Changing Course

by Aly Martinez

  After shopping for three hours this afternoon, I found a super short navy blue dress. I wanted to wow Brett. That’s what keeps relationships alive, right? This little dress should have no problem spicing things up. The top crisscrosses in the front doing a great lift and push together trick on my boobs. I paired it with the same knee boots of Kara's that I wore on our first date at the Bears game. Brett spent the whole night staring at my legs, so I know he liked them. I must have been lost in my thoughts because I didn't see Eric until I slammed into his chest.

  "What are you wearing?"

  Rubbing my cheek where I face-planted into my brother’s chest, I look up to see a furious look on his face. "Jeez, Eric. What the heck is your problem?"

  "Are you aware you just walked into a bar...in your underwear?" he asks like I have lost my mind. Apparently that’s what he thinks I have on, because he quickly takes off his suit jacket and throws it over me.

  "Stop it, you're going to mess up my hair," I say, swatting his stupid jacket away.

  "Jesse, what are you doing here?” He leans into my face trying to intimidate me. He is such a jerk sometimes. I swear he still treats me like his seven year old baby sister.

  Eric is three years older and he’s always been hard on me. While I may be short, Eric is definitely not. I look like my mom, and Eric is the spitting image of my dad. Sandy blonde, perfectly styled hair and toffee colored eyes. He isn't huge like Brett, but he isn't anything to sneeze at either. When we were in high school, he ran off every guy who even looked in my direction. When he went away to college, he left half of the football team behind to look after me. I blame him for the fact that I didn't have a real boyfriend until college. So listening to him question me about my clothes and why I'm here, annoys the crap out of me.

  "Get out of my face, dog breath," I say, reverting back to our teenage years. I try to walk past him but he grabs my arm spinning me in a full circle before pushing me up against the wall.

  "Let's go, I'm taking you home. I have no idea what you think you are doing here, especially dressed like that, but I can promise you aren't staying."

  "Are you kidding me here? Get your hands off me! Guess what, loser! I'm a grown woman, you can't make me do anything. Now, let me go before I knee you in the jewels."

  "Alright, up you go." He bends down, planting a shoulder into my stomach and lifting me up onto his shoulder.

  "Put me down! I'm wearing a thong and you are flashing everyone my butt," I yell, trying to grab my skirt.

  I am going to kill him for this. I swing my legs hoping at least one of them lands a kick to the stomach. I must have accomplished my goal because I hear him grunt, then feel hands around my waist lifting me to my feet. Instead of being released though, I'm crushed into a man’s chest. I struggle to free my head enough to look up and see who's holding me so tightly, when Caleb's irate eyes meet mine.

  "It's alright baby girl, I've got you," he tries to comfort me, then whispers again to himself, "I've got you."

  "Jones, cuffs." I hear Brett yell from behind me.

  I turn confused to see my brother lying face down on the ground. Brett has one knee in his back, and both of Eric's arms pulled behind him. For the first time in my life, I hear my brother cussing. And not just your average run of the mill bad words, he is saying things that would give Brett's mouth a run for its money. Caleb releases me only long enough to flash his badge to the police officer and bouncer rushing over to us. The officer pulls out his cuffs and tosses them to Caleb, who pulls me back into his body tucking my head into his chest. I hear the click of metal and Brett reading Eric his rights.

  "Caleb, let me go."

  "Shhh...you're okay. Brett's coming," he responds so lovingly it almost makes me melt. See, now this is how a big brother should act.

  I feel Brett's hand touch the back of my shoulders just before I hear him ask, “Is she okay?" I don't even have a chance to answer before I feel him reach under my legs and pick me up.

  I have no idea what it is about men thinking that just because I'm small, they always need pick me up. My legs work just fine. I don't need to be carried around like a toddler everywhere I go.

  "Put me down!" I finally find my voice.

  "I've got you, gorgeous."

  "I'm well aware you have me, honey. The only problem is you also have my big brother cuffed and laying on the floor." He stops moving and looks back at my brother, now sitting up and talking to the uniformed officer.

  I prepare to explain this whole mishap to him when he turns back to look at me, "You're not bailing him out, so get that look off your face."

  "What do you mean, I'm not bailing him out? Of course I'm not..." I can't even finish my thought before he interrupts me.

  "Good. That asshole is sleeping in a cell tonight."

  "No, he isn't. I'm not bailing him out because you aren't taking him to jail."

  "Well not personally I'm not, but he is definitely going."

  "No, he isn't!" I scream at how ludicrous the entire situation has become.

  My mind is spinning. Everything has happened so fast. Thirty seconds ago I was having a little worse than normal argument with my brother, now I'm arguing with Brett about whether or not Eric is going to jail. My mind can't keep up.

  "Gorgeous, I saw him put his hands on you. He's lucky he still has both arms connected to his body. If there weren't a hundred witnesses, I would have laid him out and I'm not just talking about restraining him on the ground. So I'll repeat, that asshole is sleeping in a cell." He leans in close and it ticks me off.

  "Have you lost your mind? That's my brother!" I poke his chest. Nothing proves you are seriously mad like poking someone in the chest.

  "And?"

  "Oh my God, you really have lost it!" I scream, walking over to Eric sitting on the floor.

  I turn in a circle trying to locate Caleb. Hopefully he is a little more rational about this crazy mess. I give up and shout his name to find him in the crowd that has now surrounded us.

  "Over here, baby girl." I hear him yell from behind me while talking to the bouncer.

  "You know these jerk-offs?" I hear Eric ask, but ignore his stupid question and return my attention to Caleb. The sooner I can get him to un-cuff Eric the sooner we can put this all behind us.

  "Un-cuff him. That's my brother."

  His eyes go wide as he looks over at Brett, who is standing where I left him with his hands on his hips. He is clearly not pleased with this turn of events.

  "Your brother?" Caleb asks.

  "Yes, my brother. Am I speaking a foreign language? Get over here and freaking let him go!"

  "Watch your mouth!" My brother tries to correct me from the floor, but he looks ridiculous telling me to watch my mouth while sitting in handcuffs.

  "Freaking is not a bad word, and you should know after the filth that just came out of your mouth," I yell at Eric.

  "Well if your friends here hadn't brutally assaulted me while hiding behind a badge, I imagine I'd be able to keep my language locked up a little tighter," he answers sarcastically. "Just go home Jesse, you look like a hooker."

  I started to get mad, really I did. My brother is a real butt sometimes, but this isn't new information. He loves me, and tries to protect me. It just doesn't always seem that way. I feel a cool breeze beside me, and I swear I'm in the middle of a Twilight movie because Brett just appears in front of me.

  "You son of a bitch." He grabs my brother by the collar pulling him close. "I don't give two shits who you are to her, you are going to watch your fucking mouth," Brett says calmly, even though the look on his face is murderous. "Apologize. Now."

  "Who the hell do you think you are telling me how to talk to my sister?" Eric, still hand-cuffed, steps up to Brett bumping him with his chest.

  This is not exactly the way I had hoped Brett and Eric would meet. It's actually the worst-case scenario, but seeing Brett stand up for me like this is hot, and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

  "I'm
her fucking man, so you better start apologizing before you become her dead brother." Yep, definitely hot. His words make my heart swell and my panties wet. Does that make me his woman? Oh my God, I’m Brett Sharp’s woman!

  Forgetting about the crap show that is going down in front of me, I feel a huge smile spread across my face. I mentally begin a victory dance and vow to myself to give it to Brett any way he wants it tonight. Her man. Eek!

  Breaking me out of my inner celebration, I see Caleb move between the two angry guys. "You sit down," he says to Eric, "and you back the fuck up before you do something stupid. For Christ sake, he's her brother. You just cuffed him, somehow I don't think brawling with him is going to win you any promotions. So back it up. Both of you." Who knew Caleb would be the rational one in this testosterone trio?

  "You're dating this asshole? What the fuck, Jesse?" Eric leans around Brett looking at me with crazed eyes. "Is this the dumb-ass who has you dressing like that and coming into bars alone?” Brett doesn't even let his words hit me before shoving Caleb out of the way and gripping Eric around the throat, pushing him hard against the wall.

  "Are you dumb or just a prick? What the fuck did I just tell you? Watch you're fucking mouth when speaking to her." I surge forward to where he has Eric pinned. Brett must know the security here somehow because they are all just standing back watching this play out in front of them.

  "Stop, you’re choking him!" I yell, smacking Brett's hand trying to get him to release my brother who is slowly turning blue.

  He drags his eyes away from Eric long enough to glance at me for a beat, then one finger at a time removes his hand. I squeeze between them and feel Brett wrap a protective arm around my waist from behind. I'll deal with him in a minute but right now my jerk-face of a brother deserves my attention. Repeating Brett's words from earlier, I lay into him.

  "You are going to watch you're freaking mouth when you talk about him. I'm not going to listen to you say one bad thing about him." Okay, so maybe I cleaned it up a little bit. I didn't want to break every rule I have just seconds before doing the one thing I have wanted to do for years.

  Pulling my knee back, I slam it directly into Eric's crotch. I didn't want Brett to hurt him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to do it myself. It wasn’t as hard as I would have liked for it to be, but I would like to have nieces and nephews one day so I guess it will have to do.

  I love Eric, and tomorrow I’ll feel horrible for doing it, but I've had enough of his crap. There was never going to be a better opportunity either. He was standing helplessly handcuffed against a wall. I'm sure he will run home and tell mom, but I don't give a rat’s tail about the repercussions tonight.

  Brett sucks in a breath behind me, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around so I can't reach Eric again. I'm not going to do anything else though. I figure one knee to the groin is enough retaliation towards my over-protective brother for one night. Suddenly, I remember that even though I'm ridiculously turned on by Brett's little macho showdown, I'm still annoyed at him for trying to arrest my brother.

  "You!" I lean forward poking him again. It worked so well the first time, I figured I'd give it another shot. "You are not arresting him. He didn't do anything wrong. Well, maybe he did, but it was nothing more than a sibling argument. His heart was in the right place even if he was being a butt head about it. So un-cuff him and let him go. Be quick about it too, because we are going home."

  "Gorgeous..." he starts, but I wave my hand to silence him. I'm done listening tonight. I just want to get him home and rip his clothes off piece by piece. Crap, Kara was right. He has turned me into a sex fiend.

  "That's my brother and he's a lawyer, Brett. You are not arresting him. I'm annoyed and ready to leave. I spent two hours getting dressed up tonight. Now I'm wasting it all by going home, so you better make it worth my while when we get there." His eyebrows pop up as an amazing white smile slowly spreads across his face.

  I turn and head towards the door catching Caleb out of the corner of my eye standing shocked with his mouth hanging open. I hear him whisper "Fuck. Me." as I pass. Clearly my behavior shocked him and it makes me bust out giggling as I walk outside.

  I find Brett's BMW parked out back, and lean against the door waiting for him. I'm not left waiting for more than a minute when I feel a coat drape around my shoulders.

  "You're going to freeze out here without a jacket." I smile to myself as he wraps his arms around my neck, leaning his cheek on my head. "I'm sorry about all that. Jesse, I saw him grab you, and I saw red. I wanted to murder him. The idea of someone trying to hurt you..." he fades off, shaking his head like it hurts just to think about it.

  "Hey, I'm okay. He was being stupid, and now he'll have to sleep with an ice pack between his legs.” I shrug.

  "That was sexy, by the way. Watching you take charge like that. Stand up for yourself. God, Jesse, I was so pissed off, then you kneed him and I swear I've never gotten hard so fast," he rubs his growing hard-on against my butt to prove his point.

  "Take me home. That whole bad-ass thing you had going on in there really turned me on too. I need to appropriately thank you for defending my honor."

  "That’s my favorite way to be thanked." He leans forward, kissing me breathless.

  We make the short drive back to his apartment. Once we got there, I thanked Brett twice. He thanked me four times.

  Jesse

  "WE'RE LATE!” I yell at my oven. I told my mom that Brett and I would be there at noon to help her cook dinner. I also told her I'd show up with an apple pie. Dang it!

  "Calm down, gorgeous. I don't think screaming is going to make it cook any faster." Brett sneaks up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nuzzling into my hair. "You look beautiful," he whispers against my skin, trailing kisses down my neck. All thoughts about the pie are forgotten. Heck, it’s Thanksgiving, but I'd be lucky to tell you what month it is when he's touching me like this.

  "You can't be sure of that. You've only seen my back. I could be wearing an "I'm with stupid" t-shirt and KISS make up right now." I tease, and he works his way down to my shoulder, pulling my t-shirt aside to gain better access.

  "You'd still be beautiful, but I'm not a KISS fan, so you'll have to let me fuck you from behind," he says, grinding against me.

  "Brett!" Great, we're going to be even later because I need a cold shower and dry panties now. I feel his body begin to shake as he starts laughing and steps in front of me.

  "Hey, babe." He stares down at me with a sexy smirk.

  "Hi."

  "No KISS make-up, huh? I'm not going to lie, I'm a little disappointed. I had such high hopes for taking you from behind tonight." He rubs his thumbs across my cheeks, knowing they are about to flame red. I can tell they don't disappoint him when his smile widens.

  "Is the make-up a requirement to make that, um...happen?" I have no idea why I still get nervous with Brett. There isn't an inch of my body that he hasn't touched. It may have something to do with his lack of commitment.

  It's been almost two months, and since that first night in the beginning, we have never had a single conversation about our relationship. It weighs on my mind, and as the weeks go by, it’s starting to invade my dreams too. Last week, I woke up twice in a cold sweat. They start off hot enough, it's always Brett making love to me, but then it all goes wrong. Every time, Sarah swings open the door, at the most inopportune time and starts screaming at me to get off her husband. Okay, maybe I have a few issues with Brett still being married, even if it isn't a real marriage.

  "Why, gorgeous, what are you trying to suggest? Would you like it if we tried a little something new tonight? Don't be shy with me, tell me what you want, babe. I'm open to anything with you. Well, almost anything. You're not a closet kinkster are you? I'm not sure I can get down with whips and chains. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, the idea of you in a leather get-up is doing wicked things to my imagination. Perhaps we should try something new right now? You kno
w, save us both the torture of having to wait until tonight." He lifts a sexy eyebrow questioningly. As tempted as I am to take him up on his offer, the oven timer goes off, reminding me that we need to get to my mom's ASAP.

  "Sorry, big boy, you're just going to have to wait." In a random moment of boldness, I spin around in his arms leaning over to pull the pie out of the oven, and rub my butt against the zipper of his pants. I hear him groan, as I step out of his grasp. "Don't just stand there, let's go," I say, heading to the door.

  "Fuck." He adjusts his pants and follows behind me.

  Steps before we hit the door, he pulls the pie from my hands and pushes me into the wall. Using his long arms to hold my famous apple pie away from us he says, "Gorgeous, I hope you know what that little stunt back there bought you. It's going to be a long night for you, so I suggest you drink a few beers after dinner. You know, loosen up a bit," he winks, pulling open the door and guiding me out. It's a miracle I can even walk after that.

  WHEN WE arrive at my mom's, I'm thrilled to see that Eric isn't there yet. After the incident between he and Brett at the bar, I know today is going to be a little tense. The next day, after Brett tried to have Eric arrested, I got a call from my mom asking a million questions. Apparently Eric really is a twelve year old because he called my mom first thing the next morning to tattle. Mom was more concerned with who I was dating than anything that happened at the bar. When I told her Brett would be coming to Thanksgiving, she got all excited and rushed off the phone to order a bigger turkey.

  I've never brought anyone home before, so to my mom this is a really big deal. I need to get to her though and make sure she understands that Brett and I are not all that serious yet, before she starts asking him about kids and picking out china patterns. That is a conversation that would be much easier without Eric adding his stupid two cents.

  When we get to the front door I don't bother knocking and just head inside,

  "Mom?"

  "In here, JJ." I hear my mom call from the kitchen. I peak around the corner to see her holding a huge turkey in the sink, stuffing it with spices. "Little help here?"