^^ Philly ^^

I wake up feeling trapped. Literally, not emotionally. As I open my eyes, I see Sammy lying with his back pressed against my front. There's an arm draped over both of us and I let out a giggle. Smiler stirs behind me and I see his hand move and then freeze. He lifts his head to look past me and spots Sammy.

"What the fuck?" He says, his voice still croaky with sleep. I laugh and he nuzzles his face into my neck, nipping the skin there. "Oh, you think it's funny?"

"The big tough biker cuddling up to the dog? Yeah, I think it's hilarious," I say.

He tickles my ribs and I scream. Sammy opens his eyes but doesn't move. A fat lot of help he is. The bedroom door slams open and Skids is there holding his gun, with Jay just behind him. I watch as they take in all three of us cuddled up in the bed. I laugh again as Smiler groans and hides his face in my hair.

"That's... Cute," Jay says with a grin.

Smiler puts his hand under his pillow and pulls it out again. I raise my head and see him pointing his gun at Jay, his face still tucked into my hair. Skids is almost doubled over laughing.

"Fuck off before I blow your head off!" Smiler growls. This makes Skids' laughter even worse and I see tears fill his eyes.

"I thought Lenni was the grumpy one in the mornings," He says, before taking a deep breath and looking at me. "You screamed?"

I cringe. "He tickled me!" I hide my head next to Sammy as Skids becomes hysterical. It's not so funny when he's laughing at me. "Smiler, if you don't hurry up and shoot them, I fucking will!" I mumble.

"Ah, there she is!" Skids sighs. I look up and glare at him and he holds his hands up. "We're going!" He shoves Jay through the doorway before closing it behind them. I can hear them still laughing as they walk into the bar.

I nudge Sammy to get him off the bed and throw the covers off me. I go to move but Smiler's hand sliding up my bare thigh stops me.

"Where are you going?" He asks, and I turn to see him grinning at me.

I shake my head. "I need coffee and a shower."

His grin grows. "You get the coffee, I'll get the shower running."

I raise an eyebrow but we both know I'm not going to disagree. I stand and stretch, swatting Smiler's hand away as he makes a grab for me. My t-shirt only just covers my arse so when I stretched, it rode right up, like I knew it would. I throw him a wink and he groans, flopping onto his back and covering his eyes with his arm. I laugh and open the door, dodging Sammy as he charges past me. I walk into the bar and head straight for the coffee machine, rubbing my eyes as I walk.

I hear Jay clear his throat. "Um..." He trails off so I turn to look at him. Shit. The bar is full of people I've never seen before. And I'm standing here half naked. I shuffle back towards the door.

"I'm just gonna-" I point behind me with my thumb, before turning and bolting down the corridor.

"That was quick," Smiler says, as I close the bedroom door. He's still in bed but is propped up against the headboard now, with the sheet draped around his waist. I tear my eyes away from his abs to scowl at him.

"The bar's full of random men!" I hiss.

He raises an eyebrow. "So?"

I nod. "Oh okay. If you don't mind them all seeing me like this," I motion to my bare legs. "I'll just go and get those coffees." I turn and open the door, but it's slammed shut by a hand above my head. I wipe the cocky grin off my face and turn to look up at him.

"Put some clothes on. No one sees that but me." He hands me my skinny jeans and I tug them on.

"What are you going to do when I go back to work?" I ask him.

"You're not."

Say what now?!

"Excuse me?" I say, freezing in the middle of doing my button up.

"You're not going back. It's not safe," He says, talking to me as if I'm an idiot.

Oh, I'm pissed now. I yank the door open and storm to the bar. Skids is leaning on the other side, talking to a man I don't know. I walk towards him and slam my hands down in front of him. He jumps and looks at me.

"Was this your idea?" I say. I see him look over my shoulder and can tell Smiler has followed me. He looks back to me, scrunching his eyebrows together. "Was it you who decided I can't go back to work?"

He shuffles in his seat. "Um, we all decided it was best."

Oh, hell no. "So all you men gathered around a table and started making decisions for the woman, right? Funny, I thought we moved out of fucking caves millenniums ago!" I'm fuming. How dare they? Do I not get a say in my own life? Is my opinion worth nothing? I look at them all and they all look at the floor. I throw my hands up in the air. "Well fuck the lot of you!" I yell.

I'm about to storm back to my room when the door opens and the sheriff walks in. I move on instinct, grabbing the blade from under the bar. I'm about to leap over it when I'm grabbed around the waist and lifted from the floor. I would fight, but it's Smiler that's holding me and unless I plan on stabbing him, I know I'll never get him to let me go. Although the way my mood is right now, he should keep a careful eye on the blade in my hand. He's smart enough not to try and take it from me, though. The sheriff looks at me, eyes wide, and audibly gulps.

"Uh, I'm here to see Brian?" He says, looking around.

I frown. Who the hell is Brian? My confusion only grows when Philly meets him by the door and they stand there talking. I feel Smiler's lips by my ear.

"You good?"

I take a deep breath and nod. He puts me down but keeps his arms wrapped loosely around my waist, hugging me from behind. I keep my stare on the sheriff, slightly amused at the quick glances he keeps sending me, obviously making sure I'm not about to attack. I smirk and begin trying to balance the blade on the tip of my finger. I can see him watching me as I move my hand to balance it. I see him say goodbye to Philly - or Brian? - so I call out to him.

"Oh, sheriff?" I say. He turns to look at me and I move my finger quickly. The blade drops and hits the bar with a thud. I watch for a second as the handle wobbles from the impact of the blade digging into the wooden top. I look back at him and smile sweetly. "Have a nice day!"

He runs out of the door, slamming it behind him. The guys all laugh and cheer, until I pick the blade up again, flipping it in my hand. I point it at them all, one by one. "Oh no. I'm still pissed as hell at all of you!" They all quiet down, watching me closely. "Dancing at work was the one time, the only time, I didn't have to think about him, or running, or hiding. It was the one time I felt free, I felt like me. And you lot have all decided to take that freedom from me without even bothering to have a conversation with me about it. So as far as I'm concerned, you should all be very fucking careful!"

I turn and hold the knife out to Smiler. He takes it and I walk past him without another word.

Ten minutes after my escape to my room, there's a soft knock on the door. I sigh. Surely they're not stupid enough to bother me right now? I open the door slowly, fully prepared to blow my top, but I freeze when I see a woman there. She's about my height and build, but her stomach is round with an obvious pregnancy. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a messy bun and she wears glasses over her green eyes. She's beautiful, especially when she smiles at me.

"Hi. I'm Mel," She introduces herself. "I thought you could do with one of these." She holds her hand out and I see a large cup of steaming coffee. I fall a little bit in love with her.

I open the door and invite her in. "You have no idea how glad I am for some female company! I've been surrounded by idiots full of testosterone for far too long."

She laughs and leans against the chest of drawers. "Oh, I get it, believe me! My husband is a Bulldog. We've been on our last holiday as a couple before the baby gets here so we haven't been around. Jay filled us in though."

She doesn't look at me like I'm fragile or insane, and I love her even more for it. I watch her hands rub her bump.

"Do you want to sit?" I ask her, but she shakes her head.

"No thanks. I can't get comfortable at this point. Plus I've been nagged at for weeks to sit and rest. It's nice to stand for a while." She grins at me and I return it.

"When are you due?" I ask, and her smile grows.

"I've got a month left, as long as it doesn't go overdue!"

We spend an hour chatting about normal girly stuff, and it's more relaxing than an entire day at a spa would be. She tells me that she doesn't know the baby's gender yet but her husband, Ash, is hoping for a boy. I explain the argument this morning and she gets my point completely. I feel good having someone on my side for once.

When we finally go back to the bar, all the men quiet down when they see us. I roll my eyes and turn to Mel. "We seriously need to get some more women around here," I hear a few of the men agree and continue. "Maybe not. I wouldn't want to inflict this lot on anyone!"

Mel laughs, and we stand behind the bar looking at the guys.

"Two beautiful barmaids. What more could we want?" Philly says.

I scowl at him. "Firstly, if you think either of us is going wait on you, you can take your chauvinistic arse back to the Stone Age. Secondly, what the fuck, Brian? Why the hell do we call you Philly?"

"I'm from Philly," he says as if I'm stupid. "Plus, I hate the name Brian."

I smirk. "Oh okay, Brian. That makes sense, Brian." I can't help it. He made it too easy, telling me that he hates it. What did he expect?

He winks at me. "Get back in the kitchen."

"Suck my dick, Brian."

He frowns. "You don't have a dick."

I grin. "Neither will you if you carry on."

He cringes and backs away from the bar, telling the others to shut up as they all laugh.

Smiler comes to sit at the bar and I lean over to give him a quick kiss. "Am I forgiven?" He asks me.

"Nope. You have a lot of making up to do!"

"Well, you see," he starts, and I raise an eyebrow at him. "I thought you might say that. I've got something for you."

He grabs a guy by the arm and shoves him towards me. He's about twenty-five and looks like he should be a surfer. He has blonde hair to his shoulders and dark blue eyes. I'm also extremely jealous of his tan.

"Aw, you got me a boy toy!" I say, and Smiler growls, glaring at me.

"No. I got you a tattoo artist."

Oh. Wow. That's actually sweet. Thank god he didn't get me flowers. They'd end up in the bin. What's the point in spending money on something that looks pretty for a few days, until it shrivels up and dies?

I walk around the bar and jump into his arms, placing a hard kiss on his lips. "You know me so well!"

He introduces me to the tattoo artist, whose name I learn is Sky - sounds surfer, right? - and we spend the next couple of hours talking about ideas for some ink to put on my left leg. Apart from my stomach, it's the only bare skin left. I've always put off getting tattoos on my stomach because I want kids one day. I'm paranoid that they'll get all stretched out and weird looking, so I'm saving that for last. Oh, my throat is staying bare too. The idea of having a needle vibrating against my windpipe just makes me cringe!

As I sit here in a bar full of people, talking about tattoos, I realise that I shouldn't have worried before. This is the real me. Sassy, sarcastic and laughing as much as possible. Unless I'm losing my temper that is. It's a relief to know that I'm not going to a be a numb wreck for the rest of my life. I put everything out of my mind, and enjoy my time with these idiots I've come to love. For the first time, I'm glad I didn't run.