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“Three of them, lad,” Gibsie added, clearly delighted with himself. “Three, Johnny! Fucking three!”

“Three what?” I asked, curious.

“Nurses,” Johnny muttered, rubbing his jaw.

My brow furrowed. “Nurses?”

Johnny opened his mouth to reply, but Gibsie got in there first. “Not just any nurses. Sex nurses.” Winking he added, “And they looknothinglike the ones touching your balls this morning.”

My eyes widened. “Huh?”

“Christ, it’s not what it sounds like.” Johnny’s bewildered expression mirrored mine. “And they’re not sex nurses, ya bollox,” he added, flustered. Running a hand through his hair, he narrowed his eyes and said, “They’re regular nurses who just happen to work at the sexual health clinic.”

“Iknow,” Gibsie replied joyously. “Better again.”

Johnny arched a brow. “Do you even know what the sexual health clinic is usedfor?”

“I know they’re handing outfreecondoms, lollipops, and bottles of lube,” Gibsie said gleefully. “That’s all I need to know.” Slapping Johnny on the shoulder, he hurried back toward the staircase, calling out, “Come on—I’ve emptied my schoolbag. We’re going to save a fucking fortune today.”

I glanced up at Johnny, who was staring after Gibsie with a mildly horrified expression etched on his face. “What do you think it’s like in his head?”

“A happy place?” I offered with a weak shrug.

“Hmm.” Frowning, Johnny turned back to me. “Listen, do you want to just blow off the rest of—”

“Come on, Johnny!” Gibsie roared at the top of his lungs. “You’re missing the presentation, dammit!”

“Jesus.” Grimacing, Johnny leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I better go and…reinhim in.”

“Of course.” I nodded, cheeks reddening as I watched him chase after his friend. “Bye, Johnny.”

“Bye, Shannon,” he called over his shoulder as he battled with the staircase. “I’ll see ya at lunch, okay?”

“Yeah.” I blew out a breath. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’m not, by the way,” he called out, pausing midstep on the staircase to swing around. “So don’t worry.”

“You’re not what?”

“Filling my schoolbag.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but I only ended up letting my jaw hang open. Chuckling softly to himself, Johnny disappeared down the steps, leaving me standing there catching flies with my mouth. I must have stood there, still as a statue, staring after him for a solid five minutes, because when I finally snapped out of it my body felt stiff, my legs like jelly.

Reluctantly, I turned on my heel, gripped the straps of my schoolbag, and forced myself to walk to class.

28

Wrap It Up

Johnny

“Nice of you to join us, lads,” Coach Mulcahy barked when Gibsie and I stumbled into the jam-packed classroom filled with fifth- and sixth-year students. “You’re only fifteen minutes late.” Leaning against the desk at the front of the room, he folded his arms and gave us a no-nonsense nod. “Find a seat wherever you can and be quick about it. Our visitors want to get the presentation underway.”

“Hey there,” Gibsie purred, winking at the three seriously attractive women standing next to Coach. “I just want to let you lovely ladies know that I’m seventeen, I’m single, and I’m one hundred percent willing to be a guinea pig for anyhands-ondemonstration—”

“Get away from the ladies, Gibsie,” Coach snapped, ignoring the loud snickering around us. “Go to the back of the classroom—andnotwith Kavanagh, Biggs, or Feely. Go sit with someone else.”

Shaking my head, I spotted an empty desk five rows back on the left and moved for it, ignoring the curious stares as I went. Fucking eejits.You’d swear they never saw a crutch in their lives.

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