“I’m sorry, I just assumed it’s the normal reaction when one sees a pack of sharks.”
At that answer, Mel couldn’t help but smile. There he was, the old Nolan, quick with a quip—one of the only ones in this old town besides Lexi to ever make her really and truly smile.
Mel let go of Lexi and made a space for Nolan to step between the two of them. He looked effortlessly classic in his black pants and easy button-down white shadow-striped shirt and black blazer. She was sure some of the other men there would be in their mall suited best, but Nolan had a casual elegance that didn’t have to try too hard. He linked arms with both women then glanced at Lexi, who gave him a cheeky grin before turning back to Mel with a question, which wasn’t really a question in his eyes. “Shall I lead the way?”
Her answer was a nod as she took a moment to enjoy the warm feeling of just, for that second, being on Nolan’s arm. But the look on Ramona Spencer’s face as they approached the table was almost as good as the feeling of being on Nolan’s arm and well worth any and all bad press she may have gotten from the tagged Facebook photograph. Her spray-on tan went shades whiter, as her mouth hung open, forming a very unflattering slacked “O” shape.
Mel couldn’t help the smile that spread across her own face.
But Ramona got it together quickly and closed her mouth while simultaneously pushing her over processed blonde mane behind her shoulders. It was almost comical the way her sidekicks, Kari and Vicki, mimicked her actions. They looked like three soon to be, if not cougars, then cubs-in-training readying for the hunt. Mel’s eyes narrowed. Vicki even had animal-printed nails. That sealed it.
“Vick, you owe me a ten spot,” Ramona said in an overly loud stage whisper as she made her way towards the trio, clomping on god-awful, flesh-colored pumps—a trend Mel thought could not die fast enough.
“I should know not to bet against you,” Vicki said. “Of course he’d show. As if anyone could resist your call.”
“Oh hush,” Ramona said in a mock whisper. “You know how Jim is. He’d have a fit if he heard any talk like that.”
“Your Jim?” Vick replied with an unbelieving face on. “As if.”
Mel had to fight to stop her eyes from rolling, but she leaned forward and looked over at Lexi, whose expression showed all the emotion she was trying so hard to hide. Holding back a laugh, she steeled her shoulders and leaned back as they stepped through the small crowd to the check-in table.
“If it isn’t Mr. All-American, Nolan Parker,” Ramona said as she somehow simultaneously got the words out on an inhale while pushing her chest forward as she trailed her hands down her body, making sure to bring attention to her huge new assets. She looked Nolan up and down and for that moment, completely ignored Mel and Lexi, licking her lips and eyeing Nolan like the last crab leg at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
“It’s nice to see you too, Ramona, but I’m well past the old nicknames,” Nolan said.
It was then Ramona finally acknowledged Mel and Lexi with a cool up-and-down glance. “One would think so. Yeah, but it doesn’t look like Eenie or Meanie here have swayed too far from the good old Timber tree.”
Time stopped and did a fifteen year rollback as, in unison, both Mel and Lexi let go of Nolan’s arms, leaned back on their heels and looked at each other before looking back at Ramona and then looking at each other once more. It was Lexi who spoke up first. Her smooth smile went a long way in soothing Mel’s on-edge nerves. “You bring the bug spray? Because I hear bees buzzing around.”
Mel bit back a laugh and gave her friend a wink, signaling for her to cool down and take this one step at a time. She watched as Lexi’s shoulders visibly eased. And then Mel turned towards Ramona. “I see you haven’t changed. Though you probably could thank your dermatologist’s skill with the fillers for that.”
She caught a small snort from Nolan as Ramona frowned, though true to her comment, it was only the bottom half of her face that showed expression, since the top was indeed frozen stiff. But something in Mel sunk with her quippy triumph. What was it, ten seconds tops and she’d fallen into the Timber time warp? She was a grown woman for goodness sake. With a kid, no less. Her daughter would be mortified to see or hear her acting so childish. Not to mention she was doing it in front of Nolan. She felt her lips twist and her spine go rigid. Not that it should matter at all what he thought about her either way.
Ramona seemed to pull herself together at the same time they all remembered they weren’t in tenth grade anymore. She shimmied her way back around to the other side of the table, nudging her tight skirt down and putting on her best “I still think I’m running for class president” smile as she perused the table and picked up their nametags. “For you, Melinda. Don’t you think it’s fantastic how we put the old yearbook pictures on the nametags, so everyone can recognize each other? Totally Vick’s idea.”
“Gee thanks, Vicki. Aren’t you the original one?” Lexi said, totally deadpan from Nolan’s other side.
But Ramona did a good job ignoring Lexi’s comment as she continued. “I mean, some of us have really changed for the better since high school.” With that comment, she had the nerve to put her hand across her own chest while with the next comment of “and some others not so much.” She finally acknowledged Lexi with a pointed side-eye, which pulled Mel up short before she shook her head. Oh, Ramona really hadn’t changed one bit.
Mel looked down at her nametag and fought back a cringe. There was her younger self staring back at her. Face full of both hope and simmering anger, but more than that, hidden behind the asymmetrical hair, over-glossed lips and desperately needed to be plucked brows, was so much uncertainty. Uncertainty, fear and a desperate need to break away.
So with that, what was she doing? How was it she got convinced to come back to the place she so wanted to run away from? Damn that Lexi with her armchair psyche and margaritas!
“I always did love your style,” Nolan said from her side, bringing her back to the moment at hand and giving her the answer to her silent question.
She looked at him, surprised to not see any hint of sarcasm in his expression. “Now I’m worried about your life choices. I was totally tragic back then.”
Nolan shook his head. “You were the least tragic of all of us,” he said, his voice low and more serious than the moment probably warranted.
“Okay, you all get on into the party!” Ramona chimed up, breaking the moment. “Nolan, I’ll be in soon so we can catch up!”
Mel couldn’t help but notice Nolan’s grimace at Ramona’s words.
There was no easy place to clip the nametag to her dress and no way was she going to loop it around her neck with the offered polyester lanyard. So she gave her old unibrow one last glance, slipped the nametag into her purse, and stepped into the Tahoe room.
Hello yesterday. Can’t say I’m glad to see you again.
Chapter Five
Mel and Lexi stood side by side at the entrance to the Tahoe room sporting twin looks of horror. While the Timber Falls Inn and Lodge had been updated in the lobby and their surprisingly fancy suites with a more luxurious modern Swiss ski lodge feel, the Tahoe room showed distinct traces of the old Timber Falls they knew and didn’t love. With its uplighting from the 80s and iridescent wallpaper with a filigree design that had clearly seen better days, the room’s décor gave it a good go but missed the mark by far.
Currently, there were a few low round tables already occupied and some smaller higher ones for those shorter impromptu gatherings. There was also a parquet dance floor with four people tops, all women, gyrating to the tune of a 90s dance hit that would have done better staying there. Mel and Lexi had stopped in their tracks and Mel started to walk backwards but was stilled by a large warm hand at the small of her bare back. “Oh no you don’t,” Nolan said close to her ear. “Don’t make me rat you out to Ramona and her crew.”
Mel let out a
moan. “As if I’m afraid of them. And come on, don’t be so cruel. You have to admit this is a dismal scene.”
Nolan laughed as she turned his way and was pulled up short by his smile once again. Run, Mel! This is a mistake.
“You’re right, this is awful, but we’re here so we might as well take the lumps together.”
“He’s right,” Lexi chimed in. “This is our weekend, Mel. Let your hair down, have fun with it. See how the regular folk do it.”
Mel gave her a look and was about to think of a comeback when there was a loud “Hey, hey, hey!” headed their way.
It was now Lexi’s turn to pull a face as she rolled her eyes. “I’m going to head to the bar to see about some drinks.”
“Aww, Lexi girl, don’t be like that,” Ian Collins said. Mel remembered he was Nolan’s best homeboy back in school. A tall, slightly geeky boy back then, Ian was considered a nerd, so on the Out List, but his proximity to ever-popular Nolan made him able to hang on the fringe of the In List. Mel remembered how silly he always was. A wannabe down hip-hopper, Lexi called him a sad Eminem because of his pale skin and wiry dirty blond hair that advertised his biracial Caucasian and African-American heritage. The poor boy had it bad for Lexi back then but she never gave him the time of day. And judging by his intro and her reaction, it would seem not much had changed on that front. But although he was still a fashion misfit, judging by the retro Adidas sweat suit with the blinged-out chain Ian chose to wear to this cocktail party, he was no longer the pale, geeky boy they left back in high school. Maybe Lexi should open her eyes and take a second look, Mel thought.
“Be like what, Ian? Breathing?” Lexi retorted.
“Dang. I see you’ve still got that spicy tongue to go with those lovely lips of yours.” Ian leaned in towards Lexi and she cocked her head as she crossed her arms, giving him a direct block.
“Yeah, and I’ve still got fast hands and quick-enough knees to lay your ass flat.”
Mel saw something in Ian’s eyes that looked for a moment like hurt, but he was quick to cover it with an easy smile. “Okay, I hear you, Lex. Don’t worry, you’ll get no reason from me to pull out the ninja moves. I’m a reformed man. Nothing but a perfect gentleman.”
“Yeah, and I’m Wonder Woman.”
To this Ian smiled wider, everything in him softening as he once again became the playful, though slightly overly hormonal guy they all knew and tolerated in school. He turned away from Lexi giving Nolan a simultaneous handshake-pat-hug thing the way guys did, before turning to Mel with open arms. “I know your home girl doesn’t have any love for an old friend, but can you at least give me some?”
Mel didn’t have any malice towards Ian, so she went in and gave him a warm hug. “Sure, Ian. It’s good to see you. Didn’t I hear you got married? Is your wife here?”
Ian rubbed the back of his neck as Nolan visibly tensed beside her.
Uh oh. What did I say?
“Well, no,” Ian replied. “Um, I’m no longer married. That, well, let’s just say it didn’t work out.”
“Figures,” Lexi said on a low hiss, but not low enough they all couldn’t hear. Damn. And it was supposed to be her who was the hard ass. Mel couldn’t help but see the pain sweep over Ian’s eyes for a moment, though he was good at quickly washing it away with an easygoing grin.
“Yeah, you know me!” He took Mel’s hand and swung it playfully in the air. “You gonna give a brotha a spin on the dance floor tonight?” He then raised a brow and looked at Nolan who slipped him a pat on the back. “That is, after my boy here, of course. I don’t want to cut in on anything.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t be cutting in on anything!” Mel didn’t know who spoke up first or faster, her or Nolan. She did catch the roll of the eyes that, for the first time, made it seem like Lexi and Ian were in agreement on something.
Mel shook her head and turned towards Lexi. “Come on. I’ll go with you to get that drink.”
But it was Ian who spoke up this time. “Ladies, please let us. I heard about you, Mel. You’re a big shot now. We should talk business. I’m blowing up a little myself. Got this cool indie thing that’s taking off. Maybe we could link up? Besides, what kind of men would we be if we let two beautiful ladies like you buy your own drinks?”
“The kind that are just friends and going to stay that way. I don’t mix business with friendships. It only gets messy,” Mel said.
Nolan gave Ian a pointed look then let out a laugh and reached into his pocket, pulling out a few bucks. “Well, then would you mind grabbing me a beer, friend?”
Mel put up her hand. “Your money’s no good here, friend. It’s on me.” She then linked arms with Lexi, turned her around and headed towards the not-so-open bar where it seemed the majority of the crowd gathered. But she could feel, judging by the heat, what were probably Nolan’s eyes boring into her back.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?” Lexi said from her side.
“What is it now?”
“Couldn’t you at least let them get us drinks? Do you have to control every potential romantic situation?”
Mel decided to keep up her pace and not let Lexi get the better of her. “You got me up here and that was enough. Besides, you heard Ian. He either a) wants in your pants, b) wants a mention in my magazine or c) both. I’m betting on c. Though I do think he was kind of nice and you were très harsh on him. As for Nolan, I’ve decided there will be no romantic situation between me and him. And if by chance anything does happen between the two of us, it will be sex only and definitely not romance.”
Lexi let out a long sigh. “Really, and what the hell is wrong with d) all of the above? Not that I’m giving Ian any, but I’m saying people are people. Can’t you just roll with things sometimes?”
Mel shook her head. “No, I can’t. Rolling with things gets you nothing but rolled over. And I’m never letting that happen to me again.”
Mel was careful not to look Lexi in the eye, afraid that her friend, knowing her so well, would see too much. Sure, part of her wanted that fantasy of all of the above, but she knew the danger of getting lost in those kinds of thoughts. Her mother did it for way too long. Only getting out when the fantasy drove up the highway and out of their lives. She’d never make that type of mistake. Once with the professor was more than enough. At least she had Bailey to show for it.
Thankfully though, Lexi was wrapped up in her own fantasy and currently shimmying as she surveyed the patchy crowd, zooming in on one man across the room. Mel eyed the handsome man with dark curly hair not far from their age, but clearly a little older. Something about him poked at Mel’s memory. It was when he gave the women a sly smile and Lexi smiled back that Mel knew. “Oh no, not Mr. Stuart. Lex, don’t go there. He’s our old gym teacher. Besides, did you even hear what I just said, not to mention you know how things can go with teachers?”
Lexi turned Mel’s way before saying, “Oh please, he’s not my teacher anymore, and he’s very divorced. And yes I heard everything you said, Miz Controlling. Sex it up. You know I’m all for it. We’ll see how that works for you. Besides, we’ve all got our demons to exorcise this weekend. Let’s see who hits the ceiling first.” She then looked Mr. Stuart’s way and gave him a wink.
“Now come on. Let’s get these men their beers and get your plan in motion. You’re not as well practiced as I am.”
Mel was ready to retort but bit it back. Maybe hitting the ceiling wasn’t the worst thing that could happen this weekend.
“Two beers and two Pinots,” Mel said when she finally made her way to the bar. It shouldn’t surprise her but the unwelcome stares were just like back in high school; it would seem fifteen years had changed nothing. In the town where people of color were indeed a statistical minority, not to mention anyone who didn’t adhere to the good old boy norms that one would generally find in a state farther south, Mel and Lexi with their brow
n skin and avant-garde for the times dress, stuck out. So much that it put them in social isolation. Brown kids like Nolan Parker who were tall, good looking, charming and had the added so-called value of bringing sport championships back to Timber and away from the neighboring town of Birch Peaks, were given a social pass not afforded to the likes of Mel and Lexi.
Mel pasted on her old cool mask of serenity. She knew she was probably not being fair to them. It wasn’t as if she was reaching out to any of these people either. But she felt the old feelings of rejection and hurt come flooding back as they each parted ways for her and Lexi with glances of recognition, but no welcoming smiles or hellos. So that was why she was surprised when she heard the voice over her shoulder.
“Oh no, don’t give her the Pinot. Give her two Timber-tinis!”
Mel stilled, annoyed at having her drink order changed. She looked at the bartender. “The Pinots, please.”
“Rick, make the ladies a couple of Tinis on me.”
Mel turned around ready to give the pushy woman a “What for?” but was pulled up short when she saw a face she didn’t expect. “Andrea Alderson! What the hell?”
“It’s Alderson-Albertson now,” Andrea said rubbing her hands over her stretched belly, looking nothing like the girl they knew as the emo loner. Andrea used to hide out in the bathroom from third through seventh period, working on perfecting her Goth look and making plans to run away to her own part of Hell as soon as she found her way out of Timber. Mel only recognized her because she could never forget the girl’s icy blue-grey eyes that were so clear and light they were almost see-through. No amount of black makeup could cover that up.
Lexi did a double take. “Andrea? Really? Woman, I can’t believe it’s you.” She circled around Andrea taking in her floral empire-waist dress, soft curly blonde hair that was parted on the side and flowed down her back, the sparingly applied makeup, fresh skin, even the small diamond earrings at her ears. Talk about a total about-face.
Andrea laughed. “I know, sometimes I can’t believe it’s me either, but I have plenty of old pictures to prove it. My husband and kids get a kick out of them.”
Romancing the Fashionista: The Flirty Fashionistas, Book 1 Page 4
