A Few Little Scars

by Casey McMillin

  Their physical attraction toward one another had grown to so much more than that. Nick had several conversations with Jason during the past two weeks, where he told him things like, "I barely want to let her out of my sight," and, "There's no way in hell I'm sharing her with Cam or anyone else." Jason laughed at Nick every time he came up with something like that. He remembered saying some of the same things about Hannah, and because of that, tried not to make fun of Nick (too much).

  It was Friday night and Molly's school happened to be closed the next day for some renovations they needed to make over the weekend. Molly worked so much that having two whole days off in a row was monumental. She asked Nick if they could have a few friends over to his place and then all go out together.

  He agreed without hesitation, and as far as he knew, the plan was for everyone to come over at about nine o'clock before they decided where to go. Actually, the girls probably already knew where they were going, but Nick was okay just being along for the ride.

  It was after 7PM when Nick got a text from his mom saying she and his dad were downtown, had just finished having dinner, and wanted to stop by his place.

  "My mom and dad want to come by for a few minutes," he said, walking into his bedroom. Molly was in there getting dressed. She had her hands in her hair, but dropped them and turned around as he came in.

  "Tonight?" she asked. She'd met them both before, but still felt a rush of nerves at the thought—especially since she just started getting dressed and was far from presentable. "When are they coming?"

  "In a few minutes, but don’t worry about it, they'll just be here for a few, and they don't even know you're here if you want to hide."

  She laughed. "I don't want to hide," she said. "Just give me a few minutes to tame this beast and I'll be ready."

  He looked at her with a question in his expression, and she answered it by pointing to her own hair. She had been just about to put it up, and it was teased into a state that had it resembling a rat's nest.

  He glanced up at her hair as if nothing was wrong with it, which made her roll her eyes. He laughed as he leaned in to give her a quick kiss before turning for the door.

  "I won't tell them you're here," he said on his way out. "Come out if you want."

  "Hey," she said before he got out the door.

  "Yeah?"

  "Why are they having dinner together? I thought they were divorced."

  Molly had met each of them once, and when she did they were at their own separate houses, but she'd heard him say his parents were hanging out before and was curious.

  "They still love each other even though they try not to act like it."

  "That's sort of romantic."

  "They live in separate houses."

  "We live in separate houses and we're romantic."

  "Yeah, but they love each other," he said. He was messing with her because she had a really hard time saying it. She was undoubtedly feeling love, but was scared she'd jinx it if she went labeling it like that. Nick wasn't afraid of saying it. He had said the phrase to her several times over the past couple of weeks. She'd sort of awkwardly told him she did too one time, but it was worded funny and he just made fun of her for not being able to do it right.

  She thought about it for a second and then decided to say it. She was tempted to slide it in by saying something about his parents like, "Well, if love's good enough for them then it's good enough for us." Thank God she had the presence of mind to know what a dorky thing that would be to say. Instead, she chose to do the thing that, for her personality, seemed impossible. She decided to say I love you without trying to make a joke about it or adding anything stupid to it.

  Just say the phrase, Molly.

  "I love you," she said.

  She was really surprised how easy it was. Nick looked like he wanted to smile or tease her about it, but then realized she was being sincere.

  "You do?" he asked.

  "Yeah, I do." she said, like she was even a little surprised.

  "Good. And it better be more than my mom loves my dad, because we're not gonna end up in separate houses."

  "Why Nicholas, your words, they sound so long term." She batted her eyes, teasing him.

  He smiled and started to say something, but just then, his parents knocked on the door. He closed his bedroom door on his way to let his parents in, leaving Molly in there alone. She didn't want to miss their visit, so she quickly set to work putting herself together enough to pass for girlfriend material.

  It took every bit of five minutes for her to tuck, pin, powder, apply, and blot. Molly was wearing jeans and a tan top layered over a black tank as she came into the living room where Leroy and Mary Lou were sitting with Nick.

  Leroy stood up, which made Nick stand. Mary Lou followed suit as well. She couldn’t hide her surprise. Molly had the fleeting thought that she wished Nick would have told them she was back there, but what could she do now? She smiled broadly and told them there was no need to stand. She went with her instinct and crossed over to hug both of his parents, starting with his dad. Molly was glad she'd done it because both of them seemed to welcome and appreciate the greeting.

  She sat next to Nick on the couch and the four of them had a conversation for the next forty-five minutes. It was Nick who finally told them they had to leave so he and Molly could get ready for their friends to come over.

  It was a surreal experience, sitting on the couch and having a regular conversation with Leroy Logan, king of country music, and Molly caught herself more than a few times wondering if knowing someone so famous would ever feel normal. When they left, she was even crazier about Nick than before, though it wasn't because his dad was ultra famous. (That was just a hot bonus.) Molly loved the way he interacted with his parents. She could tell they loved each other, and knowing they were a good family made her feel like she wanted to be a part of it.

  Nick and Molly were expecting everyone to come over at nine before heading out on foot to enjoy a few of Nashville's downtown bars. Taylor brought her roommate Gina, and three others from the coffee shop—Matt, Anne, and Nothing. Hannah and Jason came as well, and so did Molly's brother Ben.

  Cam was the only one they weren't sure about. He was in town for a week, but had something on the books, and wasn't sure if he'd be able to meet them out. He was discovered in one of those downtown Nashville bars and liked to pop in every once in a while to give the crowd a treat. He said he really wanted to be there, but couldn't promise anything.

  Everyone was at Nick's by nine, and they had a drink at his apartment to start the night off. They were all sitting around the living room talking when Cam showed up. Most everyone there had met him before, but some hadn't, and his entrance caused a stir, even among the small group of friends.

  He was comfortable in a crowd, and made a few jokes before grabbing a beer out of the fridge. When he came back into the living room, he sat in the only seat that was open even though a few people were standing. He wasn't apologetic about it. He figured if anyone had wanted to sit there, they would have already done it by then. It was a seat next to Taylor on the couch. He'd met her on several occasions, but still had a hard time remembering her name.

  She didn't seem to mind him sitting next to her, but then again, most girls didn't. "Taylor came to see me at school today," Molly said as Cam sat. Everyone including Cam looked at Taylor, trying to figure out what was different.

  Taylor blushed under the scrutiny and smirked at Molly. "Thanks," she said sarcastically.

  Molly giggled. "I didn't think about them wanting to know what we did. Tell them! It's not that big of a deal."

  Taylor's eyes got big looking at Molly. "It was a big deal to me."

  "I know what it is," Hannah said. "Molly tried to get me in there to do that too, but I told her she was crazy. I can't believe you did it."

  Taylor shrugged. "I'm not that hairy so I didn't think it would hurt as bad as it did." She looked around, remembering that not everyone in the room knew wh
at they were talking about. "Brazilian bikini wax," she said, figuring there was no use in trying to hide it.

  "You wax girls' coochies at school?" Nick asked, looking at Molly with an expression that was borderline jealous.

  Molly looked at him with a stunned expression at the way he phrased that in front of all those people.

  "I do Brazilian waxing, yes," she said.

  "Is that where you wax coochie hair?" Nick asked.

  Just about everyone else in the room laughed at Nick. He knew he'd said enough, and didn't want to come across as overbearing, but deep down he seriously wasn't sure how he felt about her messing around with hot wax on people's crotches.

  "I seriously don't know how I feel about you waxing coochies," he said, unable to let go of it. Everyone was still laughing, so it was really only Molly who heard him. Molly hugged him. Even though waxing did nothing for her, and his suspicion was undeserved, Nick was jealous over her, a fact that made her happy right down to her bones.

  Everyone started talking again, and within seconds the subject of waxing, coochie or otherwise, was dropped altogether. Several conversations were going on in the room when Molly's brother Ben came back in. He had forgotten his phone in his truck, and had walked to the parking garage to get it. Cam had come in after Ben left, so Ben had no idea the country singer would be there when he got back with his phone.

  Molly knew Ben listened to some country music and would be stoked to meet Cam. Meeting him was cool, even for someone who knew nothing about country music, much less a fan.

  "Hey Ben, Cam came in while you were gone," Molly pointed across the room to Cam, who was sitting on the couch. Cam gave a wave, but was so settled in that he didn't get up. Molly thought for sure that Ben would really be impressed by Cam Bishop's presence in her boyfriend's living room, so it really surprised her when Ben looked at Cam with a deadpan expression and said, "You're in my seat."

  Ben glanced at Taylor, expecting her to agree and tell Cam to get up.

  "There's a chair right here, Ben," Molly said, trying to alleviate some of the tension that was now brewing.

  Cam stood up. "I need to use the john before we leave, anyway," he said. "You can have your seat back." He passed by Ben on his way to the restroom, and gave him a look of male challenge. Ben returned it with one of his own, making it obvious that neither of them were the type to back down.

  Molly broke up the stare-down by asking everyone's opinion on where they should go. The names of several bars were shouted out, and a few options discussed before deciding which one they'd start with. Within minutes, the whole group was making their way down the sidewalk.

  "What's up with my brother freaking out on Cam for sitting next to you?" Molly asked Taylor as they walked down the busy street.

  "That didn't have anything to do with me," Taylor said. "I think he was just surprised to find someone sitting where he'd been."

  Molly looked at her. "Are you kidding? It had everything to do with you."

  The streets were packed, and they were getting elbowed as they tried to walk. Cam's presence was already starting to draw whispers and giggles with the people on the sidewalk. Their group was struggling to stay together, and Nick came up beside Molly putting a protective arm around her. She had a genuine appreciation for how lucky she was. She smiled up at him before turning back to Taylor. Molly was tempted to elaborate on her brother's peculiar behavior, but the noisy sidewalk wasn't really the right place for that kind of small talk. She made a mental note to rib him about it later.

  The End

  (till book 3)

  Thanks for reading Book 2 of the How to Tame a Heartbreaker series! I hope you enjoyed Nick and Molly's story.

  For more with them and the rest of the gang, be sure to look for Book 3 (scheduled to be released late Summer 2014).

  Book 1 You're Dangerous

  Book 2 A Few Little Scars

  In the meantime (if you haven't done so already) I'd be honored if you'd check out my other books.

  There are 5 books in the In Too Deep series.

  Book 1 Three Years Later

  Book 2 Seeing Clearly

  Book 3 Second String

  Book 4 Mind the Gap

  Book 5 Three Months and You're Mine

  I also have a fun stand-alone New Adult romance called Julien's Book.

  Much love and happy reading!