Orla managed to balance three glasses in her hands and plopped them down in front of us before scurrying back across the bar for the fourth. “Alright there, Alex?” She asked. “You look a bit spaced out of it.”

“Sorry, sorry.” I took a sip of the whiskey coke Orla had placed in front of me. “Just a bit tired today, is all.”

“Today, yesterday, every day,” Molly snorted, “I’ve never known a single person to complain about being ‘tired’ the way you do.”

“I have trouble sleeping.”

Orla raised her eyebrows, lowering her eyes to look down at her drink. “Oh, I’m sure you do.”

I decided it was in my best interest not to respond.

“So, Molly,” Connie started, twirling her straw around in her glass, “How are things with Jack these days? Is he coming tonight?”

Molly snorted unattractively. “How are things with Jack ever? He’s a right dickhead. But yeah, they’re meant to be on their way.”

“Well, I mean. Most boys are.”

She eyed Connie carefully. “Been a while since you’ve been with anyone, hasn’t it?”

“Has it?”

“Yeah. It has.”

Connie frowned across the table at her just as the door of the pub slammed open and three of the boys walked in, Aidan’s voice shattering the relative silence of the room. He grinned in our direction and swaggered over at the head of their trio, swinging into the chair next to Connie. Jack sat down beside Molly, raising his eyebrows in greeting at the rest of us, while Jim lingered at the door a moment longer before finally taking his seat next to me.

“We were just talking about you lot,” Molly said with a smirk, leaning into her boyfriend. “And how long it’s been since Connie got the ride.”

I could tell by Aidan’s flushed cheeks that he had already had perhaps one drink too many. He chortled loudly before flinging an arm around Connie’s shoulders somewhat forcefully. “Funny enough, Jim and I were just saying the very same thing. You going frigid on us, Con?”

She snorted, keeping her eyes averted far away from me. “Maybe I’ve simply grown standards, and a quickie in the bushes isn’t enough anymore.”

“I assure you—Jim’ll give you much more than a quickie if that’s what you want.” He winked at the lanky boy across from him. To his credit, Jim said nothing.

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. No offense, Jim.”

“And what about Ryan, eh?” All eyes at the table flickered to me and I groaned inwardly. Aidan nudged me in the side. “Heard my dear cousin was quite taken with you after my party last year, you know. Told my Ma all about you.”

Connie’s ears pricked up. “What cousin?”

“Julia McMahon,” Jack drawled. “The dyke from Holy Faith.”

“I didn’t know she was your cousin.”

“I’d rather pretend she wasn’t. Obviously, I’d rather shag Jim myself than invite her to a party but the parentals made me.” He threw me a lewd grin. “And from what I heard she spent the whole night gagging for Ryan.”