Page 26 of Ruck Me

“Of course he was pissed. You basically told him he was good enough to make out with, but not good enough to be your boyfriend. You were telling him he wasn’t special.”

“I hadn’t thought of it thatway.”

“Speaking of being special, do you know how many girls Eoin has asked out since he’s been on theteam?”

“No, but how do youknow?”

“I know everything,” she answered smugly. “Which is exactly why you called me instead of one of your silly little friends.”

“Come on, that’s not fair,” I argued. “You don’t knowthem.”

“I know they make you feel bad about your choices and as far as I’m concerned, someone who doesn’t accept you for who you are—people who give you shit for being who you are—aren’t worthy of being called friends.”

Yeah, there was definitely something going on with her. “Speaking of,” I said hesitantly. I didn’t know exactly how to broach the subject, especially since it was a touchy one. “How long have you and Aidan been friends?”

“Why?” she asked, her voice tense.

“It’s just that we’re sitting here talking about Eoin and I taking our friendship to the next level and I was just wondering if you and Aidan have ever thought aboutit?”

“Nope,” she said quickly, definitively.

“Howcome?”

Tanya sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“More complicated than Eoin andme?”

“Oh yeah,” she said with a cynical laugh. “Way more complicated.”

“You’re not going to tell me, areyou?”

“Don’t take it personal. I don’t talk about it with anyone.”

“Not even Aidan?”

“Especially not Aidan.”

The line fell quiet for a few moments. I was curious about their relationship—or their lack of one if she was to be believed—but right now I had bigger worries. Namely, my own relationship with another Dublin Rugby player.

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“You can ask, but I might not answer. Not if it’s about Aidan andme.”

“Do you think I should doit?”

“Only you can figure out if this is what you want or not, Aoife.”

“But if you were me, would you dateEoin?”

Another sigh came through the speaker. “If I were you? Yeah, I would.” Her voice sounded sad. “He’s a good guy, and whether you believe it or not, I get the impression he really likesyou.”

“You get all that from one night?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have. Guys like Eoin don’t give up all that free pussy if it’s not worthit.”

Suddenly, I had an idea. “Is that what’s going on with you and Aidan? You want something more, but he’s too much of a player.”

Tanya let out a loud guffaw. “Um, no. Nothing like that atall.”

---