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CHAPTER THREE
Asher
I knew I had no say in whom Mel went out with, but Alex Clayton? Of all the creeps that walked this earth, why did Alex Clayton suddenly have eyes for Melody? The guy had a different woman on his arm every time I saw him come into the club. Mel was innocent and fragile. He’d only end up hurting her.
I stood watching them. Mel laughing at everything he said, which was garbage as far as I was concerned. After about five minutes of that crap, I’d had enough. I couldn’t stand there and watch his ugly display of flirtation any longer.
“Mel, I gotta go. Are you coming?”
She frowned at me and gave Alex an apologetic glance. “Sorry, I need to go.”
“Okay. I’ll call you and let you know what time.”
“Sounds good,” she said, placing her unfinished coffee down on the corner of the table we’d been standing near and making an apathetic approach toward me and the door.
I let the door close after Mel had scooted through under my arm that had been holding it open. She hurried up the walkway toward the apartment that she shared with her roommate, Erica, not waiting for me or stopping when I called out to her.
“Mel. Wait! C’mon, Melody. What’s your problem?”
She stopped and turned to face me. “You, you’re the problem, Asher.”
“What are you talking about? What did I do?”
She poked her finger into my chest. “You know perfectly well what you did.” When she finished poking me, she took off again toward home.
“No, I don’t. What did I do?”
She stopped abruptly and her guitar case strap fell off her shoulder and dangled on her upper arm. I took her other arm in my hand to keep her from taking off again. “For a guy who had the sweetest, kindest, most caring and intelligent mother in the whole entire world—may she rest in peace—you suddenly have the I.Q. of an orangutan.”
That was harsh. Especially since we’d just spread my mom’s ashes out over the bay.
“You’re mad for some reason, and I don’t know why.”
I let go of her arm, and she sighed. “Asher, do you realize that tonight was the very first time I’ve ever been asked to go to a concert—or anywhere—with a guy?”
“No, it’s not. You and I go places all the time and we’ve been to plenty of concerts.”
She shook her head. “Not the same.”
As if a bolt of lightning sizzled down the center of my body, I suddenly realized she’d never been on an actual date with anyone before. Though that realization was startling, I didn’t see what that had to do with her being upset with me. And why did the first date she’d been asked to go on have to be with Alex Clayton? He was nothing more than a suit, a wannabe attorney, working in a Market Street law firm as an associate.
There were plenty of other guys she could go out with, guys we both knew that would treat her far better than Alex fucking Clayton. They knew I’d kick the shit out of them if they didn’t.
“I’m sorry. But, what did I do that was so wrong?”
“Forget it, Ash. Let’s just go home. I’m tired, and if you want my help tomorrow going through your mom’s stuff, I need to get some sleep.” She turned and began to walk up the hill.
“Mel, why Alex Clayton?”
She stopped. “Why not Alex?”
I ran my hand through my hair. She was making this very difficult and frustrating. “You know, he’s been coming to the club for the past six or seven months now.”
“Believe me, I’ve noticed,” she said with a twinkle in her eye that I didn’t like being there while she talked about Alex.
“And have you noticed that every time he comes in it’s with a different woman?”
She looked at the ground then back up at me. “Sure. He works with most of them.”
