Page 21 of Tangled Up In You

She’d already learned that he was exceptional at using denial to protect himself from what he didn’t want to confront. That much was clear from how he thought of his mother’s absence. But she wasn’t as adept at ignoring hard truths.

For him, though, she would pretend she could do as he wanted. Because all she wanted was every moment possible with him until their time ran out.

She kissed him slowly and when she pulled away, she teasingly bit his bottom lip. “I’m only focused on the here and now.”

He moaned. “Darlin’, you’ve got me hard all over again. If I run home lightning fast, like, and get a condom, will you have me?”

“Yes. Hurry.”

He kissed her hard once more, then reluctantly pulled away and got dressed. Once he’d gone, Sophie replayed the way he’d touched her and anticipated how much better it would be when he came back.

How much better it would be when there was nothing left between them. And she absolutely ached for more.

10

GAVIN

Gavin never looked forward to Christmas. There was no warmth to the holiday with it being just him and his father and brother together. But it was especially bleak this year because Sophie was in Paris with her parents over the school break. It was his first taste of what not having her might be like and it made him so anxious he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.

During that time he busied himself by pulling together his bandmates to focus on music: writing it, playing it, listening to it, and brainstorming about how to produce it. He was more determined than ever to make something of their efforts.

“I’ll talk to Tommy O’Leary about helping us get into The Basement for a gig,” Gavin said during one of those sessions. They were crammed into Conor’s bedroom with Gavin giving directives. “Con, you scout out some of them tourist pubs in Temple Bar. One of ‘em is bound to need more entertainment and give us a break. Marty, what’s the word with that girl of yours up north?”

Martin shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“Come on, man. I need you to step it up. You said she had a cousin with a recording studio, yeah? We need to use all our connections.”

“I’ll go back to her,” Martin said.

“Good. Then we need to come up with a setlist. Our four songs aren't enough. We need to decide what covers to do. I’ve made a list,” Gavin said, holding up a battered journal.

Conor laughed. “Don’t you get productive when you’re not spending all your time fucking your girlfriend?”

“Fuck off,” Gavin replied but not without a hint of a smile.

“When’s she back, then?” Shay asked.

“Two days. I’m going to take her out for New Year’s. Proper, like. Not just watching fireworks on the Strand.”

“What’ll you do when she goes back home, Gav?” Conor asked.

He winced. “I’m not thinking about that. All I know right now is that we have to make a go of this band. We have so much potential to really get somewhere.”

“You really think so?” Martin asked.

“Yes, Marty. I’m dead serious, so don’t any of yous start making other plans. This is our future.”

“I’m with you all the way,” Conor said.

“Same,” Shay said.

“What else have I got to do?” Martin said with a laugh.

When Gavin arrivedat Sophie’s house to pick her up for their New Year’s Eve date, her hosts, Lynne and Malachy, invited him in and even offered him a drink while they waited for Sophie to finish getting ready. The three of them chatted easily until Sophie made an appearance, silencing their conversation.

“Is it too much?” she asked. “It’s Christian Dior by John Galliano. I got it in Paris.”

The ruby red dress hugged her body, was low cut enough to show a hint of the swell of her breasts and was shorter on an angle in front and longer in the back. She wore it like a dream. With her long blond hair down and styled into loose waves and wearing more makeup than she usually did, she was stunning.

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