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"I’rin was enormous
"No one’s ever said that to me before, either"
"I love you, and I’m proud of you," I reonna make it my o and get that sexy arse of yours dressed so that we can start this date"
I kissed hi the sheet around ht know my body inti it in front of hiht of day He slapped my backside and watched me jump I could tell that he didn’t have any such reservations about leam in his eyes told ain
I couldn’t even remember what theinto O’Connell’s side to share a bucket of popcorn and being late for bowling because we couldn’t stop holding hands and kissing in the car park
"Fuck me, the lovebirds finally made it," welco everyone’s naht be taken, but I’h, as he carried on loading names Tom worried about you, ya know," he responded, tipping his beer toward Kieran "For theor squeezeback a stump!"
O’Connell sat down and pulledbroadly, and I had to stifle a giggle
Kieran stopped typing, turned to see that To, and then quick as a flash leaned over and kissed To dead!" he screa his beer onto the table, he launched hi so hard that he only made a half-hearted atteuys whooped and hollered at To bits of their popcorn at theeetting a little too rowdy for the other patrons, but the lanes on either side of us were euessed the staff had taken one look at eneral population After their little scuffle, the guys settled down and got serious about their bowling I thought this was a Saturday afternoon pastime for kids and elderly people--but wisely kept my opinion to myself With how competitive they all were, you’d think they were contenders for an Olyht he was going to pee hi the boys laughing andwith each other, I realised that this motley band of brothers were my brothers now Fro, loud, and inti They were all of that, but they were also mine and there wasn’t one of these boys, whether I was O’Connell’s girl or not, ouldn’t stand between Frank and me That wasn’t friendship; it was family That hat my mum should have done for me
"You okay?" O’Connell whispered as he rubbed entle circles I turned to kiss hi how hed as O’Connell actually scowled
"I love them like brothers, you idiot, not like I love you"
"This is one of those insecureyou about I need you to wrap yourself around ling, I wrapped my arms around his neck and proceeded to cover hi this wasn’t what he uys all shouted, throwing popcorn at us
"Fuck off" O’Connell grinned and huggedalley to the arcade, where O’Connell helped uys all gravitated toward the ‘shoot ‘eave me his little boy face I rolled my eyes and told hie, courtesy of uys foundhead to head with thirteen-year-old Lily on the danceShe’d spotted ed me I quickly realised that I’d been suckered, when I noticed the name "LILY M" appeared seven tih the change pretty quickly, but my score for Shakira’s "Hips don’t lie" wasn’t too shabby at all, and before the boys even got there we’d drawn quite a teen crowd As good as h to beat her, but I accepted race and a little bow to the crowd A year ago, I would never even have gone into a place like this, and here I was dancing in public and playing to a crowd My boys gave est cheer of all I s red The rest of the day flew by in a myriad of happy memories, and it was a day that will stay with me for the rest of my life It was the first day that I’d ever woken up happy and gone to bed the same way We finally left the boys at the Royal Oak pub where the drinks were flowing as well as the women I walked home hand in hand with the man I loved, and when hemy heater, I fell in love with him a littleether, because we didn’t The very next day, O’Connell was long gone before my alarht was January, and he was taking this seriously We were talking about both our futures now I had end of term exams before Christmas, so my time was divided between class and the library, but it wasn’t really that led a little with some of the course material, but she was a quick study and a hard worker, so after a few study sessions she clicked with so of in class I think ere both good influences on Max, Albie, and Ryan, who spent as hts in the warm library as we did I suspected that O’Connell or Mac had said souys ever let ood reason to be, but the fear didn’t ownit, but those four days until the weekend orth the wait O’Connell was so exhausted that soh to shower and scarf down aasleep with his head in h his hair and watched cheesy ether, and our foundation was a million stolen, wondrous er than rock Every love letter, every kiss, every laugh and shared memory--they were all tiny bricks that paved the road on which alked One day, I would look back on the journey, and I’d know there wasn’t a single one of thoseThat wasn’t to say that we never argued though There were days that he’d finish training and pick eeks, and he’d lose his te to leave hiineer or a physicist There were other tih his clothes were ruu O’Connell loved it when I argued back Bit by bit, the ti When I raised my voice, which ad I’d beco about love, I’d discovered It wasn’t about having a blissfully wonderful relationship where everything was always sunshine and roses No matter how pure and beautiful your love was, life could be cruel and ugly It would throw things at your relationship when you were tired and broke It would be strained and tested through the worst of storh sixty years of World Wars and recessions and still let them stare at each other on their death bed with the sa day, love like that, well, it lasted forever