Escaping to Ireland

Vinessa

"Please...." Jennifer started begging at noon. She knew it would take more than just asking me one time to go out with her. "Please...." She was getting ready to go down on her knees. I looked over at Wanda, who just smiled at me; she would not help me get out of this. She had been complaining all week that I needed to get out and quit moping around.

"Sweetie... No man is worth this much moping." She said on day three.

"Would Jeremy be worth all the moping and tears?" I had asked her, even though I hadn't cried since I was on the plane.

"Jeremy would have never cheated on me."

"But if he had, what would you have done?"

She paused; I knew she didn't like thinking about Jeremy in poor light, even if it was make-belief. "I would have kicked him to the curb and said good riddance. Even though Jeremy never would have made me do that. Ever." After that conversation, she had quit prodding and poking at me about Shawn; it was nice to not have to hear his name come out of her mouth every day.

"You know she won't stop until you tell her yes or no," Wanda said she had known Jennifer since she was a baby; Jennifer was a year older than me, but we were best friends in school. We reconnected any time I was back home.

"Fine," I said, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tank top.

"No.. No... That will not do. We will get ready at my place," Jennifer said, grabbing my hand. She lived in Dublin, but the short drive to Portsmouth was worth seeing her friend.

"Fine," I said once again, wondering what I was getting myself into.

After making me try on dress after dress, she had settled on a simple black dress. "you are hot," she said to me, and then she started in on the make-up. "Gosh, I missed this," she said as she applied some blush.

"I have missed you... Not this," I said as I transitioned into doing my hair. Jennifer had a brother but no sisters. And at times, it felt like we were sisters. We did holidays and birthdays together; she was always tag-teaming to a family meal of mine and vice versa. We had done enough sleepover at Wanda's that I knew Wanda held a special spot in her heart for Jennifer as well.

"Where are we going tonight?" I had asked her after she made me slip into some high heels.

"I don't know yet. I am still processing the fact that you are going out with me. I thought for sure after your break up it would have taken a while...."

She was right; it usually took me a long time to go out, especially with it being Shawn, it should have taken me even longer to get out again, but it felt nice to have girl time. I wasn't particularly excited about getting hit on, especially with the bars that Jennifer would probably be dragging me to.

"Anywhere but Red Barn, we are too old for there," I said, stepping out of the door following her. She laughed at me.

"First of all, we are not too old for there. And second of all, I am so over Red Barn. You have to pick your places if you want to meet any businessmen nowadays. If I wanted a simple hook up, I would go to Red Barn, but I don't because I don't want a simple hook up I want to find the one."

"Oh yes...  Dressed like this will get us "the one"" I said, looking down at our dresses.

"You need to look delicious enough to tempt them to talk to you." She said as if this was her motto in life, but then part of me thought that it totally was. If people thought I was a serial dater, then Jennifer was a serial hook-up artist. I shuddered, considering what her dad would think if he only knew what his only daughter was out doing in Dublin most nights. The Guinness Factory was our third stop for the night, and my feet were killing me, but I felt tingly everywhere else. I needed to switch to water, but a few more free drinks couldn't hurt me.

"This one's on me," the next guy said, stepping up behind me, the heat rising up to my face. I whirled around, getting ready to shout him off, but then it was the face I had been dreaming about at night.

"It's you," I said, a goofy grin on my face.

"It's me," Liam said, looking down at me, a sparkle in his eyes. He hadn't stopped back by the cottage since I had commented about him practically being a man whore all over Ireland, probably over the states as well.

"Hi," I said, smiling up at him.

"Hello," he said, I looked over at Jennifer, and she had a guy in a business suit standing by her as well.

"He with you?" I asked; Liam nodded as he looked over at his friend with my friend.

"Okay," I said, smiling up at him.

"Okay," Liam said as I took his hand and walked over to a make-shift dance floor.

Liam started to open his mouth, but I put my index finger on his mouth,

"Shhhh, I don't want to talk... I just want to be by you."

I could see Liam wanting to say something, his eyes smoldering just a mere inches in front of mine, but it didn't matter because we both could feel that spark course through the both of us.

I didn't feel like a horrible person dancing with him, being close to him, feeling the heat from him. I didn't think about Shawn like I thought I would if I danced with someone tonight. I had never danced with Shawn like I was with Liam, I didn't know that something this sensual lived inside of me, but apparently, with Liam, it did.

Jennifer cut in; the fourth dance in, she whispered in my ear that I could stay at her apartment but that she was going back with Robert or Keith, I couldn't hear everything she said. I looked over, mad at her as she left, we had a system, and she had no clue who I was dancing with even though I knew that this was Liam. And Liam was a good guy, even though he tried to put up this front that he wasn't.

Liam's eyes grew darker if that was possible. "Did your friend just ditch you?" He asked.

"She did" I smiled up at him, I needed water, but I wasn't about to tell this to him. He stopped dancing, grabbed my hand, and walked off of the dance floor. He threw a few bills down on a table and headed over to the elevator.

Even as we got on the elevator, Liam held onto my hand; his warmth in my palm felt amazing.

"Where are we going?" I asked Liam, giggling, and a few of the people in front of us turned around to look at me. "Hi," I said to the people in front of me.

"I'm taking you to Wanda's."

"No," I stood up straighter.

"No?" He looked down at me, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"You think you are so tough. Tough, Liam, but you really are a softie," I said, poking at his stomach. His stomach didn't have any flab. It was hard as rocks, and I poked at his abs again to make sure I was feeling them correctly. "Well, those are tough and nice and hard," I said, attempting to poke at his abs again, but his hand caught mine and brought it down to my side.

We made it out of the building, and I started walking to the left; he was next to me, quickly grabbing my arm. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm going for a wonderful midnight stroll. The city really is gorgeous."

"No, you are not."

"Well, I'm not letting Wanda see me like this... Well, maybe I should..."

I started to walk away, but Liam grabbed my arm again, and this time he picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder; his arm shot up and went around my legs so my dress wouldn't flap up.

"You are such a gentleman," I yelled down at him, giving up on any fight and resisted my head against his backside.