Chapter 2
Mel gave Tate a hard look as his tone rose a bit further as they sat in the back booth at the pizza parlor enjoying her birthday pizza. Last year they’d almost been thrown out for being too noisy and laughing and she didn’t want a repeat.
“You did what?” Tate asked in response to her explanation of why she looked so relaxed after having been at work with Henry this morning.
“Keep your voice down Tate, I don’t need everyone overhearing. I took the job offer from Jordan and handed Henry my notice today, and guess what? I now have a free week because he told me not to come back if I was jumping ship.”
“Okay Mel, I know you don’t like Henry but how are you going to convince Jordan to overlook your lack of credentials?”
“Easy, it’s just me and him in the office. He’s not going to look over them, he’s already done a check on me, and it came back clean. We’re good. It’s more money, fewer hours, he’s nowhere near the jerk Henry is, and did I mention I get a car?”
“You’re getting a car? How are you going to afford it Mel? Insurance and gas…”
“It’s a company car, the company pays the insurance, the gas…we’ll see but I’ll be making five thousand more a year. That’s four hundred more a month and I won’t be paying for the train or bus, in the end it’ll work out just fine.”
“Okay then what about his interest in you? Come on Mel,” he said when she balked at him a bit. “I saw it with my own eyes, the guy likes the way you look.”
“So-what? You do too but we’re just friends. Half the population of the city likes how I look so that’s not anything new. Just because he likes the way I look doesn’t mean he’s going to try anything. He wouldn’t and I wouldn’t let him.”
“I don’t know Mel.”
“Come on Tate just think about it. If I work till six I’m home by seven, which means more time to study and more time to sleep.
It also means no more walking through the city to the train station and no more waiting for me to call you to pick me up from the train station.
It’s the best thing for everyone. Look if you and Jordan met, really met, I think you’d like him.
” At least Mel hoped he would because she knew she did with with the little time they’d spent together.
“Fine, but I plan on checking the guy out; what do you even know about him?”
“He’s really not going to do anything stupid Tate. His father is Ford Turner.”
“What?!”
“Tate…shh!” she warned as heads turned towards them.
“He doesn’t want anyone to know, wants to make it on his own, but really, he’s not going to risk anything happening that could become public knowledge.
The Turner name would get attached to bad press in a heartbeat, you know that.
Other than that though, he’s twenty-five, graduated from college with degrees in architecture and engineering which makes him perfect to have his own construction company, he has his master’s in architecture, and you should see the office. It’s unbelievable.”
“You sound like you like him,” Tate said with a grin.
“Of course I like him, he’s the first guy I’ve met at work who didn’t take one look at my chest and lead with a dirty comment.”
“I mean you like him,” Tate argued. “Look, just be careful Mel, he’s eight years older than you, not four or is it three.”
“Four, I turned twenty-one today according to my work records and don’t worry Tate. I’m not about to go and fall in love with him. I know I’m only seventeen, barely seventeen at that, it’ll be fine.”
“I hope so Mel, I really do.”
“Stop worrying; if I thought there was a chance of us getting caught, I wouldn’t do it. Besides what’s he going to do if he does? Fire me?”
“Go to the police or the authorities at the least. You’ve changed your tune since Thursday Mel, why?”
“Maybe that’s because I needed to,” she said holding in a sigh of disgust at what Henry did.
“What aren’t you saying, Mel?”
“Henry tried something last night. He let his hand slip and groped my boob…stop,” she said when he acted like he was going to go find the man. “Just let it go okay?”
“Fine but if Jordan or any of the apes who work for him try anything, they’ll answer to me.”
That put a grin on her face, and she couldn’t control the laughter at the thought of her best friend, all five foot eleven inches, hundred and thirty pounds of him going after some huge muscled jerk who beats nails into a wall all day long.
“Shut up Mel,” he said knowing what she was thinking as he began to laugh along with her.
She laughed so much she didn’t notice when Brent slid into the booth beside her.
“What’s so funny?” he asked making her catch her breath.
“Nothing you’d get,” she answered sending a pleading look to Tate.
“Inside joke,” he agreed. “So Brent, what brings you to our side of the joint?”
Mel grinned as Brent’s eyebrows rose at the mention of the word joint. Between Tate’s bike, leather jacket and scruffy hair most people thought he was a drug user, but they were wrong.
“I was hoping to convince Melinda to go out with me. She said she’s too busy to but yet here you are.”
“Yes here she is,” Tate agreed. “Spending her birthday her favorite way, right Mel?”
She sent him her ‘I’ll get you’ look and answered, “The best. Can’t pass on old traditions, can we Tate?”
“Nope, certainly not ones that started when you were seven.”
“You’ve been coming here on your birthday for ten years?” Brent asked looking between them.
“We have,” she admitted looking back at Tate. “Do you remember when we were, I think eleven, you were so sick, but you insisted we come.”
“Twelve…because you ended up sick the next day,” he said with a nod.
“That’s right; you gave me that bug because you kissed me, but we were twelve going on thirteen.”
“You were thirteen, I was twelve. Guess that’s why I like older women now huh?”
“I’m sure,” she agreed with a huge smile as Brent sat watching the interaction.
“I think I’ll just leave you two alone then. Nice seeing you Tate. Melinda, happy birthday,” he stated getting up to leave.
“Why the big rush? Oh…us,” Tate said with a devious smile. “No you’ve got it all wrong. Mel’s my best friend but we’re just friends.”
“I don’t think so,” Brent said looking towards Mel who was giving him a bored stiff look.
“She’s purposely trying to put you off,” Tate told him as he got up from the booth and took the check. “She’s a brilliant manipulator when she wants.”
“Really?” Brent asked as she got up to go as well.
“Yeah,” Tate agreed moving over to kiss her cheek. “Stay Mel, after all you’ve got a whole week off from your internship and hey, the night’s still young.”
“Tate! You brought me here remember,” she called out after him.
“Brent will give you a ride home, right Brent?”
“Yeah sure,” he said looking towards the now sitting and annoyed Mel.
“I swear that’s the last time he gets steak from me,” she muttered watching him get on his bike. He gave her a wave, and she flipped him her middle finger.
“Wow, I’ve never had a girl so unwilling to even sit with me,” Brent commented seeing her gesture.
A light blush stole up her neck, she hated being caught acting childish. “Sorry, I just don’t know why you want to be here…with me. There are hundreds of other girls out there who would be willing to do anything you ask them to really.”
“Maybe that’s why I’m here. You’re not the typical high school girl. You’ve turned down every guy in school, you don’t come to the games, don’t come to the parties, you’re there one minute and gone the next.”
“How much?” she asked folding her arms across her chest as something in his words and tone hit a chord deep inside her that said run—far and fast away from this jerk.
“What?”
“How much is the bet? The first one who gets me to what? Go out with them? Kiss them, sleep with them…how much do they get?”
“Jesus you’re suspicious…there is no bet,” Brent said looking mildly offended, but she still didn’t buy it. It was way too fishy for him to just suddenly appear asking her out on a date when they’d never spoken a single word before that to one another.
“Then prove it. If you really want to go out with me then you’ll figure out the right way to ask. Until then, enjoy the rest of the pie,” she stated getting up again and taking her jacket. She slipped her arms inside answering her phone when it rang.
“Hey Ry…sorry…no it’s true. Yeah, thanks,” she said hanging up after he’d told her good luck and that they’d miss her. Apparently, it was all over the office that she’d quit, and it wasn’t even ten o’clock, on a Saturday no less.
Mel walked home enjoying the breeze and hurried through her homework before snuggling down into the couch, waiting for Tate to show up despite him ditching her earlier. He did just before midnight armed with her favorite junk food and a marathon worth of movies.
“So, how’d it go?”
“I left about five minutes after you did.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t trust him. Until this week, he’d never spoken to me and now he wants to go out? There’s something else going on with him.”
“Okay, I’ll back off. Just promise me something.”
“What?” she asked as they turned the first movie on and she curled up beside him.
“When you do finally let someone in, don’t pretend you don’t care. I know your mom leaving killed you but not everyone is going to, Mel.”
“Come on Tate, it’s what, two months into our junior year? We’ve got until May and then he’s gone. He’ll head off to college and that’ll be the end of it anyway. So why bother?”
“Because you might just learn to have some fun, Mel…that’s why.”
“I love you Tate and trust me I have fun. Every single day when I’m changing from a sixteen, seventeen now I guess, year old teenager into a twenty something career girl. You have no idea how entertaining it is to do that.”
“Just think about it Mel, okay?”
“I promise…now hush you’re going to make me miss the beginning of the movie.”
“You’ve seen this a million times.”