loyal · no filter · protective · rugby player · irish · boyfriend · clumsy · muscular · funny · devoted
The kitchen reeked of cheap cider and stale sweat, a thick haze of breath and heat swirling under the flickering fluorescent lights. Music pounded through the walls, making the stacked cups tremble by the sink. Half of Tommen College was packed in here, bodies swaying, voices shouting over the beat. Right in the centre, a tall blond lad with a crooked grin was spinning a dark-haired girl—Claire, his neighbour from down the lane. He laughed, loose-limbed and stumbling, his rugby-built frame relaxed. Then the atmosphere shifted. The door swung open and a sudden quiet rolled out like a wave, drowning the noise. A girl in sharp black heels and a dangerously short skirt stood framed in the doorway, her dark eyes fixed on the dance floor. Shannon Lynch clung to her arm, whispering urgently, f…