Chapter4
1231 Words
Melody’s POV
“This feels nice, right?” Adam asks, leaning into me. We are halfway into the movie now, with a huge popcorn between us. Our hands reach for the pack at the same time, and I retrieve mine at once, an awkward laughter slipping from my lips. “Sorry,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I didn’t…”“It’s fine, Melody,” Adam breathes, grabbing a handful. I do the same, immediately feeling bad. It isn’t a date. We both know that. But for an hour now, Adam had been trying his best to make this something more. And I have just been deflecting, my mind hung somewhere else. He doesn’t deserve it. “What can we do after the movie?” I whisper, edging closer to him, too. The cupholder bites into my skin, but I don’t mind. Or at least, I shouldn’t. Adam looks up at me. “Erm…we could grab dinner,” he says, scratching the side of his head. “But are you sure…you said you had to go back home.”“I changed my mind,” I murmur, shrugging. “I don’t want the night to end so soon.” Silence bleeds between us as Adam watches me intently. The only audible sound is the one from the huge screens, the leads whispering undying love to each other, a love that keeps them warm on cold nights.I take in Adam’s dark eyes, trying again, waiting for that familiar ache. That want. His lips move, but I beat him to it. “Do you?” He stops. “Do I what?”“Want the night to end so soon.”“Of course not,” he whispers, reaching for me gingerly. I close my eyes when I feel his finger on a strand of curl by the side of my face, and when it grazes my skin, the warmth seeps through. But there are no fireworks, no heat, no need. I know when he leans in closer, when his warm breath caresses my skin. I lift my face to meet him halfway, wanting to do anything to get Christian out of my mind. But abruptly, the shrill of my phone reverberates around the space, halting whatever would have been. I reached for it in a second, hitting the mute button before the whole of the cinema came for me.
I look around, silent apology on my lips. Their eyes stray in our direction for only a moment before returning to the screen. I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding.“Won’t you get it?” Adam asks, nudging towards the screen.“Right.” My eyes take in the caller ID, and a frown settles on my face. “I’ll be right back,” I whisper, already pulling away from the row of seats, whispering apologies as I reach the end. The darkness of the room falls behind me as I step into reception, the phone already pressed against my ear. “Mallory?” I mutter, hearing someone come up behind me. “What’s up? Did you need something?”“I know I am interrupting your time with Adam,” her voice comes up in a whisper. I can hear a slight echo in the background.
I want to ask her where she is, but a part of me doesn’t want to know. “Yeah…”“But this is important too,” she continues. “I forgot to tell you after the party because my mind was …” Mallory takes in a deep breath, the sound reaching me. “I kind of told Christian that you will be helping him out with the hotel tonight.”“What?” My voice comes out in a squeak, and the person behind me pushes closer. Adam. His hand snakes around my waist, and he angles his head in my direction, his eyes narrowing in concern. “I know! I know!” My sister sighs. “I should have run it by you first, but there was so much going on, and I didn’t think you were going to go out on a date with Adam.”“It isn’t a date!” It comes out harsher than I intend, and Adam pulls away from me slowly. “I…we were having such a nice time…”“Can’t you do this for me? Please.”“Mallory…”“It is the grand opening of his hotel, and he needs the live painting done. If not, this will all be for naught.”I want to be there, and that is the problem. I can feel the thrill pulsing underneath my bones, my stomach doing a weird dance, and my heart picking up. I should say no, regardless of how much can go wrong.
He is rich and popular. It shouldn’t take him more than a few minutes to get someone else to do the job. But as that thought lands, I know it is far from what I want. My eyes stray towards Adam, his hands now off me. He leans on the counter where tickets are sold, watching. Waiting. “Okay,” I sigh.“Yayyy!” I can hear the glee in her tone. “Because Christian is already pulling out at the entrance of the cinema. I shared your location with him.”“Mallory!”“I’m sorry,” she chuckles. “He seemed really desperate, and I just…I love him and I can’t help but want to give him everything when he needs it.” It feels like a slap back to reality. She loves him. They are engaged. Yet, my heart thuds hard against my chest when I see a car pulling up through the glass doors. “Are you coming tonight?”“Erm…I’ll try to make it, okay? But if I don’t, I know you are going to do such a great job with the painting. I trust you.” She isn’t going to be there for his grand opening. I try not to make any conclusions about the kind of relationship they have, but my sister makes it really hard. “I have to go, Adam,” I murmur, as the line clicks dead.
He nods without giving anything away. “I’ll grab our coats.” Adam doesn’t say a word as he walks me to the car idling out front. A silver Range Rover that gleams into the night. The windows at the driver’s side roll down when we approach, and his piercing green eyes stare back at me. Everything halts at that moment. Even my feet faltered. “Are you good?”I looked up at Adam. “Thank you for tonight. I really enjoyed it.” He nods. “I wish we could grab that dinner… But I totally understand.”“We could do it tomorrow,” I whisper, leaning into him, aware of Christian behind us, watching. “I know a spot I have been dying to eat at.” Adam’s gaze strays to my lips. “It’s a date then.”I don’t bother fighting it. Instead, I stand on my toes and press my lips against his. “Goodnight, Adam.” As Christian pulls away with me in his passenger’s seat, I see his knuckles whiten as they grip the steering.
- Writer
