by Amy Daws
“What? I like it! I think it’s funny. Leslie installed it.”
“You two are funny,” Brody says, pulling me toward my bedroom door. “When I listen to you two on the phone together, I swear you’re speaking a completely different language.”
“Don’t knock Leslie! She’s the shit!” Angela bellows defensively.
“I’m not knocking her! I think it’s cute.” He tweaks my nose. “We’ll see you two later,” Brody says to Angela and Mark, pulls me into my room, and shuts the door.
I smile, affectionately. “Hang on, it’s Leslie. I need to text her back real quick. She’s going back to London soon, so I’m trying to get phone time in with her as much as possible.”
He slowly starts dragging down the zipper on the back of my dress, his fingers grazing my bare skin as he does.
“You…are making texting very difficult,” I say, looking at him with hooded eyes.
“I’m not butting in on your friend time. Please continue. I’ll just help myself here.” He pulls the straps down on my dress and it falls easily to the floor, displaying my nude strapless bra and black thong. “I take that back. I’m going to butt in on your friend time, real soon.”
“Just wait! Seriously, hang on a sec,” I say, pulling back from him. “Leslie wants to meet you before she goes back to London.”
“So let’s meet,” he says, tugging on the thin strap of thong on my hip.
“Tomorrow, okay?” I ask. He looks up, like he’s mentally checking his calendar.
“Yep,” he quips and nuzzles his face into my neck, dragging his tongue slowly up toward my ear. I shiver in response and type back a quick, mostly legible response that tomorrow works great.
***
Waking up with Brody the next morning is incredible. He more than made up for leaving me high and dry a couple days ago. Gosh, that morning feels like a lifetime ago.
I stare at him well and good, crossing the creepy threshold. Unable to stop myself, I kiss the freckle below his eye that’s been taunting me all morning. He stirs as I crawl on top of him and straddle his boxer-brief covered crotch. Brody in black boxer briefs is about as sexy as my heart can take. Any more, and it would simply burst into a million oversexed pieces.
I feel him already growing beneath me. “Oh, no, we have to get going. We’re meeting Leslie for brunch,” I tease, wiggling slightly.
“What kind of college student does brunch?” Brody asks, bucking his hips into me playfully.
I bat at his chest in response. “Lez loves brunch. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a British thing. Either way, you have some brownie points to earn with her. She’s just as important as my family.”
“I’m great with best friends. Best friends and mothers. They all love me.” He starts stroking my hips and squints at me as the early morning sunlight streams in.
I smile down at him, feeling overwhelmed at the fact that he is mine. “I’m not worried. Lez will love you because you’re charming and sweet and sexy.”
He sits up quickly, and rolls me onto my back, smirking. “You can’t say nice words like that and get away. I’ll be quick. I promise.” He pecks my nose and I relent. Who was I kidding—I wasn’t going to put up a fight.
Brunch turns into supper because Leslie gets tied up at home. I offer to meet her in KC so she doesn’t have so far to drive, but she said she wants to spend the night with me before she flies out. Both of us know it could be a long time before we see each other again. London isn’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump away. I would do the same thing if the roles were reversed. She’s still the most amazing friend.
Brody and I situate ourselves on one side of the booth at the cool, 50s style diner in Manhattan. It’s a ways off campus, but since we’re skipping classes today, we don’t mind.
I hear Lez before I see her.
“FINNY?” she screeches. I twirl around and see her bounding toward me in a vintage 50s style camel-colored dress, her dark auburn hair flowing thickly around her shoulders.
“Lezzy!” I screech right back, and all but shove Brody out of the booth so I can get out and hug her.
She pulls me in for a tight embrace then looks my outfit up and down. “Are those vintage Guess jeans?” she shoves me to the side so she can look at my rear end.
“EBay!” I offer brightly.
She gives me a proud mother look and smacks my ass. “I’ve taught you so well.”
She turns her attention to Brody, standing and enjoying the display between the two of us. “And this dashing young lad must be the lil whipper-snapper that stole your precious heart?” She opens her arms and pulls Brody into a big hug.
“I’m Brody,” he says, looking slightly bashful and even more adorable than usual in his cute gray button-down and jeans.
“Bam!” She purses her lips and shakes her head. “My Finny has good taste in men.”
We all laugh and settle in the booth. I opt to sit next to Leslie. Brody doesn’t seem the least bit surprised, and I love him even more for it.
After we make small talk about Topeka and order our food, Leslie turns her serious green eyes on Brody.
“Brodster. We need to sincerely talk.”
“Shoot,” Brody says, eyeing her acutely.
“Finny is my best friend. Like. Best. Friend. I need to know you’re a good enough guy for her. I’m leaving again for London and I can’t leave without knowing you’re going to live up to the hype.”
He nods and his eyes glance to me. I squirm, feeling a bit guilty about Leslie’s difficult question, but not surprised by it.
“Honestly?” he starts and pauses. She nods for him to continue. “I’m probably not.” I frown and he continues looking straight into Leslie’s eyes. “I’m probably not good enough for Fin. I’m not going to lie. I have my issues. I’m working on them. But I can promise you that I know what an extraordinary person your best friend is. And I’m going to spend as long as it takes to become good enough for her.”
I stare at him in wonder and Leslie’s big, goofy grin breaks my trance. “That’s cheesy as hell. But, honesty will always get you biscuit points in my book. You’ll do.” She takes a drink of her tea, and I relax and allow her words to lighten the mood.
The three of us head back to Wildwood and opt to stay in for the night instead of going out. I’m happy for that because I don’t want to share any of my time with Leslie at a crowded bar. She’s got an early flight the next day, so laying low sounded perfect to her. Angela orders several crates of Chinese food and Brody and Mark join us to eat. We laugh like crazy all night long at the insane competition Mark and Leslie have going for who can say the most ridiculous things.
Brody wins Leslie over completely when Mark tells us all about Brody’s impression of the old York Peppermint Patty commercial. Apparently, growing up, Brody used to perform that commercial at family gatherings by jumping up on the coffee table and everything. Just when we all give up begging Brody to do it, he leaps up out of his seat and onto the coffee table in the blink of an eye.
Leslie and I are crying, we’re laughing so hard as he recites the entire commercial verbatim. My heart about bursts when Leslie laughs loudly, and exclaims, “Finny! He’s one of us! He’s perfect!” I just smiled proudly at my unassuming man. He’s not perfect, but he is everything…and that’s more than perfect for me.
At the end of the night, Brody doesn’t even ask to spend the night. He just asks me to walk him out the door so he can kiss me goodnight without everyone watching. I love that he knows Leslie will be sleeping in my bed with me. He gets us, and that makes me feel giddy with excitement. Brody charmed Leslie all night and I know that when we go to bed tonight, she’ll tell me all the nitty-gritty tiny things she likes about him. And I can’t wait.
***
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
The next few weeks leading up to the holidays are a blur of blissful busyness. Midterms hit hard and Brody and I agree to separate a couple nights a week so we can focus on our studies. These are t
he last classes Brody has before graduation because next semester he’s doing a fulltime internship in Kansas City, working for the city. It’s a crazy awesome internship that’s very hard to get in to. I’m not the least bit surprised they picked Brody out of several applicants.
We still haven’t discussed our exact living situation after graduation. And the reality of him being gone for a whole semester is looming over both of us. It’s all we talk about. There’s no question we’re going to do the long-term thing, but not knowing where each other will end up after graduation kills me. I know for certain, that I’m heading to Kansas City to work for Val, so it goes without question I want Brody to find a job there too. But it might not be that easy. Brody seems nervous enough about his internship. I’m not going to start pressing him about plans after graduation yet. I’m doing my best to live in the now with him and enjoy the time we have together before he leaves.
***
For Christmas break, Brody comes back home with me for a whole week. He’s nervous and excited to meet the rest of my family. I tell him to relax because he’s already won over Cadence and she’s the tough one. I sort of love his nervousness over meeting everyone else, though—it’s adorable.
My mom gives Brody a big hug and he charms her instantly by complimenting all the food she’s stuffing into him. Dad is brooding and intimidating, as he so often has been for all my past boyfriends, but still polite, overall. They both know how important Brody is, so I know deep down, they are happy for us.
My sister’s husband, George, is even worse than Dad. He scares the crap out of Brody by acting like a huge, royal asshole to him the whole first day we are home.
“Jesus, your sister’s husband is scaring the shit out of me!” Brody says as we dig into our suitcases for pajamas. Mom put us up in the spare bedroom with a queen-sized bed. My parents never have been very conservative, so when I told them how serious Brody and I are, they said if I felt that way, I’m old enough to sleep in the same bed.
“What? Why is he scaring you?” I ask, looking innocent and confused.
“He just keeps glaring at me. I asked him to pass the milk this morning and he told me I better learn how to get my own damn milk if I knew what was good for me. I don’t even know what the hell that means, but I’m seriously uncomfortable!”
I do my best to conceal a smirk. George texted me before we arrived, telling me I had to go along with whatever he said or did, and to not ask questions or give him away.
“Yeah, that’s so weird. George is usually a big teddy bear. I don’t understand why he’s being like that with you.” And George truly is a big teddy. He’s big and stocky, but has a bit of a menacing look to him when he makes the right expression. He’s been the big brother I never had, and he does a great job of tolerating me being at their house all the time.
“Frick, do you think it’s something I did?” Brody asks, looking concerned and depressed. “I must have made a bad impression somehow, but I don’t know how.”
“Maybe it’s because I told him you fucked me in the parking lot at that restaurant last week,” I say, looking deadly serious.
“FINLEY! You better be fucking kidding!” I widen my eyes and suddenly the door to our bedroom flies open and crashes against the wall.
“You fucked Finley in a parking lot!” George booms, and comes thundering toward Brody like a mad man.
Brody crumples into a ball on the bed, his hands raised to cover himself from George’s attack. I burst out laughing and Cadence comes in and joins me. Brody looks up at us in confusion as George’s murderous gaze eventually morphs into a large grin. His grin then turns into a huge belly laugh while looking at Brody’s confused face.
“Oh, my God, Brody! Your face!” Cadence squeals, pointing and laughing. “You look like you’re about to puke!”
That comment just makes George and I laugh harder, crumpling into each other and wiping tears out of our eyes. Earlier, George pulled me aside and said he needed some juicy tidbit of info for the grand finale, so we hatched a plan for him to listen outside the door after Brody and I went to bed. I can’t believe we actually pulled it off!
Brody stands up off the bed and puts his hands on his hips, glaring at the three of us laughing like immature teenagers. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard in my entire life.
“You’ve been messing with me the whole day?” Brody asks. George can’t even answer him because he’s laughing too hard.
“What going on?” Mom yells from downstairs. We all just laugh even louder.
Cadence is the only one able to compose herself enough to answer. “Yes! He has!” She starts laughing again, holding her rapidly growing pregnant belly. “You should have seen your face all day, Brody. I don’t know how we all held it together! Even Mom and Dad knew!”
George straightens, finally composing himself enough to speak. “You handled it well, dude. Welcome to the family.” He offers his hand, and Brody purses his lips off to the side and glares, but takes his hand anyway, eventually laughing along with all of us.
The rest of the week goes very similarly, with a lot of laughing and a lot of bonding. Mom and Dad got a good kick out of Brody being let in on the joke, and we all get really comfortable with each other. Brody and George form an bond over the whole trick and I can easily see them being very close throughout our life together.
***
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The entire final semester of my senior year is miserable. Brody and I spend every night talking on the phone and face-timing to try and pass the time. He comes back on weekends, and I go visit him in Kansas City. It’s hard, but we’re dealing with it.
All the phone time has been furthering our relationship and figuring out what we want out of life. Neither Brody, nor I, care much about getting married after graduation. We both agree we have a really great thing going and feel like just staying in a fully committed relationship feels more right than getting married.
We are one-hundred percent on the same page with wanting children someday, though. Whether we’re married or not, we want a family. I love the concept of being a young mom, like Cadence. The idea of having a baby that is all Brody and me—us—makes me excited beyond comprehension.
If we have children together, I assume we’ll need to live together, but Brody still hasn’t asked me to move in. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to ask him. It would feel similar to me proposing, and there are just some things guys should do.
Knowing I need to figure out living arrangements, because Val wants me to start working for her right away, I decide to make plans with Angela. Despite her reservations, she’s headed to KC to work in the same building as her father. Following in his political footsteps, it would seem. Her parents already have a couple great places for us to look at over spring break.
Because I have no grand plans for Spring Break, and Brody has to work, I volunteer to cover the computer lab for the diehards, like Parni—who has somehow morphed into one of my favorite people on campus. She’ll be there all week to keep me company, so it won’t be all bad.
***
“No big plans for spring break with Brody?” Parni asks, walking in her familiar shuffle into the computer lab. She is damn near pleasant to me these days. Gone is that solemn, Grumpy Gus she used to be. Granted, she hasn’t morphed into Susie Sunshine, but I get a lot less glares from her these days. She’s the only one that’s come in all day so far.
“‘Fraid not,” I say, looking and feeling glum. “Brody’s working in Kansas City, and I need the extra money for a car.” Mom and Dad gave me one of their older cars to take back to college with me after Christmas, but they told me it was only temporary and I need to start saving to buy my own.
Not to mention, going to KC and staying with Brody just doesn’t feel right. First of all, he didn’t invite me. He’s felt quiet and stand-offish lately. It’s killing me to be this far away from him and not able to see him whenever I want. Graduation is just around the corner, and
I want us to both be in the same place, more than I want to breathe right now.
“You okay?” Parni asks, eyeing me thoughtfully.
I nod quickly, trying to brush off her concern. She smirks in response, and I frown at her in confusion. Parni never smiles. She silently points to the large bank of windows. I look over, and my heart explodes at the sight of Brody standing there with a stack of white papers in his hand.
Tears instantly fill my eyes at the overwhelming joy of seeing Brody again. I haven’t seen him for three weeks. He’s been under so much stress with his internship, so I’ve been giving him space to focus. I run to the window and place my hands on it, my eyes dancing around his sweet face. It’s wonderful laying eyes on him again.
He offers me a lopsided smile, looking totally at ease with himself out there. He holds his finger up and grabs the first sheet. My heart patters rapidly inside my chest at the excitement of what this special message will be.
He presses the sheet against the glass. His familiar thick black scroll makes me beam.
GUESS WHAT?
I touch my fingers to the letters and shake my head in question. He grabs another sheet.
I GOT THE JOB.
My eyes turn wide. I clap and jump up and down in excitement. He throws up a new message.
WHICH JOB, YOU ASK?
I shake my head because I’m assuming he’s referring to the job working for the city in construction management. We’ve only been talking about it since he started his internship! I squint to read the message on the next sheet.
THE ONE WITH THE CITY….DUH.
I cross my arms over my chest and frown at him. He chuckles, apparently pleased with my reaction. He looks so delicious right now, I could jump through this window to hug him, but I want to see what all his other signs say, so I refrain.
GO ON SPRING BREAK WITH ME?
This sheet stuns me. My eyes turn wide and I bring my hands to cover my wide-open mouth. I nod, eagerly and enthusiastically. Hell yes I’ll take a whole week with this man. Screw saving money for a car. The computer lab can go to hell for all I care. I glance back at Parni to share my excitement. She’s full on smiling!