Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2)

by Saperstein, M. D.

  They talk for another minute or so before Vance is dismissed. Melina wrings her hands as she waits for the livid-looking Vance to make his way back to her. Melina opens her mouth to apologize but Vance cuts her off by putting his hand up.

  “Not a word,” he says firmly. Melina closes her mouth.

  “What's the verdict?” Tripp asks, looking nervous.

  “He's only gonna write me up for now,” Vance answers Tripp then looks at Melina. “But if you come here again, I'm done.”

  Melina nods, tears making her vision a little blurry. She whispers, “Sorry.”

  Vance's face softens and he pulls her into his embrace. “You have nothing to be sorry for, this isn't your fault,” he murmurs softly into her hair.

  “Come on, you two get outta here and I'll walk Melina out,” Tripp says to Vance and Mike.

  Vance nods, gives Melina a peck on the lips, and then lets her go. “Call me later,” Vance utters then starts out of the station with Mike.

  A tissue dangles in front of her. Melina looks over at Tripp and takes the tissue from him. “Thanks.”

  Tripp just gives her a small smile and a nod while she blots her eyes. She throws the tissue in the trash and glances over at Chief Peterson, who is still sitting at his desk. He’s watching her, his eyes cold and stony. Melina wants to stick her tongue out at him, but that would just be childish and most likely get Vance fired.

  “Let’s go,” Tripp grunts and protectively lays a big hand on her shoulder as he also sends a glance in the Chief’s direction.

  Melina lets Tripp lead her out of the station. Once outside, she turns to face him. Melina still cannot get over what a handsome group of guys they all are. Tripp looks sharp in his light gray suit with his badge hanging from his neck, gun holstered under his arm. His dirty blond hair is buzzed short and his face is clean-shaven. He has a strong jaw, somewhat squinty eyes, and a straight nose. His eyes are crystal blue framed by long light brown lashes. He is tall, probably only an inch or so shorter than Vance, and of course he has a body to die for, like the rest of them.

  “Thanks, Tripp,” Melina says quietly.

  “Hey, come on, don't worry about that. Vance is a big boy. He handled it and didn't get fired; being written up is no biggie,” Tripp says with a reassuring smile and a shrug.

  Melina nods. “Okay.”

  Tripp pats his suit jacket where he stashed the tickets in the inside pocket. “Thanks for these; I can’t wait!” he says, barely containing his excitement.

  Melina bites back a smile.

  “What's even better is that we all get to see you in your underwear, which is going to royally piss Vance off. Can’t friggin’ wait!” He chuckles.

  Melina laughs and shakes her head. “You are such a guy.”

  Tripp nods. “Yes, yes I am.”

  “Alright, well I gotta go. I'll see you on Saturday.” Melina smiles.

  “More like, I'll see you on Saturday.” Tripp shoots her a cheesy grin and wags his eyebrows.

  Melina laughs. Just as she gives him a kiss on the cheek, she hears the whoop whoop of a cop car behind her. Melina turns to see Vance practically hanging out the passenger side of the cruiser that Mike is driving.

  “Get your filthy hands off my woman, Saunders!” Vance yells from the car, pointing at Tripp.

  Melina squeals when Tripp wraps his arms around her from behind and kisses her on the cheek. Vance's eyes widen and he tells Mike to hold him back. Mike grabs Vance's belt as he pretends to try to climb out of the car window. Melina is laughing so hard that she has tears running down her face. Vance finally gives up, plops back down into his seat, and starts cracking up.

  Tripp lets her go then goes over to the car. He exchanges a little private handshake with Vance, smacks him in the face, then takes off running back toward the station with Vance calling after him.

  “Oh you are so dead, Saunders! I know where you live!”

  Tripp laughs, sends Melina a wink, then disappears inside. Melina walks over to the car still laughing.

  Vance smiles up at her and takes her hand. “You okay, baby?”

  Melina nods. “I am now.”

  “Good.” He kisses her knuckles.

  The radio on the center console crackles to life and a female voice starts talking. It sounds like a bunch of gibberish to Melina but both guys listen intently. Mike picks up the radio and responds. Vance looks back at her.

  “Gotta go babe, call me later.” He smiles.

  “Okay, please be careful.” Melina frowns.

  “Always,” Vance promises, kisses her hand again, and then lets her go.

  Melina immediately steps back. Mike hits the lights and sirens, and takes off like a bat outta hell. Melina winces when the tires screech as they turn out of the parking lot. She wonders what kind of call they are going to and how much danger they are going to be in. She never realized how often police officers put their lives at risk until she started dating one. It’s beyond nerve-racking.

  Saturday rolls around a little too slowly for Vance. He hasn't seen Melina since Wednesday at the station, and he’s having Melina withdrawal. She wasn't kidding when she said her days were packed. He barely had time to talk to her before she went to bed at night. He’ll be happy when this is all over and her schedule goes back to normal.

  Vance checks himself in the mirror once more. He is wearing fitted, faded jeans with a button-down blue shirt, which really accentuates his baby blues. The shirt is neatly tucked in, but his sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, and he left the top two buttons undone. He added a brown belt and shoes, styled his hair, and hopes to God that he looks presentable.

  Heading downstairs, he needs to get the guys out the door so they won't be late. Vance finds them all in the kitchen. He looks them over, making sure they don't look like shit, and surprisingly, they all look pretty damn good. Tripp is in charcoal gray dress pants, a red dress shirt, and a gray striped tie. Mike is dressed in dark blue jeans, a short-sleeved green and black striped button down shirt, untucked, with a loose black tie, and black slip-ons. Dayne is in black jeans, which are stuffed into the top of beat up black boots that are untied and have the tongue hanging out. He has on a navy blue vintage t-shirt with a worn black leather jacket. Ryder is wearing royal blue straight-legged jeans, a white dress shirt, yellow sweater, yellow and blue striped scarf, and penny loafers. He looks fashion forward, but definitely stands out from the bunch.

  “Royal blue skinny jeans? Seriously, dude,” Dayne busts Ryder’s balls.

  “Fuck off! I like to be in style,” Ryder says so seriously that they all start cracking up.

  After they all finally calm down, Vance asks, “Are we ready to go?”

  They all say some form of yes and start filing into the garage.

  Vance drives them all in his dark gray Expedition to the show. When they get there, a valet takes Vance's truck and hands him his half of the parking stub. As they enter, they must all pass through a metal detector. Fortunately, Melina warned them beforehand about the extra security, so they didn’t bring their guns. They are then greeted by an usher who scans their tickets and escorts them to their seats. Front row, dead center. Doesn’t get any better than that. Vance fidgets in his seat; he is nervous and anxious and excited. Unfortunately, they still have a good fifteen minutes before the show starts; they are, however, in the perfect place for prime people watching.

  “Yo, Van, we are surrounded by celebrities,” Mike says from his left, elbowing him in the side.

  Vance glances around. Holy shit, Mike isn't kidding. They are completely surrounded by tons of celebrities, from A-listers to D-listers; they are all over the place. Tripp is on the other side of Mike, and sitting next to him is Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s like they’re caught on the set on Sex and the City. Tripp tries to be subtle and sneak glances at her, but he does it a little too often and she catches him. She laughs, thank God, and introduces herself. Vance has never seen Tripp so red in his life. Dayne is on Vance's right, and
Ryder is next to Dayne. Ryder is sitting next to Matt Bomer, who has Channing Tatum next to him. Are they researching for the next Magic Mike? he wonders. This is absolutely crazy.

  “This is so fucking awesome!” Dayne says, his knee bouncing excitedly.

  Fifteen minutes later, the lights flicker off. A spotlight comes on a minute later and Lenny Kravitz is standing on stage. The crowd roars as he starts singing his fan-favorite, American Woman. The rest of the lights come on as the models start down the runway as Lenny continues to sing.

  Lenny follows a couple of the girls down the runway, singing to them and being flirty. Dayne is in his glory next to Vance. He is biting one fist while the other is gripping Vance's shoulder. Dayne has had two dates with Harper so far. Both times ended in him coming home and immediately going to his room to take a cold shower. But apparently, they had two awesome dates; even Dayne said she was a lot of fun to be around. Vance figures that he would have gone elsewhere for relief, but he very begrudgingly said that he didn't want to fuck anyone else, his dick only wanted Harper. To say Vance was shocked is an understatement.

  Vance is brought out of his thoughts by Mike slapping him on the chest with the back of one hand while the other pointed to the runway. “There she is!” he exclaims.

  Vance looks up and sees Melina.

  Oh my God!

  Vance's mouth drops open. There are no words to describe how utterly stunning she looks. Her long dark hair is being blown back by the fans they have lining the runway, and her amazing body looks smooth and flawless. She has on a super sexy little lacey bra and panty set with the highest heels he’s ever seen.

  “Fuck me,” Vance breathes and scrubs his hand over his mouth to make sure he isn’t drooling.

  “I fucking hate you, dude,” Mike mutters and shakes his head.

  Vance stares at her as she struts down the runway, a gorgeous smile on her face, showing off the cute dimples on both cheeks. She passes them and that's when Vance sees that she has a thong on and realizes that all of his friends are going to see his girlfriend's stellar ass.

  Melina poses at the end before turning and starting back up the runway. Vance slaps his hand over Mike's eyes as she passes. Melina sees him and what he is doing, then laughs. She sends him a wink as she walks by. She continues to laugh the whole way back.

  Mike shoves his hand away. “Fucker!”

  “Don't look at my woman's ass.”

  Mike snorts. “Whatever, I'll just go grab a catalog if I wanna see her ass.”

  “I am so kicking your ass when we get home.” Vance grunts. “And I'm taking away your collection of catalogs.”

  Mike barks out a laugh. “You can try motherfucker; ain't gonna happen.”

  Vance laughs.

  Every time Melina comes out, it’s in a different outfit, sexier than the last. Vance is tempted to jump up there and cover her up. Despite being hard as a rock, he hates that his best friends are getting to see his girlfriend practically naked. And he has no doubt that they'll be picturing her in her underwear every time they see her. They'll probably jerk off thinking about her, too. Sonofabitch.

  Vance mentally slaps himself. What did he expect? He’s dating a supermodel for Christ's sake. Guys everywhere are jerking off to thoughts and pictures of Melina. He’s just going to have to get over it. It’ll drive himself crazy and turn him into an overbearing, jealous asshole boyfriend if he doesn't let it go. He just has to keep reminding himself that she only wants him. So what if other guys look? She’s coming home with him.

  Chapter 7

  By the time the show ends, Melina is exhausted. But now she has to go to the after party. Not that she isn't going to have a good time, but she'd rather go home and be alone with Vance. She is dying to get her arms around him. Melina changes into a sexy black and gold figure hugging dress with gold heels. She sends one of the assistants out to the crowd to make sure that the guys have directions to the party, and to let them know that their names are on the list at the door. Melina is going to meet them there, as she is required to ride with the rest of the models in the limo.

  The models arrive half an hour later and are blinded by the paparazzi as they all walk into the hotel where the after party is taking place. When Melina enters the room, her eyes are immediately scanning the place for Vance. After a couple of passes, she spots them lounging on some couches off to the side of the dance floor. Melina only gets to take one step before someone grabs her arm. She turns to see that it’s Harper.

  “Hi!” Melina squeals and gives her a hug.

  “Sorry, I couldn't make the show,” Harper says as they separate.

  “It's okay, I know you’re busy.” Melina smiles.

  “You headed over to the boys?” Harper asks.

  Melina just nods affirmatively.

  “I think I’ll join you.” Harper smiles mischievously.

  Melina giggles and takes Harper's hand so they won't get separated in the crowd. When they make it to the guys, Harper lets her go and launches herself at an unsuspecting Dayne. He had just stood up from the couch he was sitting on when she squealed his name and jumped into his arms. Thank God she is wearing pants; otherwise, everyone would have gotten a good view of her underwear…if she’s even wearing any. Fortunately, the couch is behind Dayne because he loses his balance while catching her and falls back onto it. Harper shoves her hands into his hair and kisses him hard. Dayne’s arms tighten around her, as their kiss turns more heated.

  Vance is too caught up in the show next to him to realize she’s even standing there. Melina puts her hands on her hips and waits. Vance finally drags his gaze away from the dirty birds and sees her standing there. He does a double take then shoots to his feet. He shoves his beer at Ryder, who is sitting on the arm of the couch, then sweeps her up in his arms. Melina wraps her arms around his neck as he captures her mouth.

  “Vance...if you don't want pictures...of us kissing...” Melina breathes in between kisses.

  “I don't fucking care,” Vance rasps against her lips before kissing her so passionately that her head swims.

  Melina melts against him. Damn, she’s missed him. They haven’t even really gotten many opportunities to talk much the past few days. Melina is happy that the show is finally over so that she can spend time with him. Vance's hands slowly roam down her back to rest at the top of her ass, tugging her snug against him. Melina laces her hands into the back of his hair.

  Vance slowly pulls away and leans his forehead on hers, his eyes still closed. “You looked so amazing up on the stage tonight,” he murmurs.

  Melina smiles. “Thank you,” she says and moves her head back enough to look up at him. “I noticed you frowning a couple of times, though.” She continues to look up at him, as she waits for him to answer.

  Vance looks away from her for a moment. “Yeah, I had a couple of moments of weakness where I wanted to jump up there and demand you put on clothes.” Vance looks back into her eyes, showing her that he’s being sincere. “But I got over it. I'm okay now.”

  Melina just smiles then reaches up and kisses him again.

  Vance leads her over to the couch, sits down, and then pulls her down onto his lap, so that she is sitting sideways. One hand is holding her hip while the other one is brushing soft caresses up and down the outside of her bare thigh. Vance looks up at her, his gaze crystal clear with desire.

  Their intimate moment is interrupted when Dayne tears his mouth away from Harper with a guttural cry of aggravation. He lifts her off his lap and plops her on the couch between him and Vance as if she weighs nothing. Dayne shoots to his feet and shoves his hand down the front of his jeans to adjust himself, the whole while glaring angrily at Harper, who looks thoroughly ravaged.

  “You're driving me fucking nuts! I can't take it!” Dayne shouts at her and turns to walk away.

  “Where are you going?” Harper calls after him.

  Dayne turns back. “Away from you!” he bellows, throwing his fists in the air. He starts to leave
but turns back and points at her. “This counts as date number three.” With that, he storms off, shoving his way through the crowd.

  They all stare at Dayne's disappearing figure, unsure of what to do or say. Ryder gets up off the arm of couch where he was sitting and goes after Dayne. Melina looks over at Harper. She hasn't moved from where Dayne dropped her onto the couch. Her hands are planted on the cushions on either side of her hips, her hair is tousled, her face is flushed, and her lips are swollen from their searing kiss.

  Harper's eyes flick to Melina's. That’s when Melina sees that Harper is head over heels in love with Dayne. How did that happen so fast? They’ve only been on two dates – well, three, since Dayne counted tonight as one. Harper gives her a tight smile and then begins fixing herself. Melina gets up off Vance's lap, takes Harper's hand, and pulls her up.

  “Let’s go to the bathroom,” Melina says to her.

  Harper nods. Melina can see that she’s fighting off tears. Melina leans down for a chaste kiss on the lips before patting Vance's knee as she leads Harper off toward the bathroom.

  **Dayne**

  Dayne paces furiously in the hallway just outside the doors to the ballroom where the party is being held. Too many thoughts and too many emotions are racing through his brain. Emotions that he hasn't felt in years, not since he was married. But they are unwanted emotions. He absolutely refuses to have feelings for her. He has to batten down the hatches, get to date number five so he can have her, and then hit the fucking road. No way in hell is this woman gonna break him.

  “Hey, man, you alright?” comes Ryder's voice from behind him.

  Dayne spins around to look at him. “Fuck...no, I'm not. She does nothing but torture me; I can't stand it,” Dayne grinds out through clenched teeth.

  “I don't think she does it on purpose. She’s just as affected by you as you are of her,” Ryder says softly.

  Dayne makes a frustrated noise and starts to pace again. “Yeah, well, they're her rules, not mine. She can break them if she really wanted to.”