Page 41 of The Good Guy on My Porch

“She thinks you’re my girlfriend and that I brought Lara home for sex with while you were here.”

Molly’s face screwed up in distaste before she burst out laughing. “You? You’ve got less game than a mountaintop recluse with back hair. You’d be lucky to get one woman, much less two.”

“Very funny. Can you pull yourself together and tell her you aren’t my girlfriend?”

She pushed to her feet, still chuckling. “Yeah, I can do that.”

Dilly was still standing in the doorway when we walked over. Her anger was gone, now she just looked tired and sad. I hated that I’d had anything to do with putting that look on her face. I faced her and wrapped an arm around Molly’s shoulders. “Dilly Thompkins, I’d like you to meet my sister, Molly Bellington.”

Dilly’s eyes went wide and her cheeks reddened as she realized her mistake. “Sister?”

“I guess we were never formally introduced,” Molly said. “I can guarantee Oscar is my brother and had nothing to do with my current condition. I have a forgetful boyfriend to thank for that.”

“Forgetful?” Dilly asked, looking a bit dazed.

“I wasn’t on the pill, because it fucks with my moods, and it was Daniel’s job to buy the—”

“More than enough information,” I said, dropping my arm from around Molly’s shoulders and giving her a little push toward my half of the duplex. “You can go now.”

Molly gave me a wicked grin and held her ground. “Oscar broke up with that blond woman last night, so he’s totally single.” She gave me a fond smile and my stomach sank. She’d always been a good sister, but I wouldn’t put it past her to play a fourth-grade game of my brother likes you, do you like him? “And he’s one of the best guys I know.”

“Goodbye, Molly,” I said. She grinned and skipped back inside. I couldn’t even be mad at her, it was too good to see her happy again.

I turned back to Dilly, who was looking the opposite of happy. “I’m so sorry, Oscar. I can’t believe I accused you of—”

I held up a hand, hating her concern. “It’s fine. I should have introduced you to Molly weeks ago. Anyone could have made the same mistake.”

“After my last boyfriend and finding out that open relationships even exist, I guess I was seeing them everywhere. I should have known you weren’t the kind of guy who would do that.”

“It was a misunderstanding. Now, it’s cleared up. I’m not even offended. I think it’s hilarious.”

“You do?”

“More than hilarious. The idea that you think I could not only convince two women to date me, but to accept me dating other women, is more than a little flattering.”

She gave me a soft smile. Finally. “I don’t think it’s such a stretch.”

My heart lifted with hope, which I knew would only make things weird between us. “Do you want to get dinner before the play? It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”

She glanced down at herself, which made me look down at her tight tank, which very clearly revealed she wasn’t wearing a bra. “I need a shower.”

I cleared my throat and forced my gaze back to her face with more than a little difficulty. I pushed all thoughts of her, naked and in the shower, from my very healthy imagination and tried to focus on her words. “You have time,” I said. “We can go to the Mexican restaurant on twelfth street. They’re always fast.”

“It’s right next to campus, too,” she said, her smile making my chest hurt. Living next to her and spending time with her, might just kill me. “I’ll hurry. Do you want to hang with Buddy while I get ready?”

“Sure. I haven’t really spent time with him in a few days.”

She frowned. “That’s not right. You know you can come over and visit with him any time, right?”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

She waved a hand and walked farther into her place. “It’s no intrusion, really. Come on in.”

I followed her inside and closed the door behind me. Buddy was sitting just inside the door, but he stood when I walked in and shoved his head under my hand. “Maybe I’ll take him for a quick walk while you get ready.”

“That would be great,” she called back, already halfway up the stairs. “Thanks, Oscar.”

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