by Rachel Hanna
“They’ve brought our drinks,” her mother said as she tapped Molly on the shoulder. Molly hummed a response and kept swaying with her eyes closed for a few moments longer as her parents made their way back to the table.
“I guess we’d better go back,” Austin whispered as he continued moving back and forth, pulling her closer if that was even possible. She hugged him tightly, nuzzling her face into his chest and sighing. Oh God, did he hear her sigh?
“Yeah…” she said. It was so comfortable, so perfect, that she didn’t want it to end. This moment was the moment she’d wanted all her life.
Chapter 11
It was Austin who finally broke away from their dance when it was plainly apparent that Molly wasn’t going to. He didn’t want to, but he was a little scared. Scared he was getting too close. Scared she was getting too attached. Scared her parents were going to turn a water hose on them at any moment.
And her mother was literally glaring at them through the window.
They sat back down, and Austin took a long gulp of ice water. He needed to cool down. It was November, so it wasn’t hot outside, but he felt like a menopausal woman having a hot flash… or at least what he assumed that felt like.
“So, Blake…” Lydia said, drawing the name out as if she was mocking him, “when did you dye your hair?”
Molly choked on the piece of bread she was eating and Austin reached under the table, squeezing her thigh. Dang she had nice thighs.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, in every picture Molly showed her friend Olivia, you had very blond hair. Of course, our daughter never showed us your picture, so I only have Olivia’s word to go on.”
“Mother, honestly! Would you like him to do a police lineup for you?”
“I’d like to make sure my daughter knows who she’s dating.”
“Lydia, enough.” Finally, her father spoke up. Austin was wondering if he had a backbone somewhere in there.
“Pardon?” she said, turning to her husband with her lips sucked so tight it looked like she was drinking straight lemon juice from a straw. It was evident that George never challenged Lydia.
“Our daughter is twenty-two years old. She can make her own decisions, and I think we should just butt out.”
The tension - and silence - was palpable. And awkward.
“I was going through an eighties phase, what can I say?” Austin finally said. “I used to do some modeling, so yes, I totally sent Molly my best modeling pictures with my highlighted hair. Imagine her surprise when I had brown hair. She was pretty irked at me, weren’t you honey?” he said, looking lovingly at Molly and smiling.
“Yeah. I was so confused when I saw him, but he’s even more handsome than I ever could’ve imagined,” she said, and honest to God, it seemed like she was really talking about Austin. She didn’t seem to be faking it at all. “I wouldn’t want him to look like anyone else.” She looked into his eyes for a moment longer than necessary and then turned back to her bread.
For someone so tiny, she sure could put away the carbs.
Under the table, she reached over and took his hand and squeezed it as if to say thank you, but then she pulled it away. He wanted to grab it again and never let it go, and that was the crux of the problem.
“Thank God that’s over,” Molly said as she shut the door to her room. “What a nightmare.”
“I couldn’t believe it when your Dad spoke up. Go, Dad!” Austin said with a laugh as he peeled off his shirt and threw it over the back of the sofa.
Dear God in heaven. His chest was amazing, but even more amazing were the muscles stretched taut across his back.
“Um, what are you doing?”
“Taking off that hot shirt,” he said as he unbuttoned his pants.
“Whoa! Now what are you doing?” she said, turning her head like she’d never seen a man undress before.
“Chill. I’m just taking off my jeans. I have boxer briefs on, see?” For some odd reason, she turned to see, but that didn’t make things any better. In fact, it made them worse. He was standing there wearing black boxer briefs, tight against his very toned leg muscles, and she couldn’t stop staring.
It was embarrassing. She started to wonder if she was paralyzed or something.
“Molly? You okay?” he said, waving his hand in front of her face.
She swallowed hard and managed to avert her eyes. “Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about something…”
“About what?” he asked, smiling like he knew exactly what she was thinking. He walked toward her and closed the gap between them.
“About… finding my catfish, of course,” she said, stepping back and taking off her earrings before putting them on the dresser. She could see Austin in her peripheral vision as he remained where he was and then finally turned to walk back toward his luggage. He took a pair of gray pajama pants from his bag and slipped them on.
“I’ve got some ideas on that. Just leave it to me.”
She watched him in the dresser mirror, making sure he didn’t see her. He looked so strong and confident, and she had no question that she could trust him to help her. It was a great feeling to know that someone had her back for once.
“Austin?” she said softly as she turned around. He was sitting on the sofa, his elbows rested on his knees.
“Yeah?”
“That dance tonight… Were you acting that way for my parents?” She sat down on the bed across from him.
“Acting what way?”
“Holding me so tightly… pulling me closer…”
Austin sighed, as if he was contemplating how to respond. His face softened in a way she hadn’t seen, and he ran his fingers through his hair before finally looking back up at her.
“I wasn’t acting, Molly.”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Okay.”
“What about you? Were you acting?” he asked quietly.
She looked down, wondering what to say. The answer to this question could turn her world upside down.
“No.”
He stood up and walked toward her, pulling her hands until she was upright. His hand moved up and he brushed his thumb across her cheek, staring into her emerald green eyes.
“I don’t know what to do about this,” he said softly. “I’ve never been in this position before, Molly.”
“What position?” she asked, her breath quickening.
“These feelings, I don’t know what they are. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just wanted to help you, and I didn’t really even know why…” He was almost pleading with her in some way, and she couldn’t understand why. It was like he was fighting himself, like there was some battle inside of him that she couldn’t see taking place, but she knew it was there.
He pulled her closer and buried his head into the nape of her neck and just held her there. She never wanted him to let go, and she had no idea what to say. Their backgrounds were so different, but in the end they both weren’t accepted by their parents. They had that much in common.
He took a deep breath and finally broke away, but continued looking down at her with this tormented look in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I am. I would be all wrong for you, and you’ve been hurt enough. I could kill that guy for stringing you along and making you think he loved you. I’m afraid of what I’ll do when I find him,” he said through gritted teeth.
“He’s not worth it, Austin. I was just being gullible, like you said before…”
“No,” he said, sliding his hand behind her head and looking into her eyes, “you were falling in love, but it was with the wrong man.”
“And who is the right man, Austin?” she asked, barely able to continue standing. She wanted to melt into a puddle right then and there.
“I don’t know…”
“I think you do.”
“Molly, I can’t…” he started to say, but there was a tap at the door.
“Molly? Do you have any extra shampoo?
Your father apparently used all of mine,” her mother - who had impeccable timing - asked through the door.
Austin rested his head against hers and sighed.
“Yes, Mom, I’ll bring it right down in a second,” Molly said. “I’m so sorry…”
“Go,” he said. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll be right back,” she said, but she knew the conversation was probably over anyway. He had it in his head that he was all wrong for her, and she had no idea if he was right or not.
Austin watched her walk out the door, and he wanted to run. He literally wanted to pack up everything he’d brought with him to January Cove and bolt. This was too much - too many feelings, too much conflict welling up inside of him.
But he didn’t leave people. No matter what. If there was one thing being abandoned by his own mother had taught him, it was that you never leave the people you love.
Wait, love? Oh no. Had he just said that? He didn’t love her. No way. He barely knew her. Maybe he just thought she was hot. Surely that was it.
But he knew it wasn’t.
Molly stood in her parent’s room, listening to her mother drone on and on about Liam’s newest accomplishment. He had called after dinner to tell them the details of his new promotion and how it would even take him to Hong Kong for a few months.
But all she could think about what Austin standing back in her room shirtless and possibly about to profess his undying love for her. She desperately wanted to get back into his arms and feel the beat of his heart against her cheek.
How had this all happened so fast? Was she being stupid and gullible again in her quest for finding a man to love her? That was her worst fear. How would she ever be able to trust her own instincts when it came to falling in love?
“Molly?” her mother said, standing there with her bathrobe on and her hands on her hips. “Are you even listening to me?”
“What? Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about some work stuff of my own,” she said, jutting her chin out.
“About what? Coffee?”
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” she said, heading toward the door.
“You know, Molly, you can do it too.”
“Do what?” she asked, turning to face her mother.
“Make something of your life. You’re still so young. You could come back to Seattle with us, go back to school, get a real degree,” her mother was holding her hands now, smiling brightly and looking into her eyes. “We’ll even pay for it, won’t we George?”
Her father nodded and looked back down at his phone. Molly was livid and pulled her hands away.
“When are you going to actually listen to me?” she said loudly.
“Honey, I am listening to you, but you’re not being reasonable!”
Molly walked to the door and opened it, ready to walk out.
“You know, Mom, I’ve tried my whole life to please you. I’ve tried to be the perfect daughter you always wanted, the female version of Liam. But I can’t be something I’m not. I was awkward and shy and nerdy minus the smart part. I have dyslexia, and I don’t want to work in corporate America. I went all the way across the country to find the man of my dreams even when everyone thought I was nuts. I don’t fit in, and I don’t know why.”
“Molly, that’s just not true…”
“It is true, and you know it. I remember back in middle school, I was convinced I had to be adopted because I was so different from you and Dad and Liam. And I actually found myself hoping I was adopted because that would make more sense.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“Yeah, I do. I love you guys, but the difference is that I accept you all for who you are, and you’ve never been able to do that for me. And honestly, I’m tired of trying.”
“But, sweetie, don’t you want more in your life?” she asked, a stray tear rolling down her cheek.
“More? What more do I need? I live in a beautiful town with nice people and no crime. I have some amazing new friends who really care about me and accept me for who I am. And I have a wonderful man who holds me up when I’m feeling down and thinks I’m perfect just the way I am. More money and a fancier car couldn’t make me any happier. Why isn’t it enough that your only daughter is actually happy? I’ll tell you why. Because it reflects on you.”
“I don’t know what you mean…”
“You don’t want to have to tell your fancy society friends that your only daughter lives in a little town in Georgia and works at a coffee shop. You want to tell them I either married rich or I’m a corporate lawyer or something, but God forbid I’m just a normal woman in love with a normal man living in a normal place. Terrible!” Molly said, pretending to gasp and putting her hand over her mouth before she walked out, shut the door and went back to her room.
When she opened the door to her room, she couldn’t help the flow of emotion that sprang out of her. Tears flowed and she could hardly control her sobs as she slid down the door and onto the floor in an emotional mess. Austin was taking a shower, and the water shut off just as she started to catch her breath.
“Molly”! he said as he ran over to her, still wet from his shower and only wearing a towel. She was so upset that there was no time to even drool over his current attire. “What happened?”
She tried to catch her breath, but to no avail, so she just sobbed more. Finally, after a few moments, she got it together enough to speak.
“My mom,” she said, and then she started laughing. “That’s about it.”
Austin looked at her, makeup smeared, tears streaking down her face, and laughed with her. There they were - one sexy guy in a towel with wet hair and one tiny woman with a wet face - sitting in the floor laughing at absolutely nothing.
“I’m sorry. You must think I’m a raving lunatic,” she said after a couple of minutes. He shook his head and wiped a stray tear away with his thumb.
“Nope. Just a regular human being.” She smiled.
“My mother and I just had a little… discussion… and about twenty years of feelings came pouring out of me. I’m sure she was stunned to hear all that I said.”
“And how do you feel now?”
“Lighter.” And she did. She actually felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. All those years she’d kept her feelings bottled up inside and tried to keep the peace, but now it was out there. All the ugliness was exposed to the light.
“Well, that’s good then. Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” she said.
“Do you like Friends?” he asked. It wasn’t the question she expected him to ask in that moment.
“The TV show?”
“Yep.”
“I love it! Why?”
“What do you say that we crawl up into your bed - totally platonic of course - and watch a marathon? I’ll go make us some popcorn and we’ll just lock ourselves away from the world tonight.”
“That sounds perfect,” she said. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Let me get changed,” he said as he stood up and walked to the bathroom. When the door shut, Molly sighed.
“And you’re perfect too.”
Austin stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. What was he doing? Instead of moving further away from her, he was moving closer. He was moving into her bed.
But she’d been crying. He couldn’t tell her that they could only be friends, that he wasn’t capable of trusting another woman with his heart. His mom had seen to that a long time ago.
Seeing her in a ball on the floor sobbing had ripped his heart out. He never wanted to see that again, and he certainly didn’t want to be the one who caused her to do that.
Yet he knew it couldn’t happen. He had to find her catfish and fast so that he’d have a reason to move on.
The only problem was, he didn’t want to move on and that scared him to death.
Chapter 12
Molly sat on her bed nervously waiting for Austin to return to the room. She could
already smell the popcorn, so it wouldn’t be long.
She had changed into her favorite pair of pajamas, a soft gray set with blousy pants and a long sleeved top. She turned on the gas logs in her fireplace, a perk of staying in an old antebellum B&B, and slid under the covers with only the light from the TV flickering in the room.
Platonic. He’d said it from the outset. Did he want it to be platonic? Did she? Was he just saying that to be a gentleman or because he was afraid she wanted more? Did she want more?
The questions were making her head spin.
“Hey, I hope you wanted some sweet tea. It’s the only way I can eat popcorn,” he said as he lightly kicked the door open and then closed it with his hip.
“Of course,” she said, reaching across the bed and taking the tea. “Sweet and salty, the perfect combo.”
He smiled. “We must have been separated at birth.”
He put the bowl of popcorn between them and slid under the covers on his side of the bed, and Molly suddenly felt nervous because she had no idea where the night was going. There was a good two feet between them, but she could’ve sworn she felt the heat from his body radiating toward her. Maybe it was the warm popcorn in the bowl between them.
Austin reached for the remote and turned the channel to the marathon. “So, we’re on the episode where Ross finds out Rachel has feelings for him,” he said, taking a mouthful of popcorn.
“Do your male friends know you like this show?” she asked laughing.
“No, and we’re not going to tell them,” he said cutting his eyes at her. God, he was beautiful, especially when he smiled. That deep dimple made her feel weak every time she saw it.
“My lips are sealed,” she said pretending to zip her lips.
They watched the show in silence, except for the sound of chewing popcorn and the occasional laugh. She’d seen these episodes a thousand times, but they never got old, and Austin seemed to be enjoying himself. When they both reached into the bowl at the same time and felt each other’s hands instead of popcorn, she realized they’d reached the bottom.
