Melt Read online

  “Well, that’s very nice of you, Elvin, and I’m just doing my job. Just … next time you have a bunch of wild animals break loose, teach your rangers the proper technique to tangle them back up.” I laugh, signaling my joke.

  But really, I don’t know why it got that out of hand that they had to call me in. Men, I swear.

  “Will do, you have a great weekend now.”

  I wish him the same and hang up, practically sprinting from the office before I can get pulled back into one more conversation. In the parking lot, Jenna waves as she gets into her Honda truck, and I wave back at my new friend. Over the past week or so, we’ve eaten together every day, and she’s given me some tips about life in the national office. There is more red tape, also known as bullshit, to deal with. People who I should avoid, and those who I should press my lips against their ass. She’s been a good ally, and has rather funny anecdotes to get me through the day sometimes.

  I’m just about to start the engine to my little red Camry when my phone pings with a text message. Before Lennon, which I refer to as BL because my life changed so much after becoming a parent, I would have checked it while driving. But I’m trying to set a good example, blah blah, and so I put the keys down and pick up the phone before venturing out onto the road.

  Derek: Thinking about coming out to see you both. Missing the girly. Would that be okay?

  I sigh and rest my head back against the seat. You’ve got to be kidding me. Almost a month has gone by since we left Seattle, and I’ve barely heard from him. And now, now that we’re finally getting settled, he wants to jostle Lennon with a visit when I know he won’t stay.

  I told him when I left, our argument awkward and not heated like it should have been for a woman and man who were splitting up after eight years, that I would never keep him from his daughter. And I meant it.

  But I also knew Derek, and I knew that this idea was probably spur of the moment, and would pass within the hour.

  Samantha: Sure, that would be fine. She would love to see you. Just let me know your plans and/or dates.

  Jesus, help me. I hadn’t seen my bearded, mountain man of an ex in almost a month, and surprisingly, I hadn’t been hurting all that much. Our relationship had gone downhill after Lennon was born. And by downhill, I meant that Derek just seemed to vanish. It was like his inability to be a good father completely turned me off to him as a boyfriend.

  Sure enough, three minutes later and still no response. Not even any little bubbles indicating that he was typing, or thinking of a plan. I knew right then that he wasn’t serious about flying across the country to see his daughter. And while that was sad, I was also kind of selfishly happy.

  Buckling my seatbelt and heading for the highway home, I was surprised when my cell began to ring through the Bluetooth. With the delay of the car, stupid technology, I wasn’t able to read the name who was calling on the dashboard, and I just picked it up thinking it was either my mom. Or less likely, Derek, wanting to talk about a visit.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Samantha, it’s Jake. How was your week?”

  Instantly my heart drops and beads of sweat gather at the back of my neck, and I feel like I should pull over to the side of the road because no way can I have this conversation while driving.

  But I’m in bumper to bumper and there is no way I can leave the babysitter with Lennon any longer. My daughter might have eaten her whole as it is.

  “Ja … Jake, nice to hear from you.” Was it? Since I’d given him my number, I’d thought about him calling until I was shaking my legs in bed like a fifteen-year-old girl. “My week was … well it was hectic to be honest, but I’m happy it’s Friday. How was yours?”

  It felt strange having this conversation with a man, a very sexy man, while a pair of my daughter’s underpants sat on the passenger seat along with a half empty canister of animal crackers and a stack full of grocery store coupons. If that didn’t depict my life right there, nothing did.

  “It was pretty good, but I wanted to make it even better. Would you go out with me tomorrow night?”

  “Damn, you cut right to the chase, don’t you?”

  I slap a hand over my mouth, completely appalled that I just said that out loud.

  A husky laugh comes through my Bluetooth. “In fact I do, but normally people like that quality in a man.”

  He was kind of right. “I am so sorry, now I’ve shown just how rusty I am at this whole conversation, not to mention dating, thing.”

  “So that’s a yes, then? You’ll go on a date with me?” I can practically see his smug, charming smile at the other end of the phone.

  Thumbing through the mom-calendar in my head, I determined that I had nothing planned for Saturday night. And why not go? I mean, he wasn’t a total stranger, which eliminated the awkward “Is he a serial killer?” debate that one sometimes had when trying to date again. And he was cute. Had a job. Seemed relatively down-to-earth. If my correspondence with Derek was any clue, I no longer had feelings for my ex. Who said a single mother couldn’t also find love?

  Well, almost every ounce of time on the clock and a petulant three-year-old, but that was beside the point.

  “If I can get a sitter, sure I will.” I slipped in the part about Lennon because I wanted this guy to know now, my daughter came first.

  “Why don’t you bring her along? We can do something PG.” The way he said it implied that he wanted to do non-PG things with me, and it made my thighs tingle.

  But my heart also fluttered, in a way it hadn’t in a long time. Not that I’d had much experience other than Derek, but the fact that a man, who wasn’t my daughter’s father, wanted to include her in a date … well, the significance wasn’t lost on me.

  “That would be … really nice, thanks. Should I give you some ideas or—“

  “No need, I have some up my sleeve.” His voice was mysterious and boyish, and suddenly, I didn’t know who would enjoy this date more, Lennon or me.

  “All right, just nothing with slime or Jell-O, I’m not trying to clean up a mess.”

  “You’re telling this to a guy who makes ice cream for a living. I practically live mess. But okay, I’ll abide by your rules. I’ll pick you two up, now that you have my number, text me your address.”

  Alarm bells went off. A stranger having my address, Lennon’s car seat in someone else’s car, was he even a good driver? Mentally, I slapped myself. I had to stop this. I’d promised myself when I moved here that the mania and worrying would lessen. That I’d give life a chance to surprise me more, and take me where I was supposed to go.

  “Sounds like a date.” I try to use my flirtiest tone possible, and I think I kind of achieve it.

  We hang up, my heart still doing that two step it had picked up ever since Jake’s voice came through the car stereo.

  And then I went into full on panic mode again. Because Jesus, what the hell was I going to wear?

  Six

  Samantha

  Smoothing down the maroon colored blouse I’d decided on, my eyes shifted to the window again. I was already nervous enough about my first date in eight years, but the fact that another man would be driving my child around was what was making my heart really pound.

  Mentally cataloging, I made sure I had everything I’d need in this stripped-down diaper bag. Lennon’s car seat was on the floor next to us, ready to be put in Jake’s car as soon as he showed up. He’d insisted on driving, something I was having a hard time letting go of control for.

  I was showing up to this date with literal baggage. I let out a quick laugh, thinking that if he could handle that, then the man must be too good to be true.

  “Mommy, where we go?” Lennon danced around the lobby of our apartment building, jigging to some imaginary music in her head.

  “We’re going on a little adventure with a friend.” I stared out the glass front doors again.

  “Yeah, but where?” Her questions never stopped these days.

  “You’ll see
when we get there.” I couldn’t very well tell her that I wasn’t sure myself, because this would only attract more attention and questions.

  My palms were sweaty, and I examined my white jeans and simple white Keds. I’d gone cute and casual for the date, but was a little daring with my white before Memorial Day. My long dark hair was down, blown dry thanks to a few minutes of Sesame Street distracting Lennon. And I was panicking. At least I had a buffer in my daughter, and an excuse if the “date” got weird or I just wasn’t feeling it.

  Part of the reason I was a little schitzy was because before now, I guess I hadn’t allowed myself to really appreciate how attractive Jake was. Sure, I’d had a few fleeting images of him since we’d met, or I guess seen each other again, outside of the monuments. He had that classic movie star look, like James Dean or Guy Madison. Pure American male, the brown hair dusted with gold, and a dimple to boot. I hadn’t seen him standing outside of his truck yet, but from what I’d seen, I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

  “Park! I want to go see ducks!” Lennon grabbed onto my leg, pulling at my shirt.

  Back in Seattle, I would take her to the park almost every Saturday to throw little bread crumbs at the ducks in the pond. It was the first time she’d asked me since we’d moved, and I guess I now had to find a similar park somewhere close to us.

  “Hey.” A male voice and the glinting of the sun off glass as the lobby doors open attracted my attention.

  Damnnnnn. Would it be inappropriate for me to whistle?

  Jake strolled across the lobby on long, jean clad legs, his body large and lean, taking up space even though the ceilings were vaulted. His hair was brushed back but still a little wild, his muscular arms peeking out of a dark gray T-shirt that showcased the sculpted body underneath. A grin covered his full lips, the dimple popping out and making my stomach drop.

  This man looked like one of those supermodels for Abercrombie & Fitch, but all grown up. Like at any moment, you could pop him on a beach on Nantucket with a classic pigskin football in his hands and he would look totally natural. If Derek was anything to go by, Jake was completely opposite of my type. I liked beards and tattoos, a little rough around the edges. It was odd that this man, who I embarrassingly did not remember from college, was doing something for me.

  “Hi, Jake.” I smiled back, genuinely happy to be doing something different this Saturday.

  “Ice cream!” Lennon ran to him, holding out her hands like he was going to provide her with a loaded cone from his back pocket.

  He chuckled, bending down to her level. “Hey, Lennon, good to see you. I don’t have any ice cream today, but maybe we’ll get you something later.” He looked up at me, green eyes taking in my entire body. “If it’s okay with your mom, of course.”

  My daughter doesn’t even look at me. “It’s okay, promise.”

  I roll my eyes as he stands. “You can see who the boss is around here.”

  “I’ll be sure to remember that. It’s good to see you, you look really nice.” He leaned in, his lips meeting my cheek for the briefest of seconds, sending tingles across my skin.

  The move was a statement; while my daughter might be accompanying us, this was definitely a date. My heart rate kicked up.

  A tiny hand reached out from below and latched onto Jake’s. Looking down, Lennon had already claimed his as her own.

  “We go now?” She looked up at him with her big brown eyes, and I swear I saw the minute he fell under her spell.

  I hiked the bag on my shoulder up and bent to retrieve her car seat, but it was lifted before I could pull it up.

  “I got it. Need me to take that too?” He held the car seat like it weighed nothing, while Lennon gripped his other hand.

  Jeez. My ovaries may have swooned. “I’ve got it. So where are we going?”

  We walk to his car, a smaller black SUV, and he fishes out his keys to unlock it.

  “Who’s more impatient, you or your daughter?” He smirks, his dimple mesmerizing me.

  He was teasing me, and I liked it. It felt better that he wasn’t trying to yes me to death, or act like an overly-smooth gentleman. I smiled to myself as I put Lennon’s car seat in the back, strapping it in well.

  “I sit up front.” Lennon crossed her little arms across her chest and gave that pouty lip that made me want to scream and kiss her at the same time.

  “Maybe in a year or two, big girl. But for now, why don’t you help me navigate from the back seat? I need someone to help me look out the windows.”

  Jake seamlessly pacified her, and she climbed up and into her seat with his help. Amazed, I silently buckled myself into the passenger seat, noting how clean his car was.

  “Did you get your car cleaned for today?” I had my suspicions, and it just popped out.

  As he slid his seatbelt across his broad torso, he paused. “Is it that obvious?”

  I titled my head and smiled. “It smells like that nice wash the professional carwash uses, and there are no crumbs in your cup holders. I should probably never have you in my car.”

  Jake kept his eyes on the road, but I could feel the proximity now of my body to his. Lennon hummed in the back, occupying herself like she sometimes did.

  “So how was your week?” He breaks the silence.

  I sigh, resting into the seat because I’m glad it’s the weekend. “Busy, but productive. I’m getting up and running at work, trying to settle us both. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s nice to be home.”

  I couldn’t remember what he studied at Madison, and I hoped he didn’t know more about me than I knew about him going into this. Honestly, I couldn’t even remember him from back then, which showed how much attention I must have been paying to overlook a guy like Jake.

  “And what is it that you do? Sorry, I can’t remember what you were studying. Not that I knew or anything … we barely said hi in college. I wasn’t some creep.”

  That made me laugh, because maybe we were thinking the same things. “Good to know. I work for the National Parks Departments as a … coordinator of sorts. I’m the contact in the national office for every park ranger around the country.”

  Jake weaves us through traffic as he raises an eyebrow. “Impressive. Is that what you went to school for?”

  It was nice to have someone genuinely asking about what I did. It wasn’t often that I got to talk about my career, something that I was, in fact, very proud of.

  “Actually no, not at all. I went to become a teacher and kind of … ended up working for a national park out in Seattle after school.” I didn’t know if I should disclose anything about Derek, or the relationship I’d had with Lennon’s father.

  Was that too heavy for a first date? Then again, I had brought my three-year-old so, clearly, he knew I wasn’t a snow white virgin.

  “That’s cool, and now you’re big time, huh? I bet you’re awesome.” He smiled, casting a quick glance on me. “I didn’t know you grew up in the area.”

  We take a turn off the highway onto familiar territory, and I try to guess in my head where he might be taking us. “Yep, went to high school just outside near my mom’s house in Virginia. How about you, was Madison close to home?”

  Jake’s hands grip the steering wheel, his big fingers flexing and controlling the car with ease. “No, actually, I’m from upstate New York. Buffalo area, wing capital of the world.”

  His wink has me laughing, and Lennon laughs from the backseat too just to mimic me. “So you’ve always been focused on food then, huh?”

  “Truthfully, I went to college for business. Which I guess is good, since I started one. But my family is all still up there, running the largest chain of car dealerships in the region. It just wasn’t for me.”

  His voice is tinged with something, but I leave it alone. Maybe I’m not the only one with baggage in this vehicle.

  “President!” Lennon shrieks, pointing to a big white building that is most definitely not The White House.

  I can’t help the la
ugh that bubbles forth. “Ever since I told her we’d be moving back, she is obsessed that we live in the same town as the president. Not that I think she even knows half of what the president does or even who he is, but it’s a selling point so I’ll take it.”

  “Lennon, are you going to be president someday?” Jake yells to the back.

  She claps her hands, her sweet baby noises still melting my heart. “Yes!”

  “Believe me, she can do anything she sets her mind to. Like clogging the toilet with a baby doll, painting the rug in spaghetti sauce. She’s really very talented.” I reach my hand around the seat and tickle her legs, her loud belly laugh filling the car.

  “It takes real talent.” Jake nods soberly and pulls the car into a parking lot.

  Looking up, my lips spread wide in jubilee. “You didn’t.”

  “I did. One of the funnest places on earth, not to mention DC Come on, let’s go.”

  Peering up at the building, I can’t wait to get inside. I know Lennon is just going to love the Smithsonian National Zoo.

  Seven

  Jake

  The zoo had been a brilliant idea on my part, if I did say so myself.

  Lots of meandering time to talk, cute animals to occupy the silent spaces, kid friendly, and great snacks along the way. All around, I’d planned a kickass date. And with my connections and some strings I’d greased and pulled, I’d gotten us up close and personal with the penguins, an activity that Lennon had loved.

  I wanted to impress Samantha, but I also wanted to knock her socks off by how well I was treating her daughter. Not that my intentions were insincere; Lennon was truly cute and fun to be around, and her comments made me laugh my ass off. I don’t think I’d ever gone out with a woman who had a child, much less taken one on a date with kid in tow. I’ll admit I’d been intimidated leading up to it, but all in all, we’d done great.