by Unknown
She bucked against him, the sharp heat he evoked assaulting her fl esh in wave after wave of fi ery relief.
Sensing her release, Drew’s strokes slowed, his hard hands gripping her hips now softened and released her slowly. He slid back upward, pulling her back down to press her head under his chin and cradle her near.
Mel couldn’t fi nd words for what had just happened. It was clear from the rigid line in his jeans he was as aroused as she’d been. Her head popped up, guilt and embarrassment left her stumbling on her words. “ I—”
“I know. I’m awesome.” His grin was easy and confi dent.
“ But—”
“There was nothing you could do. I returned my boxes of condoms in bulk. Costco’s employees have offi cially dubbed me a failure.”
Her chuckle was lighthearted. “I told you to keep at least one,”
she chided with a fi nger to his chest.
Drew planted a kiss on her lips, lingering for only a brief moment.
“We did make a deal. What kind of guy would I be if I didn’t keep my word?” He settled her back down in his arms, massaging her back with fi rm hands.
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Her smile was shaky against his chest when she whispered,
“What, indeed?”
Mel’s heart shifted just a little left of her chest, as she lay with Drew in a tree house while the moonlight streamed through the Plexiglas window, and she savored the warmth of his secure embrace.
The more she learned about Drew, the more she discovered how wrong she’d initially been about him. He wasn’t just easy on the eyes.
He loved his son and his family with fi erce integrity. He worked hard, and he was decent enough to be kind to a woman who loved booze more than her own son and had torn his life apart.
That was good to the core. It was honorable.
It was heart stopping.
Mel gulped.
No.
She couldn’t be.
She refused to be.
Yet, here she was. Fighting not to fall in love.
!
“Look who’s glowing.”
“Look who waited up way past his bedtime to be sure his daughter met curfew.”
Joe snickered, pulling his glasses from his face to tuck them into the pocket of his bathrobe. “I fi gured you’d wanna know Jackie called, and you got a very serious- looking envelope in the mail. It’s on the table in the kitchen. And now, your old man’s going to bed.” Joe rose from his chair, grunting when his knees creaked. “And in case you were wondering, I like Drew. He has a fi ne sense of the funny.”
Yeah. Apparently, she liked Drew, too. Her lady parts really liked him. “He’s very witty.”
“And he sure likes you.”
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Mel fought the urge not to gush when she asked, “Really?
Says who?”
“Says the way his eyes gobble you up like you’re chocolate cake.
That’s who says. The ballerina never did that.”
The ballerina never made her feel quite the way Drew did either.
“Well, don’t you go making reservations for doves and VFW halls just yet. He’s only the fi rst man I’ve dated since my divorce. I feel like maybe I’ve locked myself into one particular brand of candy instead of foraging the candy aisle.”
“Good candy’s hard to come by. Count yourself lucky you haven’t had to eat a lot of cheap brands to get to the good stuff. Sometimes you just hit it right. Night, Milky Way,” he said before kissing her on the top of her head and ambling off to bed with Jake in tow.
Mel plunked down in the chair at the kitchen table and smiled at Weezer who buried his broad head in her hands. “ Buddy— we got trouble.”
He groaned his acknowledgment, his droopy eyes sweet with understanding.
She slid to the fl oor and Weezer sat beside her, putting his heavy paws in her lap. “I think my original assessment about Drew was wrong. He’s not just another good- looking guy. He’s deep, Weez. He’s kind to the elderly. He’s a good father, even if his views on dancing are archaic. He has a terrifi c family, and he’s got an ex-wife who could drive even the meekest to homicide. Yet, he won’t hurt her if it means hurting his son. What do you suppose I should do about how I feel, Weez?”
Weezer snored, sound asleep on the fl oor beside her. She stroked his enormous head before rising to catch a glimpse at the envelope her father had mentioned on the table and throw it in her monster-sized purse to look at later.
There were more important things at hand right now.
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Like how she was going to keep her feelings for Drew on the slow track. If this was going somewhere, she didn’t want to rush it.
Looking back, she realized she never really knew Stan the way most married couples knew each other. She’d known his persona, and she’d fallen in her version of love with it.
She’d fallen in love with someone who’d only existed in her girlish fantasies. There were no knights in shining armor because by the time you hit forty, your armor was riddled with the dents from the slinging arrows of life. But she was realizing, tarnished armor, while it had pockmarks, also had characteristics that could only be acquired from life’s battles, and your scars either made you or broke you.
If this thing with her and Drew went any further, she was going to view it with the kind of realism he seemed to want Nate to see his mother with, minus the lollipops and unicorns.
Because unicorns could really yutz you up the ass when you choked on your lollipop.
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C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N
Dear Divorce Journal,
Sorry I’ve been on hiatus. I know, a month’s too long to hold back a good whine, but lately, I haven’t been whining as much as I’ve been doing more productive things. For instance, dating—chastely, of course.
You’ll be happy to know, Drew’s been a perfect gentleman and hardly ever cops a feel. Which, BTW, is going to be the death of me. I know I’m to blame. I did say I wanted to go slowly and get to know each other.
So, his favorite color is orange, but I’ve never seen him wear it. He hates broccoli because he says they look like miniature trees. He loves anything that involves sweat, a ball, and chicken wings with beer. Oh, and Elvis. Loves Elvis— which is fine. I’m all about some blue suede shoes.
He hates reality TV, but loves Medical Mysteries and Ice Road Truckers, which, when we watch, in turn makes me want to do two things: Google every little ache and pain I’ve ever had, or scream, “What are you, a moron?! Ice isn’t meant for trucks that weigh hundreds of tons!” Chicken chow mein and steak are two of his favorite dishes. But he’d give those up forever for a big bowl of garlic mashed potatoes.
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His favorite breed of canine is a bulldog because they’re man
ly but cuddly and he’s not opposed to cats. Now I ask you, what else do I need to know so this man will discard my stupid request to go slowly and take me like I’m his love slave?
Neil gave Mel’s ass a sharp snap with his towel as they fi nished up their workout at the rec center. “Wow. Hardly any jiggle, lady. What a difference a month makes, huh?”
Mel curtsied and winked, wiping the sweat from her brow with the towel around her neck. “That’s because you stole my jiggle. My can of chocolate frosting would like it back, please.”
“Not on your life. So tell me what’s new? How’s Drewwww,” he cooed his name.
Mel turned her back to him, smiling secretly to herself. “Drew is fi ne.”
“Just fi ne?”
“He’s very fi ne.”
“Do I hear that giggly thing women do with the tone of their voices when they have the stupids for a guy?”
Hands on her hips, Mel gave him a condescending look. “You hear nothing of the sort. You hear a woman who’s treading carefully into this relationship with both eyes open and two ears peeled if she hears a single note of discord.”
Neil pulled her to him with a sharp yank, arching her backward so she was forced to look up at him. “Bullshit. I think you’ve got a crush, my lovely.”
Planting her hands on his chest, she smiled. “I’ve got a like. There’s a difference.”
“Well, it’s not a very big one in your case. It’s written all over your face every time anyone says his name.”
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Grabbing her water bottle and her apple, she took a bite out of it.
“I’m that obvious?”
“Oh, obvious is an understatement, and you know what? Good for you. You deserve someone in your life who makes you this happy.”
“We don’t have a lot in common. Except making out. We’re aces at that.” In the car, after school, in his apartment during a movie when Nate was at a friends. At the Beef Barn’s drive- thru, and once even in the janitor’s closet. Oh, the making out they did.
“Ah, but are you learning to enjoy new things you never thought you’d discover because you’re so different?”
Her smile was ironic. “I have to admit, putting on a Giants jersey and screaming, ‘Knock that mother effer’s legs off’ while we eat chicken wings, sliders, and weenies in a blanket, then wash it all down with a beer can be therapeutic.”
Neil’s smile was wide when he brushed her hair out of her face.
“So two worlds collide, huh?”
“Well, he’s not doing a samba, that’s for sure.”
“But there are other concessions on Drew’s behalf?” Neil nudged.
“He sat through an entire showing of The Nutcracker Suite on PBS and didn’t squawk once. Okay, he dozed once or twice, but he was mostly present. Plus, he drove me to the mall to buy a dress for the staff cocktail party next week and even helped me choose the color.”
“So explain to old Neil how this isn’t a relationship? The mall is commitment, dancer.”
She made a face at him. “It is not. It’s the food court where they have waffl e cones. I had to buy him one when he got antsy once we hit the shoe department at Macy’s.”
“It’s okay to fall, Mel.”
Her hands wrung together, fear steeped like a teabag in her gut.
“We haven’t known each other long enough.”
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“So does someone send you a memo when the allowable time frame to fall in love has passed?”
“No …”
Neil pursed his lips in disapproval. “There are no rules to this, Mel. Sometimes a connection happens, and sure, you can wait until the rules of society say it’s okay to make your feelings offi cial. You can wait until Mercury is in retrograde. You can wait, wait, wait. Or you can give it a go just because it feels good and right.”
If only Neil knew the half of good and right she was feeling. “I’m afraid.”
“I see that. I also see the reason you’re afraid. You’re afraid that you’re doing the same thing all over again with Drew that you did with Stan. Too much, too quickly. But I think there’s a huge difference now. You’re a different person compared to the girl who married Stan. You’re newly independent. You make your own fi nancial choices, and soon, you’re going to have your own place. Maybe making all those rational, responsible choices means you can rely on yourself to make smarter choices in other areas of your life, too.”
“We’ve only been dating a little under a month. I’m defi nitely not thinking about anything else but day by day.” And that wasn’t easy.
What she really wanted was to get to the day when they nailed each other again. Soon.
“Well, that’s good to hear,” a familiar voice said.
Mel spun around, her face splitting into a grin. “Jackie!” She fl ew at her friend, squeezing her tight. “What the hell are you doing in Jersey? Didn’t you say you weren’t a ‘Situation’ kind of girl?”
Jackie hugged her hard. “I did, and I maintain Snooki and I will never be friends. I just can’t get my hair to bump the way hers does.
However, seeing as you never answer a phone, and I was feeling like I’d just die if I didn’t have some diner food, here I am. Surprise!”
Mel squeezed her again. “I’m so glad to see you!”
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Neil poked his head between them, sticking out his hand. “Neil Jensen. The other BFF.”
Jackie laughed and took his hand. “Oh, I know all about you, buddy. I’ve heard the stories. So it looks like someone’s been working out.” Jackie gave a wink of praise while her eyes scanned Mel’s length.
“Courtesy of the other BFF,” Mel offered. “He’s killing me.”
Neil chuckled. “Yeah, but look at those abs, huh, Jackie? If you run your fi ngers down them, you could make music on ’em.”
Jackie grinned at her. “You look amazing, kiddo. And did I hear talk of a boyfriend? What a difference eight months makes, eh?”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s someone I’m seeing.”
“A lot,” Neil interjected with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Jackie hooked her arm through Mel’s, the scent of her expensive perfume wafting to her nose and bringing with it comfort and familiarity. “So do you have time to talk now? Or do you have work? Have I mentioned how proud I am of you for nailing a job? So proud.”
Mel gave a quick glance at the clock and nodded. “Yes. Work calls, and I have to shower fi rst, but why don’t we do dinner tonight and we can talk then.”
“Totally on me, of course, and bring the boyfriend. He needs a good Jackie once- over.”
Mel chuckled, taking her by the arm and leading her out of the rec center toward Neil’s car. “I’ll see if he’s free. And where are you staying? Last I checked, there’s no Four Seasons in Riverbend.”
Jackie gave a mock sigh, her lean face sharper in the sunlight.
“Tell me about it. I’m at the Marriott where I’m making sacrifi ces—big ones, in the name of BFF- dom. They don’t have twenty- four- hour room service. Heathens,” she joked.
“Make it snappy, kiddo. No time for girl talk now. Disgruntled geniuses await. Nice to meet you, Jackie,” Neil said, before getting into the car.
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Jackie waved then pulled Mel close to her and whispered, “Have I got something to tell you.”
Mel’s stomach lurched. “Please tell me it’s not about Stan. I told you in our last conversation, I don’t want to know anything about him unless you have a fi rm location on him and some bleach and Hefty bags.”
Jackie tightened her turquoise scarf around her neck. “Fuck Stan.
No one knows where he is. It’s like he’s fallen off the face of the planet, the coward. That’s not what I mean. I mean, I’ve got something we need to discuss. So bring your man- friend with you tonight because I’m dying to meet him, and I’ll leave you a voice mail with the name of the restaurant. God knows they have to have something that’s overpriced and isn’t called the Cluck- Cluck Palace in this town.
If there is one, rest- assured, I’ll fi nd it. I have a reputation to uphold.”
Mel hugged her friend hard again and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“I so missed you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Off with you now— to your job. Your job. Have I said how proud I am?”
“You did, and know what? I’m proud of me, too.” Mel grabbed the handle of the car door and popped it open. “See you tonight.”
Hopping into the car, Mel waved at her friend, grinning.
Jackie was here.
Mel could only hope Drew was ready for the Jackie once- over.
Jackie was anything but subtle.
So tonight would be a real testament to Drew’s sense of humor.
And his cojones.
!
Drew straightened his tie, uncomfortable as they stood outside Arthur’s, indeed, the most expensive restaurant in town. He frowned, pushing at the sleeves of his suit jacket.
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