Craving My Mother's Hot Fiancé

Melissa's POV

The music was too loud. It was so loud I could feel the vibrations on the floor, and to be honest I wanted to get the fuck out of here.

I stood near the edge of the crowd, with my arms crossed over my chest, one heel tapping against the floor and no I wasn't enjoying the music.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The red dress Troy had picked out still felt like a costume on someone else's body. The slit kept sliding up my thigh no matter how many times I tugged it down, and the neckline seemed determined to introduce my breast to every stranger in the room. I'd given up fighting it twenty minutes ago.

Everyone was drinking around me, the smell of bodies and cheap drinks were overwhelming.

Someone's elbow caught my ribs as they danced past. I didn't even bother turning around.

Troy had vanished into the crowd thirty minutes ago with a "just getting us drinks, babe" and hadn't come back.

I pulled out my phone. No texts.

I exhaled slowly through my nose. Fine. Great. Wonderful.

A flash of purple caught my eye across the room, and despite everything, my mouth curved up.

Aria.

She had some guy pressed against the wall near the far corner, her fingers curled into his shirt collar, kissing him like she was trying to pull his soul from his body. The guy looked like he couldn't believe his luck.

I shook my head, smiling for the first time today, typical Aria.

I rolled my eyes, but warmly. At least one of us was having a good time.

I was still watching her when someone came up to me.

"Hey, love."

The voice came from my left. I turned tucking my wild hair behind my ear.

Two guys stood before me looking at me confidently. I knew both of them because we were in the same university.

The one who'd spoken was broad, slightly glassy-eyed, his shirt hanging open at the collar. His friend stood just behind him, smirking like this was already going well.

"You are looking sexy tonight." His eyes traveled down my body slowly, you look good enough to eat. "Come dance with us."

He reached out and touched my arm.

I stepped back immediately, pulling free. "No thanks. I'm here with my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend." He repeated it as the smirk on his face grew wilder "Sure you are."

"I am." My voice was flat. "So please move on."

He didn't move. Instead he leaned in slightly, close enough that I could smell the alcohol rolling off him. "Come on. One dance. He doesn't have to know."

"I said no." I held his gaze. "Please back off."

Something shifted in his expression. The easy amusement curdled into something uglier. He straightened up, looking me over with a frown on his face this time.

"You aren't even as hot as you think you are, you know that?" His voice dropped. "Acting all high and mighty."

I stared at him. "Okay."

"I'm just saying." He shrugged, but his jaw was tight. "Your man clearly doesn't think so either."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm just saying what everyone already knows, love." His smile turned meaner. "Maybe work on the attitude."

"What do you mean?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "What do you mean my man doesn't think so?"

He exchanged another look with his friend. Something passed between them, something that made my stomach drop before I even understood why.

"Oh," he said slowly, drawing it out. "Someone doesn't know."

"Know what?" The words came out before I could stop them.

His friend let out a low whistle. "Rough night to find out, honestly."

The first guy tilted his head, and there was nothing kind in his expression. "Your boyfriend's been busy tonight, love. Real busy." He paused, letting it land. "Someone's getting cheated on."

The floor felt unsteady beneath my heels.

"You don't know what you're talking about." The words came out automatically, but they felt hollow even as I said them.

"Sure." He shrugged, stepping aside and gesturing broadly at the room behind him. "Have a look around."

They walked away, still laughing between themselves.

I stood there for one frozen second.

He's wrong. He doesn't know Troy. He doesn't know anything.

But my feet were already moving.

I pushed through the crowd, my heart beating too fast. Bodies pressed in from every side. The music felt louder suddenly, as I looked at every corner, every group of people.

But I couldn't find him.I pulled out my phone again and called him.

It rang four times and went to voicemail.

He's just talking to someone. He's just at the bar on the other side. There's a perfectly normal explanation.

I tried to hold onto that as I kept moving. But the dread was already spreading, slow but very cold, from my chest outward.

That's when I noticed people looking at me.

A few people near me had stopped talking. Someone pointed, quickly, then looked away when they caught me noticing. A girl whispered something to her friend, and her friend turned to stare.

My steps slowed. Everyone was looking behind me.

I stopped walking and then slowly turned around.

The massive television screen mounted on the lounge wall had come to life.

The lights in the room seemed to dim around it, or maybe that was just my vision tunneling. The crowd noise faded to a strange, distant hum.

Troy was on the screen.

I recognized him instantly. The blond hair, the set of his shoulders, the way he tilted his head when he kissed someone.

He was kissing someone.

His hands were tangled in blonde hair, pulling her closer like he couldn't get close enough. The girl's shirt was pushed up, and she pressed herself against him with absolutely no hesitation, no shame.

The VIP room curtains had been pulled back now and i couldn't move.

My phone slipped from my fingers. I didn't hear it hit the floor.

The girl turned her head slightly, and the screen caught her profile clearly under the VIP room lights.

My stomach lurched so violently I pressed a hand to my chest.

It was Tasha.

Tasha, who sat next to me in lectures. Tasha, who borrowed my notes and texted me memes and called me her girl. Tasha, who I'd introduced to Troy at a party three months ago because I thought they'd get along.

They'd gotten along.

The crowd around me had gone very quiet. I could feel eyes on me from every direction. I stood perfectly still in the middle of all of it.

I pressed my hand harder against my chest.

I couldn't breathe. That was when the whispers started.

"She actually introduced them, she is just really foolish "

"Poor thing thought they were just friends..."

And then, clear as day from somewhere behind me, I heard someone "Damn... and she gave him all her savings too. She deserves it, always thinking she is better than the rest of us."

Melissa.

It didn't take long for him to figure out the spot light was exactly on him, this was exactly the kind of news youngsters like us feed on.

When his eyes found mine, the color drained from his face instantly.

I was already moving towards him.

The crowd was thick and unforgiving, bodies packed tight, and this stupid dress kept tangling around my legs with every step I took.

The dress just pulled and slowed me down, and I could feel the eyes of the entire room tracking me like I was the night's entertainment.

I grabbed a fistful of the silk at my thigh and pulled. The tear was loud as it ripped the fabric from my tight, freeing my legs completely.

My jaw was locked so tight my teeth ached. The back of my eyes burned with tears but I swallowed it, forcing it down, refusing to cry here in front of everyone.

The crowd parted ahead of me without me having to ask. People stepped aside, fell silent, watched with wide eyes as I walked toward the VIP section with the torn dress and my chin up and every emotion I owned locked behind my teeth.

Troy scrambled out to meet me before I even reached the rope. His shirt was wrinkled. His hair was a mess from her fingers. His eyes were wide and frantic and i know he was already cooking up a lie.

"Babe, it's not what it looks like..."

I slapped him with all the strength I had in me. My palm connected with his cheek so hard my hand stung all the way up to my wrist.

The entire room went silent. Even the music seemed to hold its breath.

Troy's head snapped to the side. He stood there with his hand hovering near his cheek, too stunned to speak. So was everyone else.

"Babe..."

"What does it look like?" My voice came out low and steady, which surprised even me, because nothing inside me was steady right now. Nothing inside me was even close to steady.

He opened his mouth.

My hand moved before the words came out.The second slap was harder than the first.

Another collective gasp tore through the room . Someone near the back actually said oh my God in a loud voice.

Troy stumbled back half a step, his cheek flushing deep red, his eyes glassy with shock.

"Melissa..."

"Don't you say a fucking word, you cheat. How dare you after everything we have been through together?"

A hand found my arm from the side; it was none other than Aria.

She pressed a glass of red wine into my shaking hand without a single word, her jaw set, her eyes hard and dark with a fury she was holding in. She positioned herself beside me like a wall.

I looked at Troy for one short moment. Then I turned the glass upside down over his head.

The wine soaked through his blond hair, running down his face in rivulets, staining his white shirt red. It pooled at the collar, dripped off his jaw, spread across the fabric. It looked like blood.

Tasha shrieked behind him as the splatter caught her chest, her hands flying up to cover herself, stumbling backward in her heels.

The VIP section was a painting. Nobody moved.

I looked Troy in the eyes, letting him see the humiliation. The betrayal. All the months I'd given him. All the times I made myself smaller and quieter and more available to him because I thought that's what love required. Giving him all my savings even though he was already out of school. He was never a real boyfriend but I tried to be patient and loving because I honestly did love hom.

"I hope she was worth it."

I turned and walked toward the backstage area behind the screen, my torn dress trailing behind me. My hands were shaking. My vision was blurring at the edges, and I blinked fast, furious at myself, furious at my own tear for choosing now.

I found the wire and yanked it from the wall with everything I had.

The screen went black. The crowd groaned but I didn't care.

I pressed both hands flat against the wall and stood there for a moment, just breathing. In and out. In and out. The back of my eyes still burned. I pressed the back of my wrist against my mouth and held it there until the shaking in my jaw eased.

You are not crying in this building. You are absolutely not crying in this fucking building.

When I walked back to the VIP area, Troy had straightened his shirt. The wine still dripped from his hair onto his shoulders, but he was trying. Tasha had retreated to the corner, one hand still pressed to her chest where the wine had hit her.

"Babe, please listen..."

"Don't call me that." My voice was quiet. "You don't get to call me that anymore."

His face crumpled. "Melissa, please. I was drunk. I wasn't thinking. I swear to God if you just let me explain..."

"You weren't thinking." I let out a short laugh that had nothing funny in it. "That's what you're going with."

"It meant nothing. She means nothing. You're what matters, you have to know that..."

Tasha shifted in her corner, looking at her nails. The audacity of it sent a hot wave of something through my blood.

"Girl, honestly, just chill." Her voice was bored. Almost amused. "It's not like you two were even that serious. Troy told me you're always working, and you weren't fun, not even in bed." She shrugged one shoulder. "It's not my fault he thinks I'm better."

My vision went red at the edges. My hands curled at my sides.

"Tasha." Troy's voice was sharp with panic. "Shut up."

"Boring." I repeated the word slowly, tasting it. "You called me boring. Because I had deadlines. Because I had a future I was building. Because I didn't want to spend every night at a party getting drunk and..."

"If you say one more word about my friend," Aria's voice sliced through the room like a blade, "I will break your nose myself."

She stepped forward, arms folded, purple hair glowing under the lights. She looked at Tasha and Troy like they were both trash and not even worthy of our attention.

"Boring?" Aria's laugh was sharp enough to cut. "Interesting take from someone whose idea of a good time is giving blowjobs in VIP rooms. That's not fun, babe. That's called being desperate."

Tasha's eyes narrowed to slits. "You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" Aria tilted her head. "Your chlamydia?"

The silence that followed was magnificent.

Tasha's face drained white, then flooded red, then climbed toward something approaching purple. Her mouth opened and closed twice without producing a sound.

"How did you..."

"It's a very snall campus." Aria smiled sweetly. "Word travels. Now do yourself a favor and leave before I tell everyone exactly what happened at Delta Kappa's party. The part where you got drunk and pissed yourself. In front of everyone." A pause. "Including the photos."

Tasha snatched her purse from the seat behind her and walked out so fast she nearly caught her heel on the rope. The crowd peeled back to let her through, and she was gone.

Troy turned back to me. He reached for my hand, his fingers cold and slightly clammy against my skin.

I pulled away like he'd burned me.

"I made a mistake, Melissa. One mistake. Please..."

"We are done." I said it simply. We are over. I will only say it once."

"You don't mean that. Tomorrow when you've calmed down..."

"I am calm." And I was. That was the strangest part. The storm inside me had gone completely still. "I'm not confused. I didn't stutter. We are done, Troy. And trust me when I tell you I have already moved on."

"Melissa, please..."

I turned to pick up my purse from where it had fallen earlier. My hands were steadier now than they'd been all night, which felt wrong.

The tears were building behind my eyes again, blurring the edges of everything. I blinked hard. Raised the back of my hand to the corner of my eye before anything could fall.

I turned to walk away. My heel caught the torn hem of my dress.

I was very sure I was going to fall and humiliate myself even more this night but strong arms caught me before I finished falling. One around my waist, one at my arm, pulling me up with ease. I grabbed onto whoever it was purely on instinct, my fingers closing around solid forearms, my heart was beating loudly.

I looked up and my heart stopped the moment my eyes locked onto those perfect Ice-blue eyes.

The world went very quiet and very still in the exact same moment.

He was tall ... well over six feet, and had really broad shoulders. Dressed entirely in black. Dark hair fell loosely over his forehead. Something about his face was dangerously, unfairly calm ... he looked like a dark angel.

My heart forgot what it was doing mid-beat.

"Are you okay?" His voice was low, and a bit husky I had to hold him tighter to stop the wave of dizziness I suddenly felt.

My vision swam slightly. The tears I'd been holding back all night were right there ... right at the surface ... blurring the edges of his face, the lights behind him, all of it. I raised one hand quickly and pressed my fingers to the corner of my eye before anything could fall.

Do not cry. Do not cry in front of a stranger.

"Yes, she's fine." Troy's voice hit the moment like a hammer. He pushed forward through the people around us, jaw tight, eyes locked on the stranger's arms around my waist. "This is between me and my girlfriend. Back off."

"Ex." The word left my mouth before I'd decided to speak. I gripped the stranger's arms tighter, not ready ... not willing ... to let the beautiful anchor go. "Ex-girlfriend."

Troy's eyes flicked to mine, he looked almost desperate as he reached for my arm.

The stranger didn't move, he locked eyes with Troy and that was all it took for Troy to stop moving.

I felt the stranger's arm still around my waist tighten a little pulling me closer.

The tears were still blurring the edges of my vision, and I was so tired ... So completely and utterly done with this night, with this room, with everything that before my rational brain could intervene, before I could think through a single consequence, I rose up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.

It wasn't planned. It felt like stepping off a ledge before you've looked down. He didn't hesitate.

His hands found my waist and pulled me in, and the kiss was nothing like the night. It was warm and beautiful. Before now I have never actually enjoyed kissing or knew the pleasure it could bring . But this beautiful stranger was literally fucking me with his mouth.

His tongue traced my lips, coaxing them open, then swept inside, he tasted like whiskey and his warm tongue just kept pulling out my pleasure from me, making me moan into his mouth softly as everyone else disappeared.

I pulled back first, breathing unsteadily, my lips were warm and slightly tingly.

His eyes were still on my face.

"What the fuck?" Troy's voice cracked. "Who do you think you are?"

The stranger looked at him and set me gently back on my feet.

He straightened to his full height.

Troy, to his credit, didn't move. But he looked utterly defeated and humbled.

"She said it's over." The stranger's voice was quiet. It didn't need to be anything else. "Leave."

"This is none of your..."

"You made it everyone's business.When you put it on the screen."

Troy's mouth closed. The aura radiating from the stranger was enough to freeze everyone in the tracks. Who exactly is this man?

I was about to thank him and move away when his hands tightened on my waist. The stranger guided me toward the exit, his hand warm at my back. I didn't look behind me. I didn't need to.

We walked through the front doors and the night air hit my face and I breathed it in like I'd been underwater.

Aria appeared at my side seconds later, slightly breathless from pushing through the crowd, her eyes moving between me and the stranger with an expression she wasn't even trying to hide.

"Do you need a ride?"

Melissa.

"We're fine," I said quickly, though my voice shook.

"No, we are absolutely not fine," Aria cut in, giving me a look that very clearly said, "Are you out of your mind? "Troy was our ride. I am not calling an Uber at midnight from a biker lounge parking lot. Do you know how many true crime podcasts start exactly like this?"

"Aria..."

"It's not safe." The stranger said quietly.

Those ice-blue eyes found mine, and I could see the faintest smirk on his face. "I'm not a serial killer"

I giggled softly, putting my hand over my mouth. "That's exactly what a serial killer would say."

"Fair point." The almost-smile held. "I'm offering anyway."

Aria grabbed my arm. "We accept. Thank you."

His car was a sleek black Audi parked at the far edge of the lot, of course it was.

Aria climbed into the back without hesitation, pulling me in after her. The door closed. The engine turned over with a low, smooth sound, and we pulled out of the lot.

The seats were leather, it felt really comfortable, after a short while I pressed myself against the window and stared out at the passing streetlights.

Aria lasted approximately four minutes before her head dropped onto my shoulder, her breathing going slow and even. I glanced down at her. Her purple hair fanned across my arm, her mouth was slightly open and she was out cold.

I don't know what made me look up.

But I did ... and my eyes found the rearview mirror, and his were already there.

He wasn't looking at the road. He was looking at me. His gaze moved over my face and then, slowly, it dropped lower to the neckline of the red dress. And then to the tear at my thigh where I'd ripped the fabric. Back up. As unhurried as if he had all the time in the world and I didn't want him to stop, I leaned back exposing more of my body to him.

My breath snagged somewhere in my throat.

Then he looked back at the road. Just like that. Like nothing had happened. Like I'd imagined it.

I turned back to the window, trying to calm my breathing.

Why does a complete stranger make me feel like this?

Maybe it's because I'm angry, I was betrayed by that jerk after all.

I pressed my fingertips to the cold glass and tried to think about literally anything else.

It didn't work. I couldn't get my mind off the hot stranger sitting in front.

Stop it Malissa.

My phone buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts.

It was my Mom.

I sat up, dislodging Aria slightly, and answered before the second buzz. "Hello?"

"Melissa." Mom's voice was clipped. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here today. Gavin came all the way from Boston just to meet you ."

My stomach dropped. I'd forgotten completely. I was supposed to meet my moms fiancé earlier this morning but I had forgotten.

"I'm so sorry." I pressed two fingers to my temple. "Something happened. I'll call and apologize tomorrow, I promise."

"You certainly will." The disappointment came through clearly. Then, she said softer: "I need to tell you something, Melissa. Something important. But not tonight ... When you're home."

Something in her tone made me sit up straighter. "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Come home tomorrow." Another pause. "I love you."

"I love you too. Good night."

I lowered the phone. The car was still quiet. Aria hadn't moved.

I looked up at the mirror without meaning to.

He wasn't looking this time.

I forgot to meet my mother's fiancé today. I was feeling very guilty but I wasn't in support of the engagement ... she was barely forty, and it had only been three months, and something about the whole thing had felt rushed and wrong from the beginning. But she was happy. Or she seemed happy. And I'd still managed to forget.

I pressed my cheek back against the cold glass and closed my eyes.

The car slowed and stopped in front of Aria's building.

I nudged her gently. She made a sound of protest and didn't move. I nudged her harder.

"Aria. We're here."

She lifted her head, blinking. Then I looked around. "Oh." A pause. "Good."

I started to reach for the door handle.

"Will you be okay?"

His voice came from the front seat, low and even, and I paused.

I looked up. He had turned in his seat to look at me fully.

"Yes," I said. "Thank you. For everything."

A beat passed.

"What's your name?" he asked.

I hesitated for exactly one second. "Lisa."

Something moved through his expression but it was too brief to read. "Ben."

I held his gaze for a moment longer than I needed to. Then I looked away, reaching for the door. "Good night, Ben."

I climbed out. The night air was cool against my skin. Behind me, I heard Aria say something cheerful to him that I didn't catch, and then she was beside me, and the Audi pulled away from the curb, and was gone.

I watched the taillights until they disappeared around the corner.

Stop it, I told myself again. I couldn't.

Inside Aria's apartment, I made it as far as the bathroom before everything I'd been holding gave way.

I took off the dress and let it fall to the floor, and then the tears bursted out like a dam. I slid down the wall with my back against the cool tile and pulled my knees to my chest and just fell apart.

Aria was on the floor beside me. Her arms came around me without a word, and I cried into her shoulder ... it came from the deepest part of my soul, I grabbed her shoulder like it was the only thing I had left stopping me from totally falling apart. " I...I loved him, Aria. Why did he do that to me?"

"I've got you," she said quietly. "I've got you. Let it out."

I cried until I had nothing left. Until my eyes were swollen and my throat was scraped raw. When I finally pulled back, I felt wrung out and empty.

Aria held my face in her palm. Not worried about all the tears and probably snot.

"Can we please," she said carefully, "talk about the kiss."

I dropped my face into her hands. "Aria, no..."

"Melissa." She pulled my cheek together, raising my face to look at her. "That was like something out of a movie! A romantic movie! The way he just pulled you in? "

Heat moved through my face despite everything. "It was intense actually."

"Intense?" Aria laughed. "Melissa, that man looked at you like you were the only person in the entire club. Like you were the only person in the entire world."

I bit my lip, remembering those ice-blue eyes. The way his arms had felt around me. The taste of his lips.

" It was just adrenaline ," I said weakly.

But even I didn't believe that.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The next morning the warm smell of coffee and burnt toast filled Aria's kitchen as golden sunlight streamed through the window, painting everything in soft morning light. I sat at the counter wearing her oversized t-shirt, with my legs tucked under me.

My eyes felt swollen and gritty from crying. My head pounded with a dull ache that wouldn't go away.

"You know, I still think you should have gotten that Greek god's number yesterday." Aria sipped her coffee with a very serious look on her face . "It's just a shame you didn't get to fuck him. I mean, did you look at the same man I saw ?"

Despite everything, a laugh bubbled up in my throat. "You are just a slut."

"I'm a slut with excellent taste," she corrected, grinning. "That man was criminally fine."

"I gave him a fake name, so I wasn't actually planning a redo." I picked at the edge of my coffee mug, not meeting her eyes. "Plus, he looks way older than me."

"Does that matter?"

" No, not really." I sighed, running my fingers through my tangled hair. " But I'm also coming out of a relationship. I don't think I should be swayed by hot guys so soon . That's how I ended up with Troy in the first place."

"Yeah, you're right, but..."

My phone rang, cutting her off.

Mom's name flashed on the screen, and my stomach immediately clenched with anxiety. Mom never called this early. Something was wrong.

" Hello?"

Loud, gasping sobs came through the speaker.

" Mom? Mom, why are you crying? What's wrong?" Panic clawed up my throat, making it hard to breathe .

Her voice was broken, barely recognizable through the tears. "Melissa, baby, please come home. You need to come home now."

I was already standing. Adrenaline flooded my system, making my hands shake. "Mom, are you hurt? Did someone hurt you? Are you okay?"

"No, but I need you. Please come home." Then the line went dead.

"Shit Aria, something is very wrong. I have to go home. Now."

"I'll come with you," she said immediately, already setting down her coffee, her face filled with worry.

I was already moving, grabbing my wrinkled red dress from last night off her bathroom floor. I didn't care how it looked. I didn't care about anything except getting to my mom.

"No, I'll text you." I was pulling the dress over my head, my fingers fumbling with the zipper. "I know you have class today."

"Mel..."

"I'll be fine. I promise." But my voice wavered on the last word, betraying the fear coursing through me.

---

The drive home felt endless.

I tried calling Mom back three times. Each time, it went straight to voicemail.

What happened? Is she hurt? Is someone dead?

My mind raced with horrible possibilities , each one worse than the last.

My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles turned white.

When I finally turned onto our street, my heart literally stopped.

A moving truck sat in our driveway like a vulture. All our furniture...our worn couch, my dad's old recliner that still smelled like his cologne, boxes and boxes of our belongings...were scattered across the front lawn like garbage.

I felt a mixture of shame and fear.

Two men in crisp suits stood near our front door, they were bank officials. I recognized the logo instantly, and my stomach dropped to my feet.

No.

This can't be happening.