AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That small slipof tongue had cut me to the bone.
And as I lay on my side, running my hand through his hair, and watching him sleep, I made a mental vow that I wouldn’t allow him to lose himself to the world he teetered on the edge of.
No matter what, I would be right beside him, ready to pull him back to safety.
Even if it meant that I lost myself in the process.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
SEPTEMBER 18TH 2004
AOIFE
“Well, you made it to eighteen,”Casey called over the DJ, as we threw shapes on the dancefloor of The Dinniman. “And with your virginity intact.” Laughing, she added, “I don’t know which one I’m more surprised about.”
“Funny,” I shot back, feeling tipsy, as I readjusted myhappy birthdaysash across my chest, and bounced around to The Killers’Mr. Brightside.
Mam, with the help of Casey, had organized this party to celebrate mine and Kev’s coming of age, and the entire place was jammed with friends, family, and most of our year from school.
Balloons and banners were hung all around the bar, and I was on such a high to know thatthismany people turned out for us.
I was finally legal, entitled to both order and be served whatever I wanted at the bar, and I was taking full advantage of the new perks.
Cupping her hands around her mouth, Casey asked, “Where’s Joey?”
“Where do you think?” I replied, pointing a thumb in a direction to where both Joey and my dad were deep in conversation at the bar.
Dad was nursing a pint of Guinness, while my boyfriend gripped a tall glass of vodka and Red Bull, his drink of choice.
Joey looked incredibly sexy tonight in his jeans and a fitted white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, revealing some mighty fine forearm porn.
He’d gotten a new haircut for the occasion, too. The back and sides were shaved tight, leaving an adorable mop of blond wavy curls on top.
Of course, he was sporting one hell of a shiner under his left eye, but I was determinednotto ask him about the bruise
If I did, the chances were that we would end up in a fight, and that was thelastthing I wanted tonight.
Joey had opened up to me a few weeks ago but had quickly returned to his usual closed-book persona soon after.
As weird as it sounded, and even though I was still plenty mad about the whole ordeal, Joey getting high and puking all over the walls of my bedroom had unintentionally brought us closer.
He'd been on his best behavior since; with his try-mode reactivated, and Shane’s number deleted from his phone – courtesy of yours truly.
It was like one of the roadblocks that he used to keep me out had been knocked aside. I was one step closer to getting over the illustrious walls he’d built up to protect himself.
Towering over my dad, I watched as my boyfriend leaned a hip against the bar and bowed his head to listen to whatever it was my father was rambling on about, nodding in response every once and a while.
“I think it’s nice that your boyfriend and your dad are such good buddies,” Casey laughed. “They’ve got this cute little bromance going on. It’s adorable.”
“True,” I agreed, linking arms with my bestie, as we stumbled back to our table. “But when he’sbromancingmy dad, it means that he’s notromancingme.”
“So, you’re thinking tonight might be the night?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh Christ,” Casey groaned. “The anticipation is unbearable.”
“How are you, Aoife, love?” Mam asked when I flopped down beside her. “How are you, Casey, pet?”
