Chapter 7
The tears didn’t come right away. Not while she was still in the building anyway. It wasn’t until she was barreling down the highway towards the bar when it hit her, and it hit hard. By the time Mel reached the parking lot she was sobbing so hard she couldn’t breathe. In her head she knew it was absurd to be this distraught over a man that didn’t love her, a man who made it clear from the start that he didn’t want a relationship.
Once again her heart refused to listen and it cried for all that it perceived to be lost. Mel hadn’t cried this hard since her parents died. She didn’t cry this hard when her first foster father crept into her room that first night she was there and slipped into her bed. But despite all she did to protect her heart from being broken it was shattering inside of her to pieces. Mel knew it wasn’t the wisest thing to fall in love with a man like Tristan and she cried hard with anger at her stupid luck that he would be the one she happened to fall for of all the men in the whole world.
After five more minutes of sobbing and hiccups, Mel was finally cried out and exhausted. The last thing she wanted to do was work, but she knew she needed the money. Taking a deep breath and making sure her makeup wasn’t too destroyed, Mel stepped from her car and locked the door. It was a Friday and she knew the bar would be busy, hopefully busy enough to distract her from thinking about Tristan.
*****
Friday nights working in a bar, especially one near a college campus, were busy, but tonight was unreal. Mel was sweating from the proximity of the crowds of people in the under air conditioned bar and running around like a maniac to serve drinks didn’t help. She and the other two girls were run ragged by eleven from orders being filled at the bar and from the tables. The high heeled sandals Mel wore were pinching the hell out of her feet as well.
“When do you think this will let up?” Blake yelled at Mel from two feet away.
“I have no idea, it’s never like this.” Mel poured a drink, Cocktail style, and slid it across the bar at a guy with dreads.
“I’m not sure how much more of this I can stand,” Blake complained, twisting her red curls into a bun on top of her head and letting it go to fall around her shoulders.
Mel nodded; she had been thinking the same thing. Hopefully it leveled off by midnight and by two when last call rolled around they would be clearing out. They had been so busy that Mel barely had a chance to talk to Blake about what went on with Tristan. She gave her the basics really quickly as they restocked the bar around ten but didn’t have much time for detail. Mel needed a shoulder to cry on, and she knew Blake would be there for her. Blake was the only person she had and she was never more grateful for her ‘sister’. But Blake was busy tonight and so was she so their conversation would have to wait.
Two hours later several of the groups of frat boys, or whatever they were, filed out, leaving messy tables and paltry tips behind. If the place wasn’t so crowded to make up for it, Mel would have been pissed. She took a bussing bin and headed back to a table to begin cleaning up the mess. There were too many empty beer bottles and pitchers to count so Mel just began loading the bin and wiping the table as she went. Twenty minutes later she had cleared the three disastrous tables and headed back towards the bar. She froze. Tristan was sitting on a bar stool looking right at her. Mel’s heart began to pound a mile a minute. His icy eyes were focused on hers and seemed to be peering right into her soul. She wanted to run. Why was he here? After earlier, Mel didn’t think she’d see him again except maybe in a business capacity related to her album. When he stood and started towards her Mel actually began to look around for a place to hide. He stopped inches from her, so close she could feel the warmth from his body and smell his intoxicating scent.
“What do you want, Tristan? You made it perfectly clear you were done with me earlier today.” Mel propped a hand on her hip, the heavy bin full of dirty dishes making her other arm feel like it was on fire.
“I tried to go home and forget about you, Mel. But I want you to be there with me.” Tristan’s eyes bored into hers as he waited for her response.
Mel started to say no, wanted to say it with all of her heart. “Okay. Just give me thirty minutes to close up.” Her brain screamed at her to change her mind and take it back but she just couldn’t do it.
*****
Tristan watched Mel as she walked into his house. She seemed at home here. His first reaction was happiness that she made this large imposing house feel like home. It was later followed by horror. What was he going to do about this? She was too close, they were getting too serious. For a moment Tristan couldn’t breathe, and he had to excuse himself to his office. He went to that bar tonight because he wanted Mel with him when he went home. The loneliness was eating him alive and he didn’t want just any woman in his bed, he wanted Mel.
Before he could think about what he was doing, he jumped in his car and headed down to the bar where she worked. It was a spontaneous, rash decision and so unlike him. Tristan’s life was ordered and controlled before he met Mel. Mel was breaking down his walls and it was making him uncomfortable. So why did he bring her here? Forget lust, he could feel that for any woman he met. There was something else, something that Tristan didn’t want to think about right now. He had to end it for good; he just wanted one more night. Just one more night with someone who made him feel whole and unbroken, then he would let her go.
*****
Tristan looked troubled as he walked away; telling Mel to go on upstairs and he would be there in a moment. Mel frowned, something was wrong. Fearing she made the wrong choice by coming here with him, Mel contemplated going home; just walking out the door and never looking back. But Tristan came into the bar looking for her, he must want her there. Perhaps something else happened to set him off. Deciding to wait it out, even if her gut was clenching at Tristan’s mood, Mel sat on the bed to take her shoes off. For a moment she felt awkward, unsure of how to proceed. It was very clear that he wanted to distance himself from her this morning. Mel kept that in mind as he walked back into the room, his mood still sour.
“Are you alright?” Mel asked fidgeting where she sat with nerves.
Tristan nodded not appearing to want to talk about it. He surprised her when he spoke. “Did I ever tell you about my parents?”
The question confused Mel. They rarely shared life stories. Their conversations were always focused on the present. “No.”
Tristan sighed, appearing at war with himself. “They left me. When I was thirteen they dropped me off at a group home and never looked back. Now you know it all.”
Mel’s heart broke for Tristan. She pictured a teenager troubled and alone with strangers trying to find his way without a mom and dad. He wasn’t too different than she was. Except that her parents didn’t willingly leave her. The hurt she felt over her parents’ deaths crushed her chest as she imagined the hurt Tristan must feel knowing the people he trusted most in the world didn’t want him anymore. Mel knew her parents loved her, more than anything in the world. An unfortunate accident took them and their love away and shattered Mel’s safe, comfy world. But they didn’t just abandon her. Her heart broke all over again for Tristan and before she could think any more about it she stood, pulling him to her chest. He didn’t speak or move but they held each other for a time, unable to let go.
When they finally did, Mel spoke first. “Tristan, I…”
He held up his hand to make her stop. “I didn’t tell you that for sympathy or pity. I don’t want to commiserate with you. You couldn’t possibly know what I went through. I just wanted you to know why I did what I did this morning.”
Mel nodded, the ache in her chest returned. If only he knew how much she could commiserate with him on this topic. But she wouldn’t say it. Her songs were dark and lonely but not once do they mention the loss of her parents so there was no way he would know that information. She didn’t want to dwell on it, she only wanted to be with him, especially since she didn’t know how much time they had left together.
Turning her brain off for the moment, Mel moved back to where Tristan stood. She hooked her fingers into the belt loops of his dress pants, pulling him towards her and the bed. He dipped his head and his lips met hers, the moment of contact electric. Mel shivered with pleasure as his mouth devoured hers. He pushed her back towards the bed and they fell together with him landing on top of her. Mel’s fingers sought the buttons of his shirt fumbling with each one until she had enough of them undone for him to shuck the shirt over his head. While he removed his shirt Mel stripped hers off, tossing it to the floor. Tristan moved back over her, flipping the clasp of her bra opened and pushing it back off of her arms. His eyes widened as if seeing her bare breasts for the first time and he dipped his head sucking one and then the other nipple into his mouth. Mel moaned with desire as he lightly ground his teeth against her sensitive peaks, arching her back from the bed in need of more. Her arousal taking over, Mel reached for Tristan’s waistband, undoing the button of his pants and pulling them down over his hips to reveal his black boxer briefs. Her mouth watered at the sight of him and she sat up, coming to her knees.
“Mel,” Tristan protested but Mel shook her head.
“Let me, Tristan. I want to taste you.” Tristan moaned in response and Mel took that as an invitation to proceed.
Once she pushed his boxers down, Mel wrapped her fingers around his girth, which was heavy and hard in her hand. She began to pump, his silky skin in stark contrast to the hardness of his erection made Mel grow wet between her legs. She lowered her head, taking him into her mouth, licking the tip and down the shaft as she went. Tristan thrust his hips forward, sinking his hands into her hair as she sucked and licked him. His moans filled the room until he suddenly grabbed Mel and pulled her away from him, laying her down on the bed.
“Any more of that and I wouldn’t get to come inside of you.” Tristan growled, pressing his mouth to hers before she could respond.
Mel shivered again, his words making her body heat further. He kicked his pants and underwear all the way off and stepped from the bed.
“Strip for me.” He said, stepping back and leaning his gorgeous naked body against the dresser.
“But I’m already half naked and I’m only wearing shorts.” Mel eyed him with confusion.
Tristan raised an eyebrow. “No panties?”
Mel shook her head. She hadn’t had time that morning to grab any when she was leaving his house.
If at all possible, his dick got visibly harder and Mel couldn’t wait for him to come back to the bed. Smirking, he turned, opening the dresser and pulling something out. Mel couldn’t see what he was holding until he turned around because his body was obstructing it. When he finally made his way back to the bed she realized it was handcuffs.
“Put your hands up over your head, grasping them around the bar like this.” He demonstrated for her and Mel complied.
Tristan sauntered over to the bed, his nakedness making Mel ache with need. He leaned over her, close enough to touch, but she didn’t dare or he would torture her with the need to come all night; she learned that the hard way. Snapping the handcuffs closed, Tristan climbed back onto the bed, positioning himself over top of her. He bent over her on all fours, caging her with his arms and legs. His scent wrapped around her and Mel felt drunk with lust. He kissed her again, breaking the kiss just as Mel started to reciprocate.
She knew this game and as frustrating as it could be sexually, Mel could feel herself getting wetter at the prospect of playing his game. All thoughts of Tristan’s earlier confession were lost as Mel’s body hummed with pleasure. Tristan broke their kiss, moving slowly down her body and kissing each piece of skin he came into contact with until he was at her naval. He dipped his tongue into her naval and Mel moaned, imagining that he was much lower.
Moving further down, he continued his path, down one leg and back up, kissing across her pubic bone and down the other thigh. Mel writhed on the bed, the padding in the handcuffs chaffing her wrists, she needed him to move lower, her body was trembling with it, but she knew he would wait as long as possible before it happened. Biting her lip to keep from begging, something that would only prolong the torment, Mel tried to stay as still as possible so that he would end the game. She didn’t even care at this point if he put his mouth on her center, she wanted him inside of her, now.
“I see you’ve caught on quickly, Mel,” Tristan growled, his face inches from her most sensitive area. She felt his breath fan across her drenched pussy and the sensation made her moan softly.
Tristan lowered his head, placing a few light kisses to her center before licking a trail from her entrance to her clit. It took all of Mel’s composure and energy not to move a muscle, her desire to arch her hips into his face being too strong. He repeated the process again and again, waiting in between each time to see how she would react. Mel was panting by the time he was through, the orgasm seconds from ripping through her body. One more lick and she would fall apart and from the look in Tristan’s eyes he knew that.
“Should I continue, Mel? You’ve done a great job with staying still for me.”
Mel nodded, her head bobbing up and down quickly. Tristan’s icy eyes deepened in color as he dipped his head and took her clit into his mouth, sucking. Mel screamed, the release tearing through her so hard she felt like she would fly to pieces. Before she could gather her bearings, Tristan was poised at her entrance and plunging into her. She cried out again, her sensitive pussy clenching around his hard shaft. He moved quickly, thrusting in and out, fucking her senseless. Mel’s head was foggy with need as her second orgasm rose. She gripped Tristan’s waist with her legs, moving her hips in time with his. The second orgasm hit without warning and she grabbed Tristan tighter, holding on to him for what she knew was likely the very last time, as his body stiffened as they found their release together.
*****
Waking up in Tristan’s bed on the final day of recording was bittersweet, for many reasons. Mel hadn’t kept her promise to herself. She was weak when it came to Tristan and even though she was doomed to be hurt by him, she wanted every second she could get with him. Mel loved him, as much as it hurt to admit, and she would do anything to spend just a little more time with him, even if that thing would break her heart in the end. She berated herself in her head for a bit about being weak and desperate and having no self respect. Then she thought about what he had revealed to her. Why now? Why did he tell her about his parents? It clearly wasn’t for sympathy; Tristan didn’t like it when others pitied him. Tristan was an anomaly and spending three weeks with him didn’t change that for Mel. At this point all she could do was hope the reason he told her about his past was because he wanted to get closer to her, not to push her away.
Sighing with frustration Mel turned over in the bed, and her eyes widened when she realized Tristan was lying beside her.
“Good morning,” Tristan turned to her and smiled a genuine smile.
Mel almost fainted. In the last three weeks Tristan was always up and ready to leave when she woke up, removing himself, and his emotions, far out of reach. Today seemed different somehow and Mel, being a glutton for punishment, couldn’t help but hope that meant something.
“Hey,” Mel rasped in her sleep filled voice.
“Your voice is sexy in the morning.” Tristan leaned over; a smile still planted on his face, and kissed Mel.
Mel looked at him strangely, unable to hide her confusion. Did he change his mind about ending their affair? Then it hit her, why he was so happy. Today was their last day together. Today was the day their deal was up.
*****
The recording of her last two songs was uneventful. Tristan wasn’t there, but he did walk her to the door before he disappeared into his office. That was new and unusual and Mel was having conflicting feelings on the whole thing. Maybe she was reading too much into his behavior and he wasn’t ready to get rid of her. Maybe his feelings towards her were changing. She frowned, maybe she was wishing on a star. Mel stopped singing and snorted, and Rob yelled at her over the intercom. Right, she needed to finish this and stop thinking about Tristan. Taking a deep breath, she finished her recording, relieved for it to be done but she knew there was a long road ahead of her to get the album on the shelves. Mel was full of elation at having finished her recording but also full of dread. She walked out of the room with her head held high and her guitar slung over her back. To delay the inevitable Mel would duck out as quickly as she could; if Tristan couldn’t find her, he couldn’t break up with her.
“Mel, Tristan wants to see you in the conference room across from his office to discuss some upcoming PR events,” the secretary said as Mel headed towards the door to leave for the day.
Mel released a breath, puffing her cheeks as she blew it out. This was it; this was when he let her go. Dread filled her chest, crushing the light mood that was just surrounding her. Mel shrugged, she knew it was coming and she’d accept it because the agreement never asked for him to love her. Nodding that she heard the woman, Mel turned around and stalked back down the hall as if she were walking to the electric chair. Why was it so hard to walk away from Tristan? Mel was afraid to explore the answer to that because then it would mean she had to admit that she was lonely.
“Hey, you wanted to see me?” Mel asked as she walked into the conference room.
Her eyes widened and she looked around in confusion. Tristan wasn’t alone. Rob and Louis were there as well as a lot of the other staff who were helping her to get her album released.
“We all wanted to see you. This is a mini celebration for finishing recording your album. The big party will be after the album’s release.” Tristan handed her a glass of champagne and Mel guzzled it, relieved but still wanting to get the inevitable over with.
“Have something to eat.” Louis came up and took her elbow, leading her to where a table was lined with wraps, sandwiches and vegetables. Mel let him lead her even though his touch did nothing but make her arm feel heavy.
A dark look passed over Tristan’s face as he watched them walk away. Mel noticed how quick he reined it in though when Rob approached him to discuss her final recording. She also noticed the look he gave her as she sat down next to Louis and began to eat. It was as if he were telling her that she belonged to him. But that didn’t make any sense so Mel decided she must be imagining it. She never belonged to Tristan and that wasn’t about to change. It was time for Mel to come to terms with the reality of her situation.