The Phoenix and the Ice Queen Pt. 02

To his surprise though, she threw herself against the door closing it and, before he knew what was going on, pulled him back down in another kiss that set his world more on fire, if that was possible. Passion washed over him and he quite lost the desire to leave all of a sudden, before he knew it, he felt a couch under them, but he didn't care, the kiss was his world now. The kiss, and her body, his hands began to move on their own and one found a bare silky leg. He began stroking it and ran his hand further up until he began to move the hem of the shirt slightly.

It was then his nerves exploded for a different reason, sheer agonizing pain wracked his whole body at once, and he collapsed, fortunately, onto the couch he had been leaning on. When his brain started working again he knew what had happened, Mel had scored a direct and very hard hit to his balls with what he suspected in retrospect was her knee. He had moved the hem of her shirt, and she had kneed him hard in the crotch.

When the pain subsided enough for him to move, sense had returned. He vaguely heard Mel apologizing through the ringing in his ears. He knew he had to go, so he got up and limped to the door Mel followed him, still apologizing profusely. Before he left though Brandon held up his hand.

"It's ok Mel, probably for the best, but someday you'll have to explain why I got a knee to the groin for touching your thigh. I think there's a bit of a story there Mel. In my experience that's not normal behavior for a woman in the heat of passion."

With that, he left, before she had to explain or worse convinced him to stay. He did not think it was wise, nor did he think his boys could take another shot like that. One thing was for certain though, he was rethinking his idea of taking her on vacation. A knee to the crotch did tend to change a man's view toward someone, even someone he had known as long as Mel.

Chapter 2

Brandon stayed with this position for the next few days, and Mel did not seem in any hurry to talk to him either. By mid-week though, he had come back around to his original idea, realizing that her defensive reaction to his advance was probably tangled up in her past that she so rarely spoke of.

Brandon was about to go see Mel when to his surprise, Mel's assistant, Stephanie, called him saying Mel wished to set up a lunch with him. Stephanie had been with Mel since Mel had joined the Alliance Management team and over the past year plus he and Stephanie had become friendly. So, she had no hesitation in adding to her boss's request.

"Brandon, just so you know this is not a business lunch. I believe anyway, she said something about owing you an apology."

Brandon smiled at that, "Good to know, how embarrassed was she?"

"About as mortified as I've ever seen her, but I didn't tell you any of this." Then after a beat he could tell the curiosity got the better of her, "Brandon, what did she do?"

Brandon chuckled then said, "Maybe someday I'll tell you, but for now just between us, she definitely owes me an apology." Then having a brainstorm realizing his idea and whom he was speaking to, after all Stephanie was the gatekeeper to Mel's schedule, if she didn't know the answer to his next question no one would. "On another matter, Stephanie, what does Mel's schedule for next week look like?"

"Pretty open, for her, and nothing I cannot move really. I think Fred's syphoning off stuff trying to get her to take that vacation she hasn't used yet, why? You need to schedule something?"

"Maybe," upon fulling understanding what Stephanie's had last said, he added, "Stephanie, in your opinion, is Fred right?"

"Well, she definitely needs to use days if that's what you mean."

"No, I mean," he paused thinking how to ask this, "in your opinion on a scale of one to ten, one meaning she's fine 10 meaning she should get on a plane this afternoon, how bad does she need time away from the office?"

"Not factoring in the need to use the days?"

"Yes."

"About a fifteen."

Brandon smiled, "That's what I thought. Stephanie, if I send you an airline reservation, could you get the name changed on a ticket, and sent back to me by today's scheduled lunch?"

"Absolutely, have something in mind?"

"Yep. Oh, and see if you can start clearing Mel's schedule for next week."

He could hear the smile on the other end of the phone, "Will do, you know she's not going to like being manipulated like this Brandon."

"Perhaps not, but like I said she owes me, and like you said she really needs a break. I know her well enough to know that this will be her first refuge, so I figure I'll cut her off at the pass."

"Sounds good, she's lucky to have you, you know."

"We'll see if she agrees with that after today," Brandon replied chuckling.

"Right, speaking of lucky to have you, sorry to hear about the breakup, Mel told me. Candi's an idiot Brandon. You deserve far better, and better may be closer than you think."

He thanked her and hung up. He then sent Stephanie the flight confirmation for his tickets to Puerto Rico, asking her to put Mel's name on the ticket meant for Candice. This accomplished two things, it showed Mel he was serious about taking her, while also taking away the possibility that Candice could claim her ticket and try to go without him.

Just before he was due to go to lunch with Mel he got an email back from Stephanie with the updated boarding pass and a note that, for the time being, Mel had no meetings the next week. She had coordinated with Fred that next week Mel would be working on a big personal project, in case she turned him down. This way either way Mel got a break from her usual routine, but all involved hoped it would be in warm sunny Puerto Rico instead of cold grey Chicago.

Lunch went well overall, they met, and Mel apologized again and stated right out of the gate she was paying and would hear no objections. They took another chance to discuss Fred's 'offer' and the future of Phoenix. Eventually though, the topic got stale, and Mel fell back on her other topic, abuse of Candice. It was at this point that Brandon felt it was time to discuss what he had come here for, besides a casual lunch with a friend, and to hear Mel apologize.

He fished out the plane ticket, and put it on the table, Mel seeing it, immediately glanced at it and picked it up, "What's this Brandon?"

"I think it should be obvious, it's a plane ticket."

"Yes, I gathered that, but why does it have my name on it? I thought I told you to take some random woman from one of your dating sites on this trip."

"No offense to you Mel, but that is a terrible idea, and you know it."

"And going with me instead is better?"

"Just hear me out ok?" Mel just stared at him, but said nothing so, he continued, "I should start by saying going was never actually my idea. Candice planned the whole thing and talked me into it. Laying on the beach is not my idea of a fun vacation, but she was excited, so I agreed. It was only this week, as the truth about what had been happening at Candice's art classes became clear to me, that I figured out the truth.

"As I said the other night, I broke it off because she cheated on me, well the truth is she kind of booked this trip so she didn't have to stop seeing him when he went home for a week. You see her art teacher, Pablo, is from San Juan. So, in other words she made me pay for a trip so she could keep sleeping with her lover. When I figured that out, I broke it off, but the trip is non-refundable at this point, I could of course let her go and spend a week with Pablo..." he said trailing off.

Mel smiled and finished for him, "But you prefer to go anyway to stick it to the sucker."

"Yes, and while we're on the subject, could you not use that nickname? Given the circumstances of the breakup, I feel like the sucker here."

"Hmmm, I see your point. I'll come up with something better then, after all it should not be hard to make fun of a cheating whore named 'Candi',"

"Right, so back to the ticket. I'm going out of spite, and to be honest, because I need the break. I'm inviting you because it's likely to piss her off, and because word is, you can use a break too. Plus, it won't all be lying on the beach. I've been looking up stuff to do since I got roped into this trip. We can rent ATVs, zip line, bike, snorkel, kayak, and explore the old city. All things there's no way I'd convince Candice to have done, but I get the feeling are right up your alley Mel."

"Oh, god yes, that sounds amazing," Mel said seemingly genuinely excited. Then asked, "You sure no beach though?"

"Maybe a little, but if I spend an entire day at the beach, I'll lose it, no matter the company. It would take an act of god to keep me on a beach for more than a few hours."

Mel pondered and looking at the ticket said, "Is this why you lingered the other night? You wanted to ask me to come with you?"

"It is," Brandon said blushing, "Though I didn't have the ticket ready until this morning. I had a little help with that."

Mel smiled, "Its ok, part of me is kind of relieved, I thought I had misread you." Then after a beat she added, "I take it from your comment about this," she said holding up the ticket, "that Stephanie is involved?"

Brandon nodded, "Hope that's ok. I figured I'd have to clear it with the gatekeeper first, and she's cleared your schedule for a special project Fred is about to assign you next week. A project, that rumor has it, can be completed anywhere."

"Well, I'll still have to think about it. I'll let you know by the end of the day tomorrow."

Brandon thought about pushing her for an answer but decided against it. The rest of lunch was fairly uneventful and the remainder of the day passed with no word from Mel. As the next day wound down Brandon began to resign himself to going alone when, just before he was about to leave for the day, he got a call from Mel.

"Ok, I'm in. You're right, I need the break, so I'm in. This doesn't mean you're getting any though."

"I didn't invite you with that expectation, I'm kind of offended you'd think I'd assume that Mel."

"I did not for a minute think you did Brandon, I just wanted to make that crystal clear."

"Noted." Then after a pause he added, "Oh and while we're on the issue of noting stuff, this is a trip to a beach resort that has a couple of pools and hot tubs. So be sure to bring a swimsuit Mel."

There was a pause on the other end, "I see. So, does this mean you consider me a hot chick you want to see in a bikini then Brandon?"

"Nope, just reminding my travel companion there will probably be a need for swimwear on the trip. How you choose to interpret that, and what you pack, is entirely up to you."

He could swear he heard the smile in the voice from the other end of the phone, "Noted. See you at the airport."

Chapter 3

Brandon arrived at the airport with his bag to find Mel already there waiting for him, their boarding passes already in hand. However, to his utter surprise, she was not the only woman there waiting for him. As he headed Mel's direction to greet her, he was ambushed, by none other than Candice and a well-muscled Latino man he assumed was Pablo.

"Brandon, what are you doing here, and why is it I can't find my ticket in the system? I thought they were non-refundable."

It was then that Mel arrived, having closed the distance between where she had been standing and where Brandon had been intercepted, and answered the question for him, "Non-refundable? Yes. Non-transferable? No." She said handing Brandon his boarding pass before stowing hers in her carryon bag. "It's a common mistake non-frequent fliers make, I'm afraid. You must be Candice, I'm Mel."

"I know who you are," Candice hissed glaring at Mel. "The question is what are either of you doing here, and why you have claimed my tickets?"

"Why going to Puerto Rico of course. I hear its excellent this time of year. You should know, after all, it was you who convinced Brandon here to take you there. As for the tickets, apparently you weren't notified, but you were taken off the reservation last week. You know after your ex-boyfriend who was paying for them figured out you were cheating on him. Kind of tends to make a guy not want you to take a vacation with him." Mel said, smiling sweetly.

Candice ignored this and glared at Brandon, "Her? You're taking her? The Ice Queen?"

"I guess he prefers Ice Queens to cheating whores Sweet Tart." Mel said before Brandon could answer. Brandon had to smile at the nickname.

Figuring he better answer for himself before things got too out of hand he said, "Yes, well, when I figured out I was being used, I intended to go on my own, but that seemed lame and Mel here needed a break too. So, I figured, why not?"

"Oh bull, you've wanted her for years, don't think I didn't see it right away! Of course, you invited her." She then glared at Mel, "And you. Needed a break my ass, of course you accepted! Anything for Brandon, you've been trying to steal him as long as I've been with him and you know it!"

"Well Fun dip, it's not stealing if you're dumb enough to throw him away."

"He broke up with me remember?"

"Yeah, after you cheated on him with San Juan Pablo over there. Oh, and by the way, fucking a guy on the side, but not your boyfriend, isn't exactly a good way to keep said boyfriend long term. Just a hint Dum Dum."

"What can I say?' Candice shrugged smiling at Pablo with a girlish grin, "his art inspired me. He's a talented passionate guy, unlike my cold ex-boyfriend."

Mel shook her head and to Brandon's utter surprise smiled and said, "You would say something that stupid, Airhead. The fact that you can't appreciate Brandon's talent or passion just shows me how dumb and clueless you really are. Brandon is one of the most amazing men I've ever met, but all you saw was a guy willing to give you a free ride, and a checkbook to use. Fortunately for everybody your little hair brained scheme blew up in your face, so we can all move on with our lives. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a plane to catch."

With that Brandon was pulled away by Mel, and left wondering for the remainder of the flight where the venom from Candice had come from. He had never seen her act like that before, had she really been that jealous of Mel? Even more perplexing was Mel, he knew she was just defending a friend, but some of the things she said went deeper than that. Did she care for him? Or was he just imagining things? Time would tell.

After the skirmish at the check-in counter. everything else went relatively smoothly, and soon they had left the frigid Chicago November for the warm Caribbean temperatures. They spent most of the flight discussing things they wanted to do. When they arrived at their hotel, they immediately met with someone from the resort to sign up for several adventures, ensuring there would not be too much time spent just lying on the beach.

The first few days were a whirlwind of ATVing, ziplining, kayaking, snorkeling, bike trips and historic tours. This time together brought two curious observations for Brandon. The first was during the snorkeling and kayaking he saw that Mel had definitely heeded his swimwear advice, judging by the bikinis she sported. The second thing was that everywhere they went people assumed they were there on their honeymoon, even though they gave no obvious displays of affection to each other. By the second or third day they got so sick of arguing with people they were not, that they decided to play along, just to save the hassle.

They had just gotten back from a lively bike ride, when they got a call from the front desk, reminding them of their reservation that evening for the exclusive 'Sweethearts Dinner' on the water that evening. Brandon called to clarify, and it seemed his ex had booked a special dinner for her and her lover on Brandon's credit card without telling him.

"And it's non-refundable, so whether we go or not, I'm paying for it." He said to Mel.

"Well, I've seen the place on the water for it, it's supposed to have a great view of the sunset, and the food is supposed to be excellent. Though I must admit I didn't bring any clothes for a nice dinner."

"Neither did I Mel," Brandon replied and Mel, shaking her head, proceeded to walk over to the closet and pulled out a pair of khaki pants he had brought and a button-down shirt.

She tossed them on the bed and said, "Wear that," before she went to grab her handbag, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to go find a dress."

"Mel, you don't..."

"Yes. I do. We maybe being roped into this because of your idiot ex, but if I'm going to have a 'romantic' dinner with you tonight I am going to look nice for it. Especially since people seem to believe, no matter what we say to the contrary, that I'm your wife. I won't have you dressed up more for this than me. If I'm not back in an hour or so just get yourself ready and meet me in the lobby. Deal?"

Brandon nodded and Mel left in a rush, as she had suspected she was not back as their reservation approached. So, as instructed he showered and dressed for dinner in the chosen clothes and headed down to the lobby to get a drink and wait. As he sat there he reflected on the great time he had had with Mel all week. Finally getting to see her relaxed side a bit more than he had as her coworker. He thought about the scene at the airport where she had defended him more than a friend would. Most of all he thought about dancing with her and the kisses they had shared. He knew he would rarely get another opportunity like tonight again. What's more with the looming offer he knew that if there was ever a time to take a risk, it was now.

He was so lost in that train of thought; he did not notice the hint of flowery scent from the person approaching him until she cleared her throat. The sight that greeted him was breathtaking. Mel's dress was not fancy, but it looked great on her nonetheless. It was a casual light weight dress, fitting for the Caribbean temperatures, and despite its looseness it still showed off her toned body extremely well. He also noted she had dealt with her hair she had recently grown opt, and had been frizzy all week, by choosing to curl it a bit, creating a mane of red curls draped over her shoulders. He also swore he saw a hint of makeup on her.

"Ready?" She asked, to his surprise sounding pleased at his looks of admiration.

He rose from his chair, "Yes, you look great Mel."

She smiled blushing slightly, "Thanks, you do too."

"Shall we?" He said offering her his arm without thinking about it.

"Absolutely," She said, as to his surprise she took the offered arm and they began their walk to the hut on the water.

"I see you found something."

"Yes. It took me a while, a lot of places were closing, and there weren't a ton of dresses, but I found this great little shop and thankfully they had my size. The lady in there was super nice and super helpful." Then after a pause she asked, "What do you think is on the menu tonight?"

"Not a clue, but probably some kind of fish I'd imagine, it being so widely available here. I don't like fish usually, but I don't mind it in places like this or if I'm on the east coast."

"I know what you mean," she said before spending the rest of the short walk to dinner talking about how she missed the fresh fish she could get in Boston as opposed to in Chicago.

When they got to dinner Brandon asked a few more questions, delving a little deeper into her childhood, and to his surprise, she was more than willing to answer them.

The whole experience turned out to be really nice for both of them, and Brandon could not help being reminded of the fake date they had had all those years ago that night they had been stranded on the road. Though admittedly, the food and service were much better than that time. Though their waiter did make the mistake of commenting on what a great couple the two made.