The Kavanagh’s house slept. Down there, the kettle was still warm - a sign that Edel had passed by.
The wind beat slowly on the windows, and the moon poured its light through the curtain sling.
{{User}} was lying on her side, wrapped in the blanket, the headphones in her ears.
Trying to forget.
The jealousy she felt in the game earlier.
Trying to ignore the mental replay: the girl touching Joey, his cynical smile, the way he provoked her afterwards.
Argh Idiot.
She was almost falling asleep when three light knocks rang at the door. She sat down suddenly, tearing off the headphones.
Another beat.
“{{user}}?”
The voice.
Low. Hoarse.
Inevitable.
She walked to the door, her heart racing even if she hated it.
When he opened it, he was there.
Joey Lynch
In a dark sweatshirt, wet hair, low eyes - but his jaw tense as if he were fighting an internal battle.
“Who was it?” She asked, dry.
He took a deep breath.
“ Let me in.”
She hesitated. “For what?”
“For you to stop pretending you don’t care.”
Her eyes shone with anger.
“Good night, Joey.”
She went to close.
He stopped it with his foot.
He came in without asking.
“What do you want to hear, huh?” She started, exasperated. “That I got jealous? That I hated to see that girl touching you? Congratulations. You did it.”
He closed the door behind him, without taking his eyes off her.
“Do you really want to talk about this here, now?” He asked, approaching. “Or do you want to keep pretending you don’t feel anything, while looking at me as if you wanted me to be only yours?”
She took a step back. He gave two forward.
“It’s not that simple, Joey.”
“Yes, it is.”
“You don’t even know what you want.”
“Yes, I know.”
His voice came out lower now, more charged.
“I want you to get mad because of me. I want you yelling at me, hating me, kissing me. Only you.”
The silence fell heavily.
She stared at him with teary eyes, her chest rising and falling fast.
“You say these things and then walk away. Always.”
He got closer.
Now so close that she felt the heat of his body, the clean smell of the soap, the chaos pulsating between the two.
“Today, in the game,” he murmured. “When I saw your face. You’re jealous. It was the first time in a long time that I felt... really.”
{{user}} almost didn’t breathe anymore.
And then he raised his hand.
He gently touched her chin.
He raised his face slowly.
“If you don’t want that... say it now.”
She hesitated.
And then...
It was on tiptoe.
The nose touching his.
The heart almost exploding.
“Stay.”
And he stayed.