by Bri Stone
“I didn’t go in high school.” She murmurs.
“What? Why not?” I ask, I still don’t know where she went but everyone goes to homecoming, right?
“I didn’t go to high school.” She turns her lids down like that’s a bad thing.
“Oh. So, you were homeschooled? That’s—”
“No, not really. It’s a long story.”
I sigh, gesturing to our still empty table. It’s a busy night, our food won’t be coming anytime soon.
“We’ve got time, this is the most I’ve heard about this.”
“I don’t talk about it very much. It’s not that big of a deal. I didn’t go to any public schools because I never stayed in one area long enough.” She chews her inner lip and I only get more confused.
“So, your parents moved—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Pete.” She snaps. It’s the first I’ve heard her voice in that tone and it makes me back off real quick.
“Yeah. Okay.”
The waitress walks into our awkward bubble and drops our taco platter off. But I don’t move to dig in despite my hunger and she doesn’t either.
“I do want you to come to homecoming with me. S’not about making things official or nothin’, but I want to have you there. It’s the first weekend of November, so not too far from now.” I lean in close the more I talk, until her scent washes over me and I feel her waves falling into me.
I wish I knew what she was thinking. Her brown globes tell me nothing. They hide everything from me. Why does she want to hide things from me?
Her rapid blinks charge away my thoughts and whip me back into the moment. “I have med school interviews that day, with Duke.”
“Are you lying?”
“No. Why would you ask that?” She scrunches up her nose, but not in the usual cute way she does when I say something ‘odd.’
“No reason… I want you to do well in your interview. I know how much it means to you.” I reach to take her hands and for the first time in weeks, she flinches away from me. Not even weeks, months. What is this…
“It’s fine.” She glances around like an answer is there. “Look I have to go, Pete, I forgot about something.” Melinda slides from the booth and grabs her purple clutch pure—I know what that is because of Phoebe.
“Melinda, wait—” I go for her arm and she moves it away, her eyes going wide like I’ve shone headlights on her.
“I gotta go, Pete. I’m sorry.”
“Melinda—wait!” But she is already weaving through the tables and trucking for the door.
How would she get anywhere? I drove us here. But that isn’t what gets me trucking after her, it’s that I don’t ever want to watch her walk away from me and she’s got to understand that isn’t what this is anymore. I know I can’t control her, can’t make her do whatever I say—but I can get her to see the truth in this. In us.
I charge out the door, ignore the coeds looking on, and find her a few paces down the side parking lot.
“Melinda!”
She turns to me with a shocked expression stealing her face. I don’t take a breath before I grab her hand and tow her with me to the side of the building where no one can look on at us.
“Pete—” she tries to wriggle from my grasp.
“Nuh uh, sweetness. I’m doing the talking. You don’t get to run from me. I told you before, to be real with me. You still don’t know up from down, but I know there’s a me and you. You do too.” I have her trapped between me and the wall as I cup her face and force her to look in my eyes as I soften my voice. “Don’t run from this Melinda. I won’t let you—I won’t ever let you go.”
She inhales softly, “Why?” And plans to say more before I cut her off with a kiss that steals both our breath and sanity.
I coax her lips apart in one fail swoop and she opens right up to me. I feel her tension lift way and glide into me. I feel every doubt in her body fly away and I lock the door to her new soul with my kiss. My tongue glides to hers and I taste all of her until I feel her in my toes; no space between our bodies so I can share her heat. When her hands rest over mine as she fully latches herself to me I feel myself relax, I feel my fears fade away too. I don’t stop kissing her until I feel blue in the face and maybe even a little after.
But I do pull away and watch her eyelids flutter. She licks her lips and exhales, “Why Pete? Why me?” Her lids then flutter open slowly and meet right to mine.
I smile at her and let out a deep chuckle that vibrates through our bodies. All I can wonder is why this intelligent woman asks such stupid questions.
“Because you’re my girl.”
PETE
* * *
I didn’t think it would be this hard. I usually saw Melinda every day unless she was so insistent on studying, or I had stuff to do down at the farm. But when she left Thursday, I thought I would last more than two days.
I sit in the locker room at halftime, winning by three touchdowns. I could treat the rest of the game as practice and still win, but I had scouts watching for the combine.
“Someone take all your pie, Bull?” Coach claps my back and I feel it through my pads.
“Let’s go.”
The coaches went through some lining things, but we were winning so they weren’t all bothered about anything. We win, regardless.
I thought of Melinda on the way back to the locker room and as I got dressed, and how her interview went, when I called she hadn’t answered, and it was yesterday. But I knew she was driving back down today, so I didn’t want to distract her.
Melinda was really in my head. But I had to put her on hold for the last fifty-seven minutes of the game until we won and everyone rushed the field. I’ve never gotten over that feeling; of winning after a game, or just the end of a game in general.
I thought it was the only best feeling I could have besides family until I met Melinda.
“So, you’re skipping the bonfire? It’s senior year man, make some memories!” Daniel clubs my shoulder as we walk out of the athletic training center.
“I don’t know. I think I’ll just meet my family back at the farm.” I shrug.
“Aw, you want to have pie with mommy.” Jim laughs, but the joke is on him because I love pie. We’ve been over this.
“Right.”
“Look. I know Melinda is out of town, you’re aggressively whipped… doesn’t mean you can’t go.”
“I’ve been to four bonfires now, I think I know how it will go.” I drop my shoulder and feign tackling Jim who is still laughing at me about going back home.
“Whatever. Just be at home waiting for us. Or sorry, forgot you had a curfew back at the rents’.” Daniel laughs before he even finishes.
But by the time we were in Daniel’s truck headed to the house they had convinced me to go and we drove straight to the bonfire instead of heading home. The band is playing, the drumline dropping beats. I headed straight for the turkey legs and we played the little carnival games until our bets went past friendly. I guess we were making more memories, and it was my last homecoming after all. I wish Melinda was here, I always wish she’s with me. When we drive by the gas station she works at on the way home I even stare out of the window like a chum.
“Uh, Pete.” Jim nudged me from the back seat where I had dozed off.
“Hmm.” I gruff. He points out the window in response, where I see Melinda sitting on our front porch on the wicker chair.
I nearly jump out of the car to meet her, leaving the guys to follow behind me.
“Melinda, you know our kind can’t be sitting out in the dark,” Jim jokes with her and she laughs, but I didn’t get it.
I motion them with my eyes to get inside.
“Hey. What are you doing out here?” I walk up to her, rubbing her arms as I smile down at her.
Melinda is sunshine under the moonlight, her beauty taking me away even after all this time. She has on leggings and a black shirt that fit like a dress, her hair tied up in a b
un. Her tired eyes glint as she smiles at me.
“I had to return your truck, and then I realized I had to get back home. I thought I would wait until you got back.” She yawns slightly, and I hug her to my chest. I lean down and inhale the sugary scent of her hair, squeezing her until she starts to pull away.
“It’s so late, how long have you been out here?” I ask as I cupped her face, chilly from the air.
“Oh, not long. I went home and came back.” She shrugs. “How was the game?” She moves her hands to my shoulders as she smiles.
“We won. The guys and I stopped by the bonfire.”
She nods slowly.
“You look so tired.” I laugh as I cup her chin.
She smiles slightly and leans up to kiss me. I meet her halfway and seal my lips around hers, kissing her like I always do. Slow and sweet enough to make a big guy like me get butterflies.
She pulls away, “You had cotton candy.” She snickers. I press my forehead to hers as I nod.
“A little bit.”
I separate from her and she hands me the keys to the truck. I stuff them in my pocket as I step to the side.
“It’s uh—pretty late already. You can stay here until the morning.” I step around her as she follows.
Turning to me with her brow raised, “You mean stay the night?”
“Sure. If you want.” I grin.
She licks her lips as she shakes her head. “You’re so odd.”
I laugh at her still saying that. “Yeah. We don’t have—it’s not some ploy.” I look a little more serious.
“I know you don’t use ploys.” her eyes flicker from me to the doorway.
“I make a mean breakfast, and the guys didn’t bring any women home.”
She laughs her sweet little giggle and steps forward. “Okay, Pete.”
Once I knew Melinda hadn’t eaten pretty much all day, I whipped up my favorite late-night meal for her: mac and cheese.
“Finished?” Though I didn’t need to ask, her bowl is wiped clean.
“Thank you.” She rises and takes it upon herself to wash it, despite my protests.
“You’re welcome. So how did the interview go?”
“It was fine. I don’t know if I want to go there though.”
“Why?”
She dries her hands and faces me. “It’s boring.”
“Hmm. Okay.”
I lead her up to my bedroom, which I realize she hasn’t seen before. Is it even clean? I find out when I open the door and she peers inside before walking in. I keep the place pretty clean, and it looks almost exactly like my bedroom back home.
I stand by the door and lean on the bookcase as I watch Melinda walk around.
“So where do you want to go?”
“Well, I have my dream schools but that’s all they are. Dreams.” She looks closer at one of my pictures, one of my sisters and me. She smiles softly. “You all look exactly alike,” she tries to change the subject.
“You’re smart, I’m sure they would accept you.”
Melinda shrugs and sits on the edge of the bed, running her hand over the thick blue comforter as she avoids my gaze. I sigh as I put the pieces together and sit next to her, taking her hand in mine. I stare down at our fingers entwined, her brown skin over my white skin, our differences so obvious and yet insignificant. And I look at Melinda, and I know through all the things she hides and doesn’t want to tell me, that I don’t care about it at all. I want to inhale her chaos like it has everything I need, and like it’s the last breath I will ever take because I know I’ll never know anything as beautiful as her again.
She doesn’t want to tell me where she wants to go because she’s afraid for us. It’s how she was in the beginning too, but I knew the moment this got serious, she would do her thing of avoiding the hard stuff. But I didn’t care, I would do whatever it takes to make things work with her because—
“You’re giving me that look again,” Melinda whispers. I smile through my discovery as I grip her hand tighter.
“Tell me where you want to go to medical school.”
“Harvard,” She murmurs.
“Why?”
“Because it’s number one.”
“That’s it?”
“Numbers are important…”
“And you like me because I’m ranked number one?” I grin and she rolls her eyes. I am the number one ranked defensive collegiate lineman in the country.
“Pete… don’t you want to play here in Texas?” Her eyes flicker between worry and concern.
I lick my lips and sigh, “Yeah but that doesn’t matter much, sweetness. I could get drafted anywhere. A lot goes into it, and I don’t want to get low balled either, so nothing is set in stone.”
She chews her lip as she looks down at my rug as if an answer is there. “I know but I don’t want to miss you, Pete.” She looks up at me gingerly and I search her eyes. “I didn’t see you for two days and I felt like I was missing something, and I would know how that feels because I’ve been missing something for most of my life. How am I supposed to do that for four years or even longer?”
I scoot closer to her and rub her arm. “Melinda, you don’t gotta worry about all that. Plus, wherever I play doesn’t mean I have to live there, it would just be for the season. Why are you worried about this all of a sudden?” I smile at her as I find her eyes.
“I don’t know. I guess it was the interview. I’m just scared as hell to want you, but here I am, wanting you anyway.”
“That’s fine, Melinda. I know I’m not scared. Hell, I’ve got no sense of direction sometimes but when it comes to you. I—” I pause and move her to my lap.
Her arms slink around my neck as I hold her waist. At eye level with me, I look right at her and watch the browns of her eyes soften.
“Sometimes I just wonder about the future. I always have. But it isn’t because I don’t like where I’m at, it’s because I want more of this and—” She huffs in frustration and lays her hands over my shoulders.
I smile at her and kiss her once softly, just enough to make her relax into me.
“You’re so different from me,” she whispers.
“Well, I am taller.” I make us both laugh and I roll her over while she’s carefree.
Once I do, I kiss her like time is running out. Her lips are so soft and perfect I could live on them. I lick her lips softly before my tongue slips inside and meets with hers. She always has this way of succumbing to me and it spurs me on. The heat of the kiss burns through my tired bones, my body bruised from the game lies against her soft, supple curves and settle between her thighs as she wraps them around my waist.
I curl my fingers through her hair and deepen the kiss, turning my head every muscle in my body clenches. Melinda clutches my biceps and moans so softly into the kiss it makes me pull away for air before I lose all self-control.
As I inhale deeply I look down at her with her lips parted and swollen as she gazes up at me.
“Don’t be afraid, Melinda. I’m here and I’ll always be here.” I lick my lips as I stare at her in awe. God, she is so beautiful. So perfect, like some rare gem I found behind the counter of a local gas station. Now, she’s mine.
“I know,” she whispered before her lips hinted at a smile, “a lot of you is here.” She shimmies up the bed until our crotches align and I growl under my breath as she laughs.
I roll off her and start laughing with her because, somehow, we both knew it just wasn’t the night. I never just jumped right into bed with a woman and something about Melinda told me she took some time too. But I didn’t care because I knew I had all the time in the world with her.
PETE
* * *
I loaned one of my shirts and boxers to Melinda to wear, but I didn’t think she would make it look so sexy. After she showered, we settled into my bed and I had her laid across my chest as I stroked my fingers through her hair until we fell asleep. I’ve never slept better in my life, until two things woke me up—Ji
m and Daniel.
They were having their usual Sunday morning banter of who gets first dibs on one of their games. I didn’t mind it because as soon as I open my eyes, I find Melinda right where I left her. The way she is clutching her hand around my chest and the feel of her cheek on my bare skin makes this the best morning welcome there is. That and her supple thigh edging dangerously close to my morning wood.
I yawn and stretch out as I turn and face her, taking her in. My window is open, letting soft sunlight cast right down on her. I follow her body up and down, noting the shirt riding up and baring her midriff. We haven’t seen much of each other, physically I mean. Besides when I drive around shirtless before I pick her up from the library. But this is different—she’s here in my bed, trusting me in her most vulnerable state. She is here, and yet I miss her.
“You’re giving me that look again.” She says out of nowhere and I scream like no grown man should.
Melinda giggles, eyes still closed for a moment before she opens them and yawns. I feign clutching my chest in terror.
“How long have you been awake?”
“Since Jim threatened Daniel’s life. Not long.” She smiles sleepily as she rolls onto her back and stretches out.
I watch more of her skin appear and my breath catches at the distraction until I see her outie belly button and laugh.
“What are you—” Melinda meets my eyes and stares down at herself as she laughs too. “It’s not funny.” But she is still laughing.
“It’s cute. I haven’t seen one since my nieces and nephews were born.” I lay my hand over her and trace her navel until she laughs more because she is ticklish. But then it moves to me just touching her, and her giggles dying down to me getting lost in the sleepy brown of her eyes.
My body feels her eyes graze over it before she clears her throat, “You promised me breakfast.” Her teeth fold over her bottom lip as she looks at me.
