More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Thank fuck for that, because you’re ruining all of me right now, I thought to myself.
Fuck, I had a feeling that her pretty face would be cemented in the fore point of my mind for a very long time.
“Boys with pretty eyes and big muscles mess everything up for girls,” Claire huffed.
We were into February and I was still silently obsessing over Shannon like the river.
“My Shannon?” Hughie laughed. “She’s your Shannon now?” I shrugged, too drunk to defend or deny.
“Keep looking out for her, Cap,” he said, squeezing my shoulder. “God knows someone needs to.”
Ten minutes into the game, I witnessed firsthand what all the fuss over Johnny Kavanagh was about.
Johnny’s attention wasn’t on the medic or the referee shouting commands in his ear. He was too busy looking at me.
“About why that boy down there is looking at you like he wants to eat you up,” she replied, and then pointed a blatantly obvious finger right at Johnny—who was staring right at me again.
“How’s it going?” Johnny asked, closing the space between us, voice understandably breathless from the exertion on the pitch. “Uh, it’s, ah, it’s going good,” I stumbled over my words, completely thrown off-kilter being this close to Johnny again. “Is it good for you?” I added lamely, and then immediately flamed in embarrassment. “You must feel good.” Sighing, I repressed the urge to groan and finished with a mumbled, “I mean, how’s it going for you…?” “It’s going good,” Johnny replied with a smile that deepened the two tiny dimples in his cheeks.
“Shannon like the river.”
That boy’s smile is something else…
I might as well have shouted, Love me, fucking love me at the girl.
“I like him, Claire. I think I really like him.”
All weekend, Shannon had been in the back of my mind—okay, the fore point.
I wanted Shannon Lynch. And worse than wanting her, I really fucking liked her.
He was just so unusual and entertaining.
I hated humans. They were such a disappointment. And to think God switched dinosaurs for man. He must be raging.
“Well, don’t talk to her!” I spat out, glaring down at his stupid fucking face. “Don’t look at her, and don’t fucking touch her. She’s not for you.” With great effort, I forced myself to release him and stand back. “Are we clear this time?”
Concussion-giver or not, some part of my brain told me that I was safe with this boy.
“Well, if he gives you even a whiff of shite, then let me know,” Johnny growled. “And I’ll fix it.”
“Come on, Shannon like the river. Get in my car.”
“You are so concerned with fighting the bullies at school, Mam,” I sobbed, tears streaming down my cheeks, “when the biggest bully of them all lives under this roof.”
When Johnny tipped his chin up and uttered the word, “Leave,” I realized I had been right about scenario number one.
Nodding, I turned to leave, feeling thoroughly deflated, only to have a warm hand wrap around my wrist and pull me back to his side. “Not you,” Johnny whispered in my ear, settling me in front of him. “Them.” His blue-eyed gaze darted to the two older boys watching us with curious expressions, and in a tone that left no room for discussion, he said, “Go.”
“What happened?” he demanded, glaring down at me. “Who the fuck made you cry?”
“Give me a name,” Johnny growled, dropping his hands to his hips. “And I’ll take care of it.” “What—no! I’m grand,” I quickly replied. “I have allergies.” “Me too. To assholes and bullshit,” Johnny snarled. “Now, tell me who made you cry and I’ll fix it.”
I needed to get my head in the game. Problem was, I left it with Shannon Lynch.
Because somewhere deep down inside of me, I felt like she knew me. Like she could save me?
“Now,” I sneered, glaring down at their faces. “Who wants to call my girlfriend a whore to my face?”
“Uh, here’s your stuff,” she said, gently placing my keys and wallet on my left thigh. My good thigh, I realized. Shit, this girl was too much.
“I’ll protect you, Shannon like the river.”
“Yeah, Shan.” Offering me a small smile, he reached for his bottle of water and took a swig. “You’re good for me.”
I could always depend on this fucker. Hail, rain, or snow, Gibsie had my back.
Unsurprisingly—but still completely messed up—it was Shannon’s face that flittered through my mind as the lyrics forced their way into my sluggish brain.
This girl is different, my stupid fucking brain chanted. This one is for keeps.
You could love this girl your whole life, the crazy thought persisted inside my brain over and over, if you just let yourself.
“Because you’re with her? No,” I told him. “If she fucks with Shannon? Absolutely.”
“Come on, Shannon like the river.” He inclined his head toward the door. “Let me feed you.”
And the most nerve-racking thing about it all was that I liked it. I liked the fact that she was turning my life on its axis and encouraging never-seen-before notions and feelings inside of me, and then I hated that I liked it.
Most importantly, she didn’t look at me like I was a meal ticket. She looked right through all the bullshit. Seeing me. Seeing only me. And that made me want to move some shit around and place her slap-bang in the middle of my world.
“Because I couldn’t let her go,” I admitted truthfully, keeping out the part about Shannon being sick. “I couldn’t let her leave me, lad.”
“I don’t give a shite,” I snapped, thinking about her bruised face. “I didn’t want her to leave, Gibs, and he just took her away from me. And I let him!”
Meanwhile, I couldn’t care less about what shaped ball he kicked around a field. Rugby was a sport. It was a game. It wasn’t all he was. It was just one part of him. The only part that mattered to these girls, apparently.
“But you won’t have a jacket,” I blurted out. “But you will,”
“You think I’d let anyone hurt you?” Johnny finally asked, his eyes dark and intense and focused solely on my face. “You think I’d let anything bad happen to you, Shannon like the river?”
If she was here, then she was here with me. She was mine and I didn’t want to share.
“I can’t be alone with you like this,” he whispered, eyes locked on mine. “I…” He exhaled a ragged breath. “Not here…not when you look like that.”
Raging hormones, encouraged by my frazzled emotions, overrode my common sense right then, causing me to do something completely out of character. Releasing an unsteady breath, I reached up, grabbed Johnny’s neck, and pulled his face down to mine. And then I kissed him.
“Jesus Christ,” Johnny groaned, dropping his head in his hands. “Of course, I like you.” He tugged on his hair and sighed. “I think it’s pretty fucking clear that I’m mad about you.” Exhaling a pained groan, he added, “But I’ll be eighteen in May, Shannon.”
