All Grown Up

I turned the knob as I closed the door, careful not to make a sound as I crept down the stairs. There was a light on in the kitchen and I peered through the door before walking in.

"Brady?" He turned from the fridge, mouth full of leftovers, and smiled at me. "Oh my gosh, when did you get here?"

"Half an hour ago." His voice was muffled as he chewed and I nodded, leaning against the counter.

"Chew and swallow bud."

He brushed his hair back and followed my direction, taking a long sip of water before speaking again. "Sorry, haven't eaten since New York and that is amazing!" He jabbed his fork towards the dish in the fridge and I nodded.

"I'm glad you like it, it's a new recipe I'm trying. Do you want me to warm you up a plate?" His eyes widened and he nodded, pulling the tray out and setting it next to me. I grabbed a pan from the cupboard and turned on the stove. "Can you hand me the olive oil?"

He grabbed it from the island and reached around to set it next to me, his hand brushing my side when he stepped back. The soft touch caught me off guard and I found myself blushing. He pulled out a chair, sitting and resting his elbows on the table behind us and I turned to look at him.

"You're so-"

"Handsome? I know."

"I was going to say grown up but yeah, that works too. What have you been up to?"

"Hockey. Hockey, hockey, and just some more hockey. What about you, Yosaris? Still teaching?"

I shook my head, smiling to myself as I turned my back to him. The heat from the burner radiated up and my skin warmed. My t-shirt, a ratty relic from high school, rode up a bit and I tugged it down to cover my stomach. The more I pulled, the lower the neckline fell and I quickly deemed it a losing battle.

"I'm uh, I actually have my own restaurant now."

"No way!"

"Yep. I set up camp a few months ago and..." I threw up my hands and pulled out a plate, sliding the warmed leftovers onto it gently. He held up his fork as I turned to him and I stifled a laugh. "Here you go."

I pulled out the chair across from him and dropped down, trying to watch his face as subtly as possible. He shot me a glance and dug in, groaning at the first bite.

"You made this?" I nodded and he took another one. "Holy shit Yo-Yo! This is incredible."

I shushed him and nodded towards the stairs. "Your sister is sleeping." His eyes widened and he mouthed an apology. "No worries. Just keep it down... don't want to wake her up. You know how she is when she doesn't get her sleep."

He visibly winced and I saw him light up. "Do you remember that summer you spent with us at the lake? When you and I dropped a bunch of plates at like, three in the morning? She almost killed us!"

I giggled as it came back to me, bits and pieces of our childhood together. "Why were we even carrying-"

"You couldn't sleep so you started to do the dishes."

"Oh, and you offered to help me. That was... a disaster."

"Hey, I did my best." He leaned forward and grinned, the same smile I'd grown up with.

"Yeah but your best sucked! You just wiped everything with a paper towel and put it back."

"And did anybody notice? No, so-"

"I noticed!"

"You did not."

I leaned forward and set my hands on the table, leveling my gaze with him and trying not to laugh. "I did too. We had spaghetti on the first night- your night to do the dishes - and everything I ate the next day tasted like garlic. Even my ice cream."

I grimaced at the thought and he laughed, leaning forward to lace his fingers on mine. He cocked his head to the side and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Well I sincerely apologize for that."

I mimed his gesture and pouted, pretending to mull over his apology before shaking my head. "Nope. Not taking it, Brades."

"What? That was my best apology!"

"Yeah, and it's like... eight years too late." I pushed back from the table and slid to the sink, turning the water on low to wash the dishes we'd used. "Can you bring me that plate?"

He stood and made his way over, stepping up to my back and dropping his dish into the soapy water. Bubbles flew everywhere and I groaned, turning to face him. He towered over me, a dopey smile on his face and a dark curl hanging down. The water ran behind me and I felt the steam on my midriff, instantly reaching to tug my shirt down again. His eyes dropped for a second, just enough to glance at my wet cleavage, before meeting my gaze again.

"Can I help you?"

"You got something on your shirt."

I flicked off a pile of bubbles and smirked, arching my back a bit to tease him. "Did I get it?"

He stepped even closer, pinning my hips to the counter and setting his hands on either side of mine. I watched his expression change and it gave me pause. Brady and I had always flirted, teasing his sister about how in love we were. It was so easy to joke about him when we were kids, barely in high school. But the Brady that stood in front of me was far from the scrawny kid I knew. He was tall and muscular, an air of confidence around him.

My mind was racing and I shivered. Pinned between a rock and a... well, a hard place, I leaned back to read his expression again. "Brady, are you-?"

"About to kiss you? Yeah. Are you okay with it?"

I mulled it over and reached back to turn off the sink. He kept his eyes on me and leaned back, awaiting my response. My head was screaming 'no' over and over again but I caught myself nodding a moment later.

Slowly, he dropped his lips to mine. A barely-there kiss at first, I reached out to brace myself. Electricity shot through my body and I ran my hands over his chest. Solid muscle, strong and warm, rested under my fingertips. He reached up, taking my chin between his fingers to deepen the moment.

His stubble was rough and I savored the burn until he pulled away. I watched him open his eyes and wracked my brain for something to say. The moment was heavy, rife with tension, and the only thing I could think of wouldn't have helped.

"Sorry about that. I uh, I don't know what came over me."

I shook my head, a bit blown away by what just happened. "No, don't apologize. It was... yeah."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Well, I should go to bed."

"Oh, definitely. Me too. I'm just gonna finish these and I'll, um-"

"Do you need help? I've gotten a lot better."

"I've noticed." I studied his face, finding only sincerity in his eyes, and shook my head again. "I've got them though. You should get some rest."

He stepped back and turned towards the stairs, stopping in the doorway to glance at me. I felt his gaze slide down my body before meeting my eyes once again. "Goodnight Yosaris."

"Yeah, goodnight!"

I waited until I heard his door close after heavy steps on the stairs, finally turning back to the sink full of dishes. Mentally running over everything that just happened, I grabbed a dish scrubber and got to work on the pots and pans. With each one I set on the rack, I grew more and more confused.

"Little Brady?" I asked myself. My skin was still hot where he had touched me and I could taste him on my lips. If it weren't for the water he'd splashed on my shirt, I could've sworn I had dreamed the whole thing up. "Little Brady Skjei. Huh... he's all grown up."

Notes

I'm on a Brady kick.