Enchanting Melody

I would like to thank my critique partners, Judy Fitzwater, Pat Gagne, Ann Kline and Karen Smith, who have been by my side since the very beginning. Special thanks to my silent critique partner and husband, John Pope. I’d also like to thank my pre-wedding dance instructors, Clifford Kopf, Anne Arundel Community College, and Deborah Joy Malkin, First Dance Impressions.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

Melody Rush tossed her waist-length ponytail over her shoulder as she squinted at the drawing board.

“That’s not quite what I’m looking for, Bass,” she told her friend, a hulking goth with bloodred streaks in his black hair. “Can you arch your back a little more?”

“If I arch it any more, I’m going to fall on my head. I’m defying gravity as it is,” he moaned. Arms outstretched, head thrown back, Bass struggled to contort his spine as though reeling from a powerful blow.

Melody tried to sketch faster, realizing she was wearing out her model—which is why she didn’t typically rely on them to develop her comic-book characters. “I’m sorry, dude, but this was your idea, remember?”

For years, Bass had been begging to be the inspiration for a character in one of her graphic novels. Finally, Delilah, her flashy African-American heroine—supermodel by day, electrically-charged crime fighter by night—had beaten up all the local villains and was in need of a fresh archenemy.

“I remember,” he paused to groan. “But, I thought I’d at least get in a few good licks. So far, in all these poses Delilah is kicking my—”

“Bass, I’ve already told you, the Ambassador’s power is primarily cerebral. After this colossal butt-kicking he concocts a mind-control spell to take over the world.”

“Yeah, whatever. Can’t I hit her just once?”

Melody shot him a look, pointedly ignoring the question. “Okay, you can relax. I think I’ve got what I need.” Her pencil flew over the sketch pad in rapid strokes that finally ended in a flourish.

The chains looped through his wide-leg jeans rattled as he straightened. “You ever notice that Delilah’s enemies are always men?” he asked, cracking his neck. “If you’re not careful, your fans will start to think you’re a man-hater.”

“Hah, I’m far from a man-hater,” she said, waving him off.

“I don’t know, you’re much nicer now that we’re not dating. But, I still think you’re using Delilah to express your pent-up aggression toward men.” Bass was forced to take a hasty step back as Melody surged to her feet.

“I do not have pent-up aggression.” Sticking one hand on her hip, she waved the index finger of her other hand in the air. “First, I’ve always been nice—you just didn’t know how to stand up to me. Second, Delilah is not an extension of me. In fact, she’s my polar opposite.”

“Opposite?” Bass snorted. “Come on, she has the same brown skin tone as you, the same unbelievably long hair, and she’s tall and curvy, just like you.”

She answered the lascivious arching of his brow with a hard glare. “Physical similarities mean nothing. Delilah’s a girly-girl. I’m a tomboy. She wears Prada suits and Jimmy Choo shoes. I wear cargo pants and army boots. I’m sick of people trying to draw a connection between Delilah and me. She’s completely fabricated.”

Except, maybe, for her hair. It was Melody’s only true vanity. She’d given Delilah her trademark waist-length hair because she was so proud of it. Though she most often kept it in a braid or ponytail streaming down her back, she was meticulous when it came to grooming it.

“Fine, don’t blame me just because you’re bound by the dark chains of denial.”

She rolled her eyes, sitting back down at her desk. “Don’t be so melodramatic.”

He took a step toward her. “Never mind. Can I see how I turned out?”

“Not yet,” she said, covering the drawing. “I need to play with it a bit more.”

“Fine, but, for all my effort, you’ve got to give me something.” Bass, topping six feet with the build of a heavyweight wrestler, rubbed his hands together like an eager little boy. “How about giving the Ambassador X-ray vision? I’m dying to see what Delilah wears under that catsuit.”

Melody started to quip that he wouldn’t be able to handle it, but was interrupted by the telephone. She crossed the room and glanced at the caller ID—it was her sister.

As much as she loved her younger sibling, she wasn’t in the mood to discuss fabric samples or cake flavors for Stephanie’s upcoming wedding.

After the fourth ring, she answered the line. “What’s up, Steph?”

“Get ready to buzz me in, I’m a block away from your apartment, and I’ve got a present for you.”

Melody sighed, hanging up the phone. These days that could mean a lot of things, and none of them good.

“My sister’s on her way up here, Bass. You may want to hit the road.” Her sister and her best friend detested each other.