A Road to Let Go (Fallen Tuesday #4) (23 page)

Their mouths closed on one another
and they remained in what felt like an endless kiss. Long after the sex ended,
Jake couldn
’
t bring himself
to leave Mel
’
s body. He
eventually moved off her, but only to the side. They kissed as often as they
wanted and stared into each other's eyes when they weren't. He was happy to be
wasting time there, in Mel's loft apartment. He wanted this. He wanted to enjoy
his life.

He loved his career... but he
needed more.

(21)

Mel stood in the bathroom and put an
oversized t-shirt on, one that she got free from somewhere. It made for the
perfect pajama top. She reached behind her and pulled her ponytail out of the
shirt. Her hair was a mess.

Like you
’
ve been having sex
…

Mel smiled and blushed at the
reflection in the mirror.

Her body was still warm and tingled
everywhere, thanks to Jake.

She pulled the hair tie from her
hair and fixed it using her fingers as a comb. She looked down and the t-shirt
came down to her knees. She wore nothing but the blue panties Jake had taken
off her body under the t-shirt. It made no sense to feel this comfortable in
front of Jake but she did. Maybe because something in his eyes spoke to her. It
was like he understood what she was going through.

When she left the bathroom, Jake was
standing with his shirt in his hands. Her eyes danced along his body. He had a
few tattoos on each of his arms, but it was his body that caught her attention
the most. The cut of muscles that were hidden under his clothes were
impressive. Mel
’
s fingers
twitched. She wanted to trace those muscles with her fingers and memorize them
forever.

“
I
have to tell you something,
”
Jake said as put his shirt on.
“
Can
we sit down?
”

“
Sure,
”
Mel said.

She walked as though she were
floating. It was safe to say that she had just experienced the greatest sex of
her life. It wasn
’
t just
the sex, it was the passion. And the pleasure, of course. The way Jake made her
feel
…
using his hands, his
mouth, his body
…

“
You
’
re blushing,
”
Jake said as he took Mel
’
s hand.

“
I
can
’
t help it. I keep
thinking
…”

Jake pulled her close and they
walked to the couch. They sat, facing each other. Jake kept touching her, and
it made Mel really feel wanted.

“
My
intentions were and weren
’
t
what just happened,
”
Jake
said.

“
Okay.
”

“
I
just feel like I need to tell you that. I
’
m
not the guy that stumbled through that hotel room
…”

“
You
don't have to justify anything to me, Jake.
”

“
I
do,
”
Jake said.
“
Because I don
’
t want to disappear. From you.
From
…
this.
”

“
This?
”

Jake nodded.
“
This.
”

Mel wanted to ask
what is this?
but she feared the answer. It could be good, bad, serious, or nothing. The
feeling running through her body right now couldn
’
t
go to waste so Mel just smiled and sat there.

“
Why
do you have your hair pulled back?
”
Jake asked.

Before Mel could answer, he slipped
a finger into the hair tie. Mel braced to have half her hair pulled out of her
head, but surprisingly, Jake was gentle. Of course he was though, right?
Everything about him was damn perfect. Mel
’
s
hair fell forward and puffed out a little. Her curls were impossible to
control. Jake lifted her hand and slid the hair tie over her wrist.

“
Damn,
”
Jake whispered.
“
You're so beautiful, Mel.
”

He touched her face and Mel
’
s heart skipped a couple beats.
She moved forward and kissed him.

“
Come
here,
”
Jake said as he fell
back on the couch.

He wrapped his arms around Mel and
held her. She put her head to his chest and remained there. When his fingers
started to play in her hair, her body tingled again. This was a feeling she
wasn
’
t used to.

“
Tell
me what else you want to do,
”
Jake said.

“
What
do you mean?
”

“
Searching
for your father,
”
Jake
said.
“
What comes after
that?
”

“
I
don
’
t know yet,
”
Mel said.
“
I
’
m
just here right now. It
’
s
scary, but it has also been an adventure.
”

“
You
’
re so special, Mel.
”

“
I
thought about painting again.
”

“
Again?
”
Jake asked.

“
My
mother was a painter. She struggled her whole life. I told myself I wouldn
’
t live like that, but after
going through job after job, it makes me believe that having passion and
struggling is the best way to live.
”

“
You
should paint then,
”
Jake
said.
“
See where it takes
you.
”

“
It
’
ll take me nowhere,
”
Mel said.
“
But it would be fun.
”

“
There
’
s nothing wrong with nowhere,
Mel. Sometimes nowhere is the best place to be.
”

“
That
sounds like something someone who has been somewhere would say.
”

Mel loved the feel of the rumble in
Jake's chest as he laughed.

“
I
’
ve been somewhere,
”
Jake said.
“
There
’
s actually a couple things I want to talk to you
about.
”

“
Could
we skip it tonight? I don
’
t
want this feeling to end.
”

“
Neither
do I.
”

Mel looked up at Jake and kissed
his chin. She then put her head back to his chest. Some of her hair fell in
front of her face. Jake
’
s
fingers continued playing in her hair. Before she knew it, her eyes had closed
and she fell asleep, in the arms of a rockstar.

When she opened her eyes Mel
expected to be in her bed, alone, waking from a  wild dream that involved Jake.
Instead, Mel woke on the couch, a covering her. Jake wasn't with her.

She slowly sat up and looked around
the apartment. She moved her hair out of the way and wondered where Jake had
gone. Maybe he
’
d left, once
and for all. Perhaps his sights had been set on Mel and he had accomplished his
mission.

Mel stood up and yawned. She looked
to the bed and saw the sheets were a mess still. It made her toes curl when she
remembered what she and Jake had done the night before.

Walking to the kitchen, Mel saw the
coffeepot was empty. It was like Jake had left without a word. Without a kiss.
Without a thing.

Then Mel saw the note on the
kitchen table.

Mel feared the words, but read it
anyway.

Mel -

Ran out for some breakfast. Do
not put pants on.

-
    
Jake

Mel smiled and bit on her pointer
finger as she stared at the piece of paper.

Jake hadn
’
t left. He
’
d
gone out to get some breakfast.

Taking a deep breath, Mel inhaled
the morning and wondered what it would feel like to have every morning be this
way. To be satisfied. To feel okay.

She reminded herself that Jake had
openly said there were things he wanted to talk about. Mel didn
’
t need to be a genius to know
that Jake
’
s lifestyle was
different than most. His life was filled with shows and tours and albums. He
had a major commitments already, to himself and to the band.

Mel
’
s
cell rang and she followed the sound, wondering where the hell she had lost her
phone. She followed the sound to the side of the bed. Her pants were on the
floor, her cell in the pocket. As she reached for her pants, her body tingled
everywhere.

It was Jon calling.

Mel squeezed her eyes shut. She
couldn
’
t ignore Jon. That
wasn
’
t fair to him after
all he had done.

“
Hey
Jon,
”
she answered.

“
Mel.
What
’
s going on?
”

“
Nothing,
”
she said defensively. She sat
on the bed, on the messy sheets from the night before.
“
Nothing, why?
”

“
Haven
’
t heard from you,
”
Jon said.
“
What are we doing with this?
”

“
Jon
…
I can
’
t answer that
…”

“
Well,
maybe I can,
”
Jon said.
“
Not sure if it will help or not.
”

“
Wait.
How much is this costing me?
”

“
This
help? This is on the house.
”

“
I
feel like a dumb drunk right now,
”
Mel said.

“
Is
that so?
”

“
Yeah.
Like one of those people that sits there at a bar and drops half their
paycheck. Then they get socked with regret, but the bartender is right there to
offer a free drink. To keep them sitting. To keep them drinking.
”

There was silence on the other end
of the line.

“
Jon?
”
Mel asked.

“
Are
you done yet?
”
Jon asked.

“
Yeah.
Sorry.
”

“
No
apologies, Mel,
”
Jon said.
“
I told you how this goes.
”

“
What
’
s your
on the house help
?
”

“
I
made a few calls to Washington,
”
Jon said.
“
I called in a
favor, Mel. Okay?
”

“
Favor?
”

“
To
have them dig around.
”

“
Oh.
”

“
Your
idea of coming to New York wasn
’
t
all wrong,
”
Jon said.

“
It
wasn
’
t?
”

“
Nope.
Your father left North Carolina and came to New York. He took a tax job with a
construction company, and he worked there for about five years. That
’
s when he went to Washington.
Turns out the construction company was expanding and he had the opportunity to
go. So he did.
”

“
You
found this out?
”

“
My
guy did,
”
Jon said.
“
Last known record of address though,
Mel
…
Washington.
”

“
For
good?
”
Mel asked, her heart
sinking.

“
That
how it looks,
”
Jon said.
“
There are no real ties to New
York. I dug with the name and the picture from the paper in as many databases
as I could. My guy in Washington gave me a few bits and nothing more.
”

“
That
will cost, right?
”
Mel
asked.

“
Well,
yeah, that
’
s how it works.
I can hook you up with him. Or I can work directly with him. I can even try to
steer you along in Washington, if you can get there.
”

“
Yeah,
sure,
”
Mel said.
“
Let me just get on a plane and
go there.
”

“
Look,
I
’
m sorry,
”
Jon said.
“
And that
’
s not something I like to say. I hate saying sorry
for things I have no part of. But I
’
m
trying to help you, Mel. I don
’
t
know why, but I am.
”

“
I
appreciate it,
”
Mel said.
“
I
’
m
sorry too. This isn
’
t your
fault or your problem. I shouldn
’
t
be taking anything out on you. I just don't know what to do next.
”

“
Figure
it out and give me a call,
”
Jon said.
“
I hope I
’
m not too much of a jerk, but I
’
m going to take on another
client or two. I have work that pays. I
’
m
going for that.
”

“
I
understand.
”