Her hands linked behind his neck and she pressed her body against his, standing on her tiptoes. His beard was scruffy against her skin and she could taste the whiskey on his tongue as he rolled it in her mouth. He deepened the kiss, holding her tighter.

Molly's heartbeat pounded in her ears as he turned them toward the bedroom, using his body to move hers. He slid his coat off her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor. She unzipped his sweatshirt, enjoying the way his body felt under her hands. He let her tug it down his long arms, breaking their kiss to watch her.

Molly brought her fingers to the hem of his shirt, slowly moving it up. He inhaled softly, his abdomen contracting at her touch. She pulled it up, gathering it in her hands until it was over his head. A soft dusting of hair covered his chest and she spread her fingers out across it. She felt the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed and looked up at him. She slid his glasses off their perch and set them on the desk beside her.

His eyes twinkled as he lifted her t-shirt over her head and tossed it aside. She thought he could surely hear her heart pounding as he surveyed her chest. Calloused hands came to her back and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor with her shirt. She took a shallow breath as the cool air hit her skin completely. Molly inhaled sharply when he dragged his fingers along the sides of her body, his finger nails causing goosebumps to break out on her skin. Andrew brought his mouth down to assault hers again, moving down her jawline to her neck.

This is too fucking romantic, she thought. Its just sex. So fuck him.

So she started in on his jeans, tugging them down harshly before slipping down to her knees in front of him. He barely registered her move before he was inhaling sharply at his cock in her mouth.

"Jesus...fucking...Christ," he moaned, bringing one hand to her hair. "I forgot how fucking good you are at that."

Molly hummed, pleased with herself. If they were going to fuck, it would be on her terms, not his. She rolled her tongue across his cock, enjoying the noises he made above her. Desire had mixed with heat and alcohol and boldness to create a heady cocktail pulsing through her veins. She sped up, drawing words in a language she didn't recognize from Andrew and she felt his fingers dig into her scalp.

"Molly..." he said softly. "Jesus...fuck." He brought his hands to her shoulders to stop her. "Stop...just...I need a second," he panted.

She sat back on her heels and looked up at him, both of them panting heavily. A small smirk spread across her face as he looked down at her. She rose, trailing kisses up his body until she reached his neck. A gentle hum vibrated under her tongue as she assaulted his clavicle. She barely felt his fingers as they slid her jeans down. She kicked them off and stepped around him, pushing him back onto the bed.

He landed with an oof and she set to tugging his jeans off over his ankles. He watched as she crawled up his body, straddling his hips. She could feel him twitching underneath her core and she tilted her head to the side, surveying him. A flush had found his cheeks and he was biting his bottom lip in anticipation.

"The bag on the side," he said, jerking his head to the left.

Right. Safe sex is good sex, she recited, recalling what her high school health teacher had said.

She leaned across his body, reaching for the black canvas bag on the nightstand. Inside she found a few toiletries and a mostly-empty box of condoms.

"Someone's been busy," she quipped, taking one of the three foil squares and returning to him.

"It was half-empty when I packed it," he explained, taking the square from her.

"Uh-huh," she said knowingly.

He tucked one arm around her waist and the other around her upper back before flipping her off him. She yelped in surprise.

"That's new," she remarked with a giggle.

"I've been busy," he answered, slipping down her body and stopping at her pelvis. "My turn," he grinned, looking up at her.

He nudged her knees apart and brought his tongue to her clit and Molly thought she was levitating off the bed. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she gripped the sheets tightly. Suddenly, she was glad she had that wax last week. Molly lost track of how long he was between her legs, staring up at the lights from the street flashing across the ceiling. And then she felt the wave build, rising up from the tip of her toes as her whole body tensed.

"Holy shit," she gasped, "Please don't stop."

Andrew brought one of his hands up to hers, entwining their fingers as she came, jerking under his touch. It was the first orgasm she'd had in months and she had forgotten how the stars exploded behind her eyes.

He stood up and wiped his face before sliding the condom on and crawling over top of her. She felt him glide into her body and she gasped loudly. He hovered over her gazing down into her eyes. They hadn't changed much since the last time she saw them like this, save for a few more lines around the edges. He kissed her again, deeper this time, with less urgency.

He hissed as she bit his neck tasting the saltiness of his sweat. He left a bite of his own on her shoulder and she felt a bolt of electricity course through her body.

"Fucking hell, Mol," he moaned into her ear.

She barely registered his old nickname for her as her hips matched his. He hissed as she grated her nails down his back. With a growl, Andrew took both of her hands and pinned them over her head as he assaulted her breasts with his mouth.

A soft mewling noise escaped her lips as he took one nipple into his mouth and sucked softly. She arched her back and she struggled against his hands.

"Oh my God, Andrew," she gasped, her chest heaving against his. "Fuck."

Molly felt him smiling against her skin, pleased with his work. His teeth sank into the well between her breasts, leaving a mark. He released her hands and brought his to either side of her head. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he kissed her again.

Another wave of pleasure started to build in her and she stared up at him, getting lost in his eyes. She counted each eyelash and line on his face. She stared at the curve of his lips and the sharpness of his high cheekbones as fireworks exploded behind her eyes. She felt herself close around him and he buried himself deep inside her, as if he already knew what to do.

They both let out loud moans that echoed off the walls and she didn't even care if they got noise complaints. He gripped the sheets next to her head and muttered several words in that same language she didn't recognize before as he emptied himself into her. He collapsed on top of her, resting his face in the curve of her neck. They laid there for several minutes, gasping like fish out of water.

Molly felt him move first, pulling out and laying next to her. A burst of cold air made her start to shake in the absence of his heat. He reached across her body and tugged the blanket across the bed to cover both of them, leaving his arm over her. She stared at him as the bliss dissipated.

"Good game," she said, holding her hand up.

He smiled and gave her a high five, "Good game."

Then Andrew leaned over and kissed her softly and she was back in his bed five years ago after running in from a storm. He sighed happily and rolled onto his back, putting his arms behind his head.

"Its a shame you're leaving in a couple days," Molly heard herself saying. "You could come by the Bright Horizons offices and really see what your money is doing."

What in hell are you doing? her brain snapped. You know the more time you give him, the more likely he is to get attached! Stop it!

She blinked, brushing the warning away.

He tilted his head. "I'm actually staying on for at least a week," he said. "I have a few loose ends to tie up with this tour leg, some meetings with my label here in Los Angeles, and I was hoping to have some time to catch up with a few other friends here. So," he sat up on his elbows. "I'd love to see your office. See you in action," he said, poking her ribcage playfully.

"Its not as glamorous as you think," Molly smiled. "Mostly Oscar and I go through paperwork and have meetings. We're hardly saving the world."

"You're saving somebody's world," Andrew said softly. "You do important work, Mol. I hope you know that." He shifted and slid out from under the blanket. "Do you mind if I get cleaned up first? I haven't showered since the show."

She shook her head and watched as he walked over to the bathroom. The shower kicked on and she sat up, kicking the blanket away.

OK, so now he can just come to the office. It'll be public. Nothing will happen. He deserves to know how his money is being spent, She reasoned to herself. Then the other side of her brain spoke up. Don't act like you aren't glad he's eager to spend time with you again.

Thirty minutes later, after they both were showered and settled into the huge bed, Andrew turned to her. His hair was loose and hanging in damp ringlets down the side of his face.

"So I have a confession," he said softly.

Here we go, she thought, biting her bottom lip and bracing for impact.

"I kind of lied before," he continued. "I did know you worked for Bright Horizons when I made the first donation." Molly looked back at him, but didn't say anything. "I didn't go searching for you," he added quickly. "But I did see you on the website."

And there it is. Of course this was too good to be true, she thought.

Molly sat up, her senses alert. "Have you been looking for me this whole time or something?" she asked, a slight panic rising in her chest.

"No," he said quickly. "No. I wasn't. A friend really did tell me about Bright Horizons."

"Who?" she demanded. "Who would have told you about us?" Her voice started to rise.

"Este Haim," he answered quickly. "She's a bassist for a band. We've been friends since my first album came out." He gave her a confused look. "I don't understand what you're so upset about."

Molly sighed heavily, pulling the blanket up to her bare chest, her mind racing as scenarios ran through it. "Did you plan all of this?" she asked. "Lunch. The tickets. Bringing me back to your hotel room?"

He looked at her intently. "Molly I didn't, I swear. You could have said no to anything I suggested and none of this would have happened." He sat up, talking with his hands. "I saw you at the benefit and I swear to God, my heart fucking stopped. I couldn't believe it. I never expected to see you there." 

"I work there! Of course I would be at the benefit!" she hissed, her frustration rising.

He set you up. He knew you'd be there. He planned this the whole time. Hell, he probably planted the guy in the bathroom for Oscar, too.

Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of a stretch. But still. She threw off the blanket, searching the floor for her discarded clothes, her mind reeling.

"Molly, please," he begged, watching her pull on her bra and t-shirt. "Will you just listen for a second?"

He crawled to the edge of the bed and tried to take her hand but she snatched it away.

"No, I'm leaving," she snapped. "If you wanted fucking sex, you could have gotten it from any one of your shitty little fan girls."

"I fucking loved you, Molly," he blurted desperately. "I fucking loved you and you destroyed me."

She froze as she saw the emotion start on his face. He was almost crying. Andrew was a lot of things, but a good actor was not one of them.

She shook her head in disbelief, not really hearing him. "So what? This was your plan to get back at me? A bit elaborate, but I'll give it to you," she scoffed. "You got me."

"When you left, it destroyed me. I did everything I could to get over you," he said quickly. "But nothing fucking worked."

"When I saw you, I knew it would be the biggest mistake of my life to let you walk away from me again," he continued. "Tell me you felt nothing today, that it didn't feel like five years ago. Tell me."

If she did, she'd be lying. The conversation had been easy. The sex had been better than she remembered it. But what was the point? What was the point in acknowledging how she felt when her life was here, his was there, and five years had passed?

"We barely know each other, Andrew," she said softly. "It was four months. How could you fall in love with me in four months?"

He looked back at her with wounded eyes. "Does it matter?"

"Yes it does!" she insisted. "You live there. I live here. We were never going to work. It wasn't love."

"Back then, no. But now," he started, sitting. "Now we could try -," she cut him off.

"Andrew stop," she said firmly. She softened her tone when she saw him wince. "You are an incredible, wonderful man. And if things were different...maybe we would have a chance." She stepped closer to him. "But I don't have time for a long distance relationship. I am up to my eyeballs in cases. I haven't taken a vacation day in three years and I don't care."

She ran her hands through her hair. "I like being this busy. I like knowing I'm changing people's lives. I worked too fucking hard to get here and I'm not going to compromise for anything or anyone. And if you actually think you're in love with me, you wouldn't ask me to, either."

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against her stomach. His arms came around her waist and she looked down at the top of his head. She had broken his heart yet again and it was just as hard as she expected it to be.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled. "You're right."

She sat next to him on the foot of the bed, taking one of his hands in her own. Time for a confession of her own. "I knew," she said softly. "I knew how you felt about me."

He deflated slightly. "But you didn't say anything."

"What good would it have done?" she asked. "It would have just made saying goodbye even harder for us."

They sat in silence for several seconds. She rested her head on his shoulder as she spoke.

"I forced myself to avoid feeling anything toward you," she admitted. "I was afraid that if I did, I would lose sight of what I wanted."

"I get it," he mumbled. "It's shite, but I get it." He put his chin on top of her head and she stifled a yawn. "Its late. Come back to bed. We can talk more in the morning."

So she did. She kicked off her jeans and he helped her take off her top, kissing her softly before settling next to her in the bed. She laid her head on his chest and felt her eyelids get heavy as she wondered where they went from there.

***

Molly opened her eyes and winced as sunlight streamed across her face. She rolled over and realized she was alone. Andrew was gone, the bed cold. His bag was still there on the floor, but he was nowhere to be found. She sat up, inhaling deeply. The room smelled slightly of sex and Andrew's cologne. The night's revelations hung heavily in the air and she briefly wondered if he had made himself scarce on purpose. Then she heard him talking on the other side of the bedroom door.

She got up and readied herself as quietly as she could, opening the door slowly and hoping she wasn't interrupting anything. She peeked her head out and saw him sitting on the sofa facing her, a laptop open on the coffee table in front of him. He glanced over the top and held up a finger off to the side for her to wait. She crossed her arms and waited as he wrapped up his conversation.

"Yeah, thanks for having me," he said, offering a smile. A second later he shut the laptop and looked over at her. "Morning."

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Molly said.

"You didn't," he answered. "Just a quick video call interview with a chat show. No big deal."

He stood and walked over to her, kissing her softly.

"I was going to go home," she said. "I have a few things to take care of."

"Come to the show tonight," he said. "Its the last one. You can come to the tour wrap party and meet everyone."

"As what?" she asked, tilting her head.

They hadn't really resolved anything from their conversation the night beforehand and the last thing she wanted was to give him ideas that anything had changed.

"An old friend," he replied. "C'mon. Seriously. You'll have fun. Bring Oscar, too. Maybe this time he'll actually get to come backstage," he chuckled.

Molly laughed lightly and then looked up at him. "Fine. I'll be there. I'll see if Oscar can come as well."

"Let me call you a car," Andrew said. She nodded and he pulled out his phone. He tapped several things on the screen before sliding the device back into his pocket. "So about last night."

She sank into the sofa and looked up at him. "What about it?"

"Are we going to talk about it?"

"Which part?" she asked, pulling her hair up into a pony tail. "The part where you dropped a giant bomb on me about loving me and how I destroyed you when I left and then begged me to reconsider my career so we could try again or the part where I basically told you I could have loved you then if I gave myself the chance to?"

"All - all of it," he stammered, sitting next to her.

Molly sighed. "I don't know what there is to talk about, Andrew. You want something I can't give you. And I don't even know if I could feel the same way as I could have back then. Its just...its too complicated. I don't know how we could even begin to sort through all of it. Or if its even worth it to try."

He nodded. "I know. But...can we just...come to the show tonight. Come to the tour wrap party. We'll talk after that." She could see the desperation in his face.

"I don't think that's fair," she said. "We both need to be in our right minds and you'll be exhausted from the show, probably drunk, and busy with your bandmates."

He smiled to himself. "True." He took her hand in his, lacing their fingers together. "Can we talk about it though? Please?"

He looked so hopeful that she didn't have the heart to shoot him down completely. They'd talk eventually and he would realize on his own how it was an impossible problem to solve.

"Fine," she relented.

His phone chirped. "Your car's here," he said, standing. "I'll walk you down."

He took her hand as they walked to the elevators and she didn't pull away. And when they reached the lobby, he engulfed her in a tight hug, not caring who might be watching.

"Same deal as last night for the tickets, OK," he said. "I'll have my stage manager come out again." He opened the front door to the hotel and gave her one last lingering kiss. "See you tonight."

By the time Molly got back to her building, she was fully awake. The former factory had been converted into loft apartment units two decades ago and was starting to show its age. The bricks were faded and starting to crumble slightly and the paint was starting to fade. But still, it was home.

She took the stairs to the third floor and stopped outside unit 3C, listening for any noise inside the apartment. The last thing she needed was to walk in on Oscar and his guest doing anything. It would have defeated the whole purpose of staying away the night beforehand. When she was satisfied nothing was happening, she put her key into the lock and opened the door.

Sunlight streamed through the high windows that looked down to the parking lot out front, casting large blocks of light across the concrete floors. Oscar was in the kitchen reading something on his laptop at the island. He looked up when she appeared.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," he said, closing his laptop with a smirk. When she walked into the light, he let out a high pitched screech. "You had sex!"

Molly blinked slowly as her heart rate returned to normal. She walked to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "You abandoned me there."

"In my defense, he was super fucking hot," Oscar replied. "But from the looks of you, it was for the better anyways. Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me."

She knew he wouldn't stop until she gave in. And part of her actually wanted to brag. "It was so fucking amazing," she said, leaning over the counter top.

"He has a big dick, doesn't he?" Oscar asked, leaning his chin on his palm dreamily.

"The man's six-foot-six, what do you think?" she replied, picking up her glass.

"Okay, but tell me what happened? Obviously he took the apology well or he wouldn't have fucked you," he said.

Molly sighed and deflated slightly. "He told me he loved me."

"Eugh!" Oscar exclaimed, walking over to the small cage on a table under the windows. "During or after? That's some Stage Five Clinger shit right there."

She shook her head. "No, he told me he loved me...like before. Before-before. When we were together the first time. And I knew. I knew back then, but I never said anything because I could just see my life slipping away from me. Like...I just knew if I let myself feel anything toward him, I'd give everything I worked so hard for up just to be with him."

"He must have a magic penis," Oscar remarked, taking Randy from his cage and putting him in a small plastic bin with grey powder in it. "Bath time, Randall."

Molly watched as the rodent flipped around in the powder, bathing himself. "Is sex the only thing you think about?" she asked.

"It is when I have a shitty experience with a guy," he replied. "The guy last night was a dud."

"Good. You deserve it for leaving me," she answered, sticking her tongue out.

"Hey, if I hadn't left you, Andrew wouldn't have rocked your proverbial world," he pointed out.

"Yeah. But then I wouldn't have invited him to the office and he wouldn't have invited us both back for his last show tonight," Molly reasoned. "He wants to talk about our 'relationship' afterward," she said, making a face.

A smile spread across his face slowly, reminding Molly of the Grinch after he had the idea to steal Christmas. She recognized that look.

"No. No, absolutely not," she said quickly. "Whatever fuckery is about to come out of your mouth, I want no part of it."

"C'mon. You'll love me for it," Oscar said, picking Randy up from the dust bath.

"Ninety percent of your ideas that start out with those words end terribly," she replied.

"But that means ten percent of them are pure genius," he reasoned. "Go with me, just close your eyes and go on a little journey with me."

Molly sighed and rolled her eyes before closing them. She felt Oscar come behind her and put a hand around her shoulders.

"You show up looking hot as fuck, tease him all night long, then fuck him after the show before leaving," he said into her ear.

Her eyes popped open in confusion. "How is that different from what I did the first time?"

He froze. "Its not, really. But you'll look fantastic and skip the transatlantic flight. Come on. You can't possibly be considering talking to him about your 'relationship'," he said making a face.

She broke away from him and sat on the sofa. "I don't know. He's so fucking intelligent - like so smart its stupid. He's just...we clicked exactly the same last night as we did that whole summer. It was like no time had passed at all."

"Woman, I'm glad he cleared the cobwebs out of your cooch, but this is sounding dangerously like you've got feelings for him," he said. He locked Randy back in his cage and sat next to her on the sofa. "Do you?"

Molly sighed and rubbed her eyes. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours and her brain circuits were fried. "I don't - I don't know. He is absolutely wonderful. But I don't see how we could work." She leaned back on the sofa. "I won't give anything up to move there. I can't let him move here and leave everything behind. Its like a cruel joke."

She rested her head against Oscar's shoulder, lamenting her misfortune in silence. It wasn't that she didn't want a relationship; it was that she didn't see how long distance would work between them. Even if she had nothing but time, it just wouldn't work.

"Okay, but maybe you could work something out?" he suggested.

"Like what? I don't have time to take vacations. He's got tours and recording and all that shit. What's he gonna do, come back once every other month for a week?" she asked glumly.

"Isn't Keisha in a long distance relationship with a guy in Alaska?" he asked. "They make it work."

"Yeah, because she's moving there in the spring," she said.

They sat in silence for a few seconds as Randy skittered around his cage.

"That doesn't mean you can't part as friends," he offered. "And anytime he comes back to the city, you two could reconnect."

Molly sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "I guess. He still wants to talk about it, but I don't know what good it will do. My priorities won't change and I won't let him change his."

"I bet he's a power bottom," Oscar said absentmindedly, staring at the wall.

Molly groaned. "I need a shower. Then I'm going to take a nap. If you bother me, I will shave your eyebrows off while you sleep."

"Ok now that's just hateful," he said, watching her go.