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It had been a great night up until Em’s screams started tearing through the house, but I found myself instantly wishing Melody wasn’t there. All I cared about was being there for Em, and I knew when one night terror happened, there were always more where that came from. It would be a long, sleepless night. The first episode of the evening always lasted the longest, so I hoped Melody would just get freaked out and leave after twenty straight minutes of screaming. That was probably for the best.
I slid around the corner into her room, but the moment I made it through the doorway, the screaming stopped.
Melody was sitting there on the edge of Em’s bed, cradling her in her arms and rocking her back and forth. Em nuzzled into her and went right back to sleeping soundly.
Anger surged through my heart. Who did she think she was coming in here like that? She was obviously overstepping her bounds.
But that moment of overprotective rage only lasted a second. It instantly melted away when I saw how quickly Em calmed down and how natural it looked for Melody to be holding her.
She didn’t stop, even when the screaming had. Long locks of her hair fell down around her face as she watched over Em and softly hummed and swayed her sleeping body. As I watched the two of them, a whole life I had never been able to imagine before played in my mind like a movie. I could see a life with Melody, with us getting married, getting a fresh start in a home of our own, raising Em together, having more kids.
There had been a hole in my heart, and I realized suddenly that Melody may have been just the person to fill it. Maybe the universe brought her to Silver Point for that very reason. I wanted to be the man that could treat her the way she deserved. We could help each other.
When Em seemed out for good, Melody slowly laid her back down on her pillow and tucked her in, then tip-toed out of the room with me following behind her down the hall. She spun around to face me in the living room, placing a hand over her heart to try and calm her heart rate. You would never have known by seeing how she was with Em that the whole thing phased her at all. She had been so calm, natural, and nurturing.
“Night terrors,” I sighed. “Ever since the accident, she wakes up like that at least one or two nights a week. Sometimes more.” My eyes locked to hers. “That was the fastest she’s ever calmed down from one…Ever.”
“I…I didn’t really think about what I was doing. I just went to her and gave her what I thought she needed,” she replied, shaking her head. “Anyway, it’s late. I should head home.”
I nodded in understanding. I guess if I was in her shoes, I’d be eager to get out of there as fast as I could too. Seeing a widower with a kid is one thing. When the kid starts screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, that’s a whole different matter.
“Sorry, I didn’t think to warn you this might happen. It must have scared you. I know how badly it scared me the first time it happened.”
“No, it’s not that at all!” she insisted. “I just…I know this was a big step for you and that it was hard for you to do. I don’t want to push and hang around longer than you’re comfortable with me being here. It’s okay. Maybe we can make plans again soon? I really do like Em. I’d like to see you both together again if you want that.”
She turned to reach for her bag, but I walked over and grabbed her hand. She spun around to face me with questioning eyes.
“Stay,” I said, my voice deep and pleading. I looked deep into her eyes, leaving no mistake about how badly I wanted her.
She murmured my name softly as I ran my hands over her hips, pulling her against me. I ran them across every curve of her body and whispered her name in return as my lips slowly drifted to hers. The kiss deepened, and I picked her up, wrapping her legs around my waist to carry her off into the bedroom.
The moment the door was shut and locked behind us, she pulled her dress off and then did the same with my shirt. We crashed down onto the bed and set to work on the rest of our clothes. We undressed slowly, kissing every inch of skin we uncovered as we went.
It was almost too intense. The way we stared so deeply into each other’s eyes, staying completely present and in the moment with each other. Even as I slid inside of her and she let out a sharp gasp, our eyes stayed opened and locked together. I gently brushed strands of hair from her face as I pulled out and slowly thrust in again. I loved watching her body tense up and curl against mine right along with the slack-jawed expressions on her face as the pleasure washed over her.
I kissed along her cheeks, jaw, and neck, taking my time and slowly moving inside of her. I wanted to drink this in and savor every moment of it because it was the first time I had realized I might want this with her for the rest of my life. I wanted us both to remember how we made love on that night for the rest of our lives.
My fingers slipped between her thighs and massaged her folds in soft circles. I nibbled on her bottom lip as she moaned and gasped. Our breathing got heavier, and I grew bigger and harder inside of her. She stretched and clenched around me, digging her nails into my back.
We held onto each other tight as I pushed in and pulled out, still keeping my eyes locked on hers. We held each other’s gaze until she pulled my lips down to hers. My tongue rolled through her mouth, and I felt her body seize up and tremble. As the shock pulsed through her, it built up in my own body until we crashed over the edge together.
27
MELODY
I woke up before Derek the next morning and laid my cheek against his chest for a while, just watching him sleep. Sunlight was streaming in through his big bedroom windows across the wooden floors, the white walls, and sheets. The bed seemed small, like maybe he had purchased a new one after his wife passed away. I wouldn’t blame him if he did. The rest of the furniture looked like it was all a part of the same mahogany suite as the bed, so maybe he had redone the whole bedroom. That would also be understandable given the circumstances.
But there was something sad about how bare it all was. No pictures were hanging on the walls. No color, no life. Just wood and white and emptiness. The room reminded me a lot of Derek. It was clean, and even as empty as it was, it felt warm and inviting. It just seemed to be missing something.
A thought that was both terrifying and thrilling started to creep in. Could I fill the hole of what was missing in his life? If he felt the same way, and if that was an option, I felt like I wanted to step into those shoes. The more I thought about it, I wanted to do that so much it scared me.
I was reminded that it wasn’t just his life I wanted to be a part of. The bedroom door creaked open, and I saw Em’s little face peeking in through the door. She seemed confused but also happy when she saw me in the bed. I checked under the sheets to make sure I was right in thinking I had slipped back into my underwear and one of Derek’s t-shirts before we fell asleep. Thank goodness I was right.
She started to sneak in, but I held up a finger and said, “Shhhhhhh,” pointing down to her snoozing dad. She snickered and took off running through the house.
I gave him a little nudge when she was gone and kissed his neck until he stirred awake.
“Sorry to disturb you. You looked so peaceful,” I said softly as his eyes looked over to me. “But…Em just saw us in the bed together, and now she’s unsupervised in this house. I have no clue what the protocol is in this situation.”
