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She agreed and we drove home.
"I hope you have the good stuff," Molly said when we arrived at the house.
"Like what? Scotch?"
"Gross. Scotch tastes like petroleum jelly."
I shook my head, laughing. "What? And how do you know what petroleum jelly tastes like?"
"The way it smells. I don't eat it." Her tone was half a laugh and half incredulous.
"I think I have beer, wine or tequila."
"I'm surprised, Jake. Tequila? I'm proud of you."
"I'm a man of many surprises."
"So I'm discovering.” She sounded so genuine I had to make her turn it off.
"We're alone now. You can stop acting." My words came out harsher than I meant, and she turned and stared at me for a second, hurt flickering across her features.
"Okay," she said, her voice noticeably quieter, but she didn't argue or say more, and simply got out of the car.
So, she was acting. I followed her inside, got a couple of beers, and handed her one. She cracked the cap on the bottle opener on the counter and handed it back to me.
"Thanks," she said taking a drink and then leaned against the counter. “So, what do you want to talk about?
"Your friends... do they know the truth?"
Her head jerked back, and her brow crinkled. "Of course not. I kind of blew them off Friday and then they saw us earlier. So, I texted them, promising to fill them in on our whirl-wind romance."
"And they believed it?"
"They're curious, I think, but they didn't say much. They're probably going to give me hell tomorrow."
"Right." I sighed and rubbed my temple. "Look, Molly. This is a mess, and I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "It's fine."
"I haven't told Amy yet. But I don't think I need to; she won't be back for some time and hopefully by then this will all be over."
"Yeah," she said, her face impassive.
It was nearly two in the morning, and I felt tired all of a sudden, like my final words in the car had countered the former magic of the night.
We finished our beers in awkward silence, and then Molly announced she was heading home and went to leave.
"I'll walk you," I said as she led the way.
"It's okay," she said, and I could see her forcing the brightness in her tone.
"It's not a problem," I insisted, and followed her, but she spun back abruptly, colliding with me.
"What's the point?" Her brows knitted and she frowned, her chin tilting up. "It's not like anyone's watching."
"I don't care."
"You could have fooled me," she muttered.
