MAY 7TH 2004
AOIFE
Joey: Then
Aoife: she
Joey: flicked
Aoife: the
Joey: head
Aoife: of
Joey: his
Aoife: thick
Joey: cock
Aoife: with
Joey: her
Aoife: tongue
“HELLO? EARTH TO AOIFE?” Clicking her fingers in front of my face, Casey swiped my phone out of my hand and groaned loudly. “Whoops. On second thought, never mind.” Grinning wickedly, she handed me back the phone. “You go right ahead and suck his cock, girl. But doesn’t he have Construction class right now? Isn’t it a bit risky to be sending the boy messages like that when he’s surrounded by sharp saws and power tools?”
Smirking, I slid my phone back into my pencil case and gave my friend my full attention. “So, what’s new?”
“What’s new?” Casey laughed. “Are we really going to play it like this?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come on.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s been months. Everyone knows you guys are together. It’s so bloody obvious. The rumors are rampant around school, and even if they weren’t, your lingering stares and his I-want-to-rip-your-clothes-off heated glances when you’re in the same classroom are a dead giveaway. So, come on. How much longer do you two plan to act like you’re not riding like sexy little rabbits behind closed doors.”
“Jesus, Case. Say it louder, why don’t you?” I hissed, poking her with my elbow. “I don’t think Mr. Ryan heard you at the front of the class.”
“Actually, I did,” our biology/PE teacher confirmed, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Please refrain from discussing the sexual productivity of rabbits until after my class. Your lunch break is in ten minutes, and patience is a virtue, girls.”
“Sorry sir,” we both chorused, smothering our laughter behind a textbook.
“So, you admit it?” she whisper-hissed. “You’re shagging Joey the roller-coaster Lynch.”
“No, I’m not shagging anyone,” I strangled out through fits of laughter. “And roller-coaster?”
“You know,” she laughed. “Because every girl wants to ride him.” Waggling her brows, she added, “But it’s clear by those sexy text messages that you guys are sending each other, you’re first in the queue.”
“Oh, haven’t you heard the news? After I got on his rollercoaster ride, the queue got cancelled.”
“Boom, bitch,” Casey snickered, making the mic drop gesture with her hand. “And that’s how it’s done.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “But to answer your earlier question; my dad still doesn’t know about our little arrangement. I don’t see that changing for the foreseeable. He still works with my dad, so it’s just better if we, you know…“
“Fuck around behind Daddy’s back instead?” she offered with a rueful smile.
“I’m not having sex with him, Case.”
Her eyes widened. “How is this possible?”
“See, Case, it’s actually really easy,” I drawled sarcastically. “All you have to do is not allow a boy to insert his penis into your vagina.”
“Very funny, bitch.” Shaking her head, she leaned in closer to whisper, “Seriously, though, you’ve been messing around for what; at least three months now?” Her eyes bulged. “How are you not getting naked with that boy?”
“I never said that I wasn’t getting naked with him.”
“Details.”
“A lady never tells.”
“Good thing we both know that you’re not one of those.” She leaned closer. “Okay, so you’re not having sex yet, but there’s some heavy petting going on, right? A little kiss here, a little finger there, a little tug-of-war down there?”
“Casey!”
“Oh, don’t act all coy with me,” she laughed. “I’ve known you since we were five, remember? We know everything about each other’s lives, remember? Including the time that you made me go to the after-hours doctor with you, when we were in third year, because you convinced yourself that you might be pregnant. All because Paul had wanked himself off before he tried to put his fingers—“
“Oh my god, I was young and clueless!” I hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth. “And you swore that you would never bring that up again.”
“Yeah, but it’s on my medical file for the rest of time,” she shot back with a cackle. “You gave the receptionist my name and details, remember?”
“Because you had your medical card with you at the time, and my mam keeps mine in her purse,” I replied, cringing at the memory of how incredibly naïve I used to be. “God, I was a pure thick back then.”
“Back then?”
“Funny.”
“Okay, so back to business,” Casey said, tapping her hand on the desk to garner my attention. “Give me those sexy details, Molloy. Heavy petting?”
I grinned. “Maybe.”
Her eyes widened to saucers. “Oral.”
I shrugged, but didn’t respond, as my face burned with heat.
“Oh, come on.” She grabbed my arm and squeezed. “Who’s doing who?”
I scrunched my nose up before admitting, “Both.”
“Omigod!” Clapping with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm for my sex life, my best friend asked, “Okay, okay, okay, so if we’re talking in comparisons here, you know, between Paul and Joey.“
“Ugh, Joey all day long.” I gave her a look that said please, bitch. “Hands down, Case. There’s no competition.”
“Jesus. So, I guess it’s true what they say about the boys from my terrace.” Casey blew out an impressed breath. “They fuck like they fight; all in and with one hundred percent effort.”
“Casey!” I laughed, shoving her arm.
“I disagree,” Danielle hissed from the desk behind us, and we both turned to face her. “At least Paul has an actual functioning brain when he’s with a girl.”
“Yeah. A brain that only functions on one frequency; me, me, me,” Casey was quick to shoot back.
I tried to strangle my laugh but ended up looking like I had the face of a blow fish.
Danielle glowered. “How’s life on the outskirts treating you, Aoife?”
I grinned in return. “Why it’s fantastic, Danielle, thanks for asking.”
“Outskirts?” Casey snorted. “Get a handle on yourself, girl. We both know that you’d still be happily skulking around the outskirts if Joe hadn’t sacked you off for my best friend here.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” she huffed. “And do you want to know why?”
“No, but I’m sure that you’re going to tell us,” I drawled.
“Because Joey Lynch might be beautiful, and charismatic, and have a million other qualities that draw girls to him, but he’s broken in the head. Sure, he might be riding the high life right now, with his bad-boy status at school, and his ability to master a hurley and sliotar, but that’s as good as it’s going to get for him,” she told us. “He’s already peaked.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know that you made a huge mistake when you threw away a boy with a bright future ahead of him for a boy with no future.”
“Fuck you, Danielle.”
“I would say fuck you right back, but you already did that to yourself,” she snapped, releasing a frustrated breath. “Listen, Aoife, I’m not nearly thick-headed or spiteful enough to deny that you’re a ten around here,” she said. “You’re clever, and funny, and beautiful and had your pick of the bunch in first year. You could have picked any one of the lads at school, but you made the smart decision when you chose Paul. He is going to be a solicitor, Aoife. He is going places, and if you had only managed to keep your head, he would have taken you right along with him. He adored you, Aoife, and he would have given you a good life, with a nice house, and a stable bank account. We both know that kind of a future doesn’t come along often for girls who come from where we come from.” She shook her head and added, “But you couldn’t resist the temptation of the school’s bad boy, and now you’re screwed.” Folding her arms across her chest, she arched a brow and said, “Because boys like Joey Lynch never go anywhere in life, and girls like you go nowhere right along with them. You only need to look at his parents for proof of that.”
“Oh, get a handle on yourself, Danielle,” Casey was quick to interject. “It’s not that deep.”
“Isn’t it?” Danielle looked me right in the eye when she said, “Enjoy becoming his mam, Aoife. I doubt you’ll make it to sixth year graduation without a baby Joey in your belly.”
“Listen, bitch, Aoife is nothing like you,” Casey hissed, jumping to my defense, which I was grateful for, because I had been rendered speechless. “She doesn’t drop her knickers the second a fella beckons. And she doesn’t need Paul Rice or any other fella to give her a leg up in life. She’ll do that just fine by herself.”
“While she’s claiming loan-parent allowance off the government. While her junkie baby-daddy sits it out in a prison cell for finally pushing the law too far,” Danielle tossed back dryly.
“Oh, you mean the same junkie you’ve been chasing after since first year?” Casey shot back. “Give it a rest, Danielle. You reek of jealously, girl.”
“Yeah, I was jealous,” she offered. “It hurt me when I saw them together that day.” She spoke directly to me now. “But instead of being mad at you, I should have been thanking you.”
“For?”
“For swapping futures with me. You’re with my ex and I’m with yours.” Smiling, she flashed a shiny gold bracelet on her wrist. “And unlike you, I’ll be sure to appreciate the upgrade.”
“Oh yeah? Well make sure you appreciate the feeling of being treated like a glorified mannequin while you’re at it.” Twisting in my chair, I leaned over her desk and said, “All of those expensive dinners and flashy gifts might seem tempting now, Danielle, but the shine will quickly fade. When it does, you’ll be left with the knowledge that all you are to him is a pretty face and nice pair of breasts.” I hardened my stare when I added, “Because that’s all you’ll ever be to him. Paul will never care about what’s inside your head or put your feelings before his. He’ll come first in every way and everything, and if that’s enough for you, then I’m happy for you, I sincerely am, but it was never enough for me.”
The bell sounded then, and I didn’t wait around to hear Danielle’s smart response.
Instead, I quickly packed up my books and hurried out of the classroom, with only one destination in mind, the front of the line at the tuck shop for my daily fix of a packet of Rolos, and a Roy of the Rover bar.
Yeah, I was in no mood to be beaten by the hordes of lads in our school and get left with only a damn Wham bar to choose from instead.
Besides, I needed the sugar rush to steady the tremor in my hands.
Danielle was wrong about Joey.
Yeah, she was so wrong.
“I hope you’re not letting that pinhead, with only boobs for a brain, get inside of your head,” Casey warned, a little while later, when we were sitting in the canteen. “Danielle is full of crap, Aoif. She was only venting because she’s still salty over Joey dropping her ass like a bag of coal for you.”
“They were never in a relationship to begin with,” I argued. “They slept together a few times. That’s it.”
“My case in point,” my best friend agreed. “It’s drives Danielle crazy that you can hold his attention effortlessly, when she spent the last five years trying and failing to do just that.”
“He lost his virginity to her, you know.”
“Pssh.” She waved a hand around. “That doesn’t mean anything. Losing their virginity doesn’t mean the same thing to a fella as it does to a girl.”
“That’s a fairly sexist statement, Case,” I chuckled. “How would you know that?”
“Because, my dear, sweet, summer child,” she crooned, pausing to pat my hand. “By the time boys grow hair on their balls, they’re desperate to give it away to the first girl willing to take it.”
“You’re terrible,” I laughed.
“Terribly accurate,” she pointed out. “It’s the truth, Aoif. I’m dead right. It’s a matter of getting it out of the way for boys, not holding onto it for dear life like us girls.”
“You haven’t been a virgin since third year,” I reminded her.
“Okay…” she drawled, rolling her eyes. “Holding onto it for dear life like you then.” She waved a hand around aimlessly. “Just like Paul was stupid enough to hand his over to that girl from Tommen, Joey just so happened to be equally stupid when he inserted his virginal pecker in our classmate.”
“Girls,” Mack interrupted with a friendly smile, as he slid into the seat beside Casey. “How are ye getting on?”
“Speak of the devil,” I snickered, offering Casey a knowing wink, you know, just in case she had forgotten who she gave her virginity away to. “Hiya, Mack.”
“Yeah, hi, Mack,” Casey bit out, giving me her infamous bring-it-up-and-you’re-dead look. “What’s new?’
“No one nearly as lovely as your good self, Case,” he replied, nudging my friend’s shoulder with his big one. “I was out having a smoke with Podge and the lads, but yer man from Elk’s Terrace is sniffing around, so I got the hell out of dodge.”
“Elk’s Terrace?” My ears pricked up. “Who?”
“That Holland creep,” Mack replied, and my heart sank into my ass.
Shane Holland.
“He’s one bad egg, girls,” Mack continued, unwrapping the paper covering his chicken fillet roll. “Skulking around the school carpark when he finished going here years ago.”
“Is he with him?”
Mack looked at me in confusion. “Who?”
“Joey?”
“Who?”
“Joey!”
“Ah, you mean Lynchy?” He chuckled to himself. “I was like who’s Joey? I’m so used to calling him—
“Focus, Mack. Jesus!” I practically shouted, as I leaned across the table and tapped his forehead with my empty plastic bottle. “Did you see Joey out there with Shane Holland?”
“Yeah, Jesus,” Mack grumbled, rubbing his head. “He’s outside with him now.”
Shoving my chair back, I jerked to my feet, leaving my bag, lunch, and friends behind me, and stormed out of the canteen.
“Aoife, wait up, I’ll come with you.“
“No! Don’t follow me,” I warned Casey, as I stormed through the hallway and out the front entrance of the school.
I was going to blow a head gasket.
Joey had been doing so damn well.
No goddamn way was I allowing this piece of shit to throw him off kilter.
“Hey!” I screamed, when the familiar black Honda Civic came into my focus, parked up at the far end of the school carpark. “Hey!”
Barging through a group of stoners from the year above me, I whipped out my phone, which absolutely did not have a camera on it, and pretended to take a picture of Shane’s car.
“Get out of the car, asshole!”
My whatever-the-hell-he-was, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a car full of much older boys, turned to look out the windscreen, with a look of confusion etched on his face.
However, the moment his eyes landed on me, his confusion quickly morphed into recognition before settling on anger.
Oh, be angry, fucker, because I can be angrier.
“I said get out of the car, asshole,” I demanded, slamming my hands down on the bonnet, uncaring of how much attention I was drawing on them. “Now!”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Joey snarled, throwing the car door open and climbing out. “Jesus Christ, Molloy!” Rounding the bonnet, he quickly slid between me and the car. “What are you thinking?”
“What am I thinking?” I strangled out, chest heaving, as I quickly searched his eyes for the familiar signs that he was high. “What are you thinking?”
Losing my cool, I shoved him out of the way, and kicked the number plate of Shane’s car.
“Hey!” Shane roared, rolling down his tinted window. “Get a handle on your doll, Lynchy, or I will.”
“I’d like to see you try, asshole,” I screamed back at the big bastard, and then I flung my phone at his windscreen for good measure. “I’m not afraid of you!”
“Molloy—“
“No!” Pushing Joey when he tried to wrestle me away, I strode back to the car and kicked it again before retrieving my phone. “He’s not interested in what you have to offer anymore. Do you hear me? He’s not fucking interested. So back off!”
“Molloy!”
“You said you’d try, Joe!” Feeling my eyes well up with tears, I roughly pushed on his big shoulders. “You fucking promised me that you wouldn’t—“
“And I haven’t!” he snapped, quickly snatching up my flailing arms and pulling me roughly against him. “Do you have a death wish?” Furious, crystal clear green eyes glared down at me. “You don’t fuck around with guys like him, Molloy.” Keeping my arms pinned my sides, he hissed, “And you definitely don’t go around making a scene in public and kicking their goddamn cars.”
“I don’t care,” I screamed back, and I meant every word. “I don’t. I don’t care about his bullshit threats. What I care about is what you were doing in his car, Joey!”
“I don’t answer to you, Molloy, which means I don’t need to explain myself either,” he was quick to say, eyes burning with frustrated heat. “I’m not fucking around behind your back with other girls. That, you can be rest assured of. I’m with you, and only you. But everything else I do, or who I do it with, when we’re not together, is not your business.”
“You are my business, asshole!” I strangled out.
Reckless and wild, I broke free of his hold, knotted his jumper in my fist, and dragged his mouth down to mine, kissing him hard and rough.
Pulling back, I hissed, “And if you gave one single shred of a shit about me, then you would understand why you need to walk away from this car.”
“Molloy.”
“Right now, Joey,” I cried out angrily. “It’s not a matter of pride, here. It’s a matter of laying your cards on the table and proving that I matter to you just as much as you matter to me.”
He stared down at me for the longest moment, nostrils flaring and chest heaving with temper.
Finally, thankfully, he relented with a stiff nod.
I could feel the fury emanating from him as he muttered something in the car window to Shane, before following me to where I had bravely driven and parked my car at school today.
“Don’t talk to me,” Joey warned, when I passed him my keys, and slid into the passenger seat.
The fact that he had climbed into the driver’s seat beside me wasn’t a victory that I could celebrate, not when I could feel the war brewing between us.
“Not one fucking word.”
