Bold Fenian Men

"Roisin? Why? Whatever's happened?" Lenny's voice was concerned for his little sister.

"Oh, God, Lenny. I shouldn’t say."

"What's happened?" Lenny asked again. "Where are you? Do you want me to come over?"

"No, no, Lenny, I'm not at home. I'm at Padraig's."

"Padraig's? Why are you there?"

"Lenny …" Roisin's voice dropped to a whisper. "I slept with him," There was a long pause on the other side of the phone.

"You what?" Lenny eventually asked quietly.

"Lenny –"

"I'll kill him," Lenny said bluntly. "I'll come round there and beat him lifeless!"

"No, Lenny, don’t!'"Roisin said desperately, her voice rising slightly. "Lenny, I knew what I was doing, I just don't know how I feel about it. Oh, I knew I shouldn't have told you! What was I thinking? What was I thinking telling you? I should have known you'd have cracked up!"

"Roisin, don’t say that! You can tell me anything!"

"But you're now going to start on Ireland's most powerful IRA man. Nice one, Lenny."

"I know enough about him to know he's manipulative." Lenny still sounded annoyed. "God only knows what he said to you."

"I know what he said to me, Lenny." Roisin also sounded agitated.

"You've only been seeing him for two months."

"I'm no slut, if that's what you're trying to say."

"Did I say that? No."

"Look, I'm going to go." Roisin said coldly. "This isn't helping at all."

"ROISIN! Wait!" Lenny said desperately. "I'm just worried, that's all. You're my little sister. I don’t want him hurting you."

"And what makes you think Padraig will hurt me?"

"This is Padraig Caraher, Roisin. He's not renowned for his sense of love and compassion."

"Well, he's different with me." Roisin felt herself pouting. "I need to go. I need to speak to him."

"Roisin?"

"What?"

"Please don’t get too attached to him."

"That will be so easy, Seamus!" Use of Lenny's real name made Lenny realise that he was in trouble with his younger sister. "I'm not emotionally attached at all! I only had sex with him!" she said sarcastically, and then she hung up.

Roisin crept back up the stairs quietly, back into Padraig's room. He was still sprawled out on the bed, but as she came in he rolled over and watched her with those big green eyes of his. He smiled thinly.

"I've blown it, haven’t I?" he asked her softly.

"What do you mean?" Roisin answered, in a whisper.

"You were speaking to Lenny. I heard ye."

"You've not blown it."

"Is he going to come round and yell at me?"

"He was."

"What?"

"I talked him out of it. It's all right. He's just protective of me."

"So how do you feel?" Roisin looked away.

"I don't know, Padraig."

"Damn it." Padraig whispered. "I knew we shouldn’t have so soon."

"I'm just confused."

"About what?"

"I'm never usually like that. I mean, I've had a few boyfriends before but I've never slept with any of them …" Padraig's eyes widened.

"That was your first time?"

"Perhaps that's why I'm so confused?" Roisin sighed and sat down on the end of the bed. Padraig reached up and pulled her back down beside him, and she snuggled up next to him. She breathed in the smell of his hair and felt her eyes fill up with tears. She knew what she was scared of, but she had no idea about how to tell Padraig.

Padraig watched her as she lay beside him, and typical of Padraig, he seemed to have an idea of what was going on inside her head.

"I'm not using you, Roisin," he whispered, so softly that Roisin wasn't sure if she'd heard him. Perhaps she was imagining it, because it was the very thing she'd wished he would say. "Roisin? Look at me."

Roisin lifted her head and looked into Padraig's eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that she'd fallen for as soon as she'd first laid eyes on him.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"I'm not using you." Padraig said again, firmly. "I never would use you. I know I've been about before but you're different." Padraig looked down, suddenly looking slightly embarrassed.

"What's wrong?" Roisin asked.

"God, I never thought in a million years I'd ever say this, but I think I'm falling in love with you."