Page 125 of Stick Side
Annie bopped around her, while Shawna dipped and twisted in sultry, coordinated movements. As three women dancing together, they were drawing a good bit of male attention, but Melody was trying to ignore it since that was the last thing she needed right now.
When Shawna had suggested a night of dancing, Melody had jumped at the opportunity. Dance clubs weren’t really her scene, but she’d welcomed the opportunity to get out and clear her head. That was something she needed. And badly.
She, Shawna, and Annie made their way back to their table when the song ended, stopping off at the bar for fresh drinks on their way. Melody was a firm believer that the average person was good, kind, and moral, but it was never smart to leave drinks unattended in a place like this. Just in case. So fresh drinks it was.
When they arrived at their table, drinks in hand, Melody pulled her phone out of her black crossbody purse—selected on account of it being the smallest one she’d been able to find that didn’t look utterly ridiculous with her outfit—and checked the time. Even if she’d been wearing a watch, it would have been too dim to read it clearly.
12:15 a.m. Not bad when none of them had to be at work tomorrow.
For better or worse, when she looked at her phone, she noticed more than the time. She had a new message from Ben. And it wasn’t just a message. It looked like he’d sent her a video attachment.
Perhaps it was the two drinks she’d had, but she couldn’t quell her curiosity enough to resist seeing what he’d sent her. She clicked on the link.
The video showed Ben sitting in what looked to be a finely appointed hotel room, but that didn’t tell her much since he traveled so often and the terms of NHL contracts dictated thatplayers be put up in at least five-star hotels. As such, so far as she could tell, the video could have been filmed practically anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
What Melody could tell was that Ben was sitting on a nice, if generic, sofa in black sweatpants and a fitted gray T-shirt that hugged his finely sculpted muscles to perfection. It was an effortlessly sexy look, and she was here for it.
As confused as she was over the events of the past few days—and her response to them—she couldn’t help but smile and sink contentedly into her chair at the mere sight of him. What was it about Ben that seemed to soothe her and send her pulse racing at the same time?
Once Melody was able to draw her eyes away from Ben’s deliciously muscled biceps, her eyes moved down the strongly corded muscles of his forearms to his equally strong and attractive hands. She blinked when she saw that he was holding a guitar. If he could play, it was news to her. Though maybe she shouldn’t have been all that surprised since he’d told her that Guitar Hero was one of his favorite games.
“Hi, Melody,” he said as he smiled into the camera. “I had an idea, and I decided to go for it before I chickened out.” His expression was a combination of tender, hopeful, and bashful.
She had to strain her ears to hear him over the sounds of the nightclub. Thankfully, his voice grew clearer as she increased the volume on her phone.
“If you hate it, blame Knight,” he teased. “It’s his guitar. He also planted the seed for the idea.”
Ben’s eyes smiled at her through the screen before his expression turned ever so slightly shy. He bent his head down to look at the metal strings while his strong, muscled hands moved against the neck of the guitar until his fingers found their desired placement. Fingers properly positioned, he started to strum lazily.
After one false start, Melody recognized the tune of “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.
Her eyes lifted skyward when he began to speak-sing in what experience suggested was his customary manner. Unlike the previous occasions when she’d heard him give voice to song—in the greenhouse and in Eric’s kitchen—this time, Ben appeared to have chosen to get creative with the lyrics. She chuckled to herself when she noticed he’d inserted a band at the bottom of the screen displaying his adapted lyrics, as well as supplemental commentary.
“Hey there, pretty lady.
(Because ‘beautiful’ didn’t fit.)
What’s it like back in Chicago?
I’m a thousand miles away
(And what do you know, Denver actually is 1,000 miles away from Chicago.)
But, Mel, you’re so much more than pretty
I swear to you
Cloud Gate can’t shine as bright as you
It’s very true . . .”
And on it went with Ben quite literally pulling at her heartstrings with his adapted lyrics and heartwarming demonstration. He wasn’t a singer, but his song was as beautiful to her as if Tom Higgenson or any other musical great had sung it to her.
Ben’s voice trailed off after the last word was spoken. “As I said earlier,” Ben spoke. “I miss you. Hopefully, you now have a better sense of just how much.” He looked up at the camera with one more sweet and sexy look before the video faded to black.
“Oh, whoa. Whoa. Oh, oh . . .” Annie gaped, fanning herself with her hand. “How romantic was that?”
Melody craned her neck to see that both Annie and Shawna had crowded around behind her chair. They had no doubt caught most, if not all, of Ben‘s performance.
