She came back out several minutes later, wearing a bright yellow bikini. Her body was more amazing than I remembered. She slid into the pool and paddled on her back.
As she brought her right hand over her head, I noticed faded black ink on her wrist. I thought back to our encounter at the launch party, to our time in St. Barts. She’d always worn a bracelet on that arm.
“What’s that on your wrist?” I stood her upright. “Notes?”
Stop turning away from me…
“It was where a tattoo used to be. I had the first layer removed last week.”
“What did it say?”
“It was just something stupid,” she rubbed it with her thumb.
“Tell me.”
“It said ‘when you know you know,’ and it had all these little intricate stars around it. My ex and I both got it earlier this year. I can’t believe I actually bought into that crap.”
“You don’t believe in love anymore?”
“It’s not that. I think love exists. I just think men don’t really know what love means. No offense.”
“None taken. Do you have any other tattoos?”
“No. Why?”
“Melody,” I softly tugged her hair. “We’ve already established you’re a terrible liar.”
“There’s one on my right ankle,” she smiled.
“What’s it say?”
“Nothing. It’s a tiny dolphin.”
“Interesting,” I couldn’t hold back anymore. I lifted her onto the edge of the pool and grabbed her face with my hands. I traced her lips with my tongue and kissed her deeply, barely giving her the chance to breathe.
“Matt…” she murmured.
I brushed strands of hair away from her face and palmed her br**sts, softly squeezing each one. I pushed her down against the flagstone and slowly untied the left side of her bikini.
“Matt…” her voice was weak.
“Wrap your legs around me,” I whispered.
She followed my command and moaned softly as I planted kisses across her stomach.
I started to untie the right side of her bikini and she sat up.
“We can’t,” she panted. “We should stop now.”
Damnit!
“Okay,” I let her go. “You’ve Got Mail now?”
“Yeah. We should go watch that.”
I pulled myself out of the pool and we dried off in silence. I tried to look at her face, to see what she was thinking, but each time I tried, she turned away from me.
She put in the DVD and sat on the other end of the couch. I moved closer.
We sat watching the opening credits—not touching, not talking.
Chapter 21
Melody
I could feel Matt watching me, waiting for me to turn and look at him.
Focus on Tom Hanks. Focus on Tom Hanks.
“Melody?” he kissed my shoulder.
I pretended I didn’t hear him. I kept my eyes locked on Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan’s encounter at the dinner party.
“So you’re attempting to act like you’re deaf?” he moved down to my collarbone.
Oh my god….
I felt him untying the back of my bikini top, whispering my name as he played with the strings.
“Matt…” I struggled to speak.
“You can hear me now?” he laughed and threw my top onto the floor.
I folded my arms to hide my br**sts. “This is the best part of the movie.”
“Melody,” he pulled me into his lap. “You and I both know you’re not really watching the movie.”
“Yes I am! This is the part where—”
His lips were on mine and I couldn’t remember what I was going to say.
This isn’t real…
“You were saying?” he pulled away and I knew he was teasing me.
“You’re a really good kisser.”
He smiled and moved me out of his lap, laying me across the couch. He pulled off his swim trunks and tossed them on the floor.
OH MY GOD! This definitely isn’t real!
He forced my arms away from my chest and pinned them above my head. “You have a beautiful body, Melody.”
I closed my eyes and felt him kissing my chest, softly biting my ni**les. I squirmed and moaned with each bite, failing to seem unaffected by his touch.
I felt his free hand fiddling with the strings of my bikini bottom, expertly loosening the triple knot I’d made minutes earlier.
“Matt…Wait…”
“Do you want me to stop?” he covered my mouth with his lips again, harshly biting my lower lip.
Never…
I was lost. Gone to some other world. I stared into his dark eyes, wondering if he could read my mind.
“Answer me,” he bit my lip again.
I gasped. “I don’t want to be on the couch...”
“Oh?” he moved back and pulled me up by my hair. “Where do you want to be?”
I caught my breath before answering. “My bedroom.”
He stood up, completely unfazed by his nakedness. “You want to show me where that is?”
I was too busy looking at his body to answer.
“Melody,” he helped me to my feet. “Where is your bedroom?”
I was still speechless. My heart was beating a rhythm I’d never known. Before I could calm myself down, before I could come back down to reality, Matt lifted me into his arms and carried me across the floor.
“I guess I’ll find it myself,” he looked down at me and kissed my forehead.