Page 7 of Defended
Chapter 3
Tugging on the top of the corset Peggy had squashed her into, Melody tried not to feel totally out of place as she followed Elliott and Peggy into the psychic shop. She found Elliott intimidating, although she didn’t know why. He was being incredibly nice to her, but there was an aura of authority that seemed to hang around him. She didn’t understand how Peggy could be so relaxed with him. The psychic shop confused her enough that she managed to find the courage to speak up anyway.
“Why are we in here? Runway’s around the corner.” She whispered the question, unsure of why she was doing so. Peggy had told her that Black Light was underneath Runway, so she’d expected to go there. This shop wasn’t even on the same street.
Elliott looked over his shoulder at her and winked. “Welcome to the secret entrance to Black Light.”
Turning her upper body around, Peggy reached back for Melody’s hand, her eyes sparkling with glee.
“Isn’t this awesome? We’re going to have so much fun!”
“Totally awesome,” Melody echoed. It really was, but she was becoming more and more nervous with every step she took. When she saw the big dark-haired man at the back of the store, she felt like covering her half-exposed boobs. The corset made her waist tiny and propped her breasts up like a platter, but it wasn't comfortable andshedidn't feel particularly comfortable in it. But, as Peggy said, it made her look a lot skinnier than she was and really showed off her assets.
She just wished it maybe didn't show them off quite so much.
As if she could hear Melody’s thoughts, Peggy looked at her right as Melody was trying to pull up her corset again.
“Stop messing with it,” Peggy hissed, letting go of Melody’s other hand to slap the one fiddling with the corset. “Your boobs look amazing.”
Elliott glanced over his shoulder but Peggy shoed him on ahead to Melody’s relief. She did not want to talk about her boobs with Elliott.
“I hope so, since everyone will be able to see them,” Melody muttered, but she dropped her hands to her sides as Peggy glared at her. Her bestie had no problem prancing around in her corset and short leather skirt. If only she was more like Peggy, slimmer and more confident, she'd feel sexy instead of silly. Or maybe if she had more confidence she would have insisted on wearing clothes she actually liked and felt comfortable in, instead of letting Peggy dress her like a doll. But it was too late to bemoan all of that now.
At least she'd let Melody wear a slightly longer skirt, rather than a mini-skirt like the one showing off Peggy's legs.
“I told you, we had to cover your legs, so we needed to show off your boobs,” Peggy whispered. Oh right. It wasn’t that Peggy hadlether wear a longer skirt, she’d insisted on it. Because of Melody’s chubby thighs. Melody smoothed her hands over the skirt. Somehow her thighs being covered made her feel almost as uncomfortable as her boobs being out. Peggy had no patience for her hesitation though. “Comeon.”
Elliott was waiting for them, talking to a Hispanic guard at the entrance to the back hall of the shop.
The scar down the side of the guard’s face made him look pretty threatening, but he gave her a little wink, his lips curving up in a smile that softened his expression. Melody gave him a little smile back before scrambling after the two.
Ugh. She totally felt like a third wheel.
And the sparse, not-very-well-lit hallway was not making her feel any better either. Peggy was hanging off of Elliott's arm, taking all of his attention, although he did glance back to make sure Melody was behind them a couple times. She gave him a little finger wave.
Yup, still here.
When they finally reached a door that led to a reception area, Melody couldn't help but stare at the the ceiling. The combination of black lights and recessed lamps bathed the room in a purple glow that bounced off the wall of small lockers.
"Melody." Elliott's amused tones interrupted her perusal of the ceiling, and she blushed as she brought her attention back to him. He and Peggy were standing in front of a desk where a security guard was seated, and all three of them were looking at her. "Come over here, sweetheart, you need to sign some forms."
"Right, sorry," she said, feeling her cheeks blush even brighter. Who got distracted by pretty lights?
Me, that's who.
Moving over to them, she saw a woman behind a window to the right of the security guard's desk, also watching with amusement. She'd been hidden by Elliott at first. Startled, Melody nearly tripped, making Elliott reach out to catch her.
"Careful, sweetie," he admonished, although his smile was kind. "If you have trouble walking in those heels, take them off and go barefoot, okay?” Peggy rolled her eyes at the clumsiness and Melody gave her a little shrug of apology for taking her boyfriend's attention before looking at the sheets Elliott handed her.
Holy mother of all non-disclosure agreements…
"Read and initial each page and then sign on the last one," the woman behind the window said, her instructions audible through the small opening at the bottom of the glass.
"Right," Melody murmured, acutely aware of everyone's eyes on her. She read it as quickly as possible. Nothing in it looked surprising considering all of the secrecy, and she initialed and signed with the pen Elliott passed to her. As she put the last flourish on her signature, she could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
Anxiety? Excitement? A too-tight corset?
An overwhelming combination of all three?
