Several hours later, the tunes were cranking on Feely’s boombox, and the drink was flowing. My valiant efforts of manifesting a good day seemed to have worked because not only had the viper steered clear of me all night, but she’d taken to her tent with lover boy over an hour ago and hadn’t resurfaced since.
Taking it as a nod from my old man in the sky looking out for me, I had decided to celebrate by necking half my weight in cider. To be honest, I pitied Feely, the poor misfortunate bastard, for having to share a tent with me later, but I was having too much fun to care – or stop.
“And here we have it, folks,” Feely declared, turning up the volume on his boombox to the maximum. The familiar beat of Gaelic Storm’s “An Irish Party in Third Class” boomed loudly, causing every limb in my body to react on instinct to the sound of the bodhrán as it played a tune in rhythm to the beat of my eternally Irish heart. “Baby Biggs and Lord of the Dance himself.”
My eyes were bleary and unfocused, but I would have to be blind not to see her. Ringlets of golden sunshine bounced in the air as she moved around the campfire like she had been put on this earth to dance with me.
Keeping my hands rigid by my sides, I concentrated really hard on keeping my back straight and my body upright, not an easy feat after a slab of cider, but the girl dancing in circles around me was worth the effort.
Grinning devilishly when it was time to join her, Claire offered me a knowing tilt of her chin and off I went, flying through the air like a demented fucking lunatic with perfectly pointed toes.
“They’re going to fall into the fire,” Hugh slurred, pointing to where I was standing precariously close to the flames with his beer can. “Gibs, you better not burn my baby sister!”
“Shush you, they clearly know what they’re doing,” Katie laughed, slapping at his hand. “Keep going, guys. You’re amazing. Like the couple in Riverdance.”
“Except blonde.”
“And semi-naked.”
“With pierced nipples.”
I had every intention of it. Couldn’t stop if I wanted to. Our bodies moved in perfect symmetry to the routine we had won countless competitions performing in childhood.
I tried my best to remember the steps and patterns of the complicated traditional Irish stepdance we were attempting. It wasn’t hard since they’d been ingrained in me every Monday afternoon for eight years of primary school. Besides, I wasn’t ashamed to dance with her – even if the alcohol helped a great deal.
“Hup out that, Gibsie, boy!” Johnny howled, belting his thigh with his hand to the rhythm of the music, as he cuddled his snickering girlfriend to his chest. “Show us those dancing toes.”
“It’s dancing feet,” Shannon corrected through fits of laughter. “And yes, guys! Woo! Let’s go.”
We completed three more sets of dancing around each other together before joining hands for our big finale.
Pulling her close to my chest, I dropped my hand to rest on her hip before leaning in close to press a kiss to the tip of her nose.
“Hey, no kissing!” Hugh roared, aiming his can at my head. “Keep your lips off my sister, fucker!”
Snickering, I deftly dodged the missile can of beer, pulled his sister flush against me and then dipped her in glorious fashion just as the song ended.
“That was epic,” Claire panted through fits of laughter as everyone around us clapped and cheered. She had the best laugh. It was so full of life, and heart and sincerity. When Claire laughed it wasn’t false or pushed on, it was authentic and real. Her eyes were bright with excitement as she smiled up at me, still clutching my shoulders. “I wasn’t expecting the dip.”
“Yeah, well, it was either dip you or kiss you,” I admitted, setting her back down on her feet. “And then I remembered I’d promised Kav a peaceful night.” Grinning wolfishly, I added, “I didn’t want to start World War Three with your big brother over there.”
“Liar,” she teased, tipping my nose with her finger. “You chickened out and that’s all there is to it.”
Well, how could I argue with that?
“You guys should still be entering competitions,” Shan encouraged with a clap. “I bet you’d win them all.”
“Absolutely,” Katie agreed, pulling Claire down to sit beside her. “I’ve seen all of your medals and trophies in your front room.”
“We still would be if the boys hadn’t poached him off me for the rugby team,” Claire replied, still breathless from our earlier antics. “It’s all good, though. Some of the best things in life aren’t meant to last forever. That’s why we cherish them when they happen. Like your favorite chocolate in a box. Or shooting stars. We don’t refuse to eat the sweet because once we do it’ll be gone, or stop looking at the stars after one shoots by. We enjoy the moment because we know it’s worth living in.”
“Whoa,” Shannon breathed, “that’s deep.”
“Aw, there’s a wise old head underneath those curls, isn’t there?” Katie teased, hooking her arm through Claire’s. “Very philosophical, Baby Biggs.”
