by Mia Ford
“Of course I do,” I said. I bent down and kissed her. “Molly, you’re more important to me than coworkers, even if we are like a family. I don’t want to be friends with anyone who wouldn’t accept you.”
Molly’s smile grew a shade wider and she relaxed, closing her eyes and leaning her head against my shoulder. “I love you, Alex,” she said softly. “I can’t believe you’re with me.”
I put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed before leaning down and kissing her forehead. “I love you, too,” I said. “Come on. Let’s go meet the guys.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Molly
As I followed Alex up the steps of the firehouse, I was incredibly nervous. I could hardly keep from shaking and shivering as I climbed step after step, growing out of breath after the first flight.
“I don’t know about this,” I muttered nervously as I gripped the handrail with a sweaty hand. “I just feel so weird.”
“Molly, relax,” Alex said. “I swear, everyone is going to be nice. And if they’re not, fuck them. I’ve made it clear that you’re more important.”
I tried to internalize his words but somehow, they just made me feel even more anxious. If Alex’s friends were dicks, I didn’t want to be responsible for breaking up any friendships. Alex had been friends with these guys for years – was he going to drop them just because they made a couple of jokes about me?
Stop jumping to conclusions, I scolded myself. No one ever got anywhere from doing that.
Alex and I reached the stop of the stairs and he gestured for me to follow him inside. Taking a deep breath, I plastered a smile on my face and followed Alex into the main room. It smelled like a boys’ locker room, and I smiled for real when I saw the decorations – mirrors with beer labels printed on them, Playboy centerfolds, and pictures of muscle cars. They’re just like a bunch of high school kids, I thought. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.
“Everyone,” Alex hollered, clapping his hands together. “This is my girlfriend, Molly Peters.”
The room was filled with men, and at the sound of Alex’s voice, they all stopped talking and turned to look at us. Most of them smiled – or at least smirked – but some of them snickered.
“Guys, I’m serious,” Alex said. “Be nice.”
“Hi,” I said shyly. “It’s nice to meet you all.”
The only one I recognized was Rob. As he leapt out of a chair and sauntered over, he grinned at me.
“Hey, Molly,” Rob said. “Nice to see you again.”
I flushed and smiled. “Nice to see you, too,” I said. “This is nice, I like it.”
Rob laughed. “It’s a shitbox,” he said. “But it’s home, you know?”
I looked around at the room. Lots of masculine touches – beat-up leather furniture and remotes shaped like women’s torsos and neon signs – I could tell that hardly any girls had ever been up.
“It’s nice,” I said, meaning it. “I’m glad to see Alex can relax in comfort when he’s on call.”
Another guy walked over to us. He had brown hair and perfectly straight white teeth that somehow reminded me of a shark.
“Nice to meet you,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “Alex, I didn’t know you had a girl.”
“It’s recent,” Alex said shortly. “Don’t be a dick, Tom.”
Tom smirked. He held out his hand and after a moment of hesitation, I put mine against his. To my surprise, he lifted my fingers to his mouth and kissed them.
“Don’t do that,” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “For all you know, Molly jacked me off before we got here.”
Tom grinned. “That wouldn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “Bye, Molly. You’re welcome here any time.”
Alex nodded. He seemed pleased. I was starting to relax. Maybe this isn’t so bad, I thought, looking once more around the room. Maybe his friends really are nice people.
“Hey, Molly,” Rob said. He leaned in close. “How’s Rebecca doing?”
Alex and I exchanged nervous glances. “She’s fine,” I said, shaking my head and biting my lip. “Why?”
Rob snickered. “You know she has hot lesbo fantasies about you, right?”
My jaw dropped and I felt my cheeks flame bright red. “What? You’re kidding,” I said, shaking my head. “There’s no way that’s true!”
Alex looked miffed, but Rob kept going: “Oh, yeah. She wants to lick your pussy, bad. She told me about it at that restaurant when I tried to come onto her.”
“Dude, shut up,” Alex growled. “Molly doesn’t need to know any of this.”
Blood rushed to my head and I groped for something to steady myself against. “I…I don’t know what to say,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “This is so weird.”
Rob raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah, Molly, she’s had the hots for you for years.”
I blinked. My stomach churned and I felt my heart slowly pounding in my chest.
Rob glanced down at my crotch. “Too bad you’re straight,” he said, grinning. “Because I’d pay to see that.”
My eyes rolled back in my head and I passed out, crumpling to the floor.
--
When I came to, I blinked and looked around. “Where am I?” I muttered. “What happened?”
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Alex said. He reached over and pressed his hand to my forehead. “Molly, I was really worried about you. You were out for over an hour.”
“Where am I?” I asked groggily. “What’s going on?”
“I took you home,” Alex said gently. “You’re in your own bed.”
Sitting up, I looked around the dark room in a panic before realizing that he was completely right.
“Oh, god,” I said, blushing hotly and covering my face with both hands. “I really screwed up, didn’t I? I made such an idiot of myself.”
“No,” Alex said firmly. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Molly. Rob never should have said that stuff to you.” He shook his head and groaned. “I don’t even know if it’s true, but don’t worry about it, okay?”
I shivered. “It makes me feel weird,” I said. “I can’t…I don’t want to believe it,” I added firmly. “How am I supposed to act around her now?”
Alex shrugged. “I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t bring it up. But it explains a lot. She’s obviously jealous,” he said. “And she probably didn’t really think you and I would wind up together, and she probably didn’t think you’d get a boyfriend.”
I frowned. “Yeah,” I said. I didn’t like to admit it, but Alex was totally right.
“Are you feeling better? I’ve got to head into the firehouse,” Alex said. “I just don’t want to leave without knowing you’re okay.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “Thanks, though.”
Alex nodded. He grinned and kissed me. “I love you,” he said. “Call me if anything comes up, okay?”
I nodded. “I will.”
Alex kissed me once more, then left. I lay in bed and listened to the sound of his footsteps fading on the walk outside. As soon as he was gone, I missed him. I wanted him back – I wanted to wrap my arms around him and never let go. Stop it, Molly, I told myself. You’re getting obsessed, and that’s not a good thing. You can’t be so clingy, you’ll completely drive him away.
With a sigh, I flopped back against the pillows and closed my eyes. I was exhausted, and honestly, I didn’t feel like going into the living room just in case Rebecca was home. I had no idea how I was going to confront her! Was I supposed to just ask her to come out and spill the truth? Or what?
I yawned and snuggled deeper in the covers. I’ll just sleep for a little while, I thought. And when I wake up, maybe I’ll have a better idea of what to do.
Hours later, I woke up. I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes, yawning. I felt groggy and dehydrated. It was dark outside – my phone told me that it was after nine-thirty, well into Alex’s shift at the firehouse.
I decided to get up and make myself a late dinner. Pulling my robe on ov
er my clothes, I put my hair up in a sloppy bun and walked out to the kitchen. To my shock, Rebecca was sitting at the table with a bowl of pasta.
“Hi, Molly,” Rebecca said. “How are you?”
I bit my lip and sat down. “Not great,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rebecca said. “Are things with Alex not going well?” I frowned – she almost looked happy as she asked.
“No, they’re good,” I said. “He brought me by the firehouse earlier to meet all of the guys.”
“Were they nice?”
I shrugged. “Yeah,” I said. “They were fine. That’s not what I want to talk about, though.”
“Oh, want some pasta? I made tons, it’s still on the stove,” Rebecca said.
I sighed. “Becks, this is serious,” I said. “Please, don’t derail me.”
Rebecca frowned.
“Do you have feelings for me?” I asked gently, trying to keep my voice low and non-accusatory. “Please be honest.”
Rebecca burst out laughing. “Molly, no! Who put that idea in your head? Was it Alex? I’ll kill him,” she added, muttering under her breath.
“No,” I said shakily. “It wasn’t Alex, although he did tell me that he saw you go into a gay club. He followed you inside and saw you dancing with and kissing a woman. A woman who…” I trailed off nervously, biting my lip. “A woman who looked like me,” I finished softly.
Rebecca looked like I’d slapped her in the face.
“Rob told me,” I continued. “And Rebecca, it’s fine, really. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I never noticed. I never picked up on the signals. And I’m straight,” I added quietly. “But it doesn’t bother me that you’re gay.”
Rebecca’s face turned from pale white to crimson red. “Molly,” she said slowly, shaking her head. “That’s crazy.”
I sighed. “Is it? You’ve been acting like a jealous witch ever since I started sleeping with your brother and I’m starting to wonder if you only suggested I sleep with him because you thought it would never happen.”
Rebecca’s expression changed. “I…” She trailed off and buried her face in her hands, bursting into tears. “Molly, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m really sorry. I never meant for you to find out.”
I felt awkward as I sat there, staring at her bowl of pasta. “Its okay,” I said. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Rebecca sobbed harder and harder, until her shoulders were shaking and the air was filled with the sound of her sucking wet snot back into her nose. She coughed and choked and gasped for air, sniffling and snuffling like she’d just been given the worst news of her life. I felt so guilty and sad as I just sat there, watching her cry.
“It’s okay,” I repeated. “Come here.” I stood up and held out my arms. Rebecca hesitated for a second, then got to her feet and dove into my embrace. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Rebecca clung to me. She buried her face in my neck and I felt the dampness of her snot and tears soaking the fabric of my robe.
“It’ll be okay,” I said again as I rubbed Rebecca’s back. She pulled away and looked deeply into my eyes, sighing. Just as I was about to step away, Rebecca closed her eyes and pressed her lips to mine.
For a moment, I was too shocked to move. Then, I pushed her away and stared, feeling both violated and horrified.
“Oh my god,” I said. “Rebecca, no. I told you, I’ll always be your best friend. But I don’t have feelings for you in that way!”
“Molly, come on, you love me and you know it,” Rebecca said, advancing on me. She laughed. “I know you were only using Alex to make me jealous. It’s okay, you can tell me.” She reached for me again and I darted out of the way, knocking over a kitchen chair and jumping when it clattered to the floor.
“Rebecca, no,” I said.
She stepped closer and I pushed her away. “Leave me alone,” I said. “I don’t like you in that way!”
“Molly, stop lying to yourself,” Rebecca said. “We’re perfect for each other and you know it. Nobody cares about us, we’re a couple of losers. We could be so happy together,” she said, her eyes shining with desperation.
Horror filled my body as I pushed her to the side and ran down the hall. Rebecca was hot on my heels but I managed to dart inside my room and slam the door shut and lock it. Rebecca pounded on the door.
“Molly, let me in,” Rebecca yelled. “Please, I swear, I won’t try to kiss you again. We can just talk, or cuddle or something! We can work up to things at your own pace!”
With a trembling hand, I reached for my phone and dialed Alex.
“Hello?”
“Alex, it’s me,” I said in a shaky voice. “I really need your help!”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Alex
My chest was in knots as I sped across town, desperate to see Molly. She’d been so upset on the phone that I could barely understand her – what the hell had happened? The only thing I’d been able to make out was that she was desperately upset, and my heart was lurching as I drove. God, I hope she’s okay, I thought, pressing the gas pedal close to the floorboards. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Molly!
When I reached her apartment, I ran inside without knocking. The kitchen was a disaster – chairs knocked to the floor, pasta and red sauce everywhere. Oh, fuck, I thought as I looked around in a blind panic. Someone must’ve broken in. I balled my hands into fists and growled. If someone had broken in and tried to hurt the woman I loved, I was going to make them wish they’d never been born.
I ran down the hall and knocked on Molly’s door. “Molly, it’s me,” I yelled. “Let me in!”
Molly was sobbing on the other side of the door. “Is she gone?” Molly asked tearfully. “I don’t want to open the door unless she’s gone!”
“There’s no one else here,” I said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Molly unlocked the door and swung it open. She’d been crying and her eyes were red. “Oh my god, Alex,” she said, collapsing in my arms. “It was awful. I confronted her and she started crying, so I thought I should give her a hug, you know, get her to calm down. And then she tried to kiss me and kept saying that we belonged together and that we were perfect together.” Molly’s voice rose to a hysterical pitch.
“Oh my god,” I muttered. “You’re kidding me.”
Molly looked up at me tearfully and shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “Trust me, I wish I was kidding.”
I sighed. “Okay. Get some things together. Clothes, your stuff for school, all of your chargers and stuff. You’re gonna stay with me for a little while, until you can find another place.”
I thought Molly would resist. Instead, she threw her clothes into a bag and grabbed her computer, some toiletries, and a couple of pairs of shoes. When she was ready, I guided her outside. My head was spinning. I couldn’t believe it – my sister had completely lost her fucking mind.
“She’s gone insane,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t believe it.”
Molly shrugged and sighed. “Neither can I,” she said. “It was awful, Alex. She was like a totally different person.”
I sighed. “Well, it’s okay. She doesn’t have a key to my place, and she’s probably embarrassed that she acted that way. Hopefully it’ll blow over soon.”