The Game Changer (11 page)

Melody’s jaw almost dropped. Just because he happened to be partially right didn’t mean he had to be so self-satisfied about it. “I think we’ll be back,” she answered casually, choosing to ignore the second part of his comment. “It’s nice to finally have a place in Bellevue where you don’t have to worry about fights breaking out every five minutes, or the place getting shut down because of underage drinkers.”

Julian nodded. “True. The other bars are notorious for that, aren’t they?” He scooted his chair a little closer to Melody’s. “Plus…come on…you have to admit you were curious to see if I’d be here again tonight.”

Across the table, Olivia let out a little snorting laugh, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Julian sidled a glance at her, and a slow grin spread over his face. His gaze returned to Melody. “It’s true, then. Your friend just confirmed it.”

“My
friend
has had too much to drink tonight.” Melody found it hard to look straight at him because when she did it was impossible to ignore the warmth spreading through her limbs. “But she might be right,” she added, meeting his eyes.

Julian’s smile softened, becoming slightly less cocky. “I make you nervous, don’t I?” His voice was so quiet, she knew she was the only one who could hear him.

She considered denying it, but why bother? “Yes.”

Julian ducked his head and laughed under his breath. “Well, that’s new.” He met her eyes again, his dark gaze penetrating. When he looked away to glance at his watch, Melody felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. “I guess I’d better be heading out,” he said. “You ladies all right to get home?”

Melody nodded, unsure of her voice at that moment.

Julian glanced around the table, nodding to Olivia and Angelica before his eyes settled once more on Melody. “It’s been a pleasure. I hope to see you again soon.” He stood and pushed in his chair, then bent down with his face close to Melody’s and said quietly in her ear, “Thanks for the dance earlier.”

When he straightened, his grin once again bordered on cocky, and he winked at her before going to the bar to pay his tab.

The minute he was out of earshot, Olivia and Angelica leaned forward, talking over each other.

“What did he whisper to you?”

“Did he ask you to go home with him?”

“You look like you’ve swallowed your tongue, are you okay?”

This last question was from Olivia, who prodded Melody with her finger. Melody blinked and tried to focus on Olivia’s face, but the room was spinning slightly. She’d definitely had too much to drink.

“I think I’m ready to go home,” she murmured.

“Me too,” Angelica agreed. “If I don’t get home soon, my mom’ll probably send out a search party.”

Olivia’s brows were drawn in concern as she watched Melody closely. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” She glanced longingly toward the bar, where the bartender hadn’t yet announced last call.

“Ahh, what the hell?” Melody said with a shrug. “At this point, what difference does one more drink make?”

Olivia clapped her hands and looked at Angelica expectantly.

“I’m going to sit this one out.” Angelica held up her hands in surrender. “If I go home and puke up all those fruity drinks, my mom will either haul me back to Kingston or move into my apartment with me.”

Melody and Olivia laughed as they pushed out of their chairs and headed for the bar. They decided on another shot, and when Olivia went to pay the bartender, he refused her money.

“Mr. Reynolds covered it,” the bartender said as he poured two shots of premium tequila. “He said he had a feeling you ladies would decide on a final round, and he told me it was on him.”

Melody and Olivia stared at each other in astonishment. The bartender slid their drinks toward them with a smile, then rang the bell for last call, which was echoed in the rest of the building by the other two bars. Olivia stuffed money into the bartender’s tip cup and picked up the shots, handing one to Melody before raising hers.

“To Julian,” she said.

Melody couldn’t help the grin that tugged at her lips. “To Julian,” she repeated, downing her shot.

CHAPTER 7

Melody slowly cracked one eye open, then the other. Sunlight was flowing through her curtains, and the dust motes that were dancing in the rays appeared to be sparkling. Her throat and lips were dry, and there was a dull throb behind her right eye, but other than that, she felt better than she’d anticipated she would after a night of heavy drinking.

A groan from the other side of the bed had her jumping and clutching the sheet to her chest. She laughed to herself when she remembered Olivia was in bed with her, sprawled on top of the covers with her dress hitched up so it barely covered her behind, and one shoe-clad foot dangling over the end of the bed.

They’d stumbled into their apartment around four in the morning, after having the taxi drop Angelica at her place. Olivia had told Melody she wanted bacon and eggs, and while Melody went to check the fridge Olivia disappeared into the bathroom. When Melody discovered they only had two eggs and no bacon she went to tell Olivia and discovered her in a heap on her bed.

Melody tried to wake her up to get some water into her, but Olivia was already in that hard and fast sleep of the drunk, where a person wouldn’t notice if the circus arrived in their own living room. Resigned to having to deal with a hung over Olivia the next day, Melody changed into her pajamas and forced herself to down a glass and a half of water so she wouldn’t wake up dehydrated and aching.

Now the lump that was Olivia groaned again and turned her head toward Melody. “Bacon,” she muttered, her eyes still closed.

Melody chuckled. She wondered if Olivia thought only a few minutes had passed, and was still waiting on her 4am breakfast. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to find it was almost 11:30.

“How are you feeling?” Melody asked quietly. She wasn’t sure why, but she was feeling a bit smug at the fact that she was twenty-eight, had drunk at least half her weight in booze the night before, and didn’t feel too rough. Maybe she was still drunk, and when the alcohol wore off completely she’d feel the effects.

“Like death,” Olivia croaked, her eyes still closed. “Why did you let me drink so much last night?”

“
Me
?” Melody cried, then clapped her hand over her mouth when Olivia cringed and stuck her face in the pillow. “I wasn’t the one buying drinks, Miss O’Dell.”

“Yeah, damn that Julian,” Olivia said, her words muffled by the pillow.

Melody chose not to point out the fact that Julian had only bought them two drinks, while Olivia had been plying them with alcohol for a good three hours before that.

“I need something greasy,” Olivia murmured. “Where’s my bacon?”

“At the store,” Melody told her.

That got Olivia’s attention. Her face emerged from the pillow and she opened her eyes, squinting against the sunlight. “What?”

“We don’t have any. I never eat it, and you only eat it when you’re hung over, so there’s none in the fridge. You didn’t get any while you were buying all your cooking supplies, then hide it somewhere, did you?”

“No,” Olivia moaned, her voice cracking. Melody pointed to the glass of water she’d left sitting on the bedside table next to Olivia. Olivia heaved herself into a sitting position, made a face when she took a sip of the tepid water, but then downed the contents.

“I can make you something else,” Melody said. “We have a fridge full of food.”

The obstinate look on Olivia’s face told Melody the answer before Olivia spoke. “It has to be bacon,” she said, her voice still rough and her eyes tired slits as she looked at Melody. “I’ve tried everything else, but bacon is the only hangover cure that works for me. They even did a study, you know.”

“Did
they
?” Melody said, not even bothering to ask who ‘they’ were, because she was sure Olivia wouldn’t know.

Olivia nodded wisely. “They proved that something about the grease in bacon helps with hangovers. So it’s not just me.”

“It’s not just you, but I have a feeling it’s going to be just me who has to haul my ass out of bed, get dressed, and go down the street to Lion’s for bacon,” Melody grumbled.

Olivia beamed at her. “I love you?”

Melody didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh, so she did both. “And lucky for you I love you, too. If you didn’t look like a zombie right now, I’d tell you you’re out of luck.”

“
Zombie
?” Olivia cried. She looked down at herself and seemed surprised to find she was still wearing last night’s dress. She pulled the covers from underneath herself and got under them, then pulled them up to her chin. “If I was a zombie, I’d be more interested in brains, and the problem would be solved.”

Melody shook her head as she grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom for a quick shower. When she came back into her bedroom, Olivia was still in her bed…or rather,
back
in her bed, since she was now in pajamas. “Did you go to your room, put your PJs on, then come back to my bed?”

“Yes,” Olivia said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Your bed is comfier than mine, and I have a nice warm spot here.”

“Okay…” Melody said slowly, grabbing her brush and running it through her hair. “And the pajamas?”

“It felt like a pajama kind of day,” Olivia explained. She had a bit of colour in her cheeks now, but her skin was still mostly pale, and her eyes were red. “Hangovers call for jammies. And comfy beds. And bacon. When you get back, you can put your jammies back on too, then we can watch movies.”

“What did I do without you here all this time to tell me what to do?” Melody asked.

Olivia threw a pillow at Melody’s head, laughing. “I don’t know, actually. It’s a miracle you survived this long without me.”

Melody shook her head again and threw the pillow back to Olivia. “Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.” She grabbed her purse and keys, slipped her feet into a pair of flip flops, and left the apartment, locking the door behind herself.

The minute she stepped out the door behind Green Pea’s Books, the remainder of the fog in her mind cleared. It was a beautiful day, and she stood there for a minute, breathing in the fresh air with her face turned up toward the sun. Across the parking lot the Moira River was sparkling in the sunlight, and Melody noticed several people down by the bridge with fishing rods and tackle boxes.

She smiled to herself as she began walking toward the alley that led to Front Street. Lion’s was a small locally owned department store just a two-minute walk down the street from their apartment. Melody often popped in there on her way home from work to pick up something quick for dinner or to look for gift items or casual clothes. The store had a little bit of everything, along with good prices, so it was one of her favourite places to shop.

Stepping inside the cool, air-conditioned shop, Melody headed straight for the back where the grocery items were. The store didn’t carry much fresh produce or meat because they didn’t have the room, but they kept things like bacon, packaged sausages, and lunchmeat, plus they had a fully stocked dairy bar. The rest of the food was frozen, canned, or boxed, and Melody was always able to find something interesting for the nights she didn’t feel like cooking just for herself.

She was perusing the selection of bacon—did Olivia prefer smoked or maple? She couldn’t remember—when a familiar voice caught her attention. Her heart tripped in her chest before starting to beat erratically. She turned slowly and saw Julian walking down the aisle. He was having a friendly conversation with the manager of the store, and as far as Melody knew he hadn’t seen her yet. She grabbed a package of bacon and ducked into the closest aisle.

She wasn’t sure why she was hiding from him. He had been right the night before with his guess that he made her nervous. There was just something about him. His confidence, his sometimes-cocky-but-always-sexy smile, this air of mystery and sensuality that seemed to surround him. She wasn’t used to men like that—men who were so self-assured and forward.

And then, of course, there was her current appearance. Melody didn’t consider herself a vain person, but she also wasn’t crazy about the idea of Julian seeing her without makeup, wearing a tank top, yoga pants, and flip flops, and with her damp hair in a messy ponytail. She had a sudden thought that he might not even recognize her since she’d looked completely different the last two nights at Atlantis.

“I like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch myself.”