“Ah, loosen up, Joe. It’s not their fault they’ve got a few bob in the bank,” Podge chuckled, looking like something a Christopher Lee Dracula movie shat out with the big bloodshot eyes on him. “You did good tonight.”
No, I did what I had to do to feed my family.
“Have a smoke and relax,” he encouraged, handing me another bottle of beer from a nearby table. “A few drinks and a smoke won’t hurt.”
I arched a brow and set it back down. “Coming from the fella who almost pissed himself when I told him that I was still smoking.”
“Yeah, well.” He grinned at me and shrugged. “I’ve been reminded of the perks of being your best friend.”
“Yeah.” I smirked. “Damn straight, asshole.”
“Stay out of their medicine cabinet, though, ya hear?” he warned, holding a finger up. “And don’t go losing the run of yourself.” He reached up and slapped my chest. “If you get tempted to score, just think about the girl whose name you’ve got tattooed over your heart…”
“Best friend or not, if you put your hands on me again, I will rip your arm off,” I warned, batting his hand away. “And if I wanted to get fucked up, that’s exactly what I would be doing, but I’m not. So, I don’t need any lectures or advice from you, and I don’t need any reminders of what’s at stake, either. I’m a big boy, Podge. I can handle my own shit. I’ve been doing it my whole life, so don’t start trying to mother me, ya hear?”
“I hear you, Joe,” he chuckled good-naturedly, holding his hands up as he backed away. “I hear you, lad.”
Jaw ticking, I watched as he slipped into the crowd, feeling pissed off and on edge.
This wasn’t easy for me, and I needed him reminding me of that like I needed a hole in the head.
Fuck.
Depressed and on edge, I finished my bottle and set it down, refusing to pick up another. I didn’t need the complications that I knew would follow.
“Because he’s only using you,” I heard someone say, and I turned my attention to where Hughie was in a heated discussion with another familiar blonde.
This one wasn’t his sister Claire.
No, this girl was Shannon’s other little friend.
I couldn’t remember her name, but I had a feeling it was Lilly.
Or maybe it was Izzy.
Either way, she was standing near the doorway, with her arms folded across her chest glaring up at Hughie Biggs, who was glaring back at her, while he flailed his arms around in obvious exasperation. “You can’t seriously be considering going upstairs with him.”
“Like you give a shit,” she continued to say. “At least Pierce doesn’t act like I’m invisible when he’s with his friends.”
“You know I give a shit,” he was quick to counter. “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t—”
“You wouldn’t what, Hugh?” she cut him off by hissing. “You wouldn’t treat me like an afterthought? Because, newsflash, asshole, that’s exactly what you’ve been doing.”
Taking it all in with sober eyes, I briefly considered telling them that if they were trying to conceal a hook up, then they were doing a pretty terrible job, before remembering these assholes were not my monkeys and this was not my circus.
Shaking my head, I stepped around them and headed through the impressive kitchen until I found the back door.
Slipping outside, I ignored every other asshole in the back garden, and wandered over to the far end of the yard, sparking up a cigarette as I went.
Temptation was all around me and I needed to keep my head.
I had two weeks of torture put down and I sure as hell didn’t plan on throwing it away for a piss up with a bunch of people who, in any other given circumstances, would cross the road to get away from me.
“Got one of those to spare?” a female voice asked, and I turned around to find Shannon’s friend that had been fighting with Biggs moments before. ”Remember me?”
“Just about,” I replied, rubbing my jaw. “Lilly Young, right?”
“It’s Lizzie,” she corrected, unblinking. “So, can I have one?”
“One what?”
“A cigarette.”
“No.”
Her blue eyes narrowed. “Why not?”
“Because you don’t smoke,” I replied coolly. “And I don’t share.”
She gave me a hard look, one I was only too willing to return, before relenting with a heavy exhale. “I hate parties.”
“Then why come?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Fair enough.”
“That’s it?” She eyed me curiously. “You’re not going to ask me why?”
“No.”
“How come?”
I shrugged. “Because I don’t care about your answer.”
“Hm.” She tilted her head to one side, studying me with her blue eyes. “You don’t belong here either.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
“Then why’d you come?”
I smirked. “It’s complicated.”
Her lips begrudgingly tipped up in a smile. “You know, I used to have an epic crush on you when I was younger.” She didn’t blush or blanch when she said it either. Girl had an impressive pair of balls on her. “Most of the girls in our class had. You even overtook Leo DiCaprio for a bit – and that was during his Titanic superstardom stage.” Shaking her head, she released another sigh before adding, “Which only proves that I’ve always been attracted to the worst kind of wrong for me.”
Frowning, I inhaled a deep drag, held it there just long enough to take the sting out of the pain in my chest, and then exhaled slowly, while I tried to think of what to say to this girl who, even though she clearly had a sharp tongue, didn’t look like she could handle another kicking. “For a kid, you sound awfully cynical.”
She narrowed her blue eyes. “I’m not a kid.”
“Maybe you’re not.” I shrugged and took another drag. “But you are friends with my baby sister, which means that you could be forty and you’d still be a kid in my eyes.”
“If this is your attempt at letting me down gently then save your breath,” she was quick to counter. “I said that I used to have a crush on you, as in past tense, as in not currently.”
“Wise decision,” I chuckled, amused by her bitchiness. “Best to stick with Leo.”
“Funny.” She rolled her eyes, tone flat. “Besides, I know you hurl for Cork, and I don’t like athletes anymore.”
“And yet you’re attending a party being thrown by your school’s rugby team.” I nodded. “Makes perfect sense.”
“I’m here for Claire.”
“Bullshit,” I corrected with a snort. “You’re here for her brother.”
Her eyes widened. “What are you—”
“Let me guess,” I interrupted, amused. “You’re fucking Biggs, and he won’t commit, so you’ve gone off with one of the lads on his team to get back at him?”
“I don’t… It’s not…” Her mouth fell open and she gaped in horror at me.