“Are you okay?” He asked. How nice of him to be so considerate considering he had just given me a massive heart attack.
“You’re… you’re…” I stammered out like an idiot. What happened to all the words in the English language that I knew? I had been talking for close to sixteen years, I thought I had mastered it by now.
He looked around before grabbing my arm and dragging me into the supply room. It was where we kept all the non-perishable food and plastic goods. I followed him, my mind filled with thoughts that Cole Newton was touching me. Now I knew how all the fainting girls felt.
He closed the door behind us. “Sorry, but I can’t be found.”
“You’re Cole Newton,” I finally finished my sentence. Yeah me. Took long enough.
He nodded, his sandy blonde hair bobbing into his eyes. Those emerald green eyes the music videos all zoomed into at every opportunity were actually looking at me. He was taller than I thought, a good foot taller than me. I had to look up to peer into those eyes.
“And you are?” He asked.
All I had to do was remember my name, why was that so difficult? “Um, Melrose Morgan.”
His beautiful pink lips curled into a smile. Could he be more perfect? “That’s a pretty name.”
I shook my head, trying to get some sense back into my brain. “What are you doing here? This isn’t the Ritz, you know.”
“There were about a hundred girls chasing me, I needed to hide. Sorry.”
He didn’t have to apologize, seriously. “Why were they chasing you?” He gave me a look like I should know the answer. “Oh, right, you’re Cole Newton.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he said, those incredible green eyes staring at me.
“No, it’s not. It’s just that you’re Cole Newton and I’m just Melrose. I have to wonder if I’m dreaming right now. Maybe I hit my head on the dumpster?”
He took a step closer to me, my heart racing with each movement. He was so close I could touch him, run my hands through his gorgeous thick blonde hair. My fingers twitched with the idea but I managed to keep them at my side.
“You’re not dreaming,” he whispered. “And I don’t think you’re just Melrose. You’re stunningly beautiful.”
I laughed, nervously, because my brain was seriously about to shut down. If I didn’t faint in the next few seconds, I was probably going to die. Drop dead, right in the supply room at Burger Nation. I would probably get on the news when Creepy Pete found my body.
His hand brushed a stray strand of hair from my face. His touch sent tingles across my skin, not doing anything to help with the heart situation going on. I stood like a statue, in case any movement made him stop doing what he was doing.
“Melrose! Where are you?” Pete’s voice boomed even through the closed door. Cole instantly stepped back, freeing me from my daze.
“I’ll be right back,” I said before hurrying out. I tried to wipe the guilty look from my face as I found Pete in the hallway. “Yes, boss?”
He eyed me suspiciously. Perhaps it was my conscience but I thought for sure he knew I was hiding a teen heartthrob in the supply room. I was just waiting for him to accuse me of it.
“The soda machine needs a part, I’ve got to go out and pick it up. I won’t be long, keep an eye on the place,” he finally explained. Some time without Pete, perhaps my luck was turning around.
I nodded and waited until he left before grabbing a burger and returning to Cole. I completely expected him to be gone, just a figment of my imagination. So when I opened the door and he was sitting on a cardboard box full of paper towels, I was completely taken by surprise all over again.
“You’re still here.”
Confusion crossed his face. “You said you’d be right back.”
So he actually believed me, that was kind of sweet. I handed him the burger. “I know it’s probably not what you’re used to, but the burgers are actually pretty good here. You don’t have to eat it.”
He took it, that wondrous smile back on his face. This really couldn’t be happening. “Thanks, it smells good. Will you join me?” He opened the wrapper and tore the burger in half. I took it and perched on another box.
“Thanks.” We ate in silence for what seemed like forever and only a second at the same time. Nothing was making sense or functioning in my brain. “So aren’t people going to be missing you or looking for you or something?”
He nodded, his hair falling into his eyes. “I sent them a text and said I’d be back later. They kind of get a bit much sometimes.”
I guessed he meant his manager or something. My dad checked up on me all the time, but I figured he probably wasn’t on a national tour with his parents. I nodded like I understood.
“So tell me about you, I want to know all about Melrose Morgan.” His eyes caught the fluorescent light, making them sparkle. He was mesmerizing to say the least.
“Well, I work at Burger Nation, obviously. I go to school in town, and I live with my dad and little sister,” I replied. My life wasn’t the fascinating one, that was all his claim.
“What happened to your mom?”
The question took me by surprise, people rarely came right out and asked me something so private like that. I guess he was used to being asked personal questions. “My mom left a few years ago, she didn’t want to be a mom anymore.”
“Tough break. I live with my brother, when I’m home.” I suddenly remembered that detail, his parents had died in a car accident. His brother, who was only four years older, had full custody of him. Talk about a tough break.
“Do you get to go home very often?” I asked, completely changing the subject so it didn’t involve miserable events in our childhood.
He shrugged. “Not these days. We’re on the road most of the time.”
“Must be tiring.”
“It’s a lot of fun too. What do you do for fun around here?”
I let a grin grace my lips. “Well, everyone is really excited about a concert tonight. Apparently this boy band is performing.”
“Oh, really? They sound exciting. What’s their name?”
“I don’t know, Three Suspension or something like that.”
He nodded, playing along. “I think I’ve heard of them. They’re really good, they’ve got this guy with blonde hair, he’s super hot.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “He’s not really my type. I prefer the guy with dark hair.”
Cole scrunched up his wrapper and threw it at me playfully. I caught it, sending it sailing back his way. He let it go over his shoulder. “All the girls go crazy for Nick, I’ve got to shave off his hair or something.”
“That would probably make him even hotter.”
He smiled and flicked his hair out of his eyes. How many times had I seen him do that on the television? Too many to count, that’s how many. “Are you going to the show tonight?”
“Yeah, I’m going with my friend, Dallas,” I replied. Dallas would kill me if she knew I was having a conversation with Cole Newton and she wasn’t there.
“Melrose!” I groaned, Pete was back and looking for me again. If I had a magical power, it would be to make him disappear.
I stood, Cole did the same. “I need to get back to work.”
“I should go too, before they call the police to look for me.” He smiled but it didn’t translate to his eyes like it should have if it were a joke. I think he was serious. “Thanks for the food… and shelter.”
“You’re welcome.” Before I knew it, Cole had wrapped his arms around me and was hugging me. I did the same, hoping he couldn’t feel my racing pulse.
I never wanted the hug to end so it was over way too soon. Even when I went back to the front counter and started serving customers, I could still feel his hands on my back. I hoped they would never fade away.
CHAPTER 3