My Dirty Affair

Chapter Forty Four

"Melinda?"

"Did I wake you?"

"No, no, please, come in."

It was late and I was too tired to function. I wanted to go back home, but Emily would've probably made me stay up for an extra hour or two and give her details about my night. Besides, this is where I wanted to be. I needed to see him. I walked through the door and into his arms, pressing him close to me. He was warm and he smelled like a fresh shower.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

No, it wasn't, but I didn't want to bring my troubles to his doorstep. I continued to hold him, aware that the front door was wide open and we hadn't moved an inch. "I had to see you. Is it okay if I spend the night?"

"Of course." He closed the door after letting me go and led me into the living room. There was a pillow and blanket on the couch which could've meant that he was sleeping there waiting for me. "I'm sorry if the place is a mess."

I hadn't noticed there was a pizza box and beer cans littering the floor along with random pieces of clothes lying around. "It looks like a frat house in here."

"Sorry, I should've cleaned."

"No, it's fine." The pizza looked like he'd just ordered it. I helped myself to a slice because I hadn't eaten in hours besides the cannoli earlier.

"Let me straighten up for you. I don't want you to think—"

"Jon, seriously, it's okay." I said reassuringly. I enjoyed another slice of pizza and kicked off my shoes as I made my way to the couch. "Right now I'm too hungry to even care."

He laughed and joined me on the couch. "I'm glad you're enjoying the pizza."

"What were you watching?" I nodded toward the TV where the credits were rolling following the end of a movie. It was so fast that I didn't have time to determine what movie it was.

"I don't know, whatever was on TV. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I'm sorry about that again." I said, nibbling on the crust of my pizza. "I should've called."

"This is a pleasant surprise, I'll let it slide."

"Jon, I need to talk to you." Enough of the stalling, this had to be said now. I couldn't wait any longer, I'd put my life on hold for too long and denying myself the simple pleasure of love was unacceptable. I shifted on the couch, bringing my legs to my chest, and twisting so I could face him.

His eyes bobbled to my sudden movement, but he didn't say anything. He prompted his elbow on the back of his couch and rested his head on his hand. "I had a feeling."

"I know I've confused things with us, I haven't been taking your calls or given you a reasonable explanation as to why." Oh no, don't get nervous. My stomach was in knots at this point because up until now I've never gotten to know what he felt about me. Of course, I knew he liked me but after everything I didn't know if he wanted to be with me in the way I wanted to be with him.

"You think we should take things . . . slow?"

"No." I said, too fast. I cleared my throat. "Our pace has been very nice, but I'm saying I want to take the next step."

"The next step?" He asked, perplexed.

Honestly, did I have to spell it out for him? "Yes. I think we should move to the next stage of our friendship. I mean, I want us to give it a try."

"You mean, become exclusive?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Wow." He shook his head and my heart dropped into my stomach. That was a bad sign. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything, think about it. I needed some time to think and know for sure that I wanted to do this. So, what the hell, right?" I explained, pleading my case. "Ellis and I are no longer in contact," Not entirely true, but that was a work in progress. "I'm totally single."

"Are you divorced?"

"I—no."

"No?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"I mean, no." I sighed. "It's not that difficult, we don't have any kids or pets or belongings that would have to be split between us. It's a straight forward process and all I have to do is wait for my lawyer to do the paper work. Then, Ellis and I are meeting up to sign it together."

"How long is that going to take?"

"A week—two weeks, tops." I prayed that'd be all the time Ellis would need to figure out what he wanted to do about his father, Robert. I had decided at the hospital that I would stick around long enough to help both of them through this crisis and once it was settled, I would proceed with the divorce then.

For now, I had to prove by any means necessary that Ellis and I were finished. I remained determined to make Jon and I work.

He exhaled with content and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." I repeated. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No, not anymore."

Suddenly, it felt like the air changed. Like, the tension had dissolved and I felt free—a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I unfolded my legs and scotched closer to him. He felt more inviting now that we've developed a title. He smiled brightly, opening his arms to welcome me. I settled on his lap and rested my head on his chest. We remained there, like that for what could've been half an hour but I had a feeling it was probably shorter time than that.

Jon had been playing in my hair for the entire duration. He smiled. "This feels . . ."

"Better." I said.

"I was going to say new, but you could say that too."

"Why does it feel new to you?"

"I've never dated a married woman before."

I snorted. "That's probably a good thing, but there's a first time for everything."

"Hopefully this will be the only time."

I chuckled, but agreed. I reached up, needed to touch him after a few short months, I had to. His face was itchy with stubble, he turned his head and kissed my palm with soft lips. Then I realized we hadn't kissed yet. I trailed my hand from his face, down to his neck and curled my fingers around the back of his neck and urged him forward.

Realizing my intention, he lowered his head. Before long, our lips had finally connected. Every part of my body lit up in the sweetest way. I became happy and excited all at once and I knew I didn't want to let this man out of my grasp any time soon.

____________________________________________________

I miss Matt. I miss Ellis. And I miss Kaya. I miss a lot of characters, lol. So, be sure to keep a look out for them (and new characters) coming your way in the following chapters!

**Kaya and Melinda are going to have a bloody good reunion. [Insert cliché evil laugh]