I'm so pleased with the response to this story so far. Thank you for reading and reviewing!
Here's the second chapter. It's a bit shorter than the last but after this the story will kick off properly.
Aidan & Orla belong to me. Everyone else belongs to themselves.
Although her earlier frustrations at the city traffic remained, Orla was both nervous and excited by the prospect of having dinner with Fergal that evening, even if her brother was going to be present too.
Since her plans for the week ahead had now changed, the blonde was headed back to Aidan's apartment in order to pack some essentials, including enough clothes for her to survive the planned hotel stays. Orla had kind of zoned out after half an hour of listening to her brother's animated chatter about his new project, preferring to stare out of the car window and watch the city pass by as thoughts of Fergal invaded her mind.
"Penny for yer thoughts?" her brother enquired.
"Sorry," Orla shook her head, "Just got to thinkin' about things."
"Like what?"
"It's me personal thoughts, I'm not gonna tell ya!"
"Ah, then perhaps I don't wanna know." Aidan relented.
"Perhaps you don't." Orla gave a nervous chuckle as the car came to a halt outside of her brother's apartment block.
"Come on, let's get yer stuff packed."
"Okay, let's go." she agreed.
Since she was only visiting from Ireland for a couple of months, Orla hadn't packed a whole lot of clothing, and what she did have was mostly casual. Rooting through the dresser where her things were being stored, the blonde woman pulled out a bottle green turtleneck sweater; an item of clothing that she hadn't worn many times but had packed it for warmth due to the time of year.
Once she had taken a quick shower Orla got dressed, pulling on the sweater, which she had opted to pair with some black jeans and a her favourite pair of black ankle boots. To complete the look her messy braid from earlier had been replaced by a much neater version. The blonde woman checked her reflection in the bathroom mirror and gave a satisfied nod at the outfit she had pulled together.
"This is ridiculous." she whispered to herself as she felt butterflies in her stomach in anticipation of seeing Fergal again. A man she had been talking to only a few hours earlier.
"Orla, ya ready?" her brother called out as he knocked on the bathroom door.
"Be out in a minute!" she replied, grabbing her handbag and turning to take one final glance at her reflection.
"You took yer time." Aidan remarked as she exited the room.
"At least I changed me clothes."
"I did! This is a new shirt." the blonde man exclaimed.
"How many of those shirts do ya own?" Orla frowned as she eyed the blue and green checked fabric.
"I dunno. Ma buys me a new one every birthday and Christmas."
"Unbelievable." his sister shook her head as they set off down the hallway.
It was eight o'clock and much to Aidan's delight, Fergal had told them to meet him outside an Irish bar not too far from their hotel.
"An Irish pub!" Aidan exclaimed when they arrived.
"Well, I couldn't resist givin' you two a taste of home!" the leader of the Balor club broke into his trademark grin, "And the food's amazin'."
"Never mind the food, let's get some Guinness down me neck!" Aidan grinned as he headed inside.
"After you." Fergal gestured for Orla to enter ahead of him.
"Thank you." the blonde woman smiled as she followed her brother into the pub.
Fergal went to the bar to order their drinks while the Sweeney siblings seated themselves at a table in the corner of the bar. The decor was certainly reminiscent of the traditional pubs back home; with photographs of Irish landmarks in thick wooden frames, plenty of green furnishings, and an Irish rugby game on the TV at the far end of the bar.
"This is nice." Orla remarked as she admired her surroundings.
"It's a nice wee place," Aidan agreed, "I'll have to come back here when I'm feelin' homesick.
"Here ya go." Fergal grinned as he set their drinks down on the table.
"Ah, lovely," the blonde Irishman smiled, "Cheers, Fergal!"
Orla reached for her drink, brushing fingers with the WWE superstar as he reached for his own. The blonde woman opted to ignore their brief contact for her own sanity, but that went out of the window when Fergal seated himself on the stool beside her, and not the one next to Aidan.
The youngest Sweeney sibling quietly sipped her drink as she listened to the two Irishmen chat excitedly. Her brother was always entertaining to watch when he got talking; pulling animated facial expressions as his hands gestured wildly. After a little while Orla had gotten caught up in her thoughts again, only snapping out of it when she sensed Fergal turning towards her.
"So, Orla, whatcha been up to since I saw ya last?"
"Well, I worked in a primary school in Dublin for a couple o' years."
"And there's the modellin' jobs." her brother added in between sips of Guinness.
"Modellin' jobs?" Fergal looked intrigued.
"Just posin' for catalogues and the like. Completely innocent, mind."
"Of course," he nodded, "So what brings ya to this neck o' the woods?"
"Call it a career hiatus," Orla shrugged, "I lost me job due to budget cuts so I decided to visit Aidan."
"And now he's roped ya into bein' his assistant."
"Only for the week." the blonde woman reminded him.
"At least ya get to travel a wee bit," Fergal smiled before adding, "Unless you have somethin' to be gettin' back to."
"Not since she got dumped by her fella."
"Aidan!" his sister exclaimed.
"No shame in that, Orla," Aidan shrugged, "His loss."
"Yer brother's right." Fergal agreed.
"Well, thanks," the youngest Sweeney sibling blushed, "But can we stop talkin' about me love life?"
Both men nodded, excusing themselves in order to head back to the bar and order some food.
Hearing the news that Orla was currently single had immediately relaxed Fergal. At the back of his mind he'd secretly hoped that she was available.
He had known the Sweeney family all his life, having grown up only a stone's throw away from their house back in Bray, and going to school with Aidan. He often played football with the other Sweeney boys too. Orla had always remained in the background, being a few years younger than her brothers, and choosing to spend more time indoors, and so their paths had never really crossed.
It was at Aidan's 21st birthday party that Fergal was formally introduced to the youngest member of the Sweeney family.
He could still remember being puzzled by the identity of the blonde girl in the gingham dress, and also how shocked he had been to discover that the mystery girl was indeed Orla. She had ended up being his partner in some silly party game that evening, and sometime after that the youngest Sweeney sibling had joined her brothers whenever they were hanging out, either swimming, playing football, or just watching movies.
A couple of things had stopped him from asking her out at the time. He knew that her parents would not approve of a twenty-one year old man dating their seventeen year old daughter, and to tell the truth he was more afraid of Roisin Sweeney than her husband. She was a friendly looking woman with curly blonde locks, rosy cheeks, and deep blue eyes, but she became a formidable foe if anyone dared to mistreat her kids.
Fergal's other reason for not pursuing Orla was his dedication to his wrestling career. He had plans to travel the world, from Europe to Japan to Mexico, and he knew that he would barely see his own family, let alone a girlfriend. She deserved more. She deserved better.
Sitting next to her now, Fergal couldn't help but wonder whether he'd have a second chance.
So there were feelings on both sides after all... Review!