I hitched my thumb over my shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll head back to the laundromat and throw the towels in the dryer.”
“Okay,” she mumbled. She side-stepped around me and busied herself by wiping down the counter.
And now we were going to be awkward around each other. I couldn’t blame her. It was fucking weird that one minute we were ready to rip each other's clothes off, and the next, I was trying not to rip her clothes off.
I headed over to the laundromat, waited for the towels to dry, then headed back over to the cafe with the basket under my arm.
The parking lot was full of cars now, and there was a long line in front of the cash register. Molly was frantically making drinks, taking orders, and calling out people's names when their drinks were ready.
I set the basket next to the counter and bumped Molly out of the way. “Scoot over. I can take orders.”
“I highly doubt it. You don’t even know the names of the drinks.”
“How hard can it be? They’re all mocha-latte-whip-a-bullshits.” Molly’s jaw dropped. “Just need to ask them what size they want.”
The next lady in line thrust a twenty at me. “I’ll take three of what he just said. All large.”
“But…you can’t. How am I…” Molly sputtered as I stuck the twenty in the drawer.
“How much is that exactly, Cookie?” I hadn’t thought someone would actually want whatever shit I had just spewed.
Molly pressed a few buttons on the register, and the drawer popped out. “She gets six eleven back.”
Luckily, the next four people just wanted black coffee, and I was easily able to ring that up.
“Excuse me, can you tell me what this is?” The lady who had ordered my made up drink walked up to the counter and pointed to her cup.
“I’m sorry. I just made you a double shot triple chocolate mocha. We don’t make whatever it was that he said.” Molly wiped her hands on her apron. “I can refund you your money.”
“What? No! I loved this. It’s the best coffee I’ve ever had here, and it’s hard to beat your smoked vanilla latte. You should totally add this to your menu.” The woman gave Molly a thumbs up and headed out the door.
I leaned against the counter. “You can say thank you now.”
“What? You made me make up a drink on the spot!”
“Yeah, but it was a fucking phenomenal drink according to that lady.” I grabbed a five out of my wallet and stuck it in the register. “And now, you need to make me one.” Waking up early, and then having a soap wrestling contest on the floor with Molly had taken it out of me.
Molly growled. “I’m back to hating you.”
“You’re back to hating me? So, what were you at before?”
She grabbed the little thing she dumped grounds into then shoved it into the machine. I had no clue what she was doing, but it looked confusing as fuck. While the machine made strange noises, she pumped something that resembled chocolate syrup into a cup, dumped some milk into a different cup and shoved it under a spigot that I think blew air into it. “I was tolerating you.”
“You kiss all the people you tolerate? I can only imagine what you would do to me if you liked me.”
Molly glared at me. Her hands were all over the place, dumping this in there. Sprinkling something on top of the drink, then dumping the frothy milk on top. She gave me the cup and crossed her arms over her chest. “Drink. Leave.”
I shook my head and grabbed the cup. “I do have to get going, but not because you want me to leave. I need to head over Tate’s and kick the shit out of him.” I took a sip and closed my eyes. Holy shit that was fucking good.
“You approve the mocha-latte-whip-a-bullshit?”
I took another drink and set it down. “More than approve, Cookie. You need to add that to the board and call it the Kellan mocha-latte-whip-a-bullshit special.”
“Or I could just call it the Triple Mocha.”
“I guess that works too, but mine is catchier.”
Molly grabbed a paper cup, dumped my coffee in it, and snapped on a lid. She thrust it at me and pointed to the door. “Thank you for helping me today. Kick Tate in the balls for me and make sure you get my keys back from him.”
I shook my head and grabbed the cup. “Should I be expecting retaliation?”
“The meeting is in a week. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
“You’re still going to go through with the meeting?”
She tilted her head. “Are you going to stop screaming like a bunch of banshees?”
“It’s not screaming, Cookie. I think you need to come over and see what we do at Powerhouse. I believe that it’s only fair since I just worked over here.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “And what exactly is that going to prove?”
“It’s not going to prove anything. I just think you should come over.” She shook her head. “One class. That’s all. They are only half an hour long. Come this Wednesday. That will give you enough time to talk yourself into it.”
“Or give me time to chicken out.”
I pushed off the counter. “You won’t. Six o’clock. Be there, Cookie, or I’ll come and get you.” I didn’t give her a chance to argue. I sauntered out, waving to Frank as I opened the door and headed around the building to lock up Powerhouse.
I was going to show Molly just what Powerhouse was, and what it meant to me. This was my last chance before the meeting. I was going to make it a good one.
**********
Molly
“Stop. It’s not funny.”
Sage wheezed and waved her hand at me as she tried to catch her breath. “How…did you…oh, my God.”
It was Wednesday afternoon, and Sage was still laughing about the soap incident. “I don’t even know why you started laughing about it.”
She opened the cupboard under the sink and pointed to the edge of the door. It was smeared with blue soap. “I saw it, and then all I pictured was you on the floor, slipping around, and I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
I never should have told Sage what happened, but it had just poured out when she had walked through the door Monday morning. She had barely listened when I laid into her for giving her keys to Kellan. Thankfully, I hadn’t told her Kellan and I had kissed. She would have had a field day with that.
I hadn’t seen Kellan all week, but Dante had been in every day getting cookies and brownies. I had to refrain from kneeing him in the nuts the first time I saw him, and he handed me a plastic bag. After I had peeked inside and saw it was the panties I had accidently left at Powerhouse after my shower, all I wanted to do was melt into a puddle of embarrassment.
“So, tonight's the big night, huh?” Sage wiggled her eyebrows.
It was, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out how I was going to get out of it. Kellan didn’t know where I lived, and I could just go home, but then it felt like I was letting him win. “Yup. Are you sure you can’t go with me?”
“And just what do you think I will do with Sam? That’s right before his bedtime.”
“Tomorrow’s Thursday. Let him skip a day of school. They never teach anything on Thursday.”
Sage slowly blinked. “Did you just hear what you said? You really are desperate not to go by yourself, aren’t you?”
I clasped my hands under my chin and dropped to my knees. “Sage, I need you. I can’t do this by myself. I’m weak and uncoordinated. I. Will. Die.”
“What is going on here?” Bess was standing at the counter, her coffee cup in her hand.
“Molly has a date with Mr. Kung Fu.”
I smacked Sage’s leg. “It’s not a date,” I hissed.
“Well, where is he taking you? That will help me decide if it’s an actual date.” Bess set her cup down and leaned on the counter.
“He invited me to come to class tonight.” I stood up and brushed my knees off. I had been on the floor too often lately.
Bess nodded. “Okay. What for?”
“He sai
d I need to see what he does so I can better understand the whole yelling thing.”
“It’s not a bad idea. I think you should go.”
I grabbed Bess’ cup and shook my finger at her. “No more coffee for you. You’re supposed to be on my side. I’m your caffeine dealer. You don’t turn on your dealer.”
Bess put her hand on my forehead and looked at Sage. “I think she must have hit her head on Sunday when she was rolling around with Mr. Hot and Sexy.”
I pushed away her hand and growled. Why, oh why had I told Bess about the soap too? “I’m never telling either of you another thing again.”
Bess put her hands on her hips. “Hogwash. If you hadn’t of told me, you know damn well Frank would have.”
“What’s that?” Frank hollered.
“You and your big mouth,” Bess shouted back.
Frank gingerly stood up and ambled over to the counter. “Woman, I think that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
“I don’t believe we asked you to come over here, did we?” Bess said, rolling her eyes.
Oh Lord. It looked like it was going to be one of those days where Bess and Frank were at each other's necks.
“What are we discussing over here? The fact that Molly missed her chance with my son? He met someone, and I don’t like her one bit.” Frank slammed his hand down on the counter. “I told him he’s got the wrong one, but he just won’t listen.”
Sage hopped up on the counter next to the sink and swung her legs back and forth. “What makes you think she’s the wrong one?”
“Because she ain’t Molly, and she’s got a damn ring in her nose,” Frank growled. “I don’t know what is going through the kid’s head, other than she’s got a nice body.”
Frank checking out his son’s girlfriend gave me the creeps. “I don’t know if you should be checking out your son’s girlfriend.”
“Nonsense. She flaunts it; it’s hard not to look.” Again, creepy. Frank pointed his finger at me. “That’s why you would have been perfect for him. You don’t flaunt a damn thing.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be offended or not. I think he meant it as a compliment, but it sure didn’t feel like one. “Thank you, I think.”
“You’d be thanking me even more if you were going out with him.”
“Frank,” Sage called. “You just said that he had a girlfriend. Why are you still trying to set him up with Molly?”
“Damn kid doesn’t know what he’s doing, that’s why.”
Bess asked me to make her another coffee and turned to Frank. “Well, you’re going to have to find another girl for your boy, because Molly has a date tonight. Hang it up, Frank. The Molly being your daughter in law ship has sailed.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know that boat was even floating, let alone had the possibility of sailing.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Frank grumbled.
“You mean the guy Molly was wrestling with Sunday? It sure is,” Sage said smugly.
“Is that what they call it these days, wrestling? It sure as hell was kissing, though.” Frank shook his head and ambled back over to his table.
“Kiss!” Sage shouted. She jumped down from the counter and pressed me back against it. “You didn’t mention anything about a kiss. You’re holding out on me. Dear old Frank knows more than I do.”
Bess snickered. “If there’s been a kiss, then you are aware that this is more than a date.”
I finished Bess’ drink and ignored their stares.
“Is she just going to ignore us now?” Bess asked as she grabbed the drink I set down in front of her.
“She better not be. All she has to do is tell us what, when, where, and how they kissed.”
I rolled my eyes. “It really has been too long for you, Sage, if you don’t remember how to kiss.”
She grabbed a wad of napkins and tossed them at me. “You damn well know what I mean. I want to know how you and Kellan got to doing more than argue and pulling pranks on each other.”
I shrugged. “It just happened.”
“Well,” Bess said. “Do you want it to happen again? Is he a good kisser? Did he grab a little T&A?”
Sage’s eyes bugged out, and I sputtered. “What do you mean T&A?” Sage asked.
“Come on, girls. You know what T&A is.” Bess waved her hand at us. She put a hand on her boob and grabbed it. “Tits,” she said before grabbing her butt. “And ass. T&A.”
“I think we were just schooled by a sixty-year-old,” Sage mumbled as we watched Bess saunter back over to her table. It was Wednesday afternoon, and although it wasn’t an official Moaner meeting day, they were still all sitting in the back corner cackling like a bunch of hens.
“Maybe we need to read more books,” I mumbled.
“At least the books Bess is reading. How crazy is it that I think she has a better sex life than I’ve ever had?”
“Both of us,” I agreed. I closed my eyes and hung my head. “He kissed me, Sage, and I liked it,” I whispered.
Sage rested her arm on my shoulder and leaned into me. “I think if you didn’t like it, we would have to take you to the doctor to have you checked out.”
“But I shouldn’t have liked it. The man has been torturing me, and honestly, he’s an ass.”
Sage laughed. “Most men are, Molly.”
I hung my head. “I just need to stay away from him. Once the meeting is over, there won’t be a reason for him to talk to me anymore. Right now, I’m just thrown in his face, and I’m just something to entertain him.”
“You really think that you’re just entertainment to him?”
I sighed. “That’s the only thing that makes sense, Sage. I’m a nuisance, and soon, I won’t be. There’s no point in me going over there tonight.”
“And now you’re trying to talk yourself out of it, aren’t you?” Sage grabbed me by the shoulders and stood in front of me. “Molly, there’s something you need to know.”
“What’s that?” I asked, defeated.
“You are fucking amazing. So fucking amazing. If Kellan is too big of an ass to see that, then you don’t need the Kung Fu Ass. I don’t know what would have happened to me if I never would have met you. You are selfless, loving, kind, smart, successful, and let’s not forget, hot as hell.”
A tear streaked down my cheek, and I wiped it away. “You have to say that. You’re my best friend. Well, all of it except for the hot as hell. That’s a bit weird.”
Sage’s eyes watered, and she leaned her forehead against mine. “Go to the class tonight, be the amazing Molly that you are, and don’t worry about anything. You know you are amazing, and it’s up to Kellan to see that.”
“I don’t even know what I want. Part of me wants to kiss Kellan again, and the other half of me wants to never see him again.”
Sage sighed. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.” She patted me on the shoulder, wiped her eyes and grabbed the pot of Columbian roast. “I’m gonna go do refills.”
I wiped my eyes and headed into the storeroom. I shut the door and stared at the wall that was connected to Powerhouse.
“What are you going to do, Molly?”
I had five hours to figure it out.
**********
Kellan
“Tate told me about a girl.”
My head popped up, and I looked at Tate’s mom, Sue. “Tate has a girlfriend?” How did I not know that?
“No, not Tate. You.”
I scoffed and shook my head. “I don’t have a girlfriend, either, Ma.”
“Then who is Molly?”
I stretched my legs out, and leaned back in the kitchen chair I was sitting in. It was half past three, and I was over at Tate’s mom’s house. She had called me earlier to come before classes to mow her lawn. I had just finished up, and we were sitting at the kitchen table. “Molly is the woman who owns the coffee shop by Powerhouse.” I wasn’t going to tell Ma anything more than she needed to know.
“He said you’ve been seein
g her.”
“If by seeing her you mean pulling pranks on each other and in a war, then yeah, we’ve seen each other.”
She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. “When are you boys going to fall in love?”
“I can barely fall asleep at night, Ma; I think falling in love isn’t in the cards for me.”
“Then you need to get a new deck, Kellan, and deal the cards in your favor.”
I laughed and drained my glass of tea. “So, you’re saying you want me to cheat love?”
Sue waved her hand at me. “You know what I mean. Now, tell me why Molly isn’t someone you want to spend time with.”
“I never said she wasn’t. I just said I’m not dating her.” Just kissing her when the time feels right.
“So, when are you going to start dating her?”
“Can’t predict the future, Ma.” I grabbed my glass and walked to the sink. “I need to get to the studio for classes tonight. Call if you need anything else, yeah?”
“I’ll have to come by some day. I haven’t been to the studio in a while. Maybe I can grab a cup of coffee when I’m there, too.”
I sighed and knew there wasn’t going to be anything to keep Sue from moseying on over to the cafe. “Let me know when you’re coming over, and we can grab a cup of coffee together.” There was no point in trying to keep her away. That would just encourage her to come more.
Sue waved goodbye, and I headed out to my car.
Molly was supposed to come to class tonight, and I was nervous as fuck. I didn’t even know if she was going to show.
I hadn’t been to the cafe since I invited her.
The meeting was Friday night, and I knew I needed to make her see things my way, or I didn’t know what was going to happen. I didn’t think she could get me shut down, but she could make my life hell.
Now, I just needed to get through three classes, and a stunt work class before I could sway her.
Here we go.
**********
Molly
Why did leggings have to be so tight? They left absolutely nothing to the imagination, and right now, a little imagination would do me some good. Cramming my thick thighs, and bubble ass into something the likes of meat casing was not pretty. Not. At. All.
Dropkick My Heart: Powerhouse M.A. Series Page 11