“C’mon then, before they’d be slippin’ away, like.” I jostled Declan with my shoulder, and we weaved our way through the crowds towards them.
“Well now, aren’t ya a sight f’sore eyes, eh?” Declan said, closing in on Tess.
She crossed her arms with a playfully defiant glint in her eye. “Wish I could say the same.”
Jaysus, if that’s the way she was planning to go about it, there was no doubt she’d have Declan eating out of her hand. I fought a smirk, shifting foot to foot and making eyes at the wee blonde.
“Ah, c’mon now,” Declan laughed. “That’s just feckin’ mean. Ya the one who gave me the runaround, if y’recall. Y’could stand t’ be a wee bit sorry, doncha agree? Y’remember John-Francis?”
At the mention of my name, I cast Tess a grin.
“Sure, though you were looking a little worse for wear when we met that first time,” she replied with a smile.
“Aye, ain’t that the truth.” My gaze returned to the blonde curiously, pleased to see she was still eyeing me up in return.
“This is my friend, Sarah,” Tess said.
Sarah – a nice, simple, boring wee settled name. Great.
“Sarah, is it? Could I buy a fine piece like yourself a drink?”
Sarah floundered, looking between me and Tess. “I mean, uh, thank you but I think we were just leaving?”
She wanted to, that much was clear. The girls seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes and when Tess sighed and shrugged, I knew it was on. Sarah beamed and turned back to me.
“Sure, that’d be lovely.”
Declan caught my eye, and I winked at him. I’d keep the wee friend busy, leaving him plenty of time to attempt to get one over on Tess. When he smirked, I knew he understood.
“Sound.” I stepped aside to allow Sarah to lead the way, my hand falling to the small of her back out of habit as I guided her away through the crowds to another bar.
“What’ll it be, now?” I asked her, fishing out a few of my forged notes.
“A white wine if you please. Thanks.”
Fucking white wine… I barely resisted rolling my eyes. Why the hell Declan was so interested in these wee settled geebags I’d never know. I held my tongue, ordering up Sarah’s drink and another vodka and Coke for myself.
“So, how’s ya enjoyin’ the fair so far?” I asked, taking a sip. “Been before or?”
Sarah flickedher hair over her shoulder. “I’m Appleby born and bred. I’ve been coming to the fair since I was a kid. This is Tess’s first time though. I’ve been showing her around.”
“Aye, that’s nice o’ ya, like.”
There was a stiff silence, and we both hurriedly took a sip from our drinks in an attempt to diffuse it. Shit, I was rusty. I used to be able to talk the knickers off any wee girl, but to say I’d let things slide of late was an understatement.
C’mon, get it together, now.
“Y’lookin’ lovely if ya don’t mind me sayin’,” I said, hoping my voice wasn’t croaky.
Sarah batted her lashes at me. “Why, thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”
Another sip from my drink. A couple more of these and I wouldn’t be worrying about anything anymore. That was my game plan. To my relief, this time Sarah filled the awkwardness.
“Do you and Declan come to the fair every year?”
That was a heavy question. I sucked in a breath, masking my discomfort. “Aye, mostly, like. Been a few years here an’ there where we haven’t made it, but…” I trailed off.
“Where are you guys from originally?” Sarah asked, eyeing me over the rim of her plastic wine glass.
