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She steps inside, right up to him. Her feet lead her like a magnet, unaware and oblivious of anyone else in the room.
"Hey." She says in a hushed whisper, peeking up at him. "You clean up well."
And boy, did he. Her head shifts to the side, giving him a little exaggerated perusal. She quickly swipes her tongue over her lower lip, suddenly parched. Tan shorts snug over powerful thighs, a white linen button-up shirt graces his figure, half unbuttoned, sleeves pushed up to the elbows, a bit of tattoo coming into view.
A series of emotions cross his features, all too fast for her to process. However, he leans in after a moment, speaking quietly for her ears only.
"You look good enough to eat, Melody." Her body shivers as his breath tickles her ear.
She mentally fans herself. My, my, my, two can play that game.
"Well.” She leans in closer, hands gently pushing off his chest, letting her fingertips discreetly graze his exposed flesh. “It's a good thing I came prepared for just that possibility." She throws back at him. She was proud of herself for sounding much more confident than she actually was. Watching his eyes darken, and his hand instinctively grip the bottom of her dress for a few seconds before abruptly letting go when someone cleared their throat in the kitchen.
She tosses what she hopes is a sexy smirk his way and makes her way into the kitchen, where Jen, Rosa, and Mr. Stevens try not to make their eavesdropping obvious.
Jen rushes to Nash's side, staking her claim. Rosa laughs at our exchange while shaking her head, muttering something about how her children are going to be the death of her, and comes at Melody with a hug.
"Mija, there are some appetizers on the table outside. Here is a plate. Eat something."
"Ok, thank you, Rosa." She takes the plate from her hand.
"And, here is another plate for Coach Max. Make him a plate, please, Melody. I’m sure he worked up an appetite." She asks, handing her an additional plate with an exaggerated wink.
Before the plate reaches her hand, however, Nash snatches it away. "Max,” Nash announces with some force behind his words, “Can get his own plate."
"Come on, Melody, let's get some food." He starts to pull her towards the table.
Rosa looks at him with shrewd, assessing eyes. "Mijo, not this again." She scolds.
He leans over and kisses his mom on the forehead. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ma."
They headed over to the food table with a smile. The spread was impressive, laden with fruits, crackers, and cold cuts. Little blocks of cheese were connected to each other with skewers. It was all so tastefully decorated that she didn't want to touch anything.
Max comes up to the table as she eyes the display. "Hey! There you are. Do you want some food? We can share." Max says, taking the plate from her hands.
"Wow, um, okay, sure." She looks around the room, trying to find Nash. Feeling a playful tap on her shoulder, she whirls around, finding him behind her, smiling wide with a plate full of food.
"Here you go, Melody. I got your plate ready. Go sit, make yourself comfortable." He gently guided her to the patio benches near the pool, settling her into a single chair.
She chuckles at his effort, knowing this was all orchestrated so Max couldn't find a way to sit beside her. He really is pulling all the stops in his attempt to keep Max away from her. It’s kind of cute actually. Watching Nash intercept a very confused Max before he could reach her, pushing him towards the grill with a plate full of food. He somehow manages to rope Max into helping him and his dad with the burgers. Looking over Max’s shoulder, Nash gives Melody a thumbs up and a goofy smile.
She can’t help the flutter in her chest when she sees him. She doesn’t know much about him, not the grown-up version of him anyway. If you can call a 20-year-old college student a grown-up, that is.
Melody settles in, relaxing in her chair, legs crossed, plate balanced on her thigh. Looking over at the pool, she lets the cool breeze work its magic, relaxing into the moment. She spots Marisol at the water's edge closest to her, arms folded over the ledge, giving Melody a weird smile. One that was difficult to decipher. She is mouthing something to her, so Melody leans closer to the pool, giving the universal ‘what did you say?’ signal by cupping her hand to her ear.
Marisol shakes her head and starts again with hand gestures. You. Dirty. Girl.
Oh my God, of course, Marisol noticed the awkward exchange between her, Max, and Nash. Melody's eyes go wide.
She starts to stand, moving towards Marisol, but she shakes her finger and glides underwater towards Theo, now sitting at the pool's edge. She swims up between his legs, and they talk in hushed tones. His head bowed deep as she looked up at him.
The quiet conversations and the closeness of their bodies are not unusual for them. But their lingering touches and hidden smiles make things more suspicious. Theo looks up at the doorway as someone makes their way outside, and his face transforms right before her eyes. His smile dims and it looks like a little rain cloud came out on parade day. He is not happy. He looks back at Marisol and tips his head to the door.
Peter came. Marisol pivots her body to see who it is. Then turns back to Theo and rolls her eyes. He smiles softly back at her. Then, in a blink, she is swimming up to the opposite edge of the pool, easily pulling herself up. The water running down her body. She is wearing a tiny two-piece suit, and now that Melody has really had time to study his body language. Theo is definitely into her, eyeing Marisol like a man starved. Gaze glued to her ass as he sucks in his bottom lip.
Well, shit, their story is romance novel worthy; she would totally read that book.
Melody feels a presence at her back. The feather-light touch that she has become all too familiar with. She looks up just as Nash makes his way toward the pool house. Rounding the corner, he gestures for her to follow him. There is a house full of people, but everyone is occupied. No one paying attention to her, what could it hurt right?
