Fixation (Clusterf*ck Series #1)

6. Princess

Callie was not sure how women in her new circle feel good about themselves. She needed her old friends, though, with her stupid hectic schedule, she rarely saw them when getting to them would take her two hours of driving. And so she stayed with her parents on the other side of the city, away from her previous social surroundings. 

Since her dad's tech company succeeded and broke the market within the AI industry, everything had dramatically changed. Her dad's company had been attending trade fairs for Artificial Intelligence for years until he finally made it. Aside from being a genius within the industry, Callie's dad knew he needed to break the market, and having a solid team behind him had managed him to do so. And in less than ten years he was finally at the top, at least one of the best in the country which then boosted their lifestyle to what Callie would say was a spectacular shit show. And no she did not like the change, but she adapted, doing so because she loves her parents and knows that her dad had worked his ass off to provide for his family.

Her parents had been so adamant that they all moved to the lavish side of the city and joined the rich. Callie who wanted nothing but to be the good daughter for her parents decided that she was going to play nice and support whatever madness they had her tangled up with. Callie has always been a wild child, she loves being with her loud friends and now she was boxed into the socialite environment where she felt like she was being thrown into the wolves. The hungry rabid kind.

At least she still has Brody, she thought.  Brody and Callie practically grew up together in their parents' lake house every summer. Since their move, Brody had been her lifeline. The sweet and proper boy who she used to tease over the summer.

But then a month ago, her mom and dad dropped another bomb telling her that their parents had talked it over. Both parents expressed that they wanted to bring the families even closer, meaning her parents expected her to accept Brody as her fiance. 

And that was the situation she was in, getting ready for Brody to take her to dinner on a Saturday evening where she would usually dine with her girlfriends before ending their night getting sweaty, dancing their hearts out at the most happening club in town. 

"Callie darling, you look beautiful," her mom told her when she saw her daughter getting dressed in her new pretty date outfit she picked out a couple of days earlier. 

"You know I do, mom, you personally chose the dress for me." Callie rolled her eyes but still hugged her mom, knowing she loves her and had put up with her crazy teenage emo phase. Though the wild soul was still in her, Callie was prepared to try everything, knowing that she needed to grow up at some stage. 

There was no force in their union, though it was definitely highly encouraged and she knew Brody had shared his worry about it at their lunch date, just last week. 

"Hey," Brody greeted her with a sweet kiss on her cheek.

"Hey, yourself," she winked at her childhood buddy and put her hand on the crook of his arm. "Thank you for the kiss, I know they're watching from inside the house." She whispered as they hurried into his car.

Brody laughed just like he would do every time he and Callie got together every summer. "So, where do you want to dine tonight, princess?"

"Ugh, stop with the princess stuff. How long are you going to let me live through it?" she whined and pouted but slipped into Brody's black Jag and got herself buckled in before she continue to babble telling Brody to forget about her princess phase where she used to force him to be his prince.

"Yeah, no can do, princess, I think it's your childhood princess fixation that had given our parents the idea that we should marry," his words rolled out easily, as easily as he switches gear and smoothly drive the jag, blending seamlessly into the traffic.

"Are you, um...it's okay, you know... you don't have to agree with our arrangement. I'm a big girl Brody, I'm okay if you want to back off from our parents' crazy moment lapse of judgment." Callie explained, again, she had told Brody and he had said that it was fine. Yeah, fine, was not the word Callie was looking for in her fiance in context to their future marriage. 

"Callie, I'm also a big boy and I am aware that I can end this too." Brody shrugged thinking that he needed time to think things through. His parents were right, he needed to start building a family, and pinning on his best friend was not going to be a solution. He knew that there would be nothing for them in the future. They had tried and they had failed miserably. 

"Ooookay, if you say so,"

"Uh-huh, I say so, princess." He chuckled, knowing that at least he would have this with his future wife. A friendship is essential in a relationship, being with Hendry, Brody had learned that being in love was not enough to ensure that their relationship will last. 

"Always the charming prince," Callie nodded, then looked at the traffic in front of them with ease in her mind. Callie didn't want their union to be a burden for her future husband. 

Three hours later she did have a good time with Brody, they were such good friends that dinner was a flawless effort. And when Brody invited her to his place to get to know each other more, Callie agreed thinking she didn't want to go home to an empty house since her parents were out at another company event. They won't be home until another couple of hours.

"Wow, nice place, you did very well for yourself, Brody."

"Pfft, I'm loaded, Princess. I'm catchy that way and you know it. Anyway, this is all my parents, you know that right?"

Callie laughed, it was light and easy as if they could have this easiness between them for a long long time. "I know Prince Brody, I was thinking more of the location and the style of the place." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Imagine me, finding out that my future husband lives in a horrid looking penthouse, with a 70s interior with lots of colors and furs, but not because he was in it for of his fetish, but because he actually liked them." Callie gave a visible shudder and that made Brody laugh at her.

He took her to his front, circled his arms around her waist, and kissed her soft blonde hair. "I think we'd be just fine, Callie, I think I can even learn to love you." He turned her around, and he knew that she regarded his words when she said that she can maybe see that in their future too. But when Brody leaned in to kiss her she stepped back and asked if he was sure.

"This will break our friendship, Brody, we're stepping into the unknown here, I don't want to pressure yo..." Her words hang when his lips were on her, and his hand was cradling the back of her head, reaching for her hair clip and letting her shoulder-length hair fall freely to her shoulder.

Callie was not expecting the heat between them, she thought maybe because she hasn't been with anyone in a while. She was no virgin and she liked her toys, but she never thought of Brody like this. She thought he'd always seen her as the annoying little princess yapping and ordering him around to be her prince.

"Brody," she kissed him back, her lips tangled with his, her mouth open and their tongue danced wanting more of each other. Her hands were pinned to each side of her head, her back against the cool window panes.

"Is this okay, princess?"

"Ugh...more, please..." She shuddered and let his hands cup her waist and tugged her flat to him. Callie was feeling his lean strong body to her soft one. Her hands were on his shoulders and pulling him down to keep on kissing her.

She pushed him to his sofa and straddled him, his legs parted, and she was on him, keeping on kissing him like they both couldn't get enough of it. Callie had known that Brody was bisexual, he had shared the information when she was still in college and saw him looking at his best friend like he was going to eat the man alive. The knowledge that he favored sex with a man was the one thing she was worried about. But when he initiated the kiss and she felt his erection, Callie started thinking they might have something. Minutes later when they were both still on it like rabid teenagers, it made her feel good about their future.

Maybe they can do this after all.