Page 4 of October (New Orleans #10)
“Fresh off a breakup?”
“No, fresh off a massive crush that’s going nowhere, so I haven’t been looking, but now I am. I’m ready to move on.”
“Crush?”
“Someone from work whom I’ll never have. And my best friend, Juliet – well, you know Juliet because you know Gwen – anyway, she told me today that I need to move on. She’s told me that a million times, to be fair, but I’m finally ready to admit to myself that she’s right.”
“What about Ava?” Rory asked as she sat on the stool next to her. “Hi. I’m Rory.” She held out her hand for Molly to shake.
“Hi. Molly. Friends with Juliet, who’s dating Gwen.”
“Small world,” Rory replied.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“What about Ava?” Logan asked.
“Who’s Ava?” Molly asked both of them.
“Logan’s best friend,” Rory explained. “She’s single.”
“She just broke up with Bonnie last month,” Logan replied.
“They didn’t even date that long,” Rory said. “They got together after we did, technically.”
“I know, but I’m not sure that she’s ready to date just yet,” Logan noted.
“No problem,” Molly said and took a sip of her beer.
“Ava told you that she wanted to put herself out there again.”
“I know she did, but I think it’s too soon,” Logan replied.
“Babe, it’s Ava’s decision. Isn’t it?” Rory asked.
“Yeah, I know,” Logan said on a sigh. Then, she looked at Molly. “She’s my best friend. Well, technically, she’s my ex, too, but that was a long time ago.”
Molly shook her head and said, “Lesbians.”
“I know.” Rory laughed. “Why are we like this?”
“Good question,” Logan said. “Ava is amazing, though. You’ll like her. I don’t know if you’ll have much in common, but maybe you can just meet for a drink or something, and if nothing happens, nothing happens.”
Molly stared down at her dark beer and thought about Finley kissing India in the parking garage again. She thought about India sounding so confident in the kitchen about them getting back together earlier that day.
“Sure. Yeah. If she’s up for it, I am, too. Want to give her my number?”
“I can do that,” Logan said. “Can I get you some food or something?”
“That burger looked good,” Molly replied.
“I’ll put the order in for you and text Ava.”
Molly finished her burger and beer and went home, not really expecting anything to come from this whole Ava thing, but by the time she was in bed with a bag of popcorn and a horror movie on TV, her phone pinged, so she picked it up, seeing an unknown number had texted her.
Unknown : Hi. This is Logan’s friend, Ava. She told me I should text you to see if you wanted to grab a drink sometime. No pressure. Feel free to say no, but if you’re up for it, we can go to Candace’s and hang out.
Molly then pictured Finley running her hand through her short, adorably messy hair and went to text back.
Molly Jewel : Hi. I’m Molly. This is weird, right? I don’t even know you. Sorry, I’ve never done this before.
Unknown : Me neither. Yes, it’s a little weird. If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. Logan meddles sometimes, so I won’t take offense.
Molly Jewel : No, let’s do it. I’ll buy you a drink, and we’ll just hang out. No pressure.
Molly added Ava’s name to her phone, and they texted a few more times to arrange a meetup.
“Hi,” Molly said into the phone when Juliet called after those plans were made.
“Hey. Sorry about earlier. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, yeah,” she said. “Sorry that I freaked you out before. I’m just used to having you around.”
“I’m still around, Molls. I’m just on the phone instead of in the office.”
“Not the same thing, but I’ll take it, I guess. Want to FaceTime?”
“Uh…”
“You’re naked, aren’t you?”
“Gwen took Carly out for a walk, and I just got out of the shower.”
“So, you’re not naked, but you just had sex with your girlfriend?”
“Yes, she is!” Gwen yelled.
“Gwen!”
Molly heard Gwen laugh and asked, “Did you just lie to me, Juliet?”
“Gwen is putting Carly’s leash on, so it’s not a total lie; she’s on her way outside. And I am naked because I just took a shower. Gwen was just in there with me.”
Molly laughed and said, “I’m glad you’re happy.”
“Me too,” Juliet replied. “Now, what are you going to do about Finley?”
“Move on,” she said.
“Really? Since when?”
“Since today. I overheard India in the kitchen, talking about how they’ll get back together again like they always do, and she just sounded so confident.
It was simply a fact to her. It wasn’t an if .
It was when . I think it just hit me then: I can’t compete with her.
I never could. India practically walks on water in the office, but if there’s a puddle anywhere in this city, my ass will somehow find it and trip into it, making a huge mess.
Clearly, I’m not Finley’s type, and I need to move on. ”
“Molly, you’re an amazing person. If Finley doesn’t see that, it’s on her.”
“I don’t need the pep talk tonight, but thanks,” she said and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “I just went to the bar and hung out with Logan and Rory for a bit. Logan’s friend is single, and she suggested we go out. We were just texting each other, setting it up.”
“You really are moving on,” Juliet replied in disbelief. “You’re sure you’re ready?”
“I think so. I don’t know if Ava and I will even remotely connect, but it’s good to get back out there. If not, maybe she’s cool, and I get a new friend out of it or something. It’s good that I’m trying, I think.”
“I agree,” Juliet said. “I’m proud of you, Molls.”
“Thanks. I’m a little proud of myself, too.”