“Yep, Brooklyn,” he says as he pulls out of the parking garage and into traffic on Madison Avenue.
I am pretty sure I would go anywhere with him. Brooklyn, the Moon. Anywhere he is, I will be there too.
Chapter 7
Brendan
Pulling onto FDR Drive, I take that all the way to my parents’ pub on Bedford Avenue. Parking in the back, I get out of the car and walk around to open the door for her. Leading Brynn inside, we head straight for the bar. Above the bar, she notices the large neon sign there.
“O’Neal’s?” she yells loudly over the band. The Irish Jigs are playing their original songs loudly and yelling is the only way to be heard.
“My parents’ place,” I say, leaning down to speak directly into her ear.
“I wish I was better dressed,” she says, laughing.
“You look beautiful, Cherry. Don’t worry,” I assure her, placing a kiss just below her ear.
“Brendan, lad, welcome, welcome. Who have ye brought us?”
“I’m Brynn,” she answers, sticking her hand out to be shaken.
“Uncle Benny. This is my girl.”
“Well, well. You know your mother is going to have a field day with her,” he says wisely.
“Shit, I had not even thought about that,” I reply. “How could I be so stupid?”
“Your mother?” Brynn asks.
“Brendan?” My mother’s voice rings out loudly as the music has stopped for a break.
“Hello, Ma.” When she reaches the bar, I stand up to lean over and kiss her cheek.
“Who’s this?”
“Ma, this is Brynn.”
“His girl,” Benny says.
“Your girl? You did not have a girl when I spoke to you last, did you? Did you lie to me?”
“No, of course not. We met last night.”
“Last night? At a strip club?” she asks. “You know what? Who cares? Where are my grandbabies?” Brynn bursts out laughing.
“It is nice to meet you, Mrs. O’Neal,” she says, gasping for breath.
“Colleen, and it is a pleasure, dear. Just out of curiosity, are you a stripper?”
“No, ma’am. I just work at a bar for now. I do have other plans for the future, though. I gotta say that bar is very different from this one, but I’m a bartender. It is my understanding that the groom refused strip clubs last night.”
“That’s my boy,” Benny says. “O’Neal’s are one-woman men.”
“Well, that is nice to know,” Brynn says, smiling at my uncle, but she winks at me.
“Are you guys hungry?” Ma asks.
“Starving,” Brynn says.
“A girl after my own heart. The special today is Shepherd’s Pie.”
“The Irish way or the American way?” she further questions.
“The Irish way,” Ma replies, referring to the method that includes lamb instead of beef.
“Ah, the only way,” Brynn says, ensuring my mother will love her forever. “Can I help with anything?”
“Sure, come on back. Brendan can handle the drinks.”
“I will have a Guinness,” Brynn says over her shoulder as she follows my mom into the kitchen. I cannot stop staring at her ass as she goes. She knows exactly what she is doing too.
“She seems like a nice lass,” Benny says.
“She is. She is.”
We spend a few hours at the pub. She meets my dad as well as my Aunt Rachel. After a few beers and some truly excellent food, we say our goodbyes. Taking her hand as we walk out to the car, she snuggles closer to me. As we reach it, I pull her to me, and with her back pressed to the vehicle, I kiss her like the world is ending. She moans, and I groan.
“Fuck,” I say, finally pulling away from her.
“Take me back to your place,” she whispers. I nod and open her door, waiting until she gets in before closing the door.
The normally thirty-five-minute drive back to my apartment takes damn near an hour. Sure, there was traffic the whole fucking way, but I do believe that this is going to be worth the wait. I pull into the parking garage, exit the vehicle, and all but jog to the elevators. In it, I cannot keep my hands or my lips off of her. Once in my apartment, she jumps into my arms.
“Easy, Cherry. We’ve got all night,” I tell her, smoothing my hands over her ass.
“I have never done this,” she says. I halt my lips that were going down the column of her neck as I walk back to my bedroom. Pulling my head back, I look at her eyes. They are hooded with lust, but that innocence I was drawn to at the bar is ever-present, and I know she is being honest.
“You said that before. I am surprised that no one has tried to claim you.”
“I never said that they did not try, Brendan. I did not want them. I want you. I need you,” she says, gripping my hair.
“I have not done this either, Brynn. When I take you, you are mine. For life,” I growl. She moans and nods her head vigorously.