Page 34 of Shamrock Kisses

I smile, joining her. “I was a little emo before then, but yeah, it definitely increased my interest.”

“I’ve always been a little emo.”

I hand her the remaining containers, and she slides them into the fridge. Then she lifts her arms up, a big, playful smile spreading across her face.

“Carry me.”

I chuckle. “You can’t walk now?”

“I like when you carry me.”

I like carrying her.“Which room is yours?”

“Last one on the left.”

I scoop her up into my arms, and she giggles, nestling her head against my chest. “I really like you.”

“Same.”

I toss her down on the bed and look around her room. “This feels minimalist,” I tease, noticing the blank walls and the Scandinavian decor.

“I find it calming.” She crawls under the covers and pats the bed beside her.

“It is a calming space.” I join her under the covers, and she cuddles into my chest.

“Do you …” She pauses, and I squeeze her, my way of encouraging her to continue. “Have you ever been depressed since then?”

“A little,” I admit, staring up at the ceiling. “When it starts to impact my day to day, I talk to someone.”

“Well, I’m in therapy too, so don’t feel weird about it.”

“Yeah?”

“Lots of shit. Childhood, anxiety, everything.”

I smile and kiss her forehead, appreciating the honesty.

She squeezes me, giggling into my chest. “Not exactly great foreplay conversation.”

While hooking up again would be epic, this time we’re sharing. I don’t want it to end. “I want to get to know you more than anything else.”

Rachel shifts, rolling on top of me, and kisses me gently. Her kisses start to escalate, and as much as I want this, I also want to slow down.

“Rachel … how about we just talk?” Her eyes dart between mine.She’s nervous?“We have next weekend to do nothing but be all over each other,” I reassure.

She giggles. “You promise?”

“I fucking promise.”

We lie there, talking for hours about everything—bands, pop culture, conspiracy theories, pet peeves. It’s effortless being with her. And with each new topic, I fall deeper. By the time we driftoff to sleep, I can’t wait for her visit to Chicago next weekend and what’s hopefully next for us. I’m imagining our life together, imagining what it would be like to do this every night. To have her by my side, to keep learning everything there is to know about her.

26

Sunday, March 16th

Waking up next to Patrick, I catch the soft rise and fall of his chest.He snores.I giggle hearing his light snoring. The sight of him, so relaxed and peaceful in my bed, brings a smile to my face. I lean in and kiss his forehead gently as I replay all that happened yesterday.

Fate.The word floats through my thoughts again. It’s funny how things line up, how one small change could have kept me from Patrick. If we hadn’t brought back our ugly Christmas sweater tradition last December … if Nicholas hadn’t bought the bar … if we were not running late on the clean … if so many little things hadn’t happened, I never would have met Patrick, let alone invited him to High Five. And I’m so glad I did.

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