Simply Red

Max’s Perspective

Thursday morning, I got up early and made Brody a breakfast worthy of the burliest of lumberjacks. We took our time and ate at a leisurely pace as we talked. Ricky had come early (as usually) and was already in the barn working, making sure things were organized and ready to go. After breakfast, Brody went into the garage to hook up the trailer to the tiny tractor and get to work on thinning out some of the overgrown brush out back. I walked out to the barn to join Ricky who had the music blaring and was dancing as he worked.

 “G’morning sunshine” I yelled startling the shit out of him.

 “Hey, Max” he said after the initial shock of my entry dissipated. I hadn’t paid either him or Gina yet. Elliot wanted me to get them both on payroll, but I decided to pay them cash until the first of next month, then I’d do everything by the book. So, I walked over to him and handed him an envelope of cash. “Thanks, Max” Ricky said as he opened the envelop and counted, then handed it back to me. “This is to help pay for your alarm system.”

 I looked at him in confusion and asked, “to help pay for the alarm system?”  

 Ricky quietly responded, “yeah, It’s my fault you had to get it so I want to pay for it.”

 I kinda thought we were past that stage, but obviously what he did was still haunting him… I guess that’s a good thing, but as far as I was concerned, we’d moved on. “Thanks, Ricky. But we needed to update the alarm system anyway. And I gotta be honest…” I said pausing to inhale. “If the barn incident didn’t happen then you and I would have never connected… and honestly, I could not have pulled this off without you.”

 He interrupted, “But I want to…”

 I stopped him “Ricky. We’re good. You earned this” I said handing him the envelope again. “You’ve earned it. Consider your debt repaid.” He wasn’t happy about it; the guilt was still eating him up. We talked for a while and he finally took the money, I think I convinced him to leave it in the past and the two of us went back to work. Gina and Mrs. J got there and joined in. The four of us worked well together and the barn was echoing with music and laughter as we worked and joked with each other.

 About 10:00, Brody came into the barn all sweaty and dirty from working in the yard and bounded up the old steps to his studio. We all kept working as he talked on the phone and tapped away on his computer. A couple of hours later I went into the kitchen to make us all lunch, I had been doing that every day since we’re in the middle of freaking nowhere and there’s nowhere near to grab a quick bite. When lunch was ready my crew came into the kitchen to eat and take a well-earned break. I took a grilled ham and cheese up to Brody who was still working in his studio. He was off the phone now but hard at work on his laptop. “Here, I brought you lunch” I said and was thanked with a grunt. “What the hell are you working on?” I asked.

 He kept looking at his screen and moving his mouse around, “this project I was in the middle of at work when they walked me out. Jim called me and was freaking out.” Jim was Brody’s ex-boss, the two were a team.

 “Um… he knows you don’t work there anymore. Right?” I said in a snotty retort.

 “Yeah, but it aint his fault they walked me out. The poor guy is buried up to his ass because his boss is a dick. I can’t leave him hangin’” Brody said. Brody was many things, including a man of integrity. He wasn’t going to leave a colleague swinging in the wind. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and let him get back to work.

 “Do you want us to keep it down?” I asked.

 “Nah, the noise helps me work.” With that statement I left him to his work and went into the kitchen to eat lunch with the others. About fifteen minutes later we were back at it and worked for about three more hours. Brody was up in his studio the entire time. When the others left, I took over the tractor and went out to tend to the herb garden, there was also a great crop of wild mint and lavender that had grown back. I picked whatever was ready and then took it to the barn and hung it to dry. I’d been so obsessed with finishing the order for The Resort and working on my business plan that I had let my own candle making go a little… although I did have an enormous stockpile already made and stored in the root cellar. I

 It was almost 6:00 when Brody came down the steps. “Finished” he said. “Now I can leave that place without any guilt.”

 “Good. Not you can enjoy your time off” I said.

 He gave me a half smile, “not exactly… I talked to Kev and he wants me to start early.”

 “Crap, what did you say?” I asked.

 “There’s a kick-off meeting with the new airline client next Friday and he wants me there so they see me as part of the team from day one.”

“So, when would you leave?” I asked selfishly. The only part of his new job that bothered me was the travel. I wasn’t looking forward to him being gone for orientation and now he was thinking about leaving sooner than planned.

 “I’d fly out on Sunday and…” he paused and looked up at me. “I’d be gone until next Saturday.”

“A whole week?!” I said in a knee-jerk panic, then caught myself and said in a supporting voice, “Are you gonna do it?”

 “It would be a good move, I could meet the team, the client, and be part of the account from the beginning.” Brody said trying to convince me. “Plus, I’d be back here before you had to go back to school instead of just leaving on your first day back. Maxwell, I want to do this. Is it cool with you?” Brody asked as he looked at me with pleading eyes.

 I nodded and said with a smile, “It’s cool” in the most supportive tone I could find. I was so happy he had this opportunity, but dreaded that week alone… for Brody’s sake, I was determined to let the happy feelings beat out the dread. He deserved this opportunity.

 The next couple of weeks were insane and went by fast!

 Business-wise: I finalized my business plan with Elliot’s help. He recommended that we incorporate to take some of the personal liability off us since we seemed to be growing so fast. Zach started the incorporation paperwork and made several tweaks to the candle rep’s contract to protect our interests, increase the profitability, and allow us an out if it wasn’t working for us (we signed). Seth was able to get a short term contract on a booth at the Soulard Farmer’s Market in St Louis so we could try it out and see if our product sold. And Gina came up with the idea of me teaching candle making classes and having Sip & Pour events at the barn once it was renovated (bring your friends, bring your wine, and make candles). That would add a new revenue stream to the business. Not only did our friends rally around us, but they were all into it. It became kind of a pet project for everyone and they were as into it as I was. Brody suggested that when we incorporated, we make them officers and give them each a couple shares of the business. It was basically worthless at the time, but the gesture was priceless. Meanwhile, Ricky, me and Gina kept cranking out candles with Mrs. J stopping by whenever she had some free time to help.

 Barn conversion-wise: Before Brody left town, we secured a home equity line to use for the barn conversion. We decided to pay some out of our savings and tap the line of credit for the rest. We gave Bubba the greenlight on the barn (he got us a screaming deal). He cashed in a favor and was able to pull the permit almost instantly, came out and cleared and graded the area over the weekend, and had the cement guys pour the slab while Brody was gone. He planned on having the barn up within two weeks and was working on pulling the permit for the barn conversion. Unfortunately, that would take a little more time.

 Personal life-wise: Brody left for Phoenix on Sunday to start his new job. It almost killed me to say goodbye… I mean, I missed the hell outta him before his Jeep was even out of the driveway and on his way to the airport. For the rest of the week, I buried myself in my candle making, burning the midnight oil, and spending late nights making candles out in the barn by myself to avoid having to sleep alone. In fact, one night I just stayed in the barn and slept between Jimmy and Zoey. It was embarrassing as hell when Ricky came in the next morning and found me… he thought I got drunk and passed out. Gina and Mrs. J gave me a lot of shit about that one. I missed my husband and was lonely being in the middle of nowhere without him. Gina, Brody, Ricky, Mrs. J, and even BA and Daddy were in and out of the house making sure I wasn’t alone. Brody and I talked or Facetimed every night but it wasn’t the same. He called me after his big client meeting on Friday to tell me it went great and he that was flying out the next morning. He was so excited about the meeting and his new job… I couldn’t help but smile. I worked late in the barn my myself that night making my own candles so I could keep a good amount in stock for when the Stella orders started to come through. Before I called it a night, I packed all my stuff into Old Blue for the market the next morning and headed up to bed with Zoey. It was about 1AM, I was so wiped out that I didn’t even bother to shower. I just plopped my naked ass down on top of the covers and fell fast asleep with Zoey at my feet and Witchy on the empty pillow next to me. She usually slept in the barn with Jimmy but decided to keep my company while Brody was away, I guess. I was zonked out to the nth degree, sleeping on my stomach.

Something woke me from my deep slumber. It was like a warm wet feeling… ON MY ASSHOLE. My eyes popped open in panic as I suddenly realized there were hands on my ass cheeks, “What the fuck?! I literally screamed in the darkness as I kicked my legs and flipped onto my back.

 “OW!” a familiar voice yelled through the darkness as my foot collided with something hard. “Maxwell, it’s just me!!!” Brody yelled. He had snuck into the bedroom and started licking my hole and I kicked him in the eye.

 “What the fuck are you doing home already? I didn’t think you’d be here until I got back from the farmer’s market.” I was explaining myself while Brody way rubbing his eye trying to stave off the pain caused my foot.

 “Damn, Maxwell that hurt” he said while I regained my composure, turned on the light and checked out the damage I’d caused. I ran down to the kitchen completely naked, filled a Ziplock bag full of ice, then ran back up to the bedroom and put the icepack on his eye. I felt horrible… he came back early to surprise me and I kicked him in the eye.

 With all the chaos I hadn’t even welcomed him home, “I am SO sorry. Damn, I missed you so much” I said looking into his good eye and holding the ice to the other one. He smiled through the pain.

 “This aint the welcome home I was hopin’ for” he said leaning in for a kiss. I held the icepack to his eye with one hand and massaged his cock through his jeans with the other. He pushed his lips against mine. Goddammit I had missed him SO much! “I was just tryin’ to surprise you” Brody said as he took the icepack off his eye and set it on the nightstand. “Gotdammit I missed you.” He kissed me harder this time, slipping his tongue into my mouth. I responded in kind and we made out with a hot, wet, steamy kiss worthy of two lovers that had been apart. I pushed him back on the bed and made quick work of stripping him. I climbed on top, my big, muscular frame covering his naked little body and our plumping cocks rubbing together. The softness and warmth of his cock and balls against mine made me almost instantly hard. I hadn’t even masturbated while he was gone and had about a ten-day load saved up just begging to break free.

 We made out with abandon and ground our bodies into each other, he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I flipped around so I was on top of him in a sixty-nine… our favorite position. I instantly enveloped his hard cock with my mouth, taking it down my throat to the very base as he instinctively ate my ass out. Damn, that man knew how to get me going. I sucked him without inhibitions, taking him as deep as I could, choking myself on his manhood. My hand and mouth worked his rigid shaft as my eyes watered… I was loving it so much. Brody was home!!!! I knew he was close, so I flipped around again and lined my hole up with his cockhead, sitting on it. FUCK! It was so damn amazing to feel him in me after over a week alone. Once his head penetrated my tight, pink, neglected hole I continued to lower myself onto him. I was face-to-face, our eyes locked as I took him deeper and deeper. Finally, I was sitting on his pubic bone with his perfect cock planted deep inside me. I leaned down and kissed him. We stayed in that position for a long time as I moved my ass back and forth riding him. We both moaned into our passionate kiss and I started to bounce up and down on him. His moans turned into groans and he shouted out a warning, “I’m cummin’, Maxwell… shit, I’m cummin’!” And with that he shot his pent-up load inside of me. His seed warmed my insides and I reveled in the fact that he was home and we were together again. I kept riding his spent cock and jacked myself off as I did, it only took a few strokes for me to blow spurt after powerful spurt of hot com onto Brody’s abs, torso, and chin with a yell of pleasure. I finally collapsed on top of him and almost instantly fell asleep.

 My alarm went off at about 6:00 Saturday morning and I woke up on top of Brody. We were glued together with our own filth. I turned away from him and whispered, “Good morning” trying to save him from my morning breath. “How’s your eye?” I asked while I tried to inspect it. It didn’t look too bad.

 “G’mornin’” he said following it up with a kiss. “It feels better. Damn, you pack a wallop!” I laughed and kissed his swollen eye.

 “I’m sorry I hit you. I’m happy you’re home” I muttered as I pulled my sticky body off his. “I gotta get rolling to the farmers market.”

 Brody jumped out of bed right behind me and we took a quick shower together. He went out to tend to the animals while I made us a quick breakfast. “I should be back about 1:00 o’clock.”

 “I thought I’d go with you this morning” Brody offered up. That was new… he hated anything social.

 “You sure?” I asked.

 “Yep. I just wanna spend some time with you” He said as he ate.

 “The last 10 days sucked, at least you’re gonna be home for a while” I said.

 Brody sighed “well, I need to go back to Phoenix next week to work on our presentation” he said looking at me for a reaction. “It’ll only be for a few days, then I’ll be back here until after Thanksgiving.” I just nodded my head. Shit! I hated that he would be traveling so much. We finished breakfast then piled into Old Blue with Zoey and headed downtown. Brody was talking nonstop the entire trip, that was so not him! He told me all about the campaign, the office, his coworkers, the clients, how much he loved working with Kev… anything and everything. I swear he said more to me on the 20 minute ride to downtown Wilmington than he had over the course of our entire relationship. It was clear he was happy. That made me happy.

 We got to the farmer’s market and started setting up, Zoey was getting attention the second he jumped out of the truck (as always). Mrs. J got there a few minutes after us, “You’re back!” she yelled when she saw Brody. “I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”

 “He came back on the redeye to surprise me” I said, adding “he snuck into the house in the middle of the night and scared the shit out of me so I... um gave HIM a redeye.” Mrs. J shook her head as she inspected Brody’s injury. I told her the full story and she got a big laugh out of it. We had just finished setting up when Gina showed up. She greeted Brody with a hug and asked him a million questions about his new job. For the second time that morning he was chatty. In fact, he was uncharacteristically chatty all day. Daddy, BA, Dylan, Sarah and Bubba, Laurie and Jeb, Darius and Tommy… pretty much everyone we knew stopped by and Brody told them all everything. He even joined us for lunch after the market and was the center of attention. It. Was. So. Unlike. Him! He was really excited.

 When we got home, we unpacked and then took a walk out to the new barn to look around. “Damn, Bubba’s really been workin’ his ass off. We’ll be paintin’ this and movin’ Jimmy in here next week.” Brody said as we walked inside the mostly-done structure. Things were moving along.

 Later that day, I made hamburger patties and a couple of sides, and Brody cooked out on the grill. After dinner we had a couple of drinks and fell to sleep on the couch watching a movie… just us. Alone. In our home. The way it was meant to be. Sunday morning after we let Jimmy out, we got in the Camaro with Zoey, put the top down and went to a little breakfast place with outdoor seating near the beach. We talked and caught up, I know I’ve said this over and over, but damn, I missed him. We spent the entire day together working around the house… just the two of us with the animals romping around.

 It was my last day off before going back to work. That night as we ate dinner, Brody reminded me that I had a full year (plus a couple of weeks) living in North Carolina under my belt. “Well, how was your first year?” He asked with a grin.

 I thought about it for like a whole second before answering, “fan-fucking-tastic!”

 

To be continued…

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Author's note: One of the other writers pointed out that my last chapter wast my 200th. I wanted to thank all of you who had stuck with me for 201 chapters! It's been an amazing experience. I greatly appreciate your emails and comments.