Chapter 14
1265 Words
14
A moment of sheer awkwardness passed where the three women stared at each other. With pursed lips, Sam waited for Melissa’s inevitable outburst, but it never came.
“Who is this?” Melissa gestured to the beautiful woman sat at the marble kitchen island, her voice calm and collected.
“This is, umm—”
Lilith rose from barstool with the elegance of a jungle cat and held out her hand. “Lilith. You must be Melissa.”
“I am.”
“I’ve heard lots about you.”
“Really?” Melissa shot her a polite smile. “Sam hasn’t mentioned you before. What did you say your name was again?”
“Lilith.”
Stunned, Sam watched the two women exchange pleasantries. There wasn’t the faintest flicker of jealousy detectable on Melissa’s face, which was unusual. A week ago, she’d have started World War III if she found another woman sitting in their kitchen this early. Today, nothing.
Unsure how to handle the situation, Sam gestured to Lilith. “Lilith is… ummm… I’m consulting on her case.”
“Oh, really?” Melissa asked, her disinterest thinly veiled. “Isn’t she a little young to be a detective?”
“I’m sitting right here,” Lilith remarked, her sharp voice slicing through the strange tension.
An apologetic look stretched across the other woman’s face as she nodded. “My bad.”
Without saying anything else, Melissa rummaged through the drawers and cupboards until she found her favourite enamel dish and baking gloves. “That’ll do for now.”
“Okay.” Eager to separate the two, Sam ushered Melissa out of the kitchen. “Off you go then.”
“Yes, yes, I must dash. Yoga waits for nobody.”
Relieved, Sam handed her one of her bags. “I still don’t get why you like that so much, but have fun.”
“I will. Good luck at work with your associate,” Melissa replied politely.
“Thank you.” With a smile, Sam pulled the door open. “It’s nice to be civil. I feared you’d be jealous or something.”
As soon the words rolled off her tongue and she saw Melissa’s face, she knew she shouldn’t have said anything. If she’d kept her mouth shut, her ex would’ve left and everything would’ve been fine.
Melissa turned to her, a frown weaved between her eyebrows. “Jealous? Why would I be jealous? I mean, look at her.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam countered.
“Nothing. It means nothing.”
“You don’t think someone like Lilith would go for me?”
“I didn’t say that. She’s just… Not everyone knows how to appreciate you.”
Sam’s eyes widened. That was a punch to the gut. “Wow... Wow.”
“Don’t look at me like that. She’s just very young and you are, well…” Melissa gestured to Samantha. “You.”
Another hurtful remark that hit home. It was even made worse that she said them all in such a calm and collected tone as if they were facts, not just her opinion.
“You know, you’re only two years younger than me,” Sam countered bitterly. It was a weak and pathetic response, but she couldn’t think of anything better.
Melissa let out a long sigh. “I don’t understand the conversation we’re having. Do you want me to be jealous?”
“No. But your comment is very insulting.”
“Quite,” Lilith suddenly quipped in, appearing in the arch of the kitchen. With swaying hips and clacking heels, she approached the two women quibbling at the front door. “Sam told me you were bright, but you can’t be that bright.”
Melissa’s polite smile fell off her face. “Pardon?”
Lilith curled her arm around Sam’s waist, her hand soft and warm on her hip. The Nox rested her chin on Sam’s shoulder, their embrace far more intimate than anything before. “Why would I be here this early in the morning?”
Under normal circumstances, Sam wouldn’t have let Lilith lie about their relationship, but after just being insulted by her ex, she didn’t see the harm in it. Maybe Melissa was right, maybe she was old and unattractive, maybe she would never find someone to love her again, but she wasn’t ready to admit that to herself and she certainly wasn’t going to let someone tell her either.
“Sam said you two work together,” Melissa said, but both women could hear the doubt colouring her voice.
“And you said I look too young for that. You do the math.”
Wordlessly, Sam stared at the two women, caught in the middle of their verbal ping pong. She didn’t know many people that could hold their own against Melissa, but it quickly became clear that Lilith was a worthy contender.
Her ex turned to her, her piercing eyes boring deep into her. “Samantha, is this true?”
“Hmmm? Don’t look at me, this has nothing to do with me,” she tried, but Melissa wouldn’t have any of it.
“Yes, it does. She’s claiming you two spent the night together.”
“Didn’t you say you had yoga?”
“Don’t try to weasel yourself out of this conversation. Are you sleeping with this woman?”
“You know what?” Sam grabbed another bag and dropped them across the threshold. “This is actually none of your business.”
“I’m your wife!”
“Ah. Ex-wife,” she corrected. The wheely suitcase crackled as she rolled it outside and set it next to the rest of Melissa’s luggage. She ignored all her spluttering and just before she closed the door in her face, she got in one last shot. “Oh, and I won’t be here Friday. You can do all the moving on your own.”
The front door fell shut and the slam released the tension Sam even didn’t know she was holding. She’d never been this short to Melissa, ever. She usually let her have the last word too, but not this time.
“Nice,” Lilith said, but she was admiring herself in the mirror so Sam couldn’t be too sure whether the compliment was meant for her or just a comment on her own reflection.
Still buzzing on adrenaline, she let out a sigh. “Sorry you had to see that.”
“No, don’t apologise. I thought it was fun.”
“Fun?”
“I worship chaos.”
“Of course, you do.” Bemused, Samantha shook her head. “Thank you for… For that. It wasn’t necessary, but thank you.”
“Just a little white lie.”
“Well, it was more than a white lie. It’s a complete lie.”
Lilith shrugged, her long hair dancing on her back. “Not entirely. We did kiss.”
“Yes, but you tricked me into that,” Sam reminded her. Now that she thought back to it, she realised the other woman hadn’t apologised for that.
“Yes, but nobody tricked me.” Little playful stars in Lilith’s eyes accompanied her grin. “I did it because I wanted to.”
Despite herself, a smile tugged on Sam’s lips. She shouldn’t condone the Nox’ behaviour, but she could tell it hadn’t been out of bad will. In fact, it was exactly the little pick-me-up she needed right now.
She shot Lilith a grateful look. “Thank you.”
“For what this time?”
“Doesn’t matter.” She grabbed her keys from the bowl, made a mental note that she needed to get the locks changed after Friday, and made sure Melissa was gone before she pulled the front door open again. “Let’s go. Chop-chop.”
“Hey, I’m the one that says ‘chop-chop’.”
Her smile widened. “And now I said it.”
“Wow. You’re very confident all of a sudden,” Lilith remarked. “How did you end up retired again?”
“Stuck my nose in things I shouldn’t have.”
“I should’ve guessed. Lucky for me, that’s exactly the quality I’m after.”
Sam chuckled. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she stood up against Melissa or because she got an ego boost from Lilith, but she was buzzing. She hadn’t felt this way in a long time, not since she passed the thirty mark. “I feel confident.”
“Great. Keep hold of that. You’ll need it when you meet Catalina.” Without waiting for Sam, Lilith stepped outside and swayed away.
And just like that, the worries were back. Sam hurried after the other woman, wishing she wasn’t always so cryptic. “Who’s Catalina?”
Lilith shot a bemused smile over her shoulder. “A vampire Master.”
- Writer
