Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes [193]
‘One or two,’ he said idly. ‘No one special.’
In whispered phone calls from her office, Katherine told Tara and Fintan she had a boyfriend. Over the weeks she confided that he was ‘gorgeous’, that she was ‘mad about him’, and that he was ‘mad about her’. How soon could they get down to Limerick so that she could show him off?
But neither of them could come for at least a month because they were working nights.
‘Oh.’ Katherine was disappointed.
‘Sorry. We’d love to,’ Tara said. ‘We’re dying to see him. Tell us again how good-looking he is. Is he as nice as Danny Hartigan?’
Katherine gave a bark of scornful laughter. Danny Hartigan had been Tara’s for two weeks the summer before last, and was the yardstick by which every other boy was measured. But compared to Lorcan he was a squirt. ‘Much better than Danny Hartigan. He’s like a film star and he’s actually an actor, you know.’
‘Janey Mackers.’ Tara could hardly contain her envy. An actor! ‘Now you tell us.’
‘He’s an actor,’ Katherine faintly heard Tara shout to Fintan. Her voice came back on the line at normal pitch. ‘Would we know him?’ she begged, in excitement. ‘Have we seen him in anything?’
‘Maybe.’ Katherine overflowed with pride. ‘You know the ad for fabric softener? When they’re all playing football and…?’
‘I – don’t – believe – it,’ Tara intoned. ‘Not the ref who tells them to take off their jerseys for the wash? He is FABULOUS!’
‘Fabulous!’ Katherine heard Fintan’s echoey shriek. ‘No, not the ref, actually,’ Katherine admitted. ‘He’s one of the players, in the right-hand corner at the far end of the field.’
‘Settle down.’ Tara turned from the phone to Fintan. ‘It’s not the ref.’
‘You can’t miss him,’ Katherine said. ‘He’s running away so there’s a great shot of his back… Do you know him?’
‘Maybe,’ Tara said doubtfully.
‘He has red hair and is really tall.’
‘Red hair! You never mentioned that before. And really tall? Are you sure he’s good-looking? He sounds more like Beaker from The Muppet Show!’
‘Well, he’s not,’ Katherine said huffily.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to rain on your parade. So tell me, is it serious?’
‘Oh, yes, I think so,’ she said, confidently.
‘Holy Maloney! Well, try and get a photo of him and come and see us at the hotel the very minute you get off the bus on Friday night.’
‘Oh, I can’t.’ Katherine explained, hurriedly, ‘I thought I’d stay down this weekend. To be with him, you see?’
‘Again?’
The way Lorcan made her feel was irresistible. When he kissed her, she felt hot and frantic, when he took her nipple in his mouth, she thought she’d explode. Sometimes when she was alone she’d touch herself through her panties and wonder at the hot, tingly sensations she felt. Though she hadn’t been to confession for quite a while, she wondered how she’d ever go again.
The day came when they were lying on her bed as usual, kissing passionately, when she heard the whiz of a zip and felt Lorcan fumbling with himself. Then she heard the crumple of denim and crisp cotton and realized Lorcan was shucking down his jeans. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked in alarm.
‘You don’t have to do anything,’ he said hoarsely, stroking himself. ‘Just touch it. Just once.’
‘No!’
‘Please. You’ll like it.’
‘It’s wrong.’
‘How can it be wrong? We love each other.’
It was the first she’d heard of it, but she was delighted. Though it wasn’t going to shake her resolve. ‘We really shouldn’t…’
‘We should. We love each other.’
And so, trembling, she let him take her hand and guide it to his erect penis. Her eyes clenched shut, she yelped as soon as her fingertips touched the surprisingly silky skin, not allowing herself to register the hardness or the size. ‘There,’ she said, wrenching her hand away. ‘I hope you’re happy and I’m not doing it again.’
She truly meant it, but the next time they were together, he unzipped himself again. Instead of just brushing her hand against it, he clamped her palm along the shaft and wrapped her fingers