by Lauren Wood
The bartender knew me because we went to school together and I made sure that I didn’t mention I still wasn’t old enough. I did a bit of drinking in college, but I still hadn’t really learned to have a taste for it yet. I winced with the spiked drink and turned to look at the people in the bar and see if I knew anyone. It’d been a while since I’d been back and usually I would hook up with some friends while I was here, but I left on such short notice that I hadn’t had a chance to this time around.
I saw a familiar face in there and I turned around in the stool before he could see me. I hadn’t seen Jake in a really long time and I didn’t want to see him tonight.
“Melanie? Is that you?”
I groaned inwardly and I turned back around and smiled at Jake. It had been a long time and even though we’d broken up in a good way, it wasn’t the best relationship end that I’d had before. I was the one that had to leave and go back to college a few summers before. He’d been upset, wanted to keep it friendly and date long distance, but I wasn’t interested. It was hard to argue with him or to finally have to bluntly explain that it wasn’t going to work. It was just some fun that had gone too far.
He was coming towards me and I took another drink before he got there. I had a feeling that I was going to need it.
“I haven’t seen you in a good long time Melanie. You look damn good.”
His charismatic smile was back and I reciprocated the gesture. When a man smiled at me like that, I couldn’t help but respond.
“You look pretty good yourself Jake.”
Chapter 7
Carl
Because I was just so irritated with the conversation with Scott and the very fact that I was thinking about Melanie still, I went to the cupboard to get a drink and found that I’d had the last of the whiskey. Instead of staying sober for the night, I decided that I should go out and get some more.
I got dressed and ran a hand threw my hair before I left the house. I wasn’t too worried about my appearance. I was just going out for a few drinks and was still sweaty from working at Scott’s house. The bar was small, but it was packed for a weekday and I hoped that I didn’t know anyone in here because if Bianca found out I was here and I wasn’t answering her calls, I was never going to hear the end of it. The last thing that I needed was her bitching at me.
The bar was full to the brim and there were only a couple of seats at the bar. I saw a flash of red and I knew who it was almost immediately. She was as easy to spot in a crowd as her brother was and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that turning around and walking away was literally the best thing that I could do in this situation. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be around her.
I would have turned back and got some whiskey at the gas station, but then I saw her talking to Jake Caller and I knew that I had to stay. I was staying to make sure she was okay. The man had one hell of a reputation and it was not one that I thought was made up. I knew Jake a little bit and I knew how he was with girls. I knew that Scott wouldn’t want Melanie around him, so I was going to stay for his sake.
This is what I told myself as I made my way to the empty seat beside her. Jake was on the other side, most likely the reason that it wasn’t occupied. Everyone in their right mind would want to sit there. She was just as hot as I remembered and now I could look at her as much as I wanted.
She still had freckles that were painted all over her nose and cheeks. It was a light sprinkling that wasn’t too much and I really liked the way it looked. She laughed at something that Jake had said and she hadn’t even noticed me yet. She didn’t turn to me until I gave my order to the bartender. I thought she’d seen me when I first came in, but then her eyes flickered away and she was talking to Jake, so I wasn’t sure.
“Carl. I didn’t know that you came here.”
“It’s the only bar in Jefferson.”
“I know. I just, never mind. Good to see you. Thanks for helping out with the driveway earlier, it looks great.”
I was surprised that she even noticed, but then I realized that I was still wearing some of the black, sticky sealant on my clothes and a little on my hands. I had working hands that never did seem to be completely clean.
“No problem. Your dad is a great guy and I always like to help if I can.”
She smiled at me and I felt my heart skip a beat. It was something that I would never notice before, but I don’t think it’d ever happened before. It must be that Scott told me I couldn’t have her and that was why I was thinking about her so much. That’s why her scent was drawing me in like a magnet. It must be the hands off thing that was bothering me so much because I was bothered more than I cared to say. I never thought about females this much.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
Melanie motioned to the one in her hand. “Jake was nice enough to get a couple for me. You know Jake, right?”
It was like she remembered that he was next to her and she had been previously talking to him. I wasn’t too worried about Jake, but I nodded my head to him and told him that I knew him a little bit. I didn’t mention that I didn’t care for him all that well because he was a cocky jerk, but I was going to leave that unsaid.
Jake tried to get her attention and I decided that I had to instead. I couldn’t let her get involved with a guy like that. It just wasn’t right.
“So how is school going?”
Melanie smiled and then it flattered a little bit. “It’s going okay. Just having trouble with my professor.”
“The one you were dating?”
She shrugged and looked away. “I could kill Scott for saying that in front of you. He should have kept his big mouth shut.”
“Well it was true what I said about you liking older guys then I guess. You never did find a guy your own age huh?”
“Yeah, I guess not.”
“You’re over that, though right? The older guy thing.”
I don’t know what exactly I was asking her, but damn if I didn’t want her to say that she wasn’t. Melanie was quite a bit younger than I was and I didn’t like to think that there was no chance at all. I didn’t like the idea of that at all and I wanted it not to be true. I didn’t want what she said about older guys to be true.
“I don’t know. I’m just naturally attracted to them I guess. There isn’t anything I can do about it, but it shut my brother up.”
Jake was staring me down and I ignored his look. He wouldn’t do anything. He knew better and after a few minutes of Melanie sort of flirting with me and ignoring him, he left to go to the pool tables and I smiled to myself. That hadn’t been so bad.
“Why did you want him to leave?”
“Who?”
“Jake, you practically pissed on me for him to leave.”
“Pissed on you?”
“Yeah like a dog marking his territory.”
It wasn’t how I would have worded it, but it was aptly correct. I wanted Jake to go away and I did claim her in a way to get him to go. He did and now I didn’t have to be that way anymore.
“It was for your own good. He’s a jerk and a womanizer.”
“We dated a few years back. I broke up with him, not the other way around. You don’t have to protect me from Jake.”
Chapter 8
Melanie
“So now that he is gone, now what?”
He looked at me and I could tell that he had something in mind that I would have agreed to wholeheartedly. I still had the same crush on him and I was saddened to see that it hadn’t gone away. I’d tried very hard to forget about my brother’s friend. He had pushed me aside like there was nothing to think about before, but now things had changed. I could see it in the way that he looked at me now.
“I will take you home when you’re ready. It looks like you’ve had enough to drink.”
He was right of course; I knew that, even in the current state that I was in. I knew that I shouldn’t drive. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I guess I just figured if nothing else I could have walked home
. It wasn’t that far and it’s not like there would be a problem leaving the car here.
“You don’t have to do that.”
I was a bit disappointed that he didn’t want to get it on. It’s what I’d thought about when I was younger and didn’t even know then what I was asking for. Now I knew and I still wanted Carl.
“I insist. Your brother would kill me if he knew that I left this bar and didn’t take you home, especially with Jake sniffing around.”
I didn’t like his comment, but he was so quick to smile it was hard to stop the response given back. Carl was never one to mesh words, but he would look at me with this grin on his face and I was unable to stop myself from smiling back at him.
“My brother isn’t my keeper.”
“Yes he is. You know that Scott is very protective of you and he just wants to make sure that you’re okay.”
“I know and I’m twenty now. You’d think that he would back off a little bit. That’s why I’m glad I was sent away. They thought I was going down a bad path, but it was Scott that kept me in line. Out in California I don’t have anyone that acts like him, so I can do what I want.”
“Like date professors.”
“Yes, if that’s what I want to do.”
I was acting defiant and I don’t know why I was telling Carl this. I wanted him to know in a way, that no matter if Scott approved or not, I wasn’t too worried about what he thought. It felt like it was Scott that was holding Carl back from going forward. I didn’t want that. At this moment in time, I wanted Carl to lean over and kiss me. It was something that I’d thought about a lot.
“You’re not going down a good path Melanie. You do need to date guys your own age. Break some hearts before you have your own broken.”
“Is that what older men do Carl? Do you guys break our hearts?”
He was uncomfortable with the question and he leaned back in his seat. I was getting too close apparently, but my depth perception was off mightily.
“Yes, we do. I’m sure we don’t mean to, but we’re callous and you shouldn’t listen to us.”
“I learned a lot from you Carl. Not as much as I wanted to, but I learned a lot. You never took me seriously.”
“We don’t need to go over that again. It was a long time ago Melanie and we should keep it in the past. We were both a lot younger.”
“Yes it was a long time ago. And we were younger, but that doesn’t mean that I should forget it or that I could even if I wanted to. A girl doesn’t forget a thing like that.”
I was silent for a moment because all I could think about was how different it was now that I was older. I felt different and I had more to offer now, but some things were still too similar for my liking.
“You look at me seriously now Carl.”
“Do I?”
“Yes. I wonder what would happen now if I’d thrown myself on you like I had before. I wonder if I would get a different response this time around? Maybe you would like the things that I could do to you. I’m not that young anymore.”
Carl got out of the seat like it was on fire and I could tell he was really uncomfortable now. I almost giggled because of the way he acted, but it wasn’t the best response I could have hoped for either. I didn’t want him to run like he was now. The first time he’d just brushed me off like I was a kid. Now though, he looked at me differently with the same results as before. I still was no closer to having what I wanted.
“You ready to go Melanie? I think you’ve had enough to drink and I got to get up early in the morning. You’re getting a bit too friendly for my taste. I don’t want to leave you here when you are like this. It wouldn’t be safe and your brother would never let me hear the end of it if something happened to you.”
I agreed that I was ready, because it was becoming painfully clear that after all of this time, I was still not going to get the attention that I truly wanted. Carl was being held back and at the moment it didn’t look like he was going to budge. It was too bad really because he had no idea that things that I wanted to do to him.
“Can I ask you a question Carl?”
We were walking out of the bar and he didn’t answer me until we were outside, like he wanted to make sure that I was still going to go with him no matter what his answer was. I can’t say that he was wrong for the dishonesty. I wanted to stay if I wasn’t going to get any action from Carl. I was in quite a state today and this evening would be a whole lot better if that was different.
“What’s that Mel?”
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
He looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you think that I’m pretty? It’s a pretty straight forward question and you’re a pretty straight forward kind of guy.”
“Of course I think you’re pretty. You know that you’re hot Melanie. It would be impossible for you not to know.”
I liked the answer that he was giving, but it still wasn’t good enough. There was still so much more that I didn’t understand about how he was acting if that was true.
“Then why do you run from me?”
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m not that drunk Carl and you know it”
“Your brother is my best friend Melanie. Isn’t that enough of a reason.”
“So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“So we’ve been friends for a long time and you’re off limits to me.”
“I am?”
Carl nodded his head and his dark eyes pinned me where I stood. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long because Carl had such intensity inside of him and it wasn’t hard to see how much he was attracted to me. It didn’t help my senses at all or the fact that he was avoiding what I wanted like the plague.
“Yes you are. Very off limits to me Melanie.”
“And if I wasn’t?”
“I would have already slammed into you a hundred times over and made you scream my name until you couldn’t speak. You’re hot as fuck Melanie. You know it, so don’t play games. It doesn’t suit you. You’re too smart for that.”
I didn’t know it like he said, but it was good to hear that he thought I had it that way. The rest of what he said made me tremble a little and it was not the answer that I was looking for. It was the answer I needed mind you, but now what? None of it mattered because some man code said it wasn’t meant to be.
“So I will always be off limits to you then? There is no way that it is going to change.”
“Pretty much Melanie. I don’t see that ever changing.”
I made a pouty face. “Well that’s not what I wanted to hear at all. Who made up these rules?”
Chapter 9
Carl
It wasn’t what I wanted to say to Melanie, but damned if it wasn’t true. Melanie was in rare form and I needed to get her home and get the hell away from her before I got myself in trouble. She was a tempting little siren and I could tell that my boat was already shifting towards the craggy shores. I had to stay far away from her or I was going to break a promise to my best friend and I told myself that I wasn’t going to do it.
We were to the truck and I held the door open for her, so I could help her get in. It was pretty high and she was still wearing heels that were far too tall for her.
“So never going to happen huh?”
“No, fraid not.”
“That’s too bad. I’ve always wondered what a kiss with you would feel like. Just a little kiss and I will leave you alone. For the night anyways.”
I don’t know what she was asking, but then I noticed she was staring at my lips. She was very transparent when she was drinking. She leaned in and said something again about just one kiss and it was only then that my brain was working enough to understand what she was saying.
“We can’t.”
“Just one kiss?”
I shouldn’t have said yes, I know that, but she was standing there with this vulnerable look on her face and her green eyes glimmered at me. God, she was beautiful and
I leaned in just a little. Our lips met and it wasn’t this innocent kiss that I wanted it to be when it first started. I immediately knew that I’d fucked up once I heard the sound of her whimper drowning in my mouth. Her body was becoming fluid against mine and I could feel all of her curves as she swayed slightly.
Her arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me down a little more. Her tongue pushed between my lips and met with mine in an aggressive manner that I hadn’t seen coming. I should have stopped it. I should have stopped her. I was supposed to, but the feel of her body against mine and the taste of her lips was enough to make me momentarily forget why it was never going to happen between us. I didn’t want to think of the why nots when she felt so damn good in my arms.
It was only when I heard another soft whimper from her and felt the resulting reaction of my body that I knew I had to stop. I was going to have to stop now and I moved back, having to let my hand out to steady her because she was too keen to keep going and wasn’t very balanced because she was leaning so heavily on me.
“Let’s get you home Melanie, before this gets out of hand.”
“Maybe that’s what I want Carl. I bet you’re hard as a rock because I could feel it against me. Why try to deny what it is that you truly want.”
Melanie was tempting me and I think she knew it. Her hand moved below my waist and I felt the touch of anticipation far before I found the nerve to stop her. Her small hand had discovered the hardness that was all her doing and she was rubbing it into her hand. It felt so good and I had to steel myself and my reserve as I moved her hand away.
“We can’t do this Melanie. Not here and not like this.”
She still had that pouty look on her face, but it wasn’t going to faze me because I wanted it just as bad as she did, maybe more. It didn’t mean that I necessarily had a choice though. Scott was my best friend and no woman was worth ruining that, not even one that tasted like vanilla when I kissed her and made me so hard I ached. I just had to be the one that said no, no matter how hard it might be at the moment. That’s what I had told Scott that I would do, before I realized how hard now was going to be.
