More Than Friends (23 page)

“I could get used to that.” The words were out before she could stop them. She searched Melanie’s face for a reaction, but if Melanie inferred anything meaningful from the statement she didn’t show it.

“My workout clothes are in the second drawer,” Melanie said.

Evelyn went to the dresser and found a pair of navy athletic shorts, a sports bra, and a gray T-shirt. As she smoothed the T-shirt down, she laughed. In black letters, R
UNNING
S
UCKS
was printed across the front.

“My favorite shirt.” Melanie’s words were muffled by the pillow as she turned over.

“Cute. I’ll see you soon.”

She stopped at her car on her way out and picked up her Bluetooth headphones. She selected the GPS workout tracker on her phone and her favorite playlist, and she then jogged down the walk to the street. By the time she’d covered two blocks she had settled into her pace in almost perfect rhythm with the music.

“Oh, man, you’re an idiot,” she muttered to herself as P!nk’s edgy voice and the image of Melanie naked filled her head. “Sleep be damned, you should have stayed in bed.”

Instead, she ran. She wound her way through Melanie’s neighborhood, trying to lose herself in the unfamiliar scenery. But each block looked remarkably the same as the next, so she let her mind wander back to last night.

She had forever changed her friendship with Melanie, not that it wasn’t already altered, but sleeping together—well, that was a whole new level of intimacy. She’d had casual sex with a friend before, Jennifer Prince being one example, but last night was different. Touching and being touched by Melanie went beyond sex, beyond anything she’d felt before. If she were feeling this with anyone else, she might want to pull back and slow down. But Melanie—well, she couldn’t even think about distancing herself from Melanie.

The soreness in her thighs as she ran brought back memories of the night before. So instead of dwelling on how complicated the situation was, she decided to entertain herself with visions of making love with Melanie. By her fourth mile, her head was filled with the flex of muscles in Melanie’s arms as she braced herself over Evelyn and thrust inside her—her fingers driving Evelyn to orgasm. She completed her fifth mile in record time, pushing to get back to Melanie.

By the time she returned to Melanie’s apartment, she was both worn out and amped up from her fantasy-fueled mile at near top speed. As she headed for the bedroom, she smiled when she heard the shower running.

She stripped off her clothes and left them in a trail leading into the steam-filled bathroom. She opened the shower door and pushed Melanie against the wall. Her lips cut off Melanie’s cry as her back hit the cool tile wall. She kissed her deeply, pouring out the arousal she’d nurtured while she ran.

“Good run?” Melanie asked when she released her.

“Great run,” she answered as she stepped beneath the stream of hot water. She cranked the dial to the right, preferring the temperature a bit cooler against her heated skin.

“So, now you think you’re just going to hijack my shower?”

“Actually, I believe I was invited.”

Melanie stepped close behind her, then reached around and twisted the knob. “I like it hot.” She pressed the length of her soapy body against Evelyn’s back. Melanie’s hands roamed over her breasts, and when she rolled her nipple between her thumb and forefinger a jolt of pleasure shot to Evelyn’s groin.

When Melanie began to slide her hand down her belly, Evelyn caught it and held it in place. “You’ll be late for work.”

Melanie pressed her lips to the back of her neck. “I don’t care. “I think my boss will understand.”

“Well, then by all means…” She released her hand.

Molded against her, Melanie reached down and parted her, then stroked her more firmly. Evelyn braced her hands against the shower wall to compensate for her suddenly unsteady legs. Her clit swelled and she squeezed her muscles tight, enjoying the pressure of Melanie’s fingers but also craving them inside her.

“Mel,” she said hoarsely, loud enough to be heard over the shower spray.

“Yes, babe?” She phrased it as a question, but her self-satisfied tone indicated she knew that Evelyn was trying hard not to beg for her touch.

She grabbed Melanie’s wrist and tried to push it down farther, silently indicating what she wanted.

“Oh, no, honey. If I’m going to be late for work, you’re going to make it worth it. Tell me what you want.” Melanie punctuated her demand with a quick pinch of Evelyn’s nipple.

“You know what I want.”

“Yes. But I want you to ask for it.” Melanie placed her hand between Evelyn’s shoulder blades and pushed, increasing the angle of her back. Then she bent and trailed kisses between the rivulets of water running down her back, her warm lips against cool skin making Evelyn shiver. Melanie reached between her legs from behind and cupped her, inching her finger into the slick folds and rubbing the underside of her knuckle against her clit.

“Mel, please.” She gasped, pulling in a deep breath of steamy air.

Melanie remained silent. She continued her motion, the pace and pressure slightly less than she needed to progress her arousal. Her other hand worked Evelyn’s nipple, alternately stroking and tugging at the hard tip.

“Ah—okay, please. Please, I want you inside me.” Her plea tumbled out quickly, running the words together. Melanie held off until once more she uttered, “Please.”

When she glided inside, Evelyn sighed and clamped greedily around Melanie’s fingers. Melanie pulled back, paused long enough for her to miss her—to need her filling her again, then she thrust in. Evelyn shoved against the shower wall, pushing back into Melanie’s hand. As she tightened and released around Melanie’s fingers, she increased her pace. Melanie wrapped her other arm around Evelyn’s hips, reached under her, and stroked her clit, matching the speed of her thrusts.

As Evelyn shuddered and trembled toward release, Melanie laid her head against the back of her shoulder and whispered encouragement. Evelyn’s thighs tensed as she seized around Melanie’s fingers. She rested her forehead against the wall and somehow managed to keep her feet under her during the waves of pleasure undulating through her.

When she sank to her knees, Melanie went with her and kissed her tenderly.

“You know we can’t linger down here, right? We’ll drown.” Melanie joked.

“Wow, no basking in the afterglow for me, huh?” She swiped at heavy strands of hair that the shower spray was pushing in her face.

“If you wanted to bask, you shouldn’t have molested me in the shower.”

“Really? I think you’re confused about who molested whom.” She ran a hand over her face and shoved her hair aside again. “But you might be right. Once the sex is done, the shower floor isn’t so hot anymore.”

Chapter Nineteen

Melanie pulled her truck up behind one of her company vans, grabbed her messenger bag from the front seat, and slid out of the truck. After glancing at the dark clouds overhead, she hurried past the van and around to the back of the house. She hoped the forecasted showers would hold off until afternoon so they could do the bulk of today’s work.

Lucas had already set up a mobile office of sorts under the umbrella of a wrought-iron patio table. He and the rest of their crew gathered around the blueprints spread out on the table. She hung back, confident that he had the briefing under control.

After the group had received their tasks for the morning and dispersed, she approached the table.

“Coffee?” Lucas asked, lifting a cup out of a cardboard drink carrier.

“Yes, please.”

“Creamer?”

She grabbed the cup and took as big a gulp as she could, considering how hot it still was. He held up the miniature cup of flavored creamer, with a curious look. “Thanks.” She took the creamer and dumped it in the rest of her coffee. “Sorry I’m late.” She’d texted him as she left the house to let him know he should start without her.

“No problem.” He didn’t seem to try very hard to stop the grin from spreading across his face. “Traffic bad?”

“No, actually. There was a—uh, problem with my shower.”

“A problem? If you need a plumber, I know a guy.”

“A guy? No, I handled it.”

“Glad to know you got it handled.” Suspicion laced his tone.

“Yep.” Her face flushed hot as she thought about Evelyn’s hands on her.

“I guess I don’t need to ask how things are going with Evelyn.”

“I know. You don’t approve.” She downed the rest of her coffee and picked up a shovel. “I’ll start working on the line of shrubs on the east side of the lot.”

“You don’t need my approval.” He followed her, keeping his voice low enough that the other guys wouldn’t overhear them. “Are you happy?”

“Yes, I am.” She didn’t have to think about it. She was happy, for the first time in quite a while. She’d let herself get swept away in her feelings, perhaps not questioning them because she trusted Evelyn. And last night—well, last night and this morning—had been incredible. Any concerns about sex between them being awkward had dissipated when Evelyn touched her. They had retained the playfulness of their previous friendship, while adding a new level of flirtation and arousal.

She only wished Evelyn hadn’t lost Kendall’s friendship. Maybe in time Kendall would come around. The three of them had such a deep history that she held on to a bit of hope that they might all be friends again someday. She’d seen it happen in the lesbian community before. But she wasn’t sure if Kendall’s pride would ever let her get there.

*

Evelyn power-walked through the parking lot at the station, trying to keep the wind from ripping away her umbrella. The rain had started on her drive in, and the weather app on her phone predicted it would continue all evening.

She stepped into the lobby and paused long enough to close her umbrella and glance at her watch. She’d made it to work with a couple of minutes to spare. Considering how early she’d originally gotten up this morning, her rush now was almost comical. After Melanie left for work, she’d lain back down in Melanie’s bed, intending to linger for only a minute. She’d closed her eyes and her memories of the previous night had drifted into sex-filled dreams.

Three hours later, she’d woken with just over an hour until it was time to be at the station. She’d hurried home and jumped into her own shower, trying desperately not to get distracted by imagining what she would do to Melanie there. She threw on a uniform, clumsily gathered her equipment, and ran out to the car.

Now she slipped into the roll-call room and took an empty seat at the back. The lieutenant had just stepped behind the podium and cleared his throat. He met her eyes then flicked his gaze to the clock over her head and back to the officers in front of him. She followed his example and scanned the group, then realized that Kendall was not among them.

Her name was among those read out to get subpoenas from the book after the briefing.

After they were dismissed, she approached Sergeant Stahlman. “Where’s Kendall?”

“I thought you might be able to tell me,” he said as he handed over several pieces of paper summoning her to court in the coming weeks.

“I haven’t seen her.” She bent and signed the book, indicating her receipt of the paperwork.

“You two are friends, aren’t you? She put in a request to go to West Precinct. Found a guy over there that wanted a trade. He starts with us tomorrow.”

She shook her head, trying to make sense of what he said. “What? How could that even happen so fast? Doesn’t it take a while to get something like that done?”

He shrugged. “Usually, but apparently this guy out at West, his father is a city councilman. I guess he has friends in the right places. All I know is this came down through the ranks. But hey, it worked out for Kendall, huh? I didn’t know she wanted to move.”

“Me either.”

“Well, if you talk to her, tell her no hard feelings. I hope she likes it over there.”

She nodded but knew she wouldn’t be talking to Kendall. If she had any hope of reconciliation, it had dissolved with Kendall’s transfer.

*

Evelyn knocked softly, and when Melanie didn’t answer the door, she used her key and let herself in. She found Melanie in the living room, snuggled beneath a blanket on the couch. The flickering television cast the only light on her, but the sound had been muted.

Melanie looked so peaceful that she didn’t want to disturb her. She was debating whether to leave quietly and go home when Melanie opened her eyes.

“Hey,” she said, yawning as she sat up. The blanket fell around her waist.

Evelyn hugged her, then sat beside her. Melanie’s nipples created a distracting, dark shadow under her white tank top. She wanted to lean over and suck them right through the thin cotton.

“Are you aware that you’re grinning at my breasts?”

“Um, yeah. Is that a problem?”

Melanie smiled. “Not really. They like it.”

She flicked her eyebrows up suggestively and touched one of the hardening bumps. “I can tell.”

Melanie swatted her hand away. “How was your day?”

She shrugged. “Dark and rainy. I spent half my shift working wrecks and the other half stuck in traffic trying to get to alarm calls.” High wind and power surges often caused a large number of false alarms at residences and businesses during storms. “Kendall wasn’t at work today.”

“Is she sick?”

She shook her head. “She changed precincts to get away from me.”

“Already. I didn’t know government could move that fast.”

“I know. Apparently she pulled some strings. I underestimated her desire to avoid me.”

“I’m so sorry, Ev.”

“Please stop apologizing. I went into this with my eyes open.”

“It’s hard not to apologize when I know you’re beating yourself up about this. I was afraid you’d have regrets.”

She took her hand. “Not regrets. Not really. I—what I feel—” Why was she trying to avoid saying what she truly felt? She searched for a way to justify what she’d done, to explain why she’d ultimately been disloyal to Kendall. Then the answer was simple: only one thing was stronger than her bond to Kendall. She was in love with Melanie. She sat back and took a deep breath. How long had she been in love? Did Melanie feel the same way? And should she tell her?