Page 42 of In the Grey of Dawn

The sheriff, who had been quietly sitting at the bar, finished his dinner, slowly wiped his mouth with a serviette and placed a handcuff on the man telling him he was under arrest for sexual assault. Giving Mel and Porter a nod as he left the bar dragging the guy behind him. For someone old enough to be my dad, Sheriff Miller is an unassuming tough guy. The whole thing was like watching a car crash unfold and I just couldn't look away.

The place has a great feel about it tonight and I'm a little sad I won't be able to do this for a few weeks.

I'm heading off tomorrow to start my staycation with Mila at the house. Porter agreed to stay there as well, seeing Nova can't make it anymore. So it will just be the three of us and Ragnar.

“You doing okay, baby? You've been working without a break for a while now,” Porter says, as he pulls my back to his front.

I can't help but think about all the changes that have happened between us these last few months, that we are even at this point.

I'm feeling really good about where we’re at in our relationship. I don't need labels or expectations. It's like he knows all I need for him to do is show up each day. To take a little bit more of the mental load on days I need so I can return the favour if he's had a hard day. In saying all that, it's not as if either of us are in incredibly stressful situations. But every now and then it's nice for someone to pick up the slack on days you can't.

“I’m goo—”

“Charlie!” Mel whisper shouts at me, leaning across the bar. “That couple over there, standing by the door. They wanted me to ask you. Okay, well they gave me twenty dollars to ask you if you wanted a threesome with them tonight. I told them you’re taken but then they offered me money and who am I to turn down a free buck.”

Looking toward the exit I can see an attractive couple staring at the three of us, as a low growl rumbles in my ear.

“No. Tell themno. She'smygirlfriend and I don't share.” He replies to Mel but looks toward the door, shaking his head at them as he wraps his arms tighter around me.

Could this night get any better? Coyote Ugly theme night, a good old fashioned bar fight, and now this.

“You called me your girlfriend.” I giggle, the sound almost borderline hysterical but I'm not melting down from it. Usually, I getewwvibes as soon as someone mentions the wordgirlfriend. It immediately puts me off the person and things end fairly quickly after that. But when Porter says it … I think I like it.

Turning to face him, I wrap my arms around his waist and look up at his intense gaze. His eyes dart all over mine as if he's trying to get a read on me.

“Is that alright? We haven't talked about what we are or if we want to really be anything. I know I've said we’re together but I'd like for you to be my girlfriend ... only if you want to, that is?”

This is what it feels like when you play with a litter of puppies. This is pure joy and nothing can get in the way of this feeling right now.

He is so fucking adorable.

This big gruff alpha man who only an hour ago was in a bar fight is now fumbling over his words asking me to be his girlfriend.

“Yes, I would love to be your girlfriend,” I say, smiling up at him.

He looks like the happiest man on earth with the biggest smile on his face.

“If you guys are done being all cute and shit there's a line forming for drinks down there,” Mel says, sitting on a bar stool, casually eating from the bowl of nuts.

“Go on, we can talk later,” he whispers in my ear, patting my ass as I walk away.

“And don't eat those damn nuts. You know how many people don't wash their hands after taking a piss.”

I hear him say to Mel as I walk away, laughing at him when she rebuts with “It's good for my immunity.”

Chapter 24 - Porter

If you think I’m pretty - Artemas ?

I’ll never admit it but this stupid theme night has been a success. Word spread rather quickly among the women in town that it was country night and within an hour we had a healthy number of people ready for a good time out. Even having to deal with the table that got handsy hasn't put a dampener on anything and I’ve been able to spend a decent portion of the night catching up on the district's dirty secrets.

“You sure I can't get you another drink?” I ask my would-be friend, Hades. He's the president of a nearby Motorcycle Club who stops by randomly to share information and anything else that could be useful. It's not often he’s here hunting for someone, so I'll be interested to see if the guy appears at some stage.

“Na, I'm good. I'm not sure how long I'll be hanging around for. I had confirmation that the guy I'm looking for is in the area but he has yet to appear,” he says, his voice so low you would struggle to hear it if you weren't accustomed to how Hades operates.

“Let me know if you need the basement at all and I'll get it set up.”

He nods his head at me and I leave him to return to the bar, which is in dire need of a restock after both Charlie and Mel got a little carried away at giving people mouth shots.

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