Brody & Michelle Ch. 03

Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry about the big gap between chapters. Hopefully this one's okay? Anyhoo, same disclaimer as before, no sex for a few chapters. Thanks for reading!

*****

"I totally kicked your ass!" Brody exclaimed, leading the way back to his car after absolutely annihilating Michelle in a rousing game of mini-golf.

"Congratulations..." Michelle responded, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be such a sore loser."

"I'm not being a sore loser. You're being a douchey winner."

Brody stopped before getting into the car, and he looked Michelle right in the eyes. "Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were so sensitive when it came to losing. Or that you were that bad at mini-golf. I would've suggested something else, if I had known."

"Okay," she said looking actually annoyed. "I am not being sensitive. And I'm not that bad. You're just... oddly good at mini-golf. To the point where it's strange. No one should be that good at it unless they're a professional."

"I just have a killer short game. What can I say?" he said while having the gall to smirk at her.

Michelle's eyes widened in irritation. "Oh, wow. Just get in the car."

They both got into the car, and Brody looked over at her and asked, "So... what's the plan now?" Michelle just gave him a quizzical look. "Because I was thinking you could treat me to some frozen yogurt or something. Because I paid for the mini-golf, and I beat you, so... you know. You kind of owe me double."

Michelle shot him yet another look of annoyance and said, "Sorry. I can't."

Brody's stomach immediately dropped, and he became worried that maybe his teasing had gone a little too far. "Michelle, I'm sorry for being annoying. I just-"

"No, no," she interrupted, smiling a little. "It's not that. I mean, you are being annoying, but it's nothing like that. I just... Ugh." She shook her head looking mildly embarrassed.

"What?"

"Every Monday night I have a standing movie date with my dad. We've been doing it since I was twelve. He calls them 'Movie Mondays with My Michelle.'"

"How very alliterative of him."

Michelle chuckled. "Right? Anyway, he's going to be home around 9:00."

"Oh. Well, that's cute."

"It's my turn to pick the movie. Any suggestions?"

Brody turned the music down even lower to seriously consider it before saying, "I don't know, actually. What kind of movie are you in the mood for?"

"Hmm. Something light. And not too long. I'm kind of tired."

"An ass-kicking does do that to a person."

Michelle gasped slightly and turned to glare at him. "I swear to God. I am never doing any competitive-type activity with you again. You become even more obnoxious."

"Even more? Are you implying that I already am?"

"Obviously."

Brody grinned. "Do you like 'School of Rock'?"

"Yeah. It's cute."

"Watch that. It's short and light. And funny. And little iCarly is in it."

Michelle full-on laughed. "Oh my God. Little iCarly is in it! I forgot about that."

"And you seem to have a thing for sweet, yet obnoxious, guys, so... Jack Black can take care of that for you," he said, pulling into Michelle's driveway.

She smiled at him softly and crinkled her nose at him. "Yeah. I guess I do."

Brody put the car into park and smiled back at her. "Yeah." He then paused awkwardly. "Well, I had fun today..."

"Do you want to walk me to my door?" Michelle asked, interrupting him.

"Yes," he replied quickly, jumping out of the car and running over to her side.

Michelle giggled while she opened her car door, only to have Brody take over halfway and grab her hand to help her out. She squeezed his hand as they walked to her front door.

Once on the porch, Brody gave her a tentative smile and let go of her hand. "Well..." he started.

"You know, my dad won't be home for fifteen minutes. Did you just want to, like... sit here with me? Like on the patio furniture? The sun's setting. It could be nice."

Brody smiled a little nervously. "Yeah. Of course. It would be very nice."

Michelle gave him an amused look and said, "Okay, then. Let's do it." She then plopped down on the patio loveseat and patted the empty spot next to her. He sat down in the empty seat, and then just kind of, well, stared at the sunset. Michelle glanced over at him, wondering if she had read the situation wrong. I mean, he wanted to kiss her, right? He basically jumped at the chance to walk her to the door. That's lead up to a kiss in most date-type scenarios.

"Wow. That sunset sure is something. You can't seem to take your eyes off of it," Michelle teased.

Brody turned to her, his eyes wide with almost surprise. Taking in a breath, he said, "Yeah," then chuckled. And then he suddenly frowned. "So... can I kiss you?" he asked abruptly.

Michelle smiled. "Of course you fucking can."

Brody's whole face immediately changed. It lit up; he was beaming. He leaned his face into hers, and their lips touched lightly and for just a few seconds before he pulled away.

After he pulled away, he just looked in her eyes as if searching for something. Michelle narrowed hers back at him and gave him small smile. She then moved her hand up to his face to smooth away his wrinkled brow. "Will you kiss me again, please?" she asked softly.

His face broke out into a grin. "Of course I fucking will."

Michelle was mid-laugh when he grabbed the back of her head and lightly grabbed a fistful of her hair to pull her face over to his, before firmly planting his lips on hers. Slightly taken aback by the assertive nature Brody was taking, Michelle's eyes widened and she tensed in surprise. Brody then immediately softened his kiss just a little bit, and moved his free hand to one of hers and started stroking his thumb over it. Michelle then sighed and fell deeply into the kiss.

Brody continued to move his lips over hers, occasionally teasing her with little nips to her bottom lip. Then the hand that was behind her head started moving lower and started stroking the back of her neck, which caused her to chest to tighten and get goosebumps.

This time is was Michelle that pulled away, giving Brody's hand a squeeze. "Wow," she said in utter disbelievement.

"What?" he asked.

Michelle then leaned her forehead against his. "Umm..." she then chuckled.

"Seriously. What?"

She made eye contact with him, and shook her head in amazement. "You are a really good kisser. Like... really good."

"And that surprises you apparently?"

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. It's good to know that I kicked your ass twice today."

"Oh, wow-" Michelle said exasperated.

"Once at mini-golf, and, now, when I blew your mind with that kick-ass kiss."

"Oh, my god. Just shut up," she said, pulling him in for a kiss this time.

That kiss, however, was interrupted by a pair of headlights shining on them as a car pulled up Michelle's driveway. "Oh, man," she said. "My dad's home."

_____________________________________________________________

"Oh, shit. Your dad?" Brody asked looking almost panicked.

"Yeah. Remember? Movie Mondays with My Michelle. You commented on his alliteration skills."

"Of course I remember!"

Michelle chuckled. "Are you... okay?"

"I just... I don't- Do you think I could just go to my car and leave? Or would that be weird? Of course that would be weird. He totally just saw us making out."

"Yeah. He probably did."

Brody's answer was a groan.

"Why are you so afraid to meet my dad? You're how old?"

"Twenty-three."

"Okay, so... "

"I just... Get nervous easily."

"Oh," she said, nodding her head in understanding. "You don't have anything to be nervous about, Brody. My dad likes to tease, but he's harmless. Just ignore everything he says. He's like one giant, walking Dad Joke."

By then, Michelle's dad had already parked the car and was walking up to the front porch where Brody and Michelle were both sitting on the loveseat. He stopped in front of them and said, "Michelle, my belle!"

Michelle then gave her dad an indulgent smile, "Those are words that go together well."

Her dad then gave her a proud smile, "My Michelle!" He then gave an expectant look at Brody. "And who is this?"

"This is my friend Brody, Dad." Brody immediately stood up and awkwardly bowed his head in Michelle's dad's direction.

"Oh, my God," Michelle chuckled underneath her breath.

"Hmm. How formal," her father said at the same time.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," her dad responded. "So... Brody, huh? Like the Jenner?"

"Umm, I thought her name was Bruce. Well, used to be Bruce. It's Caitlyn now, right? I don't really know..."

"You're right. Her name used to be Bruce, but I was talking about one of her sons. His name is Brody."

"Oh. Okay...?" Brody said looking confused.

Michelle then stood up, and nudged her dad with her shoulder. "Dad's secretly a huge Kardashian fan."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I am. My name is James, by the way." He stuck out his hand at Brody. "But my friends call me Jim, so-"

"So I should call you James?" Brody tentatively smiled, as he took Jim's hand and shook it..

Jim laughed. "Yeah. So you should call me James."

"Okay, Dad," Michelle interrupted. "Maybe you could go get the snacks ready for the movie, so I can say goodnight to Brody?"

"Am I preventing you from doing that?"

"Bye, Dad." Michelle smiled sweetly, but her eyes were shooting daggers.

"Okay, fine," he replied. "What movie am I downloading?"

"'School of Rock.'"

"Are you tired or something?"

"Yes. I got my ass kicked during a really intense game of mini-golf tonight, and I'm going to need to go to bed early to recover."

"You kicked my daughter's ass?" Jim asked, glaring at Brody.

Brody's eyes widened, and he said the only thing he could think of. "Not literally, sir."

"Dad. Leave."

"Fine. I'll go download the movie and make the popcorn," Jim said, while walking into the house.

"No butter on mine!" Michelle yelled after him.

Brody shook his head. "How do you live like that?"

Michelle gave him a look of offense. "He's not that bad!"

"What? No. You don't put butter on your popcorn? What's the point of even eating it?"

"My dad didn't freak you out then?"

"Oh. He totally did. But... he's kind of funny. I'm just easily intimidated by dads. I always assume that they'd hate me."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think I'm what most men want their daughter to bring home. I'm not super conventional looking or acting. You know I'm not Paul Newman-esque."

"Who is?"

"Not very many guys, I guess, but if my daughter brought home Paul Newman, I'd be like, 'Good catch, honey.' You know? I don't think most dads would see me and think that, I guess. It's more like you found-"

"Sean Astin's stand-in for Lord of the Rings, and brought him home?"

"Yes, but having you say that instead of me isn't helping my confidence."

Michelle smiled and grabbed his hand. "But I have a weird thing for Hobbits. I like that you have that going for you."

"Yeah. Your Hobbit fetish is really strange."

"I have a Frodo standee in my room. Play your cards right, and you might be able to meet him one day."

Brody smiled and raised his eyebrows, "Oh, yeah?"

Michelle bit her lip. "Oh, yeah. My Hobbit fetish could work out really well for you."

"This conversation has taken an unexpectedly kind of sexy turn," Brody said, and Michelle laughed, "...and I would totally be kissing your brains out right now, but your dad is watching us through the window."

"Is he really?"

Brody nodded. "Yeah. Too intimidated to make a move."

"I get it. It's cool. Sorry about him. I'm his favorite child, so..."

"You have siblings?"

"Yeah. I have an older brother named Jude, and a little sister named Penny."

"Ahh. Your parents like The Beatles, huh?"

"No. Not really."

"Then... why...?"

"Of course they do. I was messing with you. Jude's middle name is Harrison. It's ridiculous."

"I like the name Harrison. That would work out perfect, actually, if we ever had kids, because we could name him after your brother, George Harrison, Harrison Ford, and my old dog Harrison that was named after Harrison Ford."

Michelle's eyes widened incredulously. 'Our kids?' she thought to herself. 'He's oversharing again. And getting super far ahead of himself.''

"What?" Brody asked, noticing the look on Michelle's face.

"Umm. Nothing," she said shaking her head. "I know my dad's looking at us through the window, but will you at least hug me goodbye?"

Brody smiled and jokingly said, "Of course I fucking will."

Michelle giggled and went in for her hug. They wrapped their arms around each other, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "You're so comfy."

"Are you calling me fat?" Brody asked in mock offense.

"No! And I mean, like... I feel comfortable around you, too. Like I've known you before or something. It's... easy. I don't know. I really like being around you," she said burying her face in his neck, a little embarrassed she just spouted all of this out on her front porch after seeing this guy a total of five times in her entire life.

Brody then pulled away just enough so he could get Michelle to make eye contact with him. "Hey. I feel the same way, you know."

Michelle then smiled cockily. "I know."

"And you say I'm obnoxious?"

Michelle laughed, yet again, that night. She liked how much she laughed around him. She reluctantly pulled away. "Well, I should probably go inside and watch 'School of Rock' with my dad."

"And eat your flavorless popcorn."

"You know, it's not that bad. I'll make you some sometime."

"I'm good. Thanks."

"I'll let you pick the movie."

"Okay. How about when I pick out the movie, we'll eat your gross, healthy snack food, and when you pick out the movie, we'll eat popcorn with actual butter and taste."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "My food isn't gross. You ate literally half of the stuff I brought to Gore Fest."

"Okay. I liked most of it. But not as much as I like butter. There's nothing I like more on this Earth than butter."

"Not even me?" Michelle asked.

"Sorry. I've known butter longer."

Michelle sighed, and gave in. "Okay. Deal. Anyhoo, call me. I wanna see you soon."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"I can't do anything tomorrow."

"So? I can still call you, right?"

Michelle nodded. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Okay. I will, then."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

_______________________________________________________________

Michelle walked in the front door with a dreamy look on her face, walked up to her dad, and sighed contently. "Popcorn ready?"

"Almost. So... you have a new BAE?"

Michelle laughed. "Did you just say BAE?"

"I'm hip."

"I see. I don't know if I'm his new BAE or not. Maybe just his new BAEBB."

"Babe?"

"Before Anyone Else Besides Butter."

"Ahh," her dad said, raising his eyebrows in realization. "So he doesn't understand how you can eat this butter-free stuff, either?"

"No. His diet's absolutely horrible. I don't know if he eats vegetables that aren't on a pizza."

"Hmm. He seems nice, though."

"He is. And he's funny. And sweet. I'm starting to really like him."

"Well, that's good, sweetie. He seems a lot better than that last idiot you dated."

"Chris? Yeah. He was an idiot, wasn't he?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Oh! And I'm mad at you. Brody wouldn't kiss me goodbye, because he saw you watching us through the window. Like... what the hell, man?"

Her dad then had the absolute gall to laugh in her face. "I'm sorry. It's fun intimidating the boys you kids bring home. And I could tell he was overly nervous, so I had to."

"It's not funny. He's sensitive." Her dad just continued to chuckle. "Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry, Michelle. I won't... I'll try not to mess with him so much in the future. Assuming he's around."

"Okay. Let's watch this movie. I'm tired."

"Sounds good," her dad said grabbing the popcorn, and heading to the TV room.

____________________________________________________________

The next day, at promptly 9:30, Brody called Michelle. "Hey!" she said answering the phone.

"Hey. How was your day?"

Michelle sighed and laid down in her bed, snuggling into the pillows. "Long."

Brody chuckled. "How long?"

"I'm taking a summer class Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00 until noon."

"Gross. What time do you have to get up?"

"Not that early. Like around 7:00. Sometimes I even get up earlier."

"Why?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Why? I don't know. If I want to make a real breakfast, or just relax and watch the news before the day starts. I even occasionally take a short run or walk."

"That sounds horrible."

Michelle chuckled. "You probably don't even remember the last time you had to get up at 7:00."

"I think I actually go to sleep at 7:00 more often than I wake up at 7:00."

"How is that even possible?"

"I take mostly late classes. The earliest class I ever take starts at noon."

"But... don't you have a job or something?"

"Umm... no?" Brody admitted sheepishly.

Michelle paused. "You don't have job?"

"I mean..." Brody started to sound a little self-conscious, "I don't really need one."

"Oh."

"It's just... my parents had me when they were older, and I was kind of a surprise. I'm an only child," Brody felt the need to explain.

"Okay."

"So... when your mom's a pediatrician, and your dad owns a small business... I don't know. I had a job. I worked at Video Palace, you know, one of the last video rental places in town, before it had to close. When it did, my parents told me I could just concentrate on school, so... that's what I did."

"That sounds nice," Michelle said a little sardonically.

Worried that Michelle would see him as spoiled, even though, he realized he was a little spoiled, he awkwardly mentioned, "I mean, I help my dad sometimes when he needs it. And I live at home, so they don't also have to pay for housing or anything..." He then paused slightly. "I know I'm lucky."

Michelle paused for a second before she let out a little groan. "I'm sorry, Brody. I didn't mean to sound so judgmental. It's great that you can just concentrate on school. I'm just being an envious poop."

"It's fine," he told her a little quietly.

"Besides, now that I know that your family's loaded, I won't feel bad about letting you pay for stuff."

Brody laughed. "What? So now this is just some sort of Sugar Daddy situation?"

"It's what I've always wanted. The best of relationships are always founded on mutual respect... of money."

"Well, it's good to see we're finally on the same page."

Michelle yawned. "Now that I'm a Sugar Baby, maybe I should just drop out of school."

"And let that excellent mind go to waste? I don't think so."

"Geez. Excellent mind? You're sweet."

"Well, I am kind of a fan of it. Among other parts of you."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Oh my God. What other parts are you a fan of?" she asked, challengingly.

"Your other internal organs, mostly," Brody shrugged on the other line. Michelle laughed. "I really like your gallbladder. And your kidney is the most fucking adorable thing I've ever seen in my life. Don't even get me started on it."

"Okay. I won't." Michelle then yawned again. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. You said your day was long. Did you work after class?"

"Yeah. After I got out of class, I came home, ate lunch, then changed for work. I started at 2:00 and got off a little after 8:00, came home, took a shower, and now I'm talking to you."

"8:00 to 8:00, huh? That sucks."

"Oh. It could be worse. I used to work at the movie theatre, and I wouldn't get off until eleven or twelve then. The salon closes at eight, thankfully."

"Oh, that's right. You work with Stephanie over there."

"Yeah. She's one of the few coworkers I like."