Page 14 of October
She walked through the open door and looked around for a woman she didn’t know. Thankfully, Logan was behind the bar, so Molly smiled at her, and Logan nodded toward a woman in a booth by herself with a glass of white wine. Molly nodded back her thank-you and walked over, trying not to be nervous because this wasn’t a big deal. They were only here to see if there was any kind of chemistry between them, and if not, they’d go their separate ways or just be friends. There were no high stakes here, just two women meeting in person for the first time to see if they wanted to go on another date.
“Um… Hi,” she spoke when she arrived at the booth.
Ava looked up and smiled at her.
“Hi. Molly?”
“That’s me,” she said.
Ava stood up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which surprised Molly, so she stood awkwardly still.
“Sorry, I already ordered. I got here a while ago. Logan knows my drink and brought it over without me asking.”
“Am I late?” Molly asked.
“Oh, no. I came straight from work, so it’s me, not you. What can I get for you?”
Molly sat down and replied, “Just a beer for me. Logan probably knows which, since she gave it to me before.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.”
Ava smiled and walked toward the bar, and Molly wondered if she was saying something to Logan about how Molly wasn’t as pretty or hot as she’d hoped, or that she was dressed too casually when Ava was dressed in a business suit complete with a navy blazer and slacks that cupped her ass in a very nice way. Molly pulled her eyes away because she shouldn’t be staring at the woman’s ass. They hadn’t even sat down to a drink yet. She thought about how Ava reminded her a little of India. Not physically; they didn’t look anything alike. But Ava was a smart dresser, that much was clear, and India must have had a closet the size of Louisiana because Molly wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her wear something more than once in all the time they’d worked together.
“Okay. Logan said you’d want this dark ale thing,” Ava said and placed it in front of her on the table.
“Not a beer drinker?” Molly asked.
“Not much, no. I’ll have one occasionally. I like some imports.”
“Wine fan?” she asked, nodding toward the glass as Ava sat back down.
“This one is good. Candace stocks it mainly for me. I mentioned it once when I came in, and she didn’t have it, so sheordered a case of it. I don’t come in very often, so I think it’ll take me years to drink it all.” Ava laughed, and it was a nice laugh. “Are you not a wine fan?”
“No, I am,” she replied. “I mean, I drink it sometimes. I think I have a few bottles at home. There’s this one brand my company partnered with to make a coffee kind of wine. Like, they used the beans in it to flavor the grapes or something. I don’t know how it all works.” Molly laughed a little. “Anyway, it’s a red wine, and they give us a bottle every year around the holidays.”
“Have you never tried it?”
“I did when it was first launched. They had a party, and that was the only red wine on offer that night. Everyone else was tasting it, so I thought I’d give it a try.”
She scrunched up her nose, remembering it.
“Not a fan?” Ava asked.
“Not really. It’s too strong for me. Ifyouwant to try it, though, I’ll happily give you a bottle or, you know,allof the bottles in my possession and the one they’ll probably give us in a couple of months, too.”
Ava laughed and said, “Maybe I’ll just go to your place one night and you can pour me a glass.”
Molly smiled a little at that and replied, “Yeah, maybe.”
“So, Logan tells me that you know Juliet, who is dating someoneelseLogan knows?”
“Gwen, yeah,” Molly said. “Juliet is my best friend. She met Gwen about a month ago. They’re probably having sex right now.”
Ava’s eyes widened.
“Sorry. I just got off the phone with her, and that was what we were talking about. Not sex; not like we wereonlytalking about sex,” Molly rambled. “Just that it came up, and they’re together right now, so they’re probably doing that.”
Ava laughed and said, “Well, they’re in the honeymoon phase, aren’t they?”
