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TJ waited for her reply. He swallowed, his heart thundering in his ears. Was he coming on too strong? Finally, the text bubble appeared.
Melody: Me too. Do you work tomorrow? I’m off Saturday mornings until I head to Artisan’s Hope at 2:00.
TJ’s breath leaked from his lips. She wanted to talk more. She liked him.
Jeremy: Talk to you in the morning, then. Good night, Melody.
She responded with a waving emoji, and then the green dot beside her name went away. TJ leaned back, his body sagging. This was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. He was learning about a side of Melody he’d never seen. One he very much wanted to know.
This was his chance to know her better without risking a repeat rejection. Wrong as it was, he was going to take this chance and run with it.
* * * * *
“So…” Lucy dropped her voice and leaned over to exclude the other girls from their conversation. “How are things with that guy? What was his name?”
Melody cast a furtive glance around. She wasn’t ready for anyone else to know she was talking to some total stranger online, telling him things she wouldn’t admit to anyone else. What about his anonymity made her feel free to divulge?
Perhaps the fact that if he judged her—correctly or not—it wouldn’t matter.
Perhaps it was the vibe he gave off as a deep thinker, a good listener, a determined encourager.
So much like TJ.
Her stomach twisted. “Jeremy. It’s going. We’ve exchanged messages a few times.” She didn’t share that her fingers were burning with the need to check her phone. She had heard a notification while their waiter was taking their order. She knew it was him. “But don’t tell anyone else, okay?”
“Promise.” Lucy eyed the group of females. A few worked at Artisan’s Hope, one was Melody’s neighbor, and the other a fellow instructor at the community college. None of them were Lucy’s friends. Did Lucyhavefriends? “Wait, not even TJ? You’re not telling him?”
“Can we not talk about this now?” Melody hissed. Jasmine was watching with interest and seemed to be craning her neck in their direction. It was a relief when the waiter appeared with a pitcher of orange juice. Melody’s tradition of Saturday brunch with friends began in college. The friends changed over the years, but the tradition remained.
“Whole grain blueberry pancakes,” the server announced, glancing around the group.
Melody patted the table in front of her and sniffed as he set down a heavy plate towering with four pancakes. She planned to eat them all.
The girls talked, laughed, traded gossip, and discussed the latest in Hollywood. All nonsense but Melody pretended to care. When at last they had finished and split the bill eight ways, they departed. Lucy snagged her by the elbow before she could escape.
“Let’s walk.” They were on the square, and though it wasn’t warm, it was sunny. Sun made her think of Jeremy and his wish for her. He must be wondering what had become of her after her suggestion that they chat more today.
“Why don’t you want TJ to know?”
Melody had never hidden a boyfriend from TJ. When she dated, she made it clear to both TJ and the current man in her life that they mattered. Every week she would carve out TJ-time, no boyfriend included. He was aware of her boyfriend, her boyfriend was aware of him. But they didn’t mix. Most of her boyfriends got too jealous no matter how much she told them TJ’s friendship had only ever been platonic.
She never told them he had kissed her.
“The less he knows, the better. He’d freak out that I’m talking to a stranger.”
Lucy didn’t comment as they passed a storefront displaying hats and scarves. Melody paused to admire a bright red scarf with a long fringe on the end. The smell of espresso leaked into the mid-morning air from the coffee shop behind them.
“Are you worried he’ll be jealous?”
“Jealous? TJ?” Why should he be? His high school crush on her was long over, wasn’t it? The thought stung more than it should.
“Of your time,” Lucy said in a rush. “When you date, you spend less time with him.”
“He’s gotten over it before. He’ll get over it again. If he needs to. I’m not going to tell him unless it gets serious. For all I know, I’m talking to an ax murderer.” One to whom she’d revealed her place of employment. If this Jeremy was bent on evil, she was a goner already.
“You’re crazy,” Lucy huffed. “Ax murderer. Hey, how are things with your mom? You hear from her again?”
The sudden topic change threw Melody off balance, and she wavered on her three-inch heeled boots. They would put her above TJ’s five-foot-nine frame by a couple inches. No biggie. He never seemed to mind. “I—uh. Nope. Nothing more.” She wasn’t planning on anyone knowing her mom was coming. With any luck, her mom would be gone before anyone knew, and Melody would deal with the emotional aftermath in private.
