Mom: And did you already eat breakfast? I made you a plate of bacon and eggs, if you have the time. I didn’t want to say anything at dinner last night, but you’re looking a little thin.
Mom: Oh, and if you’re with Molly, tell her I made an extra takeaway plate for her too, if she wanted to swing by to pick up another one.
Mom: Sorry, meant to say *since not *if
Nicholas chuckled at his mother’s rapid-fire delivery of texts, surprised that she’d gotten so good at sending them out at such a high speed. But his chuckle turned into a groan, as he reread her last message.
She’d meant to say since, not if.
Since he was with Molly, not if he was with Molly.
He wondered if his mother had seen him carrying Molly through town. The Kerstman home wasn’t something Nicholas passed on the way to Molly’s apartment complex, but it was a small town. He wouldn't be surprised if three people on the street had called her as soon as they saw him.
He then wondered if his mother had been using one of her old professor tactics by suggesting he was in a relationship with Molly and trying to get him to respond with the truth of the situation. It was a strategy his mother had so often employed with students she’d suspected of plagiarism or being shady behind-the-scenes. Nicholas had picked up on all of his mom’s tricks while growing up, becoming used to her inventive ways of fishing for information about his personal life.
Nicholas didn’t dwell on his mother’s tactics for too long. He had too many other things to worry about at the moment. He needed to head back to his cabin and change before he met with the investors, unless he wanted to look like he was a baker gone mad.
When he’d lifted himself from the couch, he heard a small sound coming from somewhere behind him.
It sounded like someone's hum of pleasure.
“Nicholas?” It was Molly’s voice, but still drenched in sleep.
Nicholas gave her a warm smile as he turned back towards the couch. “Ms. Molly, you’re awake.”
“Did you... did you carry me home?” she asked, her eyelids fluttering in an attempt to see him.
“Yes,” he told her, smoothing out her hair again.
“Thank you.” Molly paused. “Do you really have to go?”
“What?”
“Do you really have to go...” Molly’s words slurred near the end as she drifted back off into sleep.
Nicholas’ heart ached behind his chest.
He knew that Molly had been barely conscious, but her question tapped into something at his core.
And he knew that if he could, if it was even possible, he’d stay right here with Molly until she woke up, even if it was three days from now.
Nicholas bent his head down to Molly’s, giving her a tender kiss on her cheek. It was all he could do right now, unable to express his feelings to her in her sleeping state.
He then moved towards her apartment’s front door, leaving Molly behind.
Chapter 26
Molly
Molly woke up in the afternoon, confused about how she’d gotten into her bed.
She grew even more confused when she realized that she wasn’t in her bed at all, but instead on her couch. In fact, she’d been tucked into her couch cushions.
Oh.
Right.
She shook the sleep off like a blanket as she stood away from the couch.