Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
“Sorry I’ve been out here so long,” she says.
“Stop apologizing.” I press her hand to my chest and wrap my arm around her waist, slowly moving us to the center of the floor. “Are you having fun?”
“Yes.” Her happy expression fades. “But I didn’t mean to leave you alone—”
“I was watching you the whole time.” Except for the few seconds when I almost beat Wesley senseless.
Pink spots spread over her cheeks. “You were?”
“Mm-hmm.” I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She glances up at me with expectation in her eyes.
“Did Wesley say something inappropriate that night you were at Hayden’s and came home early?” As I ask the question, the pieces click into place. Molly leaving her friend’s house when she’d planned to stay the night. Her reluctance to tell me why she’d left. Wesley showing up at her job, trying to ask her out.
“He was drunk and dumb.” Her shoulders jerk and she looks away. “I told him where to go.”
“Why didn’t you tell me what happened?”
“So you could beat him up and get in trouble?” She presses her body closer and lowers her voice. Her fingers gently stroke the back of my neck. “If I was going to be the cause of you getting into trouble, it was going to be for dating me, not punching that jerk.”
I snort and kiss the top of her head. “You let me worry about that.”
“What’d he say to you?” Her gaze strays over my shoulder. “Why are you asking about this now?”
I spin us so she’s facing away from Wesley. “Like you said, he’s a dumb drunk. But you need to tell me stuff like that.”
Defiant as ever, she lifts her chin. “I took care of it. Told him where to go. He tried blaming it on the beer, and I basically said that excuse was invalid.”
“Has he bothered you since that night he came to see you at work?” I ask.
“No, I haven’t seen him since then.” She rolls her eyes toward Kyla, Darcy, and Hayden slow-dancing together in a group-hug circle. “Until tonight. I don’t even know why he bothered coming since he’s barely paid attention to Kyla.”
“I don’t think he came for Kyla. I think she was just his way into the prom.”
“Whatever.” Molly wraps her arms around me tighter and squeezes. “I’m happy you’re here.”
“Me too, Muffin.” I side-eye the teacher who seems to have a hard-on for me. “Although, that one teacher of yours seems to be looking for an excuse to toss me out on my ass.”
She turns and scowls. “I don’t know what her problem is. I’m not even in any of her classes.” A wicked smile twists her lips. “Should I inform her that I’m eighteen?”
“No, don’t make it worse.” I stare at the woman. Was she a teacher when I went here? I didn’t remember going to elementary school with Wesley. Maybe I forgot this lady too. “What’s she teach?”
“English.”
Nah, I had Ms. Pepper, and that sweet, aging hippie loved me. I’d gotten As on all my essays freshman year. Hers was the only class I liked besides gym and shop.
The music switches to something faster.
“Molly!” her friends scream at the top of their lungs.
Molly shakes her head.
“Go dance with your friends.” I tilt my head toward the girls. “You were supposed to go with your girl gang, remember? Until I invited myself.”
“But…” She flicks her gaze up. “I’ve wanted to go to prom with you ever since I knew what prom was.”
Fuck that teacher. I lean down and kiss Molly. Press my lips to hers for a few seconds, brief and sweet. “Thank you for telling me that.” I glance over at the girls. “It’s your last big thing before graduation. Next year, the five of you will be scattered at different schools.”
“I’ll see them over the summer too.”
I swallow hard. Molly’s going to need her friends if I’m gone all summer. Shit. I have to tell her soon. I’ve been using prom as my excuse not to tell her. Well, come midnight, that excuse is toast. Maybe tomorrow? After we say goodbye to her friends.
Don’t ruin tonight for her.
I pull her close again. “I’ll have you all to myself later, right?”
“After mystery theater.” Her eyebrows lift in a sweet, hopeful gesture.
As if I’d ever say no to her. “Yeah, okay.”
“Yay!” She claps her hands. “Remy asked me to scope it out and get some ideas. He’s thinking of hosting a mystery dinner theater at the bar.”
Suuuure he is. That fucker. Anything to keep Molly and me out of a bedroom.
There’s no way I’d ever tell her what I think her brother’s actually trying to do, so I force a quick smile. “Sounds like fun.”
After the DJ announces the last song of the night, the girls rush back to our table. Molly throws herself into the chair, almost tipping it over, and lets out a loud sigh.