Three to Tango (9 page)

“Mel—”

She held up a hand, and he snapped his mouth shut. “I can"t do this right now.

I need some time to digest everything.”

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55

She stood, then went to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

A wave of nausea roiled in his belly. It was done. Even if he wanted to, it

couldn"t be unsaid. There was no turning back now, and there was nothing left for

him to do but wait. He had no idea how long Mel would take to decide, but it was

already long enough for doubt to toy with his mind. He might have just destroyed

the best friendships he"d ever had.

He stood up and ran a hand through his hair, not quite sure what to do next.

He turned for the kitchen. A couple of beers ought to quiet the voices that whispered

he"d made an irreversible mistake.

Melody threw on a ball cap, laced up her favorite sneakers with shaky hands,

then let herself out of the house and started walking. She lost track of time as she

walked, turning the situation around and around in her mind. It had taken several

miles and several stops, but after a hot-fudge sundae, a soft pretzel, and a hot dog,

she"d finally gotten past the initial shock.

At first, it had been a huge blow to her ego. Almost as if Alec had said,
You’re

not enough for me, Mel
. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it

wasn"t that at all. Alec was in love with two people, just like she was. And if she had

the chance to be with both of them, she should take it.

Ah, but there was the rub. Jace could say no. And if he said no, it would

because he didn"t want
her
. She didn"t think her heart could handle that type of

rejection from him. Not to mention, if Jace said no, then who would Alec choose to

be with? What if they both rejected her?

Mel kept pounding the pavement, her brain in overdrive.

She"d spent the better part of an hour thinking of all the things she stood to

lose by agreeing with Alec and attempting to get Jace on board. It seemed

important that she spend equal time thinking about all the things she stood to gain

as well.

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Chloe Cole & L. C. Chase

First thing: Jace as a lover. And really, even if that were the
only
thing,

wouldn"t it be enough? As much as she always tried to categorize her feelings for

Jace as past tense, it was time for some tough self-love and a bit of a reality check.

She was now—as she had always been—madly in love with him. That love had

grown out of their unshakable friendship. It had been enough for a long time: to

love Jace from a distance. But now they had crossed a line, and damned if she didn"t

want to stay on this side of it. Their kiss had lit a sensual fire in her belly that still

burned.

And then there was Alec. Sweet, gorgeous, sexy Alec, who made her heart

pound with a new and wild love. She"d had one delectable taste and didn"t want to

give him up.

So what if she really could have them both? Wouldn"t she be a lucky girl?

When Mel walked back into the house, Alec was on the couch watching an old

black-and-white movie. He muted it when she stepped into the living room.

“Hey,” he said, his tone tentative.

“Okay.”

He sat up straight on the edge of the cushion, his expression hopeful. “Okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Let"s do it. Let"s try to convince Jace.”

“Seriously?”

Melody smiled. “Seriously.”

Alec jumped up and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his mouth to hers in

the sweetest, most reverent kiss. Everything in her wanted to melt into his warmth,

but she steeled herself and stepped out of his arms.

“Let me finish. I know Jace, and I know how his mind works. This is

something new and different. It doesn"t follow the master plan he has set out for

himself, so we"re going to have to handle this very carefully.”

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57

Mel looked into Alec"s warm green eyes, then looked away. Until this was

settled, she needed a clear head. “I think we actually have a shot of convincing him,

but you have to do exactly as I tell you.”

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Chloe Cole & L. C. Chase

Chapter Eight

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Melody said as she stumbled into the kitchen. Jace

was standing at the stove with his back to her in a pair of loose-fitting sweatpants,

snug tank top, and bare feet. The boy was always barefoot.

“Good morning, doll,” he said over his shoulder.

She was struck by a sudden overwhelming urge to stride right over and kiss

him—not chaste like friends, like they used to do, but full-on, like lovers. Like the

kiss they"d shared this past weekend. If he said no to their proposition, she didn"t

know how she"d go back to the way things were after that kiss. But a life without

Jace in it was unimaginable, so she"d just have to learn to deal with it.

God, I hope he says yes.

Between work and planning, it had taken two days to figure out how exactly

they were going to broach the subject with him. In the end, Alec had agreed that

they stood a better chance of Jace accepting the idea if it came from Alec first.

Since they"d made the decision, Melody"s confidence had grown. Maybe it

wasn"t romantic yet, but she knew Jace loved her in his own way. They wouldn"t

have been so close for so long if not. She also knew by the way Jace looked at Alec,

watched him when he thought no one was looking, that he loved him too. He would

see this was the perfect situation. But now that the day was finally here, doubts

began to wiggle their way in. What if she was gambling the only thing, the only

person, she couldn"t possibly function without? Was it really worth it?

Melody pushed confusion and worries away with force, then cleared her throat.

“I hope you"re not making a gourmet breakfast for me today.” She poured a cup of

morning thunder, then sat at the table. “I"m just going to grab a Pop-Tart and run.”

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59

Jace spun around with eyes wide, mouth forming a perfect O, one a hand over

his chest and the other holding the spatula out like a weapon. “Blasphemy!” he

gasped in mock horror. “There"d better not be anything of the sort in
my
kitchen,

Hellz.”

Melody laughed, then, feigning innocence, laid on her haughty Southern belle

tone, “Why, sir, I"m sure I don"t know what you mean.”

He turned back to his task chuckling, and she relaxed a little. It felt good to

banter with him again. The last couple of days had felt strained. That kiss had

changed their dynamic on some fundamental level. Maybe the tension between

them had more to do with him liking the kiss than anything else.

In search of a distraction, her gaze slid around the kitchen and landed on the

counter. The counter Alec had bent her over as he pounded into her from behind

and bit at her nape, his hot breath in her ear short-circuiting her brain. Heat

skimmed over her skin at the memory, beelining to her abdomen. She shifted in her

chair and squeezed her thighs tight together as she stifled a moan. She would never

look at that countertop the same again.

“Melody?” Jace"s voice cut into her thoughts. She looked up into his beautiful

blue eyes and saw concern in their depths. “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course.” She slapped what she hoped was a carefree smile on her

face, then took a sip of coffee, retreating from his far too observant gaze.

“You zoned out for a minute there.”

“I"m all good,” she said lightly. “Just daydreaming.”

“Oh-kay…” Jace paused for a moment and then much to her relief, turned back

to his breakfast prep, letting it go. “Well, where are you running off to anyway?”

“I"m not running off just yet,” she said. “You didn"t think I was serious about

skipping out on one of your gourmet specialties, did you?”

“Better not, baby doll.”

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Chloe Cole & L. C. Chase

“I am taking off soon, though. Gotta go down to San Diego for a volleyball

tourney. I won"t be back until tomorrow night.”

“I don"t remember you having any games this week.” Jace turned and placed a

plate of fresh-cut oranges on the table, then went back to the stove.

“My team doesn"t, but USD needs a spare, and you know I"ve got the best spike

in the state.”

“Modest much?” he teased.

Alec stumbled in wearing nothing but low-slung shorts, bed head, and bare

feet. What was it with these guys and their bare feet? And why were they making

her heart stutter in her chest and her whole body run hotter than a Texas summer

day lately? It wasn"t like she hadn"t seen them before. Who knew she"d develop a

foot fetish?

“Hey,” he said, voice gruff and so damn sexy.

“Morning, sunshine,” Jace sang as he turned around with two steaming plates

in his hands and placed them on the table. “Sit.”

“Damn, that smells good.” Alec dropped into his chair. When Jace turned back

to the stove to fix his own plate, Alec looked over at her and winked. Tonight was

the night. Hopefully, if all went well with him and Jace, the three of them could sit

down tomorrow night and set their new living arrangement into motion. And then

Melody could act on all those crazy images in her head of the three of them together.

If
he said yes…

Pressure on Melody"s knee distracted her from the worrisome thoughts. She

looked up and met Alec"s eyes. He mouthed,
It’ll be okay
, then gave her knee

another squeeze. She nodded and smiled.

She dug into fluffy eggs scrambled with smoked salmon, avocado, and

tomatoes and almost creamed her panties right there. “Oh my God, Jace.” She

moaned and rolled her eyes. “You"ve done it again.”

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61

He watched her through hooded eyes as he reached for his glass of juice and

tilted his head. “Thank you, my dear.”

“Ditto,” Alec said.

They ate in silence, and when Alec"s plate was spotless, he leaned back in his

chair with a mischievous expression on his face.

“So Jace,” Alec said nonchalantly, “I gotta work for a while today, but since the

girl"s away, the boys should play. What do you say? Up for a little man action

tonight?”

The mouthful of juice Jace had just taken did an about-face and exited his nose

in a glistening orange shower.

Melody tried to hold back her laugh, but then she made the mistake of looking

over at Alec, and they both burst out in hysterics.

Point to Alec.

He had to be joking around, Jace thought as he hooked his heel over the barré

and leaned into his knee, stretching his hamstring. Alec was straight, and even

though Jace had been picking up some contradictory vibes lately, he still couldn"t

believe his roommate had meant the comment the way he"d taken it. But if he did,

well… Jace smiled. After tonight Alec would be his lover, and Mellz would be his

laundry wench.

Mel.

He couldn"t stop thinking about the kiss they"d shared on Roomie Night and

how her lips had felt against his. More confusing was why he kept thinking about it.

He didn"t do girls. Granted, Mellz didn"t classify with the rest of the female

population, but still.

“Hey, Jace.” Mel walked a few feet into the studio, gym bag over her shoulder.

“I"m outta here. The kitchen is all cleaned up.”

“Thanks, honey,” he said. “Show "em how a real woman spikes.”

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Chloe Cole & L. C. Chase

“You know it.”

Mel stood there looking at him with a contemplative expression on her face for

a long moment. She bit down on one side of her lower lip. Jace dropped his leg back

to the floor and turned to fully face her, hating to think that she might feel unsure

around him. That kiss, which neither of them should still be thinking about, wasn"t

meant to be any more than it was. A dare.

So why didn"t that explanation sit well with him?

Mel released her lip, rolled her shoulders back, hitched her chin up, and

walked toward him looking confident and determined.

She stopped mere inches from him, her clear blue eyes flashing. She reached a

hand up to the back of his neck, pulled his head to hers, and kissed him. There was

nothing tentative about it. She slanted her lips over his, soft and warm and hungry,

and when his own lips parted in shock, she dived in, her tongue luring his into an

erotic dance, telling him that yes, she remembered their kiss, and it wasn"t just a

dare. And damn if he didn"t feel a rush of joy in his chest at the thought. Then she

broke it off abruptly and stood back with her trademark “watch out, world—Hellody

Melody"s in the house” smile.

“Later, twinkle toes,” she chirped, as if she hadn"t just kissed him like the

world was about to end. “You"ve got thirty hours alone with Alec. Make the most of

it.”