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“Behave yourself.”
“Never.”
Later, when we were decent once more and gorging on ice cream at the pier, Hugh looked at me and smiled. He was sitting on the wall of the pier with his legs dangling over both sides, while I sat cross-legged on the wall, facing him.
“What?” I asked, mid-lick of my cone. “What’s funny?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head and took a lick of his cone, still smiling.
“Clearly, there’s something.” I pushed, mirroring his smile. “Tell me.”
“I’m just happy, that’s all.” He took another lick of his ice cream and turned his attention to the water. “Today was a good day.” He rested his hand on my knee and sighed in contentment. “A good day, baby.”
Yeah, it was. “I love being here,” I told him, feeling my body soften right along with my heart. “With you.”
“Me too, Liz.” He gave my knee a reassuring squeeze. “Me too.”
SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER
Hugh
JUNE 19, 2003
“THAT’S IT,” GIBS DECLARED, DROP-KICKING HIS SCHOOLBAG ACROSSTOMMEN’S CENtral courtyard. “These hands won’t be touching another book for the rest of summer.”
“Jaysus.” Rolling his eyes, Johnny stomped across the cobblestone courtyard and retrieved the bag from where it had landed in a flower bed. “What did I tell ya about damaging property, Gibs?”
“That wasn’t damaging property, Johnny,” Gibs shot back with a grin. “That wasreturningschool property.”
“By lobbing it into the gardener’s petunias?”
“I’ll catch up with ye,” I told my friend before veering over to one of the picnic tables. Tossing my schoolbag on the table, I sank down before quickly powering my phone back on. The moment it lit up, I dialed the number I knew off by heart, too impatient to wait for the contacts to load, and pressed it to my ear. When my girlfriend’s familiar voice came down the line, the hairs on the back of my neck shot to attention. “Well?”
Jesus Christ, even her voice turns me on.
I smiled down the line. “Done and dusted.”
“Yay!” I heard her cheer. “What’s the plan? Where are you now?”
“Still at school with the lads.” Reaching up, I loosened my tie. “We’re meeting up with a few more lads this evening before heading to the disco.”
“Well, don’t get too off your tits beforehand,” Liz laughed. “Because I’m not going to all this effort for nothing, buddy.”
“Effort?” Now, I was intrigued. “Is my baby getting dolled up for tonight?”
“Yourbabyis contemplating sneaking a clonazepam into your sister’s drink,” she grumbled. “Maybe that would slow her down.”
“Claire’s being hyper?”
“Hyper is putting it mildly, Hugh.”
“Is she bouncing?”
“Like Tigger.”
“Oh shit,” I chuckled. “Well, don’t let her anywhere near you with a razor. I walked in on her trying to shave her legs in the bathroom sink the other day and it was a bloodbath.”
“No fear of that, because she’s too invested in breaking my will one pedicured toe at a time,” she replied in a dry tone. “So you better be clearheaded enough to appreciate it.”
