“Ben will love it.”
The guy’s head nodded.
I laughed and went to change.
“Make sure you mingle. Get Ben to introduce you to everyone. You never know, even the little guys can help you,” Genesis said as we handed our cards to the cashier. “Smile and... That reminds me, bring mints.”
“Are you saying I have bad breath?” I took my card and the dress, then turned to face her.
“You’ll be drinking and eating, Mel. Oh, and stay away from anything with garlic or onions.”
“Okay, Gen, I got it. Don’t smell.” I laughed. “I’m already nervous, and you aren’t helping.”
Thankfully, the weather was warming up, and we walked back to our apartment.
“I’m hoping my nerves settle down.”
“You got this, babe. I’m excited for you.”
I was excited too, so excited, I could throw up.
Ben insisted on picking me up at my door. He was a few minutes early when I heard the knock and Genesis’s bare feet run across the hardwood floor. She was already there before I could put my makeup brush down. She wanted to meet Ben and give her “approval.”
“Hello, Ben. I’m Genesis, Mel’s roommate. She’ll be out shortly, please come in.” I heard her say from the bathroom. “Would you like something to drink? Water, wine, beer?”
“No, thank you.”
“Ben, I’ll be ready in five minutes,” I yelled as I brushed on the mascara.
“Wow, this is… quaint. You two have done some creative things in here.”
He must have been talking about our desk area. We had a lower and upper area built from an old bunk bed when we both needed to work at the same time. I took the lower bunk, which made room for a chair, writing desk, and my guitar. I would look out the window, into the other apartments, and make-up songs about what I saw. Genesis worked with noise cancellation headphones on as she recited her lines in the top bunk.
“So, Ben. What are your intentions with my Melody?”
“Genesis! Ben, ignore her.” I peeked my head out the door.
I heard him chuckle. “I’m sorry, I can’t disclose that with two ladies present.”
I walked out of the bathroom to Genesis high-fiving Ben.
“I like you already,” she said.
They turned to look at me, and Ben’s eyes widened, along with his smile. He walked over to me and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.
“You look breathtaking.”
He looked amazing, as he always did. He had on a black three-piece suit, and the vest had a silver and black design, which coordinated perfectly with my dress.
“If we don’t leave now, I’ll be making my intentions very clear,” he said.
“Well, all right. I told you he would love the dress, Mel.”
Ben reached for my hand as I said goodnight to Genesis.
Chapter Nine
Ben
My hands stayed on Melody the entire ride—her knee, her hair, her neck. I kissed her several times until she mentioned mussing her up. I wanted to devour her if she’d let me, but it was a big night for her. I saw the guest list earlier and would make sure she met the right people.
Melody needed to get off the street and out of that shithole, she called an apartment. For the neighborhood, it was better than I’d assumed, just not for my Songbird. Her apartment was small. My kitchen was larger. I thought back and didn’t remember seeing one. They seemed to have done the best they could with the furnishings, but she deserved better.
We pulled up to the boutique hotel in Chelsea. Melody walked in on my arm, and it felt right. The men who were eye-fucking her could go to hell—she was mine. I wrapped my arm tightly around her waist as we waited for the elevator to take us to the rooftop.
She gasped slightly when the door opened as she looked around the crowded room. The venue had a small pool on one side they were using as a water feature and a lounge on the other with tables and leather chairs. It was typical of New York City, but Melody’s face was lit up. Her eyes looked everywhere until I kissed her cheek, and she focused those beautiful browns on me.
“This place is incredible. How do you get flowers to grow in this cold?”
I wasn’t sure what she meant until I looked behind us. We had walked through an archway of greenery and fresh flowers.
“The hotel must have done that recently. I was here last week with a client, and it wasn’t there. Why don’t we grab a drink and something to eat before I show you off?”
We had several drinks, but I could feel her muscles tensing as more people crowded the bar. I made sure Melody ate something before I started introducing her to a few people.
“Hello, handsome.”
I turned around. Her tips were dyed pink, and Graham’s tie matched. Graham’s wife, Soraya, gave me a hug.
“Stop manhandling my wife,” Graham said as he pulled her back, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Ignore the ass.” She rolled her eyes.
“You look beautiful,” I said.
Her long black hair was flowing down her black dress, the pink on the ends of her hair the only color. She had diamonds on, courtesy of Graham. He loved spoiling her and his two kids.
“I would love for you two to meet my beautiful date, Melody Dumas. This is Graham Morgan and his wife, Soraya, tonight’s hosts. Melody’s a singer, songwriter, and an exceptionally talented woman.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Melody said, shaking their hands.
“Wow, so glad to meet you. You must be good if this jerk thinks so.” Soraya laughed.
“He’s being kind,” Melody added.
“I doubt that,” Graham chimed in. “Ben is nothing but honest when it comes to talent. It’s very nice to see you again. So, what happened, did he give you the bagel?”
Soraya looked between us. “What about a bagel?”
Melody rumbled out. “He ate it.”
Graham looked horrified, then roared with laughter. It was rare to see my old mate show any humor, but things had changed since Soraya came along.
“Funny how the man who can’t keep his assistants finds it funny.”
“Don’t look at me, I liked Carol. Soraya didn’t.”
She turned around in Graham’s arms and threw her hands on her hips. “She flirted with you when I was in the room.”
“I fired her on the spot,” he noted dryly.
She smiled as she leaned in with a kiss, and he moaned, unfazed by the public display of affection.
Soraya turned back to face Melody. “I would love to hear more about this bagel thing. I need to go to our room and check on our kids if you want to walk with me. I left them with the nanny and told them to be in bed and asleep about now. They were watching one of their favorite YouTube channels, the Bateman kids with Pixy the goat. They would stay up all night watching the guy, his kids, and their goat in Hermosa Beach if they could get away with it. I blame Graham.”
He raised both hands up. “I met him when I went out there looking for you, remember. He seemed like a decent guy and was a big soccer star at one time.”