Page 188 of My Real Love Affair

The timer went off for the cookies. I pulled them out. They were slightly too brown on one edge where I’d placed them too close together, but otherwise perfect.

“Not bad for your first attempt,” Melody said, inspecting them.

“I had a good teacher.”

We let the cookies cool while the ramen finished, and then we carried everything to the living room—two bowls of ramen and a plate of warm cookies. Melody turned on the TV and pulled up something called her “comfort shows.”

“What’s a comfort show?” I asked.

“A show you’ve seen a million times that you put on when you want to feel cozy and relaxed. Mine are sitcoms mostly. Things that don’t require much thinking.”

“Like what?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Friends. Gilmore Girls. Downton Abbey.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but I went along with it. “Cool.”

“Do you want to laugh, cry, or feel nostalgic?”

I frowned. “Laugh, please.”

She turned on the show, giving me a brief rundown of characters, like who was banging who, and informing me the first couple of seasons were the funniest. I happily went along for the ride.

The ramen was actually incredible, and I told her so.

“It’s just ramen,” she said, but she looked pleased.

“No, it’s good. Really good.”

We ate and watched, making commentary on the show between bites. Melody knew every episode by heart, could quote lines before they happened. It was endearing as hell.

When we finished eating, she set the dishes aside and curled up against me. I could feel the exhaustion catching up to her, the long night finally taking its toll.

“Feet,” I said, patting my lap.

“What?”

“Put your feet up. I’ll massage them. Those heels looked killer on you, but they probably killed your feet too.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

She shifted so her feet were in my lap, and I started working my thumbs into her arches. She groaned, her head falling back against the couch cushions. “Oh my god, that feels amazing.”

I worked out the knots, taking my time, while she made increasingly satisfied sounds. On the TV, the characters were dealing with some kind of mishap involving a couch and a stairwell. Melody’s eyes were starting to drift closed.

“Don’t fall asleep yet,” I said. “You should change, get ready for bed.”

“In a minute,” she mumbled. “This is too good to stop.”

I kept massaging, watching her face relax completely. Her breathing started to even out, becoming deeper and slower. Within minutes, she was asleep, her head tilted to one side, one hand resting on her stomach.

I carefully extracted my hands from her feet and grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the couch, draping it over her. She stirred slightly but didn’t wake, just snuggled deeper into the cushions.

I should wake her, get her into bed properly. But she looked so peaceful, and I didn’t want to disturb her.

Instead, I just sat there, watching her sleep. This woman had turned my entire world upside down. She’d made me want things I never thought I would want. Made me believe in things I stopped believing in. Made me into someone I actually liked being.