Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 TITLE: Alex and Melody - A Love Story
PART: 4 of 10 -- Dance under mistletoe.
AUTHOR: Big Al
KEYWORDS: MF rom nosex
SUMMARY: At the Christmas dance, love blossoms.  No sex until the 8th
chapter.

   **********



   It was in the latter half of 5th period, after lunch on a Friday midway
through December, and everyone was feeling contentedly sleepy after the
holiday meal the cafeteria had served.  In Mr.  Croft's classroom,
classical music had been replaced with Christmas songs - the one time of
the year something other than classical music was played in his class - and
now even that had been turned off as the class listened to Hannah read The
Legend of Holly Claus by Britney Ryan.

   The shy brunette was comfortably ensconced in the beanbag chair, and
raptly absorbed in the tale as she read aloud to the class.  This was the
one area where she excelled at being the center of attention and her
reserve melted away as she spoke animatedly, and thus Alex let her read
aloud as often as possible.

   The rest of the class was paying varying levels of attention to her. 
Melody of course was listening closely, her eyes alight.  Alex had been
surprised, knowing her, that she hadn't gone out and read the book on her
own in a day or two once Hannah had first started reading the book to the
class several days ago, but the blonde had favored him with an impish grin,
and said it was much more fun to hear it this way from her best friend.

   To his surprise, Roger was also paying rapt attention, his lips pursed
in concentration.  He'd become a more avid reader over the semester, to
Alex's pleasure, but he seemed especially interested in this Christmas
novel.

   Hannah finished the last paragraph of the last chapter - timing it
perfectly, as this was the last day of school before Christmas vacation -
and proudly announced, "The End!" before blushing slightly as she suddenly
recalled that she was the center of attention.  Alex & Melody began
clapping, followed by the rest of the students, including Roger who joined
in just as quickly.  Hannah grinned shyly, and did a little curtsy, getting
up from the beanbag chair.

   "Hannah, you did a fantastic job reading that," Alex praised her. 
"Thanks for reading it to us!" He paused a moment, then went on, "Well, we
have about ten minutes before it's time for school to be out" - school was
letting out after 5th period on this, the last day before holiday vacation
- "so how 'bout we do some verb conjugation?"

   The whole class groaned, but Melody's lips quirked into an adorable
mirror image of the crooked smile he himself so often sported.  He winked
at her, and then added, "Ooorrrrrrrrr...  I could let you out a bit early."

   Yay was the unanimously cheered response, but Alex forestalled them with
a hand and asked, "First, I'm just curious how many of you are coming to
the Christmas dance tonight.  I'll be there, chaperoning." He smiled as
Melody's hand shot up; he already knew she was coming, and was to be her
ride there and back as well.  His smile broadened as Melody reached over to
Hannah's desk and pulled her reluctant arm up in the air.  Several other
hands rose too, and Alex nodded.  "Look forward to seeing y'all there,
then! Now you can leave.  Merry Christmas!"

   In a bustle of coats and hats and gloves, the kids hurried out to the
cafeteria - where they gathered and waited for the buses - as quickly as
possible.  Melody cocked a querying eyebrow at him, but he gestured at some
paperwork he had to fill out, so she took Hannah's arm and skipped out
along with the rest of the class.  He couldn't stop grinning; Christmas was
his favorite time of year, when the air seemed permeated with cheer and
goodwill, and Melody - who at this point was one of his best friends - just
made it better.

   As Melody came into the cafeteria, Hannah tugged her to a table where
some other girls were playing cards, but the 18-year-old barely paid
attention.  A half-dreamy smile spread over her face.  She was thinking
about the dance that night, wondering if she'd work up the nerve to ask her
teacher to dance.

   He was just so...  wonderful.  Funny, caring, smart, sensitive.  The
kind of daddy she'd want to have.  She blushed deep scarlet; she was glad
he wasn't her father though, given the very un-daughterly thoughts she had
of him betimes.

   She blinked, suddenly noticing that Hannah and the other girls were
staring expectantly at her.  Oh, right - "my turn!" she blurted, giggling,
only just now looking at the hand she'd been dealt.

   But the other girls just kept grinning at her, and Melody had the
uncanny sensation that they knew what was on her mind.  Hannah - Hannah of
all people - struck up a tune, in her quiet singsong, "Mr.  Croft and
Melody, sittin' in a tree..." The other girls at the table joined in, and
pretty soon the entire cafeteria was singing to the furiously blushing
Melody as she tried - and failed - to glare at her best friend.

   "Mr.  Croft and Melody, sittin' in a tree!  K-I-S-S-I-N-G!  First comes
loooooooove!" Roger ostentatiously overemphasized that last word.  "Then
comes marriage!  Then comes Melody with a baby carriage!" Then the other
teens collapsed into fits of laughter.

   Melody punched Hannah's arm lightly, then gamely called out, her face
still beet red but her voice clear, "We'll let you know when the wedding
is." The other kids roared, and gradually went back to their separate
conversations.  Melody glared at Hannah - this time she succeeded, but
there was no real malice in it - and demanded of her, "What were you
doing?"

   Hannah rolled her eyes.  "Oh come on, Mel.  It's soooooo obvious you
like him."

   "It is?" Hannah almost laughed at how crestfallen Melody suddenly
looked.

   "Yes, silly," the mousy brunette confirmed.  "And the whole school knows
that you're his favorite."

   "You think he likes me?" Melody asked her anxiously.

   "Duh," Hannah giggled.  "The way he looks at you - it's not like how he
looks at any of the zillion other girls who like him." Melody remained
silent after that, very thoughtful, but joined the other girls in their
card game.

   Early that evening, Jeanne Grace answered the knock at the door.  "Come
on in, monsieur Croft," she said in her thick accent.  "Melody and Hannah
are still getting ready - you know how elles are."

   He chuckled.  "Thanks, Jeanne.  They can take their time, I know I'm
here a bit early."

   There was a squeal from somewhere in the house, presumably from Melody's
bedroom.  "Mama!  Is Alex here already?  Don't let him in, I'm not
reaaaadddyyyyyy!" Her last word was a bit of a whine, and it was followed
by Hannah's surprised outburst.

   "You call him Alex?"

   Jeanne and Alex traded amused glances; he could almost see Melody's
ferociously cute blush.  The two girls' conversation quieted to tones that
only the two of them could hear, and presently, Melody called out, "Okay,
we're done!  Ready?"

   "Tell Mr.  Croft to cover his eyes," he could just barely hear Hannah
say.

   "Cover your eyes, Alex!" Melody promptly commanded.  "And no peeking!"

   "Yes, ma'am," he laughed, and obligingly covered his face.  He heard the
rustling as the two girls came into the living room.  "Can I open my eyes
now?"

   "Not yet...  okay!"

   Alex opened his eyes, and sucked in his breath.  Melody actually
appeared somewhat shy, holding her right elbow with her left hand reaching
behind her back, and blushed a little under his scrutiny - but she was
devastating.  Her sunny hair was in ringlets, with a bright red bow on the
back.  She wore a red and white dress that was simultaneously cute and
sexy; although it didn't bare any cleavage or other flesh, it fit snugly
over her well-developed bosom.  Red slippers completed the ensemble.

   Alex was just staring at her, dumbfounded, and Jeanne nudged him.  He
blinked and recovered himself, "You look...  fantastic, little song." He
couldn't find the words; he'd never seen her dress up before.  She was
always gorgeous, but this just took it to a new level.

   Melody beamed, then nodded her head to the side.  "Hannah's beautiful
too, right?"

   Alex belatedly remembered that there was another teenage girl in the
living room, and inspected the brunette, who was rolling her eyes at her
best friend.  "I look ugly," she complained.

   In fact, she didn't; her dress was green and white, and she wore a green
bow in her brown hair, which was in shiny ringlets as well.  She wasn't
wearing her glasses, and was instead presumably wearing contacts.  "I need
makeup," Hannah added, pouting.

   "No, you don't," Melody countered.  "We both have natural beauty."

   "You have natural beauty," Hannah retorted.  "I need makeup."

   "No, you don't," Alex interjected.  "You're going to impress the guys at
the dance, and they're going to be falling over themselves trying to dance
with you." The shy brunette turned a deep shade of scarlet, and her eyes
grew wide and horrified.

   Melody punched her arm.  "It'll be fun, Hannah!" She checked the wall
clock.  "Hadn't we better go, Alex?" That prompted a sudden giggle from
Hannah, who still wasn't used to hearing her best friend call their teacher
by his first name.

   "Have fun, you three," Jeanne said.  "You are belle." Melody hugged her
mother goodbye, and Hannah, quite familiar with her best friend's mama,
gave her one too, and then Jeanne Grace shooed them out the door as Alex
offered them his arms.

   Striding down the sidewalk, arm in arm with a girl on either side, they
quickly reached his car, and he opened the backseat door for them as they
climbed in.  Melody was practically bouncing with excitement, and it seemed
to be contagious, because even Hannah seemed a little less nervous.

   They sang along with the radio, their shared chorus of Christmas carols
filling the car as they drove to Pioneer High.  It was only a few minutes
away, and Alex parked in front of the school, getting out to gallantly open
the back door for them.  "Ladies," he said, gesturing grandly.  That got a
giggle from Hannah, but Melody's face was glowing with pleasure as she got
out.

   The 18 year old put her hand in Alex's arm, and at a look from her,
Hannah took his other arm, and he escorted them through the front doors and
into the cafeteria, where tables had been folded up and moved away to make
room for the dance.  Christmas trees were sparkling with lights,
decorations were hung, and strobe lights and spotlights were set up.  There
was even a sprig of mistletoe over the center of the dance floor, where
three of the spotlights converged.

   It was just now 6 o'clock, but there was already a healthy throng of
students and chaperones, with more being dropped off in front of the
school. Several of the kids were looking at the central, mistletoed spot,
but none had worked up the nerve to find someone to kiss.

   "I need to check around, make sure everything's going well," Alex told
his escorts.  "Will you two be alright?"

   "We're big girls, Mister Croft," Melody winked at him, and she pulled
Hannah after her into the crowd.  Hannah's eyes were saucers as she beheld
the sights and sounds.  "Jingle Bell Rock" was in full swing, and several
of the students were jangling to the music in groups or sometimes in pairs.
"Isn't this cool, Hannah?" Melody enthused, and Hannah gulped.

   "I guess," she allowed.  "I've never been to a dance before."

   "Me neither," Melody shook her head.  "Never really wanted to go before,
but--" She broke off abruptly.

   "Now you do want to go," Hannah guessed.  "Since you like Mr.  Croft.  I
still can't believe you call him Alex!" Melody's blush was mostly hidden in
the dim light of the strobes, but she didn't deny it.  "Just ask him to
dance already!"

   "I dunno," the gorgeous girl bit her lip.  "I know there's all sorts of
girls who like him and are gonna ask him to dance.  We've heard them in the
halls and cafeteria, planning on it.  And he's too nice to say no."

   "Well, then you gotta beat them to it," Hannah urged, but Melody
dawdled. "C'mon, Mel, I thought I was the shy one!" The blonde girl pouted
at that, and started forward, but then stopped suddenly as she saw a gaggle
of junior-year girls pull her teacher into the crowd to jive with them to
the tune of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus".

   Hannah wondered what to say, but then Melody determinedly grabbed her
hand and pulled her towards a group of their senior friends.  "I came to
this dance to have fun, and that's what we're gonna do!" She began moving
to the beat with the group, and Hannah, with some prompting, joined in.

   Within a few minutes, she was talking and laughing with the other girls,
and even Hannah seemed to be having fun despite herself, but she kept
looking over at Alex.  Was it her imagination, or was he glancing at her
too?

   But the two girls and their friends were getting into the music, and
laughing and singing and dancing - and Melody almost didn't notice the
approach of a familiar fellow.  Hannah saw him first, and her eyes grew
round and wide.  "Mel," she said, elbowing her.

   The blonde 18 year old followed her best friend's gaze to see the
acne-faced boy who had asked her boobs out on her first day of school at
Pioneer High.  She suppressed a groan as he came up and said, a bit shyly,
"You, uh, you look beautiful."

   Melody noted appreciatively that he was making a valiant effort NOT to
stare at her boobs, and was mostly succeeding.  "I know," she answered, and
that prompted a laugh from the fellow.

   "I'm Brian.  I know I kinda annoyed you that first day," he said, "and
I'm sorry about that.  I'm not gonna ask you to dance or anything, but, um
- can I talk to you a bit?"

   Melody turned her dazzling smile on him and watched him melt.  Ever
since she had become friends with Alex, she'd noticed the effect her smiles
and pouts had on him, and then started realizing they had much the same
effect on pretty much any boy.  "Sure, Brian.  I'm Melody.  This is
Hannah." Her best friend squeaked slightly at the acknowledgement.

   "I know," he said.  "Everyone knows who you are." Melody blinked at
that.

   "They do?" she said, a bit perplexed.

   "You kidding?" Brian shook his head.  "You're the hottest - um,
prettiest, I mean," he blushed, "girl in school, and super smart and nice
and cool.  Every guy I know has a crush on you."

   "Really?" Melody was genuinely surprised, but pleased too.

   "Yeah.  So um, I wanted to warn you." He shuffled his feet, clearly
embarrassed.  "They've been scared off since I, uh, asked you out, but
several of 'em are planning to ask you to dance tonight."

   Melody's eyes were wide as moons.  "And you're not?" she asked
curiously.

   "No," he shook his head.  "It's obvious you like Mr.  Croft." He managed
to smile a bit at her blush, "and I think he's cool - at least he won't try
to feel up your boobs like a lot of the guys I hear talking." He nodded
towards the senior English teacher.  "You should dance with him before all
the other guys work up their nerve to ask you."

   In a flash, Melody grasped the courtesy Brian was extending to her,
trying to look out for her.  "Aw, thanks, Brian!" she said, and impulsively
hugged him.  He flushed scarlet and awkwardly hugged her back before she
disengaged.  "You're sweet."

   He blushed again and stammered as he excused himself.  "Wow," Hannah
said, "that was super nice of him.  But he's definitely right!"

   "Yeah, he is," Melody mused.  The slower strains of a softer song - a
love song she didn't recognize - began to play, and several students began
pairing off into slow dances.  She was caught off guard by the sudden song
change, and looked around for Alex only to see him pulled from the throng
of juniors by a senior cheerleader who slow danced with him.

   She felt a surge of jealousy as the older girl's hands wandered a bit,
but noted that Alex was keeping his hands in very chaste areas.  Well, of
course, he was a gentleman.  Their eyes met, and he lifted his eyebrows
apologetically, like he was sorry he wasn't dancing with her instead.  Or
was she imagining things?

   "Stay with me, Hannah," she said, looking around and noticing a few guys
sidling in her direction, apparently wanting to dance with her.  She'd
never danced with a guy before and she desperately wanted her teacher to be
her first dance, more than anything, not some randy boy she hardly knew.

   "Mel," Hannah let out a sort of horrified gasp, tugging on her sleeve.
She looked to see their classmate Roger approaching them.  "He's gonna make
fun of me, I just know it!"

   "Then we'll make fun of him right back," Melody declared.

   But Roger didn't make fun of them.  When he came up to them, he cleared
his throat nervously, looking at Hannah and blushing.  He shuffled his
feet, and looked down at the floor, before mumbling to Hannah, "You wanna
dance?"

   Melody's mouth dropped open, and Hannah turned beet red.  The busty
blonde managed to recover herself enough to nudge Hannah, and the brunette
squeaked out something that vaguely resembled a yes.

   Melody grinned as she watched the uncharacteristically shy Roger lead
Hannah a little bit away, and they started awkwardly slow dancing.  That
was so adorable!  she thought, happy for her best friend.

   But now she had no buffer against the guys who were meandering her way.
She twisted her lip, and then determinedly set out through the crowd
towards Alex.  He was turning with the cheerleader in their slow dance, and
the senior girl stopped several feet away, meeting her teacher's eyes, just
as the song ended, with another slow, romantic tune following on its heels.

   Beautiful piano strains accompanied Martina McBride's voice ringing out
through the dance floor.  The cheerleader reluctantly stopped turning when
she realized the teacher's attention had been wrested away.

   If there were no words

   No way to speak

   I would still hear you

   Melody's question was writ large in her big blue eyes, and Alex was
transfixed by them as her naked soul bared her desire to him in her gaze.
Without being consciously aware of it, he pulled away from the cheerleader,
who resignedly let him go - everyone knew Melody was his favorite, after
all - and the distance between man and girl seemed to simply vanish.

   "Alex--" she began.

   "Melody--" he said, then they stopped, smiling a bit at each other in
shy amusement.  He tried again, extending his hand.  "Melody, may I have
this dance?"

   Her eyes lit up like she'd won the lottery, and she pressed into him,
putting her left hand on his arm as his left hand held her right and he put
his other hand on the small of her back.

   If there were no tears

   No way to feel

   Inside I'd still feel for you

   Slowly they began turning, very aware of their bodies pressing into one
another's.  Melody's young form was soft and hot, and she gazed adoringly
up at him as he lost himself in her sapphires.  The music seemed to
transport them, evoking hidden feelings that their eyes confessed, and
Melody caught sight of the hanging mistletoe over Alex's head.

   Melody's world shrunk to the two of them, and it seemed like a dream,
the way Alex was staring at her, enraptured.  His body was toned and warm
against hers, and his embrace so strong and gentle as they slowly spun.  Of
one accord, as though they had rehearsed beforehand, he leaned forward as
she leaned back, supported by his arm.  Their faces neared as her head
tilted, and her plump pink lips parted-- Alex felt her hot breath on his
face-

   And then they were kissing, their lips meeting under the mistletoe in an
electric thrill that surged up their spines, a soft melding as they simply
savored the sensation of mouth on mouth.  Her hand on his arm came up to
cup his cheek, holding his face close to hers.

   I've dreamed of this a thousand times before

   In my dreams I couldn't love you more

   I would give you my heart

   Until the end of time

   You're all I need, my love, my Valentine

   She was all softness and heat and sweet moisture, there was nothing hard
about her; he was musky and male, his lips full and manly upon hers as they
relished their mingled taste.  They could feel their hearts thumping
through their chests, conjoined by kiss and heat and delight, and time
halted, the world spinning about them as they stopped in place.

   When the curtain of eternity finally parted, they came to themselves,
panting slightly, eyes wide as they stared at each other, their faces mere
inches apart.

   "Alex--" Melody began.

   "Melody--" he said.

   They then became aware of their audience, who broke out into whoops and
applause as the song came to an end.  Their faces mirrored each other, hues
of crimson warming their cheeks as they smiled awkwardly.  Several girls
and guys seemed put out, having lost their respective crushes, but most
were cheering them on.  A few guys hollered out, "Tongue!" but Alex ignored
that, and pulled Melody away as a fast Christmas song came on, and the
paired dancers broke apart into groups once more.

   In a relatively quiet corner of the dance floor where they had a bit of
privacy, he looked down at his student.  She was wide-eyed and breathless,
her face flushed with delight, a mirror of his own, and he couldn't help
but grin like an almighty idiot at her.  "Little song," he said, his heart
glowing when she smiled happily at his pet name for her, "will you be my
girlfriend?"

   "On one condition," she said mischievously.

   He cocked his eyebrow.  "What's that?"

   "Kiss me again."

   **********

   COMMENTS: Like many authors, I love hearing positive feedback and
suggestions!  If you like, email me: big DOT al DOT author AT gmail DOT com
   NOTE: All characters are 18+