Chapter Fourteen

 

As soon as she went inside her apartment she decided to check the balcony.

She opened the door and went out on the balcony.

The railing had been rewelded and it looked as though it would hold. She was impressed with the maintenance man's work. He did a good job and the whole balcony seemed much stronger now. She smiled and went back inside.

She took a quick shower and climbed in her bed without dressing. She'd dress later, right now, she needed sleep.

She curled up in a ball and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

At a little after four, she heard a noise in her kitchen and stirred.

Her eyes closed once more.

"Mel," Dex called through the apartment. "Mel, are you okay?"

When he came into the bedroom, Melanie grabbed the sheet around her and stared wild-eyed. "Yeah…what are you doing here?" She asked, startled.

He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her. Heat rose between them, tension stretched. His eyes went all over her for a moment, then he got up and seemed to realize where they were and her state of dress.

"Your door was open." He explained. "Wide open. I thought something was wrong. I just looked at your car, timing belt is broke."

"Oh, is that expensive?" She reached to move her hair out of her eyes and the sheet slipped. His eyes darted to her peeking breast then he looked away.

"Between $300-500." He answered in a choked voice.

She sat up and pulled the sheet closer to her shoulders now. "I don't have that kind of money yet. I guess I'll have to ride my bike now." She wailed miserably.

Seeing the honest distress on her face, he sat down on the bed beside her, "Don't fret, I'll get it repaired for you and you can pay me back."

"I can't let you do that?" She protested.

"Sure, you can. I don't want you riding that bike with things happening like they have been. Come on, get dressed, we'll call a fella I know and he'll tow it to the garage where they can fix it in no time."

"Oh, but Dex…" she called his name and suddenly he could stand it no longer and leaned to kiss her lips. The kiss was steamy and in her state of dress she realized things could easily get out of hand. She moved away just a bit, to break the intensity. It was a hard thing to do. She wanted more than kisses, she quickly realized, and that thought sobered her.

"I'm sorry," he got up once more. "Come on, get dressed, and come on over. I'll make a call and see if we can't get this fixed quickly." He stared down at her.

Her lips shone where he had ravaged them and her sheet was sliding downward again.

She looked at herself and then him. "Alright, I'll be right over." She nodded.

He left without another word. He seen her, at least part of her, and the fact that he didn't touch her, made her even more sure she could trust him.

She scrambled out of bed and threw a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on. She brushed her hair and dabbed some pink lipstick on and grabbed her keys, then it dawned on her what he had said. Her door was wide open?

She hadn't left it open.

Fear ran through her. She was sure it was locked when she went into the bathroom. Slowly she walked through the apartment and glanced around. No one was there now. But had they been?

How did they open it?

She ran to the front door, locked it and ran to Dex's place.

He opened the door immediately as he was carrying a spatula in his hand, but he kept it in the air when he saw her expression.

"My door was wide open?" She repeated.

"It was…yeah. Did you forget to lock it?"

"No, I did not!"

He stared. He closed the door and had her sit down.

"Don't fret. We'll get to the bottom of this. So, far no one has tried to harm you. Could be some kind of pranking going on." He insisted.

"Dex, I'm scared." She told him as tears ran down her cheeks now.

"I know you are, honey. I'm worried too. But we'll figure this out. Together." He insisted.

He came up and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe the tears away. He bent to kiss her on the lips and then he looked deeply into her eyes. "We'll sit down after supper and talk this out. There has got to be some kind of explanation for this."

He wiped her tears, and kissed her until she calmed down, then he went back to the kitchen. "After supper…."

"Okay, can I help?" she asked weakly.

"No, just sit there and look beautiful all night."

"Seriously."

"I am serious," he sent her a kiss.

"Will you stop," she snickered.

"Okay, it's ready, let's eat."

He'd made chicken and broccoli Alfredo. With French bread and Caesar salad.

She stared at the meal and then looked up at him with surprise as they sat at his small kitchen table.

"What?" He chuckled.

"I'm impressed. You can cook."

"Not a lot, but some…" He snickered.

"I’m jealous. Who taught you to cook this?" She asked.

"My sister." He told her quickly dispelling her suspicions. "She used to fix it all the time and invite me over because she knew I loved it. Mom taught her, and she taught me."

She tasted it and rolled her eyes, "It's delicious."

"Glad you like it."

For a while they had put the incident behind them and they both laughed and cut up for part of the night. But after they did the dishes together and sat down in front of the tv to watch a movie, he pulled out his phone and called his buddy with a tow truck.

He arranged to have her car picked up that night and the garage he called said they could have it fixed in a couple of days.

Relieved she took her shoes off and cuddled with him on the couch.

They kissed continuously, and the sexual tension was like a live wire between them. That's when they both decided to stop and stop giving into to temptation. Although, Mel enjoyed his kisses no end, it could eventually land them in the bedroom, since they were in his apartment. Not a good thing. Not yet at least, Mel decided.

"Why don't you stay with me until you have to go back to work?" He asked.

She raised up, "I can't do that Dex. Although I'll admit I'm tempted."

"Why not?"

"I can't put my life on hold like that. I've got to live no matter what happens. Besides, much more of this and we'll be in your bedroom and you know it."

He sat up, pulling her to him. "Yeah, I know it. Would that be such a bad thing?"

"Of course, it wouldn't. I think you know how I feel. But, let's give this some time." She told him.

"How much time?" He asked.

"I don't know. I only know I want it, as much as you do, but I feel it's not right."

"Why? I mean, I told you I love you…"

"I know….and I'm pretty sure I feel the same."

"Then…."

"Dex, I've got other worries right now. And until I straighten them out…."

"Okay, I promised we'd talk about this. Now, let's think about it. What men have you had arguments with or felt a tension with?"

She glanced down at the floor to think. She couldn't possibly concentrate with him looking so darned cute, in his black pants and red shirt.

"Well, there was Cal, the guy that moved my furniture in for me the first night. But we had no words. In fact, he's a very nice guy. He's moved to Texas A&M to play football. No tension there at all."

"Okay scrub Cal. Who else?"

"There's Brad, my ex-boyfriend, we did have a few words. But when he left we were okay with each other, I think. I don't think he'd be vindictive. And Chicago is a long ways off."

"Alright so Brad is out of the picture." He smiled. "But we might have to bring him back in, later. After all, you went with him for some time and you broke it off quite suddenly. You never know in those situations. Personally, I'm glad he's out of the picture. Especially since he dated you so long."

"What?" She grinned.

"Glad he's gone…I mean you dated the guy four long years…. What if he suddenly reappeared and wanted to date you again?"

"I can't see that happening, Dex. Our relationship was kind of rocky there at the end, and that was the reason I wanted to end it, clean and simple." She chuckled. "Besides, you kiss better than he ever did."

"Check mark for me," He smiled. "What about that Jesse character."

The way Dex snarled his nose told her he could be a bit jealous. She thought about it, but Jesse had never kissed her like Dex had.

"I've got to admit, he did act strange that day he came with my folks. But he lives nearly seventy miles from here. He couldn't possibly be here all the time. I really don't think it's him because of that. And, he's still my friend no matter what. I don't think he'd even think about something like this."

"Okay, scrub Jesse for the time being. Who else?"

Melanie thought about it a minute. "Ed…."

"Who is Ed?" Dex raised a brow.

"The maintenance chief at the school."

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying he was creepy and eyed you all the time. So, he could be a contender then. He works close enough he could be spying on you. He was interested. And one thing, a man that is rejected quickly could have a grudge against you. So, Ed is a real contender then."

"Maybe," She mulled that over in her head.

"Good we are making some progress. We've got one suspect? Anyone else you want to put on that list? Any jealous girlfriends?"

"Jealous? Not of me." She responded. "My best friend moved to San Antonio, and she's got a boyfriend. Most of the others were friends, but not that close. There's my best friend Maureen back home, but she wouldn't be caught dead on a highway to the city. She can't drive very well. Besides, I love her."

"You didn't mention me on that list." He smiled and raised a brow.

She stared for a long time, "Do you want to hurt me?" she finally asked.

He stared straight into her eyes, "The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But you could have stopped at the word want. Because that's sure entered my mind."

A slow grin stretched over her face. "I believe that. Then I have no more suspects. But why would Ed want to scare me?"

"I'm not so sure it is this Ed character. It's possible though, so we must include him. Being a maintenance man, and if he's following you, he might know how to make a what do they call those keys that will unlock almost any door…can't put a name to it, but they do make them, so he could have made a key. And he'd know how to saw a knob off too."

"Oh, my God, I never thought of that! And he really does give me the creeps. In fact, I think it's him that has had me so tense the last few months."

"Well, don't hang him yet, honey. We are just now getting started in narrowing this down."

"I don't know. I think he likes leering at all the pretty girls that come to college, but I don't think he'd act on his impulses. I mean when Cal came to help me move, he backed off quick. I don't think he has the guts for this. There's another factor."

"What?"

"Since someone had to have a key to lock the bathroom, anyone in this building could be the one."

"You think it's Earl, then?" Dex asked.

"No, to tell the truth, I don't. He fixed the balcony and he was shocked that the bathroom doorknob was sawed off. If he'd have done it, he probably wouldn't even have mentioned it. No, I don't think Earl did it. He called the cops for me too. He seemed genuinely concerned."

"I think you are right about that." Dex nodded. "But having a key is a factor we can work on."

"So that brings us back to good ole Ed, doesn't it?" Dex stared at him.

"Something I thought of to ask you. When you saw the black sweatshirt and pants through the bathroom hole, did you notice if it was a muscular man, or a tiny lady?"

She considered his question, then turned her head in question. "That's a good question. That's the closest I've come to whoever it is. I can't be certain because the hole was only so big. The knob hole was low, so I couldn't determine if there were breasts or not."

"Could you tell if they were big or a little person?"

"The only thing I could tell was that it was a bulky sweatshirt and kind of straight pants." She told him.

"Did you smell perfume or anything like that, cologne, maybe?"

"No, it took me so by surprise I was lucky to see the color of the sweatshirt and pants." She explained.

"Well then, from now on, if they keep this up, do your best to identify something about them, a smell, an inclination of any kind."

"You think there is going to be more of this?" She asked.

"Well, I don't know honey, but all they have managed to do yet is scare the heck out of you."

"You think there is real danger?"

"I think we need to be careful and keep our eyes open."

She nodded slowly, "I guess you are right."

"What disturbs me about the bathroom incident is that someone would have had to have a key, and how did they get it?"

"I hadn't been thinking about that since it happened, but you are right. It would have to be someone who had some kind of access to these apartments, wouldn't it?"

"Now that's a word we must consider, isn't it? Access. A lot of people have accesses that you might never think of. It could even be someone who lived here before. Maybe had your apartment even. I'd think so, and that presents a problem because we have no idea." He said flatly. "But maybe Earl can help us there. The fact is, it could be a stranger to you."

"You know, I don't know anyone here but you and Earl. I haven't even met the manager."

"That's very strange, a stranger moves in and right away there are problems. As though they know you, but you don't know them. It could be someone you've never even met."

"Now that's scary Dex."

"Try not to worry about it. We are gonna figure this out. I promise you."

She sighed heavily. "You know when Jesse came here with my folks. I couldn't help but wonder why he bothered. He's changed a lot, and he's not as friendly as he used to be. I felt strange around him. It wasn't like him at all."

"Then maybe he's a contender."

"But how would he have a key? And could he come here so often?"

"Does he have a car?"

"Yes. Well, no, a pickup."

"Then he could. Depends on what might be driving him to it. But somehow, I don't think he's a contender for this. Maybe something else, like getting you back is on his mind."

"Me. But we never really got started. We dated, yes, but for only about six months. And when I left for college, he never came after me."

"Did you want him to?" Dex asked, his face going icy.

"I don't know, maybe, at the time."

"Why'd you break it off with him?"

"It seemed as though we were going through the motions of being interested in each other. He didn't want to hear about my nursing career, I didn't want to hear how he was looking forward to settling down there in Lone Oak. We had such different interests and he never came around to my dream of being a nurse. He wanted a woman who would make a home and family. I can understand that, it's how we were raised to think. But, I wanted to be a nurse more than anything."

"Another thing to consider, maybe whoever is doing this, has help."

"Another thing I hadn't considered."

"Listen to your instincts on this. Sometimes we are given warnings about people. If we ignore them…it can be detrimental."

"But he couldn't possibly be up here all the time, so I don't think Jesse's responsible. He's a lot of things, but I can't see him as a stalker. Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just paranoid."

"The bathroom incident wasn't you. And if he has a helper, he could very well be the one." Dex corrected.

"True. Someone is trying to shake me up. But why? Who wants to scare me? You think he thinks I'd go running home if I was scared enough? No, he isn't stupid. He has nothing to gain from all of this. No, I have a strong feeling it is something else. Someone else."

"You never know babe. The sharper and more engaged your senses are when something happens, the closer we'll come to solving this problem." Dex told her.

"You're right. I've got to pay more attention to what is happening at the moment."

"One thing, I sure don't want anything bad happening to you, and I am getting concerned. If someone wants to scare you, they are accomplishing that. But if they want to do you bodily harm, I'm going to get involved, myself." He told her, and kissed her on the nose.

She grinned, "My hero."

"You bet I am. I've found something worth fighting for and I'll be there, if you need me." He told her then kissed her on the lips to prove how much he meant it.

Mel was drowning in his kiss, but she knew she had to pull away, and what hurt was that she didn't want to pull away. She wanted to say yes to Dex. She wanted to feel the things a woman felt when she was madly in love. Was she madly in love? Or madly in lust? Dex was intoxicating. It was hard, she didn't want to pull away. She wanted to give in, especially since he was so concerned for her.

"I better go…" She whispered kissing him on the cheek.

"Sure wish you'd stay…" He kissed the lobe of her ear.

She pulled up and stared into his eyes. "I like you Dex, maybe even more than like you. But we haven't known each other very long and already we are getting pretty involved with each other. I want to save having sex for marriage Dex. But with you I could easily forget that. So, for now, kisses will have to sustain our relationship, unless you'd rather move on to someone else. I would understand if you did."

He took her face in his hands, and kissed her nose again. "One thing I'm sure about right now is, I don't want anyone else."

"If you change your mind, let me know. But…" she smiled, "Neither do I, Dex."

"Good."