a harsh Irish winter. A little cabin behind him with smoke billowing from its rickety chimney and inside the cabin, a small bunk with rough sheets that he slept on fully dressed to stay warm and ready for danger.
She smiled to herself, it was like a scene from one of her mum’s Mills and Boon novels. A romantic Gaelic warrior takes a woman into his masculine environment, cherishes her and all her feminine differences and they make passionate animal love until their flesh is burning with desire, shielding them from the reality of the bitter terrain surrounding them…
Tom glanced up and looked in her direction pulling her from her daydream. Alice realised she was still staring at him and quickly looked down at her hot chocolate which was resting between her hands. She didn’t want to look up again, but her body was pulling her eyes up, up, up… and he was still looking too. He smiled at her and raised his hand.
Be still my beating heart…
The evening passed by in a slow hazy blur of smoking wood and huddled bodies as it turned colder. Mrs Pope strummed enthusiastically on her guitar, trying to get everyone involved in a campfire song. Alice was convinced the teachers had already started drinking as they seemed more chilled out and happy, laughing openly and ignoring the odd swear word or innuendo from the boys.
At 10.30pm Mr Chambers announced it was time to turn in and everyone headed to their allocated dormitories which were spread out over a square mile of forest, so you really got the feeling of being at one with nature. It reminded Alice of that Friday 13 th movie, so not really the feeling she wanted to have right now, out here in the middle of nowhere. God, if she thought too much about that she’d get freaked out and never sleep tonight.
Basic. That was the only word that could describe the bedrooms. They were large wooden rooms on stilts with four steps leading up to the door. Eight small bunks were housed inside, four along each wall. They had chosen their beds earlier in the day and set their sleeping bags and pillows out on them and apart from the bright designs of some of the quilts the room was nothing more than an army barracks.
They had torches, but that was their only source of light.
‘Oh my god I’ve never been this freezing!’ Ellie shivered getting into her sleeping bag.
‘Me too, I can’t believe they let us sleep here,’ Alice screeched jumping into bed.
‘I think one of the teachers will be along in a bit to make sure we’re all in bed and not drinking or whatever. Then when they’ve gone I think some of the boys are coming down from their dorm to ours,’ Lucy whispered from across the room. She was one of the girls that was way more experienced and worldly then the rest of them. She could easily pass for eighteen. Boobs, smile and attitude, she never needed a fake ID for anything.
‘Yeah, I heard them say that too,’ Emily joined in, ‘apparently Steve is so hot for you, Alice!’
‘Really? Well I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,’ she said shyly.
‘Why not, he’s fit and you’ve got to at least kiss someone soon?’ Lucy came over with her torch and sat on the edge of Alice’s bed.
‘Hey, I have kissed a boy you know, I’m not totally weird,’ Alice joked.
‘You know what I mean. These are our best years and you should experiment a little. You too, Ellie. I think Spencer likes you,’ Lucy continued placing a square of Galaxy into her mouth.
‘Spencer has braces. I have braces. Could you imagine the disaster that could be? We could get hooked together or something?’ Ellie laughed awkwardly.
Talking with Lucy always made Alice feel a little wilder even if it was for just a short while. She made things seem easy. Like there was never a reason not to do something. Maybe she should kiss Steve? She really couldn’t moon over her teacher in a fantasy world for the rest of her life, when he probably had a girlfriend already.
‘Lucy, have you had
She smiled to herself, it was like a scene from one of her mum’s Mills and Boon novels. A romantic Gaelic warrior takes a woman into his masculine environment, cherishes her and all her feminine differences and they make passionate animal love until their flesh is burning with desire, shielding them from the reality of the bitter terrain surrounding them…
Tom glanced up and looked in her direction pulling her from her daydream. Alice realised she was still staring at him and quickly looked down at her hot chocolate which was resting between her hands. She didn’t want to look up again, but her body was pulling her eyes up, up, up… and he was still looking too. He smiled at her and raised his hand.
Be still my beating heart…
The evening passed by in a slow hazy blur of smoking wood and huddled bodies as it turned colder. Mrs Pope strummed enthusiastically on her guitar, trying to get everyone involved in a campfire song. Alice was convinced the teachers had already started drinking as they seemed more chilled out and happy, laughing openly and ignoring the odd swear word or innuendo from the boys.
At 10.30pm Mr Chambers announced it was time to turn in and everyone headed to their allocated dormitories which were spread out over a square mile of forest, so you really got the feeling of being at one with nature. It reminded Alice of that Friday 13 th movie, so not really the feeling she wanted to have right now, out here in the middle of nowhere. God, if she thought too much about that she’d get freaked out and never sleep tonight.
Basic. That was the only word that could describe the bedrooms. They were large wooden rooms on stilts with four steps leading up to the door. Eight small bunks were housed inside, four along each wall. They had chosen their beds earlier in the day and set their sleeping bags and pillows out on them and apart from the bright designs of some of the quilts the room was nothing more than an army barracks.
They had torches, but that was their only source of light.
‘Oh my god I’ve never been this freezing!’ Ellie shivered getting into her sleeping bag.
‘Me too, I can’t believe they let us sleep here,’ Alice screeched jumping into bed.
‘I think one of the teachers will be along in a bit to make sure we’re all in bed and not drinking or whatever. Then when they’ve gone I think some of the boys are coming down from their dorm to ours,’ Lucy whispered from across the room. She was one of the girls that was way more experienced and worldly then the rest of them. She could easily pass for eighteen. Boobs, smile and attitude, she never needed a fake ID for anything.
‘Yeah, I heard them say that too,’ Emily joined in, ‘apparently Steve is so hot for you, Alice!’
‘Really? Well I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,’ she said shyly.
‘Why not, he’s fit and you’ve got to at least kiss someone soon?’ Lucy came over with her torch and sat on the edge of Alice’s bed.
‘Hey, I have kissed a boy you know, I’m not totally weird,’ Alice joked.
‘You know what I mean. These are our best years and you should experiment a little. You too, Ellie. I think Spencer likes you,’ Lucy continued placing a square of Galaxy into her mouth.
‘Spencer has braces. I have braces. Could you imagine the disaster that could be? We could get hooked together or something?’ Ellie laughed awkwardly.
Talking with Lucy always made Alice feel a little wilder even if it was for just a short while. She made things seem easy. Like there was never a reason not to do something. Maybe she should kiss Steve? She really couldn’t moon over her teacher in a fantasy world for the rest of her life, when he probably had a girlfriend already.
‘Lucy, have you had
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