Page 118 of Stick Side
Melody took her eyes off the menu and glanced up at Nolan. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught two young women—girls, really—who were staring at her and whispering behind their hands.
Melody sighed heavily, not even sure what she’d been about to say. “It’s been a pretty eventful few weeks, actually.”
“Oh yeah?” Nolan asked as he settled himself more comfortably in his seat.
“Yeah,” she breathed out, even though she couldn’t help but feel “eventful” had been putting it mildly.
“It sounds like quite the story,” Nolan observed.
Melody glanced over at the girls again. Yup. They still had their eyes trained on her.
Melody let out an audible exhalation. “The truth of the matter is I started seeing someone else over the past few weeks,” she shared bluntly.
She wasn’t sure what the modern dating handbook said about how much information she was supposed to disclose on the matter, but she was tired of looking outside of herself to determine how she should act, especially when she found the mere notion of navigating through all the “shoulds” too exhausting to even contemplate now. So much of her emotional energy was already tied up in her confusion and uncertainty about whether she would find the strength to move forward in her relationship with Ben that she just didn’t have the bandwidth to try and filter her words. Plus, her gut told her she owed Nolan her honesty.
“Okay,” Nolan acknowledged. He waited patiently for her to continue, as if knowing she had more she needed to say on the matter.
“Ben and I went out on our first date the same week we went to Snakes & Lattes,” Melody explained. “And things progressed pretty rapidly after that.”
Melody glanced up at Nolan to find him watching her thoughtfully.
“Why do I sense a ‘but’?” he asked.
Melody’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re an insightful man. Do you know that?”
Nolan smiled gently. “So I’ve been told.”
“Maybe you’ve heard some of the story on the news?” Melody wondered aloud.
Nolan’s eyes popped wide open with that disclosure. “The news?” he asked, a little dumbfounded.
Melody then proceeded to tell Nolan the whole story—at least the PG-13 version—of her relationship with Ben, up to and including the Cynthia Hargraves scandal.
“Oh, jeez,” Nolan offered up, his tone commiserating, once she’d finished her tale.
“Oh, jeez indeed,” Melody sighed.
Nolan ruffled his hair absentmindedly. “I kind of already knew that I turned into a bit of an ostrich when things get super busy at work, but this certainly proves it,” he observed.
Melody wasn’t sure how to answer that, so she just smiled and shrugged.
“So, what now?” Nolan asked. His tone suggested he was merely curious, but Melody got the impression he was invested in her answer.
“I don’t know,” Melody answered with honesty. “I won’t lie and pretend I don’t care for him, but I don’t know if I have it in me to live my life in the spotlight cast by a high-profile career. It’s a relationship complication I didn’t really consider as thoroughly as I should have.” She breathed out another heavy sigh, as though the release of her breath might somehow help to ease the emotional burden she was carrying.
“That’s fair,” Nolan observed. “You might have processed what dating a celebrity might be like logically, but no one can fault you for not knowing how you might deal with it emotionally until something came up.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Melody replied gratefully. “It’s easy to feel like it’s my own fault that I’m taking this as hard as I am. I feel like I should have been more prepared. Seen this coming.”
Nolan reached across the table and laid a comforting hand on her forearm. His hand only touched her skin for a moment, but the sensation of his comfort lingered.
“I’m sorry,” Melody apologized and meant it. “You’re probably one of the last people I should be talking this out with.”
“I disagree,” Nolan surprised her by answering. “I think I’m exactly the right person.”
Melody started a little at his response. Her eyes sought out and found a deeper connection with his.
“Do I wish you hadn’t met someone else or that I hadn’t ignored my grandpa’s prodding to meet you for so long?” Nolan continued. “Yes. Yes, I do. But I respect your honesty. That’s the foundation every good relationship needs—no matter its type.”
