by Calinda B
The deep, smoky tones of Simon's voice reached her ears as he responded to the woman. When she heard him speak, she couldn't help but give an involuntary shudder. That voice had been there when she first learned to ride a bike, had taken her first leap of faith into a crystal-clear pool for her first swimming lesson, and the loudest one screaming her name as she graduated high school. He'd been there for every major step in her life. And hearing it now still affected her just as much.
Frustration filled his tone as he responded to the woman's questions. "And you never will. I never told you that I'd introduce you to my parents." At her gasp, he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Or that we had anything more than a casual acquaintance, for that matter. If you chose to create an alternate reality in your own head, that's not my problem."
A fractured breath escaped the woman's mouth, as if she was trying to think of something clever to say, but words had failed her. Melanie couldn't help but snicker. With Simon, situations like this tended to happen on a regular basis.
He continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have guests to see to. Don't try to corner me again." With those last words, he skirted around the shell-shocked woman and made his way towards the French doors leading into the main ballroom.
Stifling a groan under her breath, she leaned back out of sight. Only Simon could leave a woman on the verge of tears with no more than two sentences. If she hadn't known him most of her life and seem him at his best, and his worst, she could have been one of these stupid girls who fell for the façade.
Sobering fast, she straightened the expression on her face. No one could see her like this. Leaning up against the wall, her mind filled with thoughts of the one man she'd never been able to get over. If it hadn't been for their parents' asking her to come tonight, she'd be at home in the city, watching her favorite show on reruns and drinking a glass of wine.
Standing up tall, she ran her hands over the non-existent wrinkles in her dress. The time had come to bite the bullet. Eventually, she and Simon would have to acknowledge each other. Their parents would not condone them ignoring each other much longer. That's not how they did things and she knew it.
For the past hour, she'd managed to avoid him like the plague and the moment of truth had arrived. Time to pay the piper. Closing her eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts, she considered what she'd say to Simon when they came face to face again after all the year apart.
The last time they'd seen each other, it had been more than six years ago. Right before she'd boarded a plane and headed to Parris Island, South Carolina. He stood at the entrance to the final security checkpoint holding her in his arms as she questioned her decision to leave home and start her own adventure.
* * *
"It's going to be okay, Melanie," he whispered into her hair.
Shaking her head back and forth, she wanted to say so much, but the words wouldn't come. Second thoughts about her decision raced through her head. Could she still change her mind and head off to college in the fall instead? Running away had never been her forte, but this last year had opened her eyes. She knew leaving home—and Simon—was the only way to know if what she felt for him was the real thing.
Squeezing his arms around her a bit tighter, he brushed his lips against her forehead. "Hey Mouse, don't worry. You'll be done before you know it. Then you'll be off on a four-year adventure.
Sniffling to hold back the tears, she pulled back a little and punched him in his side. "Don't call me Mouse."
His deep laughter caused their bodies to shake. "Can't help it. You're my scared little mouse, always have been." Simon stepped back, releasing her from his embrace. His hands cradled her face as he stared into her eyes. "I'm proud of you." His blue gaze was intense as he continued staring at her.
"Why? I'm doing something so stupid. I should just stay home and go to college like my friends." Sure, she could have gone to college and did the normal thing, that was easy. Why not break the mold and do something daring and different?
His eyebrow quirked up as he stared at her, giving her a look she knew well. "No, you shouldn't have. You should do what you want to do. Forget your friends. None of them have half of the courage you do. You're joining the Marines, Melanie. I never thought I'd be able to say those words. Not about my mouse."
They were both silent for a moment. She wanted to ask him. Her brain was screaming at her to ask him. "Simon..." she paused, trying to get the right words out of her mouth.
Smiling down at her, he waited for her to speak again. That was the one thing about him she loved, he never rushed her. Even when they were small children and he caught on to things much sooner than she did, he never tried to rush her or make her feel less than him for not catching on to something quick or when she needed to think through her words before she said them. "I..." she began to open her heart and share her innermost secret. As she paused and took a deep breath, a sound interrupted her. One that would change her world.
"Simon? Is that you?" a sultry voice called out.
Both Melanie and Simon looked toward the voice. Melanie was confused. She had no idea who this girl was. Turning her gaze to Simon, she saw a look on his face that resembled shock, followed by embarrassment, and then he grinned. His hands dropped from her face as he turned to the brunette walking up to him with her arms wide open.
Melanie stepped back in shock—and anger—as Simon pulled the unknown girl into his embrace. The arms that had wrapped around Melanie mere seconds ago were now holding someone else. And there was nothing she could do. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the reunion taking place in front of her. Who was this person to him?
She wanted to run away. Well, in a sense, she already was.
Her mother had told her she wasn't ready to commit herself to one person. To Simon. He'd been away at college for a full year and in that time, she'd overheard the rumors and talk that he was dating, and sleeping with, a different girl every week. In short, he was a man-whore.
She'd wanted to follow behind him and attend the same school. If she could only be with him each day, he'd see what was right in front of him. It would be only a matter of time before he'd turn away from those other girls. Her love for him would be enough to make him see her as more than just a little sister. Wouldn't it?
"Melanie!" Simon's raised voice finally broke through her clouded thoughts.
Snapping her eyes at him, she took another step back. "What?"
Giving her a funny look, he paused for a second before introducing the girl clinging to his arm. "Hey, I want to introduce you to Sara Jean. We met on campus at Georgetown last fall," he finished. Glancing at the girl, he gave her a soft smile. A smile Melanie thought was reserved only for her.
With a huge smile on his face, he addressed the girl standing next to him, "I had no idea you'd be back in town so soon."
Throwing Melanie a disdainful and dismissive look, Sara Jean quickly turned her attention back to Simon, "Looks like I arrived right on time. I missed you and wanted to get back as soon as I could. Aren't you happy to see me?"
Her heart shattering, Melanie couldn't believe what was happening right in front of her.
"You know I am," he admitted softly.
Her feet continued to walk backwards as she edged closer to the security line. Turning her head to her parents, she waved at them. "I love you guys. I'll be home soon," she called out, making her way closer and closer to the security guard stand.
Her dad stood proud, hugging her mom around the shoulders as they stood off to the side. Not wanting to interfere with her private goodbye to Simon, they'd given them some time on their own. Last night before the family had gone to sleep, her dad grabbed her in his arms and gave her his signature bear hug. He told her that even though she was going her own way, he'd never been prouder to call her his daughter.
Looking at her mom, she noticed her the sadness in her eyes as she took in the situation. But there also was a message that Melanie picked up loud and clear. One they'd spoken on ma
ny times during the past year. Melanie wasn't ready for Simon, but neither was Simon ready for Melanie. If they were meant to be together, then this separation was what they needed. Nodding her head in acceptance, Melanie turned toward the front. She was next in line.
Her parents had given her all that she wanted and had showered her in love and affection. Growing up as an only child to an affluent, but down-to-earth couple, she'd never known what it was like to be on her own. To not have her parents there, giving shelter and protection. Going off like this was not what her parents had expected, but in the end, they'd agreed. With two caveats.
One, she would complete her degree. Her college fund was available for her to use and they expected her to do just that. And two, once she finished her military service, she'd come home to them. No matter where she was stationed at the end of her contract, she would return to Virginia and be with her family. Those were two of the easiest promises she'd ever made.
Simon's voice broker through her internal musings. "Melanie, why'd you walk away like that?" Looking up, she saw him standing across from her on the other side of the security barrier. He'd broken away from the girl clinging to him like a spider-monkey. That thought made her smile at the picture that formed in her head.
Why did she have to show up here, at this moment? Then again, maybe it was for the best. Melanie had almost forgotten why she decided to leave and do something so drastically different. Simon didn't get it and she doubted he ever would. How could he not know how much she loved him? Was he that oblivious? Or was she simply invisible to him, like a painting on the wall. Always there, but not something you paid special attention to every day,
Neither choice was very good.
Her bottom lip wobbled as she fought to hold back the tears. "It's time for me to go, Simon. Go back to Sara Jean. You and I...well, we said our goodbyes." Biting the inside of her cheek, she willed herself not to break down in front of him.
"Melanie, wait," he called out. "Come out of the line. You still have a whole hour before you have to be at your gate."
Sara Jean chose that moment to walk back up to him, grabbing him by the arm. "Let her go, Simon. Come on, baby," the girl pleaded. Melanie smirked at her. Yeah, she knew Melanie was a threat to whatever she thought she had with Simon. Her frantic attempts to pull Simon away told the whole story.
Simon yanked his arm away from the pouting girl, snapping at her, "Don't tell me what to do. You don't understand."
He turned his gaze back to hers and Melanie could see that it had finally hit him. She was leaving, and their final goodbye was interrupted by his girl of the month. "Melanie, I'm sorry."
Smiling, she nodded her head and shot a glance at his arm joined with the other girl, who wasn't giving up so easily, "Yeah, you should be."
His words hit her as she took another step forward.
"Melanie, wait. Give me a little more time."
In her heart, she wanted so much for those words to mean something else, but those was her childish dreams talking. And she was no longer a young girl with unrealistic dreams. There was no need to respond to his plea, so she stayed silent.
Giving her passport and boarding pass information to the TSA guard, she gave one more look to her parents, waving at them and mouthing out a quick 'I love you' as she moved forward. Turning to Simon as he stood to the side, his eyes pleading with her to say something. Her lips turned up in a small smile and then she turned away without saying another word.
Tears filled her eyes as she readied to go through the scan. Wiping her face with her bare hands, she was determined to not let him see her cry. There was no way she'd give him the satisfaction of knowing how broken she was. There was an entire world in front of her and she was ready for her adventure.
She was stronger than people gave her credit for. Everyone thought she was too young to know her own heart. She wasn't. Nothing in her life was as true as her feelings for Simon Wendell Quinn. He wasn't ready for what she had to offer. It was time he got to live life without her hovering around. After watching her parents and their love for each other all these years, she knew what she wanted and what she deserved. If Simon couldn't see that she was the only one for him, then it was his loss.
And for that reason, she had to let him go.
* * *
That day at the airport had been the best and worst day of her life. Sighing deeply, she thought about how young and stupid she had been. And so fucking naive. In her mind, all she had to do was say the words and he'd fall to his knees, declaring his undying love for her. Or go away for a few months and he would miss her so much that he'd beg her to never leave him again. She'd been such a fool.
Going away and joining the Marines had been the best thing she could have done to for herself to gain some perspective. Her entire life had been wrapped up in Simon back then, she hadn't seen anything, or anyone, else. When she woke up in the morning, the first thing she did was reach out to him and say good morning.
As she walked in the front door after school, her thoughts would be of him. Her fingers would frantically type in his telephone number, hoping he'd pick up. She needed to hear his voice. Of course, with him being one-year older than her, he was away at college her senior year of high school. But it hadn't mattered to her. Or to him. Well, that's what she'd thought back then anyway.
She'd seen her life she'd planned out ahead of her. If there was anything she was certain about, it had been where her future lie. Right beside Simon. Always him. Until it didn't.
Shaking away those sad thoughts, she lifted from the wall and plastered a smile on her face. Her parents had forced her to come to the event tonight and she wouldn't let them down. Her dad, Ronald Ford, had met Simon's father more than twenty years ago when they'd moved to northern Virginia for a job transfer. They happened to meet one day at the airport while flying out to San Francisco for business. Albert Quinn, Simon's father, struck up a conversation with her father about a news story playing on the television as they waited for boarding to begin. From that one moment blossomed a lifelong friendship.
Come to find out, they lived within three miles of one another. Although the Ford's were nowhere near the socioeconomic status of the Quinn's, her family was nothing to sneeze at, and was able to hold their own. Her mother was a marketing executive and her father ran a business unit at a large company in Arlington. Plus, the Quinn's never seemed to care about how much money her family had, so she'd grown up not understanding any difference between them. That came much later.
Looking down at her silver dress shimmering with the colors from the flickering lamps around the yard, Melanie noticed her belly quivering and her hands shaking. There was no reason for her to be this nervous. This was Simon. He'd pulled on her pigtails when she was five. He was also the one who provided her with the single sweetest memory of her teenage years—her first kiss.
Simon. Her first love.
He was also the man who broke her heart into a million pieces. His actions had forced her to leave her home for six years to escape the hurt he'd caused. She hated him. Now if only she could convince her heart of that.
2
Simon took a deep breath as he followed the object of his desire around the room. His stormy, blue-eyed gaze tracked her as she moved along the outer edges of the room, greeting all the guests. Everyone that is, except him.
A smile came over his face as he watched her try everything she could to avoid him. Whenever he moved to place himself within her vicinity, she'd change direction. In the end, all her defensive maneuvers wouldn't matter. Sooner or later, they would come face to face and he would not be denied. It had pained him to wait for her to return home on her own. There had been so many times he'd wanted to say to hell with it and go grab her and bring her home. But he hadn't. Now he wondered if it had been the wisest thing to do.
How had it gotten to this point with the two of them? They'd once been so close and in-tune with each other it had been eerie. If one was in the room, the other would know it
within seconds. Even if they hadn't seen each other yet, each of them would just know.
When she was happy, so was he. If she were hurting, he wanted to destroy whatever caused her pain. Especiallywhen he was the one who hurt her.
This beautiful, smart-mouthed, irresistible woman held his heart for as long as he could remember. And he'd never told her. The day in the airport when she left for basic training had been his chance, but he was a coward. He stayed silent when he should have screamed it from the rooftop. She didn't know he saw the tears in her eyes as she walked through security, but he had. And the gut-punch of knowing he was the one who caused her pain had hit him hard.
Since he was five years old and his mother had introduced him to the shy little girl hiding behind her mother's skirt, Melanie had been by his side. Playing Cinderella dress-up, with him as the Prince, of course. Building hills in the playground and crashing monster trucks, with her squealing and screaming most times. All his best childhood memories included one person who was by his side every time.
When she'd left him, he didn't know how to be himself without having her by his side.
It had gotten so bad his father had pulled him to the side and gave him a pep talk. Well, his version of a pep talk.
* * *
"Son, I'm telling you this for your own good," his father started off as they sat in the dining room eating breakfast. Well, his dad was eating, Simon was moving his food around the plate, staring into his plate.
He looked up at his dad, waiting for him to say whatever words of wisdom he wanted to pass along. "Yeah, what's up dad?"
Taking a deep breath, his father gave him a hard look. "Son, get your head out of your ass. She's gone, and I believe that's a good thing for you and for her. Use this time to decide once and for all what the hell you want. And if it turns out to be Melanie then you be ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen."