Chapter 63 Melody
Melody
Melody swung her arms, swayed her hips, and tried to get lost in the music. She moved her body instinctively, trying not to think of anything other than the way the music moved through her.
Staccato beats pulsed through the dance hall, bathing her in a wall of sound. Strobe lights flashed overhead, providing a discordant rhythmic accompaniment. The combination made her think of a musical instrument that was ever so slightly out of tune. Beautiful, but not quite harmonious.
The crush of bodies on the dance floor was causing a fine sheen of sweat to gather on her skin. She could feel her hair starting to curl on her neck, as it was prone to do under such conditions.
Thank goodness she’d elected to wear a light, sleeveless dress that cut just below mid-thigh. It was one of those great dresses that was that magical triad of sexy, tasteful, and comfortable. Tonight, it also served the valuable function of being temperature regulating.
Annie bopped around her, while Shawna dipped and twisted in sultry, coordinated movements. As three women dancing together, they were drawing a good bit of male attention, but Melody was trying to ignore it since that was the last thing she needed right now.
When Shawna had suggested a night of dancing, Melody had jumped at the opportunity. Dance clubs weren’t really her scene, but she’d welcomed the opportunity to get out and clear her head. That was something she needed. And badly.
She, Shawna, and Annie made their way back to their table when the song ended, stopping off at the bar for fresh drinks on their way.
Melody was a firm believer that the average person was good, kind, and moral, but it was never smart to leave drinks unattended in a place like this. Just in case. So fresh drinks it was.
When they arrived at their table, drinks in hand, Melody pulled her phone out of her black crossbody purse—selected on account of it being the smallest one she’d been able to find that didn’t look utterly ridiculous with her outfit—and checked the time.
Even if she’d been wearing a watch, it would have been too dim to read it clearly.
12:15 a.m. Not bad when none of them had to be at work tomorrow.
For better or worse, when she looked at her phone, she noticed more than the time. She had a new message from Ben. And it wasn’t just a message. It looked like he’d sent her a video attachment.
Perhaps it was the two drinks she’d had, but she couldn’t quell her curiosity enough to resist seeing what he’d sent her. She clicked on the link.
The video showed Ben sitting in what looked to be a finely appointed hotel room, but that didn’t tell her much since he traveled so often and the terms of NHL contracts dictated that players be put up in at least five-star hotels.
As such, so far as she could tell, the video could have been filmed practically anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
What Melody could tell was that Ben was sitting on a nice, if generic, sofa in black sweatpants and a fitted gray T-shirt that hugged his finely sculpted muscles to perfection. It was an effortlessly sexy look, and she was here for it.
As confused as she was over the events of the past few days—and her response to them—she couldn’t help but smile and sink contentedly into her chair at the mere sight of him. What was it about Ben that seemed to soothe her and send her pulse racing at the same time?
Once Melody was able to draw her eyes away from Ben’s deliciously muscled biceps, her eyes moved down the strongly corded muscles of his forearms to his equally strong and attractive hands.
She blinked when she saw that he was holding a guitar.
If he could play, it was news to her. Though maybe she shouldn’t have been all that surprised since he’d told her that Guitar Hero was one of his favorite games.
“Hi, Melody,” he said as he smiled into the camera. “I had an idea, and I decided to go for it before I chickened out.” His expression was a combination of tender, hopeful, and bashful.
She had to strain her ears to hear him over the sounds of the nightclub. Thankfully, his voice grew clearer as she increased the volume on her phone.
“If you hate it, blame Knight,” he teased. “It’s his guitar. He also planted the seed for the idea.”
Ben’s eyes smiled at her through the screen before his expression turned ever so slightly shy.
He bent his head down to look at the metal strings while his strong, muscled hands moved against the neck of the guitar until his fingers found their desired placement.
Fingers properly positioned, he started to strum lazily.
After one false start, Melody recognized the tune of “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.
Her eyes lifted skyward when he began to speak-sing in what experience suggested was his customary manner.
Unlike the previous occasions when she’d heard him give voice to song—in the greenhouse and in Eric’s kitchen—this time, Ben appeared to have chosen to get creative with the lyrics.
She chuckled to herself when she noticed he’d inserted a band at the bottom of the screen displaying his adapted lyrics, as well as supplemental commentary.
“Hey there, pretty lady.
(Because ‘beautiful’ didn’t fit.)
What’s it like back in Chicago?
I’m a thousand miles away
(And what do you know, Denver actually is 1,000 miles away from Chicago.)
But, Mel, you’re so much more than pretty
I swear to you
Cloud Gate can’t shine as bright as you
It’s very true . . .”
And on it went with Ben quite literally pulling at her heartstrings with his adapted lyrics and heartwarming demonstration. He wasn’t a singer, but his song was as beautiful to her as if Tom Higgenson or any other musical great had sung it to her.
Ben’s voice trailed off after the last word was spoken. “As I said earlier,” Ben spoke. “I miss you. Hopefully, you now have a better sense of just how much.” He looked up at the camera with one more sweet and sexy look before the video faded to black.
“Oh, whoa. Whoa. Oh, oh . . .” Annie gaped, fanning herself with her hand. “How romantic was that?”
Melody craned her neck to see that both Annie and Shawna had crowded around behind her chair. They had no doubt caught most, if not all, of Ben‘s performance.
“Okay. Let me see that,” Shawna said as she plucked the phone right out of Melody’s hands.
Melody heard the telltale whoosh of a message being sent before her phone was handed back to her. Shawna then whipped out her phone and began typing at a rate Melody imagined only Shawna and professional coders could achieve.
“Okay,” Shawna said after a moment. “He was smart and made it a private video requiring an encrypted link in order to access it.” She paused for a beat and tilted her head in thought. “Not that I would actually mind if it did get out.”
“From a professional team marketing perspective, I should say,” she was quick to add. Shawna sighed, some sort of PR details no doubt whizzing through her mind. “God . . . If this got out, it would break the internet.”
Melody couldn’t help but agree. Ignoring his recent foray into a media circus not of his own creation, Ben was already a handsome, charming, and well-liked player. Add displays of emotional vulnerability like this and he became darn near irresistible. And not just to her, apparently.
“We would make an absolute killing if he let us raffle him off for a charity auction,” Shawna thought out loud, at least one foot always in her work world.
Shawna cursed and shook her head as though to clear it. “The man is either as dumb as a doorknob or he trusts you one heck of a lot.”
“I vote for option number two,” Annie opined.
Shawna lifted her shrewd eyes to meet Melody’s still-bemused ones.
“Doesn’t he know how much money you could make if you sold this shit to a tabloid?” Shawna remarked.
Melody winced at the mention of a tabloid in connection to Ben. She knew that scandal was as good as over now, but she hated the way the Hargraves story had pulled her out of her blissful romantic bubble and made her question not only Ben, but also herself and their long-term viability as a couple.
To Shawna, Melody replied, “I would never violate his privacy like that.” Melody punctuated her words with a slightly indignant huff even though she was aware Shawna knew her well enough to realize she wouldn’t sell Ben—or anyone—out like that.
“Of course you wouldn’t,” Shawna acknowledged as if it were a given. “That’s why you attract dreamboats like Ben, while I attract cocky douchebags who are really only interested in one thing.”
“Are you looking to settle down?” Annie piped in curiously.
Shawna waved the question aside. “No,” Shawna said with a dismissive shake of her head. “I’m quite pleased with the D-bags for now. They do a great job of delivering on what I’m looking for at present.”
Melody quirked a brow. She would have to circle back to that.
“Would you really sell something like this to a tabloid?” Annie asked Shawna as she polished off the last of her umbrella drink.
“Oh, I would think about it,” Shawna responded with no small bit of bravado. “Personally and professionally, I would definitely think about it.”
“So, what are you going to do, Mel?” Annie asked delicately.
Both ladies knew how hard she’d taken the recent media hoopla.
As much as she cared for Ben—and the depth of emotion he was able to pull from her still shocked her—she wasn’t sure she had it in her to live in the spotlight.
And, as this past week had proven, if she was going to be with Ben, his spotlight would spill over onto her as well.
And she really didn’t know if she could live like that.
“Well,” Melody began cautiously, “I’ll definitely reach out. An overture like this deserves a thoughtful response at the very least.”
“Agreed,” Shawna said. It really was incredible how she could imbue a single word with such gravitas.
Melody flicked curious eyes Shawna’s way. It was clear her friend had an opinion on all of this, but Melody could tell she was going to keep her thoughts to herself and let Melody find her own footing.
If only her relationship with Ben didn’t feel like a walk through shark-infested waters. She would get in touch, even meet him in person as he’d requested. After that, she just didn’t know.