25. Crystal
25
Crystal
Did last night really happen? Did Rabbie make me come the hardest I’ve ever come in my entire life with just his mouth and perfect hands. Yes, yes he did. I knew he would be able to do godly things with those beautiful large hands. When he didn’t want to have sex after, which at first made me worry that he was going to pull away again, but when he explained why it made me feel appreciated and respected.
Most of the men I’ve slept with in the past are always in a rush to skip the foreplay and get straight to it. There’s been a handful of men who haven’t lasted long enough to satisfy me, and I’ve had to tell them that I came to not bruise their massive egos.
Rabbie’s different, the way he spoke to me, the way he touched me and the way he looked at me made me feel beautiful. There’s a sense of anticipation about having sex with Rabbie makes my body zap with energy and nerves at the same time. It’s the drawn out process of overwhelming need for him that has me antsy in a good way.
I never knew that I could wake up so happy, I’m pretty sure I had a smile on my face as soon as I opened my eyes. I stretch my arms over my head and roll over to get the shock of my life. I was expecting to find Rabbie, but instead I find the fluffball lying in his spot. Two large yellow eyes, slowly blink at me. It feels like the cat staring into my soul with those evil yellow eyes. How long has it been watching me sleep? I try to shoo the damn fluffball away, but she doesn’t bat an eye.
Cat’s freak me out, they’re cunning and unpredictable. The cat slowly blinks at me, it’s probably plotting how to scratch my eyes out. Just when I think it’s going to pounce on me, it scurries off somewhere in the flat. I let out a sigh of relief that I don’t have to go face to face with a cat.
I sink back into Rabbie’s bed, it’s so comfortable. The mattress is so soft it’s like sleeping on a cloud. I had the best sleep of my life, his sheets are the softest linen I’ve ever felt, they glide over my legs like butter. I still feel the weight of his large hand resting on my stomach. Sleeping next to him made me feel calm and relaxed. He didn’t move his hand the whole night, he had to be touching me somewhere. I didn’t see that as needy, I saw it as comforting and reassuring.
I stretch my arms above my head, and my legs out long. His sweet, musky scent fills my nose, it’s everywhere, it lingers on the pillows and sheets. I grab his pillow and cover my face with it and inhale. I would be mortified if he caught me, but I can’t resist the temptation. How have I gone from wanting to casually fuck his brains out to sniffing his pillow like some obsessed stalker.
I place his pillow back to his side, and roll over to check the time on my phone. It’s still early, I can see the sun slowly rising through the curtains. I could stay in Rabbie’s bed all day, but I’m eager to see him, and I know just the place where I’ll find him. I peel myself out of his ridiculously comfy bed, and make the bed for him. I can tell he takes pride in his things and is a very neat and tidy person. I’m usually a little more chaotic with my things, and would rarely make my bed back in Boston. I grab a change of clothes from my room, and have a shower before I make my way downstairs. I check myself out in the mirror, and fluff my hair up a few times.
The giddiness bubbles away at the thought of him, and it makes me realise that I’m excited to see where this leads with him. I’ve never had this feeling before, little butterflies flutter in my stomach at the thought of Rabbie, and of Crossmackie.
I’ve witnessed time and time again the people of Crossmackie truly adoring Rabbie, and it fills me with something that I didn’t know I could feel. Like I want to be a part of that community. Crossmackie and the people who live here are slowly showing me that not all small towns can be toxic, and that they will always look out for one of their own.
I check myself over one more time before heading downstairs, I’m only halfway down the stairs before I can hear Rabbie’s music coming from the small speaker, and the sweet aroma of scones being baked in the oven. It’s oddly comforting, and fills me with dread at the same time. The thought of going back to Boston is starting to make me feel empty and alone, and I don’t know how to process that right now. I put away the serious thoughts in my head, and tell myself to take it one step at a time.
Rabbie hasn’t noticed that I’m at the bottom of the stairs. He’s mixing another batch of scones and humming away to Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift. A small smirk spreads across my lips. I take this moment to take him in, I love watching him work. He’s such a talented baker, and to see him so passionate and driven about his business is really inspiring.
It’s one of the qualities I find most attractive about him, he’s not boastful about it. He doesn’t need to brag about how good he is, he’s very modest about his success and skills. He doesn’t like to be the centre of attention. He doesn’t need to be flashy about his business, he simply loves to be in his little kitchen, listening to music and baking.
The backdoor of the kitchen is open because it’s always hot as hell in here, the morning light bounces off his beautiful blonde hair. It shimmers gold as clouds of flour puff around him. He’s wearing his apron that shows off his lean sculpted body, and he’s covered head to toe in flour. His forearms are corded from the strain of mixing the ingredients in the large bowl he’s holding in the crook of his arm. I can’t take my eyes off him.
He must sense my presence, and that I’m watching him because he looks up, and a large cheeky smile spreads across his face. Fuck, that smile could literally fix all of my problems.
“Good morning, mo beag.”
“Morning.” I all of a sudden feel slightly shy around him.
He places the large mixing bowl down on the stainless steel island, and my eyes gravitate to it. Vivid flashbacks from last night pop in my head, and the heat flashes up my neck and onto my face as I remember Rabbie between my legs giving me the best orgasm of my life. The way he made me feel wasn’t like anything I’ve ever experienced before, my body is still humming from the intensity.
Rabbie steps round the island, running his fingers over the cold metal surface. He closes the gap between us with a smirk on his face, he knows what I’m thinking. He’s got pretty good at reading my facial expressions. I try to keep a little distance between us because I don’t know where he stands on keeping this professional in front of the others, even though we’re the only people here right now.
“How did you sleep?”
“Amazing, thank you.”
Why am I acting so robotic and awkward, what is wrong with me? My hands are clammy and a nervous sweat breaks out on my back.
He smiles at my awkwardness and steps in closer to me.
“Me too, best night’s sleep I’ve had in a long time. Although, you’re in trouble,” he glances down at me.
“Trouble?” I ask, a little concerned.
“Yeah, I’ve already fucked up a batch of scones this morning because I can’t stop thinking about how sweet you tasted last night,” he drawls in a flirtatious tone. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and skims his hand down my neck.
Holy shit. My knees nearly buckle, and I work hard to swallow but my mouth is dry. From the large smile on his face, it looks like Rabbie is enjoying this all too much. He’s enjoying seeing me blush and act all shy around him. The heat between my legs is making me fidgety, and that pent up frustration slowly builds back up. Didn’t last long.
I’m about to come back with something flirty and witty when we hear Nellie and David enter the cafe from the front. I jump back as if we’ve been caught doing the dirty. Rabbie stays where he was standing, and a small chuckle escapes him. Oh he’s loving this. I narrow my eyes at his smug face, as he wipes the flour from his nose.
“Just you wait,” I quickly warn him before rushing out to the front of the cafe to find my table.
* * *
I manage to get through most of the morning and well past lunch without being totally distracted by the beautiful, blonde haired baker in the kitchen. Rabbie would pop out the front when he got a free minute to check on things. He would give me sly winks and cheeky smirks when I’d look up from my laptop. I tried to ignore him, but his boyish smile is so distracting it’s almost annoying.
I’m making great progress on his website, I don’t know why but I’m stalling a little. I think that’s because I could have this finished in a week or two and then what’s my excuse for sticking around. I’m deep in this thought when Dylan sneaks up on my table.
“Hey,” she smirks at me.
I jump not realising she was there.
“Jesus, warn a girl will you,” I clutch my chest.
“Sorry, you were miles away,” she laughs as she takes a seat across from me.
I close my laptop, and take a sip of my coffee that Nellie brought over not that long ago.
“What are you doing here?” I question her with suspicion.
Dylan waves at Nellie for her usual coffee order with a smile, and then focuses back on me. She wears that look on her face that I know all too well, she’s waiting for me to tell her what happened last night. Usually I tell her all about my sexual endeavours, but last night with Rabbie was something I want to keep private. I don’t know why but his privacy means a lot to me and I want to respect that. I keep a blank face and stare at Dylan, and watch her squirm in her seat before she can’t take it any longer.
“So, are you going to tell me where you and Rabbie went last night?” She wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I force myself to not roll my eyes at her. Dylan can be such a hypocrite sometimes, she would always roll her eyes at me whenever I openly spoke about sex and the guys I’ve hooked up with. She’s always been shy and conservative, but now look at her looking for the gossip.
I still don’t say anything as Nellie brings Dylan’s coffee over, she thanks her and returns her attention to me. I can see some of the locals craning their necks and I even catch Nellie lingering around our table. Busy bodies, the lot of them .
“I was dancing with Andy Anderson–,”
“Angus,” Dylan corrects me.
I roll my eyes, “Whatever. Anyways, I was dancing with him when Rabbie came over, and we were talking when I didn’t feel well. I’d had a dram of whisky on an empty stomach. He took me outside to get fresh air, and offered to walk me home. He said he’d stay at the flat so I wasn’t alone,” I say matter of fact.
Dylan eyes me with suspicion, she knows me well enough to know that’s a lie. But she doesn’t press any further. She looks at me with a small smirk on her face like she knows something that I don’t. She takes a sip of her coffee, not being able to keep a straight face.
For once I don’t care about bragging about sleeping with the hottest guy or how I had the best orgasm of my life. I care about Rabbie, and keeping things private between us. I wasn’t allowed to keep most things private in my life growing up, but I’m keeping a tight lip on this.
My mama would always talk about me or my life with her book club friends in some way or another, then the group of girls I would hang out with in high school would use that gossip they heard from their mama’s to spread rumours about me.
When I went to college in Boston, I made oversharing part of my personality as a coping mechanism. That way I would always beat someone to it when it came to my private life, and at least I knew it would be true when it came from me.
Whatever this is with Rabbie, I want to keep between us for a little longer. We’ve both had our lives broadcast in different ways. I want to make sure I do the right thing and respect him. I want to know what is going on between us before I say anything. We haven’t really had the conversation about what is happening or made things clear yet. I’ve always held the no serious relationship flag, and Rabbie, well he has his own issues with relationships.
Dylan is still smiling at me, and it’s starting to irritate me.
“What are you looking at me like that for?”
“Nothing,” she bites her lip to hide her smirk.
“How’s the website coming along?”
“It’s going well. I think I could have it finalised in a couple of weeks. And then I can get out of this place and head back to Boston.”
I don’t know why I said it like that, I guess I just wanted her to stop looking at me like that.
Dylan’s head cocks to the side as she reads my face. I don’t think she quite believes that I want to go back to Boston. Hell, I don’t think I want to go back.
There’s only a couple of tables left in the cafe now, it’s nearly closing time. I haven’t seen Rabbie yet, he usually comes out and helps Nellie out the front. He must be busy in the kitchen. I’m about to change the subject with Dylan when I see her enter the cafe.
The fucking nerve she has. Did he not make it clear last week when she sprung on him? The overwhelming need to protect Rabbie forces me out of my seat, and before I know it I’m walking over to her. Nellie is frozen behind the counter as she spots Rabbie’s mum, she’s just as surprised to see her.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss.
Rabbie’s mum is looking around me, craning her neck towards the door that leads to the kitchen. She doesn’t say anything to me, and that pisses me off.
“Did he not already make himself clear? You have no right to come in here,” I tell her.
She finally snaps her gaze to me, and frowns. I don’t quite catch it but there’s a hint of disapproval on her face. I spot Dylan in the corner giving Susie a look of thunder. There’s one table left of two older women probably about Susie’s age, they aren’t too thrilled to see her either. Nellie has disappeared from behind the counter, I hope she’s gone into the kitchen to distract Rabbie. He doesn’t need to know that his mum has entered the only place he feels safe. I don’t want that to tarnish things for him.
“You should leave,” I wave my hand towards the door.
She still doesn’t say anything, she looks over my shoulder, I feel him before I hear him. Rabbie places his large hands firmly on my shoulders, and he presses up against my back. He’s slightly trembling, I want to turn around and give him a reassuring hug.
“It’s okay, mo beag. My–Susie is actually here to clean the cafe. A couple shifts a week,” he stumbles on his words.
Susie looks taken aback by Rabbie calling her by her name, but she doesn’t say anything.
“On a trial basis,” he squeezes my shoulders to let me know he’s okay.
I peer up at Rabbie, his hair is wet and he smells fresh and clean. He must’ve gone upstairs to have a shower whilst Dylan and I were talking. There’s an awkward silence as no one makes the effort to talk first.
Susie shyly smiles at her son, and looks around the cafe. I watch her with suspicion. I don’t like this, but this is Rabbie’s decision and I’ll respect it. But it doesn’t mean I’m thrilled about it. Something is off with her, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on her.
“You’ve done a lovely job decorating the place. Mrs. Graham had a canteen type style but this is cosy,” she compliments Rabbie.
I watch her as she scans the cafe, to me it looks like she’s scoping the place out. I feel Rabbie tense behind me from her compliment, I lean back into him and he relaxes.
“Thank you. I’ll show you where all the cleaning stuff is and the checklist,” he says in a business-like tone.
He gives my shoulders one last squeeze and lets go. Susie gives me a weird smile that I don’t trust as she steps around me and follows Rabbie into the kitchen.
Nellie returns from the kitchen with a wary look on her face. The last table of two older women pay their bill with Nellie, and rush out the door in hushed voices. No doubt on their way to tell the whole town that Rabbie has given his mum a job.
“I didn’t think he would give her a job,” Nellie whispers to me.
Dylan rushes over to us with a worried expression painted on her face.
“It’s Rabbie, he’d give anyone a job who was struggling, even his mum,” I say.
“Do you think she just wants money and will bail again?” Dylan whispers.
“Maybe, that’s what I heard last time. I was only a wee lass but my mam told me that Susie came back when Rabbie was about fourteen. She promised she would stay, and then left a few days later after Mrs. MacNee gave her some money to do the grocery shopping,” Nellie explains to us with a sympathetic look on her face.
My heart breaks for Rabbie. To constantly have your hopes up and then quickly dashed away must’ve been very hard for him as a young boy.
We hear their footsteps coming back through the kitchen, we all try to act normal as if we weren’t just talking about them. I’d hate for Rabbie to think we were gossiping about his personal life, when in reality we’re all a little worried and uneasy with his new employee.
Nellie makes herself busy with counting the money in the register. Susie’s eyes gravitate towards Nellie counting a wad of cash. I think Rabbie is too anxious to notice, but I do and I don’t like it.
Dylan pulls me in for a tight hug, “See you at the pub later,” Dylan says, a little too animated.
I roll my eyes at her, as Rabbie raises an eyebrow at me. Way to be subtle .
* * *
After using the excuse that I was finishing up a few things on my laptop I felt like enough time had gone by with me keeping my beady eye on Susie. I made my way up to the flat to have a shower and freshen up and get out of their way whilst they cleaned. I had a productive day today and managed to get a lot of work done on the website. I’m close to finishing it. I find it weird that Rabbie hasn’t been asking me about the progress of it recently. I should let him know how far I’ve gotten, but right now I want to go and grab a drink with him and see where the night takes us. I haven’t been able to get last night out of my head, I’m surprised I’d been able to get so much work done today.
I head back downstairs and expect to find them all still cleaning, but I find Rabbie leaning over his stainless steel island writing on a piece of paper.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
Rabbie looks up and smiles at me. Jesus, when did his smile start making my stomach do weird flips?
“Well, we managed to get everything done quicker with the extra pair of hands,” he says.
He’s still leaning over the stainless steel island, his elbows and forearms resting on it. My eyes scan over him, and the heat between my legs returns with extreme intensity. I want him so bad. He lets out a little laugh, as he stands up.
“What’s so funny?” I try to act as if I wasn’t picturing him bending me over that island and fucking me.
“I might not be able to read your mind mo beag, but I’ve got pretty good at reading your face,” he bites his lip.
I feel the embarrassment swallow me whole. I try to change the subject, and get the heat off me.
“How are you feeling after today? Sorry, I wouldn’t have reacted the way I did if I knew you’d given your mom a job.”
He stands more rigid now, and the sexy smirk has been wiped off his face. I regret bringing up his mom when he was in such a playful mood. He rubs the back of his neck, his bicep flexing as he does.
“Aye, I’m okay. That’s why she approached me in the hall last night. I was in a rush to get over to you, that I agreed to give her a job on a trial basis. And then after the hall, I was a little preoccupied to tell you,” he winks.
I try to hide the smirk on my face by biting my lip because I know what preoccupied him, and that was his head between my legs.
“Do you think it’s a bad idea?” He asks for my opinion.
I can see a hint of hope in his eyes, and I’m not sure how to approach this without sounding like a total bitch.
“I’m not as forgiving as you Rabbie, but I respect your decision. This is your business and you can hire who you want. I hope for you that she’s generally trying to start fresh, but I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t worried for you.” I smile at him.
He closes the gap between us, and smiles down at me. I envy him a little, how he can go through something as devastating as this in life, and still be as forgiving as he is. He doesn’t let his trauma consume him, I admire that about him.
“Aye, mo beag. I’m not daft, but if I didn’t give her a chance then I’m no better than her. I can take pride in that at least,” he smiles softly at me.
Now I feel stupid for being so protective, Rabbie knows what he’s doing. I realise I’m doing the same thing that Dylan did to me when I first got here when she was warning me and protecting Rabbie.
“I’m sorry for coming across as some weird overprotective friend, I know you can handle this.”
His head cocks to the side and he squints at me with a confused but smiley face.
“Friend? I don’t think friends do what we did last night, and sleep in the same bed,” he wiggles his eyebrow at me.
The look on my face must be something because Rabbie bursts into hysterics. He steps even closer to me now, I can feel the heat radiating off him or is it me?
“Don’t worry, Miss Noncommittal it’s a joke,” he winks at me.
“I’m glad you find this funny,” I huff, trying to act annoyed at him but it’s impossible when he’s smiling at me. His messy blonde hair and perfect smile are too distracting.
“Jokes aside, thank you. It’s nice to know I have so many people who love and support me. It doesn’t come across as overprotective to me, but yes, I can handle it. I’m a big boy,” he smirks as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
My breath catches in my throat as his fingers brush my neck. Big boy. Fuck, why is he so good at making me crave him in all the delicious ways?
“Come on, let’s go enjoy a dram of whisky,” he grabs my jacket from the hook near the door and holds it open for me. I slip my arms in and he spins me around and tugs it tight over my shoulders. He dips his head slowly and softly kisses me, the tenderness of his kiss makes the world disappear and for a second I forget where we are. He breaks the kiss, and smirks, probably at my dumbstruck face. I must look like some loved up fool. He grabs his jacket, and swings it over his head, how has he become the smooth one? I’m a bumbling mess. Rabbie has seeped his way into every part of my body, just being around him makes me on high alert, all my senses are heightened.
I eagerly follow him outside, in desperate need for some fresh air after that intense, skin melting kiss, and weirdly hot conversation. As we make our way to The Drunken Duck, I’m overthinking about how I should act around Rabbie and the group. I meant to talk to him about it in the kitchen, but then he distracted me. He has a habit of doing that.
Surely he wants to keep things on the down low, or is that me? I’m so wrapped up in this mental battle that I don’t realise Rabbie opening the door to the pub. He grabs my hand and leads me inside. Holding his hand makes me freak out even more, what are people going to think? Will they think that I sleep with all my clients?
We’re standing in the vestibule, one of his hands lingers on the main door to the pub and one hand is still holding mine. He looks back at me, and his eyes float down to our hands. He really can read my face, because he gives me a reassuring smile as he opens the door.
Fuck, what people think Crystal? Stop overthinking it.
The lively pub quietens as we enter the pub holding hands. A lot of people are subtle about gawking over at us as we make our way over to the bar. I’m internally freaking out. I want to bolt and run, but I doubt I’d be able to get anywhere with my small hand in Rabbie’s iron grip. Rabbie orders two drams of whisky with Mac still holding my hand. He doesn’t let go once, not even when he pays him. He hands me my glass, as he takes his. He leads me through the table towards the fire where the group are sitting at their usual table.
I scan the room as we approach the table and find that people aren’t looking on in scrutiny, they’re looking over with smiles on their faces. A few people even tip their glasses to Rabbie as he nods at their smiles. I’m perplexed by this, because I was expecting people to be judgemental of me, and protective of their precious Rabbie.
As we approach the table, Dylan is wearing a look of smug satisfaction, whilst the others’ mouths are agape in shock. Rabbie can’t help but laugh at his three best friend’s reactions.
“Close your mouths, we’re just holding hands,” he winks at me as he helps me step over the bench to sit down.
He’s such a gentleman, always making me food, or holding the door open for me. The men back in Boston have nothing on Rabbie, and I’ve been filling the empty void in my heart for so many years with meaningless dates and one night stands to prove a stupid point. Rabbie is quickly showing me that not all relationships are dysfunctional like my parents’. He’s broken the mould of his parent’s too, they didn’t want him and that would fill any normal person with so much bitterness and hatred, but Rabbie doesn’t let that define who he is, and it’s amazing to see how tender and genuine he is as an adult.
We take a seat at the table, and I can’t steady my nerves. I take a large sip of my whisky as I meet the eyes of the group. I never used to care for the approval of peers, but their approval I care about. Dylan still has a smug grin on her face, the look of “I told you so” is so blatantly obvious.
“W–w–when did this happen?” Hamish asks with a large smile.
I clam up because I have no idea what to say, but Rabbie swoops in and answers for us.
“This hasn’t happened,” he gestures between us.
Disappointment spreads over me, and I’m a little confused.
“Yet,” he finally smiles at me.
His hand is resting on my bare leg underneath the table, and he gently squeezes my thigh. A shot of electricity shoots through me, and I try my hardest not to jump out of my seat.
“I have so many questions,” Fiona says giddily.
“Then ask them, and we’ll try to answer them,” Rabbie takes the lead again.
How can he be so calm and open, I’m internally a mess. Rabbie and I haven’t even had a whisper of a conversation regarding this stuff. What if I say something that he doesn’t want to hear or vice versa?
“Like, does this mean you’re in a relationship?” Fiona squeaks.
I nearly choke on my whisky as she asks the question mid sip.
Rabbie laughs and taps my thigh. He called me Miss Noncommittal back at the cafe, and he knows my stance on relationships. I really don’t want to answer that question in front of everyone when in truth I don’t know if I still have the same views on being single forever.
“Jesus, can a guy not take a pretty girl to the pub with their friends? We don’t know where this will lead, we’re not putting any pressure on it,” Rabbie added.
I place my hand on Rabbie’s thigh and give it a squeeze, a silent thank you for taking the lead on this interrogation.
“Not like you Rabbie,” Cam mumbles.
I look at Cam, I see a hint of stoic resignation on his face. His large arms are crossed, and his body is stiff. He’s probably the most protective of Rabbie out of all of us, in his own way. Cam isn’t much of a talker, but just one look from Cam can put you on edge. I know he likes me as Dylan’s best friend, but he wouldn’t hesitate to call me out if he thought I was going to hurt Rabbie.
Rabbie’s leg bounces under my hand, I can tell he’s nervous after what Cam just said, maybe he’s not all calm and open as he seems. I wish we’d had this conversation just the two of us, but maybe it had to happen this way as both of us would’ve been too scared to bring it up. We seem to be pretty good at talking openly to each other about our family and our trauma, but when it comes to dating or relationships we seem to be closed off. There’s fear there, but he doesn’t make it seem scary at all.
Dylan can sense the tension between us as Cam’s face is still struck with thunder. She rests her hand on his large forearm, and like a large beast that needs taming he grumbles and softens under her delicate touch. It seems only Dylan can wrangle the grumpy redhead.
The conversation of the night turns light, and I’m relieved that the topic is not about us anymore. Rabbie has relaxed after Cam’s weird comment, he hasn’t pulled away which was one of the first thoughts that crossed my mind. He’s leaning into me, and stroking my thigh under the table. It’s driving me crazy. I need to be alone with him, and soon. Otherwise I might go completely feral and start climbing him in front of this whole goddamn pub.
After a few more drinks I’m really riled up, and I can see out the corner of my eye that Rabbie is enjoying this from the smirk on his face. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and leans in close, I can feel his warm breath on my neck and I pray I can keep myself together in front of everyone.
Cam and Dylan are whispering to each other, stealing glances. Hamish and Fiona look like two kids at the movies whilst they smile at us.
“Ready to get out of here?” He purrs.
My stomach bottoms out, and goosebumps ripple across my skin even though we’re sitting right next to the fire.
I can’t find the words, I’m too stunned to speak. All I can muster is a slow nod of my head as I turn to face him. His gorgeous green eyes have darkened and they’re mostly black. He’s got a daring look on his face, I’m nervous and excited to find out what type of Rabbie I’m going to get when we leave. We hurriedly bid our goodnight to the group, they’re all wearing smug grins as we leave them at the table. The pub is mostly empty now, and I’m secretly happy about that. The less looks on us as we rush out the door the better. Hooking up in a small town like Crossmackie is like living in a glass box. You can’t leave a pub together without people speculating that you’re going home to fuck.
As soon as we step out into the cold night air, Rabbie hands are on me. He runs his fingers through my hair as he backs me up against the cold stonewall of The Drunken Duck. He groans against my lips as he kisses me hard and fast. I feel him brush against me, and he’s already hard. How the fuck did that happen? I wrap my arms around his neck, as he slips one hand under my t-shirt. His cold hand touches my stomach and I jolt.
“Are we ever going to make it to a bedroom?” I laugh as he kisses my neck.
He leans back, and looks down at me.
“You started driving me crazy as soon as you came downstairs at the cafe. I was about ready to cancel on drinks, but I knew they’d come looking for us,” he leans his forehead against mine.
I take a little pleasure in knowing he’s been thinking about me for that long, and was able to keep his composure. I started to fray at the edges as soon as he put his large hand on my leg at the table.
He strokes his large thumb across my stomach that is still under my t-shirt, I hiss at his frozen fingers.
“Let’s go, your hands are like icicles,” I grab his hand and lead him down the street.