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  “I guess that’s your bonus,” she glanced back at her own ass. “Maybe I should start doing more of Chevy’s workouts. I stopped, for the most part, after he left.”

  “Nuh-uh, you’re not doing that. You are gorgeous just the way you are.” I reached over and pulled her closer to me. “Mel, you have to know you’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, and the best part is that your insides perfectly match what’s on the outside – which is rarely the case.”

  The pretty, pink blush that stole across her cheeks was enough of an answer for me. We were both quiet for a while as we sat, hip to hip, at the little table and dug into the breakfast she made for us. When I polished off my half of breakfast, I finally spoke.

  “I’ve missed you,” I admitted.

  She finished chewing, swallowed, and then turned to me. “I haven’t gone anywhere.”

  I cocked my head to the side, taking her in as I did so. “Okay, maybe we’ve both just been pretty busy the past week or so,” I conceded, even though I didn’t think that was why we’d been missing one another the past few days.

  She huffed and then set her fork down. There were still a few bites left on her plate and I wanted to kick myself in my own dick for not letting her finish the meal before I started down this path. “You know what? That’s not it. I don’t want to lie to you or myself. I have been busy with work, Calista, and trying to figure out what’s going to become of my life once this tour is over, but I’ve also been avoiding you. What happened with Wen and Cal-” she started, but I cut her off immediately.

  “Wen and Calista are their own people, with entirely different issues than most others,” I explained.

  “I get that. It’s just that I don’t have the best experience to pull from in my past, and you live in an entirely different and unfamiliar world to me. I’ve seen the fans going crazy before and after your concerts. You forget, I watched how they threw themselves at you, even as you sat beside me and held my hand.”

  “And how did I react to them?”

  She blushed again. “You ignored them,” she admitted.

  “Right. So, are you judging me and our potential relationship based on everyone else’s actions or mine?”

  Another long sigh from her. “You’re right. I haven’t been fair, but please understand that after what I went through, with my ex-husband and sister, I worry.”

  “I do understand and I’m sorry that they did that to you and put that weight on your shoulders, but I’m not him. You’re not her. We’re not them or any other couple out there who have their own issues. We are just Mel and Gabe. I enjoy spending my time with you, and hope you feel the same and want to continue.”

  Mel nodded and then smiled at me. I couldn’t resist any longer. I leaned in and kissed those sweet lips as her smile grew wider under my touch. We didn’t take it much further, just a quick exploration of one another, lips brushing, noses bumping, and a quick caress of her face with my palm. “I need to get going so I can set some things in place for later this evening. Meet me for lunch on my bus?”

  “As long as no medical emergencies pop up, I’ll be there,” she told me.

  “Good. Can’t wait.” I got up and tossed the paper plate and plasticware from my breakfast in the trash on my way. “And Mel?” I called out.

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t forget, the only people that matter in this scenario are you and me. We make it happen, not what anyone else does or says. Okay?”

  “I understand.”

  Leaving her to contemplate things, I went to go make arrangements for our night out. I didn’t think there was a chance anyone would recognize me at the place I planned to take Mel that night, but neither would I take any chances. I hadn’t said it officially, but this night out would be like a first real date for us and I couldn’t wait. She’d said yes, we had eaten together, and talked a bit. It was more than I had bothered to hope for when setting out that morning.

  ~*~

  Lunch never happened because one of the road crew cut his finger down to the bone and Mel had to end up riding with him to the hospital to make sure he got the proper treatment and a Tetanus shot that she didn’t have access to. While disappointing, it was still okay. She would be with me for our date night, and hopefully the rest of the night beyond if everything worked out well. Since we were going to be in Gainesville for three nights, hotel rooms had been doled out just after breakfast. Originally, we were supposed to be leaving directly after the concert the following night, but there was something wrong with one of the buses that needed a specific part and a little extra time to repair.

  When eight o’clock rolled around, I made my way to the hotel room that Mel was supposed to be sharing with Ev, the tour manager’s assistant. Knocking on the door became a moot point when Ev opened the door to step out and startled to see me there.

  She clutched at her chest and gasped. “Jesus, Gabe. You just scared the shit out of me.”

  Chuckling, I offered a brief apology. “Sorry, if it helps, you startled me too. I was just about to knock. Mel in?”

  Ev nodded, then smiled broadly. “Yep, and you’re not going to want to take her out in public looking like that.”

  Worry creased my brow at that very unexpected response. “Looking like what?”

  “Go on in, you’ll see.” The infuriating woman winked at me then took off down the hallway while whistling the latest song her boyfriend had written for her. “Mel?” I called out so as not to scare her with my presence. She rounded the corner, where I assumed the bathroom was, and immediately, I understood Ev’s warning. “Damn,” I hissed out, unable to move a muscle as I took her in. Those auburn locks of hers were drawn up in a way that some of her curls hung loose, framing her face, while the majority of her thick hair was scooped and pinned in place in the back. She wore a rhinestone tank top, that ironically enough had the stones in the shape of a cowboy boot. The jeans she wore were painted onto her body, hugging the curve of her hips and her ass, making her look like a work of art.

  Mel grinned at me. “I didn’t have actual boots,” she told me, but this was on a tank top Ev had, so she let me borrow it.”

  I couldn’t help laughing. “That works, I guess.” She was wearing her classic, black Vans on her feet, and while it should have detracted from the sexy as fuck ensemble, it was so Mel. There was no detracting from any part of her beauty or her overall presence.

  “Let’s go,” I offered my arm to her, a gentlemanly thing I’d grown up watching better men in my hometown do for their women. It was something I’d always wanted to test out, to see how it felt, why they did it, and now I knew. The moment Mel’s arm linked with mine, her hand resting on my arm, I understood. They were offering their escort, their protection, and by her accepting, she was entrusting them with that honor. To care for her. My heart swelled a bit that Mel felt able to trust me, considering I knew what her baggage was. Granted, I may have been reading too much into the gesture, but it didn’t feel as though I was.

  “I can’t wait to see where we end up tonight,” she told me, to which I just smiled and led her down to the car that was waiting to sweep us away to a night out on the town.

  When we pulled up outside of what was basically the local honkytonk, Mel laughed so heartily I didn’t think I’d be able to get her out of the car. “Knockin’ Boots Saloon?” She laughed, amidst her giggle fit.

  “What?” I shrugged my shoulders, wondering at her response.

  “The rock star brought me to do country line dancing at a place named, Knockin’ Boots?” Her laughter continued. “Was that both a date night, and invitation for later all rolled into one?”

  I glanced up at the bright yellow name painted on the brick wall. Well, shit. She had a point. “I promise, it was nothing like that, but it was the only place I could think of where I might not be recognized.”

  “You got that right, partner,” she attempted to pull a ridiculous country accent as she said the words. I rolled
my eyes at her and offered my arm once more.

  “Come on, funny girl, let’s go see if they have a bull in here to ride,” I offered, which only caused more giggles on her part. It took a moment for the words that came out of my own damn mouth to sink in.

  “Keep on digging that trench deeper, Gabe.”

  “Fuck me!” I hummed the words out in damn near a whisper, but she heard them, and laughed harder.

  “That’ll do,” she teased, before dragging me by the hand to the door. Mel then surprised me by paying the cover charge to the bouncer who was working the door.

  “Hey, I was going to get that.”

  “Nope. I owe you for all the laughter,” she tucked an arm around her midsection then. “I think I got a full ab workout in.”

  “Glad you’re finding our date night so amusing.” Okay, I was sulking just a tiny bit as the words came out, but this was definitely the opposite of what I’d expected when I took her out.

  Mel leaned up on her toes and planted a kiss right on my cheek, near the corner of my mouth, before slipping back down to her normal height. “I needed this so much,” she told me. “Thank you, even if some of that was totally unintentional.”

  Well, hell, I couldn’t argue with that. “Come on, let’s go get a table, and some drinks.”

  “Okay, but you brought me here, mister. I expect to line dance at some point.”

  “Do you know how to line dance?” I asked her, wondering if that was something new to learn about Mel.

  She laughed heartily. “Not even a little bit.”

  “Oh great, so we can look like fools together out there.”

  She glanced around. “That’s okay, this looks more like Chevy’s crowd anyway, they’ll probably think we’re someone’s drunk parents.”

  “Well, technically,” I started to say, and stopped myself short. Mel wasn’t a parent, but I was. The problem is, I had been about to say, “Well, we are.” It was the first time I really acknowledged that Mel had taken on that role with Chevy, in a weird way, not long after he came into my life. When I grew quiet, she leaned into me again, the both of us standing to the side of the only empty table in the place.

  “It’s okay, Gabe,” Mel told me as she placed her hand on my chest. “I knew what you meant, and even though he’s Kendra’s, I think of him as mine too. He’s my boy in a different way, but I’d claim him any day of the week, if I was able.”

  “I think he’d like that,” I told her, knowing that was exactly how I felt too. She fit into the brand new family we’d all stumbled into and there was no imagination strong enough to will her out of the scenario.

  “Hey y’all, what can we get you to drink?” A young waitress wearing a jean skirt, cowgirl boots, and a cropped button up top that was tied in a knot just below her breasts asked us. Then when she glanced up to see my face, her jaw dropped. I figured she could see the pleading look in my eyes because she guppy-fished, taking shallow breaths for a moment, and then smiled brightly. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. This is amazing though,” she whispered. “I couldn’t get tickets before they sold out, but at least I got to say hi to you.”

  “Tell you what, you keep my being here a secret tonight, and I will make sure you have two backstage passes waiting at Will Call for you tomorrow night. You can hang out with Mel here at the side stage.”

  Her eyes grew exponentially wider. “Are you serious?” I nodded. “No one will ever know,” she whispered then put a finger up in the universal ‘wait a minute’ gesture. “Be right back,” she told me and then trotted off.

  “What do you think that’s about?” Mel asked.

  “I guess we’ll see in a minute,” I told her, though I had my phone out, ready to send the 911 text that Phoenix was waiting for. He and several other men were posted up nearby, just in case things went down. I wasn’t going to have Mel mixed up in a fan riot if I could help it. Most often, people were respectful. Sometimes, they got out of control. Our waitress came back wearing a bright smile and holding a black Stetson hat.

  “Here you go,” she offered as she held the hat out to me. “Used to belong to my boyfriend, but since he couldn’t keep it in his pants, he doesn’t get this back,” she told us, far too cheerfully, considering.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yes, sir.” She bobbed her head up and down as she spoke the words, as if to emphasize them. “It will help, especially if you keep the brim pulled down low.”

  “Thank you,” I glanced at the name tag she wore, “Tracy.”

  “It’s actually Melody. I use a fake name here because of the asshole frat guys that come in,” she admitted as a blush stained her cheeks.

  “Okay then, how about we grab some drinks then, Melody. I’d like a beer, whatever’s popular on tap is fine, and…” I turned to Mel, leaving the opening for her to place her order.

  “I’ll have the same.”

  “Okay, be right back,” Melody called out as she sauntered away, hips swaying as those frat guys she complained about took full notice. There were plenty of them at the bar, all wearing shirts that pegged them as exactly what they were. Upon further inspection, I noticed that most of the young women present were also wearing sorority shirts of some type or other.”

  “Looks like we hit up a Greek night of line dancing,” Mel chuckled. “You sure do know how to go incognito Mr. North.”

  “Northman,” I corrected.

  “Northman,” she agreed without asking.

  “North is a stage name. I want you to know and be with the man, not the monkey on the stage.”

  “You’re far from just a monkey on the stage crashing symbols together,” she argued.

  I shrugged as Melody placed our beers in front of us. “Still,” I managed to get out before taking a sip.

  “Will that do?” Our waitress waited for our approval before getting ready to go again. “Just raise a hand when you need me, I’ll be watching out as I take care of some of the others too.”

  “Thanks a bunch,” Mel offered her before taking another drink of her beer. “Not sure what this is, but it’s certainly refreshing. I don’t think I’ve had a drop of alcohol in ages.”

  Before long, Mel chugged the majority of her beer down, encouraged me to do the same, and then stood with her arm outstretched toward me. “Come on, you promised me there would be line dancing, I want to see how well you do.”

  “Are you sure about that?” I asked her, not entirely thrilled to be dancing to country music, but what the hell.

  “We have to, it’s a requirement of entry,” she tossed back over her shoulder with a wink.

  Thankfully, by the time we made our way to the dancefloor, the DJ slowed things down a bit and I was able to take Mel in my arms and simply sway to the music with her. Granted, there were others on the floor who made slow dancing look like a fucking sport, but those boys had no clue. It was all show, zero intimacy, and lacked the foreplay that bodies moving up close together afforded.

  “What on Earth do they think they’re accomplishing?” Mel asked while taking note of the same things, especially since the movements of their country hoe-down meets swing-style dancing didn’t even match the tempo of the music. I shook my head.

  “They’re missing the feel of the woman’s body pressed tight to theirs,” I mentioned into Mel’s ear as I yanked her body harder against mine. Her resulting giggle told me she enjoyed the way I’d just manhandled her. Good. “They’re missing the ability to whisper dirty deeds that come later into her ear and watch her body explode as she shivers at the thought,” I growled there, leaving a gentle, discordant kiss on the shell of her ear in the wake of my words. My effort elicited the exact response, and I moved my hands up her sides, over her shoulders, and back down her arms a moment, noting the raised hairs there before I tucked them back into her hips and once again pulled her as close as possible. “Those boys are missing the sway of their women’s hips in tandem with their own, the push pull, and the slightest touch of their bodi
es that let you know where to pay closer attention later.”

  Mel moaned her response at first and then eased up on her tiptoes to whisper her words into my ear. “The scrape of his scruffy jaw across her smooth one,” she told me as she slid back a little and then returned making the motion shed just described while also leaving trails of warmth from her breath. “Those women are missing out on the promise of how that might feel in other places on her body, and how telling him about it turns him on so much you can feel him just there on your belly.”

  “Shit, Mel,” I huffed out in response at the same time my hips tilted forward, almost of their own accord, as if to bring home her point. I was hard as a fucking rock and there was no doubt she’d been feeling the evidence exactly where she’d just mentioned. “We may not make a full dance if you go there right now,” I warned.

  “Honestly?” She questioned, and tipped my head back so that I could look down into her eyes once more. The slight nod I gave was all she needed. “I wouldn’t be mad about it. This place isn’t exactly our crowd,” she insisted quietly as if second guessing where the decision would lead us.

  “I think you found the perfect excuse for us to get out of here, but make no mistake, Mel, we don’t need one. You’re reason enough for me.”

  “What are we still doing here then?” She asked and that was when I lost the battle and my restraint broke. We found our waitress, Melody and thanked her with a hundred dollar bill for a tip before heading out. The quick ride back to the hotel was mostly hands off since our security staff was driving us around. The moment we ducked inside my room though, I couldn’t keep my hands or mouth off the beautiful woman who was finally going to be mine.

  “If I knew one beer and a little dancing was all it would take to get you to be with me,” I started to tease. She just shook her head and stopped me cold in my tracks.

  “That’s not all it took,” she whispered.

  “I know that, sweetheart. It was a joke.” I leaned down and kissed her pouty little lips, the top just one a bit fuller than the bottom and in that bow shape that I was starting to find irresistible. I nipped at the spot. “I’ve been falling for every little piece of you since the moment our eyes first met and you took care of my son without giving me much of a second thought.”