CHAPTER 15
Lowe
Morri is coming down the staircase so I quickly get on my back and slide under the kitchen sink, pretending to fiddle around with it. Truth be told, I don’t have anything to do here today because Mely wants me to work on the hardwood next, and I’ve got to take a ride to Raleigh to rent a commercial-grade sander. I would normally sand flooring by hand, but there’s just too much square footage here to do on my own.
But Morri doesn’t know that.
Mely does. She knows I’m just hanging out here to enjoy and bask in the fruits of my early morning labors. Mely is completely complicit in this prank, as she’s the one who gave me tacit permission to sneak in at about six o’clock this morning. It made for a long day having to get up that early and make my “adjustments” to the bathroom shower, but it will be so worth it.
She tried to wait around for Morri to wake up, but the call of Larkins’ sticky buns called out to her. She said she’d run over, get us some, and be right back, but that was fifteen minutes ago. I suspect those girls are gabbing.
“What’s broken now?” Morri says with a drawled sigh as he walks into the kitchen. Today’s morning outfit is a peach-colored velour robe that he’s got belted tightly.
“Leaking flux capacitor,” I say without looking at him.
When he merely mutters, “Figures,” I grin.
I fake my work on the sink, remaining silent as Morri pours himself a cup of coffee. We’ve not talked at all since the donut thing yesterday, and I have no idea if he’s expecting turnabout or not.
He’s going to get it though.
“I’m going to go take a shower,” Morri says.
I angle my head to look at him impassively. “Well, enjoy,” I say blandly.
“I assume the water’s working upstairs?” he asks churlishly.
“Yup,” I tell him. “It’s just a faulty flux capacitor down here. Easy fix.”
He doesn’t respond but makes some sort of aloof grunt of acknowledgment, then he’s walking out of the kitchen. I wait until I hear him hit the top step of the staircase before I scramble out from under the sink.
As I make my way into the foyer, Mely’s opening the door holding a Sweet Cakes box. I jerk my chin up the stairs. “Not long now.”
Mely grins at me, shuts the door, and leans against it as she whispers, “I feel like we should have buttered popcorn for the show.”
I vaguely hear Morri in the bedroom, puttering around… perhaps gathering his clothing or something. And while I woke up this morning wanting nothing more than to get back at him for making me eat mayonnaise, as I look at Mely right now, I start to lose interest in Morri getting his comeuppance.
That’s because Melinda Rothschild is looking beyond amazing today. She’s wearing nothing flashy or sexy or painfully out of place. In fact, she’s wearing a simple pair of jeans that are cuffed above her ankles, a pink and white checked halter top that hangs loose and low over her hips and a pair of simple white sandals. She looks every bit of a casual country girl, yet she carries herself in almost a regal way. Regardless of any of that, it’s her eyes right now that have me utterly captivated.
Still that beautiful, Artic-ice blue, but they are filled with humor and excitement of what’s to come. She looks young and carefree as she leans against the door holding her box of Sweet Cakes and waiting for me to get my glory.
And I can’t freaking help myself.
I take two steps, come toe to toe with her, and my hands go to her face. She lets out a slight gasp as I pull her away from the door and the sound of the Sweet Cakes box hitting the floor doesn’t even bother me.
Her either, as she’s ready when my mouth hits hers in a sweepingly, electrifying kiss that causes my pulse to shoot through the roof. Mely’s hands fist into the front of my t-shirt, and she steps in closer as her head angles opposite of mine. With a low groan, I open my mouth and hold her face still so I can kiss the ever-loving hell out of it.
“Aaagh,” Morri shrieks from upstairs, and the sound is so horrifying it’s like an electrical zap knocks me and Mely apart.
We stare at each other, and another scream pierces the air, followed by a “Mel-e-e-e-e. Lo-o-o-o-w-e. Someone. Help me. Please for the love of waterproof mascara, please someone help me.”
“Oh my God.” Mely lets out a little surprised gasp, her eyes going round. When Morri shrieks again, she snickers and starts running toward the staircase.
I follow behind her, and yes, I look at her very nice backside as I chase her up the stairs. She turns right at the top landing, heading toward the master bath, and I follow along. By the time we get there, Morri is now piteously crying out that he’s dying and a tiny twinge of guilt hits me.
But then I recall the mayonnaise yesterday. A rush of queasiness hits me, then I’m over the guilt.
Mely runs into the bathroom and comes to a complete stop as she looks in. I come up right behind her, and while I wish I was back downstairs kissing her because a naked Morri in the shower is not my thing, the sight that greets me is so damn funny I wouldn’t trade this moment for anything.
Luckily, Morri’s got the shower curtain pulled across his body as he stands there with a look of horror and tears pouring down his face.
“Mel-e-e-e-e,” Morri cries out. “Make it stop.”
Mely lets out a snicker and rushes to the shower where she turns the faucet off.
The rush of water—which is dark blood red by the way—stops, but the damage is done.
Morri’s coated in what looks like blood, the white tiled walls look like a slaughterhouse, and the tub has a few inches of runoff in deep, dark red. It looks like someone murdered poor Morri, who is now staring daggers at me across the bathroom.
“Gotcha,” I say with relish in between bouts of laughter.
“I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You,” he says each word out slowly and with malice. “That was not funny.”
“So funny,” I disagree as I laugh even harder.
“I thought the house had been possessed or something,” Morri mutters as he takes a towel that Mely hands him. “I thought it was real blood, you vile, awful man.”
“Nah, just a little food coloring in gelatin capsules,” I say nonchalantly.
Silently, I add on, And Kool-Aid, which will leave you nice and sticky too.
Morri mutters as he wipes his face, but he must feel the sticky effects because he sniffs the air and then asks me, “What else was in there?”
“Kool-Aid,” I say simply.
Mely giggles and Morri turns a seething look her way. “You’re now involved, Miss Thing. My retribution will be vast and magnificent.”
“This was all me,” I say in Mely’s defense. I mean, she did let me in the door, she did know what I was going to do, and she didn’t once try to talk me out of it, but still… I’m going to protect her from his wrath.
“Whatever,” Morri says as he wraps the towel around his waist and lets the curtain go. Mely and I back up as he steps out of the tub, leaving bright red footprints on the bath mat. Lifting his chin in the air, trying to muster some dignity despite the fact he looks like someone dumped a bucket of pig’s blood over him, he says, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get rinsed off in the spare bathroom.”
“Oh, don’t be so mad,” Mely says to try to appease her friend, but he’s having none of it. He stomps out of the bathroom—slips slightly as he rounds the corner—and then disappears.
Mely laughs and says, “That was epic.”
I agree but I’d rather kiss her again, so I do. That was way more epic than me getting even with Morri.
Slipping my fingers into her hair at the back of her head, I close my fist and hold her tight as I bring my lips down to hers. My eyes are open just before our mouths touch, and I see the welcoming curve of a smile from her. My lips are curved as well, and so we’re both smiling as we kiss.
I sure as hell hadn’t planned on this happening this morning, but it’s perfect in its spontaneity. Mely’s just perfect, so the kiss is perfect, once again.
It’s also deep and hot. We start to get swept away with it. Her hands go around my neck and my free arm wraps around her waist to pull her in close to me. When her body touches mine, I groan slightly and my head swims.
“Mel-e-e-e-e-e,” Morri shrieks, louder than before, causing us to once again spring apart from the shocking sound.
“You didn’t?” she asks with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Put the capsules in the other shower?” I ask innocently. “’Fraid I did.”
“You are so bad,” she murmurs, but her hands grip into my hair and she pulls me back down to her mouth to kiss me.
While Morri screams bloody murder for the second round of red dye and Kool-Aid that’s being rained down on top of him, I kiss a woman who I am pretty sure was brought into my life for a reason other than taking something away from me.
I think I’m actually getting a lot more than I lost.