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“I get it,” I replied, breath hitching in my throat, as I continued to poke the bear. “It’s too hard for you to be friends with someone when you want them as badly as you want me.”
“Is that so?” Smirking, he took another step closer and I found myself backing up with every step he took, until my back hit against my garden wall. Resting a hand on the wall next to me, he leaned in close. “You think I like you, Molloy?”
“I know you do,” I breathed, heart galloping recklessly in my chest.
Reaching down with his free hand, he tucked a tendril of hair behind my ear and whispered, “You think Iwantyou?”
The air left my lungs in an audible whoosh, and I knew that I was standing in the face of danger.
This boy possessed all of the terrible traits that mothers warned their daughters about.
Trouble.
It should have been his middle name.
Every bad, wrong, and dirty teenage boy characteristic wrapped up in a perfect, fucked-up package.
Physically, he trumped me in every way.
Taller.
Stronger.
Darker.
Meaner…
Still, I wanted him to comecloser.
“Go inside, Molloy,” he said in a softer tone now, as his green eyes searched and found in mine something that had put the fire out for him. “You don’t belong out here in the dark with someone like me.”
“Yes, I do,” I was quick to blurt, before quickly adding, “I live on this street, remember?”
“Aoife!” My father’s voice echoed from our front doorway. “What are you doing outside at this time of night? The Gards are crawling all over the terrace, pet.”
“Jesus.” Jerking away from my body like I had scalded him, Joey shoved his hands into his pocket and muttered a string of curse words under his breath, as he shook his head and blew out a ragged breath.
My father’s confused gaze flicked to Joey, and he blinked for a moment before a look of resignation settled on his face.
“Joey,” he acknowledged with a heavy sigh. “I hope you weren’t in that crowd I saw the Gards taking away. You’re a good lad, and you know I’m fond of ya, but those lads are bad news. I’m not comfortable having someone who knocks around with that kind talking to my—“
“He wasn’t with them,” I answered before Joey could. “He was dropping Katie home,” I quickly added, feeling the lie roll surprisingly easy off my tongue. “They went to the cinema together, isn’t that right, Joey?”
“Uh, yeah.” Joey nodded slowly, his green eyes wary and locked on mine. “That’s right.”
“Yourself and young Katie?” My dad frowned at Joey. “You kept that one quiet.”
Joey shrugged. “It’s ah, early days?”
“Ah, mighty stuff. Good lad yourself,” Dad called back with a cheerful grin before turning around to go back into the house. “Aoife, don’t be long outside now, ya hear? Only the bad types are out at this time of night.”
“Yeah, Dad, I’ll be two minutes,” I called back and then sagged in relief when the door closed behind him.
"You lied for me." Joey’s tone was cold and full of unspoken accusation. "You covered for me."
"Yeah." My heart hammered against my chest bone, as if it was trying to beat its way out of my body and join forces with his. "I did."
"Why?" His green eyes were laced with a mixture of heat, annoyance, and reluctant curiosity. "What do you want from me?"
