Page 6 of Devil's Dilemma

I’m quiet. Thinking.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to come eat things you haven’t baked yourself? Sian’s bringing some steaks, Holly’s making salad. Mom’s inside right now conjuring up all manner of dressings.”

She seems to have got everyone bringing stuff. “What are you doing, Beth?” I chuckle.

“Oh,” she replies airily, “I might risk straining myself and open a few bags of chips.”

I laugh, dutifully, knowing my friend will be doing a lot more than that. She’s probably already running around making sure she’s got tables and chairs set up and has plans in place in case it rains.

“Say you’ll come, and stay.”

Another moment to think. She’s right. At least there will be people all around, and all I need to do is to tell him firmly I’m not interested.

Shouldn’t be difficult. It’s not as if he knows enough about me to be serious.

Chapter Three

Melissa

Sunday dawns. I won’t say I’m not a bag of nerves, I am. I’m usually quite balanced and sure of myself in any situation. But the thought of meeting the biker again does make me uneasy. If he turns up, I don’t know what to expect, or, more accurately, what he expects from me.

I certainly don’t want him to use me to get to one of my friends. Uh uh, no way. That would make me feel dreadful, and I’d have to warn whichever of them he’s targeting. A man who plays such games is not one to be trusted. But why else would he pretend to be interested in me?

He won’t turn up.

He was probably drunk on Friday night, seeing me through the bottom of his beer bottle rather than over the top. When he sees me again, he’ll realise he’s woken up in a bad dream. Even if he comes to Beth’s party, he won’t stay long. He’ll soon go once he realises I’m not who he thought I’d be.

To that end, I choose my clothes carefully. I’m for whatever makes me comfortable. I no longer feel I need to dress for anyone else, and today I’m looking for something that makes me clean and presentable, but not sexy. No, definitely not that.Huh,I laugh to myself,as if I could look sexy if I tried.

I choose a long gypsy skirt and team it with a flowing blouse, nothing figure hugging at all. I leave my long wavy hair loose, and put on minimal makeup, just a little foundation and powder to keep the sun off my face. No lipstick to draw attention to my lips, and nothing to enlarge my eyes.

When I’m ready, I pack up the car with the results of yesterday’s efforts and leave.

Beth has the door open and is already walking toward me before I put the car in park. Without being asked, with just a quick ‘hi’ my way, she’s filling her arms with my baked offerings.

“Mmm! These smell and look so good. You’ve outdone yourself, Melissa.”

It’s always nice to be appreciated. I glow with pride.

“And you’re looking gorgeous.”

Oh. Am I? Glancing down at the clothes that I’m wearing, I assume she’s just being polite.

Taking a few of the Tupperware tubs she hadn’t managed to carry and balancing the plate holding the pecan pie, I follow her inside.

Beth lives with her mom, and Patsy greets me. “Hey Melissa. You look lovely.”

Politeness runs in the family. “So do you, Pats.” She does. She looks rocking for a woman approaching her sixties. I can’t wear shorts like the ones she’s wearing even now, my thighs are far too large. I sigh. Even if I could resist sampling the goods that I bake, nature would still work against me.

I help setting up what I’d brought and then lend a hand getting everything else set up. The table looks amazing, and I tell Beth and Patsy so, while my hand finds my stomach, realising I’ve little chance of doing more than adding to my weight today. Everything looks so tempting.

I mingle with my friends and soon find myself laughing and starting to relax. As expected, the biker hadn’t turned up, and I tell myself the only disappointment I feel is in men who say they’ll do something, and then don’t.

I’ve been here an hour before the sound of a motorcycle reaches my ears. While it’s strange to hear one so loud in this residential neighbourhood, I don’t think too much of it, expecting it to pass right on by.

My breathing speeds up when the engine cuts out in close proximity to Beth and Patsy’s house.

Oh shit.Is it Skull?

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