MissBEHAVED

“Are you sure?”

She nodded again but didn’t turn her head. Now I was starting to get nervous.

“Hey, turn so I can see your face.” I pushed her hair away when she did so I could at least see half her face. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head no, then finally opened the one eye I could see. “I’m okay. That was… unbelievable.”

Her words didn’t make me feel any better.

“Unbelievable good, or unbelievable bad?”

The minute it took her to answer made my heart pound and my palms sweat.

“It was good. At first it burned, but once that passed it felt good. Better than good. It was very intense.”

I relaxed then and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“It was intense for me, too. I thought my dick was going to explode right off my body.”

She giggled and my worries evaporated.

“I’m going to clean up and then come back here and clean you up. Don’t move.”

Without waiting for her to answer, I pushed back to my knees and eased out of her, loving that she whimpered when I left her empty.

We were definitely doing that again. Soon.

I stayed that night at Mellie’s house, and the one after, only stopping at home to run in and grab some more clothes while completely avoiding my grandparents’ house. As much as I loved my grandmother, she’d stepped over the line, and I wasn’t quite ready to forgive. I let my grandfather know where I was and that I wasn’t quite ready to see them with a carefully timed voicemail left when I knew he’d be busy. He returned the call and left me a message saying he understood I needed time, but he expected to see me on Sunday.

So here I was, sitting in the car, waiting for my grandparents to come out of the house so we could go to church. Mellie was at work since her shop was always open on Sundays and was one of her busier days due to the weekend tourists. She also wasn’t big on religion, which was another landmine I’d have to navigate with my grandmother.

“Dixon,” my grandfather said in greeting after he opened the front passenger door and stuck his head inside the car. “How are you doing, son?”

“I’m fine, Gramps. I needed some time to cool down, but I’m good as long as Gram doesn’t start in on Melody again.”

“She won’t,” he assured me and shut the door.

I waited while he helped my grandmother out of the house and into the car, not speaking until she was settled in her seat.

“Good morning, Gram.”

“Good morning, Dixon. Thank you for driving us to church.”

That was the first time I’d been thanked for this particular chore, and I was pleasantly surprised.

“You’re very welcome.”

Gramps got in and I started backing out of the driveway.

“Melody isn’t joining us today?”

The way she asked raised warning signs, but I brushed them off and continued backing out into the street. She wouldn’t immediately start another argument, would she?

“No, Mellie’s store is open on Sundays. She gets a lot of business from the weekend tourists.”

Silence as I maneuvered the car through town.

“Oh. I was hoping we could get to know her.”

I wasn’t sure how they would get to know her during a church service, but I didn’t think that’s really what my grandmother meant.

“Another time, Gram.”

I held my breath and snuck a glance at my grandfather. He appeared to be about ready to chew a hole through his lip the way he was gnawing on it. My grandmother was pushing her luck with both me and my grandfather, and we’d only been in the car for five minutes.

Thankfully, she didn’t say anything else, and we pulled into church without an issue. I dropped them at the front door and parked the car, taking my time to make my way to our usual pew.

The service went fine, though I didn’t hear much of it because I was too busy thinking about my life.

As much as I loved my grandparents, it was time to cut the cord. They’d taken me in and raised me, my grandfather trained me to take over the family business, and I’d always been the dutiful grandson, grateful for the opportunities they didn’t have to give me, so I’d stayed close to home. Now I had Mellie in my life and my world needed to expand beyond Walker’s Grove. I didn’t want to go far but, right now, getting off my grandparents’ property seemed like the smartest move for me. The question was, where would I go?

The ride home cemented my decision. Not two seconds after I pulled away, Gram started up again.

“It’s just too bad your Melody couldn’t make it this week. Hopefully, she’ll be able to close that store of hers so she can make it to church.”

“Gram, she is not going to close her store on Sundays. She makes a lot of money on Sunday.” I sighed when she tsked and opened her mouth to say more. “Please, drop it. Mellie will not be coming to church with us.”

“Well, when else is she going to go?”

I knew this was coming, so I braced and prepared to get the argument that was coming over.

“She’s not religious, Gram. She wasn’t raised with religion and isn’t looking to get involved in it now.”

Her shocked gasp filled the car, followed by a shrill rant that almost broke my eardrums.

“Dixon. How can you be involved with a woman like that? I could overlook the lingerie store and working after having children, but not attending church with us? What will everyone think?”

And there it was. Gram wasn’t concerned about Mellie’s eternal soul or anything like that, she just didn’t want the other members of the congregation gossiping about her like she did about them.

“Woman,” my grandfather thundered from beside me. “Enough. It’s nobody’s business but Dixon’s who he’s with or how they live their life as long as they’re not hurting anyone else.”

Before she could argue with him, I butted in, making a rash decision that I hoped would work out in the end.

“I’m moving out, and I’m going to start opening the store earlier on Sunday so I can close earlier and have another evening free to see Mellie. We hardly ever do any business after four, so I figure I’ll do eleven to four instead of one to six.”

“You’re what?” My grandmother gasped at the same time my grandfather shook his head.

“Son, you don’t have to do that.”

“No, it’s time. I’ve lived with you or on your property almost my whole life and I’m thirty years old. It’s time for me to move on. And I want to spend more time with Mellie, so if I find somewhere to live between her house and Walker’s Grove, it will be more convenient.”

I made it clear from my tone that there was no changing my mind. My stubbornness had come from my grandmother, so they both knew that once I made a decision, it was final.

“When do you think this will happen, Dix?” Gramps asked, resignation heavy in his voice.

“I imagine it will take me some time to find a place, but I’m going to change my hours effective next weekend. The weather’s clearing up so you can drive to church on nice days, and I’ll ask Mark Allen to drive you with his parents if it’s snowing once I move.”

“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?” my grandmother interjected snidely from the back seat. “I knew that girl would change everything.”

“Gram, things are supposed to change. That’s the way life works. Would you want me living over your carriage house for the rest of my life? I’ve found someone who makes me happy, and I want to spend time with her. Don’t you want me to be happy?”

I was laying it on pretty thick, but it was nothing she hadn’t tried with me. This woman was the queen of manipulation when she wasn’t getting her way. I decided to go for the kill shot.

“How am I ever going to give you great-grandchildren if I don’t have a long-term relationship? I’ve already told you that Mellie is everything I want in a woman. The fact that she’s not the woman you would have chosen isn’t going to change anything. I hope you can get over your pre-conceived ideas and accept that she’s my choice. And if you can’t, I won’t be bringing her, or anyone else, around in the future.”

I pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, leaving my thinly veiled threat hanging in the air. When I went to open my grandfather’s door, he waved me on, probably intending to exchange a few words with my grandmother.

As I made my way up the stairs to my apartment, I considered whether I’d been too harsh, and quickly decided that I had to make myself as clear as possible to prevent this from continuing to be a problem. I was a grown man and my grandmother needed to respect that.

If I wanted Mellie to respect me, I had to be man enough to protect her from people who would hurt her, even if they were my family.