She's Mine - Jenika Snow Page 0,22

go.

After a minute, Molly breathed out, rested her head on the seat, and closed her eyes. “I don’t know where to start.” She opened her eyes and looked at Keira.

“How about at the beginning?”

The corner of Molly's mouth lifted, but it almost seemed sad.

“Do you want to go inside and talk?” Keira’s parents wouldn’t be home until after six, and Alex was at his college, so they’d have the whole house to themselves, not including if the housekeeper was still here. But Sharon minded her own business and normally had headphones in anyway.

“Yeah, okay,” Molly finally said, and they both climbed out.

Once inside, they went into the kitchen, and Keira grabbed a couple drinks. They sat at the table, and she didn’t speak, just let Molly say whatever she needed to get off her chest in her own time.

“There are some things I never told you.”

This wasn’t starting off good. “Okay.” Keira drew the word out, almost scared to hear what Molly would reveal.

“I’ve…” Molly rubbed her eyes, and when she was finished and rested her hands on the table, looking at her, Keira saw Molly was about to cry.

“God, Molly. What is it?” She reached out and took Molly’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze for moral support. “You know you can tell me anything.”

Molly nodded, but it still took her a second to speak. “Well, I’ve been seeing someone.”

A beat of silence passed between them. “Yeah? Well, that’s great, right?” Keira didn’t let on that she was a bit hurt at the fact that Molly never said anything to her until right now.

Molly shook her head, but it only took a second for that dawning realization on who Molly was seeing to sink into Keira’s head.

The way she and Ian weren’t speaking.

The tension between them.

And all the sudden weird things that Keira had noticed.

“You’ve been seeing Ian?” There was shock laced in Keira’s voice even though she tried to keep it steady.

Molly shook her head, but then nodded, then cursed under her breath. “Yeah, we have been. All summer. But we didn’t know how to tell you. It was awkward at first, but we honestly didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

Keira was surprised she hadn’t seen it sooner though. Because now that she thought about it, now that it was right in front of her, she relayed they’d been inseparable the entire summer… more than usual.

“You guys hid it pretty well.”

“We didn’t mean to be dishonest or anything.” Molly wiped the few tears that fell.

“Hey.” Keira gave her hand squeeze. “It’s not a big deal. I mean, I’m a little surprised you guys didn’t think you could tell me, but if you’re happy, then so am I—”

“I slept with him, Keira,” Molly cut her off, which had anything else she might have said dying in her throat.

Keira felt her eyes widen and her lips part. “Oh,” she breathed out. “Um.” She looked around, unsure what she was searching for, but trying to think of something more comforting to say. It was clear this conflicted Molly.

And also clear that it had changed things between her and Ian, and maybe not in a good way.

“Want to talk about it? Well, not that, but… you know.”

“The weirdness between Ian and me is all my fault.” She exhaled, and for the first time, Keira could see how much this weighed her friend down. “We only slept together once, and…” She paused, looked up at the vaulted ceiling, then glanced back at Keira, before saying, “And it was the single greatest moment of my life.”

Oh. Wow.

“But afterward, I freaked, and he’s been trying to talk to me about it ever since, but I’ve avoided him at every turn, and you can see how weird I’ve been around him.” Molly brushed away even more tears.

“I’m sorry,” Keira said, not sure what else to say to try to make this situation any less hard on Molly.

“I’ve been so angry, Keira.”

“But why? If you guys like each other, why stop it from progressing?”

Molly shrugged. “I’m upset, because I’ve most likely ruined our friendship. I’ve liked Ian for a long time,” she said, and Keira knew what she was about to say next. “I’ve loved him for so long.”

How had Keira been so blind to this?

“I should have never let it get as far as it did. I’ve screwed everything up, Keira.”

“Oh, Molly.” She stood and moved toward her friend so she could sit beside her. She wrapped her arms around her and pulled her into