Chapter 1

It was 7a.m. Monday morning when her alarm clock startled nineteen-year-old Melina out of her sleep. She got up out of bed to get ready for school. She made her bed, brushed her teeth, washed her face, combed her hair, had a quick breakfast, and made her way out the door. Melina was an African-American college student who was hoping that maybe her top of the line education would be the key to a better, brighter future for her mother and herself. She had always been a hard worker and one of the best students in her class, despite being at a financial disadvantage her whole life. Even though her mother owned a small restaurant that had its loyal customers they had never had any real money. Her life's order had always been described go to school, come home and help mama in the restaurant until six or seven o' clock, do homework, take a bath, and go to bed. Even now her life had little change. The only things different were that she lived in Alabama, not Mississippi, in a small apartment ,not a house, close to relatives but alone. But amongst it all the only thing she had ever wanted to do was play the violin. It had been a hidden talent and passion that she had found the summer before she entered sixth grade. That summer a new music shop opened in the area. She had simply wondered in one day since she had nothing else to do. It was one of few days she had allowed herself to enjoy since she always pushed herself to help her mother even though her mother had given her the freedom to be what she was; a child. The bell hanging over the doorway chimed as she entered the seemingly small shop. The white woman behind the counter gently smiled at her. She was dressed in an off-black sleeveless dress. Melina thought the woman's attire strange considering it was the middle of summer and that everyone else was wearing the lightest colors they could find while here she was wearing black.

The next thing Melina saw the strangely dressed woman do was hold out her arms to either side of her, palms open to the sky and say,

"Welcome to The House of Music! How may I help you?

Surprised by the woman's sudden outburst Melina stuttered out, "Oh, uh, I was just looking."

"All right then. Let me know if you need anything," the woman replied.

By now Melina was left to her own devices. As she wondered through the shop looking at all the different instruments, books, and merchandise. The store seemed to contain every instrument ever created. She touched, held, and took note of each and every instrument she saw, but there was one instrument that she took more time with. 'This instrument is beautiful', she thought. The more time she spent with the mysterious object the more fond of it she became. 'It looks like a mini guitar only this neck-like stick seems to curl. How weird. What kind of instrument is this?' After a few more moments of exploration of the instrument she finally turned around and asked the woman at the counter

"What's this instrument called?" "It's called the violin," she answered. "It's beautiful," Melina commented. "Yes, it is", the woman agreed. "Would you like to learn how to play?" the woman asked Melina. "What's your name and how much?" she answered. "First lesson's free and the name's Sarah," Sarah replied. "Nice to meet you Ms. Sarah. My name is Melina and sure one lesson couldn't hurt." And so for the next seven years she continued her studies as a young violinist. As she matured so did her dreams of one day becoming a famous concert musician. That was the past though. Now she had set her sights on the more practical career of being a lawyer.

Walking into class ten minutes to 8 she took her seat in the third row from the bottom. "Good morning Melina," someone greets her in a husky voice from behind. When she turned she saw

twenty-one-year-old, brown complexioned, Damien Kole. Damien twirled her shoulder length hair around his index finger as she answered with slight annoyance "Good morning, Damien." Damien Kole was known for being the pimp on campus. He had found it easy to get into every female bed on campus. Melina was one of the few women who had yet to give in to his charms. She was a challenge and she fascinated him. "So what are you doing later?" Damien asked suggestively. "Why?" Melina countered. "I was wondering if you would like to go to dinner with me? I do so hate to dine alone." he said putting on the most provocative smile he could with hopes that she would bite the bait that most women jumped at. But then again Melina wasn't most women. Despite his reputation, which was true on all counts, Damien had fallen for Melina's charm. An aspect of herself she probably didn't even know she had. He loved her ability to seem quiet, conservative and reserved but at the same time sexy, smart and strong. Whether she knew it or not an air of untapped sensuality always surrounded her. But that's not even close to the reason why he wanted to be the first to awaken the sleeping passion within her. He wanted to offer her something that he had only half- way dangled in the other women's faces; a long-term, faithful relationship. He knew she was too smart to fall for the same things the other mindless women did, but he still felt that if he tried a few of his old seduction tricks that maybe he could show her a different side of him and he could see the sexy side of her. "Well, you know it's not healthy to skip meals. Nor is it healthy to be lonely," Damien offered. "I understand that, so what's your point?" Melina asked. "My point is why don't we both stay healthy and eat together?" he answered. "Really," she shot back. "Yes. I would love to see you outside of class sometime." She stared at him before she said anything. "First of all, Damien I don't skip meals and I'm not lonely. Second, I thought you had girlfriend already. Third, I'm not in to one night stands. And fourth, because of your reputation I don't want to go out with you." Damien had to admit to himself she was right about his reputation. It didn't exactly promise a long term relationship. Regardless of that, it was exactly what he wanted with her. The other women were simply occupations of his time. A hobby to keep college eventful, but something even he tired of from time to time. Melina waited for a reply from him. It was all true, even though she wished it wasn't. If it had not been for his reputation for going around having sex with anything that had a vagina and walked she would have taken him up on his offer. The weird thing about his charms had been the fact that even after his one-night stands had ended the women still wanted him. That above all confused her because after that night he never spoke to them again. For him ,it seemed to her, had always been a gamecalled "Chase 'em Love 'em Leave 'em". She like all the rest of the girls had admired him from afar. With his bright, prospective future ahead of him and to-die-for good looks any woman would want him. She wanted him too but wouldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him that! If she told him she would be giving him permission to do to her what he did to the other, which wouldn't be so bad if she didn't already know he was going to use her and leave her.

"You've made some very good points," Damien finally answered, "but did you ever consider that I might want to go on a serious date?" He tried. She didn't answer. She averted her gaze

'She can tell I'm tell I'm trying to be honest,' Damien thought to himself.

"Honestly?" she finally replied. "No."

With that she turned back around as class began.

Author's Note: Yes!!! I finally did it!!! Does victory dance Sorry everybody. I'm just glad that I finally got my first chapter posted. Hey! Don't be scared tell me what you think! Besides, I need a beta reader so, If there's anyone out there who would like to offer their services tell me in your review or get my email address from my profile and give me a shout!