Brady and Mimi chapter here. Ehhhh…

Rated PG-13

(40) Falling, Falling...

Roswell was over, and Mimi was inspired. That and her stomach was growling. She rang up Brady’s cell on speed dial, “How does Chinese food sound?” she asked as he answered.

“I’m still at work,” he replied.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“I had something this afternoon.”

“So you’re probably hungry again.”

“Wow Mimi, I didn’t know you had a pulse on my hunger.”

Mimi smiled on the other end. “It will be my treat.”

“I don’t think tonight is a good night. I’m closing and won’t be home until later.”

“I stay up late anyway. So that won’t be a problem. I’ll get the food and swing by once you’re ready.” God she loved the fact that he lived so near now.
“What do you want?”

“I don’t care, anything.”

“Just tell me something.”

“Get me whatever you’re getting,” he replied. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but I got to go, I got a whole sleau of customers.”

Mimi hung up and popped off the couch. Time to get beautiful…

******************

Two and a half hours later, they ate at the counter in his apartment. Mimi gave her best effort to use chopsticks, but failed miserably. Brady gave an arrogant laugh as he worked his own like a champ. Mimi gave up and grabbed a fork, wondering why she even bothered. “You look great in black, Mr. Black,” she said, diverting the attention away from her lack of manual dexterity.

Brady looked down at his black bartender shirt and managed a “Thanks” through a mouthful. He gave her a funny look. She had seen him plenty of times before in that shirt, but it wasn’t until tonight that she said something. But then again, everything about Brady was looking good lately. He could have dressed up like Donald Duck, and somehow she would have found it attractive. Mimi giggled at the thought of Brady dressed as Donald Duck. She was suddenly stuffed, and could eat no more. She pushed her food off to the side. Brady ate a little bit more, then put away their leftovers.

He excused himself to take a quick shower and change. Mimi smoked on his balcony, puffing one ring after another into the sky. After flicking her bud into the snow banks below, she went back inside and got cozy on his couch. She flipped through the channels and glanced around the room. He still had boxes from his recent move scattered throughout the room. Mimi smiled- the day he moved in was one of her favorite days with him. She helped him pick out nearly all of his interior decorations, and he willingly accepted her influences.

Her ears perked at the sound of his voice in the kitchen. He was talking on the phone. The funny thing was that she didn’t hear the phone ring. He came out a few minutes later carrying a bottle of MGD. “Who was that?” she asked.

“Pam,” he said softly.

“What’s up with her?”

“None of your business,” he said.

“Oh,” she said, slightly offended.

“Sorry, it’s just…. You know.”

Mimi nodded and pointed to his beer. “Where’s mine? Don’t I get one?”

“You don’t need to drink.”

“Huh?!”

“You’re too young.”

“Oh my God, you hypocrite!”

Brady shrugged, “I can live with that. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to get you one.”

“How many times have we drank together at work?”

Brady took another long swig and grabbed the remote. He wasn’t going to answer that one. Mimi shook her head in astonishment. But she wasn’t really in the mood to argue anyway. Unprompted, they put their feet up on the ottoman at the same time and leaned up against each other. Brady yawned several times until finally falling into a snooze. Mimi became absorbed in the movie on television, resting her head on Brady’s shoulder.

The pounding at the door startled her. Brady jumped and looked around with sleepy eyes. The door opened slightly and Chloe’s voice called out, “Brady?”

“Yeah?” he responded.

Chloe barged in suddenly, looking all glamorous. Fresh off the plane in Chicago, she had just returned from her recent shoot in New York.

Mimi was disgusted at the interruption, “What are you doing here?”

“I stopped by to say hey,” she shot back in a similar tone.

Brady sat up and gave Mimi a look of disapproval, “She called me earlier tonight and said she’d probably come by.”

Mimi looked away and rolled her eyes. “How was your flight?” she mumbled, attempting to erase her “bad manners.”

Chloe sniffed the air, “What do I smell?”

“We had Chinese,” Brady explained.

“Is there any leftovers?”

Brady nodded, “A little.”

“Can I?” She asked, almost desperately.

“Go ahead,” he gestured.

HOW RUDE! Mimi’s mind screamed. She watched Chloe in disgust as she grabbed the containers from the fridge and helped herself. She sat at the counter, literally SCARFING the contents, including Mimi’s.

Mimi sat up and shouted, “Is that my sweet & sour chicken?”

Chloe looked over her shoulder, “I just grabbed what was in the fridge.”

“Yeah, well that sweet and sour chicken is MINE!” Mimi claimed.

“Sorry!” Chloe yelled back. She got up to put it back.

Mimi groaned, “You might as well eat it now.”

Brady chucked at the dueling roommates.

Mimi didn’t think it was so funny, and Chloe appeared to care less. She polished off both Brady and Mimi’s dinner and wiped her mouth. She joined them in the living room, taking a seat right next to Brady. Mimi sulked as Chloe jabbered endlessly about her trip.

Brady let out another helpless yawn. “Somebody’s tired,” she announced. She stood up to leave, “Come on Mimi, let’s leave the poor guy so he can get his beauty rest.”

Mimi seethed, somehow withholding the urge to strangle the life out of Chloe. Everything was going just fine until SHE showed up… She whipped on her coat and stomped out the door. Chloe grimaced and waved a flirtatious buh-bye to Brady.

Chloe caught up with the race-walking Mimi. “What’s wrong with YOU?”

“Not a thing, Chloe. Not a thing,” Mimi growled through her teeth.

“Are you mad because I interrupted a nice little moment between you and Brady.”

Mimi huffed. “At least you’re observant, along with RUDE,” she added bravely.

“Why, were you trying to spend the night with him?”

“So what if I did.”

Chloe laughed and slapped her hands, “See, I can read you.”

“Just shut up.”

“Why?”

“Why do you insist on ruining it?”

“I didn’t ruin anything. Brady could barely keep his eyes open.”

“Until you came along and woke him up. We were fine right where we were.”

“I suppose so.”

Chloe stopped Mimi when she went to unlock the door. “You two have been spending a lot of time together.”

“Yep,” Mimi mumbled as she released her key.

“Are you sure you’re ready to be more than friends with him?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Are you ready to risk ruining your friendship if things don’t work out if you take the next step?”

“I think I can handle it. Besides, we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re just friends. Very close friends.”

“With a very strong physical attraction,” Chloe said in a mocking voice.

They entered and they pulled their coats off. “You make it sounds like it’s just me. Brady’s hot and any girl could be attracted to him. Besides, he’s got a real girlfriend, so I’m not worried about it,” Mimi said, matter-of-factly.

Chloe went to the kitchen to retrieve her ice cream, “I don’t know man. Not for long, from what I gather.”

“Huh?” Mimi snapped.

Chloe spooned a heapful, “Brady and Pam are having relationship problems.”

“No they’re not.”

“Yes they are.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he told me.”

“He did not.”

“He did too. Brady tells me a lot of things.”

“He told you he and Pam aren’t getting along?”

“Not exactly that. They’re just drifting apart, that’s all. He still respects her and everything. They just don’t have anything to say to each other anymore. It’s like boring now.”

“No way.”

“Fine, don’t believe me.”

“Why would he tell you that, and not me?”

Chloe shrugged, “I thought he did.”

“He didn’t. In fact, when I asked him about her, he said it was none of my business.”

Chloe nearly choked on her ice cream, “I’m sorry,” was all she could manage.

“What are you, his confidant?”

“Maybe,” she retorted, regarding a suddenly friendly Igea rubbing up against her calf.

“What else has he told you that he hasn’t told me?” Mimi inquired anxiously.

Chloe realized she dug herself a hole on that one. “Nothing. He just mentioned it one day, no big deal.”

“Does he ever mention me?” Mimi asked.

Chloe held her breath and met her eyes, “Maybe.”

“Maybe? Shut up!”

“If you say so. Did Jason call?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“You told me to shut up!” Chloe yelled defensively. “So did he call, or not?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t here. He left a message. He said to call his cell when you got home so you don’t wake his parents up.”

Chloe wiped her mouth and put her ice cream away. She grabbed the cordless and headed to the bedroom. Mimi stopped her in her tracks, “Chloe! What did Brady say about me?”

Chloe widened her eyes, “Go ask him yourself.” She shut their bedroom door behind her, leaving Mimi to stare at it.

Mimi fetched her coat again and decided to take Chloe’s advice. She walked down the pathway leading up to Brady’s apartment. She looked up to the third floor and noticed his lights were still on. Taking a courageous breath for the unknown, she slowly ascended the stairs and knocked on his door.

He answered, clad only in his boxers. He seemed actually surprised to see her. “Did you forget something?”

“No.”

“Oh,” he said, cracking a small smile. “You just felt like stopping by again.”

“Uh yeah, something along those lines. Can I come in?”

Brady gave her a straight face. “I’m about to go to bed soon.”

“I know,” Mimi said, staring at him intently. “But if you want me to go, then I’ll go.”

Brady looked a bit conflicted about how to answer that. “No, you don’t have to,” he said in an awkward tone. Her self-invitation worked. He held the door open for her as she stepped in. He shut the door behind her and she turned to face him. They stared at each other for a minute, hoping the other would speak up first.

“I uh, could give you a back rub to relax you before you go to sleep,” Mimi announced, surprising even herself.

Brady blushed and nodded, “That would be great. But do I have to give you one back?”

Mimi shook her head, “Of course I want one. But it doesn’t have to be tonight, just, you know, eventually.”

She followed him to his bedroom. He crawled back under the covers as Mimi kicked off her shoes. She sat on the bed next to him and reached out to his shoulders. Although a bit unsure of her effectiveness, she did amazingly well- a skill unbeknownst to her. Brady’s eyes fluttered with delight beneath her.

To show his appreciation, he insisted on giving her a hand massage. She settled next to him, lying on the outside of the covers. She closed her eyes when he reached for her hands. His touch his firm, yet incredibly soothing. Who would have thought a simple hand massage could be so joyous? Her imagination ventured in the possible other little pleasurable secrets Brady had to offer.

The phone rang, and Mimi flinched. Brady paused for a slight second then continued, making no effort to answer the phone. Mimi looked up at him curiously, finding him fixated on pampering her hands. The machine picked up on the 5^th ring. Pam’s voice spoke out, inquiring his whereabouts, and commanding him to call her ASAP. She hung up with an exaggerated sigh.

Mimi held her breath.

Brady yawned and set her hands down gently, and politely excused himself to sleep.

Her heart oozed with joyous appreciation. He purposely ignored Pam, for HER.

She could have kissed the living daylights out of him for that. Never in her life had she felt so special, at the center of one’s undivided attention. And the beauty of it was that it seamed to be no big deal to him. Like he wanted to do it, instead of it being some kind of strategic sacrifice. How many times had Brett, or any other guy she liked look right through her? Too many to count. How many times had Brett mumbled “Huh?” or an unenthused “Hmmm” every time she gave a heartfelt outpouring of her thoughts and emotions. Again, too many.

She smiled in the darkness, her own sleepiness a galaxy away. She watched him sleep, eventually able to meditate to his deep, peaceful breathing. Occasionally, she glanced at the glaring red luminance of his alarm clock on his night stand. Minutes and hours trudged along slowly, until finally, at 4:47 am, she felt her eyes growing heavy. Out of respect for him, she decided to get up and leave. She didn’t want to give the impression she intended to crash, uninvited.

Once she faced the frigid air when she exited his front door, she contemplated scratching all impressions of politeness and returning. But the air revived her, encouraging her to move fast. He hugged herself tightly, her eyes drooping, puffy and smeared with eye make-up. Bidding the blackish-orange sky adieau, she entered her own warm, quiet apartment.

She crawled into her futon across from glamour girl. At this point, she didn’t even care about Chloe’s rude behavior earlier that night. She fell asleep easily, the image of the nape of his neck and his brown shoulders lucid in her mind.

A new habit perhaps?

Maybe next time she’d bring a toothbrush...