Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MOLLY
"Molly, wait up," Elle hollered for me from the parking lot the next day at school. I stopped and waited for her to catch up. "Did I just see Parker dropping you off at work?"
"Mhmm." I continued to walk toward the front of the school without waiting to see if my best friend was following me.
"Is that all you're going to give me?" It was clear as day Elle was frustrated with my lack of response.
I sighed and stopped so I could turn around and face her. "My car broke down yesterday, and Parker saved me. He insisted on driving me again this morning since my car isn't ready yet."
"Does that mean he slept over because his house is clear across the city from yours?"
I thought about our conversation last night.
"I can either spend the night here, or you can pack a bag and spend it at my place. Either way I'm driving you to work in the morning. Personally I would prefer to stay here so that we can have more time together in the morning."
It was sad how quickly I agreed to him.
"Yes, he slept over, but he slept on the couch," I hissed.
"And the ring?" Elle glanced down to where I wore my wedding band on my left hand. "This is the first time you've worn it since I picked you up at the airport. Did something change that I'm not aware of?"
Yeah, something changed. Parker proved to me we could have a future together but I didn't tell my best friend that.
"Can we just get inside? I haven't had enough caffeine yet to fully start my day."
"Fine, but we're talking about this at lunch." Elle pointed her finger in my chest, then walked into the school without a second glance back.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," I grumbled before walking in behind her.
The morning classes flew by much faster than I would've liked. It probably had something to do with the fact that I wasn't ready to talk to Elle about Parker. Which was strange because she was usually the first person I wanted to tell everything to.
I dragged my ass to the teachers’ lounge to find Elle waiting impatiently for me.
"Were you trying to hide from me? You know damn well I would've marched to your classroom and cornered you if it came to that."
"I know." I dropped my ass into the chair next to hers at our small table. "That's the only reason I'm here."
"What the hell?" Elle looked like I had slapped her across the face. "Since when don't we share everything with one another?"
My head fell heavily into my hands. "I know, I know. I'm just trying to figure this out myself. This is new territory for me, and I'm feeling out of sorts."
I sighed when Elle's hand came to rest on my shoulder. "If it's bothering you that much, then I'll back off. I just want you to be happy, and, if I'm being honest, seeing that ring on your finger again got me really excited."
I rotated my head so I could look at my best friend. "It felt right when I slipped it back on. How can that be? It hasn't even been two weeks since the drunken wedding."
Elle chuckled. "You need to stop focusing on the fact that you were drunk when it happened."
"But I was drunk when it happened," I hissed. "I don't even remember the wedding or what happened afterward."
I think that bothered me more. I wanted to remember what it felt like to have Parker between my legs. To know how it felt when he slid inside me. I had the feeling it would've been memorable, and that killed me.
"True, but you can think about it another way."
"Such as?" Was that hope in my voice? It sure sounded like it.
"Your subconscious knew what you truly needed and wanted in life."
God, I so badly wanted that to be the truth.
I was cut off from saying anything further when Ben walked up to our table. "Molly. I saw your husband dropping you off this morning. I guess he didn't fix you car like you thought he would."
I didn't like the way he emphasized the word husband. The look on his face also bothered me, but I brushed it off. "Unfortunately not but it's at the garage now, so they should be able to figure out what's wrong with it."
"Your husband seems like an okay guy." There he was saying that word again like it tasted bad on his tongue. "I see you're wearing your ring today. What, no diamond to go with the band?"
Seriously? Was Ben for real right now? I wanted to snap back at him, but Elle beat me to it. "Her married life isn't any of your business. Don't you have your own teachers’ lounge to eat lunch in?"
"Just wanted to stop in and check on a friend. I'm nice like that." Ben's smile was borderline creepy, and I wished more than anything he would leave us alone.
"Well, I'm fine. Parker made sure of it."
Okay, maybe that was a little dig and a whole lot of bitchy, but I didn't care. He started it, and I wasn't about to let anyone walk all over me.
"Parker, huh?" His tone was starting to piss me off. "Well, have a great lunch, ladies. I'll see you around."
Elle and I waited until he left before we spoke again. "What the fuck was that?" I asked my friend.
"I don't know, but it sounded a lot like he was mad to learn you're married. I told you he has a crush on you."
"Middle school girls have crushes." I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, he likes you. Is that a better term?"
Not really but what could I say? I didn't want Ben's attention. He did nothing for me.
"If you say so, but I don't want to talk about him. I'd rather tell you about what's going on with Parker."
Elle's eyes lit up. "I thought you weren't ready to talk?"
My best friend was lucky I liked her because there were times she was a pain in my ass.
"Maybe I changed my mind. I'm allowed to do that."
"You most certainly are. Now tell me what happened last night." Elle forgot all about her lunch and put both elbows on the table so she could rest her head in her hands. And she stayed like that while I talked.
I told her all about showing him the real me.
Not the dolled-up woman I had been the night I ate dinner at his house.
That was me seeing how far I could push him.
Last night was about seeing if he liked me as I truly am.
As it turned out, he preferred last night’s version and wasn't afraid to tell me as much.
We laughed; we ate dinner. We spent time talking about anything and everything, and at the end of the night, Parker respected me enough to sleep on the couch instead of turning our situation into a one-bed trope.
Little did he know I would've gladly welcomed him into my bed even if it was only to sleep.