Page 84 of My Real Love Affair

The purple-haired woman shrugged.

“Cleo,” Melody sighed.

“He’s an asshole. He’s lucky that’s all I did.”

“Cleo, knock it off,” Melody said, but there was the ghost of a smile on her face.

“Fine, fine.” Cleo pocketed her phone. “But I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I said.

“You already did.” Cleo’s expression turned serious. “So forgive me if I don’t trust you to be within ten feet of her.”

Melody put a hand on Cleo’s arm. “It’s okay.”

“You’re not getting rid of me.”

Melody looked at me with resignation. “We’ll just take a walk. Down the street. Very public.”

“Melody,” Cleo warned.

“I’ll be fine. I promise.” She looked at me. “Five minutes. That’s all.”

“I’ll take it.”

Cleo looked between us, clearly torn between her protective instincts and respecting Melody’s decision. Finally, she pointed at me, her expression fierce. “If she comes back upset, I’m posting every bad photo I have of you. And trust me, I have more. So many more. I’m kind of a computer geek. I will expose every dirty little secret you have. And I’ll spread a rumor you have a small penis. You do give off small dick energy.”

“Noted,” I said in a dry tone. “But if you dig deep enough, I’m guessing you’ll find pictures that disprove your theory.”

“Let’s go,” Melody said. “Cleo, please behave yourself.”

Melody put on a pair of ballet flats and stepped outside.

Cleo watched us from the doorway like a guard dog.

The afternoon was warm, the street quiet. We walked side by side, not touching. The space between us felt like a canyon.

“So,” Melody said after a block of silence. “You came here to apologize.”

“Yeah.”

“And to explain.”

“If you’ll let me.”

She was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. Explain. Not that I think it’s going to matter. Like they say, a picture says a thousand words.”

I took a breath. “Last night—after you left—I was angry. At myself, mostly. For pushing you. For breaking your rules. For wanting something you made clear you weren’t ready to give.”

“So you went out.”

“So I went out. Called Rodney, went to a club, had way too many drinks.” The words felt like pulling teeth. “I’m not used to being turned down, Melody. That sounds arrogant—itisarrogant—but it’s true. Women usually—they usually want what I’m offering. It’s been who and what I am for most of my life. I know what people want and I give it freely depending on the situation.”

“Which is?”

“The Bancroft name. The money. The lifestyle. All the surface shit.” I shoved my hands in my pockets. “But you didn’t want any of that. You saw through it. Fuck, Melody, you saw through me. And when you left—when you walked away—I needed a fix. I needed to feel like I was still in control. Still the guy who could have anyone. Do anything. I felt stripped. Naked. Like my skin had been peeled away.”

“So you danced with a woman. You let her paw you.”