“No, no, daycent in Ireland means attractive, good looking, beautiful.”
I reveled in his warmth and continued to have a two-person debate in my mind. What am I doing? “Hey, Jaime.” I looked up at his warm, inviting eyes. “I need to know. Why did you kiss me?”
He studied my face, and I moved to a more upright position. “I didn’t. You shifted me.”
“What? I did not.” I pulled my head back and crossed my arms over my chest. “You shifted me in the car. You might have shifted me in front of the castle too; I don’t really know. But you definitely shifted me in the car.” The Irish vocabulary easily replaced my native verb as my connection to Galway grew.
“You got the car started, Rory. I was saying thanks. And that smooch at the castle? That was all you.” His eyes glimmered, and I smirked at his flirtation.
“Whatever.” I leaned back into him and watched the game, asking questions about rule play. I rooted for the opposite team to keep things exciting, and every time my team scored, he threw a balled-up paper towel at me.
It seemed we were back to our bantering ways.
Chapter 15
Things normalized between Jaime and me, and the animosity I had felt toward him on the plane, and that first weekend we moved in together, merged with a growing fondness I couldn’t shake. He mixed me up with his crooked smile, witty outlook on life, and carefree attitude. If I compared apples to apples, he carried a lot of characteristics I had convinced myself Scott brought to our relationship. Still, Jaime was a thousand times more genuine. He made me feel good, and I knew I had made a mistake wasting my time with Scott.
“Do you have any plans this weekend?” Zoey leaned against my doorway, holding a bowl of rice and sauteed mushrooms. It had become a staple in our household since all our money went to traveling and beer.
I looked at my calendar. “Nothing Friday night. I’m here if you want to go to the pub. Saturday and Sunday I wanted to go to Killarney, and next weekend I wanted to go to Dingle. Want to come?” My eyes and fingers returned to my computer.
“I’ll let you know. It depends on how much money I have. I wanted to go to Dublin for the Bank Holiday. I heard they do a big thing for Halloween. Want to come?”
I looked at my calendar again. Belfast. Can I get there another weekend? I scratched my head and rubbed my forehead. “Um.” I pinched my bottom lip and flipped to November. “Sure. That’d be great.” Traveling was always more fun with a friend, so I crossed off BELFAST and scribbled DUBLIN onto my calendar.
“Awesome. I’m heading to class. I’ll see you later.” The door clicked shut, and I continued researching my Women in Ireland project. I had given myself until one o’clock to get as much done as possible, and when my watch beeped, I shut it down.
I opened my email and read a note from Marty. We’d been communicating back and forth since I arrived. She frequently updated me on Scott telling me he missed me—it would have been nice to hear that from him. All I had gotten in response to my breakup email was crickets. Even though I told him not to, I secretly wanted him to respond, baring his heart and soul and apologizing for being such a jerk, but I guess my expectations were too high.
I didn’t want to complicate things, so I skirted around the Scott subject anytime Marty brought it up. He was a separate part of my life, and drama from back home didn’t belong here. Plus, I had never told her about Jaime, and if Zoey and Marissa didn’t know, Marty didn’t need to know, either.
A grin spread across my face and I read through her email. Hi Rory! So, I noticed that tickets to Ireland are wicked cheap next month. I hope you don’t mind, but I bought a ticket. Actually, I bought two, because you know me, a complete baby when it comes to flying. Is it cool if I come to visit during Thanksgiving weekend? I don’t know who else can come…maybe my sister? Please please please say it’s okay because I didn’t buy the cancellation insurance. Haha. Love you and miss you! –Marty.
I couldn’t believe she was coming! I hit the reply button and typed one capitalized word: YES!
I tapped send, shut my laptop, and danced around my room to invisible music. I vogued over to my radio and turned it on. Pop music from someone I didn’t recognize sprang from the speaker and I spun in circles, moving my hips to the beat, and swinging my arms like octopus tentacles. Mid-swing, I saw a long shadow on the floor, and spun to see Jaime standing in the doorway with a wide, goofy grin radiating across his face.
Too excited to feel embarrassed, I danced over and grabbed his hands. We attempted the waltz and tango, but my feet stumbled over his.
“What’s the craic?”
My arms draped around his neck, and his hands rested below my hips. I rocked him in circles, staring into his deep eyes. “My best friend is coming to visit. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She’s a hoot!”
“A hoot?” Jaime asked.
“A hoot! A hot sketch. You’re gonna love her. But she doesn’t know about you, so we are strictly roommates.”
He spun me in a circle. “But that’s what we are, right?”
“Yep, I am a single woman living in Ireland. What happens in Galway stays in Galway.”
“Single, eh?”
“Yes, officially single.” I held up my hand showing my bare finger. “I broke it off with Scott after Clifden. I don’t want a boyfriend; I want to have fun. Do you want to have fun with me?” I leaned my face toward him until his lips met mine, too excited to be shocked at my own boldness.
“Yeah, that’d be grand. I guess there’s nothing to tell.” He pulled me closer, spun me out, and dipped me backward.
I belly-laughed as all the blood rushed to my head. Kissing him deeper, everything I knew about myself washed away in a tidal wave of Jaime bliss. It was time I threw away all the expectations the world had placed upon me and lived life for me…even if it was only for a semester. This was my time to create the life I had always wanted.
