Page 38 of Moonlit Kisses

“Sure.” She studies the menu boards with careful consideration. “What do you normally have?”

“Honestly, anything you choose is gonna be amazing. I haven’t been disappointed yet. I usually have something different every time I come here.”

She nods and returns her attention to the board. “I think I’ll have the super burrito with the spinach tortilla and chicken, if that’s okay?”

“Of course. Go take a seat and I’ll be over once I’ve ordered.” The guys working in the open kitchen are calling out order numbers and requests for more ingredients. Orders are taken swiftly and served quickly with fresh and tasty ingredients. I place our order with the friendly staff member and then head to the booth to join Molly as we wait for our number to be called.

“I would have possibly walked right on past this place without a second glance. It doesn’t stand out from the street, but judging by how busy it is, the food must be fantastic.”

I glance around to see it through her eyes. “It’s not even as busy as it usually gets. We’re pretty early. By seven, there’s a line down the street.”

Her eyes widen. “That’s crazy.”

Our number’s called, and I carry our burritos and drinks back to the table. Molly’s eyes almost pop out of her head when she sees the size of the burritos. “Oh my gosh, that’s huge!” she says with her eyes trained on the food.

“That’s what she said,” I respond without thinking. Her eyes snap up to my face and she bursts into laughter.

“Maybe you could show me sometime.” I freeze and Molly snaps her mouth shut tight, a pretty blush rising from the base of her throat to her face. “Oh shit! I shouldn’t have said that. How embarrassing.” She covers her mouth with her hand and breaks out into silent giggles. I join in with her, shaking my head, because I’m the one who shouldn’t have said what I said.What is it about this girl?

We get stuck into our meals, enjoying the flavors as they touch our tongues. Molly moans in appreciation and my dick jolts in my jeans.Calm the fuck down.This is not the time nor the place. I need a distraction. “You wanna tell me about your family?” I want to swallow the words as soon as they fall out of my mouth. What a way to put a downer on the moment. I wanted a distraction, dickhead, not a fucking morbid reminder of what she’s lost. “Sorry. You don’t have to talk about them if you don’t want to. I’m not sure what I was thinking.” I give her an apologetic smile.

She finishes chewing the food in her mouth, and I watch her throat as she swallows it down. My dick bumps against my zipper, imagining what it would feel like if she swallowed around me.Fuck!

“That’s okay. It’d be nice to talk about them. Uh, I haven’t had anyone to talk to since it happened.” She gives me a sad smile. “My mom was seventeen when she got pregnant with me and only eighteen when she became a mother. She actually grew up here. I think I already told you that.”

I nod and she tells me that her father abandoned her mother, and her parents weren’t happy with the situation. Apparently, her grandfather wanted her mom to have an abortion, and that’s why she ran to the other side of the country.

“Anyway. Mom met my stepfather, Jack, when I was eleven and we moved into his trailer with him.” A smile touches her lips and she looks faraway. “We’d been living out of Mom’s car before that, so it was incredible to have a bedroom of my own and a shower and kitchen.” Jesus, the shit I’ve taken for granted my whole life is like a magical fairytale to her. “I think because of how things were, Mom and I were super close. She was my best friend.” Her voice shakes on the last sentence, so I reach across and take her hand.

“I guess that means you were used to living out of a car, then.” I raise my eyebrow. “You never stayed in that motel, did you?”

“No. I’m sorry I lied to you. I didn’t want you to know I was homeless and think less of me. All of my money went toward paying for the burial and funeral for my family. Then I lost my job and my apart–”

I cut her off. “What do you mean, you lost your apartment and your job?”

She tells me everything that happened, which led to her deciding to start over here. I’m fucking furious that her boss and landlord didn’t cut her any slack knowing what she’d endured. They’d better hope we never fucking cross paths. I take long, deep breaths to get my temper under control. She doesn’t need me going off on a rant about the assholes. She carries on speaking about her family like everything that’s happened to her isn’t a big fucking deal.

“Jack was the best. He was the one who taught me how to draw and trained me to run. He treated me like I was his own daughter. Mom and I were incredibly lucky to have him come into our lives and open his heart and home to both of us.” I can’t imagine anyone not falling in love with her or her mother if she was anything like Molly. “Then Ethan came along.” She chuckles. “He was the chubbiest baby I’ve ever seen. I fell in love with him the second I laid eyes on him.” She pulls her hand from mine with a smile on her face. “Hang on, I’ve got a photo I can show you.”

She fiddles with her phone and then passes it across the table to me. My eyes land on Molly first, then scan the rest of her family. I use my fingers to enlarge the photo, studying Molly next to her mom. “Geez, you and your mom could almost be sisters. It’s uncanny how similar you two are.”

Molly’s smile widens. “Yeah, it’s crazy, right? Her eyes are blue, though, where mine are gray and she didn’t have dimples. She says I got both of those features from my dad.”

I move the photo around, allowing me to study Jack and Ethan. “Ethan’s like a mini version of his dad.”

“Yeah. He would always try to copy Jack in everything he did, too. Jack was such a great dad.” Her smile drops and her eyes become glassy. “He would do anything to keep us happy and safe. He would have been beyond devastated that he was the cause of everything.” She wipes away the tears tracking down her cheeks and offers me a shaky smile. “Sorry.”

I climb out from my side of the booth and move in next to her and tug her body into mine. “Please don’t ever apologize to me, Molly. You’re allowed to be fucking sad.”

“It’s just been a lot. Ya know?” I nod. “And I’m trying my best to stay positive and be happy in the moment, but sometimes I slip.” She shrugs, tilting her head down toward the table.

“You’re allowed to grieve. I get the impression that you haven’t had time to do that.” I use my finger to tip her face back up. Our lips are so close I can feel her breath on mine, and I’m tempted to close the distance. Her eyes drop to my lips and I lick them instinctively. Just one taste. But that would be an asshole move when she’s this vulnerable. I’d be worse than Glen. I pull back and she follows, moving forward, maintaining the hair’s breadth distance between us. My eyes dart down to her lips, then back to her liquid silver eyes. “Molly,” I whisper roughly.

Her eyes dart up to mine. “Yeah?”

“I don’t want to be the asshole here.”

“Then don’t be.”

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