Healing Melody (20 page)

The guy working the front desk says the vet can see Mingus immediately.
 

Thank God.

“He’s not himself. He vomited. His belly is bloated,” I nervously tell the vet as I carry him into the room.

The vet, an older lady, looks at me and offers a comforting smile. “Let’s take a look. He’s in safe hands now. You can calm down, Miss?”

“Swanson,” I reply. When she tells me to calm down, I realize how hysterical I’ve been. I can’t lose Mingus. I love the little guy.
 

The vet ponders my last name, and her eyes light up. She’s put two and two together… my mask plus my last name. She realizes who I am. I’m grateful that she doesn’t say anything. The last thing I want to discuss right now is who I am and deal with questions about my accident. We need to focus on getting Mingus back to normal.

After a thorough inspection, the vet informs me that Mingus has something lodged in his throat.
 

“Really? How could I not have known?” I reply, angry with myself.

“It happens. Puppies tend to chew on anything,” she explains. “Sometimes they snatch something up they shouldn’t have. We’re going to have to sedate him, but I think we’ll be able to remove it.”

I watch, worried, as the vet and her assistant sedate Mingus. Then I’m shocked when the vet removes a chewed up tube sock from Mingus’s throat. “Here’s the culprit,” she says with a smile. “We were lucky you brought him in when you did. We didn’t have to perform surgery. We got it before it hit the gastrointestinal tract. He should be okay, now. Just give him some time to wake up.”

 
“Thank god,” I cry. “Thank you so much. I can’t thank you enough.”

The vet and her assistant smile and exchange glances. Once her assistant leaves the room, I notice the vet staring at me. I can sense what’s coming.

“If it isn’t too much bother,” she says, “Would you mind if I took a selfie with you? My daughter is one of your biggest fans.”
 

I touch my mask. I used to take selfies with strangers all the time. But now, the thought of my image circulating online sends chills down my spine. I shake my head. “I’m sorry. After the accident, I don’t take selfies anymore.”

The vet nods, clearly disappointed. I feel bad, especially since she just saved Mingus’s life.

“If you want, I can write your daughter a letter and sign it.”
 

The vet perks up. “She would love that. Thank you so much.”

“Not a problem.”

The vet’s assistant enters the room. She looks at me with some hesitation. “Miss Swanson, I think you should know that there are a lot of reporters outside.”

I was expecting Charlie to be waiting for me in the parking lot, but a lot of reporters? How did they get tipped off? Then I realize anyone working at the clinic might have sent a tweet. A tweet can go viral in seconds. What am I going to do? The thought of navigating through a crowd of reporters asking me questions, shoving their cameras in my face, sounds like a nightmare. Shit, I feel a panic attack coming on.
 

“Excuse me,” I say to the vet and her assistant.
 

I step into the hallway and take several deep breaths.

I can’t face the reporters alone. I’m so frightened. I need help. I reach for my cell phone. Suzie and Randy are still not answering. I know he’s far away, but I need him. I quickly dial Kade’s number. I’m so grateful when he answers.

“Hello.”

“I need your help,” I blurt into the phone.
 

He must sense the nervous tension in my voice because he quickly responds, “I’ll be right there.”

I tell him I’m not home and that I’m at the animal clinic. I give him the address, and he says he’s on his way.

When I hang up, I feel a sense of relief. I’m not alone. I have Kade. I walk back into the room and see Mingus slowly moving his legs.

“When will he be okay to leave?” I ask the vet.

She shrugs. “He should be fully awake and alert in thirty minutes.”

“Great,” I reply. “I have another question. Is there a back entrance to this place? A way I can get out of here without going through the front and dealing with all those cameras?”

“Sure,” says the vet.
 

“Thank God,” I reply.
 

While Mingus is slowly waking up, I write a letter to the vet’s daughter, Amy. Then I call Kade and tell him to park his car in the back of the clinic. When Kade shows up forty-five minutes later, Mingus is fully awake and running around like nothing has happened.
 

I can’t hide how happy I am… Mingus is okay, and Kade is here.

“Thank you so much for coming,” I tell him as he walks in the room.

“No worries,” he replies with a smile.
 

Kade gives Mingus a soft pat on the head and asks, “He okay?”

I nod, still grateful.
 

Kade looks at me and I instantly feel safe. “You ready?” he asks.

Using the back door, Kade quickly walks Mingus and me to his car, a really beat up Toyota Corolla.

As we pull out of the back alley of the clinic, Kade apologizes for the car. “I know it’s a piece of shit.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” I tell him. “Right now, it’s a chariot whisking me away from all this madness.”

He pats the dashboard of his car. “Did you hear that? You’re a chariot.” Then he looks at me. “You alright?”

I nod, as I look down at Mingus and give him a kiss on the head. “I really freaked out back there.”

“Well, it’s all good now. Mingus is back to normal, and you avoided the sharks.”

I hold Mingus up and give him a scolding look. “No more socks for you, buddy.” He licks my mask without a care in the world. I laugh. I’m so happy he’s all right.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard you really laugh,” Kade remarks.

“It’s been a while,” I reply. I glance at him. As I watch the passing car lights highlight his face, I admire how arrestingly handsome he is. He catches me looking and smirks.
 

“You realize what you did?”

I shake my head. “What?”

“You left your house, all on your own.”

It takes me a moment to process it all. It happened so fast. I was so worried about Mingus that I stopped being paralyzed by the outside world.

“You’re still wearing the mask, though” Kade remarks.

I sigh. “Kade, the other night with you was a big step. I’m not ready for the whole world to see me, not yet.”

“Okay,” he says with a shrug. “Baby steps.”

“That’s right,” I tell him.

He reaches to turn on the radio. A song by Adele is playing. Her strong voice fills the night. The neon city lights of Los Angeles pass us by. With my arm dangling outside the car window, I feel the cool breeze against my skin. Then we pass a Mexican restaurant, and I inhale, savoring the aroma of good food. I look at the stars in the sky. I’ve been a prisoner in my house for so long; I’ve forgotten how vibrant LA is. I’ve forgotten what the city’s beating heart sounds like. I miss it.
 

When Adele’s song finishes, it’s followed by another song… one of mine. One of the new ones. I immediately switch off the radio.

Kade shrugs and looks at me. “Pretty weird, huh? Hearing your voice on the radio.”

“I should be happy that it’s getting radio play. But right now, I just want to forget who I am.” Then I ask him, “Do you think we can go somewhere for a bit? I really don’t feel like going home, not yet. My property is probably swarming with reporters.”

Kade mulls over the possibilities. “I don’t want to take you to my place,” he says. “It’s a shit hole.” He shrugs, then looks at me and smirks. “You want to check out my gym? It’s the middle of the night so no one’s there.”

“Sure.”

“Welcome to Kade’s Cage,” he says with a smile. He unlocks the front door and turns on the lights. The space is larger than I expected. I’m surprised to see it’s equipped with an octagon-fighting cage and a boxing ring in the far back.

“I’m impressed,” I tell him. “This is a serious gym.”

“It’s my pride and joy,” he replies. And I can tell by the look on his face, as he scans the room, that he’s not lying. “We’ve got everything you might need. If this gym were in a better part of town, it would probably be a huge success. But I’m not complaining. We keep adding new clients every month.”

As we walk around, I decide to let Mingus stretch his legs. I lower him to the floor and he takes off, exploring every corner of the gym. “Mingus, don’t eat anything!” I shout at him.

He yelps a reply.

“If you’re going to go on tour, don’t you have to start training? Get your body in shape?” Kade asks.
 

I shrug. “For half my songs, I sit at the piano. I’m not like Beyoncé. I don’t have all these intricate dance routines.” Then I realize something. I put my hands on my hips. “Hey, are you saying you don’t think I’m in shape?”

Kade holds up his hands in defense and smirks. “Hey, I dig your body, Melody. But if I could have my way with you, I’d get you so lean and mean. You’d be one hot, kick ass beauty.”

“I like the way that sounds,” I admit.

He approaches me and takes my hands, moving in closer. “I’d get that body of yours so strong, so flexible, that during sex, we’d be able to really go the distance. If you know what I mean.”

“Now, that’s the best pitch for personal fitness I’ve ever heard.”

He laughs.
 

We continue walking around. “How long have you had this place?”

“A couple of years.” His expression changes. The sense of pride is replaced by regret. “I don’t own it anymore, though. Like I told you the other night, I signed it over to Shane in exchange for money to pay for Max’s medical bills. I just manage it now.”

His disappointment is palpable.

“I still love this place, though,” he says with a sigh. As he looks around, he admits, “The war really fucked me up in the head. This place and that cage,” he points to the octagon at the end of the gym, “helped me channel all that anger – all the shit that comes with PTSD –into something more constructive. I guess you can say the cage saved me.”

“Like my music saved me.”
 

He looks at me and smirks. “Yeah. Same thing.”
 

We walk toward the cage and step inside. I notice the eight fenced walls surrounding us.
 

“Do you think you can ever get the gym back?” I ask him.

“There might be a chance,” he confides. His mood changes again. A dark cloud comes over him.
 

“What’s wrong?”

He looks at me. I sense he wants to tell me something, but then shakes his head. “Nothing. I just have a decision to make,” he mumbles.

There’s a long silence and I can see the tension in his body, around his neck. It must be about getting his gym back, which involves Shane. But Kade doesn’t want to divulge anything more.
 

“Kade?” I say. He looks at me and I can see the strain in his eyes.
 

He shakes his head. “Forget it. It’s something I need to deal with. It’s not a big deal.” He looks at the ground, avoiding my gaze.

It obviously
is
a big deal, but he doesn’t want to tell me. In order to lighten the mood, I change the topic of conversation.

“So, do you really think you could get me lean and mean?”

He looks up. His face softens. He nods with a smirk. “Most definitely.” A curious expression fills his eyes. “In fact, why don’t we start now?”
 

“A workout?”

He shrugs. “Why not? You don’t want to go home because of all the paparazzi. We have the gym all to ourselves with some time to kill. Why not get a workout in?”
 

He’s serious.

“Look at me,” I say pointing to my pajamas. “I’m not dressed for a workout.”

“Who said you needed to be dressed?” Kade replies with a grin.

He steps toward me. Slowly, he begins unbuttoning my pajama top. He slips it off my shoulders, exposing my breasts. He takes his hands and cups my breasts, giving them a firm squeeze. With an appreciative growl, he remarks, “I love your tits.”
 

“I love your hands on them,” I admit.

He kneels down and slides my pajama pants over my hips. I kick off my flip-flops. He tosses my pajama bottoms to the side. All that remains is my underwear. Kade moves in closer and grabs my ass. He leans in, pressing his nose against my crotch. Then, he looks up at me. “You know what I love more than your tits, Melody?”

“What?” I ask my voice filled with desire.

“The taste of your cunt. And it’s smell.”

He presses his nose against my panties and inhales. He curls his fingers over the waistband and slides them down, exposing my sex. I’m so turned on. Before I know it, Kade’s tongue presses against my lips. My pussy welcomes the pleasure he’s set off. I press the back of his head further into me.

I can’t believe it. I’m in an empty gym, standing in the center of an octagon. The hottest man on earth is kneeling before me, licking my most prized possession. I definitely never thought I’d be here.

I’m so turned on. I can’t wait to replace his mouth with his cock. Kade stops working magic with his tongue. He glances at me then stands up.