Bonfire Lovers

"That was such a fun night, Tyler thank you... and thank Wren for me too!", exclaimed Molly as she smiled the widest, she had in months. Tyler and Molly have been best friends since high school and try to hangout at least once a week or every other week even with their busy schedules. 

"Of course, Molls! I'm glad you enjoyed." 

They pull up in the driveway and Molly tries to collect herself. 

"Tyler... I-..." 

"Yeah?" 

"Uhm... I..." Molly's mind raced as she realized how much she wanted to envelop him in the most passionate kiss she's ever had. Molly tucks her hair behind her ears.

"I'll see you tomorrow for the bonfire, right?" 

"Yep! Just text me when you're ready and I'll pick you up. Wren said it starts at five, but I promised I'd get there early to help set up, would you mind helping with that?" 

"Oh, yeah no problem!" 

“Perfect! I'll see you then.”

“Alrighty- you sure will!” Molly says awkwardly. 

“You good?” He asks through a concerned smile. 

“Yep... all... all good in the hood... bucko!”, she says as she playfully hits his shoulder.

“Molly you are acting weird come on just tell me what's-” He giggles as Molly harshly interrupts him with a beautifully passionate kiss. Fireworks go off in both of their heads. Molly breaks the kiss without a word, immediately runs inside her small sage green house with the light tan door, and locks it behind her. “Oh my god... what the fuck did I just do? Idiot... God damn IDIOT! UGH, AND I could have just ruined the best friendship I've ever had...Fuck!”, she says realizing she's just talking into nothingness. She begins to sob wanting to just run out and chase after Tyler but she's too weak from crying to do so. She sits on her living room floor completely broken down almost wishing she hadn't kissed him at all... “Tyler didn't immediately pull away, I mean... that's got to mean something right?”, she thinks to herself as she tries to calm down. Molly goes to call Tyler, but she realizes her phone is dead. She plugs it in and heads to her bedroom to go put on some sweats and unwind. Maybe she and Tyler can just talk at the bonfire, and this will be all- “Oh fucking shit! Are you kidding me???” Molly stops short and realizes her ring is gone, the one her Uncle Jim gave her before he passed. Molly rushes to her phone to see it's still dead. She runs outside on the off chance that Tyler is out there waiting for her, but he wasn't. He was probably halfway home by now. 

Tyler is pulled over on a nearby dirt road in complete shock, it's not that he didn't want it or even that he didn't see Molly that way. He was for one thing disappointed he didn't get to make the first move, and two, she just... walked off? They didn't even talk about what their relationship or even friendship should look like going forward. He wants so badly to just go back, burst open that door and continue where they left off, but he just can't. He needs time to think and process what just happened. He slowly and shakily starts his car again as something gold and blue peaks out of the corner of his eye. “Molly's ring? She must be so worried. Lemme call her while she's probably still awake...” He thinks to himself. “Pick up Molly, DAMMIT, voicemail...” He tries two more times, no answer. 

“I don't want it to get lost or stolen if I leave it outside her door or something... I should just take it there now...” He heads back to Molly's place, the kiss playing in his head on loop. He can barely think straight as he autopilots himself into her driveway. He knocks on her door, his heart a flutter. Molly is still getting dressed when she hears a knock at the door and the doorbell ring. “Coming!” She yells as she runs down the stairs. “If you're a robber, I know tai kwon doe!” She jokes as she peaks through the window. “He probably wants to talk about the kiss... Oh man... I don't think I can handle that...” She thinks to herself. She opens the door and just stares at him. Not a single word could come out of that

glued-shut-mouth of hers.

“Hey uh... you left this, it must have slipped off your finger when you got out of the car. Here.” Molly is so shocked that he even bothered to race back to bring it to her. “I-... I...” She can barely bring herself to speak she is so thrilled but also terrified he's going to bring up what happened. “Molls? Hello? Earth to Molly...” He waves his hand infront of her face and she shakes her head and swallows the hardest she ever has. “Thank you, thank you so much for bringing this back. I- I went to uh to call you when I realized I lost it but uhm my phone was uh... dead.” She manages to croak out. “No problem. Anytime. And uh... about earlier...” “Look. Let's just forget it alright?” Molly starts to shake and tears well up in her eyes. “Do you truly regret that kiss Molly. Look me dead in the eye and tell me you weren't absolutely thrilled to do that.” “Ty... I... I should have asked first. I kissed you without asking first and we have never even talked about being more than best friends... I didn't even know I was gonna do it. One minute we're having a conversation and the next minute I was kissing you. I don't even understand why I did it...”, Molly shudders.

“Can we kiss again? Please. I want us to both truly see how it feels to be... more than friends even just for one more moment...” Molly is absolutely speechless at his words as she leans in. Tyler cups her cheek with one strong silver ring covered hand, the other trails along her mid-back. One single tear falls down Molly's bright red cheeks as she tries to breathe properly. “Hey, hey, just breathe... Take it easy...We don't have to do this again if you don't want to.” He wipes the tear off her face and lifts her chin with his fingers. 

“It's not that I don't want to...I just am so fucking terrified of losing what we already have that's so tremendous. I mean we've been best friends since we were fifteen. And ten years later we're still moving mountains. How could I break that down?” “Molly... Please do not be afraid. You will never and I mean never lose me til the day we fucking die. Remember our pact?” “Yeah, yeah I remember our pact. “Friends til the end, til we're dead and beyond...” They hi-five and their hands intertwined. “Well would you look at that, we're holding hands...”, Ty jokes. 

Molly opens her mouth to say something, and he cuts her off before she can say anything.

“And guess what? I don't care what it means right now, Molls. I'm just happy to be here. We can talk about it another time,

when we're not so sleep-deprived.” 

Molly takes a deep breath and nods her head in agreement.

She leans in to kiss him gently and he deepens it. He grabs her cheek once again and rubs it with his thumb as she giggles into his mouth. He squeezes her waist and she squeals. He realizes he's getting hard and stops the kiss short.

“Someone's excited” she laughs.

“Oh shut up and let's just go in already...”, he says adjusting his emerald jacket. They walk in making their way to her crimson couch. “Now, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do. What are you up for?” “Uhm I'm sorta tired but I'd love to cuddle and continue making out if that's okay...” “Perfectly fine with me.” They cuddle up on the couch and they start kissing again. She scoots onto his lap and nuzzles her head into his neck. They spend the rest of the night cuddling and chatting and kissing. Finally, they both fall asleep. The next day he sneaks out to get to work on time and leaves her sound asleep since she had the day off. He leaves a note on the coffee table with a fresh cup for her in her light blue travel mug: “Morning sleepy head, or afternoon. Thanks for last night. Here's your tea. Call me when you are ready for the bonfire <3 – Ty” 

About noon she wakes up and realizes Ty is gone. Before she even has a moment to think that he may have “kissed and dashed”, an immediate smile creeps upon her sleepy face. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and texts him “Hey, thank you so much for the tea and the note. What a wonderful way to wake up. Have a good day at work. See you tonight!” She goes to make something to eat and watch TV before getting herself ready. She knows it's not until five thirty but the anticipation is absolutely eating her alive.

She watches TV until about four o'clock so she's not torturing herself by just waiting around.

Shower, check. Hair, check. Light makeup, check. Now for what to wear... She looks in her closet and nothing is truly appealing to her. She tries on an amalgamation of clothing and she still feels like she's looking into a black hole in her closet. Finally she pulls out a green, floral midi dress that sits perfectly on her five-foot-two frame, hugging her gorgeous curves just enough to show off a little something. She grabs her Uncle's ring, her gold necklace, mini heart-shaped hoop earrings distressed denim jacket, and her tan slip-ons and heads to the mirror. “Wow. This is perfect!” She says to herself as she smooths out the sides. She goes to check the time and it's exactly four-thirty. She calls Ty just like he asked her to:

“Hey, I'm ready whenever!” 

“Hey, great, I'm running a little behind but I'll be there as soon as I can!” 

“Ok, text me when you get here.” 

“Sounds good.” 

“Alright, see you then!” 

“Bye”

She squeals with happiness as she hangs up and flops on her couch. No sooner does her phone ping: “Here :)” She grabs her purse and saunters out the door to his car. Tyler looks up from his phone, his jaw agape. “Holy...” Tyler's heart skips a beat as he takes a sharp breath in after realizing he's staring intently before she even gets in the car. 

“Hey! What's up?” says Molly with a sunshine smile not even noticing his eyes on her. 

“Hey, Molls, you look... wow... you look wonderful...” 

“Thank you so much!”, she chuckles out, turning her head so he can't see just how shy she's become. 

Julie and Wren were already setting up the campfire area waiting for their friends old and new to arrive. Julie and Wren had already been a couple for about three years now, Julie was always on business trips but this time she was able to have a little vacation time. It was a warm, still night in May, the moon was full, the stars were marvelous, and the vibe was just right. 

"Hey Wren, could you get the chairs set up while I go grab the food?" 

"Sure, got it!" 

Julie then walked out to the backyard with trays of cheese & crackers, fruit, different smores toppings and a wheelable cooler full of a variety of drinks. By the time Ty and Molly arrived, everything was already almost set up. Ty helped Molly out of her side of the car, and they headed straight for the snack table to greet their friends.

Julie and Wren were hanging out and setting up plates and citronella bracelets for everyone to grab on their way in. This would keep the bugs away but also ensure everyone knew who was single and who wasn't. Green bracelets were for the single people, red for the taken people, and yellow for the people who weren't sure where they were at. Tyler and Molly realize they aren't even sure which bracelet to pick. To avoid any questions, they both opted for green. All guests had arrived by this time and mingling had begun. Ty and Molly stay close together for most of the evening but veer off a bit to meet new friends. 

“Hi, I'm Michelle, they/she, I'm from Wren's LGBT group at the community center!” 

“Hey, so nice to meet you, I'm Molly, she/her, I've been friends with Wren since we were five, isn't this such a wonderful gathering?”, says Molly as they share a friendly handshake and hug.

They chat for a bit and exchange phone numbers while Ty tries to make friends as well, but he struggles to hold a conversation. He goes and sits by himself in a chair, Pepsi in hand, just staring off into the gorgeous night sky. Molly excuses herself from the conversation with Michelle to go check on Tyler. She pulls up a chair next to him and sighs: “You okay, Ty?”. “I guess... I don't want to sound ungrateful; Julie and Wren set all this up and it's awesome but... I just can't stop thinking about you. I don't feel right wearing a green bracelet when I should be wearing a red one. Molly, that kiss changed everything for me... I want you. All of you, if you'll have me. I wanna just get out of here and take you home and show you that you're my girl.” “Ty... you, you're serious?” Molly can't believe what she's hearing. She thought he didn't care what they were and now all of the sudden he's acting like he just wants her? 

“I just... I don't get what changed so suddenly... As happy as I am to hear you say all of that, I don't want you to feel obligated just because-” “Molly, look at me, I do not, in any way feel obligated. I didn't know how to tell you this before, but I wanted to be the one to make the first move.” Ty says, all the while Molly is absolutely shocked. Not only did she not feel worthy to be loved by him but was so oblivious to his feelings and almost felt guilty for not noticing. 

“I've had a crush on you forever, I love being your best friend too and I never wanted to cross any boundaries, and you know I can be shy so I held off so you could explore other connections especially in college when most people truly don't what they might be doing or wanting. I love you, Molly.” 

Ty utters those three words that have only ever been empty promises to her in past relationships. Molly turns away, but Ty picks up her chin and makes her look into his eyes. Ty searches for an answer in her jade orbs as Molly tries to collect herself. “I love you too, Ty... I just... I'm so fucking scared.” 

“Molly, it's me, what do you have to be afraid of? We've known each other forever, c'mon I'm not an axe murderer!”, Ty jokes. 

“Very funny... You know how my past relationships have been. I've always ended up hurt and the only time I ever broke up with anyone was with Kenny when I had to move schools when we were like... twelve and that was just middle school. This is real shit, Ty. I don't wanna mess it up.” The pair got up to walk around the area one more time. Ty excuses himself and pulls Julie aside to let her know he has an early morning tomorrow and they were gonna head out. She packs him a to-go plate and a six pack of Pepsi. They say their thank you's and goodbyes and walk to Ty's Silver ride. They stick the food in his mini cooler and the sodas in the trunk and plop themselves into the front seats. 

Molly reaches out for Ty's hand and looks down at their fingers intertwined. She begins to fidget with the ring on her right hand as she says: “I am so in love with you, but I have never been more afraid of messing something up and you know how my anxious tendencies are.” “Molly, have you ever messed up our friendship before? No, you have not. Aside from a few small arguments, we have made it through so much... I just want us to be happy together but that can't start unless you're okay with all this and I'm not trying to force you, I just want you to see how perfect you are.” Molly shys away once again with a huge smile on her face. “I guess you're right. What's the use in having these feelings if we don't try this thing... put pen to paper and see if we can make it work...” Molly runs her fingers through Tyler's soft tan curls. Ty cups her cheek in his hand and kisses her forehead. They share a knowing look before heading into her house. They cuddle on the couch together and Molly lays her head on his lap while he strokes her jet-black coils. Molly looks up at him and smiles. She lifts herself up to sit on his lap and straddle him. Ty wraps her in a bear hug as she tucks her feet behind him. She nuzzles his neck, and they just hold each other lovingly for what feels like all night. She looks at him like he's the only person in the world and for the first time it truly feels that way.