She forces me to try out the radiant heating on her kitchen floor as she explains her reason for falling asleep in such an odd place. Being distracted by the thought that Melody was unconscious on the kitchen floor, I almost forgot why I came here in the first place. It isn’t to make-out on her mother’s kitchen floor. That would be hard to explain if she came home and walked in on us. “If you want to stay warm, I can take care of the truck. I just need the keys.”
“Don’t you need two people to jump a car?” she asks.
“I can handle it. Stay warm.”
“Thank you,” she says, standing up with me from the floor.
Maybe it wouldn't be appropriate to take advantage of her on the kitchen floor, but it’s okay to lean over and kiss her cheek. It means more than “I think I like you” but less than “I’d like to take you right here and have my way with you.”
“Anything for you,” I say.
I tend to the truck outside, doing my best to pretend that I don’t see her watching me from the window like a lovesick woman gawking at a hot, shirtless landscaper. I don’t mind the attention. I’m just going to pray that the jumper cables work so I don’t look like a moron who can’t jump a car. Of course, the battery could be completely dead, and I’d be out of luck, but here’s to hoping.
It takes me about ten minutes to give the battery enough juice to run, but I don’t think it’s going to recover completely. She will need a new battery. I flip the vanity light off so she doesn’t realize that checking her make-up in the mirror and leaving the light on may have contributed to the battery dying. Old batteries can die when the temperature outside is cold, so I’ll let her go with that thought.
I make my way back into the house where Melody is waiting with two mugs. “All set, but I think the battery is a goner. The cold air was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s time for a new one, but I can help you out, so you don’t have to pay an arm and a leg to a mechanic.”
She’s giving me that loving look like I just saved her day. If only she were in a tower, I’d tell Parker everything about Disney is real. “You’re a sweet guy, you know?” Melody hands over one of the mugs, and I look inside to find hot chocolate.
“Only to the people I like,” I say, making her blush.
The time quickly passes as we finish our hot drinks, and she takes the mug from my hand and brings it to the sink before turning around to face me as if there’s something she needs to say.
I have never felt so damn out of control in my life. “Yesterday, I enjoyed showing you where the labels were,” I say before realizing how ridiculous I sound.
“I’m glad I know where to find them now,” she says, sounding breathless as I take a couple of steps in toward her. I enjoy making her squirm a bit. It’s nice to know the feelings are mutual.
I lean forward and reach my arm over her shoulder, and she closes her eyes, preparing for something other than me, turning the faucet on behind her. “Do you mind if I rinse my hands off really quick? I have some grease on my fingers and I don’t want to mess up your mom’s house.”
Melody’s mouth falls open with shock and maybe a little anger or embarrassment. It’s okay to tease as long as I follow up on it after. She tries to step to the side, so I can wash my hands, but I press my body against hers and press my lips to the side of her neck.
I’m going to hell, but it will be worth it.
She lets out a soft noise that sounds like a cry and a plea mixed together. I can’t take it. I straighten my posture and touch my nose to hers, staring into her eyes before moving any further. She loops her arms around my neck and scratches her fingernails along the base of my hairline. I feel like I’m losing control which I’m a little uneasy about as we are still in the kitchen, on display for whoever else may walk in.
I take her lips as if I own them and show her what she’s doing to me with so little effort. I feel like I can’t get close enough, yet there’s no space left between us. I devour her tongue and tug on her bottom lip, tasting the sweetness from her hot cocoa. “You taste like chocolate,” I mutter into her mouth.
“You are the happiness I need,” she responds.
I trace my fingers down the side of her face, wanting only to offer her a permanent form of happiness.
22
One-and-a-half years later
As a teenager,it’s rare to look at someone and see a future mapped out with them, and the thought of marriage isn’t a typical subject to cross a young man’s mind, but after seeing death and destruction year after year, then experiencing loss, I’ve come to realize a new truth. The promise of what happens tomorrow is not written in permanent ink because forever is not etched in stone for everyone.
When Melody stepped back into my life, I knew there was a greater reason than being there to hold her up in a time of need. It wasn’t long after our first interaction that something in my head said, “She’s the one. Marry her. Spend forever with her.”
Like any good romance, there was the first kiss and then the second kiss that trumped the first. Of course, there are always ups and downs that prove the strength of our feelings. One of those downs was having to fight off her ex, who wanted to come claim his “girl” a week after Harold died. It wasn’t a hard battle to fight, even though I was nervous at the time. I proved that sometimes a little space and quiet mean more than the pleas of someone who has already ruined his chances.
In truth, I won without a battle. There was no contest and it was proof that Melody and I were meant for each other.
Though life was anything but simple over the last year, we had each other. I was there for Melody in every way possible and each day we spent together was better than the one before. Our passion grew increasingly strong, day by day. It was amazing. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and it was more than initial lust, it was caged love—love that had been sitting and waiting to be released between us.
I fell in love with Melody Quinn fast and hard, and it was the most incredible feeling I have experienced. I am her rock and I hold her up when times get tough. She has bonded with Parker, and the two have formed a relationship I only dreamt about for my daughter. So, all in all, life has been my version of perfection, and I knew there was only one step left.
Marry her.
