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She made no move to go inside, choosing to stand under the street lamp and glare at me, while I continued to hold the gate open for her like a tool.
“It’s because of my dad, isn’t it?” she pressed, ponytail blowing in the night breeze. “Is that why you changed your mind? Why you don’t even want to be friends with me? Did he say something?”
“Go inside, Molloy.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Joey.”
“Fine. Suit yourself.” Shaking my head, I let go of the gate, and turned to walk away. “What do I care?”
“You know what? I think youdocare,” she called after me. “In fact, I think you do like me. You like me and that’s why you act how you do. That’s why you riled my father up about Paul tonight. I’m right, aren’t it? You like me.”
OfcourseI fucking liked her.
She was the first thing my eyes had landed on when I walked through the entrance of Ballylaggin Community School last September, and the only face I consistently sought out since.
“…She’sa good girl is our Aoife,” Tony said, dark eyes watching me warily. His agitation had been slowly rising since I arrived at work from my first day at secondary school and mentioned that his daughter and I had been assigned to the same class. “She’s a bit on the wild side, but what young one isn’t these days. She’s not backwards in coming forwards, either, but she’s a good girl at heart. And innocent, too …”
“I hear you, Tony,” I quickly intercepted, needing this job more than I needed to get myself caught up in anymore unnecessary drama. Besides, I had responsibilities at home, shit that came before anything else. Even pretty blondes with long, long legs. “I don’t have any intentions of going near your daughter.”
“Good lad yourself,” came his relieved reply. “It’s not that I don’t like ya, boyo, you know I do. It’s just that I don’t want the two of you going out together and complicating things at work. Especially when she’s …”
Too good for the likes of you.
“Don’t worry,” I interrupted. “I know the way the land lies. I won’t go there. You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me.”
I knew Tony was fond of me. I was a good worker, just not good enough for his daughter…
“Good man,” he said with a chuckle. “But if you could keep an eye on her for me, make sure she’s not being taken advantage of, or losing the run of herself, I’d owe you one.”
“Will do...”
“You’re delusional, Molloy.”
“And you’re in denial, Lynch.” Planting her hands on her hips, she gave me look of pure frustration. “I waited for you; you know.”
I arched a brow. “You waited for me.”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded and blew a strand of hair out of her face. “I waited formonthsfor you to get your shit together and ask me out.” She looked me right in the eye when she said, “Paul wasn’t my first choice, you know.”
“Meaning?”
“Oh, I’msorry,” she drawled sarcastically. “I wasn’t aware that you needed me to write it down for you, asshole.”
Well shit.
The truth was if Tony wasn’t her father, and I didn’t have so much riding on my job, then she wouldn’t have had to wait for shit. She sure as hell she wouldn’t be fucking around with that pretentious prick, Paul Rice, that was for sure.
But I had responsibilities that she could never understand. I had a sister to protect, brothers to feed, and a mother to keep me up late into the night worrying about. I didn't have the luxury of time to piss away like Paul had, nor had I the credentials, or reputation, any father would want in a lad for his daughter.
I didn’t blame Tony for wanting me to steer clear of his baby girl.
I would feel the same way about me, too.
“Well, it looks like you got bored of waiting,” I heard myself say, mentally kicking myself for not ending the conversation and walking away like IknewI should. “You’ve managed to shack yourself up with a Garda’s son from a nice side of town, so I reckon it’s safe to say that you came out on top, Molloy.”
“Yeah.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “It looks like I did, huh?”
I didn’t know what to say to that.
