Author's Note: I don't own Connor or Murphy McManus (damn the luck), I just play with them when I can. I don't usually write in first person, but really needed it for this story. If you're looking for something in depth and insightful…um you shouldn't read this. It's nothing but a good bit of McManus smut. Hope you enjoy! And if you don't…you really don't need to tell me. LOL! Anyway, enjoy!
Dating one of the McManus brothers is, well, complicated. Don't get me wrong, it's great, and any girl within ten blocks of McGuinty's would tell you they'd love to try it, but it is, well…complicated.
First off, you never know when he's coming around. No phone, no set schedule, it's the luck of the draw. Working a date in around a work schedule is one thing, but work and mass? Not to mention a large chunk of time devoted to drinking with the boys and his brother. His brother who is never far away. And I do mean **never**.
Of course, what Connor McManus and I have been doing for the last four weeks could only be called dating in the absolute loosest sense of the word. No flowers, no candy. Only the occasional meal, followed closely by a few drinks and cigarettes, followed immediately by the hasty removal of clothing and a heavy exchange of bodily fluids.
The mornings were a little awkward in the beginning. Much less now that I'm no longer self-conscious about the fact that Murphy is either sleeping two feet away or stumbling into the loft at an inopportune moment. It only took a night or two to realize that it didn't bother either of them in the least, so I slowly came to grips with it. Of course that process was quickly advanced the night that Connor and I walked in on Murphy and a redhead I had never seen before. She had tried to cover up as Connor walked past, very politely said, "Excuse me," grabbed a pack of smokes and pulled me down onto his own mattress. The redhead eventually forgot that we were in the room, and admittedly, so did I.
She and I made awkward conversation the following morning as we gathered clothing, before sitting at the raggedy card table, politely nibbling on toast as the boys carried on an animated conversation, sitting on their beds in their boxers. I could see the resentment creasing around her eyes as she glared at Murphy. "I wouldn't take it terribly personal," I said, snatching the last cigarette out of a discarded pack forgotten amongst the beer bottles. "It's not that he's uninterested in you, they're just very involved with each other."
"Still, is he just going to sit there and ignore me?"
"They're probably expecting us to entertain each other," I said, exhaling smoke. "They did make us breakfast," I said gesturing at the toast.
"It's just very rude," she said, increasing the intensity of her glare at Murphy, who was still unaffected.
"That what made you come home with him? His manners?"
She turned her glare on me, and I have to admit it was a good one. Murphy was lucky that he was ignoring her. I inhaled sharply, choking on my smoke and started coughing. "Ya alright, there, girl?" Murphy asked, glancing at me.
I nodded, getting my wind back, waving him off. "I'm fine, too," she snapped.
Both brothers turned to face us, looking back and forth between us, trying to work out why there would have been any reason to ask about her at all. "Uh, good," Murphy finally answered.
The redhead huffed out a breath, grabbed her purse, and stormed out. When the door slammed behind her, Murphy and Connor both looked at me then at the empty chair. "What's she in a twist about, then?" Connor asked, rising from the mattress, looking at the closed door.
"I think she felt a little neglected," I said, flicking ashes into an open bottle.
"Neglected?" Murphy asked standing up and stretching. "Made breakfast, didn't I?" he said, gesturing at the toast.
"I think she was just expecting a bit more attention paying or cuddling."
"For fuck's sake, we cuddled all fucking night," Murphy stated, coming towards the table.
I raised my hands in acquiescence, "I'm just saying. It's a girl thing."
"But not for you?" Connor asked stepping up behind my chair, running fingers lightly from one shoulder to the other, then kissing the side of my neck.
I arched an eyebrow at him. "The first morning that I woke up here, in bed alone, Murph in the shower and you already at work, I gave up the idea."
"Well, you were sleeping when I left. Didn't want to wake you."
I smiled a little, "Thank you."
"But ya came back," Murphy added, lighting his own cigarette.
"Sure," I said, nodding, more than a little uncomfortable in the midst of this Q & A session.
"Why didn't it bother you?" Connor asked, settling into the chair next to me.
"You asked me out, Connor, you didn't ask me to marry you. And I didn't say yes because I thought we could grow old together. I did it because I liked you and I thought we'd have fun. I didn't come into this expecting anything, so I'm happy with whatever I get, for as long as it lasts." I became aware of the intense stare from both brothers and I nervously tapped out my cigarette, before lighting another.
After a brief second of silence, they lapsed into Gaelic, leaving me smoking. "You're a good lass," Murphy said suddenly in English. "Wish there were more like you."
I laughed a little as they lapsed into what sounded like German and talked around me long enough for me to finish my cigarette. I stood, grabbing my purse, "Well," I started.
"Hold on," Connor said, "I'll walk ye out." He turned back to Murphy and said a bit more in Gaelic, then zipped his jeans and started for the door. We made small talk on the way down the stairs, once on the street, he asked, "Ye'll be 'round your place tonight, then?"
"Yeah," I said, nodding.
"Good, then. Dinner? Couple of drinks? Back here?"
"Sounds like fun," I agreed. "I'm off work at six, give me til eight?"
"Sure," he agreed, holding my face gently between his hands, he kissed me insistently, a gesture I returned, my hands finding his hips and drawing him close. When he withdrew his mouth, I was flushed and out of breath. "Eight, then."
"See you," I called to his retreating form as he went back into the building.