Page 36 of SCRUMptious

Eoin’s head jerked back and his eyes narrowed. “Really? You saidthat?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Who are you and what have you done with my best mate Donal Casey?”

I chuckled again. “Fuckyou.”

“I’m serious. At the risk of sounding like a mother hen, I’m proud of you. Restraint isn’t really your forte.”

I raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. “Um, need I remind you I practiced a very particular, very painful, brand of restraint for 22 fucking years. I think I know how to hold myself in check, despite some other, more public, evidence to the contrary.”

“Touche.” He shook his head. “I still don’t know how you or Aoife managed to stay virgins for so long, but more power toyou.”

“Who’s a virgin?” Tadhg asked, strolling into the room with nothing but his towel wrapped around his waist and a Q-tip in hisear.

My eyes found Eoin’s and I gave him thelook.

“No one,” Eoin answered quickly, popping up from the table to pull two more beers out of the fridge. “Just some book Aoife was reading,” he continued, passing the other can my way while at the same time tossing me his own look; one that said, “your secret is safe withme.”

I nodded imperceptibly and popped thetab.

“That’s good,” Tadhg said, dropping into the seat next to me. “After what went down with Aoife, I’m staying far away from anyone who’s never fucked before.”

Eoin closed his eyes on a slow, long blink that I’d deemed his, “Lord give me patience” look the first month we’d all lived together. He’d pulled that one out a lot back then, but usually it was Fergus who was the recipient of it, not Tadhg. “Aoife didn’t get pregnant because she was a virgin, asshole. She got pregnant because she had the flu while she was on the pill and the hormones weren’t in her system.”

“Well, regardless. No virgins for me, man. Too much trouble.” He pulled the cotton swab from his ear and set it on the table betweenus.

“Fucking gross!” I hollered, flicking it onto the floor. “Throw that shitaway.”

“What?” he asked, his jaw fallingopen.

I looked pointedly to the Q-tip on the floor, its waxy orange coating shiny in the lamplight. “I don’t care if you walk around picking your nose, but don’t put your shit on the goddamn table.”

Eoin chuckled and rose from the table. With a smirk he said, “My baby’s all grown up,” and then strolled out of theroom.

“Clean that up,” I barked at Tadhg and then trotted after Eoin. “What’s that supposed tomean?”

He flopped down onto the couch and picked up the remote and game controller. Before he flicked the TV back on, his eyes slid to mine. “It means, asshole, that since you’ve been with Lauren, you’re finally acting like an adult.”

“I’ve always acted—”

“No, you haven’t.”

And then he tuned me out with the sounds of digital warfare.

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