Page 14 of January (New Orleans #1)

B aton Rouge was a short drive from New Orleans, but since there would be drinking at the reception and it would be late when they wanted to leave, Bridgette had gotten them a hotel room about twenty minutes away from the church where the ceremony would take place. On the drive there, Melinda couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Kyle’s face. The image in her mind would alternate between how Kyle had laughed and smiled when Melinda had gotten back downstairs after changing to then the look of disappointment when Melinda had turned her down.

“Had I known you’d just be sulking the whole time, I wouldn’t have invited you,” Bridgette said.

“I’m not sulking,” she replied, turning her head toward her friend. “I’m just looking out the window.”

“And sulking,” Bridgette insisted. “Why did you say no to her if you want to go out?”

“You know why.”

“But you’re clearly upset about it. You told Jill it was a mistake right after you did it.”

“It was a mistake because I’ve ruined whatever friendship we could have had.”

“But she’s leaving, anyway. So, what’s the point of being friends?”

“People don’t have to live nearby for you to be friends with them, Bridge. You can have friends all over the world now,” Melinda teased.

“Yeah, I get it. I just don’t understand why you can’t at least try to see if there could be something there. You’re already hurting not doing it, Mel. We’re about to go to a wedding where two people will profess their undying love to one another and agree to commit themselves to another person, and I will likely be rolling my eyes because I’m jealous they have what I want. What about you?”

“I plan to sit still and clap when appropriate until it’s time to drink,” she replied.

“But you like her.”

“Please say that again because I have no idea how much I like Kyle,” she replied sarcastically with a little bite in her tone that she hadn’t intended.

“Okay. Sorry, it’s just that if I can’t find happiness, I want you to.”

“You’ll find happiness, Bridgette,” she replied. “It’s not like you’re a hundred years old and you’ve been without love your whole life. You’re twenty-seven.”

“I’m being dramatic, yes,” Bridgette said, pulling into the hotel’s parking lot. “But, Mel, you didn’t see it.”

“See what?”

“How you two looked at each other in the bar. I did. I saw it.”

“Us looking at each other?”

“Yes. Deeply, annoyingly, like two people who are so attracted to each other that they want to maybe get out of there and show the other person just how much.”

Melinda laughed and said, “Let’s go check in and get ready. We’re already running late, and I’m not getting to this wedding while the bride is about to walk down the aisle.”

“Fine. I’ll let it go for now, but not forever.”

“By the time you bring it up again, though, she’ll likely be back home, so it’ll be irrelevant.”

They got out of the car and took their overnight bags into the lobby with them to check in. They’d saved money by getting one room with two beds, and since neither of them had any plans on hooking up with someone tonight, it wasn’t a problem. Getting ready with only one bathroom, on the other hand, was. They had to share the one outlet and sink and try to make their hair look as decent as they could, given the likely humidity they’d face from the walk to the car and into the church. Truthfully, though, Melinda didn’t care about how she looked today. She could only really think about Kyle and that face, that disappointed face, and how much Melinda wished she could wipe that all away and start over.

Bridgette and Jill were both right: she could at least try. But Melinda knew herself, so she was worried. She didn’t want a long-distance relationship. She didn’t want to do the back and forth and wasn’t sure she could even get away as often as Kyle could because of work and the expense of it, which meant that if something did become real between the two of them, it would inevitably end in a fight after fight about Melinda not being able to visit or not wanting to leave New Orleans.

“Are you with me?” Bridgette asked her as they took the stairs into the church.

“I’m here,” she replied.

“You’re still thinking about her, aren’t you?”

“I’m thinking about everything,” Melinda told her.

The ceremony had been nice and short, which was a very good thing because there had been no air conditioning in the small church, and it had been crowded. Old-school hand fans had been on offer as wedding favors, but she hadn’t been smart enough to grab one before the ceremony, so when it ended, she was really happy to leave, with Bridgette in tow, and get out into the slightly cooler fresh air. Thankfully, the car did have air conditioning, and she blasted it as they drove to the site of the reception, which was a park and, therefore, outdoors.

“Hey, pretend you at least want to be here, okay? For me?” Bridgette said as they stood in line for their first drink of the night.

“I do want to be here,” she argued.

“You’ve checked your phone about ten times since we left the church. You told her you’d be at this wedding. She’s not going to text you, Mel.”

“I know,” she replied. “I just… It doesn’t matter. Let’s get drinks and have some fun.”

A few minutes later, they got their drinks and sat down, talking to some people neither of them knew until it was time for the meal. Then, they ate, talked to more people, drank some more, and they danced. When it was time for the bride and groom to head out, Melinda helped celebrate them with bubbles before she looked at Bridgette and silently asked if they could go back to their hotel now. Bridgette was talking to a friend of hers, though, and not paying attention, so Melinda went back to the bar, ordered another drink, and sat down at a round table. As she watched a few remaining couples on the dance floor, she thought about how much she’d like to dance with Kyle but that she’d never get the chance now.

She hadn’t checked her phone for over two hours, and even though she knew Kyle wouldn’t text, she was bored and figured she’d scroll social media until Bridgette was ready to go. She nearly spat out her drink when she saw that she had not one but two texts from Kyle from over an hour ago.

Kyle Schafer : Hey. I know you’re busy, but can we talk when you get a chance?

Kyle Schafer : It can be when you get back. Tomorrow, maybe. I don’t want to bother you.

Melinda smiled because she could picture Kyle typing those messages and probably looking all concerned and nervous, and it made her want to reach out and take Kyle’s hands to tell her that she had nothing to be worried about.

“Hi,” Melinda said when Kyle picked up the phone.

“Hey,” Kyle replied. “I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight.”

“I’m still at the reception, but it’s winding down. I hadn’t checked my phone in a while, or I would’ve texted you back, so I thought I’d just call to see if you were still up.”

“It’s only midnight,” Kyle said.

“And you’re such a party animal,” Melinda teased.

“I’m at the house. I checked out of the hotel, so I’m just going to stay here now. I’ve been going through things all day.”

“Is Jolie helping?”

“She is, but she passed out a while ago.” Kyle paused for a moment and then added, “She’s leaving, actually. ”

“Oh?” Melinda moved the phone to her other ear.

“Yeah. She told me she wanted to go home. She’s done with being a tourist, I guess.”

Melinda bit her lower lip and asked, “And you? Are you done, too?”

“No, actually. I’m going to stay for a while.”

“A while?” Melinda asked, ears perking up.

“We’re going to rent this place out, so I need to get it ready for that, and the other house needs some repair work.”

“You’re going to stay in town for all that?” she asked hopefully.

“I don’t know how long it will take, exactly, but yes. I really like New Orleans. It’s beautiful and has a lot to offer.”

“It does, yes,” she agreed, smiling wide.

“Including a beautiful tour guide.”

Melinda blushed and said, “Jill?”

Kyle laughed and replied, “She’s pretty, too, but I meant you.”

Melinda didn’t say anything this time, but she leaned over the table and waited.

“Mel, I… I know I don’t live here and that I don’t know exactly when I’ll leave, but I do know that I’ll be here for a while now. It’ll take me time to get this all straightened out, and there’s something keeping me here until it’s done. Jolie is flying home because she has a life back there and a job that requires her to be in the office. I don’t. And you told me the only reason you said no was that I was leaving, so I guess I’m putting that to the test. If I asked you out again, now that I’m staying for however long, would you still say no?” Kyle took a deep breath. “Would you give me a chance? Us a chance to see if this could be something? If not, I’d still understand. I’m sorry that I kind of ran off on you. I just didn’t think I could sit across from you at a restaurant and not think about the fact that you’d just said no.”

Melinda saw Bridgette, who was walking over to the table with her friend in tow, and she worried that they were about to get interrupted .

“Kyle, if we do this and it doesn’t work, can we still be friends?”

“I hope so,” Kyle replied. “But, honestly, I don’t know. I guess I’m just asking for one date. If it goes well, maybe a second. If it doesn’t, then we’ll know, and we can try to be friends and go from there.”

“Bridge is about to walk over here, and we’re probably about to head back to the hotel.”

“Oh, okay,” Kyle uttered.

“But we’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Do you maybe want to do something tomorrow night? Around seven?”

“Something? Like a dinner or drinks between friends?”

Melinda smiled and replied, “I was thinking something more.”

“Really?”

“I can’t stop thinking about you, Kyle. I’ve been sulking all day. Don’t tell Bridgette that she was right. I’ll never hear the end of it. And I don’t want to get my heart broken, but I wanted to say yes to you. I knew saying no was wrong the moment I did it. I felt it in my gut that I should’ve said yes. There was like this pull to follow you down the street and tell you that I was stupid and that I’d changed my mind.”

“You should have.”

“I know,” she said, laughing a little just as Bridgette and the friend made it to the table.

“Hey, we were thinking about grabbing tacos. You in?” Bridgette asked her. “There’s a great place on the way back to the hotel.”

“Tacos, huh?” Kyle asked, overhearing.

“Yes, I’m hungry,” Melinda replied. “And can I talk to you tomorrow?” she asked Kyle.

“Oh. You’re on the phone. Sorry,” Bridgette replied quickly. “Wait… Are you on with you-know-who?”

“Bridgette, shut up. Go away,” Melinda said, laughing.

“I’m a you-know-who now?” Kyle asked .

“You shut up, too,” Melinda replied, turning around and laughing. “Tomorrow?”

“At seven?” Kyle asked. “I’ll pick you up.”

“I can’t wait.”

“I bet you can’t!” Bridgette stated loudly from behind her.

Kyle laughed on the other end of the phone and said, “I can’t wait, either.”

“Good night, Kyle. I’ve got to go toss my drink into Bridgette’s face.”

After she hung up, Melinda turned around.

“Are you kidding me?”

“What? That was Kyle, right?”

“Yes. She asked me out again.”

“Determined, huh?” Bridgette noted.

“She’s staying.”

“Staying?”

“In New Orleans. For a while.”

“Yeah? How long is a while?”

“I don’t know. But I just had to say yes. You and Jill were right: it’s worth the risk.”

“I agree,” Bridgette replied and then turned to her other friend to explain, “She’s got the hots for a tourist, who also has the hots for her.”

“Cool. So, are we getting tacos?” the friend asked.

The tacos were delicious and filling, and after they were done, they dropped Bridgette’s friend off at her hotel next door and headed back to their own room. Melinda kicked off her shoes, and Bridgette went into the bathroom to get changed.

“So, a date?”

“Yes. Tomorrow,” Melinda replied. “So, I want to get back by, like, three or four at the latest. I need to get ready.”

“Will you be shaving?” Bridgette asked her, sticking her head out of the open doorway.

“Yes, but not because of that.”

“Then, why? ”

“I’m going to wear a dress, Bridge.”

“Easier for her to slip her hand under. Smart.”

“I’m not thinking about sex, Bridgette.”

“God, why not? She’s hot. I bet she’s great in bed.”

“Because it’s a date to see what’s there.”

“And you can see what’s there in the bedroom.”

“How about I just focus on not trying to put too much pressure on it, and you leave me alone to do that?”

“Fine. Fine. But that’s boring.”

Melinda plugged her phone into the charger and caught sight of another text on the screen.

Kyle Schafer : I wanted to say goodnight again. Can you let me know when you’re back at the hotel? Just to make sure you’re safe.

“She’s adorable,” Melinda stated out loud.

“Who?”

“She wants me to text to make sure I’m back safe.”

“That is adorable, damn it,” Bridgette replied.

Melinda sent a quick text back to Kyle and then took her time in the bathroom when Bridgette was done. Later, when she was already in bed, she rolled onto her side, picked up her phone from the table, and saw another message from Kyle.

Kyle Schafer : I’m glad you’re in for the night. Sweet dreams. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Melinda texted her back and put the phone away.

“You totally wish you were alone right now so that you could call her, don’t you?” Bridgette asked.

“Yes,” Melinda admitted with a smile before she rolled onto her back, thinking about Kyle and no longer picturing that look of disappointment on her face.