Safe Word

by Christie Grey

  “Well I doubt I can help you get first place, but if last place is what you’re after I’m your girl.”

  “Then I guess you’re my girl.”

  There was a pregnant pause as their eyes met. Melody quickly forced herself to look away, feeling her face redden. That was when she noticed the music had stopped and everyone was assembling around the bride and the groom to watch as they cut their wedding cake and then, most likely, unceremoniously shoved it into one another’s faces.

  Where had the time gone? Before Zane had sat down next to her Melody had been watching the clock like a hawk, desperate to make a hasty exit. But once he had appeared she had lost herself in the conversation. It felt like no time had passed at all. In fact, she could have happily continued talking to Zane all night long.

  And she felt warm all over every time she thought of what he had said, even if it had been nothing more than an innocent, offhand comment. She liked the thought of being his girl. In fact, she liked it very much indeed.

  Chapter 02

  The next day when Melody had sobered up, she was a bit mortified by how forthcoming she had been with Zane. Usually she tried to play it cool, referring to her parents as “roommates” so that no one would suspect she was nearly thirty and still living at home.

  And if she was sober, she never would have admitted to having a non-existent social life.

  What a loser she had made herself out to be!

  Zane was gorgeous, self-assured and interesting as hell. He was well-traveled, well-spoken and uh, had she mentioned gorgeous? He was the type of guy she would normally go out of her way to impress. But she’d blown that chance the second she’d gotten a little too tipsy and opened her big fat mouth.

  Self-pity was so unattractive, and yet that was what she had been wallowing in the night of the wedding. She’d complained, opened up to him way too much about her pitiful little life and just been a big mess in general. What had she been thinking?

  Melody briefly contemplated canceling on Zane, but she had to admit she was excited by the prospect of getting out of the house on a Friday night. Moving back to her relatively small hometown and living with her parents made her feel like she was in her sixties rather than her late twenties. A night out would be good for her.

  Besides, Melody didn’t know Zane’s phone number and it wasn’t listed in the phone book...she had checked. There was no way to cancel on him unless she simply didn’t show up, and she wasn’t about to add “rude” to the list of unflattering adjectives he could use to describe her.

  So it was decided. She was going to show up at the bar as planned. And once there, she was going to do her damnedest to help him lose horribly at trivia.

  She promised herself she would have a one drink limit. After all, she had to redeem herself after the way she had whined to Zane the other night. She had to show him she was an interesting and sophisticated woman rather than the childish, negative whiner she had portrayed herself as the night of the wedding.

  She wasn’t sure why, but she felt an inexplicable need to impress Zane. Maybe it was because in her mind he would always be her friends’ big brother, and she had always felt a need to measure up to The Big Kids. Or maybe it was simply because he was sinfully good looking and made her feel flushed every time his gorgeous blue eyes met hers.

  Either way, she was pretty excited for Friday night to roll around.

  On Friday afternoon, Melody screeched into the driveway of her parents’ place and ran into the house, anxious to get upstairs and primp in front of the mirror. She hadn’t had a proper night out in a long time, so she was damn well going to make this one count!

  When Melody flung open the front door, she nearly collided with her mother.

  “Well hello! I haven’t seen you all day. Where have you been?” Melody’s mother asked curiously. The question was innocent enough, but the way her parents were constantly sticking their noses into her business drove Melody a little crazy. It felt as though she was a teenager again – and not in a good way!

  “I had a job interview in the city today,” Melody replied.

  “Oh! Good for you! How did it go?”

  “It wasn’t what I’m looking for,” Melody replied. “Actually, it’s exactly what I’m not looking for...the ad I responded to was kind of deceiving. But don’t worry, Mom...I’ve picked up some contract work,” she added, hoping to avoid another discussion about Life Plans.

  “What kind of contract work?” her mother asked.

  Melody shrugged. “It’s some really simple web design stuff. I’m helping a couple bloggers who obviously know nothing about computers build and update web sites. I get to work online from home, so hooray for no commute, I guess.”

  Her mother furrowed her brow. “What about psychology? I don’t know how you can turn your back on a career you haven’t even given a fair chance,” she said. “Your father and I would both love to see you back in school, you know, to finish what you started. You could be a doctor one day, you know!”

  “Yes Mom, I know,” Melody sighed, trying her best to keep her temper in check. “You’ve only mentioned it a thousand times. But it’s not what I want.”

  “Well what about at least putting the education you have to use, then?” her mother pressed. “Aren’t there places that will hire you now? Francine Bouchard’s son Eddie went through for the same thing as you. He only has a master’s degree because unlike you his performance wasn’t strong enough to go any further...but now he makes good money working as a –”

  “Mom!” Melody interrupted in exasperation. “For the millionth time, I don’t know who Francine Bouchard’s son Eddie is and I don’t care what he does for a living. The whole point is I don’t want to be a psychologist anymore, okay?”

  She could understand her parents’ point of view to some extent. They simply wanted her to be successful in life. But she wished they would trust her to make her own decisions rather than trying to make her conform to the standards they had set for her. Had it not been for their subtle prodding, she may not have ever chosen to study psychology in the first place.

  But she had, and there was no getting those wasted years back...or the wasted tuition.

  Truthfully, her mother was probably most upset about not being able to brag to her friends that her daughter had a prestigious, highly-respected job. For a time she’d been able to hold her head high and boast that her daughter was at the top of her class and destined for greatness. Now, though? Not so much.

  Melody would never understand how women of her mother’s age could get so competitive over stupid things like whose adult child made the most money or whose grandkid learned to Go Tinkle in the Potty first. It was completely and utterly ridiculous.

  “Well I don’t understand how you’re so sure you hate something you haven’t even experienced,” her mother huffed. “You had so much potential, Melody, and you’re such a smart girl. Now you’re going to waste all that, and for what?”

  “I already told you, Mom, I’m going to be doing some contract work. You know, web design stuff,” Melody replied, her patience wearing thin. The worst part was that her mother was voicing some of Melody’s own concerns. It made her feel like a huge disappointment, not to mention an utter failure. And it made her fearful for her future.

  “I don’t even know what that means,” her mother complained. “And how do you know it’s legit? What if it’s a scam? The web is apparently overrun with unsavory people running scams,” she announced authoritatively. “Are you sure you should even be on there at all?”

  Melody’s mother was not exactly computer savvy. And she could also be a bit of a worrywart.

  “It’s not a scam. It’s a legitimate contract job that will pay my bills, okay? And it will be a nice change of pace, so I’m looking forward to doing it. That’s really all you need to know, Mom.”

  “It is not all I need to know!” her mother retorted somewhat dramatically. “In case you’ve forgotten, I am your mother! I have a vested inter
est in your life and well being! You try to tell me your life is none of my business...well you are my business!”

  “Mom, I really think you need to get a hobby,” Melody muttered. “I know you’re still getting used to retirement, but you can’t turn obsessing over me into a fulltime job.”

  “I don’t obsess over you!”

  “Actually, that’s exactly what you do,” Melody pointed out. “It’s sort of like I have a stalker.”

  “Oh you exaggerate,” her mother said dismissively.

  Growing frustrated, Melody tried to edge past her mother. “I have to get going,” she said.

  “Where are you going? I thought we were going to watch a movie tonight?”

  Melody shook her head. “I have plans tonight, so you and Dad will finally get some alone time.”

  “What if we don’t want alone time?” her mother asked defiantly. “We like having you around. But maybe if you’re back early enough we can wait and watch the movie when you’re home. Where are you going? Are you going out?”

  “Yes. And don’t wait for me. Just watch the movie, okay?”

  “Who are you going out with?”

  “Mom, please can I just go upstairs?” Melody asked as her mother deliberately blocked the way.

  “Are you going on a date?” she demanded, all ears.

  “Mom!” Melody snapped, completely exasperated now.

  “Okay, okay, mind my own business, I know,” her mother replied, throwing her hands up in the air. “I was just going to suggest that you could bring your mystery man over to watch that movie with us tonight, that’s all. It would be like a double date! Doesn’t that sound fun?”

  “Uh...thanks, but no,” Melody replied, finally spotting an opening and taking it. Charging forward, she faked a left and then jumped to the right, slipping past her overly involved mother and dashing up the stairs. She had escaped! Success!

  As Melody disappeared into her room and began to get ready, she couldn’t help but chuckle at her mother’s suggestion. Her evening out with Zane wasn’t a date – he had made that very clear – but even if it was, in what universe would it be a good idea to bring him home for a so-called double date with her parents? The mere thought made Melody shudder!

  Melody’s parents had had her and her older brother later in life. They had been in their mid-thirties when her brother had been born, and both had been pushing forty when she had arrived. Sometimes the generation gap felt enormous – even bigger than it actually was!

  Though it seemed completely unfair, Melody’s brother was allowed to live his own life relatively free from parental interference. He was off doing his own thing, working crazy hours as a highly paid consultant for a big oil company down in Texas.

  To be honest, he probably got into a hell of a lot more trouble than she ever had.

  But Melody was the one her parents had always worried about and tried to smother with good intentions. Maybe it was because she was their only daughter. Or maybe it was because she was their youngest child. Whatever the reason, it was bad. As much as she loved her parents, sometimes she felt like she was suffocating when she was around them.

  Moving home had probably been a huge mistake, but financially it had made sense. She regretted the decision now, but there wasn’t much she could do about it until she sorted out her life and money situation. So she was stuck. It wasn’t a good feeling.

  What was a good feeling, however, was having something to look forward to. So Melody cast all thoughts of her helicopter parents out of her mind and concentrated on getting ready for her night out with Zane. Two coats of midnight black mascara gave her long, thick, full lashes, and a touch of lip gloss topped off the look nicely.

  Back when she had been living in the city, Melody had enjoyed taking the occasional fashion risk. She loved trends, whether it was bright red thigh high boots, animal print coats or faux leather leggings. But she wasn’t in the city anymore, and she knew that those sorts of things would look out of place in her small, sleepy hometown.

  It pained her that whole section of her fun college wardrobe was now essentially off limits.

  But she didn’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, so she chose something more conservative to wear. Fitted blue jeans and a black button up blouse with a deep v-neck accentuated Melody’s curves without making her look out of place. She complemented the ensemble with a pair of silver hoop earrings and black stiletto knee high boots that made her legs look long and lean.

  Then she rushed downstairs, hurrying past her mother before she had to suffer through yet another barrage of questions. It was time to go out and hopefully have a little fun. God knew she needed that! Simply being around someone her own age in a non-wedding setting sounded amazing.

  And it didn’t hurt that it was Zane who she was on her way to meet.

  Part of Melody wished he had asked her out on a date. He was sexy as hell and had a strange sort of intensity about him that drew her in, making her hang on his every word. She wanted to know him...and be known by him. She wanted all sorts of things...

  “Oh my God, what’s wrong with you?” Melody asked her reflection in the car’s rear view mirror as she backed out of her parents’ driveway. She’d had one conversation with the guy and now she was what, fantasizing about going to bed with him or something? “Get a grip!” she ordered herself sternly.

  Yet despite her best efforts, Melody couldn’t help but think of Zane the entire drive to the bar. She found herself riddled with questions about him. She wanted to know everything about him and she wanted to know what it felt like to be in his arms and underneath him and...

  Oh God.

  As she walked into the laid back, nondescript bar where bored locals hung out after work, Melody tried to act cool. She scanned the area in search of Zane, but when she spotted him slouched down in a booth near the back looking relaxed and gorgeous, all bets were off. She immediately felt her heart begin to race as adrenaline surged through her.

  When he noticed her and gave her a casual nod before taking a sip of beer, Melody lit up like a Christmas tree. Beaming at him, she waved a bit too animatedly. Immediately, she regretted it and pulled her arm down, holding it stiffly against her side.

  She couldn’t help her reaction. She was really, genuinely excited to see him.

  What was that all about?

  At the wedding reception, it had been easy to write her giddiness off as being under the influence. But now she was stone cold sober and was still blushing like a schoolgirl simply from being in Zane’s presence. She was flushed merely because he’d acknowledged her existence. Melody wasn’t usually like that. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she had reacted that way to a guy she barely even knew.

  Something about Zane set her alight with sexual energy.

  She hoped he felt it too.

  Chapter 03

  “Have another drink,” Zane offered. “I’m buying.”

  “I’m fine, really,” Melody insisted. “Thanks though.”

  “Alright then,” he replied, signalling to a passing waitress that he wanted another pitcher of beer. “But I will warn you right now, the shame of coming in last at trivia will be dulled considerably if you’re drunk off your ass. I speak from personal experience here.”

  Melody chuckled. “Well alright,” she told him as the waitress brought a fresh pitcher of beer. “Maybe I’ll have one more.” So much for her one drink limit!

  “You look like you had a good day,” Zane observed.

  “What do you mean?”

  He grinned. “You haven’t stopped smiling since you got here.”

  Mortified, Melody immediately frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Hey, it’s cool,” he reassured her. “It’s actually pretty cute. So...was it a good day?”

  She shrugged. “It was a day like any other, I suppose. How was your day?”

  “It’s better now that you’re here,” he said, holding his glass up in a mock toast. “
Here’s to you!”

  “Nice try, smooth talker,” Melody told him.

  “Smooth talker? Me?”

  “Yep, you,” she nodded. Then, changing the subject, she demanded, “Tell me about you.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “What do you do for work?”

  He hesitated. “Honestly?”

  “Well yeah, of course I want the truth,” she replied. “And if you try to tell me you’re a dragon slayer I’m going to know that you’re lying to me, Zane Shepherd.”

  “Dammit, and that was going to be my answer, too.”

  “So...?” she urged. “What do you do?”

  “Um...nothing,” he replied.

  “Oh, so you’re in between jobs?” Melody asked, feeling awkward that she had put him on the spot. “I get it. I mean I, of all people, should get it right?”

  “Yeah well that’s not exactly what I meant,” he clarified. “I uh...remember I told you I’d been in a bad car accident? Well I lost control of my car because of a faulty part. The manufacturer was involved in a class action lawsuit and I ended up getting a pretty significant settlement out of it.”

  “Ah, I see. So you choose not to work?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  “So...what do you do all day?” Melody asked curiously.

  “Whatever I want to do,” he admitted with a shrug, looking rather embarrassed by the whole discussion. “Sometimes I try to pay it forward and help people out. And other days I’m a lazy, selfish bastard who’s drunk by noon.”

  “So basically what you’re saying is you’re living everybody’s dream,” Melody summarized.

  “Am I?”

  “Aren’t you?”

  Zane didn’t reply. Instead, he refilled both their glasses until they were overflowing with ice cold beer. Then he nodded over to the stage where a guy with a microphone appeared to be getting set up. “It looks like trivia is about to start.”

  “Is it weird that we’ve made it our mission to lose?” Melody asked.

  “Nah, winning is overrated,” he replied. “I want to see how bad you can be, Melody.”