Look East | A Hozier Fanfiction |

38

"My parents invited us over for my birthday dinner tonight," Andrew told Molly as they ate breakfast. "They said they'd really like to see you. I told them you were pretty busy with exams and your dissertation and you might not be free. There's no pressure," he added.

"Do you want me there?" Molly asked.

He downed the rest of his tea. "Why wouldn't I? Its my birthday. Of course I'd want you there."

She smiled slightly but rolled her tongue against her teeth. "Aren't your parents angry at me?" she asked.

Andrew shook his head. "No. They'll just be happy to see you. I think they understand since I explained things to them."

Molly tensed slightly. "What exactly did you say?"

He wiped his mouth and sat back in his chair. "Just that the miscarriage was hard for you and we were working through some things. Nothing too wild."

"You didn't tell them we're in therapy, did you?" she asked.

"No. But even if I did, they wouldn't say anything about it," he said. He stood and cleared his plate. "I'm meeting Stevie and Paul for a hike and then I have a live that I need to do for Instagram. I also told Jon I'd help him with something at his place, so I'll have to head straight to my parents' with him. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course," she answered, watching him put his coat on from her place at the table.

He walked back over to her as he buttoned his coat up. "Can you come home, get Clem, and bring her with you?"

"Uh-huh," Molly replied.

"Right," he leaned down and automatically pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm off."

Molly blinked in surprise as he walked off. She stood and took her plate to the sink, rinsing it off along with his. As she was loading the dishwasher, the kitchen door opened and Andrew came back in.

"Sorry, could I just...?" he said, walking up to her.

He clasped her shoulders in his hands and brought his mouth to hers suddenly. She was so shocked, she let out a grunt of surprise. Her lips greeted his like an old friend, parting automatically. He sighed and pushed her back against the counter, bringing his hands to rest on the granite. She pulled back from him, blinking rapidly.

"Was that...was that okay, or...?" Andrew asked cautiously, studying her face.

She nodded, bringing her fingers to her lips. "Yeah, it was - thank you. Great way to start the day," she chuckled.

Andrew smiled. "I really do have to go," he said, pressing another kiss to her lips. "See you tonight?"

Molly nodded again. "Yeah."

He gave her a quick wave as he shut the kitchen door after himself and she finished her task and got ready to go into the city. Her mind kept drifting back to his lips on hers. One of them had to make the first move to end the stalemate of touch. Even though things had thawed considerably since they'd done the ritual, the most they did was share meals and chat. There was still an invisible wall between them which, until that morning, had made any type of physical intimacy feel awkward.

Still, even a kiss made her a bit anxious. It wasn't that he made her feel nervous or she was scared he'd force himself on her. It was more that her image of herself had changed since the miscarriage. She'd put on five pounds in ten weeks and then lost ten when she'd been depressed and wasn't eating. Her breasts felt like they sagged more and she just didn't feel sexy anymore. She was someone's mother - or would have been - which didn't evoke feelings of sexiness for her.