"So the bullet wounds were here, here, and here, but the idiot ringmaster insisted that the shots had come from the audience, which is ridiculous because the clown had been riding a unicycle on a high-wire, and the shots were clearly fired from the same level as the clown, and not below from an audience vantage point..."
Melody watched, barely restraining her laughter, as Carlton illustrated in crayon what he referred to as "The Dead Clown Story" using fairly accurate diagrams of both the victim and the crime scene. Part of her was horrified at the gruesome details, and wished that she had never bitten when Carlton had mentioned stories that Juliet had previously warned him were off-limits for first date conversations. But most of her was morbidly fascinated and incredibly entertained. She listened through to the end and tried as hard as she could not to laugh, but finally gave in. She was rewarded by the surprised and pleased look on Carlton's face that quickly morphed into one of disappointment as she rose from her place. "What's the matter?" she asked, wondering what she had done wrong.
"I shouldn't have told that story. O'Hara told me not to... you're going to leave now, aren't you?" Carlton looked mournful, but resigned to his fate.
Melody shook her head and smiled. "No, that's possibly the funniest story I've ever heard. But I really need to use the restroom before we go."
The detective tilted his head and crossed his arms, examining his date with scrutiny. "You're not going to escape through the window or out the back?"
"I promise I'll be right back," she assured him with all sincerity, wondering how any woman in her right mind could possibly skip out on the man in the middle of a date. They must have been idiots. She pushed her chair in and made a point to leave her purse on the seat where Carlton could see it.
As she washed her hands and prepared to go back out to her date, Melody contemplated the evening thus far. Carlton had shown up at her house precisely at seven that night, wearing a dark blue shirt that brought out his eyes even more strikingly that usual. He wore a jacket but had foregone a tie, opting instead to leave the top button undone. Melody could hardly take her eyes off of him.
She brushed a stray hair out of her face and examined her own appearance in the bathroom mirror. She had left her hair down, allowing the ends to curl just slightly. Her dress was light green and came to just above her knees; not incredibly daring, but pretty in her own opinion. Carlton had seemed to like it; when she opened the door to her house, his eyes had gone wide and the first words out of his mouth had been "you look beautiful."
Besides the initial awkward silence as he began driving to their dinner destination, the night had been fun and easy, with conversation flowing almost nonstop. So far, Melody knew his favorite color, had heard about every gun he'd ever owned, and it had been revealed to her that secretly, he liked to sing showtunes in the shower.
Melody closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was a little reluctant to go back out into the restaurant, because eventually the date would have to end. But she didn't want Carlton to think that she really had escaped out the bathroom window... and she already missed staring into his gorgeous eyes. Suppressing a schoolgirl giggle, Melody exited the bathroom and made her way back to the table.
When she sat down and looked across the table, she was met with an uncharacteristically mischievous look. "How are you at ski ball?"
...
Carlton stood with Melody at her doorstep, large blue teddy bear under one arm. The girl was grinning ear-to-ear. "Who knew that scoring ten thousand tickets was so easy?" she teased.
The detective shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "What can I say? I have practice hitting targets with precision." He smiled, allowing his pleasure to show on his face. "I felt bad after watching you play two games without any points at all."
Melody laughed. "I'm more suited to crossword puzzles, I think." The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment. Then Melody reached out and placed her hand lightly on Carlton's wrist. "Thank you for tonight. I had a really great time," she said softly, looking shyly up into his eyes.
"I did too," the man agreed. He hesitated visibly, then slowly leaned down close to the woman, his lips mere millimeters from hers. There was a heart-wrenching moment of stillness; then, their lips touched.
Melody had been kissed before; she could count the number of times on one hand. Each time had been nice, she supposed. She had really liked the boys, and it had felt good to be that close to someone at the time.
This experience was completely different. As soon as his lips were on hers, she was consumed with a desire for more. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Carlton's neck, pulling him closer. The detective dropped her bear that had been captive under his arm and wrapped both his arms around her waist. This kiss was electric, powerful... it felt like life starting over again.
Carlton broke away first, convincing himself that it was important to be a gentleman even though every cell in his body was screaming for more of the woman in his arms. Melody rested her head on his chest, breathing deeply and trying to slow her heart rate. She had never felt anything this intense for any man in her entire life, and here she was with someone that she barely knew. She looked up when she felt, more than heard, the man's words. "I should go." His voice was oddly low and rough. It sent shivers down Melody's spine.
The girl let her arms drop to her side as his words began to sink in. She nodded, backing slowly away as her head began to clear. "Right." She smiled shakily and looked up into a pair of ice-blue eyes; Carlton looked just as dazed as she was. Quickly, she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "Goodnight, Carlton."
He reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Goodnight," he echoed. Melody watched him walk back to his car, then waved and giggled as he turned around and smiled at her under the street lamp. She waited until he was down the block and almost to his house before unlocking her door and going inside.
The poor blue teddy bear was left to guard the porch that night.
