Page 22 of Molly

“Drink your water, Ryan,” she giggles out, putting a cracker in her mouth.

We make light conversation about our day, and she tells me all about her new variegated peace lilies. I nod, glad I did all that research when I was trying to get her on our first date because I actually know what they are.

“So, Beckett asked if Penny was single,” I say, cutting off a piece of Brie.

“Oh, really? I didn’t even know they knew each other?”

“Yeah, he said he came by here the other day and met her.”

She grins. “Penny doesn’t date. She’s single, but she won’t go out with him.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why? Beck’s great.”

“I’m sure he is. She won’t care. Penny basically hates all men. Her dad walked out on her mum for another woman when she was younger. She’s never dated. Won’t even entertain the idea of a relationship.”

“So, one man hurting her mum means all men are shit?” I ask.

“Hey, it’s not me you’ve got to convince, my friend. I’ve got nothing against your gender. Take your beef up with Penny.” She laughs, putting her hands up in front of her defensively.

I take a sip of water and decide it’s time to address the elephant in the room. “Molly, about the other night...”

“Hold on,” she says, cutting me off. She gets up from the table, moves to the fridge and pulls out a loaf of what looked like banana bread wrapped in plastic. She puts it down in front of me and sits back on her side. I look at it and then back up at her, raising my eyebrow. “My grandma always said that an apology needs to be more than words. You say sorry by showing you’re sorry. I figured baking takes time, and patience, and effort, so... I baked you this,” she rushes out.

I love flustered Molly.

“You made me an ‘I’m sorry’ banana bread?” I ask, amused.

She crosses her arms in front of her chest, and even though now is definitely not the time, I can’t help but notice that her tits get pushed up when she does it.

“Ryan, this is all new to me. You know that. Seeing her there threw me a little, mainly because at first, I thought she was your girlfriend and that she’d just walked in and busted us. I saw the way she looked at you, the way you acted with her. It was... it looked intimate from where I was standing.” I try to interject, but she raises her hand to shush me before continuing. “I won’t lie and say I’m not still uncomfortable, but maybe it’s just an issue I need to work through in my head, you know? I shouldn’t have run. I should have told you how I was feeling and let you explain.” She takes a sip of her water and looks at me, waiting for me to respond.

“Mol, Jess and I met at the tattoo shop I worked at in Melbourne. She was dating one of the other artists, so she was around a lot. He was a mean bastard, used to put her down all the time in front of all of us. I always stuck up for her, and we developed an odd friendship from it. When they broke up, I kind of took her under my wing. We’ve been close ever since. I look at her like a little sister. I have never, ever been interested in her as anything more than a friend, and I can promise you, if I was, I’d never have started this with you. I’m not that guy. I hope you know that.” She nods, and I pick up a grape and pop it in my mouth before continuing. “This is new for me too. You’ve got to tell me when I’m fucking up, which I’m sure I’ll do again. But running isn’t going to do anything other than make me chase you, Mol. And I will. I’ve never had to navigate a girlfriend around my friendship with Jess. You’ve got to guide me a little here...”

She nods, her eyes darting back and forth between mine. “You said girlfriend... is that what I am?”

I laugh, leaning back in my chair. “I didn’t know that was actually a thing we spoke about. I assumed you just knew you were my girl.”

She takes a sip of water and smiles around the bottle. “Your girl, hey?”

I nod in reply.

“I’ve got one condition...”

I laugh. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

She leans forward, maintaining eye contact, and whispers, “Don’tevercall mebabeagain.”

I snort. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

She shakes her head and chuckles before her expression turns serious again. “I still think there’s something there on her end, Ryan...”

I sigh and shake my head. “If she wanted me, wanted more than the friendship we have, don’t you think sometime in the past six years, she would have told me or made a move?”

She hums into her bottle before taking a sip. I think that’s as good as I’m going to get for now.

I reach across the table, take her hand in mine, pull it up to my face, and kiss her palm. I turn it over and rub my cheek back and forth across it, making her smile. Her eyes light up, and it’s at that exact moment I know I’m a fucking goner. “Thank you for the apology bread, baby,” I whisper.

“Mmm, you’re lucky you’re hot, Ryan Anderson,” she replies, her tone much lighter.

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