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“I prefer getting his hole,” Gerard declared. “Me too,” both Hugh and Patrick agreed. “Absolutely not,” Katie argued. “That’s so crude.” “I have it,” Gerard announced, holding a hand up. “They are fucking with feelings!”
“Says the fella who tried to convince the whole of fourth class that tyrant was a breed of dinosaur.” “Hey! That was an easy mistake, and you know it.” Gerard shrugged noncommittally. “Could have happened to anyone.” “Funny how the things that could happen to anyone usually only happen to you, Gibs.”
I laughed, climbing in beside him, while desperately trying to avert my eyes from his impressive biceps. Because Gerard had the best arms. They were delicious.
Assuming position, Johnny linked hands with Gerard and smirked. “One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war.” “Five, six, seven, eight, I use this hand to masturbate.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting the newest members of the Kavanagh clan.” “The youngest two are worth meeting,” I tossed out, bouncing off the last step. “But the middle fella is a demon.”
That was the thing about my mother. She might have horrible taste in men, not to mention a poorly angled moral compass when it came to upholding marital vows, but she had a heart of gold.
My attention flicked to the tiny brunette leaning against the passenger door when we reached Johnny’s Audi, and my heart softened. “Hi, Gibs.” “Little Shannon.” I smiled. “How’s my second favorite girl in the world?”
“You’ve got this, little fighter,” I encouraged, ruffling her hair when she walked over. “You’re going to make this school year your bitch.” “Damn straight she is.” Without a hint of hesitation, my bulldozer of a best friend hooked an arm around his girlfriend and pulled her close.
I knew from the very beginning that what Johnny had with Shannon was permanent. I’d never seen a fella plagued more by his feelings than Johnny. He loved the bones of that girl and, yeah, it took him his usual amount of time to predict, ponder, panic, and finally process his feelings, but he had. Once his mind was set, it was a done deal. Shannon Lynch was his endgame, and Johnny Kavanagh was hers.
Yeah, we had shits and giggles, and banter galore, but when the cards were on the table, he had my back, and I had his. There was a permanence to that kind of friendship that soothed something deep inside of me.
I wanted to be smart like the rest of them. To hand in my homework and not sweat half my body weight out for fear of being called in class to read out loud or listen to the usual “Your writing is illegible” spiel. Like I didn’t already know it. It was illegible because I couldn’t fucking spell so it was easier to scribble the words out and make it look so messy that the teachers didn’t call on me.
“Will do, Fa.” Mam beamed at me, thinking the word Fa was a term of endearment for the man she’d thrust into my life when I was six. In her mind, Fa was short for father. In mine, it was short for fucking asshole.
“Probably for the best,” I taunted, struggling to keep my smile in check. “All things considered.” You know, since the academy frowns on rapists that drive teenage girls to suicide and all that jazz.
“Morning, bestie,” she cooed, leaning between the seats to give her an affectionate squeeze. “Oh my god, you smell amazing!” “Thanks,” Shannon replied, cheeks blushing. “It’s the perfume Johnny brought me back from camp.”
Fort Minor’s “Remember the Name”
Kav’s playlist was always set in beast mode. It didn’t matter what day of the week it was or what the occasion was, the music he played was ferocious, aggressive, and highly motivating. Seriously, after spending too long in his car or listening to his iPod, I felt like running laps and swinging fists.
“Another Lynch boy.” “He’s not a Lynch, he’s a Joey.” “News flash, Joey’s a Lynch, Gibs.” “Nah, he’s a Joey. Like Bono. He doesn’t need a last name. Iconic.”
“Aww.” Claire continued to croon and coo at the screen of the phone. “I want one.” “You want one of those things?” I gaped at her. “Are you feeling okay?” “Me too,” Shannon admitted with a wistful sigh. “I want two.” “Two’s a good number,” Johnny agreed. “But three’s better.” “Jesus Christ, it’s contagious!” Snatching the phone out of Claire’s hand, I tossed it back to Shannon. “Here, put that phone away before that baby’s picture causes an epidemic.”
“Mammy K’s here?” Robbie Mac piped up from further up the table. “Was she wearing the white pants suit? Oh fuck, Gibs, tell me she was wearing the white pants suit.” “The one that shows her thong print?” Pierce asked, reaching over the table to swipe a muffin out of the basket. “That’s the one,” Robbie confirmed with a groan. “Jesus, that woman is immortal. Doesn’t look a day over thirty-five.” “You’ll be wearing the imprint of my foot up your hole if you talk about my ma like that,” Johnny warned, bristling.
“Hey, Baby Biggs,” another one goaded. “Want to come sit on my lap and I’ll feed you something a lot more satisfying?” “Cocktease.” “You’re a dead man, Callaghan!” Hugh snarled, shoving his chair in his rush to get out of his chair to defend my honor. The move was a sweet one but unnecessary because Gerard had beaten him to it. “The fuck did you say about my girl?” He was on his feet and lunging across the lunch table before I had a chance to register that I was no longer sitting on his lap, but the seat he had vacated. “If you ever speak about her like that again, I’ll rip your fucking guts
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“Listen, I don’t give a shite who started it. I’m finishing it,” Johnny barked, tone leaving no room for argument. “Whatever happened, forget it. It’s done with. It’s over. It ends now. Does anyone have an issue with that? Anyone still feeling the need to throw down? Because I’ll go outside right now with any bleeding bollox on my team that has an issue to clear up.”
If i had a dick, id be hard
“I’m trying,” I huffed. “When’s the last time you had two hundred pounds of prick on your shoulders?” “I carry your drunk ass around most weekends,” came Johnny’s sarcastic response and I thought I might scream.
“Do you think Johnny’s okay? He’s still out there running drills.” “Are you kidding me? Cap’s loving this.” I chuckled, feeling the need to soothe her anxiety. “Boot camp is like an orgasm to his workaholic ass.”
I knew it had a lot to do with the fact that Gibson’s Bakery was one of the few things Gerard had left of his father. It made me happy that Sadhbh had stepped in and kept the bakery running after Joe died. It was one of the few places Gerard still had that hadn’t been infected with the Allen stamp. Because this was Gerard’s legacy, and it was beautiful to know that he was finally showing an interest in claiming it.
Why do i feel like this is foreshadowing..
“Hey, Gerard?” Feeling devilish, I dropped the scrunchie and reached for the hem of my drenched T-shirt instead. “Want to see my boobs?” “Do I fuck,” he choked out, craning his head back to look at me. “The answer to that question is always, Claire-Bear. Always.”
“I can keep holding onto the sides?” “For as long as you need to,” I agreed, thrilled when I watched him slowly lower himself until his back was touching my chest. “I’m right here.” “Believe me, I know,” he bit out, full-body shuddering. “It’s the only reason I’m doing this.”
She got him in the water omg
When it came to this woman, I had been such a fucking eejit. I wasn’t about to lie and say that piercing my dick back in fifth year didn’t have anything to do with Dee. It had. It was my temporary way out of a situation that had gotten too big for me. A successful one at that, because I’d deftly managed to avoid the woman since then.
Pondering mischief and with my playful mood activated, I moved to inspect the giant smiley face on his ceiling, the one Gerard was currently adding a joint to with permanent black marker. “Oh, your mam is going to freak when she sees it.” I laughed when he continued to draw little cloud bubbles of smoke around the face. “You know she hates it when you smoke.”
“But why do they get in love with each other?” she asked, taking a lick of my cone. “Is it fun?” “It’s when you live in the same house as your best friend, and you have babies and a cat,”
“You’re so beautiful,” I admitted because one, I had a problem keeping my mouth shut, and second, it was the truth. I’d never seen anything like her. “I swear you shine even in the darkness.”
Ollie’s face fell, but like the absolute queen she was, Aoife was quick to add, “It’s all good, Ols. You know he’ll pop next door to say good night to the three of you before bed. Same as always.”
I love joey
“You promise he’s still better today?” Ollie pushed, brown eyes wide and full of innocence. “He’s not sick again?” “I promise,” Aoife replied, though she had to clear her throat several times before adding, “Today is another good day, Ols.”
“And then Ollie was asking her if Joey was better, and Aoife could only tell him that he was better today…” Choking out another sob, I batted my tears away. “And then it hit me that Joe’s never going to be fully better, is he? Because there’s no cure for his disease!” Sniffling, I added, “He’ll always be an addict, with no promise of anything beyond today.”
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
“But the fact that Shan and the boys are here today, still standing, still breathing? It’s a miracle in itself. As for Joey? He’s a force to be reckoned with. I’ve never seen a more resilient human in my life. Yeah, he’ll always be an addict, but he’s got a family in there worth staying sober for. A girl and a baby that not only would he fight to the death for, but that he also wants to live for. So, fuck guarantees and don’t bet against him. He’ll forge an epic future for Aoife and AJ, just like he forged a future for his siblings.”
“For the last time, Reginald isn’t diseased!” I snapped. “He’s as clean as a whistle. Same as me.” “Same as you?” he laughed. “Is that supposed to reassure me?” “Don’t mind him, son,” I grumbled,
What Johnny and Shannon had was permanent. They nurtured their relationship like it was of the greatest importance to both of them in equal measure. As sure as there was a cat in Cork, she would be the girl on his arm when he collected his Grand Slam medal, just as he would be the one in the crowd cheering her on when she collected her college degree.
You didn’t have a baby together in secondary school unless the boy was a stallion. And by God was Joey Lynch a stallion.
“No, not now, ya bleeding eejit,” Johnny replied, sounding pissed as a fart.
“I’ll take whatever she’s willing to give me.” He frowned again, thinking hard about something before saying, “You know, I think I’d love a daughter.” He scratched his jaw as he spoke. “I’d be delighted with sons, too, of course, but I’d love to raise a little girl with Shan.” Shrugging, he added, “You know, show her how different it should’ve been for her.”
“Hey, I’m loyal,” Johnny huffed. “Like a bleeding Labrador.”
“Say hello to your daddy.” “Dick!” Gerard cooed, snatching up the furriest of the three. “How are you, son?”
“Oh, and for future reference, keep the door open, Claire.” “But what if Dick escapes and sneaks into Hugh’s room again?” I called after her. “That’s not the dick I’m worried about escaping,” Mam muttered under her breath.
“I bet they’re doing something romantic,” Katie gushed. “With candles,” I replied wistfully. “And romantic music,” she agreed, taking a sip from Hugh’s beer bottle. Gerard snorted. “I bet they’re fucking.”
“I do,” I replied, roughly clearing my throat. “I love you in so many ways.” “Then why?” she slurred. “Why won’t you just kiss me?” Because I’m terrified.
“Meh.” I shrugged and offered her a wink. “Some families produce hurlers.” “And some produce swimmers,” she filled in with a smile.
“I am proud of you for that,” Lizzie interjected, reaching a hand over the table to cover mine. “You must have written at least seventy letters since fourth class.” Smiling, she added, “Your tenacity is admirable.”
It was beautiful to see, to finally know that my friend was receiving the maternal love she always deserved. Because in all honesty, no one deserved a better life than Shannon Lynch and her brothers.
“Not anymore,” Lizzie replied protectively, giving our friend a reassuring smile. Yeah, it was safe to say that our entire friendship group was more than a little protective of her. “You’re kicking ass now, Shan.”
“You first,” Gerard shot back before reaching over to ruffle Shannon’s hair affectionately. “Keep that head up, little Shannon.” He offered her a reassuring wink. “Everything’s grand.”
