“So what exactly is the purpose of you bringing me out here?” Daisy asked as we walked together through the town.

“I didn’t realize I needed a purpose.” I answered her. “Don’t you ever hang out with your friends after school or something?”

“What friends?” she asked me with a sarcastic smile. “Nope. My best friends are my computer, my books, Khan Academy, Project Gutenberg and Duolingo.”

I chuckled to myself. “You know, my friends call me a stiff for working too hard.” I told her, as if that fact in itself was a hilarious joke. “I need to introduce them to you sometime.”

“Try it and you die.” Daisy said seriously.

“I thought Kurz Gesagt was another good friend of yours.” I remarked. “What happened, did you two have a fight?”

Daisy bit her upper lip in thought. “I thought it was cool, but it’s so simple. It doesn’t bother to go into detail beyond what a sixth grader already knows.”

“You’re such a nerd.” I replied. “Well, besides, I thought it would be cool for us to hang out. Y’know, get some brother-sister bonding time.”

“Brother-sister bonding time.” Daisy repeated slowly, looking at me weirdly. “You know what? Sure. Why not? I just hope that you’re getting something out of this, because I’m not.”

“I think I’ve figured out why you don’t have a boyfriend.” I muttered.

“Yeah, because I’m not looking for one.” she reminded me. “Or maybe it’s because I don’t walk in on my friends naked. Or, or, here’s a thought, maybe it’s because I obsess over one girl for a year and call out her name when I’m having meaningless cheap sex with some two-cent hussie I met on campus. Oh no, wait, that’s someone else.”

“Shut up.” I replied bitterly, and Daisy, although rare for her, grinned at me in response. She sure loved to push my buttons sometimes.

“I’m tired.” I nonchalantly yawned after about a minute of walking, and sat down on a nearby bench.

“Me too.” Daisy replied. “Feel lucky that you didn’t have to get up early for church. If God was really all-loving, you think he would show us nighthawks some love and make a commandment to hold mass later in the day.”

I chuckled. “Nice.” I felt out a fist, which she bumped, even though she was rolling her eyes while doing so. “Well, take comfort in the fact that I spent my Sunday morning in bed, doing nothing.”

“That just makes me jealous.” she muttered with a humorous smile. “Plus, going to come out and say it now, John Miles Baptists are dumb.”

“You’ve been holding this one in for a while, haven’t you?” I asked her.

“They’re so backwards.” she whined. “They still believe in the devil incarnate, for one thing. I didn’t realize we still lived in the 1500s, but that’s cool. And hey! If you ever want to make friends quickly and be nice to people, be ready to go to a confessional. If you’re a member of their church, you’re encouraged to treat people with initial distrust. Like… what?!”

“You’re angry, aren’t you?” I asked her, half humorously, half supportively.

“I just hate when a regressive message is brought to the masses and they just eat it up.” she complained. “It sure would be great if people would realize that no authority is perfect and learn to judge a moral by its substance, not its medium.”

I shook my head in confusion. “Huh?”

She sighed. “Nothing. I’m just annoyed.”

“Mm.” I replied lazily, rapidly losing interest in the conversation. My eyes travelled over the street until they landed on an ice cream store, and as soon as I saw it, I got a powerful craving. “Hey, do you want ice cream?”

After I finished my sentence, I realized that Daisy was still ranting. She stopped and chuckled. “Sure.” she answered. “Anything to shut me up, huh?”

I chuckled myself, albeit nervously. “Sorry.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care.” she told me. “I don’t have any money on me, so it’s on you.”

I sighed. “I guess I’ll pay for this one.” I conceded. “But only because I’m a gentleman!”

She laughed. “You honestly think you’re a gentleman? You?!”

“Oi!” I interjected, a little hurt.

“Read more Jane Austen novels, you bozo.” She laughed again as she stood up. “Come on, ice cream… remember?”

I smiled to myself. So mature yet so not. I stood up and together, we walked up to the ice cream store and stood in line. When we got to the front, a kind-looking guy with a round face smiled at us. “Hi there! What can I get you?” he asked in a slightly Russian accent.

“Hey!” I warmly responded. “Could I please get a single-scoop cone of… chocolate chip, please?”

“Of course!” he kindly responded as he got a cone and began to fill it. “And for the lady?”

Daisy, standing next to me, shrunk back and grabbed my shirt with both hands, immediately looking down to the floor.

I sighed. Ironically, in her attempts to look immature in one way, to me, she came across as immature in another way. I wish she could get over her desire to look small and helpless. “Sorry,” I smiled to the shopkeeper. “She’s really shy around strangers.” I turned to her and knelt down slightly. “What would you like, Daisy?” I asked her in a sickly sweet voice. To anyone else, I was being a supportive older brother figure. To her, though, I was mocking her and she knew it.

“Rocky road.” She mumbled in a squeaky voice.

I got back up and looked at the shopkeeper. “A single-scoop cone of rocky road, please.”

He smiled and nodded, and got us our order. After we paid, we sat back down at the same bench and started to enjoy our ice cream.

“One scoop.” she complained as she bit into her ice cream. “You cheapo.”

“When you pay for your own food you can get whatever you want.” I fired back at her. “So why do you have to do the whole shy thing in front of absolutely everyone?”

“People always recognize weird behavior, especially in kids.” she began, as if she had already made this speech for when I ask. “In fact, people are looking for it. If I tried to hide the fact that, let’s face it, I’m a genius…”

I nodded to recognize the fact.

“Thanks – then eventually I’ll slip up and people will start treating me differently. So the shyness is like an extra layer of security. If I ever do anything weird, people can chalk it up to me being shy, not being super smart.”

“But why is it bad if people treat you like a genius?” I asked her.

“Expectations.” she simply answered. “If my parents found out I could do half the stuff I can, they’d always be pushing me. I like having free time, having people applaud me for being able to graph linear patterns, and being able to read my books in peace without people quizzing me on them. If my parents found out about me, they’d make me go through Dr. Young’s gifted program.” she shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about how hard they work you there.”

“Maybe it might help you get your dream job though.” I pointed out. “What do you want to be when you’re older?”

“I don’t know yet.” she answered. “Probably something in the sciences. Getting a career in the arts is stupid. Books are for reading, not writing. Plus, people who write stories are usually pretentious as hell. Maybe a psychologist or a neuroscientist or something.”

“Brains, huh?” I remarked. “Well, with your skill sets, you could do anything you want.”

“I know.” she acknowledged. “That’s why I want to remain a secret, at least for now. Otherwise, expectations will cripple me.”

Daisy may have been smart, but her way of dealing with her problems was definitely that of a twelve-year-old. “Molly wants to go into interpretation, translation, and language analysis.” I said aloud.

“I know.” she nodded. “Believe it or not, she tells her own family stuff.”

“I think that’s cute.” I continued. “She’s adorable when she’s all focussed.”

“Have you told your family you want to be a teacher?” Daisy asked, ignoring me gushing about Molly.

“Huh? Um, nah.” I shifted in my seat.

She chuckled. “Oh right, you get along with your family about as well as Sir Isaac Newton got along with his.” She grinned.

I shifted in my seat again, saying nothing, and looked down. She looked over at me and stopped grinning. “Ah, not a thing you like talking about, huh?” she asked awkwardly. “Well, maybe we shouldn’t talk about it anymore. Sound good?”

I think that was her way of saying sorry. “Sound good?” she repeated, and I nodded. I didn’t have the best weekend myself. If I were anyone other than myself, I think I could have changed that years ago. Hell, if I had any kind of spine, I would have just refused to go to my dad’s place yesterday. Luckily, I wasn’t planning to be naked around Molly anymore, so it’s not like she would see my bruises before they heal.

***

The two bottles of Smirnoff lasted an ungodly amount of time. It was easy to picture Chris as a lightweight, but not Jerome. Despite Chris moving in on Monday, even on Friday they were still at it, hooting and hollering and watching more old movies drunk off of their asses on the couch.

I wouldn’t have even been aware if I didn’t get hungry and bored sitting in my room, waiting for the night to pass. The promise I made to Daisy on the weekend was just about the most stupid one I had ever made. Without my usual game of ‘Who looks insecure enough to fuck a stranger,’ Friday nights became insufferably boring.

“Hey guys.” I lazily waved towards the living room as I made my way to the kitchen.

I had my head in the fridge, looking around as I felt a head lean in next to mine.

I sighed. “Hi, Chris.” I mumbled, thrilled with his company.

Chris, in response, started cracking up in really weird-sounding chuckles. I sighed again and pulled some leftovers out of the fridge.

“Aaron…” Chris began, eyeing me as I sat down. “You’re usset.”

“I’m fine, Chris. Just bored.” I answered plainly as I began to eat.

“You… bored?!” Chris asked me as if that were impossible, slurring every word as he sat down opposite me. “Then ye s-should tot’lly hang out with us then!” With that, his head hit the table.

“You okay, buddy?” I asked him, attempting to lift up his hair.

“Yeah.” he mumbled sadly. He had a tendency to be borderline bipolar when he was drunk. “I’m jus’ usset.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“I’ll never tell.” he spoke into the table. I waited a few seconds, and sure enough, he continued. “It’s juss… you’re a great guy. I don’t want you to feel sad n’ stuff.”

“Chris, I’m not sad. I’m just bored.” I told him.

“Not tonight.” he clarified. “You’s upset annn’ I don’ like it.”

“Chris, really, I’m fine.” I insisted. “Now why don’t we get you back to Jerome?”

Chris sighed a long, annoyed sigh. “I like Jerome a lot.” he told me, emotion overflowing from his voice.

“Then it’s a good thing he’s waiting for you in the living room.” I replied, pushing my food away and getting up so I could help Chris out of his seat. “Come on.”

“But like…” Chris paused. “I mean like, a lot. He’s soooo sweet and…”

“Yeah, he’s a dreamboat.” I interrupted, my patience thinning. “C’mon.”

Maybe I really can’t do more than 140, I thought bitterly to myself as I tried to lift Chris out of his chair. Eventually he complied and with another annoyed moan, got up and immediately collapsed into me, leaving me awkwardly dragging him into the living room to meet Jerome.

Or rather, Jerome’s body. His snoring was the first clue that we wouldn’t be contacting him anytime soon. He sounded like someone inhaled a lawnmower and was loudly whining about it.

Chris, seemingly relearning how to walk, stood up from my grip and stumbled over to him. “Aw, poor baby.” he rubbed his face supportively. “He’s… he’s out.”

I sighed, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. “Okay then, should we wake him up?”

Chris turned to face me and in a very drunken and over-exaggerated manner, shook his head no. “Once Jer Bear is out there’s- there’s no wakin’ him up. I arready tried it, and every time, is like… nothing.”

“Okay, so what do we do?” I asked. “Do we just carry him upstairs?”

Chris collapsed into his fit of crackling chuckles again. “H-he’s super duper heavy n’ stuff, sweethear’.” he told me with a humorous tone in his voice.

Exasperatedly, I asked, “Then what? Do we need Molly to help us drag his ass upstairs?”

Chris’ eyes lit up as the cogs in his head began to turn. “Ooh, Molly!” he grinned. “I wanna visit Molly.”

I was instantly eating my words. “Well, hold on.” I began. “I think she’s studying. Maybe now is not the best time.”

“Wha… why wouldn’t it be?” Chris asked me, so sadly that tears may as well have been in his eyes. His eyes reflected sad thought as they remained fixed on the floor for a few seconds of awkward silence, then they bolted back up to mine. “Why doesn’t she like me?” he asked me solemnly.

“Molly? She loves you, don’t play that card.” I told him, my voice beginning to get stern.

“Not who I meant.” he slurred in response.

“What?” I asked, now thoroughly confused.

“N’ver mind.” he waved me off, sadness instantly gone. He bounced up to me and grabbed me by the hand. “C’mon, let’s go visit Molly.” he sang as he practically dragged me down the stairs. Within seconds, he was behind Molly, hugging her enthusiastically with a loud “Hey, giiiiiirl!” leaving me with my head buried in my hands at the doorway.

Luckily, Molly was really comfortable around both Chris and myself, so she had no problems adjusting to the sudden increase of humans in her room, even if one was touching her all over. “You have such a beautiful body.” Chris enviously pouted.

“Thank you, Chris. That’s very sweet of you.” Molly sweetly and patiently replied as Chris ran his hands over her shoulders.

“Whatcha up to?” he asked her.

“Just on my computer!” She simply answered.

“Oh, that’s all cool.” Chris processed what she said. “Aaron, Molly’s here!” He grinned in my general direction.

“In her room. Imagine that.” I replied humorlessly.

Molly gave me a pitying smile, and supportively started rubbing Chris’ arms, which were hugging her from behind. “Hey Chris, are you tired?” she asked him, knowing the answer.

Chris thought about it for a second. “Oh my god.” he exclaimed in realization. “I am so tired.”

“Maybe you should go to sleep then.” she coaxed him. She had mastered a voice which didn’t sound dismissive, just full of care. Chris, in response, blinked a couple times as he backed away from her slowly, processing what she had told him. It was clear on his face that he was debating whether he wanted to go to sleep, or if he wanted to revert back to his usual drunk attitude of “I’m going to party forever.”

I turned my head back to face Molly and she followed suit, smiling pityingly at me. “Is biology class giving you a hard time?” she asked. I didn’t take biology – it was our code word for Chris when he was drunk.

“It would really be nice if I could just… have tonight to myself.” I replied, burying my face in my hands. “I dunno. I don’t feel alright.”

“It’s probably because you’re not out with your friends studying.” Molly suggested.

I lightly chuckled. “Studying isn’t fun, you know.” I remarked. “It’s not like I miss it.”

“Yeah, but it was always at school with people you like.” Molly replied. “I’m sure you miss not getting to go out and feel free. You can go stir crazy staying at home for too long.” She turned back to face her computer. “Believe me.”

“I believe you.” I nodded, then turned back to face Chris to see how he was handling himself.

He wasn’t. My eyes met what could have easily been a dead body, still flamboyant in his pose as he lay messily on Molly’s bed. It looked like he was purposefully trying to take up as much area as possible on her bed as he lay sprawled on her mattress. Molly, noting the silence, looked back, saw Chris, and sighed.

“Excuse me.” she lightly told me as she stood up from her chair and slid past. “I should probably move his head. If he’s going to throw up in the middle of the night, I don’t want it to be on my bed and none of us want him to choke.”

“You’re joking, right?” I asked her as she delicately grabbed his head and started tilting it. “You’re going to move him. You can’t be wishy-washy about this. He’s taking up your bed. Grow a backbone.”

She looked up at my, slightly hurt from my comment. “Sorry, sorry.” I defended myself, waving my hands in front of my face. “I just mean…”

“I know what you mean, don’t worry.” Molly huffed, still clearly slightly upset. “I’m not going to move him though.”

“You moved his head, just move it off. The rest of his body will follow suit.” I joked.

“I’m not going to do that, Aaron. That’s mean.” she shot back.

“Fine, I will.” I shrugged, then pre-emptively put my index finger in front of her mouth. “He won’t mind. Think of the last time Chris held a grudge.” I was used to taking the lead role in getting stuff done whenever Molly was around. As I expected, she backed away, shoulders up, as I started prodding Chris in the cheek.

Prodding turned to light tapping, which turned to shaking, which turned to giving up. After about four minutes, I looked back at Molly who had almost an amused look on her face.

“Okay, fine. He wins. Columbus has claimed the bed for Spain. Have fun sleeping in that mess.”

Molly slowly looked back at the bed. Not only did he make it impossible for there to be room for two, but the threat of vomiting was still there. “I’ll pass.” she remarked quietly. “I think I’ll take the couch instead.” She gracefully walked past me again, sliding past the walls of her cramped room as she closed her laptop, grabbed her phone and walked out the door. “Turn out the light on your way out.” She called out behind her.

That was fine and dandy until I remembered why the couch was unavailable. Quickly, I ran out of the room, hitting the lightswitch on the way out. “Hey Molly, I don’t think that’s gonna work.” I called out to her, walking swiftly up the stairs. I passed the kitchen to see her in the living room entrance, staring at Jerome.

“I can see that.” she pouted.

“And if we can’t move Chris, there’s no way in hell we’re going to make that lump move.” I added.

“That crossed my mind.” she quietly responded. We stood in silence until I felt like it had passed the threshold of awkwardness.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” I asked, turning to her.

She was looking down at the floor, upsettedly tapping her hip with her finger. “I dunno.” she lamely responded.

“Great plan.” I replied, my annoyance with the whole night bleeding through at this point. “Well, here’s a novel idea. Neither Jerome nor Chris are going to be using their bed tonight. You could always take it. After all, Chris took yours so it’s only fair.”

“Um…” she uneasily began.

“What?” I asked pre-emptively. “Afraid of germs?”

Molly giggled. “You’re a dork.” she said, lightly shoving me.

“I’m a handsome dork.” I replied, beaming. Molly said nothing, which in a normal situation would have been fine but given my feelings, her silence chastised me.

After a bit of silence, she piped up again. “I don’t want to inconvenience him.” she told me.

“Inconvenience him?” I asked incredulously. “He’s asleep. That bed will literally be empty tonight. And, point of order, it will be the only bed empty tonight so your options are limited.”

“I could always just sleep on the floor.” she quietly offered.

“Molly, you’re making this so much harder than it needs to be.” I complained, raking my fingers over my face.

“Aaron, please.” Molly pleaded, her voice getting smaller. “I wouldn’t be comfortable inconveniencing him.”

I stared at her for a little while. She was inventing a problem in her mind, but that wasn’t her fault. She was clearly upset and uncomfortable from all this and there was only one person in the room to help make that better.

“Well, it’s a good thing I would be.” I concluded. “Take my bed and I’ll take his. You’re not inconveniencing me because I’ll still get a bed, and you don’t have to sleep on the floor. Deal?”

“Aaron, no, it’s okay.” Molly weakly protested.

“Molly, I want you to do it.” I practically begged. “It’ll inconvenience me if you say no.”

She didn’t say anything for a little bit. She just stood there, staring at the floor. Finally, she looked back up at me with a small smile. “That’s just playing dirty.” she finally accused.

I grinned. “Yeah, well, you’d better hurry up before I change my mind.” I playfully added. “If you want extra pillows they’re in the bottom drawer of the closet.”

Molly’s small smile turned into a big one, and she moved forward to hug me. “I’m not sure why you’re so nice to me sometimes.” she told me.

Adrenaline surged through me as I went bold. “Someday I hope you realize just how much you mean to me.” I came ridiculously close to ending the sentence with ‘sweetheart,’ but I bit my tongue. “For now, believe me when I tell you that you’re worth it.”

We broke the hug and without another word, Molly slowly made the journey downstairs, ready to survey the unfamiliar territory she would be occupying for the night.

I sighed to myself, both thinking of Molly and how head-over-heels I pathetically was for her, and how much I had to constantly convince her she wasn’t the demon she thought she was. I would never stop convincing her she was a good person, but it really took a lot out of me. I took out my phone and checked text messages and other stupid notifications for a bit, then, content with myself, put it back in my pocket and made the trip upstairs. I could just take off my pants and socks then jump in – I’m glad Molly’s obsessive-compulsive tendencies got me into brushing my teeth so early.

As I neared the door to the happy couple’s room, a possibility I wasn’t expecting dawned on me. Afraid to confirm, I slowly extended my hand and tried the doorknob. Yup. Locked. “You have got to be kidding me…” I mumbled to myself, giving one angry chuckle before trying again, then once more, loudly and angrily. It wouldn’t budge. My head hit the door in frustration as alternative possibilities whirled through my mind. The couch was taken. The other beds were taken. I was unable to fall asleep in chairs. I guess it was the floor for me.

“Fuck.” I muttered to myself as I made my way down the stairs into the living room. My eyes disgustedly met Jerome’s body, and out of reflex I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as I walked past, through the kitchen and down the stairs.

I didn’t want to inconvenience Molly but my room was the only place I was really comfortable sleeping on the floor. I both hoped she wasn’t asleep so I wouldn’t wake her up, and that she wasn’t awake so I wouldn’t make her worry about me. I could just slip in, grab a pillow, and fall asleep noiselessly on the floor. Easy peasy.

Opening the door super slowly, I looked around the room. I’m not sure what I was expecting – the room was pitch-black. I couldn’t hear any stirring so I assumed Molly was asleep by then. Feeling my way around, I got to the closet and opened it, feeling around for the drawers on the bottom. I found the pillow drawer and opened it as slowly as possible, making sure to make zero noise. Once I had found a pillow and pulled it out, I slowly closed the closet door and tiptoed over to the floor. Laying the pillow down, I sighed and plopped down to the floor, where I tried to curl up into a ball in the best position to be able to ignore how hard the floor was. Unfortunately, the process took a solid minute.

Finally, I was in a position where I was pretty sure I could fall asleep. I sighed contentedly and closed my eyes, waiting for the embrace of sleep to take me.

“…Aaron?” the sleepy voice of Molly called out hesitantly.

The sigh was clearly a lot louder than I intended. “Um…” I started awkwardly. “No?”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, more concerned for me than anything else. “Why didn’t you take Jerome’s bed?”

“It’s possible his door was locked.” I answered. “So I’m just going to sleep here tonight. Cool? Sleep well.”

“Aaron, no!” she protested. “You can’t just sleep on the floor, that’s awful!”

“You know what’s awful?” I asked her bitterly. “Locking your room every time you’re not in it. Jerome had better have an embarrassing fucking diary in that room or some shit.” I complained. “I mean, it’s not like I’d regularly go into his room, but, come on…”

“Aaron!” Molly complained.

“Hey Molly, how’s it going?” I asked her, having fun with the bitterness of my situation at this point.

“You can’t.” she repeated. “You need a bed.”

“Point one out to me and I’ll gladly sleep in it.” I replied. It’s true that I was a very fussy sleeper, and would have liked something comfier than the floor. “At this point I’d gladly share the bed or couch, but I don’t want any of the drunk bastards throwing up on me. Or, like, thinking I’m their sweetheart and putting the moves on me.”

“Would…” Molly began hesitantly, her voice slightly shaking. “Would you want to share this bed?”

I sat up. “What?” I asked incredulously. Molly had huge space issues. It took a long time for her to be okay with me sitting next to her at lunch time. This was like someone with asthma offering to throw away their inhaler. And judging by the shakiness of her voice, Molly knew that. “There’s no way you’d be comfortable with that.”

“I’d be fine.” Moly replied, clearly putting on a brave face given her shaky tone. “I don’t want you to sleep on the floor.”

“I have a twin sized bed.” I reminded her. If I were selfish I would want this to happen, even if we never so much as touched, but I wanted Molly to be okay more than anything else.

“It could fit both of us on here.” she adamantly told me, standing up to her own self. “Just… stay on your side. No offence, but…”

“No no no, none taken.” I quickly reassured her. I was running out of excuses, and self-control to say no to my bed, even if it was only half. “I mean… Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” she soothed me. “I’ll be fine. …C-come on.”

If I were delusional, I’d imagine she were flirting with me, but it was clear she was so uncomfortable doing this that it wasn’t the case. “You’re going to be really uncomfortable with this.” I warned her.

“As long as you stay on your side I’ll be fine.” she told me. “I want you to. I know you like sleep. Please?”

I sighed. “This is really weird, Molly.” I told her.

I could hear her smile. “We’re housemates, aren’t we? I don’t think it’ll be too weird. I trust you.”

Wordlessly, I stood up, silently conceding. I awkwardly fumbled around, walking towards the bed without risking touching Molly accidentally at any time until I reached the bed. The bed was pushed up against the wall and Molly clearly claimed the side closest to the wall, so without occupying too much space I gingerly slid in.

“Thanks.” I said. “Am I taking up too much space?”

“You’re fine.” she said simply.

“You’re not squished against the wall, are you? Is this weird for you?”

“Aaron.” Molly replied soothingly. “You shared your bed with me. The least I could do is share your own bed with you back.”

“Not at the same time though. This is weird.” I replied, trying to hold up the constant facade of not having any interest in her.

“Blame Chris.” Molly replied.

“So, the almighty Chris defender finally caves, huh?” I grinned.

“I didn’t think he’d fall asleep in my bed. I meant to send him to his own bed.” she continued. “What kind of person just takes someone else’s bed like that?”

“A dead-tired drunk one?” I asked.

“Good point.” she replied.

“Is there going to be some kind of reality show showdown tomorrow morning?” I asked her playfully.

She chuckled. “No.” she stated. “I just hope he’ll be okay.” She paused. “Speaking of tomorrow morning, do you mind if I wake you up? I don’t want to crawl over you.”

“But tomorrow’s Saturday.” I whined. “You get up so early. I like my sleep, dammit.”

“Blame Chris.” Molly repeated, more lightheartedly this time. Silence filled the air between us. A minute or so must have passed before Molly borderline whispered, “Goodnight, Aaron.”

“G’nite, Molly.” I said back. I heard her adjust next to me a little bit, then the sounds stopped. Nothing was happening between us but my heart didn’t care. I was sleeping beside Molly Sharpton. I was content just being here. For minutes, I could (and did) just listen to her breathe. It felt right. I felt right. I tried not to think about how this would most likely never happen again as I thought of Molly’s sweet sleeping face, inches away from mine.

I found myself smiling as the minutes flew by. I loved spending time with her. It didn’t even need to be anything big, like talking or flirting. I found myself happier than I could recall being. It hit me smack in the face that this feeling was a thousand times better than spending the night with a girl I didn’t know, fucking her senseless. The whole point of it was sex with no feelings, but this ‘feelings’ stuff felt amazing. I could practically feel Molly’s aura on me, her happiness radiating off of her, her soft skin as she cuddled up to my side…

I froze. Molly was cuddling up next to me. Molly. She sometimes asked me to stop hugging her because she was getting anxious. And yet here she was, nestled up next to me, her one hand resting on my shoulder, pulling herself closer to me.

“Uh… Molly?” I asked hesitantly. No response. No change in her breathing. I guess I wouldn’t have known before that Molly was the type to roll around in her sleep, though I wasn’t sure how common it was for people to latch on to others in their sleep.

My heart was on cloud nine. She was cuddling up to me. My natural hormonal instinct was to cuddle her right back and kiss her forehead. I wanted to hold her, to cherish her. I had never felt a rush like this before. I so desperately wanted to see her, see the face of the girl who, I couldn’t deny it, had my heart at this point.

But this was wrong. She wasn’t conscious. Even I knew the lines of consent, and Molly wasn’t giving any. If it were any other girl I doubt they would have minded, but even a hug in the wrong context could set her off, and I couldn’t bear that.

“Molly.” I said a little more loudly, and firmly. No response again. I decided to be firm as I awkwardly flipped around and grabbed her shoulder. “Molly.” I gently told her as I lightly started to shake her.

Molly didn’t react to being grabbed, although her body did. At first, her body slightly shrunk back (something she normally did when she was awake, so I had to figure it was a kneejerk reaction) and then, after a second or so, she started to move back forward, beyond where she was before. I couldn’t even blink before Molly became a little ball of Molly cuddled up to my torso.

I didn’t understand. I couldn’t understand. Sleeping Molly seemed to… want this. This was still wrong, I didn’t know if normal Molly was okay with this, but… The way she moved forward, I…. Couldn’t help it. I wasn’t able to stop myself as my hand moved from her shoulder right to her back, inviting her in. Sleeping Molly took the invitation heartily, snuggling up to me.

My head was spinning. What was anything? This wasn’t Molly, this wasn’t how she normally acted. It was like a dream. It was like my best dream ever. Even still… I didn’t want it to happen like this. I wanted to know she wanted me. I wanted her to tell me her feelings, then we could do the Disney story cliche of, “You always liked me?! I always liked you!” Not to just have her be asleep as I felt her lips on my – woah.

“Not fucking possible.” I found myself muttering out loud. Not only had Molly latched onto me, she had her head extended and was gently kissing my neck. Was this normal? Did anyone do this in their sleep? How much practice did Molly have doing this?!

Well, no offence to her, it was clear she didn’t have much. Maybe I could attribute it to her being asleep (she was asleep, right?) but she was clumsy at best as she was kissing around my neck. The kisses became more and more adventurous as her mouth opened more and more with each kiss. Each one was like a little pocket of heaven, a little firework as I lost myself. I couldn’t take it anymore. I drowned in my desire for her. It had fully consumed me by now. I let my body go limp, apart from my one hand, which travelled to the back of her head, supporting her.

“Oh, Molly…” I moaned quietly. I never wanted this to stop. She responded to me grabbing her head by making the kisses became more frantic, more powerful. She would occasionally mix it up by licking or slightly sucking my neck, her body beginning to squirm in what I could only assume was desire. Who knew this was hiding within her? Molly must have been the most sexually repressed girl on the planet. I made a mental note to research this kind of thing happening in one’s sleep, but for now, I just wanted to enjoy myself.

For the next few minutes, I did just that. Each kiss felt better than the last as Molly wrapped an arm around me and lustily pulled me in. This was beginning to feel wrong again. I didn’t want to see her sexually, I had told myself. Then she’d be like everyone else, and she was special to me. She was precious, a gem, my little Molly. I loved her.

I grabbed her waist as I shooed her head away from my neck and decided to return the favor. Not even bothering to hesitate or tease, I went into her neck and started sensually kissing Molly’s collarbone, then up to her chin, then back down again.

Her breathing was rapid at this point, and at the first kiss I heard her gasp. I could literally hear her heart. Part of me was wondering if this was even possible. Was she in a state of half-sleep? I knew that the human body stopped producing spit during sleep because no one can swallow in their sleep, so how was she able to suck on my neck? I didn’t know. I didn’t care. As amateurish as she was, she felt better than having sex with the sluttiest sex expert I could find at the bar. I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t contain myself. Without thinking, I reached forward and cupped her bra-covered breast in my hand.

I froze immediately, heart stopping in fear. Every second felt like an hour passing by. If she woke up right now, she would never talk to me again. I studied Molly’s face for what seemed like an eternity, and watched it transform.

“Mmmm.” she softly hummed as she covered my hand with her own. She wasn’t pulling my hand off. She was… pushing it in. She wanted this. She wanted me. She wanted me to continue. I had a chance to please her, and I didn’t want to disappoint.

I couldn’t believe what I was doing for several reasons. I never thought this would happen. Gently at first, then more roughly as lust overcame me, I grabbed Molly’s beautiful breast as I hungrily kissed and licked her neck, making sure I didn’t lose control and start sucking her neck. On the off chance that she didn’t know what she was doing, I didn’t want to leave hickeys, or any other kind of evidence.

My hands felt around her clothing. Molly was wearing some kind of baggy t-shirt, and… I made a scrunched-up prepare-for-the-worst face as my hand travelled south. No pants, I noted. Just underwear. And her… her beautiful, soft legs, shaven and pretty. If Molly was a virgin it was practically a crime.

I ignored the double entendre of that thought as my hands travelled back upwards. My breathing was heavy, my eyes wide open despite the darkness. Molly was still softly mewling at my kisses. My eyes travelled downwards as I thought maybe… No. I couldn’t. Molly would never forgive me.

“But Molly wants it,” the devil in my ear told me. “What’s the harm in trying? As long as you go slowly…”

I hated myself. Slowly, hesitantly, I lifted up her shirt just enough so that my hand could snake its way in. My hand fluttered across her perfect silky skin until it got to the final destination, a raise in terrain. Molly’s beautiful breast. No bra in the way, nothing between us but passion. I couldn’t resist. Without hesitation, my head too clouded to even bother being subtle, I raised her shirt up and quickly dove down with my head, departing from her neck only to meet her beautiful nipple.

I kissed it a couple of times, gently at first, to tease her. In response, she lightly gasped then sighed contentedly, her hand unconsciously making its way to the back of my head. Suppressing a grin, I got to work. Slowly, agonizingly slow, I extended my tongue and let it dance on the outside of her beautiful areola. Even when asleep, this teasing could drive anyone insane. I could feel her nipple getting puffier and harder, her hand increasing its grip on my hair, her breathing getting dangerously close to a level that could most likely rouse her from her sleep.

I caved after a while, finally wrapping her cute little nipple lovingly with my lips and giving the first strong suck. Then again, then again. I started sucking away as my hand travelled to the other nipple and started playing with it. My dick was throbbing – I hadn’t been this eager to do anything sexual in too long. The fact that I knew Molly, the apple of my eye, was enjoying it too made the feeling so much sweeter. I could only imagine the energy of her sex pulsing throughout her body, the electric feeling sucking her nipples was generating, as she (in my imagination) was thinking only of the man giving it to her, the man she desired most – me.

I thought this was the most shocking thing to ever happen to me. I thought she coudln’t blow me away any more. That was, until she grabbed my hand (in a forceful way, a way I had never see Molly do) and move it lower, lower, until my fingertips were between her legs. She wanted me to finger her. She wanted me to make her feel good.

I was already sucking her beautiful nipple. I couldn’t say no. I didn’t want to move her panties down so instead I found a good angle and snaked my hand inside, ready to feel her beautiful pussy for the first time.

Even as I sucked her nipple, I grinned. She was wet. “Good girl,” I muttered under my breath as my hand explored the outside of her folds. She had a fairly thick layer of pubic hair covering her, which was a-okay by my standards. Whatever Molly was, it was the new beautiful. I started feeling around, seeing what felt good to her, listening intently as I never gave up my sucking. Every once in a while, I let my teeth graze her nipple lightly, earning a small gasp in shock every time. I bet that Molly had never been shown a good time like this. And I wasn’t about to end it.

My fingers found her clit and promptly started to gently rub, making Molly so erratic that her hips and head started moving involuntarily. I froze, terrified she might wake up soon. For about a full terrifying second, there was nothing, then there was her hips trying to mimic the sensation against my hand, then there was her hand on top of mine, clumsily trying to make me continue. In her state of sleep she didn’t have any precise movements with her hand – only that she wanted me to continue.

A flash of ecstasy passed through me. What if… What if she wasn’t really asleep? What if shy, anxious Molly was telling me she wanted this the only way she knew how? What if she liked me back? The idea fueled my hormones and before I knew it I was rubbing her clit again, determined to make my little Molly cum.

Kisses and stray licks kept her beautiful little nipple erect as Molly was practically squealing in enjoyment as she slept. I was barely able to keep myself to just rubbing her. I had never felt so stimulated in my entire life. My dick was jumping in excitement as I felt Molly’s wetness grow. Time to give her a show, I thought to myself as I stopped rubbing and went south just a tad. My fingers encircled her pussy lips, tracing her beautiful hole before slowly, gently, and softly pressing their way inside.

Molly’s reaction was instantaneous. She hummed a particularly loud moan as her hand on mine increased its grip, growing stronger as me pushed me against herself, telling me how much she wanted it. I took the hint and plunged one finger inside her, making her practically vibrate with excitement. She moved her hips up and down to meet my movements as I started pumping my finger in and out of her, my others stopped at her entrance, except for the thumb with which I decided to give her a little extra. The angle was a bit awkward but with skill I was able to get my thumb to rub her clit as I continued fingering her. Every move of mine was now driving Sleeping Molly crazy. Her breath was shallow and quick, her hips pressing back against my hand with all of their strength, her warmth radiating from her perfect, beautiful body.

Just as my hand began to get tired, the moment we were waiting for approached. I could feel Molly’s walls contracting as her first foreign orgasm was about to hit her (with a sex drive like that, there was no way she never masturbated). It approached for about twenty seconds solid as she continued to move faster and faster, and then, she exploded. Hey body jerked all over as I did my best to hold her, despite one hand working inside of her and the other propping me up so that I could use my mouth and hand without dumping my full weight on her. She pressed into me and let loose a long “hmmmmmmm…” as her orgasm continued, lasting seemingly an eternity. I wished I could see her adorable face in orgasmic bliss as she came, her pussy squeezing hard against me, milking my efforts for every last ounce of pleasure she could get.

Eventually, she weakened as her orgasm subsided. I gently removed my finger and gave her nipple one last kiss as I carefully rubbed her juices off of my finger on the underside of the mattress, then placed her shirt back to the way it was before. Still breathing heavy, I gave her a gentle push back to her side of the bed then faced the ceiling, head spinning.

I looked briefly back at Molly and tried to make out her face in the darkness. It may have been my delusional imagination, but I could swear there was a hint of a smile on her face. I had no clue what the hell I just did, or why. If Molly knew, this could traumatize her. Or she wanted it. Or she had no clue and I just did things to her without her consent. Or… or maybe this could have been the start of something beautiful.

There were too many questions, and I was going to get zero answers tonight. Looking back at Molly one last time, I rolled over to my side of the bed and let sleep take me.

***

Author’s Note: Sorry this took so long (as usual). The fault’s on uni, not me, I swear – I’ve been overworking myself as it is. I don’t have giant plans for the summer so hopefully I’ll be able to make leaps and bounds then. As usual, if you want to get into contact with me or keep up-to-date on what’s going on with me, you should know how by now. (It turns out posting contact info is a no-no on this site so I’ll respect the house rules)

My next thing I’ll be working on is BMS chapter 14. If you missed chapter 13 you can still find it on Adult Fan Fiction or Stories Online. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and once again you’re very kind for being so patient with me and my ridiculously sparse updates. Post-secondary is hell with no free time but I’m making the most of it. Thank you all for being so supportive, see you in a bit.

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