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.It felt a bit weird to be giving her parents only a partial and somewhat inaccurate version of the truth.But Melody knew from experience that keeping them at arm’s length was the only way to prevent them from butting into her life and driving her crazy.They meant well, but tended to smother her unless she set boundaries, so that was what she did.It was time she moved out.Deep down she knew it was for the best.Though she loved her parents dearly, Melody couldn’t stand living with them.At her age, it was beyond frustrating to still be treated like a little kid.She knew she would get along with her mom and dad much better once she had some distance from them.She desperately needed room to breathe.And besides, the condo really was gorgeous.Melody chose the bedroom that was the furthest away from the master bedroom.She did it mainly because she really didn’t want to overhear anything when Zane inevitably brought a woman over to spend the night with him.She figured it was only a matter of time until it happened.A guy like him could easily get any woman he wanted.So, even though she hated the thought, Melody tried to do what she could to mentally prepare herself for it.Bit by bit, she and Zane settled into living together.Aside from the occasional spirited argument over whether the toilet paper roll should be hung over or under, they got along remarkably well.And one morning when Melody went outside and discovered Zane had toilet papered her entire car to prove his point, they even managed to come to an uneasy truce on the toilet paper roll issue.Things were good.As the days turned into weeks, Melody couldn’t help but notice Zane never did bring anyone home.In fact, he didn’t seem to socialize much at all except with her.He occasionally got calls from his sister in Australia, but anytime Melody overheard them they sounded brief and superficial.Sometimes his oldest niece sent him hand drawn post cards in the mail, likely because she knew he would respond by mailing her candies and dolls, along with stuffed toys for her baby sister.Melody thought it was sweet, but she also found it strange that Zane didn’t really have any friends.He very much seemed to live a hermit’s lifestyle.Maybe that helped explain why he had wanted her to move in.He was lonely.Zane was good looking and he had a great personality.How could someone like that be so isolated? He was friendly enough to acquaintances they ran into at the bar on trivia night, but he didn’t seem to have any real connections to anyone.As far as Melody knew he didn’t ever date, and he didn’t have buddies over to watch football, play poker or do whatever else it was guys did with their male friends.After some prodding, Melody even discovered that Zane had barely known the couple whose wedding they’d reconnected at.The bride and groom were casual acquaintances who had simply invited him last minute after someone else had cancelled.They’d asked him to fill a seat and he had agreed because there was free beer.Melody tried not to dwell on it.Honestly, it was nothing to her.She very much enjoyed spending time with Zane, who was quickly becoming her new best friend.He had come into her life at the perfect time, right when all her other friendships seemed to be fizzling due to her peers’ work and family commitments.In that sense Zane filled a void in her life and for that, Melody was grateful.And she was very happy to be living with him, although occasionally it got a bit awkward when she saw him fresh out of the shower wearing only a towel, droplets of water still glistening on his hard, toned body.The sight of that got her all tingly downstairs! The harder she tried to fight her physical attraction to him, the more insistent it seemed to become.“Tell me about your last girlfriend,” Melody demanded late one evening after trivia night at the bar had come to a close.She and Zane were walking home, both rather buzzed.She was in a chatty mood and her curiosity got the best of her.“Left field much?” he replied, perhaps in an attempt to change the subject.“Yeah yeah, whatever.I’m curious! Tell me about her.”Speaking slowly and choosing his words with care, Zane confessed, “I was in love with her.We met in Australia shortly after I went over there.She was gorgeous and sweet and I fell for her pretty much the moment I first saw her.”Melody felt a flicker of jealousy at that, but said nothing.“I’d only planned to stay in Australia for a short time – maybe a few months at the most.But I changed my plans for her.I stayed there for her and we got a place together.We dated for about a year,” he explained.“I was really happy during that time.Well, mostly.”“Why did you break up?” Melody asked boldly.“Sexual incompatibility,” he replied, his blunt answer momentarily stunning her.“What does that mean?” she demanded.“It means I wanted – craved – things she had no interest in.She was a very conservative girl, very vanilla,” he explained.“In the beginning it didn’t matter much because I was so head over heels for her.I tried to tell myself I could be happy in a vanilla relationship but.”“But what?” Melody pressed, intrigued.“Eventually I realized I was restless.I wasn’t bored exactly, but just.unsatisfied.It was like I had an itch I couldn’t scratch and it was driving me crazy.So I tried to talk to her about it.I tried to introduce her to some of the things I liked.I hoped maybe she’d be interested in trying some of them at some point.”“And.?”“And it didn’t go over well,” he admitted.“But anyway, enough about that.”“What? No! Keep talking,” Melody demanded, hiccupping mid-sentence.“No.I don’t like talking about her or thinking about that time.”“Oh.Sorry.”As they walked together in silence, Melody couldn’t help but wonder what sort of kinky sexual preferences Zane had – and whether he was still nursing a broken heart.Considering that they lived under the same roof, there was still an awful lot about that man that was a mystery to her.She also couldn’t shake a sudden feeling of.what, resentment? She didn’t know why she would be angry.She’d asked Zane about his past and he had answered.All he had done was tell the truth.And yet it infuriated Melody.With mounting horror, she realized she was, without a doubt, insanely jealous to learn that Zane had been in love with another woman.Chapter 07Melody and Zane had been living together for months
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