He waited impatiently for me to cover up before striding off across the streets with barely a glance behind to see if I was following. Twisting down dark alleyways and roads with few people travelling them. We were disappearing from the heart of the tourist area. I could almost start to fantasise about him leading me somewhere to murder me with no witnesses, but I guess I could only dream of being that lucky.
We stopped outside a bar, which looked disused, the paint peeling off. The only clue that it was still active as a bar was the bouncer stood beside the door checking ID and a half dozen people stood around outside smoking. “Now woman, ye will learn the real truth of what music is.” He slammed open the door, pushing me inside. I was hit first of all by an overwhelming level of noise. The bar was filled with hundreds of people. Young, old, kids, all coming together in a feast of noise. Playing music, singing along, stamping their feet, dancing on the tables to an upbeat song I barely knew of. I wasn’t much of a chart hits person. If I followed music still, I would see him. Not something I longed for anymore. I stood there trying to make sense of what I was seeing. “What is this?”
“Welcome to the craic,” he answered warmly. “Where everyone gets together, gets shitfaced and has a great time doing it.” He held out a glass to me filled with some amber liquid. “Get that down ye, some good Irish whiskey and get the fuck out there and join in. And ye be damn grateful if I don’t end up teaching ye to Riverdance by the end of the night!” He peeled my coat and bag off of me, throwing it and his own under a table. Before downing his drink, he held out his hand to me to drag me up to dance.
“Well, can’t hurt to try I guess,” I mumbled, downing the bitter drink, trying not to gag and then that was it. I was swept into the middle of it all. Swung around in countless dances. A few more of those strong drinks later and I couldn’t help myself but start singing with the rest of them, caught up in the moment and the mellow feeling creeping over me from the strong liquor. I was happy, for the first time in a long time.
He smiled at me as I threw my head back, half singing/half shouting the chorus. “Good lass! See? In the craic it doesn’t matter if you have a few flat voices. The blending of the tones makes it sound sweet anyway.” He pulled me into an embrace so I could hear him over the voices around us. “And, youse have the voice of an angel, I promise!”
I felt an irresistible urge to kiss him as I looked into those sweet, kind, brown eyes. But why should I resist? He was right there. Our faces almost touching. I reached out, crossing the distance between us. Kissing him, feeling his arms wrap around me as he broadened the kiss. His tongue danced across my mouth, making me almost moan at the slight touch. We lingered in the moment for as long as we could before we had to break for air or die.
He studied my face before stroking my cheek. “So? Another drink?”
I nodded, watching as he danced his way through the crowd to refill our glasses. Maybe he was only after one thing, like most men, but right now. I would happily give it to him, even if I risked losing everything again in morning light. I finally felt like I had a home, a place where I could completely be myself.
Chapter 3
We danced until the early hours, falling out of the bar door onto the drizzling streets as the last few people wandered back to cars or taxi ranks. He put his jacket around my shoulders even though I already had a coat on. It was a cute motion, he smelled of whisky and strong cologne. Kissing my cheek before throwing an arm around my waist. We were both a little drunk, or maybe a lot. It was hard to tell anymore. I knew the world had a very slight spin to it that was unnatural, maybe not so slight as the cold air hit and I snuggled more into his shoulder.
“Where are you staying? I will walk youse home.” Adrian offered.
I scrambled in my pocket for the scruffy piece of paper, now damp from the rain with my address and the door access codes written down. “Wherever this is?”
He took it, studying the letters, having to focus his eyes a few times more drunk than he had expected. “Fuck, this is all the way across town past O’Connell Street.” Glancing over at the queue for taxis, he said, “We could be waiting a while.”
“I am good to walk,” I answered straight away; no way was I standing in the rain waiting for a ride.
“I am not, and you are not walking alone in a strange city for like forty minutes,” Adrian snapped, he thought about options for a few moments. “Lily, my place is maybe four streets away from here. If ye trust me enough and are comfortable enough to come with me? Otherwise, we can wait for a taxi.”
I smiled at him, if he was trying something with me, I was sure he would have by now. “Okay, we can walk.”
We were one of the last couples walking down the riverside to our home. I
