Page 32 of Melody

“That’s fair.” When she and Tommy had first gotten together, she hadn’t heard shit from him for days—literaldays. No calls or texts, no communication at all, so she’d figured he hadn’t been as into her as she’d been into him. It wasn’t until they were living together and she’d asked him about it that he told her something stupid about a “three-day rule”: “You’re not supposed to call a girl you’re into for three days, so’s she doesn’t think you’re desperate.”

She should’ve known it was just another Tommy thing. The guy was—

“But maybe we were just basking in the glow. You can be honest with me, okay? Did you have a good enough time that you’d want to do it again?” There was no mistaking the eager tone of his voice—and that made her feel all the better becauseshe, too, loved the prospect of a second date, regardless of how it might not be the best idea for her.

“I did. I’ve never been on a date like that, except for maybe the dinner, but that’s not—” She stopped herself. It was way too early to tell him that she knew he was different…that he seemed like the kind of guy who would make a good partner for the right girl someday.

Because that girl wouldnotbe her. Whether her judgment was skewed because she was falling for him, despite her best efforts, or he turned out to be someone else entirely, she was not going to be here long enough to find out anyway.

There was no sense getting his hopes up.

And yet she had a hard time keeping her heart closed or her mouth shut.

“Notwhat?” Kyle asked, breaking through her torrential thoughts once more.

Struggling to remember exactly what she’d said, she improvised. “That’s not important. I had a good time and, yes, if you’re asking, I would go on a second date.”

“Yes!I was hoping you’d say that. I’m working all this week, plus I have rehearsal and two shows—”

“Tequilaville Friday, right?”

“Yeah. When are your nights off?” he asked.

“Usually Monday through Wednesday.”

He couldn’t completely mask his disappointment when he spoke again. “Then why don’t we talk on Friday and figure out our next date. Does that sound okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” She was a little bummed out that she wouldn’t get to see him until then, but it was only a few nights away. And she knew that time would help her regain her perspective. Right now, she was like a love-sick puppy, far too eager and emotional. “So what are you doing right now anyway?”

“Getting ready for work. I gotta work a double tonight.”

“Thatsucks.”

“Except for the money.”

Scarlett nodded her head, a gesture Kyle couldn’t appreciate over the phone. “I get that.”

“What areyoudoing?”

“Well, I don’t have to work tonight, so I’m taking a long walk around the neighborhood. There’s still a little snow on people’s lawns and all the Christmas decorations make everything seem so festive and bright.”

“You must not be looking at deflated Santas then.”

She started laughing. “What?”

“You know, those inflatable things people put in front of their houses—snowmen, Santa, reindeer, shit like that. They’re all lit up and puffy at night but, when they turn them off, they’re deflated and sad-looking, just laying on the ground, a mass of color, and you can’t even tell what they were.”

A smile still on her face, she said, “You’re right. I haven’t seen one of those yet.”

“Oh, you will.”

Before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth, she asked, “Did you ever think you might want that?”

Still joking, Kyle said, “A sad Santa in my front yard?”

But she managed to catch herself. “No. Never mind.”

Even through the phone, he was perceptive. “You mean a house I can decorate at Christmas? One with a white picket fence, two-point-five children, and a dog?”