The cab rolls to a slow stop outside of Melanie’s building.
“Hey, Mel,” I say, giving her arm a quick tap. “We’re here.”
Melanie shifts toward me and rests her head on my shoulder. I smile, feeling that warm rush of adrenaline tingle my toes.
“Melanie?” I say again.
She groans and snuggles a little closer.
I sigh and push open the door.
“Tick-tock, honey,” the cab driver says, her smile wide and knowing.
“Thanks again,” I tell her as I step outside.
I bend over and wrap my arm around Melanie’s waist to help her out of the cab. She opens her eyes and glances around with confusion, tilting her head away from me.
“What are you doing?” she asks.
“Taking you upstairs,” I answer.
“Are we home?”
“Yes, we’re home.”
I expect her to argue against that. She and I haven’t shared a home together in quite some time, but she doesn’t correct me. Melanie clings to my jacket and leans on me to hold herself up as we make our way down the sidewalk to her door. I search her pockets with my free hand, listening for the jingle of keys.
I find the keys deep in the inner left pocket of her jacket. “Okay…” I unlock the entrance while I keep a safety grip on her waist just in case she plummets. “In we go...”
I take her across the lobby. She gets the hang of it halfway to the elevator but still keeps a soft hold on me until we reach her apartment on the third floor. I search her keyring for her door key and swiftly unlock that one.
“Home sweet home,” I tell her, standing in the empty hallway.
“Sweet homes,” she says, her eyes barely open.
Well, I can’t just leave her out in the hallway.
I lean over to pick her up, gently tossing her over my shoulder. She lets out another groan, protesting the sudden shift of her stomach; a shift I know very, very well.
I take it slow as I carry her inside, gently nudging the door closed behind us. Her apartment is dark and quiet, but I remember my way around. I move past the living room furniture, taking the first left into the hall from the kitchen toward the bedroom.
Melanie lets out another noise, one of cranky tiredness.
“Almost there,” I say.
We reach the bed and I slowly lower her down onto it. I catch my breath before flicking on the lamp sitting on the bedside table.
Melanie slinks away from the sudden bright light. “Blegh,” she says as she glances around, looking far more lucid than she was outside. She looks up at me and grunts. “What are you doing here?”
“Would you rather I left you outside?” I ask.
She scoffs but doesn’t answer as she tries to peel off her jacket. I bend over to help her with her boots. She tries to kick at me once but stops as soon as she gets her arms tangled up in her shirt. I drop her boots to the floor and chuckle quietly to myself before helping her out.
“Keep the shirt on, Mel,” I say, forcing it back down.
I laugh, but it wasn’t so funny for her when the roles were reversed. She didn’t have to do it just this once, either.
And I wasn’t the cutesy drunk she is now.
Melanie finally gives up and collapses onto her pillow.
“I’ll be right back,” I say. “Just going to grab you some water, okay?”
“Mi-ghah,” she says, her eyes closing again.
I nod. “All right.”
I walk out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Assuming she hasn’t rearranged in here, I should be able to find a drinking glass in the cabinet above the silverware drawer.
I open the cabinet and smile. Melanie never changes.
As I fill the glass with water from the tap, I catch sight of a colorful group of ribbons hanging from a magnet on the refrigerator door. Six different colors, all one-inch ribbon from the bouquet of roses sent to her by her “secret admirer” over six months.
She’s never told me about this guy. She doesn’t know that I know. She doesn’t know that Trix told me all about it, but Trix didn’t know that I already knew about all of it.
It’s me. I’m the secret admirer.
But I didn’t know that she kept the ribbons on display like this.
I head back to the bedroom. Melanie’s kept her shirt on, but I can’t say the same for her jeans. They hang off the bed, still partially attached to her right ankle, leaving her legs and panties exposed to the world while she snoozes against her pillow.
Cute.
I keep a respectful eye to it, but I can’t help but feel an ache of weakness. It has been months since I’ve been alone with her in a room and even longer since I’ve seen so much of her.
I walk over, being careful not to make too much noise. I set the water glass down on the bedside table near the far corner just in case she reaches out and knocks it over in her sleep. I pull her jeans off her ankle and tuck her legs under her blankets.
“Robbie?”
I flinch. “Yeah.” I pull the comforter up to her waist. “It’s just me.”
Melanie sits up on the bed, her eyes dark and heavy. “What time is it?” she asks.
“It’s time for you to go to sleep,” I answer. “Lay down. Get some rest.”
She reaches for my hand. “Where are you going?”
I pause as her warm fingers clutch my own. “I need to get home, too. It’s late.”
Her other hand crawls up my arm and she tugs me closer.
“Mel...”
My balance shifts forward and our faces hover dangerously close to each other.
“Stay with me,” she whispers.
I flex my jaw. “That... is not a good
