See Me

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I THOUGHT CASSIDY WAS going to give us away with her erratic behavior all night during the Leprechaun festivities. She strummed her fingers on the table and shifted nonstop, staring at the sunset and glowering at the partying Chaun. Our family sat together at a table while the music played and people danced.

“You’re sure hyper all of a sudden,” Mom said to her.

“She wants to dance,” I blurted. “But… nobody’s asked her.” I sent Cass a warning glare that I hoped would make her chill.

“I’ll dance with you, chickadee.” Dad stood up and held out his hand, which she accepted, and she seemed relieved to be doing something.

Mom and I watched them for a bit. Then she got up from her side of the table and came over to sit close next to me. She ran a hand over my hair, then the backs of her fingers down my cheek—all the while gazing at me like I was some kind of miracle. I didn’t mind. It was one of those mom things I loved, although at the moment it made me feel guilty since we’d hatched our secret plan of momentary escape.

“Do you need more time before the binding, Robyn? Because I’ll tell Brogan myself, if you do.”

Ah, so that’s what was on her mind.

“I don’t know.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Maybe ask again in a few days?”

She smiled. “Okay. Is there anything you want to know? About what to expect… after the binding?”

My face warmed and I peeked around to make sure nobody was listening. “I don’t think so, Mom. You’ve already explained everything.”

“Well, the science of it, yes, but there’s so much more, love.”

There were a lot of things I wondered, but I didn’t know how to articulate them. Right now, the thought of binding and sex and all of that made me feel like I was taking the drop on a roller coaster. I was too nervous. I wasn’t ready.

She wound my hair behind my ear and her eyes shone. “I’m always here if you need me. Your father and I will visit every year. I promise. And I’m certain Cass won’t be able to stay away either.”

Now she was making me feel a little weepy. I hated thinking about being here without my family. Especially while things weren’t one hundred percent stable. But would things here ever be stable with the FFG lurking? Would she continue to interfere even after we were bound? Angry discomfort reared inside of me. Each time I started to feel normal and happy, I remembered her and all cheerful thoughts vanished.

Mom gave my cheek one last pat, and we turned to watch the party together. Mom kept an eye on her man, and I watched McKale. He sat on the stump again while the other musicians stood. I had a feeling he didn’t like to stand tall in the midst of the other Chaun if he could help it. He tapped a foot and moved the bow at hyper-speed as the song reached its crescendo, the volume rising to meet demands of an exuberant, stomping crowd. He caught my eye and winked.

It was my first McKale wink. I leaned my chin against my palm and smiled into my hand.

That night seemed to last extra long, but the moon was finally high and the crowd began to thin. Mom and Dad called the party quits, kissing us girls and then strolling to their room arm-in-arm. Soon the band was packing up. Cassidy and I went to McKale.

“Let’s go back to our rooms to get ready,” I told him. “We’ll come knock on your door to get you when it’s time.” Half of his mouth went up in a grin, like he was still unsure but humoring us. He agreed, and we went our separate ways.

Cassidy and I were on a sheer adrenaline high. We ran to our room, tearing through our clothes as quietly as we could and putting on the best outfits we’d brought—black pants and shiny tank-tops. We took our tiny purses with as much money as we could stuff in them, plus lip-glosses and IDs. Cassidy had snuck into our parent’s room during dinner for the car key. Time to go.

Opening the door a crack, we found that the coast was clear and tiptoed out of our bungalow, holding our heeled shoes in our hands. I led us to McKale’s room, since of course I’d stalked my binding mate to find out where he slept. And I didn’t even feel like a creeper for doing it. After all, it was my future room, too. I placed a hand on my stomach, feeling flutters.

I tapped on his wooden door, and he opened it, stepping out with care to stay quiet. He stopped and took in the full sight of me, paying special attention to the fitted pants. At first I feared that he thought I looked funny, but his stance and appreciative gaze assured me otherwise. He was being the tiniest bit bolder toward me lately, and I liked it.

The three of us shared rebellious expressions before ghosting our way around the bungalows, passing the big Shoe House, and rounding the corner. Rock was already there, sprawled across the hood of the car. Cass ran to him for a hug, and he spun her around. They kept silent, which amazed me.

She then climbed into the driver’s seat just as we’d planned, leaving the door open a crack, so no one would hear the “click.” She put the car in neutral and steered it while the boys and I pushed. The initial hill was killer, despite how compact the vehicle might have been, but we were so pumped on adrenaline there was no stopping us. It took ten minutes to get over the hills and to the edge of the forest with the driving path. It was far enough away that nobody should have been able to hear the engine start, but just in case, we pushed it into the trees before the three of us hopped inside.

Rock sat in front with Cassidy. I’d agreed to drive us home if she drove there.

“It’s so weird to drive on this side of the car,” Cassidy murmured.

My heart jumped when she started the engine. It sounded so loud.

“Go!” I whispered from the back seat. She took off, kicking up a little foliage, and by the time she got to the boulder, the four of us were laughing, exuberant.

“Japers!” Rock exclaimed. “Bloody brilliant!”

“I can’t believe we’re doin’ this,” McKale said, turning to look through the back windshield.

“Are you nervous about being caught?” I wondered aloud.

“Nay, not that. ‘Tis just I’ve ne’er been farther than the end of Rainbow Lane.”

“Rainbow Lane?” I asked. Cassidy turned past the boulder, putting us on the main road.

“Aye.” McKale pointed back over his shoulder. “The lane through the trees. Long ago visitors named it Rainbow Lane. They say each time they came through the forest they’d find a rainbow over the village.”

Cassidy cast me a smile over her shoulder. McKale sat behind her since she was able to pull up her seat to give him more leg room.

“You don’t guard a giant pot of gold, by any chance, do you?” she asked.

“Gold?” McKale shook his head. “We’ve no use for it. Jewels are far more worthy. Only thing we guard is the portal.”

His mention of the portal gave me the heebie-jeebies. I couldn’t wait to be far, far away from that thing for one night.

“So, a giant pot of jewels, then?” Cassidy asked. I wondered if the guys could pick up on her underlying merriment as easily as I could.

“Wha’s with the pots ‘o shiny things?” Rock asked. His arm rested over the back of her seat.

“There are lots of old fables about Leprechauns,” she told him. “People all around the world have heard of you guys.”

“Truly?” asked McKale. “What sort o’ tales?”

Cassidy and I spent the first half hour of the trip telling them all of the different Leprechaun legends. Rock was offended that tales of the Clourichaun were not as well known, and that the Chaun actually received some of the credit for Clour history.

Rock seemed at ease and treated our outing as the adventure it was, but when we quieted McKale sat stiff in his seat peering out of the windows with apprehension. I placed a hand on his warm forearm.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

He relaxed under my touch.

“Aye,” he whispered back. “’Tis strange, is all.”

Before I could respond, Cassidy’s loud, excited voice filled the car.

“Do me a favor,” she said to Rock. “Say ‘They’re always trying to steal me Lucky Charms.’”

Oh my freakin’ gosh…

Rock and McKale shared a confused, amused look. Then Rock shrugged and said the line with true Irish gusto.

We were all quiet for half a second before I snorted. I’m not sure how Cassidy managed to stay on the road because she and I went into a state of hysterical laughter. Her warble of giggling was so infectious even the guys began to chuckle.

“Wha’s so funny, then?” McKale asked. “Ye all right, Robyn?” I tried to nod, because talking was impossible.

“That’s how she laughs!” Cassidy sputtered. “No sound comes out—she just gasps!”

I was totally self-conscious of my laugh, but some things just couldn’t be helped. And now that McKale knew I was okay, he let himself laugh as well, and patted my back.

When we finally began to calm, Rock said the line again with a big smile, and Cassidy and I went into another fit. I thought I’d pass out from lack of breath. And it didn’t help when Cass sang, “They’re magically delicious!” Her laugh was loud and adorable. I practically made no noise except sucking air as I doubled over, smacking the door rest and shaking my head.

Cassidy tried to explain to them about the cereal commercial, but she wasn’t making much sense through her laughter. Besides, the terminology completely confounded them. Television. Marshmallows.

“Never mind,” I said, able to breathe again at last. “We’ll get you a box of it someday.”

Cassidy turned on the radio, but static filled the reception. After a few minutes of trying, she found a station playing folk music. McKale sat up straighter.

“How’d ye do that? Where’s it coming from?”

We explained radio signals as best as we could, and spent the next half hour showing the guys different gadgets on the car and telling them about the different technologies available. Although they asked a lot of questions, I didn’t think they really believed such things were possible—human magic. The irony was not lost on me, given that they were magical Leprechauns who most humans didn’t believe in.

My face and abs were hurting from smiling and laughing so much. Without thinking, I found McKale’s hand resting on his knee. I let my hand lay on his a second before taking it back. He watched my hand move back to my lap and then reached for it, twining our fingers together and looking at me. A mingling of hope and excitement surged through my body.

Cass and Rock chatted in front of us. McKale leaned down and his warm cheek brushed against mine on his way to whisper in my ear, “Is this a date then?”

“Yes.” I motioned toward the two in the front seats and told him, “It’s a double date.”

I squeezed his hand and felt his thumb move back and forth over my hand and wrist. That single, small movement did big things to me. I snuggled closer to his side, and unlike my family’s trip to the village, this time I was happy to be in a compact car.

The drive into town seemed infinitely faster than it had taken to get to the Chaun land on the first day. It was really late when we found ourselves in the busiest part of Sligo, but plenty of people still milled about. We passed a pub with a live band playing, but it wasn’t what Cassidy wanted. She found a spot and parked the car before flinging her purse across her shoulder.

“I’m guessing there aren’t any stores open, so sit tight. I’ll be right back,” she told us.

“Don’t go where I can’t see you,” I said.

“Yes, Mommy.” She got out and walked up to three men standing on the nearby corner.

“Wha’s she doing, then?” McKale asked.

“Working her magic,” I answered.

“Blazes, would you look what those blokes are wearin’?” Rock pointed at the men talking to Cass. They wore jeans with sandals. One had on a plaid button-up shirt and the others wore collared polo shirts. They looked completely normal.

Within minutes those guys were stripping off pieces of their clothing and being rewarded with laughter and kisses on the cheeks from Cassidy. She skipped back to the car, getting in and tossing a shirt and pair of shoes to both of the guys.

“Sorry, they wouldn’t part with their pants, but this is better than nothing. You can glamour if you want to.”

Rock stared at the plaid shirt in horror. McKale lucked out with a navy blue polo.

“If I had me way I’d magic meself small and ride in yer shirt,” Rock said.

“Not happening,” I told him before Cassidy had time to consider it. “That shirt is fine, I promise. You’ll fit right in. Where we going, Cass?”

“They told me there’s a dance club at the next corner. Get dressed and let’s go!”

She clapped her hands and the guys pulled off their shirts. I planned to play it cool with McKale being half-naked, but I accidentally opted to stare. He’d ogled my boobs that day at the waterfall, so it was only fair.

McKale’s appearance in clothes was misleading. I’d expected him to be too thin underneath, but he wasn’t. I mean, he was definitely lean, but there was small definition around those muscles, especially his arms from the tanning crank. And a very small patch of red hair right in the middle of his chest. And—

“Stare a little harder, why don’tcha,” Cassidy said from the front seat as she watched me.

“Wha…? Shut-up.” I reached across and punched her shoulder, but she was already laughing. She deserved a strangling. McKale slung the shirt over his head and ruffled his hair. The collar was up on one side and down on the other. I straightened it for him while he fixed me with a staredown that made me hot all the way to my feet.

“Let’s go!” Cassidy yelled, jumping out of the car.

I climbed out, stretching my legs. The boys slid their feet into the shoes Cassidy presented. McKale made a face and Rock grunted.

“Ye can’t expect me to walk with somethin’ crammed between me toes!”

“You’ll get used to it.” Cass’s voice held no trace of sympathy, although she did stretch up to peck his lips, which momentarily stopped his complaints. She took off in the direction of the club, and we followed. The guys looked funny in their highwater cloth pants, but oh well.

McKale stared around, his head swiveling back and forth with quick movements to take in every strange sight. He and Rock kept trying to stop and examine things like neon lights and pubs with overhead speakers that filtered live music to the street. We tugged them along, promising we’d plan a day trip soon.

McKale and Rock’s pants earned them a couple of odd looks from people on the street so we made them glamour, and we got into the club without a hitch. A clock above the bar told us it was one o’clock in the morning. Earlier than I thought. I didn’t recognize the song blaring overhead, however some things in life were universally understood. Like a techno beat.

“Let’s dance!” Cassidy grabbed Rock’s hand and tried to pull him, but he was planted in that spot like a stone. Both guys peered around the darkened room with their jaws dangling in fascination.

“Let’s get a table and have a drink first,” I suggested.

We found a table with people preparing to leave and made ourselves at home, ordering three pints and a soda for me.

I leaned close to McKale. “Is this okay?”

“Aye, yes. It’s just… everyone is so…”

“Tall?” I guessed. He nodded, seeming almost frightened. I tapped his glass with mine. “Cheers.”

He let out a stress-relieving lungful of air and lifted his glass to mine. The four of us clinked our glasses together and drank. It was easy to fall into the carefree atmosphere of the small club. We talked for a while, until Cassidy began to stare longingly at the sunken dance floor, crowded with gyrating bodies.

“Are you guys ready to dance yet?” she asked. The guys looked at the dance floor, then at each other. They weren’t budging.

“’Tis no’ proper dancing,” McKale said. “Not one of ‘em are doing the same steps.”

“There aren’t any steps,” Cass explained. “That’s the fun of it! You just move your body to the beat of the music.”

“Ye’re sayin’ there’s no way to bung it up, then?” Rock asked.

Cass and I shrugged at each other. We’d definitely seen some bad dancing in our time. But that was the least of our concerns tonight.

“How about this,” she said. “You two have another drink, loosen up, and watch while Robyn and I dance. And then if you want to come down, you can come. No pressure.”

They agreed, and before I had a chance to take one last sip of my drink, Cass yanked me from the stool and dragged me to the dance floor. The moment we were nestled in the midst of moving bodies, we let go, arms in the air. It felt awesome.

As the song changed to something grittier, Cass put her face close to mine, shouting to be heard.

“McKale has been watching you the whole time!” I tried not to smile. I didn’t look over at him, afraid I’d ruin the moment by tripping and going down like someone on a treadmill who’d lost their concentration.

After a few minutes Cassidy signaled to Rock, curling her finger to lure him. She bit her bottom lip and then turned back to me, never losing the beat.

“They’re coming!” she said.

My heart sped up. “Both of them?” I hollered.

She nodded, cool and nonchalant.

Suddenly I was nervous. McKale, my sweet fiddle player, was making an effort even though he was way out of his comfort zone. What if he ended up hating this whole dance experience? What if it was just awkward?

My pulse went into rocket-launch mode when Rock’s curly head found Cassidy, and she turned to him, bouncing. And then I felt McKale behind me, timid. He was being bumped into me, and his chest touched my back. I turned my head just enough to show him an easy smile as I reached back for his hands and led them to my hips. His touch was gentle. I kept my hands pressed over top of his until his grip became firmer. I was so nervous. I wanted this nearness, and I didn’t want to screw it up.

More people joined the already crowded dance floor, forcing everyone closer. It was now or never. Time to be bold. I leaned back into him, just as a hip-hop song began, bass thumping. His reaction surprised me. With the slightest hesitance, he pulled my hips until our bodies matched up, aligned.

My breathing became jagged as I reached back, putting my hands on his hips. I started moving mine to the tempo of the music, slowly at first. He met me move for move, so I deepened the pace until we were both dancing. Really dancing. Cassidy took a moment from her groping session with Rock to look over and mouth dramatically, “Oh, my gah!” when she saw us. I just smiled.

My Leprechaun had rhythm. And it was hot in a way that made me dizzy. I let myself lean back hard against him, raising my arms to the air and moving my hips. I could feel his breath on my hair, against my ear and neck. His hands roamed, but not too far. Just over my waist and hips, down the top of my thighs. Arms still lifted, I bent my elbows and brought my hands behind me to his head, sliding my fingers into his hair. He nuzzled my neck and I was suddenly on fire.

Killer moths attacked my abdomen as I turned, wrapping my arms around his neck and fitting my curves to him, still dancing. His hands found my lower back. I was about to ask him what he thought of the club when the look in his eyes silenced me.

He watched my mouth, slowly leaning in, and I forgot about everything around us.

Oh, my… was he about to…?

The first touch of his lips was measured and timid—the perfect picture of the McKale I’d met on our first day. We breathed against each other’s parted lips until I dared to let my tongue touch the soft fullness I’d admired the night before. That action was like a lit match to a firecracker.

Moving quickly with masculine instinct, one of his hands stayed on my lower back, pressing our hips together, while his other hand found the back of my neck and tugged me to him, hard, in a gesture of possession that had me moaning when his mouth opened mine with his own. Unlike my previous failed kisses, this one was the perfect combination of lips and tongues and hands. There was nothing shy about it. I was meeting this McKale for the first time. This was a McKale I wanted to get to know much better.

I loved the way he smelled and tasted. Hops and barley on the surface from his drinks, but something sweeter underneath: the licorice root he liked to chew. As we kissed, I ran a hand over his cheek, feeling where his smooth skin met the rougher line of hair along his jaw. Every contour amazed me.

I tried to reign in my self-control since I found myself practically climbing him for more, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed just as hungry for more of me.

I knew part of my desperation stemmed from the fact that someone very powerful wanted to keep us apart, but I wouldn’t allow thoughts of her to surface. I let myself breathe him in. We had this moment, right now, and nobody could take it away.

We finally broke the kiss, followed-up with several more slow little smooches until we were ready to look at each other. He was half-grinning as if he couldn’t hold it back. Leaning into my ear, he said, “I fancy yer form of dance.”

I laughed. With my arms still around his neck, I pulled him down and put my lips to his ear.

“I fancy you, Kale.” I don’t know what made me shorten his name but he didn’t seem to mind.

He slid his lips to my ear again. “Do ye, now?”

I bit my bottom lip to hold back a giant smile, and murmured, “Yeah.” We were flirting!

A new song started. Techno again. McKale began moving first, and it was my turn to match him. Cassidy and Rock pushed their way closer beside us, and together the four of us danced. Cass found my hand and squeezed it.

It was a night to trump all others: Cassidy’s best idea ever. The guys made us laugh the entire time. Especially Rock with his exaggerated dancing as he tried to imitate how other men at the club moved.

This night was more than a simple act of rebellion born of boredom. It was even more than getting away from the portal. It was about getting McKale to see me—really see me, and to see the possibility of what we could have together. I wanted us to have something worth fighting for.

Cassidy must have recognized the wheels of thought churning in my expression because she shook her head at me and bumped my hip.

“Not tonight, Robyn,” she shouted in my ear. “Just dance!”

Yes, I thought, finding McKale behind me once again. Tonight we dance.