Page 4 of Melissa's Mates (Blissful Bets)

Melissa mouth parted, shocked that she was distressed enough to ask. Well, hell, after the morning she’d had, why not. “You’re buying me some new pantyhose. I refuse to walk the three blocks in these heels. You owe me so big, Julie, it’s not even funny.”

“Oh, God, I love you, Mel. Come on, let’s get so wasted Stephen has to threaten to arrest us for public intoxication.”

“Shit.”

They both walked in, and Melissa sighed in relief to see her other friends had gone already. They sat at their regular table, Julie not even picking up the menu before flagging down the waitress. “Two Coronas. Thanks.”

“Ugh, Julie, you know I don’t like those. Bud Light, please.”

The waitress nodded and left. Melissa looked over at her friend. “So, you’re going out tonight, right? I mean, now that Sarah and Ev aren’t going to be going anymore, I think we need to find some new people. This sucks.”

“Wait, why aren’t they going anymore?”

Melissa could have kicked herself. Why did she always do this? For some reason, her mouth and brain just did not communicate well together. Damn it. At least this one hadn’t been embarrassing. The things she allowed to slip at times could turn her face as red as her hair.

“You’ll have to ask them. It’s not my secret to tell.”

“Fuck, this day just keeps getting better and better. If I find out those men turned into possessive pigs, I’m going over there and laying down the law. That’s horse shit.”

Julie practically grabbed the beer from the waitress. Melissa watched, shocked as the bottle didn’t leave her lips until it was empty. “Yeah, keep them coming, like every few minutes.” The waitress’s eyes grew wide as she nodded her head.

“Slow down, I’m not carrying your ass to my house.”

“We’ll call a cab. About tonight—of course I’m going. I already talked to Natalie, and she’s coming, too. I think she’s bringing a friend with her. Cindy, I think.”

“Good, we’re going to need more people at this rate.” Melissa picked up her beer and took a big drink. “Julie, do you feel like something weird is going on? Well, I mean, with the whole ménage thing? First Ev, now Sarah. It’s one thing for it to be a freak occurrence, but now with Sarah, too. Something feels off.”

“Hell no. Shit, if I had two men wanting to be with me, and they looked like any of the men those two have, I’d jump for joy and die happy.”

“You see nothing wrong with being with two men?” Melissa couldn’t believe her ears. Her friend couldn’t be serious.

“Melissa, get real. Those two trios love each other. If the love is there, why fight it?”

Taking a bigger drink, she kept quiet. Why fight it? Why! Well, maybe because it just didn’t seem natural. Hadn’t most people been taught growing up that you find one man and fall in love? Nowhere in the fairy tales did it mention two hot men coming in to sweep Cinderella off her feet. There sure as hell was no Snow White and the seven studs. Melissa laughed under her breath at the thought.

Yeah, why was it that she could imagine that? Maybe she wasn’t as far off from accepting the scenario, or maybe she was just losing her mind with all these suspicions. She’d be damned if Ev and Sarah weren’t hiding something.

Chapter 3

Looking at her watch, Melissa cursed. They’d been here for hours. If they didn’t leave soon, the dinner rush would no doubt be coming in, and she sure as hell didn’t want to be here when they began to arrive.

“Jules, that’s number eight you just finished. You ready to go back to the house? I thought you wanted to go out tonight. At this rate, you’ll be passed out by nine.”

“So right. I probably should sober up if I want to be able to make some sort of appearance.”

“Absolutely.” Melissa stood and reached for the brunette the moment she started to sway back. Grabbing her arm, she barely was able to keep her from pulling them both to the ground.

“Wow, okay, I admit it. I think I’ve had a little too much. Fuck, get me out of here before I fall over someone’s table.” Even though Julie seemed a bit concerned about her condition, she still couldn’t hold in the laugh that escaped from her mouth.

“Just hold on to me. We’ll try to get out of here before we both make asses of ourselves. I may have only had four, but I’ve never been much of a drinker, you know that.”

Both women tried to play it off as they weaved through the tables. Melissa finally was able to breathe as they stepped outside and connected with the salty air. The sound of the seagulls had her closing her eyes and smiling. Walking forward, blind, wasn’t the smartest idea, given her equilibrium. The connection she made against what could be described as nothing short of a wall of stone made her bounce backwards. Off balance, she waved her arms desperately, reaching out for Julie.

The air left her lungs as an arm reached behind her and nearly gave her whiplash from the instant stop. Anger coursed through her blood as she looked into the most gorgeous face she’d ever seen. It was enough to give her pause, but her mouth had a mind of its own.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Couldn’t you see me walking?”

The light blue eyes grew wide, and she froze. She knew those eyes. Tom had eyes just like his. Just the thought of the man who tried to kidnap her best friend made the rage worse. True, he wasn’t Tom, but anything associated with that evil man didn’t sit well.

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