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"Kawan." The flat tone of her voice was filled with warning, as if the use of his name wasn't enough.

  "She was sort of a client, but not really." He said, the words coming out a little rushed. No matter how self-assured he became, no matter how dominant, somehow his mom always managed to make him feel a little insecure. It was probably good for him, but it was never a comfortable experience. "She's definitely not a client now."

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cringed internally. If a client of his babbled to him this way, he'd assume they were guilty of something.

  He forgave himself, because he was a little off-his-game this morning. Realizing that Melody had lied to her friend, which had also been extremely unsafe, followed by a phone call from his mom... Sitting up straight, he gave himself a little shake.

  Get a hold of yourself.

  "Melody's working toward her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She's very smart." Although a little naive in some ways.

  "Is she Korean?" She sounded thoughtful. His mom was apparently willing to overlook the fact that Melody had needed legal help—at least for now.

  "No, she's white."

  "Does she want children?"

  Kawan pinched the bridge of his nose. "We just went on our first date last weekend, Umma. The topic hasn't come up yet."

  She tutted at him. "You aren't getting any younger, Kawan, these are important things to know."

  "Yes, Umma."

  "Don't you make 'dutiful son' noises at me, Kawan, I… Oh. Appa wants to talk to you. Hold on." It would only be a temporary reprieve, Kawan knew. Now that she knew about Melody, she needed the time to regroup and adjust how to approach him. Fortunately, he'd also be able to use that time to prepare some answers.

  "Bye, Umma, love you."

  "Sa-lang-hai, eolin wangja." There was a muffled noise as she passed the phone over to his father.

  "Hello, little prince." His dad's warm chuckle made Kawan grin.

  "If she wants to treat me like royalty, I'm not going to argue with her," Kawan teased.

  "Smart boy."

  Thankfully his dad just wanted to know how he was settling in at the new firm and what his new home was like. Melody, grandchildren, and dating never came up at all. It was just a breather, Kawan knew, but next time he talked to his mom, he'd be more prepared.

  Freshly showered and changed into her own clothes, Melody felt trapped. If she left her room, Peggy was going to want to talk about last night. Melody didn't really see that conversation going any better than the previous one had. As much as she loved her bestie, right now she was being a royal bitch. And Melody didn't understand why Peggy had such an issue, but she wasn't okay with it.

  She didn't want to fight. She didn't want to have to defend herself or Kawan or what she wanted.

  Why was that so hard for Peggy to understand?

  Nibbling on her lower lip, Melody stared at her bedroom door. Maybe she was overthinking things. Maybe, now that Peggy had had time to cool down, she'd realize that she was being unreasonable.

  Sure. And pigs were doing cartwheels in the sky right now.

  This was kind of her fault, she realized. It was so much easier to just go with the flow when it came to Peggy, but that had turned her into a little bit of a doormat. Melody didn't like thinking of herself that way, but the truth was that she was constantly doing what Peggy wanted her to do. Because it was easier. Because she didn't want to fight.

  Or, truthfully, because she hadn't felt like the fight was worth it. Was Kawan, and what he offered, worth fighting with Peggy? She really hoped the answer was yes.

  Steeling herself, she made herself walk out of the bedroom and out to the living room where she could hear the television blaring. She made a face when she got there. Peggy was watching one of the trashy reality TV shows that she loved and Melody hated.

  It probably wasn't a pointed dig at Melody. At least, that's what she told herself.

  Peggy didn't even look up at her. She was sitting on the couch, arms crossed over her chest, glaring at the television. Everything about her posture said ‘Fuck off’. The desire to confront all the ugly things she'd said slid away as Melody looked at her.

  Whatever. Peggy could think what she wanted. She couldn't tell Melody what to do.

  That didn't mean Melody wanted to hang out here either.

  "Where are you going?" The question bristled with hostility as Melody picked up her purse.

  "Out." Melody could have told Peggy that she was planning on heading over to the university and losing herself in work for a while but... she didn't owe Peggy any explanation. Or maybe this was her way of trying to make Peggy confront her again so they could have it out? Ugh. How passive aggressive. But also easier than being the confrontational one.

  "Back to the pedo-perv?"

  "Stop calling him that." Melody whirled around, glaring at the back of Peggy's head, because she hadn't even turned around to fight with Melody. For a moment she pictured herself slapping Peggy across the back of the head, as if attempting to slap the bitch out of her. Ugh. Not worth it though. Talk about a friendship ender. Right now she was doing her best to salvage the friendship, even if Peggy was being a horrid bitch. "I don't care what you think about my relationship with him, I don't want to hear it. Don't call him that ever again."

  "Or what?" Now Peggy did stand up and turn around to face her, challenging Melody with her own glare.

  Melody pressed her lips together. Normally she'd say a man wasn't worth ending a friendship over, especially her best friendship but... it's not like Kawan was doing anything wrong. Peggy was the one in the wrong.

  Breaking the long silence with a snort, Peggy shook her head, sending her red curls flying around her face. "I don't get it, Mel. Your parents are totally normal, you weren't abused, you don't have daddy issues—or at least, I didn't think you did—so what the hell is going on? Are you so desperate for sex that you'll fuck anyone?" Shocked, Melody's mouth dropped open and she stared at Peggy. The other woman's voice softened slightly, her gaze becoming pitying. "Look, we'll work on it. You can lose some weight, I'll dress you up, and we'll find you a guy."

  It wasn't all that dissimilar from things Peggy had said to her in the past, but suddenly it was like Melody heard them differently.

  Her words didn't sound kind or caring. They didn't sound supportive. They didn't sound like she and Melody were a team. It sounded like Peggy wanting to control Melody's life. Something that Melody had been guilty of letting her do in the past. Because she had wanted to lose weight... because she hadn't felt confident enough to pick out her own sexy outfits... because she had wanted someone to help her find a guy.

  But now she'd found a guy that she wanted. And he thought she was sexy. He didn't seem to think she needed to lose weight. When she was around him, she didn't feel like she needed to. Only Peggy made her feel that way.

  Melody didn't have daddy issues, but she was starting to wonder if she had friend issues.

  "I'm going to the university to get some work done."

  She moved so quickly that she was yanking the front door open when Peggy's furious response caught her off guard.

  "Don't you dare leave, Melody, we're not done talking about this!"

  "I'm done," she snapped back, her temper finally getting the best of her. "I'm done talking about this. It's my life, not yours, and you don't get to choose who I date or where I'm going. I'll see you later."

  "If you leave now, don't bother coming back!" Peggy practically screamed it at her.

  Melody slammed the door shut behind her and stood in the hallway for a moment, shaking. Only the fear that Peggy would come out after her got her moving again. She could not do this right now. She needed some space. To clear her head. To think about what she was going to do next. About Peggy and about Kawan.

  Because she was starting to feel unsure about whether she could have both.

  Chapter 15

  The monotonous work of staining slides for analysis helped Melody calm do
wn. This was easy. Tedious and requiring focus, but also easy. Which was exactly what she needed right now.

  She'd arrived at the lab with her hands still shaking, but now they were perfectly steady. Deep, calming breaths had helped to center her. Joking around with Lisa and Richard, both of whom were also in the lab today, had helped even more. Small talk didn't carry messy emotions with it.

  Part of her kept expecting Peggy to call, or text, or even show up in the lab, but as the minutes ticked by, she slowly relaxed.

  So when, several hours in, her phone finally beeped with a text, she practically jumped out of her skin. A sick feeling, almost like nausea, curdled in her stomach. She was finally feeling better; she so didn't want to talk to Peggy right now. Unless her friend was texting her an apology, which seemed highly unlikely.

  She nearly cried with relief when she the text was from Kawan.

  Hey, baby girl, I wanted to check in, since—I'm assuming—you forgot to text me when you got home.

  Relief was followed by a rush of guilt and also warmth that he'd reached out to her. She had said she'd text him and then she'd completely forgotten.

  I'm so sorry. I completely forgot.

  She hesitated and then sent a second text, because she didn't want him to think she was flakey.

  Peggy didn't take me being out all night very well and we ended up fighting as soon as I walked in the door.

  Rather than getting right back to work, she stared at her phone, anxiously waiting for his response. Thankfully he didn't make her wait very long and her phone lit up again a moment later.

  That's okay, sweetheart. I'm sorry you fought with your friend though. Next time please try to remember to message me.

  Heat flushed through Melody, warming her from the inside out, from her blushing cheeks all the way down to where her thighs were pressed together. She hesitated... and then tapped out the words that felt so right even though Peggy said they were so wrong.

  Yes, Daddy.

  Kawan groaned when he saw Melody's response, his cock immediately hardening.

  Sweetly submissive was definitely how he would describe her. Not that tone could always be conveyed over text, but his instincts told him that she wasn't being bratty or flippant.

  Good girl.

  It was never as satisfying over text message, but he still smiled as he pictured Melody's cheeks turning pink at the accolade. Hopefully, it would please her. He didn't at all like the idea of her leaving his house all soft and glowing, only to return home and immediately lose the satisfaction he'd given her. Would it make things better or worse if he invited her back over?

  Where are you now?

  The wait for her answer seemed to drag on, although it was only a couple of minutes at most. The entire time, he stared at his computer screen. Thinking about Melody, and all of the filthy things he wanted to do to her, he'd decided to do some online shopping. While he had a lot of the basics, he wanted some things that were special, just for her. And it never hurt to have plenty of backup for the basics.

  Especially for naughty little girls who didn't take enough care with their safety. By not texting Kawan that she'd gotten home, that made twice this weekend that she hadn't taking the measures he would want her to... if she were his. Although she didn't seem averse to the idea of being his either. They hadn't discussed exclusivity yet, but he planned to do so when they saw each other again this upcoming weekend. And he didn't get the impression Melody was the type to date around, if she even had the time to.

  Her return text confirmed that.

  I went into the lab today to do a few things. I didn't want to hang around the apartment with Peggy when she was all riled up.

  Getting a PhD was grueling. Kawan shook his head.

  He really didn't like that roommate of hers, even though he knew he didn't have much of an impression to go on. Just the fact that she'd laughed at Melody last weekend and had been pretty pushy for a submissive had put his back up. Now that Melody was hiding out at work, he was feeling even more protective of her. Although, since she was friends with her roommate, she really should have let the other woman know she was going out last night. Even if she had been through a recent breakup.

  But he didn't like that Melody had been chased out of her home.

  Should he invite her over again tonight?

  That was the question.

  Part of him was worried about jumping in too deep too quickly. Especially because he knew he had a little bit of White Knight syndrome. But he liked swooping in to the rescue... as long as it was merited, appreciated, and not being used to manipulate him.

  He studied Melody's text. It didn't seem like she was fishing for an invitation over.

  This morning they'd decided to see each other next week, but...

  Do you want to go home after you're done? I don't have plans this evening if you'd like to have dinner with me instead.

  Kawan looked at the message for a long moment before hitting send. When he did, he felt almost defiant, although the only person he was defying was himself. He wanted to shield her from her roommate. That was a good impulse to have. It was also the kind of thing that had let his last girlfriend manipulate and take advantage of him.

  But if he had never met Krissy, he would have had no problem extending the invitation.

  And Melody wasn't Krissy.

  Thank you, but I should go home after this. Hopefully she'll have cooled off and we can actually talk.

  He hoped for her sake that was true. This was better anyway.

  Okay, sweetheart. Please call me if you need anything though.

  I will! Thank you.

  And that was that.

  He ignored the small niggle inside of him that wanted to push for more immediately. They'd talk more this week, and then he'd see her again next weekend, and that would have to be enough for now.

  In the meantime, he'd buy some things for their next scene. There were a lot of different ways to be a little and a Daddy, and he wanted to give her more of a taste than he'd been prepared to last night.

  All the way home, Melody ran through all the rebuttals she had for Peggy's arguments. A lot of them narrowed down to 'I appreciate your concern, but this is what I want, so you need to accept it,' because Peggy didn't get a say in her sex life or who she dated, damn it.

  While yes, she wanted her friends to like her boyfriend... well, the truth was right now Peggy was basically her only close friend and Peggy could be abrasive. Unwelcoming to new people. The one time Melody had tried to bring Lisa home from the lab for dinner, thinking that maybe the three of them could hang out, it had turned into the most awkward, quiet dinner ever. Lisa and Melody had both tried, but afterwards Peggy had told Melody that she didn’t like Lisa at all and didn’t want her to come over again. And that had been that, because Melody felt like Peggy should feel comfortable in her own home.

  She tried to remember the last time she'd been out on a date. It had been a while. Another grad student she'd met at a conference... Chad. They'd gone out to dinner last year. Peggy hadn't seemed to have an opinion one way or another about the guy. But it hadn't lasted past two dates either, so she hadn't had much of a chance to.

  There just hadn't been enough of a spark for them to try to make time for each other. They'd planned to go on a third date but they couldn't find a day that worked for both of them and then the texts had fizzled out. Melody didn't consider it ghosting, more like the slow withdrawal and eventual death of a relationship that never was.

  But with Kawan, she felt the spark that she and Chad hadn’t had. She wanted to make time for him.

  Right now she really wished she were on her way to his house to have dinner and then see what happened next. She had a feeling that would just make everything worse with Peggy though. Despite the fact that she wasn't a confrontational person, outright avoidance of conflict never solved anything. Especially if she avoided Peggy in favor of a guy.

  Chicks before dicks though. Sort of. She wasn’t going to e
nd things with Kawan just to make Peggy happy, but she wasn’t going to neglect Peggy for Kawan either. That was the compromise she’d decided on while she was in the lab today.

  Her hands were shaking a little as she unlocked the door. She really did hate confrontations. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and walked in. And blinked. There was a pile of clothes in the middle of the main room. Her clothes.

  “Peggy?” Melody’s voice was shriller than usual as confusion and a touch of anger swirled around inside of her. What was Peggy doing dumping all of her clothes in the middle of the room?

  Movement out of the corner of her eye made her turn, and she saw Peggy coming out of Melody’s room, a box in her arms. There was an odd expression on her face, challenging, but also almost gleeful. Unlike Melody, Peggy seemed to relish confrontations. She didn’t say anything though, just walked down the hallway, box in her arms, eyes on Melody’s face. Anxiety rippled and Melody’s stomach churned.

  “What is all this?” Melody finally asked, gesturing at her clothes. She clenched her jaw against her anger, keeping her voice reasonable.

  “I’m helping you out,” Peggy said. Malice threaded her voice as she reached Melody and dropped the box between them, like a barrier. It hit the ground with a clatter and Melody automatically looked down. Her chest tightened when she saw familiar frames and trinkets piled inside of it. Her photo frames and trinkets. “If you’re going to date a pedophile, I don’t feel safe living with you. You’re out.”

  Melody’s head jerked up as she looked at her best friend, the woman she’d thought was her best friend, in utter shock. “You can’t kick me out!”

  “I damn well can.” Peggy’s face was hard, but it softened just a little as she looked at Melody, her voice turning coaxing. “You don’t have to go though… just don’t date that creep, and you can stay. It’s that easy.”

  Emotions bubbled inside Melody, a chaotic mix that made all of this feel very surreal. She reached for the arguments she’d prepared, even though this wasn’t at all how she’d expected their conversation to go. “You don’t get to choose who I date, Peggy.”