Page 5 of His Favorite Melody

She shakes her head and stares down at her half-eaten plate of food. “Nothing. Just forget it. I think I’ve been on the road too long. I’m ready for a break.”

I wish I could forget it, but the longer we sit here and she nibbles on her food, the more uneasy I get. After a performance like tonight, she’s usually starving, but instead she’s barely eating. Plus, it’s some of her favorite foods. I’m not falling for this bullshit.

I put my almost empty plate on the coffee table and turn so I’m facing her. “Talk to me, Melody. What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”

Her eyes jerk to mine. “You think I’m pretty?”

It’s my turn to be shocked. “Do I think you’re pretty? You’re gorgeous. A fuckin’ goddess, Mel! You have to know that.”

Her eyes light up, but there’s doubt warring on her face. “I don’t need your pity, Hayes. You don’t have to placate me or pump up my ego. I’m being ridiculous. Overly melancholy or something. Forget it, okay?”

I move closer to her, but there’s still half a cushion between us because I don’t trust myself to get any closer. I don’t want to tell her this, but I know I need to. I had no idea that me scrubbing her social media would affect her like this. “There’s something I need to tell you, and you’re not going to like it.”

She puts her plate on the table and then turns facing me, drawing her leg up on the cushion between us. Her shorts are short anyway, but the way she’s sitting shows off even more of her thighs. I bring my eyes up and try to focus on her face, but that’s still distracting. I wasn’t lying when I said she was a goddess. I jam my hand through my hair. “Fuck, I don’t know how to say this.”

She tenses and crosses her arms over her chest. “You really are fucking Samantha?”

“What? Fuck, no. There’s nothing going on with me and Samantha. Other than work.”

The way she’s looking at me has me completely on edge. I don’t usually allow myself to really look at her unless she’s on stage and there’s thousands of people around and her focus is not on me. Being this close, it’s hard to hide how I really feel about her.

She tilts her head to the side and examines me. “You’re quitting?”

My jaw practically snaps. “Quitting? Try and fuckin’ fire me, Mel. You can’t get rid of me. Ever.”

Her eyebrows raise so high it’s obvious she’s shocked. “Okay, so what is it?”

“Promise you won’t be mad.”

She blurts out a laugh and smiles for the first time tonight. “Really? What are we, in middle school? Just tell me. Trust me, everything I’m thinking is way worse than what it probably is.”

I blow out a breath and start to explain it to her. “So… as your bodyguard, I try to protect you…”

When I stop, she nods her head. “Yeah, and you do a good job at it.”

I wince because I know after she hears what I have to say, she’s not going to feel the same. “Right, well, protecting you also includes protecting you online and on social media.”

Her brows knit together in confusion. “What does that mean exactly?”

I clear my throat and lean forward a little. “So… when you receive messages that are inappropriate, I delete them. And when people comment with inappropriate things, I delete them. When people post and tag you about things, I hack into their systems and delete the post.” Shit, I might as well get it all out there. “If they’re relentless, then I delete their whole accounts.”

I hold my breath and watch as she processes the information. She swipes her tongue along her lower lip and points at her phone on the table. “I’ve never seen any posts… or messages.”

I jut my chin. “Well, then I’m doing my job.”

“Show me.”

I grip my phone tighter. “Show you? You don’t need to see this, Mel.”

She holds her hand out. “Show me.”

Damn. I scoot closer to her and hold my phone out to show her. I turn the phone real quick and ask. “Are you sure you want to see this? Some of it is pretty bad.”

“Yes. I want to see it.”

I reluctantly open the social media app and click on the last image that was posted from tonight's show on Velvet Vibe’s page.

It’s an image of Melody with her arm raised up over head, and she’s dancing with complete abandon. I click on the button to see the comments, and I stare at the screen as rage wars inside me.