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29
On his way over to Patrick’s to grab a quick beer with Chris, Austin knew he needed to get things sorted out with Molly…pronto. The fact that she came two days early to surprise him, and then told him that she wanted to spend some quality time together came out of left field. It was the last thing he had expected. He’d been busy all week doing the schmooze thing with his dad and mom, and had barely spoken to Molly. He had given her no indication that he was interested in her, other then as a friend, but it was very clear she was on a different wavelength.
The only thing on his mind was the fact that Jane seemed to be avoiding him like the plague. He had been busy, rushing around with his parents, learning the ropes, but he’d barely seen Jane all week. He knew Jane normally walked through the restaurant every day-- it was part of her daily route. It was weird to hardly see her and, when he did, she seemed to be too busy to stop and talk. He didn't know what he did to upset her, but she seemed like a completely different person to him after the L.A. trip.
He had wanted to officially ask Jane out, even though he didn’t know how she felt about him. He had not been able to get her off of his mind. Normally with women he could tell right away if there was interest. He had no idea what Jane was thinking, but it had been surprisingly easy to fall for her. She was easy to talk with, travel with, laugh with, and even work with. She was honest, hard-working, and sweet to everyone. She didn’t put on an act around him like most women seemed to do. Jane was who she was, and he appreciated the fact that she wasn’t pretending to be someone else just to impress him.
Austin didn’t want to make things awkward for Molly, just days before the wedding, but he needed to be honest with her. He just wasn't sure how she would react. The last thing he wanted to do was compromise the wedding. Jane had put in so much time and effort, and there was a great deal riding on this wedding for The Oxford. Maybe he would have to wait until the event was over before saying anything to her.
“So, how did you manage to get out of doing something with Molly tonight?” Chris asked after listening to his brother tell him all about Molly’s surprise early arrival on the east coast.
“I told her I had a meeting,” Austin shrugged, grabbing his drink off of the bar. “Thanks for agreeing to stop for a beer. I need a minute to unwind.”
Chris looked at his brother and laughed out loud. “Only you, man,” he said.
“Only me, what?” Austin shot back.
“Only you would need to chill out when a hot chick flies across the country to see you without any notice,” he laughed. “And you’re sure there’s zero interest on your part? I saw her a couple of times today, and she is ga-ga over you.”
“None whatsoever,” Austin answered immediately. “She’s a great girl, but there’s nothing there for me and, to be honest, I’m getting tired of her calling and showing up unannounced. As soon as the wedding is over, I’m going to shut it down. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I will.”
“So now that you’ve gotten the whole Molly thing off your chest, are you going to tell me what else is bothering you?” Chris asked. “You said you wanted to talk about two things.”
“What are you talking about?” Austin laughed, trying to play dumb.
“Oh, come on, dude,” Chris added, “I’m not an idiot. What’s going on?”
Austin put his beer down and looked over at his brother, knowing that he needed brotherly advice. “It’s Jane,” he said softly.
“Jane, what?” Chris asked with surprise in his voice.
“I can’t get her out of my head,” Austin answered as he raked his hand through his hair. “She’s all I can think about.”
“Jane Jones? Our Oxford Jane?” Chris asked, taken aback.
“What other Jane do you know?” Austin laughed, shaking his head. “Yes, that Jane. Jane Jones. I can’t get her out of my freaking head.”
“I’m just trying to process this,” Chris replied back in a surprising tone. “Does she know about this?” Chris asked. “I thoughtI warned you about getting involved with her.”
“First of all, I haven’t said anything to her,” Austin replied, grabbing his beer off the counter. “But after spending so much time with her over the last few weeks, I don’t know. She’s amazing. But there’s something’s off with her right now. Right after L.A., I can tell. I’m telling you, we got on so well on the trip out to L.A. and back that I thought there was something there. But she’s been avoiding me. I don’t know what happened.”
“Well, come on. She’s a professional, she probably knows well enough not to get involved with anyone from work.”
“That’s not it,” Austin said, knowing that was a possibility, but he couldn’t understand why she was avoiding him.
“Well, come on, you can’t be that clueless. Although maybe you are. Let’s say she is interested. How do you think she feels when Molly flies cross-country for you and then hangs onto you at every turn?” Chris said.
“You’re right, I know,” Austin said, deflated. “Molly was also all over me in L.A., too, and that was a challenge, let me tell you. I didn’t want to offend Molly, but she did everything she could to keep Jane out of the picture. Things seemed OK with Jane and me on the flight home, but I’ve barely spoken to her since we got back. I don’t know. Women confuse the fuck out of me.”
“Well, I’m no expert on women, but I think Molly is marking her territory, and I’m pretty sure Jane is not the type of person to get into some kind of competition. Jane has taken the high road and has decided not to get involved. That’s all I’ve got, bro, other than to say I would advise you against starting anything with Jane. Although, I have to say, seeing you this conflicted over a girl is a first,” Chris chuckled. “I should record the day for posterity.”
“Oh, can it, dude,” Austin responded, nudging his brother on his arm.
Chris took a long sip of his beer and looked around at the crowd at Patrick’s. The place was packed for a Monday night. He hadn’t expected to see so many people here. When Austin asked him to stop for a quick beer on the way home, he thought they would have a quiet drink to end the day. Austin needed to get his shit together and manage these two women.He had one more piece of advice for his brother.
“You know,” Chris added, “there’s nothing wrong with just being honest with Jane. That is usually the best approach. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”
“The worst?” Austin asked. “That she has zero interest in me, and I’ve made an ass of myself already,” Austin stated.
