Chapter 10 Melody #2
“That’s actually good advice,” Melody agreed.
For a quiet moment, they just looked at each other. His tongue darted out to lick his lower lip as his eyes dropped from her eyes to her mouth. She licked her own lips reflexively. Her breath caught as she felt her body tighten with what she could only describe as anticipation.
Ben cleared his throat and looked away, effectively breaking the near-electrical charge of the moment. “Shall we?” he asked, pointing at the deck of cards. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, leaving her with the impression he might be feeling a little overheated. Welcome to the club.
Seeking to bring them back to more casual conversational waters, she reached for the card on top and read. “What are the most important things you’re looking for in a romantic partner?”
When Ben looked at her, she could still see the heat in his regard, but she could tell he’d tried to bank the flames.
She liked the way he appeared to give the question serious thought before responding.
“Well,” he said after a moment of consideration, “I’d have to say honesty, loyalty, dedication to something they believe in, and genuine goodness of character.
It might sound a little boring, but there’s nothing I find more attractive than kindness, integrity, zest for life, and a genuine desire to do good and make a positive contribution in the world. ”
“That’s a pretty amazing answer,” Melody commented as she contemplated the man in front of her.
Ben’s eyes crinkled as he smiled. “I’m glad you think so.”
His response given, he reached for a question card.
“If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have one food to eat, day in and day out, what would it be?”
Melody laughed gaily. “That’s easy. Organic dark chocolate.”
“Assuming that we’re talking about flavor rather than survival and prolonged good health,” Melody thought to add.
Ben appeared to take great pleasure in her answer. “You really do love your chocolate, don’t you?”
The corners of her lips quirked up into a smile.
“I would have thought that fact had been made abundantly clear after the other morning.” Melody cut her gaze down to the tabletop when she realized just how intimate that sounded.
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.
Damn. She could feel another blush starting.
Time for another card! “What did you do last weekend?” Melody read. She took her time lifting her eyes back up to meet his.
Ben didn’t make a show of noting her embarrassment.
Instead, he winced and glanced up at the ceiling.
“Honestly? Other than going to practice and working out, I spent most of last weekend on the phone with my mom while we looked at the Pinterest board she set up to help me decide how I want to decorate my new house.”
“Really?” Melody asked. She lost the fight to contain her smile.
“Really,” Ben admitted, his expression sheepish.
Well, that’s adorable, Melody thought to herself. Out loud, she asked, “I take it you and your mom are close?”
“Nuh-uh-uh, Ms. Melody.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I do believe it’s my turn to ask you a question.” He winked as he reached for another card.
“If you had guests coming over for supper, what would you cook?”
Melody wrinkled her nose in thought. “It would depend on who was coming over,” she acknowledged.
“When my parents come over, I usually make traditional food with a little bit of a twist, like roasted chicken stuffed with wild rice and blueberries plus a side of steamed green beans tossed with slivered almonds and dried cranberries. If it’s just my dad, I might try to whip up some new and interesting type of grilled cheese sandwich.
I couldn’t tell you why, but that man loves his grilled cheese. ”
Ben tapped his nose in a way she found adorable. “Got it. Coach loves grilled cheese. I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need some extra ammo.”
Melody laughed without restraint. “It seems like I’m unwittingly providing you with insider information.”
“So it seems.” Ben gifted her with another disarming wink.
They shared a smile before Melody pulled another card from the pile. She felt her blush deepen before she’d even finished reading the question. “Do you snore?”
Ben feigned a glare. “Why am I getting all of the intimate questions here? Did you stack the deck?” His eyes twinkled in a way that confirmed he was joking.
“No, but I can see why you might wonder,” she admitted.
“Since it seems like you’re getting to know just about everything else about me this evening,” Ben replied with a smile, “it’s possible I snore, but I don’t think so. Not unless I have a cold, at least. Then, I imagine I probably do.”
Ben gave her a considering look. “In the event you wondered, you don’t snore, either.”
Her eyes went round with surprise. By this point, her cheeks were likely cherry red.
Ding! The bell sounded.
“All right, gentlemen,” a woman’s voice—likely Maureen’s—instructed. “It’s time for you to advance to the next table. Please say goodbye to your lady and move along to the table on your right.”
“Tell me something,” Ben said as he leaned forward and dusted his thumb over one of her no doubt still-rouged cheekbones. “Is all of this blushing normal for you, or is it me?”
Melody could feel her blush deepen, if that were even possible. “It’s you,” she admitted softly.
Ben’s smile grew until he was the textbook image of masculine confidence.
“Good,” he said as he gently swept his thumb over her cheekbone one more time before getting up to move to the next table.
“Now, don’t let any of these guys make too good of an impression on you until I have a chance to take you out and sweep you off your feet, okay? ”
Melody could do no more than nod.
She was still feeling a little dazed when the next guy, a pleasant-looking blond of average height and build, sat down in front of her.
“Hi, Melody. I’m Todd. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
” His smile was cautious, but genuine. “Shall we?” he asked, as he pushed the cards slightly toward her. “Ladies first.”
Taking his suggestion, Melody reached for the next card and inquired, “What was the last CD you bought?”
And so it went for the next hour and a half. She conversed with all ten guys, most of whom were very pleasant and interesting. None, however, managed to capture her attention and send her pulse racing the way Ben had. So much for this event expanding her romantic horizons.
“All right, people,” Maureen announced once the final bell had sounded.
“This concludes our evening. Gentlemen, please follow George back to the room you were first in. There, he will ask you to fill out a form indicating which ladies you would like to get to know better. My team and I will tally the results this evening and send out your matches as promptly as possible. Thank you for choosing Cupid Connections. Have a lovely rest of your evening.”
Seemingly of their own accord, Melody’s eyes were pulled in the direction of Ben’s departing figure.
He must have been watching her because their eyes connected, causing a jolt of awareness to pulse through her body.
He waved goodbye with a simple open and close of his hand before he passed through the doorway and out of the room.
“Whew,” Annie said as she rushed over to Melody’s table and took the seat her last speed dater had just vacated, “that was so much fun!” Annie bobbed up and down with excitement. “I think I met a few real possibilities.” Her wide smile was contagious. “How about you?”
“I definitely met someone,” Melody admitted.
“Who? Who?” Annie asked, sounding rather much like an excited owl.
“Ben,” Melody disclosed.
“Ah. Handsome Ben,” Annie said with a sigh. “He was very pleasant and polite—not to mention gorgeous—but I didn’t get the impression he was into me.”
“It sounds like I have Shawna and Pam to thank for his presence here tonight,” Melody revealed.
Annie’s eyes widened so much they looked like they were at risk of bugging out of her head. “Pam?” Annie shook her head as though to clear it. “Wait. Wait! Are you telling me that tonight’s Ben was Benjamin Logan, NHL God?”
Melody nodded. “The one and the same.”
“Eeee! That Pammy!” Annie screeched. “I spoke to her just before I came here and she didn’t let on at all.” Annie huffed. “Someone has some ’splaining to do!” The last was said in a credible imitation of Desi Arnaz.
Annie marched back to her seat, eager to pull out her phone and text her sister for details, Melody guessed.
“Please tick the box beside the name of any of the gentlemen who you would welcome hearing from,” Maureen called out as she handed out the match-up cards. “Once you have indicated your interest, please leave your cards with me at the front desk before heading out.”
As Melody looked at her card, she saw her name neatly printed at the top followed by the first names of all the gentlemen who had been present tonight. No last names were listed. For privacy, no doubt.
Melody felt her phone vibrate inside of her purse as she looked over the names. Curious to see whether it was Pam or Shawna letting her in on the details of their matchmaking scheme, she pulled out her phone and read her text. She was surprised to find it was a picture text from Ben.
What she saw was a picture of his match-up card with a single name ticked. Hers. He’d also taken the liberty of drawing a smiley face beside her name.
She felt her insides warm as she followed his lead, ticking off his name and no other. She hit reply and snapped a picture of her card.
Her phone vibrated with his reply. She smiled at his emoji text response of a trophy, a high ten, and fireworks.
She shook her head in acceptance. She was such a goner. They hadn’t even been out on a real date, and she was already starting to fall for him. At this point, she couldn’t help but wonder whether she would even recognize a different Mr. Right if he were to cross her path.