"Cheater" Molly intoned sullenly. Ethan just laughed and gathered the cards back together.
"Don't be a sore loser. It's very unbecoming in a young lady." He said, putting the deck away and digging in the other pocket for his gloves. She scowled at him and kicked at him under the table. Ethan just laughed again and tweaked her nose, standing quickly to avoid a second abuse to his shins.
She leaned over and dug her chemistry book from her bag, then glanced up at him "So you weren't counting the cards then?" He just smiled and shrugged while pulling on his gloves, and Molly rolled her eyes at him.
"Same time next week?" he asked
"Yep! Tell everyone I said hi!" Molly answered, flipping to the right page in her book.
"Will do, and good luck with the Latin kiddo." Ethan tossed the words over his shoulder as he stepped out of Kelly's and into the chilled December air. He stood in the brisk wind for a moment, zipping up the front of his jacket.
He refused to think about Kristina coming home, or that night 5 years ago on the docks, just weeks before she'd left. Putting it from his mind, where it had been gnawing at him since Molly's announcement, he jammed his hands into his coat pockets and trudged against the wind, in the general direction of Jake's.
