the path i chose isn&#x27;t straight and narrow

Meredith was an expert at reading people and seeing exactly who they were and what their intentions were within minutes of knowing them. Ben however… God, Ben was an exception. For awhile, Meredith wasn’t sure whether it irritated her or if it intrigued her that she just couldn’t figure him out immediately. Hell, it had been months and she still wasn’t sure if he was actually into her or if whatever this.. thing was between them was just some fun fling or friends with potential benefits for him. However, as time went on, she was fine with not having all of the answers immediately when it came to him and she actually liked just going with the flow, letting whatever happened happen… with slowly figuring him out as opposed to knowing exactly who he was from the get go. When he pulled away to breathe, Meredith moved her lips to his neck, one of her hands moving to his hair to tug at the light brown locks as she bit his neck, her other hand tugging at his shirt. “No interruptions this time… everything and everyone else can wait.” At this thought, she pulled away to catch her own breath, using the opportunity to retrieve her phone from her pure, shutting it off and letting it fall to the ground before she gripped onto his shirt again, pulling him with her as she backed herself into the nearest wall, leaning up to kiss him again.

#chat: mw #eh that's okay we get the point

Meredith’s mouth and hands on his neck, in his shirt, everywhere at once... well, it made it easy to climb out of his own head and to stop hesitating. Fuck the consequences, right? Those could be handled later. They were adults and it was just sex. He’d be stupid to turn it down because it’d been a while for him. He didn’t mirror her with the phone, only because he was to busy with the fact she was still dressed. His hands tugged at the bottom of her shirt, acting of their own accord, which was made difficult by the way his hips rolled into her at the same time. She backed herself against the wall and he pinned her there. He was tempted to ask why this was so hot, but it would’ve been a stupid question. He pulled his mouth off hers eventually so he could mouth at her jaw, her neck, and maybe move down her body a little. If he focused on her warm, tanned skin or the way she smelled, it was easier to forget how nervous he’d been to sleep with her. It was easy to forget the relief when they were interrupted before, the protests lodged by his overactive mind. Once he’d made a sloppy path to her collarbone, he reached down to tug on the backs of her thighs so he could take her weight entirely. Somewhere in his dim recollection of the fast last few minutes, he realized that’d been the purpose of this -- distracting her thoroughly. He didn’t know if fucking hard and quick against a wall would do that. “If we do this here, it’ll be fast,” he promised. “Is that good or bad?”

She definitely was far from easy, however, she was definitely not a prude. She’d had the relationships, the casual friends with benefits, the occasional one night stands… any person that would call her easy though would be met with a swift knock in the jaw by the brunette. This thing she had going on with Ben, whatever it was, had been going on for awhile now, months. Meredith would have been lying to herself if she said she hadn’t thought about it constantly when she had a few moments to herself and fantasized about it a little. They’d almost gone through with it once but had been sadly interrupted. This time, her phone would be turned off. No distractions, no interruptions. It ws happening. She couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes a little. “No, I think you and I both know what it is I have in mind,” she said in a slightly lower voice than normal before letting go of his hand and pulling his face in, pressing her lips to his.

It wasn’t exactly a secret that he wanted Meredith and was terrified of her in equal measure. She had come back to town with a new level of intensity, more complexity than normal, and that was saying a lot. It made her even more intimidating and more sexy at the same tie, and that’s what he was afraid of. She didn’t seem like someone he could do casual with, and she seemed exactly like someone who didn’t need his fucked-up influence. He was secretly glad her brother had called when they were on the verge of something before, in some ways. While his offer to work her tension out was suggestive at best, there was a nervous pit in his stomach when she kissed him hard. All he could do was kiss her back. “Yes, we do,” he whispered roughly when he had to break apart for a breath. In that moment, he was helpless to do anything but continue what she’d started.

“I’ll be the judge of that. Yeah, I trust you. Let’s go then.”

He breathed out and nodded at the same time, contradictory expressions, then he lead the way. She definitely wasn’t an easy girl and, while he liked that about her, he was out of practice. She’d been gone for weeks after all. There was a brief thought about trying to kiss her until she had to pay attention to the way she was breathing to be successful at it (the breathing, that was), but he settled for seizing her hand instead and brushing the pads of his thumb along what it could reach of her knuckles. “Do you need anything to eat or drink or... it is something else you had in mind?”

benbrody:.

“Ow. God. Okay. Come with me. Now. You need to unclench immediately and I know exactly how to accomplish it. Let’s go.”

“Yeah? What’s your plan then? I’ve already tried most of my usual methods and nothing’s really worked, so you’ve got your work cut out for you, Brody.”

“Good thing I’m a skilled relaxer, then. Do you trust me? I’m probably better than your usual methods.”

benbrody:.

“Well hello, sunshine. I definitely missed your sparkling wit and dazzing demeanor.”

“Oh, you’re just so sweet, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

#chat: mw #// surprisingly few gifs with an appropriate reaction to something like that

“Ow. God. Okay. Come with me. Now. You need to unclench immediately and I know exactly how to accomplish it. Let’s go.”

“My new nickname at my restaurant in Los Angeles is apparently “Jordan Ramsey” now. What do they expect? When I get a phone call from THE Gordon Ramsey telling me that my restaurant has switched from freshly made raviolis to frozen and hasn’t done anything about fucking cockroaches in the fucking prep area among a million other things, I tend to lose my shit and fire several people upon arrival. God, it’s been a long three weeks.”

“Well hello, sunshine. I definitely missed your sparkling wit and dazzing demeanor.”

“Spinach would be delicious, but I’ve never been a fan of zucchini.

“I just say do what feels natural and right… if you want to call or text the next day, then do it. To me, that doesn’t read desperation. If you want to kiss on the first date, go for it. I’ve done that lots of times and things were just fine with whoever I happened to be going out with at the time.”

To each their own, right?

See, that all makes a lot more sense to me. I’ve done a lot of kissing on the first date, if you can call what I’ve done dating -- which I don’t really think you can. That classes it up just a little too much.

“Those are convincing. I’ll think about it and let you know, okay?

“The real question is if it was worth it, though. I can think of some stuff that’s made me completely lazy but I would eat it again in a heartbeat.

“What, watching someone lick the inside of a recyclable container that used to contain salsa? That’s at least third date material right there.”

“Alright, sounds good.

“Oh yeah, it was worth it… it was fucking delicious. I need to try it again at some point and fine tune it… and probably leave the noodles off this time.

“Oh, well see you’re obviously not as progressive as I am, that’s more like second date right there in my book.”

“That might be for the best. I wonder if you could use zucchini or spinach instead.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever actually been through the official dating rounds. First date I get, but waiting three days to call and the dates after that... who knows.”

“The appeal? Living on dry land, having a fridge, and then you have Miyax and Pinenut to keep you company if you want it and I happen to not be there. Oh, and I always have a ton of really leftovers because I cook way too much for just one person.

“It actually wasn’t too bad. I did end up passing out because I was so full and felt so guilty for all the calories. I had an all day dance practice the next day too and was still feeling sluggish.

“Right, yeah, I do. That would definitely be an interesting choice for a real first date, that’s for sure.”

“Those are convincing. I’ll think about it and let you know, okay?

“The real question is if it was worth it, though. I can think of some stuff that’s made me completely lazy but I would eat it again in a heartbeat.

“What, watching someone lick the inside of a recyclable container that used to contain salsa? That’s at least third date material right there.”

“I doubt we will. I’m hardly ever there anyways if I’m being honest. I get up at five so I can run before I have to get ready to the restaurant by nine and I’m there until at least ten at night. The only day I don’t work is Sundays, and that day, I’m taking care of errands and cleaning the house. My house is also big enough to where we don’t ever have to see each other if we don’t want to anyways. My little brother used to forget to buy his own toiletries and steal mine then forget to put them back… so just don’t touch my stuff or leave the kitchen in disarray and we’ll be okay.

“Oh wow, that actually sounds pretty damn amazing. Oh yeah, I made… a lasagna sandwich once… ground beef with tomato basil sauce, fresh ricotta and mozzarella… and yes… I put the pasta on there too. It actually turned out really amazing.

“That sounds awesome and it’s definitely a plan that I’ll take you up on.”

“I’m usually up and at the dive shop by six, so I understand. I usually don’t work that late though, but it does bring up one question: if you’re never there, what’s the appeal? I am housebroken though. I come with my own squeaky toy and everything. Your stuff is safe.

“A lasagna sandwich? That’s either really good or really terrible. Did it put you into a food coma?

“It’s a date. Or... well, you know what I mean.”

“Yes, please don’t lose any digits, I don’t do very well with blood being in my kitchen. Well, I mean, I did offer to let you just take one of the rooms in my place and that would also include some fridge space, but you haven’t given me an answer yet. Just don’t mess up my organization in there or the cabinets and we’ll be good. I can imagine that you have. What’s the craziest sandwich you’ve ever made on it? Pineapple is delicious, so major kudos there. I’ve been a little obsessed with mangos personally ever since I was in Miami. I got so sick of oranges, but mangos? I can’t ever get enough of them. I gonna need you to give me the address of that place with the pineapple salsa though, because I’m going to need to try it.”

“No? Blood doesn’t bother me but I respect your opinion and will do my best. I... what if we drive each other crazy? I’ve never lived with another person I’m not directly related to. Even then our house was so big we didn’t have to see each other. I might have annoying habits even I don’t know about.

“Craziest sandwich? Probably spinach, artichoke, mozzarella, and green chile peppers. I can’t remember what kind of bread it was on. It was a mess but it tasted good. Do you have any crazy ones?

“Mangoes are also delicious. They have mango salsa, too. I can do you one better and take you there sometime if you’d like.”

“Oh lord, jarred sauces are nothing compared to a homemade one… which can be very easy to make, that’s priority one right there, teaching you to make your own tomato sauce and an alfredo. Absolutely no judgement on the sandwich on the panini press. I utilize mine when I really don’t feel like cooking or having leftovers. Red meat isn’t so hard once you get the hang of it. Oh thank god, you have passed the first test. If you had said you lived off of those things, I would have staged an intervention pronto.“

“I promise not to cut my fingers off if you put me on chopping duty. The only problem I have with alfredo is I don’t have anywhere to store cream or cheese. I tend to use very little that requires refrigeration because I don’t have a fridge. The press was mostly her being a smart ass, but it’s kind of nice when I want something different. I’ve made some pretty crazy sandwiches with that thing. I do not live off TV dinners, no. If I’m guilty of living off anything since I moved here, it’s pineapple. There’s a market on my way home from work that makes pineapple salsa that I’m pretty sure I’ve had for dinner more than anything else.”

“I was just about to say… I never allow anyone to help me in the kitchen, but I can definitely teach you. What three things do you know how to cook? TV dinners don’t count either, just so you know.”

“I can do spaghetti if I use sauce from a jar, a sandwich in a panini press my sister gave me for my birthday so I officially count it as cooking, and I can grill chicken but I’ve never tried to figure out red meat. TV dinners don’t count for anything. They’re gross.”

“Well, I can make you dinner and then we can talk over a glass or two of wine. Or you know… we can skip all of that and just pick up where we left off before my little brother called and ruined the mood.”

“That all sounds fantastic, as long as you’ll let me help with dinner. And by that I mean you’ll teach me how to cook something because I have exactly three things in my skillset that don’t involve a drive through.”

“Yeah, don’t even worry about the Superman movie, it was kind of horrible. I do have to say, the Batman movies weren’t too bad. I have a tv, but I barely ever use it. Don’t have the time to really use it to be honest. I DVR the few things I still watch, but then I forget about them for a long time before I even get around to playing catch up.”

“Okay, well that bring up a very serious question then. If I don’t have a TV and you don’t watch TV, what do we do for fun in that magical moment where we aren’t too busy to hang out?”