party animal.

I was only able to set up five interviews by Wednesday morning, but I lied and told Andrew that I had eight. I was still waiting to hear back from some people so I figured he wouldn’t find out. He said, “Great Reese! I can’t wait to hear how they go!”

He didn’t bother giving me an interview guide or any direction really so I guess I have to figure it out on my own. I haven’t talked to Kate because I don’t want to seem like a whiney baby and so far, what Andrew has asked me to do hasn’t interfered with my current job. And like y’all said, it’s good to hire my own people and I’m lucky that Andrew is giving me that opportunity. So I’ll take it.

At the end of our Friday staff meeting, Diana announced that I would be leaving. Everyone seemed surprised and after the meeting Whitney stopped by my office.

“I can’t believe you quit,” she said.

I smiled and nodded.

“What is your new job?”

I knew she just wanted to know so she could judge/talk shit so I was as vague as possible. “It’s with a fashion retailer. It’s a huge salary increase.”

“That’s cool. Does Diana have anyone in mind to replace you?”

I smiled, knowing she was hoping her name was in the running.

“Not yet. She strongly believes in promoting from within but she said there’s no one here she thinks would be cut out to do it,” I said.

“Oh.”

I guess that was kind of mean, but whatever. I bet Diana will promote her anyway so I don’t feel bad about leading her astray a bit.

After work, I planned on eating something disgustingly good for dinner then spending the evening in bed watching tv, but I got a text from Carly as I was leaving that said, “Are you doing anything tonight?”

And I was like, “Nope, no plans.” Then a few minutes later I added, “Why? Are you?”

She said, “Yeah, we are going to the bar later. Wanna come?”

And I was like, “Okay.”

So that’s how Carly persuaded me into going out on Friday night. I went home and got my things then headed to Brady’s. We ordered pizza, drank wine, then got ready to go out.

We were meeting some of Brady and Chris’s friends at the bar, but I made sure Paul or John wouldn’t be there. Am I hard to get along with? I shouldn’t have to be worried about a confrontation with his friends. But I can’t help that those guys are assholes!

When we got there everyone got beers so I decided against my tequila and Sprite since apparently it wasn’t that kind of night. But then after my beer, I needed some actual liquor. Jacob called me a party animal.

Nothing too crazy really happened at the first bar except when this girl one of Chris’s classmates was talking to just randomly dropped it like it’s hot in front of Brady. Then she turned and gave him what was supposed to be a sexy wink and Brady just looked around with the most hilarious expression on his face. It was like panicked/confused/mortified.

And the girl looked so desp that I couldn’t even be mad at her. I actually laughed out loud. I don’t think she knew Brady and I were together so maybe I wasn’t being all over him like I normally am. Or maybe I was and she just didn’t care? You know how girls can be these days.

A few minutes later, I went to the bathroom with Carly and when we came back out, the dancing girl was making out with Chris’s friend. So good for her.

By the time we made it to the next bar, Carly and I were tipsy and up to our usual shenanigans (running to the bathroom hand in hand, dancing, ordering shots, making new friends). We started talking to these two guys in the Air Force and one of them told us they were stationed in France. Carly actually studied abroad in France and the name of the base didn’t sound familiar to her so she called an emergency bathroom meeting. Then she Googled the base they told her about and found out that they were lying. We avoided them the rest of the night.

The real action happened when the bar closed and everyone was spilling out. Carly and I skipped out ready to take on the after hours bar (hey, we like to party) and the guys followed. I heard some belligerent voice say something like, “This is the douchebag I’ve been looking for.”

I turned and this random man I’ve never seen before in my life lunged at my boyfriend and grabbed him by his Northface! Chris and friends immediately stepped in to help push the maniac off and a big scuffle ensued. The bar bouncers and a cop patrolling the street had to pry the man off Brady and then handcuff him for being a psychopath. It happened so fast. It was all very dramatic.

“What just happened?” I asked.

“Mistaken identity, it seems,” Chris answered.

“Yeah, I’ve never seen that guy, but he said I tried to fight him in the bar,” Brady laughed. “So he tried to kick my ass out here.”

I turned and glared at the man, who was now sitting in the backseat of the police car. How dare he lay his filthy hands on my boyf? The cop wanted to speak with Brady and I was so stressed and shaken up by the drama that I made Carly find us cigs then we walked around the block to smoke them.

“I can’t believe that just happened. Brady would like, never get in a fight,” I said, taking a drag.

“I know!” Carly agreed. “He’s like, the nicest person ever!”

Just then, Brady and Chris rounded the corner and found us.

“That’s fucking disgusting,” Brady kind of yelled, snatching the cigarette out of my mouth and throwing it. Carly threw hers down and smiled innocently.

Oopsies.

We stopped at the late night bar (only because their kitchen was still open and I needed cheese sticks) then headed home.

On Saturday, Brady and I finalized our birthday/Christmas plans. He had trouble getting days off, but was able to snag a few so we are flying to Houston on Tuesday (the 23rd) after he leaves work and coming back on Friday morning (the 26th) so he can still go in for a few hours. Workaholic. After we bought our plane tickets, I was inspired to keep traveling and I told Brady we should go to New York City or Vegas for New Years. He laughed.

“I wish. Even this time off is a bit of a stretch. Unfortunately, my job doesn’t stop for holidays.”

I pouted, but this made sense. And at least he gets those few days and he wants to spend it with me! I have to plan something really amazing for his birthday. Speaking of which, I have absolutely no idea what gift I should get him for his birthday and Christmas. Literally, I’m at a loss. Help? Any ideas?? I always got my ex things like watches, shoes, designer sunglasses, etc, but he was super flashy. Somehow, I don’t think Brady would care for any of that. I would reach out to Hunter and ask, but apparently he’s shunning us or dead (knock on wood). You guys always have amazing ideas though!

I predict this week will be pretty busy. I set up a ton of phone interviews and squeezed them into my lunch breaks, commutes to and from work, and random times throughout the day. I haven’t heard from Andrew since last week, but he’s supposed to call me this morning. And I’m kind of dreading it.

i’ll kill him.

I finally decided to just bite the bullet and get my car fixed so I dropped it off on Monday. They gave me a loaner car while my car is being worked on which probably isn’t the best idea on their part. Not complaining though.

After I dropped my car off I invited myself to Brady’s. I was so excited to see him and to see how his trip was. Brady opened the door (when is he just going to give me a key?) and pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you,” I said, hugging him.

“Me too,” he replied. He kissed me hard and then led me into the house. We went to the kitchen and got water then he sat down in front of his laptop in the dining room. Ugh.

“So how was your trip?” I asked, trying to hide my annoyance. We hadn’t seen each other in like three days, but he was completely engrossed in his stupid computer.

“I had a very good time. I haven’t visited Hunter in a while so I enjoyed seeing where he lives and meeting all his friends,” Brady said.

“Who did you meet?” My eyes lit up. I thought of the girl Hunter said he would be marrying, Dumb or whoever.

Brady looked up from the laptop at me. “I can’t remember. A bunch of guys.”

Oh. He totally thought I was being a jealous, psycho girlfriend and I wasn’t (this time.) I made him elaborate on the trip and he told me about the game and how they bar hopped and smoked hookah and etc. Typical shit.

I excitedly let him know that I “ran into” Jessica on Saturday night and he said, “I heard.”

Are you fucking kidding me? It’s one thing for her to brag about them talking, but now he was too? Cool. I decided to let this slide and dragged him to his room. We got undressed and I proceeded to fuck his brains out then fall asleep.

On Tuesday I was pretty busy working on projects at work, but I took a break midday to eat. Whitney and a gay guy from the ad team named Danny were standing at the sink talking, but stopped when I walked in.

“Hey Reese! I love your shoes! You always have the best shoes,” Whitney said, all syrupy sweet.

I smiled and said, “Thanks!”

Lately, Whitney and I have been getting along fine. She kind of does her own thing and I do mine and when we talk it’s pure business. She’s definitely more into the digital side of branding so it actually works out.

Whitney walked out and I said, “I don’t know why she’s being so nice lately.”

Danny shrugged and said, matter-of-factly, “Probably because she feels guilty about talking so much shit about you.”

My eyes narrowed. I knew I shouldn’t care or ask what she said, but I had to know. “What did she say?”

“A lot of stuff. She wants your job. She said you’re lazy and you’re going to get fired because you never do anything.”

Excuse me?

“And the only reason you didn’t get fired for supposedly hooking up with that BJ kid is because your mom is friends with Diana.”

That actually really pissed me off. First of all, I am not lazy. Of course I have my lazy days (we all do), but I’ve done so much for my company. I think I deserve a lazy day every once in a while. Secondly, I thought the whole BJ thing was behind us. Why is she bringing that up? I’ve moved on. Whatever.

I rolled my eyes and told Danny that I didn’t care even though I wanted to go immediately confront Whitney. I knew that wasn’t the smartest idea so I avoided her for the rest of the day.

After work, I went home and showered to get ready to go to a bar and grill with Brady and Chris because apparently there was some sort of game on. I told Brady about Whitney and her comments and of course, he took her side and said that being in a position of power, I shouldn’t ever let anyone see me being lazy. He doesn’t understand. Even when I’m being lazy, I’m doing work like replying to emails or getting on Pinterest for inspiration.

Whatever. I was sick of this conversation so I grabbed Brady’s hand under the table and pulled it into my lap. He looked at me kind of confused at first and then smiled when I slid his hand under my dress. He started rubbing my pussy and I bit my lip trying not to make any noise.

Our server came back and Brady quickly removed his hand and ordered us another beer. Ugh. He’s so not daring sometimes. We barely made it through another inning before we wanted to go back to his place to have sex.

On Wednesday I had some meetings outside of the office so luckily I didn’t really have to be around Whitney. I stayed in the office until 6:30 and I was supposed to meet Kendra for happy hour at 7:00. As I was packing up and getting ready to leave, she called me.

“I’m leaving right now. It’s only 6:30 you psycho,” I answered, thinking she was calling to see where I was.

“Can you come over here right now?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Are you okay? Where are you?” I asked, concerned.

“I’m at home. Just please come over here,” she sniffled. She was clearly upset and crying.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” I promised and hung up. Naturally, I thought the worst like she had poked her eyeball out with her mascara or accidentally burned all her hair off with her straightener so I sped over.

Kendra answered the door still wearing her work suit, but her face was wet and streaky with tears.

“Ken, what’s wrong?” I asked automatically pulling her into a hug. I’ve only ever seen Kendra cry a handful of times and most recently it was because her grandfather died.

She hugged me back and then led me to the small living room without a word. Kendra sank into the couch and started bawling.

“Kendra, what’s wrong?” I asked, my concern growing. This was not like her at all.

She waited a few moments before sobbing, “John cheated on me in San Francisco.”

Wait, what?

“What? How do you know?” I gasped.

“I found a receipt. He bought condoms at a CVS on Saturday night. I confronted him and he admitted to having a one night stand. He fucked some random girl!”

Oh my God.

“Apparently they met at a bar and she invited him back to her place. He said he was really drunk, but that is hardly an excuse.”

You guys, John is the nerdiest guy ever. I find it very hard to believe that he could even flirt with a random girl enough for her to invite him home. And how dare John cheat on gorgeous, successful lawyer Kendra? She has always been too good for him. She made him everything he is today. Kendra literally gave him a chance (when she shouldn’t have) when he was obsessed and in love with her. After she let him move into her beautiful apartment and he ruined it with his bike and smelly belongings, he had the nerve to fucking cheat on her?

“I’ll kill him,” I said and I meant it.

Kendra started crying again and I hugged her hard. As much as we butt heads, Kendra is my best friend in the entire world and I will do anything to protect her.

“I can’t believe this. I didn’t think John was capable of doing anything like this,” I thought out loud.

“I didn’t either. I trusted him so much, Reese. I never thought I would have to worry about him cheating.”

John cheating on Kendra just shows that you can’t trust a guy just because he’s fucking lame. Like do all guys cheat?

“So where is he now?”

“He had to go back to work, but I told him he can’t come back here. I’m going to throw all his stuff in trash bags and leaving it outside.”

I couldn’t help kind of smirking at the thought of a bunch of trash bags sitting outside her gorgeous apartment.

“Kendra, I can’t fucking believe him. Did Brady and Chris know what happened?” I said.

“They did. They met the girl and everything.”

Wait so Brady knew John had sex with some random girl and failed to tell me that when I asked about his trip? Why wouldn’t he tell me? Does he have a secret about the trip too?

I let Kendra cry on my shoulder for the next few hours. I told her what an asshat I think John is and eventually she asked me to stop. And then she asked me to leave because she needed to be alone to bag up his shit. I told her that I thought I should stay and she insisted I leave. Which was rude, but I’ll overlook it. I needed to confront Brady anyway.

I called him and told him I was coming over. Brady answered the door and we hugged and kissed and he tried to walk back to the dining room, but I grabbed his hand. I pushed him onto the couch and straddled him. Brady smirked up at me, clearly into my little domineering act. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him making my way down to his throat. I could feel between my legs that he was getting excited and I can’t lie, I was to. But I was here on a mission.

I grabbed the top of his hair where it’s grown out a bit and yanked hard so that he was looking directly up at me. “Why didn’t you tell me John cheated on Kendra in San Francisco?”

Brady’s body kind of deflated and he looked down guiltily. He didn’t say anything for several seconds so I said, “Huh?”

“He asked me not to tell you. He wanted to tell Kendra on his own accord and I didn’t want to strip him of that opportunity. He knew you would tell her,” Brady said.

“Of course I would tell her! She’s my best fucking friend. Why would you choose John over me?”

Brady started to say, “He asked me-”

But I shouted, “Your loyalty is to me, not John! You wouldn’t even know him if it wasn’t for me.”

“I know. I just didn’t want you or me to get involved in their relationship. He deserved the right to tell her himself.”

“Do you know she found out because she found a condom receipt? That asshole wasn’t going to tell her!”

Brady didn’t say anything and I couldn’t help asking, “Did you hook up with someone too?”

He looked up at me, stunned. “Of course not. I can’t believe you would even ask me that.”

“You never know. Kendra didn’t think John would ever be capable of hooking up with someone else either.” I climbed off Brady’s lap and grabbed my bag to head to his room.

He continued sitting on the couch, looking at me. I shrugged and headed to his room to get ready for bed. Brady didn’t join me right away so I sent a really sweet text to Kendra letting her know that she’s beautiful and amazing and John sucks and etc. and that I was here for absolutely anything.

Brady finally came in his room and turned off the light and got in bed next to me. I grabbed his neck and started kissing him and he kissed me back for a few minutes before pulling away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about John,” he started.

I rolled my eyes.

“I understand that you think it was your right to know, but things aren’t always all about you.”

I started to say that it was my right to know, but Brady put a hand on the side of my face/in my hair and I knew he was about to say something life changing/important.

“I…love you,” he said.

My heart jumped up to my throat and I actually thought I was going to vomit. But not because I was grossed out or anything. Brady saying he loved me – completely sober and looking at me in the eye – was almost too much. But I felt it. I closed my eyes because I couldn’t handle all the love and eye contact.

“I love you too,” I said not looking at him.

We kissed and fell asleep without having sex or anything. Just so you guys know, the only other guy I thought I was in love with was my college ex. And I found out that that wasn’t love at all, it was totally lust. So I’m not even sure what love feels like. (I haven’t even told Kendra that I don’t know if I’ve ever been in love because she would just lecture me.)

weekend with brunter (brady + hunter).

Did everyone else assume Brady’s brother was going to be gangly and awkward with huge glasses and weird hair? I sure did.

On Friday evening, Brady was going to dinner with his brother, Hunter, but afterward we were all going out. I went to Kendra’s to hang out for a few hours, but also search her closet because I lost a pair of boots and I knew she stole them. I actually haven’t been to Kendra’s much since John moved in because all of his shit has taken over her little apartment. When Kendra first moved in, I helped her decorate and pick out furniture so she had the most adorable, Victorian inspired Old Town apartment. Now John’s freaking bike is in the living room and the place smells like oatmeal. I grabbed my boots (knew it) and got the hell out of there.

I packed an overnight bag and headed to Brady’s to get ready and to pregame. Imagine my surprise when Brady led me to the kitchen to meet his brother and a giant was standing there drinking a beer.

“Reese, this is Hunter,” Brady said introducing us.

His brother stuck out his paw for me to shake and said, “Nice to finally meet you, Reese. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

He just looked like his name was Hunter. Y’all are going to crucify me for saying this, but he is very, very good looking. He was at least 6’3 (probably taller) with a coarse, but maintained beard and his hair in a low man-bun type thing. He reminds me of Thor, but much more granola, like he wears Birkenstocks and lives in a camper. I shook his hand, which was easily three times larger than mine, and he gave me a knowing kind of smirk. Probably because he’s fully aware that I lied about being pregnant and made a fool of myself in front of their parents. Suddenly I felt really self-conscious.

“Hi,” I squeaked.

“Do you like whiskey?” Hunter asked.

“Um, it’s okay,” I replied. I like all alcohol (obvi), but whiskey definitely isn’t my go-to.

“I was telling Brady, I have this whiskey from the 19th century. It’s insane. It’s not even legal to own anymore,” he explained and a fifth of dark, dark whiskey materialized in his hand.

“How did you even get it on the plane?” I asked.

He glanced at me and smiled slyly before pouring three glasses.

“To a good night?” Hunter cheersed looking from Brady to me.

We were drinking the whiskey straight with no ice or anything and it burned. It had a licoricey flavor and it was really strong. I felt dizzy after only one sip. Whoa. Had to go easy on that stuff.

I took my drink to Brady’s room to get ready. I decided to wear jeans, a Derek Lam tank and booties with my hair down. After one glass of that old ass whiskey, I was already pretty turnt and dancing around the duplex.

We took a cab to the bar and met Carly and Chris there. Apparently I was the only one who was affected by Hunter’s tainted alcohol and I skipped to the bar to order us shots (jaeger bombs obviously). Even though I was being a little crazy, Brady didn’t ask me to calm down. Probably should have though.

The night started to get kinda blurry, but I remember talking a lot. I was standing at the bar with Brady telling him about the time I was so scared in a haunted house that I asked them to just kill me, when my mother called me. It’s like she has some sort of radar that lets her know when I’m belligerently drunk. I declined her call and she immediately called back.

“My mom’s blowing up my phone, she’s so fucking weird,” I told Brady.

“Perhaps it’s something important,” he said.

Just when he said that my mom texted me, “Call me babe. It’s important.”

Naturally I thought the worst like my dad was in a car accident or one of my grandparents was dead. I told Brady I was going to call her back and pushed my way outside to the fresh air. To my surprise, Hunter was standing at the curb next to a food cart.

“What’s up?” he greeted me.

I waved and dialed my mom back.

“Hey love,” she answered. “I have your Tory Burch wedges here. Do you mind if I borrow them tonight? I’m going to Flying Saucer with the girls.”

“Seriously, Mom? That’s what was so important?” I practically yelled. “I don’t even wear Tory Burch anymore!”

“So you don’t mind?”

I was so irritated at her for making me panic and think something was wrong at home. Plus she borrows my things without asking all the time so I don’t know why she was suddenly acting like she needs permission.

“Bye Mom! Love you,” I said and hung up.

“My mom is nuts,” I said to Hunter, just in case he was wondering. “What are you doing out here?”

“Aren’t I allowed to enjoy this beautiful weather?”

This was sarcasm because it was really chilly and windy as hell. We started talking about how he lives in San Francisco which has nice weather, but not nearly as nice as like SoCal. We somehow got to talking about Brady and me and I bravely asked what Brady has told him about me. I was preparing for the worst (I caused drama, I was an alcoholic, I corrupted him), but to my surprise Hunter said, “He told me that he’s in love with you.”

I was not expecting him to say that at all and I probably looked like I swallowed a goldfish.

“I know, I was surprised too,” Hunter said. “He’s so private about that kind of stuff. I only knew about the last girl he dated because my parents told me.”

The last girl he dated. Anna or whoever?

“I think he was just a little bit freaked out,” he continued.

Hunter’s confession actually freaked me out. I know Brady and I have said that when we’re high, but I didn’t think he really felt that way. Even though I was drunk, I got embarrassed and felt weird that Hunter told me that. If Brady wanted me to know, he would express it – sober.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” I asked Hunter to take the attention off me.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one.

“There’s a girl. Dom – Dominique. She’s the love of my life,” Hunter said. “I haven’t told anyone about her though.”

“Why haven’t you told anyone?” I wanted to know.

“I don’t want to give my family the chance to disapprove of her. We’re going to elope.” Hunter offered the cigarette to me and I took it.

“Why would anyone disapprove?” I asked.

“Why wouldn’t they? Generally speaking, my parents just…suck.”

I nodded, taking a drag. I don’t know them well, but I could see how his parents would disapprove of his whole San Francisco life. But from what Brady told me, I assumed he and their mom were close. “When are you getting married?”

“Soon. Don’t tell Brady.”

I told him that his secret is safe with me. We passed the cig back and forth a few times until it was gone. I knew Brady was probably looking for me so I left Hunter out there and went back inside. I found Brady exactly where I’d left him by the bar. I threw my arms around and kissed him because 1. I was drunk and 2. We are in love!

“Is everything okay with your mom?” he asked.

“Yeah, she’s just annoying,” I said dismissively.

Brady said that I smelled like smoke and I quickly (probably too quickly) told him that a guy next to me outside was smoking. Which isn’t a lie. We hung out and drank for a little while longer before getting food from a food truck (barf) and cabbing home.

I woke up on Saturday morning and made everyone hot chocolate with Baileys because it was freezing. Brady and Hunter were sitting at the dining room table talking and at first I just sat there browsing Instagram until I heard them say something about Ebola being in the United States.

“Wait, what’s Ebola?” I asked. I’d heard people talking about it in passing, but I thought it only affected people in Africa or whatever.

“It’s a deadly virus that is spread through bodily fluids. Your kidneys and liver shut down and you bleed from every orifice in your body,” Brady said. “A man recently traveled to Liberia and contracted it.”

“He lied about being in contact with anyone with Ebola and brought it back with him. Now he’s being quarantined, but they didn’t diagnose him at first. They gave him antibiotics and sent him home,” Hunter added.

“Imagine how many hundreds of people he could’ve infected within that time. They’re also trying to hunt down everyone who was on the plane with him and contain them.”

“They decontaminated his apartment and sent his family to a confidential location, but he could have spread it to them already.”

“It could be all over the country by now.”

I was horrified. They laughed and said they were kidding and the media is probably making it sound much worse than it actually is, but I spent the next few hours cleaning Brady’s condo
and staying holed up in his room because you just never fucking know. Eventually they said they were going to go eat at one of my favorite restaurants so I couldn’t say no.

I used almost all of my purse sized bottle of Purell. Then I started thinking that the cooks or our waiter could have contacted someone with Ebola and they could have it and could’ve contaminated our food. I told Brady and Hunter and they laughed and kept eating, but my appetite was gone. It was really unfortunate too because my bacon cheeseburger was bomb AF.

When we got home, Chris was home and they all went downstairs to smoke. After my tiring day of trying not to catch Ebola, I needed to take the edge off so I joined them. I only choked once and when we were done, we sat on the couch for a really long time. They were talking about football or sports or something while I sat there mesmerized by the fact that my nude painted nails matched the wall almost perfectly. What are the chances?

We decided to go to the bar and all got up to get ready. While Brady and I were getting dressed, Hunter showered in the attached bathroom. We were basically done getting ready so while we waited for Hunter to shower we started making out and fooling around. Naturally, we ended up having sex, but without taking any of our clothes off. Every time I would moan or make any noise Brady would shush me so Hunter wouldn’t hear even though the shower was on. I doubt he would’ve heard anything.

The four of us walked to a nearby bar and started with shots and beer. I felt like one of the guys.

Once when Brady went to get more drinks, Hunter leaned over to me and said, “You’re not what I expected at all. You’re super chill.”

“What were you expecting?” I asked.

He looked over his shoulder like he was making sure Brady wasn’t coming back yet. “A snob. No offense.”

I’ve actually been called a snob (so 90’s right?) plenty of times in my life so it felt nice to hear that someone didn’t think I was one.

When we got home, Brady and I got in bed. I wasn’t really drunk and the weed seemed to have worn off, but I was still feeling bold.

“Do you love me?” I asked.

“Mmmhm,” he murmured, pulling me close.

I pushed him away so I could look at his face. “Seriously?”

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “What?”

“Have you ever been in love? Do you even know what it feels like?”

“Why are you asking me this?”

“I just want to know!”

“Yes, I know what love feels like,” Brady sighed like he was so annoyed with me.

“How?” I demanded.

“What do you mean how?” he asked.

“Who have you ever been in love with?”

“A girl a few years ago-”

I didn’t even let him finish before saying, “How do you know you loved her?”

“Because I knew. She did a lot for me.”

I hated hearing about other girls Brady’s been with so even though I was dying to know who this girl was (Anna? Someone else?) I decided not to pry anymore.

We fell asleep and then something really weird happened in the middle of the night. I legitimately can’t tell if this was a dream or if this really happened, but I’ll tell it like it really happened.

I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard someone in the bathroom. I assumed it was Brady at first, but then I felt him sleeping next to me. I heard the toilet flush and watched the door open. Hunter was standing there, completely naked with his hair down and his dick just swinging. He saw me and smirked then turned off the bathroom light and walked out. So fucking weird/realistic.

But on Sunday morning we all had breakfast and Hunter didn’t blush or act weird (I personally felt really embarrassed) so now I’m thinking I must have dreamed the whole thing. Plus, why would Hunter be walking around Brady and Chris’s place naked like he owns the place? It can’t have really happened. Which begs the question of ew, why would I have that kind of dream?

i’m pregnant.

On Monday, I was actually busy at work. Dave and Diana are going on a business trip next Monday through Wednesday and someone is going to have to run the office. So Diana forwarded me the how-to manual on the office operations and I took some time to read through it. After a few hours I started feeling like my eyes were crossing from reading so much. I pulled out my phone to check Pinterest, SnapChat, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Mark had texted me a listing for a condo he thought I would love and asked if I wanted to see it soon. It was a gorgeous updated high rise, but it was a studio and I have way too much shit for a studio. I told him to keep looking.

I logged onto Facebook and the first thing that came up on my newsfeed was a location check-in from Jessica.

“Lunch with my favorite people,” she said and tagged three people including Brady. I almost dropped my phone.

It was from five minutes prior so I knew they were probably still eating. I couldn’t believe it. Brady assured me that he was no longer speaking to her. Why were they going on lunch dates together? Clearly, he lied and they probably never stopped talking or hanging out. Before I could stop myself, I dialed Brady’s number on my office phone. I had to get to the bottom of this ASAP.

He didn’t answer and I assumed it was because he didn’t recognize the number. I called him again from my cell phone and it went to voicemail after only two rings. RUDE. He obviously ignored my phone call on purpose. What if it was an emergency? I could be dying! I felt my body shaking with anger.

I texted him, “I’m pregnant.” and sat my phone down to continue working. I giggled when he called back three minutes later (which is actually a long time to wait to check in on your unborn child’s mother).

I obviously didn’t answer and instead texted, “Can’t talk, I’m super busy right now.”

“You’re pregnant?” Brady asked immediately.

“Yes,” was all I said back. I felt kind of evil for lying to him, but I would tell him the truth after I got some answers about Jessica. He needed to be punished.

“Can you please step out or something so we can talk?” Brady asked.

Before I could tell him no, my office phone rang and Diana asked me to meet her in Dave’s office so we could go over some things. They spent an hour going over the troubleshooting guide just in case anything crazy happens while they are gone. I mean I get it, they want to be prepared, but I’ve run the office plenty of times while they both were out. Things will be fine.

After that, Dave wanted to take us out for drinks and obviously we didn’t object. I was so thirsty for free drinks that I completely forgot about my phone and telling Brady I was pregnant. By the time we got back to the office it was 4:30. I had two missed calls and several text messages.

“Answer the phone please.”

“Reese.”

“Seriously. I’m freaking out here.”

I felt terrible and decided I would come clean and give him an amazing blow job later.

“Let’s talk later,” I texted back and wrapped up for the day.

Brady called at around six when he got off and asked to come over. I said sure. When he got there, I buzzed him in and opened the door when he knocked.

“You’re off early today,” I said, hugging him.

“Yeah,” was all he said.

We pulled away and I gave Brady my most innocent smile. I hoped he wouldn’t be pissed.

“Are you really pregnant?” he asked me.

I waited a few seconds before saying, “No.”

Brady let out a deep breath. “Then why did you say you were?” He sounded frustrated – almost whiney – but not particularly mad.

“So you went to lunch with Jessica? You said you haven’t talked to her. Sounds like you guys are great friends to me,” I said in an accusatory voice.

“A lot of people went, not just the two of us. I didn’t talk to her.”

“Okay.” I wanted to press the issue, but I didn’t want to come off as an insecure brat like Saturday night.

“Why did you lie, Reese? I told my brother and I’m sure he’s already told my mom.”

Oops.

“Sorry,” I said meekly. I actually really did feel bad. His mother would probably disown him.

“It’s okay,” Brady sighed, but I knew it wasn’t.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Jessica tagged you on Facebook and you guys haven’t talked in three weeks?” I asked.

“Kind of, yes.”

“You haven’t talked to her in three weeks, right?”

“Reese, it’s hard. We work primarily on the same floors and she’s very persistent. I do my best to avoid her.”

What?

“So you guys never stopped talking?” I clarified.

“I told her that you would prefer if she and I didn’t talk anymore and at first, she respected that. The only time she would talk to me was about work related matters. Then she started back asking how my weekend was and stuff like that. I can’t be rude.”

I nodded. So is that why Jessica added me on Facebook – so she could tag Brady in statuses and brag that they are still friends? Cool.

“Do you want to get dinner?” Brady asked and I nodded. I slipped on my Prada flats, grabbed a jacket and followed Brady out the door.

We went to a bar and grill near my apartment and got beer and appetizers to share. By the time I finished my first beer, Brady was on his third. I hope I’m not driving him into a drinking problem. I know I’m a handful.

When we got back to my apartment I put a movie in and we snuggled.

“Reese, I don’t want Jessica to continue to cause conflict between us,” Brady said out of nowhere. “I’m not interested in her romantically or sexually at all.”

“…Okay,” I started.

“I love everything about you. I only want you right now,” he continued.

Right now? What did that mean?

“I wish you would trust my word on that. I think you’re still punishing me for not being upfront about her. Everyday you have a new issue with me and it seems like there’s nothing I can about it.”

When he said that I really felt bad. Brady completely trusts me and doesn’t seem to be guarding his emotions. At any moment I could rip his heart right out of his chest and stomp it to pieces. Isn’t he afraid of that? I am. That’s why I’m so guarded. But if he’s making himself vulnerable and I’m not, that isn’t fair.

So I’ve decided that I’m going to stop being a psychopath and let myself love him. I mean, I’m going to try. I think he deserves that much.

three way relationship.

After making up with Brady on Monday night, life felt like it was back to normal. On Wednesday, I walked into work in a fantastic mood until I ran into Whitney in the hallway.

“Hi Reese! I just secured a venue for our holiday warehouse sale! It’s a little closer to the suburbs than I would’ve liked, but I’m glad that we can check that off our list,” she said excitedly.

Ugh. I thought about having a talk with Diana since my honest talk with Brady went so well. But I assured Diana that I would figure it out so that’s what I had to do.

“Okay, great. I’m going to go answer some emails,” I said and began to walk away, but Dave was walking into the office.

“Hey ladies!” he greeted us animatedly.

“Hi Dave,” Whitney and I said obediently at the same time.

“I created some display ideas for the furniture bazaar. Can you look at them later and help me decide?” Whitney asked, sweetly.

“Of course I can! Just bring them by my office,” Dave said.

Whitney grinned.

“I like what you’re doing here, Whitney. You’re thinking ahead. We need to move some product and increase our cash flow before we create any more new collections. You hear that, Reese? Let’s not work on any more collaborations until we get this stuff situated.”

I smiled tightly and nodded. “Of course.”

Are you fucking kidding me? Is that not what I was doing with the flash sale website? Whitney stole my idea, but put her tacky ass spin on it.

I stormed to my office and barricaded myself all day. I mostly browsed net-a-porter.com and revolveclothing.com because I was not about to help Whitney with her bullshit. I hope Dave knows I’m not going to.

After work, I met the gang for dollar beers. Preston told us that he was in kind of a bind and he wanted our opinions. We told him to spill.

“So Mr. Murphy and I are doing really, really well, as you guys know.”

We nodded.

“Well, I’ve been talking to this other guy. He’s younger and so fucking hot.”

“Preston…” Kendra said in a warning kind of tone.

“Just listen!” Preston said. “Mr. Murphy met him and thinks he’s adorable too. So I was thinking… We could have a three-way relationship.”

“Like sister wives?” Carly said.

“Or something like that. My thing is, I love being around Mr. Murphy and he takes such good care of me, but he’s just not great in bed. He’s older. It takes him forty five minutes to get hard and then he only lasts for thirty seconds.”

Carly gasped. “What?”

“I know!” Preston said, leaning across the table. “So, if we add this younger guy to the mix it will definitely spice up the bedroom. It’ll suck to have to share Murph’s money, but I’m just not satisfied sexually right now.”

“Are all parties involved okay with this arrangement?” Kendra asked.

“Well, I haven’t proposed my idea to anyone yet. Do you guys think it is even a reasonable thing to want in my life?”

“Personally, I wouldn’t want to share my boyfriend with anyone,” I spoke up.

Preston narrowed his eyes at me. “Well, we know that. Your boyfriend can’t even have a life before you.”

True.

An hour later, Kendra needed to go home to do some work so we left. Carly and I decided to go to Brady and Chris’s. When we got there, Chris let us in and said he and Brady were hanging out in the basement. We walked down there and found Brady on the couch, watching tv.

He stared at me for a moment then said “Hey babe,” but didn’t get up to greet me.

“Hi!” I squealed, sitting down beside him. We hugged and Carly and Chris joined us on the couch.

“Are you guys just sitting here? How boring,” Carly said.

“Aren’t you glad I came to entertain you?” I said, turning to Brady.

“Of course,” he smiled. His eyes looked a little bit red and his eyelids were low.

“Aw, are you tired?” I asked.

“Yeah, kinda,” Brady said. “What did you guys do tonight?”

“We had dollar beers with Kendra and Preston,” I replied and then got excited to tell Brady about Preston’s crazy idea. “Oh my gosh, so Preston is bored with his relationship so he wants to get another boyfriend and have two boyfriends! Like a three way relationship!”

“That’s crazy,” Brady said. And then waited a beat. “Maybe we should try it…”

Before I could even digest what he said, Chris added, “With Jessica,” and the two of them started laughing their idiot heads off.

Way too soon. I watched Brady double over in laughter and turned to Carly. She gave me a wide eyed look and shook her head indicating that she didn’t know what to say.

“How is that funny?” I snapped.

“It isn’t,” Brady said, catching his breath. “Chris, you’re such a dick sometimes.”

Chris continued laughing.

I felt my body start to warm up in anger. I couldn’t believe they were laughing at and making light of the Jessica situation. Did Chris even know the extent of what happened with Brady and Jessica? Or were they just laughing because I’d freaked out like a psycho? From my point of view, it wasn’t that funny. Why were they laughing so hard? Obviously they know more than I do.

“Sorry babe,” Brady said, snaking his arm around my waist and nuzzling my neck.

“Get the fuck off me,” I mumbled and peeled myself away. We all sat there for an awkward silent few minutes.

“Reese, did Brady tell you we’re having a party on Saturday?” Chris asked me.

I shook my head, but said nothing.

“Oh yeah, we have to invite all our friends! It’s going to be so much fun!” Carly enthused.

“K,” I said shortly.

Carly and Chris started discussing the party and Brady leaned close to my ear.

“Hey. I’m sorry. That was completely inappropriate.”

I ignored him.

“I have something you might like upstairs,” he continued.

“What is it?” I asked sharply.

“Why don’t you come upstairs and see?”

I shot him a dirty look so he knew that I was still irritated with him then got up and headed for the stairs. Brady followed me and steered me into the kitchen. I stood there with my arms crossed standoffishly while he went through the cabinets. I couldn’t think of anything I could possibly want, but I was willing to entertain him. Seconds later, he pulled out a pack of birthday cake Oreos. I bit my lip.

“Do you want one?” Brady asked.

One?

“Give me that,” I said, snatching the pack of Oreos from his hand. Birthday cake Oreos are literally my favorite things in the world. I tore the pack open, grabbed as many cookies as I could fit in my hand and gave it back to Brady.

“You got me hooked on these,” he said, taking a couple of Oreos out for himself. I was too busy chewing to respond.

We munched on several Oreos in silence then Brady started walking toward to his room and I followed him. I kicked off my shoes and leaned back on the bed and Brady did the same.

“You smell very nice,” he said, nuzzling my neck.

“Thanks,” I replied, letting him kiss and grope me. Hearing Jessica’s name was a definite mood killer, but I couldn’t deny that I loved feeling his hands and mouth all over my body.

Brady pushed my top up to my neck and started gently sucking my boobs. He ran his tongue down my torso and yanked off my underwear and skirt before ducking his head between my legs. Within minutes, I was screaming and squirming about to come.

Brady stood up and pulled off his shirt and unbuckled his pants. I completely forgot about how annoyed I was with him as he pushed into me without even thinking about finding a condom (which frankly we haven’t used in at least two weeks). Brady pushed one of my legs up toward my head and placed his hands on the bed on either side of my face. He thrusted hard, like he had some aggression to let out and mumbled something inaudible in my ear. Brady never dirty talks during sex so I was surprised and I almost asked him to repeat himself.

Brady buried his face in my neck and groaned my name then collapsed on top of me. Usually he finishes…elsewhere but he didn’t even pull out. Brady rolled off me and I couldn’t help thinking that if we were going to be fucking irresponsibly like this then I had to get to the bottom of the Jessica comment.

“Have you talked to Jessica?” I demanded.

“Nah,” Brady said, not missing a beat. He ran a hand up my inner thigh and I pushed it away.

“So explain to me why y’all laughed so hard at what Chris said.”

“I dunno,” he said as he got up to pull his pants up. “It was a joke. Don’t freak.”

“Yes you do know,” I said. “And don’t tell me not to freak.”

Who the fuck was this and what did he do with my mature boyfriend? Brady was acting like a straight up frat boy.

We got up and dressed and found Carly and Chris in the kitchen. Carly said she had to go home because she had to work early and asked me if I wanted a ride home or if I wanted to stay. I told her I was going home and Brady acted hurt that I didn’t want to stay the night with him. He needed to be punished though.

I thought the Jessica situation was fixed, but now I’m not so sure.

drunk bar bathroom lecture.

I didn’t hear from Brady all weekend. I don’t know if it was because I destroyed his phone or because we were really done. I was an emotional rollercoaster – one minute I was mad as fuck, then sad, then irritated, then horny, then mad again. I hate to admit that I actually wanted him to reach out to me and grovel and beg for my forgiveness. I am obviously upset about what happened with Jessica, but that doesn’t mean I want to be completely done with him. I like him, you know? Plus I left some valuable things at his house like a pair of sold out Louboutins and my Shiseido night cream. I kinda need those things back.

On Saturday Preston wanted to go to brunch. I couldn’t wait to tell him what I found in Brady’s phone. I picked him up and we went to a place in Logan and got french toast and Bloody’s. I told him everything that happened, making sure to pause at the dramatic parts and letting it all sink in. Once I was finished with my story, Preston broke into laughter.

“Seriously, Reese? You flipped out on him over that?”

“Is that not reason enough?” I exclaimed.

“Baby love. All that happened before he even met you. Why do you think you have any right to get mad at him?”

“Because!” I paused. “He is still hanging out with her. He introduced me to her as ‘one of the nurses from the hospital’ not ‘the girl who sucked my dick while someone was in the next room dying.'”

Preston gave me a narrowed eyed look. “Didn’t you tell me that you hooked up with Derrick back in college? Did you tell Brady that when you introduced them?

“We didn’t really hook up. We dry humped and he ate me out for like five minutes.”

“BITCH,” Preston said loudly and the people next to us looked over. “You didn’t tell me that he ate your kitty cat.”

“We were drunk. That doesn’t even count.”

“Oh yes it does. You have no right to get mad at Brady when you basically did the same thing, you little whore.”

It’s totally different though, right?

That evening, we got dressed up and went bar hopping with Kendra. Preston ordered us Bud Lights while I filled her in on the latest.

“So now I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to Brady since,” I concluded. Preston came back to our hightop table and I immediately sucked down half my beer.

“Here we go again,” Kendra rolled her eyes.

“But he probably just can’t call me because his phone is in pieces,” I pointed out.

“He and John actually went to the golf course today. So I’m guessing his phone must be working for them to be able to meet up.”

“Who went to the golf course?” I asked, confused.

“John and Brady,” Kendra said, like that was the most normal thing in the world.

Preston started cackling and clapping his hands together. “This is even juicier than I thought.”

I polished off my beer while letting it sink in. So Brady is deliberately not talking to me. Cool. Maybe we really are done.

I sent Carly a quick text to get some insider information.

“Are you at Chris’s? Is Brady there?”

She replied, “Hiya babe! Yes I’m at Chris’s and yes Brady is here! You should come over!”

“What’s he doing?” I wanted to know.

“Umm, I don’t know. He’s upstairs. Is everything okay with you two?”

So Brady hadn’t told Carly or Chris what happened. I decided I was going to save that conversation for another time and I put my phone away.

Since apparently I’m single, I decided I was going to have some fun. I dragged Preston and Kendra to the bar and ordered us shots.

I started talking to this guy named Drew and his friend. Drew was a cute law student who seemed to be the perfect rebound. The five of us hung out by the bar for a while and I was actually really enjoying hanging out with Drew. He reminded me a lot of Derrick with his teasing sense of humor and desire to be touching me at all times.

He followed me around the bar and made sure that I always had a drink in my hand. It was fun for a few hours until I realized that I really just missed Brady. I wasn’t drunk enough to drunk dial him, but I was drunk enough to be upset and need to go to the bathroom to cry. I brought Kendra with me.

“God, Reese. Get your shit together,” she rolled her eyes.

“Kendra, you have no idea what it’s like,” I cried. “Not everyone can have a successful six year relationship like you.”

“You’re right, they can’t. And you will never have a relationship at all if you bottle up your emotions and then blow up like that.”

I sniffled.

“You can’t just expect Brady to know what you’re thinking. You have to open up about your feelings.”

“Do you think this is my fault?” I asked.

“Nothing is ever your fault, Reese,” she said sarcastically. “Both of you need to communicate better. And I think you have trust issues. Why did you feel the need to go through his phone anyway?”

I shrugged. I didn’t go through his phone expecting to find out answers about Jessica. I just went through it because it was there.

“Do you think that maybe [ex-boyfriend whose name I refuse to say] kind of scarred you? Maybe he made it hard for you to trust men…”

I considered this. Kendra might be right. I was head over heels in love with my ex (for no reason really) and he did some awful things to me. Maybe I’m just expecting Brady to hurt me because that’s what’s happened in the past. I don’t know.

I never thought a drunk bar bathroom lecture could be so insightful. She told me that if I wanted to make it work with Brady then we needed to have a serious talk, but I couldn’t expect him to do all the work. She said that I should call him (not at midnight while drunk though) and I told her I would think about it.

We went home soon after that and I woke up really early on Sunday and went for a run. I know. Like who am I? I’m not sure how far I ran, but I ran for like forty five minutes straight. And it felt really good actually.

I spent most of the day cleaning, doing squats, thinking about donuts, and watching the Wolf of Wall Street (Leo is literally so perfect). I debated calling Brady a few times, but decided that if he wanted to talk he would’ve called me. And besides me breaking his phone, the whole fight is his fault. So it’s his job to contact me.

shady brady.

Since Kendra cancelled happy hour on Wednesday I made her get drinks with me on Thursday night. I hadn’t had a chance to tell her about my birthday or meeting Brady’s parents. She showed up late to the bar and I immediately demanded she take a shot. Then I rambled on and on about my birthday dinner and the rooftop afterwards. How I had fought with Derrick once again, how Jessica had showed up and rubbed Brady’s thigh, how Brady said he was falling for me.

“Why are you always fighting with Derrick? He’s like the most harmless person on the planet,” she said as if that was highlight of the story.

“Because he’s annoying,” I said, dismissively. “Anyways, what about Jessica? I went to see Brady at work yesterday and they were going to lunch together.”

“So? It’s lunch, not some scandalous rendezvous.”

“How do we know that?”

“Did you ask Brady about it?”

I looked at her like she suggested a threesome between the three of us. “I’m not asking him anything. I would sound like some jealous, mega-attached psycho.”

“He said he’s falling for you, Reese. He isn’t hooking up with Jessica. I’m sure she just has a huge crush on him and he probably likes the attention.”

What she said made sense, but then I realized that I give Brady enough attention so he shouldn’t have to seek any from Jessica. I took a sip of my martini then told Kendra about Brady’s parents. Her only conclusion was that I should’ve never mentioned Obama and that it was obvious (even just from hearing my story) that they were Republicans. She’s right. I definitely should’ve seen the clues.

Finally, I asked her to tell me about her vacation with John.

“It was a ton of fun. We love any chance we can get away from the city,” she said.

“Let me see your ring.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. “He didn’t propose, Reese.”

Thankfully. As much as I like to tease Kendra about getting engaged, the day it happens I’m going to be devastated. Because once she becomes a married woman, she won’t want to go out for drinks and happy hour and get belligerent on weekends. She will become this serious housewife and only want to spend time with her husband. And then she will start having children and we will no longer have anything in common. I would basically be losing my best friend.

After drinks, I texted Brady to see if he was off work yet and he said that he was exhausted and working late. This struck me as weird and all of my insecurities about Jessica came rushing back to the surface. First of all, he was always exhausted – we both were – so why was that an excuse not to hang out? We hang out every single night no matter what time he got off. I didn’t text him back and instead took a relaxing two hour shower and got ready for bed.

I checked my phone and Brady had texted me again saying that he was off work and could come over if I was still up. Oh sure, now that he was done fucking Jessica he wanted to hang out with me.

I put my phone down with no intention of responding and got in bed. I started thinking about how hurt Brady looked when I admitted I didn’t open his gift. How he had bought me a plane ticket to Houston because he sensed that I missed my family. I never expressed to him how much I really did, but he picked up on those clues. Finally, I thought about how he said he was falling for me. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I’m falling for him too.

I quickly picked up my phone and told him that I was sorry, but already in bed. I couldn’t possibly pretend to be mad at him even if I have some suspicions about Jessica.

On Friday, we had our weekly staff meeting and I was going to present some mockups for the watercolor artist collaboration to see if anyone thought it would be worth it.

After I presented, Whitney insisted she share some ideas she’s working on. It really annoyed me because she is supposed to be assisting me with my ideas, not coming up with her own. We are a team, not in competition. She started with the “discount furniture bazaar” idea and talked about how we could be exposed to a ton of clients who had never heard of us. Duh. Because people who can afford our stuff don’t shop at flea markets.

I raised my hands and expressed my concerns about the message it would send if we were being associated “discount.”

Before Whitney could respond, Dave said, “You know, it might actually be good for us. We don’t want to come off as a snobby company. If we make our products available to people who are price conscious, it will show humility.”

I didn’t say anything. Did I mention that I’m a control freak? I am in charge of all marketing and promotion and I know what’s best for the company. I can’t let this flea market shit go down.

Brady called around 7:30 and invited me over. I stuffed some clothes and toiletries in my bag and headed over there.

“Welcome,” Brady said, letting me in. He was still in his clothes from work and I realized that I missed him on the one day we didn’t get to hang out.

“Hello,” I chirped, hugging him. He nuzzled his face in my neck and I felt a tingle rush down between my legs. I pulled away and kissed him. “How was your day?”

“It’s Friday so I can’t complain. Do you want a beer?”

I followed him into the kitchen and he grabbed two beers while I poured a glass of wine. We took our libations to his room and sat there talking about our days. I steered clear of complaining about Whitney because clearly he would take her side. Eventually he said he was going to take a quick shower and I changed into sleeping clothes and got in bed.

I noticed his phone sitting on the night table next to me and I casually picked it up. His background picture was of a German Shepherd dog which I couldn’t decide if I thought was cute or weird. It honestly should have been a picture of me. I was surprised that when I slid to unlock his phone that he didn’t have a passcode so I had full access to everything. I honestly didn’t expect to find anything though.

I looked through the apps he had downloaded, all normal things like his bank, Google Maps, GroupMe, etc. I opened his messages: Me, Mom, Chris… Then I saw the thread with Jessica. I couldn’t even stop myself from opening it.

All the messages were very innocent – at first. Things like “Have a good weekend.” and “The fourth floor is crazy right now.” Mostly Jessica sending messages and Brady responding. Very one sided. I scrolled up more and saw conversations about sports that I didn’t even bother reading because they were so long and I don’t even care about sports. I kept scrolling up until I saw a picture. Jessica sent it – it was of her in a tight black dress taken in a full length mirror.

“Going out tonight. Do you like my outfit?” she’d captioned.

Brady responded, “Looks great.”

I kept scrolling up and then I came upon another picture from Jessica. In this one she was in the same mirror, but she was completely naked. I could see everything – her huge tits (I thought my boobs were pretty big, but hers take the cake), faint bikini tan line, landing strip, and tiny hip tattoo. There was no caption and Brady responded, “Very nice.” I checked the date – May 24. Before Brady and I even met.

I continued refreshing older messages and finding more nude pictures. All from Jessica. She would change her pose up – one where she was touching her vagina, another showed a close up of her boobs and face with her finger in her mouth. Brady always responded with something like “Nice” or “Looks good.” I felt like I was suffocating. I know it all happened before we had even met, but obviously he and Jessica have sexual history and he didn’t bother telling me.

I heard the shower turn off and I quickly sent two of the naked pictures to myself then hopped out of bed. I was embarrassed and hurt, but mostly really fucking pissed off.

I was waiting outside the door when Brady emerged from the shower. He was just wearing a towel around his waist and had water dripping down his chest. I held up his phone with a shaky hand.

“What the fuck?” I said slowly because I couldn’t even think of anything else to say.

Brady looked confused. “What?”

I opened one of the naked pictures and showed it to him. He looked at it blankly.

“I can’t fucking believe this.”

He walked passed me and sat on the bed.

“How could you introduce me to Jessica and fail to mention that you guys have had some sort of sexual relationship in the past?”

Brady didn’t say anything.

“No wonder she’s been giving me condescending looks. Y’all are probably still hooking up,” I said.

“No,” Brady said calmly.

“Did you fucking have sex with her?” I demanded.

“No!” he exclaimed as if that was the most ridiculous conclusion I could’ve come to after seeing the pictures.

“Then what happened?”

When he didn’t answer, I said, “And don’t say ‘nothing’ because that’s a fucking lie.”

“Once,” he said, quietly. “We went in an empty patient room. And she…” He trailed off.

“She what?”

He started making gestures with his hands that told me he didn’t know what to say.

“She sucked your dick?”

Brady sighed. “Yeah.”

“You’re fucking gross,” I glared at him.

I suddenly remembered back to the night of the charity event when I tried to have sex with him in the bathroom and he told me no. He couldn’t hook up with me at a work event, but he could hook up with Jessica at work? I don’t know if I overestimated him or underestimated him. I thought he was too mature and conservative to do such a thing in a public place, but clearly he was very capable of it.

“I owe you a huge apology. I withheld that information because I am not proud of it. I understand why you’re upset and you deserved to know.”

I crossed my arms across my chest.

“I’m terribly sorry. I’m really embarrassed,” Brady said.

“You’re embarrassed?” I seethed. “Imagine how I feel. You’re flaunting Jessica in my face knowing what happened between y’all. Do you understand how stupid it makes me look? Now the b-day comment and the thigh touching all makes perfect sense.”

Brady’s brow furrowed.

“Is there anything I can do to remedy this situation?” he asked very calmly.

“No!” I screeched. And then I became aware of the delicate iPhone in my hand. No protector case or passcode? Silly Brady. “Have a nice life!”

I threw the phone with all of my strength on the tile bathroom floor and heard a painful sounding crack. I grabbed my bag and stormed out of there while Brady watched me, but didn’t try to stop me.

I got in my car and took a few deep breaths. It wasn’t until I started driving that I realized that yes, I was mad as fuck, but I was actually way more hurt. I like Brady. Way more than I ever planned to.

Even though my eyes felt hot with tears and I had a dry lump in my throat, I wasn’t going to let myself cry. Fuck that.

I already know what y’all are going to say. Bring it on.

the most thoughtful gift.

When I got to work on Tuesday, Diana called me into her office.

“How was your weekend? You had a ton of fun, I imagine,” she said when I sat down.

“I did,” I said, smiling. “It was also my birthday so I celebrated.”

“Well, you’re here in one piece so that’s a great sign.”

I’m glad that even after everything, Diana and I still have a great relationship.

“So, I know you have a lot on your plate right now. You’re taking on so much extra work lately and Dave and I really appreciate you.”

“Yeah. My plate is very full,” I admitted.

“To help take some weight off your shoulders, we have promoted Whitney into a brand new position that was created just for her.”

I was silent so Diana continued explaining.

“Brand strategy manager. She will continue overseeing social media, but in addition, she will work alongside you with branding.”

I blinked.

“I just wanted to run this by you since I know you and Whitney have not always seen eye to eye.”

How did Whitney weasel her way into a promotion? And yes, I was swamped with work, but that’s the way I liked it. I didn’t want help, especially from Whitney.

“Okay,” I said, sweetly.

“You’re okay with this?” Diana looked kind of surprised.

What was the alternative? Refusing to work with Whitney and looking like an uncooperative brat?

“Don’t worry, Diana. We will make it work,” I enthused.

Immediately after the meeting, Whitney stopped by my office.

“I already have a ton of ideas for marketing pitches. We’ve been lacking in a few areas so I created a file outlining everything. I just emailed it to you,” she said.

I gave her the fakest, syrupiest smile I could muster. “Thanks. I’ll look at it.”

Keyword: look. Right before I moved it to the trash.

Later that evening, Brady and I met for dinner and drinks. I told him about Whitney’s promotion and how annoyed about it I was.

“Don’t be annoyed. At least you’ll be getting some relief from all the work you have to do,” he said.

“I don’t want relief,” I glared.

“It will allow you more time to invest elsewhere. Perhaps spend more time on each project instead of juggling multiple things at once…”

“I don’t want that,” I said sharply. “Everything is perfect as is. I don’t need help.”

Brady saw how irritated I was getting and took a bite of his food. I considered what he said and started thinking of all the upsides. I could treat Whitney like my own little personal assistant. I mean, I have been wanting one. I could keep her so busy with running my errands that she wouldn’t have any time to work on branding. Perfect.

Brady interrupted my thoughts.

“So did you free your schedule for the 19th through 21st?” he asked.

I wrinkled my nose in confusion. “No. Why?”

He looked at me blankly. “Did you not open the gift I got you?”

I had spent so much time at work and Brady’s that I completely forgot about the little white box he gave me the night of my birthday. It was still tangled up in my sheets.

“No. I completely forgot about that,” I admitted.

A look of disappointment flashed over his face briefly.

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you look at it when you get home?” he suggested, taking a drink from his beer.

I feel awful about completely disregarding his gift. I should’ve opened it that night.

Brady came home with me and I hurried to find my gift. It was exactly where I left it, tossed carelessly on the bed. I tore open the box and single piece of paper fell to the bed. When I picked it up, I saw that it was the flight information for a trip to Houston, TX. For me. I didn’t say anything for a moment and Brady spoke up.

“I know you don’t get to see your family often so I’m forcing you to go.”

My heart felt too big for my chest and I actually thought I was going to cry. It is probably the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever gotten from a guy. He didn’t book a romantic trip for the two of us, he booked a trip for me.

“That’s…very thoughtful,” I said, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

Brady sat next to me. “I know your family misses you. Go surprise your parents. They will be ecstatic.”

“They will be.” I threw my arms around him and hugged him, hoping he took it as a thank you.

I know his gift isn’t extravagant or anything I’ve been asking for, but I would never go home if he hadn’t bought me that plane ticket. And I’m actually really excited.

We hooked up and fell asleep after that. I was woken up in the morning by Brady who quickly got out of bed. I pulled the comforter over my head while I heard him getting ready. He shouted goodbye and I mumbled something back before he shut my door.

I fell back asleep for little while longer, but my ringing phone woke me up. It was from an unknown Chicago number and even though I usually don’t pick up unknown numbers, I answered it.

“Hey, it’s me,” I recognized Brady’s voice on the other end.

“Hi,” I said sleepily.

“I was in such a hurry that I left my phone on your nightstand,” he said.

I glanced to my right and saw his black iPhone sitting there.

“Do you think if you have time today, you could bring it to me at work? It’s kind of important.”

“Sure,” I said, smiling. I loved the fact that he was asking me for a favor. And if his phone was with me, how did he get my number to call me? He must have it memorized. We’re practically engaged.

I told him that I would most likely take a break at around 12:30 and he told me to use the south entrance and let the receptionist know to page him.

His phone was dead so his alarm didn’t go off which explained why he woke up late. I put it in my bag to take to him later.

When I got to work, Whitney was already working away at her desk.

“Reese!” she exclaimed. “I have a meeting set up for us today.”

“Okay. Who with?”

“I found this discount furniture bazaar that I think would be really good for us. It would be something a little different.”

“Discount furniture bazaar,” I repeated. While our stuff isn’t luxury by any means, I wouldn’t put it in the discount category. What kind of message would it send to our customers if we had stuff at some sort of flea market?

“Yes. I want to get some more information before presenting it to Dave and Diana. We’re meeting them at 2:00.”

“I’m busy at that time,” I lied. I actually wanted nothing to do with this foolishness she was trying.

“Oh darn,” Whitney said, not looking at all disappointed. “Well, I’ll let you know how it goes.”

Later that morning she came in my office.

“I was thinking since the last warehouse sale went so well we could do it twice a year. The next one could be around the holidays and we could turn it into sort of an event with other vendors and stuff,” Whitney said.

“I think the way we do the warehouse sale now is fine,” I replied.

“It is, but I thought it would be cool to spice it up a bit. I’m going to start planning it and send you what I come up with.”

An hour later, she CC’d Diana and me in an email with a sample flyer for the holiday warehouse sale. Diana immediately emailed her back: “Interesting idea Whitney. Please send more info.”

I was so fucking irritated that Diana was even entertaining this. I grabbed my bag and headed off to meet Brady.

I got to the hospital and asked the receptionist to call him then I stood there talking to her because her eyebrows were awesome and I had to know who did them. She tried to tell me that they were natural which was an obvious lie. When I told her I didn’t believe her she pulled up a #TBT picture on Instagram. Same brows at thirteen. Whatever.

I sat down and waited for a few minutes until I spotted Brady walking down the hall toward me. And he was with Jessica. I can’t believe that after Saturday night he had the nerve to show up with her. I watched as they slowly walked down the wide white hallway, chatting and laughing. Brady was in dress clothes, a white coat and glasses, while Jessica wore bubblegum pink scrubs and a high ponytail. Bitch.

“Hey. Thanks so much for coming,” Brady greeted me with a one armed hug.

“No problem,” I said sweetly and handed him his phone.

“You caught us just as we were heading to lunch,” Jessica said with that condescending ass smile on her face.

“Oh?” I looked at Brady.

“Yeah, we will probably just grab something quick from the cafeteria,” he said.

“Are you on lunch break too then?” Jessica asked.

“I don’t really have a set lunch break. I just come and go as I please,” I said.

“Nice,” Jessica smiled.

“Do you want to go down to the cafeteria with us?” Brady asked.

“No,” I said immediately and gave him a chilly look. “I actually have a lot to do and I put it all on hold to come here.”

“I do appreciate it,” Brady said.

“It’s not a problem. You can just repay me later.”

“How about I treat you to lunch?”

I glanced at Jessica who was watching the encounter with the smile still on her face. Ugh, she’s so weird.

“Okay. I could probably spare half an hour,” I said nonchalantly.

Brady smiled. “Great. You choose the place.”

He started toward the door without acknowledging Jessica so I waved at her before we walked out. We went across the street to a little Mexican place and got tacos because they were quick and we both really did need to get back to work. I asked him if he and Jessica frequently got lunch together.

“No, it was a coincidence that we were both going to the cafeteria at the same time today,” he said.

“Coincidence?” I repeated, hoping he would elaborate some more.

“Usually I work through lunch.”

“So do I,” I said.

Sometimes Brady is so oblivious that I think there is no way he could have anything going on with Jessica. It makes me feel like I’m crazy for even thinking it when Brady is so calm and cool about it. He is so casually unconcerned about her so I feel like their relationship is one sided. Not only that, but it took him forever to even have sex with me and we were dating. Even though Jessica seems like a thirsty skank, I just can’t see how anything could happen. Now I sound so naive. I don’t know what to think.

halfway to fifty.

My birthday festivities started on Friday evening with an outlandish shopping spree with Preston and Carly in the suburbs. My parents transferred a ton of money into my bank account in lieu of a gift so I thought I would reward myself with a few new pieces.

I’m not even going to talk about how much I spent, but I found the perfect birthday dress plus a cute matching bra and panty set to wear for Brady after (and a bunch of things I needed for fall).

On Saturday, Carly surprised me with a mani/pedi/facial which was much needed. The spa had complementary champagne so we guzzled down that down while we gossiped. By the time we got out of there it was time to get ready for dinner so we met Preston at my apartment. We took shots (because birthday) and got ready with the music blasting.

Brady and Chris met us at my apartment so we could all taxi to the restaurant.

“You look very nice,” Brady said, following me into my room.

I was tromping around trying to find my clutch and said, “Thanks.”

I finally found it and headed toward the door.

Brady stepped in front of me to stop me from walking out. “Hey, I got you something.”

He handed me a small, white rectangular box. It was very light so I had no idea what it could be.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging him. We pulled apart and kissed briefly so I didn’t get my pink lipstick all over him.

“The cab is here!” ~~Pauly D~~ Preston called from the living room.

I tossed the box on the bed to open later and we headed downstairs. Preston reserved a table at a fancy fusion restaurant and when we got there, there was a bottle of white wine chilling on the table.

Derrick and one of his friends were already there. Ugh. I thought after the big fight we had, he would’ve been too scared to show his face. Apparently not.

“Happy birthday, Reese,” Derrick said, standing up to greet me. He tried to grab me to hug me, but I stepped to the side to avoid him.

“Thanks Derrick!” I said with mock enthusiasm.

His face kind of fell as I walked past him and took my seat at the head of the table. All of our friends were there including two girls I used to work with showed up along with one of Preston’s exes. We had a nice dinner then Preston brought out the most delicious looking chocolate cake that had “Happy Halfway To 50 Reese!” written in pink. I was most offended that he would tempt me with the cake knowing my dress wasn’t going to allow me to have any. Asshole.

After dinner, the five of us plus Derrick and his friend headed to a rooftop to drink. Brady insisted on opening a tab for all of us because it was my birthday and why not? Naturally we started with tequila. I also ordered a beer and a martini and after I finished them, Carly and I took the obligatory trip to the ladies room. I told her how annoyed I was that Derrick showed up and she said that I needed to show him that Brady and I are together because obviously he wasn’t getting the message.

“So, I need to make out with Brady in front of him?” I clarified.

“Yeah, or something. And Brady will enjoy the PDA,” she smiled sinisterly.

We got back out there and found the guys near the bar. Brady and Derrick were standing next to each other which was already uncomfortable enough.

“Heyyy, babe,” I cooed, throwing my whole body into him and then kissing him loudly.

“Hey, do you want another drink?” Brady asked.

I glanced at Derrick to make sure he was watching and he was. I nodded.

“Be right back,” Brady said.

As soon as he walked away, Derrick said, “Are you doing this on purpose?”

I feigned surprise. “Doing what?!”

“You know what, Reese,” he said, looking annoyed.

“I honestly don’t. I’m just trying to enjoy my birthday.”

Derrick was silent for a minute and I glanced behind me to see if Brady was on his way back. I couldn’t see him in the crowd.

“Reese,” Derrick said.

I turned back to look at him and raised my eyebrows as if to say, “Hmm?”

“Reese, I like you.”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that,” I said, dismissively.

“And you know I like you,” he continued. “Does it make you feel good to throw your ‘boyfriend’ in my face? Because I think that’s a real bitch thing to do.”

I felt my face getting hot and my hands balling into fists at my side involuntarily.

“Excuse me?” I said to make sure he wanted to open this can of worms.

“Nothing,” Derrick sighed. “We’re going to go ahead and go. I hope you had a great birthday.”

He signaled his friend and they started to walk away.

“Bye Derrick! Thanks for coming!” I called after him sweetly. Then I remembered him not being able to get it up back in college and started laughing at the irony.

He turned back around and gave me a cold look, obviously catching my joke.

Brady came back with my signature drink – tequila and orange juice – and we met back up with Carly, Preston and Chris to take shots. After that, Brady and I ran off to dance and kiss and flirt and nurse our drinks. We were both super drunk and super horny and really couldn’t keep our hands off each other.

We were headed to the bar to get more drinks (which we didn’t need at all), when someone shrieked “Braaaaaddddyyyyy!”

It wasn’t until a blur of blonde hair flashed in front of me that I realized someone was actually shrieking at Brady. And that someone was the Jessica girl who I met at the charity event. She threw her arms around his neck and held him for three seconds longer than I was okay with. Then pulled away but kept an arm slung on his shoulders. “I didn’t know you were coming here tonight.”

“Yeah, it’s Reese’s birthday,” Brady said.

Jessica looked down at me with that shit eating grin on her face. “Hey. Happy b-day.”

She touched my arm lightly, almost in a pitying way. And who says “b-day” out loud? It was like she was trying to downplay my birthday intentionally.

“You know Kelsey and Rach,” she said motioning toward her two friends standing nearby. They were two plain ass, vanilla white girls just like Jessica.

Brady gave them a head nod and Jessica said, “Reese, we should take a shot for your b-day!”

“We were actually headed to the bar right before you ambushed us,” I deadpanned.

The five of us walked to the bar and Brady ordered us some fruity shot on his tab. It irritated me because he was supposed to be paying for drinks for me and my friends, not this bimbo and her ugly friends.

“Brady, I was telling Kelsey what you told me on Thursday. About the changes to the state board test,” Jessica said.

“Mmm, yes,” he replied and the three of them started talking about tests and licenses and certifications. Brady was being very professional and formal, but Jessica and her drunk friends kept giggling and interrupting and being so obnoxious. Like go away.

Eventually, I got really irritated and walked in between Brady and Jessica to the bar to get a glass of water.

“Well, we’ll let you guys enjoy your night,” I heard Jessica say. “I’ll see you Tuesday.” And as she and Thing 1 and Thing 2 were walking away, I saw her hand graze the side of Brady’s thigh quickly, but deliberately. It was such a subtle action that most people wouldn’t have noticed, but it made my heart speed up and jump to my throat.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” I demanded after they were gone.

Brady looked taken aback. “I don’t know.”

“I just think it’s really weird that she just so happened to be where we are,” I said.

“I mean, this place is quite popular. Look at how packed it is.”

I didn’t bother looking around as I felt hot tears forming in my eyes.

“I can’t believe she’s here. She ruined my birthday!” I cried.

“Baby,” Brady said gently and put an arm around me pulling me close. He had never called me that ever nor do I like being called pet names. Usually. His soothing tone and affection was actually exactly what I needed.

He kissed my forehead and held me right there for a few moments. “Reese, it’s okay.”

“I want to go home,” I sniffled.

“Okay. Let’s go tell our friends we’re leaving.”

Brady and I walked around until we found Carly, Chris and Preston huddled by the bar.

“Hey, we’re going to go,” Brady said to them.

“What’s wrong, doll face? You look upset,” Preston said, pulling me away from Brady.

“Well, that fugly girl Brady works with is here and she fucking touched his thigh and said ‘happy b-day’ to me,” I hissed.

“She touched his thigh?” Preston exclaimed.

“Shh!” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Brady hadn’t heard. I wanted to confront him about it, but not right there.

Brady and I were walking away when Preston shouted, “Love you, Reesie Cup! Have a ton of birthday sex tonight!”

Brady turned and waved before we went outside and got a cab. Brady gave the cabbie his address and paid the man when we got out. When we got inside I immediately started getting undressed in the living room.

“Do you want water?” Brady asked, heading toward the kitchen. I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. He returned a moment later with two water bottles and sat one in front of me. He fell onto the couch beside me.

I took a long gulp of water then turned to Brady. “Take off your clothes.”

He didn’t even hesitate before pulling his shirt over his head and unbuckling his jeans. I reached over and pumped him a few times before climbing on.

I began bouncing up and down really hard while simultaneously sucking his neck and chest. He threw his head back and I continued sucking hard, purposefully trying to leave marks. I was crashing down on his dick too with force, like I was trying to prove to him and Jessica that he’s mine.

Brady squeezed my butt tight and tried to pull me off as his body tensed up. But I kept going until he grunted and relaxed. I could already see a swollen hickey forming on the side of his neck. Perfect.

“Wow,” he sighed, completely out of breath even though he really didn’t do anything.

I smiled at my accomplishment. We gathered our clothes and went to his room to get in bed.

“I’m sorry you didn’t have a good birthday,” he said once we were settled and laying side by side.

“It was okay,” I replied. Besides the whole Jessica ordeal and the fact that my best friend couldn’t make it, I’d had fun.

“Reese,” Brady put a hand on my naked waist. “I really like you.”

I beamed. Even though Derrick had uttered those exact words just hours before, it felt so much better coming from Brady.

“You’re amazing. I think I’m falling for you.”

I’ve never had a guy tell me they were falling for me and honestly, what does that even mean? I looked at Brady and his eyes were barely open, just small slits. He was obviously seconds away from passing out.

We woke up just before noon and I had a massive headache and a dry mouth. It could’ve been way worse though. Two points for Drunk Reese.

“Morning,” Brady said, turning toward me.

We kissed and then decided to shower to wash the club/bar filth off us. Obviously this turned into slippery shower sex and then he scrubbed me clean.

We got out and wrapped up in towels and I complained that I still felt like shit. My tummy was doing some crazy acrobatics.

“Give me a second. I’ll make you something that’ll fix everything,” Brady said. He threw on a pair of sweats and disappeared into the hallway.

I put on a t-shirt and some shorts and waited several minutes for Brady to come back. When he finally did, he had two glasses filled with an orangey liquid.

“This stuff works. I used to make it for the guys at the house all the time,” he said.

I grabbed a glass from him and asked, “What house?”

I took a sip of the drink. It tasted like orange juice, but I could also taste a hint of cilantro and carrot so it was really yummy and fresh. It burned a little bit going down so I could tell it was spiked with tequila.

“The fraternity house,” Brady said.

“You were in a fraternity?” I asked, surprised. Brady never, ever mentioned being in a fraternity to me. But that explained why he is so good at partying.

“Uh, yeah. Didn’t we talk about that?”

I shook my head. “Never. I had no idea.”

We finished our drinks and Brady stood up to collect our glasses.

“Hey, my parents are going to be in the city tomorrow. Do you want to meet them?” he asked.

Brady must have saw how wide my eyes got because he quickly said, “It’s not a big deal. They’re going to a yacht party and wanted us to come. They’re cool.”

I waited a full thirty seconds before saying, “Okay.”

I don’t know what to expect from Brady’s parents. I know that they are pretty important people, but other than that nothing. I’m usually really good with parents (Kendra’s folks adore me), but what if they think I’m stupid and hate me?

ice.

Kendra showed up to happy hour late with John in tow on Wednesday and I was really annoyed. Happy hour is our chance to talk about guys, not hang out with them. The three of us got tapas and beer and started talking. Well, the two of them did. They started talking about people I don’t know so I pretended to be listening for a little while then I pulled out my phone and started texting. I decided that since apparently we were inviting our men to happy hour I was going to invite Brady too. He said that he was wrapping up a few last minute things but he would be there in thirty to forty five minutes. I love how accessible he is sometimes.

Just when I was considering gouging my eyes out with a fork, Brady showed up. I squealed and threw my arms around him when he showed up next to our table. We had just seen each other the day before, but whatever.

“Hi Brady,” Kendra said as he sat down.

It occurred to me that Kendra and Brady actually haven’t had much interaction except drunken bar nights.

Brady ordered a beer and we all started talking. Brady and John started talking about their jobs since they both work in hospitals. They were off in their own little world and I couldn’t break Brady away. I wanted to tell him how well a meeting went at work, but whenever I tried to pull him away from his new boyfriend, he would turn and smile and pat my knee like I’m some sort of impatient child.

Finally I excused myself to go to the restroom and dragged Kendra with me.

“Why is your boyfriend moving in on my boyfriend?” I demanded.

“I don’t know. I think they’re getting along nicely,” she said, reapplying her red lipstick.

“Well, it’s super inconsiderate that John is talking his ear off and I haven’t even had a chance to tell him about my day,” I said.

“Honestly, you should be happy they are getting along and you can bring Brady around your friends. We can do triple dates with Carly and Chris!” she enthused.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t want to do triple dates with y’all. I’m an adult.”

“You’re such a fucking brat, Reese,” she said and walked out of the bathroom.

The evening went on and Brady and John became instant BFFs. I was irritated, but I did enjoy seeing Brady talk to someone who is on his same wavelength and can talk with him about glucosamine and the metabolization of alcohol. It was pretty cute hearing him talk like that.

After happy hour, Brady came over. I dug out my pack of birthday cake Oreos and we sat on the couch eating them and watching Teen Mom 2. I finally got a chance to tell Brady about the exciting meeting and what I’ve been doing at work.

“I really like how passionate you are about your work,” he said.

When he said that I realized that work is the only thing I am really passionate about. Well that and drinking. Brady is passionate about his work too, but he also likes to run (he told me he’s running a marathon in a few months. Didn’t invite me though, surprise!), and travel to other countries to help people, and other things that make him an all around good person. I really need to get some hobbies.

On Thursday, I had a meeting with a watercolor artist who I found on Pinterest/Etsy. I thought her paintings would be super cute in thick white frames and also printed on pillows. The girl was kind of greasy and smelled odd and was only interested in how much money she could make. I mean, I get it, but it just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

After work, I went to Brady’s. Can you believe I’m not tired of him yet? We’ve hung out everyday for the past few weeks. I’m pretty sure this is some kind of record. Chris was at work so Brady and I made drinks (ice, tequila, splash of Sprite, lime) and watched a movie in the basement. Brady made us each another cup after we finished and at that point I was pretty tipsy. We decided to play a drinking card game with our new drinks and as you can probably expect, I lost badly.

“Fuck this game,” I said, swiping the table so all the cards went flying.

Brady smirked at me with low eyes. “Poor sport.”

I flicked him off and went to the wet bar to make another drink.

“Get better at card games then you won’t have to worry about losing,” he called from the couch.

I tossed a piece of ice at him and hit him right in the back of the head. Before I could celebrate my victory, Brady was up and barreling toward me. I screamed and ran, but he caught me by my shirt and yanked me back. He pushed me against the granite counter so my back was to him.

“You want to play with ice, huh?” he taunted.

I felt a cold ice cube on the middle of my back and I shrieked. Brady ran it up my spine and stopped at the back of my neck. I was shivering and squealing involuntarily and trying to slip away, but Brady had me pinned with his body.

“Let me go,” I whined just as he rolled the ice cube down my lower back.

“What? You are the one who wanted to do this,” he said innocently.

I reached behind me to try to claw him away, but Brady grabbed my wrist hard and slammed it back on the counter. He leaned down and kissed my neck really softly despite him trying to break my wrist just seconds before.

I let out some sort of moan/grunt and realized I was really, really turned on. I love aggressive Drunk Brady.

“Are you going to apologize?” he asked.

I didn’t know if apologizing would make it stop and I didn’t know if I even wanted it to so I didn’t say anything.

Brady put another cold cube on the back of my neck and kept it in the same spot until it started to drip down and make me numb. He leaned down and licked the dripping water up and started sucking my neck. He pushed his hips into me so I could feel his boner. Literally almost orgasmed right there.

“Just say you’re sorry, Reese,” he said in my ear as he ran another ice cube down my back.

Between his weight pushing me against the counter, the sensation of the cold ice cube and the fact that I was so turned on, I couldn’t seem to catch my breath.

When I didn’t say anything, Brady pulled my shorts down and put an ice cube on my butt cheek. I couldn’t help giggling.

“I’m…sorry,” I finally gasped.

“Are you?”

I heard his belt and then he rammed into me and started thrusting hard, a lot harder than usual, but I liked it. He grabbed a fistful of my hair with one hand and used the other to steady my hip while he plowed into me. Brady was going so much harder than usual like he was genuinely mad at me for throwing ice at him.

After that, we got dressed and fell asleep on the couch and didn’t wake up until the morning.

hot mess in high heels.

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