Hi guys! I have a few updates for you.
1. Tomorrow you get your first glimpse into Savannah's world. Just an FYI, Savannah's posts are a little shorter than most of what I've been posting lately. It was way too long for one post, and there wasn't a good place to break it up in the middle. It broke perfectly into three, so that's what I went with.
2. I have had several requests for Alex's perspective on Brody and Liv. Ask and you shall receive! I'm working on it right now. I don't really have a good place to insert it into what I already have planned and written, so I'm planning to post it as a bonus next Tuesday :) I love the requests, and I've gotten some really great ideas from your comments, so keep them coming.
3. I am on vacation all next week. I'm not taking my laptop with me, but I have posts all written and scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6am CST. (And Tuesday, as soon as I get Alex's post done.) Barring any technology issues, you guys shouldn't even notice I'm gone. If, for some reason, a post doesn't post on time, feel free to shoot me an email or a comment and let me know. I should be able to post them fairly easily from my phone, so I will take care of it when I can.
4. Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! You guys help me bring Liv's story to life and make it a ton of fun to write. If you ever have questions or requests or feedback, I love to hear from you.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Brody's Perspective--Meeting Liv
Hi readers! If you're confused why you're reading about Brody's perspective on meeting Liv today, you probably missed my accidental double post on Monday. You can find Monday's first post here and the second one here. Hope you enjoy seeing Liv through Brody's eyes. Let me know what you think in the comments, and if you'd like to see more posts like this! Thanks, as always, for being such loyal and awesome readers!
___________________________________
I hated this place. This was my least favorite happy hour spot, but Savannah and Kendra like it, so here we are. I'd had a hell of a day at work and I wasn't really in the mood for Savannah's giggling. I was trying to ignore her and just talk to Alex, when Alex's eyes drifted over my shoulder.
"Wow," he breathed. I turned and followed his eyes. I saw Lauren first. Then my eyes fell on the tiny blonde girl next to her. That must be Lauren's friend that just moved here. And wow was right. She was absolutely gorgeous. She looked like she was barely over 5 feet tall and slim, with subtle curves that were perfectly proportionate to the rest of her.
"Who's that?" Savannah asked with disdain.
"I assume that's Lauren's friend from Wisconsin," Alex answered, not taking his eyes off her.
"She's short," Savannah sniffed.
Alex shook his head. "She's hot."
"Yeah," Savannah said haughtily, "if you're into that sort of thing."
Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm into anything that looks like that." Savannah made a face and turned to Kendra.
By this point, Lauren and the tiny blonde had made it to our table. Lauren introduced her as Olivia, and she smiled shyly at us. They sat down, and Olivia ended up right next to me. I was worried that she might be one of those girls that looks amazing from far away, but once you get close, you realize her face is crooked or something, but she was even prettier up close. She had a great smile and huge golden brown eyes. She also seemed to be completely unaware of just how beautiful she was.
"Brody!" Christian yelled from the other side of the table. "You said you were getting the next round!" He held up his empty glass. Mine was almost empty too, and Lauren and Olivia hadn't even gotten drinks yet.
I took orders, then turned to Olivia. "I'll need an extra set of hands, want to join me?" I asked. Alex shot me a dirty look, but he hadn't called dibs. She agreed and we walked up to the bar. I ordered all our drinks then turned to her.
"So, Wisconsin, huh? What part?"
She smiled shyly again. That smile was killing me. "I'm from a small town outside Madison," she responded. "I went to Wisconsin for school, so I've lived in Madison for awhile."
I nodded. "And what brings you to Colorado? Not that we aren't pleased to have you, of course." I flashed what I hoped was a charming smile.
"I needed a change. Have you been to Wisconsin? The weather is awful. Pretty much year round too, minus about two weeks in May and two weeks in September or October. Plus, there aren't any mountains in Wisconsin, and my life is better when there's mountains."
"That's a pretty cute Wuh-skaaaahhhhn-sin accent you have," I teased her.
She laughed. "Yeah, because I haven't heard that one before," she shot back. Sense of humor, that's good. Her eyes fell to the small Omega symbol I had tattooed on the inside of my bicep. She reached out and brushed her fingertips across it. I had a sudden urge to kiss her. "What's it mean?" she asked.
"It's the Greek letter Omega," I explained. She shook her head.
"I know what it is, but does it mean something to you?"
"Yeah, it means '19 and stupid'," I said with a laugh. She laughed too.
"That's too bad. I had the 19 and stupid disease once too, but I must not have had it badly as you did, because I didn't get any tattoos." She flashed a more confident smile at me. It lit up her whole face, and the urge to kiss her got stronger.
Our drinks were all ready and I paid the bartender. Olivia helped me carry the drinks back to the table. We continued our conversation for a few minutes until Savannah came over. She stood between my chair and Olivia's, awkwardly towering over us, and asked Olivia a bunch of questions. I recognized the smile pasted onto her face as the one she reserves for people she'd like to push in front of a train. She turned to me. "Hey, come here, I wanted to show you something that Christian showed me!" she said. She grabbed arm and pulled, leaving me little choice.
I gave Olivia an apologetic look and then went with Savannah, intending to return to my conversation with Olivia as soon as possible. I watched as Alex quickly engaged her in conversation, then as they disappeared back to the bar awhile later.
"Are you even listening to me?" Savannah's voice was dangerously close to a whine. I looked up at her.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked. She continued, rambling on about some phone app.
We decided to order food, and as soon as I could get away from Savannah, I went back to my seat. Alex and I spent the next hour engaged in what could best be described as a pissing contest, fighting for Olivia's attention. She did a pretty good job of dividing it between us, but I was getting agitated at Alex.
When Lauren came over and said she was going to get a cab, Olivia said she was going too. I opened my mouth to offer to walk them out, but Alex was faster. He walked with them towards the door. I was irritated at myself for being mad at Alex. I didn't want to fight with him over a girl. I finished my drink and decided that I'd head out too.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk just in time to see Olivia walking towards a cab at the curb. I stopped next to Alex.
"She say yes?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Huh?" Alex said. He was still watching Olivia get into the cab.
"You asked her out, didn't you? What did she say?"
"Oh," he responded. "Yeah, I did. She said she wanted to get settled before she did any dating here." I nodded. It was better than her saying yes to him, but it wasn't quite as good as her saying no to him.
Wait, what was I thinking? I couldn't believe that I was actually happy that a girl had turned down one of my best friends. 'That sucks, man," I said sympathetically. He nodded, and we walked toward the parking lot we were both in.
As I got in my car, I thought about what Alex had said: that she wanted to get settled before she did any dating. That meant that even if she wasn't interested in Alex, she wouldn't want to go out with me either. I considered this. Waiting on a girl wasn't really my style, but I was seriously intrigued by Olivia.
Then, I realized that she was friends with Lauren. I mean, I knew this all along, but it occurred to me that Lauren would probably talk, especially if Olivia happened to express any interest at all in me. I wondered what she would tell her. Not for the first time, I cursed my year of indiscriminate sex here. That pretty much made up my mind for me. I would wait. I would wait, and get to know her. I would start by inviting her to my barbecue on Saturday.
___________________________________
I hated this place. This was my least favorite happy hour spot, but Savannah and Kendra like it, so here we are. I'd had a hell of a day at work and I wasn't really in the mood for Savannah's giggling. I was trying to ignore her and just talk to Alex, when Alex's eyes drifted over my shoulder.
"Wow," he breathed. I turned and followed his eyes. I saw Lauren first. Then my eyes fell on the tiny blonde girl next to her. That must be Lauren's friend that just moved here. And wow was right. She was absolutely gorgeous. She looked like she was barely over 5 feet tall and slim, with subtle curves that were perfectly proportionate to the rest of her.
"Who's that?" Savannah asked with disdain.
"I assume that's Lauren's friend from Wisconsin," Alex answered, not taking his eyes off her.
"She's short," Savannah sniffed.
Alex shook his head. "She's hot."
"Yeah," Savannah said haughtily, "if you're into that sort of thing."
Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm into anything that looks like that." Savannah made a face and turned to Kendra.
By this point, Lauren and the tiny blonde had made it to our table. Lauren introduced her as Olivia, and she smiled shyly at us. They sat down, and Olivia ended up right next to me. I was worried that she might be one of those girls that looks amazing from far away, but once you get close, you realize her face is crooked or something, but she was even prettier up close. She had a great smile and huge golden brown eyes. She also seemed to be completely unaware of just how beautiful she was.
"Brody!" Christian yelled from the other side of the table. "You said you were getting the next round!" He held up his empty glass. Mine was almost empty too, and Lauren and Olivia hadn't even gotten drinks yet.
I took orders, then turned to Olivia. "I'll need an extra set of hands, want to join me?" I asked. Alex shot me a dirty look, but he hadn't called dibs. She agreed and we walked up to the bar. I ordered all our drinks then turned to her.
"So, Wisconsin, huh? What part?"
She smiled shyly again. That smile was killing me. "I'm from a small town outside Madison," she responded. "I went to Wisconsin for school, so I've lived in Madison for awhile."
I nodded. "And what brings you to Colorado? Not that we aren't pleased to have you, of course." I flashed what I hoped was a charming smile.
"I needed a change. Have you been to Wisconsin? The weather is awful. Pretty much year round too, minus about two weeks in May and two weeks in September or October. Plus, there aren't any mountains in Wisconsin, and my life is better when there's mountains."
"That's a pretty cute Wuh-skaaaahhhhn-sin accent you have," I teased her.
She laughed. "Yeah, because I haven't heard that one before," she shot back. Sense of humor, that's good. Her eyes fell to the small Omega symbol I had tattooed on the inside of my bicep. She reached out and brushed her fingertips across it. I had a sudden urge to kiss her. "What's it mean?" she asked.
"It's the Greek letter Omega," I explained. She shook her head.
"I know what it is, but does it mean something to you?"
"Yeah, it means '19 and stupid'," I said with a laugh. She laughed too.
"That's too bad. I had the 19 and stupid disease once too, but I must not have had it badly as you did, because I didn't get any tattoos." She flashed a more confident smile at me. It lit up her whole face, and the urge to kiss her got stronger.
Our drinks were all ready and I paid the bartender. Olivia helped me carry the drinks back to the table. We continued our conversation for a few minutes until Savannah came over. She stood between my chair and Olivia's, awkwardly towering over us, and asked Olivia a bunch of questions. I recognized the smile pasted onto her face as the one she reserves for people she'd like to push in front of a train. She turned to me. "Hey, come here, I wanted to show you something that Christian showed me!" she said. She grabbed arm and pulled, leaving me little choice.
I gave Olivia an apologetic look and then went with Savannah, intending to return to my conversation with Olivia as soon as possible. I watched as Alex quickly engaged her in conversation, then as they disappeared back to the bar awhile later.
"Are you even listening to me?" Savannah's voice was dangerously close to a whine. I looked up at her.
"Sorry, what did you say?" I asked. She continued, rambling on about some phone app.
We decided to order food, and as soon as I could get away from Savannah, I went back to my seat. Alex and I spent the next hour engaged in what could best be described as a pissing contest, fighting for Olivia's attention. She did a pretty good job of dividing it between us, but I was getting agitated at Alex.
When Lauren came over and said she was going to get a cab, Olivia said she was going too. I opened my mouth to offer to walk them out, but Alex was faster. He walked with them towards the door. I was irritated at myself for being mad at Alex. I didn't want to fight with him over a girl. I finished my drink and decided that I'd head out too.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk just in time to see Olivia walking towards a cab at the curb. I stopped next to Alex.
"She say yes?" I asked, trying to sound casual.
"Huh?" Alex said. He was still watching Olivia get into the cab.
"You asked her out, didn't you? What did she say?"
"Oh," he responded. "Yeah, I did. She said she wanted to get settled before she did any dating here." I nodded. It was better than her saying yes to him, but it wasn't quite as good as her saying no to him.
Wait, what was I thinking? I couldn't believe that I was actually happy that a girl had turned down one of my best friends. 'That sucks, man," I said sympathetically. He nodded, and we walked toward the parking lot we were both in.
As I got in my car, I thought about what Alex had said: that she wanted to get settled before she did any dating. That meant that even if she wasn't interested in Alex, she wouldn't want to go out with me either. I considered this. Waiting on a girl wasn't really my style, but I was seriously intrigued by Olivia.
Then, I realized that she was friends with Lauren. I mean, I knew this all along, but it occurred to me that Lauren would probably talk, especially if Olivia happened to express any interest at all in me. I wondered what she would tell her. Not for the first time, I cursed my year of indiscriminate sex here. That pretty much made up my mind for me. I would wait. I would wait, and get to know her. I would start by inviting her to my barbecue on Saturday.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Girls' Night Fail
Whoops! This post wasn't supposed to go up until Wednesday. I was editing it and accidentally posted it without realizing. Since it's already had several views, I'm not going to take it away. This means several things.
You guys get two posts today! If you didn't see Good News, Bad News, scroll down and read that one first. It also means I have to come up with a bonus post for Wednesday, because I won't leave you guys post-less until Friday now. Friday we're going to start Savannah's story. Any requests for Wednesday's post? It won't be something that continues this storyline, but I could do a random post in this storyline, something from someone else's perspective, or we could start Lauren's story (but we won't get back to for awhile, so I'm not totally in love with that idea). I was toying with the idea of doing a post from Brody's perspective about the first time he met Liv, since it seemed like a lot of people want more Brody and Liv and are interested in Brody's perspective. Give me your thoughts in the comments!
______________________________________________
The next week passed in a blur. Brody hadn't ended up being able to get a flight back until Sunday morning. He had been exhausted, and we had passed most of the day lounging on his couch together. It felt good to have a low key day with him, knowing what was facing me at work during the upcoming week.
Monday was spent preparing for my groups that week and seeing clients. In Tuesday morning's staff meeting, Jeremy talked about self-care and pushed its importance considering everyone's increased responsibilities. Feeling guilty, because I'd been not doing much self care, I texted Kinsley on my lunch break for a gym date. We hit the gym after work and I practically fell into bed immediately after. Wednesday was my longest day, and by the time I got into my car at nearly 8pm, I couldn't remember what I had for lunch. I skipped Thursday's happy hour. Brody offered to come hang out, but I insisted he go to happy hour. I didn't want to be "that" couple that couldn't do anything without the other (never mind that we weren't even officially a couple yet), and I kind of just wanted to watch trashy TV and go to bed at 8.
By Friday, I felt a little like a zombie. I tried to bail on girls' night, but an indignant Lauren insisted that doing it weekly had been my idea and I'd feel better once I just got out. When I threatened to wear yoga pants and a ponytail, she told me that if I tried, she would forcibly dress me in something from her closet. I managed to find an outfit that was comfortable but still cute, and I even pulled my straightener through my hair a few times.
Kinsley picked me and Cassie up and and we arrived at Lauren's house. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kendra was there. She and Christian kind of had that boring old married couple vibe, even though they weren't even married yet. Lauren regarded my appearance and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Good, you decided to stop being a funsucker," she quipped, hugging me.
We had a few drinks before we went out. I updated them on how work had been this week and Lauren talked about getting a booty call text from Quinn.
"Can you even believe it? He cancels our date, and then thinks I'm going to come over at 11:30 on a Wednesday night so he can get a piece of ass? What a jerk!"
"Sounds like you dodged a bullet," Cassie said. We all nodded.
Kendra offered to DD for the night, and we quickly accepted her offer. We headed to our favorite bar and wasted no time getting drinks. We even managed to find an unoccupied table. We had been there for no more than 20 minutes when a bored looking waitress came over with a tray full of drinks. "We didn't order anything," Kinsley said. The waitress pointed over her shoulder, set the drinks down, and disappeared without a word. Once she moved, we could see a table of 4 guys who appeared to be in their mid to late 20s looking in our direction.
"They are hot," Lauren muttered, as Kinsley threw her most charming smile in their direction. Kendra and I exchanged skeptical looks. The guys took Kinsley's smile as an invitation and made their way to our table. I groaned.
"Thanks for the drinks, gentlemen," Lauren was saying, practically batting her eyelashes. I love her, but sometimes I judge her less-than-subtle flirting techniques. They introduced themselves. I paid zero attention, and began referring to them in my head as "bad crew cut," "purple shirt," "handsy," (he touched EVERYONE), and "Brett Favre." I smiled at appropriate times and made small talk, but I was distracted by thoughts of going home and going to bed.
Handsy came over to stand next to me. "I didn't catch your name," he said, putting his hand on my arm.
"Olivia," I said, gently shaking off his hand. Irritation flashed on his face, but he quickly pulled his hand away and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Olivia. That's a beautiful name." Is this guy for real? I looked up at him with indifference.
"Thanks."
"So...what do you do for work?" he asked, trying desperately to engage me.
"I'm a therapist," I responded shortly. This guy couldn't take a hint.
"That's cool," he said, before launching into an explanation of what he did. I let my eyes wander over his shoulder. Suddenly Lauren appeared next to me.
"Hey, come to the bathroom?" she asked. I shrugged and followed her. When we got there, she turned on me. "So, I know that guy talking to you is totally lame, but his friend is hot and if you could just pretend to not be a total bitch so I can get laid, I'd appreciate it," she huffed.
"Sorry, Laur," I replied sincerely, ignoring that she'd basically just called me a bitch. "I have no energy left. I will do my best, but I might just grab a cab home in a little bit." Lauren was clearly irritated by this, but nodded curtly.
"Just be polite. Maybe he'll be bugging Kendra by the time we get back out there."
Turns out he wasn't, and I spent the next 45 minutes fending off his friendly advances. He was persistent, that's for sure. I excused myself to go back to the bathroom and when I came out of the stall, Lauren was there waiting.
"I'm sorry. I was totally out of line before. Thank you for trying, you really are the best." She hugged me drunkenly.
"So, are you going to get laid tonight, or what?" I asked her, pushing her off of me.
"Hope so!" she said, turning and flouncing out of the bathroom ahead of me.
15 minutes later, Lauren and Kinsley were walking out with two of the guys. The other two left shortly after. "Should we be concerned?" I asked Kendra. She laughed.
"Nah, they both used to do this shit all the time. And those guys seemed okay. But so much for girls' night! Do you guys want to go home?" I nodded. Kendra drove Cassie and home. Cassie asked if I wanted to come in and hang out for awhile but I declined, and headed for my bed.
Saturday I slept in and went to yoga, and then Brody and I went out to dinner. We spent the night at his house and went hiking on Sunday. I wasn't up for much, but it was nice to get out and get some fresh air.
The next week was similar, except Kinsley was sick and Cassie had to work late, so we scrapped girls' night for the week.
Between the two weeks of the audit, the stressful week after, and the last two weeks, I was dragging on Monday. I was sure I was about to get a lecture when Jeremy showed up at my office door. Instead, he said, "I pulled your hours for the last month. You're way over, and we owe you a little comp time. I'd like you to take a day off sometime this week or next. Maybe Friday or Monday and enjoy a long weekend?"
"A long weekend sounds nice," I mused. "I think Friday will work."
"Alright, consider it done," he said with a friendly smile. "Thanks again for your hard work!" With that, he exited my office.
Brody called me Wednesday evening. "Hey, gorgeous," he said when I answered. "I'm just leaving work. Can I swing by and say hi?" I had texted him the day before about my surprise day off, but other than that, we'd both been too busy to talk much or see each other.
"I'd love that. I am absolutely beat, so don't expect much out of me, though."
"All I'm expecting is seeing you," he replied.
15 minutes later, my doorbell rang, and I got up to let him in. He swept me into a tight hug and kissed the top of my head. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned into him. He guided me over to the couch and sat down, pulling me down into his lap. I curled into his chest. "You look exhausted," he said softly, stroking my hair. I nodded against his chest. "I took Friday off," he said then. I leaned away and looked up at him.
"You did?"
"Yup. I thought we could go up to the cabin, if you wanted to. We could have a relaxing weekend together."
I melted back against him, leaning my head against his shoulder as he leaned back into the couch. "That sounds perfect. Lauren will kill me for skipping out on girls' night, but she owes me big time after the last one!" We just sat there like that for awhile. At some point I must have fallen asleep, and I woke up several hours later, confused how I got in my bed. I rolled over and grabbed my phone to check the time. There was a post-it stuck to it. I shined the light from my phone on it and squinted to read it in the dark. "You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you. I set your phone alarm for you. I'll call you tomorrow, beautiful girl." I smiled and rolled back over, falling asleep with my phone and the note still clutched in my hand.
_________________________________________
Hope you guys enjoyed the unintentional bonus! Don't forget to let me know in the comments what you want to see for Wednesday's post.
You guys get two posts today! If you didn't see Good News, Bad News, scroll down and read that one first. It also means I have to come up with a bonus post for Wednesday, because I won't leave you guys post-less until Friday now. Friday we're going to start Savannah's story. Any requests for Wednesday's post? It won't be something that continues this storyline, but I could do a random post in this storyline, something from someone else's perspective, or we could start Lauren's story (but we won't get back to for awhile, so I'm not totally in love with that idea). I was toying with the idea of doing a post from Brody's perspective about the first time he met Liv, since it seemed like a lot of people want more Brody and Liv and are interested in Brody's perspective. Give me your thoughts in the comments!
______________________________________________
The next week passed in a blur. Brody hadn't ended up being able to get a flight back until Sunday morning. He had been exhausted, and we had passed most of the day lounging on his couch together. It felt good to have a low key day with him, knowing what was facing me at work during the upcoming week.
Monday was spent preparing for my groups that week and seeing clients. In Tuesday morning's staff meeting, Jeremy talked about self-care and pushed its importance considering everyone's increased responsibilities. Feeling guilty, because I'd been not doing much self care, I texted Kinsley on my lunch break for a gym date. We hit the gym after work and I practically fell into bed immediately after. Wednesday was my longest day, and by the time I got into my car at nearly 8pm, I couldn't remember what I had for lunch. I skipped Thursday's happy hour. Brody offered to come hang out, but I insisted he go to happy hour. I didn't want to be "that" couple that couldn't do anything without the other (never mind that we weren't even officially a couple yet), and I kind of just wanted to watch trashy TV and go to bed at 8.
By Friday, I felt a little like a zombie. I tried to bail on girls' night, but an indignant Lauren insisted that doing it weekly had been my idea and I'd feel better once I just got out. When I threatened to wear yoga pants and a ponytail, she told me that if I tried, she would forcibly dress me in something from her closet. I managed to find an outfit that was comfortable but still cute, and I even pulled my straightener through my hair a few times.
Kinsley picked me and Cassie up and and we arrived at Lauren's house. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kendra was there. She and Christian kind of had that boring old married couple vibe, even though they weren't even married yet. Lauren regarded my appearance and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Good, you decided to stop being a funsucker," she quipped, hugging me.
We had a few drinks before we went out. I updated them on how work had been this week and Lauren talked about getting a booty call text from Quinn.
"Can you even believe it? He cancels our date, and then thinks I'm going to come over at 11:30 on a Wednesday night so he can get a piece of ass? What a jerk!"
"Sounds like you dodged a bullet," Cassie said. We all nodded.
Kendra offered to DD for the night, and we quickly accepted her offer. We headed to our favorite bar and wasted no time getting drinks. We even managed to find an unoccupied table. We had been there for no more than 20 minutes when a bored looking waitress came over with a tray full of drinks. "We didn't order anything," Kinsley said. The waitress pointed over her shoulder, set the drinks down, and disappeared without a word. Once she moved, we could see a table of 4 guys who appeared to be in their mid to late 20s looking in our direction.
"They are hot," Lauren muttered, as Kinsley threw her most charming smile in their direction. Kendra and I exchanged skeptical looks. The guys took Kinsley's smile as an invitation and made their way to our table. I groaned.
"Thanks for the drinks, gentlemen," Lauren was saying, practically batting her eyelashes. I love her, but sometimes I judge her less-than-subtle flirting techniques. They introduced themselves. I paid zero attention, and began referring to them in my head as "bad crew cut," "purple shirt," "handsy," (he touched EVERYONE), and "Brett Favre." I smiled at appropriate times and made small talk, but I was distracted by thoughts of going home and going to bed.
Handsy came over to stand next to me. "I didn't catch your name," he said, putting his hand on my arm.
"Olivia," I said, gently shaking off his hand. Irritation flashed on his face, but he quickly pulled his hand away and smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Olivia. That's a beautiful name." Is this guy for real? I looked up at him with indifference.
"Thanks."
"So...what do you do for work?" he asked, trying desperately to engage me.
"I'm a therapist," I responded shortly. This guy couldn't take a hint.
"That's cool," he said, before launching into an explanation of what he did. I let my eyes wander over his shoulder. Suddenly Lauren appeared next to me.
"Hey, come to the bathroom?" she asked. I shrugged and followed her. When we got there, she turned on me. "So, I know that guy talking to you is totally lame, but his friend is hot and if you could just pretend to not be a total bitch so I can get laid, I'd appreciate it," she huffed.
"Sorry, Laur," I replied sincerely, ignoring that she'd basically just called me a bitch. "I have no energy left. I will do my best, but I might just grab a cab home in a little bit." Lauren was clearly irritated by this, but nodded curtly.
"Just be polite. Maybe he'll be bugging Kendra by the time we get back out there."
Turns out he wasn't, and I spent the next 45 minutes fending off his friendly advances. He was persistent, that's for sure. I excused myself to go back to the bathroom and when I came out of the stall, Lauren was there waiting.
"I'm sorry. I was totally out of line before. Thank you for trying, you really are the best." She hugged me drunkenly.
"So, are you going to get laid tonight, or what?" I asked her, pushing her off of me.
"Hope so!" she said, turning and flouncing out of the bathroom ahead of me.
15 minutes later, Lauren and Kinsley were walking out with two of the guys. The other two left shortly after. "Should we be concerned?" I asked Kendra. She laughed.
"Nah, they both used to do this shit all the time. And those guys seemed okay. But so much for girls' night! Do you guys want to go home?" I nodded. Kendra drove Cassie and home. Cassie asked if I wanted to come in and hang out for awhile but I declined, and headed for my bed.
Saturday I slept in and went to yoga, and then Brody and I went out to dinner. We spent the night at his house and went hiking on Sunday. I wasn't up for much, but it was nice to get out and get some fresh air.
The next week was similar, except Kinsley was sick and Cassie had to work late, so we scrapped girls' night for the week.
Between the two weeks of the audit, the stressful week after, and the last two weeks, I was dragging on Monday. I was sure I was about to get a lecture when Jeremy showed up at my office door. Instead, he said, "I pulled your hours for the last month. You're way over, and we owe you a little comp time. I'd like you to take a day off sometime this week or next. Maybe Friday or Monday and enjoy a long weekend?"
"A long weekend sounds nice," I mused. "I think Friday will work."
"Alright, consider it done," he said with a friendly smile. "Thanks again for your hard work!" With that, he exited my office.
Brody called me Wednesday evening. "Hey, gorgeous," he said when I answered. "I'm just leaving work. Can I swing by and say hi?" I had texted him the day before about my surprise day off, but other than that, we'd both been too busy to talk much or see each other.
"I'd love that. I am absolutely beat, so don't expect much out of me, though."
"All I'm expecting is seeing you," he replied.
15 minutes later, my doorbell rang, and I got up to let him in. He swept me into a tight hug and kissed the top of my head. I wrapped my arms around him and leaned into him. He guided me over to the couch and sat down, pulling me down into his lap. I curled into his chest. "You look exhausted," he said softly, stroking my hair. I nodded against his chest. "I took Friday off," he said then. I leaned away and looked up at him.
"You did?"
"Yup. I thought we could go up to the cabin, if you wanted to. We could have a relaxing weekend together."
I melted back against him, leaning my head against his shoulder as he leaned back into the couch. "That sounds perfect. Lauren will kill me for skipping out on girls' night, but she owes me big time after the last one!" We just sat there like that for awhile. At some point I must have fallen asleep, and I woke up several hours later, confused how I got in my bed. I rolled over and grabbed my phone to check the time. There was a post-it stuck to it. I shined the light from my phone on it and squinted to read it in the dark. "You fell asleep and I didn't want to wake you. I set your phone alarm for you. I'll call you tomorrow, beautiful girl." I smiled and rolled back over, falling asleep with my phone and the note still clutched in my hand.
_________________________________________
Hope you guys enjoyed the unintentional bonus! Don't forget to let me know in the comments what you want to see for Wednesday's post.
Bad news, good news
It was so nice to have a normal day on Wednesday. No group, no extra clients, just my clients and my paperwork. I had just one more appointment than my usual Wednesday, because Tuesday's staff meeting had been moved to Thursday this week because of the audit. So I had to shuffle Thursday a little bit, but it was still way better than the last two weeks.
Thursday morning, I was running a little behind. I skidded into the conference room for our meeting with two minutes to spare, and was instantly shocked at the feeling in the room. Normally full of cheerful banter, today the pre-meeting atmosphere was silent with apprehensive tension. Jeremy--our boss--walked in, and the feeling in the room grew even colder.
Instead of sitting like usual, he stood awkwardly in front of the table. "As you all know, we recently had a routine audit with the largest insurance company we work with. Unfortunately, there were some major issues. While the majority of the files they surveyed were in excellent shape, a few of the ones they chose were not good at all. They have elected to take back a significant amount of money due to the issues they found with those files." Murmurs coursed through the room like electricity.
Jeremy cleared his throat, and the room fell silent again. "As some of you already know, at the end of the day yesterday, we let 3 people go. I regret that we had to do this, but we cannot tolerate incomplete and poorly completed paperwork, especially when it leads to loss of compensation for our services. If this had been a state audit, we could have lost our license." He looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. I felt my face grow warm when he met my eyes, even though I was completely on top of my paperwork. "Paperwork is an essential part of your job. I admit we have been lax in policing our paperwork policies, but that is because we have never had any problems before. We've enacted some new policies that are effective immediately. I will pass out paper copies and we will go over them. If you have concerns about your employment here, the terminations, or the new policies, please make an appointment to see me, and I'd be happy to address them."
With that, he passed out the new policies and went through them item by item. I was shocked. If there were going to be more terminations or layoffs, I was still within my probationary period. They had no real reason to keep me. I choked down the panic bubbling up inside me, and tried to focus on the new policies. After the conclusion of the meeting, everyone moved back to their offices in stunned, anxious silence.
I was going through some of the paperwork I had already done, making sure it was compliant to the new polices, when there was a knock at my office door. I looked up, and felt nauseous when I saw Jeremy standing there. "Hi Olivia, do you have a couple minutes?" he asked pleasantly. I nodded, and motioned to the chair next to my desk. He stepped in and closed the door, causing my heart to pound wildly.
"I know that as a new employee, this morning's meeting was probably a little scary for you," he started. I didn't say anything, just silently waited for him to continue. "I just wanted to reassure you. We've been extremely pleased with your work so far. I was impressed with the way you stepped up to help your coworkers the past two weeks. I got positive feedback on the groups you facilitated during that time, and even though I know you were probably stretching yourself a little thin, you always made it here on time with a smile on your face, and that means a lot to our agency." He paused.
"Thank you," I managed, still a little anxious. "I enjoyed the running the groups, actually. I'm glad to hear that you got positive feedback."
He smiled. "Good, because the other reason I came to see you was to ask you if you'd be willing to take on both of those groups for now. We're doing some shuffling of responsibilities due to being suddenly short 3 staff, and everyone is being asked to take on a little extra until we're able to hire and train replacements. Even though groups are not typically something someone within their probationary period takes on, I'm trying to play to everyone's strengths to keep things running as smoothly as possible, and I feel that you have a real strength in group facilitation. What do you think?"
My head was spinning. I thought he was coming in to fire me, and now he's asking me to take on a responsibility that is generally reserved for someone that has been here longer. "I'm flattered that you think I can handle this responsibility. I can definitely do it," I said, trying for a confident smile.
"Good, that's how it will be then. My hope is that once we get people hired and trained, you can keep one of the groups--whichever you want--and give one up, to bring your workload back down to a more manageable level. I'll hold off on assigning you any new clients until I hear from you that you're ready for another, but I don't imagine it will be before we have new staff up and running. Sound fair?"
"Sounds fair," I agreed.
Jeremy stood up and opened the door. He paused and turned at the doorway. "Thanks, Olivia. Keep up the good work."
Once he left, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I felt lightheaded, like I had been holding my breath for too long. I managed to make it through the rest of the day, avoiding my coworkers because most of them were not happy about the news.
When I got to happy hour that night, only Lauren, Kendra, and Christian were there so far. I sat down by Lauren and told them all about my day. I was about halfway through when Brody and Savannah approached the table. Savannah looked completely engrossed in something she was telling Brody, and Brody looked mildly irritated. He sat down next to me, and she next to him, and she continued to yammer on and on. When she stopped for breath a couple minutes later, Brody turned to me.
"Hi," he said smiling, leaning forward to kiss me.
"Ugh, do you guys have to do that here?" Lauren asked in mock disgust.
"I could kiss you too, if you wanted," I said, raising my eyebrows and leaning towards her suggestively.
"Ah! Get out of here!" she shrieked, laughing, shoving me back towards Brody.
"Suit yourself!" I retorted, kissing Brody again instead. Savannah huffed in exasperation on his other side.
I went back to the beginning of the day's events for Brody's benefit. When I finished, Lauren made a face.
"So you're going back to ultra-busy hell?" she asked.
"It shouldn't be quite as bad, and I can do a little prep for my groups at home now that I know I'll be doing it more long-term, so I won't have to spend quite as many hours actually at work. But yeah, I'll probably be pretty busy. Hopefully they hire quickly."
"Well, that sucks. I feel like I've hardly even talked to you for the past couple weeks," Lauren responded.
We made plans for a weekly girls' night, even if it was just watching movies at someone's house. We all hung out for another hour or so, and then people started to disperse.
"How'd you guys get here?" Brody asked, when he, Lauren, and I were the only ones left.
"I walked from work," Lauren reported. "I was going to take a cab home."
"I took the bus," I said.
He offered us both a ride home, dropping Lauren off first. When he got to my house, I asked if he wanted to come in for a little bit. He parked the car and walked in with me.
"So, bad news," he said when we had settled on the couch. I looked at him in surprise. "Sorry, not that bad. Just that I know we had plans on Saturday night, and unfortunately, I have to fly to Chicago tomorrow."
"Chicago?" I asked, not understanding. "For how long?"
"Hopefully not long. One of the company's clients got himself into a little bit of trouble there and I have to go do some problem solving. I'm flying out first thing in the morning and I hope to be back sometime Saturday or early Sunday."
"Oh," I said, relieved. "That's not long. You had me a little nervous!"
"I'm glad you're not too disappointed. I felt bad breaking our plans," he said, apologetically.
"I'm a little disappointed, because I'd certainly much rather see you than not see you, but I understand! If you tell me when you'll be back, I'll pick you up at the airport if you want."
"I would love that," he said, pulling me closer to him. "But for now I'd better make sure you don't forget me while I'm gone." He grinned devilishly at me, then flipped me onto my back on the couch. My yelp of surprise was cut off by his kiss, and soon turned to a moan as he pressed his hips against mine. One hand slipped under my skirt and tugged down my underwear. He shifted to work them all the way off and then flipped them onto the floor. "You won't be needing those," he murmured into my ear, moving his hand back up my skirt. I moaned again as his thumb found its target.
He stood up, taking a condom out of his wallet. I eyed it skeptically. I am generally in the "don't sit on your condoms" camp. "Brand new as of this morning. I promise," he assured me, catching my look. I relaxed as he took off his pants and put it on. I started to wiggle out of my skirt but wasn't fast enough. "Don't bother," he said, pushing it up my hips, out of the way.
"Now who's impatient?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. He silenced any further sassy remarks I might have had by thrusting into me. I moaned and quickly forgot anything but the way he felt. He slid an arm under me and pulled my hips up towards him. I gasped at the change in sensation with the new angle and pressed my face into his shoulder.
Afterwards, we laid side by side on the narrow couch, with his arm anchored around my waist. Good thing too, because when I tried to shift my weight, I almost fell off the couch. "This couch is not made for cuddling!" I said, laughing.
"Hopefully it will keep me from getting too comfortable and wanting to spend the night," Brody said. "I should get going soon, I still need to pack."
"What if I don't let you?" I teased, wiggling around to face him and then clamping my arms and legs around him.
"Sorry, sweetheart, I don't think you're big enough to stop me!" he said with a laugh. He wrapped one arm around me and stood easily, with me still attached to his side.
"Hmph. Fine," I pouted, letting go. He lowered me to the ground. One downfall of my height.
He pulled his pants back on and sat to put on his shoes. When he stood again, he pulled me close and kissed me.
"Let me know you made okay, alright?" I asked.
"I will. I'll let you know when I'll be back too." He kissed me again. We said goodnight and he left. I looked at my phone and was surprised to see it was already after 11. I quickly got ready for bed, doing my best to ignore the dirty dishes in the sink. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Thursday morning, I was running a little behind. I skidded into the conference room for our meeting with two minutes to spare, and was instantly shocked at the feeling in the room. Normally full of cheerful banter, today the pre-meeting atmosphere was silent with apprehensive tension. Jeremy--our boss--walked in, and the feeling in the room grew even colder.
Instead of sitting like usual, he stood awkwardly in front of the table. "As you all know, we recently had a routine audit with the largest insurance company we work with. Unfortunately, there were some major issues. While the majority of the files they surveyed were in excellent shape, a few of the ones they chose were not good at all. They have elected to take back a significant amount of money due to the issues they found with those files." Murmurs coursed through the room like electricity.
Jeremy cleared his throat, and the room fell silent again. "As some of you already know, at the end of the day yesterday, we let 3 people go. I regret that we had to do this, but we cannot tolerate incomplete and poorly completed paperwork, especially when it leads to loss of compensation for our services. If this had been a state audit, we could have lost our license." He looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone. I felt my face grow warm when he met my eyes, even though I was completely on top of my paperwork. "Paperwork is an essential part of your job. I admit we have been lax in policing our paperwork policies, but that is because we have never had any problems before. We've enacted some new policies that are effective immediately. I will pass out paper copies and we will go over them. If you have concerns about your employment here, the terminations, or the new policies, please make an appointment to see me, and I'd be happy to address them."
With that, he passed out the new policies and went through them item by item. I was shocked. If there were going to be more terminations or layoffs, I was still within my probationary period. They had no real reason to keep me. I choked down the panic bubbling up inside me, and tried to focus on the new policies. After the conclusion of the meeting, everyone moved back to their offices in stunned, anxious silence.
I was going through some of the paperwork I had already done, making sure it was compliant to the new polices, when there was a knock at my office door. I looked up, and felt nauseous when I saw Jeremy standing there. "Hi Olivia, do you have a couple minutes?" he asked pleasantly. I nodded, and motioned to the chair next to my desk. He stepped in and closed the door, causing my heart to pound wildly.
"I know that as a new employee, this morning's meeting was probably a little scary for you," he started. I didn't say anything, just silently waited for him to continue. "I just wanted to reassure you. We've been extremely pleased with your work so far. I was impressed with the way you stepped up to help your coworkers the past two weeks. I got positive feedback on the groups you facilitated during that time, and even though I know you were probably stretching yourself a little thin, you always made it here on time with a smile on your face, and that means a lot to our agency." He paused.
"Thank you," I managed, still a little anxious. "I enjoyed the running the groups, actually. I'm glad to hear that you got positive feedback."
He smiled. "Good, because the other reason I came to see you was to ask you if you'd be willing to take on both of those groups for now. We're doing some shuffling of responsibilities due to being suddenly short 3 staff, and everyone is being asked to take on a little extra until we're able to hire and train replacements. Even though groups are not typically something someone within their probationary period takes on, I'm trying to play to everyone's strengths to keep things running as smoothly as possible, and I feel that you have a real strength in group facilitation. What do you think?"
My head was spinning. I thought he was coming in to fire me, and now he's asking me to take on a responsibility that is generally reserved for someone that has been here longer. "I'm flattered that you think I can handle this responsibility. I can definitely do it," I said, trying for a confident smile.
"Good, that's how it will be then. My hope is that once we get people hired and trained, you can keep one of the groups--whichever you want--and give one up, to bring your workload back down to a more manageable level. I'll hold off on assigning you any new clients until I hear from you that you're ready for another, but I don't imagine it will be before we have new staff up and running. Sound fair?"
"Sounds fair," I agreed.
Jeremy stood up and opened the door. He paused and turned at the doorway. "Thanks, Olivia. Keep up the good work."
Once he left, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I felt lightheaded, like I had been holding my breath for too long. I managed to make it through the rest of the day, avoiding my coworkers because most of them were not happy about the news.
When I got to happy hour that night, only Lauren, Kendra, and Christian were there so far. I sat down by Lauren and told them all about my day. I was about halfway through when Brody and Savannah approached the table. Savannah looked completely engrossed in something she was telling Brody, and Brody looked mildly irritated. He sat down next to me, and she next to him, and she continued to yammer on and on. When she stopped for breath a couple minutes later, Brody turned to me.
"Hi," he said smiling, leaning forward to kiss me.
"Ugh, do you guys have to do that here?" Lauren asked in mock disgust.
"I could kiss you too, if you wanted," I said, raising my eyebrows and leaning towards her suggestively.
"Ah! Get out of here!" she shrieked, laughing, shoving me back towards Brody.
"Suit yourself!" I retorted, kissing Brody again instead. Savannah huffed in exasperation on his other side.
I went back to the beginning of the day's events for Brody's benefit. When I finished, Lauren made a face.
"So you're going back to ultra-busy hell?" she asked.
"It shouldn't be quite as bad, and I can do a little prep for my groups at home now that I know I'll be doing it more long-term, so I won't have to spend quite as many hours actually at work. But yeah, I'll probably be pretty busy. Hopefully they hire quickly."
"Well, that sucks. I feel like I've hardly even talked to you for the past couple weeks," Lauren responded.
We made plans for a weekly girls' night, even if it was just watching movies at someone's house. We all hung out for another hour or so, and then people started to disperse.
"How'd you guys get here?" Brody asked, when he, Lauren, and I were the only ones left.
"I walked from work," Lauren reported. "I was going to take a cab home."
"I took the bus," I said.
He offered us both a ride home, dropping Lauren off first. When he got to my house, I asked if he wanted to come in for a little bit. He parked the car and walked in with me.
"So, bad news," he said when we had settled on the couch. I looked at him in surprise. "Sorry, not that bad. Just that I know we had plans on Saturday night, and unfortunately, I have to fly to Chicago tomorrow."
"Chicago?" I asked, not understanding. "For how long?"
"Hopefully not long. One of the company's clients got himself into a little bit of trouble there and I have to go do some problem solving. I'm flying out first thing in the morning and I hope to be back sometime Saturday or early Sunday."
"Oh," I said, relieved. "That's not long. You had me a little nervous!"
"I'm glad you're not too disappointed. I felt bad breaking our plans," he said, apologetically.
"I'm a little disappointed, because I'd certainly much rather see you than not see you, but I understand! If you tell me when you'll be back, I'll pick you up at the airport if you want."
"I would love that," he said, pulling me closer to him. "But for now I'd better make sure you don't forget me while I'm gone." He grinned devilishly at me, then flipped me onto my back on the couch. My yelp of surprise was cut off by his kiss, and soon turned to a moan as he pressed his hips against mine. One hand slipped under my skirt and tugged down my underwear. He shifted to work them all the way off and then flipped them onto the floor. "You won't be needing those," he murmured into my ear, moving his hand back up my skirt. I moaned again as his thumb found its target.
He stood up, taking a condom out of his wallet. I eyed it skeptically. I am generally in the "don't sit on your condoms" camp. "Brand new as of this morning. I promise," he assured me, catching my look. I relaxed as he took off his pants and put it on. I started to wiggle out of my skirt but wasn't fast enough. "Don't bother," he said, pushing it up my hips, out of the way.
"Now who's impatient?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. He silenced any further sassy remarks I might have had by thrusting into me. I moaned and quickly forgot anything but the way he felt. He slid an arm under me and pulled my hips up towards him. I gasped at the change in sensation with the new angle and pressed my face into his shoulder.
Afterwards, we laid side by side on the narrow couch, with his arm anchored around my waist. Good thing too, because when I tried to shift my weight, I almost fell off the couch. "This couch is not made for cuddling!" I said, laughing.
"Hopefully it will keep me from getting too comfortable and wanting to spend the night," Brody said. "I should get going soon, I still need to pack."
"What if I don't let you?" I teased, wiggling around to face him and then clamping my arms and legs around him.
"Sorry, sweetheart, I don't think you're big enough to stop me!" he said with a laugh. He wrapped one arm around me and stood easily, with me still attached to his side.
"Hmph. Fine," I pouted, letting go. He lowered me to the ground. One downfall of my height.
He pulled his pants back on and sat to put on his shoes. When he stood again, he pulled me close and kissed me.
"Let me know you made okay, alright?" I asked.
"I will. I'll let you know when I'll be back too." He kissed me again. We said goodnight and he left. I looked at my phone and was surprised to see it was already after 11. I quickly got ready for bed, doing my best to ignore the dirty dishes in the sink. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Friday, August 8, 2014
It's baseball season, right?
"I'm on my way," Lauren texted a few hours later. I had managed a couple loads of laundry and vacuumed my living room, and was now sitting on the couch with Gossip Girl DVDs and a Coke.
She knocked and opened the door without bothering to wait for me to answer. Fine with me, I didn't have to get up. She plopped down on the couch next to me, plucked my Coke out of my hand, took a drink, and handed it back.
"Well, hello to you too," I said sarcastically.
She ignored that. "I'm waiting for you to tell me everything. And I do mean everything!" she replied, turning towards me and crossing her legs.
"Would you like a Coke of your own? Some water? Something stronger?" I offered, my face giving away nothing.
She stood up and stomped into the kitchen. She returned with a Coke and sat back down. "You played hostess, good job. Now get on with it! Did it happen?"
I laughed at her impatience. "It happened. Holy shit, did it happen." She squealed and bounced up and down where she was sitting. She sobered quickly though.
"Did you do anything stupid? You always do something stupid."
"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence. Believe it or not, I'm perfectly capable of managing sex without doing something stupid," I shot back.
"Remember that one time when you were trying--" she started, but I cut her off.
"Yes. I do. That was 4 years ago! Now do you want to hear about it, or not?"
She grabbed my arm. "Every single detail."
"No way! But I will say that it was amazing. Both times." She squealed again.
"He must have stayed, right? You guys came to brunch together. I didn't think you were coming at all. I texted you about 17 times."
"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone was down here. I didn't really need it last night."
"Wait though," she said suddenly. "I thought you were seeing him on Friday... oh and hey! How did dinner with John go?"
I realized I hadn't talked to her more than a few texts back and forth since our girls' night, and told her about Thursday and Friday. She was surprised about Savannah seeing John and I, and agreed that it was brilliant for her to tell Alex, instead of going to Brody directly.
"Brody never would have believed her if she had told him," Lauren said with a nod, "but she knew that Alex would tell Brody. Stupid smart bitch." I laughed drily at that.
"Oh my god," I said, my eyes widening in sudden realization. "I am a horrible friend. How did your date with Quinn go?"
Lauren's face darkened briefly, but then she pasted on a breezy smile. "It didn't. He cancelled on me. Shocking, after seeing him out with Savannah."
"Man, Laur, that sucks," I said, frowning.
"Whatever. You know how I feel about dating anyway."
"I do, but--"
She cut me off, "Seriously, Liv, it's not a big deal."
"It is, though," I said quietly. "Because it's my fault. She's doing this because of me and Brody."
"Or she's doing it because I called her a psycho stalker bitch who can't get laid to save her life. Either way, it doesn't matter," she replied firmly.
"Did you really?" I asked, laughing. "Was this at the fateful happy hour?" She nodded, and we both laughed. "I would love to know what she's up to, though. She was way too fake friendly today."
"We'll find out when it happens," Lauren said with a shrug. "Until then, lock your doors!"
My phone rang, and it was Kinsley. I answered and put her on speaker and filled her in on the things I had told Lauren. She squealed even more loudly than Lauren and also begged for the details.
"No, you guys are so creepy. Knock it off!"
After Lauren left, I called Lynn, my best friend in Wisconsin. She answered right away and was excited to hear from me. I felt like a terrible friend for the second time that night, because I had hardly talked to her since I moved out here. We talked for 45 minutes. At the end of the conversation I told her she should come visit soon. She said she had been looking at flights the other day and they were really reasonable. She said she would double check her inservice dates (she's a teacher) and send me an email with some potential visit dates at the end of the month.
Even though I was a little anxious about Savannah, and still a little wiped from the last two weeks of work, the events of the past few days had eased some of my stress.
I woke up ready to face the week on Monday. Work was quiet Monday as the auditors and our boss stayed holed up in the large conference room, doing whatever happened at a human services audit. On Tuesday, I met Brody for lunch.
"My boss looked really stressed when I saw him this morning. I'm a little nervous that the audit isn't going very well," I confessed.
"Audits are stressful even when they go well. I'm sure it's fine," he reassured me.
"It'll be over soon, anyway," I said, before changing the subject. I told Brody about Lynn potentially visiting and he seemed excited for me.
"Will I get to meet her?" he asked.
"Is that even a question? You better come meet her!" I said. "I wouldn't have made it through the last year of my life without her, so if she doesn't like you, considered yourself voted off," I joked.
We lingered for awhile, as I didn't have another client until I did some of my home-based stuff starting at 3, and I had little paperwork to do. I felt so comfortable with Brody. It was never awkward, and I never felt like I couldn't be me. Finally, Brody had to get back to work for an appointment. He walked me back to my office and kissed me lightly.
As I walked back in the building, the auditors were leaving. They smiled pleasantly and said goodbye. I heard raised voices behind the closed door of my boss's office. I tried not to eavesdrop, but heard "...not good..." and something that sounded suspiciously like "layoffs". Or "playoffs". It's baseball season, right? I swallowed my anxiety and gathered my stuff for the rest of my appointments.
She knocked and opened the door without bothering to wait for me to answer. Fine with me, I didn't have to get up. She plopped down on the couch next to me, plucked my Coke out of my hand, took a drink, and handed it back.
"Well, hello to you too," I said sarcastically.
She ignored that. "I'm waiting for you to tell me everything. And I do mean everything!" she replied, turning towards me and crossing her legs.
"Would you like a Coke of your own? Some water? Something stronger?" I offered, my face giving away nothing.
She stood up and stomped into the kitchen. She returned with a Coke and sat back down. "You played hostess, good job. Now get on with it! Did it happen?"
I laughed at her impatience. "It happened. Holy shit, did it happen." She squealed and bounced up and down where she was sitting. She sobered quickly though.
"Did you do anything stupid? You always do something stupid."
"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence. Believe it or not, I'm perfectly capable of managing sex without doing something stupid," I shot back.
"Remember that one time when you were trying--" she started, but I cut her off.
"Yes. I do. That was 4 years ago! Now do you want to hear about it, or not?"
She grabbed my arm. "Every single detail."
"No way! But I will say that it was amazing. Both times." She squealed again.
"He must have stayed, right? You guys came to brunch together. I didn't think you were coming at all. I texted you about 17 times."
"Yeah, sorry about that. My phone was down here. I didn't really need it last night."
"Wait though," she said suddenly. "I thought you were seeing him on Friday... oh and hey! How did dinner with John go?"
I realized I hadn't talked to her more than a few texts back and forth since our girls' night, and told her about Thursday and Friday. She was surprised about Savannah seeing John and I, and agreed that it was brilliant for her to tell Alex, instead of going to Brody directly.
"Brody never would have believed her if she had told him," Lauren said with a nod, "but she knew that Alex would tell Brody. Stupid smart bitch." I laughed drily at that.
"Oh my god," I said, my eyes widening in sudden realization. "I am a horrible friend. How did your date with Quinn go?"
Lauren's face darkened briefly, but then she pasted on a breezy smile. "It didn't. He cancelled on me. Shocking, after seeing him out with Savannah."
"Man, Laur, that sucks," I said, frowning.
"Whatever. You know how I feel about dating anyway."
"I do, but--"
She cut me off, "Seriously, Liv, it's not a big deal."
"It is, though," I said quietly. "Because it's my fault. She's doing this because of me and Brody."
"Or she's doing it because I called her a psycho stalker bitch who can't get laid to save her life. Either way, it doesn't matter," she replied firmly.
"Did you really?" I asked, laughing. "Was this at the fateful happy hour?" She nodded, and we both laughed. "I would love to know what she's up to, though. She was way too fake friendly today."
"We'll find out when it happens," Lauren said with a shrug. "Until then, lock your doors!"
My phone rang, and it was Kinsley. I answered and put her on speaker and filled her in on the things I had told Lauren. She squealed even more loudly than Lauren and also begged for the details.
"No, you guys are so creepy. Knock it off!"
After Lauren left, I called Lynn, my best friend in Wisconsin. She answered right away and was excited to hear from me. I felt like a terrible friend for the second time that night, because I had hardly talked to her since I moved out here. We talked for 45 minutes. At the end of the conversation I told her she should come visit soon. She said she had been looking at flights the other day and they were really reasonable. She said she would double check her inservice dates (she's a teacher) and send me an email with some potential visit dates at the end of the month.
Even though I was a little anxious about Savannah, and still a little wiped from the last two weeks of work, the events of the past few days had eased some of my stress.
I woke up ready to face the week on Monday. Work was quiet Monday as the auditors and our boss stayed holed up in the large conference room, doing whatever happened at a human services audit. On Tuesday, I met Brody for lunch.
"My boss looked really stressed when I saw him this morning. I'm a little nervous that the audit isn't going very well," I confessed.
"Audits are stressful even when they go well. I'm sure it's fine," he reassured me.
"It'll be over soon, anyway," I said, before changing the subject. I told Brody about Lynn potentially visiting and he seemed excited for me.
"Will I get to meet her?" he asked.
"Is that even a question? You better come meet her!" I said. "I wouldn't have made it through the last year of my life without her, so if she doesn't like you, considered yourself voted off," I joked.
We lingered for awhile, as I didn't have another client until I did some of my home-based stuff starting at 3, and I had little paperwork to do. I felt so comfortable with Brody. It was never awkward, and I never felt like I couldn't be me. Finally, Brody had to get back to work for an appointment. He walked me back to my office and kissed me lightly.
As I walked back in the building, the auditors were leaving. They smiled pleasantly and said goodbye. I heard raised voices behind the closed door of my boss's office. I tried not to eavesdrop, but heard "...not good..." and something that sounded suspiciously like "layoffs". Or "playoffs". It's baseball season, right? I swallowed my anxiety and gathered my stuff for the rest of my appointments.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Breakfast with Frenemies
When I opened my eyes in the morning, the sun was streaming in the window. I jumped a little when I felt someone next to me, and quickly relaxed when I remembered the night before. It had been so long since I'd actually shared a bed with someone that waking with someone else was foreign. Brody was laying on his stomach, and the tattoo across his ribs I'd caught a glimpse of at the cabin was mostly visible. I read it, realizing it was a stanza from my favorite poem. I whispered the words as I read them.
"stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)"
Beneath it was what looked like a date, but the sheet was covering part of it. I carefully got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. When I returned, I tried to slip back in bed without waking Brody, but he rolled onto his side and opened one eye. When he saw me, he blinked and smiled sleepily.
"Sorry I woke you," I whispered.
"Don't be, come here," he replied, reaching for me. I rolled over, pressing my back into his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and slipped one of his knees between mine. We laid like that for several minutes, and I thought he had fallen back asleep. I realized I was wrong when his hand slid along my hip and his mouth found my shoulder.
"I thought you went back to sleep," I teased quietly, as his hand ran down my leg.
"Thought about it," he murmured back huskily. "Changed my mind."
"Making up for--" my words cut off as his hand slipped between my legs. I breathed in sharply, curling my foot under his leg.
"What were you saying?" he asked, stilling his hand.
"I said, are you making up for lost--" Again he started moving his fingers against me.
He laughed softly. "Still didn't get that," he said, his lips close to my ear.
"Shut. Up," I gasped, arching my back against him. "You're a horrible tease!"
He laughed again, but didn't stop his hand this time. He brought me to the brink of orgasm, then paused to grab a condom out of the drawer. He rolled it on quickly and pushed into me, still on our sides. Unlike last night, he didn't bother moving slowly or drawing it out. He moved his hand back between my legs and rubbed in quick circles as he thrust into me, his other arm wrapped around my waist from underneath. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two before I finished, crying out and clamping my knees against his leg. He rolled me onto my stomach, propping my hips up slightly with one arm, and leaned over me, thrusting quickly. I moaned and rocked my hips back into him, and then his arm tightened around me and he gasped. He stayed like that for a long second, our hips locked together, before he released me and slid to the side.
I turned my head towards him, but stayed on my stomach, completely out of breath. Our eyes met, and he stared at me with those intense green eyes. He reached out and brushed a tangle of my blonde hair behind my ear, then rested his hand on my jaw. His fingers traced my cheekbone and then the contours of my ear and jaw. I closed my eyes, enjoying his touch. His voice broke into my thoughts.
"What do you want to do today?"
"Mmmmm....lay here," I said back.
He laughed and propped himself up on his elbow. "We might need to eat at some point, don't you think?"
"I guess," I replied. My eyes fell to his tattoo. I could see the date now. December 8, 2002. Before I could stop myself, I reached out, running my fingertips over the words of the poem.
"e.e. cummings," he said softly.
"I know," I replied. "'anyone lived in a pretty how town.' It's my favorite poem." My fingers stopped at the date, and I looked at him, a question in my eyes.
"It was my sister's favorite poem too." He stopped and took a deep breath. "She died when I was 17." I reached out for his hand and scooted closer to him. He laid on his back, running his thumb over the back of my hand. "Heather was 19. We were living in Seattle, and she was going to school at UW Tacoma. She was in a car accident on I5 just north of SeaTac. As far as they could tell, it was sometime between about 1 and 2 in the morning. There had been freezing rain earlier and the roads were slick. They only found her and her car, but the police said it looked like she had been hit by something big, like a full sized pickup or SUV."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep my composure. He was looking over my shoulder, his eyes sad but calm. They hardened a bit as he continued, though.
"We found out later she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend. She was staying with him at the time because she wasn't getting along with her roommate. She decided to drive home even though the roads were bad and it was late. The coroner said..." he trailed off, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "The coroner said that she died from internal injuries." He let out a short, bitter laugh and closed his eyes. "Somehow, she had no head injuries, so she was probably conscious for at least a little while. She was pinned in place by her mangled car, so she couldn't even call for help. They never did figure out who it was. Whoever it was got off scot-free, and my sister died alone in a ditch." As he spit out the last sentence, his eyes opened, fixing on the ceiling fan and blazing with suppressed anger.
I was shocked. I struggled for words, but all that popped into my mind were canned therapy responses, and he deserved better than that. Instead, I slid all the way over and rested my head on his chest, curling my fingers into his hair and massaging his scalp.
"I'm sorry," he said, after a moment. "I'm really good at making terrible conversational choices when I'm with you, apparently."
"No, I just...don't know what to say that isn't 'I'm sorry' or 'That must have been very hard for you,'" I admitted. "But I'm grateful that you felt like you could share it with me, and I think the tattoo is perfect."
Neither of us said anything for several minutes, just laid there, twined together. He absently stroked the back of my arm, and I started drifting back into sleep. We were startled by Brody's phone, ringing from his pants on the floor. He made no move to get it, though. After the ringing stopped, it pinged. Then it pinged again. And again.
"Make it stopppp," I groaned, rolling away from him and pulling a pillow over my face. He laughed and stood up, rooting through discarded clothes and blankets on the floor before he found it. He examined it for a minute, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Feel like brunch?" he asked.
"Maybe. How long do we have?"
"About an hour," he replied, looking up at me, poised to text back my response.
"Why so soon? It's early!" I complained, my voice muffled by the pillow still over my face.
Brody laughed. "You must finally be used to the time difference. It's after 10:30."
"Oh, wow," I said, surprised, shifting the pillow a little to look at him. "In that case, why not. I might not get up otherwise."
He sent a quick text back then stood up. "I have a change of clothes in my car. I'm going to go out and get them." He pulled on his pants and shirt from last night, then bent to kiss my forehead, pulling the pillow away from my face. "You better be up and in the shower by the time I get back!" I swatted his hand away and sat up.
I was much more awake after my shower, and I made some coffee while Brody was showering. When he appeared in the kitchen in khaki shorts and a blue and green striped button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, dark hair still wet from the shower, I briefly considered just skipping brunch and going back to bed. I kissed him as I handed him some coffee, and he caught me as I pulled away to head upstairs and kissed me again. I let him, then pushed him away playfully so I could finish getting ready. I quickly dried my hair and put on some makeup, and we were out the door.
The only person that seemed surprised to see us walk in the door hand in hand was Alex. Savannah might have been surprised, but her fake smile didn't falter. Lauren shifted a seat closer to Christian so Brody and I could sit next to each other. Unfortunately, I ended up directly across the table from Savannah. But she just smiled sweetly at me and asked how I was.
"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" I responded politely. I didn't know what she was up to, but I figured that being polite but not overly friendly was the safest bet.
"I'm great! We missed you at happy hour on Thursday." She beamed at me.
"Oh, were you there?" She nodded, still smiling. How could she have been at happy hour, and also have seen me leave the restaurant with John?
Brody put a warning hand on my knee. I ignored it and pushed forward, forgetting my decision to be polite. "I've heard the past couple have been pretty exciting. It's too bad I've been otherwise engaged." Brody squeezed my knee harder. Savannah's smile faltered for a fleeting second, but then it was back, bigger than ever.
"Yes, you could say that!" Her pretty face turned towards Brody. "We've missed you too. You should come this week for sure." Did she seriously just bat her eyelashes at him? Gross.
I turned to Lauren, who had elbowed me in the side. "We need to talk," she hissed.
"Come over tonight?" I whispered back. She nodded. Brody was looking at us curiously, and I realized that Savannah was chattering away to Kendra next to her, paying no more attention to Brody or me.
The rest of brunch passed relatively uneventfully. Savannah continued her fake cheerful act, but I did my best to ignore her. As soon as we were done eating, we took off. When we got back to my house, Brody parked his Sequoia in my driveway, but didn't turn it off. He turned to me. "I have a bunch of stuff to do at home, and if I procrastinate any longer, I will be sorry tonight when I'm scrambling."
I nodded. As much I hadn't minded spending the last 17 hours with him, I was also ready for a little "me" time before Lauren came over. I needed to do some laundry and watch some trashy TV. He walked with me inside, leaving his SUV running. "If I turn it off, I'm worried I'll get distracted," he said with a laugh as he came in to gather his clothes from the night before, which he'd left in a neat pile on the end of the bed.
"That would be awful," I said with a grin. I walked downstairs with him. At the door, I put my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. "Thank you," I said, my voice slightly muffled. "Last night was awesome, and..." I trailed off, not sure where exactly I was going with that.
He kissed the top of my head and massaged my lower back with one hand. "I know," he said simply. "I'll call you." He tipped my chin up and kissed me, and left.
__________________________________
What do you think? Is Savannah finally accepting Liv and giving up on Brody? Or is she up to something?
"stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)"
Beneath it was what looked like a date, but the sheet was covering part of it. I carefully got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. When I returned, I tried to slip back in bed without waking Brody, but he rolled onto his side and opened one eye. When he saw me, he blinked and smiled sleepily.
"Sorry I woke you," I whispered.
"Don't be, come here," he replied, reaching for me. I rolled over, pressing my back into his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist and slipped one of his knees between mine. We laid like that for several minutes, and I thought he had fallen back asleep. I realized I was wrong when his hand slid along my hip and his mouth found my shoulder.
"I thought you went back to sleep," I teased quietly, as his hand ran down my leg.
"Thought about it," he murmured back huskily. "Changed my mind."
"Making up for--" my words cut off as his hand slipped between my legs. I breathed in sharply, curling my foot under his leg.
"What were you saying?" he asked, stilling his hand.
"I said, are you making up for lost--" Again he started moving his fingers against me.
He laughed softly. "Still didn't get that," he said, his lips close to my ear.
"Shut. Up," I gasped, arching my back against him. "You're a horrible tease!"
He laughed again, but didn't stop his hand this time. He brought me to the brink of orgasm, then paused to grab a condom out of the drawer. He rolled it on quickly and pushed into me, still on our sides. Unlike last night, he didn't bother moving slowly or drawing it out. He moved his hand back between my legs and rubbed in quick circles as he thrust into me, his other arm wrapped around my waist from underneath. It couldn't have been more than a minute or two before I finished, crying out and clamping my knees against his leg. He rolled me onto my stomach, propping my hips up slightly with one arm, and leaned over me, thrusting quickly. I moaned and rocked my hips back into him, and then his arm tightened around me and he gasped. He stayed like that for a long second, our hips locked together, before he released me and slid to the side.
I turned my head towards him, but stayed on my stomach, completely out of breath. Our eyes met, and he stared at me with those intense green eyes. He reached out and brushed a tangle of my blonde hair behind my ear, then rested his hand on my jaw. His fingers traced my cheekbone and then the contours of my ear and jaw. I closed my eyes, enjoying his touch. His voice broke into my thoughts.
"What do you want to do today?"
"Mmmmm....lay here," I said back.
He laughed and propped himself up on his elbow. "We might need to eat at some point, don't you think?"
"I guess," I replied. My eyes fell to his tattoo. I could see the date now. December 8, 2002. Before I could stop myself, I reached out, running my fingertips over the words of the poem.
"e.e. cummings," he said softly.
"I know," I replied. "'anyone lived in a pretty how town.' It's my favorite poem." My fingers stopped at the date, and I looked at him, a question in my eyes.
"It was my sister's favorite poem too." He stopped and took a deep breath. "She died when I was 17." I reached out for his hand and scooted closer to him. He laid on his back, running his thumb over the back of my hand. "Heather was 19. We were living in Seattle, and she was going to school at UW Tacoma. She was in a car accident on I5 just north of SeaTac. As far as they could tell, it was sometime between about 1 and 2 in the morning. There had been freezing rain earlier and the roads were slick. They only found her and her car, but the police said it looked like she had been hit by something big, like a full sized pickup or SUV."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to keep my composure. He was looking over my shoulder, his eyes sad but calm. They hardened a bit as he continued, though.
"We found out later she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend. She was staying with him at the time because she wasn't getting along with her roommate. She decided to drive home even though the roads were bad and it was late. The coroner said..." he trailed off, and took a deep, shuddering breath. "The coroner said that she died from internal injuries." He let out a short, bitter laugh and closed his eyes. "Somehow, she had no head injuries, so she was probably conscious for at least a little while. She was pinned in place by her mangled car, so she couldn't even call for help. They never did figure out who it was. Whoever it was got off scot-free, and my sister died alone in a ditch." As he spit out the last sentence, his eyes opened, fixing on the ceiling fan and blazing with suppressed anger.
I was shocked. I struggled for words, but all that popped into my mind were canned therapy responses, and he deserved better than that. Instead, I slid all the way over and rested my head on his chest, curling my fingers into his hair and massaging his scalp.
"I'm sorry," he said, after a moment. "I'm really good at making terrible conversational choices when I'm with you, apparently."
"No, I just...don't know what to say that isn't 'I'm sorry' or 'That must have been very hard for you,'" I admitted. "But I'm grateful that you felt like you could share it with me, and I think the tattoo is perfect."
Neither of us said anything for several minutes, just laid there, twined together. He absently stroked the back of my arm, and I started drifting back into sleep. We were startled by Brody's phone, ringing from his pants on the floor. He made no move to get it, though. After the ringing stopped, it pinged. Then it pinged again. And again.
"Make it stopppp," I groaned, rolling away from him and pulling a pillow over my face. He laughed and stood up, rooting through discarded clothes and blankets on the floor before he found it. He examined it for a minute, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Feel like brunch?" he asked.
"Maybe. How long do we have?"
"About an hour," he replied, looking up at me, poised to text back my response.
"Why so soon? It's early!" I complained, my voice muffled by the pillow still over my face.
Brody laughed. "You must finally be used to the time difference. It's after 10:30."
"Oh, wow," I said, surprised, shifting the pillow a little to look at him. "In that case, why not. I might not get up otherwise."
He sent a quick text back then stood up. "I have a change of clothes in my car. I'm going to go out and get them." He pulled on his pants and shirt from last night, then bent to kiss my forehead, pulling the pillow away from my face. "You better be up and in the shower by the time I get back!" I swatted his hand away and sat up.
I was much more awake after my shower, and I made some coffee while Brody was showering. When he appeared in the kitchen in khaki shorts and a blue and green striped button down with the sleeves rolled to the elbows, dark hair still wet from the shower, I briefly considered just skipping brunch and going back to bed. I kissed him as I handed him some coffee, and he caught me as I pulled away to head upstairs and kissed me again. I let him, then pushed him away playfully so I could finish getting ready. I quickly dried my hair and put on some makeup, and we were out the door.
The only person that seemed surprised to see us walk in the door hand in hand was Alex. Savannah might have been surprised, but her fake smile didn't falter. Lauren shifted a seat closer to Christian so Brody and I could sit next to each other. Unfortunately, I ended up directly across the table from Savannah. But she just smiled sweetly at me and asked how I was.
"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" I responded politely. I didn't know what she was up to, but I figured that being polite but not overly friendly was the safest bet.
"I'm great! We missed you at happy hour on Thursday." She beamed at me.
"Oh, were you there?" She nodded, still smiling. How could she have been at happy hour, and also have seen me leave the restaurant with John?
Brody put a warning hand on my knee. I ignored it and pushed forward, forgetting my decision to be polite. "I've heard the past couple have been pretty exciting. It's too bad I've been otherwise engaged." Brody squeezed my knee harder. Savannah's smile faltered for a fleeting second, but then it was back, bigger than ever.
"Yes, you could say that!" Her pretty face turned towards Brody. "We've missed you too. You should come this week for sure." Did she seriously just bat her eyelashes at him? Gross.
I turned to Lauren, who had elbowed me in the side. "We need to talk," she hissed.
"Come over tonight?" I whispered back. She nodded. Brody was looking at us curiously, and I realized that Savannah was chattering away to Kendra next to her, paying no more attention to Brody or me.
The rest of brunch passed relatively uneventfully. Savannah continued her fake cheerful act, but I did my best to ignore her. As soon as we were done eating, we took off. When we got back to my house, Brody parked his Sequoia in my driveway, but didn't turn it off. He turned to me. "I have a bunch of stuff to do at home, and if I procrastinate any longer, I will be sorry tonight when I'm scrambling."
I nodded. As much I hadn't minded spending the last 17 hours with him, I was also ready for a little "me" time before Lauren came over. I needed to do some laundry and watch some trashy TV. He walked with me inside, leaving his SUV running. "If I turn it off, I'm worried I'll get distracted," he said with a laugh as he came in to gather his clothes from the night before, which he'd left in a neat pile on the end of the bed.
"That would be awful," I said with a grin. I walked downstairs with him. At the door, I put my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. "Thank you," I said, my voice slightly muffled. "Last night was awesome, and..." I trailed off, not sure where exactly I was going with that.
He kissed the top of my head and massaged my lower back with one hand. "I know," he said simply. "I'll call you." He tipped my chin up and kissed me, and left.
__________________________________
What do you think? Is Savannah finally accepting Liv and giving up on Brody? Or is she up to something?
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Worth the Wait
Author's note: Alright guys, I have my new posting schedule worked
out. This week I will be starting my MWF posts. All three posts this
week are this storyline. Starting next week, I will be posting on this
storyline Monday and Wednesday, and starting the back stories/other
perspectives on Fridays. If you haven't already responded to my request
for feedback on what you want to see in the Friday posts (or you have
no idea what I'm talking about!), please go give me your suggestions
here.
I want to give you guys what you want! Thank you all again for reading
and commenting :) And that's enough babble from me. I know you're all
waiting very patiently to see what happens with Brody and Liv today, so
here you go!
Author's note #2: Blogger is being stupid and won't let me schedule this post, so I'm posting it now so it's not late!
_________________________________________________________________
I made it home safely, texted Brody, and fell into bed. I slept for almost 12 hours. I was up in time for yoga and I went and stretched the stress of the last week out. I stopped and picked up groceries on the way home. After I showered, I knocked on Cassie's door. I filled her in on the events of the last two nights.
"I'm glad you went out with John, even if it caused some weirdness with Brody," she said.
"It's a good thing I asked you what I should do, because I was leaning towards not going," I responded. "I feel so much better about it all now." She walked over to my house with me and kept me company while I got ready for my date with Brody. She vetoed my black dress choice and picked a teal dress instead. I let her fuss over my hair until she declared it perfect. Then she smiled approvingly at me.
"You look hot. Now go get laid!" She smacked me on the ass and skipped downstairs. I heard my door open and shut. I shook my head, and checked the time on my phone. 7:54. Brody should be here soon. I was slipping my feet into my heels when the doorbell rang. I opened the door.
"Wow, a tie and everything?" I asked, regarding him appreciatively. So hot.
"A tie and everything," he confirmed with a smile, looking me up and down. "And you look absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks, I just roll out of bed like this," I joked. I've never been good at taking compliments. He took my hand and led me out to his SUV. He opened the door, and once I was settled in the seat, he leaned in and kissed me before shutting the door.
Dinner was amazing. When Brody asked me after if I wanted to go have a drink somewhere, I shook my head. "How about we have a drink at my house?" I asked him.
"Excellent plan. Let's go." He parked in my driveway and I unlocked the door. I slipped my shoes off and walked to the kitchen.
"Beer, wine, or whiskey?" I asked.
"Whiskey?" he said in surprise.
"It's my liquor of choice. You didn't know that? I'm appalled at your lack of interest in my life!" I teased.
He laughed. "Whatever you're having is fine." I carried two glasses of wine back to the living room and handed one to him. Now that we were here, I was nervous. It seemed inevitable that tonight we would finally have sex, but I was way over-thinking it all at the moment. I realized I had been standing next to the couch awkwardly when Brody looked up. "Want to sit? It is your couch."
I blushed furiously and he smiled. He pulled me down next to him. I nestled into his side, his arm draped across my shoulders. His thumb found my shoulder and rubbed gentle circles there. I began to relax. He had turned on the TV while I was opening and pouring wine, and we flipped through a few channels, not seeing anything interesting.
"I have a better idea for some entertainment," I said finally. I took the remote and turned off the TV. I tipped my head up and Brody kissed me. His lips drifted from mine and moved to my neck, my ear, my collarbone. I gasped as he nibbled at the hollow where my collarbone meets my shoulder. I shifted onto his lap, having a flash of deja vu of last weekend. But I quickly forgot that as Brody's hand worked its way up my bare leg. My dress had ridden up when I moved onto his lap, and his thumb was grazing my inner thigh as his palm ran up the top of my thigh. His right thumb came to the edge of my underwear, and slid along it, teasing me. His other hand was unzipping my dress and sliding the straps down my arms.
I suddenly became very conscious of the curtain-less windows on either side of the front door. I put my hand over his and said "Upstairs?" He nodded, and I stood up, leading him to my room. I left the hall light on and door half open so we could see what we were doing. He stood in front of me and kissed me again, reaching around to finish unzipping my dress. He slid the straps down my arms and let it fall to the floor. He had already taken off his jacket and loosened his tie. I slipped the tie over his head and unbuttoned his shirt. I slid my hands inside it, running them over his abs and his chest, up to his shoulders. I pushed the shirt off his shoulders and he shrugged out of it.
He backed me up to the bed, unhooked my bra, and then pushed me back gently. I laid back, removing my bra and tossing it to the side. His fingers grazed my nipples and I arched my back against his hands. One hand slid down my stomach, stopping at my underwear. He slid his thumb just barely under them, running it along my skin. I couldn't wait any longer and wiggled out of them, pushing them off with my feet. "Aww," he teased, his hand moving torturously slowly lower, "I was just starting to have some fun."
I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him hard. Finally, his hand drifted between my legs and stroked me gently. I moaned into our kiss and pushed my hips towards his hand. "Impatient, aren't you?" he asked mischievously before sliding a finger into me. I gasped, gripping his arms. He moved his finger skillfully inside me, while continuing to stroke me with his thumb. I turned my head to the side and his lips found my neck. I moaned again, then exploded as he nipped at my earlobe. I arched up into his hand and cried out. He moved his finger away, but kept his thumb anchored in place. He continued moving it ever so slightly, keeping my muscles contracting for several more seconds. When he finally moved his hand away, I relaxed onto the bed, breathing hard.
"Do you have condoms?" he asked me, when I opened my eyes. I nodded, and reached over to the nightstand. My eyes widened as he pulled off his pants and his boxer briefs. I sat up and rolled the condom onto him, imagining him inside me. He rolled on top of me and pushed slowly into me. I moaned as he slid all the way in, and he paused. "Are you good?" he asked, looking down at me. I nodded. He lowered his head to mine and kissed me, moving slowly on top of me. I locked my legs behind his back, pulling him deeply into me. He paused, kissing along my collarbone. I rolled so I was on top of him. He grabbed me by the hips as I started moving. His grip kept me moving on top of him even as I came hard, leaning back and planting my hands on his thighs for balance. He followed shortly after, groaning as his body stiffened and then relaxed, goosebumps everywhere.
I stayed where I was for a second, until his grip on my hips relaxed, then rolled off. "Holy shit," he muttered. We both just laid there for a minute, staring at the ceiling. He rolled off the bed and walked to the small bathroom. He came back after a minute and slid close to me, pulling me against him. His face pressed into the side of my neck, his breath hot on my skin. I yawned and relaxed against him as he stroked my arm.
"Was it worth the wait?" he murmured against my ear.
"It was," I replied, rolling over to face him. "And good thing too, because I'd be pissed if I'd waited that long for crappy sex!" I teased. He laughed and rolled onto his back, pulling me against his chest. I laid there, sleepy and content, as his fingers danced along my back. I don't know when I fell asleep, but it was the best night's sleep I'd had since I moved here.
Author's note #2: Blogger is being stupid and won't let me schedule this post, so I'm posting it now so it's not late!
_________________________________________________________________
I made it home safely, texted Brody, and fell into bed. I slept for almost 12 hours. I was up in time for yoga and I went and stretched the stress of the last week out. I stopped and picked up groceries on the way home. After I showered, I knocked on Cassie's door. I filled her in on the events of the last two nights.
"I'm glad you went out with John, even if it caused some weirdness with Brody," she said.
"It's a good thing I asked you what I should do, because I was leaning towards not going," I responded. "I feel so much better about it all now." She walked over to my house with me and kept me company while I got ready for my date with Brody. She vetoed my black dress choice and picked a teal dress instead. I let her fuss over my hair until she declared it perfect. Then she smiled approvingly at me.
"You look hot. Now go get laid!" She smacked me on the ass and skipped downstairs. I heard my door open and shut. I shook my head, and checked the time on my phone. 7:54. Brody should be here soon. I was slipping my feet into my heels when the doorbell rang. I opened the door.
"Wow, a tie and everything?" I asked, regarding him appreciatively. So hot.
"A tie and everything," he confirmed with a smile, looking me up and down. "And you look absolutely beautiful."
"Thanks, I just roll out of bed like this," I joked. I've never been good at taking compliments. He took my hand and led me out to his SUV. He opened the door, and once I was settled in the seat, he leaned in and kissed me before shutting the door.
Dinner was amazing. When Brody asked me after if I wanted to go have a drink somewhere, I shook my head. "How about we have a drink at my house?" I asked him.
"Excellent plan. Let's go." He parked in my driveway and I unlocked the door. I slipped my shoes off and walked to the kitchen.
"Beer, wine, or whiskey?" I asked.
"Whiskey?" he said in surprise.
"It's my liquor of choice. You didn't know that? I'm appalled at your lack of interest in my life!" I teased.
He laughed. "Whatever you're having is fine." I carried two glasses of wine back to the living room and handed one to him. Now that we were here, I was nervous. It seemed inevitable that tonight we would finally have sex, but I was way over-thinking it all at the moment. I realized I had been standing next to the couch awkwardly when Brody looked up. "Want to sit? It is your couch."
I blushed furiously and he smiled. He pulled me down next to him. I nestled into his side, his arm draped across my shoulders. His thumb found my shoulder and rubbed gentle circles there. I began to relax. He had turned on the TV while I was opening and pouring wine, and we flipped through a few channels, not seeing anything interesting.
"I have a better idea for some entertainment," I said finally. I took the remote and turned off the TV. I tipped my head up and Brody kissed me. His lips drifted from mine and moved to my neck, my ear, my collarbone. I gasped as he nibbled at the hollow where my collarbone meets my shoulder. I shifted onto his lap, having a flash of deja vu of last weekend. But I quickly forgot that as Brody's hand worked its way up my bare leg. My dress had ridden up when I moved onto his lap, and his thumb was grazing my inner thigh as his palm ran up the top of my thigh. His right thumb came to the edge of my underwear, and slid along it, teasing me. His other hand was unzipping my dress and sliding the straps down my arms.
I suddenly became very conscious of the curtain-less windows on either side of the front door. I put my hand over his and said "Upstairs?" He nodded, and I stood up, leading him to my room. I left the hall light on and door half open so we could see what we were doing. He stood in front of me and kissed me again, reaching around to finish unzipping my dress. He slid the straps down my arms and let it fall to the floor. He had already taken off his jacket and loosened his tie. I slipped the tie over his head and unbuttoned his shirt. I slid my hands inside it, running them over his abs and his chest, up to his shoulders. I pushed the shirt off his shoulders and he shrugged out of it.
He backed me up to the bed, unhooked my bra, and then pushed me back gently. I laid back, removing my bra and tossing it to the side. His fingers grazed my nipples and I arched my back against his hands. One hand slid down my stomach, stopping at my underwear. He slid his thumb just barely under them, running it along my skin. I couldn't wait any longer and wiggled out of them, pushing them off with my feet. "Aww," he teased, his hand moving torturously slowly lower, "I was just starting to have some fun."
I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him hard. Finally, his hand drifted between my legs and stroked me gently. I moaned into our kiss and pushed my hips towards his hand. "Impatient, aren't you?" he asked mischievously before sliding a finger into me. I gasped, gripping his arms. He moved his finger skillfully inside me, while continuing to stroke me with his thumb. I turned my head to the side and his lips found my neck. I moaned again, then exploded as he nipped at my earlobe. I arched up into his hand and cried out. He moved his finger away, but kept his thumb anchored in place. He continued moving it ever so slightly, keeping my muscles contracting for several more seconds. When he finally moved his hand away, I relaxed onto the bed, breathing hard.
"Do you have condoms?" he asked me, when I opened my eyes. I nodded, and reached over to the nightstand. My eyes widened as he pulled off his pants and his boxer briefs. I sat up and rolled the condom onto him, imagining him inside me. He rolled on top of me and pushed slowly into me. I moaned as he slid all the way in, and he paused. "Are you good?" he asked, looking down at me. I nodded. He lowered his head to mine and kissed me, moving slowly on top of me. I locked my legs behind his back, pulling him deeply into me. He paused, kissing along my collarbone. I rolled so I was on top of him. He grabbed me by the hips as I started moving. His grip kept me moving on top of him even as I came hard, leaning back and planting my hands on his thighs for balance. He followed shortly after, groaning as his body stiffened and then relaxed, goosebumps everywhere.
I stayed where I was for a second, until his grip on my hips relaxed, then rolled off. "Holy shit," he muttered. We both just laid there for a minute, staring at the ceiling. He rolled off the bed and walked to the small bathroom. He came back after a minute and slid close to me, pulling me against him. His face pressed into the side of my neck, his breath hot on my skin. I yawned and relaxed against him as he stroked my arm.
"Was it worth the wait?" he murmured against my ear.
"It was," I replied, rolling over to face him. "And good thing too, because I'd be pissed if I'd waited that long for crappy sex!" I teased. He laughed and rolled onto his back, pulling me against his chest. I laid there, sleepy and content, as his fingers danced along my back. I don't know when I fell asleep, but it was the best night's sleep I'd had since I moved here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)