Page 14 of Stick Side
Melody thought there was something very nice about the manner in which he was making his interest in her so plainly known. Relationships were hard enough without all the guesswork.
She could only imagine that Ben was used to waking up to find strange women draped all over him. There were exceptions to every rule, but she’d witnessed enough over the years to understand that random—and frequent—hookups were part of professional athletics. That wasn’t her life. She certainly wasn’t used to such easy intimacy with people she barely knew.
As much as a part of her wanted to crawl back into the warmth of his arms, her rational mind urged her to take a step back. She’d never been comfortable with casual physical affection. And she didn’t see that changing, no matter how appealing Ben was.
“Can I get you a glass of water?” she offered by way of practical distraction.
Melody thought he might redirect the conversation back to more personal matters, but after the barest of hesitations, he nodded. “Water would be great. Thank you.”
She returned his nod and made her way into the kitchen where she proceeded to pour two glasses of filtered water. She then made her way over to her favorite cupboard. It was her undisputed favorite because Eric kept it stocked with her favorite chocolate bars.
Chocolate and waters in hand, Melody ambled back into the living room.
“Here you are,” she said as she passed Ben his water.
“Thanks,” he acknowledged with his signature warm smile.
“You’re welcome.” She smiled back.
Melody couldn’t help but stare, no small bit transfixed, at the way the muscles in his neck worked as he took a healthy gulp of water. Whoever would have thought that neck muscles could be so sexy?
Seeking to distract herself, she took a seat on the floor in front of the coffee table and proceeded to unwrap her chocolate bar.
“What do you have there?” Ben asked. He repositioned himself on the couch and gestured to her now-open bar.
“It’s dark chocolate,” she explained. “Would you like some?”
Ben shook his head, but a smile lit his lips. “You eat chocolate for breakfast?”
“Mel eats chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Eric volunteered as he walked down the hallway, toweling his hair dry. “And often in between. She could give Willy Wonka a run for his chocolate-eating money.”
“My chocolate is far healthier than Willy Wonka’s,” she rebutted cheekily.
She didn’t bother to dispute his quantity claim. That much was true enough.
“Do you have chocolate for breakfast every morning?” Ben inquired. Both his tone and the way he was looking at her suggested he was fascinated to hear her answer.
“Pretty much,” she confirmed as she munched happily.
“With the amount of chocolate Mel consumes, it wasn’t hard to determine that it’s her Achilles’ heel,” Eric revealed. “I keep her well supplied with the good stuff and she keeps doing all the cooking for us.”
She laughed. “I love to cook, but the chocolate supply certainly doesn’t hurt your cause.”
“Throw in my ineptitude in the kitchen,” Eric added, “and I seem to have acquired my own personal chef.”
Ben rose from his seat on the couch and moved to crouch down beside her. She felt her pulse rate increase at his nearness.
“What makes this chocolate so special?” Ben asked, curiosity lighting his gaze.
“Well,” Melody answered, happy to discuss one of her favorite topics. “I try to only eat organic dark chocolate that has been sweetened with whole sugars like unrefined evaporated cane juice, coconut sugar, and maple sugar. Most people don’t realize it, but refined sugar—which is what most chocolate bars contain—requires more nutrients to metabolize than it contains. This means our bodies need to steal nutrients from other healthy foods that we have eaten simply to metabolize the sugars. The result is a depletion of our nutrient reserves, which predisposes us to feeling tired and rundown. Whole sugars might not be perfect, but they’re a heck of a lot better than the alternative. Especially in the quantities I eat.”
Melody paused for a beat before adding, “Some of my favorite brands even contain one hundred percent of the recommended daily intake for iron.”
Ben’s eyebrows lifted in apparent intrigue. No surprise there. He probably wasn’t used to hearing someone talk so passionately about chocolate, especially first thing in the morning.
“Mel has a skill for making healthy food taste delicious,” Eric asserted. “I don’t pay as much attention to food quality as shedoes, but I know I always feel great when I eat her food. If she didn’t already have a full-time job, I would seriously try to hire her as my personal chef.”
“I can see why,” Ben complimented. “Those nachos you made last night were amazing.”
