Chapter 18

Melody stood and brushed the dirt from her knees as she looked with pride at the flower bed she had been working on. The sun felt good on her shoulders and as she heard her name called she put her arm against her forehead to see better.

A man stood on the porch and spying the glass of lemonade in his hand she made a beeline for it.

“Thank you sweetheart.” She said kissing his cheek and gratefully taking a long sip.

“You’re welcome noona.” Leo said as he pulled her towards the porch swing and when he sat down he pulled her against him.

Melody snuggled close loving the thrill that came to her whenever he called her noona. Pushing off with her foot the two sat quietly listening to the birds chirping.

The quiet was broken by the voice of a little girl calling for her daddy in both English and Korean and Melody and Leo looked at each other and smiled. As she moved to let Leo get up something hit her cheek.

WACK!

Melody bolted upright to clutch her stinging cheek and almost found herself on the floor from the precautious position she was in on the edge of the bed. Turning her head she saw Yhinny had taken over the bed, her legs sprawled out with one arm clutching the pillow to her chest and the other that had smacked Melody now lay flat.

“How someone so little can monopolize such a large bed I will never know.” She grumbled as she slipped off the bed and went to look out the window. Seeing it was still dark she checked the time and realized it wasn’t quite 5 am.

She looked at the other bed in the room and saw Summer, and Trina sleeping peacefully. After the members of VIXX had a few hours earlier the girls had decided just to stay in Melody’s room and unfortunately she had drawn the short straw in sharing the bed with Yhinny. As much as they loved their maknae she was pure punishment when it came to having to sleep with.

Melody looked at the bed longingly but decided it wasn’t worth it trying to fight Yhinny for a spot and instead started digging through her duffle bag for a moment before triumphantly pulling out her one piece bathing suit

Quickly changing she wrapped a towel around her and slipped on her flip-flops. She grabbed one of the room cards and her phone in case one of the girls needed her and quietly slipped out of the room.

The hallway was quiet and deserted as she made her way to the elevator and down to the first floor where the pool was. The room was dark except for the few lights reflecting from the bottom of the pool and she put her phone and room card on one of the tables and slipped off her flip-flops. Padding over to the edge she dropped her towel and delicately walked down the steps into the water.

Reaching the bottom step she pushed off lightly and allowed the water to cover and embrace her. A small sound of bliss escaped her lips as she surfaced. Melody loved the water and any chance she could she would swim. With swift strong she set off towards the other end of the pool.

Leo patted his hair that was still wet from the shower he had taken after doing his work out. The exercise room had been empty this early in the morning and he was startled to see someone in the pool as he walked in from the connecting door. Leaning against the wall he watched the person swim for a few moments impressed with their speed and . Seeing them slow he watched curiously as they swam the last lap leisurely and stopped in the shallow end to stand and lean against the edge.

He had realized when he had first started watching that it was a woman but it wasn’t until he glimpsed her face that he knew it was Melody. He didn’t want to startle her so even as he took a step forward he started to call her name only to watch her turn and disappear back under the water.

Setting his towel on the table next to hers he smiled and decided to play with her. Seeing that she had almost reached the other end he quickly stepped out of his shoes and carefully slipped in the pool being careful not to disturb the water very much.

Watching her pop her head up for air as she turned to come back he lightly moved toward the middle where she had been swimming. Leo had noticed she swam with her eyes closed and it was too tempting not to have a little fun with her.

Melody felt her body starting to tire and decided this would be her last lap and once she reached the other side she stopped and turned so she was floating on her back. Her hair floated about her like an inky cloud as she drifted on the water with her eyes closed.

Her eyes flew open as someone’s arms went under her back and pulled her towards the left. A small cry escaped her when she was pulled against the person’s body and her heart hammered in fright until she heard a familiar voice apologizing for scaring her.

Melody’s eyes focused on Leo’s face that was full of concern and guilt and as the fear receded she felt her body start to tremble.

Leo quickly swam them over to the steps and sat on the top one pulling her onto his lap and cradling her against his chest. Guilt filled him over the scare he had given her. He had not realized that she really hadn’t known she wasn’t alone.

Shudder’s racked her body and he rocked her slightly as she clung to him, her face pressed against his shoulder. Lifting his left hand he gently her hair. “I’m so sorry Noona, shush it’s okay it’s just me.”

Melody felt the trembles subsiding and the warmth from his body seeped into hers as she stayed wrapped in his arms…