Chapter 12
Molly
We all went back to my brother's house after eating at Vinnie's. The plan was that everyone would leave soon, headed to their own homes, but we stayed for a while, gathered in his kitchen and living room.
"I need to use the restroom," I said casually, as if I was talking to myself. I scooted past Jenny and Lev and headed to the little half-bath near my brother's kitchen.
I dug in my purse as soon as I had locked the door.
I smiled at the sight of Salem's text from a few minutes ago. I read it again, and I had to hold in excited laughter. He was texting me about the contract, and I could not wait to see him. It had been far too long since I was alone with him.
I wondered if my sister was right about the preacher's daughter marrying someone else. I felt a warm current of hope and happiness coursing through me. It was a pleasant feeling, and I thought it was true, that it might just mean something for me. I hoped it was true .
I did a ten-second search of Isabel's social media, but I didn't see anything. I quickly closed that and texted Salem.
Me:
Hey, sorry, I'm just getting back. I'm at my brother's for another fifteen minutes, and then I'm going by my apartment to change. I think I can be at your house in an hour or so.
I waited for a minute, but I didn't hear back from him, so I stashed the phone and went to talk to my family.
I was at John-Michael's for almost an hour. Sadie made a cup of coffee, and I felt bad leaving when others were staying around. I was in such a huge hurry in my heart that I made myself slow down and act casual.
As I left, I read a text from Salem saying that he was excited to see me when I got there. Rather than reply to it, I called him back while I was driving.
"Where are you, get over here," was how he answered the phone.
I knew he was messing with me and being playful, but his voice was deep and perfect, and it made me lose my breath.
"I am," I said with a smile. "I'm coming. I'm on my way. Sorry. I just have to stop at my house for two seconds and I'll be there. "
"I was so far from you at that restaurant," he said. "It's bad that I didn't get to sit next to you."
"I know it was bad," I said. "I wanted to sit next to you, too. I was trying to get over to you."
"How are you ever going to repay me for not making it?"
"How am I ever going to repay you ?" I asked, pretending to be offended. "I thought I was the one collecting on this contract. It's my contract, and you owe me."
"I seem to remember the contract being for ten, and I also remember it happening ten times already."
"That's because some of those clearly didn't count," I said.
"Oh, oh, oh… clearly" he said, mumbling and smiling. "Well, I don't like to owe debts to people," he continued.
"That's right," I agreed. "You can't go and owe debts. You wouldn't want to do that."
"So, I guess you need to stop by and finish this contract. I would love it if you come by, Molly. Are you coming?" There was a smile in his voice, and I could imagine what he looked like. I couldn’t wait to get to him.
"I haven't seen you," I said.
"I know. I was thinking about that."
"I'm finally done with school. What about you? Are you working right now?"
"Yes, but it's my own stuff, little stuff. I'll stop what I'm doing when you come by. "
"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. It'll be thirty minutes or so by the time I change and turn around."
"All right, I'll see you in a few."
I hung up the phone with Salem, and the first thing that crossed my mind was little Ethan and how he accidently exposed us in the car.
I thought about Sara, too, and I couldn't help but smile at her. She wasn't trying to be mean to me or control me. She was honestly scared out of her wits that if I ended up with Salem she would find no one.
I actually felt a little bad for her.
But I liked Salem.
There was no way of telling what would ultimately happen between us, but I was attracted to him, and the wheels were already set in motion for me to go over to his house today.
***
It was over an hour later when I pulled out of my driveway.
I called Salem first thing.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey, so sorry I'm late. I'm on my way right now. I'm in the car."
I was a little out of breath because I had gotten changed in a hurry and had run out of the apartment.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good. I just felt bad about being late, so I ran. I'm out of breath. "
"No worries," he said. "I go into a different space and time when I'm working. I didn't even realize what time it was."
"What are you working on?"
"That mantlepiece, still. I'm going from that to a set of barstools. I just started those."
"Are they for you or someone else."
"They're for me. We usually don't do small stuff like that for work, unless a client's willing to pay dearly for it. These are for me. They're going to be fun."
"I can't wait to see them," I said.
I had gigantic news to share with him. I thought it would come up when he asked me why I was late, but he hadn't been stressed about that. I decided to wait and tell him in person.
I was only on the phone with Salem for a minute before I hung up with him.
It seemed to take forever to get to his house. I had been thinking about the way he was dressed nicely at lunch with my family. I could picture him, five seats down, in that light blue shirt. I had been trying to keep my feelings at bay, but there was no denying my attraction to him.
My excitement built by the second as I reached his new neighborhood. The yards were large and I had to make my way past several established homes before I found his lot. It was lined with trees, and I turned down his driveway, loving the wooded feel. I made my way through some trees to the construction site. His garage and shop were detached, and it was the first structure he built, so it was finished on the inside and out. I knew that was where I would find him.
The house was coming together and I smiled, noticing the steps and small deck that led to the side door, all of which were new. Salem had been planning on building stairs to the door, and I suggested the small porch when I saw his plan. I loved that he went with my idea. It looked amazing and I felt touched at the fact that he took my suggestion even though it was in passing.
I expected him to meet me outside, and I kept an eye on his shop door, waiting for it to open, but it never did.
I knocked, but nothing.
There was music playing inside when I opened the door.
"Hello!" I called, but the music was too loud. It was guitar music—something bluesy. "Hello?" I called again.
"Hello!" I heard Salem say.
"Hang on, I'll be out in a second. You can turn the music down if you want."
He was calling to me from the back room. I knew where his stereo was located, so I went over there to turn it down a little. I liked the music, so I didn't turn it off, I just made it where we wouldn't have to strain to speak to one another.
"Sorry," he said, coming into the room .
I turned to glance at him over my shoulder. I was already wound up and eager to see him, and the sight of him shirtless made me jump back and gasp out loud. I put a hand to my chest, feeling stunned and looking him over. It was impossible to ignore the shape of his body. It was impossible not to notice his abdomen. My eyes met his again, and I made a face at him.
"Did you lose your shirt?" I asked, hardly able to breathe. He grinned. Blues music played in the background, and Salem looked like the coolest man alive. I knew he had a bathroom in his shop, but I had never seen him take a shower there. I cleared my throat and looked away, and by the time I glanced at him again, he was putting his shirt on.
He must've been holding onto it the whole time. I hadn't even noticed. How could I? The abs. I felt like I could hardly remember to breathe.
"I guess I could've put my shirt on before I came out from behind that wall, but I was trying to get you to look at me."
"Don't worry, I look at you plenty already."
I turned to the side and used my shirt to fan myself, tugging on it and making him laugh.
"I'm all overheated because of that," I said.
He knew I was being funny, and he laughed. The thing was… I was telling the truth. I did need to fan myself. The sight of his body was a little too much temptation. I was already in a fragile state with my at traction towards him. I felt like I was teetering on some edge already.
"I made you something for graduation," he said.
"My counter?" I said.
"Yeah, well, just a little something to go with it." He pointed toward his left and my gaze shot in that direction.
"That little step… is it that little stepstool?" I asked, sounding excited.
"That is the cutest little piece of furniture I have ever seen! Is that mine?"
"Yes."
"I love stepstools! I don't have a good stepstool," I said, walking over to it.
Salem was such an artist, and I stared at the rounded edges and the perfect shape of this. It was a piece of art. It had three steps and the seat on top was large enough to sit on. I turned and sat on it without even asking if it was okay.
"Is this thing for me?" I said, turning to him with a gigantic smile from my new seat.
"I hope so, now that you've broken it in," he said, laughing.
"Is it really for me?"
"Yes, it's for you. I'm glad you like it."
"I love it so much, Salem. You didn't have to do this. The counter is enough, I can't believe you made me something else. You don't have time for this. Look how busy you are." I gestured around.
He grinned at me. "I wanted to," he said .
He was only a few feet away. I could smell him and feel his presence near me.
"It's deep," he said, gesturing casually to the stool as I was sitting on it.
"What's deep?" I asked.
"It's metaphorical, you know, for graduation. Stepping up, onward and upward, you know that sort of thing."
"Oh," I said, getting what he was saying and feeling suddenly ooey-gooey that he had put some thought into it.
He was being aloof with how he said it, but he thought about it and it was sweet.
I popped up and hugged him. I felt so warm and fuzzy inside that I had to do something with my body, lest I began to melt. I stood, reached out, and hugged Salem, letting myself fall into his arms.
"Thank you," I said. "I love it so much."
He could tell I meant it because it was the truth. I held him for a few long seconds before I let go of him, stooping to appreciate it some more.
"I really love it," I said staring.
"Happy graduation."
"Thank you," I said, standing up. I took a deep breath letting my shoulders rise and fall. "It's been a crazy day. I've been up since early this morning. Mom and Dad spent the night at John-Michael's, and I went over there early to have coffee and breakfast with them. Then there was graduation, and then the restaurant, and then I went back home, and that was crazy. That's what took me so long."
"What do you mean?"
"There's been construction at my house. You know how that apartment I'm in is part of their garage? Well, I knew Darren was having construction done in there, but I didn't know everything. Michelle had told me months ago that it was something for Darren. I've seen construction crews coming in and out of there, but I thought it had nothing to do with… anyway, today, while I was at graduation, they installed a door in my apartment."
"What?"
"Yeah, that room was for me. They expanded my apartment, and they bought these machines. My dream kitchen, Salem, and I can't even believe it. I would've never had room for those machines in the old kitchen."
"What machines?"
"That's what I'm saying. They bought me all the equipment, too. It's everything I need. The whole set is like fifteen-grand. They did that and the room. Darren said that was my graduation present."
"As long as you live there forever?" Salem asked.
"No, he said the equipment is mine. I can take it when I leave. As far as the apartment, he said he wanted to expand it, anyway."
"What does his wife think about that? "
"Oh, she was there the whole time. Neither of them knew what any of the machines did, so I spent the last hour explaining their own presents to them."
"I can't believe that."
"I know. It's insane. It's the granddaddy version of everything I had. It makes my old set up look like amateur hour. That's what took me so long. It was shocking. I went into my apartment to find a new door and a whole new room—it's a new apartment. Now I see why my family asked me to go to John-Michael's for breakfast. They must've had a crew there all day."
"Was the doorway complete?"
"Totally finished, with a working door to my living room. Unbelievable. I have free rent and now I have the kitchen of my dreams. It's insane. It hasn't even sunk in yet."
"I bet," he said. "That is crazy."
"Just wait till you eat some of my chocolate next week. Maybe not next week. It might take me a little while to learn those new machines. But hit me up next month, and you're going to see what fine, fresh chocolate tastes like."