Safe Word

by Christie Grey

  She let out a delighted shriek and took off running down the walking path. She was glad she hadn’t worn sandals with heels or gigantic wedges that made it feel like she was tottering around on stilts. But all that meant was she didn’t fall on her face. She still couldn’t outrun Zane. His long legs allowed him to easily catch up with her.

  Just as easily, he scooped her up under his arm. He was strong. He was very strong.

  As Melody kicked and screamed to no avail, he carted her down to the water’s edge as a few amused bystanders looked on. She begged and pleaded with him when she realized what he was about to do, but there was no changing her mind.

  And then, the next thing she knew, she was in the water.

  “I can’t believe you threw me in the river!” she screeched.

  Zane stifled his laughter, and then looked at Melody with a touch of concern. “Did I take it too far?” he asked, seeming apologetic. “I’ve been known to do that sometimes. Sorry. Here, let me help you out,” he offered walking to the edge of the riverbank and extending a hand.

  Melody supposed one very gentlemanly gesture balanced out one very ungentlemanly gesture.

  But she still wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily.

  When she reached up to take his hand, she gave a big yank and pulled Zane into the water. He hadn’t seen it coming and let out a yell as he tumbled in next to her, the lazy current sweeping him away a short distance before he regained his composure.

  When he swam back over to Melody, she was laughing so hard she was nearly crying.

  “Okay, you got me,” he conceded. “Well played.”

  As the two climbed out of the water, their clothes dripping, Zane looked at Melody. “So I guess we won’t be going to the petting zoo today after all,” he said as he pulled up his shirt and wrung water out of it.

  “Would you be terribly heartbroken if we didn’t?” she asked, unable to take her eyes off the bit of toned abdomen Zane was showing off. “I know you wanted to pet the baby goats and all...”

  “Screw the baby goats, they would probably just head butt me and try to eat my clothes,” he told her. “I only fed you that line about wanting to go to the petting zoo because I wanted to spend time with you. Of course, that was before I knew you were going to pull me into the river.”

  “You started it,” Melody pointed out. Then she giggled. “We’re going to look like such idiots walking through town with soaking wet clothes, you know. Everyone’s going to stare at us.”

  “Well, everyone is going to stare at you,” Zane noted as he looked her up and down.

  “Huh?”

  “It turns out your dress is a bit see through when it’s wet,” he informed her with a wink. “So no one is even going to notice I’m there once they get a good look at you. All eyes will be on you.”

  She looked down at herself, horrified. “You’re just teasing me. My dress is not see through!” she protested, covering herself with her hands anyway, just in case. Then, in a less certain tone, she asked, “Is it?”

  Zane smirked. “I could tell you, but then you wouldn’t be walking through town all self-conscious,” he pointed out. “Where’s the fun in that?”

  “We can’t go back to town until we dry off,” Melody decided, still uncertain of whether Zane had been teasing or telling the truth. “Let’s go over there,” she said, pointing to a thicket of trees where there didn’t appear to be any other park-goers.

  “Whatever you want,” Zane agreed, falling into step behind her.

  “What are you doing walking back there, slowpoke?” she asked, peering over her shoulder.

  “I’m enjoying the view.”

  It was clear from the appreciative expression on his face – and the way his eyes were unapologetically focused on her backside – that Zane wasn’t talking about the scenery.

  Chapter 05

  An hour later, Melody and Zane arrived at his place.

  As they had walked past a pizza place in their mostly-dry clothes, they had agreed it smelled delicious. They had also agreed they didn’t want to go inside after their little episode down at the river. So Zane had invited Melody to his place to order in pizza and watch a movie.

  She knew that watching a movie was often code for something else entirely, but in Zane’s case she wasn’t so sure. He was sending her such mixed signals that she had no idea where she stood with him. Was he attracted to her or did he view her as only a platonic friend?

  As they sat on the couch sharing the same blanket, Zane’s foot nearly touching hers, Melody couldn’t stand the uncertainty a moment longer. So she blurted out, “Why wouldn’t you let me kiss you the other night? We kissed once and then I tried to kiss you again and you wouldn’t – was the kiss really that bad?”

  “No, the kiss was great,” he told her immediately. “It was perfect.”

  Melody took a second to let the compliment sink in, secretly proud of his admission. Then she told him, “I don’t get it. If the kiss was good why didn’t you want to do it again?”

  “Because I was afraid I’d want to keep doing it. I’d want to do it again and again and again,” he replied. “You’re amazing, Melody. You really are. But I can’t get involved with you, not like that. I’m kind of a mess and it wouldn’t be fair to drag you into that.”

  “How much of a mess can you be when you live in a place like this?” she asked, looking around the living room as though she was seeing it for the first time. It looked like something out of a magazine, and the condo itself had a lot of expensive finishes, like granite countertops, eight foot ceilings and real hardwood floors. “By the looks of it, you’ve very much got your shit together.”

  She had been surprised to find that Zane’s place was actually one of the massive, luxury condominium units that had been built the year prior. Those properties had been big news for a sleepy little town, but in recent years people had begun scrambling to buy property in smaller communities that were close enough to the city to allow for daily commutes.

  Those same people, despite being corporate bigwigs and hotshot doctors, were also struggling to pay their hefty mortgages each month and still make ends meet. Lots of people were house poor – even professionals. The upturn in the economy had caught everyone by surprise, fueled largely by natural resources and international trade. Someone like Melody wouldn’t be able to afford to own a home in a million years.

  The bottom line was that she knew the condos cost a small fortune. If Zane was living there, he must be doing pretty damn well for himself. In passing he had mentioned getting a settlement as a result of his accident, but it must have been considerably more than he had led her to believe!

  But he didn’t look smug. In fact, he didn’t even look proud of himself. He looked the opposite.

  “It’s my personal life that’s the mess,” he told her.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “You don’t want to know,” he told her as he cracked open a beer and offered it to her.

  “No thanks, I have to drive home after the movie,” she reminded him, declining the drink.

  “Ah, right,” he said, looking saddened by the thought of her leaving. Then he took a big swig, tipping his head back until he had downed nearly half the bottle in one go. “You could just stay over if you wanted,” he offered. “It would save you the trouble of picking your car up from the bar at night.”

  “Thanks but no thanks,” she replied immediately.

  “I didn’t mean that in some weird sexual way,” he clarified.

  “I didn’t think you did. But my parents would flip out if I didn’t come home.”

  Zane smirked. “How old are you again?”

  Melody groaned and rolled her eyes. “Ugh I know, tell me about it! I can’t wait to move out.”

  “Then don’t.”

  “Ha! I wish it was that simple, but there’s this thing called rent that landlords seem to want...”

  “How do you feel about roommates?” he asked.

 
; Melody shrugged. “I don’t know. I did the dorm thing for a couple years during undergrad and it was alright. As long as I got along with the person or people I lived with, I imagine it would be fine.”

  “Oh. Well in that case, it’s such a shame you pulled me into the lake today,” Zane said with mock seriousness. “If it hadn’t been for that, who knows what could have happened. But that little stunt of yours made it clear we can’t get along. Oh well, too bad.”

  “Wait...what?”

  He grinned. “I hate living alone, and I like having you around. Move in.”

  Melody’s eyes widened. “I can’t just move in with you!”

  “Why can’t you?”

  “I’ve only known you for like, five minutes!”

  “Technically, you’ve known me for something like two and a half decades. You want a change and I want you here with me. I’m easy to live with, promise. The answer seems pretty simple,” Zane told her. “This place is far too big for one person anyway. There are three guest bedrooms, so you can have your pick of any of them.”

  “Even if I was considering moving in – which I’m not – I wouldn’t be able to afford half the rent on this place,” Melody told him. “My student loan repayments eat up nearly all the money I bring in from freelancing. I’m pretty much broke.”

  “There is no rent. I own this place outright.”

  “You do?”

  “Mmhmm,” he confirmed. “It’s all mine.”

  “Yeah, but even so I’d have to contribute...” Melody’s tone was less decisive now. Initially she had thought Zane’s proposal was crazy, but the more she thought about it, the better and better it sounded. Oh, what she’d give to be out from under her parents’ roof!

  “You would live here completely rent free. You wouldn’t have to spend a dime. I don’t want or need your money,” he assured her. Then, after a brief pause, he admitted, “There’s something I didn’t exactly mention before.”

  “Oh? What’s that?” Holding her breath, Melody waited expectantly for him to drop a bomb.

  “I invested most of my settlement money from the accident in the stock market. I got lucky. And after that I started looking into way to make my bank account grow. I guess I looked at it as a game or something. I got pretty obsessed...and then I got really lucky.”

  Melody tipped her head to the side and looked at him inquisitively. “What does that mean?”

  “I’m set for life,” Zane explained. “Actually, that’s a huge understatement. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is money is no object for me and I want to help you out. I want to help us both out. I’m offering you a free place to live, no strings attached.”

  “There are always strings.”

  “That’s a cynical view,” he observed wryly.

  “It’s not. There’s a difference between cynicism and realism,” she insisted. “I’m practical, that’s all. Anyway, I wouldn’t feel right living here for nothing. It would feel like I was taking advantage of you. I couldn’t do that. And I wouldn’t want to.”

  Despite her initial reaction, Melody was beginning to seriously consider Zane’s proposition. It sounded too good to be true and that made her wary, but at the same time how could she not jump on such a great opportunity? It was basically the answer to her prayers.

  “Okay, fine. Tell you what,” Zane said, muting the television so he could give Melody his full attention. “You hang out with me once a week and we’ll call it even.”

  She blinked. “You can’t be serious.”

  “But I am. Give me one night a week, that’s all I ask.”

  “I hang out with you once a week doing what?” Melody asked suspiciously.

  “Creepy satanic rituals,” he replied without missing a beat. “Did I forget to mention I’m a psychotic cult member? Stick with me and I’ll take you to my home planet when the mother ship returns to collect the enlightened ones.”

  “Dammit, why do I always attract the crazies?” Melody grumbled, making a rude face at Zane.

  “Relax,” he chuckled after making a face back at her. “We can watch movies, go to karaoke in the city or go out to eat. I don’t care. How about this: I let you decide how we spend our time together. Would that make you feel more comfortable?”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “I guess we’ve got ourselves a deal.”

  Chapter 06

  Zane helped Melody move in the very next day.

  Her parents were surprised, to say the least, to learn that she was moving out. It probably didn’t help matters that she gave them a vague explanation, mumbling that she’d found someone who needed a roommate and the place was too nice for her to pass up. That was true, sort of. Well, it was a half-truth, anyway.

  It felt a bit weird to be giving her parents only a partial and somewhat inaccurate version of the truth. But Melody knew from experience that keeping them at arm’s length was the only way to prevent them from butting into her life and driving her crazy. They meant well, but tended to smother her unless she set boundaries, so that was what she did.

  It was time she moved out.

  Deep down she knew it was for the best. Though she loved her parents dearly, Melody couldn’t stand living with them. At her age, it was beyond frustrating to still be treated like a little kid. She knew she would get along with her mom and dad much better once she had some distance from them. She desperately needed room to breathe.

  And besides, the condo really was gorgeous.

  Melody chose the bedroom that was the furthest away from the master bedroom. She did it mainly because she really didn’t want to overhear anything when Zane inevitably brought a woman over to spend the night with him.

  She figured it was only a matter of time until it happened. A guy like him could easily get any woman he wanted. So, even though she hated the thought, Melody tried to do what she could to mentally prepare herself for it.

  Bit by bit, she and Zane settled into living together.

  Aside from the occasional spirited argument over whether the toilet paper roll should be hung over or under, they got along remarkably well. And one morning when Melody went outside and discovered Zane had toilet papered her entire car to prove his point, they even managed to come to an uneasy truce on the toilet paper roll issue.

  Things were good.

  As the days turned into weeks, Melody couldn’t help but notice Zane never did bring anyone home. In fact, he didn’t seem to socialize much at all except with her.

  He occasionally got calls from his sister in Australia, but anytime Melody overheard them they sounded brief and superficial. Sometimes his oldest niece sent him hand drawn post cards in the mail, likely because she knew he would respond by mailing her candies and dolls, along with stuffed toys for her baby sister. Melody thought it was sweet, but she also found it strange that Zane didn’t really have any friends.

  He very much seemed to live a hermit’s lifestyle.

  Maybe that helped explain why he had wanted her to move in. He was lonely.

  Zane was good looking and he had a great personality. How could someone like that be so isolated? He was friendly enough to acquaintances they ran into at the bar on trivia night, but he didn’t seem to have any real connections to anyone. As far as Melody knew he didn’t ever date, and he didn’t have buddies over to watch football, play poker or do whatever else it was guys did with their male friends.

  After some prodding, Melody even discovered that Zane had barely known the couple whose wedding they’d reconnected at. The bride and groom were casual acquaintances who had simply invited him last minute after someone else had cancelled. They’d asked him to fill a seat and he had agreed because there was free beer.

  Melody tried not to dwell on it.

  Honestly, it was nothing to her. She very much enjoyed spending time with Zane, who was quickly becoming her new best friend. He had come into her life at the perfect time, right when all her other friendships seemed to be fizzling due to her peers’ work and family commitments. In
that sense Zane filled a void in her life and for that, Melody was grateful.

  And she was very happy to be living with him, although occasionally it got a bit awkward when she saw him fresh out of the shower wearing only a towel, droplets of water still glistening on his hard, toned body. The sight of that got her all tingly downstairs! The harder she tried to fight her physical attraction to him, the more insistent it seemed to become.

  “Tell me about your last girlfriend,” Melody demanded late one evening after trivia night at the bar had come to a close. She and Zane were walking home, both rather buzzed. She was in a chatty mood and her curiosity got the best of her.

  “Left field much?” he replied, perhaps in an attempt to change the subject.

  “Yeah yeah, whatever...I’m curious! Tell me about her.”

  Speaking slowly and choosing his words with care, Zane confessed, “I was in love with her. We met in Australia shortly after I went over there. She was gorgeous and sweet and I fell for her pretty much the moment I first saw her.”

  Melody felt a flicker of jealousy at that, but said nothing.

  “I’d only planned to stay in Australia for a short time – maybe a few months at the most. But I changed my plans for her. I stayed there for her and we got a place together. We dated for about a year,” he explained. “I was really happy during that time. Well, mostly.”

  “Why did you break up?” Melody asked boldly.

  “Sexual incompatibility,” he replied, his blunt answer momentarily stunning her.

  “What does that mean?” she demanded.

  “It means I wanted – craved – things she had no interest in. She was a very conservative girl, very vanilla,” he explained. “In the beginning it didn’t matter much because I was so head over heels for her. I tried to tell myself I could be happy in a vanilla relationship but...”

  “But what?” Melody pressed, intrigued.

  “Eventually I realized I was restless. I wasn’t bored exactly, but just...unsatisfied. It was like I had an itch I couldn’t scratch and it was driving me crazy. So I tried to talk to her about it. I tried to introduce her to some of the things I liked. I hoped maybe she’d be interested in trying some of them at some point.”