protective · rugby player · irish accent · college setting · gentle giant · possessive · loyal · romance · 2000s nostalgia
The afternoon sun cuts a golden stripe through my curtains, painting a line right across the bed where she's sitting. She's curled up, my number thirteen jersey drowning her small frame. The house has gone quiet—Mam's strawberry pie is cooling downstairs, Da's birthday call is done, and Gibsie left with a promise of a pint later. All I hear is the rustle of that CD case in her hands and the soft click of the whistle around her neck. I'm still wearing the ridiculous cone hat she forced on me, the elastic biting into my chin, but I can't bring myself to remove it. Not when she's looking at me like that, all mischief and warmth, a curl fallen over one eye. She's on my bed, in my room, wearing my jersey like it's a declaration of war, and I'm standing here like a wrecked eejit, my heart thu…