shower, I realized I didn't feel quite as awful as I probably deserved to.  I felt significantly better following the Gatorade and shower, at least.

When I came downstairs, dressed, hair blow dried, and a little makeup on, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table watching me.  "What?" I asked.

"How are you feeling?" Jen asked casually.

"Better than I deserve to," I replied.

"That was not the song you were singing 30 minutes ago," Brody was quick to point out.

"Brody was fearful for his life when he went up to wake you," my mom said helpfully.

I rolled my eyes and immediately regretted it.  I still had a hell of a headache.  "I did feel pretty awful when I woke up, and I definitely don't feel great, but I'll survive," I amended.

When we got to Colorado Springs, the first thing we did was drop off a couple final payments.  "Should we go pick up our rings?" I asked Brody.

"Nah, I can get them while you're getting your nails done," he offered.  So we went and checked into our hotel, which we were lucky enough to be able to check into early, and confirmed everything with room reservations.

I sat on the bed in the hotel room and made confirmation calls to all our vendors (more to soothe my anxiety than anything).  Then we went and got lunch before Brody dropped me off at the salon, where I was meeting Jen, my mom, Thalia, Lynn, and Lauren to get our nails done.

The rest of the day was a blur of rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and hanging out with our rehearsal dinner attendees for awhile after dinner.  I stayed far away from the alcohol, cringing at just the thought of drinking.  Finally, around 11, we left the restaurant we were at and headed back to our hotel.

"I'm glad we're spending the night together," I said, as Brody closed and locked the hotel room door behind us.  Most people had been shocked to find out we weren't sleeping separately the night before the wedding, but we didn't care.  I knew I'd sleep better if we slept together, and I wasn't worried about jinxing our marriage by seeing him prior to the wedding.

He looked at me and lifted his eyebrows suggestively.  "Me too," he replied.  "Is there some rule about having sex the night before your wedding?"

"I'm sure there is, and I also don't care," I said, closing the space between us and slipping my arms around his neck.  He grinned as he kissed me and lifted me off the floor.  I wrapped my legs around his hips as he walked over to the bed and sat down.

He pulled his lips from mine and looked at me seriously.  "I can't believe that by this time tomorrow, you're going to be my wife," he said softly.  He traced his fingers along my hairline and down to my jaw, then wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled my mouth back to his.  I pushed my hands into his hair and tugged lightly, and he groaned against my lips.

I'm not entirely sure how we got our clothes off, because our lips barely parted the entire time.  Even after we finished, we laid next to each other with our foreheads pressed together, our noses touching, and our lips close enough that when we talked, they brushed the other person's.

I didn't think I'd sleep at all that night, but Brody wore me out quite effectively, and I slept really well.  I didn't wake up even once, until I heard the hotel room door opening and quiet voices.  I sat up, confused, and was instantly grateful we were in a suite with a separate bedroom because I heard Brody thanking someone and assumed it was a hotel employee.  He or she would have gotten a nice view when I sat up if the bed had been visible from the door.

"You're awake," Brody said softly, coming back into the bedroom.  He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but notice his hair was perfectly disheveled from sex and sleep.  I wondered if I'd ever look at him and not feel insanely attracted to him--then quickly hoped that never happened.

"I am," I agreed.  "Who was that?"

"Room service," he replied.  He held out one of his t-shirts to me.  "Come have breakfast with me."  I sat up and took the t-shirt he offered, pulling it over my head.  Brody looked at me appreciatively.  "You look so much better in that than I ever will."  I blushed, which made him laugh.  He grabbed my hand and pulled me against him, kissing my forehead and hugging me tightly.  "I love that I can still make you blush," he said, still chuckling.

"It's not like it's hard," I retorted, but I smiled and followed him out of the bedroom

"I hope you don't have breakfast plans," he said, looking at me questioningly.  I shook my head.  In truth, I had been so caught up in making sure that everything else for today was perfect that I hadn't even thought about what I'd eat this morning.  "I know today is going to be crazy, so I wanted to have a little time with you to myself before the circus starts."

"That sounds perfect," I said, impressed--but not surprised--by his thoughtfulness.  I was grateful for it, as well.  The more I woke up, the more jittery I got.  It was nice to be able to take a half hour to enjoy breakfast with Brody before I moved into the crazy part of the day.  He had ordered omelets, French toast, bacon for him and sausage for me, fruit, coffee, and orange juice.  "Thank you," I said, smiling at him.  "This looks amazing."  We sat at the small table in the living area of the hotel room and ate.

As the food disappeared, I got quieter as my nerves took over.  I wasn't at all nervous to marry Brody, but I kept thinking about all the people.  I wished I could channel high school Liv, because she adored being the center of attention.  That part of me had disappeared somewhere around my junior year in college.  Now the idea of saying vows in front of 50 people had me on the verge of panic.

Brody took the tray and dishes and set everything on the counter, then pulled me up out of my chair.  "Are you okay?" he asked, a hand on either side of my face.  I nodded.  He frowned skeptically.  "You don't look okay."

"I'm nervous," I admitted.  "I know 50 people is a fairly small wedding, but right now it sounds like so many."

"I have a feeling that once it starts, you'll forget all about them," he murmured, taking his hands off my face to wrap his arms around me.  "I know I will.  As far as I'm concerned, it'll just be you and me."  I nodded, leaning against him and taking a couple deep breaths.  "And you're going to look so beautiful that even if you trip or something, people will still be jealous."  I laughed then andv felt a little calmer.

"Should we test that theory?" I asked, my voice muffled by his shirt.  Now Brody laughed.

"No, let's not," he said.  "Just believe in it."

I stayed for a few more minutes, but then it was time for me to leave to go to Lynn and Lauren's suite to get ready for the day.

Tomorrow's Going to Hurt

Brody made it home shortly after I went to bed around 11:30.  I was still awake, and I rolled over and said hi to him.  He jumped a little, not expecting me to be awake.  "Hi," he said softly.  "Did I wake you up?"

"No, I wasn't asleep yet, I just went to bed," I assured him.  I reached over and flipped on the lamp next to the bed so he could see.  He changed quickly, went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and was in bed with me in 5 minutes.

"You don't have to tell me where we're going," I said, "But can you tell me how to pack?  For real, not 'as little as possible.'"

He chuckled and kissed my shoulder.  "Pack like you packed for Mexico," he said.

"Thank you, I can handle that."  We chatted for a few more minutes, then our conversation dropped off as we both got sleepy.

Brody was, once again, gone when I woke up.  That was the pattern for the rest of the week, as well.  With my mom's help, we finished up all the last minute tasks we could do from afar by lunch on Wednesday.  My parents declined the opportunity to ride with me to the airport to pick up Jen, electing instead to hang out on the deck, which they both loved.

I pulled up outside the airport and spotted Jen right away.  I got out and waved, and she ran over, pulling her suitcase behind her.  "Hi, almost-sister-in-law!" she squealed, letting go of her suitcase to throw her arms around me.  "Thank you so much for coming to get me!"

"Hi!" I greeted her cheerfully.  "And it's no problem at all."  We got her suitcase into my car and took off towards home.  We chatted excitedly the whole way.  I really wish that Jen lived closer, because I adored her.

"So, am I going to get to see my brother at all before Friday?" she asked as we got closer to home.

I snorted.  "I wouldn't count on it," I informed her.  "He's been getting home between 11 and midnight and is gone before I get up in the morning.  He's trying to get as much done as possible before Friday."

"I had a feeling that would be the case," she admitted.  "Oh well, I'd rather hang out with you anyway!"  I laughed and we continued talking until I pulled in the driveway.  I showed Jen to her room and then took her out on the deck to say hi to my parents.  Just like Brody, Jen could talk to anyone, and easily engaged in conversation with my parents, even though she'd only met then once at our surprise engagement party.

My dad grilled pork chops and we ate on the lower level of the deck and hung out with glasses of wine until long after it got dark.  Jen helped me clean up and do the dishes, then went to bed, pleading exhaustion after a long day.  My parents followed shortly after, and I decided to also go to bed.

I was brushing my teeth when I heard the garage door opening.  By the time I was out of the bathroom, Brody was in our room, taking off his tie.  "My sister make it?" he asked.

"She did.  She went to bed about 45 minutes ago."

He frowned.  "I came home a little earlier hoping I'd catch her before she went to bed.  That sucks."

"I'm sure I could cheer you up if you wanted," I said, cocking an eyebrow suggestively at him.

He smiled sadly.  "I love your brand of cheering up, but I am just exhausted," he said.  "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," I said.  I smiled as I closed the distance between us and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him.  "I understand completely."

I got in bed while Brody finished getting ready for bed.  He came out of the bathroom, turned off the light, and got into bed, snuggling up to me.  "I changed my mind," he said, kissing the back of my neck.  We had the laziest sex possible, then both fell asleep almost immediately after.

I woke up fairly early the next morning and heard voices downstairs.  I made my way down there and found my parents, Brody, and Jen sitting at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.  "You guys are loud," I complained grumpily.

"Have some coffee, honey," my mom and Brody said simultaneously.  The table erupted in laughter at this while I rolled my eyes and walked over to the Keurig.

"There's a Cafe Vanilla in there waiting for you," Brody said, turning to watch me.

"You are way too nice to her," my mom informed him.

"You know, Brody, I think we should have made my parents stay in a hotel after all," I grumbled as I grabbed the clean mug sitting next to the Keurig.

"Too late for that," he said.  He was next to me, putting his plate in the sink.  "I'll wash these tonight," he said.

"I'll get them," my mom replied.  "Don't you worry about that."

"Thanks, Karen," he said, grinning at her.  He slid an arm around my waist and kissed my cheek.  "I've got to go, baby.  I'll probably beat you home tonight, if Jen has her way."  I heard Jen giggle from behind me.

"Okay," I replied, still not fully awake.

"Have fun tonight, I love you," he said.

"I love you, too," I replied.  I turned my head so he could kiss me and Jen said, "awwwwww" from the table.

"Can it, little sister," Brody said.  He stopped to ruffle her hair like she was a little kid and she shrieked angrily at him.  He laughed, said goodbye to my parents, and headed out.

Once I was fed, caffeinated, and awake, I took my parents on a brief tour of some of town.  We were meeting Lynn and her parents for lunch after their flight, and in the meantime, I showed them around a bit.  My parents had never been to Denver, and I made them promise to come back sometime when I wasn't getting married in a matter of days so they could be proper tourists.

I was so excited to see Lynn when we met at 1 that I absolutely shrieked and hugged her on the sidewalk like an over-excited child.  "I am so excited you're here!" I yelped, my arms still around her.

"I'm so excited I'm here!" she replied.  When we finally pulled away from each other, I hugged her parents in turn as Lynn hugged mine.  Then I ushered everyone inside because I was starving.  Breakfast was really early, and it was past my normal lunchtime.

The restaurant employees probably hated us, because thanks to Lynn and I, we were the most obnoxious table in the restaurant.  After lunch, I asked Lynn if she wanted to come home with me for the afternoon before we went out.  She happily agreed, and I followed them to their hotel so she could get a change of clothes.

My parents let her sit in the front seat so had more room for her legs, which she still (and maybe never would be able to) couldn't keep bent for long periods of time without pain.  We chatted excitedly the entire way home, while my parents laughed at us from the back seat.

When we got home, Jen greeted Lynn like an old friend and we grabbed a bottle of wine and went out onto the deck.  This was something we'd been doing every day this week and I was happy to soak up the warm sun for as long as possible before winter happened.

Jen wanted us to go out tonight, and had roped Kinsley, Kendra, and Lauren into joining us too.  We were meeting for dinner and then having a few drinks.  Meanwhile, my parents, Lynn's parents, and Lauren's mom were doing the same thing, somewhere else.  Brody had taken my car to work today and left his 4Runner so we had a little more space in the car, since Jen had offered to drive us and my parents into town.

So, while Jen nursed her single glass of wine, Lynn and I quickly finished the rest of the bottle and opened another.  By the time we needed to leave for dinner, I was reasonably drunk, which was hilarious to Lynn.  Probably because she wasn't much better off than I was.

We managed to change and Jen and Lynn admired my expertly applied liquid liner.  "It's impressive for a sober person, and unbelievable for a drunk person," Jen said, ushering us towards the door.

"I'm not drunk," I protested.  Jen and Lynn exchanged looks and burst into laughter.  "Okay, well I'm not a lot drunk," I amended.

"You're the drunkest person in this house," my very not-drunk father informed me.  They were waiting by the door, watching Jen try to gently herd us in that direction.

"And I'm done for the night, because the last thing I need is to get myself hurt," Lynn said.  Accident aside, Lynn had a terrible track record for injuring herself while drinking.  In college she'd actually broken her ankle stepping off a curb funny very late one Saturday night.

"Yeah, we all need to be able to walk on Saturday," I replied.

"And right now we need to move out the door," Jen said.  "Go.  We have reservations."

So out the door we went, finally.  We were only 10 minutes late, which was pretty impressive with how slowly we were moving before we left.  Dinner helped me become more reasonable, but the night quickly got out of hand after that.

"This is like a sort-of bachelorette party," I declared drunkenly as we left one bar that was way too crowded and moved to the next.

"It is now that you're drunk and fun," Lauren joked.

I stopped walking, trying to decide if I wanted to be offended or not.  "It's okay that you think I'm boring," I said finally, starting to walk again.  "I'm okay with that."

Lauren looked at me strangely and Kinsley, who was also pretty drunk, said, "What the fuck are you even talking about?  Did Lauren call you boring?"

Lynn quickly steered the conversation into more neutral territory, and to be honest my memories for the rest of that part of the night are a little patchy.  I do remember that everyone was facilitating my excessive drinking.  I constantly had a drink in my hand, and half the time I didn't even know where they came from.  My glass would be empty, and one of them would pluck it from my hands and replace it with a full one.

Eventually we had to leave and pick up my parents.  I slept through the entire ride home.  "Liv, you have to get up and go to bed," Jen said when we parked.  I felt her gently shaking my shoulder.  "Come on, Liv."

I groaned and turned my head.  I was comfortable.  "I'll sleep here," I slurred.

"Brody will kill me if I let you sleep here.  You should come in and drink some water."

"Jesus, what did you do to her?" Brody's voice sounded really far away as he joined Jen in the garage.  "I've never seen her this drunk."

"Don't look at me," Jen replied, holding her hands up.

"Come on, Liv," Brody said gently.  "Up.  I am not carrying you."  I opened my eyes, glared at him, and then sat up.  Everything spun as I sat up and I groaned.  Brody helped me out of the car and into the house, then sat me down at the kitchen table.  He brought me a glass of water and sat down across from me.

"I want to go to bed," I said.

"You'll thank me tomorrow if you drink that water first," he replied.  I drank half the glass of water, then decided I was hungry.  Brody made me a sandwich, which I ate happily.  Things weren't spinning any longer, though my head was still fuzzy.

"I can't feel my lips," I said, poking at my bottom lip.

Brody laughed and shook his head.  "You are ridiculous when you're really drunk, do you know that?"  I narrowed my eyes, then quickly popped them open all the way because doing that made me dizzy.  Brody laughed again at my expression.

"Fine, you just sit there and laugh.  That's fine.  I'll just eat my sandwich and go to bed."

"That would be great," he said.

By the time my sandwich and water were gone, I was at least able to walk up the stairs without Brody's help, which was an improvement from when we left the bar and Jen had to basically shove me into the car.

Brody sat on the bed while I washed my face and brushed my teeth, talking to me.  "You know, you're a pretty tame drunk," he commented.  "You didn't yell, or cry, or do anything really stupid."

"How do you know I didn't do anything stupid while we were out?" I mumbled around my toothbrush.

"Because Jen texted me that you're the weirdest drunk ever.  She said you just got really cheerful and happy about everything, then got super quiet as you went past the point of reasonably drunk."

"I talk a lot when I'm drunk," I replied after I spit out my mouthful of toothpaste.  I walked out of the bathroom, tugged my shift dress over my head and dropped it on the floor, and got into bed.  "But I don't get drunk much and I already regret it."

"Why?" Brody asked, switching off the light.

"Because tomorrow's going to hurt," I answered, right before I fell asleep.

Just Turn Left

YOU GUYS!  IT'S WEDDING WEEK!

It coincides nicely with hitting 1,000,000 (yes, that's one million!) views, which should happen sometime early this week.  Insane!  In celebration of wedding week and one million views, I'm going to do my absolutely damnedest to get you guys at least 4 posts this week.  I'd like to shoot for 5, but I don't want to make a promise I can't keep.  The wedding is written, minus a few chunks and some editing, so I should be able to pull it off.  

Just a note on the wedding:  I decided to focus not on the wedding details but on the interactions that happen throughout the day.  And the wedding is not the end.  We'll do a honeymoon post or two, and then there will be a final post.  And you'll know it's the final post.  I assume we'll get there late next week.

After the final Liv and Brody post, I'm going to take a week or two off before I jump into Kinsley and Lauren's stories.  As part of my final year in my grad program, I have to complete a clinical research project.  I'm in the process of completing my proposal and will be working on my IRB stuff come the end of this month/beginning of next.  If you've done human subjects research, you know my pain.  If you haven't, just trust me when I say the IRB process is the single worst part of research.  

Alright, I'll stop babbling and get to the post in a second.  But I want thank you all again!  1,000,000 views is not a thing that I ever thought would happen, and it's super cool.  Thank you all for reading, commenting, supporting, clicking that little "loved it!" or "meh" button, emailing, and asking for posts that pushed me to write a better story for you guys.

Alright, I'm shutting up now :)
___________________________________________

On Saturday, I had booked us an early afternoon couples massage.  While I was perusing the spa menu, I'd also remembered Brody had liked the pedicure I'd peer pressured him into in Miami, so I booked one of those for each of us as well.

We slept late enough that we had to order lunch from room service instead of breakfast.  I was surprised to find Brody still in bed next to me when I woke up.  He so rarely slept in, but clearly needed the extra sleep.  We dragged ourselves out of bed when our lunch arrived, then got ready and went down to the spa for our massages and pedicures.

After our afternoon at the spa, I claimed the shower first.  We had dinner reservations at one of the hotel's restaurants, and it wasn't quite time to get dressed and ready, so I rooted through Brody's bag and pulled out one of his t-shirts.  I slipped it over my head and curled up on the couch with my Kindle while Brody showered.

When Brody came out of the bedroom, wearing just a pair of athletic shorts, he asked, "What time did you say dinner is?"  Then he looked at me, seemed to forget his question, and requested, "Come here."

I gave him a weird look.  "Dinner is at 7:30," I replied.

"Forget dinner.  Have I ever told you how much I love when you wear my clothes?"  He walked over to the couch and pulled me up, kissing me hungrily.

"What is it about women wearing men's clothes?" I asked, slightly breathless, as he kissed and bit at my neck.

"It's not any men's clothes," he replied, pausing his attention to my neck.  "It's my clothes.  I don't understand it anymore than you do, but it's hot."  Brody wasted little time, sliding his hand up my leg and pressing a finger inside me.  I groaned and gripped his arms to steady myself.  Within minutes he had me bent over the arm of the couch, gasping in pleasure as he pushed into me.  He leaned forward and kissed along my spine as he thrust into me, making me shiver in pleasure.

When we were finished, we collapsed in a half dressed heap on the couch, where we remained until it was time to get ready for dinner.  My hair was a mess from air drying, so I pulled it up into a sleek, high bun.

Our dinner was amazing, and we lingered at the restaurant over dessert and the rest of our bottle of wine.  After dinner, we wandered to the bar, had one more drink, then went back up to our room.  We spent the rest of the evening curled together on the couch, enjoying not having anything else to worry about.

On Sunday morning we stayed in bed until we had to get up to check out, then after taking our bags out to the car, we came back inside for brunch.  We lingered once again, enjoying our food without a rush.  I knew when we got home that I'd lose Brody to work and probably would hardly see him until Friday.

Finally, we finished up, paid the bill, and left.  We were 5 minutes from home when Brody suddenly said, "Turn left up here."

"Why?" I asked.  Left was not the way we wanted to go.

"Just turn left," he insisted.

"Okay, okay!" I slowed, hit my turn signal, and turned left where he indicated.

"Shit," Brody muttered.  "That was the wrong left."  I tried to stifle my automatic sigh and followed his directions.  Finally, he directed me to pull off the road and park.  I parked in the grass on the side of the road and raised an eyebrow.  He leaned over the center console, looking at my feet.  "Put on some better shoes," he said, motioned to my ballet flats.

"What kind of shoes?" I asked, baffled.

"Did you bring sneakers or something?"

"Yeah, I always keep a pair in here." I turned in my seat and fished them off the floor of the backseat, holding them up for his approval.   He nodded and I got out so I could dig some socks out of my bag.  I sat on the tailgate so I could swap my shoes.  I assessed my clothes and decided that my leggings and cowl-neck tunic sweater were fine for the impromptu walk Brody had apparently decided on.

When I shut the car and locked the doors, Brody reached for my keys, tucking them into his pocket for me.  He grabbed my hand and we walked down the side of the road.  "I think it's right up here..." he mused quietly.  Sure enough, in a few seconds we stumbled upon a trail leading away from the road.  He looked at me, smiled sheepishly, and shrugged.  "I'm not ready to go home yet."

"How do you find all these little random trails?" I asked.

"I've done a lot of driving and walking around here," he said, shrugging.  "When I finally got my shit together and knocked off with the partying every night, I was still really restless.  I worked a lot, but sometimes I couldn't justify staying there, or I couldn't stand to look at my computer and office anymore.  So I drove.  And walked.  A lot."

"Makes sense," I said, nodding.

We walked quietly for awhile.  Once we got away from the road, the path was wide and fairly flat.  We walked hand in hand, in no hurry.  We continued along the path for about 20 minutes before Brody sighed and said, "I guess we should head back.  I really do have some work to get done."

"And I need to get the house clean," I said in agreement.

Brody laughed.  "The house is always clean since you've moved in," he said.

"You don't understand my mom," I replied, shaking my head.  "I need to clean the baseboards."

Brody gave me a look that was a mixture of confusion and horror.  "The baseboards?  As in, the pieces of wood that run along the bottom of the wall?"

"Yes," I said patiently.

"People clean those?"  I gave him a withering look and he laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.  He kissed the side of my head and then said, "Your parents' house has always been really clean."

"Because my mother is a crazy person."

"Do you want some help cleaning, then?" he asked.

I was impressed that he'd offer to help with how much work he had to do after being away all weekend.  "Thank you," I said, "but I've got it.  They're my parents, I can handle cleaning.  You get your work done."

"Okay," he said, shrugging.  "Let me know if you change your mind."

"I will," I agreed.  "Thank you for spending the whole weekend with me."

"Thank you for planning it.  I think we needed this, badly."

"Yeah, I was about ready to kill you," I said, chuckling.

He smirked and said, "The feeling was mutual, don't worry."

We made our way back to the car and finished the short drive to our house.  Brody disappeared into his office while I started cleaning like a mad woman.  I finished around 7:30, feeling fairly satisfied.  I was sure my mom would still find something wrong with it, but she would regardless, so I might as well not kill myself cleaning.

I perused the fridge, freezer, and pantry, turning my nose up at the limited options.  I found nothing that I actually wanted, so I took out stuff for sandwiches and made one for me and two for Brody.  I knocked on his office door, and he called for me to come in.  "Dinner," I said with a sheepish shrug, delivering his sandwiches.  "I need to go grocery shopping, apparently."

Brody grinned.  "This is fine," he said.  "Thank you."

I left Brody's office, poured myself a glass of wine, grabbed my Kindle, and headed upstairs to the bathroom.  I filled the tub and lowered myself into it, relaxing into the hot, scented water.  I soaked in the tub for over an hour, then got out, dried off and got dressed, and went back downstairs with my Kindle.  I switched the laundry and relaxed on the couch with my Kindle until I tired enough to go to bed.

Brody was still working when I went to bed, and he was up and gone before I got up.  I had a text from him saying he was sorry to sneak out but didn't want to wake me, and that he'd see me at 8 for dinner with my parents.  I got up, put a couple finishing touches on my cleaning, then headed into town.  I went to the gym then out to the airport to meet my parents' flight.

After I picked them up, I took them with me to the grocery store and we picked up some groceries for the week, then continued home.  "You live out here?" my mom asked in surprise, looking at the gorgeous, huge houses we were passing.

"Yes," I replied.  "Our house isn't quite as big as these."

"This is a beautiful neighborhood," she said.  I took them on a quick tour of the neighborhood before driving home, showing her the park around the corner and the gigantic, beautiful stone house at the very end of the dead end road that I desperately wanted.

Finally I pulled into the garage.  My parents helped me bring the groceries in, and once she set the bags down, my mom went straight to the sliding glass doors to the deck.  "Wow," she said wistfully.  "We don't get scenery like this in Wisconsin."

I quickly put the groceries away as my parents looked out the window, then I took them out on the deck.  I gave then a tour of the two-level deck.  My dad, as I knew he would, loved the outdoor kitchen.  "Can I use this grill this week sometime?" he asked.  I laughed and told him I'd be delighted if he did.

When we made our way back up to the top level of the deck, I pointed out to to the west.  "You can see the foothills of the Front Range," I told them.  I took them inside and showed them the house.  I took them downstairs to their room.  We had decided, since they were here longer, that they would get the downstairs guest room.  It had a little more space with the second living room down there.  Jen would stay in the second floor guest room for the couple nights she was here.

After my parents were settled in, we took a bottle of wine out onto the deck and I briefed them on the plans for the week.  We were having dinner with Brody tonight, but that would quite possibly be the only night this week we would get to see him for dinner.  He had a lot to get done this week before he was off for two weeks.  Tuesday I had a full day of last minute wedding stuff planned, which my mom was practically gleeful about.  Jen was flying in Wednesday evening, and Lauren's mom, Lynn, and Lynn's parents would arrive Thursday morning.  Jen had requested a girl's night out on Thursday.  I invited my mom and Lauren and Lynn's moms, but my mom decided that the parents should have their own night out.  Friday we had manicure and pedicure appointments, and then we were caravanning down to Colorado Springs.  I had just a couple last minute things to do there, then we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

My dad looked completely overwhelmed by the time I was done.  My mom immediately started talking about all the things she could help with.  I looked at my dad, and we exchanged smirks.  "I'll make dinner while you girls do wedding things," he said.

"Works for me!" I replied.

My parents both showered and changed before we went to dinner, and when we got the restaurant, Brody was already there.  One thing I could count on was that he would be on time, or at least let me know if he was going to be late.  I was grateful for that.  Brody hugged my mom and shook my dad's hand, then we followed the hostess to our table.

Brody did a great job of pretending that he wasn't itching to get back to work, through the meal, but I could tell he was impatient by the time our server dropped off the bill.  Brody smoothly snatched the it before my dad got it, paid, and then smiled apologetically.  "I have to get back to work for a little bit," he said.  "I'm sorry I can't hang out for longer."

"That's okay," my dad said, waving him off and interrupting my mom who had started to talk.  "Get your work done.  I know what it's like to have a long vacation looming and feeling the pressure to get everything done."

We went our separate ways, and as soon as we were in my car, my mom said, "He sure does work a lot.  How is that going to work when you have a family, Olivia?"

I took a deep breath before I answered.  "Well, he actually just took the entire weekend off to spend with me," I replied.  "And he's taking over two weeks off for the wedding and honeymoon.  He's gotten much better since we started dating.  And you know I don't want kids any time soon.  His goal is to have his business at a place where he can take a less active roll by the time we decide we want to have kids.  He's working on getting everything in place already, so I'm not worried about it."

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw my mom purse her lips.  "He's always prioritized our relationship when he needs to," I continued, seeing that she needed more convincing.  "We had our moments early on, but remember how he dropped everything to fly to Wisconsin after Lynn's accident?"

"Yes, that was very nice," my mom agreed reluctantly.

"Do you really think Liv would marry someone that couldn't meet her needs?" my dad asked.  "He is obviously more than capable of taking care of them financially.  She is clearly head over heels in love with him.  And she's not an idiot.  So she wouldn't marry him if he wasn't meeting her emotional needs."

"Okay, okay!" my mom said, holding up her hands in surrender.  "You're right.  It's just...my baby is getting married, and I want her to have everything I didn't have until I married you, Chris.  And I want her to have everything I do have now that I have you.  And I worry.  You know I worry."

"I'm really glad you threw in that part about worrying," I commented mildly.  "I was about to throw up my dinner from your romance overload."

"Olivia Renee!" my mom said, but she was laughing.

"I see Denver hasn't changed you one bit," my dad said, and I saw him shaking his head.

I just grinned into the darkness, thankful that some things never change.
_____________________

Expect the next post Monday night!

Meet Eddie

A bonus!  We haven't had one of those in awhile :)  Look for a third post sometime late Friday or on Saturday.  
_________________________________________

I used my Friday morning to finish up the rest of my wedding-related tasks for the week, including booking our rehearsal dinner at the place we'd decided on the night before.  Then I headed into town, went to the gym, stopped at the grocery store to pick up something to make for dinner and some snacks in preparation for Sarah to spend Saturday night.

I was looking forward to Sarah's visit.  I'd only talked to her a couple times since she had just showed up in Denver and called me in a panic.  She had been worried because she'd heard Nadine talking about how Sarah and AJ's mom wanted to try to get custody of them.  In our last conversation, she'd told me that they had to go to court in October but that it didn't sound like their mom would be successful.

After picking up a few groceries, I headed home.  I did a little cleaning and then started making dinner.  Brody, with his amazing timing, made it home just as dinner was done.  "You're earlier than I thought you'd be," I greeted him cheerfully, setting down the dish towel I'd just swiped over the counter to wrap my arms around his neck.

"Slow week," he replied, dipping his head down to kiss me.  "Though I probably shouldn't say that out loud, since I'm on call."  I wrinkled my nose and he laughed.  "How long until dinner's ready?"

"It's done," I said, peeling myself out of his arms and turning off the stove.  Brody tugged his tie off and laid it on top of his jacket, which he'd draped over the back of a chair when he walked in.  He grabbed plates and silverware and put them on the table, then unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up.  By the time I made it to the table, he'd pushed his hands through his hair, messing it up significantly, kicked off his shoes, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.  I chuckled.  He had gone from put-together businessman to half undressed in a manner of minutes.  "Why don't you just go change?" I asked.

"Because it's time to eat and I'm hungry," he replied.  "And because upstairs is really far away."

After we ate, Brody insisted on cleaning up.  I didn't make him argue too hard, and happily let him do the dishes I hadn't already done.  We spent the night relaxing on the couch with a movie, and it was an excellent night in.

On Saturday, Brody actually slept in with me and we got up and made breakfast together.  After we ate, he disappeared into his office for awhile to do some work.  He emerged again around 4.

"Leave in about a half hour?" he asked, looking at his watch as he moved my feet to sit down on the couch.  I promptly plopped my feet in his lap and nodded.

"I just need shoes and I'm ready," I replied.  Brody entertained himself for the next 20 minutes by rubbing my feet and distracting me while I tried to read.  Small price to pay for the foot massage!

We headed into town.  We were going to go meet Eddie, the dog Pete was looking for a home for, before we had dinner with Nadine, Jon, AJ, and Sarah.  Brody drove us to a nice residential neighborhood, and we stopped in front of a good sized, well cared for house on a corner.

When we rang the doorbell, we heard two sharp barks, a muffled command, then silence.  A second later, the door swung open.  Pete greeted us cheerfully and ushered us in.  "The wife is out running some errands," he said.  "She might be back while you're here, she might not.  Can I get you anything?"  We both declined and I took a second to appreciate the home's decor.

"That is gorgeous," I said, pointing to a print hanging on the wall above their couch.

Pete grinned.  "Thank you.  I'd love to take credit, but Serena has an eye for that kind of stuff."  He motioned for us to sit, and I did, noticing a huge, copper colored dog sitting near the corner of the room, warily watching Brody and I with large, intelligent eyes.  "This is Eddie Mac," Pete said, motioning to the dog.  One of his ears flicked towards Pete, but his warm brown eyes stayed locked on us.

Brody laughed.  "Eddie Mac?  He must have good hands."  I looked at Brody, confused.  "Ed McCaffrey was a wide receiver for the Broncos in the 90s and early 2000s."

"Oh," I said.  Obviously.

Pete released Eddie and he walked straight to me.  I let him sniff my hand, and after a thorough inspection he licked it once and dropped his head into my lap.  He leaned gently against my legs, nudging me with his huge head.  I laughed and scratched the top of his head.  He manipulated his head until I was rubbing his ear, then relaxed onto my leg, letting his tongue flop out happily.

"I think he likes you," Pete said, laughing.

"I'm feeling a little left out," Brody said, pretending to pout.

I withdrew my hand from Eddie's head and said, "Go lick him to death!"  He kept his head in my lap, nudging me gently, for a few more seconds, then trotted over to Brody and repeated the process.  He didn't get quite as comfortable, but he looked pretty happy.  "He's so well behaved," I commented.

"They were training him to be a service dog," Pete explained.  "Their son has seizures, and apparently service dogs can help.  He was almost done with the training, but then they had to move, and their son got really sick, and it just got to be too much for them."

Brody grinned, and Eddie pulled his head away from him and came back over to me.  "He could be a therapy dog," Brody suggested.

"You don't have to sell me on this," I said, laughing.  "I don't know why you think you do."  Eddie put an experimental paw on my leg.  When I didn't scold him, he sat up on his haunches and put his other paw on my other leg.

"That's bad manners," Pete said, chuckling.  Eddie gave him the dog equivalent of a side-eye and shimmied closer to me.  After a minute of slowly creeping, his chest and belly were shoved between my shins and his forehead was shoved against my stomach as I scratched his ears with both hands.

"He's hugging you," Brody crowed, laughing.  "You have a new friend."  

We stayed for another half hour, and Eddie happily laid on my feet the whole time.  When we got up to leave, he followed us to the door.  He obeyed Pete's command to sit several feet away from the door but watched me forlornly.  "Look," Brody said, "He's sad.  He wants to go with you."

"I would love for him to come with me, but then we'll have to leave him again in a few weeks and that's not fair to him," I said firmly, though my resolve was waning.  It hadn't taken me long to fall in love with Eddie.

"Well?" Brody asked as we left.

"I love him," I declared, grinning.

Brody chuckled.  "He loved you.  I was getting a little jealous."

I snorted.  "You got plenty of attention from me last night."

"Oh no, I meant jealous of you.  I wanted more attention from the dog!" He smirked and bumped my shoulder with his as he stopped to open his car door for me.

"Of course you did," I said, laughing.  He paused before he shut the door and leaned in to kiss me.

Once he was in, he looked at me.  "So, we'll pick him up when we get back from our mysterious honeymoon?" I asked.

Brody grinned.  "I guess that's okay," he replied, pretending to consider it.  "I'll let Pete know."

We got to the restaurant where we were meeting Nadine, Jon, AJ, and Sarah a little early, and we headed inside to get a table.  I kept an eye on the door, and waved when I saw them walk in.  We stood to greet them, and I hugged Nadine, then Jon.  Sarah smiled shyly but slid into a chair without hugging me, which was fine.  AJ gave me a quick hug and said, "You didn't tell us you were getting married.  Are you marrying this guy?" He pointed at Brody.

I laughed and Nadine scolded him.  "AJ, that's rude.  At least sit down first."

Once we were seated I said, "Yes, I'm marrying this guy.  This is my fiancé Brody.  Brody, you met Nadine and Jon briefly, you know Sarah, and this is AJ."

"I'm 10," AJ said matter-of-factly.

"That's awesome," Brody replied, grinning.  "I would have guessed 11."

"Really?" he asked, wide-eyed.  Then he turned to Nadine.  "See?  I told you I looked older in this shirt."  I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh, as Nadine nodded patiently.

I caught Sarah rolling her eyes, and we exchanged and quick smile before she ducked her head back down, letting her curtain of hair fall in front of her face.  The streaks of color that had been purple the first time I met her were now bright turquoise.  "I like the new color," I said.

"Thanks," she said softly.  Her eyes darted to Brody and then back down to the table.  She was so painfully shy, which was the only thing about her that didn't remind me of myself at that age.

"So you must be so excited," Nadine said.  "3 weeks!"

"Yes, 3 weeks," I agreed, smiling.  "The last couple months have gone really quickly."

"Is there anything we can help with?"

I shook my head.  "I don't think so.  Thanks, though!  Brody's mom has been helping, and my parents will be here a whole week before to help with some of the last minute stuff."

"Oh," Brody said suddenly, looking like he just remembered something.  "I was supposed to have you call Jen.  She wanted to know if you wanted her to come early."

"When was I supposed to call her?" I asked, confused.

"A couple weeks ago, maybe?" he replied sheepishly.  "Sorry."

Jon and Nadine laughed, and Nadine nudged me and said, "Get used to that."

"I'll call her tomorrow," I said, laughing.

"So, speaking of your parents," Nadine said, quietly and hesitantly.  "Do they know we're coming?"

I smiled kindly.  "They do," I said reassuringly.  "My mom is happy that you guys are a part of my life."  Nadine looked visibly relieved.  I was stretching the truth just a little bit, I guess.  My mom didn't really care either way as long as I was happy, and had volunteered on her own that she would be perfectly polite and respectful--you know, just in case I was worried.  I hadn't been, until she had mentioned it.

The rest of the dinner went well.  Brody charmed the entire table as usual, and I longed for that skill.  He was truly comfortable around just about anyone.  That was probably what made him so good at his job and so successful with his business.  Sarah was quiet, but she was at least making eye contact by the end of dinner, which was a success in itself.

After dinner, Brody and I walked to Nadine and Jon's car to get Sarah's overnight bag.  She was spending the night with us.  Brody offered to take the bag and Sarah surprised me by handing it over.  I touched her shoulder gently and smiled.  "Ready to go?  Do you need to grab anything else, or is there anything we should stop and pick up while we're in town?"

"No thanks, I'm ready," she replied, smiling a real smile for the first time since she'd walked into the restaurant.