Her movement seemed to catch Bonnie by surprise as she suddenly bolted up.
“Oh, shit!” Bonnie swore.
“What?” Penny whipped her head around to see what her friend might need. Unsure if they were at out-of-ice cream levels of upset or something worse.
“It’s gone two.”
“Huh?” Penny thought it was a bit unfair when Bonnie started breaking into Irish slang she didn’t understand.
“It’s already past two o’clock. You have less than an hour to get dressed, do your make-up, and make it to the bar.”
Penny shook her head. “I really don’t think I should go. I don’t want to leave you like this.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re going to pass up a chance to hang out with Seamus of the blue eyes?”
“You’re really going to have to stop calling him that. It’s very wordy. And yes. You might need me.”
“Oh, no. I’m not going to be that friend. I might be sad and pathetic right now. But I’m not dragging you down with me.”
“You’re not drag….”
“We don’t have time for this,” Bonnie said, hopping off the couch and pulling Penny up beside her. “I need you to go out there and have fun. You need to show me there’s still hope for fun in the world. Consider it a favor.”
“All right, all right,” Penny said huffily.
“Come on then, go change,” Bonnie said, clapping her hands together, her smile a mixture of something forced yet sincere.
It was well past three by the time Penny stumbled into the bar, out of breath, dress slightly askew, and very aware that her hair could not possibly be in optimal condition either. She’d gotten there as quickly as balance would allow in her wedged sandals. She was not a person who did late, and she felt horrible.
She finally spotted Seamus at the same time he turned from his perch at the bar to face her.
“You’re late.”
For a moment, she recognized the look of pure annoyance on his face as the one he’d directed at Bonnie the night he’d kicked her out. Then it softened. “You do at least look like you hurried to get here.” He breathed out a chuckle.
Penny lifted her hand to her hair instinctively, where it rested for only a moment before moving to her lips. “I’m sorry,” she said sincerely.
He lifted an eyebrow inquiringly.
“Bonnie had a bit of a breakdown. She needed me. But I am truly sorry. I got here as fast as I could. I would have called, but I don’t have your number.” The words tumbled out of her mouth in her haste to explain herself.
She cringed as he rolled his eyes at her.
“That one again, huh?”
She took in a sharp breath, not so sure this was a good idea anymore. His tone didn’t sit well with her. She’d learned to be a pretty good judge of character after three years of teaching—something she wished she’d learned sooner. But hey, you needed to interact with people to get to know them.
“I suppose you’re too adorable to get mad at, though.” He graced her with a warm smile, and his blue eyes twinkled at her.
Her warning bells didn’t stand much of a chance against that. She felt her insides melt and returned his smile.
“Come on,” he pushed himself away from the bar. “Let the tour begin. See ya, Jim,” he called out to the current bartender, leading the way out the door.
Penny turned on her heel and found herself almost instantly struggling to keep up with his long stride. “Where are we going?” she called up towards his large shoulders.
“You’ll see,” he answered. Looking down, he finally registered that she wasn’t actually next to him. Turning back to find her, he adjusted his pace slightly. “So, right now, we’re on the south side of the city. I’m sure you’ve seen Páirc Uí Chaoimh, where the matches are played, and the Marina Market as well. So, I thought we’d head further into the city.”
Penny nodded along knowingly, even though she was fairly certain she had not seen either of these places but wasn’t sure enough about what he’d said to be positive. She really needed to get out and explore more on her own instead of waiting for Bonnie.
