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Nash
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What the fuck just happened?
His gaze follows Melody as she gets up. Duke's hand at her lower back, guiding her to the front of the restaurant. Nash twists his entire body, straining for a final glimpse of her.
"Hey, we were having a conversation here." Jen huffed.
"No, we were not. I don't know how many times I have to tell you. I am seeing someone." So, he may have embellished a little. She doesn't have to know that.
When had she gotten so aggressive with her advances? Had she always been that way and he just never noticed. Jen was a beautiful woman, all confidence and hard lines, from her bold makeup to her long legs. Her features were angular, and her eyebrows were over-plucked, giving her a hard look. Melody rounded the corner, officially out of his sight. He needed to get to her. He needed to ask her why she ran.
What is she running from?
He straightens abruptly, knocking Jen's hand away from his arm more forcefully this time. "I have to go." He announces.
"I'll go with you." Jen says, getting up to follow him.
"Please don't." He retorts harshly. He makes a quick stop at his sister's booth. She and Peter seem to be hitting it off, heads close together.
Poor guy. Nash thinks to himself. Marisol is going to eat him alive.
Theo sits on the other side of Marisol, lost in thought, it seems, shredding a paper napkin into pieces. Marisol leans over to whisper something in Peter’s ear, and his eyes grow wild, moving all over the place, scanning the room until he finds Nash. He jumps away from Marisol while she throws her head back, laughing like the crazy bitch she was.
"Bye, loser. Are you going home already?" She asks, clasping Peter's beer and downing it in one swig.
"Yeah. Early practice tomorrow."
"Go Nashville Narwhals!" She says with a fake cheer. She could joke all she wanted, but the youth summer swimming leagues were intense. Much more competitive now than they used to be when he was young. Some of these kids have a shot at Nationals next year.
"Anyway, I'm out. See you later, Peter. Behave, Marisol." Peter can barely look at him as he nods. Poor sap. Nash gets Theo’s attention, signaling with his chin that he is heading out, then pointing to Marisol. Theo nods, indicating that he would ensure she got home in one piece.
"Fuck off already, Nash." Marisol gives him the middle finger in lieu of a wave. Nash just chuckles. She has always been an odd duck, that one. When most girls her age are shy and demure, she always speaks her mind freely.
Honestly, he was just glad they had her back. There had been a few months last year where she closed up on everyone. Something happened. She never told a soul. Melody was here that summer, Theo had gone to his mom's place for the first time in years, and Marisol was alone, pretty much for the first time in her life. Nash had stayed behind at school, and he will never forgive himself for not being here for her.
She stopped all communication and social media. Mami called him a few times, pleading with him to call Marisol. She wanted him to talk to Marisol, but she wouldn't answer his calls. Her phone going straight to voicemail every time. Eventually, she came back, but she was bolder and much more sexually promiscuous with this false bravado, but progress is progress. The light is coming back to her eyes. The only person she would let in was Theo.
Leaving the building was like a physical punch in the face, hitting a brick wall of humidity. As the doors close behind him, the quiet of the night fully surrounds him. The doors muted the laughs and music. The air around him was wet, and the sidewalk smelled faintly of urine and fresh wood as a building was being renovated next door.
"Walk me home, handsome?" A voice asks in the darkness.
"Jesus, Jen, why are you skulking around in a dark alley? You could get yourself killed or something." He admonishes.
"My car is parked at your place. I knew you wouldn't want me to walk home alone." She bats her eyelashes. He rolls his eyes.
"Come on then, let's get you to your car." She was right of course, he wouldn't let anyone, not even Jen, walk home alone in the dark. It's not safe.
Marisol was with Theo and Peter. Peter is a little dorky, but Mami is relentless in her matchmaking. He would make sure Marisol made it back home okay. If not, Theo definitely would.
The walk home was quiet. Well, Jen was chattering away next to him, but he could easily tune her out. As far as conversation went, she really didn't need much from him. A grunt of assentment here, another one there, and she was happy to go on.
With this method of conversation, he could easily get lost in his own head, which is where he preferred to be anyway. Particularly when thoughts of Melody are so easy to access. She was still hesitant. He could feel it in the way she looked at him after their moment in the bathroom. In the tense set to her body when he tried to approach her. So decided to give her a little breathing room.
He wanted her to give him a chance, give them a real chance to make it work. He knew they could, but she needed space. For now he will settle on the small wins, he knows Melody doesn't see him as a little kid anymore. He made damn sure of that.
He let his face form a slow smile, thinking of her legs straddling his face as she wantonly took what she needed from him. But, then she left the damn restaurant with Duke. She looked resigned, as if, at that moment, she had made a decision, one that he probably wouldn’t like.
