Page 45 of Noah
Molly. My eyes closed in something that felt like satisfaction, or maybe affection. Safety. Love. I wasn’t sure, and I didn’t care. If Molly was here, everything was going to be okay.
She spun my bar stool and I saw that she hadn’t come alone. Whiskey was in her arms, squirmy and sleepy, and she handed him to me without a word. I held him up to my face and nuzzled into his fur, feeling even more satisfied.
God, I was becoming a cliche. The girl and my dog had just showed up and suddenly I felt like everything was right in the world. I was losing my mind.
Molly, meanwhile, had slipped her shoulder under my arm and was lifting me off the bar stool. She said something to Matt that sounded suspiciously like she was sharing a joke with him, then helped me get up.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” I told her firmly. “You’re not supposed to be seen in public with me.”
That didn’t sound quite right, but I was counting on her to know exactly what I meant.
She snorted. “It’s the middle of the night and there are no photographers out here. I think we’re safe. Besides, I’ve never left you in a bad way before, and I’m not going to start now.”
I looked down at her, unable to stop myself, and found her staring back at me, her eyes a deeper green than I’d ever seen then and her lips slightly open. Like she was waiting for me to kiss her. I hesitated for a moment, certain that I shouldn’t. This was trouble. She was trouble, and I was going to make everything worse for her. She already had too big a hold on my heart.
But God, I wanted her.
I leaned down, unsteady with whiskey and lack of sleep, and brushed my lips over hers. Just a taste. A whisper of a kiss. Not enough to get us in trouble.
Not enough to satisfy me.
She opened her mouth to me, though, and I was lost. I dove into her, kissing her the way I wanted to, my tongue probing the depths of her as my skin lit on fire. Kissing her was like coming home and flying at the same time, I thought. So beautiful, and yet so dangerous. Black magic and rainbows and–
“God, get a room, you two,” Matt said suddenly from behind me. “No one needs to see that. In fact, I’m going to go upstairs and pretend I didn’t.”
Shit. Matt.
“Matt,” I said quickly, intending to tell him to keep his fat mouth shut.
“Don’t worry,” he said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I don’t know anything. And even if I did, I wouldn’t know anything everyone else doesn’t already know. Your secret’s safe with me.”
I frowned, trying to figure out what the hell he’d just said, but Molly was giggling and pulling me away and I didn’t have the steadiness to stop her. Matt’s double speak would have to wait for tomorrow.
For now, I wanted my bed and my girl and my puppy.
And honestly, I didn’t care if that made me a cliche. Because it felt a whole lot like having a family. And that had always been my fondest dream.
By the time we got to my room, I was feeling steadier and more sober. Maybe it was the walk, or maybe it was the fact that Molly was chattering away and making my brain turn back on.
“That puppy is a space heater, by the way,” she said. “And he sleeps like a champ. He ate all his dinner. Good idea to have the market deliver food for him. What are you going to do with him when we get back on the road?”
I slid my key into its slot and opened the door to my room. “Take him with us. Obviously.”
She paused, and I could hear her trying to decide which question to ask first. She always had a few. “Think management will be okay with that?”
I made a face at her. “Molly, I’m a star. They’ll let me do whatever I want.”
She made the face back. “Some people say that. I don’t believe it.”
“Neither do I, honestly. And I’d never support it. But I don’t think anyone’s going to argue with me about bringing a puppy. Especially when I have your help.”
She laughed, and by the time we were sitting on the bed, Whiskey between us, we’d already come up with three different ways to smuggle him onto the bus, if we were taking one, or the plane if that was our option. From there we went on to talk about the tour and how disappointed I was that the execs weren’t showing up. She said that Taylor probably had it all handled already, but I shook my head.
“I feel like I already failed.”
“Failed at what?” she asked, taking my hand.
I bit my lip and wondered how much I could tell her. How much did I want to admit? How vulnerable did I actually want to be, here? id already showed Molly more of myself than I’d ever sowed anyone before. She knew me inside and out.
