Page 33 of Love in the Lab
She raises an eyebrow. “Thanks so much,” she deadpans.
I chuckle. “Beautiful, as always, but exhausted.”
I stand and reach out my hand to help Molly to her feet. After I collect the leftover food and throw away the trash from our picnic, we walk toward the parking lot together.
As we near her car, Molly riffles through her bag. “Hmm.”
I stop. “What?”
“I can’t find my keys.”
I frown. “Did you leave them in your office?”
She bobbles her head. “Maybe?”
Molly goes back to digging through her bag. I lean forward to glance through the window of her car and groan. “Molly.”
She looks up, and I point to the front seat through the window. Her keys are sitting right on the driver’s seat.
She blushes. “Is it…?”
I pull on the door handle. “Yep. It’s locked.”
The flush on her cheeks deepens. “Okay. No problem. I can just…” She looks around on the ground, though I’m not sure for what.
I’m certain she doesn’t want to wait for a locksmith tonight. That feels like a problem for later. For now, I want to get her home so she can rest. I reach over and place my hand on her arm. “If I give you a ride home, do you have a way to get into your apartment?”
“Yes, but I can walk. It’s not far.”
I know it’s not far, and I know she walks between the lab and her apartment all the time. Still. “It’s already dark out, and I’d feel better driving you.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
I pull my keys from my pocket and unlock my truck.
Molly smiles at me. “Show-off.”
I chuckle. “I’ve locked my keys in my car before, too.”
We climb into the truck, and I start driving toward Molly’s apartment. “How will you unlock your apartment?” I ask her.
She adjusts her seatbelt and leans back to rest her head on the seat. “Oh, I have a hide-a-key in one of those fake rocks that’s hidden in the landscaping by the front door.”
I groan. “Molly. Please tell me you don’t.”
She blinks and looks at me with wide eyes. “Why not?”
I shake my head. “Those things aren’t safe. The rocks never look real, and anybody can just take your key.”
She fiddles with the strap on her bag. “Even if they did, it’s not labeled so they wouldn’t know what apartment it goes to. And they couldn’t get in the building without a code.”
“I still don’t like it,” I grumble. I turn the last corner and pull up to the curb outside Molly’s building. I reach down to unbuckle my seatbelt.
“Don’t get out,” Molly says. “It’ll just take me a second to grab my key.”
I shift in the seat. “Okay, but I’m not leaving until you’re inside. Do you want me to pick you up for work in the morning?”
“No, I was planning to walk tomorrow anyway. But thank you.” She hops down from the truck, shutting the door behind her. I watch out the window as she steps off the sidewalk, squats down, and roots around by the bushes. She straightens, holding up a key for me to see.
