“What’s your name, sweetheart? I bet it’s also mysterious.”
“Mysterious?” she echoed with a puzzled look.
“Yes, like you,” I husked, rocking back on my heels. I noticed she’d dropped her backpack on the floor by her feet. It was pink and girly; sweet,justlike her.
And nothing like you.My monster chanted in my ear.
As I clarified what I meant, her expression shifted, like a mask suddenly sliding into place. She glanced down, fiddling with the cuff of her white shirt.
Interesting.
She was like a puzzle; one I wanted to play with onalllevels.
Taking a deep breath, she raised her chin.
“It’s just Molly,” she replied like her name meantnothing.
JustMolly? There was nothing ‘just’ about this girl.
“And you are?” she questioned, gesturing toward me. I noted her nails were short and clean and again, natural. Although against the rules, most girls in school wore false nails like fucking talons. The type that didnotfeel good as theygougedinto your back during rough, angry sex. Something I excelled at.
Shaking off those thoughts, I inhaled before replying, “Hudson.”
That sparkle reappeared in her eyes. “Like the river.”
She shook her head back, hair sailing like a silk curtain over her slight shoulders.
My eyes creased at her cute comment. “That’s right. So, you’re not from the States, but you know your geography?” I praised her with an impressed look.
She shrugged and stared up at me through thick lashes,natural,I might add, “Not really. I’m into films. I remember it from that Tom Hanks movie where he lands the plane on it.”
I nodded, leaning back against the shelving, “Ah, Sully,” I replied, naming the movie.
Her brow furrowed like she’d misheard me, “Sorry?”
“No, Sully,” I corrected her with ahugegrin. It was so wide it hurt my face. Realisation kicked in and we both chuckled. Fuck me that felt good. I couldn’t remember the last time I had truly laughed. Well, at something that felt worthwhile, unlike listening to my brother Micah belch the alphabet on cue.
Molly moved to lean her shoulder against the shelving so we mirrored each other's stance. It felt so relaxed and carefree.
I glanced around my feet. The books she’d knocked off the shelf from the other side of the stacks were piled all around us.
“So, I'm guessing you were after an encyclopedia?”
Molly grinned, “Yes.”
Squatting down, I ran my fingers over the black leatherbound series that were now out of order, “Well, it looks like I can accommodate you. They're split between letters. Which one do you need?” I said, flicking her a glance.
Her face lit up, “The letter A, please.” Fuck me, she even looked good from the bottom end up.
Finding A, I grabbed the book with one hand and then stood, handing it to her, “Here you go. Knock yourself out.”
Molly placed a hand across her chest; it was such a feminine thing to do, “What?” she said with a feigned aghast expression.
I breathed and rocked backwards and forwards, gazing down into her eyes, “Oh, sorry, that wasn't a dig. That's just a saying, an expression,” I explained, making a strange gesture with my arms. Shit, I was suddenly nervous. I’d never met a girl who made me edgy; it was refreshing.
Her smile grew, “I know, I was kidding. We say that in England, too, you know.”
She was fucking with me, how charming was that? “Ah, I see. Fuck. OK, of course. So,whythe encyclopedia?”
