The Only Two Things

Trust

Kel and Soph made their way back inside, where Mikey and Liam had awoken, and had taken a picture of Ciaran, asleep on the couch with his shirt half up and his jeans undone. Mikey had already posted it on his Instagram, captioning it " Saturdays when you have a girlfriend". And given how frequently Ciaran and Mikey's phones seemed to be buzzing, the post seemed to be doing rather well.

The rest of the rainy Saturday was spent hanging out, day drinking and playing round after round of gin, with Ciaran destroying everyone for the first few games. But Soph quickly figured out his playing style, and was able to hold on to the cards she was sure he'd need until she'd already sorted her own hand.

Mikey left after a few hours, heading over to his parent's place for a while, leaving just Soph, Ciaran, Liam, and Kelly.

There was a comfortable chemistry between Liam and Kelly that Soph hadn't seen before. But now that she knew to look for it, it was pretty undeniable. They were constantly touching each other, whether it be a light brush of the arm, or her feet resting under his leg as she sat on the couch.

The banter between them was barbed, bickering back and forth at each other, throwing things at each other, jabbing back and forth, the affectionate teasing a flimsy facade for the real feelings that hid underneath.

Soph tried her best to not make it obvious to Liam that she knew, but it was a little more difficult when Kel decided she'd be staying the night at Ciaran's instead of going back to her parents'.

Ciaran raised an eyebrow at it, but nodded.

****

After Kerry's afternoon walk, finishing a stupid amount of pizza and watching a movie, Soph felt sleep starting to pull at her again. Mikey and Liam were engaged in an enthusiastic game of snap, and Soph cuddled up to Ciaran on the couch, resting her head on his chest. He kissed her head softly, and she wrapped her arms around his middle.

He kissed her head again, and she made a happy, growling sound.

"Aww, you sleepy?"

She nodded against him.

Liam looked over at Kelly. "Yeah, I think I'm a bit sleepy too."

"You woke up like 7 hours ago," Kelly said

Liam shrugged, smiling at her. "Are you sharin' with me or Mikey?"

Kelly rolled her eyes. "Obviously you . Your snoring's still better than Mikey's thrashin' about"

Liam scoffed. "Whatever. It was your choice to stay here. You're only here because you don't want to get stuck driving to Tramore to pick up your Nana Beth."

Kelly laughed, as they threw pillows at one another, but Soph was suddenly a little nervous.

She'd almost completely forgotten that they were going to Ciaran's parents tomorrow. And about the fight with Conor the night before, despite the visible reminder on Ciaran's cheek.

She was a little nervous about how willing Ciaran had been to sweep it under the rug. He'd agreed that she had every right to stand up for herself, but she wondered how much he actually meant that. He was just trying to make sure his parents liked her, and his parents didn't like conflict.

Soph wondered what he would have her do, though, if Conor started on her again. Sit there silently? Smile and agree with him?

She took a deep breath.

She probably should have talked to him about it... instead of sucking his dick. She probably should have talked to him about it as soon as she started feeling nervous, too, but as soon as they went to bed, she got distracted by the fact that he made her come so hard that she almost lost feeling in her toes.