Page 11 of October (New Orleans #10)

“O h,” Finley said. “ The Ava?”

“Not the Ava; just an Ava. But yes, the one I went out with.”

“Do you want to say hello?”

“No, it’s fine; she’s with someone,” Molly said.

Ava had walked into the bar with a woman in tow, and that woman was currently laughing at something Ava had just said. They sat down in a booth on the other side of the bar, and with Ava facing away from Finley and her, there was a good chance she hadn’t even noticed that Molly was here as well.

“You can, if you want to,” Finley told her.

“No, it’s fine.” Molly turned back to Finley and smiled at her. “It looks like she might be on a date.”

Finley turned then, and Molly looked back over at Ava.

Ava’s hand was on the table now, and the other woman had joined Ava’s hand with hers.

It wasn’t in a family or friend kind of way, either.

Their fingers were linked, and the woman was leaning over the table between them with an expression that told Molly she had something on her mind for them to do after dinner or drinks.

What was strange to Molly, though, was her feelings on the matter.

She’d been on one date with Ava, and they’d planned a second one, but clearly, Ava was seeing other people, and that was fine.

It didn’t bother Molly in the slightest. Seeing someone else hold Ava’s hand didn’t make Molly jealous or want to walk over there and tell Ava that they’d decided to go to the same bar on the same night.

It also didn’t make her want to go out with Ava again, which was strange because she had been excited at just the thought of a second date after their phone call on Friday.

“Does it bother you?” Finley asked her. “That she’s here with someone else?”

“She can date whomever she wants,” Molly said, dodging the question a bit. “And I can, too. We’ve only had one date.”

“I know. But still… It would’ve bugged me .”

“If it were India, I think that would make sense because she’s your ex, but I barely know Ava. I think she’s great, but we’ve had one date, and both of us just happened to choose this bar to hang out in tonight.”

“We can go somewhere else, if you want,” Finley offered. “We’ve only ordered water so far.”

“Finley, it’s fine,” she said, smiling at her and shaking her head. “It doesn’t bother me, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Finley said, appearing unconvinced. “So, burgers?”

“I can’t eat a whole burger. I’m still a little full from all the food I ate.”

“Ketchup isn’t food. It’s a condiment,” Finley teased.

“Ha ha,” she said dryly. “I ate the fries, too.”

“It was more like ketchup soup with a side of French fries.”

“You ate them with me,” Molly pointed out.

“Barely. I couldn’t get them from you the entire third quarter. By the time I got to take a second bite, there were five fries left and all the ketchup was gone.”

“Then, you must be starving. Get the burger. I’m going with an appetizer.”

“And a beer?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t, after all. I’m driving, and I’m not that hungry, so the alcohol will go right through me. I’ll just get a Coke or something.”

“It’ll be weird with me drinking and you not.”

“I’ll have a sip of yours, then,” she suggested.

Only a second later, it dawned on her what she’d just said.

She was going to take a drink of Finley’s beer, and she’d just blurted it out like it wasn’t a big deal.

Maybe it wasn’t. It was a sip, but they’d never hung out solo before, unless she counted the coffee shop, and she really didn’t because people from the office walked in several times and interrupted them.

Now, it was just her and Finley, sitting in Molly’s new favorite bar, and they were talking about sharing a beer.

“I’m getting the burger, and I’m eating all of the fries, so if you want some, get your own,” Finley said with a lifted eyebrow.

Molly chuckled and replied, “That’s fair. I think I’ll get the potato skins with extra sour cream.”

“You do love your condiments, don’t you?”

“I guess so. You’re the one to talk, though. I saw you with that hot dog. You piled that thing high.”

“That’s true. With burgers and hot dogs, I like to make sure that they have actual flavor.

Most don’t, so I add some. Fries are always hit or miss.

Sometimes, they’re seasoned and just salty enough.

Other times, they have nothing, so they’re awful.

Garlic fries are perfect just the way they are and don’t need ketchup soup, Molls. ”

“Then, why did you let me dictate your French fries today?”

“They were technically yours. You bought them,” Finley replied.

“For you,” Molly said. “Well, for us , I guess,” she added and felt the blush creep up her cheeks when Finley smiled at her.

“Next time, I’ll remember that and make sure to tell you to put the soup on the side.”

Molly laughed just as their waitress brought their waters and placed them in front of them.

“What can I get you?” she asked.

“You go first,” Finley said, motioning to Molly.

“Oh, just a Coke and the potato skins with extra sour cream.” She smiled at Finley. “On the side, please.”

“You want all the sour cream on the side or just the extra?”

“All of it,” Molly replied, “In case you want to steal one and don’t want sour cream soup ,” she teased Finley, who just laughed silently.

“Can I get the local autumn beer you have and a burger and fries?”

“Sure. What do you want on the burger?”

“Ketchup and mayonnaise with lettuce and pickles.”

“And how do you want it cooked?”

“Medium well,” Finley said.

“Okay. I’ll put all that in. Wait. Do you want the skins to come out before or with her burger?”

“With is fine,” Molly answered.

The waitress walked away again, and Molly looked over at the woman who was no longer holding Ava’s hand, but that was likely only because Ava had a white wine now, and both of her hands were on the glass, holding it close to her body.

“So… It’s not weird for you to see the woman you’re dating out with someone else?” Finley asked.

“It’s weird, yeah, but not a big deal. We’re not technically dating. Can we change the subject, though?”

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Um… How many computers did you fix this week at work?”

Finley laughed and said, “You really want to talk about that ?”

“No, but I don’t know you very well, so it seemed like a safe topic,” Molly replied and took a drink of her water.

“How about we start with the basics. Any siblings?”

“Two, but neither of them lives here anymore.”

“No?”

“No, they–” Molly stopped and just decided to explain it. “My dad died a few years ago, and they’re both younger than me, so when my mom couldn’t live in the house anymore and needed to move out of the city, they went with her.”

“I’m sorry about your dad,” Finley said, dropping her smile.

“Me too. He was a great dad, and I miss him a lot.”

“I bet it’s tough that the rest of your family moved away, too, though.”

Molly lifted an eyebrow because no one had ever said that to her before, not even Juliet, who had heard the whole sob story.

“It was, yeah.”

“Why didn’t you move with them?”

“I love it here. I feel closer to my dad in New Orleans, and he’s buried here. This is my home. I get why it was hard for my mom, but I needed to stay.”

“You’re the oldest sibling?”

“Yes. I’m twenty-nine. My brother is twenty-four now, and my sister is twenty-two. She’s finishing up her last year of school, and my brother is living at home while he figures out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He’s been a little aimless since Dad died.”

“That’s understandable, I think.”

“What about you? Siblings?”

“Sister. Younger by two years,” Finley replied. “She still lives in Kentucky. I see her once a year, maybe, at the holidays. It depends.”

“On what?”

“Honestly, if I were with India at Christmas or not.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. She wanted to be with her family for the holidays, and, well, my sister doesn’t really like her all that much, so that was a problem, too. I’m hoping to see her this year.”

“December is two months away,” Molly noted.

“So?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head.

“No. What did you mean by that?”

“Just that you two could end up getting back together by then,” she said.

“Molly, I’m not–”

“Molly?”

Molly looked up and saw Ava standing there.

“Ava, hi. What are you doing here?”

“Um… I’m on a date, actually. It’s a first date. She just went to the bathroom, and I noticed you over here. I wanted to say hello, but I don’t want to interrupt.”

“No, it’s okay. This is my friend, Finley, from work. We went to the Saints’ game today and came here to grab some food.”

“Hi. Ava.”

Ava held out her hand to Finley, who shook it.

“Yeah, hi. Finley,” she replied.

“Well, I should get back to my table. She’ll probably be out soon, and I need to plan my exit.”

“Exit?” Molly asked.

“She’s a little too clingy for a first date. I made it clear in my dating profile that I’m not interested in sex on a first date to try to get the women who just want to hook up to avoid me, but I don’t think she got the memo.”

“No?”

“No,” Ava said. “Since you’re here, though, is there a chance you could give me an out call in, like, three minutes? Just call my phone, and I’ll pretend that there’s an emergency and I have to go.”

“Oh,” Molly uttered and looked at Finley for some reason. “Sure. I can do that.”

“What are you doing over here?”

Ava’s eyes widened at the voice coming from behind her. The woman walked up next to her and smiled a fake smile in Molly’s direction.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” Molly replied.

“This is my friend, Molly. I saw her here and wanted to say hi.”

“Oh, cool. Hi. I’m Michelle.”

“Molly. And this is Finley,” she said, motioning to Finley with an open palm.

“Your girlfriend?” Michelle asked.

“Uh… No.” Molly shook her head. “Friends.”

“We should let them get back to their meal,” Ava said.

“Finley, that’s a cool name,” Michelle noted and aimed all of her attention at Finley.

Molly wanted to growl, but she held it in.

“I guess, yeah. My mom gave it to me, so I can’t take credit.”

Then, Michelle sat down next to Finley in the booth.

“Michelle, we can–” Ava tried.

“So, what are you two up to tonight?”

Ava gave her an apologetic glance, and Molly motioned for her to just sit down next to her because this perfect day couldn’t actually end perfectly.

That would be too much to ask, apparently, and she hadn’t earned enough karma points to be able to drop Finley off at her house or apartment and drive herself home to leave a novel of a text message on Juliet’s phone about how amazing her day with Finley had been and how she wanted another one just like it, except the day in her fantasy would’ve ended with Finley in her bed or her in Finley’s.

“We went to the Saints’ game,” Finley said.

“Oh. Football? I hate football. Too violent. Not really into any sports, though.” Michelle shrugged a shoulder.

The waitress approached with their drinks and set them down.

“We should let you get back to your drinks,” Ava said, trying again to get Michelle to realize that this was awkward.

“What are you doing after this?” Michelle asked Finley.

“Michelle…” Ava said.

“What? I thought we might all go out dancing or something. This place is fine for a quick drink, but it’s not a real bar. They’re playing classic rock in here.”

“Molly and I are going to have dinner,” Finley replied.

“Yeah, but after that?” Michelle asked.

Molly waited for Finley to say that they had nothing else planned because that was the truth, and it would give Michelle an in to get at least Finley and maybe Ava to go dance with her, because Molly sure as hell wasn’t going to watch Finley dance with other women.

“Molly and I are hanging out,” Finley insisted. “Then, I’m going back to Molly’s place to keep hanging out together. Right, Molls?”

“Uh…” Molly wasn’t expecting that, so she looked over at Ava, who was now staring at her. “Yeah. That’s right.”

“Boring,” Michelle said. “Dance with me.” She leaned into Finley’s side.

“Aren’t you here with Ava?” Molly spoke up.

“Yes, but Ava doesn’t like me. Right, Ava? I assume this is going nowhere.”

“I wouldn’t say that I don’t like you, but I don’t think that we’re going to go on a second date, no.”

“There.” Michelle nodded. “That means Finley and I can go dancing.”

“Wow,” Molly said, mainly to herself.

“I am so sorry,” Ava whispered to her.

“No, it doesn’t mean that,” Finley replied. “I’m hanging out with Molly tonight.”

Michelle really looked at Molly for the first time then and tilted her head as if she were evaluating Molly and maybe comparing her to herself.

“Fine. Whatever. I feel like dancing. Ava?”

“No, I think I’ll just stay here and pay for the drinks.”

“Okay. Well, I don’t want to strike out tonight, so I think I’ll just go.”

Michelle stood up and left without another word.

“Molly, I cannot believe that just happened. I’m so sorry. I had no idea she was drunk before I even met her outside, and then, she had a shot here. I think she’s wasted.”

“Should you make sure she’s okay?” Finley suggested.

“Yes. I should,” Ava said and stood. “I’ll be right back to pay if they ask, okay? Can–”

“I’ll tell them.”

“Thanks,” Ava replied and made her way outside.

Molly turned to Finley and said, “Well, that was an experience.”

“I’d say so.” Finley laughed.

“Did you want to go? I know she seems like kind of a mess, but she might be fun.”

“Michelle? No way. She’s on something.”

“What?”

“Her pupils were the size of pizzas,” Finley explained. “She’s not just drunk. I’m not into that. Way too old for it.”

“You’re not way too old for anything.”

“I’m thirty-four. I did some mild partying in my early twenties, but I’m not into that anymore.”

“What are you into?”

“You know that already. I’m a big nerd and fan of football. That’s about it.”

“Okay. She’s in an Uber,” Ava told them when she got to their booth. “And I am embarrassed and cannot believe that just happened.”

“It’s okay. You can’t exactly get much from a dating profile on an app,” Molly replied.

“I might need to delete that, but I do need to go pay for our drinks and hit the road. I feel like I need a shower just from the few minutes I spent with her.”

Molly laughed and turned to see that Finley wasn’t.

“It was nice meeting you, Finley, and sorry.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll text you?” Ava asked.

“Um… Sure. Yeah,” Molly replied.

She didn’t want to embarrass Ava by saying no in front of Finley, but she also wasn’t sure if they’d go out again.

“Great. Have a good rest of your night, okay?”

“You too,” Molly said.