Page 30 of October (New Orleans #10)

D riving to work that morning, Molly knew it was going to be a good day.

Last night had been amazing. Still, she had decided not to stay over, even though she had been invited and had wanted to, because after making out with Finley for at least half of their date, she knew they would’ve ended up sleeping together, despite both of them agreeing that they shouldn’t just because they clearly wanted to last night.

Molly didn’t want to wait too much longer, though.

Her body had been on fire, and when she had gotten home, she’d taken a long shower in lukewarm water to try to cool herself off.

It had already been a long time since she’d last had sex, and she had never had sex with a woman whom she’d been in love with forever and with whom she’d never thought she would have a chance, so she was nervous about it.

She was scared she wouldn’t be any good at it.

Her last lover had been a woman she’d gone on four dates with prior to having sex, and that woman hadn’t exactly been kind to her after.

She’d told Molly that she hadn’t been close to coming and that Molly needed to work on a few things before they could try again.

The woman had even offered her some instruction – like, actual instructions on sex.

It was one thing for a partner to help someone find all their spots and tell them what they wanted or needed in the bedroom.

Molly loved that part. But having someone try to teach her how to have good sex while they were trying to have sex was too much.

That had been their final date, and Molly hadn’t been with a woman since.

She was now dating Finley, and they were well on their way, but those little insecurities were creeping in, and she worried they would get the best of her yet again.

Today was going to be a good day, though, because not only had she had the best date last night, but Juliet was back in the office.

Juliet’s class had ended early, after all, so now, Molly would have her best friend at least through the weekend, and she really needed to see her and update her on everything in person.

The phone call just wasn’t the same, but the call when Juliet was distracted with work or Gwen was even worse.

“Well, hello,” Finley said as Molly got out of the car.

“Hey,” she said with a smile.

“If you get back inside, we can make out for at least five minutes before we’re late.” Finley wiggled her eyebrows.

“Not in the parking garage,” she replied with a chuckle and opened the back door to retrieve her bag.

“But we could reclaim the parking garage.”

“Reclaim?”

“Yeah. You saw India and me kissing here before. What if we kissed now and reclaimed it for us?”

Molly closed the door and said, “I see what you’re trying to do, and that’s very sweet, but there are people walking into the office right now, so maybe later.”

“Later,” Finley promised, taking a step toward her but not getting too close because there were at least ten people on this floor of the garage arriving for work. “Later in the car, when no one is around?”

“Yes,” Molly replied.

Finley nodded and said, “I kind of want to hold your bag for you like we’re in high school and I’m carrying your books. Is that weird?”

“No, I kind of like it. Does that make me not a feminist?”

“Well, I’m a woman, so I’m not sure where we land on that,” Finley replied. “Want to walk in together, at least?”

Molly smiled at her, and they walked toward the door, with Molly holding on to her own purse and Finley looking sexy with a messenger bag casually draped over her shoulder.

Molly wasn’t sure how someone could look sexy just by carrying a bag, but Finley did.

When Molly’s phone buzzed in her bag, she stopped to get it out, and even though she didn’t recognize the number, she decided to answer instead of letting it go to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“Yes. Is this Molly Jewel?”

“This is she,” she replied.

Finley stopped on the sidewalk to wait for her but kept a safe distance so that people would assume she was just waiting on something, but not necessarily Molly specifically.

“I’m the adoption coordinator for the shelter.”

“Oh, hi,” Molly said, suddenly feeling like she needed to be extra professional on the phone.

“I just wanted to call you to let you know that Wells is available for adoption.”

“She is?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes, she is. The family who had put in an application chose another puppy, and your application made us feel like Wells would have a great home with you.”

“She will,” Molly said. “I promise, she will.” She smiled widely in Finley’s direction.

Finley, for her part, just looked confused but also happy for whatever was making Molly happy, and it was adorable. The woman on the phone laughed a little at Molly’s obvious excitement, which made her even happier for some reason.

“We’ve had a mild outbreak of worms recently. Wells is fine, but we have one more shot to give her in a week. We’d prefer to keep her here to do that and make sure it goes okay. Then, you can pick her up.”

“Worms? She’s okay, though?”

“Yes. It’s common. She’s fine. She’ll need to come back to get additional shots on a normal puppy schedule, and you can have them done here for a steep discount, or you’re welcome to get your own vet to do them, but she’s perfectly fine.

You can come in and visit her, if you’d like, before you pick her up. ”

“Really? That would be great,” she said.

“I’m going to email you some information to the address you provided. Is that okay?”

“Yes, please do.”

“Great. Then, I’ll give you a call when she’s ready to be officially picked up and taken to her new home.”

“Thank you!”

When Molly hung up, she instantly half-jogged to Finley and smiled widely.

“I’m getting a puppy, and her name is Wells.”

Finley’s eyes widened, and she said, “I wondered where worms came from in that conversation, but that’s great, babe. I’m happy for you.”

Finley Storm had just called her ‘babe.’ Molly smiled even wider at that. Hearing Finley use a term of endearment on her , after all this time, all the wanting and wishing, had her thinking that this could be real between them; that she could actually have this thing she’d always wanted.

“Me too. What about you? Going to get that rescue?”

“How about we see how it goes with Wells first, and if I can handle you having a puppy, I might trust myself to have a dog.”

“So, I should give you puppy responsibilities, then? As practice?”

Finley chuckled as they started walking toward the building.

◆◆◆

“So, you’re getting a dog?” Juliet asked. “Officially?”

“I am,” she replied and checked her phone for the fifth time since they’d arrived at the sandwich shop.

“Are you hoping Finley texts you?”

“Huh?”

Molly looked up.

“You’ve not stopped checking your phone.”

“Oh,” she said, blushing a little. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Why didn’t you just invite her?”

“Because it’s our friend catch-up time,” she said. “And I wanted it to be just us.”

“Oh,” Juliet replied, looking like she’d done something wrong.

“You invited Gwen, didn’t you?”

“Sorry… She’s dropping off a dog down the block and is on her way. I’ll text her and tell her that it’s just us today. No problem. I just didn’t know.”

“No, it’s fine. I need to talk to her anyway about enlisting her services.”

Juliet lifted an accusing eyebrow.

“Not those services.” Molly laughed. “ Those services are all yours. Gross. I need a puppy walker.”

“Well, she’s great with that, but she’s also launching her grooming business, so I don’t know if she’s taking on new walking clients.”

“Well, shit,” Molly said. “I thought I could count on her to help me out.”

“She will,” Juliet replied. “At least while you’re finding someone else. She has a ton of recommendations if needed, but you’re also my best friend, and you’ll have a new, cute puppy, so she’ll probably just do it.”

“Carly won’t be jealous?”

Juliet brightened and said, “Carly’s going to have a new best friend.”

“I hope so,” Molly replied.

“Hey, look who I found outside,” Gwen said, walking over to their table.

“Hey, Jill,” Juliet said. “Have you met my friend, Molly?”

“Hey,” Jill said to Molly.

“Hi,” Molly replied with a smile.

“She’s grabbing lunch to take back to NOLA Guides for everyone, and I told her I’d help her carry it all back later,” Gwen explained before she sat down next to Juliet and kissed her. “Hi, babe.”

Juliet smiled and said, “Aren’t you nice?”

“I’m very nice,” Gwen replied.

“I ordered ahead,” Jill said as she sat down on Molly’s side. “Should be ready soon.”

“So, Jill, how’s Willa?” Juliet asked.

“She’s amazing, and I love her. Thank you for asking.” She winked. “Seriously, she’s good. She’s loving the new job and is spending nearly every night at my place, so I’m a very happy girlfriend.”

“I bet you are,” Gwen teased.

“When is too soon to just combine apartments? She’s hardly ever at hers, anyway.”

“How long have you been together again?” Juliet asked.

“A few months.”

“You’re ready to move in after a few months ?” Molly asked in disbelief.

“Not officially. Her lease isn’t up or anything, so I was thinking about a practice run.

I mean, I want to marry this woman one day.

So far, she’s clean and tidy. She puts the cap back on the toothpaste.

Her dishes go into the dishwasher. The only thing she’s ever left on the floor is–” Jill stopped and cleared her throat.

“Well, something when we’re done using it, and she picks it up the next day. ”

Juliet and Gwen both laughed while Molly was still too busy thinking about how she had never wanted to move in with someone after only a few months.

“Anyway, we’re already basically doing it. We might as well make it official. Not like officially official because she’ll still have her place, but officially a practice run.”

“Well, I say go for it,” Gwen suggested.

“You do?”

“Not for us,” Gwen said to Juliet. “Don’t freak out.”