Mel’s footsteps echoed behind me as she followed me out of the warehouse and into the car park where I’d left my car. I didn’t have to look back to know she was watching my every movement. I could feel her eyes glaring at the back of my head. She was suspicious of me. She had every damn right to be. I’d fucking believed her when she’d said she needed my help. I’d put on that damn dress because I couldn’t stand to sit back and watch those big brown eyes gaze up into mine while she pleaded with me to do as she’d asked. I’d fucking done it, like the absolute pussy I was. She knew it was only a matter of time before I got her back for it.

Right now, I was starving.

I climbed in the driver’s side and turned on the ignition, the headlights quickly illuminating a path towards the exit. Melanie climbed in the passenger seat and tossed her purse into the foot well before fastening her seatbelt. I pulled away in silence and followed the route out of the industrial estate that lead into town. I hadn’t even told her where we were headed and she made no attempt to ask me. I could feel her eyes on me the whole time. She was constantly on guard, waiting for me to do something. Not that there was much I could do while driving a damn car.

When I pulled up outside the restaurant and got out, Mel seemed unsure. I watched her shake her head before she eventually climbed out and followed me into the building. It felt like years had passed since I’d last stepped inside the place. The décor was still the same rustic red as it always had been, if not a little more worn out. Everything appeared to look just the same, even down to the table layout and blue napkins that were folded into triangles on the small plates.

Mel followed me towards the row of booths that lined the outer side of the room. “This one okay?” I asked. Mel nodded, slid into the booth, and laid her purse and phone on the table. I did the same with my keys, wallet and phone before I slid in opposite her. Her eyes met mine briefly as she tucked her brown, silky hair behind her ear. She hadn’t always been a brunette. I’d only ever known Mel with blonde hair. Her hair was one of things I loved about her. Long blonde locks—and not from a packet—and big doe eyes that I could easily get lost in. She had dyed her hair brown not long after I’d come back. Don’t get me wrong, she still looked hot as fuck, but I preferred her the way she’d always been. She didn’t need to change anything about herself. Except the way she treated her friends. Yeah, she definitely needed to work on her friendship skills. I mean, really? What the fuck kind of Hell was she trying to put me through, convincing me to wear that fucking dress? Did she really hate me that much?

She’d hardly said a word since we’d left the warehouse. She was convinced I was out to get her and her senses were on high alert. Would I really set out to get her back? Fuck, yeah, I would. But even though it was a dick move on her part, it wasn’t so bad knowing that I’d at least made her smile when she wasn’t so sure she could. I guess I should let her have that one. Not only did it make her laugh when she was so down from visiting her brother and bumping into Aubrie, it brought me comfort knowing I’d been the one to do that—make her laugh when her life was turning to shit.

A few moments later, a hand clapped my shoulder. I peered up and grinned before pushing up from the table. “Rocco, my man. How are ya?” I pulled the little Italian in for a bear hug.

Rocco patted my back and pulled back, his smile wide and genuine. “Good, Star. Good.”

I smiled at the nickname he’d given me the first day I came to the restaurant. That was ten years ago now and he’d called me it ever since. “It’s been too long, Star. You no like my pizza no more? Not fancy enough for Star?”

I grinned and clasped his shoulder. “Don’t talk shit. You know no one does pizza like you.”

“Good. Good.” Rocco turned his attention to Mel, pulling her hand in his. “Ah, and who is this beautiful lady you have with you?”

Mel’s eyes shot to mine as if she didn’t know what to do. I smiled and nodded in reassurance. Rocco was one of the good ones. He was a ladies’ man through and through, but he was happily in love with his wife, Gina, who was ten years his junior.

“Rocco, this is Melanie. Mel, this is Rocco.”

“Beautiful name for a beautiful lady,” he gushed.

Mel’s face turned a bright shade of pink as she tried not to appear affected by the compliment. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.” Her brown eyes met mine and I offered a grin. Rocco was right. She was beautiful.

I slid back into the padded leather booth. Rocco was still staring down at Melanie as though she were some exotic creature that he would miss when gone. He’d done well not to stare down at her cleavage through the thin, black vest top she wore. I, however, found it torturous not to look. What was worse was that I already knew what her breasts looked and felt like underneath that damn top. It was like taking a kid to a sweet shop and telling him he couldn’t have anything. Pure. Fucking. Torture.

I shook my head, cleared my throat and said, “I’ll get a Corona, please, Roc. Mel?” I asked, raising both brows.

Mel pulled her hand away from Rocco and placed it on her lap while she scanned the bar menu. “Glass of Zinfandel if you have it.” She smiled. Damn, why did she have to look so goddamn beautiful tonight?

“Ah, you like it sweet. Just like our Star.”

Mel smiled flatly. She was fidgeting with her hands under the table. It was clear Rocco made her uncomfortable. I slipped my hand under the table and squeezed her knee reassuringly. Her eyes shot to mine and she smiled shyly. Rocco pulled a pen and pad from his white apron and jotted our drinks order down.

“Can we get two of the usual as well, please?”

“Extra dough balls?” he asked, not looking up from his notebook.

“You know it.” I grinned.

“Perfect,” he said, slipping the pad and pen in his apron pocket. “Your drinks will be with you shortly. Enjoy your evening, Star. Melanie.”

We both said our thanks, and once he was out of earshot, I blew out a breath. “Sorry about him. I’ve known Rocco most of my life. He’s harmless, really, if not a little forward.”

Mel shook her head and grinned. “You can say that again. I didn’t know where to look.” She laughed, a hint of nervousness beneath the noise.

“Don’t worry,” I said, nudging my head to the side. “Looks like you’ve been replaced.” I grinned, watching the new interaction that was happening to the left of me.

“Poor girl.” Mel deadpanned. She wasn’t sorry at all.

Our food and drinks arrived quickly after that. While Mel tucked into the pepperoni pizza and warm dough balls, I continued to fire questions at her which she happily answered between mouthfuls of food. She spoke about work, how Leanne was driving her insane and how she wished she could just quit. Honestly, I didn’t know how she did it. I couldn’t imagine working alongside someone who hated my guts. I hadn’t realised just how bad Leanne really was until Mel mentioned what had happened. I knew something was off with her when I was forced to take her out. I felt bad for leaving her, but I was glad I had. Mel wasn’t perfect by any means, but everyone deserved a second chance.

Mel pushed her plate away from her and groaned. “Okay, I’m done. If I force myself to eat another bite I may go into a food coma.”

“Good, though, right?”

“So damn good,” she moaned, her eyes rolling into the back of her head.

I chuckled and shook my head.

“What?” She dabbed her mouth with the blue napkin.

“Nothing.” I grinned against the bottle. I took a long swig and placed it back down.

Mel sat in silence for the longest moment. I watched as the wheels turned in her head before horror flashed through her eyes and she frowned across at me.

“What?” I frowned back, wondering what the hell had gotten into her. I looked back, thinking she’d seen someone she didn’t want to, but no one stood out to me.

“You’re gonna do a runner and leave me to foot the bill, aren’t you?”

Her eyes widened and I chucked my head back on a laugh. “Is that what you really think?” I laughed again, and only held it back when I noticed how serious she was.

“Payback’s a bitch, right?” she said in that sarcastic tone of hers.

Did she really think I would do that? So what if she’d made me play dress up like I was a damn Barbie doll?

“You really think that little of me?” I asked, my lips curling into a grin.

Mel shrugged and sipped her wine in silence.

I shook my head and sighed. “Just relax. I’m not going to do anything.”

“You’re not?”

“No, Mel, I’m not. Now, sit back, drink your damn drink, and relax, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded, still unsure whether I was being honest or not.

We sat in comfortable silence for what felt like the better part of an hour. In reality, it had only really been a few minutes before Mel lifted the glass to her lips. “For someone who's gone pro, you sure don’t speak about football much.”

I shrugged. “Football isn’t everything. I do have a life outside of it.” Okay. That wasn't entirely true. Football was my life. I just needed to learn to live without it for now.

“You could’ve fooled me,” she quipped, taking another sip of her drink.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well...” She shrugged. “You’re here with me, right? That doesn’t sound like fun at all.”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re alright.”

“Alright?” Her mouth hung open in shock.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, so you’re not actually that bad company.”

“Gee… thanks. I think.” Mel shook her head and I wondered for a moment if I had pissed her off. It wasn’t like I said she was shit company or anything. I thought I’d been rather pleasant considering I had been pinned in a dress a little over an hour ago under false pretences.

The tension started to grow thick and I found myself scanning the room for something to do. I thought I knew Mel pretty well. Now I had no idea where her head was at or what she even thought of me.

“This is a little weird, don’t you think?” she said, cutting through the silence.

My mouth hovered over the rim of the bottle as I was about to take a swig. “How so?”

“You and me. Here. Together. It’s just…”

“Weird?” I said, repeating her word.

Her lips twisted. They eventually fell into a thin line. “Well, yeah. Don’t you think?”

I shrugged, not really knowing how to answer. Was it weird? Not really. I mean, it didn’t feel weird or awkward.

“This time last year we were…you know… and now we’re here. As friends?”

“You sound surprised.” I chuckled.

“I am. I mean, this is weird. Out for dinner and that, but… Us? I’ve never...”

“You’ve never been out for dinner?”

“Of course, I’ve been out for dinner, silly.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh, you mean out for dinner with a guy that’s a friend? Now I get it.”

“No, not a friend.” Mel released a frustrated sigh. “I mean an actual… ah, forget it,” she said, waving her comment aside.

Mel’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She looked devastatingly beautiful. Only when her eyes lifted to mine did I fully understand what she was saying. “You’ve never been out for dinner with a guy before?”

She snorted and shook her head. “This is me we’re talking about. I don’t do real dates, remember?” She’s really never been on a date? How is that even possible? “Not that this is a date or anything,” she continued. “It’s not. A date, that is.” I tried to hold back a smirk and refrain from leaning forward. The urge to take her mouth in mine was beyond torture. The flustered look on her face made me want to pull her onto my lap and do bad things to her.

I shook myself out of my own thoughts and raised a brow. “Mel?” I started, forcing her eyes on mine.

“Yeah?” Her voice was a breathy whisper as she fidgeted with the napkin in her hand.

“Firstly, it isn’t against the rules to take a girl friend out for dinner. And secondly, I can’t believe you’ve never been on a real date.”

She shrugged again. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t been asked or anything. Of course I have. I’m me, aren’t I?” she said with a smirk. “It’s just…”

“You’ve never wanted to?”

“No, I guess I haven’t.” She smiled up at me as though her mind had wandered elsewhere.

I smiled back in bewilderment. “So, this is a first then?”

“I guess it is.”

I tipped the glass to my lips and nodded once. “Good to know.”

Mel took another sip of wine before she pushed up from the table almost too abruptly. I thought she was about to leave until she spoke up. “I need to pee. I won’t be a second.”

I turned my head and watched her leave. Her hips wiggled with each movement she made, and I wondered for a moment if that was for my benefit. Suddenly, she stopped dead and slowly turned back around, her lips twisting as though she was unsure about something.

I figured she had no idea where the restrooms were, so I cupped my mouth and yelled, “Take a right at the end. Ladies on the left.”

“I know where the toilets are. It’s just…”

Ah, hell. I was such an arsehole.

I closed my eyes and blew out a long breath. “Mel? I’m not going anywhere.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded silently before heading off in the right direction.

Just as I was about to down the rest of my beer, Mel’s phone chimed on the table next to her purse. I knew I shouldn’t have looked, but I couldn’t help it. The urge was too strong.

I peered down at the lit-up screen and frowned.

Tony? Who the fuck was Tony? I frowned down at the message as if it held the answers to the burning questions that raged inside of me. Was she seeing someone? Fucking someone? An unsettling feeling worked its way inside of me. I shouldn’t have read the damn message, and I definitely shouldn’t fucking care. We were friends. That was it. But I did care. I couldn’t fucking help it. I was attracted to her, sure. I’d never truly denied that. But getting to know her—really getting to know her—had been great. We had tried for something else and it hadn’t worked. That alone should have told me something.

I downed the remaining liquid and shook my head. I needed to get a fucking grip.

I reached for Mel’s phone and purse, shoved my keys and phone into the back pocket of my jeans before making my way over to the waitress behind the cash register. I held out my debit card and entered my PIN number in the card machine. All the while my eyes were lingering in the direction Mel had disappeared.

“Right. That’s all done for you, sir. Have a great night.” The waitress winked.

“Thanks.” I nodded, ignoring her flirtatious grin.

I leant against the bar, waiting for Mel to come back. When I spotted her heading over to the booth, I attempted to wave her over. She didn't see me. Instead, she stared down at the empty booth with a frown.

She actually thought I’d done a runner on her. Fucking typical.

I pushed my thumb and forefinger to my lips and whistled, causing all eyes to fall on me. I ignored them, and continued to watch the colour drain from her face while she stared down at nothing.

I called out to her and her eyes finally found mine. A look of relief washed over her. Shit. How much of an arsehole did she think I was?

“I was just settling the bill,” I told her when she finally came to my side.

“Oh, I thought you—” Mel cut herself off with a wave of her hand and reached for her purse and phone in my outstretched hand.

“Say it,” I demanded.

“Say what?”

“What you were just about to say but brushed it off like it was nothing.”

“I don’t understand,” she lied.

I raised both brows. “You thought I left without you…”

“Don’t be silly. Of course I didn’t.”

“Mel…”

“Okay, alright. Maybe I did. For a fraction of a second, maybe.”

My expression turned serious as I dipped my head to meet her eyes. “If we’re gonna be friends then eventually you’re gonna have to learn to trust me.”

I turned to leave, knowing she’d follow me out.

Mel scoffed behind me and I turned my head to meet her eyes briefly. “What was that?” I asked too loudly.

“Nothing. Just a cough,” she said innocently and hurried to catch up.