"How we keep meeting like this is a mystery to me," Melanie said as she approached the door to her one bedroom apartment. She was unamused by the burden on her doorstep.
Eddy stood from where he had made himself comfortable on the floor and held up a bottle of wine. "I came straight after work. I was hoping we could talk."
"I'm actually very busy tonight." Once she unlocked the door, she stepped inside and tried to close it, but his hand stopped her. "Leave, Eddy, or I'm calling security to have you escorted out."
"I waited all night for you," he said, dragging a hand over his face. "I didn't come here to fight, so please, Mel. Just let me in."
"You are not welcomed in my home."
He blinked hard at her. Once upon a time, she couldn't tell him no. She always let him back in no matter how bad their arguments were. "I really fucking miss you. Can't I just be with the woman I love?"
"Maybe you could ask that woman in your office for some company."
"Mel, please," he practically begged her. "Let me in."
"She said you aren't welcomed," Lukas said, appearing behind Eddy. He brushed past him and made his way into Melanie's apartment, blocking her from Eddy. "You need to leave."
"Who the fuck is this?" Eddy asked, scoffing at the stranger.
"We're closing the door now," Lukas told him with a straight face. He took a step back and shut the door before twisting the lock into place. He turned to Melanie, crossing his bulky arms across his chest. "Nora said you were busy tonight. Who is this guy?"
She walked into her bedroom and began looking through the clothes in her walk in closet. She wasn't paying much mind to the man standing in her doorway. "I was handling it."
"I've seen my fair share of stalker ex-boyfriends. If you need me to take care of it, just say the word."
"I'm good, Teddy Bear," she assured him with a forced smile. "As you can see, I am perfectly fine."
He deeply sighed and then nodded his head to acknowledge her words. "I just had to see for myself, but this guy could show up at your doorstep again."
"This wasn't the first time," she murmured with the roll of her eyes.
He couldn't see her, but he could sense the irritation in her voice. "I'm not comfortable with that. Next time he comes back, you give me a call, alright?"
Melanie pulled up a burgundy skintight dress from the back of her closet and held it up in front of her, turning to Lukas to show him. "What do you think?"
"Mel, are you listening?"
"Next time he comes back, give you a call," she repeated with the roll of her eyes. "I'm a little busy here though, Teddy."
"You got a date tonight?" he asked teasingly.
"Not a date. It's more like an appointment."
Lukas hummed and shook his head in disapproval. "You're too good to be someone's appointment. Can I walk you out to your car?"
"If you don't mind waiting awhile," she said to him. "But I'm sure you have somewhere else you need to be."
"The bar?" He scoffed when she nodded her head. "I closed for the night. Something told me that you'd be needing my help."
She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. Lukas was tender and possessed a kind heart. He was the overprotective brother she never thought she needed. "Then make yourself comfortable while I get ready to be someone's appointment."
Melanie set the dress she had picked out on her bed and walked into the adjoining bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She stripped out of her work clothes and turned the water on in the shower, eager to wash away the shame of falling into Christopher Coleman's hand once again. She knew that with only an hour to prepare for the night ahead, she had to sacrifice a full face of makeup and settle with a few minutes in the water. Once she had scrubbed away the sweat accumulated by the day's hard work and washed off her previous makeup, she stepped out from behind the shower door.
"So," Lukas said once the water had shut off. He was sitting on the couch in the living room, facing the television where he could see the blur of Melanie's reflection. "Who are you meeting?"
"Just a friend."
"Is this friend someone famous?"
"He's very nice," she said all too defensively. She shut her door halfway and dropped her towel to the floor.
Even though she was mostly out of view, Lukas felt that he was invading her privacy, so he tore his eyes away from her reflection and looked down at his calloused hands. "Nice doesn't equal worth. I don't want you wasting your time on him if he isn't investing in you."
She smiled and then stepped out of her bedroom, tugging on the zipper of her dress. "Help me."
He turned to her and clicked his tongue. He wasn't sure if it was to stop himself from making a comment he'd later regret or if he had done it out of dismay. As he pulled the zipper of her skintight dress up, all he could think about was how revealing her outfit of choice was, but he couldn't speak on it. It wasn't his place. "You're breathtaking, Mel. I know he'll think so, too."
"Don't give me that look," she whispered, running her thumb across the lips he had pressed tightly together.
"What look?"
"You don't think I should go."
He shook his head at her. "Your ex-boyfriend shows up at your doorstep and I'm supposed to let you drive to some guy's place by yourself?"
Melanie laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist, swaying him comfortingly. "I can take care of myself."
"As your friend, it's my job to make sure you don't have to." He bit his tongue and considered his next words. Then slowly, he said, "Let me drive you there, and when you're ready to come home, I'll come get you. It doesn't matter what time it is. I'll come to you."
"Teddy—"
"Melanie," he interrupted sternly, crossing his arms over his chest.
With an endearing smile, she pulled his inked up arms apart and brought them down to his sides. His gentle eyes had betrayed his voice, but his body language spoke louder than his words. He wasn't going to let her leave her apartment alone. "Fine," she said through a defeated sigh. "But I don't want you giving me crap about this guy again if you're so willing to drive me to him."
He smirked. "I won't voice my opinion to you, but it doesn't mean I can't have one."
"Fair enough," she said with a shrug. "Should we get going then?"
Lukas nodded his head and walked over to the door, patiently waiting as she shoved small essentials into her clutch. "Just tell me where."
It was a quarter past seven when Melanie arrived on the top floor of La Posada. From the large window in the dimly lit hall overlooking the city, she could see Lukas' car parked in the drop off zone. She wasn't sure how long he planned to sit out there, but knowing he was still close by gave her a sense of relief.
With shaking hands, she used the keycard she had received earlier that day to open the suite, but to her surprise, she was met by silence and darkness. Christopher must have been running late.
"Who are you?" a man asked from behind her.
Melanie jumped at the voice and turned to it. She hadn't even shut the door all the way yet. "I'm... an acquaintance of Christopher's. He and I were supposed to meet."
"So, he's calling his sick adventures meetings now," the man said, smirking. He stepped into the suite and fell onto the couch in the small living area. "I'm sure you know what you're in for already. I don't have to give you the whole run down."
Christopher appeared in the open doorway just then. He was so relieved to see Melanie standing in his suite that he hadn't even noticed his friend sitting comfortably on the couch yet. "I'm glad you came," he said, wrapping her in his arms. "Dinner's on its way."
She gave him a tight smile and turned to the stranger. "You already have company."
"Now I see why you were in a hurry to leave today," he said to Christopher. "The cast is heading to a club down the street tonight. I was just stopping by to ask if you wanted to come."
"Thanks, Jay, but I'm busy," he told him.
"With your meeting," Jay said through a chuckle. "Fine by me, but Vero might have a problem with your absence."
"Please leave now."
Jay laughed as he made his way to the door and nodded at Melanie. "This one's cute."
Christopher slammed the door shut as soon as his friend had walked through the threshold. His apologetic smile didn't wipe the look of disappointment off of Melanie's face, however. "Jay's always been kind of unfiltered. I imagined you two meeting differently."
She furrowed her brows. "You wanted me to meet him?"
"Jay's contributed a lot to my career, and he's one of my best friends," he explained to her. "Of course I want that." He frowned at the questionable expression on her face and pressed his lips to her forehead, pulling her to his body for comfort. "What's going on in that head, Melanie?"
"Nothing," she said, forcing a smile. She broke away from his embrace and cupped his face in her small hands. "Tell me about work. How was it?"
"We shot a couple of scenes." He turned to the living area and then sat down on the couch. "To tell you the truth, all I could think about was whether you'd be here." His eyes were glued on her, as if he couldn't afford to remove his gaze for even one second or she would disappear into his imagination. "Now that you are, how about you come talk to me?"
She swallowed hard and then cautiously approached him. Once she was close enough for him to touch, he pulled her into his lap and held her in a tight embrace. "Are you sure you want to listen to me talk?" she asked him, stroking the bulge pressed against her thigh.
He took her wandering hand in his and nodded his head to respond. "I'm positive. So, talk to me, princess."
"Well, I had to think very hard about coming here," she admitted to him.
"I figured, and I think you made the right choice."
She laughed. "You could have handed any woman your keycard, and they wouldn't hesitate to come."
"I could have like how you could have met up with any man tonight. But I think there's a reason why we're here together."
"What's that reason?"
"We're both curious to see where this goes."
She nodded, taking in his words.
"And for the record," he said, meeting her dark eyes. "I prefer the company of an educated woman who sees who I am instead of what I am. You have no reason to worry about other women who couldn't possibly compare to you."
Melanie couldn't hide the blush on her cheeks, but she tried hiding the smile on her face by burying it inside the crook of his neck. Her lips grazed his skin, and she slightly pulled back. She had never been so close to anyone in such an intimate way before. With Eddy, she hardly showed affection. A peck on the lips was all he allowed if they weren't celebrating a special occasion.
"You can kiss me, you know," he said to her, as if reading her thoughts. "What's holding you back?"
"Nothing."
"You've lied to me twice now."
She felt naked knowing he could see right through her, but she couldn't stand the idea of opening up to him. So, she adjusted herself to straddle him and pressed her lips to his, moaning through their passion filled kiss.
His hands roamed her back and effortlessly found the zipper of her dress. With his lips still moving against hers, he pulled the dress off and tossed it aside. She was completely naked, and seeing her that way only made his cock pulse with eagerness to fill her. "I'd hate to skip dinner."
"Who said we were?" she asked, moving down to her knees. She took the head of his stiffened cock into her mouth, allowing the pre-cum to drip on her tongue before taking him further.
He pulsed in her throat, and with only another inch left, he thrusted the rest of his length inside her, which only caused her to gag. Watching her face change from the sudden movement only made him smirk. Once she had adjusted to him and gained a steady rhythm of moving up and down on him, he threw his head back, taking a fistful of her hair in his hand.
"Fuck," he murmured, forcing his eyes open to meet her gaze. "You're definitely staying the night this time."
Although spending the night with him hadn't even crossed her mind, Melanie decided she would take a chance for once and enjoy the adventure while it lasted. She was done running.