by Meghan Quinn
Reese sits in a black chair, his large body making the poor seat look like a toothpick. He exhales and slouches as Miss. Pouty Lips starts to play around with his hair.
Jealousy instantly consumes me. I want to blast my best friend from his seat and take his place just to experience the way her pink painted nails feel running through my hair.
Are her toes painted pink as well? Or does she have them painted a different shade. Fuck, I don’t care, either way I’m hell bent on figuring it out.
“Do you have dryland later today or do you want to grab dinner?” Reese asks, pulling my eyes off her fingers for a second.
“Are you paying?”
“Cheap fuck.”
I shrug. “I save my money for more important things, like dates.” The girl looks up at me and gives me a courtesy smile. Eh, I’ll take it. “Dude, you’re so fucking rude.”
“What did I do?” Reese asks.
“Uh, you didn’t introduce me to your friend.” I nod at the girl.
“Because I don’t even know her name.” Reese looks a little shamed as he admits his fault.
I come closer and say, “Then you really are fucking rude.” I hold my hand out. “Hi, I’m Hollis and this is my rude as fuck friend, Reese.”
The girl shakes my hand quickly, giving me a brief taste of how her palm would match up with mine. “Melony. Nice to meet you.”
“Melony, what a beautiful name.”
Reese snorts, right between us. Not in an awkward kind of a way, more in a dude’s blowing up my game kind of way.
He sits back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. “Oh shit, this is going to be good.”
Ignoring him, I keep my attention attuned on Melony. “Do you frequent these shoots often.”
Another snort. “That’s the best you got?” Reese asks. “Come on, man. You’re better than the old ‘you come around here often’ pick up line.”
He’s right, but fuck, I’m kind of thrown off my game a little. It’s the glossiness of her lips, they’re distracting me. Would that gloss help her slide right along my dick?
Melony ignores Reese’s barb and says, “I do all hair and makeup for the show, mostly for Bellini.”
Conversation door open.
“Oh shit, and you haven’t been burnt by dragon lady’s spitting fire yet?”
She flips her hair to the side and grins at me. “Why do you think my hair is short?”
Fuck. I like her. Just like that. The sexy grin, the flip of her soft hair, the way her eyes shined up at me, yup, I’m a fucking goner.
But just as soon as the words slip from her mouth, she straightens up and looks at Reese. “Oh crap. I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, Mr. King. Bellini is…” she swallows hard and continues, “A nice lady.”
Reese waves it off. “She can be a bitch.”
It’s all he says but I know what he really means. Bellini is the epitome of the devil reincarnated. Unfortunately, he can’t say that given his situation, he has to be politically correct. Frankly I don’t know why he’s putting himself through this kind of torture. Trials aren’t for six months, you would think his publicist could come up with something else for him to do after his last stint at the Olympics. If I were him, I would fire my publicist’s ass.
“Reese, can you spare a moment over here for a second,” I squirrely man I know of by the name of Jasper asks. Reese excuses himself giving me the perfect opportunity to talk with Melony.
She’s washing some make up brushes, busying herself and staying as far away from me as possible. Too bad for her, I have other plans.
“Where are you from, Melony?” she glances in my direction but turns back to her brushes.
“Here,” she says curtly.
“Born and raised a Cali girl, huh? That’s—”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” She holds her hand up. “I see where this is going.”
“And where is this going?” I ask, stepping closer to her.
She gives me the once over and puts her hand on her hip. “You say some cheesy stuff trying to get to know me. To be polite, I will entertain you and then you ask me out. I will say no and then you will take that as a challenge.”
I scrunch my nose. “You would say no?” That’s kind of a first for me, I’m interested to hear her answer.
“Not used to the word? Does the Olympic diver always get what he wants?”
“Ah, so you know who I am.” I knowingly point at her. “I knew you did from the way you tried to see through my shirt. Don’t worry, sweetheart, the abs everyone talks about are real.”
She scoffs. “You’re pathetic.”
Well, that’s a first as well.
“Are you trying to make me cry?” I tease.
Rolling her eyes, she steps away, putting unwanted distance between us. “Seriously, not going to happen Hollis so pack up your pick up lines and take them somewhere else.”
“Wow.” I rest my hip against one of the tables full of beauty supplies and cross my arms over my chest. “Flatter yourself much? Who says I was even trying to pick you up? What if I was just trying to be nice? That’s kind of embarrassing for you, assuming such a thing.”
“Please, Hollis. Nice try. It’s not going to happen.”
Growing irritated, I ask, “And why not?”
“Because.” She points a makeup brush at me. “You’re not my type and I have zero interest in pursuing a relationship with you.” With that, she fucking wags her pert little ass away from me.
Well fuck me. That didn’t go as planned.
Determined more than ever, once Reese finishes his conversation, I go up to him with one purpose. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Why the fuck should I after all the comments I put up with earlier.”
“Because,” I rack my brain for an answer. When it hits me, I smile devilishly at him. Reese knows I have him.
“Oh fuck…”
“If you don’t help me, I’m going to let your little production manager your love for dancing in your underwear to teen bop.”
Reese runs his hand slowly over his face out of frustration. “I was drunk, it was one fucking time.”
“And yet, I caught you. Best day of my life.”
“That’s sad.” I shrug, not giving a shit. “Fine, what the hell do you want?”
“Melony’s number. Get it for me.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Running his hand over his jaw, he asks, “That’s what you want to use your drunk dancing in underpants card on? Because you know once you cash in, you’ll never be able to use it again.”
“Couldn’t think of a better reason to use it.”
“Done, then.”
Later that day, Reese texted me her number and I spared no time sending her a message.
Hollis: I can’t stop thinking about you.
I brush my teeth and wait for her response. It comes in no less than a minute.
Melony: Who is this?
I smile to myself. This is going to be so much fucking fun.
Hollis: Your future husband.
Mark your calendars, STROKED HARD, the series finale comes out November 1st, 2016.
www.authormeghanquinn.com