More Than Friends (20 page)

“I don’t mind helping.” She reached for the towel, but Melanie held it at arm’s length, using her body to block her while she playfully tried to wrestle it back. When Evelyn’s cell phone rang from the other room, they both stopped. “Saved by the bell.”

“I totally had you,” Melanie said, taking a step away. “Grab that if you want to.”

She retrieved her phone from the living room and hesitated when she saw Kendall’s name on the display. She answered the phone because she didn’t want to start ducking Kendall’s calls.

“Hey, I looked for you after work but you disappeared quickly,” Kendall said.

“Yeah, sorry. I couldn’t wait for the weekend, I guess.” After a week of pulling what amounted to double shifts, she’d waited just long enough for the next shift to relieve them before she took off.

“I hear you. That trial was brutal, huh?”

“I’m just glad it’s over.” The week had ended in the expected guilty verdict. Even her father’s smoothly worded questions hadn’t been enough to cast doubt in the minds of the jurors in this case.

She felt Melanie’s presence behind her, smelled the clean scent of her perfume seconds before Melanie rested her hands on her shoulders. When Melanie massaged her tense muscles, she barely kept herself from groaning.

“Let’s unwind. Meet me downtown,” Kendall suggested.

“Ah, I don’t think so.” Melanie bent and pressed her mouth to her neck, making it hard for her to concentrate on Kendall’s words.

“Come on, you said you’d be my wingman when I needed you. So, I need you tonight. And I think we could both use a little distraction.”

“Now isn’t a good time.”

Melanie paused and gave her a questioning look.

“Not a good time? I’m trying to save you from yourself, Evelyn.” Kendall’s voice took on a light teasing tone that usually meant she was about to deliver a line of BS. “I’m rescuing you from the misery of spending Friday night alone watching crappy television. I’ve let you be a hermit for too many years, my friend. But we’re going to fix that.”

“Can’t we fix it tomorrow night?” she asked.
Damn. I’m not alone. I feel better than I have all week and I can’t even tell you that.

“You’re seriously not coming out with me?”

“Sorry. Next time. Okay?”

“I guess. Have a good night.” Kendall didn’t wait for her to respond before she hung up. She set her phone on the table, stood, and took Melanie into her arms.

“That was Kendall.”

“What was she trying to talk you into?”

“She’s going to a bar and wanted me to be her wingman.”

“Wingman? What about Tiffany?”

Evelyn shook her head.

Melanie nodded. “I probably could have called that one. That girl wasn’t right for either one of you.”

She threw up her hands. “Then why did you let Kendall set her up with me?”

“Please. I decided a long time ago to stay out of that situation. Kendall was determined to find you a woman, and I don’t think I could have stopped her. Besides, you didn’t exactly put your foot down and say no.”

“I know. And what’s worse is at some point I stopped really trying to find my own dates. A part of me hoped Kendall would get it right and save me some work.”

“You should go.”

“What?”

“Go meet her.”

“Are you trying to ditch me?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what’s up? I was enjoying where this evening was headed.”

“You were looking forward to making out until we could barely stand not going any further, then forcing ourselves to stop, thus ending the evening almost painfully turned on?”

“When you put it that way—absolutely.” Evelyn raised her eyebrows, but Melanie’s expression said she wasn’t budging, so she tried one more tactic. “She’ll expect me to hit on women with her.”

Melanie laughed. “Are you trying to make me jealous?”

“Did it work?”

“Maybe.”

“Am I supposed to go out with her and fake it, when I really just want to be here with you?” She traced her fingers along Melanie’s forearm. “My feelings about us haven’t changed. We should just tell her and get it over with.”

“We will, soon. But for tonight, go hang out with her. Flirt with whoever you want—” she raised an eyebrow but Melanie shook her finger at her, “but no touching.” She pulled Evelyn close and kissed her. “I’ll be around all day tomorrow, cleaning the house, if you want to hang out.”

“I will definitely call you. Maybe we could have a post-date breakfast.”

Melanie smiled. “Okay, smart-ass. Go get dressed. But don’t look too hot.”

“I’m not sure I can help it,” she said as she walked down the hall toward her bedroom.

*

“I thought I said not too hot.” Melanie rested her hands on Evelyn’s hips, hooking her fingers inside the belt loops on Evelyn’s faded jeans. Her white button-down shirt practically glowed against her olive skin, and when she moved, the loose waves of her dark hair cast the fruity scent of her shampoo into the air.

“This old thing? You’ve seen me in it a dozen times.”

“True. But I’ve never seen you in it and subsequently imagined you out of it before tonight.” She traced her finger into the deep vee of Evelyn’s neckline. “You should close one more button up here.”

“But I always wear it like this.”

She fastened the button in question, then smoothed her hands over the front of Evelyn’s shirt. “That’s much better. Now you’re ready.”

Evelyn smiled. She picked up her keys and shoved her phone in her pocket. “Don’t wait up,” she said with an exaggerated wink.

Melanie walked her to the door and stepped outside with her. She grabbed Evelyn’s belt, pulled her close, and gave her a kiss she could remember while she hit on girls with Kendall. When they broke apart, both breathless, she said, “You have to go, before I take you back inside.”

“That sounds like a better plan.” Evelyn laughed, then pulled her in for another kiss. Seduced by the play of Evelyn’s tongue against hers, she lost track of everything around her until the familiar sound of Kendall’s voice forced her back to reality.

“Okay, I came over here to drag your ass—”

They jerked apart. For a second, Evelyn’s eyes were still soft with arousal and her lips were bruised from the kiss. When regret replaced the warmth in Evelyn’s gaze, Melanie had to close her eyes.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Kendall said, her voice rising with every word.

She took a deep breath before turning to face Kendall. Accusation flashed violently in Kendall’s glare.

Melanie stepped between Evelyn and Kendall, wanting to shield Evelyn from her anger. She didn’t regret anything that had happened up to this point—she never could—but she wished this moment had been different for both Evelyn and Kendall.

“Kendall—”

“No,” Kendall barked, surging forward until she was in Melanie’s face. “You don’t get to talk. I don’t want to hear a
damn
thing you have to say.”

Evelyn touched Melanie’s elbow as if she meant to draw her away, but Kendall cut her eyes sharply toward her and Evelyn dropped her hand.

She tried again. “Please, don’t—”

“Don’t what, Melanie? Don’t get mad because I just found my
best
friend making out with my ex?” She stepped back, her eyes darting between Evelyn and Melanie, finally landing on Evelyn and narrowing. “How long did you wait after we broke up before you went after her?”

“It’s not like that,” Evelyn said. Her voice held no plea for understanding, only resignation.

“I get it, Ev. She’s hot.” Kendall looked Melanie up and down in a way that dismissed their years together and reduced her to a piece of meat. “Have you wanted her all these years? When I talked about our sex life, were you wishing it was you?”

“Damn it, Kendall,” Melanie shouted. Evelyn’s face burned bright red and she looked as if Kendall had slapped her.

Kendall glared at her, then shook her head, turned, and walked away. Evelyn stared after her with a heartbroken expression.

Acutely aware that their scene had played out in front of Evelyn’s condo for all of her neighbors to witness, Melanie put her arm around Evelyn and attempted to urge her back into the house, but Evelyn drew away. “Ev, let’s go inside.”

Evelyn nodded, but she still seemed hazy. She took Evelyn’s hand and pulled her toward the door. Her skin was clammy and her fingers trembled in Melanie’s. Once inside, Melanie led her to the couch and they sat down.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“No.”

“Ev, about what Kendall said—”

Evelyn waved a hand, and when she met her eyes she seemed more focused. “She was wrong. I never had an inappropriate thought about you once while you two were together.”

“I wanted to be sure you didn’t doubt that. I’m sure she knows that, too. She’s just shocked and angry.”

“I can’t say I blame her. This was probably the last thing she expected.”

“Well, it wasn’t in my five-year plan either.”

“I didn’t want her to find out this way.” Evelyn shoved her hand through her hair. “I spent the entire week on this case with her wishing I could figure out how to tell her, keep her friendship, and not lose you.”

She hadn’t seen Evelyn all week, but they’d talked on the phone often. And each time, she’d gotten the impression that Evelyn was holding something back. At first she assumed it had to do with the case, but she soon realized there was more to it. Evelyn had been distant and not as responsive as usual. After the case and her father, Kendall was her next guess.

“Did you come up with anything?”

“Only that it wasn’t possible. Looks like I was right.”

“I’m sorry, Evelyn.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s at least as much my fault as yours. I shouldn’t have let this happen.”

“I’d like to think you couldn’t help yourself,” Evelyn said.

“Well, it definitely would have been difficult to resist. But I’m not sure I tried hard enough.”

“I owed her more than this.” Evelyn’s voice cracked.

Melanie touched Evelyn’s hand, encouraged when she didn’t immediately pull away. “We didn’t do this to hurt her.”

“I know. But that’s what happened, isn’t it?” Evelyn slipped her hand free and stood. “I’m sorry. I’m tired. Do you mind if we cut the rest of our evening short?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I—I need to think.”

“Of course.” Melanie stood as well, the distance in Evelyn’s eyes turning her body cold. Should she push Evelyn to talk or give her time? In the past, when dealing with her “friend” she’d have pushed, but since their relationship had changed, it seemed the rules had as well. Evelyn had all but dismissed her, clearly asking for space. With anyone else she had only begun to date, she would grant that—possibly even taking this bump in the road as a sign they weren’t meant to be. But letting Evelyn go just wasn’t that simple.

Evelyn nodded and walked to the door, obviously expecting her to follow.

“Will you call me?” Perhaps she sounded pathetic, but she wanted to know where they stood. Historically, Evelyn didn’t stay in a relationship that proved to be too much work. Would she so easily throw aside what they might have been building in order to restore her friendship with Kendall? A selfish part of her wanted to believe she couldn’t—that Evelyn felt this new connection between them as deeply as she did.

Evelyn turned and pulled her into her arms, holding her tight. She cupped her hand against the back of Melanie’s head and inhaled deeply, then released her. “I’ll call you.”

“Good. Because whatever you decide about us, I don’t want to lose your friendship.”

“Hey,” Evelyn drew back, her eyes soft with emotion, “don’t start your contingency plan yet. I haven’t given this up. I just need a little time.”

“Okay. Fair enough. You know where to find me.”

Evelyn pressed her lips to hers gently and Melanie told herself it wasn’t a good-bye kiss.

*

“Can I get you anything else?”

“No, thanks.” Kendall dismissed the waitress without looking at her. She absently stirred artificial sweetener into her fresh cup of coffee.

“Would you like me to take your plate?”

“Sure.” She leaned back and waited while the woman removed the platter loaded with scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, and wheat toast. She’d been pushing the food around for the last thirty minutes, unable to summon her appetite.

Ever since she’d rounded the corner at Evelyn’s condo and seen Evelyn and Melanie together, she’d felt like someone punched her in the stomach. She had gone to the bar without Evelyn and had a horrible time. And the fact that this morning she felt compelled to sit in this booth, the same one where she and Evelyn held their ritual breakfasts, angered her even more. She’d never felt more betrayed, and the fact that
Evelyn
had twisted the knife in her gut made her physically ill.

She’d known the moment that she’d seen them together that this was not their first embrace. Something had been going on behind her back, and now she felt like an even bigger fool. Evelyn had put her hands on Melanie as if it were her right, all the while acting as if she were still Kendall’s loyal friend. That was unforgivable.

Chapter Seventeen

Monday afternoon, Evelyn entered the precinct with a ball of nerves rolling around in her belly. She stopped to check the subpoena book, quickly visited the restroom, and logged on to a computer to get her e-mail. And when she couldn’t procrastinate any longer, she plodded into the roll-call room. Kendall sat at a table by herself, while most of the other guys still milled around, socializing as they waited for their lieutenant and sergeants to brief them before they headed out on the streets.

She took a deep breath and ambled toward Kendall. She returned the greeting of several of the guys but didn’t let them deter her from her goal.

She waited until she stood beside Kendall to speak. “Can I talk to you?”

When Kendall glanced up, Evelyn recoiled from the icy detachment in her eyes. “No.”

“Kendall, I just want to tell you that we—”

Kendall surged to her feet, her face only inches away. In her periphery, Evelyn caught several heads turning in their direction. When Kendall spoke, her voice was low and dangerous, her words forced through a rigid jaw. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. Especially not here.”