Brayden, Melissa - How Sweet It Is

He smiled a little brighter at the mention of his son, a friend of hers from high school. “Just promoted to junior partner at the firm in Chicago. I’ll tell him I saw you. Glad you’re home. Say hi to your folks for me.”

“Will do, Mr. Mueller. It was nice seeing you.”

Molly shook her head as they walked on.

“What?”

“Everyone loves you. It’s foregone. Some sort of cosmic rule.”

Jordan smiled widely. “Well, of course.”

That earned her a pointed nudge in the ribs. “Ow.”

“Oh, please. Where to now?”

Jordan looked around, plotting their next move. “The soccer field?”

“Okay. A nostalgic glimpse of the glory days coming right up.” Molly had to admit that she was feeling lighter. It turned out she needed to get out of the shop. She just hadn’t realized it. Plus, the town seemed to sparkle extra bright today. Maybe it was just spending time with Jordan and putting things back in place between them. Who knew?

But it didn’t matter. The sun was making its descent in the sky and the cooler temperature had her energized, up for anything. And with Jordan, you never knew what you were in for.

Ten minutes later, they arrived on the very pristine soccer field. The high school went to great lengths to keep it in tiptop condition, and the wide expanse of green grass was quite picturesque. Jordan put her hands on her hips and blew out a breath. “Totally and completely surreal to be standing here right now. Whoa.”

Molly had to agree. She came out for a lot of the high school football games to support her alma mater, but soccer was somehow harder. It had been Cassie’s passion, and without her, it had just seemed empty. Standing there with Jordan, however, carried with it a whole different purpose. She was a vibrant presence, and Molly felt the effect of her proximity. “A lot of your youth was spent right here on this grass.”

Jordan took a few steps in. “Yeah, well, until I was kicked off the team.”

“You always did think you knew more than everyone else.”

“In shocking news, it turns out I don’t. It just took a few years for me to figure that part out.”

Molly stared, struck at the way the descending sun layered across Jordan’s eyes, making the blue more vibrant than she’d ever seen it. “I think that’s called acquired maturity.”

“Don’t give me too much credit. I’m about to break into that equipment shed over there and lose all sorts of mature points.” Her grin was pure mischief as she backed away.

Oh, this wasn’t a good idea. Molly was pretty much a rule follower, and the words “breaking in” so did not fit into that neat little square. “Jordan,” she called. “Hey, maybe not. I’d rather stay out of jail, you know, if at all possible.”

Jordan lifted her head from the lock she now examined. “Live a little, Molly. Nothing will happen, I promise. And who knows? You might even like it.”

She didn’t have a chance to protest further, however, as it only took Jordan two point three seconds to pop the lock. The door was now open, and moments later, Jordan approached dribbling a soccer ball proudly. “Wanna play?”

“Pshh, no. I’m not into anything that requires defense. I was a cheerleader in high school, remember?”

Jordan offered a lazy smile. “I have not forgotten. Do you still have the uniform?”

For whatever reason, a typical Jordan comment that she could have matched toe to toe just a few days ago now left her speechless, and, oh God, was she blushing? Yep, that was a full on blush she felt creeping down her neck. Jordan must have noticed too, and in a merciful move, let her off the hook.

“You don’t have to answer that if you’ll play with me.”

She kicked the ball to her.

“Fine,” Molly said and rolled her eyes. But the true source of her annoyance was at herself and her inability to behave like a normal human, not at Jordan. But who was counting?

She kicked the ball back.

And they were underway.

They started out in a side-by-side run, passing the ball between them as they went. But once they’d covered the length of the field once, their game turned into one of keep away, with Molly struggling with everything she had to steal the ball from Jordan, who was so much more adept at this, that it wasn’t close to fair. Finally, out of breath and feeling like she might die, Molly collapsed onto her back in the middle of the field.

But she was smiling.

There was some aspect of the carefree play that loosened something in her and made her heart soar, even as it thudded wildly in her chest from exertion. True, she was more out of breath than she’d probably been in her entire life thus far, but there was a euphoric high there too. “I see why you like this,” she said to Jordan who stretched out on her back alongside her. They both stared up at the darkening sky.

“Told you you’d have fun. You should listen to me more.”

Molly turned her face to Jordan’s and they shared a smile. “I should. You’re kind of unpredictable though. That part hasn’t changed.”

“Yeah, I think I’m okay with that.”

“Me too.” It was true. She found it kind of refreshing. And a little hot. Damn it, she didn’t mean that last part.

As if reading her thoughts, Jordan pushed herself onto her side and propped her head up with her hand. As she looked down at Molly, the amusement fell from her face and was replaced with sincerity. Molly felt her stomach tighten in reflex. “About earlier, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, you know, with the cheerleader comment.”

Molly nodded, but couldn’t shake the reaction she was having to Jordan’s proximity. “It’s okay. I know you were just being playful. It’s what you do.”

“But after everything, I should be more sensitive to the…situation.”

Ah, yes, the situation. She decided to play stupid. It was her best chance to sidestep whatever it was that was pulling at her, because if she allowed herself to think about the other night as she lay there, looking up at Jordan, well, the slope would become a lot more slippery. “I don’t think we have a situation.”

“No?” Jordan’s gaze trailed lazily down her face. When her eyes lingered briefly on Molly’s lips, she felt it all over. The air between them was doing that snap-crackle-pop thing.

“No,” Molly said absently. Was she imagining it or had Jordan closed the distance between them? Because her mouth seemed extra close, and she had to admit, it was an incredibly sexy mouth. Jordan reached down and gently moved a strand of hair from Molly’s forehead, and for the life of her, Molly couldn’t remember why this kind of closeness was a bad idea. And then Jordan reminded her.

“Cassie and I spent her last night in town out here, before she left for college.” She pushed herself into a sitting position and stared out at the field once again.

“Oh yeah?” Molly said, following her up.

“One of my favorite memories of her. After that, I used to come out here a lot, late at night, almost to this very spot. You know, when I had a lot on my mind, or just needed to be alone. It became my place.”

It was almost completely dark out now and the stars were peaking through the night sky ever so slightly. As Jordan was sitting slightly in front of her, Molly couldn’t see her face. “What do you like about it?”

“It’s so quiet. Just listen.” They did for several long moments. “Probably the quietest place on earth. This town, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, has the most unique hum about it once everyone is tucked in for the night. But out here, it’s different. There’s nothing. Barely a cricket. When you sit out here, it’s just you and the night.”

It was beautiful, what Jordan just said. And as much as Molly thought she knew everything there was to know about Applewood, Jordan had just taught her something new. She hugged her knees to her chest and looked up at the pale moon. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”