Melt With Me: A With Me In Seattle Universe Novel

by Melissa Brown

  He waved her off. “Whatever. Enjoy your pie.”

  He walked toward the kitchen. Lyra looked at Scott, then Allison, and finally to me. “That escalated quickly. Sorry, guys.”

  Allison shook her head. “He just needs to cool off. He can be a hothead sometimes, and since Trupti, he’s been a total mess. And he tries to hide his heartbreak by being kinda…”

  “Ridiculous,” Scott finished Allison’s thought. “He’s being ridiculous. I don’t know who that guy is, but he’s not the friend I’ve had for ten years.”

  “I have no patience for misogynists. And I’m sorry, but that’s how he acted,” Lyra said, her tone slightly defensive.

  “He’s not, though. Not usually, anyway. It’s all because of Trupti. If they were still together, you’d see the real Dev. Eventually he’ll get over her and he’ll realize what a douche he was.”

  “Who’s Trupti? His ex?” Lyra asked.

  “Yeah, he proposed and she dumped him. None of us saw it coming either.”

  “Shit,” Lyra said, clenching her teeth. “That’s brutal.”

  “So, he’s been a little off the rails ever since. He really is a great guy once you get to know him—just doesn’t have much of a filter, especially right now.”

  “Should we go after him?” I asked, not wanting the evening to affect Peter and Dev’s friendship. I didn’t want to be the girlfriend who caused any type of rift. And I knew Lyra wouldn’t want that either.

  “Probably best to just leave it alone for now.” Allison lowered her voice. “Maybe he’ll do us all a favor and take Cara with him. She’s in rare form tonight.”

  “I don’t get it. Aren’t you all friends with her?” I asked.

  “Not really,” Allison said. “Since she and Peter are—” she looked unsure, glancing at Scott before continuing, “friends…”

  “It’s okay,” I assured her. “He told me about them.”

  “Oh thank God. Well, she’s just kind of been around a lot the last couple of years.”

  “We tolerate her,” Scott said under his breath.

  “Exactly.”

  Dev stood talking with Peter and Cara by the front door of Peter’s apartment. Everyone at the table grew quiet as we listened in on their conversation.

  “What’s her problem, man?” Dev asked, trying to keep his voice down, but he was failing miserably.

  Peter glanced back at Lyra. “Maybe just take it down a notch, Dev.”

  Dev crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Oh, I see how it is.”

  “How what is?”

  “You get yourself all hooked up and you forget who’s had your back.”

  “No, that’s not it at all. I’m just saying—”

  Cara shook her head, turning away from us so we could only see her back. She held up one finger as she spoke. “No, he’s right. You’ve known these girls for, like, five minutes and you’re treating us both like shit. Karma’s a bitch, Pete. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

  “Cara, don’t even get me started on you. Or karma.”

  “What?” She put her hands on her hips.

  “Maren’s my girlfriend, and you’ve done nothing but make her uncomfortable since you walked through that door.”

  “So?”

  “So, I’ve had enough. You need to go.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.” He opened the door. “I’ll speak to you later.”

  Cara grabbed her purse and coat and thrust them both under her arm. She turned dramatically to face us.

  “Assholes,” she snapped before grabbing Dev by the arm. “Let’s go.”

  “Dev, don’t go,” Peter said, placing a hand on Dev’s shoulder. Dev shook his head and followed Cara out of the apartment. Peter hung his head and exhaled a heavy sigh before closing the door.

  “Well, that was…interesting,” Peter said, rejoining the rest of us at the table. I placed my hand on his and squeezed gently.

  “None of us saw that coming.”

  “I’ll call him tomorrow; it’ll be fine.” He turned to Lyra. “I overheard some of that, and I’m sorry. I’m sure they told you he’s not usually like this.”

  “I’m not totally innocent either. I mean, I called him names,” Lyra said, once again clenching her teeth. “But he was acting—”

  “I know,” Peter said, putting a hand up. “He’s a mess.”

  “We should probably talk to him,” Scott said to Peter, and Peter nodded, reaching for his phone. “Yeah, probably.”

  “Do you want us to go?” I asked.

  “No, don’t do that. He won’t want to talk tonight anyway.”

  “We could try to lure him over with Cards Against Humanity,” Allison said, looking brighter, optimistic. “It’s his favorite.”

  “Oh Lord, I can only imagine Dev playing that game.” Lyra cringed.

  “Maybe we shouldn’t tonight, but I definitely need a rain check,” I said with a nervous laugh. “It’s my favorite too.”

  “Absolutely,” Allison said.

  Peter pursed his lips as he stared down at his phone. “He’s not responding.”

  “I’m sorry, Peter. You were nice enough to invite me to your home; I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” Lyra said, her tone sincere. She’d had a few minutes to digest everything and had cooled off nicely.

  “Lyra, it’s fine…and you were defending Maren. Although I don’t see us going on any double dates anytime soon,” Peter said with an uneasy laugh.

  “Definitely not,” Lyra agreed. “If you don’t mind giving me his number, I’d like to reach out—extend an olive branch or something.”

  “You sure you want to open that can of worms? Once he’s got your number, there’s no going back. You can’t un-ring that bell,” Scott said with a sardonic laugh.

  “I can handle Dev—it’s not like he’s a crazy stalker or something. Besides, I’ll do it for Maren…and for you.”

  “So I definitely have your approval, don’t I?” Peter asked, looking hopeful.

  “That depends… Do I have yours?” Lyra looked sheepish. She knew she’d played a big role in everything that happened that night. And I was happy to see she wanted Peter to like her. In fact, it warmed my heart.

  “Absolutely,” Peter said with a warm smile and in that moment, I knew everything between Dev and Lyra would be okay. It would all work itself out.

  Now, Cara…she was another story entirely.

  Chapter 14

  PETER

  Dev was still pissed. And he was angry at me for not having his back. Lyra had reached out, but he’d ignored her texts. To say I felt caught in the middle would be the understatement of the century. Should I have defended him? Was Lyra as out of line as he claimed?

  On top of that, Cara wouldn’t stop texting me. She was also angry that I didn’t have her back, that I didn’t defend her since we’d been friends for so many years. It was obvious that she and Dev had compared notes after leaving my apartment. I replied to her texts, doing my best to stay neutral, but that only seemed to frustrate her more.

  I felt like Garfield and his hatred for Mondays as I walked into Ekisaito. I placed my phone in my overcoat pocket and took a deep breath. I needed to get my game face on. I was meeting the team I’d be working with on my first major project. I’d started working the previous week, but it was mainly training sessions, orientation, shadowing, and meetings with Toby in human resources. I asked him if he watched The Office, looking forward to making many playful references to the character of Toby… Did he enjoy traveling to Costa Rica? Was he working on any mystery novels? Did he have a crush on the receptionist? But as soon as I asked my first question, he held up a hand and said, “If you’d like us to have a positive working relationship, you’ll stop right there.”

  Message received, Toby.

  After dropping my belongings in my cubicle, I checked my phone. There was a text from Maren.

  -Knock ’em dead today! See you tonight.

  I smiled and
replied before placing my cell in my pocket and walking to the small conference room on our floor. One woman, about my age, was seated at the long, oval table. The room smelled like lemons and bleach. Apparently the nighttime cleaning crew didn’t mess around.

  “Hi,” she said, rising to her feet. “You must be Peter.”

  “Yes,” I said, extending my hand.

  “Darby. Darby McDougal.” Her smile was warm and her grip strong. She was my height with short brown hair and wire-rimmed glasses that reminded me of Harry Potter. She looked vaguely familiar. “We’ll be working together for the next few months.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “The rest of the team should be here in five.”

  “McDougal… A fellow Scot?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she boomed, patting my arm with her palm. “My dad was born there. He studied abroad, met my mom, and didn’t want to leave.”

  “Good for him,” I said, taking a seat next to her at the table. “Ever go back to the motherland?”

  “Yeah, we used to go all the time to visit family, but I haven’t been in years.”

  “Cool.” I glanced at my watch. “Are you always early for meetings? I was hoping to impress everyone with my punctuality.”

  Darby laughed. “Guilty. I’m always at least ten minutes early everywhere I go. Anxiety driven, can’t help it.” She pushed her glasses farther up onto the bridge of her nose. “Drives Cara nuts.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Cara,” she said, searching my face for recognition. “DelVecchio. Our perpetually late mutual friend.”

  “You know Cara?” I asked, tilting my head, genuinely confused.

  “Well, yeah… you didn’t know that?” Darby joined me with a puzzled look of her own.

  I paused for a beat. “How would I know that? Have we met before?”

  “No, but… Peter, I’m the one who brought your resume to Shannon.” She paused, waiting for me to catch on. “As a favor to Cara.”

  “Wait, hold on.” My brain was slow to process everything she’d said. “Cara gave you my resume? But I applied online several times…for years. I thought I’d just warn someone down with my persistence.”

  She shook her head and waved away the thought. “That hardly ever works, not here anyway. Too competitive. You have to know someone these days and…you did. I mean, kinda.”

  “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “No idea.” She shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t want to get your hopes up just in case it didn’t lead to anything.”

  “Maybe.”

  “She said this was your dream. And it would be our loss if we didn’t hire the brilliant Peter McTavish. Her exact words,” Darby said with a shrug. My head spun. Cara had helped get me into Ekisaito? She told her friend I was brilliant? The same Cara who acted like a jealous jerk at my apartment only two nights ago?

  What the hell?

  “Seriously?”

  Darby nodded. “I showed the team your resume and we all agreed that Shannon had to give you a shot. We thought you’d be a good fit…and obviously she agreed, because here you are.”

  “Thanks,” I said, doing my best to mask the conflict swimming in my head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to be here and so grateful that you did that. Just caught off guard, I guess. Didn’t expect anyone to know who I am.”

  “No, I get it. No worries. Here comes the rest of the team. I’ll introduce you.”

  “Great.”

  With a deep breath, I did my best to compartmentalize my thoughts on Cara so as to give a positive first impression to my new teammates. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a struggle. A big one.

  The day flew by. It was exhilarating, challenging, and stressful, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The team was welcoming, but that didn’t mean they weren’t setting traps to see if I’d fall in. Luckily, I held my own, and I could see expressions of relief among them when I passed each test thrown my way. It felt damn good to impress people who’d worked for Ekisaito for years. And that incredible feeling was almost enough to keep me from thinking about Cara’s role in getting me a seat at that table. Almost.

  Driving home, still unsure of how I felt about it, I decided to call her. Maybe if we spoke, I could tell what her intentions were. Did she honestly want to help me achieve a lifelong goal? Or was there more to it than that? I wanted to hear her voice, listen to her tone and response to see if I could figure this all out.

  It rang several times, and I was sure I’d be headed to voicemail. As I decided whether or not to leave a message, she answered.

  “What?”

  Not the best start.

  “Cara, hey.”

  “What is it, Peter?”

  “I met Darby today.”

  “And?”

  “And I just wanted to thank you. It was really nice of you to get me an in at Ekisaito.”

  “Yeah, well.” Her voice cracked. “You never shut up about them, and I’ve known Darby forever. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  She was playing it down. Her motives are genuine. And I’m an asshole.

  “It’s a big deal to me. Thank you so much.”

  “Sure.”

  One-word answers. I felt like such a dick.

  “I’ll be working with her for a few months—her and three other people. It’s a very cool project too.”

  “That’s great, Peter. Is there anything else?”

  “Cara, listen, I know Saturday was a rough night…for all of us. But you have to admit you played a rather big role in it going the way it did.”

  She sighed into the phone.

  “Is that what Little Miss Bookworm drilled into your head?”

  “Please leave Maren out of this.”

  “She’s the cause of this, Peter. Don’t you get it?”

  “Cara, you and I were never a thing. We weren’t an actual couple. We’re friends.”

  “Friends who fuck.”

  “Cara—”

  “I mean, let’s be real, Peter. Does she even know about me? Or did you leave that part out so as not to disappoint Little Miss Perfect?”

  “Cara, c’mon. I was trying to thank you. You did a really nice thing for me, and I’m grateful. Why are you doing this?”

  “Because you can’t see what’s right in front of you. Like I tried to tell you Saturday night, I’ve been here, patiently waiting, for years. And one of these days when she drops you on your ass, I know you’ll be knocking on my door. And I deserve better, Peter, whether you realize it or not.”

  Unable to focus on the road ahead of me, I pulled into a gas station and parked in one of the few spots available so I could wrap my head around this conversation that had taken a terrible turn. I didn’t realize how badly I’d obviously hurt Cara over the years. I thought we had both enjoyed the friendship we’d had for years.

  “You do deserve better, Cara. And I’m sorry, honestly. I didn’t know that you felt that way about me. I thought we were on the same page.”

  “Yeah, well, you were wrong. But whatever, it’s fine. She’ll be gone eventually, just like everyone else.”

  “I’m not so sure, Cara.”

  And I wasn’t. I was falling for Maren, and the thought of losing her made me cringe. I didn’t want to picture a future without Maren…and I’d never felt that before.

  “Great,” she said sarcastically. “I’m just thrilled for you, Pete. Can I go now?”

  I exhaled into the phone, pressing my head into the leather headrest and closing my eyes. This wasn’t at all how I thought this call would go.

  “Okay, but I’m going to call again. I want you to know how grateful I am about Ekisaito. Seriously, Cara, I finally feel like I’m where I need to be…professionally, I mean.”

  Her voice softened. “Well, you’re welcome. I’d do anything for you; you know that.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I simply said “thanks” and told her I’d talk to her again soon. After ending the call,
I finished my drive home, unable to shake the uneasy feeling our conversation gave me. How could I have been so clueless about Cara’s feelings for me? Was I that self-involved? Was I an unintentional douche?

  I called the one person who would answer honestly. Because he was still pissed and, therefore, unafraid of hurting my feelings.

  “What’s up, asshole?”

  “Hey, Dev. Listen, I just had a really enlightening conversation with Cara.”

  “She profess her love to you?”

  “Yeah, did she tell you she felt that way?”

  “Dude, she didn’t have to.”

  Shit.

  “So I am an unintentional douche?”

  Dev chuckled. “A what?”

  “I thought she and I were on the same page with the whole friends who sleep together sometimes things.”

  “Friends with benefits.”

  “Right.”

  “Dude, most girls aren’t into that…not really. They usually want something more, even if they don’t say it out loud.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “And you’ve been stringing that girl along for years, whether you knew it or not.”

  I pressed my lips into a thin line as I listened to the truth I had chosen to ignore for years. “I didn’t mean to.”

  “I know, but unfortunately, that doesn’t really matter. Same result, you know?”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “So, what do I do? I found out she helped get me the job. I feel like the biggest prick.”

  “Dude, you’re not a prick. You’re, like, the nicest guy I know. Which is probably what pisses Cara off even more.” He laughed. “Girls expect to get hurt by the douchebags, but never the nice guys.”

  “I need to fix this.”

  “Maybe you should just leave it alone.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No good can come with a friendship with Cara…not if you want to keep seeing Maren.”

  “Of course I want to keep seeing her. I’m crazy about the girl.”

  “Then keep Cara at a safe distance, man. I mean it. I like her, but she’s a schemer. Once she has her sights set on something, she’s going to get it. Come hell or high water. And right now, she wants you.”