“She didn’t tell you?” she asked with a calculating expression on her face that was going to get her killed.

“No,” he bit out with a glare that should have told her that he wasn’t in the mood for any bullshit today, but this was Melanie that he was dealing with here and she didn’t seem to have any sense of self-preservation when it came to pissing him off.

“Really?”

“Melanie.”

“Fine!” she snapped with an over-the-top sigh, reminding him why she was Rebecca’s best friend. “Her parents are having a huge thirtieth anniversary party tonight and they didn’t invite Rebecca.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, glancing at Rebecca to find her smiling at Mr. Jenkins, one of their favorite lunchtime regulars.

If she was upset, she wasn’t showing it, but then again…

“Does she know?” he asked, immediately realizing it was a stupid question. Of course she knew. If his annoying sidekick that wouldn’t leave him alone knew about it, then she did as well since the two of them didn’t appear to keep secrets from each other.

“Yeah, she knows,” Melanie sighed as she gestured to the bartender for a drink while he sat there, trying to make sense out of what she’d just told him.

One thing became clear as he glanced back at Rebecca to find her shooting him a cute little wink, bringing her with him had just become necessary.

*-*-*-*

Maybe she shouldn’t be doing this, she thought, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she stood there, contemplating the pros and cons of breaking into Lucifer’s apartment and using his shower. Not that she was having a moral dilemma about breaking into his apartment, because she wasn’t.

The reason that she hadn’t broken into his apartment, yet, was simply because she wasn’t sure if he’d left the night yet. Before she broke into his apartment and rightfully used that large, luxurious shower of his, she wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to suddenly show up and start asking questions that she had absolutely no plans on answering.

“You’ll pay for this, you bitch!” Melanie yelled from the safety of their apartment where she was currently tearing the place apart looking for her stash of sweets that Rebecca may have hidden in retaliation for betraying her.

“Maybe you’ll learn to keep your big fat mouth shut, biatch!” she yelled back, still furious that Melanie had opened her big fat mouth and told Lucifer about her parents.

“And maybe if you didn’t have trust issues then I wouldn’t have to tell your boyfriend so that he could be there when you break down and cry like a bitch, biatch!” the traitorous bitch yelled back.

“I’m not going to cry!” she yelled back, because she wasn’t.

She was over it now.

She was.

She’d spent the last few days claiming that her stomach still hurt so that everyone would leave her alone so that she could feel bad for herself while watching horror movies and binging on Hershey Kisses. It was something that she needed to do and now that it was out of her system, she was fine with it.

Absolutely fine!

“Bitch!” she snapped back a little late, deciding that she needed to add the insult to emphasize just how fine she was.

“You’re the bitch!”

“Says the bitch!” Rebecca yelled back with a glare.

“I hate you!”

“I hate you!” she said, just as their apartment door opened and Melanie stuck her head out.

“Hey, I was thinking about going out later and picking up some Chinese food from that place down the street that has a gluten free menu. Do you want me to pick you up anything?” Melanie asked with that warm smile of hers that made it nearly impossible to stay mad at her.

“Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, sweetie,” she said, returning Melanie’s smile as she reached down and jimmied Lucifer’s door open.

“You breaking in?” Melanie asked, nodding towards Lucifer’s apartment.

“Yeah,” she said with a sigh as she opened the door. “Figured that I’d put that shower to good use while he was out.”

Melanie nodded as though this made perfect sense. “I’ll put your food in the fridge then.”

“Thanks,” she said as she walked into Lucifer’s apartment.

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Melanie said as Rebecca shut the door behind her and sighed with relief when she didn’t see the large brooding man that she’d been avoiding for the last couple of days.

Not that he’d done anything wrong, because he actually hadn’t. He’d been sweet, kind and considerate even though it made her want to wring his damn neck. She missed being with him, touching him and losing herself in his arms, but she’d had too much on her mind the last couple of days and hadn’t wanted to chance doing something stupid like breaking down and venting all her crap to him.

She wasn’t one of those women that cried and complained about absolutely everything to their boyfriends, hoping that he’d fix it for her or tell her that she had every right to be mad. She didn’t need that and she honestly liked Lucifer too much to chance turning him off with all that drama. He’d already accepted all her medical baggage and the fact that dating her came with limitations. She didn’t want to add this on top of everything else.

She also didn’t want to dwell on this all night. So, she pushed it out of her mind and focused on what she came here to do, take a long, hot shower in her new home away from home, because of course she’d been sneaking in here all week and helping herself to his bathroom. She knew that if she’d asked to use his shower that he would have said yes, but she didn’t want to bother him at work. So, she’d taken it upon herself to break into his apartment every day for the past week, once or twice a day, and enjoy a long, luxurious shower in peace.

That’s just what good girlfriends did…

He really was so lucky to have her, she decided as she grabbed two large, neatly folded towels from his linen closet and headed towards that shower that had helped her get through the crap that her parents put her through. She opened the bathroom and didn’t waste any time in stripping out of her clothes and stepping into the shower.

If she hadn’t been so focused on the shower and those triple jets, she probably would have noticed the large man leaning back against the wall with his large arms crossed over his chest, waiting for her. It definitely would have saved her from screaming like an idiot when she finally spotted him…and an unnecessary ass injury.