Chapter 15 #2
“I have a suspicion that this is exactly what I think it is. And if so, I like her.” She leans around Mallory and addresses me with a conspiratorial whisper.
“I love his eyes too. The jaw’s a bit too chiseled for my taste, but I can appreciate that you might like it.
” Then she winks at me. Winks! The look on her face tells me that she hasn’t put the pieces together and has no idea what’s going on.
I turn to Mallory. “You tell them, or I will!”
Cooper turns to me with the eyes of a lost puppy. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, but please, please, please, can we talk about this tomorrow. I really need you to leave.”
I’m stunned that he thinks I’m going to let him off the hook that easily.
I’ve just caught him red-handed doing exactly what he told me one week ago he wasn’t doing, so there’s not a chance I’m going anywhere until I make sure everyone knows what’s going on.
“Fine. I’ll do it.” I turn to see that all three women have now joined us in the parking lot.
“I’m so sorry to be the one to tell you about this, but .
. .” I notice Melodie’s and Kaylee’s arms linked together, and the words dry up in my mouth.
“I’m a little confused right now. Do you three know each other? ”
Kaylee cocks her head, as if confused. “Of course we do.”
“Are you serious?” This is so much worse than I thought it was. I let out a slow exhale. “You need to know that Mallory is seeing multiple women right now.” I give the words multiple women a particular tone, hoping they will fill in the blanks, but none of them seem to catch on.
“Excuse me?” Mallory tries to interject, but I raise a threatening finger to quiet him.
I give the three women my most sympathetic eyes. “Cooper is dating at least three women right now.” I look pointedly at each of them—as if I were counting one, two, three—in the hopes that they will understand.
Mallory steps forward and takes hold of my elbow. “Stephanie?—”
“WHAT? Why, you lying . . .” Melodie is now punching Mallory in the arm.
“You told me you weren’t seeing anyone—including her!
” For reasons I do not understand, she looks at me.
“I ask you all the time if you’ve started dating anyone new, and you always say, ‘No, I only have eyes for you.’” She does a mock tone that I assume to be her impression of Mallory.
“If you date someone, you have to tell me! I deserve to know.”
“Melodie!” Mallory releases my elbow and grabs Melodie’s hands, trying to get her under control.
“How long have you been dating behind our backs? And who are they?” Melodie’s voice has gone up at least two octaves.
Our backs? What is going on here?
“Melodie . . .” Mallory tries to calm her down. “Little Bear . . .”
“Give. Me. Names!” Melodie will not be deterred.
“Please calm down; you’re making a scene.” The more Mallory tries to contain the situation, the more it spins out of control. I look around and see that several people in the parking lot are looking our way. Mallory drops his voice to an almost whisper. “I promise, I’m not seeing anyone!”
Is he insanely confident or insanely stupid? He’s literally seeing her, because they’re on a date right now. And there are at least two other women who, based on the interactions in the lobby, are completely smitten with him. And they’re both standing within five feet.
I take a physical, and mental, step back, trying to find my bearings while Melodie turns her wrath on Kaylee. “Did you know about this?”
Her hands and voice go up as if pleading innocent. “Why would I know about it? You always get so upset thinking you’re the last to hear about stuff, but I don’t know anything!”
The energy of our small group ramps up and becomes even more unpredictable, as both women start talking animatedly over each other. The familiarity in which they are talking sets off alarms in my head.
“Girls”—Pam steps in and puts a hand on each of their arms—“if you two would stop talking, I’m sure that Stephanie can explain it all. Let’s simply go in and have dinner together?—”
“Nooooo.” Mallory is beside himself. “She's not going to explain anything. She was leaving!”
“No she wasn’t,” all three women say simultaneously.
Mallory steps between me and the three women, as if this is going to stop me from talking to them.
He puts his hands together, as if in prayer, and begins to beg.
“Please, you three go back inside and let me have a word with Stephanie. I will come back in, and the four of us can have dinner together.”
“Are you three insane?” My voice squeaks.
“You’re going to have dinner together? All four of you?
” For some reason, my question takes everyone off guard, and they all stop talking and stare at me.
I address Melodie. “You want to know who the other women are? Well, look around!” I gesture to the two women standing next to her, but she thinks I’ve pointed somewhere behind them and turns around.
“Who?” She sees no obvious contenders.
I soften my voice. There is no easy way around this. “No, not behind you, but . . .” I uncomfortably gesture to Pam and Kaylee. “He’s obviously made a scheduling error of some kind.”
Melodie stares at me like I’m growing horns. A look at the other two women tells me they are just as confused as Melodie. “How do you not realize he’s dating all three of you?” The reactions come all at once.
“What?” Mallory sounds shocked.
“What?” Melodie sounds disgusted.
“What?” Pam sounds stunned.
“What?” Kaylee sounds amused. Interesting reaction.
Cooper lets out a long, slow exhale. “Stephanie, I don’t know .
. .” He trails off, turns, and takes a few steps away while running his hands through his hair.
I hear him muttering under his breath, “It’s like my worst nightmare had babies, and they all came home for a family reunion.
” He turns back to me. “I honestly have no idea how you’re going to explain yourself,” he pinches the bridge of his nose, “but please try.”
Melodie is biting her lips in a failed attempt to hide a smile. Kaylee isn’t even trying to hide her smile; it’s on full display. Only Pam looks serious.
“Cooper—” Pam speaks up.
“Be quiet.” He addresses Pam but never breaks eye contact with me. “I want to know why Stephanie thinks I’m dating my mother and both of my sisters.”
“This is freakin’ awesome.” Kaylee dissolves into laughter.