by Ava Walsh
He dismissed all the fears that she had moved on while he was out of commission. He knew deep down that she had waited for him, so every time that tiny voice popped into his head he would beat it down as hard as he could.
He arrived outside Melissa’s house. He was relieved to see her Mustang sitting in the driveway.
He walked up to the door and knocked, waiting for her to answer. When the door opened it was all he had not to take the love of his life into his arms and never let her go. But she had beat him to it. The moment the door opened and she saw it was him, she threw her arms around him and burst into tears.
“I was starting to think that you were never coming back,” she whimpered into his chest. Clayton laughed and gently stroked her hair.
“I told you I would come back for you.” He pulled away from her and wiped the tears from her smiling face.
“I take it you missed me.”
Melissa answered by jumping back into his arms and slamming her lips into his before dropping to the ground, grabbing his hand and leading him into the house. Clayton looked around. Everything looked the same as it did the last time he saw her, except for one small detail. Sitting on the couch was the stuffed bear he had bought her and there was a pile of information books about bears sitting on the coffee table. He started laughed uncontrollably as he fingered through one of the books. Melissa came around the corner with two cups of coffee and a sandwich. Her cheeks turned red when she realized he had noticed her new collection of books.
“I wanted to do a little bit of research, but I wasn’t sure if any of it really pertained to your situation.” She set the coffee and the sandwich down in front of him and sat down on the couch. Clayton sat down next to her and grabbed the sandwich.
“It only applies to half of me,” he laughed as he took a gigantic bite of the sandwich. “Is this salmon?” Melissa smiled sheepishly and hid her face with the stuffed bear.
“What kind of book would I have to buy to learn about the other half of you?” Melissa sipped on her coffee. Clayton smiled sweetly at her.
“You don’t need a book. You’re it.” He leaned over and planted a soft kiss on her lips.
“Which reminds me. I have a surprise for you. I’ve been working on it all morning.” He finished off his sandwich, wiping the crumbs from his mouth.“You’re going to have to go pack.”
Melissa jumped up with excitement, clapping her hands and dancing around. “Where are we going?” Melissa pounced onto his lap. Clayton showered her face with kisses and then stood up from the couch, setting her on the floor.
“I’m not telling, just go pack.” He gave Melissa a light pat on the backside to get her moving. Clayton shook his head and sat back down on the couch. He couldn’t wait to spend the rest of his life surprising her like this.
Chapter Nine
Melissa waited patiently at the baggage claim. She searched the crowd for Clayton. He had gone to grab a cart to carry their bags. She had almost given up the search when she saw his angelic face weaving in and out of the crowd.
“I’m pretty sure we could have just carried our own bags out.” Melissa shook her head. Clayton shrugged and started loading their luggage.
“It’s all part of the pamper-the-girl package.” He gave Melissa a wink. Once he had finished with the bags he turned back to Melissa.
“Your chariot awaits.” He held out his hand to help her onto the cart. She rolled her eyes and took his hand, sliding into the seat. He still hadn’t told her where they were going or what he had planned. She stared at him as they drove through the airport. She had never seen anyone look so happy. Well, no one outside of the mirror anyway.
There was a limo waiting for them outside, accompanied by an overeager driver waiting to unload their luggage into the limo. He then opened the door for them to enter the car. Melissa curled up against Clayton as the driver took off from the airport.
“Can you tell me what is going on yet?” Melissa looked up at him with pleading eyes. Clayton sighed and turned toward her.
“I suppose I can tell you a few things.” Melissa clapped her hands eagerly.
“Well, I will tell you the last part of the trip. The first part has to remain a surprise.” Melissa pouted and crossed her arms.
“Fine.” She waited with anticipation for him to continue.
“So I remember you telling me that you had never been outside the city. So I rented us a small country cottage out in the middle of nowhere. We are going to rough it.” He used quotations around the last couple of words which made her chuckle.
“I have a lot of fun stuff planned for you. Stuff you can’t do in the city.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“What are we going to do now? I don’t know why you booked us such a late flight.” She stared at the window at the passing lights. Clayton gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“It’s all part of the plan.” He smiled mischievously before kissing her on the tip of the nose and pulled a blindfold out of his jacket pocket.
“Put this on, we’re almost there.” She gave him a speculative look before doing as she was told. She felt the limo come to a stop a few minutes after she had put on the blindfold. Clayton helped her out of the car and led her to where they were going. She could hear that she was surrounded by a lot of people but there weren’t any distinguishable noises to offer clues to where he was taking her. They finally entered a building and there was more chatter. By the sounds of it, she was surrounded by thousands of people. They continued walking until everything went quiet. They were alone. They walked in the quiet part of the building for a few minutes before Clayton stopped her and removed her blindfold. She found herself standing outside of what looked like an office door. Clayton reached out and tapped on the door several times. When the door opened Melissa nearly passed out from excitement.
“James Hetfield!” She screeched in an almost inaudible frequency. “We are at a Metallica concert!” Melissa jumped up and down, fanning her eyes.
“You got us backstage to meet the band, I can’t believe it!” James Hetfield pulled her into a hug and led the two of them into the room to meet the rest of the band. They stayed and chatted with the band for about half an hour and then it was show time.
“So should we be getting to our seats?” Melissa was glowing. She had never been so happy. She got to meet the members of her favorite band and she was going to the concert, and she didn’t even have to sell her soul to the devil.
“Not exactly.” Clayton held out his hand to her.
“Come on.” She took his hand and followed behind him as he followed the band.
“Alright, wait here.” Lars held out his hand as they headed out onto the stage to start the show. She waited patiently with Clayton at the edge of the stage. The lights lit up the stage and the crowd roared. They started to play, but it was really quiet. It was the intro to EnterSandman.
Melissa bit her lip, she was totally elated. Then James walked slowly up to the center microphone. But instead of starting the song, he just spoke.
“So today is a very special day.” The crowd roared again.
“Today is a day that you all will remember for the rest of your lives. But, although you will all remember it, there is someone who will remember this night for a completely different reason. I would like to welcome onto the stage my new friends, Clayton and his girlfriend, Melissa.” He waved for them to come join them on the stage. As they approached the center of the stage, James backed away. The intro to Enter Sandman was being played on repeat.
Melissa stood, looking out over the crowd. There were so many people. She smiled brightly and waved at a few people who at been waving at her.
Is that Taesha? She squinted her eyes and looked past the bright stage lights. Sure enough, front and center stood her best friend, jumping and waving hysterically. When she turned back to Clayton to ask what was happening she found him before her, on one knee, holding the microphone.
“Melissa Dawn Cleary. Since the momen
t I met you, I knew that you were different from every other woman in the world. I knew that I wanted and needed to spend the rest of my life with you.” He switched the mic to his other hand and pulled a small black box from his pocket. He flipped open the lid, revealing the most astounding diamond ring Melissa had ever seen. She threw her hands over her mouth. She could feel tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Will you make me the happiest man on earth and be my wife?” He smiled a brilliant smile and held up the mic. Melissa wrapped her hands around it and screamed,
“Yes!” Melissa shouted at the top of her lungs. At that, the music hit full volume and the entire crowd erupted with hoots and cheers.
Clayton slipped the ring onto her finger and just as the first chorus of Enter Sandman started, Clayton pulled her into a kiss. Melissa had gotten a happily ever after that even she couldn’t have dreamed possible.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 37: Football Daddy
By: Ava Walsh
Description
He’s always been my dream... Now he’s my secret.
Melissa has always had a crush on Nick. Always, for as long as she can remember.
It’s too bad that he is not only her big brother’s best friend but also her best friend’s older brother. Talk about complicated. He is also a womanizer, with a reputation to prove that. What could she even have to offer?
When the guys have a party to celebrate them going to the Super Bowl with their local Seattle team, Melissa is surprised when Nick approaches her with an idea. She’s helped him in the past, and now that she’s twenty-two, he wants her to help him some more... in his bed. Nick proposes a friends with benefits situation to her, and she knows that she’s crazy to think about it at all, much less say yes.
Melissa is a virgin going into a sexual relationship with one of the biggest players in the NFL. She’s read the stories and heard the rumors, but none of that matters when she’s in his bed and finally getting her dream.
Not at first, at least.
Can they make it through rumors as they keep their relationship secret from the ones that they love the most? Will circumstances make it too hard for Melissa to stick it through, even though she is in love with Nick?
One night could change everything about them and their lives. One night could change their futures.
One night could make them see their feelings for each other, if Melissa doesn’t keep running away.
Just one night is all it takes.
Chapter One
“This party is insane!” Bonnie told me, as we walked into the mansion that was packed with people. I smiled at my best friend as I tried not to think about the project that was waiting for me back at our apartment and focus on the celebration that was only just beginning. Our brothers were going to the Super Bowl with their Seattle team after only playing in the NFL for four years after college, and the entire house was vibrating with the excitement. They’d worked so hard all through high school and college but still managed to stay best friends, just as Bonnie and I were. “I wonder if we’ll even be able to find Nick. I know all too well how he likes to celebrate.”
Bonnie’s brother Nick Harmon was a player. He’d always been a player, and it was just how things were. Bonnie accepted it, but I had a long-running, invisible crush on him. My brother Brandon James had his fair share of female fans, but I thought that he respected them. At least I hoped so.
We managed to make our way through the crowd to the living room, where each of us stared at some of the celebrities that were there in awe. Bonnie focused quickly on a hockey player who played for the Colorado team and I figured that she’d make every effort to make the best of the next several hours. I saw Brandon in the kitchen. I also saw Nick, who was sitting on the counter with a redhead between his legs and her arms around his waist.
I ran my hand through my red curls, which I’d recently colored, and frowned as she leaned up and smiled at him. He was gorgeous, with dark, messy hair and sea blue eyes and that damn crooked smile of his. Who wouldn’t want him? I saw him glance in my direction as I heard my name called out, and his eyes darkened before I looked at my brother. “Mel, I am so glad that you could come!” Brandon pushed forward and hugged me tightly as he spun me around. “Nice hair. I see that art school is getting in your blood.” We once had the same shade of chestnut hair, though we still had the same light green eyes. “You look beautiful, though. I mean that.”
“Of course I’m here. You’re going to the Super Bowl! I am so proud of you, Bran,” I gushed, as I pulled away from him and looked around. “This crowd. It’s mad and wonderful, and you’ve hit your dream.”
“Winning is the real dream,” Brandon assured, me as he heard his name called from across the room. “It’s so crazy tonight. We’ll talk later?”
I nodded and watched as he ran into the living room and took a deep breath. I had worn a denim skirt and a green shirt with some boots after agonizing over my choices. It didn’t hold a candle to most of the women here, with most of them dressed in next to nothing and looking like super models. The ones that weren’t dressed that way were beautiful regardless, and I looked over my shoulder to see Bonnie coming my way with a smile on her face. “Drinks! Then dancing.”
We found the bar in the formal dining room and loaded up on some sweet cocktails as we discussed the party. “Did you see Nick?” I asked Bonnie, and she rolled her pretty topaz eyes.
“Yeah, he was a little busy. I’ll talk to him later. Fucking quarterbacks,” Bonnie said, before she tossed her third drink down and grinned at me. “Let’s dance!”
Bonnie was a light in my life. I’d always grown up in Brandon’s shadow, and though I loved him, nothing I did would ever be as good as his accomplishments. Look at tonight. I was looking at a couple more years in art school to have maybe a gallery showing in a matter of years if I was lucky. Painting and drawing happened to be my passion and I wanted to surround my life with it in every way possible. Brandon just happened to be extremely athletic, and his calling was playing center in football, so well that he was snatched up right after graduation from the local college. Nick as well. They were happy to be playing for the same team, and they even shared this house together.
I knew that I’d be happy, even if my name wasn’t in lights like Brandon’s was.
Bonnie and Nick had lost their mother in a car accident when she was twelve, and she still moved through life with so much positivity. I watched as she walked towards the makeshift dance floor in the living room and took a place on the edge as a great new song came on. I didn’t think that Nick was as positive, but he managed in his own way, and he was a great player.
We danced to every song that played and I felt the alcohol coursing through my body as I lost myself in the beat. I loved to dance as much as Bonnie did, and the hours passed quickly in between dancing and drinks. Some of the players would speak from time to time as the crowd screamed their names and cheered. It was getting wild in here and I laughed as I looked around.
There was no sign of Nick at all and I assumed that he was off with the redhead or some other woman. I tried not to think about it as I danced and bumped against the people that were joining us on the dance floor. After a while, I got too hot, and told Bonnie that I needed some fresh air.
I wandered to the back of the room and slipped through the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. They had a big deck for barbecues out there and a pool, and I wandered over to one of the chairs by the water and sat down with a fresh drink. I’d managed to grab it from the main fridge and I sipped from the bottle as I took in a slow breath. There was the sound of a door closing and I turned my head to see the redhead from before stumbling towards the house as she fixed her red dress around her very generous breasts.
I glanced at the cottage by the pool to see the door ajar and I raised an eyebrow. Nick used that a lot. I stared up at the stars as I heard footsteps and felt someone sit on the seat beside me. “Mel. I like the ha
ir,” Nick said in his husky voice, and I told myself not to shiver. God, I loved his voice.
“Thanks,” I said, as I lowered my eyes to glance his way. His jeans fit him well and he was buttoning his shirt as I watched quietly. “So you make them leave after now?”
Nick shot me a dark look as he finished with his blue shirt before he shook his head. “She’s just mad that I won’t give her more than…that.” He raised his hand and gestured towards the cottage and a frown crossed his face. “I have the game to think about now. I don’t have time for a commitment.”
“Okay. Why are you telling me this?” I asked him, as I watched his beautiful eyes lock with mine. There was something different in his face, and I realized how long it had been since I’d actually spent any time with Nick. “I’m not asking you for anything.” I leaned back in the chair and crossed my feet together as I sipped my drink. “Are you okay? I mean, this is a huge time for you and you seem kind of down.”
“I guess I wish that Mom was here to see this.” His words sobered me, and I nodded before I looked at him. “She’d be the one planning the parties and doing all of this.”
“You’re right about that. I think you two did just fine. It’s a great party,” I assured him, as I allowed myself to stare into his face.
“Only because we hired everyone. Do you remember our parties back in school?” Nick asked, and we both laughed together.
“Brandon barely knew that there was going to be one until the house was full of people and we needed food for them. Mom and Dad made a terrible mistake traveling so much,” I remembered wistfully, as I shook my head. “We’d scramble for some chips and something to heat up, but the show always went on, didn’t it?” I kept looking at him. “How did you do it?”