Chapter 35 An Experiment in Ancient Magic with Granola Bars
Laura: I was so sick and tired of online dating.
It was just this endless stream of meaningless interviews with people I had no connection with and even less chemistry.
You can’t screen for connection or personality.
I tried. I was always wrong. Had a lot of boring dates.
I got lazy with my messages. I got ghosted all the time. Honestly, it was really discouraging.
Maya: Is that what made you two want to give Jackie a try?
Laura: Well, that’s why I did it.
Maya: Oh. So, what about you, Saoirse?
Saoirse: It was a little different for me. My friends signed me up as a birthday prank. Only, when Jackie called, he was just so freaking cute that I couldn’t tell him it was a joke.
Maya: That Jackie Kelly is one persuasive man. So, what happened next? Were you both living here in Ballycastle?
Laura: No! Saoirse lived up here. I had to drive all the way up, which is nowhere that I had ever wanted to even visit, let alone move to.
Saoirse: You love it here, you soft-blooded Southerner.
Laura: You’re right I do. I do now, at least.
Maya: What changed for you, Laura?
Laura: What changed? I stepped out of the car, crossed the street to the café where we’d planned to meet for our first date, and then I saw Saoirse. That’s what changed.
Maya: Was it love at first sight?
Laura: Yes.
Saoirse: No.
Laura: Well, let’s say this. When I saw her, she took my breath away. But it was over the next few weeks that I knew I was a total goner.
Maya: Only weeks? A few weeks was all you needed to fall in love?
Laura: A few weeks was much more than I needed.
“GOD. I CAN’T thank you two enough. That was such a beautiful interview. I loved hearing your story.”
“It was fun! We’ve never done anything like that before,” said Saoirse. “I had no idea Laura was such a dewy-eyed soft touch.”
“Nothing of the kind. Must be all that wine we drank.”
“That’s another thing I need to thank you for! Mmm, that wine and cheese!”
“Oh, that’s all Laura. She’s a total wino.”
“I’m a wine enthusiast. It’s different, my darling.” She snatched her wife in a side hug and kissed the top of her head, and I realized from the look on her face that it was time for us to go. These two had better things to get up to.
“What’s next on the agenda?” Laura asked.
Tadhg answered. “We’re planning to head to the Causeway tomorrow morning, and then we’ve got to get down all the way to Connemara for Wednesday.”
“Connemara—that’s a drive!”
“Yeah. My dad is terrible at planning road trips.”
“The Causeway is going to be rammed in the morning.”
“Ach, we know. But neither of us has seen it.”
Saoirse leaned in to me and whispered like a coconspirator. “Why not sneak in tonight, then?” She waggled her eyebrows. “We’ve snuck in a few times. It’s a longer walk, but no one is there. It’s the only way we go now, honestly.”
“That’s not . . . I don’t know, against the rules? I don’t want to get deported or end up in jail!” I laughed, happily wine-soaked.
“Naaa. It’s not private property, so it’s not illegal. It’s definitely not advertised, but you can’t get in trouble for it.”
I looked at Tadhg and raised an eyebrow. “Well, Saoirse here says it’s the only way to see it, and you promised to give me the full Irish experience . . .” Oops! Did that sound dirty to everyone or just me?
“Yeah, well. If I did, it’s because I had no idea how much trouble you’d be.”
“That’s a lie. You knew good and well.”
“Yeah, maybe I did.” He grinned down at me, and I felt it in my stomach.
TADHG AND I stayed up all night, with the plan to be at the Giant’s Causeway for sunrise. This lent the whole thing an even hazier, more magical air.
Big mistake.
We’d killed a few hours by watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the hostel common room so that we could see the beehive huts on Skellig Michael, right off the coast of Dingle.
The room was cold, and we hadn’t wanted to wake anyone, so we had turned the volume down and curled up side by side under a blanket, trying not to touch.
This wasn’t technically against the rules, but it absolutely should have been.
Then we’d found three flashlights, charged our phones, packed for extra layers and rainproofing, and brought a thermos of hot coffee and two chocolate-chip granola bars from the hostel for the walk.
We hiked the coastal trail. It was dark, as you might expect, and it was also cold, which you might also expect.
I never stayed up all night—ever. In fact, I liked my routine of going to bed at exactly ten p.m. and reading until eleven thirty and then promptly going to sleep.
I’d been breaking quite a few of my habits since I’d gotten to Ireland.
But it was totally and completely worth it, because when we arrived, literally no one else was there. We had the entire Giant’s Causeway all to ourselves.
We had a wander around, walking carefully, illuminating each little circle of magic one flashlight beam at a time. I tripped and Tadhg grabbed my hand, then he tripped and I grabbed his, laughing like we were two schoolkids sneaking around and getting into trouble.
Then the show started, and we found some low, flat stones to settle in and watch from as gentle shushing waves crashed not far from our boots.
The sun rose over the rocks at our backs, slowly unveiling the place I’d wanted to see since I was a girl, and splashed the clouds with purple, pink, and orange.
Everything glowed. The colors shone on the dew-damp, foot-smoothed stones and conjured even more enchantment.
My heart swelled. I wasn’t an especially emotional person. But this was a moment, and I felt it, heavy and warm, swelling and pulling within my chest.
“I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life,” I said softly.
Tadhg turned and looked at me with something I couldn’t read. Something that made me feel warm. And then he reached out and grabbed my hand and slowly, gently threaded his fingers through mine.
Butterflies. Everywhere. Flapping. Causing a hurricane. I smiled softly and met his eyes.
“You know, this isn’t technically a life-or-death situation.” My voice came out sweeter than I’d meant it to.
“It’s not?”
Maybe it is.
“I think this might actually constitute a flagrant breaking of Rule Three. The police could swarm at any moment.”
A small smirk curled his lips, and his voice sounded low and dreamy. “In that case, if this is my last moment as a free man . . .”
My breath caught as he slid his free hand ever so slowly to cup my cheek.
He rubbed his thumb across the line of my cheekbone.
My eyes fluttered closed and I curled my face into his palm like a kitten.
His hand moved to the hinge of my jaw, fingers through my hair, and I was electric; sparks sizzled across my skin and lit me on fire.
And then he gently pulled me in to him. I closed my eyes and went willingly.
My world stopped. Melted. Pooled in my chest.
His lips were soft, warm, gentle, caressing. Warm breath on my skin. Tongue across my lips. My head swam. My chest hurt. My stomach flipped. And my world crashed in on itself as I opened my mouth to him and deepened the kiss.
It wasn’t a hungry, needy kiss that felt like a prelude to sex.
This felt like the prelude to . . . something more.