Page 32 of October
“You too,” Molly said.
CHAPTER 9
“Burger and potato skins,” the waitress announced as she practically dropped their plates in front of them and rushed off to the new table of six that had just walked in, likely sensing that that many guys in their twenties would mean a lot of booze and therefore, a much larger tip than the two women who had ordered a Coke, an appetizer, a burger, and one beer.
“So,” Finley said. “Do you want a French fry?”
Molly laughed and seemed a little nervous.
“I thought you said I couldn’t have any.”
“Well, we just ran into the woman you’re dating on a date with someone else.”
“I told you, Ava and I aren’t technically dating. Also, that woman then hit on you in front of me.” Molly looked away. “Her. I mean, in front of Ava. Then, well,us. I mean, that’s awkward.”
“I think she wants to dance and get laid tonight. Maybe even do more drugs. I don’t know. Not my thing.”
“The dancing or the drugs?”
“Both, technically. You think this body actually looks any good on a dance floor? I have no hips,” she said and wanted to take it back immediately.
She’d been planning on asking Molly out, which meant that there was a possibility that they would have sex one day in the future, should Molly say yes, but Finley had just stupidly toldher potential date that she had no hips and couldn’t dance. That didn’t exactly bode well for her abilities in the bedroom.
“I think anyone can dance,” Molly replied. “It doesn’t mean you’re a professional dancer or something, but it’s just music, and you move to it however makes you happy.”
“You like to dance?”
“Rarely in public,” Molly said. “I do most of my dancing at home when I’m cleaning. Not when I’m cooking because that’s dangerous. I’m klutzy, and if you add a hot burner or a knife in the mix, I’d probably burn myself or lose a toe.”
Finley laughed and was happy to see them getting back to their newfound banter. She’d worried that with Ava’s appearance, they’d lost it, and she liked this version of Molly. At work, up until recently, Molly usually seemed distracted and almost a little bothered by Finley’s arrival. She often turned away from Finley entirely and sometimes, only talked to Juliet when they were all there together. When Finley realized that she liked Molly, and not in spite of all those things, she knew where she wanted her desk to be, and she had made the right choice. Now, she got to see this version of Molly, who wasn’t at work and who didn’t seem bothered by Finley at all. In fact, Molly had seemed bothered by Ava’s presence, not Finley’s.
“You dance when you clean?”
“A little.”
“Any particular song?”
“Just my cleaning playlist.”
“And what songs are on that playlist?”
“I’ll share it with you. There’s a mix of everything. Upbeat stuff, mostly, some movie soundtrack stuff, and some 90s music thrown in there.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Finley replied.
She looked down at the burger and fries she had yet to touch and the cup of sour cream at the side of Molly’s plate, whichmade her laugh a little. She took a bite of the burger, and it was really good, which really shouldn’t have surprised her at this point. Finley had lived here long enough to know that the best food in this city was in the local bars and pubs or in the dive restaurants where Mom or Grandma was in the back, cooking up their old family recipes that had been passed down through the generations. Her burger had been seasoned to perfection and cooked for just the right amount of time. The fries were crispy on the outside and also seasoned perfectly. She wished she were a little hungrier because there was no way she could eat this whole thing. She’d expected maybe a decent burger that she’d take a few bites of, but this thing, she wanted to devour. That wouldn’t exactly look sexy, though, and after the lack of hips comment she had made earlier, she needed to try to build herself back up as good date potential.
“You have mayo and whatever else on your chin,” Molly said.
‘Damn it,’ Finley thought to herself.
She wiped her chin with a napkin and smiled awkwardly. Molly smiled back at her, and then, Finley watched her dip one of her potato skins halfway into the cup of sour cream. She decided that if Molly could do that and take a giant bite, she could certainly get a little mayo on her chin.
“Soph, come on.”
Finley looked up at two women who walked into the bar.
“What? You just dropped this bomb on me, and nowyou’reupset?”
