Page 18 of October
“When I say we just met, I mean we literally just met the other day. I went to a bar to grab a drink, and my friend Logan mentioned that Ava was single and ready to date again after abreakup. Although, Logan isn’t reallymyfriend. She’s sort of friends with Juliet through Gwen. I’ve really only met her a couple of times when she’s been bartending, and Ava and I had a drink and ate some dinner at the bar that’s owned by another friend.”
“Lots of friends, huh?” Finley commented, not knowing what else to say.
Molly laughed and said, “I’m starting to get that, yeah. Logan is dating Rory. Rory is friends with Candace, who owns the bar. And it just keeps going on and on from there. Jules says she’s metsomeof them, but not all of them. They don’t always all hang out, but sometimes, they do. Gwen’s sister-in-law, or, really,ex-sister-in-law, is dating Myra, who knew this big group of queer women. It’s kind of spiraled from there.”
“And now, you’re included?”
“Not really. Maybe tangentially, but they all have people. They’re part of couples. Candace is the only straight one in the bunch, but evenshe’sengaged. I feel like if I showed up to one of their hangouts in the bar, I’d be standing there by myself, watching them all hold hands, kiss, hug, and otherwise be happy and coupled off. I’d be drinking one too many beers and waiting until it was appropriate for me to go home and watch something on Netflix.”
“You could bring Ava,” Finley suggested and cleared her throat.
“The one I’ve only just met and have been on one date with? Well, it was a hangout more than a date. We kept it lowkey, so there wasn’t any pressure.”
“Did you get a goodnight kiss out of it?” Finley asked with a smile that she had to force.
“On the cheek,” Molly said. “But we talked about going out again, so that was what she was calling about. I told her I would talk to her later.”
“Cool,” Finley replied.
“What about you?” Molly asked.
“Whataboutme?”
“Any plans other than the game?”
“Not really. I’m going to work on a computer I’m building, but that’s what I normally do on the nights and weekends.”
“Do you build and sell them like Levi?”
“No, this is just for me. I build it, use it for a bit, and rebuild it every so often when a new piece of tech comes out, but I do a little coding, too. Nothing crazy, but I’ve made a few silly games and stuff. I upgrade the hardware to give me more RAM or whatever, make another silly game, and then I do it all over again. It’s lame.”
“Why is that lame?” Molly asked.
“It’s nerd stuff.”
“So?”
“So, doyoubuild computers on the weekends?”
“No, but only because I don’t know how. You’ve seen me with my monitor.” Molly hooked a thumb back at it. “I didn’t even think to change the cable. I just pictured myself throwing the monitor off the roof. Besides, I told you about my weekend plans. They involve watching TV and going to the game because you invited me and Jules. Otherwise, I’d probably just be doing work and watching Netflix.”
“You wouldn’t be hanging with Jules?”
“She has a girlfriend now. I don’t think they’ve spent a night apart in weeks, and Gwen is with her evennow. They should be almost home at this point, but Gwen is with her on the trip. I guess Jules will be on her own next week, but that only means they’ll want to spend this weekend together, too. They’re in a can’t-keep-their-hands-off-each-other stage, and as much as I miss my friend, I don’t want to be needy or get in the way.”
“I get it,” Finley said.
India then walked by with Lyla and glanced over at her. She gave Finley a tight smile, and Finley knew that smile. It meant that India wanted to say something, but she couldn’t because they were at work. Finley looked away and caught Molly staring at her.
“Is it weird?” Molly asked her once India and Lyla had turned a corner and couldn’t hear them.
“What?” Finley asked.
“Working with your ex. She’s still your ex, right?”
“Yes,” Finley said quickly. “India is still my ex. And yes to your first question, too. It’s weird every time we break up. It’s different this time because it’s the last time, but also because I’m usually sitting in the server room and not on the floor, so I saw her a lot less when we ended things before. Now, I’m seeing her walk around here at least four or five times a day.”
“Sucks?”
