Five
I woke the next morning with Molly’s arms wrapped around me. I was actually a little hot and the minute I moved away from her, she opened her eyes and looked at me.
“Hey.” She smiled sleepily at me and I couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her, so I didn’t.
“Hey.” I grabbed my phone as she blinked and stretched. It was still early; we hadn’t slept that long, but I wasn’t worn out. I had a scheduled day off, so I’d planned on sleeping in and watching movies all day, but now that Molly was here, I had other plans.
“Do you need to go?” I asked, and hated how whiny I sounded.
“Um, I need a change of clothes, but other than that, I can take a day.” I felt my face light up.
“Really?”
“Yup.”
I hopped out of bed.
“Don’t move,” I told her.
“Sure thing,” she said, rolling onto my side of the bed and closing her eyes again.
Rushing out to the kitchen, I set up a tray with tea, some ricotta-filled croissants, a few lemon poppy-seed scones, and a cinnamon swirl muffin. One of the upsides of being a baker was that I always had fresh baked goods in my house that were leftover from the café. I also brewed some strong coffee.
“That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” she said when I walked back into the bedroom with the tray.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She went for the coffee and moaned as she smelled it.
“I definitely meant it that way.” I went for the tea, pouring in some honey and stirring it up.
We both sat cross-legged on my bed and demolished the tray. Neither of us had eaten much last night so we were both starving.
“I always knew you were going to be a baker,” Molly said through a mouthful of scone.
“Really? I didn’t.” I’d played with all kinds of career goals. I just never thought being a baker was a thing I could succeed at. I didn’t think it was a “real” job. Or something.
“Yeah. Don’t you remember when you were making those intense cakes in the Easy Bake Oven? You like, made your own recipes and everything.” Oh, yeah. I’d almost forgotten about that. My mom had gotten me one for Christmas on a whim, and I’d used it until it literally stopped working. By that time I’d graduated to a real oven.
“Huh.” I guess I’d never thought of it that way. Baking was such a natural part of my life, I didn’t consider it all that often.
“Yeah, I always knew that’s what you would do.” I couldn’t stop from kissing her again. Sweet Molly with rumpled hair and puffy eyes and she was still the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.
“What made you get into PR?” I asked and she started telling me about the parts of her life I’d missed. How she went to college not knowing what she wanted to do, got a degree in Communications and sort of fell into it.
“I guess I’m really good at getting people to click on things. And it’s creative. I get to design campaigns and track numbers and all that little weird stuff that for some reason I love.” I laughed. She’d always been more into math when we were kids. She’d always done that homework first and I’d often talked her into doing mine for me.
“That’s amazing,” I said, and I meant it. I was also wondering if maybe she’d give Sal some ideas how the café could up their online presence. It wasn’t great, but no one really wanted to deal with it.
“And I get to stay home and work in my pajamas, so who’s the winner here?” she said with a laugh.
“You. Definitely you.” I let her have the last bite of the muffin and then we lay back in bed and talked. About our in-between lives. About funny college stories and mishaps and relationships. It was going to take us a long time to catch up on those eight years.
“I missed you,” she said, smoothing out a crease in the blankets. “So much. But it had been so long and it was almost like I’d built up this story in my head that you had moved on and didn’t want to talk to me anymore. How dumb is that?” Not that dumb, because I’d basically done the same thing.
“I missed you. A lot.” I reached out and took her hand and kissed the back of it. Like we were in a movie. She sighed.
“But now I’m back and I don’t have any plans to go anywhere.”
“Good. Because I don’t want you to.” I’d just gotten her back. She leaned toward me and I gathered her up in my arms in a hug.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked and she looked up at me.
“You?”
I laughed. “Other than that. And I think we should cool it on the sex for a little while. Until we figure out what the fuck we’re actually doing.” Her lips formed the cutest pout that probably would have helped her get out of a murder charge.
“Fine,” she said. “But that means I get to tease you a lot.” What the fuck had I gotten myself into? I remembered all her exact ticklish spots, so I stuck my fingers under her arm and she squealed and tried to get away.
“No fair!” she yelled.
“Totally fair,” I said.
She rolled over onto her back and I wanted so much to straddle her and then lick her neck and kiss my way down her body until I set up camp between her legs. Seriously, going down on a girl was one of my most-favorite things in the world. I would devote a significant portion of my day to it if I could.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she groaned and flipped over onto her stomach. Well, I could go down on her like this too . . .
I needed to stop thinking about that.
“Like what,” I said, getting on my stomach and sliding up so I was next to her.
“Looking at me like you’re picturing me naked. It makes the whole ‘hands-off’ thing a lot harder.”
“That’s what she said.” She shoved me away.
“You’re terrible.”
“Yes, I am,” I said, nodding. “So. Do you want to go to your house so you can change and then maybe come back here?” She sat up and nodded.
“Sounds good.” After that, I didn’t know, but we definitely needed to get out of bed. It was just too easy to think about pulling her underwear off with my teeth and then fucking her all day.
*^*^*
In the end, I rode in Molly’s car back to her place.
“Swanky,” I said. She lived in a brand-new building on the nicer side of town that was almost within walking distance from the café.
“It’s temporary,” she said as we got out of the car. “I actually hate it. So sterile. But I needed a place in a hurry and this was available.” She squinted at the modern façade with its concrete and rows of windows. It looked almost like a weird office building.
“Anyway.” She got out her keys and I followed her up the stairs to her unit.
“This is it. I left most everything behind, so it’s a little bare.” That was putting it mildly. She didn’t even have a couch. There were a few chairs, some boxes and a small table in the main room. The kitchen was spotless and stainless steel. Gross. I hated the modern look. So cold.
“It’s a place to crash.” She said it like an apology as she walked back to the bedroom. The place was smaller than mine. The rooms were so small that it would almost have been better as a studio.
“I’ll just be a second!” she called from the bedroom as she shut the door. “Make yourself comfortable. If you can.”
Okay then. I sat down on one of the chairs and looked around. There were stacks of boxes and I did a little snooping. A lot of them had books, others had clothes and other miscellaneous items. I found a few framed pictures of Molly and her brother. I had always liked him. I wondered if he’d come visit her here. I’d love to see him and I was sure she missed him too.
“Back!” Molly emerged in another maxi dress, blue this time. It made her eyes pop.
“Damn,” I said, standing up. She grinned and slowly twirled for me.
“You look really good.” I walked over to her and gave her a kiss. As easy as that.
“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.” I’d worn something a little nicer than my everyday baking clothes. I mean, I wanted to look good for her.
“You look really sexy,” I said and she blushed. “I almost don’t want to take you anywhere.” Well, anywhere besides the bedroom.
She rolled her eyes and took my hand.
“Come on. If we stay here much longer, I’m not going to be able to handle it.” We headed out the door and she kept her hand in mine. Our fingers linked perfectly, just as they had when we were younger.
“We fit,” I said, looking down.
“We do.” Molly swung our joined hands, another thing we used to do when we were kids.
Before I got into the passenger seat, I pushed her up against the car and kissed her.
“I thought we were cooling things down,” she said when our lips parted.
“Kissing isn’t sex,” I said, grinning.
“Kissing can lead to sex. And kissing can be just as intimate as sex.” Molly brushed her thumb across my bottom lip and sparks lit me up from the inside.
“Mmmm, yes it can.” She made a sound of frustration. I laughed and finally let her get in the car. I was a little wobbly on my own feet and grateful to sit down.
“Where to?” Molly said, turning to me.
“I don’t know. Normally when I have a day off, I’m alone and I just watch a bunch of TV and don’t get out of my pajamas. So I’m already ahead of the game.” She snorted.
“Okay, I have some ideas.” Good, because I didn’t. All I wanted was to spend the day with her and see what would happen. It had been less than a few days since she had walked back into my life, and it was almost as if no time had passed. Granted, we were older, but we fell into our old patterns and it was like sliding into the most comfortable pair of shoes, but that were also the prettiest shoes you’d ever seen. The best of both words. Both comfortable and exciting.
Molly and I arrived at someplace I didn’t think she would bring me. Our elementary school.
“And we’re here because . . .” I said, trailing off.
“Because why not? Come on.” She got out of the car and dashed for the playground and I followed along behind. It was summer vacation, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone calling the cops on us for being the weirdos lurking around the playground. Molly went for the swings first, which made me grin because it was just like when we were kids.
“Push me,” she said, getting herself going. I stood behind her and pushed her and she begged me to go higher and higher. My arms got tired and I took the swing next to her and she slowed herself down until we were gently swinging together.
“I can’t believe I’m here with you right now,” I said, shaking my head.
“Why not?”
“Because I never thought I was going to see you again. I actually found some pictures of us a few weeks ago when I was going through stuff at Mom’s. I got pissed and shoved them back in the box. But now I’m thinking I should get them out again.” My mom had stockpiled photos of my childhood because that was just the way she was. Molly was in at least a third of them.
“I’m sorry. I’m still sorry. I’m going to be sorry for a long time,” she said, slowing her swing and kicking her feet in the dirt.
“It wasn’t just you. I could have tried harder for contact. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t have the internet and phones and everything. You just moved, you didn’t fall off the face of the planet.” I had to take some responsibility for losing touch with her. We’d both been at fault.
“But it’s okay now,” she said, reaching out and taking my hand. “Because you’re here and I’m here. Together.” Together. I squeezed her hand and then jumped off the swing, tapping her shoulder.
“You’re it!”
Tag was another one of our favorite games and we chased each other all over the playground and down the slides and all the way down to the soccer field, where we both collapsed onto our backs.
Puffy clouds drifted across the sky and I turned to look at her as the sun lit up her hair.
“I always thought you were so beautiful, you know. I felt so plain next to you.” Molly had always been “the hot one,” or she would have been the hot one if she’d stayed and we’d gone to high school together.
“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed friends? If I’d stayed here? Or if we might have drifted apart anyway?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said, plucking a blade of grass. “There really is no way to know, but we’re here now.”
“True. I guess dwelling on the past doesn’t do anyone much good.” She sighed and closed her eyes. I took my moment to roll on top of her and kiss her.
“Hey,” she said into my mouth, her eyes popping open.
“It’s just kissing.” I brushed my nose against hers and then took her bottom lip between my teeth.
“Nothing with you is ‘just’,” she said. Ditto.
I was freaking out last night about how fast things were moving, but it seemed less scary today. Maybe it was the sunshine. Maybe it was sleeping with her arms around me. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I knew, without a doubt, that I wanted whatever this was with her.
I’d been staring down at her.
“What are you thinking about in that brain of yours?” she said, brushing some of my hair out of our faces. I should have put it up so it would stop getting in the way.
“You,” I said. “Just being with you.” Her smile was brilliant.
“You’re sweet. And sexy. And funny. And lovely. And . . .” I stopped her with a kiss. It was just too much.
*^*^*
After our playground adventures, we decided that we were hungry, so we headed back to my house for lunch.
“You have better bread there,” Molly said when I asked her if she wanted to go out to eat. I couldn’t argue with her there, so we went back to my house.
“This place is so cozy,” she said as I walked to the kitchen and started messing around in the fridge.
“Thanks. I mean, it’s definitely cozier than yours. No offense.”
“None taken.” She flopped on the couch and sighed. The chairs were still out from making the blanket fort. Had that really been just last night? We’d covered so much ground in such a short time. But sometimes life was like that, I guess. Sometimes things happened so fast you just had to hold on and enjoy the moment.
I wasn’t really good at doing that, historically. But the way Molly looked at me was something special. Something to treasure.
“Do you need any help?” she asked, but I waved her off. I liked feeding people. It was kind of my thing. My main contribution to the world. So I made up a tray with turkey, avocado, tomato, and basil-mayo sandwiches on my favorite sourdough bread, as well as some potato chips and a few clementines. And because no meal was complete without dessert, I added two slices of Italian cream cake.
“You want some iced tea?” I asked. She nodded and I made up two glasses, topping them off with lemon slices and fresh mint.
“You’re so good to me,” she said.
“I feed people. It’s my thing. I’d probably be smaller if I ate less, but who wants to do that?” I said.
“I’ll cheers to that.” She raised her glass and clinked it with mine.
My phone buzzed and I looked down. Mom. If I didn’t pick up, she’d leave a long ass message and just call me incessantly until I picked up. She was fun like that.
“Hey, Mom,” I said.
“Hey, Daisy Grace!” My mom was one of those people who was disgustingly cheerful for no apparent reason. “How are you doing?” she asked and I could hear her fluttering around the house. She could never sit still either. Sometimes she even talked to me on speakerphone when she was doing the dishes.
“I’m good. How are you?” We had to go through the little routine before she would tell me why she was calling. There was always a reason, but sometimes it took longer to figure it out than others.
Molly just sat and ate her sandwich. If Mom knew she was here, she’d die. My mom loved Molly to pieces. Probably more than she loved me.
“Oh, I’m fine. What are you up to today?” It wouldn’t matter if I was at work. I’d still be having this exact conversation.
“Not much, how about you?” We went back and forth like that and then finally she asked if I knew that Molly Madison was back in town. AHA. I knew it.
“I did. As a matter of fact, she came to the café the other day,” I said. Molly perked up. She’s asking about you, I mouthed to her.
“You can tell her I’m here,” she whispered. “I miss her too.”
“Who are you talking to?” Mom said, her voice getting all excited. She knew. Of course she knew. Someone probably saw us and told her. Because this town was too small and people couldn’t mind their own damn business.
“Molly,” I said with a sigh. Mom made squealing noises and bombarded me with questions for Molly. Which I relayed to her and then gave Molly’s answers back. It was seriously annoying, but they were both so cute about it.
“You tell her that she’s coming over for dinner. Anytime she wants. You can come or not.” Thanks, Mom. Nice to know how much you care.
“You wanna go tonight?” Molly asked. Trying to listen to both of them was starting to give me a headache.
“Yes, fine! We’ll come tonight. Okay, see you later. Bye!” I had to hang up. I buried my face in one of the pillows and groaned.
“Aw, you’re so cute.” I looked up to find Molly grinning at me.
“She’s going to figure it out. She’s my mom. She figures everything out. And then she’s going to get all involved.” My mom loved to meddle in my love life. So much. It was her main hobby.
“So?” she said. “Would that be so bad? You know she likes me and she likes you and she loved it when we were friends. So why would she be upset that we’re . . . doing what we’re doing?” I hated that logic, but she was right. If I told my mom that we were together (or whatever we were), she would probably start planning a wedding.
“I wouldn’t mind having her as a mother-in-law,” she said, smirking.
“Slow your roll, M&M,” I said, falling back on the nickname I’d used for her when we were kids.
“Whatever you say, DG,” she countered. I growled and pushed her back, straddling her.
“I will tickle you, don’t think that I won’t,” I said, wiggling my fingers. She put her hands up to stop me.
“Don’t you dare. Remember what happened last time.” Oh, I did. I was remembering it right now and it was making my skin heat up and my brain start to forget why I’d told her that we should cool things down.
“Ugh, fine,” I said, pushing myself off her. She made a little sound of protest.
“Wanna watch a movie?” I asked and she nodded. I flipped on the TV and handed her the remote. We would end up watching what she wanted, so it was easier just to give it to her and save myself a fight. It was strange, the things I still remembered about her.
She flipped through my Netflix and found something old that we’d watched a hundred times together. I scooted next to her and she grabbed my arm and slung it around herself before putting her head on my chest. Oh. Okay then. I wrapped my legs around hers and we held each other as we watched the movie. Her fingers made lazy designs on my side, just barely slipping under my t-shirt. I ran mine through her hair.
Just holding her was incredible. Molly was warm and she smelled good and the feel of her head on my chest made my heart feel like it was going to grow and then explode.
“This is nice,” I said softly. Her fingers stilled for a moment.
“It is,” she said, snuggling closer. “I could do this forever.” The word hung in the air after she said it. “Would that be awful?” Her voice was timid.
I kissed the top of her head.
“No. It wouldn’t.”