Page 67 of Playing Dirty
"Fair enough." I let it go, smiling into the dark.
We settle in, and the room goes so quiet you could hear a pin drop, just the faint sounds of the street outside, no city hum this far into a residential area. I'm hyper-aware of her body just inches from mine, the thought of her making it impossible to relax, though being in my childhood bedroom certainly helps dampen the fire a bit.
Minutes pass and I glance over to find she's actually fallen asleep, her breathing deep and even. I can't help but smile at her, looking so peaceful and adorably unraveled, and I'm struck by the weight of exactly how much I've fallen for her.
I'm usually out like a light the second my head hits the mattress, and Margot is the lifelong insomniac, yet tonight I'm the one wide awake while she sleeps.
She scrunches her nose in her sleep and rolls toward me, abandoning her pillow perimeter to scoot closer. She settles against my shoulder and I go completely still, hyper-aware of every point where her body touches mine. It's going to be a very long night.
17
Margot
We finally reached Galway a few hours ago, and the heavens promptly opened. A shame, since it's easily one of the most breathtaking places I've ever seen, and I'm currently seeing it through a wall of sideways rain.
Several locals have already assured me that a storm this bad is unusual for this time of year, which sounds about right for my luck. Dublin stayed so mild all week that I'd half convinced myself every warning about Irish weather was just a bit of local folklore.
I've found a temporary sanctuary on a covered back terrace, though the wind is doing its level best to pelt my face with horizontal rain. I scurry behind a large stone pillar, shivering as the damp seeps through my jacket.
Icouldgo back inside, but the charity event is in full swing and everyone in there wants to talk my ear off, so a five-minute break from the small talk feels more than earned. I breathe out slowly into the cold air, finally alone with my thoughts.
The foundation tour's been a whirlwind of stops, all aimed atgetting local kids into sport and the outdoors. Solstice joined on as a primary sponsor, alongside a handful of other big brands. Between the media scrums, the meetings with teachers, and the time with the kids, it's been as lovely as it is exhausting.
I peer out at the view from my little stone refuge. Even through the grey mist, the town is absolutely stunning—colorful storefronts and historic charm. The surrounding landscape looks like something lifted straight out of a Celtic fantasy novel.
But the Atlantic, so inviting and turquoise in the brochures, looks ominous today, a roaring slate-grey beast straight out of a story about shipwrecks and haunted coastlines. I could almost find it romantic, in a dark and dramatic sort of way.
Well, Icould, if I weren't currently resembling a drowned rat.
Cillian and I took the train over this morning, and I spent the whole ride with my nose all but pressed to the glass while he narrated every field, ruin, and rival hurling county we passed. Every hour with him makes my feelings harder to ignore, and I've officially reached the point of needing a second opinion.
I fish my phone from my pocket and dial Sabrina, silently praying she hasn't silenced her ringer.
"Oh my god, Margot, it's like three in the morning," Sabrina groans, her voice thick with sleep.
I slap my forehead. "Shit. Sorry, Sab. I think I botched the time zone conversion. I knew it was early, but I didn't realize it wasthatearly. Go back to sleep, I'll call you later."
"No, no, I'm conscious now." I hear her jaw-cracking yawn through the line. "Spill it. What's happened? Give me the updates. How was the big family dinner?"
I lean my head against the stone. "Incredible. His whole family'ssonice and welcoming. We just talked and played card games and had wine. I love all of them."
"Wow," Sabrina says, sounding more awake. "You’re in deep, aren't you?"
"Yes." I sigh. "But I don’t know… Right now, getting together once we're back seems so right. I'm crazy about him, he clearly wants it, we've been flirting this whole time."
"Okay, so what exactly is the problem? You have a gorgeous Irish hockey star who is apparently willing to detonate his entire career because he's so obsessed with you, and he's whisking you around beautiful Ireland to show you his favorite spots. Like, hello? That is the literal dream!"
I roll my eyes toward the overcast sky. "Yes, that ispreciselythe issue. The whirlwind nature of it all, being in a different country, the adrenaline from the whole media storm... what if my judgment is just clouded? What do you think?"
"I think you need to call Dr. Bowen and see about upping your Lexapro," Sabrina snickers.
"You are being remarkably unhelpful right now!" I hiss into the receiver.
"Alright, alright, I'll be serious. But where are you? It sounds like you're standing in a wind tunnel."
"I'm outside the fundraiser and it's pouring rain and freezing. I'm literally huddled behind a stone pillar." I peer around the edge of the column as the gale picks up.
"How very tortured-romance-heroine of you." I hear a rustle as she sits up. "Oh, before I forget. Did you hear back from Mom or Dad yet?"
