The Game Changer (9 page)

Melody couldn’t help the small, wistful smile that crept onto her face as she remembered the weekends Olivia spent with her in high school. Mrs. Cartwright would take the two of them shopping and to the movies, and would introduce them to people as her daughters. She made sure that Olivia always had new clothes for school, spending money for the mall, and a place to stay whenever things got to be too much at home. She even threw several birthday parties for her because she knew Olivia’s parents would forget, which they did almost every year. Mrs. Cartwright had always treated Olivia like a daughter, but she had really stepped in once Mrs. O’Dell took off.

“I know she’s just doing what’s best for Ava. It breaks my heart that there’s this little girl who’s my own flesh and blood, living in my old room and sleeping in my old bed, and I’ve only seen her a handful of times in her entire life. She doesn’t even really know who I am, so I can understand Mom not wanting to overwhelm her after all she’s been through. I just want to help.”

Olivia rested a hand on Melody’s shoulder. “Once your mom gets Ava settled in and things calm down I’m sure she’ll want you to be a big part of Ava’s life. Ava will need normalcy and stability, and we both know there’s no one in this world who’s capable of that more than Rita Cartwright.” She flashed Melody a grin, and Melody laughed quietly.

“You’re right. I just have to be patient.”

“Which we all know is one of your strong suits.” Olivia grabbed another cookie and stood.

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not,” Melody said, swiveling around on her stool to watch Olivia as she made her way around the island to the fridge.

Olivia’s grin grew and she cocked an eyebrow at Melody before opening the fridge and sticking her head in. “Drink?”

*****

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Melody said.

It was eleven thirty that night, and Melody, Olivia, and Angelica were waiting in a line-up outside Atlantis. The spring night was warm and cloudless, but the stars were barely visible as they competed with the bright lights of the businesses on North Front Street.

“Stop fidgeting. What’s the matter with you?” Olivia bumped Melody’s shoulder with her own.

“That looks like Rick’s car over there.” Melody pointed to a red sports car in the parking lot.

“Good,” Olivia said firmly. “Weren’t you hoping he’d be here so he can see that you’re not some blubbering lump who’s sitting at home on a Saturday night drowning her misery in a pint of Ben and Jerry’s?”

Melody almost laughed at the stunned look on Angelica’s face. “Well, something like that, I guess,” she conceded. “It’s just going to be weird to see him, especially if he’s with another woman.”

Olivia scoffed. “Don’t let it be weird. Celebrate. Or feel sorry for the woman, because Rick is
her
problem now, and you’re free to find the kind of guy you deserve.”

Olivia turned away to move forward with the crowd, and Melody gave Angelica a one-shouldered shrug before following. The bouncer at the door switched places with another bouncer, and the line-up finally began moving faster.

“Back again ladies?” The same guy from the night before was now manning the door, and he gave them a slow, easy smile as he took a cursory glance at Melody’s and Olivia’s IDs before checking Angelica’s. “And you brought a friend this time.”

“We just couldn’t stay away,” Olivia said, her tone flirty. When she took her ID from him, she ran a finger along his muscled chest and gave him a wink. The girls could hear him chuckling as they walked past him into the club, but the sound was quickly swallowed by the music inside.

Once they paid and were inside the club proper, their first stop was the bar. Melody tried to be casual as she scanned the room for Rick, but it was so crowded she wasn’t able to see him anywhere. While Olivia ordered their drinks, Melody glanced at Angelica, who was looking around with wide eyes. She wondered if Angelica had ever been to a club before. She knew Kingston had a few popular bars and nightclubs on Princess Street, but she didn’t picture Angelica as much of a partier.

“This place is amazing!” Angelica shouted over the music.

"It is,” Melody agreed. “Wait ’til you see the rest of it, and the dance floor. I never would have thought that Bellevue would get something so upscale.”

Angelica nodded her head in agreement and took the drink Olivia offered. She thanked her, but looked a bit dubious until Olivia said, “It’s a cosmopolitan. If you don’t like it, I’ll get you something else.”

They made their way through the crowd with Olivia leading the way and the other two following close behind. Bodies were packed so tightly into the space, Melody was amazed anyone could move or breathe. They had only been there a few minutes, and already she could feel sweat forming on her back from the closely pressed sea of bodies.

Finally, they broke through the densest part of the crowd and found a spot to stand near the dance floor.

“I would have thought Friday would be the busier night,” Melody commented, taking a sip of her drink to cool off.

“Me too.” Olivia cast a glance around the packed room, and her eyes lit with understanding. “That explains it.” She pointed to a sign over the bar on the opposite side of the room. “It’s ladies night, so drinks are half price. I just thought the bartender had charged me for two drinks instead of three.”

She raised her glass to Melody and Angelica before taking a long swallow. “Drink up, girls!”

Angelica didn’t like her cosmopolitan, so for the next round, they switched to some fruity cocktail that tasted like strawberries and went down like juice. An hour later, buzzed from drinking their cocktails like they
were
juice, the three girls were in the centre of the dance floor, laughing and having a great time. It had taken Angelica awhile to loosen up, but when she realized that nobody was going to make fun of her dancing skills—or lack thereof—she relaxed and let her body sway to the rhythm.

At one point, Melody spotted Julian making his way through the crowd. He was dressed more casually than the night before, in dark jeans and a white dress shirt that was untucked and open at the collar. Melody had a moment to think how incredibly sexy he looked before he disappeared from view, and Olivia was grabbing her hand to spin her around to the music.

Because the dance floor was sunken, it was hard to see the people on the main level unless they were standing around the long counter or walking past one of the openings to the dance floor. Melody had a good view of part of the couch that ran along the outside of the club, and that’s where she finally spotted Rick.

He came from the direction of the bar, followed by a short blond woman in a hot pink dress that barely covered her behind. There wasn’t much room left on the couch, so the woman shoved Rick down and perched on his lap. Melody cringed as she watched the two of them laughing, Rick’s arm around the woman’s waist, and her arm slung over his shoulder.

“Why the sour puss?” Olivia asked, nudging Melody’s shoulder. When Melody continued to stare across the room, Olivia followed her gaze and her lip curled in disgust. “Why don’t they get a room? How disgusting.” She tugged on Melody’s arm and turned her so her back was to that side of the club. “Don’t let them ruin your night. You came to have a good time, and that’s what we’re gonna continue to do.”

Melody tried to break through the numb feeling that was making its way through her limbs. Her feet felt like lead, and there was a slight buzzing in her ears. Rick had never been one for public displays of affection. He’d rarely held her hand in public, and the only time he hugged or kissed her was in private. Yet here he was just weeks after their breakup, letting some girl paw him in a very public place. It made her skin crawl.

Angelica’s voice broke through her thoughts. “I think she needs another drink,” she said to Olivia, who nodded and held up a finger to signal that she’d be right back, then began weaving her way through the sea of dancers.

“I’m really sorry, Mel,” Angelica said, resting a hand on Melody’s shoulder.

Melody shook her head. “No, it’s fine. It’s just kind of a shock to see him with someone else, you know? After being together three years.” There was so much more she wanted to say, but it was exhausting having to shout to be heard over the music.

She wanted to say that she hated the fact that she was jealous, despite knowing she was better off without him. She didn’t have any desire to be with him anymore, but it made her feel ill to think that he wasn’t able to commit to her, yet he was able to move on so quickly.

“Maybe she’s a hooker,” Angelica said. Melody let out a disbelieving laugh and looked at Angelica properly for the first time since Olivia had walked away. Her eyes were slightly glassy, and she had a contented smile plastered to her face. Melody realized that if Angelica wasn’t used to drinking, the liquor would hit her harder and faster than most people. She laughed again.

“I’m serious!” Angelica said, giggling. “She
looks
like a hooker. Maybe he just wants you to
think
he’s moving on.”

Melody thought about that for a moment, but then realized there was no way Rick could have known she was going to be here. Melody shot a quick look over her shoulder where the two of them were still sitting on the couch practically wrapped around each other. Melody had to admit the woman
did
kind of look like a hooker. She was curvy, and her dress wasn’t only short in the skirt, it also had very little material up top. She was pressed so close to Rick that her oversized breasts were practically in his face. Melody wondered how someone so short could have boobs that big without toppling over or forming a hunchback.

As she tittered to herself at the thought, she realized Angelica wasn’t the only one with a healthy buzz going. They hadn’t been there long, but she’d already lost count of the number of drinks they’d had. It was so hot on the dance floor, and the alcohol was so well disguised in the drink, she found herself almost chugging them. If they kept going at this pace, the three of them would be passed out in the cab on the ride home.
And wasn’t I the one who said I’d never get
that
drunk?

The thought fled from her mind when Olivia returned, skillfully balancing three drinks in her hands. She peered over Melody’s shoulder and made a face when she spotted Rick and the maybe-hooker. She muttered something that Melody couldn’t hear over the music, then raised her glass and smiled brightly. “To new beginnings.”

From that moment on, time passed in a blur of moving bodies and sweet, fruity drinks. Melody was always at least vaguely aware of her surroundings, and made sure never to let Olivia or Angelica out of her sight. She forgot about Rick, forgot about everything but the need to move her feet and arms and hips in time to the music. The bass vibrated up through the floor and pumped like adrenaline through her body, throbbing inside her as if it were a living thing.

She saw Julian a few times, mingling near the bar or sitting and talking to someone on the couches where Rick had been earlier. Melody found herself scanning the crowd for him, wondering if he ever came onto the dance floor. With her brain muddled from the alcohol, she wasn’t sure if it was seconds or hours later when she discovered him standing on the steps that led down to the dance floor.

Her heart stopped when their eyes met. She still didn’t know what colour his eyes were, but they appeared almost black from this distance as they swept over her. His gaze was intense as it settled on hers. When he descended the last few steps onto the dance floor and walked toward her, Melody’s head started to swim from more than just the fruity drinks.

CHAPTER 6

Taller than nearly everyone else on the dance floor, Julian somehow managed to look almost graceful as he wound his way through dancing couples toward her. Out of the corner of her eye, Melody saw Angelica nudge Olivia with her elbow, and the two of them turned to stare at Julian as he approached.

The minute Julian stopped in front of her the song changed, almost as if on cue. All night, the songs had been heavy on bass, but this song had a slower, sexier, almost languid beat to it that sent a shiver rolling up Melody’s spine.

Julian’s lips curved into a hint of a smile. One of the rotating spotlights on the ceiling passed over him, and Melody finally saw that his eyes were a dark chocolate brown. In the back of her mind, she heard the words ‘bedroom eyes’, and the description seemed fitting since she could imagine the deep bass song being played during intimate moments in the darkness of a bedroom.

Julian moved behind her, pressing his body against the length of her back and resting one hand on her hip. Heat rushed to Melody’s cheeks as their bodies began to move in time to the music. She could feel the steady, slightly accelerated thump of his heartbeat against her back, and tried to ignore how tightly her bottom was pressed to his groin.