Page 17 of Right in Front of You

She swept her hand across her chin, wiping the spit off.

“I think I may need some practice.” She collected more spit in her mouth, surprising me that she wouldn’t give up. Actually, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Determination was Molly’s middle name. I stopped laughing and watched her prepare her mouth. The projectile shot out from between her lips high in the air, traveling further than mine had.

“You did it!” Feeling pride swell in my chest, I gave her a high five. This either meant that I was a good teacher or that she was a fast learner, and my gut told me that it was the latter.

“Practice makes perfect.”

“That’s skill, Molly. Seriously. Did you see how far it went?”

“It did fly far, didn’t it? Okay, it’s my turn. Can you do this?” Molly stuck her tongue out, way out, and lifted its tip up. It extended all the way up to her nose, touching it.

“How is that even possible?” I asked.

“You’d be surprised what skills you develop when you’re trying to occupy your time while babysitting.”

“Okay, what else can you do?”

She then stuck her tongue out and made it into a scoop, then a bow, and then into a wave. It was amazing. The girl had a tongue of a contortionist. As much as I tried to mimic the twists with my own tongue, I couldn’t, and I imagined that I looked like a fool. But I’d rather be a fool with Molly at my side than a wise man without her.

“No, I can’t do that one either. I never thought you’d outdo me in tongue skills.” I winked and saw her cheeks turn pink. It gave her a special glow, and I liked it. “You have a talented tongue, Molly. Thanks for cheering me up.” She blushed again and bit her lip.

“That’s what friends are for.”

Our gazes flew toward one of the tents, where Daisy was emerging in her new ensemble, which featured daisy-print shorts; and boy, were they ever short! The bottoms of her ass cheeks were in full view. I couldn’t stop staring; neither could any of the other guys looking her way. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and it almost appeared to be in slow motion.

Holy shit!

My teenage hormones went nuts. By the time I realized that my blood was pumping too fast, I already had a boner and had to pull my shirt down to cover it. If Molly noticed, she didn’t say anything.

“You should ask her out again. Girls change their minds,” she said.

“She’s beautiful, but she’s not the one I want.”

“Who do you want?” she whispered.

I could feel my heart pounding. When I turned toward Molly, she was twisting a corner of her shirt, biting her lower lip, and waiting for what we both probably knew would come out of my mouth. I lifted my leg and straddled the log so that I could have a good look at her.

“I want the girl who is sitting right in front of me.”

“Carter—”

“I know you don’t date because of your parents, but please think about it.”

“I can’t. I know my answer will be the same, even after I think about it. It’s just not possible.”

“Why?”

Her lower lip trembled. She looked so fragile that I was afraid pushing our friendship further could tear her apart. I wondered why she was so afraid of dating, and the only reason I could come up with was her father.

“I’m not ready, and honestly, I don’t want to. I need to wait for the right time, and now is definitely not the right time. I have to concentrate on school and my little brother.”

“Will you tell me when the right time comes?” I asked.

She took a deep breath in and released it. I interrupted her again before she got a chance to disappoint me. “Molly, I’m not asking for right now, I’m only asking for a chance somewhere down the line. Right now, I want your friendship.”

“All right, well, you have my friendship. You always will, Carter.”

“Then say yes to a possible future.”

Waiting for her answer felt like forever. I couldn’t hear the sounds of the forest or of anyone else at this campsite.

“Yes, if we can remain friends until then, nothing would make me happier than considering something more than friendship with you.”

“Really?”

“It’s not a promise.”

“That’s okay.”

All I needed was hope. And I prayed that hope didn’t have an expiry date.

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