Brody suddenly looked very interested. "Such as?"
"Well, if I've been dating someone for a few weeks, I like to know if they're dating other people or not. I want to keep my expectations realistic. If he's seeing other people, I'm probably not going to let myself get in too deep. And if I'm getting naked with a man, then I better damn well be the only person he's doing that with." At the look on Brody's face, I asked, "What?"
"Keep your expectations realistic?"
"Yeah. If I really like a guy then find out he's not looking for a relationship, just some fun, then I'll be upset. If I know from the beginning that he doesn't want to get serious, I'm okay with that, but I'm going to keep my distance because I don't want to fall for a man who's banging every woman who'll give him the time of day."
"That actually happens?" Brody asked.
I laughed sardonically. "You were only married for seven years, Brody. Don't act like you didn't see men like that in action before."
He shook his head. "I've seen it. I just never understood it. I don't think I have the brainpower to date more than one woman at a time."
This time my laugh sounded much more sincere. "I know exactly how smart you are, Mr. Fifteen-Hundred-on-my-S.A.T's." He scowled at me again but I ignored it. "Anyway, if you just wanna come over and hang out with me or go see movies together, I'm cool with no labels."
Brody straightened from his hunched position and abruptly seemed much closer. "And if I wanted something else?"
Time for honesty. "Then that's a whole different conversation because you're not just some guy I met. You're Brody Murphy, my brother's best friend, my mother's honorary second son, and someone I've always cared for deeply. It's a lot trickier."
"Can't we just be Brody and Cameron and leave everyone else out of it?"
"For a while, sure. But if we leave it too long, it'll only get more complicated."
"Will you give me a little time? Just you and me?"
I hesitated because my first response was that I would give him whatever he wanted. Instead, I answered, "I can do that."
He nodded. "Good. Let's start now."
Brody picked up his plate of pizza, grabbed mine and handed it to me, then settled back into my couch. He kicked off his shoes and reached over to pop up the built-in footrest of the recliner attached to the couch. "So, what are we going to watch?"
I lowered my legs so I sat cross-legged rather than curled up into the fetal position and grabbed the remote. "I was thinking of a Marvel movie marathon since the next film just came out and I want to go watch it in a couple of weeks once the crowds die down."
"Sounds good," Brody said before he took a huge bite of pizza.
I scrolled through my movies, picked the first Ironman, and clicked on it. As the opening credits came on the screen, I scooched back into the cushions and got comfy with my plate in my lap.
After a few minutes, Brody said, "Eat, Cam."
I turned my head and found him watching me with an unreadable expression on his face. Rather than argue, which I would usually do, I turned back toward the screen and took a bite. I wasn't sure what to expect from Brody after we talked, but this wasn't exactly it. We were doing something we'd done a million times before when we were growing up. It was nice but definitely not romantic.
Maybe he had a different idea of Brody and Cam than I did.
But it still felt good.
13
The ending credits on the first Avengers movie rolled and I turned on the lamp sitting next to me on the end table. My house was dark and it was after closing time at the shop. I'd nearly called Sierra several times during the evening but Brody convinced me to leave her alone. She would be coming home any time now and I was a little sad about that. I liked having her around but I knew Brody would leave when she walked in. He had to work tomorrow anyway and it was after nine already.
The remains of our pizza littered the table since we'd given up walking back and forth to the kitchen when we wanted another slice. There were also a few candy wrappers, soda cans, and napkins strewn about. Sometime around seven, Brody called in and ordered us tacos from a local Tex-Mex joint and somehow finagled a delivery so the take-out boxes were amidst the mess. All in all, we'd spent over six hours together, eating, watching movies, and teasing each other. It was like old times, only better, because he wasn't as cool or distant with me as he had been before.
He also touched me. Not a lot, but enough that I couldn't ignore the way it made my heart race or my skin prickle. A brush of his fingers on my arm when he wanted my attention. Or how he told me to lay my legs on his lap when I wanted to stretch out but he was in the only recliner portion of my couch. Then, he'd rested his hands on my shins and I'd never been so glad that I'd remembered to shave my legs in my life.
"We'll have to pick this up next weekend," Brody said, taking me out of my thoughts.
I winced. "I'd love to, but I have to work." Hopefully, my weekend hours would slow down a little once we trained Lee to manage the store.
"And I'll have Jacks. Maybe the next weekend she's with her mom?" he asked.
I hesitated. "I imagine I can arrange a night off in another week or two. I'll be home tomorrow night though if you want to come over."
Brody shook his head. "Jacks is coming back tomorrow afternoon sometime. I want to take my girl to dinner and let her tell me all about her weekend with her mom."
"We'll figure it out," I said. I swung my legs off his lap and stood up. The coffee table was as disgusting as it had been that morning, but this time I couldn't blame Sierra. I grabbed the pizza box and started stacking paper plates and containers inside. Brody joined me and together we hauled everything into the kitchen. He held open a trash bag for me while I dumped it all inside and then insisted on carrying it out to the can beside the garage.
By the time he came inside, I'd already washed my hands, wiped down the coffee table, and used my little handheld vacuum to suck the crumbs off the couch and the floor.
"Get lost?" I teased him as he went to the sink and squirted dish detergent into his palm. I shook my head but didn't say anything about the fact that there was a hand soap dispenser literally right next to him that he could have used instead.
"Not lost. Just had a stare down with a raccoon. I wasn't sure if he was going to jump me or run away. I don't think he was either."
"Oh, you met Gary."
"Gary?" he asked as he rinsed his hands and reached for a paper towel.
"The neighborhood sort of adopted him after his mom died. He was just big enough to survive on his own, but some of us made sure to leave some food out for him from time-to-time. Just to make sure."
Brody laughed and walked over to me to toss his paper towels in the trashcan beside the counter where I stood. "Let me guess...some of us means Cameron McClane."
I shrugged. "Maybe."
Brody stopped in front of me and our eyes met. Anything I might have said vanished from my mind. "Raccoons carry diseases," he said. "Like rabies for instance."