Issues [Frollie]

Chapter 13

When Frankie awoke the next morning, it was with instantaneous, stunning awareness of what she’d done last night. She didn’t feel anxious or guilty about it as she had expected, but it was there, nestled in the corner of her mind like a light that she couldn’t turn off.

She had kissed Mollie.

The thought left a tiny shivering sensation in its wake, but Frankie was surprised to find that it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling. She knew it shouldn’t feel different, because Mollie had already kissed her several times over the course of their friendship, but she still imagined that she could almost feel a light tingling leftover in her lips, or that her heart had not yet calmed.

She glanced over to find that Mollie was still fast asleep, despite the brightness of the sunshine streaming through the parted curtains, and that her hand had closed around Frankie’s wrist sometime during the night. Though she was unwilling to disturb her, Frankie was already wide awake and alert, a strange energy buzzing in her veins even as she lay still on the mattress. As much as she might have wanted to stay and let the sleeping girl snuggle into her chest, as was the inevitable outcome of lying in any bed next to Mollie, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to remain immobile long enough to let that happen. So, carefully dislodging Mollie’s fingers and placing them back near the pillow, Frankie slipped out of bed and padded downstairs.

While Frankie might have been up early by Mollie’s standards, the house was completely empty as she ventured down and she quickly remembered that it was still a weekday for all those who weren’t hiding out from the world. Sarah and Laura would both be at work, leaving only her and Mollie left in the house that was silent for the first time since they arrived. Considering how much she had enjoyed spending time with Mollie’s family last night, it was strange how much that realisation brightened her mood.

Sarah had left a note on the kitchen counter, addressed to Frankie, telling her to help herself to whatever was in the fridge, and the fact that she had known that Mollie would be useless in the morning made her laugh out loud, an irrepressibly large smile spreading over her face.

She was in such a good mood as she began frying up some breakfast, humming absently under her breath and rhythmically drumming the spatula against the edge of the counter, that she did not notice Mollie’s approach until she was quite literally right on top of her.

Flinging her arms around Frankie’s waist, the blonde girl fell limply into her back and rested her head on the nape of her neck, sighing. “Morning,” she mumbled tiredly, as if it wasn’t almost noon, and smothered a yawn against Frankie’s shoulder. “Mm… you smell delicious.”

Frankie had startled at first, nearly shoving Mollie away reflexively as the sudden weight landed on her back, but now she smiled. She could feel Mollie’s lips brushing along her hairline as she nuzzled into Frankie’s curls, and could only hope that the other girl was not alert enough to notice the goosebumps that rose along her spine. “That’s breakfast, Mollie.”

“I did wonder why you smelled like bacon and eggs.”

Frankie snorted under her breath and pushed Mollie off of her with a light jab to her ribs. Her mood was soaring, now. “Go sit down,” she said laughingly, waving the spatula in the direction of the dining table, but Mollie shuffled back and dragged herself up to sit on the kitchen counter, instead. Her ankles knocked together as she swung her legs impatiently.