Page 74 of Right in Front of You

CARTER

I’d been kissing Mollyfor two weeks. That was fourteen days of her lips being mine. And did she ever kiss me back! Molly didn’t just kiss. Every single time our lips met felt like it was for the first time. She smiled through her mouth; sometimes she moaned and made these tiny noises that came out of her throat that made my dick throb with impatience. But kisses weren’t exactly enough to satisfy the craving I had for this woman.

As it turned out, our first date never happened. Molly had a few emergency changes in her shift, and each time I was forced to cancel our reservations. Thinking back now, maybe that had been for the best, because tonight, she had no choice but to let me take her out. We were going to celebrate her becoming a doctor the right way; if not with family, then with our closest friends. As of last night, it was official: my girl was a doctor. When she came home from her graduation, which only I attended, as Molly never invited her family, I had a cake ready in the fridge and a bouquet of field flowers, all of Molly’s favorites, on the table. We popped a bottle of champagne, watched a movie, and she fell asleep in my arms, the way she had done every night for the past two weeks. It was bliss. We were living in a bubble of emotions, away from the real world. I’d do anything and everything to stop that bubble from bursting.

Molly was a morning person. It didn’t matter what shift she worked, she’d religiously get up at seven, have her black coffee on the balcony, take time to breathe and inhale life, and then she’d go back to bed. I learned that she liked it when I joined her outside and we just sat there in silence.

Though we’d technically celebrated her graduation yesterday, today it was my turn to surprise her. I had the evening planned to the last detail, and if all went well, we wouldn’t be getting back to the apartment until the next day.

“Are you ready?” I called out to her bedroom. She’s been fussing over her clothes for the past hour.

“You sure you said something sexy?” she called back.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s our official first date, Molly.”

“But this is way out of my league.” She stepped out of the bedroom and took my breath away. The light pink dress with some sort of lace overlay of gray hugged her waist and then fluttered out at the knees. And I knew what lace was because my grandmother wore it each Sunday morning when she went to church. When I was in high school it used to get caught in my braces when she hugged me hard to her chest. Not that Molly reminded me of my grandmother – she didn’t – but that split second of doubt in my mind must have shown because Molly retreated to her room, saying, “No, that’s not it.”

I checked my watch.

Shit, I have to like the next one or else we won’t make it on time.

I went back to the hallway, sans crutches as of three days ago, and checked myself out in the mirror. The new pair of loose-fit jeans my mother bought were wide enough to not aggravate the healed skin, and a white shirt with sleeves half-rolled up didn’t look too shabby either. My left arm had a compression sock on it, so while the healing scar wasn’t visible, I looked like I was wearing a sleeve. I wondered whether they made compression sleeves with tattoos. It would take a long time for me to come to terms with my injuries, but Molly made it easy. She made life worth living again and made me look at life through a pair of rose-colored glasses. At least I had a life. If I complained, what were kids like Sarah, who was battling leukemia, supposed to say? She’d barely gotten to live and was fighting for every extra day. I’d gone to see her a few times. We played checkers and colored unicorn-filled pages (not something I would admit to my firefighter friends), and all the while I wondered how long Sarah and Daisy’s family would live at the hospital.

The click of high heels echoed from the hallway and I turned. When I laid eyes on her, time stopped. She’d curled her brown hair and let the spirals fall to her bare shoulders. The dress… oh, what a dress it was! A corset top with exposed neckline and deep cut out over her chest — all the places I liked to kiss best — especially her collarbones that stuck out at the base. Then there was that slight dip between her breasts. My tongue had gotten that far one evening, but it so wanted to taste what was underneath the bralette. When she spun around, showing off her ensemble, I felt myself grow in my pants. At the back of the dress was a long silver zipper all the way from the bottom, glistening from the hem of the short outfit to her neck. She looked back at me over the shoulder, smiling. Those long luscious legs must have had a beckoning power because I couldn’t stop looking. They shined and glowed. I wondered where Molly had gotten that tan if she always wore scrubs.

“Now I know why they call it a little black dress. It really is… little.”

Any smaller and my dick would jump out of my pants.

“You’re staring.”

“How can I not? You look gorgeous. Stunning, actually.”

Her cheeks flushed red and she looked down to the floor. I liked how my compliments made her so timid. It spoke to the simplicity that Molly had. Simple and unique. Loving and full-hearted.

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She sauntered toward me, her hips swaying back and forth. I bet she didn’t even know how seductive she looked. Molly took my breath away whether she was wearing her scrubs, sweats, or a sexy dress; but tonight, wearing that dress, we were venturing to dangerous grounds.

“Are you sure about leaving the crutches behind?” she asked, as she took my arm.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been preparing for today.”

“Well, I’ll have to test you out, then.” She bit her lip. For a shy girl, the things that sometimes came out of her mouth made me want her that much more.

“Okay, no questions about where we’re going, though. The cab is waiting.”

Our driver had explicit instructions not to give away our destination. I saw that Molly had noticed we were heading toward Hope Bay, because she twitched nervously in her seat.

“I promise we won’t go to town, your house, or my parent’s house. Okay?” I squeezed her hand in reassurance. An hour later, the cab pulled up to Pebble Lake, and I saw Molly grin with giddiness. There was nothing in sight, because the surprise I had for her was hidden behind a small island.

“Maybe I should have taken my bathing suit,” she said.

“From what I recall, you don’t need a bathing suit to swim in this lake.” I winked.

“Well, you play your cards right tonight, and I may fulfill my promise.”

The sun was setting. The beautiful glow reflected on her cheeks in orange and red tones.

“Come on, we havehalf an hour to get to our destination.”

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