Mel took a step back and looked through the open door. There she saw a clear view of Mr. Wonderful himself, Nolan, as he waved to them both from the bedside of his adjoining suite. Oh hell. She had a clear view right past his sitting area to his bed! This was way too not-so-perfect to not be planned. Mel didn’t know if she should shake or shoot Lexi, and one look at her friend’s “I’m so innocent” expression had her deciding on the latter. But her homicide would have to wait as Nolan was saying something she should probably hear.
“Sorry ladies, I guess this could be considered a little too close for comfort,” he said as he walked forward to close the adjoining door.
“Hold up now, there’s no reason we can’t all be one big happy family,” Lexi said, rushing forward as if to stop him.
“Oh yes there is!” Mel could have sworn her voice squeaked, but that’s crazy since she wasn’t the squeaking type. As it were, she’d only admit to speaking sharply on occasion. “Besides,” she continued, forcibly bringing calm to her tone through gritted teeth, as she went around Lexi to close the door on their side. “I’m sure Nolan doesn’t want to hear our cackling or,” she did shoot Lexi a look this time, “be a witness to me killing you. You know, and have to testify in court and all. It could get time-consuming and messy.” She lifted her glasses and pinned Lexi with her best death stare, which her friend pointedly ignored as she shrugged her shoulders and twisted her curly locks around her finger.
It was Nolan’s low chuckle from his side of the door that sent a dangerously delicious tingle down her spine and reminded her he was still there watching their little floor show.
“It’s really good to see you two haven’t changed,” he said, “I was afraid when I first saw you that maybe you had gotten all citified or something. But no. I’m glad to see you’re both still the same Mellie and Lexi.”
Mel touched at the shades perched on top of her head. With his reminder of them being the same Mellie and Lexi, she was taken back. And for a moment, she saw the young man she adored so much in high school. Mr. All American, they called him. A star in all he touched, be it basketball, football or baseball. But change, it was a funny thing. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
She had changed. Most would say for the better, but she would say for the smarter. And definitely for the stronger. The professor saw to that, and because of it she could see Nolan clearly. He was not the sweet young thing she had sparred with and crushed on and wanted oh so badly way back when it could twist you inside out. Maybe he never was, though really, it doesn’t matter. Because her lessons had been learned.
Mel now knew what the pain of wanting and getting meant. Worse yet, the pain of getting then losing. No, she wasn’t the same. Thankfully she had fifteen years to erase the girl he called Mellie and bring on Mel. She gave Nolan an easy smile, one she used for all clients, associates and conquests, as she easily slid her glasses down over her eyes. “Let’s just say, no we’re not the same, we’re in the ‘or something’ category now.”
She saw the hint of shock as his brows rose and the bit of spark in his eyes with a deep hidden fire that was altogether new. The side of his mouth quirked up. “Okay there, Ms. Mel. Or something,” he said as she closed the door with a soft click.
Mel let out a breath.
“You don’t be a stranger now! We’re right on the other side of this door. Though I may not be—” Lexi yelled over her shoulder as Mel flipped the security lock into place then picked up a throw pillow off the nearby armchair, throwing it at her best friend.
But Lexi knew Mel well and ducked out of the way just in time. “Don’t go messing up my hair. It takes a long time to look this perfectly unperfect.”
“Messing up your hair is the least of your problems. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re trying to do here,” Mel said as she stomped across the room and picked up the bedside phone.
“What are you doing?” Lexi asked, her voice low.
“I’m calling down to the front desk to see if they have another room.”
Lexi was on top of her before she could blink, snatching the phone from Mel’s hand. Mel leapt forward and they both wrestled for a moment, perfect hair and designer outfits be damned, as they fought for the upper hand in the prize of the cheap hotel phone. It was Lexi who won. Leaning back triumphant and holding the receiver up and out of Mel’s reach, she looked at her friend with a sharp gleam in her eyes.
“There is no way I’m letting you switch rooms. Fate, for some reason, has come down and given you a gift in the form of a kid-free long weekend and a sexy-as-hell man not a few feet from your bed.” She then took the phone and pointed close to Mel’s nose. “You, Miss Boss Lady, are going to take yourself a shower and sexy it up for a change, and do whatever it takes to let that gift of a man work you out of that permanent state of grouch you’ve been in.”
Mel leaned back on the bed’s headboard giving Lexi a once over. “You know I could take offense at that? I’ve fired people for way less than what you just said. You’re implying that I need a good screw to get me in a better mood. That’s some sexist shit. Besides, we’ve established I have plenty of sex. You sound like one of those Neanderthal ‘that’s what she said’ type of guys.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Number one, you know your intimidation won’t work with me. Technically, I’m freelance, so I’m doing you a favor by letting you and your fancy magazine book most of my time. I can get a job at any of the top magazines out there, and you know it as well as I do. And numero B, you know this is not about the sex. This is about the kind of sex you’ve been having and you know it. You need something new. You need to let yourself go and lose the orchestrated type of boss lady, “I pick you, now service me” kind of sex you’ve been having with whatever six-month boy of the moment you’re seeing. It’s getting tiring and old, despite them being young and malleable. And if my calculations are correct, you’re about eight months behind with your latest conquest.”
Mel crossed her arms and stared. “You know you are hella intrusive. Just you wait till I make you my project. You will pay for this half-assed psychoanalysis.”
Lexi gave her back the same challenging stare. “Okay then, bring it. But tell me where am I wrong?”
Mel was silent. She was silent because she didn’t have a comeback. Lexi was right. She had been a grouch. As a matter of fact, she’d been a grouch for a long time. When the professor bailed on her, something in her changed. And it wasn’t as if she was all sunshine and light pre-professor. So yeah, when she left Timber Falls, she was already a little bit hard, but it was as if post-professor a sheet of ice formed over her heart, comfortably cooling the heat that had simmered for way too long, leaving her in a state of constant even coolness. Sadly, she’d grown to like the chill. It was something she could control. It let her know she was in charge of herself and her emotions, not anyone else.
When she was hot and uneven, it was a sure sign she was losing control. A feeling that reminded her of being back home. Of life here in Timber Falls. She felt it the moment they hit the city limits. That slight feeling of uneasiness of not quite knowing where she stood within herself.
She supposed she should be jealous of Lexi getting, and more importantly, wanting to go and visit her parents while she was in town. Lexi’s parents were wonderful. As a kid she’d made herself an uninvited fixture over at Lexi’s. Seeking refuge in the picture-perfect normalcy she didn’t get at her own home.
At her place, Mel and her mom mostly lived an out-of-control existence. Hanging on the edge of fear over what kind of abuse her father would bring home from the bar after he’d wasted money he’d hustled up on Jack Daniels and bullshit talk about the state of the country. Going on about his feelings and emotions. All the while raging about how the world “done did him wrong” somehow. How he loved Mel’s mom so much that it hurt him, so she should therefore feel some of his pain. Sure, he was always sorry the next m
orning after the damage was done, the house in chaos, Mel’s mother in tears, or worse, fighting to hide a bruise with heavy makeup in order to go to work where everyone would pretend not to see the truth.
Mel was more than happy when her father decided to take his special brand of crazy on the road and followed behind a waitress from the diner out on Highway 81 who he’d been having a very public affair with. No, she never missed him or felt even a hint of sadness over him leaving, unlike her mother, who she’d hear cry herself to sleep at night. But after a while those tears dried up too. And when Mel had finally gotten it together and made it in Manhattan, she’d shown her mother they could be just fine and survive much better without relying on any man. She and her daughter were happy now, so aside from getting in a weekend quickie, she had damn good reasons for not wanting any more than that.
So yeah, Lexi had hit a little too close to home when she brought up Mel’s control issues with men. Mel was sure a therapist would say her mess with the professor was her working out, in the worst way, her daddy issues and the manageable boyfriends were her way of working out home issues yada, yada. She inwardly snorted. No way was she spending money or wasting work time for a diagnosis on something she already knew.
Mel eyed the door joining her and Nolan’s room, and some of the old feelings bubbled in her stomach, threatening to make their way up towards her chest as her internal thermostat rose.
Uncertainty.
She frowned. It wasn’t the same kind of uncertain feelings she had that she associated with her father or her old home life, but still it was uncertainty nonetheless. That feeling of being slightly out of control.
But there, behind that feeling of uncertainty, was something else. Exhilaration and maybe perhaps… anticipation? The same feelings she used to get when she turned in her seat in class and saw that yes, Nolan was indeed watching her. It was that same delicious tingle she would get when he’d capture her in his beautiful honeyed gaze. And now, here he was giving her that same ridiculous thrill, that silly longing and that lovely anticipation of something just out of reach, but not really since he was right here, only a few feet away on the other side of a closed door.
Mel could feel Lexi’s smile before she saw it. “Not one word,” she warned.
Lexi held up her hands. “I’m not saying a thing. Well, maybe one thing.”
Mel felt her shoulders tense.
“Oh stop being so serious, this is supposed to be a fun weekend.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Mel said. “The weekend. A weekend is all I’m prepared for. Nothing more. My life is complicated enough.”
Lexi gave her a long look and Mel let out a huff. “Just give it to me. You’re going to say what you want whether I want you to or not.”
“So a weekend hit it and quit it, huh?” Lexi grinned. “Well, I hope you packed really good underwear because that man over there is worthy of that thong, tha, tha, tha thong!” her friend bellowed, mimicking the song they used to sing and dance around to when they were feeling ridiculously playful.
Mel picked up a pillow once again and threw it, but this time there was no anger in the throw. “Haven’t you heard, the thong is out, and good for us, the granny panty is back in?”
Lexi made an overdramatic horror-stricken face, and they both fell backwards onto the bed in a pool of laughter.
Chapter Four
Nolan paused in his unpacking as Mellie’s, no, he had to correct that, Mel and Lexi’s giggles reached his ears. He wished in that moment that with the décor updates the Lodge had gone in with soundproofing their rooms. So Mellie wasn’t looking for anything more than a weekend fling? He shook his head as the words he now regretted hearing replayed in his head. Oh well, what did he expect, some grand declaration of love after all these years?
He took a moment and let the sound of their laughter wash over him and take him back, back to the time when things were, if not simpler, at least known. Known and laid out. There was no uncertainty in his life like he had now. Back then, his life was set. Or at least it should have been, if all had gone according to his family’s plan.
Take the baseball scholarship at State. Sign the contract with the team his father picked out. Marry the girl who, on paper, was supposedly perfect for him, already vetted by Mom, Dad, Coach, hell just about everyone. What did it matter that, though he enjoyed the game, the game wasn’t his full heart? What did it matter if he didn’t love the oh-so-perfect girl? None of those things mattered, so long as he towed the line and made everyone happy.
He never told anyone the tears he’d cried when he tore his ACL were both tears of pain and tears of joy when he was told he wouldn’t be able to go pro, and the contracts with the majors were now just dreams of the past. In that moment a new world had opened to him, a world where dreams of his own were suddenly a very real possibility. And now another very real dream of his was on the other side of a hotel room door. Everyone thought when he got his degree in medicine and later went off to work for Doctors Without Borders, he was running away from his past and his sports dreams that never materialized. But no, he was running towards his new life. Doing something for himself that he finally wanted, working with his hands and using his brain and his skills in a way he finally felt could be helpful to others.
Not that he shared those feelings. Instead, he put on his mask of a smile, which hid it all and said nothing. Nolan let them talk and think what they wanted as he ran off to his new life and away from confrontation. But now he was back. The bills had piled high, and his dad was sick. The reality hit him hard, as he knew there was no way his mother could or should handle it all alone. Not when he could help. Besides, she didn’t need the extra worry of him so far away, and despite her controlling nature, he knew she did worry.
So yeah, it was time to come home. Time to be back closer to his family. The stop off in Timber Falls was temporary as he made his way to New York City where his parents now lived to be close to his dad’s doctors. He hoped he’d be able to find a balance between city living and being able to keep his conscience doing some form of good works.
But, for the time being, he would focus on this weekend. The good boy had come back home to wave and shake hands and show everyone how much he had of that old school spirit. Though in reality, what he really came for was out of reach but only just right there on the other side of the door.
* * * * *
Mel stepped off the elevator and tugged a bit at the hips of her body-skimming black cocktail dress. She wondered once again if the simple dress with the ultra-low back was too sexy for this crowd. Well, too sexy was probably not an issue. She had a feeling showing up nude wouldn’t be a problem for them. But the dress was sexy in a subtle covered-up way…that was, until you got to the back. And then with the way it fit her body so perfectly it was bound to make people wonder how it stayed up. The answer: magic. Well, the magic of a good couturier.
Mel’s hands moved from her hips to her face, and she frowned, feeling exposed and vulnerable without the signature shades she wore to all public appearances. But she reminded herself that this wasn’t a public appearance. This was an informal gathering with old, so-called, friends. She nibbled at her bottom lip then abruptly stopped as she caught a glimpse of herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror opposite the elevator.
“I was hoping you’d stop and get a look at yourself,” Lexi said, standing by her side. “Now cut it out with all the nervousness. You look fantastic. That dress is divine on you. You can thank me for it later. And sidebar, your body is banging. A fact that will not go unnoticed by every man at this party and make you the envy of every stuck-up chick that used to rag on us. Not to mention your hair and makeup is freaking flawless. Woman, you got it going on. They are going to hate you. This should be fantastic.”
Mel’s lips quirked upward. “Me? Look at you. This will be your night. They will rue the day they turned you down for the Tim
berettes,” Mel said, bringing up the name of Timber Falls’ old cheerleading squad and causing Lexi to do a major eye roll.
But she wasn’t exaggerating. Lexi looked fantastic. She was taller tonight, having perched her curvaceous petite frame up on almost impossibly high black patent stiletto heels, which she’d paired with an asymmetrical black lace dress that was all class, though dangerously close to the border of trashy. She showed just enough of her gorgeous glowing brown skin, highlighting her full lips with a bright red lipstick, bringing the focus up to her eyes with gorgeous smoky shadow. Her crowning glory was her gorgeous thick multi-hued hair, which tonight she wore untwisted and was now a riot of wild curls. They haloed out around her head over her shoulders, giving her the look of a sexy 70s disco queen, but updated for the present times. If anyone was stealing the show, it would be her.
Lexi pulled back and snorted. “Hmph. I didn’t want on their stupid Bimbette squad anyway.”
“Yeah, okay. Sure you didn’t.” She linked arms with Lex and nudged her forward. “Okay, let’s get on with showing them just how much we didn’t want to be part of the stupid clique.”
Mel could feel the exact moment she and Lexi’s bravado started to fade away. There was a slowing of both their steps as they rounded the corner and saw the little table set up and decorated in the school colors of blue and gold. A small crowd stood in front of it, bouquets of balloons on either side, and right in the center holding court, as they always did, was Ramona Spencer flanked by Kari Boyd and Vicki Redford, her pseudo Timberettes in waiting.
“Don’t slow down, ladies. It’s when they smell fear that they attack.” Nolan’s deep sexy rumble made the fine hair on the back of Mel’s neck rise and forced her back to straighten.
“Who said we’re fearing anything?” she hissed.
Romancing the Fashionista: The Flirty Fashionistas, Book 1 Page 3