Damien remained by the doorway and followed her movements with his eyes. He looked over his shoulder when my apartment door opened. He nodded his head in a ‘what’s up’ gesture and moved aside to let the visitor into the sitting room.
When I saw my brother Gavin, I mentally snorted.
Everyone had a damn key to my place.
“What’s the story?” Gavin asked the room, grinning at Alannah and Bronagh.
Alannah flushed and looked away from him while Bronagh narrowed her eyes.
“Please don’t do or say somethin’ that will have everyone sendin’ me back to anger management.”
Gavin laughed and held up his hands. “I’m not openin’ me mouth.”
Bronagh looked to me and grinned. “You’ve taught him well.”
“It’s what I do.”
She snorted and sat down on the sofa next to Nico and Alannah.
Gavin came over to me and sat on the arm of the chair I was sitting on. He leaned down and kissed my head in greeting. I moved closer to him and leaned against his chest.
I was meaning to ask the little shite if he had backed off from Brandon’s circle, but I remembered that Keela assured me her uncle was weeding Gavin out without him knowing it. He respected my decision that I wanted what was best for my brother, and that his gang was not it.
“Damien,” Nico sighed. “Why’re you standing over there?”
Damien shrugged, still staring at Alannah who was pretending to pick dirt from under her nails.
Nico glanced to Alannah then back to Damien and said, “Come on, you two. Is this how it’s goin’ to be every time you are both in a room at the same time?”
Alannah clenched one of her hands in a fist and said, “Drop it, Nico.”
He did, but wasn’t pleased to do so.
“Hi Alannah,” Damien suddenly said.
She refused to look at him as she grumbled, “I wish we were social media accounts. Preferably Twitter.”
Damien furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Uh, why?”
“So I could un-follow you in real life and have zero interaction with you. I want it so you would never be able to think or freely speak of last night’s... events.”
“You could still do that,” Damien grinned, “but it would be called first degree murder.”
I snorted, but looked away when Alannah shot me a glare with her still bloodshot eyes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
Gavin draped his arm over my shoulder. “I’m enjoying it,” he murmured. “She was so quiet in school, I wouldn’t believe what she did if you hadn’t shown me that video.”
Damien snapped his neck in our direction.
“Aideen!” he bellowed.
Fuck.
“They made me delete it... besides, it not like it was zoomed in on their bits.”
Gavin snorted. “Still a quality video without seein’ them... I didn’t know you could twerk, Alannah.”
She couldn’t, he was slagging her.
Nico lowly chuckled, but looked away when Damien pinned him with a glare.
“I wish the ground would open up and swallow me whole.” Alannah sniffled. “This is the second most embarrassin’ thing ever to happen to me.”
“What’s the first?” Gavin asked.
I elbowed him, and he grabbed at the point of pain on his body and hissed at me through clenched teeth.
“Arsehole!”
I grinned, but Damien only worked his jaw before looking at Alannah who had her face in her hands. “Look, Aideen deleted the video. No one else will see it, and I’ll warn everyone else not to bring it up again, okay?”
Alannah was silent for a moment then she looked up. “Why do you want to help me?” she asked Damien.
He blinked. “Because I want to be your friend, Alannah.”
“Little late for that, don’t you think?”
Damien was silent. “Look, I’m very sorry for what I did—”
“Stop, Damien,” Alannah whispered. “Not here, not now.”
Damien closed his mouth and gave a firm nod.
Things got awkward then.
“I’m goin’ to go home and die in the peace of me own apartment,” Alannah rumbled.
“I’ll drive you home,” Kane’s voice suddenly stated.
We all looked at the doorway and saw Kane standing behind Damien, fully dressed. He winked at me in greeting, earning a smile from me.
Alannah nodded her head without looking at him. She moved over to me, hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Call me if you go into labour, otherwise let me die with this hangover in peace.”