Until You Met Me

Forty Seven

“You do know that it’s Saturday, right?”

Molly, who was twisting her hair into a ponytail, lifted her head slightly, sparing a slightly sleepy glare at Gerard who was sat on the sofa, grinning up at her impishly. Huffing, she finished fixing her hair before she slumped into the seat at his side, taking the mug of tea that he had been holding out to her. “Thank you” she mumbled.

Gerard reached up, smoothing a loose piece of hair behind her ear, before he shook his head, trying, and failing, to stifle his amused laugh. “Why didn’t you just tell Sofia that you were staying here last night?” he asked “Couldn’t she have pushed the appointment back an hour?” he added.

Molly shook her head, sipping on her tea, before she leant forwards, placing the mug down onto the coffee table. “She’s been waiting for this appointment for months” she mused “And she is so excited about it. It is maybe the wedding thing she is most excited about, and I wasn’t about to disappoint her by telling her that I didn’t really want to get out of bed at seven in the morning on a Saturday just to make sure I was there on time” she added.

“So you’re going to go home and nap straight after, right?” Gerard prodded impishly.

Molly’s answering smile was warm as she nodded her head. “As soon as I am allowed to leave” she confirmed “Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to be looking at wedding dresses with Sofia. I know how much it means to her, and it means a lot to me that she wants me to be there to help, but there’s a little part of me that is thinking about cancelling. Do you think she would hate me?” she asked.

“A little bit” Gerard replied.

Molly scoffed out a laugh before an alarm chimed from her phone, causing her to let out a quiet sigh. “I should already be in the car” she mumbled.

“Why aren’t you, then?” Gerard asked teasingly.

Molly let out another soft sigh before she reluctantly moved to her feet, padding over to where she had left her shoes and bag.

Gerard watched her for a moment, smiling to himself, before he moved towards her, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head. “It’s OK” he murmured “When you start looking for wedding dresses, I will make sure that you schedule your appointment at a reasonable time” he added.

Molly, who had started to toy with the bottom of his t-shirt, stilled slightly. “You’ll make sure?” she asked “Are you planning on being involved in the planning of my wedding?” she added, trying to keep her voice light and playful.

She didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. In the few months that they had been dating, they had both made playful references to the possibility of a proposal or a wedding, but it was the first time that Gerard had included them both directly in a comment, and Molly wanted to gauge how serious he was about it. She knew that it was still a way off, that she and Gerard were still in a phase where they were learning about their relationship, but she wanted to know if it was something that had crossed his mind. It was something that had crossed hers a couple of times.

Gerard opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, his blue eyes searching the look of shock on Molly’s face, before he let out a flustered laugh, his cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. He knew how it had sounded. He knew that she had heard him make a comment about a wedding including the two of them, and he could see the shock on her face, something that made him desperately want to unsay it.

“You don’t remember drunkenly asking me to be your maid of honour, then?” Gerard quipped, forcing out another laugh “You promised me that I could pick out plate patterns and table cloths. I was really looking forwards to it” he added.

Molly blinked a couple of times, trying not to let her face fall, before she shook her head, laughing gently. “I will be sure to ask your opinion on everything” she quipped “But right now, I have to go. I’ll call you tonight?” she asked.

Gerard nodded. “Sounds good” he said “Have fun with Sofia” he added.

Molly pushed herself up onto her toes, pecking his lips a couple of times, before she ducked out of the front door. Gerard waited for it to click close before he let his eyes close, ruefully wondering why he hadn’t kept his mouth shut.

~#~
“You’ve been quiet”

Molly, who was fiddling with the lid on her paper cup, glanced away from it, her eyes meeting Ava’s which were watching her concernedly, a sight that caused Molly to sigh slightly. She thought that she had hidden it well. When she had pulled her car to a stop outside of the bridal boutique that Sofia had invited her to, she had resolved to focus on her friend, and push the weird feeling she had been left with when she had left Gerard’s home to one side, but the look on Ava’s face told her that she had failed, and that, despite her best efforts, her friends knew that there was something on her mind.

“Have I been?” Molly asked.

“You know that you have been” Ava replied “You’ve looked at that coffee cup more than you’ve looked at all these dresses. You didn’t even laugh when Sofia’s mother suggested this one” she added, pointing at a dress that was hung up behind them.

Molly glanced at it, her lips quirking slightly. “I missed that?” she asked.

“You did” Ava confirmed “So what’s up?” she asked.

“What makes you think that there’s something up?” Molly retorted.

“You answering my questions with questions is usually a pretty good indicator” Ava replied “Come on, Molly. What’s wrong?” she asked.

Molly opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to come up with the right way to word it, before she blew out a soft sigh, shrugging her shoulders slightly. “Gerard made a joke this morning” she said carefully “It was about him making sure that my wedding dress appointment was at a reasonable time” she added.

Ava frowned. “Are you planning a wedding that no one knows about?” she asked.

“No” Molly replied quickly “I just...I don’t know. I thought for a second that he was dropping a hint. We’ve made a few jokes, and our parents aren’t shy about dropping hints about us getting engaged, but it was the first time I thought he was talking directly about us having a wedding, and then he just...he played it off. Said I had asked him to be my maid of honour, and laughed. Maybe I was reading a little too much into it, but I...I kind of wanted him to mean it, Ava” she admitted shyly.

Ava’s eyes widened a little. “You want to marry him?” she asked.

Molly’s answering nod was hesitant, but the smile on her face was honest and warm. “I think I do” she confirmed “I mean, I know we’ve only been a couple for a few months, but we’ve got years of history, and now that we’re together...I don’t think I can see myself with anyone else. Is that weird?” she asked.

Ava shook her head. “It’s not weird” she answered “I am just a little surprised that it’s come up so soon. I mean, I figured as much, but hearing you say it?” she replied, her voice soft with awe.

Molly just shrugged, her cheeks a bashful shade of pink.

“You should tell him” Ava said “Even if his reaction isn’t what you’re looking for. It’s better to know, no?” she prodded, sending Molly a significant look.

Molly nodded her head. It didn’t take much to work out that the look was Ava’s way of reminding her of what had happened between her and Tiago. She had always hesitated, always found a way to avoid pushing Tiago to talk about their future, and in the end, it was what caused them to break up. If she had just asked him what he wanted, they could have figured out that they were on two different pages long before they had. “OK” she said.

Ava smiled and squeezed Molly’s hand softly before Sofia appeared in front of them, causing the two of them to gasp softly, in awe of the sight of her.
♠ ♠ ♠
Thanks to Twisted;;Symphony for the comment :)