An Unforgettable Melody Ch. 03

"What do you mean?" Melody had a confused look on her face.

"I believe, along with almost every other Christian in the world, that death is merely the beginning of eternal life," he responded simply.

Extremely surprised by his answer, she gazed at him, marveling at his confidence, yet more afraid for him than ever before. "Are you saying... you don't fear death?"

Mike smiled. "Not in the least. I fear the uncertainty of it, the not knowing when and how it will come, but fearing death itself is pointless in my mind. Death comes for us all, eventually. No discrimination, no favoritism. It's the ultimate equalizer; the one thing that connects every living thing in this world, whether we like it or not."

Melody paused, realizing that he was quite resolute in this topic. "Master... will you be angry with me if I bring up this subject again in the future? I know you hold firm to your faith, but I will be required to constantly ensure that this is what you truly want, for me not to prolong your life beyond a death of natural causes."

As he pulled into a parking space, Mike immediately took notice of her calling him Master. He turned to her, brushing her cheek with his finger, and said, "I will never be angry with you for looking out for me. I can tell it'll take time before we can fully understand each other's perspective on this subject. There's nothing wrong with that. It's part of a healthy relationship. Just promise me you won't ever hold something in if you're concerned about it. You can talk to me about anything. Literally anything in the world."

Melody smiled and kissed his hand sweetly. "I promise."

Opening the car door, he beckoned her to follow him.

"Where are we going now? This isn't your church, is it?"

Mike laughed. "Nope, my church is a block north of here. But I thought I would teach you one of the universal truths I've learned over the years. We all know that death comes for us all and time marches on, right?" She nodded. "The third universal truth: where there's churches, there's doughnuts." His trademark smartass grin spread across his face as he pointed up to the Dunkin' Doughnuts sign, Melody giggling all the while.

Walking up to the counter inside, Melody began to inspect the menu. "Oh wow, so many choices!"

Oh, yeah. She's never been to an actual restaurant before.

"Yep, they've got almost anything you could want. My advice is to start with the traditional favorites. Glazed or chocolate frosted are probably the most popular," Mike explained.

"Ok, I'll have one of each!" Melody's eyes lit up excitedly.

Mike handed his credit card to the cashier. "And two glazed for me, plus a Coke to share."

The pair took their food to go, eating in the car before heading inside to church. Melody was absolutely adorable, as per usual, even with her lips smeared with chocolate frosting.

"You, uh, got a little something... everywhere," Mike said, pulling open the car mirror for her.

"HAHA! I'm messy!" After she cleaned herself up with a napkin, they headed across the church parking lot.

Melody was pleasantly surprised by how warm the atmosphere was. In her mind, she was prepared for Mike's church to be a rather stiff experience for newcomers, but the friendly greeters and soothing organ sounds of Bach's Air on the G String soon quieted her mind. As they sat listening to the prelude, Mike pointed up to the chairs surrounding the altar.

"See the girl with the dark straight hair? That's Ashley Perkins, the associate pastor. She's my friend I was telling you about. We grew up in Sunday school and youth activities together. You'll love her."

For most of the service, Melody was very self-conscious. Mike had expected that she would be reserved and nervous, and made a point of gently rubbing her knee every so often to reassure her. She stood and sat whenever he did, though was unsure about joining in whenever they hymns were sung.

Ashley's sermon, on the other hand, was easily Melody's favorite part of her first church experience. Ashley spoke on the parable of the Prodigal Son, opening the sermon by asking the congregation if they had ever felt they were unworthy of love in some way. Tentatively, Melody raised her hand along with much of the congregation, Mike included. Ashley's message went on to explain that mistakes do happen in our lives, because we are human. This doesn't mean we shouldn't try to avoid them, but she also emphasized that mistakes don't make us unworthy of love. Processing Ashley's words in her mind, Melody was beginning to make sense of the events of the last twenty-four hours.

The boy in the parable was such a foolish, flawed individual, yet he was welcomed home by his father, which allowed him to turn himself into a better person in the long term. If even he was deserving of such love, maybe this servant genie is in fact deserving of her kind and generous master. I didn't DO anything to deserve his love, but... maybe that's the point?

As the service came to a close, Melody's mood had brightened considerably. She joined in singing the final hymn, and was very excited to meet Ashley. Once the congregation was dismissed, she was about to start walking out with Mike, when he gently held her by the arm. "Not yet, wait 'til you hear the organist's last piece," he said with a wink.

Almost instantly, the organ started playing another Bach piece, The Little Fugue in G Minor. Much faster than the prelude, Melody was immediately impressed as the organist effortlessly danced her hands up and down the keyboard. As the piece came to an end, she joined the small lingering portion of the congregation in applauding the organist. She turned to Mike, excitedly asking, "Can we go meet Ashley now?"

Mike laughed. "Sure thing. You really enjoyed that sermon, didn't you?"

As they walked out into the gathering room, the pair saw Ashley finishing her goodbyes to an elderly couple. Spotting Mike from across the room, she made her way over to him, announcing her presence with her traditional greeting.

"Hello friend!"

Ashley had been greeting everyone she met that way since high school.

"Hey Ashley," Mike responded, stepping into her side hug. "Wanted you to meet my new girlfriend."

"Hi, I'm Melody Roberts."

"Delighted. Ashley Perkins." She shook Melody's hand.

Melody seemed a bit more shy than usual. "I, um, really enjoyed your sermon. It really spoke to me."

Ashley beamed. "Well thank you. It's one of my favorite topics to preach on."

Biting her lip slightly, Melody said, "It was exactly what I needed to hear."

Mike chuckled. "I think you've got yourself a fan, Ashley."

"Well, tell you what," Ashley said, "I've got one more service I'm preaching at, but afterwards, how about you two join Trey and me for lunch?"

Nodding, Mike replied, "Sounds good to me. I've got a quick errand I need to run, so we'll meet you at Lenny's Subs at, say, noonish?

"That'll work. We'll see you there. Bye Melody, great meeting you!"

"You too!" Melody waved as they strolled to the parking lot.

Mike drove a few miles up the road, arriving at the local Home Depot. As they entered the hardware store, he mentioned to Melody, "I've got a couple things to pick up. Why don't you wait for me in the garden section? They've got lots of plants and flowers I bet you'd like."

"Sounds good to me!"

As Melody strolled through the greenhouse, inspecting the various brightly colored flowers and plants, she was completely entranced by the variety of pleasant scents entering her nose. Stopping to read the description of every plant she passed, she hadn't even realized that it had been a full thirty minutes before Mike returned.

"Hey baby!" She saw he was empty handed. "Didn't find what you needed?"

"Nope, they were out. Ready to head to lunch?"

"Sure. You said the place is called Lenny's Subs?"

"Yep," he replied. "It's a sandwich shop. They're mainly based in Philadelphia, but are working to expand into other states now."

During the short drive to lunch, Melody described the various flowers and plants she had seen in the greenhouse. Her favorite smelling ones were the daisies, though she loved the look and feel of lamb's ear plants too. As the pair pulled into the parking lot, they saw Ashley already inside the sub shop, sitting with her husband, Trey.

As the pair entered, Mike introduced Melody to Trey. He was a large man, well over six feet tall and 270 pounds, but his imposing figure was quickly overtaken by his sharp wit and jovial personality.

I like him, Melody thought to Mike. He seems very much like you.

I figured as much, Mike responded, chuckling in her head. Like I said, he and Ashley are some of the few people I actually choose to keep around as friends.

As they stepped up to the counter, Mike let Trey and Ashley go first to give Melody time to decide from the enormous menu. After a couple of suggestions from Mike and Trey, she settled on a 6" Philly cheesesteak with provolone cheese, being that the shop originated in Philadelphia. Mike ordered his favorite 8" meatball mozzarella sub.

As the quartet ate their lunches, Mike and Melody repeated their now familiar origin story. Ashley smiled wide hearing of Melody's interest in Mike's spiritual life, nodding in approval.

"While I don't believe in predestination," Ashley mentioned, "I do believe that God puts us in situations where, if we make the right choices, we can find exactly what we need, sometimes in the most unexpected ways."

Melody grinned. "That basically sums up my experiences with Mike to the letter," glancing at him in admiration as she said so.

With the plates on the table now empty, Ashley stood for a moment. "I'm gonna go freshen up a bit. Melody, care to join me?"

"Sure." Melody bounced up, following her to the restroom.

Now alone for some guy talk, Trey turned to Mike. "Ok, dude, give it to me straight. Is she for real?"

Mike laughed. "You know, I had that same thought the first time we played Call of Duty. She absolutely destroyed the competition."

Trey sat there, openmouthed. "She likes video games?!"

Nodding, Mike replied, "She might even be able to whip YOUR ass!"

Trey sat back with a smug look on his face. "Well... we'll see about that. Seriously, man, where is this going? I just have to ask after that whole Amanda thing..."

"I know, and I really appreciate you looking out for me," Mike interjected. "In all honesty, this is it. She's the one."

The look on Trey's face turned skeptical. "She's great, but how well do you really know her? That's a bold statement."

Beginning to grow frustrated, Mike reminded himself that he would be doing the same thing if Trey were in this situation.

"She loves kids, Trey. You should have seen her playing with my neighbor's little girl. It all came so naturally to her; she wasn't even trying."

Trey, knowing full well how big a deal that was for Mike, began to understand what he was saying. "Very well, then. If she means that much to you... I give you permission to date my daughter." A smartass grin formed on his face.

"Dude, you're full of shit!" Mike said, cracking up.

"Couldn't help myself!"

By this time, the girls returned to the table. "Whatcha boys laughin' about?" Ashley inquired.

"Oh, nothing," Mike smirked. "Just warning your husband not to play Melody in Call of Duty unless he wants his ass good and thoroughly kicked."

"It's true," Melody replied with her trademark giggle.

With her workday over, Ashley and Trey departed, saying their goodbyes and promising to meet up again soon. Mike and Melody strolled back out to his CR-V to head for home.

Along the drive, Melody couldn't rave enough about Ashley. "From what you've described, she seems to have a lot of your Granddaddy in her, doesn't she?"

"You mean the combination of cut-up and wizened sage? You know, I've never thought about it that way, but they do seem to be kindred spirits in a lot of ways," Mike responded thoughtfully. "You should see the way she talks to her dog. She babies him; sees him as her child. It might be cute, if it weren't so scary."

Laughing at the mental image, Melody replied, "Now THAT is something I'll need to see!"

After a few quiet minutes, Melody had a thought. "To be perfectly honest, if anyone could be trusted to understand and keep the secret of my true nature, I feel it would be her. Obviously, that decision rests entirely with you, but..."

"I actually had that thought myself," Mike said. "Now is probably too soon, but we should definitely file that thought away, in case we need help with anything in the future."

"Definitely," she said with a smile.

Arriving back inside Mike's apartment, Melody was practically bouncing with giddiness. "Now then, I believe you said something could happen when we got back from lunch, right?"

Mike chuckled. "I did, but first thing's first. There's a little matter we must discuss."

"What's that?" Melody asked, slightly confused.

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he couldn't help but grin. "Well, you were just born yesterday, correct?"

"Yes," she said, unsure of where this was going.

"That makes yesterday your birthday. And, that being the case, I got a little present for you during our trip to Home Depot." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a key from it, handing it to Melody.

"A key?" Melody questioned.

"Yep. To the apartment."

"I don't understand? You know I can instantly be with you no matter where you are, so why would I need a key to your apartment?"

Mike grinned. "I realize that. The key is more symbolic than anything. This is not just my apartment anymore. This is now our apartment. It's your home."

Stunned, Melody could only reply, "You're serious?"

Nodding, he said, "I'm going by the apartment office Monday to have you added as an authorized signer for packages and mail. That's about as official as being my live-in girlfriend can get."

Walking slowly up to Mike, she wrapped her arms around his neck, drew him close, and kissed him lovingly. "You never cease to amaze me, Mike. Just when I think you've shown me all the kindness you have to give, you floor me all over again. I've got a home, all-powerful genie magic, and the most incredible guy imaginable to share it all with. What more could a girl want?"

Cocking his eyebrow, he replied, "How 'bout a nice hot shower?"

"Done!" Melody's face lit up in excitement.

As they walked to the bathroom in back, Melody had already begun seductively unbuttoning her shirt, slowly revealing her flesh colored bra. She stood in front of the counter leading to the bathroom door, smiling at Mike behind her in the mirror. He slowly wrapped his hands and arms around her now bare stomach, reaching up to slide the shirt off of her shoulders. As it fell to the floor, he resumed his embrace of Melody from behind, kissing her cheek lightly before moving down to her neck. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she moaned in pleasure, her fingers stroking the strong arms she was being held in. She couldn't imagine a safer place in the universe than where she was at that moment.

As Mike continued kissing her neck and shoulders, he was now drawn to the scent of her shampoo. He remembered noticing a new bottle in the shower this morning, and was now intoxicated by the light citrus smell wafting into his nose. Moving his hands around to her back, he gently undid the clasp of her simple nude bra, sliding the straps off by rubbing her shoulders. Looking back at her in the mirror, she had covered her breasts with her arms after the bra fell to the floor.

"Tease," he whispered in her ear.

Giggling, she turned to face him, keeping her chest covered. "You love it."

"Well," he said with a mischievous look in his eye, "I'm still wearing all my clothes. If you plan on getting me out of them, I think you may need your hands."

"Really?"

Flash.

All of a sudden, the buttons on Mike's dress shirt began unbuttoning themselves; his shirt tails being pulled out from his khaki pants by an unseen force. As the last button came undone, an invisible breeze blew directly in Mike's face, blowing his shirt clean off his shoulders. Beginning to feel the same thing happening to the button and zipper of his pants, he quickly slipped off his loafers. As soon as he had finished, his belt had already been loosened and the zipper was beginning to be lowered. Upon feeling the zipper reach the bottom, his pants immediately fell to the floor, leaving him in nothing but his socks and underwear.

"Ok, that's impressive, and very creative," he said.

"Why, thank you," she replied, giggling.

"I didn't know you could take those kinds of liberties without my making a wish."

"Only because of your free will wish; and even then, only for your benefit. Don't worry," her voice turned seductively, "you can trust me."

Grabbing her a bit forcefully around the waist, he replied, "Oh, I have no doubt."

Unable to keep teasing him any more, she flung her arms around his neck, kissing him passionately and squishing her breasts against his strong chest. She felt his hands slowly work the elastic waistband of her green skirt, slipping it and her panties down to the floor in one movement. As he cupped her firm ass cheeks in his hands, she couldn't help but egg him on a bit.

"Now that I'm completely naked, it's just so cold. Know of any way you could... warm me up?"

Chuckling, he squeezed her ass playfully with both hands. "I think I know a way."

Mike stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature to be blissfully warm. As Melody joined him, he realized a flaw in their master plan: his tub shower combo was very cramped, and the soap dishes were placed in such a way on the shower wall that the pair would be banging them instead of each other. Thinking for a moment, he turned to Melody.

"Do you think you could make my shower more conducive to couples showers? Say, a nice large walk-in shower with an unlimited supply of free hot water? After all, we can't risk our shower turning cold right in the middle of play time."

Tingle. Flash.

Instantly, his bathroom transformed into a spacious sanctuary, lined with light blue tile. The shower was now a spacious granite fixture taking up almost the full size of his original bathroom; a large showerhead was fixed on the wall, capable of hitting almost any corner of the shower they wanted. He could also tell that the center portion of the showerhead was detachable. Well, that should make for some good times.

"Can you make it so this is the standard form of the bathroom whenever one of us uses it, but revert to normal when anyone else is here? Like if we have guests or for the apartment workers inspecting things?" Mike asked.

"Absolutely."

"Sweet. Oh, am I safe to assume that the change in the room doesn't affect the outward appearance of the apartment building or the size of the other apartments?"

"Definitely," Melody replied with a grin.

With steam now clouding the room, Mike slipped off his socks and boxer briefs and swung open the glass door of their new shower.

"After you, ma'am."

She smiled with anticipation, stepping under the powerful stream of warm water, wetting her gorgeous red hair immediately. Mike closed the door behind them, hugging her from behind as they relaxed under the water flow. Sighing in pleasure, Melody craned her neck and reached her arms behind her, playfully running her fingers through the back of Mike's wet hair. He began kissing her neck before slowly moving up her jawline and to her cheek. She turned her face as he did so, softly touching her lips to his. Kissing her as passionately as he could from this angle, Mike slowly moved his hands up to fondle her large wet breasts, first rubbing them in wide, soft strokes, then focusing on her nipples, causing Melody to twitch and spasm in excitement.