She Likes It Irish

by Sophia Ryan

  “That’s not true.”

  “Oh? There’s Nick, who ditched you. Before him was that basketball player—what was his name? Reese?—who cheated on you with another basketball player. Female, but still. Before that was—”

  Kristin held up her hand. “Enough already.” She stood and climbed into her own bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin. It smelled like him, like her, like their combined scent. “Sean’s different.”

  “The only difference between Sean and those other guys is that his package is bigger.” Zoe opened her laptop again. “Much, much bigger.”

  “You saw?”

  “Duh! Only wish I’d whipped out my phone and snapped a pic before you smothered it with a pillow.” She sighed. “But it’s in here,” she added, tapping her temple, “and it’s going to fuel my fantasies for weeks.”

  “Leave him out of your depraved fantasies.”

  “I will if you will.”

  “No promises. But really, Sean’s a good guy, and even if you can’t find it in your heart to be nice to him, at least be happy for me and support what I want. Can you do that?”

  “No promises—not as long as what you want is him.” Zoe’s eyes were sharp flints of ice, telling Kristin that she was serious about not giving her an ounce of help with Sean.

  Her phone dinging through a text from Sean curbed what she really wanted to say to her, but throughout her hour-long conversation with Sean, Zoe’s words stayed with her.

  Sean hadn’t done or said anything that would make her question his sincerity or his honesty. With guys from her past, even Nick, she’d always felt a little off, like she was walking on a sloped sidewalk that could pitch her at any time. And to be honest, the possibility of being pitched had been part of the appeal. Being with Sean was like floating through a summer-blue sky—no clouds, no rain, just a light breeze to carry them forward.

  Could she be wrong? Again?

  ****

  Seeing Sean’s handsome, open, smiling face the next morning just before eight, her latte in hand, Kristin knew Zoe and Randy were wrong.

  “I stayed awake all night thinking about your roommate,” he said as he walked her to class.

  “Oh, goodie. Just what every girl wants to hear from her guy.”

  He chuckled. “What I mean is, I thought about why she’s acting the way she is.”

  “Did you come up with any conclusions? More importantly, any solutions?”

  “No solutions. It’s crazy, but she’s acting like a jealous lover.”

  A chill shot through Kristin at his words. Was now the time to tell him about her and Zoe? Before they got any closer? She opened her mouth to say something, but one look at him and she knew she couldn’t. Besides, she hadn’t been with her since she and Sean got together, so why tell him? He hadn’t been real open about his ex-lovers.

  “Was she this bad with your other boyfriends?” he continued.

  “She’s never liked any of the guys I dated, but she’s never been this…territorial.”

  “So, it’s me she doesn’t like.”

  She shrugged. “She thinks you’re going to hurt me.”

  He stopped and faced her, his gaze serious. “And you, Kristin? What do you think?”

  “I think she’s wrong.”

  “I want you to know it…” he put his hand on her heart “…in here. Know that I won’t hurt you.”

  She covered his hand with hers and brought it to her lips, kissing his palm. “I know it.”

  He dropped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her, dropping a kiss on her head.

  They got to the building where her class was but, instead of letting her go, he sat on the adobe banco and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Where are you taking me for dinner tomorrow night?” she asked, her arms loosely looped around his neck.

  “No place with sushi, that’s for sure,” he teased, knowing it was one of her favorite foods.

  “No place with food that comes on a bun, either,” she countered, knowing of his passion for green chile cheeseburgers.

  “Nah. Tomorrow we’re going someplace nice where you can wear a dress cut down to here.” His finger drew a line from her neck to her belly button, then his hand stayed to splay across her lower stomach.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said on a ragged breath.

  His other hand cupped the side of her neck and pulled her in for a goodbye kiss.

  As she watched him go, she noticed how many looks he got from women—and a few guys. He was beautiful and oozed sexuality, from the way he walked to the way he looked, and clearly she wasn’t the only one who saw it. Her mind flew back to Randy’s comment about the girls who visited his room, and she wondered whether Sean was telling the truth—that no girls had been in his room since the night they met.

  All her doubts blew away like piles of ash when Sean looked back over his shoulder at her as if he needed just one more look. The smile on his face when he saw her still there, watching him go, warmed her head to heel.

  Shaking his head, he stopped and rushed back to her. She moved toward him, too, and they met in a tangle of arms and mouths, their bodies merging like two flames, his hands splaying out across her ass, pulling her tight against him.

  When they came up for breath, his eyes were heavy and glazed like he was high on some pleasure-inducing substance. His heartbeat was as thunderous against hers. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  “You could have more if you’d agree to adjust the schedule.”

  “If I wasn’t teaching this class…” He held her gaze, telling her everything he’d do to her if there was time.

  “Go,” she said. “They’ll only wait ten minutes before they decide you’re not showing up.” She smiled. “Besides, we have tonight.”

  With a groan, he kissed her again then backed away, still holding her hand. Right before his fingertips slid off hers, he said, “Tonight.” He turned and ran toward his class.

  She drew in a few strong breaths to calm the racing desire washing over her, knowing she wouldn’t have the brain power to focus on anything the professor had to say until the wave had receded. Zoe was right…she needed to do him and get it over with. Maybe then her hormones would settle down and let her get back to her normal, rational self.

  As she pulled open the door to the building, a woman behind her stopped her. “Hey, Kristin.”

  Kristin faced the unfamiliar woman warily. “Do I know you?”

  “You haven’t fucked Sean yet, have you?” Her mouth was smiling and her eyes were shining, but nothing about her looked friendly.

  “That’s none of your business.” Kristin frosted her words into shards of ice to leave no doubt that she wasn’t going to continue this conversation. The woman grabbed her arm as she tried to move through the door and stuck her face close to Kristin’s.

  “The way he was with you, just now? He acted like that with me, too. But once we fucked, he never spoke to me again, not even to tell me why he was ending it.”

  Kristin yanked her arm from the woman’s grip. “Maybe it was your breath.”

  The woman narrowed her eyes at Kristin and moved back a step. “Don’t fool yourself into believing he cares about you. He wants you, that’s clear enough from the way he was all over you. But after he’s had you, he’ll toss your ass aside, just like he’s done all the women he’s been with since he got here. Take my advice and end things with him before he takes your heart.” The woman left as quickly as she arrived.

  Kristin’s face burned. Did Sean already have her heart? Had she let her desire for him morph into a deeper feeling that would only get her hurt? She stood outside for a few seconds, quieting her restless mind and stomach with a few deep breaths before going inside to make her way to class.

  As she turned the corner toward her class, she saw the woman talking with Randy, heard him say, “thanks.” He handed her money, and she left the building. When Randy turned to head down the hall, Kristin was there, waiting for him with her
arms crossed over her chest.

  His face went pale as his mouth and eyes rounded in surprise. He closed his mouth and swallowed. “Kristin!” His voice cracked and he swallowed again.

  “I know you paid that woman to trash Sean.” She advanced on him, and he backed up until he hit the wall. “Why?”

  “Okay, yeah, I asked her to tell you about what happened when she was with Sean, but she wasn’t making any of those things up. He really did drop her and the other women…just like she said. For no reason.”

  “Hell, Randy, even I can see she’s not right for him.”

  “And what happens when he suddenly decides you’re not right for him?”

  The concern in his eyes and in his voice pushed her to take time to check in with her heart. Feeling Sean’s hand there, hearing his promise to not hurt her, tasting his kisses on her mouth told her everything she needed to know. Her heart was safe with Sean O’Neill.

  “I’m willing to take that chance.”

  Randy looked like he’d been stabbed in the heart. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  She released a deep sigh. “I don’t enjoy hurting you, so this little ambush of yours will stay between us. However, if I even suspect that you’re pulling something like this again, you’ll be explaining to Sean why you’re interfering in our lives. He won’t be as easygoing as I am.”

  He lifted his hand to her arm as she turned to go. “I care about you, and don’t want him to hurt you.”

  She smiled, her face warm from thinking about Sean. “He won’t hurt me.”

  “I’ll do everything in my power to make sure he doesn’t.”

  The concern in Randy’s eyes was touching, but the barely veiled threat in his words was troubling. Should she warn Sean or leave it alone? What real harm could Randy do anyway?

  Chapter Eight

  Sean was so damn beautiful he took her breath away.

  He was standing in the TV/lounge area when she came downstairs. One look at him in his charcoal slacks, white button-up dress shirt with a black-print tie, black shoes, and the leather jacket he’d worn to church locked her knees and stopped her heart.

  He must have felt her eyes undressing him because he turned to her. The appreciation in his eyes and the smile on his face told her she didn’t look half bad in her low-cut, black dress and sky-high black heels. She had added silver bling to accent her wrists and ears. He walked to her and took her hands in his.

  His eyes opened wide and so did his mouth before he grinned. “Wow.”

  “Wow, right back at you.”

  “My only non-jean clothes.” He held out his arms and turned slowly to give her a full view. “Take a good look because this may be the last time you’ll see me in it.”

  “You’re totally hot, no matter what you wear.”

  “We’re a perfect match then. Ready?”

  “Yes.”

  He helped her on with her coat and they walked out the door.

  “Hope you don’t mind riding on the back of my motorcycle,” he said.

  “Are you kidding? I can’t wait!” She actually giggled.

  ****

  The hostess sat them toward the back of the dimly lit restaurant. Kristin slid onto the padded bench while Sean took the chair to her right. The waitress took their drink order and left menus for them to peruse.

  “You weren’t lying,” Sean said, scanning the menu. “No sushi or cheeseburgers in sight.”

  She laughed. “I thought it would be nice to spend a few hours outside our comfort zones tonight.”

  He took her hand in his, brought it to his lips, and kissed her palm. “Next to you is my comfort zone.”

  The glow from the candle danced in his eyes, and she basked in the desire she saw there. It sounded like—felt like—he meant every word. But as Zoe so thoughtfully reminded her the other night, she had been burned before from getting too close to the heat in the eyes of a handsome man.

  She smiled. “Be careful, handsome. I might actually start to believe all the sweet things you say to me.”

  “I expect you to believe every word,” he said and dropped a kiss on her lips.

  His mouth was minty, wet, and delicious, and she wanted more than the appetizing peck he teased her hunger with. It had ignited her desire for him, and she was ready to jump ahead to the main course. Before he could move away, she dug her fingers into his thick hair and pulled him back to her, giving him a long, languid kiss that was more appropriate for the bedroom than a fine restaurant.

  “Excuse me.”

  They glided apart at the waitress’ gentle interruption. To Kristin, it felt like they were moving in slow motion, as if their bodies were strongly opposed to the separation and resisting.

  Their waitress set a glass of water before each other them, a lemon drop for Kristin, and a dark beer for Sean.

  “Have you decided what you’d like for dinner?” the woman asked.

  Sean looked at Kristin, who was smiling behind her glass. He smiled and smothered a laugh. “We’ll need another moment.”

  If the waitress was exasperated, she hid it well. She simply smiled at him and agreed to come back in a few minutes.

  “When you get us kicked out of here, we’re going for a green chile cheeseburger,” Sean whispered, making Kristin laugh out loud. He chuckled. “Look at your menu.”

  “On one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Come sit next to me. You’re too far away.”

  He scooted back his chair, got up, and slid next to her into the booth. “This is much better,” he said and laid his arm along the top of the bench, his hand brushing her shoulders.

  She turned toward him. “I hope they don’t seat another couple close to us. I might want to play footsy with you under the table.”

  “If I’d known you wanted that much privacy, I’d have rented out the room they have in the back.”

  “Next time.”

  “Uh-oh,” he said grabbing his menu. “She’s headed this way again.”

  Kristin put her hand on his menu. “Do you trust me?”

  “Completely.”

  “Is there any food you hate or are allergic to?”

  “I like everything…except sushi and haggis.”

  The waitress eyed Sean like he was the dessert of the day. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Yes,” Kristin said, capturing her attention. She opened her menu. “We’ll be sharing the petite beef filet, medium, the baby greens salad with red wine-honey vinaigrette, asparagus spears, and the walnut and cheese-stuffed grilled figs.”

  A smile lifted the corners of the waitress’ mouth as she repeated the order and committed it to memory. “Excellent choices. I’ll have it right out.”

  “Odd combination,” Sean said, a look of confusion on his face.

  She smiled but said nothing.

  He took her hand in his. “Why do I get the feeling you have plans for me you’re not telling me about?”

  “Aren’t you the suspicious one?” She sipped her drink. “Do you get that from your mom or from your dad?”

  He laughed, but didn’t answer right away, as if he were gathering memories and weighing which ones could be shared and which ones had to be kept hidden. “My brothers and sister and I joke that if we tell our mum the sun’s out, she’ll make us bring in a bucket of the stuff to prove it. So, I guess I got that from her. I’m always looking for proof, too. My da was just the opposite. He believed everything and everyone.”

  “Is your dad…gone?”

  He nodded. “Two years ago this spring.”

  She squeezed the hand holding hers. “I’m sorry. How?”

  The corner of his mouth rose as if he were listening to a small private joke. “Dancing. If bands were playing trad at the pub near home, Da was there. He’d drink too much, laugh too much, and dance like he was twenty instead of fifty.”

  “He was young. His heart?”

  He nodded. “He died doing what he loved—livi
ng life full out.”

  “We could all take a lesson in that—live life to the fullest while you can.”

  “Yeah. I guess. But in his odyssey to cram everything into his own life, he sometimes forgot the other people in his life had needs, too.”

  “A bit of an absentee father and husband?” she asked.

  “Nice way of putting it. Mum was there for us. But having to shoulder everything made her a bit fanatical.”

  When he paused to sip his beer, she jumped in. “My mom was the dreamer, the painter and poet, who refused to acknowledge life’s unpleasant moments…refused to acknowledge anything, really, but her own whims. My father, the corporate lawyer, thought being a good parent meant hiring people—nannies, cooks, housekeepers, etc.—to take care of things.”

  “No siblings?”

  “Nope. My parents are such polar opposites, I often wonder how they found their way to each other long enough to conceive even one child.”

  “Were you lonely?”

  Kristin paused, peering backward into her childhood. “I used to wish for a house full of brothers and sisters so I’d have someone to laugh with, fight with, keep secrets with. But…” She shrugged. “It wasn’t to be.” She had been lonely at times. But being a single child was all she knew, so it was almost as if she didn’t realize what she was missing.

  “So are you a dreamer like your mum or a driver like your da?”

  His question pulled her out of her memories and set her back down into the middle of the present with him. She linked her fingers with his and smiled to show him she was back.

  “I try hard not to be like either of them.”

  “Maybe you’re the best of both…reflective, impulsive, positive, and open like your mum. Strong, capable, intelligent, and practical like your da.”

  “That sounds a whole lot better than ditzy and detached.”

  “But then there’s the qualities that are uniquely you.”

  “Oh, yeah? Like what?”

  “Passionate, giving, independent, fun, a sharp and creative mind.”

  His words touched her. She smiled. “You could make a lot of money reading palms and telling fortunes in Nob Hill.”

  He laughed as if he could see the humor and gratitude lighting her words. “If I could see the future, I’d already know your middle name. I’ve become obsessed with names beginning with H.”