Chapter 6
6
GAVIN
S eeing Conor holding Sophie in his arms ignited a kind of jealousy in Gavin he’d never experienced before.
He wasn’t usually possessive with his girlfriends. But then again, he’d never known the kind of connection he had with Sophie with anyone else. So, he acted on pure instinct, dragging his friend to the bar so that he could put an end to the sight that he couldn’t stomach.
When he turned to see if she was where he’d left her, he spotted her talking to Felicity. The two girls looked over at him at the same time, catching him staring. But he didn’t look away. He wanted Sophie to know he was watching her right back.
“Gav, get me a drink?” Mary said, coming to block his view, and once again give Sophie the false impression that he was still taken.
“Mary, come now,” he said and tried to see past her to Sophie, but she was lost in the crowd.
She grabbed his hip. “You come now,” she said suggestively.
He pushed her hand away and met her eyes. “Stop this. We’re over. I told you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, you said you didn’t want to be in a relationship. With anyone, you said.”
“Right.” He glanced at Conor for some help but his friend only raised his eyebrows as if to say “you’re on your own” and turned away.
“Only it’s not right,” Mary said. “Because it’s clear as bloody day you’re after that American cow, which is ridiculous on so many levels. You’re going to choose her over me? When she’s only even a tourist here? She’ll be gone before you know it. And then, guess what?”
He’d been half-listening to her, focusing instead on trying to spot Sophie in the crowd. “What?” he asked because he sensed it was what she expected him to say.
She grabbed his face and forced his eyes to meet hers. “Then I won’t fucking take you back, is what.”
He pried her hand away from him. “And you shouldn’t. Go ahead and move on from the likes of me, Mary. You deserve better.”
Her shoulders sagged now that what had obviously been her plan of goading him into fighting for her had failed.
He caught the green of Sophie’s silk top as she moved toward the exit. “I have to go,” he said and pushed his way to the door.
He found Sophie a short ways from the club, walking briskly as she hugged her arms to her chest.
“Sophie, wait,” he called. She stopped and turned and he ran to catch up. “You’re leaving?”
“I have to,” she said and started walking again. “I’m supposed to be home by ten o’clock.”
“You’re shivering.” He pulled his long-sleeve T-shirt off over his head, leaving him in a thin undershirt. “Here, take this.”
“It’s okay, you don’t have to.”
“Stop. Just for a second.”
When she did, he took his shirt and helped her pull it on. It fell large on her, the sleeves covering her hands. Though he was sorry to lose the view of her exposed abdomen and hips, he’d rather she be warm.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll get you home, will I?”
“I’ll be okay. You can go back to … your friends.”
“I’d rather be with you.” This was the time to tell her about it being over with Mary. But he had a grander idea of how to let her know she was who he wanted. “Listen, we’re at Conor’s again tomorrow around eleven. You’ll come and watch us play?”
“I’m not sure I can.”
“Please. I’d like you to be there.”
She shrugged. “Okay.”
“Good. Let’s get you home now.”
As they walked, he asked how she’d liked the club scene, told her that they sometimes had live bands there, and didn’t once acknowledge seeing her dance with Conor.
“Do you go out to clubs with your friends back home?” he asked.
“No, you usually have to be older to get into clubs. I guess the equivalent for us would be house parties. Lots of house parties in my neighborhood.”
“Yeah?”
“Everyone’s parents seem to be out of town a lot, so there’s always a party. Or there were until I stopped getting invited to them.”
“Why’d that happen?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
He could sense a shift in her. She was tense, reluctant to share. He took her hand and squeezed it over the material of his shirt.
“I was part of a big group of friends, girls and boys,” she said. “We’ve known each other for as long as I can remember. But earlier this year, the girls decided I wouldn’t be a part of the group anymore.”
Sudden tears shone in her eyes under the streetlight, and he held her hand tighter in response.
“Shite friends, if you ask me,” he said, and she laughed weakly.
“It wasn’t just being excluded. They were mean. They spread rumors. They stole my assignments and jammed my locker. They put things on my chair so that I’d stain my clothes. It was just … nonstop. And if I dared to call them out, they’d organize these awful episodes at lunch where they’d have everyone turn away from me at the same time so I was literally an outcast. Nothing I did could change it. And I’ve never understood why they did that to me.”
“Jesus. Now I see why you came here.”
She stopped walking and looked up at him. “Please don’t tell anyone else. Not even my parents know that I came here as an escape. I’m sure it makes me look weak, me running away?—”
“Weak? Not at all. Sophie, you moved to another country all on your own. That’s an incredibly brave thing to do. And I’m just so lucky that you did.”
New tears filled her eyes and she tried to blink them back but one escaped and he captured it with the tip of his finger.
“That’s so sweet of you to say,” she said softly.
He took her hand in his again and they continued walking, stopping again once at her house.
“Thank you for telling me about back home,” he said.
“Thank you for listening.”
He took a chance and pulled her to him, fitting his body to hers in a way that was even closer than how he’d seen her with Conor. There was no resistance from her. Instead, she rested her cheek on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, exhaling until he felt all that earlier tension leave her body. He stroked her hair and held her, enjoying how perfectly they molded to each other.
He wanted so badly to tip up her chin and take her mouth with his. But it didn’t feel like the right moment. Not with her raw and emotional from sharing her story with him. Instead, he pressed his lips to her cheek, lingering for a long moment.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, darlin.’”
She pulled away from him. “Let me give you your shirt?—”
“Keep it. You look good in it.”
Smiling, she took a few steps backward before turning and heading to the door of the house. Once she got it open, she looked back and he waved. He stayed until she was safely inside, even as he wished he could follow her in.