Chapter 49
Jocelyn was dying to know how Melvin had figured out she was here.
Was it just a n
or was he tailing her?
“Sorry to burst your bubble as a detective,” Jocelyn said as she walked past him.
Melvin reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her into him with a bit of force. He had a cigarette in his mouth, arm wrapped
around her waist, squinting through the smoke like he’d been hit with tear gas, “Running off to where?”
“Home,” Jocelyn said, her hand against his chest, “Bummed you didn’t catch me?”
Melvin knew she was miffed. He stamped out his cigarette under his shoe, “How about we go upstairs and get a
room?”
“So, who spilled the beans? Jocelyn fixed her gaze on him.
Their conversation was all over the place, but they got the mismatched vibe.
A sly grin played on Melvin’s lips. “Would you buy it if I said it was a coincidence?
“Yeah, right, Jocelyn raised an eyebrow, “I’ll believe anything you say.”
“Bullshit.”
Jocelyn tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but Melvin wasn’t having any of it.
“What are you running from, really?”
“Going home to sleep.”
“Let’s go, Melvin said, opening the car door and nudging her.
Jocelyn resisted, “We’re not going the same way.”.
“To my place or yours, same endgame sleep, Melvin’s eyes said it all, and Jocelyn thought he was crawling with eroticism.
“I’m not in the mood today.”
“Because of that guy?” Melvin pinched her wrist, “Jocelyn, that’s bad.”
Jocelyn glared at him, “Not sleeping with you and it’s because of another guy?”
“What else? When a woman suddenly doesn’t want to sleep with a man, nine times out of ten she’s got someone else. on her
mind,” Melvin put forth his theory as if it was rock solid.
–
Jocelyn rolled her eyes, then something caught her attention a woman decked out to the nines but still sticking out like a sore
thumb.
Melvin frowned at the mention, but the woman was giving him the eye.
He turned just in time to see Willow getting into a low-key Volkswagen, spotting someone inside when the door opened.
“You didn’t come here for her, did you?” Jocelyn teased.
Melvin looked away, pushing her into the passenger seat, “Time to go home and sleep.”
Jocelyn was shoved in, and he roughly buckled her in, warning, “Behave.”
Jocelyn stared at him.
Melvin slammed the car door shut and walked around to the driver’s side, driving away.
There was some traffic, and they ended up next to the Volkswagen with Willow in the back. Jocelyn could barely make out a
shouette through the tinted windows
There’s a guy with her Jocelyn reported helpfully. “She didn’t just pick some random dude after you turned her down, did she?”
Melvin shot her a glance, “Why don’t you hop out and ask her?”
Jocelyn wrinkled her nose, “She’s not my woman, why should 17”
“Is she mine?” Melvin shot back.
“Who knows!”
Melvin huffed, “Don’t think this will make me forget you went into a hotel with another guy.”
◌ོ ༈
Jocelyn was speechless.
Melvin brought Jocelyn back to his place and pinned her against the door as soon as they entered, leaning in close, “What did
you do with that guy? Why were you together?” He hadn’t dared to ask in the car, afraid he might lose it and cause an accident.
Jocelyn didn’t expect him to still be hung up on that.
“We bumped into each other, then I treated him to barbecue, but he has a weak stomach. I was worried, so I took him back to his
hotel, Jocelyn said outright. That’s it.”
“By chance?” Melvin didn’t buy it. “You didn’t call to arrange it?”
Jocelyn wasn’t the least bit annoyed by his persistent questioning and doubt.
She just looked at him steadily, a smile slowly spreading across her face.
Melvin narrowed his eyes, “What’s so funny?
“Are you jealous? Jocelyn asked.
Melvin paused, then let her go, “Are you kidding me?”
“Then I’m going home. Jocelyn didn’t press him and turned to open the door.
Bang!
Jocelyn found herself pressed against the door, her hands raised and interlocked above her head against the door by him, his
voice coming from above, “Next time you dare to be alone with another guy, watch how I’ll deal with you!”
His threat sounded hollow as his kisses landed on the back of her neck, nibbling like a dog.
Jocelyn tilted her head, a bit tickled, “If I were really dating another guy, do you think you’d even notice? Ouch!”
The pain on her shoulder was quickly dampened by wetness, as he alternated between biting and kissing, sending tremors
through Jocelyn
Melvin turned her around, his breath rough.
His eyes were clear with intent, “You better be skilled enough to keep it from me, or I’ll kill you.”
With that, he kissed her lips.
Jocelyn’s hands naturally climbed onto his shoulders, reciprocating his kiss.
If something made them both happy, she had no reason to refuse.
Clothes scattered on the floor, Melvin carried her to the couch. Just as he was about to get down to business, the phone on the
floor rang.
it was an insistent ringtone, grating on the nerves of the two in their moment of pleasure
Jocelyn pushed Melvin away, “Either answer it or turn it off”
Melvin swallowed hard as he got up to grab his pants off the floor, fishing out, the phone with disgust. He glanced at the
But after rejecting the call, he saw a message on Facebook saying. [Melvin, save me.]
He clicked in, it was a location.
Jocelyn, hearing no phone conversation, turned to see his face change.
“What’s up? Jocelyn asked, covering herself with a cushion, “Something wrong?”
Melvin redialed, but the phone was already off.
“I’ve got to step out for a sec, Melvin quickly dressed.
Jocelyn calmly asked, “Is it Willow?”
As soon as Melvin heard that name, he couldn’t help but frown, “You go to sleep first.”
No response, and that was that
Jocelyn didn’t say much more. After he left, she slowly got up, got dressed, tidied up her hair a bit, grabbed her stuff, and headed
out the door.
She picked up some barbecue and beer from the market downstairs from her apartment, went home, turned on the TV, and
munched on her midnight snack solo.
The variety show on TV was cracking her up, but even Jocelyn felt her laughter was half-hearted.
If you were to tell her Melvin had no feelings for Willow, she wouldn’t buy it.
While half-watching TV, she pulled out her phone and opened Twitter. With one refresh, she saw a trending topic [Willow, face
covered in blood, taken away by an ambulance.]
Jocelyn clicked in to see the picture. It wasn’t very clear, but the ambulance was hard to miss.
Scrolling down, she found there was a video, just as blurry, but she recognized another person in it.