The One That Got Away by M. B. Feeney Page B

reassured me she was going to be fine.
    So much so, that once her mum had left to go home, Mel turned to me with a glint in her eye. “I see someone missed me.” She dropped her eyes to my crotch, and mine followed.
    I was shocked to see that my cold shower wasn’t as successful as I’d hoped. The towel still wrapped round my waist was tented, and Mel had ideas. Slowly, she hobbled over to me and managed to loosen the towel, watching as it dropped to the floor, her smile widening. “I’ve missed you, too.”
    It took every ounce of my willpower to not push her away, that wouldn’t have been fair. In the end, I didn’t need to. The moment she touched me, all signs of arousal disappeared.
    “Shit,” was all I could mutter while bending to retrieve my towel and cover myself up. I’d never before experienced problems with my performance, even after a heavy night drinking.
    “Don’t worry, babe, it happens to lots of guys, especially when they’re tired.” Mel gave me a peck on the cheek and made her way back into the front room. “Once I’m back up and running, we’ll make up for it.” Her laughter made me shiver.
     
    :: ::
     
    I waited just over a week to make sure that Mel was recovering fully and able to rely on herself to get around on her crutches, not wanting to leave her unable to look after herself, no matter how much I needed to talk to her, and make a start on the next step in my life.
    During a late bus ride home from work, I planned what I was going to say to her, even considering possible arguments she’d make. I also called my mate, Paul, to talk about going to stay with him for a while. He was my only university friend who’d stayed in the area.
    “Of course you can crash here. I’ll be honest, mate, when you hooked up with that chick back at uni, I expected her to last a week tops, never mind years,” he commented when I asked my favour.
    “If I was being honest, neither did I.” I thanked him for agreeing to let me stay with him before laughing off his ideas of the two of us going out so I could get Mel out of my system. After telling him I’d let him know what was happening soon, I hung up.
    When I let myself into the house I was assaulted by the smell of my favourite meal being prepared. My heart sank at the sound of Mel humming to herself. She was pottering about in the kitchen making dinner, not a care in the world, as I walked in from the darkness outside.
    “Hey, baby. Dinner’ll be ready in forty-five minutes.” She stood on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss, wincing a little when she twisted at the waist. She may have been off her crutches, but was still having to take painkillers now and then when she overdid things.
    “Hey.” I felt sick and couldn’t begin to stomach the idea of eating. This conversation needed to be as swift and painless as possible.
    “Are you okay?” Mel stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me, worry on her face.
    “We need to talk.”

Chapter Eight

     
    Heidi:
    Considering I’d only been away for a couple of days, it took me almost a week to recover in full. The routine of getting the kids up, washed, dressed, and dropped off at school, before making my own way to work was as mundane as it’d been before the reunion. At least I was able to run on autopilot since I couldn’t shed the event from my mind. I’d been back in work at the café for a week, thinking I was putting on a great act for everyone. At least until Sophia, my best friend and fellow lackey at the café, dragged me outside for a cigarette following a crazy-busy lunch run.
    “What the hell happened in London?”
    I looked at her in shock.
    “Oh, come on. I know you think you’re fooling everyone else, but I know you a bit better than they do.”
    Did she ever! The first friend I made after moving into the area, she’d seen me at my worst, after I finally got the balls to kick Jason out when he’d cheated on me, again. She’d also seen me at my best,