by Bee Daniels
MELANIE
I
T WAS SATURDAY NIGHT, AND FOR ONCE, WHEN SOMEONE KNOCKED ON MELANIE’S DOOR, it wasn't Abigail or Noah. When Melanie opened her door, behind it stood Damon. He smiled warmly at her, dressed nicely in a pair of slacks and a white button-up with a gold watch adorning his wrist. He looked very handsome, etching away some of the worries Melanie had when she decided to invite him over for dinner.
"Hey," Melanie said, breathlessly, not really sure what else to say. Not only did she suck at dating, but she hadn't been in the dating game for a long time now. She was nervous and didn't know what to say. How was she going to start a conversation without it being awkward?
"Hey, Melanie, and thanks for inviting me," Damon said, and hugged her. Melanie took in his cologne, a rich woody scent filling her nostrils. He smelt good, and he looked good. And after a few years of the single life, it felt good to be in the arms of a man. This was what she should want— a man. Nervously, Melanie pulled back, stepping out of the doorway to let Damon inside.
"I hope you don't mind. I brought this," Damon said, raising a wine bottle up. "It's white wine. I hope that's okay."
"No, it's fine," Melanie said, grabbing the bottle from him and carrying it into the kitchen. "It'll go perfect with the dinner I cooked."
"And what you cooked looks damn good," Damon said as he examined the plates on the dining room table. While he did that, Melanie looked through her drawer for a corkscrew. "You know, I was really happy when you called me. I wasn't sure if you were feeling me or not."
To be honest, Melanie wasn't sure either, and even now, she still wasn't. But what she was sure of was that she needed to do something after the realization of her growing feelings for Noah; what better way to get over her feelings than finding someone new. She wasn't yet sure if this thing with Damon would go anywhere, but it could be a start. He didn't necessarily check off all of her boxes, but she was now starting to realize that her check off list was holding her back, so much so that it gave her the opportunity to fall for someone she shouldn't. When Melanie realized her feelings for Noah, Damon was the first person to come to mind, and yesterday, she called him up after her last class and asked him if he wanted to have dinner.
Usually, on her first date with a man, they would go out to dinner at a restaurant. But this date was different for her. Melanie wanted something fun, something new, something sexy and less serious. For the first time in her life, she wasn't dating for marriage, but for fun. Damon seemed like he could be that guy for her. He was handsome and seemed kind enough. According to Abigail, a good fling could take her mind off everything else around her. And though Melanie's way of life was by not following her friend's way of life, for the first time, she was taking her advice. But then again, Melanie would have to see if they would even get that far tonight. Flings and one-night stands had never been her thing.
"No, it's not that," Melanie said reassuringly. "I'm just not that forward." Which was the truth. When it came down to her work life, she took life by the hands itself, but when it came down to romance, she wasn't the same way. It wasn't something she could necessarily control in the way she could control work.
"You're the shy type," Damon said, grinning as though it was a good thing.
"I'm not that shy," Melanie said, finding the corkscrew before she grabbed two wine glasses and headed over to the table. "I'm more so reserved."
"If you say so," Damon said as he took the seat across from her. In front of him were homemade mashed potatoes, fish, and chopped broccoli.
"Let's eat," Melanie said, smiling.
"You don't have to tell me twice," Damon said jokingly as he dug into his food. They ate in comfortable silence, maybe slightly uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before he spoke.
"So, what made you choose psychology?"
"Originally, when I went to college, I had a pre-law major," Melanie said, chuckling as she thought back on her first year in college and the dreams she had come with. "I thought I was going to be this kick-ass lawyer, but I took a psychology course, and the moment I took it, I was fascinated. There was just something about learning about the human brain and how it related to our actions and the choices we made that was interesting to me. By the end of my first semester, I changed my major and never looked back."
"It's really hard to imagine that you would have possibly been a lawyer."
"It's hard for me to imagine too. I wanted to do it because my father was a lawyer. I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps, but then, eventually, I found my own path."
"Was he disappointed?" Damon asked, and Melanie gave him a look that caused him to laugh. "I'm guessing that's a yes."
"My dad was devastated when I told him I was changing my major. Till this day, I still don't hear the end of it even though he's retired himself. I really wanted to be a lawyer, but I kind of realized I was never passionate about it. I just more so wanted to please my father by doing it."
"I'm glad you found the right path," Damon said. "Sometimes, people don't find it until way later in their life, the things they really want."
Melanie nodded in agreement, for a second, wondering what her life would have been if she had become a lawyer. She was certain she would have been well off, but she wouldn't have been happy, and that was definitely not something she would want to trade in this lifetime ever.
"What about you?" Melanie asked. "Always had a thing for cars?"
The rest of their conversation went like that. Back and forth, tossing out questions to get a feeling of one another until they made their way from the dining room to the living room where they both sat on the couch drinking the rest of the wine Damon brought.
This was nice. Damon was nice. This was what she needed— a nice man in her life to take her mind off everything else. But something was missing. She couldn't put a name to it, but though the date was going nice— they were having conversation, avoiding awkward pauses, laughing and having a good time— something was missing. What was it?
"Are you going to the next game?" Damon asked.
"Huh?" Melanie asked, coming back to reality from her own thoughts.
"The next hockey game," Damon elaborated. "It must be awesome having one of your students be the star hockey player. Noah will be going places soon. Maybe he'll shout you out when he goes pro."
That's what was missing. Melanie tried to tamp down the uncomfortable feeling in her chest just hearing his name. For the past week, she'd been doing her best to create distance between herself and Noah because she needed to. She needed to draw a line in the sand for good. It's what was best for them both. Melanie was sure of it.
"Are you going to be at the next game?" Melanie asked flirtatiously, insinuating that she would only go if he did. Damon smiled, catching on to her hint as he reached over and grabbed her hand, caressing it within his own.
Melanie was determined. She would not let her feelings control her.
CHAPTER
29
NOAH
“Y
OU’RE HEADING WITH US TO THE NEXT CLUB?” Dale asked Noah. They stood with their group of friends outside of the bar. After hanging out at the bar, one of their friends suggested going to a club for more fun, and everyone agreed to it. Everyone except for Noah.
"No," Noah said, shaking his head. "I'm going to call it a night."
"What?" Dale asked, wide-eyed. "You're heading in already? You're usually up to the wee hours of the morning with us."
"You're leaving, Noah?" Alexis, one of the girls that had come with them, asked. "Aww, don't leave. It's going to be no fun without you."
Noah chuckled, having a feeling that Alexis meant it since she spent the whole night flirting with him. "Sorry, I've got a lot of things to do tomorrow."
Noah waved his goodbyes, ignoring their pleas for him to stay as he headed to his truck. Actually, he didn't have anything to do tomorrow. He just wanted to spend the rest of his night doing something
he wanted to do, and right now, that was being with his favorite professor.
Noah got in his truck, and within less than an hour, he was at Melanie's apartment.
For the past two weeks, she had been avoiding him, but Noah wasn't going to let that continue to happen. He got it. She was scared. He was her student, and she didn't want to give into that. But what they had, he wasn't going to let go of so easily. He would tell her that tonight. They couldn't lose what they had.
When Noah knocked on Melanie's door, he didn't know what he expected— her greeting him, telling him he shouldn't be there, but him coxing her into letting him stay. But he hadn't expected this. No, not at all.
"Noah, what are you doing here?" Melanie asked with a frown as she opened the door halfway. But even with the door halfway open, he saw the car salesman, Damon, sitting on Melanie's couch. There was an open bottle of wine on the table with two empty glasses, and Melanie wore a tight black strapless dress that pushed her cleavage up to eye-level. Her usual straight hair was curled, and her glasses were gone. She looked amazing, and she had done it for another man, not him.
"I came here to see you," Noah replied as he stepped around her to come inside.
When Damon saw him step inside, his eyes widened with surprise as he sat up stiffly changing his relaxed posture from before. But the surprise of the car salesman was little in comparison to what Noah felt right now, amongst other things— betrayal, jealousy, fear. Noah knew Melanie had been avoiding him as of late, especially after the incident of them kissing, but he would have never expected her to go this far. When he came here tonight, he would have never imagined seeing her here on a date with another man, and from the revealing dress she wore and the dim lighting of the room, along with the empty wine glasses, their plans of dinner would lead to her bedroom. But Noah wasn't going to let that happen, not with his professor.
"Hey, Noah," Damon said, a startled look in his eyes as he stood up like a kid caught doing something wrong— and he was doing something wrong by being alone with Melanie in such an intimate setting. Noah was beyond annoyed, and that showed in his stiff posture as Damon offered his hand. Childishly, Noah wanted to slap his hand away and tell him to get out now, but he knew that would not bode over well with Melanie at all. She was already running away from him; if he pushed that far, she would build a wall that he would never be able to get past.
"Hey," Noah said as he shook Damon's hand back with a nice firm grip.
"What are you doing here?" Damon asked. Noah arched a brow. It was the question Noah should have asked him. Noah was no stranger to Melanie's place, unlike Damon. Noah had come to Melanie's place plenty of times before. The anomaly in this room wasn't him, it was Damon. Noah wanted to explain that himself, but he had a feeling that wasn't the right thing to say. From the perspective of Damon, he had the right to be surprised by Noah's presence at this time of night. After all, he was Melanie's student. For an outsider, this was strange.
"I came here to get the paperwork I need for extra-credit," Noah said, lying smoothly, glancing at Melanie, who tried to put on a calm face as her brown eyes glared lasers at him. "I was supposed to come earlier, but I got a little hung up. I'm sorry for interrupting you guys…"
Damon chuckled, a light blush appearing across his neck as he sheepishly looked down. "It must be weird seeing your professor on a date."
"Yeah," Noah agreed as he gave Melanie his full attention, not backing down from her glare. "It is."
Melanie cleared her voice. "Well, I guess I'll go get you that extra-credit now. It's back here." Melanie stormed off to the back, and without a word, Noah followed her. He heard Damon say something, but Noah ignored him. Noah had been in every part of this apartment before, including the bedroom. No place was off-limits to him, and it wouldn't be now for Damon's comfort either.
Melanie looked at him, surprised when she saw him come in after her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Melanie whispered harshly, and her eyes widened astronomically when Noah closed the door behind himself.
"Open the door," she demanded. Noah sighed as he leaned against it, clenching his fists as he tried to hold onto his anger. Right now, he was pissed. No. Right now, he was livid. These past few days, all he could think about was her, but here she was trying to get rid of him by going on a date with another man. It wasn't okay. Noah wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't let her run him off because she was scared.
"Why are you on a date with him?" Noah asked, ending the deafening silence between them. Melanie looked down at her shoes without responding to him. Noah watched her and couldn't help but notice just how beautiful she was. Even in the semi-darkness of her room, only lit by a few candles, Noah could see just how lovely Melanie was. If only she had dressed this way for him, he would have been happy. But it wasn't for him. And with the way things were going, it would never be.
"Why wouldn't I be on a date?" Melanie asked as she finally looked at him, placing her hands on her hips. And there it was; the bricks were piling up as she started to place a wall between them. But Noah wouldn't allow it. He would break down every barrier between them, so Melanie could see what they could be if she let him in. Noah pushed himself off the door and crossed the space between them until he stood directly in front of her, very close, so close that his nose bumped her forehead, and she had no choice but to look up at him with a defiant look in her eyes.
"Why would you go on a date when we have something?" he asked again, but this time, cornering her. Melanie's eyes widened ever so slightly before she shook her head, taking a step back and placing a hand between them. But Noah quickly took one step forward, once again, closing any distance between them, giving her no chance to place up any more walls that would further distance himself from her.
"We don't have anything," she said, and the moment those words fell from her lips, they came out as a lie, something so untrue, it left her face pinched.
"I know you feel it," Noah said, grabbing her hand that was between them, pressing it against his heart. "I know you feel it, Melanie, what's between us. You can't deny it. We have something."
"We have nothing," she whispered harshly, staring at her hand placed against his heart, more than likely, feeling the pounding of his heart before she ripped her hand away.
"You're confused, Noah," she said solemnly to herself before she said to him, "You're confused, and that's my fault. I should have never kissed you that night. And I apologize for that. What we have is a student-teacher relationship; nothing more, nothing less."
Noah shook his head, pressing his forehead against hers. She didn't get it. That kiss alone couldn't make him feel this way. That kiss alone wouldn't make him chase after someone in the way he was chasing after her. It was everything. It was everything Melanie was. It was everything she was to him— every moment they had shared both on a professional level, and friendship level.
"I've never been so certain that I want you," he whispered against her lips, and she gasped from his words. Noah took advantage of her parted lips and kissed her deeply. He begged for entrance, licking the seams of her lips until she obliged, parting them for him, and his tongue greedily dove in deeper, tangling with her own. Melanie beat her fists against his chest, with a thrum, until it dulled out, and she fisted his shirt, bringing him closer as she kissed him just as deep, with equal passion, if not more. Step by step, they let the wave of passion take over them until Melanie's back pressed against the wall, and Noah followed her, not wanting to untangle his tongue from hers, not wanting to lose this moment between them.
"Are you guys okay in there?" Damon called through the door as he knocked. Noah sighed, dropping his head against the wall when Melanie ripped her mouth from his.
"We're fine," Melanie called back and cleared her throat when she heard the hoarseness in it. "I just need to find… the right papers! We'll be out soon."
"Okay," Damon said. "I'll be back. I see the tow truck outside, and I might have parked my car
in the wrong place. I'll be back."
They listened to the sound of Damon's boots walk against the wooden floor until they heard Melanie's front door open and close. Noah looked at Melanie intently.
"Noah, we can't—"
That was all he needed to hear before he kissed her again. He wouldn't give her time to think. Clearly, she had been thinking too much. He kissed her deeper and deeper, and Melanie kissed him back, her hands running through his hair. She gasped when she felt his hardness press against her. Noah was incredibly hard, harder than he had ever been before, and it was all from Melanie's sweet lips and the sounds he elicited from her. He loved to hear those sounds. They were driving him mad, so mad that her date was all but a distant memory to him. Noah picked Melanie up, wedging her between the wall and himself, his hardness directly against her center. God, he wished there was nothing between them.
Melanie ripped her lips from him, and she gave him a warning stare. "We're not doing anything while I'm on a date. Damon will be back."
"So, if you weren't on a date, we would be doing something," Noah asked, grinning, as he carried her over to her desk and gently placed her down. He trailed kisses from her lips down to her neck, where he sucked on her delicious brown skin. She moaned as she unconsciously wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer. Noah couldn't help but grin, knowing that, right now, she was his. And then he started to move his hips against hers.
"Noah," Melanie breathed against his ear, before she licked the shell of it. Noah shuddered as they both ground their hips together. He wanted so much more, but if this was all he could get, he at least wanted it to be the best way possible.
Noah dropped his sweats low until he was only in his briefs before he pulled up Melanie's dress.
"Noah," Melanie whined, warningly as she glanced at the door that Noah didn't lock. He hadn't planned on doing any of these things, but he couldn't help himself either.
"I won't do it," Noah said as he grabbed her hips and brought her back to him again, but this time, with nothing but their thin layer of undergarments keeping them separate. Noah moved his hips, and his eyes lit up, seeing the pleasure cross Melanie's face. This would do for now.