A Broken Us (London Lover Series Book 1) (18 page)

I squeeze his sides and laugh happily as he
jiggles me down the block and back to the house.

I dig out the votive candles leftover from the
Tarts and Vicars party, and arrange them in a cluster on the big dining room
table. It’s been a while since we’ve all had dinner together, so I figure we
can attempt to do it up right.

Brody is a huge help with grilling the chicken.
We’re having barbeque chicken, sweet corn, and garlic mashed potatoes. A very
Midwestern traditional meal. BBQ back in Kansas City is legendary. I know this
won’t come close to that, but it should still be pretty good.

Brody presses up behind me as I’m lighting the
tea lights. He moves my hair away from my neck so he can kiss me and I melt
under his touch.

“God, I’ve missed this,” he murmurs into my
neck.

“Missed what? My cooking?” I say, turning to
kiss him on the lips.

“Just being normal with you. Doing regular
things together,” he squeezes my side and I flinch at the ticklish spot.

“Quit, Brody! I need to get the potatoes
finished,” I laugh, feeling giddy and light from his affection.

“Okay, I have to go get the chicken off the
grill anyway. Damn! I can’t wait to get you home so I have you all to myself
again.”

He gives me a loud-smacking kiss on my cheek
and takes off for the patio area. What the hell is that supposed mean? He’s
expecting me to just go home with him after all this? I guess that would be an
obvious assumption since we made up. Shit! I let the match burn too far down
and fried the tip of my finger.

Damn it, that hurt. I suck on my finger as I
ponder what the hell I’m going to do about Brody. I know I need Brody. I have
to be with him, that’s non-negotiable. But I guess I was just hoping we could
start a whole new life together in London. Maybe none of this will even matter
when he knows all there is to know? God, just when I was feeling so good,
freakin
’ reality has to ruin everything.

“Problems?” Mitch’s voice breaks through my
inner monologue.

“I burned my finger. I’m fine,” I say, a bit
rudely.

“That’s all?” he says, heading over to the
cabinet and pulling out another foreign bottle of liquor. He holds it out to me
and I nod my head, so he proceeds to pull two coffee mugs out of the cabinet
and pours us both a shot.

“To complicated shit?” he says, raising his
glass to me with a toast.
 

“To impossible problems,” I reply, with my own
toast, raising my glass back at him.

“To being cool enough to figure out unique
solutions,” he says, and then takes his shot.

I shoot mine back and hold the cinnamon-tasting
liquor in my mouth, pondering what he said. Mitch seems to have this
wonderfully quiet way of always helping me with my problems. Unique solutions.
Unique solutions. Surely, Brody and I can come up with a unique solution.

“Brody, right?” Mitch says.

“Yeah,” Brody replies, walking into the kitchen
with a pan full of BBQ chicken.

“I’m Mitch. Do you like cinnamon?” Mitch asks,
grabbing another coffee mug out of the cupboard.

“You bet,” Brody responds, looking at me
sweetly.

Brody and Mitch talk amicably over another shot
and I finish up the food and set everything on the table. Julie comes in
looking all cute in a little black dress and heels, so I give Brody a quick
kiss and excuse myself to go up and change. I’d be lying if I don’t admit to
being excited to dress up for Brody.

I pop my head into Leslie’s room and she’s
sitting on her bed, obviously deep in thought. She’s wearing a sexy, black,
one-piece jumpsuit with gold metallic trim around the sleeves and down the
center.

“Hey! You look hot!” I say, and she waves me
off like she doesn’t want to hear it. “What’s wrong, Les?” I say, sitting down
next to her on her daybed.

“Boy problems, Finley,” she groans, and lies
down on her side. “I’m so confused.”

“Well, I’m here. Let’s talk.”

“I don’t think I’m quite ready to talk yet. I
know, I know…the cracks. But you know how sometimes I just need to process for
a bit? Well, now is one of those times. I promise, as soon as I’m ready, I’m
coming to you, so don’t get your panties in a wad, Mama Bear.”

“Okay then.”

“Besides, you have enough on your plate right
now as it is.”

I sigh, heavily. “You aren’t kidding. Brody
thinks I’m coming back to Kansas.”

“Aren’t you?” she asks.

“Do you think I should?” I ask, genuinely
curious.

“Hell no! I’ll keep you here forever if I can.
But I guess I kind of assumed the same thing.”

“I need more cinnamon,” I groan.

“Like, the food? Or is this a metaphor?” she
asks, deadpan.

“Mitch has yummy cinnamon liquor downstairs,” I
say.

“Yum! I want some!” She looks like a kid in a
candy store.

Frank walks into Leslie’s room and stops in his
tracks in the doorway.

“For fuck’s sake, Finley!” he says, angrily
gesturing to my university hoodie and leggings. “You cannot be trusted to dress
yourself anymore! I’m going to burn every last one of those nasty hoodies of yours.
Get your
arse
upstairs…now!”

Leslie and I look at each other and giggle.

“I agree with Frank. You are hideous,” she
crows, shoving her hand in my face and making a puking gesture. “Get your ass
upstairs before Frank has another one of his fits.”

“Screw you. I love my hoodies,” I say, getting
up off the bed. “And Frank, if you burn even one of my hoodies, I will burn
those hideous pajamas of yours.”

He squeals like a girl, and dashes back out
into the hall.
 

“What’s he doing?” I ask, looking back at
Leslie from the doorway.

She laughs heartily, “He’s hiding them!”

***

“Finley, babe…you look so beautiful,” Brody
says, in front of everybody as I walk into the dining room.

I have to give Frank credit, this outfit rocks.
I’m wearing white skinny, leather leggings and a sleeveless electric-blue top
with an exposed silver zipper down the front that’s opened scandalously low.
I’m wearing my sky-high black wedges again and tons of silver bangles around my
wrist and two long teardrop crystal earnings.

“Thanks,” I say, awkwardly, not enjoying
everyone’s perusal of my outfit.

“How do you handle her strange obsession with
hoodies, Brody?” Frank asks, coming up behind me in skinny black jeans, a white
button down, and a black bow tie.

“I love her in everything,” Brody says, smiling
at me from across the table. My heart flutters like crazy and I look down,
trying to hide the blush I feel creeping on my cheeks. Hopefully, the makeup
Frank applied on me upstairs is covering it.

“Thanks for setting everything out, guys.”

“Finley, my pet, this looks positively
splendid!” Frank says, with more fervor than necessary.

“Yeah, thanks for cooking, Finley!” Julie quips
brightly, sitting down by Mitch at the table.

“Oh, I got us some wine. I’ll go grab it,” I
say, heading into the kitchen.

Brody follows behind me as I knew he would. I
saw that look in his eye and I knew he’d have to touch me before we could eat.
Before I even get around the corner, he’s shoving up behind me and twirling me
around to face him, walking me backwards into the counter. My butt hits the
edge and he kisses me. Hard. Possessively. Demanding. Hot. Hot as hell. Holy
shit, this kiss is hot.

“Babe, you look too good,” he says, shaking his
head, his lips raw and pink.

I smile and run my thumb over his lips to wipe
off the pink gloss that’s smeared all over his mouth.

“Stand down, soldier. There’s plenty of time
for that later,” I say, winking at him.

I swivel in his grasp around my hips and grab
two bottles of red wine. His hand creeps around to my chest and pulls my zipper
down to my navel. He reaches inside and cups my breast. I stifle a moan as he
kneads my breast with his hand. Oh my God, that feels so good.

“Brody,” I say, embarrassed at the moan in my
tone.

He pops a quick peck on my cheek and zips my
zipper back up, a lot higher than it was originally. He whispers in my ear,
“Mine.” He grabs the two wine bottles and heads into the dining room.

I’m left there feeling tragically turned on and
all alone. I’d like to be pissed and outraged at the possessive gesture of him
zipping my zipper up so damn high, but damn, I’m too busy being way too turned
on by it.

Everybody seems to be enjoying the Kansas-style
meal Brody and I prepared. I feel my heart swell with pride at how great Brody
is fitting in with all my roommates. Even Mitch seems to be getting pretty
chummy with Brody, and Mitch doesn’t get chummy with anybody.

“So, Brody, how long are you staying?” Julie
asks.

“I leave day after tomorrow,” he replies.

My heart drops as he says this. He’s leaving
already? He just got here.

“What’s your plan, Finley?” Julie asks.

Damn it, Julie, can’t you just leave this
alone?

“I…um…we haven’t completely worked all that out
yet,” I reply.

Brody looks at me, confused and bewildered. I
shift in my seat as his expression turns from confused to angry.

“I, uh…think Brody and Finley still have a lot
of catching up to do,” Leslie says, trying to break the tension. Bless her.

Frank starts up a random conversation about
Zoey
, the bartender at the pub, and how he heard she had
sex with a customer in the bathroom while working. That seems to distract us
all for a while, but I can feel Brody’s eyes boring into me, searching for
answers. Answers I don’t yet have.
 

“To the pub?” Frank asks.

“Yes!” Julie squeals.

Mitch and Leslie both nod in agreement.

“You up for it?” I ask Brody, as we finish
loading the last few dishes in the dishwasher.

“If you want to, that’s fine,” he says, a bit
sadly.

I shake my head, grab his hand, and walk him
out of the kitchen and away from the roommates. When we’re in the living room
alone, I stand directly in front of him and put my hands on his cheeks so he
looks at me.

“Brody, we have more talking to do. We do. But
I’m trying to show you my world here right now. Can we just have one more
night? One more night of carefree
us
?
And then figure everything out after that?” I ask, kissing his lips chastely.

He half smiles back at me.

“Okay, I guess that could work,” he replies.

I shove him back, slightly, “Lighten up, babe.
You’re about to get a glimpse of your first legitimate old English pub.”

He laughs and pulls me into him for a great big
bear hug.
 

***

“This is it?” Brody says, as we stroll into the
pub twenty minutes later.

“This is
iiiiiit
!”
Frank sings, spreading his arms out wide. “
Zoey
! A
round of drinks for my mates!”

“Stuff it, Frank!” she shouts back at him.

“You stuff it, Wench!” he says, guiding us to
our usual table. “She has a thing for me, the poor gal. What can I say? I’m
irresistible.”

I laugh as he wafts his tall orange fuzzy hair.

“Here’s yours, Fin-Bin,” he says, handing me a
tall dark beer.

I smile back at him and watch Brody as Frank
hands him the same thing. His eyes smile at me as he takes a long drink. He
looks so great tonight in his grey pants and white button-down. I have to hold
myself back from kissing the tiny chest hairs that poke out at the top of his
two open buttons.

Our group looks a tad fashionable for the regulars
around here, but no one seems to notice or care. There are still the standard
old geezers bellied up to the bar, and the jukebox is playing some kind of
Irish rock and a college-aged group is shooting pool in the far corner.

“Confession time!” Frank announces to the table
on our second round of beers when everyone is starting to feel pretty happy and
loose.

Frank drops his head down onto the table, and
shoots it up quickly, “I saw Brody naked in the hallway today!”

Squeals erupt from Julie and Leslie.

“And he has the most magnificent bum…I’ve ever
seen.”

A cacophony of cackles continue and Brody just
smiles, smugly, like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“I feel so much better getting that out, guys.
I’ve been bursting with this for hours and I just can’t keep it in anymore. I
saw his bum…I saw his bum and I saw his man candy in full salute…God that feels
good getting it out! You all must know how glorious it was!”

Brody lets out a hearty laugh and turns red and
even Mitch appears amused. I smile looking amongst my friends and feeling
grateful that Brody seems to be handling all this so effortlessly.

“Thanks for the high praise, Frank. What can I
say?” he laughs again and raises his eyebrows at me in a flirty gesture.

“You can say whatever you want with an
arse
like that, mate. Feel very free to walk around naked
in my house anytime,” Frank sighs, taking a big drink of his beer.

“Or not!” I say, finally having enough of this
banter. I walk over to Brody and sit on his lap. I grab his chin with my hand
and turn it toward me.

“I think I’d prefer to keep your wobbly bits to
myself if it’s all the same to you.” I finish, with a dramatic smacking kiss to
his lips.

When I pull away from his lips, his eyes are
crinkled at the edges with his beaming smile.
 

“That’s the only way I want it, babe,” he says,
looking me in the eyes. His smile is so incredibly happy and content, I can’t
help but grin right back at him.

“Enough, already! You’re making me sick over
here!” Leslie says, with dramatic tone.

She gets a naughty look in her eyes that makes
me nervous.

“If we’re doing confessions, Brody, I have to
know…have to know! What the fucking hell were you doing with Oldie
Oli
’ on
Facebook
?”
she says, my heart drops and my eyes turn wide.

Leslie registers my shocked expression and her
jaw drops, “Have you guys not discussed this?” she asks.

I silently shake my head
no
, and tension creeps all over my body.

“Who’s Oldie
Oli
’?”
Brody asks.

I shake my head angrily at Leslie for opening her
big mouth. I wanted to have this conversation alone with Brody to dig a bit
deeper into the whole Olivia thing. If I’m being honest with myself, I still
get the willies just thinking about him being with her. But I was taking
everything slowly with him because of the whole Liam thing. I didn’t feel like
I had a right to accuse him of anything about Olivia. Not yet, anyway. I
definitely didn’t plan on having this conversation at a table full of my
roommates.

“Olivia, from college. I don’t know her last name,”
Leslie answers, despite my fierce look in her direction.

Brody starts laughing and I turn and glare at
him.

“Funny, Brody?” I ask, cocking my head to the
side.

“Yes, actually,” he laughs some more.

What
the hell is so funny about this?

“Explain, Brody!” I bark at him, unable to
contain my jealousy anymore.

“I wasn’t with Olivia. God, you guys call her
Oldie
Oli
’? I totally get it. That’s really funny.”
He wipes an imaginary tear from his cheek, then continues, “I happened to run
into Olivia when I was out with Mark one night. She was with a bunch of people
from our college graduate class, so we all hung out for a while.”

“I’m failing to see the funny part of this
story, Brody,” I say, flatly.

“I made Mark take those photos with Olivia because
I wanted to make you jealous. And it totally worked,” he says, laughing again.

Still not feeling any relief, I say, “So wait,
you guys weren’t together?”

“No!” he says, with a little look of disgust on
his face that pleases me greatly.

I look over at Leslie and tilt my head, “Did I
just get played, Les?”

“I’d say you did, Fin-Bin! Like a fiddle.”
She’s laughing with Brody now and I’m just sitting there stunned.

Brody tweaks my sides and I squirm in his arms,
“Oh, come on, Finley. I’m here now, that’s all that matters, right?”

He pulls my face down to his and kisses me.

“Barf!” Leslie cries out, “I’m going to go put
something on that we can dance to so I don’t have to watch you two go at it all
night! Plus, this jumpsuit deserves a dance,” she says, shimmying her butt over
to the jukebox.

When
Meatloaf
breaks over the pub’s speakers, I leap off Brody’s lap and run over to Leslie,
flailing wildly. My dad was a huge classic rock fan and Leslie and I grew
really fond of it as a result of him booming it throughout our whole house
growing up.

Julie joins Leslie and me on the dance floor
and I’m laughing and having a ball, dancing and singing our hearts out. Brody
watches me with the same happy, content smile that makes me melt from the inside
out.
We can figure this out. We can make
this work.

When the guys join us on the dance floor, I
know it’s only a matter of time before we head back home. Brody’s moves are so
good that I’m afraid I’ll have a Leslie-moment on his leg if I’m not careful.