Chaos Theory (Nerds of Paradise #2)(75)
“It’s okay, we’ve landed.” His shout seemed a million miles away with the racket of the helicopter, but it was enough to prompt her to open her eyes.
With Will’s and the pilot’s help, Melody was unbuckled from her seat and helped out of the helicopter. The pilot had a few words with Will, pointing to an open door several yards away on the roof. Howie’s secretary, Edith, waved to them, and Melody had a strange feeling that everything would be all right.
“They phoned me to let me know you won,” Edith told them as she escorted Melody and Will down from the roof and through the PSF building. Melody’s ears still rang from the noise of the helicopter. “I’m so happy for you. Melody, your parents are going to be so proud.”
“I can’t wait to tell them,” Melody said, a little too loud.
Edith laughed. “Well, you’re probably going to have to wait until later. I ran into them this morning, before we knew about the results of the competition. Your parents and Calliope were just heading up to Beaver Creek Lodge to watch the finish.”
“We could call them and tell them to turn around,” Will suggested.
Melody arched a brow at him as they turned onto the main hall and headed for the front entrance. “Are you kidding? We can have the whole house to ourselves.”
She caught the tail end of Edith’s mischievous grin before the woman said, “You kids need a ride home?”
“Nah,” Melody answered right away. “It’s a nice day and we’re used to walking.”
In fact, as they pushed through PSF’s great, glass front doors, a sunny, breezy, warm April day met them. It felt like years since they’d been in town, even though it was only a few days. The perfect weather was a reflection of how new and exciting everything felt.
“We’ll see you at the celebration supper tonight.” Edith waved them off as they started across the parking lot.
They walked in silence for a few blocks. It didn’t seem right. So much had happened in the forest. Their lives had never really been in danger—although that bear situation could have gotten out of hand—but emotionally Melody felt like they’d been halfway around the world. The Will that walked at her side as they turned onto Main Street, past all the cool hang-outs in town, then veered off onto the street with Clutterbuck Flowers, was not the same tormented, stodgy Will that she’d gone for training runs with all those weeks ago. He walked with wider, easier steps. His shoulders were looser. Heck, his days’ old beard and smudged glasses were something Old Will never would have been caught dead with. And she liked it. Granted, she liked the old Will too.
“What’s that look for?” Will asked as they approached the house.
“What look?”
His lips twitched to a grin, which was a minor miracle in itself. “You’ve been staring at me the whole way home.”
Her heart did a little dance against her ribs at his use of the word “home” to describe her house. She shrugged. “I like looking at you.”
“Do you now?” His grin grew.
“Absolutely. And I intend to keep looking at you.” She raked him from head to toe and bit her lip. “All of you.”
Will relaxed into a laugh. It was the most wonderful sight she’d seen all week, including the majestic beauty of nature. They turned off the street and headed down the path to the Clutterbucks’ front door. The outer door was open, of course, and she paused to fetch the spare key from its hiding place under the mat on the first landing.
“You really keep a key under the doormat?” Will asked as they headed up to the second floor door.
“Where else would we put it?”
“Somewhere less obvious than under a doormat.”
Melody grinned as she slipped the key into the lock and let them into the apartment. It was such a normal, boring conversation. It was the kind of conversation people had after they’d been together for so long that all the interesting topics were used up. She liked it. More than a little. So much that as soon as they were in the front hall with the door shut and locked behind them, rather than letting Will bend to unlace his boots, she slipped her arms around him, backed him up against the wall, and kissed him hard.
The brief tension in Will’s body as she took him by surprise gave way to a surge of energy. She only had the upper hand in their kiss for the first three seconds before he half lifted her off her feet and twisted so that her back was against the wall. He was so enthusiastic that she almost lost her breath as she impacted with the wall, but the uncalculated force was sexy. She sighed and brushed her arms up his and over his shoulders, lifting one leg and hooking it around his hip. Will responded by deepening his kiss, and thoughts that had anything to do with anything other than sex went straight out the window.
Until Will whispered, “Toothbrush.”
Melody’s revved-up hormones screeched to a halt. “What?”
“Toothbrush.” Will swayed back, keeping his hips ground firmly against hers. “And shower. I definitely want to be clean for this.”
Melody blinked with mock innocence. “No nasty, dirty sex?”
“No.” His seriousness felt as playful as her teasing.
“Well alrighty then.” She giggled low in her throat and pushed away from the wall. She grabbed Will’s good hand and tugged him quickly through the hall and into the main room. Her mom would flip if she knew they were stomping across her antique carpet in dirty hiking boots, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her.