Brady and I took a late night flight to San Francisco on Friday. Brady worked late and I was already packed so I decided to make a quick trip to Bloomingdale’s. Since I was kind of in a hurry I started picking up anything that caught my eye, quickly accumulating a huge arm full of stuff. A sales girl found me and offered to start a fitting room for me, but I was in such a hurry that I told her that I was taking it all.

About 20 minutes later, I’d maxed out one of my credit cards on all my bullshit and was tempted to call my driver and have him help me carry all my bags to the car. I got home and had to repack in order to get use out of all my new stuff.

When we landed in San Francisco it was around 9 PM pacific time and since we didn’t have plans until the next morning, we decided to check into the hotel then head to a bar. I didn’t know it at the time, but Brady’s mom booked the room for us (well, him) and was staying directly next door.

After we put our stuff down and changed into cute clothes for the bar, we headed out. When I opened the door to our room, Brady’s parents were standing in the hallway, about to come to our room.

Brady’s mom looked surprised and said, “Oh! Hello. We weren’t expecting you.”

“Hi,” I replied, smiling and waving.

His mom leaned around me to look at Brady, who was standing right behind me.

“Hi son. We weren’t expecting Reese,” she said.

I turned to look at him and he shrugged at us. “Okay, well she’s here.”

I smiled at him. It was the snarkiest I’ve ever heard him get with his mother. Usually he’s trying really hard to be nice.

“We are going downstairs to grab a bite to eat and maybe a glass of wine,” the dad said. He wiggled his eyebrows when he mentioned wine. “Can I interest you two in going?”

Before I could even think of an excuse or if I wanted to go, Brady said, “No thanks.”

I didn’t know what to say and I don’t think his parents did either. Brady’s dad clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. “Are you sure?”

Brady’s mom glared at us.

“Yes,” Brady said.

“We have breakfast reservations at 9:30 tomorrow. Hunter and Dominique are meeting us here at 9:05,” his mom said. “We were only expecting five so hopefully they are able to accommodate us.”

“I don’t have to go,” I blurted out. Brady’s mom seemed to be going out of her way to make me feel out of place.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re here now and we won’t leave you out. Just be ready at 9:05,” she said.

Brady started walking off so I waved and followed him. Once we were out of earshot I asked, “Did your parents piss you off today?”

“No, why?” he said nonchalantly.

“You’re actually standing up for yourself and not acting all cowardly. I’m proud!” I put my arm around him.

Brady gave me a look and kind of rolled his eyes. I didn’t say anything else.

We started ordering shots as soon as we got to the bar a few blocks from the hotel. There’s nothing like getting drunk in a city other than your own, am I right? Soon, we were the only ones dancing in the middle of the bar. We were causing such a scene that we caught the attention of an alternative looking couple with sleeves of tattoos, John Lennon glasses and ripped clothing.

The girl grabbed Brady’s wrist and said, “Bro, your girlfriend is so hot.”

He smiled at me and was like, “Yeah, I know.”

We all introduced ourselves and I found out that their names were Noelle and Will. Noelle mentioned that it had been way too long since she’d been with a girl and since I was drunk I just smiled and giggled at her.

I’m not sure how, but they talked us into going back to their apartment to smoke. I don’t even smoke! We got a cab and I sat in the middle of Noelle and Brady. Noelle started playing with my hair and saying how smooth and shiny it was.

“You must wash it like, every day,” she said.

I laughed.

Brady grabbed my knee to tell me something and I practically fell into him trying to kiss him.

“Love you!” I giggled loudly.

When we got to their apartment, Noelle lit a ton of candles and Will started preparing the weed. They were using a vaporizer which I had never heard of.

“How do I even do this?” I asked as we sat around the table.

Will explained the whole process and Noelle said, “You’re so cute.”

I smiled at her.

I could only handle two rounds of the vaporizer because I felt so fucking weird. Will explained how much better for your body vaping vs. smoking was and it definitely felt fresher, but something didn’t feel right. Even my drunk ass could tell that.

Eventually we made our way to the dark living room that was only lit by Noelle’s candles.

“How do you feel?” she asked me as she sat down next to me on the couch.

“Fine,” I shrugged.

She got up on her knees and put her hands on my shoulders, massaging me. I was too inebriated to feel uncomfortable and just closed my eyes and enjoyed it.

“Looks like you have some competition, man,” I heard Noelle say. I opened my eyes and looked at Brady, but he looked all weird and far away. I reached out to touch him, but I couldn’t.

“Reese, tell me something naughty,” Noelle said.

“Naughty?” I repeated, laughing. I must have sounded like such a maniac. Why was I laughing?

“Yes, naughty.”

“My ex boyfriend has a video of me giving him a blowjob and he won’t delete it because he likes to masturbate to it,” I said.

Noelle slid her hands down and pulled me into her chest. Suddenly her face appeared right next to me. “Oh my God, that’s so hot.”

“Right?” I replied.

Noelle closed her eyes and leaned in like she was going to kiss me so I closed my eyes and let her. Her mouth was super, super cold; it was freaky.

I don’t know how long it lasted before I felt myself being pulled away and my head landing in Brady’s lap. I was giggling uncontrollably and Will was laughing at me.

“I’m literally in love with her,” Noelle said.

I don’t remember much else about the night. I vaguely recall being dragged into a cab by Brady while I was screaming (no one called the police?) and doing some embarrassingly kinky sexual things when we got back to the hotel room. I keep getting random flashbacks of things I did and cringing.

The next morning, I woke up to Brady getting dressed. I felt like I’d been hit by a semi.

“What time is it?” I asked groggily.

“9:30. They’re all waiting for us downstairs,” Brady replied.

“Oh my gosh, why didn’t you wake me up?” I exclaimed, pushing the blankets off me. I was completely naked, obviously.

“I told my mom you weren’t feeling well. You can stay in bed if you want,” he said.

“I’d look like such a bitch if I didn’t come after all that. Just give me five minutes.”

I got up and washed my face and brushed my teeth then pulled my hair into a tight top knot. I dug through my bag and put on white jeans, a Wildfox jumper and sandals then I went into bathroom and started crying because I looked so ugly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Brady asked, following me into the bathroom.

“Nothing. I’m fine. Just go without me.” I grabbed a few Kleenex from the box and dabbed my face.

“No. You’re already dressed. Let’s just go and we can come right back,” he suggested.

I didn’t even protest and just washed my face again and followed Brady downstairs. Everyone was waiting in the lobby – Brady’s parents, Hunter wearing the baby and Hunter’s tiny pregnant wife.

Brady’s mom crossed the lobby toward us.

“What the hell have you two been doing? I told you we had 9:30 reservations,” she said through clenched teeth so no one else could hear her. As passive aggressive as she usually is, I’d never seen her that visibly upset.

“I’m sorry,” Brady said, sounding defeated.

His mom gave me a disapproving once over and turned back around.

“Glad you’re feeling better and can join us this morning,” Brady’s dad called which I appreciated.

“Thanks. I’m feeling a little better,” I said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter’s wife, Dom, roll her eyes and turn around, heading toward the door after Brady’s mom. The nerve.

The car ride to the restaurant was filled with Brady’s mom asking Dom questions about her pregnancy and the baby. To my surprise, they were both being really nice to each other and it seemed like they were getting along great. Dom was being super sweet and almost like soft spoken which isn’t her personality at all. It was weird and shocking considering how terrible their first ever encounter encounter went.

Our reservation was at a cute French inspired restaurant downtown. We sat down and as soon as the waiter came to take our drink orders, Brady’s mom said, “She needs water,” and pointed her bony ass finger at me.

I don’t know why, but it really pissed me off so I said, “And a mimosa please.” I didn’t even want a mimosa.

Hunter smiled at me and said, “I’ll have one as well.”

“Baby, you’re going to drink with your son here?” Dom asked him.

“It’s just a mimosa. Relax,” he said back.

“I don’t like you doing that and you know it,” she said.

I glanced at Brady’s mom to see if she was catching any of this, but she was discussing drinks with the server and her husband. Do y’all remember when she said I was controlling? If she thinks I’m controlling, I can’t imagine what she must think of Dom.

After the server left, they passed the baby to its grandparents. It was creepy seeing Brady’s mom actually smiling and baby talking. The baby is really cute though.

“What names have you brainstormed?” Brady’s mom asked after ten minutes of cooing at the baby.

“Well, we liked Luna before Chrissy Teigen ruined it,” Dom answered.

“I don’t like that,” Brady’s mom said with a completely straight face. “You have to set her up for success, Dominique. She’s already going to have it hard enough growing up biracial.”

I almost spit out my mimosa. I waited for Dom’s reaction, but she just nodded. “You’re right.”

I physically couldn’t stop myself from speaking up. “Isn’t it sad that in 2016 we still have to worry about that?”

“Worry about what?” Brady’s mom asked, looking at me.

“A baby being biracial. This country is a melting pot. Being biracial is like the norm these days.”

She scrunched up her face at me like that was the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. She pointed her finger at me. “Drink your water.”

Excuse me? What does my water have to do with any of that? What a bitch. I glanced at Brady and he looked at me and bit his lip. It looked like an apology. At that moment I disliked his mother so much that I felt like crying.

I stayed quiet for most of the meal until Brady’s dad asked me how my crepes were.

“Fine,” I replied dryly.

“You got the lemon ones, did you?” he continued.

He was going out of his way to be nice to me after his stupid wife was rude so I started being nicer back. After we finished our food and we were waiting on the check, another server brought out a round cake covered in strawberries and whipped cream. The plate it was on had, “Congratulations!” written in chocolate. I glanced around and Brady’s mom looked delighted with herself.

“Thank you so much!” Dom gushed and then she actually got up and gave Brady’s mom a hug. I was super annoyed that the two of them were suddenly best friends.

After we ate a ton of cake and paid, we headed back to Hunter and Dom’s house. Brady’s mom hadn’t said a single word to me since our little tiff about race which was fine. The woman doesn’t have anything nice to say anyway. Brady and I sat at the kitchen island while Dom and Brady’s parents brewed some coffee.

“So how’s Tucker? Has he been spending most of his time staying with you or with Reese?” Brady’s mom asked, directing her question at Brady.

I couldn’t even stop myself. “Both of us. We all live together.”

Brady’s mom turned to me. “I’m sorry?”

I felt Brady’s hand on my elbow. Dom smirked at me.

“Brady, Tucker and I. We are all spending all of our time at Brady’s condo.”

“Reese, stop,” Brady said.

I turned to him. “What?”

“What are you saying, Reese?” Brady’s mom asked in a dismissive voice like she was sick of me talking.

Brady and I stared at each other and I could tell he was trying to tell me something with his eyes.

“Should I pour a mug of coffee for you?” Brady’s dad asked. I looked up and he was staring at me.

“I don’t drink coffee, but maybe Brady would like some,” I answered.

No one said anything for a little while until Dom dismissed herself to go check on Hunter and the baby. Brady’s dad sat a cup of coffee in front of Brady and then a glass of water in front of me.

“Hunter and Dominique don’t need us all bothering them all day so we’ve made plans to go to an art exhibit this afternoon. You’re more than welcome to come,” Brady’s mom said.

“We haven’t gotten a chance to spend anytime downtown and Reese has never been so we are going there,” Brady said.

She didn’t say anything back. Brady excused himself to use the restroom before we left and a few seconds after he’d gone, Brady’s mom whispered something to the dad and she walked out too.

“It’s certainly a beautiful day to explore San Francisco. It’s a great city,” the dad said to me.

“Yeah. From what I’ve seen, it’s really nice. Totally different from LA,” I replied.

“Oh, a world of difference. Hunter lived in Los Angeles for a year before settling in here and my wife begged him to relocate elsewhere.”

“A lot of my friends from college moved there after graduation and all they do is party. LA is definitely the place to be if you want to party until the sun comes up every night.”

Brady’s dad laughed. “And that’s no way to live as an adult.”

“For sure.” I sipped my water.

“How’s work? I think Brady mentioned that you recently changed positions again.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Same industry, but more on the sales and client facing side.”

“Do you enjoy that?”

“Yeah. It’s been good. I’ve had to change a lot of things so it’s been overwhelming, but it’ll be worth it.”

“Well, good for you. And continue finding your niche within that industry. It sounds like you know what you want.”

“Mmhm.”

A few minutes of silence ensued and since it was awkward, I decided to go find Brady.

“I’m going to go see what it is taking Brady so long,” I said, hopping down from the stool.

“I’m sure he will be back momentarily,” Brady’s dad called after me, but I was already heading toward the stairs.

I started climbing the stairs slowly and quietly because I could kind of hear voices. If Brady’s mom was confronting him about something then my nosy ass wanted to hear.

“It’s incredibly inappropriate and irresponsible,” I heard Brady’s mom say in a stern voice.

Brady’s dad came bounding up the stairs behind me. “Honey? Reese and I became worried so we are heading up the stairs right now.”

Brady’s mom appeared in the bright landing. “Oh. We are fine. Should we get going, honey?”

“I’d love to.”

Brady’s mom began descending the stairs and grabbed my shoulder to lead me down. Once we got back to the kitchen I asked, “Where’s Brady?”

“He will be down momentarily!” his mom snapped. I hate her.

Sure enough about a minute later, Brady came down the stairs looking defeated.

“We’re off. I hope you two enjoy your day,” Brady’s mom said, strapping on her Cole Haan cross body.

“We will see you later on this evening,” the dad added.

After they’d left, Brady announced that he was calling an Uber to take us downtown.

“What did your mom say?” I had to know.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, not looking up at me.

“Yes she did. Was it because of what I said?”

“Of course it was. Why did you feel the need to say that, Reese? You thrive on drama. You know my parents didn’t know you moved in.”

“I’m sorry. She just got under my skin today,” I apologized.

“Well good job because you don’t have to deal with the reprisal, I do.”

I didn’t say anything and Brady said, “Our Uber is here.”

By the time we arrived downtown, Brady was in a better mood and excited to explore with me. We did some light shopping and stopped in a few restaurants for drinks. After taking some touristy pictures, we decided to go back to the hotel to nap. I was still exhausted from the night before.

We got back to our room and Brady started chuckling. “Do you even remember last night?”

“Don’t even remind me,” I groaned. “What the hell is up with San Francisco weed? Every time I’ve smoked here, I felt like I was tripping on acid or something.”

“Honestly, it’s a possibility. It could be laced with anything,” Brady said.

“That’s so reckless. Why would you want to smoke laced weed?” I said.

Brady shrugged. As a pharmacist, that’s irresponsible. I was not impressed or amused.

I took a long shower and when I walked back in the room with just my towel on, Brady was laying down on his back.

“Come here,” he said, sitting up.

I tightened my towel and padded over to him. He grabbed the bottom of the towel and yanked it down so I was standing there completely naked. He ran a hand down my torso and down between my legs.

“Bradyyyy,” I whined.

“Yes, baby?”

“Get undressed.”

Soon he was on top of me, pounding hard. I felt like I couldn’t keep up. That doesn’t ever happen.

“Are you thinking about Noelle?” Brady asked me.

I giggled and grabbed his face in my hands. I was too out of breath to respond so I kissed him quickly. He started moving faster, clearly about to finish and then there was a knock on the door. A pretty aggressive knock. Brady stopped and looked around, confused.

“Yeah?” he called.

“Brady, we are leaving for the airport. We’re here to say goodbye,” I heard his mom say from the other side of the door.

“Fuck!” Brady muttered. He jumped off me and started getting dressed. I slowly climbed out of bed and walked to my bag to find something to throw on. I didn’t care if his mom knew what was going on. I was sick of being nice and trying to impress her when her mind was already made up about me.

I found a pair of running shorts and a gray Yale sweatshirt that I hijacked from Brady a long time ago. I was still trying to tame my damp hair when Brady opened the door.

“Our flight is in an hour and a half,” was his mom’s greeting when she walked in.

“I hope you have a safe trip,” I offered. I was sitting on the floor pulling my hair into a bun.

“Likewise,” she said looking down at me.

She and Brady hugged briefly followed by Brady and his dad hugging. It was only when Brady’s mom began walking toward that I realized she wanted to say goodbye to me too. I stood up and hugged her and when she pulled away, she said, “I have something I’d like to email to you so I will get your email address from Brady, okay?”

I nodded. What the hell did this broad possibly need to email to me?

“It was good to see you, Reese and hopefully we can all get together again soon,” she continued. How sweet.

I smiled and said, “Me too.”

We left early on Sunday morning and slept all day as soon as we got home. We didn’t even stop by Kendra’s to get Tucker. Brady’s mom drains all my energy. And I wasn’t even trying hard to be perfect around her this time. I don’t see how he deals with her. And I still haven’t received that email. I asked Brady about it and he seemed clueless as to what she would possibly need to email me about. He did say that she texted him asking for my address though. Isn’t that weird?

Speaking of weird and my ex boyfriend, he texted me last week saying he needed a favor. I texted back asking what the favor was and he called me. Devin and I don’t talk a lot these days, but we are still on good terms. Brady was watching tv in the living room so I went to our room to take the call.

“Yes, Devin?” I answered.

“My baby!” he exclaimed into the phone.

“No,” I said calmly. “What do you need?”

He explained that his company was sending a VIP guest (what does that even mean?) to Chicago for a show and he needed connects to some after party venues. “I know your fine ass knows everyone,” he said.

“Actually no. I’m so far removed from that scene. I’ve grown out of it,” I explained.

After that we just started talking. He told he about the girl he’d recently broken up with. Neither of them trusted each other and it just made a super toxic relationship. That made me feel guilty for sometimes not trusting Brady. We’d been on the phone for about 45 minutes when Brady walked in the bedroom. So then I felt guilty about being on the phone with my ex. Brady went in the bathroom and got in the shower and I ended the call with Devin. I didn’t tell Brady who I was talking to and I definitely can’t tell him now after my weird confession over the weekend. I cannot believe I even said that.

Anyway, I have a ton of work to do and I’ve already wasted enough time typing this. I’m dying to know what Brady’s mom is going to email me!!!

Oh, I forgot to add this. My parents are separating. They just can’t seem to get along. I mostly feel bad for my mother because she really wants to make it work and my dad is the one who wants to end it. She obviously loves him and said she’s been praying for God to fix it. She said, “When I said those vows, I really meant it,” and that made me incredibly sad. Especially because I imagine she’s going to be so lonely once my dad leaves. 

Hi y’all.

I’ve been so busy with work. After Mike went back to New York I started making some aggressive changes. Since he hated pretty much everything that was going on, I figured we should turn things around and go with different strategies across the board.

Scott heard me giving one of my team members an assignment and afterwards, he said, “So what made you do that?”

I explained to him my thought process and how it would impact sales and ultimately make Mike happy and Scott made a face.

“Well, that’s just not something we generally do. I’m going to shoot Kelsey a quick email and ask if this is okay,” he said. And then he pulled out his phone and actually started emailing her.

How annoying. What would Kelsey know? She knows nothing about sales or marketing or anything like that so it just seemed like a waste to even contact her.

Later on, Scott emailed me telling me that Mike said to do whatever I needed to do to end up ten percent in sales. Like duh. That’s what I was going to do anyway. I just think it’s so annoying how Scott won’t do things because he fears what Mike would say. That’s totally not me. Obviously I’m not going to do something completely ridiculous, but if I can justify it, I don’t see why I should get approval for every little thing I do. We are all capable of making our own decisions.

Anyway, Carly said she got drunk with the Tinder guy, he pulled out his dick and she got freaked out and left.

“I can’t believe you let it get that far,” I said.

“And I can’t believe you’re judging me,” she said back.

I texted Brady, “Don’t worry, Carly didn’t cheat on Chris,” even though he said he wanted to stay out of it. I wanted him to know that the situation was over and we could still continue to support their courtship.

He replied, “I wasn’t worried.”

I can’t even lie, I was. I feel like I don’t know any of my friends anymore. I did get a chance to hang out with Preston recently though. He got a new job too and has been busy with that and his boyfriend. We made plans to grab dinner at a fairly upscale restaurant in River North and Preston waltzed in wearing joggers, Nike slides, a denim button down and a J. Crew quilted vest. I love him so much.

After we sat down, Preston said, “Okay so tell me everything.”

Obviously I wanted to talk all about Carly’s infidelity, but I didn’t want to spill the beans if he didn’t know.

“Have you talked to Carly?” I asked.

Preston shook his head then his eyes lit up. “I haven’t, but guess who Kyle is dating?”

I shrugged. Kyle is a man whore and there’s really no telling who he’s dating at any given time.

“You remember Julia?”

“Ew, he’s dating Julia?” Julia is cool and I think she’s pretty, but I wouldn’t peg her as Kyle’s type. She’s much too serious and put together.

“No, but her younger sister. She actually just moved here. She graduated last year.”

I made a face. Guys’ mindset is the younger the better, I suppose.

“So how’s that fine man of yours? I haven’t seen him in forever,” Preston said, resting his chin in his hands.

I rolled my eyes. “He’s fine. He thinks I’m too aggressive which is annoying.”

“He should be thanking you for being so aggressive. If you weren’t, you two would still be dry humping and he’d be jizzing in his pants.”

I laughed. “Totes. But then again I would have hopefully moved on by now.”

Preston rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. You were obsessed with him even before you found out he had a dick made of gold.”

We both laughed.

“And now you’re waiting for that diamond. How jealous are you that Carly got a ring before you?” Preston went on.

“Not very considering she’s resorted to meeting guys on Tinder. So obviously she’s not as happy as y’all think.”

He gasped loudly causing the table next to us to stare. “No. Way. How do you know?”

“She told me. She said she’s trying to have fun before she settles down.”

“That girl has had enough fun for a lifetime. Do you remember that time she gave a random guy head in a port-a-potty?” Preston cackled. “I can’t believe she’s slutting it up on Tinder. Even I wouldn’t do that to my man.”

“I was surprised when she told me too. But Chris might be doing the same thing. Brady refuses to tell me,” I said.

“I always knew those two were freaks. I love it though,” Preston said.

When I got home I was a little tipsy and a lot horny from all the sex talk with Preston. I found Brady in the living room, with his laptop and a calculator out. He was wearing his glasses, but they were slipping down his nose and it was so adorable.

“Hey boo thang,” I greeted him.

“Hey. How was dinner?” he asked.

Instead of answering, I kissed him and dropped to my knees in front of him. “Good, but I missed you.”

“Oh yeah?” Brady said, sitting up straighter.

“Mmhm.” I started unbuckling his belt preparing to give him the best blow job of his life.

He came almost instantly. Like seconds into the action. Brady seemed kind of embarrassed and apologized, but I totally get it. We haven’t been having much sex lately so of course he came quickly. At least that means he isn’t getting it elsewhere, right?

The next night my friend from high school, Brittany, was in town. One of her guy friends was in Chicago for work and she tagged along with him. We decided to meet up for dinner and drinks and I brought Brady because she insisted. She’s in love with Brady and I’m kind of amused by it at this point.

Brittany showed up about a half an hour late and Brady and I were already on our third drinks. She waltzed in wearing a trench coat that was almost identical to the Burberry one I’d worn in. She recently cut her hair to a layered bob with subtle highlights and she looks a million times more mature and sophisticated. Don’t be fooled though, she still goes out 5-6 times a week, but to much classier establishments.

“Y’all!” she squealed when she saw us.

Brady and I got up and hugged her and she flagged down our server to order a drink.

“Chicago is so beautiful!” Brittany said once she settled in. “And there are so many good looking men here. I might never go home!”

I scoffed. “You’ll get tired of them quickly.”

Brittany looked from me to Brady and back.

“Anyway, tell me about your new job,” I said.

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m doing public relations for an entertainment group. I love it. It’s totally what I’m meant to do. We work with a lot of celebrities who come to Houston because my boss is super connected.”

“That’s cool. What celebrities have you met?” I asked.

“I’m not going to sit here and name drop, Reese.” Brittany smiled and looked at Brady like, “Aw, she’s so naive and dumb.”

I rolled my eyes.

“How’s work been for you, Brady?” she asked.

“It’s been okay.”

“Do you want to stay there indefinitely?”

Brady looked caught off guard by the question. “Right now, yes. In a couple of years, I’ll probably transition into research.”

I had no idea he had aspirations of doing research.

“That’s so cool. Did you know that Houston has some really good research universities?” Brittany said.

“I did know that.”

“So if you’re looking to relocate…” she sang as she swirled her cocktail straw.

“We are not moving to Houston,” I cut in.

“Your mom would love that,” Brittany said.

“She would, but I wouldn’t.”

She turned her attention back to Brady. “Would you ever move to Houston?”

He shrugged then glanced at me. “Depends on the opportunity.”

After we finished our drinks we headed to another bar. We were all pretty tipsy and Brady couldn’t keep his hands off me. I was standing at the bar trying to get the attention of the bartender and Brady was standing behind me with his hands on the bar on either side of me so I was pinned in.

“You look so good in this dress. I love you,” he whispered and kissed my neck.

I was wearing a tight gray midi dress with a thin bralette underneath and nothing else. I’m so anxious for warmer weather.

“I love you,” I replied. “Wanna leave soon?”

I felt him nod.

Brittany was sitting on a barstool next to us talking on the phone and I turned to her.

“We are leaving,” I mouthed and she nodded.

We closed our tab then I ordered a car to come and get us. Brittany was still talking on the phone, but put her hand over the mouthpiece to say, “I’ll just go with y’all.”

Whatever. When we got home, I quickly went to change into shorts and a sports bra. I checked my phone and saw that Carly had texted me a couple times.

“Why did you tell Preston? I asked you not to tell anyone, Reese.”

“I don’t even know why I told you anything. You can’t hold water.”

I honestly felt bad about telling Preston especially because he probably made her feel like shit about it. So I said, “I’m sorry! Preston of all people won’t judge you though.”

“Of course he won’t. Neither of you has any room to judge me. I’m just so annoyed.”

“You have every right to be annoyed.”

“Did you tell Brady too?”

I didn’t know how to answer this. I could lie. She would never know that I actually told him because Brady vowed to stay out of it completely. Or I could be an adult and fess up. I decided to be an adult.

“I did. I didn’t mean any harm though! I just didn’t want you to do anything you’d regret. I needed advice,” I said.

“Omg. You are seriously so stupid, Reese. I don’t see how anyone can stand you.”

Ouch.

“Carly. It’s fine. Brady isn’t going to tell Chris and you aren’t talking to that guy anymore. Everything is going to be okay.”

“Whatever. This is exactly why your life is the way it is lol.”

“What are you even talking about?”

Carly didn’t say anything back so I sent a bunch of question marks. She still didn’t respond so I decided to go find my man. I walked in the living room and found Brady sitting on the couch with Tucker in his lap and Brittany was sitting Indian style on the floor in front of him petting the dog. She’d taken her coat off and had on a low cut drapey tank top and I imagined Brady and Tucker were getting quite a show from where they were sitting. Brittany was basically between Brady’s legs and I couldn’t help thinking it was the same position we’d been in the night before.

Brittany turned to me and pouted. “Reese, I love your dog. You’re so lucky.”

“I know. He is cute, isn’t he?” I said and walked over and picked Tucker out of Brady’s lap.

Brittany stood up and grabbed the dog from me. “I’m taking him home!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brady stand up and adjust himself then walk toward the kitchen. Ew. He was totally turned on by Brittany and Tucker. Pervert.

Brady ended up pulling his laptop out and working in the dining room while Brittany and I hung out in the living room talking. After about an hour or so, she needed to go back to her hotel so we said our goodbyes. Brittany went to the dining room to say bye to Brady and pulled him into a big hug before he could even stand up.

Mike’s been in Chicago. He was brooding around the office all week and we all tried to avoid him. One of my team members was working with a potential high profile client and I swooped in and sealed the deal. Mike got wind of it and approached me after a sales meeting.

“Congratulations, Reese. Good job. I’m happy for you and proud of you,” he said, sounding very robotic. But a compliment is a compliment and I beamed.

Later on in the week, he CCed me on a forwarded email to Scott. Apparently a company we were working with was inquiring about pricing and getting out of a contract and Mike said, “Scott, please have Reese take over this account as I know she will be capable of rectifying this situation.”

Scott immediately called me and started telling me what I should do and say when I reached out the company. Finally, I cut him off and snapped, “Scott, I have it under control!”

I felt kind of bad for snapping at him, but he needs to hear it. He hired me for a reason and Mike wanted me to take over the account for a reason. So get off me.

Literally one day later, Mike forwarded an email from the company that was thanking him for the changes in their contract (which is the work I did). The only thing Mike said in the email to all us was, “Good job, Reese.”

I was pretty satisfied with myself even though Mike didn’t seem like he really cared. I could tell he was impressed and loves having me around (but also, who doesn’t?). Lol, byeee.

I told Brady. I’d decided that if the roles were reversed, I’d definitely want to know and I would kill Brady if he didn’t tell me.

We ordered takeout pizza on Thursday night and I figured the best time to tell him was as we waited in the restaurant to pick up our pizza.

“Oh my gosh, so I have news,” I prefaced.

“Okay,” Brady said because usually when I have news, it isn’t good.

“Carly has a Tinder account and she’s meeting guys on there,” I said.

“Oh, jeez,” Brady replied, sounding disappointed.

“I know! She met a guy for drinks and plans on hanging out with him this weekend when Chris is out of town. Can you believe that? What should we do?”

He hesitated then said, “We should probably stay out of it.”

“Really?”

“It’s their relationship and I don’t want to get involved. I mean, it sucks that Carly is doing that, but…” Brady shrugged.

I’m not sure what I was expecting Brady to say, but I definitely wasn’t expecting him to say that he didn’t care. If it were my friend, I would definitely not stay out of it.

“Is Chris talking to other girls too?” I couldn’t help asking.

“I don’t know, Reese. It isn’t any of my business.”

At first I wasn’t going to continue, but I couldn’t help myself. “Is he hooking up with that Albino ballet girl?”

“Reese, I don’t know!” Brady exclaimed. “What does it matter? They can do whatever they want, it’s their relationship!”

“What does it matter?! They are engaged to be married!”

“What do you want to happen then?”

“Well, I don’t know. If it were my friend, I’d tell him,” I said.

Brady rolled his eyes and that was the end of the discussion. I can’t believe he just didn’t care. It bothers me that he was so nonchalant about cheating especially when his best friend is involved. Like that’s a huge deal. How can you not care?

When we got home with our pizza, we sat down and began to eat. Brady mentioned that he was planning a trip to San Francisco with his parents in a few weeks and asked if I wanted to tag along. I was still a little weirded out about his reaction to Carly cheating so I said no.

He gave me a weird look and said, “Okay.”

I watched as he started booking his flight and got sad thinking about him leaving so I said, “Wait, I will go.”

So now I’m going because I don’t want Brady to have any fun without me.

On Friday, we had a really good day at work. My team finished a major project that wasn’t supposed to be done for another few weeks. And then Mike walked past me giving out some assignments and he told Scott that I did a good job with time management.

Scott got a boner at my compliment and after lunch, he suggested we grab drinks after work. I figured it might be fun to bond with some coworkers so I agreed. I texted Kendra, “I’m getting drinks with my new coworkers. I don’t want them to know how crazy I am yet, what should I do?”

She said, “Only stay out for an hour. And no shots.”

At exactly 5:00 PM, Scott, Monica, and a guy in charge of operations named Brice, powered down our computers and walked to a bar near the office. I limited myself to two beers (and cheese fries) and even told my colleagues my plan.

After my two beers, Monica suggested a new bar. The bar she suggested is one of those places that get super wild at dusk, but since it was just after six, I figured I was still in the clear. Monica and I made a beeline for the restroom. When we came out, Brice had shots waiting for us. Scott was sitting there with his shot and a lime in each hand.

“Guys, I said no shots,” I said.

“Girl, I already bought it,” Brice said, pushing the shot toward me.

After that, Monica wanted to one-up him and ordered another round of fruity shots for us. I started to notice Scott getting up more frequently to get a beer and sometimes grabbing me one also. I’d finish about three quarters of a bottle then start on the next one Scott brought me because I kind of wasn’t in the mood for it.

Brice ended up needing to leave but Scott, Monica and I stayed. The place started getting fuller and louder and since I could feel myself getting drunk, I vowed to stop drinking.

“Reese, I just want you to know that I’m incredibly impressed with you. You have a lot of talent and I see you going far, not only with this company, but in your career overall,” Scott said loudly above the music and people.

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” I said.

“I think Mike is impressed with you too, and that isn’t easy to do.”

“He definitely doesn’t seem like he’s easy to impress, but I kind of like the challenge.”

Scott smiled at me. “You know, I think your boyfriend is very, very lucky. I think, I mean – you’re very good looking and you have such an infectious personality.”

“Thanks. I’d like to think so,” I said because I couldn’t think of how else to respond to that.

“Reese, you’re very, very good looking. I mean, you must be fighting guys off left and right.”

I smiled and nodded.

“You’re very assertive and I think that will take you far. You seem to know what you want and you aren’t afraid to go after it. I like that. That’s not a trait that everyone has, you know.”

“Yeah,” I smiled.

“If you want to move up with us, I can help you do that. I want you to trust me that I have your best interest in mind. I think you could probably take over my job in a year’s time and if that’s something you want, I can certainly help you get there.”

“Thank you. I totally trust you,” I said.

Monica, who had been sitting there with us the entire time, leaned over and said she was calling an Uber to go home. I took it as a cue for me to go too.

I texted Brady, “Come and get me please hurry! 😭”

And of course he replied, “I’m coming now. Are you okay?” because I’m dramatic.

“I’m fine,” I replied.

Monica left so Scott and I were alone.

“Thanks for all the drinks, boss. I owe you one,” I said.

“No, it’s my pleasure! You deserve it.”

When Brady texted me telling me he was outside, Scott got up and left with me. He doesn’t live far from the bar and was just going to walk home.

“All right, Reese. I had fun. Thanks for coming out,” he said and then he shook my hand.

On the ride home, I thought about what Scott said and how flattered I was, but also about how skeevy I felt when Andrew, my old boss, was saying similar things to me.

“So did you have fun?” Brady asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I’m just tired.” I yawned on cue.

I leaned my head against the window and scrolled through Instagram for a while until I felt the car slow down. I looked up and saw that we were at McDonald’s.

“Oh my gosh, we’re getting Mickey D’s?” I exclaimed.

“Yes, if you want,” Brady said.

I jumped up and down in my seat. “You’re the best hubby in training ever!”

Brady laughed.

When we got home, we ate our nuggets and fries and I almost told Brady about what Scott said to me, but I managed to stop myself. I don’t need Brady feeling like a. it was a bigger deal than it was. b. that I’m continuing to attract the wrong attention. and c. he has anything to worry about because he doesn’t.

Carly didn’t text me back all weekend. I’m almost afraid that Brady actually did end up telling Chris about what I told him and she’s pissed at me about it. But I know she would confront me about it if Chris did find out about her almost-affair. I’m also afraid to even bring it up to Brady again because he got so snippy with me the first time. I really hope she didn’t do anything stupid and if she did, I hope she and Chris get over it.