‘It’s no problem,’ he said.‘It’s basically on my way.’
So we walked out of the Buttery and across Front Square, the cobbles glistening with rain that must have fallen while we were cosily ensconced in the windowless pub, through Front Arch and out into College Green.
‘You’re not too cold, are you?’said Tadhg.I was wearing a denim jacket, which had been fine in the daytime when theearly October sun was still mild but was proving itself to be inadequate now.‘You can borrow my hoodie, if you need it.My jacket’s pretty warm.’
‘If you’re sure you won’t be too cold …’
‘I won’t be,’ he said.‘I got this jacket in a Vincent de Paul shop down in Cork and it’s way warmer than it looks.’He took it off – it was corduroy lined in silk, which explained the warmth – removed his hoodie and put it around my shoulders.I had to fight the undoubtedly creepy-looking urge to hold the fabric to my face and smell it.
‘Better?’he said.
‘Much,’ I said.We crossed the road at the Bank of Ireland.‘My teeth were about to start chattering before I put this on.’
I wished my bus stop was further away but here it was.‘Well, this is me.’
‘I’ll wait for you till the bus comes,’ he said.
‘I mean, if you’re sure it won’t put you out …’
‘I’m grand,’ said Tadhg.‘I’m not in a hurry.’
I would have been happy to wait there with him for hours.Though obviously I didn’t say that either.
‘Oh, before I forget,’ he said, reaching into his jacket pocket and taking out a phone, ‘can I give you my mobile number?I’m not going to risk losing you again.’
‘Oh yeah, good idea,’ I said, as casually as I could.
‘Can you give me your phone?’he said.I handed over my aqua-blue Nokia.‘I’m going to put myself in as Tadhg.You don’t know any other Tadhgs, do you?’
‘I don’t,’ I say.‘Or Tims.Give me your phone.’He passed it to me and I opened the contacts.‘I’ll put myself in as Laura Guitarist.’
‘Just put Laura,’ said Tadhg.‘You’re the only Laura in my life.’
For a moment we stood there, smiling at each other.Was I completely deluded or was there something happening between us this evening?There was, wasn’t there?Were we almost … flirting?
But Caoimhe had probably thought they were flirting too.
‘Oh, there’s my bus!’I saw the number 16 approach with a mixture of relief and disappointment.‘Here, quick, take your hoodie.’
‘You’ll need it for the walk home,’ he said.The bus was pulling up now.‘You can give it back to me on Saturday.At the practice.Why don’t we get the bus out there together?We could meet at Front Gate of college at twelve.’
‘Oh!Yeah, sure.’The doors of the bus were opening.There was no time for a grand farewell.‘Well, see you then!’
When I took my seat upstairs, I did bury my face in the fabric of the hoodie.It smelled of washing powder and a fresh green scent that I guessed was his shower gel or deodorant, and under that was a pleasant, clean, slightly musky boy smell that I suppose was basically just … Tadhg.
The weather was even colder by the time I got off the bus and started walking the short distance home, but I felt warm and toasty inside.And it wasn’t just because of the hoodie.
Chapter Eighteen
2019
‘How was your dinner thing?’
I ask Tadhg this question as if I haven’t been thinking about his mysterious ‘dinner thing’ since yesterday evening.Not all the time, obviously.But enough.A lot.Too much.I didn’t mention it to Katie after I got home last night.I barely wanted to admit to myself how much it bothered me, so I was hardly eager to tell her.I just told her we’d written a couple of songs together and she said, ‘Two songs in one day?Wow, it really is like old times.Apart from you pining after him, of course,’ she added.
‘Ha!Yeah, of course,’ I said.
‘There’s no pining, is there?’she said suspiciously.
