Keeping 13: Boys of Tommen #2

"Can Gibsie not swim?"
"He can swim," Johnny corrected, rummaging around for a clean pair of boxers. "He just panicked."
"Why?"
"His father and sister drowned when he was small," Johnny muttered, brows furrowed, as he concentrated on pulling on his jocks. "They got into trouble out at sea or something like that." Shrugging, he added, "He's had an issue with water ever since."

Johnny grinned devilishly. "I said, je veux être à l'intérieur de toi

Smirking, he said, "je veux lécher la chatte de ma copine."

"Will you come home with me tonight?" He glanced at me, blue eyes blazing with heat. "Will you stay with me? So I know you're safe?"
"Yeah." I blew out a shaky breath and nodded, knowing there was nowhere else I wanted to be than with him. "I'll stay with you."

"Did that make you feel good? Belittling him like that?"
"He's a big boy," Lizzie shot back defensively. "He can take it."
"He's dyslexic!" Johnny snapped. "And you just made him feel about two feet tall in front of half the school."
Surprise flashed in Lizzie's eyes and her cheeks reddened. "I didn't know that."
"Well, now you know!"

"Listen up," Johnny said then, drawing the attention of his friends. "This is Shannon – my girlfriend. She's going to be sitting here from now on, so get used to seeing her around the place." He moved to sit down, but quickly stopped himself and straightened back up. "Oh, and fuck with her and I'll bury you all –" He cast a meaningful look around the table before adding, "Are we clear?"

"Wait, wait, wait –" Breaking the kiss, Johnny stared down at me, breathing hard. "You're my girlfriend now, right?"
Feeling slightly dazed, I craned my neck and stared up at him. "Huh?"
"My girlfriend," he repeated, looking nervous. "Are you?"
"Uh, I…I –"

"Are you okay?" I finally asked.
"No," he replied quietly, setting his fork down on his empty plate. "Are you?"
"No."
He looked up at me then. "It's going to be okay, Shan."
"Which part?" I whispered.
"The Kavanagh part

You're such a good person, Johnny Kavanagh, and you don't even know it. You don't see how little rugby has to do with how special you are. But I do. I see it, and I know."
"See?" He clamped his hands on my hips and exhaled shakily. "You say it and I believe you."
"Because it's true," I strangled out, breathing hard and fast. "I just…god, you have no idea how lovely you are."

"I love you," he went right ahead and rocked my world by saying again. "Present tense – as in I mean it now. And maybe I shouldn't be saying that – maybe I'm fucking everything up by telling you that when you're in the middle of your family stuff, but it's the truth." He shrugged helplessly. "I'm in love with you. I think I've been that way for a while now – a long fucking while, if we're being totally honest." Exhaling shakily, he added, "And that scares the shit out of me worse than the thought of not making the U20's. You scare me more than anyone I've ever come up against on a pitch."