Page 57 of More Than Pen Pals

“Oh, wow.” Melissa presses her hand to her chest. “I’m glad he lied, though. It taught me a great lesson about how I should treat people. I can’t say I completely changed overnight, but that incident made a big impact on me. So maybe I need to thank Randall.”

I chuckle. “He’d get a kick out of that.”

She laughs. “I also didn’t kiss anyone else for a few more years, because I was afraid they’d think I was terrible, too. Looking back, I’m thankful for that, as well. I’m sure it saved me from a lot of trouble.”

I didn’t kiss anyone else again until college, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“I have to head out in a minute,” she said, “but first I want to know what’s going on with you and the blonde out there.” She smirks at me.

My eyes widen. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not blind. She hightailed it out of here when she saw me hug you and mention dinner tomorrow. And then you followed her out and didn’t come back for a while until you trailed back in behind her. Are the two of you dating and your mother doesn’t know?”

I can’t tell her everything, but since she doesn’t seem upset by the idea of me potentially dating Leslie, I figure I should take her into my confidence.

“It’s a complicated situation with her,” I say. “I won’t go into detail, but I’m not interested in dating anyone else. And no, my mother doesn’t know—thus tomorrow night’s dinner. I’m sorry if Mom invited you under false pretenses. I didn’t know about the dinner until yesterday, but I’m guessing you’ve known for a while.”

She nods. “We got the invitation a couple weeks ago. Well, I don’t think it was an invitation so much as a joint battle plan drawn up by our mothers. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything to your mom about …,” she points her head toward Leslie and raises her eyebrows.

“Leslie.”

“About Leslie. I’m not interested in dating, at any rate. My boyfriend and I broke up before I moved back and I’m not ready to jump back into the game yet. And much like you apparently have trouble saying no to your mother, I have the same issue with mine.”

I breathe a huge sigh of relief.

“You were that worried about it?” she asks.

“I’ll admit I wasn’t excited, but now that we both know the lay of the land, it could be fun.” Oddly enough, I’m finding I like Melissa.

“Ooo, should we fake flirt with each other? Lead our mothers on?”

She gives me an evil grin, and I chuckle at her.

“Let’s wait and see what feels right in the moment.”

She holds out her hand. “It’s a deal.”

I take her hand and shake it. “Looking forward to it.”

Melissa stands to leave, and I walk her to the door. When it closes behind her and I turn around, Leslie is watching me from the bar with a guarded expression. I give her a genuine smile, hoping to reassure her I’m not interested in any woman but her. Though it’s best for me to stay away from her, I join her at the tiny bar.

“She apologized for what happened back in junior high,” I say.

“Really?”

“Yeah. She said she actually liked me but was afraid I didn’t like her back. She also claims the incident changed her for the better because she felt so bad about what she did.” I shake my head. “This appears to be the week for me to receive apologies from pretty ladies for what they did to me when we were kids.” I immediately realize I shouldn’t have mentioned I think Melissa is pretty.

“Did you forgive her?”

“Of course I did.” And I’m a little annoyed Leslie thinks I might not have.

She nods and looks down into her drink. “Of course.” Then without returning her gaze to me she says, “I’d better get back to Diego’s cousins.” She turns and walks off.

I watch her go with a heavy heart. I’m not sure what changed from the time we came back into the suite until now, but she’s pulling away from me. Instead of heading back outside myself, I join Bobby at his table.

“What did you do to make her look like her dog died?” he asks.

I shake my head. “It’s complicated.”

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