“My coach is an idiot and the season is insane. Lunch with your mom is clearly not the biggest of my troubles.”
“And I’m dealing with an editor who gave me a huge, single spaced revision letter on my last book. I’m stressed as all get out for this deadline. I get the crazy. Believe you me. I get the crazy and I get the pressure. I was the one who said you didn’t have to go in the first place, remember? Because clearly you don’t.”
Waiting for Chris to answer, or not, was one of the hardest things she had to do. She could barely breathe.
“Yeah. I’m sorry.” He took her hand and the warm sensation of how his fingers felt around hers made her smile. “Coach pulled…well suffice to say I got a lecture this morning. The eyes everywhere lecture, the one about if we hit the papers, I get trouble…”
She nodded, suddenly feeling about five inches tall. Her editors gave her shit, but not about whom she appeared with or what she did in public. “I’m sorry.” Because what else could she say? “Do you want to cool it…or…?”
He shook his head vehemently and she loved the conviction in his eyes. “And if we were in a more private space, I’d show you how much I didn’t want to cool it.” He had pulled her close, his breath tickling her ear as they stopped in front of a restaurant with a blue and white flag filled with stripes and a cross. “Besides, I think it’s time for lunch.”
She grinned, nodded and followed her…boyfriend into the restaurant.
*****
Chris guided her into the restaurant, his hand carefully on the small of her back. He wished he could do or say something that would relax the tension he felt underneath her coat, but he didn’t want to risk anything. Not there, not then. He was courting trouble and he didn’t want to make it worse. Especially because someone was waving at them. Not widely, like they were flagging down an airplane, but just enough that it was obvious.
“My mom,” Mel whispered, her lips brushing against his ear. “No worries.”
And suddenly, he’d relaxed. His heart had stopped pounding and he could breathe again.
“So,” Mel’s mother said with a grin on her face, as they sat down after dispensing with their coats. “This is what Arnie thought of when he sent the two of you out together that night.” A knowing expression, like he’d seen on his own mother’s face, crossed hers. “I see it too. Now,” she said, suddenly commanding, imperious. “Let’s have lunch.”
Much to his relief, they did. And it was fine.
Chapter Ten
“Well,” Mel wondered as she sank against the seat of the town car Chris had insisted they call. “How was it? Are you okay?”
“Fine, actually.” He looked closer at her and she tried to figure out what was going on in that head of his. “She was really nice.”
“She was on good behavior,” she replied, laughing. “She knew this wasn’t the way I wanted her to meet you.”
He shook his head and put his arm around her. “It’s fine. It was fine. She took it easy, which is perfectly fine. My mum’s a piranha. Dad’s worse.”
She nodded and snuggled into him. “Sorta the same with mine. That’s why my dad wasn’t there. They…well…in situations like this, they like to see us separately because my mom and dad each have issues with the way the other treats us.” A sigh. “It’s a complex relationship but they do it.”
“Parents are complex people. I’ll tell you about mine later.” And then she looked up to see him glancing out the window. “Cause I think we’re about here.”
She nodded and sucked in a breath as the town car pulled over. “So anything you need to tell me? Any bit of disaster I need to be prepared for?”
“They’re good guys,” he replied as he got out of the car. “Really.”
And then the blush spread across his face, his eyes taking on an expression that reminded her of an animal that had been caught in a trap, like he’d just remembered who he was talking to. Someone with very clear and obvious knowledge of how nasty and asshole-ish some of his teammates could be. She didn’t make a big deal about it. She didn’t have to.
“Well,” he began again, focusing once more on her as opposed to her feet. “Most of them are. And the ones having the party are guys I trust.”
That made it okay. She could deal with it. She hoped. And dinner, despite the fact she really wasn’t hungry, was pretty good. She found herself at a table with Alex Semenov and his girlfriend Nathalie—who was a reader and rather cool. But she and Chris tried to make conversation with everybody and she liked how he tried to make the conversation that much more bearable in general for everybody.
Yet once she found herself in a room with the rest of the girlfriends, she wanted to slit her wrists. She put herself in a corner next to Marcus Mitchell’s girlfriend Annalise and Nathalie and tried to ignore the rest of them, but it was impossible. The babble, the chatter was mostly inane, delivered in the high pitched voices of people who spent their lives sucking down helium for fun.
“I was in page six yesterday!” squealed one of the girls. “I think they’re going to make me a regular feature!”
The worlds made Mel’s blood run cold. Oh shit. Dumb was okay. Attention seeking was not and, as the conversation turned to one girlfriend’s quest to convince MTV that she was the perfect lockout replacement for a show about a basketball player and his wife, she left the room, making a comment about needing a drink that didn’t even ring true to her own ears.
Unfortunately, when she got back, complete with a glass of water, the conversation had changed, but not for the better. Dumb was okay, attention seeking was bad, but mean was worse. With voices that reminded her of nails running across a chalkboard, they focused on their target. Annalise.
“Marcus dates models and actresses,” the inflatable doll said. “What did you say you do?”
It took every ounce of herculean strength she had to keep herself from getting up and punching someone. But Annalise, as uncomfortable as she was, could handle this. She would step in if she had to, but losing her head at the beginning wouldn’t do anybody any good.
“I didn’t,” Annalise answered, calm and strong in a way Mel wouldn’t be able to when she felt this annoyed. Mel couldn’t help but admire her. “I work for the caterer who did the event.”
“Doing?”
That was it. Mel had had enough. She crossed the room, allowing her heels to hit the floor, making her actions and movements clear. When she made it to the other side, she pushed herself back into the seat on the couch next to Annalise that she’d vacated when she left the room.
“Hey, ladies, we’re trying to have a good time,” Nathalie, Alex Semenov’s girlfriend said. “What’s with the inquisition?”
“Yeah,” she found herself interjecting. “Can we please talk about something else?”
The Barbie doll shrugged her shoulders. “Just trying to find out more about our new friend.”
Mel felt like she needed a towel just to wipe up the puddle of sarcasm that landed at the stupid woman’s feet. Once more, the urge to punch someone made her blood boil. She settled on a glare, knowing the last thing she wanted was to get into a physical fight with one of these idiots.
“After all,” the Barbie doll continued, “Marcus is one of the stars of the Empires. He has a reputation to uphold.”
“What reputation?”
Annalise’s words left her mouth faster than Mel could stop her. Because that question… That question? It begged for the kind of trouble Mel didn’t feel up to stopping.
“One that doesn’t include dating waitresses.”
The stricken look on Annalise’s face was more than Mel could stand. Thankfully Nathalie intervened, but the Barbie doll didn’t take the hint and shut up. “You’ll never keep him. Never.”
“And you’re involved in this how?” Mel found herself saying as Annalise ran from the room in tears. “Like it matters to you who someone else dates, unless you’re jealous he won’t look at you twice?”
“And who are
you with, you silly skank?”
She laughed. Loudly, and shook her head. “You really don’t want to get into this with me,” she said, sadly. Trying to behave did not include punching this stupid woman. “Because I’ve done this before, with people much more prepared for a battle of wits than you are. You just have to learn to watch yourself.”
And then, before she lost her own battle, she got up and left the room. In search of air, in search of something that wasn’t going to get her in trouble.
*****
At the sight of the expression on Marcus Mitchell’s face as he left the kitchen mid-discussion, Chris could tell something had happened. But what? The only thing he was sure of is that Mel would be in the middle of it. He waited a few minutes, listened for the heavy tread of Miller’s footsteps, and then headed out of the kitchen to get some answers.
What he found, three steps outside the kitchen was Nathalie. “What happened?” he wondered, trying to play it somewhat cool.
“You’ll have to ask Melanie,” she replied before heading past him and into the kitchen.
He nodded, then started walking towards the living room in search of Mel, sure that she’d need something. Luckily it only took a few more steps towards the living room to find her.
“I’m going to kill them,” she said, looking as if she was about to explode. Without pausing, he took her hand and led her into the closest room, which happened to be the bathroom, before closing the door behind them. Once assured of privacy, he put his arms around her, and let her put her head on his shoulder. “Okay. So we’ve remembered that murder is illegal. So who’s doing what?”
“They were awful and I wanted to kill every single one of them to bits for being complete morons,” she whispered, sounding on the verge of…something. And knowing Melanie, it would be split odds between kicking someone’s ass and crying.
He nodded, rubbing her back. “Mmmm. Attention seeking, gold digging or other?”
“Much of the first two,” she said. “But that I could deal with. I can ignore that. I did, actually.” She looked up at him, and he saw the need for approval in her eyes.
“I know you did.” He paused, trying to figure out which way to go next. “So what put you over the edge?”
“They were mean. Awful. Terrible. God. I wanted to rip their eyes out.”
What broke his heart was that her head was still buried in his sweater, as if sniffing it would give her strength. “Shh, honey,” he said. “It’s over. Tell me what happened to you and we’ll see what we can do to kick some ass.”
She sniffed and looked up at him. “No…not that, not me, though I’m not sure how to take the fact you thought it was.”
He chuckled, taking the opportunity to brush some strands of hair out of her eyes. “Take it as I want to play superman, not that I don’t think you’re capable of kicking ass on your own.” He paused and smiled. “Some battles are best fought together.”
“Mmmm…”
A noise filled with more skepticism he hadn’t yet heard. She hadn’t said a word and it was still dripping with doubt. “Now come on,” he offered, trying to sound encouraging as opposed to threatening. “Spill, Melanie Jane Gould. You’re still upset, and it’s something we can fix. Together. Doesn’t have to be your burden alone. ”
She nodded, sighed deeply, her expression looking as if she’d come to some sort of decision. “So, yeah. The girl who’s dating Marcus Mitchell. Her name’s Annalise, right?”
He paused, thought about it. “Yep. Annalise. He seems really happy, and I’m kinda glad…”
“Right. Well those stupid god-awful bitches were all over her.” A pained expression flitted across her face. “I tried to do something, to take them off the track, but they’d decided they’d scented blood and that was it. I swear…they’re so catty and petty…I expected that, but I didn’t expect mean.”
This time, he could feel the head back on his shoulder before it even got there. “Shhh,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“What the…”
He shook his head, fully aware she’d misinterpreted his words. “I’m sorry that they pulled that shit. I’d thought better of them, but apparently they’re about as classless as… well.” He smirked, and found himself relaxing at the playful expression in her eyes.
“Yeah.”
And then he dropped a kiss on her forehead; he’d rip her clothes off later. “You think about what you want to do, and we’ll do it. I promise.”
She smiled, squeezed his hand. “Maybe we should leave the bathroom first?”
“I think I can manage that one.” And just to prove her right, he reached around her to open the door and, with one hand in hers, he let her lead him into the hall.
*****
As they stepped out of the bathroom, she couldn’t help but grin at the way Chris’s hand felt on her ass. It was nice. Just, in fact, as nice as the way his other hand felt in hers. They complemented each other, and she was glad for that in the insanity this party was becoming. Yet despite herself, she felt he needed to be with his teammates a bit more without her acting as a needy appendage. Because truth be told, she wasn’t needy and didn’t like to feel that way.
Especially at the laughing from Chris’s teammates as they stood in line for the bathroom.
“Had to be Emerson,” one said.
“Must be a tiger in there.”
“Thankfully,” he joked back as he squeezed her hand. “I picked the door with the lady.”
She couldn’t help but snicker at the literary reference. From the lascivious looks on his teammate’s expressions, they probably didn’t get it. But he played along all the same, and she loved him for it.
And yet even as the guys were joking behind her, Mel caught a glimpse of Annalise and Marcus as they left. She squeezed Chris’s hand before letting it go, walking past the group in order to intercept them before they left the apartment. She must have pushed past a bunch of people to get to them but she managed it.
“Hey,” she said when she finally reached them. They both turned towards her, but it was Annalise whose expression she focused on. She was clearly still upset. The last thing Mel wanted was to upset her further, so she chose her words carefully. “Don’t let them get to you. They’re just jealous because the only thing they’ve got going for them is their looks, and plastic surgery won’t help forever. ”
“Thanks.”
She was rewarded with a slight smile from Annalise.
“Of course,” Mel replied, smiling back, and reaching out to touch her arm before heading back inside.
Two steps inside, she saw Chris, watching her with a grin on his face. “You,” he said, “were awesome. Just what she needed.”
*****
Melanie managed to stay at the party until she’d been called on to “testify” to the bad behavior exhibited by the stupid bimbos. Then she’d lost her stomach and despite the fact Chris had been having a good time with his teammates, he hadn’t wasted a second before getting her out of there into the town car where they were now sitting. She really appreciated the fact he hadn’t questioned her, not even for a second. And, she decided, she liked his ass.
“You were amazing…”
“I am so proud of you…”
She grinned at him. “Great minds think alike,” she said. “I’m actually…”
“Horny?” he ventured.
She saw the look in his eyes and found herself considering the possibility and seeing potential in the moment. “I might be,” she returned, reaching out to brush his neck with her fingertips. “If given the proper enticement.”
And just as she finished speaking, he leaned towards her, stealing her words, twining his tongue with hers, his mouth meeting her own, his hands caressing her ass, bringing her closer till she was almost straddling him in the back seat.
“I want it,” she managed, her voice practically a purr. As his hands moved further and further up her thighs, she was thrilled she’d
decided to wear a skirt, albeit one that misbehaved. And yet as she felt his hands on her upper thighs…
“Careful…tights,” she managed.
“Damn,” he half growled, his hands pausing at her hips, then slowly making their way up to her waist. Slowly, being the operative word.
She didn’t want him to stop, wanted him to keep touching her, wishing he’d explore her clit with his hands. She wanted to forget her name.
“Don’t stop!” she yelled. “Pull them down…”
“I think,” he said in her ear. “I think we’re at your place.”
She felt like an idiot. “Ummm…well…does this guy…”
He raised an eyebrow. “He drives Semenov and I to practice every once in a while. He won’t say anything.”
“Okay. Okay. Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Okay.”
“Trust me,” he said, pulling her close to him. “I never would have…let myself go if I wasn’t completely safe. Sure that you would be safe.” He paused and she saw the question in his expression. “Upstairs?”
She nodded, grinning. “Upstairs.”
*****
Their clothes didn’t last more than five minutes after they had gotten upstairs and into Mel’s apartment. She’d kissed him and that was it. Against the living room wall, their fingers grabbed and pulled off any article of clothing that was in reach. And then, as they stood stark naked and horny in the middle of the room, she gave him a look that nearly incinerated him on the spot. Then her cute little ass headed towards the bedroom. “Come and get me, stud,” she called over her shoulder.
He ran after her, following her into the bedroom, making some crazy primeval growl as she jumped onto the bed, falling on top of it.
He found himself focusing on that nice ass of hers. And in an instant, he knew what he wanted to do. He reached out, grabbing her hips and pulling that cute butt towards him. “You’re mine,” he said as he kneeled on the bed. She was ready and dammit, he wanted inside those slick folds. With one smooth stroke, he entered her from behind, eliciting a gorgeously beautiful sigh from her lips. Feeling the wetness of her clit, he reached down to her outer folds, hoping he’d be able to give her something as he turned into the two minute wonder.
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