2. Crystal
2
Crystal
I find Dylan standing at the bar in The Drunken Duck. She told me this place was full of history, but in my opinion it’s a dump. Everything in this pub is old from the tables and chairs to the ancient looking man behind the bar. Dylan introduces me. I only catch his name, which is Mac. And the rest of the conversation I can’t understand. He talks a million miles per hour in his thick Scottish accent, I just smile and nod along to the conversation.
When I booked the plane ticket to come here and see Dylan, I knew I wouldn’t need to pack any of my going out dresses or high heels. I’m a social person in Boston and I usually go out Thursdays through Sundays. I’m never in short supply of a usual roster of casual dates to take me out to the fanciest restaurants and bars.
I’m so used to the metropolitan life of Boston that I forgot small towns like this existed. After I left the small town I grew up in, I vowed that I would never find myself back in a shithole like that again. But here I am, in Crossmackie, Scotland, in the middle of nowhere, not a single cocktail bar in sight. Dylan hands me a glass of something that looks like pond water, and I wrinkle my nose.
“What’s this?
“A pint of beer,” she smirks at me.
“Who are you? And what have you done to Dylan?”
She gently slaps my arm, and rolls her eyes at me. “Very funny, it’s not that bad.”
I look at her in disbelief, this is not the same Dylan who left Boston five months prior, there’s something different about her. She’s more confident, and I can see the happiness radiating off her. A certain bulky, red-headed Scottish man might have something to do with that.
We wander over to the table in the corner near the fire, and I welcome in the warmth. I’m used to the cold weather from Boston, but here the weather is a hundred times worse. The ice-cold wind cuts at you from all different directions, and don’t get me started on the rain, it does nothing for my hair. I look around The Drunken Duck, and the locals who come here everyday. It looks drab and boring.
“Seriously, how do you not go crazy here?”
“What do you mean?” Dylan asks as her head tilts.
“It’s so boring here, what is there to do for fun? There’s no fancy bars, and hardly any hot guys. I could never live here.” I say as I look around the place.
“I like it here,” she shrugs her shoulders at me.
Dylan’s face lights up as she looks around the pub, and I can see that she really does like it here. I don’t blame her to be honest, she has a man who loves her and her Grannie Jo just made the move here.
She has everything she ever wanted, I’m happy for her. But small town life isn’t for me, too much idle gossip happens and no good ever comes from it. I rub my legs and relish in the warmth from the fire.
Dylan smirks as she takes a sip of her beer. “So, did you regret wearing shorts?”
I eye her narrowly.
“You know me, I don’t regret my fashion choices.”
“I know, but it’s different here. The weather is very unpredictable, and it’s starting to get very cold.”
I roll my eyes at her, Dylan has always been the practical and sensible one. She really is an old woman at heart. Although I have to give her credit for travelling to Scotland after breaking up with her toxic ex and deciding not to return to Boston.
We’re different in so many ways, we fight like sisters, but we always make up and laugh about it later. I count my lucky stars every day that I met Dylan Miller, she’s the sister I never got. I had to grow up with three older brothers who are the definition of rough and tumble cowboys.
Being the youngest and only girl, my older brothers picked on me from a young age. Burping and farting was their love language, and I would find myself in many headlocks by one of them whilst the others burped or farted in my face.
I haven’t been back to my family ranch in Tennessee for a while, and I miss them every day. My brothers are the only thing I miss about that place. I make a mental note to make sure I call them soon.
I take a sip of the disgusting pond water, and force myself to swallow the bitter liquid. If this is the only drink served here, it looks like I’m going to be sober while I’m staying here. The sooner I can get this website done, the sooner I can be back in Boston.
“How was it meeting Rabbie?”
“It was fine.” I pick at a frayed tassel of denim on my shorts. I try to act as if meeting the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on wasn’t a big deal.
“Just fine? Isn’t he the nicest guy?” Dylan swoons.
“He’s easy on the eyes, for sure, but he mainly talked business and started sticking his nose in about where I’m from.” I take another sip of the pond water.
I know Rabbie didn’t mean to pry, but I don’t talk about Tennessee and I definitely don’t talk about my family. Dylan looks at me with her head cocked to the side.
“He was probably trying to get to know you. Rabbie is so sweet, he’s loved by everyone in this town. He can’t walk a hundred metres without being stopped by one of the locals”
“Hmm, well he shouldn’t be sticking his nose in.” I huff.
Dylan frowns at me, and then an all knowing smirk spreads across her face.
“What?”
“You’re annoyed because he kept it strictly business,” she teases.
“No, I’m not,” I lie.
Usually, men are so charmed by me that I have them eating out of the palm of my hand. Rabbie didn’t even bat an eye at me. He didn’t even seem phased by my flirtatious charm, it usually works a treat.
I even thought the topic of dating would get him to open up, but he quickly shut that down. With my ego and vanity slightly bruised, I’m trying to nitpick and find a flaw in Rabbie, but I can’t seem to find any.
He was lovely, very kind, making me tea and offering a plate of delicious cookies. I don’t usually find those traits attractive in a man but Rabbie is very attractive. He’s nothing like the metropolitan guys of Boston. He’s good looking in a laid back unkempt kind of way with shaggy blonde hair, fitted Carhartt pants and large white tee. He stood at least a foot over me, he’s very tall and muscular with large hands. I’ve never seen hands that big on a man before and I have three older brothers who work on a ranch.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be having a slice of him before I leave,” I wink at Dylan.
“I’d like to see you try, Rabbie isn’t the type of guy who does casual hookups. I’ve never heard of him having a girlfriend either.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, feeling curious as to why he doesn’t date.
“Rabbie is sensitive, he’s been through a lot. I’d hate to see him get hurt, because you only do casual situationships.”
This is true, I don’t do relationships and for good reasons, but Rabbie is too god-damn sexy to pass up on. Just the thought of my fingers running through his shaggy blonde hair makes me tingle in all the right places. And of course the first thing I noticed was the size of his hands, they were huge. He uses his hands every day to knead out dough, there’s no doubt in my mind that he could drive me crazy with his large, beautiful hands. My mind runs wild, and I rub my legs together to ease some of that tension that is building up inside me.
Dylan waves her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Crystal?”
My daydream of Rabbie doing dirty things to me suddenly squashed, and I’m back to reality.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt your precious Rabbie.” I roll my eyes at her.
“Just be careful, even if he is interested,” she warns me.
I ignore her jab at me.
We drop the topic of Rabbie and Dylan fills me in on who’s who in this hole of a town and warns me to try not to cause too much drama because everyone gossips. Dylan seems to forget that I grew up in a small town, I know nothing is sacred. Everyone likes to stick their noses in other people’s business, and I know better than to get caught up in small town drama.
“How is your Grannie Jo settling in?” I ask, changing the subject of small towns.
“She’s so happy to be back in Crossmackie. She is so grateful to Mrs. MacNee for letting her stay at her place, they have a lot of catching up to do. She is looking to buy a small house soon, but houses rarely come on the market here.”
“I’m glad she’s settling in, shame there aren’t enough rooms at Thistle Down Farm.”
“I know, I’m so sorry that you have to sleep in the tiny cottage with us.” She looks at me with sympathy.
“Don’t worry about it. Besides, the website Rabbie wants me to make won’t take me long, and I’ll be out of here and back to Boston where they serve cocktails,” I raise my glass and take another sip of the dark, bitter liquid, it sends shivers through my whole body.
A loud laugh escapes Dylan’s mouth, and I can’t help but join in. I’ve missed this, I’ve missed her. Living in Boston without her doesn’t feel right, I’ve had multiple roommates since she officially moved out. All okay people, but no one worth keeping in contact with. We finish the rest of our disgusting beers, and decide to call it a night.
The drive back to Thistle Down Farm is terrifying. Dylan is still getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road, and the winding, narrow Scottish roads only heightens my anxiety, even more when a vehicle is coming towards us.
I try to snuggle up on the blow up air bed in the living room of the tiny cottage. Dylan insisted that I stay with them while I’m here, I would’ve been a lot more comfortable in the local B&B, but I didn’t want to upset Dylan. She’s missed me as a roomie and wants to see me as much as possible whilst I’m here.
I finally manage to get comfortable on the crappy airbed. I’m thinking about how gorgeous Rabbie is and I was just about to doze off to sleep when I hear soft moans coming from Dylan and Cam’s bedroom. Well, now I’m wide awake. My stomach warms from the inside as I lay staring up at the ceiling, listening to Dylan softly giggling in the bedroom. I groan, putting a pillow over my head, closing my eyes. I haven’t hooked up with a guy since I left Boston, which is over a week ago, and I’m starting to feel the pent-up frustration building.
I’m not ashamed of my sexuality, and I prefer casual hook-ups over serious relationships. Being from a traditional Christian family in the deep south, I had a standard to live up to, which I hated. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston that I could start expressing myself, by wearing the clothes I like or wearing more makeup and having casual relationships with other men. All of which my parents, especially my mother, do not like. They don’t know about the casual hooks-up, but she always has something to say about my appearance.
I hear Cam trying to shush Dylan, her soft moans bring on an all too familiar feeling. That feeling of teetering on the edge is my favourite just before you fall into pure bliss. I instantly envy her. Lucky bitch.
I picture Rabbie and his beautiful, large hands running all over my body. I imagine him between my legs going down on me, and I feel the heat creep up and pool in my lower belly like liquid honey. I keep the pillow over my head, and roll over on to my side and squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to fall asleep.