Page 76 of Stick Side
As he’d done earlier, Ben held out his hand to Melody and beckoned her to take a seat beside him. She couldn’t help but cut her eyes over to where Tali lounged on the couch. Surely, it would be awkward for all parties if she were to cuddle up next to Ben in front of his ex-girlfriend?
After looking for, and not noticing, any overt signs of jealousy from Tali, Melody hesitantly took Ben’s hand and settled in beside him. While she might have accepted his unspoken request to have her close, she was conscious of not sandwiching herself directly against him. This might be a unique situation,what with Ben’s ex also being his neighbor, but there was no need to make anyone more uncomfortable than necessary.
Melody must not have done a very good job of concealing her misgivings because no sooner had Tali’s brows furrowed in confusion than her eyes moved between Melody and Ben, widening in the way that people’s do when they’ve just resolved something that’s been confusing them. “Oh, now I get it,” Tali said before dissolving into hearty laughter.
“What the hell, Tali?” Ben asked, obviously having no better idea than Melody did what conclusion Tali had just drawn.
It took Tali a moment to bring her laughter under control enough to guffaw, “Your girlfriend thinks we have a thing for each other.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Ben denied with a dismissive flick of his wrist.
When silence ensued, Ben shifted to better look at Melody. He might not have laughed, but it was definitely his turn to grin. Melody wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.
Ben’s voice was gentle when he reassured her. “I think you’ve missed a very pertinent piece of information here, sweetheart.”
“Like what?” Melody asked with reserve.
Ben didn’t hesitate to enlighten her. “Let’s just say that if Tali were interested in dating anyone in this room, it wouldn’t be me.”
Melody blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
Tali shifted her position on the couch. “Benji and I dated briefly in high school,” she said, by way of explanation. “After a month or so, he finally built up the nerve to kiss me. That was all it took. One kiss andBOOM.” Tali clapped her hands together dramatically. “One kiss and I knew I was a lesbian.”
Melody felt her eyes go round. Well, that was unexpected.
Ben wrinkled his nose. “Thank you so much for that, Tali. That right there does great stuff for my masculinity.”
“Oh, shut it,” Tali challenged. “It does no such thing. You’re an NHL hockey player. You drink testosterone for breakfast.”
Melody couldn’t tell whether it was an appropriate time to laugh, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d jumped to the wrong conclusion about Ben and Tali and laughter felt like a release she couldn’t resist.
As the quiet sounds of her amusement filled the room, Ben shot the closest thing to a glare she’d ever seen from him her way. It made her chuckle all the harder. And yet, somehow, despite his grimace and the embarrassed flush creeping across his cheeks, he still managed to be the most sinfully attractive man she’d ever seen. There seemed something terribly unfair in that.
Melody still wanted some clarification. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. “So, you and Tali didn’t just break up?” she asked. “She isn’t the woman you were seeing in Philadelphia?”
Ben winced before offering her an uncertain smile, apology in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Melody.” And he really did sound it. “It never occurred to me that you would confuse my ex-girlfriend,Natalie, withNataliahere.”He made sure to emphasize the subtle difference in their names.
“Do I look like a corporate lawyer to you?” Tali asked, waving her hands in front of herself. She looked both flattered and incredulous.
A slow, shaky smile built as the new information of who and what Tali and Ben were to each other started to sink in. “There’s nothing that says a corporate lawyer can’t be fit, stunning, and personable,” Melody observed.
Tali’s smile turned seductive. “Oh, I like you,” she purred. “Any chance you’re a switch-hitter?” Tali winked in a way that told Melody the other woman wasn’t actually making a pass at her.
“For heaven’s sake, Tali,” Ben groaned, as if in pain. “Find your own girlfriend and stop trying to steal mine.” He punctuated his statement by giving Melody a gentle, but possessive hug.
“It’s hardly my fault if we have the same taste in women,” Tali teased, poking the bear.
Ben snorted in response.
Melody felt so relieved that Tali wasn’t who she’d thought she was that she did something she wouldn’t have done under normal circumstances. Uncaring that they weren’t alone, she kissed Ben full on the lips and volunteered, “You can rest assured. I only have eyes for you.”
Melody’s heart fluttered as Ben’s smile grew from a tiny tilt of the lips into something truly beatific. He must have liked the idea that he was the only man she wanted as much as she fancied the notion that she was the only woman he wanted because this was the first time she’d seen the dimple at the corner of his mouth unlock.
Melody shivered as their gazes held, her smile broadening as anticipation buzzed to life in her breast. Ben really was a sight to behold when he looked at her with such unguarded want and tenderness. And he could be hers. When she really took the time to think about it, Ben had always made his interest in her plain. Through both word and deed. Now, all she had to do was take the final steps to claim him.
Jubilation coursed through Melody’s veins as she tasted triumph on her tongue. There was no doubt about it. The rest of her Thanksgiving vacation was looking more promising than ever because she had a feeling she and Ben were inevitable. She just had to surrender and enjoy the ride.
Chapter 40
