No way back - Crossing the line of friendship

Chapter 6

- Molly -

Molly's head was pounding, and her breath tasted terrible when she woke up the next morning. She rolled over and looked around the room and it took her a moment to figure out where she was. Relieved that she wasn't inside a stranger's home, she stretched and groaned as she sat up. She headed into the bathroom and grabbed Jimmy's mouthwash, swishing it around for a few minutes. Must have been some night, she thought as she washed off the smudged makeup. The last thing she remembered was a two-colored shot that Coralee had ordered at the bar and it had tasted foul. She guessed that Jimmy had spent the night at Coralee's place since she had crashed in his bed. Heading back into the room she walked up to Jimmy's closet and grabbed a large sweatshirt, pulling it over her head. She desperately needed coffee. The apartment was quiet as she stepped out into the hall and she wondered if she might be alone. Maybe Austin had found a girl to go home with last night. She glanced out in the hallway and saw Austin's shoes laying sloppily on the floor. Alright, I'll make coffee for him too, she thought as she walked into the kitchen.

Molly stood on her toes, trying to reach the coffee when an arm appeared above hers and grabbed the box. She whirled to see a shirtless Austin, staring down at her. "Holy shit, you scared me!" She took the box from him and stepped aside to the coffee maker.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he opened another cabinet, grabbing two mugs and placing them on the counter.

Molly jumped up and sat next to them, as she waited for the coffee to drip down. "Tired." She yawned. "How did I get here last night? Did we go together?"

Austin stiffened. "You don't remember?"

"Oh no... Did I do something embarrassing?" She really hoped not.

"Nah, you're good. We took an Uber. You could barely keep awake until we got home and..."

"And what?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

Austin smiled as if he remembered something she didn't, and she got nervous. "And then you ran into the bathroom and puked your guts out." He shrugged with a grin.

"Eew! No wonder my mouth tasted like shit when I woke up! Thank God for mouthwash."

Austin poured the coffee and handed her one of the cups before leaning his hip on the counter. He watched her over the brim as he drank.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" She rubbed her cheek, but he shook his head.

"Nah," he said again, "you're good. Just tired I guess."

"You look tired. When did we get home?"

"Around three, but I had some... difficulty... falling asleep."

"Alright." She pulled up her legs, sitting cross-legged on the counter. Grateful that the sweatshirt was big enough to not flash anything. "Got any plans today?"

"Not really." He was staring at her legs and Molly couldn't help but to chuckle.

"You might need a few more hours of sleep."

"Sleeping is the last thing on my mind right now."

The sound of Molly's ringtone made her flinch. "Holy sh..." She jumped down as gracefully as she could and stepped out into the hallway where her phone lay on the side table. The screen was flashing with her landlord's name so she unlocked it and put it up to her ear. "Hello, Mrs. Feldman. How are you?"

The old woman's voice sounded tired through the phone. "Hello, darling. It's not that good actually."

"Oh no, what's wrong?"