It had been a week since the massacre in the court room. The MacManus' were going to have to leave, and soon. Lying low was getting harder and harder in Boston when you have become the most wanted men by both the low lives and feds alike.
I went to our normal meeting place. This would be the final time I got to see Murphy before they left. He wouldn't tell me where they were going.
I could remember meeting him like it was yesterday. He and his twin had just gotten a job at my father's meat packing plant. I had come in to bring daddy his lunch. He was known to leave it sitting on the counter where I left it every morning. After mom passed away, he seemed to be more and more forgetful. I was in a rush to make it to school on time, running through the factory setting and stumbling over my own clumsy feet, tripping myself. Capable hands grabbed me before I hit the ground. His sparkling, clear eyes glowed as he smiled down at me. "Ye' oughta be a wee bit more careful, miss. Wouldn't want ta be maulin' such a pretty face."
"Thanks." I muttered shyly. I picked myself up and shuffled away, climbing the stairs to my father's office.
"The bosses daughter, Murph? Ya might need ta be lowerin' yer standards." His brother teased.
I rushed out the door, headed to the Cathedral High School of which I was a senior. If I was late, the nuns would smack the backs of my hands with a ruler. A cruel punishment I was tired of enduring.
"Lass!" I heard from behind me. I turned on my heels and he was right behind me. "Ye rushed off without even sayin' good bye!"
"I'm going to be late for morning mass."
"Yer already late." He said, assuredly.
I looked at my watch. "Shit." I muttered. 8:01am.
"Yer gonna git the ruler." He laughed.
"It's not funny." I mumbled.
He pulled out a pack of cigarettes, shoving one in his mouth and offering one to me. I shook my head and he scoffed, putting the pack away and lighting his own. "Yer already late. Why dontcha juss spend the day wit me?"
"Don't you have work you should be doing?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Aye, but don't ye go worryin' 'bout me, lass. I kin take care uh m'self." He offered me his hand. "Murphy MacManus."
"Rebecca McGerkin." I cautiously took his hand. "MacManus, huh? My dad talks about you and your brother a lot. You all are quite the pranksters."
"Ah, me reputation precedes me, madam." He joked, taking a slight bow.
"I really need to go to class. I have exams this week."
"Well, ye want ta meet me later? At McGinty's. I git off at 5."
"I'm not old enough to go to a bar, MacManus."
He leaned in, close to my face. "I wont tell if you wont."
My curiosity got the best of me and I ended up at McGinty's after class. I showed up with my wrists and hands covered in bruises.
"Aye, the bosses daughter's 'ere, Murph!"
Drunken arms grasped me from behind. "I was worried ye wouldn' show!"
"I'm not really sure why I did."
"I'm sure it's 'cause ye missed me, lass."
"That's it, Murph! This bonnie wee lass 'as been missin' yer face all day. An' what a fine face it tis!" He playfully mussed his brother's hair.
"Rebecca, this sack o' shit is me brother, Connor." Murphy explained.
"Sit down an' ave a drink with us, lass." Connor offered, sitting at the bar and patting the stool beside him.
I did as I was told and as a result, had my first taste of liquor. That night, I experienced a lot of firsts. The first time I was drunk, the first time I danced with a boy, even my first kiss.
Murphy had to carry me home. I was terrified of my father's reaction. I'd never stayed out this late unannounced before, even on the weekend. I was surprised the police weren't out looking for me.
"I'm sorry I kept ye out so late. Are ye gonna be in a lotta trouble 'cause uh me?"
"Not as much as you're gonna be in tomorrow." I laughed, leaning against him as we neared my apartment building's door.
"I'll manage fer meself. Somethin' tells me it's well worth it, lass." He braced his hands on either side of my face and pressed his lips gently to my own. I'm not sure if it was the tension I had felt all night, or the alcohol, but I embraced the kiss, opening my lips and allowing his skillful tongue to massage my own. I fell backwards into the door, breathlessly as he pressed into me. I lifted my leg over his hip and allowed him to grind into me as he left me speechless with passionate kisses.
Suddenly, he pulled back. "I think I should be goin'." He reasoned. "Yer father will be wantin' ta see ye."
"You're gonna leave just like that?" I pouted, honestly sad he was going.
"Dontcha worry. Ye'll be seein' plenty o' me, lass. I promise ye that."
And he was right. I saw him practically every day. We got close. Way too close for comfort for my father. "Yer seein' too much of that MacManus boy! Yer goin' off to college in the fall. Ye got a bright future, don't be lettin' the likes uh 'im be ruinin' that fer ye." He would say. He just didn't understand. Murphy MacManus was my first true love.
And here we are. Murphy is leaving in the morning to go God knows where and I'm leaving in a few months to go to Columbia University. I'm waiting to say goodbye to the only man I've ever loved under the awning of the back entrance to the local church, in the shadows of the graveyard, hiding from the pouring rain. Just when I thought it was late, and he should be there by now, he appeared, soaking wet, falling into me, pressing my entire body into the door of the church. We were surrounded by the bricks of the sturdy, holy building.
"You're all wet," I teased, breaking away from the passionate kiss to catch my breath.
"Aye, aren't you?"
I shoved him jokingly. "This isn't the time or place, sir." I pouted, suddenly very sad. This was the last time I'd ever see him. My eyes began welling up with tears.
"Aw, lass, don't cry. Ye know this isn't the las' time ye'll be seein' the likes uh me. I'll come back fer ye." He brushed the tears from my cheeks with his damp hands.
"Come to New York with me." I pleaded.
"Ye know I can't be doin' that. Connor and Da need me to go with dem. Ye know that." He said remorsefully.
"Can I at least know where you're going? We could write or call each other. Something. Anything…"
"I can't do that ta ye. If anyone were ta fin' out ye had contact with me… I don't know what I'd do if anythin' were ta happen ta ye."
"Than this really is goodbye?" I sobbed.
"Don't thinka it dat way! It's juss fer a little while. Until this 'ole thing blows over. It's juss until next time." He lied. I knew he was lying. Murphy was never a good liar. I decided to not call him out on it. That would only ruin our last encounter with meaningless fighting. Instead, I decided to leave him with something to remember me by. I broke the space between us and silenced my tears with a breathtaking kiss.
Murphy didn't miss a beat and had his hands tangled in my long, dark locks before I had a chance to move. I reached for his pants first. He caught my hands as I was undoing his belt. "Tis the house of the lord, missy." He chastised me.
"Than let's not do anything the lord would frown upon." I smiled up at him, mischievously.
"My naughty little angel." He barely breathed as I dropped to my knees and took him into my mouth. He fell back against the wall, take over by pleasure as I expertly grazed my tongue along the length of him and sucked him as he bucked wildly against my face, entangling his hands in my hair.
Ordinarily, I never would have done anything like this. Murphy MacManus changed me. I would never forget that. I would never forget him.
He stopped me before he was done, hoisted me up. "I'm not don' with ye yet, lass." His voice was husky against my neck. He reached under my skirt, pressing his palm against my panties before he hooked his thumbs under the seam and pulled them down to my ankles. I lifted my feet, one by one, to let the flimsy material over my heels. "Ye want me mouth?" He asked, still bent over with my panties in his hand.
"There's other parts of you that I'm sure to miss more." I said, cheekily.
Before I knew it, he had jumped up and was supporting my entire body weight with my legs wrapped around his hips. "Yer wish is my command, miss." He breathed against my neck as he let me fall onto him in one fluid motion. I gasped as he filled me, kissing my neck and chest and leaving me with little love bites as he thrust against me, my thighs in a vice grip around his hips. He massaged my thighs with his hands as he held me against him. The forbidden nature of our lovers tryst, the exhibitionism with my felon of a boyfriend, it all overwhelmed my senses and it wasn't long before I had succumb to the sensations and came, fast and hard around Murphy. My orgasm was too much for him and he soon had also finished, still holding my thighs, he fell into my chest and were mostly supported by the brick wall behind me. We stayed like that for what felt like forever until he finally let me down. I shamefully fixed my skirt and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make myself more innocent than the current situation allowed for.
"Ye might be needin' these." He said, handing me my panties after he had adjusted himself back into his wet pants.
"Keep 'em. You need something to remember me by."
"Aw, lass. I'm touched. Ye shouldn' 'ave." He feigned excitement. "As if I'd be forgetten you after the good time ye juss showed me?"
"You're lucky you're so cute." I said, punching his shoulder. He winced. I had forgotten about the bullet wound there. "Sorry!"
"Sa'll right." He said, rubbing the sore spot. "I'm gonna miss ye." He sighed, brushing my hair back behind my ear.
"I'm never going to forget you."
"I leave quite the impression." He smirked. He leaned down and kiss me one last time, fully enveloping me with his arms, leaving my knees completely weak. "I'll find ye, lass. It'll be no time at all. Ye'll see." He promised, trying to assure himself, more than me, at this point. He brushed his thumb over my cheek and looked me in the eye sympathetically before taking a step back. He blew me a kiss and turned the corner. He was gone, leaving me alone and completely in the dark.