Page 72 of Stick Side
Melody couldn’t help but wrap her arms around Ben’s waist and indulge in an affectionate squeeze. “Maybe you can teach me to be as good a sous-chef as you are,” she told him with a fond smile, remembering the day they’d met and the way he’d boasted about his mom assuring him he was a highly competent sous-chef. “Though breakfast is easy since all you have to do is hand me a chocolate bar.”
Cathy’s eyes widened. An enormous smile bloomed on her face as her eyes ping ponged between Melody and Ben.
Melody blushed clear to her hairline when she realized what she might have just implied. She really hoped Ben’s parents weren’t picturing Ben helping her pull together a nice breakfast after a night spent in bed together. She believed that was the direction she and Ben were heading in, but they weren’t there yet. And, even if they were, it wasn’t something she would want to broadcast to his parents.
Ben leaned down and placed a soft, soothing kiss on the skin just above her temple. She smiled up at him appreciatively, amazed by how much better his simple show of affection made her feel.
Melody was grateful when the others pushed through the front door. As introductions were made and the Logans worked together to get everyone settled, she was able to forget all about her embarrassment. For the moment, at least.
Chapter 36
Melody
Melodysmiledtoherselfas she unpacked her clothes and settled into the room she’d been given for the weekend. Like the rest of the house, the bedroom was spacious and inviting with well-made furnishings and warm colors.
“Thanks for agreeing to come with me this weekend,” Melody said as she glanced over at her roommate.
“No problem,” Shawna replied as she unpacked and organized her own belongings. “What with the need to be on virtual standby to deal with any issues the team might get tangled up in during the season, it would’ve been hard to make it home to Georgia to see my family. To be honest, it’s nice to have a place to spend Thanksgiving. Plus,” she added with an evil grin, “being here gives me the opportunity to spy on the boys and deep dive into potential PR problems I might need to nip in the bud. Mwahaha.” Shawna’s laugh was jokingly maniacal, but Melody wouldn’t put it past her friend to unobtrusively pry into the players’ business to see what she could unearth in order to stave off a potential crisis in the making.
“While I’m certainly not fazed to be sharing a bed with you this weekend,” Shawna continued, “I’m a little surprised you aren’t bunking with Ben.”
Melody shifted her weight from side to side and looked down at her feet. “Ben and I aren’t there yet.”
Shawna stopped what she was doing and turned to give Melody her full attention. “Really?” Shawna inquired. “You and Ben haven’t slept together yet? I knew you had some reservations about getting involved with him, but I figured you’d blown past them if you were prepared to spend the holidays with him and his family.”
Melody bit her lip and gave her head a slow shake. “We’ve kissed, but that’s it,” Melody admitted.
“Well, hell,” Shawna voiced mildly. “In that case, I guess it’s an extra good thing I came along so that I was an obvious bunkmate.”
There had been a brief moment of awkwardness when Ben and his family divided to show everyone to their rooms. Melody couldn’t believe that she hadn’t considered where she might be sleeping until just that moment. Thankfully, Ben had been the one to show her and Shawna to his sister’s room. Melody wasn’t sure how she would have felt if it had been one of his parents. She and Ben would have made it work had the only choice been for her to stay in his room, but she suspected this was for the best.
Melody’s body flushed with pleasure at the idea of sharing a room with Ben. She still remembered how good it had felt to sleep nestled in his arms at Eric’s. She could only imagine how much better it would feel to do so within the comfort of an actual bed instead of a sofa. And yet, his parents’ house probably wasn’t the best place for that to happen for the first time.
“I guess it’s a good thing his sister couldn’t make it home for the weekend, huh?” Shawna observed. “I think we’re filling up all the bedrooms with our current numbers.”
Melody nodded even as a small part of her wished that close quarters would have forced her to room with Ben.
“I see that look,” Shawna said with a conspiratorial smile. “Should I be prepared to wake up all by my lonesome tomorrow morning?” Her saucy grin suggested she would fully support Melody if she chose to share Ben’s bed instead of the one they’d been assigned.
“Unlikely,” Melody dismissed. She might like the idea of sharing Ben’s bed, but she wasn’t sure if she would be bold enough to suggest it.
She appreciated the way he wasn’t pushing her to take their relationship to a more intimate level, but she was starting to feel antsy. The more she got to know him, the more she found herself craving a deeper, more intimate connection. She could only hope nature would take its course before she imploded from the heat of her increasingly lascivious thoughts.
“Based on the way that man looks at you,” Shawna observed, “should the desire strike you, I can pretty well guarantee he wouldn’t mind your company one bit.”
“I don’t know about that,” Melody said with apprehension, remembering the way Ben had put the brakes on things after their dinner date atLe Délice Parisien.
She and Ben had settled into a nice rhythm once the mystery of why he’d ghosted her after their dinner date had been revealed, but things were still new. She could feel the potential blooming between them, but she wasn’t sure where she stood with him.
Now that she’d gotten to know Ben better, she felt confident he was genuinely interested in pursuing a relationship with her. Hearing his parents refer to her as his girlfriend and having himnot dispute the title only cemented her conviction, making her wonder if she’d read his post-date behavior all wrong.
Unless he was just that casual about dating. Melody quashed the unwanted thought. No, she wasn’t going to doubt Ben or herself. If they were going to have a real shot of making it as a couple—which she now knew was what she wanted—she was going to have to have more faith in both him and herself.
Uncomfortable feelings of guilt niggled at her. She’d been so confused by Ben’s seemingly easy ability to pull away from her after what she’d thought was a picture-perfect date that she’d reaffirmed her interest in going out with Nolan again. Thanks to the uncertainty of his work schedule, the date was still theoretical, but she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable about having agreed to it.
Melody turned the problem over in her mind. Should she tell Ben about Nolan or would it make more sense to wait and see whether he ever even got back in touch with her about going out again? For all she knew, Nolan’s interest in her might wane after a few weeks apart. Was it worth bringing it up with Ben if it might not even happen? Not for the first time, Melody wished there was a practical dating book she could refer to that would answer all these questions.
One thing was for sure. If Nolan did reach out, she was going to have to renege on their date. Whether she explained things to Ben or not, no way could she go out with Nolan if she and Ben had entered the boyfriend-girlfriend stage of their relationship. She’d agreed to the date in good faith, but she wasn’t a cheater. She was better than that and neither Nolan nor Ben deserved to be misled.
