The Game Changer (31 page)

Melody’s head was spinning slightly. She was normally accustomed to Olivia’s excited ramblings, but it had never been about a guy before. Unless it was how good he was in bed. This was completely different though. “He is great, Liv. I can see why you like him so much.”

Olivia smiled and let out a little breath, as if she were relieved. “I’ve been so worried you wouldn’t like him,” she said. “I knew there was no real reason you wouldn’t, but your approval means everything to me.”

That shouldn’t have surprised Melody, but for some reason it did. Maybe it was because Olivia had waited so long to talk to her about Cameron or have them spend time together. But then, she’d wanted to keep Olivia and Rick separate as much as possible. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but she knew now it was because she was afraid Olivia wouldn’t approve, and with good reason. Hindsight was a nasty bastard.

“Well, you have my approval,” Melody told her. “And my support.”

“Thanks, Mel.” Olivia wrapped her arms around Melody and hugged her tightly. Melody’s throat started to tighten, and she was about to curse herself for feeling so girly and emotional when the sound of Cameron clearing his throat drew their attention, and they released each other.

“Is it safe for me to come out now?” he asked. He was standing at the end of the hall by the living room, leaning against the wall. Melody hadn’t realized how much time had passed since he’d gone to the bathroom, and she wondered if he’d heard any of their conversation.

“I came out and saw you guys talking, so I went down to Olivia’s room to give you two a minute,” Cameron explained as he crossed the room.

Before he was within earshot, Melody leaned into Olivia and whispered, “Oh yeah, he’s definitely a keeper.”

The laugh that burst from Olivia made Melody grin, and Cameron cocked his head to the side, regarding them with dancing eyes. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing,” Olivia said, still laughing and shaking her head. “Let’s sit down and eat before dinner gets cold.”

Olivia and Cameron sat on one side of the table, and Melody took the other. While they passed dishes of chicken, potatoes, and peas around, then began eating, Melody found herself watching Olivia and Cameron. They kept up an almost-steady stream of conversation as they ate, and Melody noticed how they often exchanged surreptitious glances or brushed hands.

It was subtle, and other people might not notice the contact or how close the pair was sitting, but Melody did. With Rick, she had given up hope of being with someone who couldn’t keep his hands off her, used any excuse to kiss her or share a secret smile with. Watching her best friend now made her happy and made her heart ache at the same time.

“Liv and I were thinking that you and Julian and the two of us should go on a double date,” Cameron said.

“A double…Oh. No. It’s not like that,” Melody stammered, feeling heat rush to her cheeks. “I mean, Julian and I aren’t a couple. We’re just friends.”

“Oh. Right. I knew that, yeah, I didn’t mean
date
date,” Cameron amended quickly. “Just hang out, you know? Or I have a couple of friends I could set you up with if you want. We could do the doubles thing so it’s not like an awkward blind date, then Olivia and I can be buffers.”

Melody laughed. “That’s really sweet, and I might take you up on it at some point. I just don’t think I’m ready yet.”

Cameron nodded and shot Olivia a knowing glance. Melody wondered if the two of them had discussed her love life, and she tried not to be mortified. “Just let us know, then.”

“We could still hang out with you and Julian, though,” Olivia persisted. Melody knew the look on her friend’s face; she thought something was going on between Melody and Julian. Maybe she hoped there was so she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about not being around.

“Yeah, of course,” Melody said easily. “I’m sure he’d love to hang out with you guys.”

Olivia’s face fell almost imperceptibly, confirming Melody’s suspicion that her best friend wanted there to be something between her and Julian.

Trying to hide a smirk, Melody bowed her head over her plate and continued eating. “Really good dinner, Liv,” she commented.

“You think so?” Olivia asked, brightening again. “I tried out this new mixture of spices for the chicken…” And she was off, talking about food with the passion of a professional chef, and Melody was pleased with herself for being able to distract her so easily.

After dinner, Melody told Olivia she would clean up later, and the three of them moved to the couch to watch a movie. Melody was surprised how comfortable she felt with the situation. She and Olivia had hung out with guys before, but Olivia had never really had ‘boyfriends’. Still, it felt natural for the three of them to sit in a row on the couch with Olivia in the middle.

When the credits began to roll, Melody noticed the wall clock read eleven fifteen. She wondered if Olivia was going to spend the night. She felt surprisingly awake, and she hoped Olivia would decide to stay so they could watch another movie or work on the plans for Ava’s room.

“Well…” Olivia said, leaning toward Cameron and picking up a lock of his short hair to twirl around her finger.

Time to go
, Melody willed silently.
Thanks for coming tonight Cameron, had a great time, but go home now—alone. Send him home, Olivia. Go on.

“I guess we should head out,” Olivia said.

Melody sagged on the couch.
Head out
. As if they were visitors who had dropped by for the evening. She watched in a daze as they rose from the couch, hand in hand, talking quietly to each other and laughing. She felt as much like an observer as she had while they watched the movie. Interested, but detached from the characters. Not a part of the scene.

Olivia laughed at something Cameron said, then turned to look down at Melody. Her smile disappeared and she bent down close to Melody. “What’s wrong?”

Melody shook her head and waved her hands so Olivia would move. She stood up, wobbling on unsteady legs. “Nothing. Thanks for coming over tonight, guys, I had a lot of fun.” She hated herself for pretending that everything was fine, but she didn’t want to get into it in front of Cameron.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment as Olivia looked at Cameron, and the two of them seemed to share some silent communication. “I’m just going to go pull the car up to the door,” Cameron said, pulling his keys from his pocket. “We had to park kinda far.” He fiddled with his keys for a second, looking uncomfortable, then he stepped toward Melody and surprised her by planting a kiss on her cheek. “I can see why Liv loves you so much,” he told her quietly. “I hope we can hang out again soon.”

Melody felt herself soften. “I hope so, too.” She smiled up at him, and he grinned back, then turned to give Olivia’s hand a quick squeeze before heading for the door.

The door had barely clicked shut behind Cameron when Olivia grabbed Melody’s hand and yanked her down to the couch. “What’s going on? I thought you liked Cam.”

“I do,” Melody sighed. “I really do, he’s amazing. I just…” She shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

“Tell me.”

“I’d hoped you were going to spend the night, and that we could hang out just the two of us. Seems you’ve forgotten you live here, though.”

Melody saw a flash of irritation in Olivia’s eyes, but it passed quickly. “I haven’t forgotten,” Olivia told her. “And I want to hang out, but…well…I think tonight might be the night.”

It took Melody a minute to realize what Olivia was talking about, but her bright, excited eyes, and the way she bit her lip helped Melody clue in. “Oh. Tonight? Why tonight?”

“I don’t know,” Olivia said before a little giggle escaped her lips. “Things just felt different tonight. I can’t explain it. God, I’m getting all sweaty!” She flapped her hands around, then wiped them on her pants. “I wasn’t even this nervous about losing my virginity.”

Melody chuckled quietly and let out a long sigh. “You’ll be fine. You’re a pro.” Olivia shot her a dark look, and Melody hastily added, “You know what I mean!”

One corner of Olivia’s mouth quirked upward. “I know, but you made me sound like a hooker.”

Melody sputtered out a laugh, and within seconds the two of them were leaning back on the couch laughing like a pair of lunatics.

When the giggles subsided, Melody let out another long sigh. “You’d better go. Cam’ll be waiting.”

With her head still resting on the back of the couch, Olivia turned her eyes to Melody. “You’re not mad?”

“No.” Melody stood and reached for Olivia’s hand to haul her to her feet. She walked with her to the door and opened it. “Go have fun.”

Olivia looked like she might start laughing again—Melody decided it must be nerves—but she just regarded Melody for a minute, then squeezed her hand. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Melody nodded. She knew at the very least, Olivia would call or text, but she wondered when she would see her again. Olivia used to regale her with all the details of her sex life, whether Melody wanted to hear them or not, but Melody thought this time might be different. It was just a feeling, one she couldn’t really explain, but everything else was different, so this probably would be, too.

“Love you,” Olivia said, squeezing Melody’s hand once more before releasing it and heading for the stairs.

“Love you, too,” Melody called. “Go show Cameron what it’s like to be with a pro.”

Olivia’s laughter echoed all the way down the stairwell.

Melody closed and locked the door, then slumped against it.
What now?

Before she had time to decide, her cell phone rang and she rushed across the room to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.” Julian. He sounded tired, but relaxed, and Melody was surprised how happy she was to hear his voice.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Not much right now,” Julian said. She heard him moving around on the other end, then the clinking sound of a glass being taken from a shelf. Melody could picture him pouring bourbon into a glass and closing his eyes as he took a sip. “Had an afternoon full of meetings that reminded me why I prefer to work alone. People are draining.”

Melody chuckled. “Can be, yeah,” she agreed. “Things going well up there?”

“Really well,” he said with a little more enthusiasm in his voice. “Today we were talking about introducing my software to different businesses. It’s pretty exciting stuff.”

“That’s great!” Melody said. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Melody could hear the smile in Julian’s voice, and it made her grin.

There was silence on the line, and then Julian said, “I miss you.”

He had spoken so quietly, and Melody was so surprised, she thought at first she must have heard him wrong. “I miss you, too.”

Julian released a soft breath, and Melody could once again picture him, this time sitting on a couch or chair in his hotel room with his head back and his eyes closed. His shirt would be unbuttoned part way, his face sporting a thin layer of dark stubble, and his hair tousled from running his hands through it repeatedly, which he always did when he was tired.

She was about to ask when he would be coming home when she heard a woman’s voice in the background on Julian’s end. The line became muffled, as if Julian had put his hand over the receiver, and Melody heard a barely audible exchange over the line.

“Mel, I have to go,” Julian said. She could hear him moving around again, and Melody felt a sudden surge of jealousy she couldn’t explain. Who was the woman in Julian’s room? It was eleven thirty at night, surely it wasn’t business-related. He had just told her last night—was it really just last night? Melody thought—that he was getting tired of the game, but apparently that wasn’t stopping him from having a late-night booty call in an unfamiliar city.

“Okay,” Melody said, trying to fight the disappointment that coursed through her for the second time that night. “Have a good night.”

“You, too,” Julian said distractedly. There was another muffled conversation on his end, then he came back, sounding more focused. “I don’t know yet when I’ll be home, but I’ll let you know, okay? And I’ll text you tomorrow between meetings or something.”

“Sounds good,” Melody said.

They said their goodbyes, and Melody shut her phone and turned it off. She didn’t want to talk to anyone else tonight. She didn’t want to have to pretend she was happy, or that she wasn’t lonely or disappointed or hurt.