Page 69 of Molly's Mr. Wrong
“He what?” Finn was surprised at the surge of protectiveness that welled up inside him.
“No big deal, Finn. I want to keep it that way.”
“Are you sure?”
She actually laughed a little. “Positive. I’ll see you at McElroy’s. Six-thirty.”
He gave her a nod, glad that she’d agreed, and headed for his truck while she jiggled her keys and waited for Denny and Mr. Reed to finish their slow journey out of the classroom.
If teaching meant patiently dealing with the Dennys of the world, then there really was a good chance that it wasn’t the profession for him.
* * *
FINNWASWAITINGnear the entrance of McElroy’s when Molly pulled her car into the lot and parked a few spaces away from his truck. She’d stopped wasting time worrying about where she should be edging ever closer to the slippery slope that was Finn—whether she was really in control of the situation. She was doing it. She was going to have some fun. Instinct was pushing her forward and she simply had to stop letting knee-jerk fears keep her from living her life. Finn wasn’t looking for anything heavy and deep, and since she wasn’t, either, this made sense.
Finn met her halfway across the parking lot and, as he closed the distance between them, he smiled that crooked smile, which made her stomach tumble a little. “Glad you could come. Dylan and Jolie are looking forward to meeting you.”
And she was nervous about meeting them. This seemed a lot like a real date.
A thought struck her. “They know we’re just friends, right?”
Finn opened the door and Molly walked inside. “They know you’re here with me. They have no more information than that...but they’ll be curious.”
“Then let’s put an official title on our relationship. We’re friends.”
He frowned at her. “How close of friends?”
“Not screw buddies. And if you get laid after you drop me off, I have no right to complain.”
He took her hand and squeezed her fingers. “I don’t see myself getting laid after dropping you off. If I was dropping you off. You drove. Remember?”
“By the way, Jolie ordered beer. Are you okay with that or do you want to order something else at the bar?”
“I like beer.”
“Good to know.” Finn kept hold of her hand as he led her through the fairly crowded bar toward the table where Dylan and Jolie sat and Molly told herself it was because he didn’t want to lose her in the crowd. Dylan stood as they approached, looking very much as Molly remembered him—tall, dark-haired, handsome. He extended his hand as Jolie got to her feet and offered a quick hug of greeting.
“Hi, I’m Jolie. I don’t know if you remember me.”
“Of course I remember you.” Molly spoke easily, drawing on her teacher self to overcome her suddenly shy self. Jolie had been one of the movers and shakers during high school—confident and bubbly and fun. A cheerleader, while Molly had been a geek. “I was kinda invisible.”
“You were one of the brainiacs.”
“Uh...thank you?”
Jolie laughed. “It’s a compliment.” She glanced over at Dylan. “I have a thing for brainiacs.”
Dylan smiled in a way that reminded Molly of both Finn and Mike. “Good to see you again, Molly. Table C, right?”
Molly laughed. “I’d forgotten, but yes.”
Table C had been her favorite table in the library, where she’d spent most of her free time hiding out and studying.
“Uh... Table B?”
Dylan shook his head. “I haunted Table D. Close to the biology reference section.”
“Yes. I remember now.” Dylan had kept his nose buried in books almost as much as she had and she remembered how she’d always thought he seemed like a nice guy. Handsome, like his cousin, but lacking the devil-may-care aura that had so entranced her.
