Chapter 9
Melody drove slowly down the block, looking back and forth between the building numbers and the address on her phone.
The neighborhood was nicer than she expected, quiet and lined with well-kept duplexes and small apartment buildings.
It definitely wasn’t the type of area she imagined Cameron living in, but then again, there was still a lot about him she didn’t know.
“There it go,” she said to herself.
After circling the block for another minute, Melody finally found a spot a little further down the street. She parked, gave herself a quick look in the mirror, then climbed out and headed toward the duplex.
Officially, she was there to work on their project since Cameron’s car was in the shop, and he could not make it to campus.
But if she was being honest with herself, that was not the only reason she came.
Being around Cameron felt good. There was no drama, no fighting, and no chaos.
It was a nice break from everything she had been dealing with lately.
Making her way up the steps, she prepared to knock when the door suddenly opened.
“Damn! You move fast. You must’ve couldn’t wait to see me,” Cameron smirked.
“Boy, please, it’s cold.” She playfully rolled her eyes.
“Come on in then.”
Melody stepped inside while Cameron closed the door behind her, and immediately, she found herself looking around curiously.
His place was impressive. African artwork decorated the walls, bookshelves filled the corners of the living room, and everything looked clean and organized.
Nothing about the place screamed college student or young guy living alone.
“You live here by yourself?”
“Yeah!”
“That’s what’s up.” Melody nodded her head up and down.
“You want something to drink or eat?”
“I’m good,” she replied.
“Well, thank you for coming through last minute so we can finish this project.”
“It’s cool, I wasn’t doing shit anyway.”
“Aight then, let’s lock in.”
For the next hour, the two of them focused on the project, talking through ideas and making edits while music played quietly in the background. Every now and then, the conversation drifted off into random topics before circling back to school again.
Eventually, after rereading everything one last time, Cameron leaned back in his chair and let out a satisfied breath.
“Aight, I think we officially done.”
“Yeah, we snapped.” Melody looked over the finished project one final time and nodded.
“I’m not even gon’ lie, this might be the first group project I actually enjoyed doing,” Cameron admitted.
“That’s because I carried us.’
“Man please, I did all the hard work,” he chuckled.
Melody laughed and pushed his shoulder lightly before he stood up from the table and stretched.
“You know what? I think we should take celebratory shots.”
“Make it a double.”
“Say less.”
A few seconds later, Cameron disappeared toward the kitchen before returning with a bottle of Hennessy and two shot glasses in his hands. The second Melody saw the bottle, she laughed.
“Damn, not the Hennessyyyyy.”
“What’s wrong with Henny?” Cameron paused while unscrewing the top.
“Oh nothing, Henny just make me friendly.”
“Well, shit, I’m pouring you six shots then.”
“Nah, nah, you don’t want that,” Melody giggled.
“How you gon’ tell me what I want?” He grabbed her hand and asked.
A wave of awkward silence fell upon them for a brief moment.
Cameron then poured the shots before sliding one toward her. The two of them clinked glasses and knocked them back. The burn instantly hit her, making her scrunch her face up.
“Lord,” she coughed while grabbing her chest.
“You talking all that shit and can’t even handle it.” Cameron shook his head.
“Boy, shut up and pour another one.”
A couple more shots later, the atmosphere changed completely. Melody felt herself relaxing more and more while the warmth from the liquor settled through her body. Instead of leaving like she originally planned, she found herself getting more comfortable.
Melody kicked her shoes off, tucked one leg underneath herself on the couch, and let the conversation flow.
The project was finished, the stress from school temporarily lifted, and for the first time all week, Melody wasn’t thinking about Major, court, or drama every five seconds.
And honestly, that feeling alone made her want to stay even longer.
“Can you turn to the football game?” she asked when he picked up the remote.
“Football?” Cameron looked over at her, surprised.
“Yeah.”
Melody watched as a smirk spread across his face while he flipped through the channels.
“What that look mean?” she questioned.
“Nothing…. It’s just that you a triple threat…. Beauty, brains, and sports.”
“Boy whatever.” Melody rolled her eyes and blushed.
A few seconds later, the game finally popped onto the screen, and they didn’t waste time, tuning in.
“Aw hell nah! You a Cowboys fan?” Cameron frowned.
“Duh.”
“I knew yo ass was too good to be true.”
“Boy fuck you! Just sit back and relax while my Cowboys whoop on your Bears.”
Every play turned into shit talking, and by the middle of the second quarter, Cameron finally pointed at her seriously.
“Aight, let’s make a bet then.”
“What?”
“If the Bears win, you gotta cook for me.”
“And if the Cowboys win?”
“Then I’ll cook for you.”
“Bet.” Melody nodded.
The game continued while the two of them argued, but halfway through the second half, Melody’s phone started ringing.
The smile faded from her face the second she saw Major’s name on the screen. Ignoring it, she got back to the game, when a few seconds later, the phone started ringing again.
“Maybe you should answer.”
“I’m good.”
“Nah, seriously, you can step into the guest room if you need privacy.”
Melody looked over at him for a second before grabbing her phone slowly. She stood up from the couch and headed toward the guest room, shutting the door behind her before finally answering the call.
“What’s up?”
“Where the fuck you at?” Major snapped.
“Excuse me, rudeness…. That’s not how you call my phone.”
“Man, Mel, stop fucking playing with me. You seen my text messages and now you ignoring my calls.”
“What’s up, Major? I was busy.” Melody sighed while leaning against the dresser.
“Busy doing what? Cause according to yo location, you been on Western for damn near two hours.”
Without responding, Melody clicked out the call screen, went into her settings, and stopped sharing her location with him. Once she finished, she brought the phone back to her ear and sighed.
“Anyway, I’m at my classmate house working on our project. Now what do you want?”
“I got a lick for us.”
“Lick? Bro, you know I’m not fucking with you right now.”
“Man, put yo feelings to the side and let’s get this money.”
“Telling me to put my feelings to the side is crazy.”
“Baby, I ain’t mean it like that,” Major replied, before going on.
“I’m just saying, outside the bullshit, you the Bonnie to my Clyde, and you know I love you. So don’t let my fuck ups fuck up us getting money.”
Melody knew Major was feeding her bullshit, but at the same time, reality kept creeping back into her mind. Her lawyer alone wanted thirty-five thousand dollars, and on top of that, she still had bills, and as much as she hated admitting it, she needed money.
“Aight. I’m on my way.”
“That’s my baby,” Major chuckled.
“Boy bye!”
For a second, Melody just stood there staring down at the screen. Deep down, she already knew getting back involved with Major and his schemes was probably the worst decision she could make, but unfortunately, desperation had a way of making bad ideas sound reasonable.