Page 6 of October (New Orleans #10)

“I tried to give her the key back, but she brought up a good point. I have to get my stuff from her place anyway, so I’ll just keep it for now and find out when I can go do that.

I didn’t really care about whatever I left there.

I think there’s maybe a toothbrush. She uses an electric one, and I just have a regular one there.

There are probably clothes there, too, but not anything I’d miss, and her boobs are bigger than mine, so she’s stretched out all my shirts I’ve left there anyway. ”

“She’s big into borrowing your clothes?” Molly asked.

“Shirts to sleep in, mainly. She’s always liked my T-shirts better than whatever she buys for herself. Probably because mine are actually comfortable and hers are just expensive.”

Molly wanted to laugh, but she pictured India walking around in only one of Finley’s T-shirts and nothing else while Finley awaited her in bed and subsequently pulled it off her, and that got her to clear her throat.

“So, you still have her key, and she still has yours?”

“For now,” Finley said and finished the coffee she had gotten in a to-go cup, but they’d decided to stay at the store and have them there instead of walking back to the office while drinking them. “Should we head back? I’ve got some computers to look at.”

“Sure,” Molly replied.

She hadn’t yet finished her coffee, but she would just take it with her.

They stood, and a woman who had needed a table instantly took their spot and pulled out her laptop while they made their way to the door, where Finley automatically opened it for her.

Molly gave her a small smile in return. It wasn’t a forced one; just not her best real one, either.

The fact that Finley opened the door for her almost like a date would have made it real, but thinking about how Finley would be back together with India soon made it a small, hesitant one.

Earlier, Molly had watched Finley march into the conference room with a determined, confident look on her face, one she hadn’t seen on her before that she could remember.

She had seen her drop the key on the table and understood without words what she was doing.

Then, she had watched as India had somehow talked that confidence off of Finley’s face.

After being caught staring, Molly had turned away, but she hadn’t been able to resist another glance.

That was when she’d seen Finley put the key back into her pocket, meaning it wasn’t really over between the two of them.

◆◆◆

“They’re like Bette and Tina from The L Word ,” she said into her phone as she walked.

“Since when do you watch that show?” Juliet asked.

“I never did before. I always thought I was the one lesbian in the world who didn’t understand any L Word references. Then, I met you , and you’d seen it. I didn’t tell you, but I watched it all the way through over several months, and I honestly don’t get what all the hype was about.”

“It was the time, from what I’ve heard,” Juliet replied. “I didn’t even watch it initially because I was too young. We didn’t have the channel even if I’d wanted to, though.”

“Well, now, I’ve seen all the episodes, and Finley and India are the Bette and Tina of the real world, or at least, in my world. They’re just always going to get back together after they fall apart, aren’t they?”

“I don’t know that that’s true, but even if it is, they’re not fictional characters getting together and breaking up over and over again to cause purposeful drama and high stakes for TV viewers and ratings, Molls.

They’re real people with real feelings, so even if this is crazy to you and me, there must be something that keeps pulling them back toward one another. ”

“Yeah, I know. It just hurt, Jules. I watched Finley go into that room, and she looked determined to tell India something. It was to give her the key to her place back, it turned out, and I thought that maybe it was finally over for a minute. I allowed myself that one minute to believe it. Then, I watched her face change, and she wasn’t determined or confident anymore.

I realized that must be what India does to her all the time.

I don’t think she does it on purpose or to cause pain.

I just think that’s how their relationship is, and that makes me sad because no one should be with someone who takes their face and makes it fall like that over and over again. ”

“Molls, what happened to moving on? You’re literally on your way to the bar for a first date.”

“It’s a blind date, so I’m not overly confident.”

“But you should be thinking about her and not Finley.”

“Finley invited me to coffee today after the thing with India. She’s never done that before.”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to think of you now that she sits right there. I bet before, when she was on a different floor, she just went with people from her team or something.”

“So, it means nothing? That’s what you’re saying?”

“I don’t know, Molls. I’m not there. And you could just ask her. Even if you think that she’s going to get back together with India, she’s not yet. You could always be honest with her about your feelings.”

“Hey, wouldn’t you know it; I’m here now and need to get off the phone,” Molly said, dodging Juliet’s completely practical and logical advice. “I’ll text you later. Don’t text me back if you’re in an after-sex, naked glow, Jules. At least, put your clothes back on first.”

“I wasn’t expecting sex or a FaceTime call,” Juliet said, laughing. “I thought I was just taking a shower, and then we were going to get something to eat. Little did I know just how much I’d love having my girlfriend here this week after long, hard days.”

“You’re getting turned on right now, aren’t you?” Molly rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Yes, pretty much always for her. But we’re going out to dinner right now, so I’ll have to deal with that later.”

“Deal with what later?” Gwen asked from Juliet’s side of the phone.

“You’ll find out when later arrives,” Juliet told her.

“And I’ve got to go,” Molly added and hung up on her friend.

She walked through the open door and looked around for a woman she didn’t know.

Thankfully, Logan was behind the bar, so Molly smiled at her, and Logan nodded toward a woman in a booth by herself with a glass of white wine.

Molly nodded back her thank-you and walked over, trying not to be nervous because this wasn’t a big deal.

They were only here to see if there was any kind of chemistry between them, and if not, they’d go their separate ways or just be friends.

There were no high stakes here, just two women meeting in person for the first time to see if they wanted to go on another date.

“Um… Hi,” she spoke when she arrived at the booth.

Ava looked up and smiled at her.

“Hi. Molly?”

“That’s me,” she said.

Ava stood up and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which surprised Molly, so she stood awkwardly still.

“Sorry, I already ordered. I got here a while ago. Logan knows my drink and brought it over without me asking.”

“Am I late?” Molly asked.

“Oh, no. I came straight from work, so it’s me, not you. What can I get for you?”

Molly sat down and replied, “Just a beer for me. Logan probably knows which, since she gave it to me before.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Ava smiled and walked toward the bar, and Molly wondered if she was saying something to Logan about how Molly wasn’t as pretty or hot as she’d hoped, or that she was dressed too casually when Ava was dressed in a business suit complete with a navy blazer and slacks that cupped her ass in a very nice way.

Molly pulled her eyes away because she shouldn’t be staring at the woman’s ass.

They hadn’t even sat down to a drink yet.

She thought about how Ava reminded her a little of India.

Not physically; they didn’t look anything alike.

But Ava was a smart dresser, that much was clear, and India must have had a closet the size of Louisiana because Molly wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her wear something more than once in all the time they’d worked together.

“Okay. Logan said you’d want this dark ale thing,” Ava said and placed it in front of her on the table.

“Not a beer drinker?” Molly asked.

“Not much, no. I’ll have one occasionally. I like some imports.”

“Wine fan?” she asked, nodding toward the glass as Ava sat back down.

“This one is good. Candace stocks it mainly for me. I mentioned it once when I came in, and she didn’t have it, so she ordered a case of it. I don’t come in very often, so I think it’ll take me years to drink it all.” Ava laughed, and it was a nice laugh. “Are you not a wine fan?”

“No, I am,” she replied. “I mean, I drink it sometimes. I think I have a few bottles at home. There’s this one brand my company partnered with to make a coffee kind of wine.

Like, they used the beans in it to flavor the grapes or something.

I don’t know how it all works.” Molly laughed a little.

“Anyway, it’s a red wine, and they give us a bottle every year around the holidays. ”

“Have you never tried it?”

“I did when it was first launched. They had a party, and that was the only red wine on offer that night. Everyone else was tasting it, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

She scrunched up her nose, remembering it.

“Not a fan?” Ava asked.

“Not really. It’s too strong for me. If you want to try it, though, I’ll happily give you a bottle or, you know, all of the bottles in my possession and the one they’ll probably give us in a couple of months, too.”

Ava laughed and said, “Maybe I’ll just go to your place one night and you can pour me a glass.”

Molly smiled a little at that and replied, “Yeah, maybe.”

“So, Logan tells me that you know Juliet, who is dating someone else Logan knows?”

“Gwen, yeah,” Molly said. “Juliet is my best friend. She met Gwen about a month ago. They’re probably having sex right now.”

Ava’s eyes widened.

“Sorry. I just got off the phone with her, and that was what we were talking about. Not sex; not like we were only talking about sex,” Molly rambled. “Just that it came up, and they’re together right now, so they’re probably doing that.”

Ava laughed and said, “Well, they’re in the honeymoon phase, aren’t they?”

“They are, yes,” she replied.

“I remember that phase,” Ava shared and looked off toward the door.

“Logan told me that you’re newly single.”

“I wouldn’t say newly. Well, maybe so; I don’t know. We were together for a few months, so not years or anything. I think that makes a difference when it comes to being ready for something new.”

“I agree,” Molly said and took a drink of her beer.

“And you’re ready for something new?” Ava asked her. “Logan mentioned that you might be.”

“I haven’t had anything old , so to speak.” She shrugged a shoulder.

“Nothing recently?”

“No, I haven’t dated anyone in a long time.”

“Not that you have to justify that to me, but as part of getting to know each other, is there a reason?”

“I liked someone who wasn’t mine to like.”

Ava nodded and said, “I get that.” She then looked over at Logan and asked, “Did she tell you about our history?”

“She said you used to date.”

“We did. We were friends first before we were lovers, and I thought we would be together forever. Some things happened, and she’d have to tell you the whole story, but I still loved her, you know? I just couldn’t be with her anymore.”

“Do you still?”

“Love Logan?” Ava asked and shook her head.

“No. We’ve only recently really gotten our friendship back.

I was with my ex for only a few months, but I wasn’t hung up on Logan when I was with her.

I loved Bonnie. And I’d liked her for a while before we started dating, so the relationship part, the falling in love piece, happened pretty quickly. ”

“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, I don’t know, exactly. Everything was going well.

We started planning on taking a trip together.

I thought we’d do something over a long weekend and stay pretty close.

She wanted to take two weeks off and go to Europe.

We fought about it. That brought up other things that we hadn’t fought about that we needed to get out, I guess. Then, it was just over.”

“Wow! Really?”

“We’d had the big talks before about careers, where we wanted to live, marriage, kids, and all the stuff you need to know about what another person wants to make sure everything lines up for you, and I thought it had.

Then, she’s tossing around wanting to retire from her day job by forty and move to Portugal because she’d heard it was a good place to retire.

She wants to run her own business after that and can do it from there.

I thought she was kidding or that it was a pipe dream kind of thing that wouldn’t ever happen, but then, she’s suggesting we go to Portugal for that vacation, and I see her pulling up articles online on how to create an LLC and run it from another country.

It started getting more likely that she’d actually do it.

I think that’s great if she wants that, but I don’t.

When she got an app on her phone and started learning Portuguese, Spanish, and French all at the same time, I knew it was what she really wanted, so that fight just made it all come out, and that was the end of it. ”

“Do you still love her?” Molly asked.

“Yes, but I’m no longer in love with her. I suspect I love more what I feel like I’m missing because she wants one thing, and I want another. It’s less about Bonnie and more about what I lost when our relationship ended.”

“That makes sense to me,” Molly replied.

Ava took a slow sip from her wine and asked, “Do you want to maybe order something to eat?”

Molly smiled and replied, “I’d love that. What will you order that goes with the fancy wine, though?”

Ava laughed and said, “I’ll ask them to caramelize onions and put those on a burger. That will elevate it a little.”

“Onions?” Molly asked without thinking.

“Maybe not,” Ava said with a lifted eyebrow and a smile.