Melissa pretended not to hear the compliment, but she laughed disguisedly as he glanced down at her legs. She was uncomfortable with so much skin exposed and the lustful look of the singer was disconcerting, but it was also stimulating and good for her self-esteem to know that he found her attractive.
"You took so long..." He managed to think of something coherent to say, after clearing his throat to clear his mind of the numbness she was capable of causing, "And made a fucking mess in the room.
Ignoring the reprimand, she returned to guarding the precious makeup that hid her self-inflicted marks in her suitcase and dropped the one she wore on her face on the bedside table, adding to the mess in the room.
“I'm glad you don’t mind waiting...” She commented sarcastically and sat on the bed that he had tidied up, to put on a pair of converse, old and dirty, her favorite and most comfortable.
He bent close to her and, supporting one of her feet on his knee, took up the binding of her shoes. It was a cute gesture like so many others he did, but it was also an excuse to slip his hands down her legs.
She slapped his silly hand when he reached a thigh.
"The sneakers are down there, Gabriel.” She scolded him. “Keep your hands to yourself”.
"I can change your mind," He replied in a distinctly mischievous tone. “But not now, we are late.”
"Shall we have coffee with the president?" She stood up and pushed him away as he came over to kiss her. “Or with the Pope?”
A car horn being fired outside the house made the singer smile.
“Even better than the Pope.” He grabbed Lissa's hand and dragged her to the balcony, placing her in front of him, her back pressed against his chest.
Melissa watched the black SUV approached the house and grunted as Arthur jumped out of the car.
"Was all this annoyance about your nanny?”
Gabriel didn’t answer, but turned her around until her gaze followed Arthur and saw him helping someone get out of the car.
She gasped for air as she recognized the two women leaving the car behind and Gabriel stepped back to look at her, afraid the surprise was too much for her. But before he could question her about anything, he saw her run back to the bedroom and then down the stairs.
“Watch the steps.” He yelled behind her, trying to follow her downstairs.
Attracted by the movement, the singer's family rose from the luxurious sofa in the living room when Melissa came panting to them. She didn’t greet them, she didn’t even see them. She would have stumbled on her own feet or beat up the front door if Gabriel's bodyguard had not opened it in time.
“Hey!" Only Elisabeth Moore was brave enough to stop Melissa by standing in front of the girl before she reached her daughter. “Calm down”.
Melissa gave a nervous smile to her best friend's mother and waited until Angela finally stopped in front of her and opened her arms.
Lissa tried to restrain herself, Mrs. Moore was right. She couldn’t throw herself at Angela as her emotion almost made her do it.
“Damn it! That's what it's reception.” Ang joked when her best friend hugged her. “I can almost believe I'm a rockstar here”.
"I can’t believe you're here..." Lissa pulled away just enough to look at her friend, giggling like an idiot. "I missed you so much."
"I doubt..." Angela teased, using her fingers to wipe the tears her friend couldn’t help spilling. "With that man on your side, you must not even remember me”.
“Oh, shut up!” Mel returned to hug Angela.
Ang laughed willingly, letting herself be hugged.
“I missed you too”. She admitted at last.
“Girls?” Elisabeth stepped closer and ran her fingers through Lissa's long hair in a kind of affection. "Will not that hug ever end? I will not win any?”
Lissa looked at her best friend's mother, smiling sheepishly. She always felt intimidated when she was around, afraid that something would make the older woman push her away from her friend.
“Hi, Mrs. Moore.” She greeted softly, being surprised at the hug she had received. "It's cool that you brought Angela to see me. Thank you!”
"Mrs. Moore is in heaven, my dear.” Elisabeth replied with good humor. "And we were invited by a famous singer... Angela blabbed the whole trip over how amazing he was.”
Turning toward the large house she'd left in her run to find her friend, Melissa found the singer leaning against the open door, laughing at her. His parents and his sister were nearby, watching the scene. Esther and Richard were laughing too, but Karen was looking at Melissa as if she wanted to squeeze her.
Ignoring the sight of the youngest Voss, Lissa took Angela's hand and led her to the rocker.
"You don’t need a presentation..." she said, pushing her friend closer to Voss.
Gabriel bent to hug Angela.
“Welcome, Ang!” He presented the fan with his best smile. "We finally meet."
Angela was paralyzed for some time, without know how to react. She had fantasized about that moment for so long and she had stopped being just a fan to be a friend of the singer, she should know how to act. But the truth was that she didn’t know, it was still too surreal to be face to face with her idol.
"Oh, you're not going to be hysterical." Lissa spoke into her friend's ear. “It's just Gabriel”.
The rocker laughed softly.
“That's right.” He gave her another hug and a kiss on the cheek. The girl was still paralyzed in front of him. “It's just me. The same guy who doesn’t listen to your advice.”
The comment made the girl giggle and finally return the hug.
"That's why you always hurt yourself," she teased. "Thank you for the invitation, Gabe!"
"It's my pleasure..." He stared at her for a moment, registering dark circles under her dark eyes, the downcast physiognomy she'd tried to disguise with a light makeup and a flowery scarf covering her head, possibly to cover up the fact she had lost her hair. But she still laughing and joking, forgetting her illness, and excited by the days with her best friend. “I'm a lucky guy and I have the most beautiful fans in the world.”
Angela laughed heartily.
"You don’t have to use your charm with me..." The girl approached so she could speak next to the idol's ear. "We both know you're only trying to make Mel happy."
“It’s true.” He admitted. "But you're still my favorite fan.”
“What? You hurt my feelings..." Melissa joked. “And what am I?”
“As if you had feelings." Karen rolled her eyes at the exchange of the triplet, earning a low grudge from her mother and a mocking grin from Melissa.
"You" Gabriel ignored the other people around and pulled Melissa close, putting an arm around her shoulders. “You are my girl”.
The statement brought a flush to Mel's face, drew out a sigh from Angela, a flicker of Arthur's eyes, a few high-pitched giggles from the older ones and made Karen walk away with a hard step.
“Only in your dreams.” Lissa replied, but she smiled at the singer. A big, sincere, and rare smile that Gabriel was determined to make into a habit. “Thanks!” She segregated only to him when they all moved into the living room. "Maybe you'll even get a painting just for you in appreciation."
“I would love to.” He answered in the same tone. "But all the gratitude I need is that smile..." He put a finger to her lips as they fell behind. "And one kiss or another, it wouldn’t hurt either."
"Oh that..." She leaned closer to him. "I think you said something about being mad for a kiss."
“I really am.”
"No more..." She reached for his lips in a light, carefree kiss. "Maybe later you'll get more."
“I'm already counting the minutes, babe”
CHAPTER TWENTY- SEVEN - PERFECT
“Made a wrong turn
Once or twice”[40]
L eaving the living room filled with occupants behind her, Melissa headed straight for the kitchen, unconcerned with the questioning looks of Gabriel an
d Angela.
She was very happy for her friend's unexpected visit, and was grateful that Gabriel had thought about it, but she still felt too uncomfortable in the presence of the Voss family and would continue to avoid them as much as she could.
And to tell the truth, she had a good reason to have walked away for a few minutes.
"Are you not ready for breakfast yet?" Nelly offered a smile and threatened to leave her place near the large marble counter where the food she had prepared awaited, closing a book she had in her hands. "I just need a minute to warm it up and set the table."
"You still have time..." Lissa replied rather sheepishly. “You can go back to your book”.
"That way, the breakfast will turn into lunch." The housekeeper laughed. "I can get you something to pinch in the meantime..."
"You do not have to" Trying not to be intimidated by someone else's presence, the girl approached the counter and watched what she had already done. "Do you mind if I use your kitchen?"
Nelly laughed again.
"It's not exactly my kitchen..." Blinking at the girl, the older woman approached. "But if you want something, I can arrange it."
"I was thinking of preparing something special ..." Melissa confessed. timidly.
“For Gabriel? Believe me, I've prepared everything he likes...”
"Not for him." Even without a mirror around, Lissa was sure she had flushed. They were lousy at hiding that there was something going on. “It'll be quick.”
"Okay... I can help if you want."
It wasn’t what the girl had in mind when she went into the kitchen, but she wouldn’t give up the help that was being offered so willingly. She didn’t want to use her usual rudeness with the lady who treated her only well.
“You can separate the ingredients...”
Helpful as always, the housekeeper walked through the spacious kitchen, gathering everything Melissa asked for.
"You'll get the hang of it..." The delicious scent of chocolate pancakes, Angela's favorites, took the room. “It looks great.”
Melissa couldn’t help smiling as she poured the half-bitter melted chocolate over the pancake pile and decorated it with blackberries and strawberries.
"Why do not you try one?" She offered as she set about preparing three glasses of yogurt, granola, and chopped fruit. "So, you can tell me if it's good."
Nelly nodded without question when the girl offered her a plate.
"I like to cook, but I've never had much patience to decorate the dishes..." The old lady remarked, noticing the whim with which Lissa set the glasses, positioning the granola perfectly before pouring some yogurt out of it and providing another layer of grains.
"Food can also be an art..." She pointed to the finished glass, with some pride, after pouring a thin layer of honey over the red fruits. “And I like art.”
"As long it feels good, I don’t care too much about what it looks. And, wow, this is so much more delicious. It's divine!”
"Thank you, Nelly!" Lissa smiled. “Since I passed your test... Let's drag everyone to the table.”
Melissa carried the tray with the pile of pancakes and the yogurt cups, carefully, when Nelly returned to the kitchen, then led everyone to the dining room, followed by the lady carrying the last item to be placed on the table: A jar of orange juice.
“Oh my gosh! How I missed that..." Angela practically salivated and jumped in her seat when she saw her friend lay the pancakes on the table. "Much more than I missed you, to be honest.”
Laughing at her friend's joke, Lissa picked up the yogurt cups and placed them on a plate, facing Angela, Gabriel, and the empty space she would occupy.
The singer raised an eyebrow at her.
"Just eat..." She snapped, settling herself.
“Yes! Yes!” Angela encouraged. "You need to taste Lissa's culinary delights... She's a fantastic cook."
"It's not that bad..." Feeling her face flush again, Melissa took a spoon and destroyed the work she had done with such care, mixing the fruit, granola, and yogurt.
"I think I'll start with this here..." The singer winked at the girl sitting next to him as he poured himself a pancake. “What other talents are you hiding?”
"If you call it a talent," Karen said with a smirk, before Lissa could overcome her embarrassment and respond. "Anyone can have breakfast. Even Nelly can do it.”
The deprecating tone used didn’t go unnoticed to anyone.
Melissa clutched the spoon in her hand so hard she imagined she would be able to break the silverware when she saw the housekeeper with her eyes watering, leaving the jug of juice on the table. She wanted to throw the jar over Karen's head, but she had to restrain herself when Gabriel brought his hand up to her thigh and squeezed it, probably to calm her down. This gesture only irritated her even more, as the awkward silence around the table. She couldn’t believe that no one thought the behavior of the youngest Voss is unacceptable.
"And your talent, Karen, what would it be?" Mel brushed Gabriel's hand away. "Being prejudiced, intolerant, and spoiled doesn’t count. Anyone with little character can do it”. Leaving the spoon that she held on the table, Lissa stood up. “You don’t need to answer. I already know. You specialize in spending your brother's money and trying to humiliate anyone who doesn’t fit into your pink world. Being quite honest, it's a fucking shit talent to have”.
Irritated, the young woman ignored the smile that Angela tried to disguise or to the astonished look of everyone else, just left the room before it was impossible to restrain herself and advance on Gabriel's sister.
“Besides, being a good cook, she is also very good at talking about what everyone thinks, but prefers to skip”. Angela commented after clearing her throat, turning her attention to the pancake that had been specially prepared for her.
“Great!” Karen glared at Angela. "Now, besides putting up with the weirdo, I'm going to have to put up with the hints of her dying friend."
“That’s enough!” Gabriel raised his voice, grateful that Melissa had withdrawn or it would be impossible to prevent her from advancing on his sister. "You'll apologize to Nelly and Angela..." He pushed back his chair, pointing a finger at his sister. "And I'm going to talk to Mel."
“It's not a good idea.” Angela warned him before the singer could pull away too, not seeming to care what she had heard. She'd heard worse, and even it was rude, it wasn’t a lie.
Obviously, Voss didn’t listen.
“I lost my appetite.” Karen tried to leave the table, but her father took one of the girl's arms and kept her seated.
"Apparently, you lost the education we tried to give to you." Richard Voss commented irritably. "Apologize with your brother's guests first, and then you can leave."
Her face flushed with embarrassment at being reprimanded, Karen mumbled an apology that didn’t convince anyone and walked away.
“I'm sorry.” Esther glanced sadly at Angela, Elisabeth, and Arthur. "I don’t know what's wrong with her. She used to be a very well educated young woman.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” Elisabeth replied, trying to brighten the climate that had set in. “Teenagers are pretty complicated”.
Angela thought to reply, saying that neither she nor Lissa were so complicated, even with how much they needed to give her, but knowing her daughter as she knew, her mother gave her a warning look, shutting her off even before the first word came out.
"Well ..." Arthur forced a laugh. "No one can say such meetings are boring.”
Angela nodded in agreement.
"If Melissa is here, it can be anything but boring."
♫
Melissa handed Nelly a glass of sugar water, after having forced the lady to sit by the kitchen counter. She hated meeting her with tears in her eyes as she tried to wash the dirty dishes.
She didn’t usually be the nicest person in the world, but she didn’t go around mistreat anyone who did not deserve it.
"You should have spilled all the juice on that ox
ygenated hair.” She remarked when the housekeeper handed her the empty glass.
Even with her face red with tears, she laughed lightly.
"I should have already gotten used to it..." Wiping away the last tears, she shrugged. “When you don’t have so much education, you hear worse.”
Annoyed, Lissa set her glass on the counter with more force than necessary, making a loud noise and, uncertainly, pressed a hand on the older woman's shoulder.
“This is ridiculous." She rebuffed. "You don’t have to get used to being mistreated.”
"Mel is right..." Gabriel's voice caught Melissa by surprise, causing the girl to pull away. "No one has the right to mistreat you, Nelly."
"You should tell that to your little sister..." Melissa snapped.
The singer sighed uncomfortably. She was right, but it was still horrible to hear her speak of his sister with such bitterness.
“I will." He compromised himself. "But can you hold the tongue just for a moment?"
“Do I have a bad tongue? Oh really?” Crossing her arms, she glared at him. “It was not me who...”
“No!” Nelly stood between then. "You're not going to start arguing about me."
"We're not arguing..." Gabriel replied, feigning a calm he didn’t feel. He felt torn when it came to his sister and Melissa. He didn’t want to be against either, but he was always in the same position, having to choose who to defend.
“Yes, we are.” Melissa ignored Nelly's pleading look. “And that's great because it's clear that we have quite different thoughts... So, if you're going to get in here and say that is okay, that she didn’t say anything absurd, we'll fight because I will not bow my head and let it you and your sister's think they're better than anyone else just because they're two pampered little pussies.”
Damn it! Gabriel concluded that she was ruthless and quite unfair. So, he took a deep breath. He wanted to scream back or find a way to make Lissa understand that he wasn’t as she was hinting at, but he chose to focus on Nelly who stared at them as if they were going to start a physical fight at any moment.
"Nelly, I'm sorry for my sister's behavior.” He started, ignoring the rolling of Melissa's eyes. "And I don’t think you're inferior to anyone else, regardless of your degree of education or social standing."
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