Page 17 of Faking It with Mr. Uptight

Satisfied, she turned to Molly and started giddily babbling about her day and the project she and her friends were working on. Molly looked over her shoulder at me, a wide grin on her face. Hailey was pretty open with me, but I usually still had to probe about her day. Here she was just freely talking to Molly like they were old friends. I'm not going to lie; I was as jealous as I was touched.

Molly helped set the table, and the three of us sat down to eat.

"So, do you two have plans tonight?" Hailey asked, and her eyes were shining, like she had a plan of her own.

"No, no, just a normal night at home," I said, and Hailey rolled her eyes.

"You two should go out. It's Friday. Isn’t that a date night?"

"Hailey," I said my tone a warning.

"What? You should go out and have some fun."

"Thanks, Hails," Molly said, giving me a quick wink. "But your dad's a homebody. Don't worry about him. He’s fine with spending the night in."

Hailey laughed. "Yeah, but he could try and change for you."

"Your dad is wonderful as he is. He doesn't need to change." I knew she was lying.

Hailey rolled her eyes and then shoveled a giant forkful of lasagna into her mouth.

I shook my head, and Molly and I exchanged looks, but the conversation moved on. After we were done eating, Molly helped Hailey clear the table, and did the dishes while I put the food away.

When we were finished, Molly hugged Hailey goodbye before Hailey disappeared upstairs likely to play a video game with her online friends.

"Well, I better get going."

"Thank you again, Molly. You have no idea how much it means to me."

"Don't mention it. We did great. And Hailey's amazing. You’re raising a good kid."

I smiled, the compliment warming me. Hailey was my pride and joy. I loved that kid more than anything in the world. "She's the best."

"You're a good dad."

I didn't know what to say. It wasn’t that Molly was known for hurling insults at me, but she didn’t exactly sing my praise either. This new dynamic was going to take some time to get used to, especially since I was in her debt. So, I offered a silent nod of thanks and walked her outside. The evening was warm, and the moon was just rising over the horizon.

"It's beautiful," she said looking up at the sky, and I agreed though I was looking at her.

"Thanks again, Molly, for everything."

"Stop thanking me," she said, turning back and punching my arm playfully. It was hard not to keep thanking her. She owed me nothing and though the pictures would hurt her too, I knew she was doing this mostly for me.

"Fine, thank you. Do you need a ride?" I said in a lame attempt at a joke, wishing I could show her I wasn’t as much of a tight ass as everyone thought I was.

Eyebrow quirked, she said, "No, I think I can manage to cross the yard unsupervised."

"Yeah, but it's dark and dangerous out here. All sorts of weirdos on the loose."

"You're not the weirdo?"

I laughed. "No, but a weirdo wouldn’t think they were weird, right?

"This is true.” She laughed and her nose wrinkled as she patted my arm. Her touch was oddly comforting. “Night, Jake."

"Goodnight, Molly."

With a final glance, her eyes shining in the moonlight, she walked across the yard and vanished inside. I hadn't been back inside for more than a few minutes when my phone buzzed. Panic quickened in my chest imagining a new threat from my mystery black mailer. But it was just Molly.

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