Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Brody and I settled into an easy pattern.
We spent every night together—usually at his house because my mother was getting more and more unpredictable—and wrote together during weekdays.
On weekends, we hit the town for tours and bar visits.
There was nothing extraordinary about what we were doing, yet everything felt fresh and new.
It was as if I was looking at the world through new glasses without realizing my vision had been blurred for years.
I didn’t know what to make of any of it.
I’d never been happier, and it wasn’t as if I was living life large. I was simply living life with Brody. He made the mundane fun, and it helped that we both did the same thing for a living.
It was hard to explain to people who weren’t in the business what being an author entailed. It wasn’t just sitting down to crank out two thousand words a day and then heading out to screw around. There was a lot more to the gig than that.
There were outlines to consider and editing. I hated editing. Once I was finished with a manuscript, I wanted to be done and move on to something else immediately. That wasn’t how it worked, though.
Plus, in a social media world, I had to maintain various Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok accounts.
I’d abandoned Twitter—or whatever it was called now—years before, and I never went on Threads because I heard authors had taken it over to be crazy and dramatic.
I liked to keep my crazy off the internet and away from public consumption.
None of that took into account the times when my muse was quiet, and just tapping out two thousand words was torture.
Sure, there were days when I was inspired and could crank out ten thousand words in four hours.
Other days, however, it was like pulling teeth to get a simple conversation down on paper.
A lot of authors were embracing AI, but that would never be me.
My philosophy was simple: If you couldn’t take the time to write a book, why would I take the time to read your book?
The fun part was writing. If AI could do the mundane stuff I hated, like TikTok videos, I would be all for it.
Unfortunately, that was not how it worked.
We were eight events into the total twelve the first time I filmed Brody and me together for a video. We were in an Uber on our way to the Pirates’ House when I pulled out my phone on a whim and turned the camera toward us.
“What are you getting for dinner tonight?” I asked him.
Surprise registered on Brody’s face, and then he answered without hesitation. “Well, for a change, I’m getting an appetizer.”
“Oh, really?” I kept my voice light and teasing. “Why is that?”
“Because corn fritters with blackened shrimp were created by the gods.”
“Oh yeah?”
He nodded. “Yup, and you’re going to try them.” He poked my side playfully. “I don’t care what you get for yourself, but you are trying something new tonight.”
“He says I marry myself to menus and don’t try new things.
I think he’s wrong. I guess we’ll find out.
” I smiled into the camera, lightly resting my head against Brody’s, and then stopped the video.
“I’m going to put this up on my TikTok account unless you have a problem with it,” I said, not meeting his gaze.
“Why would I have a problem with it?”
“I don’t know. I thought maybe you wouldn’t want word to get out about this.”
“Oh, please,” he scoffed. “I would’ve already hired a sky writer if you weren’t the one who insisted on taking things slow and feeling them out.”
I raised my chin, somehow finding the courage to meet his clear eyes. “So, you’re okay with people knowing about us?”
“If I had my way, the whole world would already know.”
I didn’t realize I was relieved until my shoulders sagged. “Okay.” I smiled because I didn’t know what else to do. “Well, I’ll put it up, and we’ll go from there.”
“Okay.” He rested a hand on my knee. “Are you going to put one of those filters on it?”
“Yes. Pirates. Since we’re going to a pirate restaurant, that seems like the obvious choice.”
“Totally. What are you getting tonight?”
“I haven’t even looked at the menu yet.”
His gaze was sharp when it cut to me. “You haven’t? You always look at the menu.”
“I know.” For the first time ever, I’d forgotten to check the menu ahead of time. “I guess I just forgot. It probably has something to do with you distracting me with your penis two hours before we were supposed to leave.”
He choked and darted an apologetic look toward the driver, who didn’t react. “I can’t believe you just said that,” he hissed.
I shrugged. “I’m not ashamed.”
He met my gaze. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
“I am glad we have time for dinner, just the two of us, before the event tonight.”
“I’m always glad for that.”
IT TURNED OUT IT WASN’T JUST THE two of us for dinner. Hayley and Nathan were already there and seated when we walked into the restaurant. The event would be held in the private dining room, but our meal was right out in the open for everybody to watch.
“Why am I not surprised that you guys are here?” I asked as I approached, not bothering to release Brody’s hand. I’d been embarrassed about public displays of affection when we first started. Now not only was I used to it, but I also enjoyed it.
“We weren’t trying to surprise you,” Hayley replied as I sat between her and Nathan at the round table. “We just figured this was the best way to have a conversation with you guys.”
I was instantly on alert. “What sort of conversation? What’s wrong? Is somebody sick?”
Hayley shot me a quelling look. “Why do you always take it to the worst possible place?”
“Because that’s where it always ended up when I was growing up,” I answered.
Hayley clearly hadn’t expected me to be brutally honest. She worked her jaw before answering. “Your mother sucks,” was all she managed.
“Yup. Don’t worry. She’s coming to the end of her cycle. She’ll be gone soon.”
“Where do you think she’ll go?”
“Wherever her next victim takes her.” I shrugged. “It’s always impossible to know. She won’t even say goodbye when she goes. She’ll leave a note, and then I won’t hear from her for at least three months. She’ll want to make sure I’m calm before calling again.”
“Well, no offense, but I won’t be sorry when she goes.” Hayley clucked her tongue and shook her head. “This visit has been better than the last one, but I don’t think that’s because she suddenly became a better person. It’s simply because you’ve been distracted.” Her gaze moved to Brody.
He smiled. He’d grown used to her.
“That’s why we’ve called you here,” Nathan said, taking over the conversation.
“You didn’t call us here,” Brody argued. “We came for dinner and you were already here.”
“Yes, because if we’d called you here, you would have found a way to avoid dinner with us because all the two of you care about right now is each other,” Nathan said amiably.
I was caught off guard. “What?”
Hayley laughed at my befuddlement. “We’re not mad. But you guys have been so wrapped up in each other for the past two months that you’ve had no time for us.”
“Yes, we’ve been spending far too much time together,” Nathan agreed. “It’s been painful. She publicly lambasts me for swearing.”
“I just said there’s no reason to swear in public when there are children around,” Hayley countered. “You’re the one who took it personally.”
I was confused. “You guys have been spending time together?” That made zero sense to me.
“We have. Not romantically or anything,” Hayley added hastily. “But not for lack of trying, on his part.”
“She’s a lesbian,” I said to Nathan. “I told you that the first night when you asked if she was single.”
“I was just checking to see how committed she was to lesbianism,” Nathan replied. “Turns out she’s very committed. That’s not what we’re here to talk about, though.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Brody asked.
“You two need to stop spending all your time with each other and start spending some time with us,” Nathan replied. “We’re feeling neglected, and you two are getting gross. It’s hurtful that nobody but a militant lesbian wants to spend time with me.”
I tried not to laugh but couldn’t stop myself. “I’m sorry the past two months have been so hard,” I said solemnly, not meaning a single word. “As for Hayley, I actually am sorry I’ve been neglecting you.” I shot Hayley an apologetic look. “It wasn’t purposeful.”
“I know.” She patted my hand. “I’m not as upset as this one.” She jerked a thumb toward Nathan. “I’ve actually enjoyed watching the two of you fall in love.”
I went ramrod straight. If I’d been sipping a drink, the phrase “fall in love” would have made me choke. I wanted to deny that we were in love, but I couldn’t muster the words.
Wait… are we in love? I didn’t even know what that felt like. I had no frame of reference. When I looked over at Brody, I found him watching me with unreadable eyes. He made no effort to correct the assumption.
I glanced down at my plate, a myriad of emotions rolling through me. Am I in love? It didn’t seem like a question as much as a foregone conclusion. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that information. It was so odd.
“You guys can’t be hermits,” Hayley said. “We want to start having group outings.”
“We don’t even care if you climb each other like trees when we’re all out,” Nathan added. “I’m bored being on my own so much, though, and Hayley refuses to be my wingman at the bar.”
“I’m not going to watch you creep on some poor unsuspecting woman,” Hayley fired back. “I’m always going to warn her that you’re a pervert.”
“Some women like that.”
Hayley’s eye roll was pronounced. “If you say so.”
I tuned them out and lifted my eyes to Brody. He was watching me closely, and he had metaphorical hearts in his eyes. Yeah, we were in love. There was no question about it. Now, what was I supposed to do with that information?