by Unknown
He gave her a “meant to make her laugh” sad face. “I’m sorry I stole your thunder. I suck.”
She was warming. “You sure do.”
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He reached for her fi ngers, loosely entwining them with his. “Can I make it up to you?”
Mel was hesitant. “Are you hearing me? Really hearing me?” She had to know he got it, or there was no point in going any further, and as hard as it would be to let Drew go before they’d had a chance to really see if they worked, she’d do it if being with him meant sacrifi cing her lines in the sand. She’d hate every tear- fi lled, snot- dripping second, but she would.
His nod was sharp. “I’m really hearing you.”
Mel relaxed then. For the fi rst time, she was drawing up all those boundaries Maxine had talked about, and it was good. “Okay.”
He hauled her near him, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “So now that we’ve gotten our fi rst offi cial fi ght out of the way. You wanna try dinner again tonight?”
Mel melted against him, relieved and empowered all at once.
“Only if it’s really expensive.”
Drew gazed down at her, his eyes amused. “Now who’s clinging to their baggage?”
She laughed, putting her arms around his neck. “I had the best bags. Louis Vuitton. Gorgeous.”
“I’m familiar with Louis.”
“He was so good to me, but alas, our love affair’s over.”
“Good thing. I’m a jealous guy.”
She gave him a fl irty smile just as the bell rang. “I’d have never pegged you for jealous. Now get out of here before the boys see us and we scar Nate for life.”
Drew grabbed another quick kiss before saying “Speaking of Nate, I told him about us.”
Mel shot him a hesitant glance. “Was he okay with it?”
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“He was awesome with it.”
She heaved a sigh. “Phew. I’m glad I passed muster. Now go before they catch us.”
Drew winked and smiled, then sauntered out of her classroom just as the boys fi led in. They were whispering and laughing to each other, sharing sly looks as they passed Drew and slapping Nate on the back.
Here came the diffi cult part. Keeping her private life private and not letting it interfere with Nate’s school life. “Boys? Something you care to share with me?” She was daring them to tease Nate openly.
Each pair of eyes grew wide at being caught. Shoulders in various widths, covered in staid uniforms bumped up against one another.
Mel crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. “That’s what I thought. So, we need to get the show on the road because Thanksgiving’s right around the corner and not long after that, Christmas break.
We have a dance to attend, guys— with lots of lovely young ladies who’ll want strong, confi dent dance partners. Let’s get to work. R. J.?
You’re up fi rst.” She stood in hold position, waiting for R. J. to join her.
Nate stood at the back of the room, tall, handsome, and with a big grin. He fl ipped her a thumbs-up to acknowledge her subtle defense of him.
She smiled back and turned her attention to R. J., who summarily stepped on her toes the moment Emilio turned the music on.
!
Neil watched Mel from outside through the window of her classroom and took a a deep breath. If the rumors Theresa his assistant had told him were true, he had to move fast.
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now, probably happier than he’d ever seen her, and her life was back on track.
He’d blow that all sky high and turn her past with Stan upside down.
Shit.
“Hey, Neil, right?”
The voice from behind him was familiar from that night at the diner. He swung around to fi nd Drew staring down at him. “Yeah.
Drew, right?”
“Yep. What brings you to Westmeyer? Do you need me to get Mel for you?”
Neil put his hands in the pocket of his jacket. “I wish. I’m actually here for the biology teacher. Mel ‘Won’t Take No For An Answer’ set us up on a lunch date.”
Drew laughed. “Gwen Timmons, but you don’t sound thrilled.”
“Is anyone ever thrilled about having their best friend set them up on a date? But it’s Mel. Who could say no to that face?”
Drew’s smile made Neil more sure than ever he was as in love as Mel was. “I feel that, my friend. She’s hard to turn down.”
“And she’s a good person.” He realized once the words were out of his mouth, they’d come out insistent and a little edgy, but if there was one thing he wasn’t going to do again, it was fail Mel.
But Drew didn’t seem to notice. He appeared caught up in something in his head that made him smile. “She’s defi nitely that. I gotta run, man. But nice seeing you again— and have a great date.”
Oh, it’d be super- duper. Neil forced his Hollywood smile to his face. “Thanks. Check you later.”
As he made his way down the hall to locate Gwen, he tried Theresa one last time, but it went to voice mail so he left a message.
“Theresa. The second you get this, get me that reporter from Hollywood Scoop.”
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!
Mel turned around in the seat of the truck to wave at Nate as she got in. “Hey, Nate!”
He looked up from his phone and smiled. “Thanks for having my back today. I just want you both to know I’m cool with you dating, and I don’t care what anyone says about it,” he said, very adult, very stoic.
Drew frowned. “Someone said something about it?”
Nate shrugged his shoulders with indifference. “Some of the guys saw you two before class started. They said you were holding hands so they razzed me about it. No big deal. Ms. Cherkasov shut them up.”
Drew smiled his approval at her, taking her hand as they pulled from her father’s driveway. “So burgers in town tonight?”
“Can we hit Joe’s Stand, Dad? He has the best chili cheeseburgers, Ms. Cherkasov.”
“It might be a little cold for Mel, sitting outside,” Drew warned.
“She’s from L. A. where it’s always sunny— even at night.”
Mel waved a hand at them. “Cold schmold. I’m a tough old bird, I’ll have you know, I was raised in Jersey, just one town over from here, and nothing can keep me from a chili cheeseburger. I say we do it. I brought my scarf.” She tugged at the turquoise scarf around her neck to show them.
“You’re all right, Ms. Cherkasov,” Drew said, smiling in her direction.
“I have to draw the line at kissing,” Nate reminded them from the backseat.
“Got it,” Mel said with a serious glance backward at him. “No kissing.”
“Hey! Whose side are you on?” Drew protested, putting the car in park in front of Joe’s Hamburger Stand.
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Nate leaned forward, placing his arms on the back of the seats.
“Seeing two adults, especially when one is your parent, kissing is gross. Research shows, it’s a natural adolescent reaction. One you carry into adulthood when your parents then decide you’re old enough to understand the birds and the bees, and they feel free to talk about it in front of you.”
Drew pointed to the door with a bark of laughter. “Out, smart guy. Here— money. Go get us some chili cheeseburgers. I have to kiss Mel.”
Nate scrambled out the door, laughing.
Drew leaned over the console. “So, Ms. Cherkasov. I need a right and proper kiss. Lay one on me.”
Mel leaned over, too. “Make it quick. Kissing’s gross.” she teased, sighing when his lips fi nally met hers after their weekend- long sab-batical.
Drew’s tongue slid between her lips, caressing hers, until she was breathless and giddy with need. He pulled away, but only enough to mutter, “We’d better stop now or Joe’s is going to have its fi rst indecent exposure.”
Mel feigned a pout. “But we just got started.”
Cupping her jaw, he nipped her lower lip with a husky groan.
“And if we don’t stop, I’m going to tear your clothes off right here and do you until your eyeballs cross. It’s been too long.”
“It’s been two days,” she chastised, nipping the side of his mouth, reveling in the hot heat of their lips so close.
“That’s two days too long. Now out before I cop a feel.”
Mel giggled. “I’m out. I’m out.” She slid out of the truck and went to fi nd Nate who was waiting on their order.
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and I dating, Nate? I don’t want it to be uncomfortable for you at school.”
Nate shrugged. “We’re nerds, Ms. Cherkasov. We don’t spend a lot of time caring about much else but science and stuff most people don’t understand. We do the obligatory teenage things, like make fun of each other when a situation like my father dating my teacher arises, but then reason sets in, and we look up facts and statistics about adult relationships in the workplace, fi nd a logical explanation, and move on.”
Mel had to fi ght to keep her face straight. “Well, okay then. If you’re okay, I’m okay. So how long have you been at Westmeyer?”
“Since the end of last year just when the old dance teacher left.
That’s when my teachers in public school told my dad I was too smart for them. He didn’t want them to move me up three grades due to peer pressure he felt a twelve- year- old couldn’t handle.”
“Ah, you mean like dating and stuff when you’re twelve and everyone else is sixteen?”
Nate’s lean cheeks, red from the cold, formed a smile. “That and drugs and alcohol. He said he wanted me to retain as much of my youth for as long as I could, because no matter how smart I was, physically and in some cases emotionally, I was still twelve, and I be -
longed in sixth grade like every other twelve- year- old. I’d just be in sixth grade with people who are as smart as me.”
Mel’s admiration for Drew upped ten notches. “Your dad’s a smart guy.”
“He’s very smart, and very protective, because of my mother and all. So I took a ton of tests to see if I qualifi ed to get into Westmeyer’s scholarship program, and he took a job there to help pay for my tuition.”
Huh. She tucked her chin into her jacket, wincing at the sting of cold air to her eyes. “So you’re there on a partial scholarship?”
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“Yep, and my dad made a deal with Dean Keller. He’d fi x up all the stuff that was starting to fall apart for a smaller salary if Dean Keller would put the rest of his salary toward my tuition.”
Mel’s heart tightened at the thought. She grabbed the tray that held their burgers while Nate got their drinks and paid for the food.
Drew’s sacrifi ces for Nate knew no bounds, and his complexities grew.
God, he wasn’t just dreamy, but a terrifi c father. And deeper, and deeper she fell.
They located the table Drew had chosen and plunked their food down. Mel slid in beside Drew, pressing up against him for warmth.
Drew doled out the food. “Your nose is red.”
“That’s because it’s ten degrees,” she said, snuggling up against him.
“No, it’s not,” Nate disagreed. “It’s forty- two degrees with a ten percent chance of precipitation. The winds are coming from the northeast at three miles per hour.” He bit into his burger with relish.
“So this is what it’s like to date a genius’s father?” Mel teased, dabbing a fry into a mound of ketchup.
Drew rubbed her cold hand with his and rolled his eyes at Nate.
“If you only knew the half of it.”
As they chatted and ate, despite the cold, Mel was warm with something as simple as a cheeseburger and the two men she was growing fonder of by the second.
Deep contentment and the simple things like having dinner together were sorely underrated. All of the money Stan made, all of the chef- prepared meals they’d shared, none of them had made her this happy.
“Hey.” Drew nudged her with a cold nose to her cheek. “Is that your phone?”
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it was Jackie’s number. “It’s Jackie. I’ll call her back. We’re having dinner and not even Jackie’s important enough to ignore fries.”
“Go ahead,” Drew coaxed. “We’re almost done anyway.”
She popped another fry in her mouth and smiled at his understanding. “Hey, Jackie! Guess where I am? Freezing my butt off, eating hamburgers with Nate and Drew. I bet you can’t top that with your fancy vichyssoise soup and braised lamb chops with a balsamic glaze.”
Jackie’s familiar cackle shot to her ear. “Oh, don’t I wish. I’m eating canned ravioli while I help the whiners with homework, but Frank wanted me to call you.”
Mel’s heart jumped with a jolt to her chest. She’d been so busy thinking about Drew and getting the boys ready for their big debut, she’d forgotten about the reason for Jackie’s visit.
She hadn’t even mentioned it to Neil. Frank probably hadn’t been able to talk them into auditioning her and Jackie was calling to let her down easy. Bummer that. Yet, she found, she wasn’t as disappointed as she thought she’d be.
Mel pressed the phone to her cheek, burrowing into Drew’s embrace. “So you’re calling to let me down easy, eh? I love that you’re the kind of friend who’d call me personally to tell me I’m just not Celebrity Ballroom worthy. It was my jiggly butt that turned them off, right?” she joked, ignoring Drew’s look of disapproval.
“Hell no, that’s not why I’m calling. I’m calling you to tell you Frank wants your ass here in L. A. pronto for an on camera audition!”
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Dear Divorce Journal,
Did you hear that? That was the roar of my own personal empowerment apocalypse. Duck.
As Jackie droned on, Mel’s heart raced. “The studio’s all abuzz about you, kiddo. ’Bout shit their pants when they heard your name.” Jackie covered the phone with her hand then. “Yes, I said shit, Jaynie. I’m a crappy parent. If this is the worst I ever do to you, color yourself lucky your therapy bill will be small.” She came back on the line.
“ Kids— all about the right and wrong. Anyway, next week’s Thanksgiving, but can you come over the weekend?”
Tingles of excitement swirled in the pit of her stomach. “You’re not serious!”
“As a virgin in a cathouse with a prepaid Visa, honey!”
“Oh, my God, Jackie! I can’t believe this. So what do I do next?”
Her. On Celebrity Ballroom. It was insane. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. She couldn’t breathe from her excitement.
“You check your e-mail on your father’s ancient computer for a ticket—courtesy of Frank and the studio— show up, and wow ’em.
That’s it.”
She gripped Drew’s hand. “I can’t do this, Jackie. I’m not ready. I still jiggle. I mean, really jiggle. And my hair’s always a mess. Not to mention, I suddenly can’t remember a single dance step. Not one.
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And that guy Franz scares me. He’s so mean to all the faux- lebrities.”
Oh, God. She wasn’t just a has been, she was a forgetful one.
“That’s just nerves, sweet pea. Franz is a pussycat in real life. And quit worrying about dance moves. It’ll all come back to you, and they have all sorts of crap to stuff you in, smooth you out, lift you up. Don’t worry about any of that. Just be you, Mel. You’re beautiful. That’s all they want.”
Her. How ironic that suddenly she, old in terms of Hollywood, fl abby and not even remotely star worthy was what the studio wanted.
