Page 78 of An Irish Summer

“Should we find the others?” I shouted over the music. Unlike the night at the ceilidh, I had to avoid being alone with Collin if I wanted to stay focused on the interview, but I knew it was going to be harder than I’d hoped.

“I’m sure we’ll see them eventually,” Flo said, waving a nonchalant hand. I recognized the look in her eyes as she scanned the crowd, and I pulled her close to me by her elbow.

“Florence, you cannot hook up with someone tonight,” I whispered.

“Why? Because we’re in a dorm? People hook up in hostels all the time.”

“No, because you can’t leave me alone,” I said, gesturing discreetly in Collin’s direction. Fortunately, he was watching the band, ignoring our conversation.

“Did you not just hear me?” Flo said. “People hook up in hostels all the time.”

When I glared at her she only smirked in response, sucking down half her drink through the tiny straw and returning her gaze to the crowd.

Once we had another round under our belts, we alternated comfortably between mindless chatter, people-watching, and dancing to the music. No overthinking. No thinking at all, really. Just friends, drinks, music, and the Temple Bar.

As the bands changed over, there was a brief lull during which we could actually hear one another. A man from a nearby table approached Flo, a shy smile on his face. I’d seen them looking at each other more than a handful of times, and I was thrilled that he’d finally come to introduce himself.

But I was afraid for myself, because it meant I’d be alone with Collin after all.

After a minute of small talk that I couldn’t quite hear, Flo turned to me with pleading eyes. She’d been such a good friend to me from the moment I arrived at the Wanderer; it would be horribly selfish to ask her to stay. I nodded my consent and shekissed me on the cheek, then disappeared with the man onto the dance floor.

“Reckon that’s the last we’ll be seeing of her tonight?” Collin asked as we both watched her leave. We’d been alone less than a minute, and I could already feel him closing the space between us where Flo had stood.

“I reckon it isn’t the last we’ll be seeing ofhimtonight,” I said. “Flo never stays out all night. I’m sure they’ll both be back at the hostel some time before the morning.”

“Hopefully not back in the dorm with the rest of us,” he said, and I shook my head in agreement.

“Fancy another?” Collin asked, nodding to my empty glass. I was grateful for the change in topic but undecided about another drink. I tilted my head back and forth, debating. Another would make me comfortably drunk, but not too drunk that I’d be hungover. Yet, anyway.

“One more,” I finally decided, holding up one finger in the air for effect. “Then I’m switching to club soda.”

“It’s a shame Flo isn’t here to keep you honest,” he said, snatching my empty glass from my hand and heading toward the bar before I could protest.

By the time he made his way back to where I stood a new band had started their set, and the energy in the bar shot back up to a ten. I turned my back to Collin and pretended to focus on the band, which turned out to be a mistake. His breath warmed the back of my neck, and I found myself leaning back into him the way I had the night he braided my hair.

After another song or two, we finally bridged the gap, and it was even more intoxicating than another drink. The night was slipping into dangerous territory, and I was an inch of contact away from losing my footing.

As the band played a slower song, Collin’s fingertips trailed my hip, slipping in and out of my belt loops. With every inhale his back pressed against mine, and I could feel the pattern of his breathing. Like mine, it was fast and erratic.

I leaned my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes to heighten my other senses. I basked in the sound of the band playing an Irish folk song and the crowd singing along, the lingering taste of gin on my tongue, the feeling of Collin’s fingers now against my bare skin where my top met my jeans. My head spun, but in a way I wanted to savor.

“Chelsea,” Collin said in the quiet between songs, with his lips right against my ear. I sucked in a breath, equal parts excited and terrified for what was coming next. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?” I couldn’t manage anything beyond that sound.

“Are you hungry? Because I would kill for a cheeky bite right now.”

My breath rushed out of me like a gust of wind.

“Relieved, are ya?”

“Only because I’m starving,” I said.

“Not because you thought I might say something else?”

“Like what?” I challenged, turning to face him.

He shrugged by way of response and slung his arm over my shoulders, pointing us in the direction of the door. “I guess we’ll have to see,” he said. “Come on. There’s a chippy around the corner that should still be open. We can get a takeaway and eat it by the water.”

---