Page 42 of October
“Yeah. Um… When?”
“Tonight,” Finley said.
“Tonight? What?”
“Yeah, tonight. Let me take you out tonight.”
“But it’s already, like, three in the afternoon,” Molly said.
“It is, yeah. I was thinking of picking you up around six.”
“Six? No way. Seven at the earliest. I have to go home and get ready. Shower and everything.”
Finley laughed and replied, “Molly, just be casual. You don’t have to showerbeforewe go out. Just maybe change out of your work clothes and into something comfortable.” She looked Molly up and down, taking in the just-tight-enough-without-being-too-tight slacks and the button-down Molly had tucked into them. “Actually, don’t change at all. Just wear that.”
“This?” Molly looked down at herself. “This?” she repeated. “This is my boring work stuff.”
“It works for you.”
“I’m wearing flats.”
Finley laughed and said, “And you’re about my height in flats. I like that. Heels can be sexy, too, though. I’ve liked you in those, too.”
“You’ve liked me in heels? Since when?”
“I’ve liked you in heels, flats, and even in no shoes that one time I walked up to your desk, and you had them kicked off and pushed to the side. Not that I have a weird foot thing. That makes it sound like I have a foot thing. I’m just trying to say that I like you in anything.”
“Me?” Molly pointed at herself.
“Molly, yes,” she replied, laughing a little. “So, seven?”
“Seven what?”
Finley shook her head and said, “Seven tonight? That’s what you wanted, right?”
“Oh, yeah. Maybe seven-thirty?”
“No. You said seven, so it’s seven.”
“But the shower… It takes a minute to dry my hair.”
“Leave it wet.”
“Are you crazy?” Molly asked, but seemed entirely serious, which made Finley laugh.
“Let’s walk back to the office now before you tell me eight and then eight-thirty or cancel entirely.”
“I–” Molly seemed to hesitate. “I’d never cancel.”
“Good,” Finley replied, and they walked back toward the office.
???
Finley stood in front of her bathroom mirror and tried to figure out if she had dressed appropriately. Yes, she had told Molly to be casual, but she wasn’t sure if Molly had even heard her. Maybe she should cancel the thing she’d booked and book something else instead. She could dress up then. As it was, she had decided on a pair of decent-looking jeans and a T-shirt. She had a hooded sweatshirt to put over if she got cold or to give to Molly ifshegot cold, but it seemed too casual for a first date. Then again, it made sense for the event she had researched online for over an hour and then booked at the last second. She hoped Molly would be okay with it and wouldn’t think that Finley hadn’t put in any effort.
She’d showered and had put a little product in her hair for once. India had always liked her hair with product in it. She had told Finley she preferred it slicked back, but Finley had natural waves bordering on curls, and she thought it actually looked better with nothing in it or just a little bit of something to keep it from going crazy on top of her head. Deciding that her outfit was right for the occasion after all, she checked the clock andnoticed that it was only six-fifteen. She would be way too early if she left now, so she sat on the sofa and stared at the blank TV. If she started working on her computer, she’d get too focused and wouldn’t leave on time, so she forced herself to just sit there and wait until the clock hit six-thirty. She’d still be a few minutes early, but she couldn’t wait any longer.
This was the first real date she would have with someone since her very first one with India. The few other women had been mainly about sex, and she hadn’t even known them. Yes, she was still getting to know Molly, but she liked her. She liked how nervous Molly seemed to get around her at times, but how she could also banter back and forth. Finley liked how good Molly looked in a football jersey and how she ate condiments with food on the side and wasn’t ashamed of it. She just liked Molly, and she wanted to see where this could go.
