With the tense atmosphere evaporating, John-Francis and I continued to chat and laugh until Darragh returned, lamenting his sunburn and the effect peeling would have on his sex appeal. Eventually taking pity on him, we moved on, heading over to a quiet road, known as the flashing lane, where the horses that were available to be purchased were trotted up and down by their owners, like a wee shop window and testing run for the horse dealers. The Flash ran all day, every day whilst the fair was on and luckily for Darragh, we were sure to find a bit of shade whilst we watched.
We’d been there maybe an hour when a wee red headed fella interrupted us, shouting across the lane for John-Francis.
“Oi, oi!” He grinned. “Is it not yourself? How’s the craic?”
I glanced to John-Francis as he flipped the fella off with a grin before turning to me.
“Unfortunately, a wee mate o’ mine,” he laughed. “Seamus is a good lad, like. Bit o’ a wee gobshite, but a decent sort.”
Darragh and I watched as Seamus waited for a gap between the horses before jogging across to join us. He clapped John-Francis on the back roughly.
“A’right.” His eyes fell to us. “Howsagoin’?”
“Nice ta meet ya,” Darragh replied, whilst I simply jerked my chin up in greeting.
“Seamus, Ronan and Darragh. Fellas, this is Seamus a long-time wee pal o’ mine.” John-Francis grinned.
“No Declan, like?” Seamus asked, glancing around.
John-Francis shook his head. “Nah, he’d be gettin’ his end away wi’ that wee settled girl, Tess.”
“Oh, he got the ride in then?” he laughed.
“Y’not surprised, are ya? This is Declan we’d be talkin’ ‘bout,” John-Francis replied.
Seamus smirked. “Aye, true enough, like.” He smacked his hand to his friend’s chest. “‘Ey, but I hear ya got y’hole as well, aye. Wee buffer had a friend wi’ her, like?”
Ah, yeah, the blonde girl from last night. Just remembering it left me feeling agitated. John-Francis and I had patched things up well enough and I wasn’t going to hold it over him, but I couldn’t deny hearing Seamuscongratulatinghim about it rubbed me up the wrong way.
The subtle shift in my mood must have been palpable. John-Francis laughed, but it was forced now and scratched the back of his head.
“Wasn’t anythin’ special, like. Unlike Dec, I wouldn’t be chasin’ her up f’a repeat performance.”
Seamus smirked, smacking his hand up and down atop John-Francis’s shoulder before turning his attention back to the horses. Our group, now a foursome, continued to watch The Flash in silence for a moment. When John-Francis’s arm brushed mine, I thought nothing of it until I felt the backs of his fingers stroke my forearm. Just that, the smallest of touches, sent a tingle through me like a bolt of electricity.
Fuck, it should be criminal to be this painfully into someone.
Chapter Five
John-Francis
We remained at the flash until it grew too dark to see clearly. Seamus took control of the party, just as he always did and we soon found ourselves back at the pub where Ronan and I had first met.
As the drinks kept flowing, my inhibitions lowered. It was all I could do to keep my eyes off Ronan, and I knew he was feeling the same if the frequency with which I found myself lost in his gaze was anything to go by.
He was such a fine feckin’ thing, it was driving me crazy. All day we’d been dancing around one another, tempting and teasing. I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to withstand it. All I could seem to think about what that night we’d fucked and how fucking desperate I was for a repeat performance.
IlikedRonan. He was feisty, dangerously fun and made me laugh, but even more surprising was how comfortable I felt beside him. It was a rarity, and I’d done enough legwork to know. It wasn’t often I felt like I belonged, like I could be who I really was deep down, but beside Ronan? I was braver than I’d ever been.
The four of us were loitering around in the dim light, drinks in hand and chatting shite as we had done all day. Even Seamus seemed to have slotted in with the group with ease, and I could tell he was having a decent night.
“‘Ey,” Ronan called to Darragh, nudging him with an elbow. “Is that not the wee piece ya had ya eye on, now?”
The group’s gaze turned to follow where Ronan had gestured, a group of girls giggling and larking about beside a table stocked with drinks. I recognised them immediately and glanced to Darragh with a smirk. He was rubbing the back of his neck, eyes fixed on the girls.
“So it is,” he muttered.
“Aye, we’d be knowin’ those girls, like,” Seamus replied. “Which one y’had ideas on, fella?”
