Until You Met Me

Slipping her car keys out of the ignition, Molly leant back in her seat, drawing in a deep breath that she let out slowly and with a slight shake. She had told herself that there was no reason to be nervous. She was at Gerard’s house, a house she had let herself into more than once, and she was going to spend the night hanging out with Gerard, something she did frequently anyway, but no matter how many times she repeated those facts to herself, she couldn’t get rid of the knot in her stomach that she knew stemmed exclusively from their use of the word ‘date’. They had both made a point of saying it. In all of the texts that they had sent one another, and in the phone call that they had shared the previous night, they had both made sure to mention that that night was a date, but Molly was still nervous, and she was worried that that would only serve to make things awkward.

Lifting a hand, she gently rubbed at her forehead, trying to calm herself down slightly, before she nodded to herself. Pushing the car door open, she took a second to smooth out her dress before she made her way up the front path and knocked on the door. Taking a tiny step backwards, she tucked her hair behind her ear before the door swept open, allowing Gerard to grin at her before he moved out of the way. “Come on in” he quipped “I am going to have to cover your eyes” he added quickly.

Molly’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “What?” she asked.

Gerard let out a slightly bashful laugh. “I have a surprise for you” he clarified “And I want it to stay a surprise until I am ready to show it to you. Is that alright?” he asked.

Molly smiled gently before she nodded her head. “Yes” she confirmed.

Gerard’s answering smile was a little nervous as he shuffled behind her, gently covering her eyes with his hand. “You look beautiful” he said, carefully guiding her out of the hall.

“Thank you” Molly said “I’d say you look nice too, but I didn’t really get to look at you before this happened” she added, gesturing to his hand.

Gerard laughed. “It’ll make sense in a second” he said “I know we agreed to have dinner here, but we do that all the time, so I wanted to do something a little more special. Do you remember what we did every year on Poppy’s birthday to avoid her annoying friends?” he prodded, steering her around another corner.

Molly let out a slightly bemused laugh. “You mean camping?” she asked “As lovely as that sounds, I have work in the morning” she added.

“I know you do” Gerard quipped, gently pulling her to a stop “But that doesn’t mean that it is impossible” he added before he lifted his hand away from her eyes.

Molly blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the light, before she felt a wide smile split across her features, squishing the uncomfortable knot of anxiety that had still been twisting in the pit of her stomach. “What did you do?” she asked quietly.

Gerard’s hands cautiously settled on Molly’s waist before he leant over, placing a cautious kiss on the top of her head. “I built a tent in my living room” he murmured into her hair.

It was a risk. When they had talked throughout the week, they had only talked about the prospect of them having a slightly awkward dinner date in his dining room, but the more he had thought about it, the more he had wanted to do something that was unique to them. It wasn’t just another dinner, it was their first date, and he wanted it to be something they’d both remember.

The laugh that Molly let out was somewhere between awed and nervous, and caused Gerard to smile into her hair. “I’ve got dinner in the kitchen” he quipped “You sit down. I’ll go and grab it, OK?” he prodded.

Molly nodded her head, but didn’t turn to look at him, still slightly in awe of what he had done.

Gerard placed another kiss on the top of her head before he walked away, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

~#~
“Wait, I thought that Jack was Sofia’s boyfriend?”

Molly, who had sat up to pour herself another drink, shook her head, rolling her eyes playfully at Gerard who was still stretched out on the sleeping bag they’d been laying on together. It had been great. After Gerard had broken the ice by showing her the tent in his living room, the knot that had been painful in her stomach throughout the previous week had seemingly disappeared, and it had allowed her to just enjoy the moment. She knew that there was stuff for them to figure out, things that they would inevitably have to talk about if their relationship was going to progress, but it wasn’t something that needed to be done that night, and she had made the decision to push it out of her mind, allowing her to enjoy what was easily the best first date she had been on in a long time.

“I am starting to think you don’t listen when I talk about my friends” Molly quipped.

Gerard scoffed playfully. “I listen” he said “Sofia has a daughter. Ellie” he added.

Molly rolled her eyes, but couldn’t do anything to stifle the smile on her face. “What’s Poppy’s husband’s name?” she asked.

Gerard pushed himself up slightly, smirking at the challenge. “Felipe” he quipped “They met when they were seventeen. He’s a vet” he added smugly.

Molly shook her head amusedly. “My first boyfriend?” she asked.

“Elijah” Gerard answered “You were together for two months when you were thirteen” he added.

Molly let out a laugh. She was kind of smitten with how much he remembered. “The worst date I have ever been on?” she prodded.

“I am really hoping not this one” Gerard said, blowing out a slightly nervous laugh “But maybe any of the ones that Ava’s set you up on since things with Tiago ended. I know you guys are close, but if they were all as bad as you’ve led me to believe, she clearly doesn’t know you very well” he added.

Molly shook her head gently as she laid down again, something Gerard mimicked. “I think it’s probably more my fault than hers” she quipped “Things with Tiago ended messily, and he left me with a lot to think about. I made a mistake in asking her to help” she added.

Gerard gently pushed her hair off of her face. “What about tonight?” he asked “Is this a mistake?” he added, his voice tentative.

Molly stared up at him, a slow warm smile brightening her features. “Doesn’t feel like one” she answered.

Gerard’s eyes searched her for a moment, but before he had the chance to lean in, Molly’s phone beeped, causing her to flash him a slightly shy smile before she shuffled back to her feet. Gerard followed, watching as she gathered her bag and coat, before she stepped back towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “Call me” she murmured “And I mean a real phone call. Not a text” she added with a grin as she backed towards the front door.

“You can count on it” Gerard called back.

Molly flashed him one more wide smile before she left the room, leaving him smiling after her.