21. Jason
21
JASON
T he grandfather clock that Mel had repainted in a dark teal was ticking steadily. The rhythmic click of each passing minute was the only sound that filled the empty apartment.
After our workout, Mel had gone to Hannah Jane’s house to be primped, plucked, and beautified for her date. Not that she needed it. A shower was probably called for, though.
A blast of cold air from the vent above the couch blew a stream of my BO straight up my nose. Fuck. Okay. Shower time for me too.
Mel put me through the wringer with that workout. My knees were wobbling like a baby deer.
I groaned as I lumbered into the bathroom and peeled my t-shirt and gym shorts off. Everything hurt.
A hot shower and a handful of ibuprofen was just what I needed.
Maybe it’d take my mind off Mel going out on a date with some jackass .
Sure, I was the one who’d damn near forced her to go out with him, but it didn’t mean I had to like it.
I was serious when I told her I didn’t want to be a consolation prize. I wasn’t trying to sound like some whiny little teenybopper.
I didn’t want her to settle for me simply because she’d had a streak of shitty dates, and her thumbs were going to fall off if she kept swiping left and right.
She was probably on board because I was the safe option, but I didn’t want to be with Melissa because I was her safety. I wanted to be with her because we were made for each other. I knew it from the early days, sitting on the swing beside her in her backyard.
Tomorrow I would make her see just how right we are for each other. How well I knew her.
I was going to take her on the best damn date of her life.
Before I got in the shower, I checked in with my buddy to make sure we were squared away for tomorrow. I probably should have warned Mel that we were going to have an early morning, but I wanted to give her date a fair shake.
The best man would win in the end. I was prepared to blow her fucking mind.
I hopped in the shower and scrubbed down. A minute and twenty seconds later, I was done. Years of Navy showers on aircraft carriers were ingrained in me. But if Mel was in here with me, we’d make good use of the shower until the water ran cold.
Mel wouldn’t be home for a while, so I decided to seize the alone time as all the suds swirled down the drain. I braced one hand against the cold tile behind the shower head, wrapped the other hand around my dick, and stroked.
Goddammit. All I could think about was Mel in her itty-bitty bikini, knees spread, ready for me to take her right there on the beach.
It was only a matter of time before I’d have my way with her. Only a matter of time before I’d get to watch her lips part as I teased her clit with the head of my cock. Maybe I’d part her thighs and pin her down just like that. Open. Dripping. Starved for my cock.
I’d lower down and let my hot breath caress her folds. Never touching—just teasing.
The good kind of teasing.
The kind of teasing that would make her positively delirious, writhing beneath me and begging, pleading for the kind of relief that only I could offer.
I stroked harder, working my cock in my fist. Faster and faster until the only thing I could think about was her.
Melissa.
There was something to be said about forbidden fruit. It would always taste ten times better.
My features pinched together, eyebrows drawing in as pulse after pulse of my release jettisoned into the shower and washed down the drain. I grunted, milking every last bit of my orgasm from my dick.
I did another quick scrub, rinsed off, and hopped out of the shower. Hopefully, Mel’s date would be a dud, and she’d be home soon.
Not the kind of dud like last time where she had to sneak out the emergency exit at Revanche because the guy was a sperm-obsessed creep. Just a regular lame date with absolutely zero chemistry.
My dick twitched as I toweled off. Dammit. I was thinking about Mel, boneless and panting with that just-been-fucked look glazed over her face. My release trickling down her leg. Her tight little pussy unable to hold my load. Bracing my arms on either side of her head. Staring down into her eyes. Telling her all the ways I planned on fucking her until she couldn’t remember her own name .
Someone’s fist banging on the front door startled me out of the fantasy.
Shit.
I silently willed my dick to take a chill pill as I wrapped the towel low around my hips. Maybe it was Mel coming home.
Maybe I’d get around to manifesting that fantasy sooner rather than later.
Shivering, I padded to the door to see who it was. Mel kept the AC in this place cranked just below arctic. I ran my fingers through the front of my hair, only slightly concerned about the water droplets turning me into a human popsicle.
Mel swirling her tongue around my cock like a popsicle. I cleared my throat and dismissed the notion. Focus, McGrath. Stop thinking with your dick.
I yanked open the door and looked down, expecting to find Mel standing near waist-high on me. At five-nine, I wasn’t the tallest of the poker club, but compared to Mel, I was practically a giant.
But it wasn’t Mel’s curly hair or post-date scowl that met me. It was two sets of thick-soled shoes. My gaze rose to find two badges and two guns. Steve and Chase filled the doorway, arms crossed over their chests.
“You gonna let us in, or are you gonna keep checkin’ us out?” Steve grunted.
Not needing an invitation, Chase brushed past me and went straight for the fridge. Steve was right behind him.
I stood there in nothing but a white terry cloth towel. The door was still open from where they’d slipped in.
“Well, don’t just stand there and let all the AC out,” Steve said as he grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the tap. “Mel will be pissed.”
“Mel’s not here,” I said, closing the door .
Chase snorted. “Yeah, I know. That’s why we’re here.”
Steve downed the water and then set the glass in the sink. He eyed me suspiciously as he stroked his beard. It was pretty damn unnerving if I was honest. “Well,” he clipped. “Are you just gonna stand there like geriatric Justin Bieber, or are you gonna put some clothes on?”
I wrinkled my nose as I grabbed a pair of boxers and some gym shorts out of the dryer. “You know, I don’t remember you being this much of an ass back in the day.”
I swear I saw him crack a smile behind the beard. “Yeah, they let me get away with it for a little too long after Heather passed. It’s just my personality now.”
Chase raised an eyebrow. “And Erica lets you get away with it?”
Steve fervently shook his head. “Fuck no. She’ll give me one of her looks and tell me to get my head out of my ass. Well—she won’t say ass. She’ll call it my butt or rear .” He just shook his head.
I slipped back into the bathroom to get dressed, not bothering with a shirt. “So, y’all wanna fill me in on what you’re doing here?” I walked back out in bare feet, rubbing the towel over my hair.
“Think of this as a courtesy call,” Chase said.
I raised an eyebrow. Surely, they weren’t going to rough me up for getting with Mel—not that we had actually done anything yet. Still, they seemed like the kind of guys who would be into a preemptive strike. “What kind of courtesy are we talking about?”
Steve put his hands up defensively, like he was trying to talk me down before ever saying anything. “We arrested Mel’s date.”
I looked at them in horror and shock. Slowly, it melted into amusement. “You’re shitting me, Pelham. Seriously, what are y’all doing here?”
Chase shook his head. “I shit you not. I cuffed him myself.”
“What the fuck happened?” I shouted loud enough that the dogs next door started barking. “Where’s Mel?” I made a grab for my phone, but Steve stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Steve said with the slow gruffness of a mountain man.
“She’s fine,” Chase explained. “We dropped her off at the bar. Bee’s working, so she won’t let Mel get too drunk. Kristin, Will, and Isaac were there hanging out, so they’re keeping an eye on her.”
I dug the heels of my hands into my eyes. “She’s gonna kill me.”
“Yeah, she was sayin’ somethin’ about ending you,” Steve said nonchalantly. “Wouldn’t put it past her either. Girl’s a feisty one. And you know nurses?—”
“They know all the good ways to kill people,” Chase finished for him.
“When I go missing, Mel’s your first suspect,” I said.
“Duly noted, Commander.” Chase smirked as he wandered toward the door.
“ Lieutenant Commander,” I muttered. Not that it mattered anymore.
“I gotta hit the road,” he said as he pulled his keys out of his pocket. “I’ve got a CI who’s ready to snitch.”
Steve snickered. “That informant wouldn’t happen to be named Bridget, would it?”
“You’re using my sister as a confidential informant?” I shouted as I glared at Chase. “What the fuck, man?”
Chase rolled his eyes and flipped Steve the bird. “Bee isn’t a CI,” he said. “Has she dropped me a tip or two over the years from shit she overhears at the bar? Sure. But nothing official enough for her name to show up on paperwork.”
“She’d better not be snitching to you and putting herself in danger,” I hissed.
Steve clamped his hand on my shoulder as Chase gave a two- fingered wave over his shoulder and shut the door behind him. “Don’t worry about Bridget. She can handle herself. And I’d bet all the fruit salad on your dress blues that Chase won’t let anything happen to her.”
I grumbled something unintelligible as I huffed and puffed my way to the kitchen. I didn’t like the idea of Bridget getting herself into a mess because of a guy. Even if that guy was Chase.
“So, what’s the deal with you and Mel?” Steve asked, plopping down on the couch. “Y’all a thing?”
“Not yet,” I clipped.
“Figured that much considering she went on a date with some low-level drug dealing prick.”
“She what ?” My temper was nearing nuclear. If I didn’t get an explanation right fucking now, I was going to lose it.
Steve held his hands up. “Not like the guy told her that beforehand. Probably not the best ice breaker if you ask me. Although, who am I to judge? Erica took a swing at me when we first met.”
I spun away from him, growling as I raked my fingers through my damp hair.
How could she be so reckless? Mel had two cops and a fucking tech genius at her disposal. Why the hell wasn’t she vetting these matches?
No more, I decided. Not another damn date. Not with anyone but me.
“So,” Steve said. “What’s your game plan?”
“Take her on a date, put a ring on her finger, and marry the hell out of her.” And a family. A big one.
“Direct. Easy to remember. I like it.” Steve snickered. “You sound like Chase if Bee and Kingsley ever break up. Well, I don’t know about the date part,” he muttered to himself. “Knowing him, he’ll just haul her ass down to the courthouse and skip to the end.” He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. “You know, I owe Mel a lot.”
“She said y’all used to hang out a lot.”
Steve sighed. “That’s an understatement. I was in a real dark place after Heather died.”
I grimaced and sat in one of the chairs catty-cornered to the couch. “I can’t even imagine…”
Steve sighed. “Maddie used to live in a houseboat off the dock on my property. The night Heather passed, she stayed with me. I slept like shit on the couch, and she stayed up all night in a chair. The next morning before the sun was up, Mel was there. She’d just finished working all night and brought Mad and me breakfast. People came in and out like a goddamn revolving door, but Mel never left. She’d help make conversation when I didn’t have a damn thing to say to anyone. Played hostess and made sure there was always coffee on in case someone stopped by. She made the calls to the funeral home and went with me to the appointment. Tom and Evelyn—Heather’s parents—couldn’t stomach the thought of making arrangements for the funeral, so Mel went and helped me work through all the decisions. Always calm. Always patient and level-headed. She wasn’t thrown off when I’d lose my shit. Just sat there, steady as a rock, until I got it out of my system.”
“She’s strong, that’s for sure,” I muttered. I couldn’t begin to imagine the hell Steve went through, losing his first wife to cancer the way he had.
“After the funeral, everyone went to the bar to drink to Heather. I sat in the corner like a bump on a log. Mel sat with me. Made sure I didn’t get sloppy drunk even though that’s exactly what I wanted. She must’ve had a sixth sense or something because after I drove myself home, I lost it. Trashed my house. Smashed the frames that held my wedding photos. I couldn’t see anything but rage. ”
He sat quietly for a moment, stroking his beard in contemplative silence. “The next thing I knew, there was this little voice coming from the corner.” He shook his head. “I had a spare key outside. Everyone knew where it was, so she must’ve heard me making a ruckus and let herself in. Looking back, she should’ve called Chase to come talk me down.” He cracked a smile. “I’ve bulked up. I’m a little bigger now than I used to be. But even the shape I was in back then, she had no business getting between me, an ottoman, and the window I was ready to throw it through.”
I winced but wasn’t surprised. For being the little thing that she was, Mel had a strength that was larger than life. She had no problem being David staring down Goliath with nothing in her hand but pebbles and resolve.
“Mel talked me down. Picked up the pictures and put them back on the mantle. Swept up the glass. I think she knew I’d regret it in the morning if I saw it all over the floor. After that, I swear she didn’t give me a moment of peace.” He shook his head, chuckling under his breath at the memory. “She got me into working out.”
I groaned, still sore from her torture session at the CrossFit gym. “Yeah, she kicked my ass the other day. It literally hurts to sit.”
Steve smirked. “Yeah, she’s a little gym tyrant, but she knows what she’s talking about. She’ll whip you into shape.”
I looked down at my abs.
“I hurt her, Jase,” he admitted. “She had been there for me when I was walking through hell. Did more for me than I ever knew I needed. More than I’d ever ask for. She kept me from losing myself in the darkness and the grief. Thing is, Mel has feelings, too. She just doesn’t give them the attention they deserve because she’s so damn busy taking care of everyone else.” Steve shook his head. “The only time I’ve ever seen her cry was the day she was sitting in the passenger’s seat of my car after she brought me coffee and tried to tell me she had feelings for me. I didn’t want to lead her on, but I could have handled it better.”
I had a feeling he was getting to a point, but I wanted the process expedited. I wanted to drive to Jokers and check on Mel. “What are you getting at?”
“Beneath all that sass and strength is a woman who doesn’t wanna get her heart broken. She may not let you see them often, but she has feelings.” He rose to his feet. “Melissa may not have been my girl, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her. You treat her right.”
Maybe the reason Melissa always went out with complete pieces of trash was that, deep down, she knew they weren’t marriage material. Whether it was a conscious decision or not, she was guarded when it came to her heart. Mel knew her worth; that was for damn sure. I just hoped I really was worthy of her.
Before either of us said anything else, the front door flew open, banging off the wall behind it. In the doorframe stood four feet, eight inches of piss and vinegar.
Mel’s eyes narrowed in on me like a bull ready to charge. “ You. ”
Steve slapped my back. “On second thought, maybe I should be worried about her hurting you .” He made his way to the door. “Mel.”
“Steve,” she clipped, her brown eyes never wavering from mine.
Should I have been wearing a cup? I felt the intrinsic need to cover my balls.
“Wait three hours before you kill him,” Steve said to Mel on his way out. “I don’t want to deal with the paperwork.”