by Kris Bryant
“Maybe not as dramatic as yours because I almost always had girlfriends. It was not a surprise to my parents or my brother. Although he did tease me and tell me to stay away from his dates,” she says.
“It wasn’t great for me. My mom was sort of okay with it, but my dad still has a problem. We don’t talk about it. I show up for Sunday dinners on occasion and we talk sports or current affairs.” I don’t have a lot in common with my father and that makes me miss my mom even more.
“Texas is big into sports, right?”
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you. Football is huge where I live. The high schools have giant college size stadiums because it’s so popular. And by football, I don’t mean soccer,” I say. She smiles at me.
“I know. Although football, or soccer as you call it, is growing for you in America, right?”
I really don’t want to talk about sports. I do enough of that with my dad. I nod. “Did you play sports in school?” I veer the conversation back to her.
“In secondary school, I played golf and some football,” she says. “What about you?”
“I’m entirely too awkward to play any sports, but I do enjoy watching them. Except for soccer and golf. Those are the worst sports to watch ever.”
Kerry laughs. “Duly noted. I would have played more, but Donna from last night, remember her? Well, she was on the football team with me and we battled for the same girl a few times. It just got to be too much so I quit the team and joined the golf team instead. I missed my teammates, but for some reason Donna had it out for me.” She purses her lips and shrugs at me.
“Maybe she really liked you, but you somehow rejected her. Usually that’s the case,” I say. “The straight girls fight over guys, and the lesbians fight over one another. Maybe something happened there. She seemed pretty nice.” Kerry laughs.
“Yeah, well, it’s okay to still harbor a grudge. I’m Irish after all,” she says.
“And a redhead, too,” I say. We still aren’t talking about the kiss. I guess I’m just going to have to learn to let it go. The food arrives and we dig in. I’m very hungry since last night’s dinner was whiskey and a few pieces of toast.
“Do you always drink like last night?”
“No, I rarely drink at all. That was the problem. I gave my inexperienced self permission to drink since I am obviously not driving while over here. I wish someone would have told me that whiskey sneaks up on you. That would have saved me a ton embarrassing decisions last night.” I groan into my hands.
“Was asking me to kiss you embarrassing?” she asks.
“I didn’t ask you to kiss me,” I say, completely flustered by her accusation. “I said that Morgan told me I needed to at least kiss an Irish girl before I left. I didn’t say it had to be you.” I can feel the heat in my cheeks, and my heart thrash in my chest. I don’t like confrontations, even if they are over something as simple, yet life changing as a first kiss.
“I’m teasing you, Grace. I wanted to kiss you.” I stare at her, wondering how she can talk about this so calmly. I can barely maintain eye contact with her.
“Oh,” I look down at my plate, suddenly very interested in my leftovers. What a weird and strangely exciting time with Kerry I’ve had. I’ve gone from fearing her in a bad way after causing her to wreck her car, to fearing her in a good way because of a passionate kiss. I’m leaving soon. I need to rein this craziness in. I’m not in it for an affair or a long term relationship. I should have never allowed that seed of needing to kiss a girl over here to poke around in my brain. Now I’m in a tough spot. Maybe nothing happens now and we just have fun the next few days. I basically have zero plans until I leave except sell the car and figure out what to do with Abram. Leigh has agreed to take him, but I don’t feel like it’s the perfect fit. Apparently, she has a giant dog and I don’t know how Abram will do with it. Funny how I’m already attached to that fur ball.
“So, what are we going to do now? I mean, what do you have planned for me next?” No matter how I say it, it sounds sexual to me. I’m slightly flustered, but she saves me.
“Well, we will get back on that bike and go see a castle. A real one with hundreds of years of history where lords and ladies lived and danced the night away,” she says.
“Why, Kerry Mulligan, who knew you had it in you to be romantic?” I say, playing along with her.
“I’m full of surprises. Let’s get out of here,” she says. We hop on the bike, anxious to get our day started. I feel so much better now that I’ve had food and a ton of water. And, now that I know she wanted to kiss me, this day just got a whole lot more interesting.
Chapter Nine
“Are you serious? I’ve been this close to a real castle and didn’t even know it?” Our first castle is in Howth. It is exactly what I expected, only better. I wait for Kerry to unlatch her bag and hand me my camera. I can’t wait to snap away.
“Didn’t you do any research before you came here?” she asks. I shake my head. Morgan did most of the planning. I do remember something about a castle, but I just assumed it was as clean and new as Dublin’s Castle.
“Tell me about this place.” I lead the way even though I’m not sure where to go first.
“Well, I’ve scheduled a tour for us that will start in a few minutes. The guide will do a much better job of telling us its history. Go take some photos and I will find him.” She doesn’t have to tell me twice. By the time she finds me, I’ve already taken over one hundred shots. “Grace, this is Mac. He’s going to give us a private tour of the place.” I introduce myself to him and our tour is underway. It’s well preserved and Mac is very thorough about the details. Kerry walks patiently beside me, adding a few words here and there. By the time it is over, I find out that it’s over seven hundred years old, it’s not the original castle, and the private owners don’t like it if you run off to take photos.
“That was great. How did you manage to get us a private tour?”
“Ah, Mac owes me a favor. I found the perfect house for his daughter,” she says.
“Well, thank you. It was fantastic,” I say.
“We will hit another castle by the end of the day where you’ll have free reign and can go anywhere inside and out to take photos. This is the closest,” she says. She hands me my helmet and we head out, the Irish Sea on my left and the beautiful countryside on my right. I’m more comfortable holding her now that I know she wanted to kiss me. After driving for an hour and tapping her twice on her shoulder so that she could pull over for me to take photos, she finds a thin ropelike dirt trail and heads up it. The slope is pretty steep. Her body slips back into me and I spread my legs farther apart to accommodate her. Between her warm body resting against all of my sweet spots and the vibration of the bike between my legs, I am so ready for an orgasm. We plateau off and Kerry stops the bike.
“How about a quick lunch up here?” She slides off and grabs my hand to help me off the bike. I don’t say a word when she continues to hold my hand and brings me closer to the edge of the cliff. “This is one of my favorite thinking places.”
“It’s spectacular up here. Very inspiring. I would be up here all of the time,” I say, soaking in the beauty. She softly drops my hand and heads back to the bike. I miss the warmth of her hand already. I’m so confused, but so afraid that if I say something, this tenderness will disappear.
“My mother gave me a small loaf of bread and some cheese to nibble on during our outing today. I’m afraid I only have sparkling water to drink. We are almost to Wicklow so we can stock up on drinks there.” She takes off her leather jacket and puts it on the grass. “We can sit on our jackets and watch the sea.” I slide mine off, thankful that the day is warming up nicely. It’s breezy, but not annoyingly so. “So you are either getting used to my accent even though we both know I don’t have one, but you do, or you understand only about half of what I say.” She tears off a piece of the bread and hands me the sliced cheese that has been in the tiny cooler with the cans of spa
rkling water. I laugh at her joke.
“I think I’m more relaxed now and I’m not worried about trying to understand everything all the time.”
“I agree. You aren’t as uptight as you used to be.” She winks at me when I shoot her my mean, squinty eye look.
“When I first met you, I had only been in Ireland less than a day. I was completely frazzled and upset. What a horrible day that was,” I say.
“I was an ass. Nobody got hurt. It’s was actually quite funny,” she says, smiling at me. “You had this look of pure horror on your face.”
“You had this look like you were going to kill me and with good reason. I still can’t believe I did that.” She leans over and tilts my chin up to her. The relaxed version of Kerry is downright beautiful. Her dark green eyes sparkle in the sunlight and her red hair glows. I have a habit of reaching out and touching beautiful things. I refrain even though the desire to touch her is great.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s over and done.” She leans forward and right when I think she is going to kiss me, she pulls back slowly. “Like I said, it was wrong of me to blame you for something that is out of your control.”
“I’ve already decided to offer Leigh, Emma, and Conor some sort of severance package. My aunt would want me to take care of them somehow.” I struggle to stay focused on our conversation.
“That’s very generous of you,” she says. I shrug. I don’t know what’s an acceptable amount that isn’t insulting or too much. I need to concentrate on getting the place sold and not spend the money before I even get it. I will worry about actual amounts after the fact. “Okay, let’s talk about something different. Tell me about your most recent relationship.”
“Ugh. It was awful. I caught her in my bed with another woman.”
Kerry winces. “Ouch. That’s never a good thing.”
“No. She used me and one day I decided to go home early to surprise her and she surprised me instead. It’s so cliché. All the signs were there and I just ignored them, thinking she would be faithful to me no matter what. We were together for three years. I was supporting her while she finished her master’s degree.”
“What was she like? Obviously, you loved her so she had to have some good qualities,” she says.
“The usual stuff. Charismatic, beautiful, and smart. Then we got comfortable and she didn’t like my long hours and wanted somebody there for her. I was too wrapped up in work to care. I’m to blame for it, too.”
“I’ve noticed that you are very much into your job. How many hours do you work a week? Like sixty or seventy, right? Think about how much you miss. I need at least one day to not think about work or houses or anything. It’s hard to do, but I’m afraid that I will miss so much. Especially with Emma ready to give birth any day now. How am I going to be able to concentrate when the first baby in our family is here?” That makes me smile. She doesn’t strike me as a baby person, but then again, I’ve had her pegged wrong since the beginning.
“That’s definitely one thing I’ve noticed being over here. Everyone is very family oriented. Not that we don’t have that back home, but I live in such a large community, that it’s hard to connect with them. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation with my neighbor.” I frown at that realization.
“Most days I have to avoid my neighbors because if I don’t, I will stand there talking to them for days,” she says. I roll my eyes at her. “No, really. Mrs. Murphy is our ninety-year-old next door neighbor. She has nothing to do all day but try to catch us in the alley and talk. It is not unusual for one of us to be trapped for thirty minutes or longer.” I like the way she says thirty. It sounds like ‘dirty’ and makes me smile. “I know you think I’m crazy, but it’s true. When you meet my family, they will tell you that I only speak the truth.” I’ve already met a lot of her family, all under crappy circumstances.
“How often do you come up here? It’s beautiful,” I say, looking out at the sea.
“I only come up here when I need to get away for a bit,” she says.
“It’s a wonderful view and you have all of these beautiful flowers ready to bloom. I bet in summer it’s gorgeous.” I reach down and pluck a tiny blue flower. “Leigh told me this is a forget-me-not. She said Ireland has plenty of different versions of this. I think it’s beautiful that wildflowers are used in the bouquets. It adds so much character.” I pluck a few just to have them as a token of my first and probably last motorcycle ride in Ireland.
“If you are done eating, let’s head to Wicklow. I have the most amazing thing to show you.” She stands up and reaches for my hand. I oblige and she pulls me up with little effort. For such a slender woman, she is very strong. I’m flush up against her and I think she is going to kiss me, but she releases my hand and picks up our jackets. I press the flowers into my napkin and safely tuck them inside my jacket pocket.
“I’m ready,” I say, although I am reluctant to leave such a beautiful place. “How did you find this little piece of heaven?”
“One day I was riding around and saw this tiny dirt road and thought I would try it out. I’ve been coming here for years and have yet to meet a single person. I’m sure it’s somebody’s land, but they don’t seem to mind or don’t know that I come up here.” She straddles the bike and slides up for me to climb on. Thank you, yoga, for insisting I stay in shape. I slip on behind her and take a moment to gather myself before I touch her waist. She turns to me. “The trip down might be tricky so hang on to me.” Now I have permission to press up against her. I slide up, my thighs pressed against her. I’m trying not to think about my clit pressed up against her, too, but it’s hard when the familiar throb appears, mimicking my heartbeat. I feel it speed up. She tightens my arms around her waist and moves forward. It takes us a few minutes of bouncing around before we hit the asphalt again. I’m ready to come. I’m seriously thinking of getting a motorcycle when I get home. I give her a thumbs up and loosen my hold on her waist. I lower my hands to her hips and hold them instead. I think she makes a noise, but I’m not sure.
We reach the quaint town of Wicklow in twenty minutes. I trust Kerry, my hesitation about being on the back of a bike gone. I’m having fun. She takes me to the entrance of a parkland where the biggest waterfall in Ireland is located. I’m so excited. There aren’t a lot of people here because it’s not summer and the food kiosks aren’t open yet. I bypass the cute souvenir shop and head straight for the waterfall. It’s magnificent. Since there has been a steady amount of rain, the waterfall is swollen, and thick, and the tiny sprays of water feel good in the warm sunlight.
“This should be your new get away place. It’s perfect,” I say.
“Too many people here most of the time. We got lucky today,” she says. She is close to me again. I don’t mind her nearness so much now. She reaches out and straightens the collar of my jacket. “I do believe Ireland agrees with you, Grace.” She pulls me slowly into her, my heart speeding up, my mouth suddenly dry. I lick my bottom lip, drawing her eyes to my mouth. “You have a very sweet mouth,” she says. I know she wants to kiss me, and I want her to, but I regretfully step out of her embrace.
“You know I’m leaving next weekend, right?” I ask. I’m torn between diving back into her and walking away. “We shouldn’t start anything here.” She nods her head in understanding, but the agreement doesn’t quite reach her eyes. They are still bright and full of passion. She is making it hard for me to pull away.
“I know. This whole thing is crazy. I’m sorry.” She pulls away and as much as I want to follow her and tell her it’s okay, I know that I can’t. Our relationship is balanced on a rocky start. The best thing for me is to go back home. I need to forget about the shop, not worry about the employees. I also need to get away from Kerry before I slip. It’s not pretty when I’m needy. Plus she’s thousands of miles from me. It’s not as if I live on the east coast and can hop on a plane for a six hour nonstop flight for an extended weekend with her. I’m a total of fourteen
hours from airport to airport, thanks to layovers and international-get-to-the-airport-two-hours-before-your-flight rules. Realistically, she doesn’t want a relationship. She probably just wants a quick affair and then ‘bon voyage’ when I leave. I don’t do quick and easy. At least I haven’t yet.
“There are several castles in this gorgeous town. We can hit them and then do an early dinner. I promise to have you back to Howth before it gets dark.” She’s all tourist guide now, the passionate redhead no longer present. I’m saddened by the sudden loss of her heat. She doesn’t hold my hand as we walk side by side on the path around the waterfall. I understand though. I can’t have it all and I don’t want to lead her on. I make it a point to keep the conversation lighthearted and ask boring questions instead of why? Why me? Why now? She went from cold to hot with me in an instant.
At least the castles keep my interest for a few hours and dinner conversation is relatively safe. I’m very intrigued about life in Ireland and ask a ton of questions about her life, her schooling, and what she does for fun. She goes out a lot with her friends, but only because she can’t wait to get a place of her own. I can’t imagine this cosmopolitan woman who knows a ton of people and hits the bars almost every night, is going to be happy raising sheep on a farm away from the city and the hustle of city life.
“So what are you going to do on your farm all by yourself?” I ask. I work at sounding sincere and not condescending. We haven’t learned each other’s tones yet.
“Hang out with the sheep and the chickens.” She doesn’t understand my question.
“I mean, what else are you going to do? It sounds like a lonely day all by yourself,” I say. She smiles.
“Well, I’m sure my da won’t let me off the hook so easily about walking away from the family business, so I will probably work part time for The Mulligan Group. And I don’t plan on being alone forever,” she says. I don’t know if she’s trying to make me jealous or not, but it works.