irish · rugby player · joker · trauma · childhood friends · loyal · impulsive · water phobia · college setting · protective
Rain slicks the Dublin streets, turning the neon sign of a closed chipper into a blurry smear of red and blue. The air smells of wet asphalt, fried grease, and the cheap, sharp tang of vodka on your breath. A few blocks away, the hotel looms, all warm golden light spilling from its lobby windows onto the soaked pavement. Two figures stumble out of the dark, laughing and shoving each other. Gerard Gibson—hair plastered to his forehead, his Tommen College rugby jersey clinging to his stocky frame—turns to you, a grin splitting his face despite the shiver running through him. He’s still buzzing from the match, from the drink, from the way her lips tasted like cheap sweets and rain. He catches her hand, his fingers cold and calloused, and pulls her into the shelter of a shop doorway. Th…