Page 115 of Rafferty's Rules
‘So long as you can take me, that’s all I care about,’ he murmurs, pressing his lips to the side of her head.
‘And on that very telling note,’ she responds, sliding the glass in front of him out of his reach, ‘I think it’s time for you to move onto water.’ We all chuckle as Flynn throws back his head with a groan as Chas continues on as though he hasn’t made a sound. ‘Sit down,’ she suggests, her gaze sliding meaningfully to the dancefloor. I follow her gaze, then drop into a chair. There’s champagne unopened in a bucket by the table. I’ll grab a bottle from here once their dance is over.
‘Lissa tells me she’s flying back to the States on Tuesday.’ My stomach drops but there’s no denying that she is leaving, so I nod. ‘She’s lovely’, she adds. ‘I like her. When will you see her next?’
‘I’m not sure. We haven’t really spoken about it.’
‘Oh. That’s a shame.’
‘Yeah, well, she’s got her job and I’ve got these houses to oversee.’ And she’s just getting over her fucking fiancé and she’s made it clear what’s between us is just temporary. I’m just some dick she’s rooting. Literally.
‘I thought you were both, you know?’ Chas says, just as the baby monitor begins to snuffle. ‘You certainly seem it.’ The snuffle becomes a cry.
‘We certainly seem what?’ The cry becomes a wail.
‘Don’t be obtuse, Rafferty. You’re both in love.’
Chastity swaps her glass for the baby monitor, her movements terse and jerky, and as she walks away, I’m pretty certain she’s swearing under her breath.
‘And then there were three,’ Tom offers up as my eyes gravitate back to the dancing pair which is now a quartet, Byron and Amber now dancing, too.
‘We’re like the three wise monkeys,’ Flynn adds. ‘Speak no evil.’ He points a thumb at himself. ‘Do no evil.’ His thumb moves in the direction of Tom. ‘And sending all the evils.’ I turn back from glancing at the dancefloor yet again to see he’s pointing at me.
‘Funny,’ I say in the exact opposite tone. I’m just looking, not fucking doing anything.
‘Same,’ Flynn mutters.
‘What is?’ I turn to face him, his expression calm, mine no doubt, the opposite.
‘Your answer for when you’ll see Lissa next—it’s fucking hilarious.’ His tone is less than impressed. ‘You’re a boofhead.’
‘And I thought you were the monkey that’s supposed to keep its thoughts to itself.’ If only. But that’s not the way my family operates. Maybe I was adopted?
‘Mate, you’re kidding yourself,’ Tom offers as he leans over the arm of his chair to pick up a bottle of scotch standing by his chair leg. ‘Shh.’ Finger against his puckered lips, he places it on the table. ‘I lifted it from Byron’s stash.’
‘You’re hammered.’ And now I know why
‘And you’re still a prick. Anyone with eyes can see what you’re really feeling.’
What I’m really beginning to feel is fucked off. ‘Keep your crystal balls in your pants, eh? And keep your nose out of my business.’
‘Fuck crystal balls. How about your just grow some.’
‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’
‘Fun times,’ Flynn says stretching his arms wide. ‘Actually, no it’s not. It’s like living at home fifteen years ago. I’m out of here,’ he says, pushing his chair back. ‘Try not to pull each other’s hair, will you?’
We both watch Flynn make his way over to when mum sits with some of her old friend. Kissing her head, he walks back in the direction of the house which shines like a beacon in the distance.
‘Man, you think you’ve got problem,’ he says, shaking his head morosely.
‘You have no idea what problems I’ve got.’
‘I know what problems you haven’t got,’ he retorts. ‘You’re free to love who you want.’
Love? What the fuck does he know about Love. Tom the tom cat, as he’s known to us. He’s a root rat, and always up for a casual fuck. I find myself shaking my head in disgust. Who the hell put him in charge of the town’s education?
He sits straight, his eyes suddenly full of venom. ‘You don’t know what problems are,’ he sneers. ‘You don’t come back to this place for two years, and for what? Because you can’t face your fucking mistakes.’
