Kelly Jamieson - Love Me

Melina snorted but said nothing.

“Uh-oh,” Abby said. “You two fighting?”

Melina scowled. “Not exactly.”

“What is it? You two seem so ‘in love’.”

She said those two words in a slightly mocking tone, which reminded Melina that Abby’s cousin had a reputation as a bit of a player. If girls could be players. Well, why the hell couldn’t girls be players? It was better than calling her a slut. Nobody called guys who slept around sluts.

Okay, they called them man-whores. Melina actually smiled.

“I’m just feeling neglected,” she told Abby lightly. “Gavin’s been going crazy at work lately, coming home late every night, no time for us.” She sighed then gave a little laugh. “I sound like a spoiled little brat, don’t I?”

Abby eyed her. “Nah, you don’t.” She paused. “Is he really working? Or do you think something else is going on?”

“The thought crossed my mind,” Melina said, keeping her tone as light as she could despite the rock that had materialized in her gut. “But I trust Gavin. He’d never do something like that.”

To her utter mortification, her voice got shaky as she said that and those pesky damn tears surged.

“Hey,” Abby said kindly. “I’ve known Gavin for a long time. If it’s worth anything, I don’t think he’d cheat either. That’s not him.”

“I know.” Melina used her fingertips to swipe the tears away without disturbing her mascara. “It’s just…” She lifted a shoulder. “He seems to have lost interest in me. I don’t think it’s someone else—if he says he’s working, I believe him. I’m just afraid that work is an excuse.”

“Oh.”

The two women sipped their wine, and Melina forced a bright smile. “Sorry. No need to dump all over you.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind. What makes you think he’s lost interest?”

Humiliation bubbled up in her as she recalled her failed seduction attempts, and she found herself sharing the stories with Abby, not every detail of course, but the gist of them.

“Oh, wow,” Abby said. “You’ve really been trying to get his attention.”

“Yeah,” Melina sighed. “One day I went to his office at lunch time to take him for lunch, but he was too busy to go. There wasn’t even sex involved with that one.” She sighed. “I just hate to think that when this project is done, we’re probably done, too. He won’t have a built-in excuse for not being with me.”

“Oh, no. I doubt that.”

“I don’t. And—” she sighed again, a whoosh of air that came from deep within her, “—I can’t go on like this. He doesn’t like to talk about feelings, but I need to know what’s going on.”

“Most guys don’t,” Abby said. “That’s doesn’t mean anything.”

“But sometimes you have to talk,” Melina insisted. “Don’t you think?”

“I guess. I’m probably not one to give you relationship advice.”

“I don’t know what else to do.” Melina took another sip of wine. She’d had several glasses that evening and hadn’t eaten much, her appetite squashed by depression. She was starting to feel pleasantly buzzed.

“Flirt with someone else,” Abby suggested with a devilish grin.

Melina laughed. “I couldn’t do that.”

“Why not? It’s just flirting. I’m not saying go out and have an affair. But maybe if he sees you flirting a little, jealousy might just give him a nudge. Make him realize what he’s almost losing.”

Gavin and Duncan had come in and were standing in the adjoining dining room near the food. Bowls of chips and dips were the attraction now. They stood there, talking and laughing, each with a beer in one hand and chips in the other. Gavin was so damn gorgeous, his T-shirt showing off his muscular shoulders, dark low-slung jeans hugging his tight butt, his handsome face shadowed just slightly with a day’s growth of beard. When he laughed and smiled, it just made her melt, damn him. And he hadn’t even waved at her when he’d come in from outside. One corner of her mouth turned down.

She looked around the room. Even if she wanted to flirt, there wasn’t exactly a lot to choose from. Most of the guys there were partnered up with wives or girlfriends and she wasn’t about to do that to one of them. All she needed was a reputation among Gavin’s friends as a man thief.

And the only single guys weren’t even flirt-worthy. Flirting with Chuck Bedson, with his skinny body, jeans up around his waist and premature bald spot, would make Gavin laugh as opposed to make him jealous.

“There’s not even anyone here to flirt with,” she complained, thinking that it actually didn’t sound like such a bad idea. When she and Gavin had started going out, they’d run into her old boyfriend, Steve, at a party. She’d just been talking to him, wasn’t interested in him at all any more, but Gavin had gotten bent out of shape about it and later admitted he’d been jealous. It had been kind of exciting. Maybe a little jealousy would be a little kick in the butt for him.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Abby said. “So, flirt with me.”

Melina laughed again. “Yeah, right.” She glanced at Abby sideways and when she saw the playful look on her face, her laugh dried up.

“I’m serious.” Abby smiled. “You want to get his attention? Nothing gets a guy hotter than a little girl on girl action.”

Melina swallowed hard and stared at Abby. “Well, yeah, but…I’m not a lesbian.”

“Neither am I,” Abby allowed. “Although I have played around a little.” She shrugged nonchalantly and at that moment Melina recalled talk about Kylie’s bisexual cousin. Whoa. “Again, I’m not saying to jump into a full-fledged affair. We can just flirt a little…” She reached out and ever-so-gently pushed a piece of hair off Melina’s face. “Get him going.” She arched a brow.

“Um…” Melina was rarely at a loss for words but this had temporarily tied her tongue in knots. She glanced over at Gavin. He’d been joined by another buddy and Gavin threw back his head and laughed.

Suddenly, Melina was filled with anger. He was having so much fun over there with his friends, totally ignoring her, after he’d rushed in late from work, expecting her to get his clothes ready, wrap the present that she’d had to go and buy, barely even saying two words to her all evening. Well, fuck him.

She turned to Abby and smiled, a tight little smile, but a smile. “You’re going to have to help me,” she said through tense lips. “’Cause I don’t have a clue how to flirt with another girl.”

Abby shifted her hips closer to Melina’s on the couch and smiled back. “Sure. Just follow my lead.” She leaned her head a little closer, too, moving into Melina’s personal space. The personal space that only Gavin had been inside for the last year and a half. She swallowed again, forced herself not to back off. “We’ll just talk for a few minutes, but try to look like you’re hanging on my every word.”

Melina nodded, meeting Abby’s dancing eyes. The fun and playfulness in them reassured her that that was no big deal. She was just having fun. She relaxed a little.

“Tell me about your job,” Abby invited, resting just her fingertips on Melina’s thigh.

“Um…well, you know I work at Jensen’s as a designer.”

“Yeah, I knew that. It sounds like a fun job.”

“It is.” Melina smiled again, held Abby’s eyes. “It’s hard work, but it’s creative, which I love. I like stretching the rules, putting together displays that get people talking.”

“Mmm. Kind of like what we’re doing right now.”

“Ah…yeah, I guess so.” It was funny thinking of it that way. She flicked a glance over to Gavin, who still stood talking to his friends.