Page 29 of Sleepless Nights and Hockey Fights

Molly’s eyes go wide and fearful again. She lets go of my shirt and tries to close her legs. Considering I’m standing between them, pain radiates up my thighs as she squeezes.

“Argh!” I wedge myself from between her knees and rub the side of my left thigh. “Ease up on leg day, fluffernutter.”

Her cheeks, red as the toenail polish she sports from those peep-toe heels, flame brighter. “Fluffernutter?” Then she licks the lips I just tasted, and I have to turn partially away or I’ll tackle her to the ground and beg her to pretend we’re still locked inside this house.

“Well, you’re on the Catnip dating app.”

Molly clears her throat and slides off the barstool, smoothing out her skirt. I guess we’re just going to pretend that kiss didn’t happen? “Oh, I don’t care about cats. Allergic to them, actually. My boss signed me up for the app.”

I turn back to her, realizing she’s not getting my joke. “It’s not an app for people who like cats,” I say slowly.

Molly frowns. “What do you mean?”

“It’s an app for cougars.”

She jerks her head back, even more confused.

“Older women who like younger men,” I clarify.

Understanding dawns slowly and incrementally. I know when she puts all the pieces together because her chin drops to her chest and she wraps her arms around herself like she wishes she could disappear. I take a step toward her, my finger going under her chin. She lets me tilt her face back up, but she won’t meet my gaze.

“If it makes you less embarrassed we can go back to pretending it’s an app for cat lovers,” I offer. “I’ll call you fluffernutter and you can call me...” I rack my brain for an appropriate male cat name.

“Mister Whiskers?” Molly offers in a whisper.

We lock eyes and both of us smile. The tension ebbs, and while I’d love nothing more than to go back to kissing Molly, I know that the moment is gone. It’s crystal clear to me I want more than a random make-out session with my realtor in a stranger’s house. I want to take Molly out on a real date. And I can’t do that if I push her too hard, too fast. She’ll run scared, I just know it.

So I do what Bobby Rhodes has never done before and I take a step back. I assess. I don’t go flying into the fray with a banshee cry and a flying fist of fury. I’m going to think twice. Maybe make a pros and cons spreadsheet like a goddamn adult.

Molly grabs her bag off the counter, and I take it from her. She locks up the house and we look both ways before venturing back to my car. I know they say they have the python, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. We climb into Wolverine, but I don’t back out of the driveway.

“I like that house.”

I can feel Molly looking at me, so I meet her gaze. “Want to make an offer on it?”

“Not really,” I admit with a shake of my head.

She smiles, probably remembering how I told her on the app that I wanted an excuse to keep seeing my realtor. “How come Iknow so much more about you from our messages than all this time we’ve spent together in person?”

I hiss out a breath at the honest question. “I don’t come from a family that talks about our feelings.”

Molly lifts a shoulder. “Does anyone?”

She’s probably right, but my family was next level. “I was just telling Ashley yesterday that I only have two modes: humor or fighting. It’s probably not healthy, and she agreed with me.”

“Ashley?” Molly’s eyes are back to being guarded.

“My counselor,” I rush to clarify. “Kaitlyn, my agent, has me seeing someone for anger management. I’ve gotten into a bit of trouble with my coach.”

Molly’s expression softens again. She reaches over to put her hand on my forearm. “Is he going to be angry you missed practice today? I can go with you and corroborate your story.”

That knot that’s had my shoulders feeling like they’re being pulled like a bowstring loosens. I can’t recall the last time I had someone in my corner. My brothers are the definition of “every man for himself.” The world of hockey is cutthroat the higher up you go. Coach doesn’t exactly like me. Hell, even my friend Chloe, treats me like the little brother she never wished she had. It feels...nice...to think Molly might have my back, for no other reason than she likes me. Genuinely likes me.

“You’d do that for me?”

Molly’s full lips tilt up into a soft smile that hits me right in the middle of my chest. “I would. Will you keep talking to Matthew for me?”

I nod instantly. “You trust me?”

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