The only reason Molly opened her eyes was because of the loss of body warmth, the realization that she was alone in the bed. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly. It was the first time all week she hadn’t woken up at the crack of dawn, and when she thought back on her night, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept more soundly. Watching through slitted eyes while Kristin dressed, she also couldn’t remember the last time they’d slept so closely together. Kristin had fallen immediately asleep, as though her body had been worn out from the day’s activities. Any time Molly had rolled over or adjusted positions, she felt Kristin—a hand on her hip, her leg thrown over Molly’s, her head on Molly’s shoulder. Now her body was protesting the cold, wanting that proximity back again, having gotten a taste of something it had been missing for months.
“Where are you going?” Her voice was hoarse with sleep as she questioned Kristin softly, not wanting to startle her.
Kristin looked up from her foot, sock in hand. She whispered, “I’m sorry, sweetie. Did I wake you up? I was trying to be quiet.”
Molly stretched, reaching her arms over her head to grab the headboard as she willed the sleep out of her system. “I just didn’t hear you get out of bed.”
“Did you sleep okay?”
“I slept great.”
Kristin smiled. “Me, too.”
She looked amazing, Molly noted. The lines of stress that usually marred her creamy skin had eased and her blue eyes had softened, showing only a fraction of the worry that had glazed them the previous night. She’d pulled her blond hair back into a ponytail and it shimmered in the morning sun that sliced through the window, golden highlights winking at Molly. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a white turtleneck, and a navy blue sweater. She looked like she’d just stepped out of an L.L.Bean catalog.
Molly sat up in bed. “So, where are you going?”
“I’m going to take a walk, get a little fresh air.”
“Do you want some company?”
Kristin hesitated. “Would you be okay if I said ‘not yet’?”
Molly tried to ignore the small prickle of hurt that poked at her. “Sure.”
“I just…I need to roll a few things around in my head, that’s all.” Kristin’s face was clouded with a slight unease. “I wouldn’t be terribly good company.”
“Okay. I understand.”
“I’d like to walk with you later, though. If you want to.”
Molly could feel her own smile light up her face. “That would be great. I’m going to hold you to it.”
“Good.” Kristin approached her and bent forward. She stopped several inches from Molly’s face and simply looked at her for a few long seconds. Molly held eye contact, reveling in the feeling of being Kristin’s sole focus, something she’d become very unused to. Kristin kissed her softly on the mouth. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Do me a favor?” Molly asked as Kristin moved toward the door.
“Sure.”
Nodding at the dresser, she said, “Take my cell phone?” At Kristin’s questioning look, she shrugged. “In case you fall on your head again.”
Kristin grinned. “Okay.” She clipped the phone to her jeans, waved, and left the room.
Molly lay in bed for a while longer, listening to the sounds of her friends and thinking about the previous day.
She still couldn’t believe Kristin had smashed her Blackberry, or “Crackberry,” as Molly liked to call it because of its addictive tendencies. It was her lifeline, her tie to her work, her boss, her clients. And now it was in several small chunks sitting in the wastebasket in Amy’s kitchen. Not to mention that it was Jack Reeves’s connection to Kristin. What would he do when he couldn’t reach her? When she didn’t return his calls or e-mails?
Molly, like the rest of the group, had no idea what to say after the meat mallet descended. They’d all stared at Kristin in stupefied silence and then had gone back to whatever activities they’d been a part of. It had been surreal. Molly had kept a watchful eye on Kristin for the remainder of the evening, but she did nothing more than stare expressionlessly into the fire. On their way to bed, Molly had asked if she was all right.
“I think maybe I will be,” was Kristin’s rather cryptic answer. And that’s all she’d said.
Now she was off wandering in the woods alone again and Molly wasn’t sure whether she should be worried or relieved by her behavior.
Downstairs, a short while later, everybody looked up as Molly approached, smiling hellos and offering coffee. The smell of bacon was mouth-watering.
“God, I’m going to be a blimp after this week,” she commented, grabbing a slice and nibbling on it with delight.
“That makes two of us,” Sophie said with a smile. “Maybe a gym membership should be my New Year’s resolution.”
“I’m a member of the club over on Panorama Trail and I love it,” Laura offered. “You should try there. They have so many different things that it never feels like a waste of money. There’s always something to do.”
“I’ve driven past there a million times,” Molly said, taking a seat at the table. “I know a lot of people who belong.”
“It’s great,” Laura went on. “If you don’t want to lift weights, you can swim. If you don’t want to swim, you can play racquetball. If you don’t want to play racquetball, you can shoot baskets. There are yoga classes and step classes and spin classes. It’s a great place.”
A small smile touched Molly’s lips at the way Sophie’s eyes lit up and she hung on every word Laura said. Molly recognized the beginnings of attraction blossoming and wondered if the two could put aside their differences long enough to see how good they’d be together. A tiny pang hit her chest as she recalled the initial zaps of attraction the day she’d first been introduced to Kristin. The crystal blue eyes and sparkling golden hair had mesmerized her. Molly had wanted nothing more than to reach out and touch Kristin’s face.
A voice in her ear startled her. “How was Kristin this morning?” Amy was behind her, her warm hands on Molly’s shoulders.
“Quiet. A little distant, but smiling.” She looked up at her dear friend as she tried to put her thoughts into words. “It’s weird. She seems…different somehow. In a good way. I think. Maybe she just needs a whack on the head more often.”
“Did you talk about yesterday?”
“No.” Before Amy could scold her, she rushed on. “She was tired and seemed so…inside her own mind. I just didn’t want to bother her, you know? I really get the feeling she’ll talk to me when she’s ready.”
Amy looked skeptical but dropped a kiss on the top of Molly’s dark head.
Across the table, Darby sat with a Coke and the business section of the paper. Molly caught her blue eyes as they darted up then dropped back to the paper just as quickly. Molly knew they should probably have a chat, not only about what happened between Darby and Kristin the previous day--Molly was sure something had been said, though she honestly wasn’t sure if she wanted to know exactly what--but also about that kiss behind the garage the previous morning. Despite the fact that it had felt so good at the time, Molly was appalled with herself now. The Catholic guilt was in full swing.
Of course, she wasn’t at all surprised that her butt remained fused to her chair and her legs did not force her to stand and cross the room to ask Darby if they could speak in private. Annoyed, but not surprised. She sipped her coffee instead and then reached for another slice of bacon.