Game of Love

Hey guys!!! So I refused to let the year end without putting up Ch. 5, so here it is. Sorry it took me so long, I had issues on where I wanted the story to go from the end of ch.4 and where the interlude would fit in with it. I personally don't feel like this chapter met up to my expectations but hopefully you guys like it. I also want to apologize in advance that this chapter didn't post before the new year. My only excuse is the holidays slowed me down even more. -C

Kaiden-

'Damn it. I shouldn't have eaten all of those cupcakes in one sitting. Now would have been the perfect time to eat one of them.' I thought as I threw my pen down on my desk, running my hand across my face.

I had been running in and out of meetings since this afternoon, and between that and dodging calls from Brianna trying to meet up with me, I was exhausted and ready to just go home and sleep. That and I wanted to talk to Melodi again. There was just something about her that intrigued me and made me want to know more about her.

I glanced down at my watch, noting that it was well after 5 and thought about trekking down to her bakery for a few more of those cupcakes and another good look at her delicious body, but decided against that idea quickly. I didn't want to scare her off before I had the chance to satisfy my craving for her body.

"What's going on in that big ass head of yours to where you couldn't hear me calling you?" a voice sounded, causing me to grin at my best friend Luca Delano, as he strolled in to the room before throwing himself into one of the chairs across from my desk.

"Thinking about your girlfriend sucking me off." I replied back to him, tossing one of the many crumpled up pieces of paper scattered around my desk and the surrounding floor at him.

"One, I don't have a girlfriend, douchebag and two, even if I did, she wouldn't come near your ugly ass. I only date girls with common sense." Luc shot back, snatching the paper ball out of mid air right before it hit him in the face and tossed it back at me.

"Whatever, fucker. How'd the deal go with Santana?" I asked, dodging the flying paper easily.

Luc and I have been friends since we were born. It made sense considering the fact that our families were extremely close as well. We were only a few months apart and since he was an only child, we grew up more like brothers. When Gio died, Luc knew first hand the pain I was going through because it mirrored his own. It was only natural, that when my father passed the business on to me, that I made him my right hand man and vice president.

"Expect a call from Santana in the next few days. What is it with these companies thinking they call the shots around here?"

"That's the same thing I said earlier about Langdon and Johnson to Regina, when she started freaking out about me being late to the meeting this afternoon." I said, putting my feet up on my desk before tossing another paper ball in the air before snatching it back.

"Man you love fucking with those guys. What did you do to make yourself late this time?" Luc asked, propping his feet up on the other corner of the desk.

"Flirting with a women with a whole lot of ass... I mean class." I said, sending a grin at my pun his way.

"So you've finally listened to me and cut Brianna's gold digging ass off and found a new woman? And please tell me it's not Bridgette. That broad is crazy as hell."

"Oh come on, Bridgette isn't all bad. Plus she's a contortionist. The whole bending backward thing during sex is amazing."

"Man she's insane! Remember the last time you saw her and she threatened to kill Julissa?" Luc said, reminding me. I had forgotten about her threatening to kill one of the other women I've been known to play around with.

"Okay so you have a point there..."

"And there was the other psycho chick, what was her name? Oh yeah Tatyana, who broke into your house and sacrificed that lamb..."

"Okay, okay so I don't make good decisions when it comes to my love life. Brianna has her uses and that's why I keep her around. But anyway do you remember the woman I saved in that car accident a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah I remember. Mama wouldn't stop hassling me to make sure you knew it would break your mama's heart to lose you."

"Well get in line asshole. Anyway so I sent over flowers to her hospital room and she came to the office with cupcakes to say thank you."

"Cupcakes? I bet those didn't last long with your sweet tooth having ass "

"I had them gone with in two hours of her leaving them. Turns out she owns the bakery who made those really good cupcakes I was telling you about" I said, my stomach rumbling at the thought of the delicious sweets.

"The ones that you managed to con out of Pam?"

"Yup the very same. So anyway she came to bring me the cupcakes as a way of saying thank you and let me tell you the only words that kept coming to my mind was damn. She barely comes up to my shoulder and the amount of curves on her was just completely mouth watering. Almost as mouth watering as those cupcakes." I say tossing my pen up once more.

"I'm just going to ignore the fact that you are talking like a

figa sciocco montata

and let you keep going. It sounded like you like what you saw."

"Shut up fucker. But yes I liked it a lot. We have a date tomorrow night." I say dropping my feet down off the desk, placing the pen I had been tossing around on the desk where my feet were.

"Never thought I'd hear the day where you talked about going on a date with someone and actually being excited about it. But hey whatever floats your boat. Now if you're done for the day, want to hit the bar?" Luc asked dragging his feet off my desk to stand up.

I stood as well grabbing my suit jacket from the back of the chair. "Sure why not. I could use a drink." As I flipped off the lights in my office and followed my best friend out, I couldn't help but think about his comment.

I've gone on plenty of dates with all types of women and have never been this excited for one. So what was it about Melodi that changed everything?

Melodi-

I was a little sluggish and off to a extremely slow start the morning after my late night fantasies. I had to stay up until close to 4 AM in order to make up for the time I lost dreaming about Kaiden while making the Brown- Demato wedding order.

I had barely closed my eyes, before my alarm went off at 5:30, to wake me up to get started with the morning pastries and getting the coffee machine up and percolating, before the morning rush arrived.

Groaning in discontent, I managed to locate the off button on my phone, shutting off the offending noise that so rudely ripped me away from my dreams.

Since it was Friday, we were only open for half the day before closing early so that meant I had time to come up and nap before I had to get ready for my date, but that still didn't mean that getting up was any easier. Dragging my exhausted body from the bed, I padded to the bathroom, blinking wildly as I flipped the light on.

I did my business and yawned loudly as I washed my hands as best as I could with this cast on while taking in my crazy appearance. My tank top was crooked; my shorts were riding up my thick thighs, my curly hair was even more unruly than usual and my eyes have slight bruises under them from my lack of sleep.

I contemplated taking a shower before I went down but I decided against it because I just didn't have the energy to stand there right now. Instead I went straight for my toothbrush doing my best to brush my teeth without getting toothpaste foam all over the place.

'Maybe I need to rethink that whole shower idea so that I can wake my ass up.' I thought as I splashed water on my face trying to shock myself awake. This was one of the downsides of being a baker. I was nowhere near being a morning person, so having to get up early everyday to make sure we had enough pastries and cupcakes to last the entire day sucked but there was nothing I loved more.

Since I knew I probably wasn't going to be coming back up anytime soon, going down to the kitchen dressed in a pair of sweat pants wasn't an option. Dressing in one of my favorite pairs of jeans and a short-sleeved black V-neck, I noted the time and quickly shoved my feet into my flats.

I snatched my bag from its post on the floor next to my dresser, making sure to throw my kindle and my phone in before quickly walking out of my bedroom.

'Where the fuck did I leave my keys? I hope I didn't leave them in the bakery again. Cassie and Trinity will kill me if they have to get up this early again to let me in.' I thought as I walked into my small kitchenette grabbing my customary morning pear and my water bottle from the freezer before spotting the keys to my apartment, the shop and my rental on the counter.

Between recouping and running the bakery, I still haven't had time to go replace my jeep. The guy who hit me turned out to be some public official and even though I have my own insurance between his insurance and his generous pain and suffering gift left me with plenty of money to replace my car.

His generosity didn't stop the city from firing him, nor did it stop the judge from charging him with a DUI and vehicular assault but that was his own fault.

'Maybe I should take Cam with me tomorrow to go replace my car.' I muse as I make my way out of my apartment, locking the door behind me before jogging slowly down the stairs that lead down into the ally on the side of the building.

Since it was still dark out and the ally wasn't exactly well lit, I kept my keys in my hand so that I could get into the bakery quicker as well as use them as a weapon if one of the neighborhood thugs decides to harass me this early.

Being this short with my body type bring a lot of unwanted attention, and while this neighborhood isn't that bad I don't want to take any chances.

Walking around the corner of the building to the front of the store, I hear the sounds of the area as it begins to wake up; the low sound of the street sweeper and the sparse amount of cars that were already out on the road along with the sound of the birds waking up to begin their chirping combined to create the crescendo that greats me every morning.

Entering the darkened shop. I close the door behind me, flipping the lock and made my way to the kitchen flipping on the lights as I went. I walked back to the small office that was situated right off the kitchen and dropped my bag in the desk chair, then pressing the button on the monitor to boot up the shops computer before going back out to the kitchen.

I connected my phone to the Bluetooth speaker we have and started pulling trays from the freezer to give the morning cakes and pastries time to start thawing, the task being slightly more difficult that it should have been because of my cast.

'I hope they let me out of this thing soon because this is seriously annoying.' I thought as I bended my arm stiffly moving trays from the freezer to the counters. These trays contained muffins, streusel cake, doughnuts and my Friday special, mixed berry cream cheese danishes. I also pulled the trays that had the cupcakes that I needed to frost that I had made yesterday before I went to speak to Kaiden.

Just the thought of his name gave me flashbacks of the dream I had last night and sent a shiver down my spine, and a fresh wave of desire between my legs.

'Down girl. Don't go getting yourself worked up at work and shit.' I thought as I grabbed the last few trays from the freezer.

I knew at some point I would have to contact Kaiden today, at the very least to give him my address, but if I had any hope of being productive today I had to put the man out of my mind.

Putting my mind into my business, I pulled the ready to go pastries from their trays on to the serving platters to get them out of the way, while I dealt with starting the Danishes. Singing along with Adrian Marcel about an emotional connection with someone as I started the dough, I almost missed my phone buzzing in my back pocket.

Pulling my hands out of the dough, I wiped them on my apron before sliding the phone out of my pocket. Checking the screen I noticed I had 2 messages one from Trinity and the other one from Cassie.

TA: Hey Mel, I'm not feeling to well this morning and I need some time to myself today so I'm going to have Cassie come in for me. I'll text you later.

CW: Trini isn't feeling well so I'm covering for her. Looks like it's just you and me today Melly- Bee ☺ I'll be there soon.

I didn't bother to text Cassie back because I would see her in a few, but Trinity's text was raising all kinds of red flags. My best friend never got sick so for her to send me a text saying that she wasn't feeling up to coming to work was concerning.

MG: You never get sick. Is everything okay? Call me when you can. Love you!

I stuck my phone back in my pocket and went back to working on the dough. Cassie came in a half an hour later just in time to help me put all the pastries out and open up the doors to the first customers of the day. We had a crowd of people waiting for us to unlock the doors that seemed to be growing.

Cassie went and flipped on the front lights, and turned on the open sign before unlocking the door. 'Damn looks like its going to be one of those days.' I thought as people started pouring in. Taking one last big stretch, I cracked my knuckles and got to work.

Hours later, as I wiped the front counter down, I felt the exhaustion of the day creeping up on me. We were extremely busy all day from the time we unlocked the doors until we closed down finally, an hour ago. It was just none stop people, buying up all the pastries they could get their hands on. Cassie and I barely had enough time to breath let alone stop to do anything else such as eat. I barely caught a couple of minutes to text Kaiden my address and check up on Trinity before a new wave of customers came strolling in.

'There done. Now I need to hurry my ass up before I'm late for my date.' I tossed the rag in the sink in the kitchen and grabbed my bag from the office after making sure the bag that contained today's money intake that I would drop off at the bank tomorrow was safely tucked into one of the compartments in my bag before flipping off the light and walking back to the front door to set the alarm.

After locking the door I walked back around the corner to the stairs that led up to my apartment. Kaiden said he would be here to pick me up at 6 and it was already 4:30. Even though I tend to dress quickly, I wanted to give myself plenty of time to get ready. Letting myself in, I put my bag on the couch and kicked off my flats and let loose a huge yawn.

'Man I wish I had time for a nap and some food. I should have known better than to make mocha chocolate chip cupcakes on a Friday. Those are one of my best sellers.' Stretching my tired and stiff muscles I walked down the small hallway to my bedroom to start getting ready.

I decided on my favorite black dress that was cut low high with a strapless sweetheart bodice as my outfit for the night and paired it with my 3-inch wedge heels. I wanted to knock Kaiden's socks off when he saw me and make an even bigger impression.

Laying my dress across my bed, I walked to the bathroom and started the shower. I hit the button on my small Bluetooth speaker that sat on the shelf next to the shower to get my playlist started. I grabbed my arm bag from off the shelf that made sure my cast didn't get wet and secured it.

Striping quickly, I stepped under the warm spray drenching my body from head to toe. Because I got backed up in the bakery, I wouldn't be able to take as long of a shower as I would like so that meant I had to work fast. Grabbing my shampoo, I poured a generous amount into my palms and started lathering my hair with the pomegranate smelling suds avoiding getting the soap in my eyes as best I could before rinsing and dousing my head with the conditioner.

Rinsing the conditioner out my hair, I grabbed my shower gloves and proceeded to make quick work of washing my body, not wanting to lose any time that I had to get dressed and make sure I looked presentable enough. Rinsing off, I shut the water off and stepped into the warm steamed room. I grabbed my towel from its perch on the towel bar and wrapped it around my body, the grabbed the second towel and wrapped around my dripping hair, squeezing all the excess water out, then draped the damp towel around my neck.

I slowly peeled my shower bag off and draped it over the shelf to air dry then pulled my flat iron out of the drawer by my sink and plugged it in so that it could start the warm up process as I dried off and started dressing. Padding back to my bedroom, leaving the door open so that the music could be heard between the rooms, I dropped the towel around my neck on the floor and unwound the one from my body and began drying off.

After I was dry I picked up the towel I had dropped on the floor and tossed both of them into the laundry basket that was sitting next to my dresser and grabbed the bottle of baby lotion from its spot. My skin was sensitive to certain chemicals and so I had to use hypo allergic products such as baby lotion. Rubbing my body down quickly but thoroughly, I put the lotion back and started rooting through my lingerie drawer, grabbing my favorite purple lace strapless bra and matching thong out.

Pulling them on as best I could without snagging the lace on my cast, I walked back into my semi steam free bathroom and began the power struggle that came with doing my hair. 'Damn it! I don't have time for my unruly curls tonight. Please merciful god let this take less time than it normally does.' Lucky for me, I still had a small amount of conditioner in my hair so it made combing my curls out a little easier.

Since I didn't have time to straighten my hair to professional standards, I settled for just a quick run through that managed to lock my hair into submission making it hang straighter than it normally would down to the center of my back.

Finished with my hair I turned the appliance off and went back into my room. Glancing at the clock, I groaned, noting it was 5:25. "Fuck my life I'm still not ready yet. I need to get a move on before I have this man waiting on me." I said out loud, adjusting my bra, making sure everything was in its place before pulling my dress on. The cotton-spandex material fit my body like a glove, clinging to my curves before letting out to empathize my legs.

Going back to the bathroom I snatched my make up bag from the shelf and grabbed my mascara and my favorite MAC lipstick, Diva, and applied the small amount of make up to my face. My motto is less is more and I want Kaiden to be attracted to my natural beauty instead of what comes from compacts and little jars.

Happy with the minimal amount, I stuck everything back in the bag and shut the speaker off. Heading back into my room I noticed the time. '5:50. I finished with 10 minutes to spare.' I slipped my feet into my shoes taking me from my everyday 5' to 5'3"and picked up my cell phone from it's perch on the charger by my bed and slung my sweater over my arm.

Walking to the living space, I dug my wallet from my purse and made sure the little wrist strap was firmly connected so that I didn't lose it, then sprayed on a small amount of perfume from the bottle I had left sitting on my kitchen counter.

Since there was nothing left to do but wait on Kaiden to knock on my door, I decided to sit on the couch and glance at the TV to try and take some of the nerves I had about our date away.

By 6:30 Kaiden still wasn't here so I decided to text him.