Chapter 9

She should have known better. The signs were all there. She was loose, she fooled around, and she got played like a fiddle. Those were the consequences when you didn't play the game smart. Those were the consequences when you let your feelings get the better of you.

It was Saturday morning, and instead of staying in, feeling stupid and self-deprecating, Meg was out doing the things she loved in order to pass the time and keep her mind off of Maxfield.

It was only half working. She walked down the long street from one tall glass store entrance to another, zig-zagging in and out while taking in the sights of the beautiful clothes and touching the silky fabrics. It was a lovely day, and she had on a summery daisy yellow lace dress and a white floppy hat. Then every so often, the cringeworthy memories of the past few weeks would come flashing back—her originally coming onto him, her staying the night, the storage room, her revelation from Darien.

Finally stopping at a quaint little coffee shop, she decided that the best way to get her mind off of her own life and problems were to immerse herself in someone else's. She sat in a cushioned seat on the patio and began rummaging in her bag for a book.

Another hour must have passed by easily, the odd breeze playfully tugging her hair, and the sweet taste of her café mocha allowing a surprising sense of calmness and euphoria around her.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Her hand froze midway through flipping a page, and her heart began racing with paranoia, before she realized after a moment that the voice was familiar but not immediately recognizable. She looked up and ripped off her sunglasses when she saw the tall figure. "Melvin!"

"Guilty as charged." He grinned at her, his brown eyes kind and sincere. "Would you object to some company?"

"Not at all." She smiled and lifted her bag off the extra chair, and he swung his messenger-style denim off over his shoulder and sat down. Like clockwork, the waitress buzzed by and took his order for a chai latte.

"So how have you been?" Meg asked, leaning back in her seat and crossing her legs. She was secretly pleased to leave the ball in his court to start talking so that she could take a moment to digest again how much he'd grown since the last time they'd been friendly. He had a more clean-cut, preppy look, wearing a brand-name polo and dark jeans.

"Ah, I've been alright. When I'm not studying, I'm playing sports. When I'm not playing sports, I'm working." Melvin said offhandedly. "I'm sure you're more than familiar with the life. I've seen some of your volleyball games, you're still as impressive as ever."

Meg grinned with genuine pleasure, and despite herself she felt a rosy glow spread in her cheeks. "I'm hoping to get a scholarship for University. How's the application process going? Has Harvard offered you their early admission letter yet?" she joked. Between Amy, Melvin, and herself, they were the top three highest-scoring students in their graduating class.

Melvin chuckled, his deep yet youthful voice sounding crisp and full of life. "Not yet, Meg. I've been writing application essays every weekend, but today's just one of those days where I felt like going out and enjoying the fresh air. It's a beautiful day." He pushed his dark-rimmed designer glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked at her pointedly. "I'm glad I did, too, since I got to run into you."

"I'm happy to see you too. I've had a lot on my mind, what with school and all. This is the first day that I've felt like I can let loose and really get started on putting my stress behind me." She straightened her back and rubbed her shoulders. "I still feel tense as hell though."

"Perhaps you should look into going to a registered massage therapist." Melvin said with a shrug. "I bet it's what happens when you play a lot of sports, sometimes it really messes with your muscles."

The two of them talked for another two hours, until the sun was beginning to set and Meg needed to head on home. Being the gentleman that he was, Melvin offered to drive her home, and by the time she entered her house she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

It was almost uncanny, Melvin had managed to keep Meg's mind off of The Lying Scumbag for the entire afternoon since they'd met with each other. In a much better mood than she had been when she left the house this morning, Meg changed into a comfortable pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top and sat down in front of her laptop, prepared to start researching some potential scholarships.

Before she knew it, the sun had set and she felt an ache in her right shoulder. Trying to rub it back and forth with her fingertips, Meg opened up a new browser and searched for RMTs in her area. Scrolling through for some relatively further away areas with good review scores, Meg booked an appointment online and closed her laptop, ready to get some sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

By the time the full long weekend had passed, she had convinced herself that this ordeal was all put behind her. She would walk into class with her head held high, she would look Maxfield right in the eye during any correspondence, and they were going to live out the rest of the school year as if none of this had ever happened.

The past few days had been a glorious roller coaster of emotions—but she managed to get out of the dip with the help of her close friends, lots of ice cream, and working out. Maxfield had tried to call her a couple times, but she never picked up and he never left any messages.

Opening the classroom door, she brushed in and looked at Maxfield coolly in the eye, who had been standing in front of the chalkboard with an open book. "Good morning, Mr. Stanton." She said with the usual formalities as she made her way to her desk and sat down.

So far, so good. Just play it cool. This homeroom class shouldn't be too hard, considering they had a test today. It was one of her favourite subjects, English, and she'd already happened to read the book being studied summers ago, so she was perfectly confident writing the test without any preparation beforehand.

Instead, the strange thing was, she could feel her stomach doing small turns in excitement at the prospect of bumping into Melvin during lunch. Unfortunately, since he was in a different homeroom class, they didn't have the chance to see each other that much.

Perhaps she could make some time to see one of his games. She hardly noticed when Maxfield walked by her column of desks, handing out the test paper. Clicking the top of her mechanical pencil a couple of times, Meg spared no time gliding over the essay question and starting on her paper.

When Maxfield returned to his desk, he sat down feeling somewhat puzzled. Even a mature woman with no emotional attachments would have freaked out big time on him for what happened on Friday, and yet here this young girl was, sitting at her desk with such composure that you'd think they were strangers. You'd think she didn't have a care in the world.

He'd had a pretty shit weekend, but he spent most of his time trying to get his mind off of things by hanging out with his friends and working out. Yet if he would take the time to admit it to himself, it had become abundantly clear that he didn't miss Melissa at all.

But there had been multiple occasions where he'd wished Meg was there with him. Not even in a sexual way, but he'd missed the scent of her hair, her soft touch, and her smile.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of it, he focused instead on the bowed heads in front of him. He was an adult in his prime, he would find a way to get over it, and with even more ease than Meg.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She finally found it!

Meg stood in front of the entranceway to a luxurious looking spa, and stepped inside feeling shy. She very rarely pampered herself like this, but she felt like after everything she'd been through lately she deserved to take up Melvin's word on getting a massage to de-stress.

Beside her, Serena stretched out her arms out above her head. "I'm so happy that they were able to book me in last minute." She said, giving Meg a wide smile. "You should've told me you were coming earlier, we probably could've booked the same room together."

Meg grinned but said nothing. As much as she enjoyed Serena's company, and much appreciated her presence at her little outing today, she wanted the actual session to be a moment to herself in peace and quiet. Besides, she knew Serena was insanely ticklish, so it was likely that all she would've heard for the next hour was constant giggling and the wriggling of sheets if they were in the same room.

The two walked inside and signed in with a bored-looking receptionist, who helpfully brought Meg to a small, dimly lit room and monotonously told her to remove all clothing and to lie beneath the sheet on the bed, waiting for the masseur. There was a large mirror in front of the chair on which Meg lay her purse on. Letting out a long breath, she lifted her tank top up and over her shoulders, and wriggled out of her tight, faded jean shorts. She undid the clasp of her bra and dropped that on the chair as well, then took a moment to stare at herself in the mirror.

It was kind of a strange notion that someone was going to walk into this room any minute and put their hands all over her bare skin, wasn't it? Her long, wavy hair was spread over her shoulders, and the lighting of the room suddenly seemed somewhat… romantic. Feeling a little embarrassed, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail with the odd notion that it would make her somehow look more tomboyish.

Did people normally leave their underwear on during massages? She hadn't quite caught what the receptionist had told her, but if she had to take off her bra then it only made sense for her to take off her panties too. Realizing that she would be rudely interrupted any moment now if she didn't hurry up and climb into the bed, Meg took off her underwear and hopped under the covers.

Her body felt warm against the cot, and after a moment she realized that it was a heated surface. Her body began to relax immediately and seemingly melt into the warmth and comfort here. She could probably take a nap right now if she wanted to.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened, and Meg sleepily lifted her head from the mat, and jerked partway up in surprise.

"You? This is your part-time job?" Meg gaped when Melvin stepped inside of the door. He seemed just as surprised as she was, his face flushed lightly. For work he had forgone his usual stylish sweaters for a thin, breezy white V-neck t-shirt that exposed his toned muscles.

He nearly died of a heart attack when he saw her there. He had found relative success in high school, joining the jock realm via the soccer team, being an honours student, and was no stranger in the dating world. But when it came to his childhood crush, he felt ten years old again.

"Er… yeah. I didn't expect to see you here of all places… are you uncomfortable? Did you want a different RMT, or…?" Melvin asked with uncertainty, as he tried to stare Meg straight in the face and not get distracted by the fact that aside from a thin bedsheet, she was practically naked.

"No, please don't go. This is my first time, maybe it'd be more relaxing with someone I know." Meg said with a warm smile, as she lay back down. Melvin closed the door behind him, set the timer for an hour, and squeezed some oil onto his hands, not sure what to say.

"So what brings you here?" He said finally, as he brought his hands down onto Meg's back. He could feel there was a lot of tension in her shoulders, many knots that could be worked out. "And to our store, of all places?"

"Ironically, I was trying to go someplace far away, so I wouldn't see anyone I know." Meg said truthfully. "But I'm actually really glad that I ran into you here. I missed you a lot."

"I've missed you too, Meg." Melvin said, and was glad that she was face down because she didn't have to see him smiling like an idiot.

His hands warmed the oil up as it glided along her skin, and Meg could just feel herself relaxing. All the drama in her life these past couple of weeks suddenly seemed so trivial and far away.

"How's the pressure?"

Meg mumbled some nonsensical words in satisfied response as his fingers glided across her skin. She had half expected him to go easy on her, treating her like a delicate flower in need of some gentle rubbing, but instead he was expertly applying deep pressure in all the right places.

"Serena's here too, by the way." Meg said finally, her head lying on its side, completely missing the hole in which one was supposed to put their face in. Melvin grinned at her lack of massage etiquette as she continued talking, half-slurring at the hypnotic effect of his massage. As his hands worked their way down to her glutes, then to the back of her legs, he realized that she didn't have any underwear on whatsoever.

Meg let out an immature giggle when he cupped her ass with both hands, his fingers digging into the muscles. Letting out a chuckle, Melvin's fingers slid up her spine on both sides before tapping her on the shoulder.

"Okay, turn around."

As Meg rolled over onto her back, she felt even more dreamy. The orange room was dimly light, resembling sunset, and the CD was playing relaxing nature sounds of crickets chirping, birds singing, or waves colliding.

Her eyes focused on Melvin, and on the manly veins his hands and forearms as he massaged her. She could see his muscles flexing and she felt a sudden urge to reach out and touch them through the thin cotton of his shirt.

He was telling some story about a funny social event that he'd found amusing, and Meg listened happily as his strong hands caressed her arms, her hands, and her feet.

He moved the sheet so that her right leg was exposed, and she felt a tingle of excitement as he ran his hands up her inner thigh. She was suddenly very conscious of the fact that nothing but a thin white bedsheet was separating her naked body from him, and she could feel her nipples perk up beneath the sheet from her body's hopeful anticipation of pleasure.

Taken in from the sheer relaxation of the environment, Meg let out an inadvertent small moan when Melvin's hands found its way to her inner thigh again, her legs inching just a little bit farther apart. Then she noticed the subtle clicking of the alarm clock, and the relaxing music ceased. Their hour was over, and Meg couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. She wasn't ready to go yet.

Melvin paused for a moment, noticing that she didn't make any movement to get up, and she noticed that he didn't make any movement to fully take his hands off of her. Gazing studiously at her face for any hint of a reaction, Melvin tentatively ran his hands up her legs again, and sliding beneath the bedsheet his hands grazed along the outside lips of her pussy. Meg's eyes opened sleepily and met his gaze, and she her lips spread into a slight smile before she closed them again and exhaled happily, taking in the moment.

Taking that as a sign of encouragement, Melvin slid his hands down the length of her upper legs and then back up, teasing her once more as he pushed aside the bedsheet. It had been a few minutes since he'd last applied the massage oil, and so he could tell that she was getting plenty wet all on her own.

Was this actually happening? Meg, the girl who he had liked for the better half of his life, was actually naked on a bed in front of him. The girl who had become the gorgeous social butterfly, the star athlete, his intellectual rival—lying there, with her legs spreading wider and wider, welcoming his touch.

His hands slid up her flat stomach and pushed the bedsheet completely aside. If his cock wasn't rock hard already, it definitely was now that he'd seen her large, milky white breasts and soft pink nipples exposed to him. His hands cupped them and squeezed them gently, and when Meg turned her head to look at him again with a sly smile, he couldn't take it anymore and leaned down to kiss her.

She kissed him back warmly, her tongue sliding beneath his and she sat up slightly, grabbing handfuls of his t-shirt and pulling him closer to her.

He moved the direction of his mouth down to her neck where he sucked gently for a few intoxicating moments, then down her collarbone, then finally down to her chest where he took her tit in his mouth and sucked, with the other hand reaching down and rubbing her clit in gentle, circular strokes.

Meg let out a moan that she prayed wasn't too loud at the sheer ecstasy and excitement of the situation, and when he was certain that she was ready, Melvin's fingers entered her pussy. It must have only taken the span of thirty seconds, but Meg couldn't focus on anything else but the feelings of her own pleasure as a white hot feeling took over her body. She couldn't think about acting sexy, or pleasuring him— only the increasingly tingling sensation in her nether regions as her stomach muscles quivered. Then she felt Melvin tug playfully on her nipple with his teeth, hard, and with one last bend of his fingers and circular stroke of her clit Meg let out a moan that she knew for sure was way too loud and she came, pulsating against him still inside her.

Her body fell back against the massage table, breathing heavily, and looked at Melvin in sheer surprise at the whole situation as he stood back and shot her a triumphant grin. She had long overlooked boys her age because she felt they were too stupid, too immature, and too inexperienced with a woman to truly know what they were doing.

But what she had just experienced with Melvin… was out of this world.

The alarm clock on his watch began buzzing, which she figured meant that he had another client due at this time, and with a silent grin he leaned forward and gave her one last, sweet kiss on the lips before leaving the room.