“Yeah, Shan.” I wasn’t convinced about happy endings, but when Molloy locked her eyes on me and smiled, I could believe in the possibility of a happy day.
SPECIAL_IMAGE-images/svgimg0003.svg-REPLACE_ME
“Welcome back, fifth years,” Mr. Nyhan acknowledged from his perch at the podium in the canteen. “It’s wonderful to see all of your smiling faces as we embark on a new school year. Now, as you are all well aware, fourth year was a transition year. It was a wonderful opportunity to dip your toes in new waters and try out new hobbies and interests. But that was then, and this is now. Fifth year will see you all taking on new course work, a heavier academic workload than any of you can comprehend. In other words, the next two years of your academic career are going to be the toughest you have ever faced.”
“What in the name of Jesus is that fella on?” Podge asked, nudging my shoulder with his. “He’s absolutely crackers if he thinks this regurgitated pep talk is going to excite or encourage anyone to come to school.”
“Who knows, lad,” I mumbled, arms folded across my chest, as I leaned against the lockers at my back, and listened to Nyhan drone on and on with his usual back to school bullshit spiel.
“Rough night?” Podge asked then.
“What?” I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
“I’ll telling you now, lads, the only thing I want to dip in water is my dick in Aoife Molloy’s tight pussy,” Alec declared, interrupting us, as he inclined his head to where Molloy was sitting at the opposite side of the canteen.
The minute I locked eyes on her, a surge of heat hit me directly in the dick.
Yeah, she was looking good this year.
I hadn’t spoken to her since the weekend when I fitted her new wardrobe for her.
Usually, she came up to me first thing before class for our morning ritual that consisted of a little verbal sparring.
However, I put her absence this morning down to the unfortunate series of events that had led me to almost decapitating her twin.
My eyes scanned the crowd again and landed on the poor scrawny bastard, tucked away in the corner with the rest of the studious, techy fuckers from our year, who would go on to college, and end up with high paying jobs. Those guys were so smart that they were kept tucked away in honor roll classes, and far away from the rest of us mere mortals; aka the thick fuckers like myself, Podge, and Alec, who would more likely than not end up taking up an apprenticeship and working with our hands.
I never put a lot of thought into the consequences of my flying fists, but I felt terrible for unleashing them on Kevin Molloy. Especially since he hadn’t breathed a word of what happened to either one of his parents, meaning that I got to keep my job at the garage. I had a feeling Molloy had a lot more to do with me keeping my job, considering her brother had never been my biggest fan.
My mind drifted back to that weird moment we had in her room on Saturday, and I had to repress a shiver.
Things had been different between us for a while now, deeper, since the day of my grandfather’s funeral when she surprised the hell out of me by showing up.
Her presence had thrown me, she had thrown me, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
Either way, having her put some distance between us today couldn’t be a bad thing.
The distance helped me to water down some of the fucked-up feelings she evoked inside of me.
“Jesus, did she get taller over the summer?” Alec hissed in a reverent tone, biting down on his fist. “Oh, fuck. Her legs look longer than usual.”
“It’s the shoes,” Podge offered up. “The higher the heel, the longer the leg.”
“What?” I chuckled, turning to look at him. “Where’d ya hear that?”
“No, he’s right, I’ve heard that, too,” Alec offered. “I think I read it in a magazine.”
“At the clinic?” Podge added.
“That’s right,” Alec agreed, slapping his hands together. “That’s where I read it.”
“The clinic?” I shook my head. “What the fuck were you two up to over the summer?”
“Same as you, Lynchy, boy,” Alec shot back with a wolfish grin. “Scoring and whoring.”
Doubtful.
My gaze drifted back to Molloy, and like a hundred times before, I caught her staring back at me.
Instead of the usual comical banter, she offered me a small wave instead.
I winked in response and had to bury my smile when her cheeks turned bright pink. She wasn’t blushing, though. It was something else. It was almost like she was excited. To see me.
Fuck, she was something else to look at.
“I can’t believe she’s still with that tosser,” Alec groaned, gesturing to Ricey, who was planted on the chair beside her, and all but glued to the girl’s hip. “How long have they been together now, three years?”
“Three and a half,” I heard myself answer. “On and off.”
“Well shit.” Alec released a despondent sigh. “He’s definitely riding her by now, right? “
Christ, I hoped not.
CHRISTMAS WISHES AND JOYRIDES
DECEMBER 23RD 2003
AOIFE
“You know, you don’t have to buy me a present this year, babe,” Paul announced, as he sat across the table from me at The Dinniman, after the lunchtime rush on Tuesday. It was two days to Christmas, and we had been up the walls at work all morning. “All I want for Christmas is—“
“Don’t even go there,” I warned, reaching across the table to clamp a hand over his mouth. “Seriously, Paul, I have less than two minutes of my lunch break left until I have to get back out there. I have no intention of using them to fight with you.”
He threw his hands up. “Who’s fighting?”
“Us,” I shot back, setting my hand back down. “Or at least we will be, if you bring up the whole sex in lieu of a gift idea again.”
“Aoife.” He stared hard at me, brown eyes full of barely contained frustration. “Come on, babe. We’ve been going out forever.”
“Three years isn’t forever,” I replied, taking a sip from my coffee. “It’s a drop in the ocean in the grand scheme of things.”
“We will be together four years next February,” he argued back.
“Not when you add up all of the times during those four years when we’ve been off,” I reminded him. “Take that into account and it’s closer to two years than four.“
“Aoife!” he snapped, reaching over and snatching my hand up. “Come on. I’ve been patient. I’ve done the waiting.”
“You’ve also done the sexing, remember?” I shot back, reminding him of just how much he’d enjoyed our break back in third year.
“Why are you bringing that back up?” He blew out a frustrated breath. “That was two years ago. We were off at the time. You said it was okay. I didn’t cheat on you.”
“No, you didn’t cheat on me. You were careful to wait a couple of hours after we broke up before sticking your dick inside that black-haired bitch from Tommen,” I stuck the knife in by hissing. “What was her name again? Ella something?”
“Bella,” he muttered, having the good grace to drop his head. “Bella Wilkinson, and you know that she didn’t mean a thing to me. I was drunk and depressed. You had just ended it.”