^^ Ash ^^

I headed to the cafe at about lunchtime the next day. I fully intended to fill my stomach with greasy food and then go home and binge on Netflix. Shelby had texted me that morning asking me to meet her there, so we sat in a booth eating our food and chatting about our night out.

"Wait, so he carried you home?" She asked, laughing.

"Yep. I think I passed out soon after but I woke up this morning with two bottles of water and a pot of painkillers next to my bed."

"Ah, that's really sweet!" She cooed.

"I'm pretty sure I introduced them to that guy as little puppies!" I groaned, wincing as she laughed aloud.

"You also said that Smiler bites," I jumped at the voice next to me and looked up to see Ash and Jay with grins on their faces.

"Oh god!" Shelby laughed. "I love drunk you!" She slapped her hand on the table.

"Well, that's the last of drunk me you'll be seeing for a while!" I leaned my forehead on the table, laughing.

Jay and Ash slid into the booth with us. Jay sat next to Shelby, who looked at me with a wink as Ash slipped in next to me. I slapped his hand as he grabbed a strip of bacon off my plate. "How's your head?" He asked.

"Surprisingly fine. Although, I think that's thanks to the water and tablets that were left by my bed."

Ash nodded and pointed at Jay. "That was all him," he told me.

I lifted my head to smile at Jay. "Thank you. You are officially my hero!"

Ash scoffed. "I'm the one who carried you home!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "You kidnapped me. That does not make you a hero!"

Shelby laughed and waved at Tia to refill our coffees. We sat there with the guys for a while, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they're not always loud and boisterous. I thought Ash had decided not to flirt with me today until he leaned back and looked at me.

"You know, my shirt is made from boyfriend material. Just thought you should know," he winked.

Shelby laughed and I raised an eyebrow at her. I reached a hand out and stroked his sleeve, secretly loving the way the muscles in his arm felt. "Hmm," I said, tilting my head to look at his shirt. "I guess that explains the cheap look and disappointing feel then!"

He shook his head as Jay threw his head back and laughed. "I really thought that one would work!" He turned to look at me again. "You should come out with me today."

"Oh, I should?" I asked him, amused. He nodded, but I put a hand up to stop him talking. "Unfortunately, I can't. I have a really hot guy at home waiting for me. I wouldn't want to disappoint him," I told him.

His face dropped. "You do?" He genuinely looked hurt for a second, but he covered it quickly.

"I do," I nodded. "His name is Damon. He's tall, dark and handsome. And I've got a fair few episodes left of him to watch. So if you'll excuse me," I nudged him with my arm and he stood to let me out.

As I said goodbye and turned to leave, I heard him speak to Shelby. "She's talking about that vampire guy isn't she?" I laughed as I heard him chuckle behind me.

***

I know I said that I wasn't going to be drinking again for a while, but that doesn't mean that I can't go out and have some fun. I'd managed to persuade Shelby to join me again a few nights after our last outing, on the promise that we'd stick to just a few drinks. We'd both done it and were barely tipsy as we danced at one of the clubs just outside of town.

Shelby had caught the attention of a guy who looked to be about twenty-five. He was out with a group of his friends and we were all dancing in a group on the dance floor. One of his friends was grinding up against me from behind and had started to get a little bit too hands on. I wasn't worried, the guy was barely drunk and seemed to have just got caught up in the moment. I took hold of his hands and removed them from my body. As I turned to face him, I was pulled roughly away. 

I looked to the owner of the hand on my arm, the one that had pulled me away, and was shocked to see Jay. As I looked back to the guy I had been dancing with, I saw Ash shove him hard.

"What makes you think you have the right to put your hands on her? What, you couldn't see she was trying to pull away?" Ash shouted, barely heard over the music. Looking around I saw most of the Bulldogs were here. I was pissed off.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I shouted, yanking my arm away from Jay.

"He was groping you!" Jay exclaimed.

"We were dancing! I had it handled. What are you even doing here?" I pushed Ash, as hard as I could, away from the one I was dancing with. "You should probably go," I said to him, as I stood in front of Ash to block his way. The man made the right decision and backed away with his hands up in surrender.

"You had it handled, did you? So he didn't pull you back when you tried to move away?" Ash scoffed.

"He got caught up in the moment, he wasn't even being rough! Why are you here?" I pushed him again, but he didn't even move an inch.

Jay stepped between us and put his hands on my shoulders. As I looked behind him, I saw Banjo with his arm around Shelby. "We were meeting someone here and saw you guys. We were coming over to say hi when we saw him getting grabby."

"Oh, so you thought you'd just barge in and ruin my night? I didn't need your help, and I don't want it. Stay away from me. All of you!" I reached for Shelby and grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind me as we left the club. I could hear them calling after us but refused to turn back.

"Wow!" Shelby said, shaking her head. "What the hell?"

"Right?! They help me out once when I'm drunk, and all of a sudden I can't get rid of them!" I flagged a cab down and let Shelby get in first. As we pulled away, I saw the Bulldogs come out of the club, looking up and down the street.

"I think Ash actually likes you though, Mel," she said, as we turned the corner back towards town. "You should see the way he looks at you when he thinks no one's watching."

I shook my head. "He just wants to get me into bed, that's all. I doubt any of them are the type of guys who hear a girl say no very often. I'm just a challenge to him. Besides, a Bulldog is one of the last people I'd want to get involved with. Way too much trouble!"

She shook her head but didn't say anything more as the cab pulled up outside my apartment block. "Get some sleep. I'll see you at work tomorrow,"

I leaned over and kissed her cheek. "See you tomorrow, Shel."

I entered my apartment and threw myself onto the sofa, resting my arm over my eyes. I couldn't believe a good night out had taken such a weird and aggravating turn.

***

To say my mood at work the next day wasn't good, would be a major understatement. I was still pissed off about last night, and to make my morning even better, I'd woken up with no hot water, so I'd had to have a cold shower before work. It was not pleasant. As the cafe had quieted to a lull, Shelby pulled me to our usual booth and handed me a coffee and some chocolate cake.

"Do you want me to call Tia or Robbie and get one of them to cover for you?" She asked, taking my hand in hers. "I haven't seen you this stressed in years!"

I sighed and shook my head. "No, I'd rather be here. I don't even know why everything's winding me up so much! So the Bulldogs are assholes and my boiler's bust? It's not exactly the end of the world is it?"

Shelby sighed and leaned back in her seat. "You were expecting a good night out and it got ruined. And maybe," She paused and I looked up at her.

"Maybe what?" I asked her.

"Well, maybe you like Ash a little bit, and that's why he pissed you off so much." I began to argue but she cut me off. "Look, if you really didn't like him, last night wouldn't be winding you up so much."

I sighed. "Maybe. But I still won't go there. Last night just proved that the Bulldogs bring trouble with them wherever they go." My head shot up as I heard the rumble of bikes pulling up. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Let's hope you're wrong about the trouble. You want me to handle them?"

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "I've got it. I'll be professional, don't worry." I took my cup and plate back to the kitchen and waited behind the counter for the Bulldogs to grab a table. There were only three of them today: Ash, Jay and an older guy I knew to be Skids. He came in here quite often, and his Irish accent was hard to miss. I grabbed my pad and walked over to them. "Good morning. Are you ready to order?"

Ash and Jay exchanged looks before Jay spoke. "Look, Mel-"

"How do you know my name?" I asked, interrupting him.

"You told us the night we took you home. You made it very clear that it's Melody, not Melanie or Melissa, but we were never to call you Melody, only Mel," he grinned.

Yep, that sounded like drunk me. I shrugged. "Fair enough. So, what can I get you?"

"We're really sorr-"

I groaned. "Your orders? Or are you just wasting good table space?"

Skids spoke up then. "Three coffees please, love. And if you could find it in your heart to forgive these two idiots, it would make it easier for all of us. They have no intention of leaving until you do."

I smiled at him. "Then I hope you've all got deep pockets because it looks like you'll be spending a while here. Three coffees coming up!" I walked away and saw Shelby motioning for me to join her in the kitchen.

"You're evil!" She said, laughing.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"We both know you'll forgive Ash the minute he pulls those pretty green eyes on you. You're just making them stew!"

I grinned. "I wouldn't call his eyes 'pretty' to his face if I were you. And I have no idea what you're on about!" I walked away leaving Shelby laughing behind me. I took them their coffees but as I turned to leave, Ash grabbed my hand.

"Babe-"

"Mel," I interrupted, making him sigh and rub his hand down his face.

"Mel. We really are sorry. Please, we'll do anything!" He whined.

"Anything?" I asked, sighing when he nodded. "Great, so you'll all leave me alone!"

"Anything except that," he said, squeezing my hand. "Look, I have to ask you something." I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. "Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" His eyes widened and I knew this was his attempt at looking innocent.

I bit the inside of my cheek to fight a smile. "What makes you so sure I didn't crawl up from hell?" I asked him, pulling my hand free and walking away. I walked past Shelby and could see her fighting her laughter. "Bastard," I muttered, making my way to the staff room, finally allowing my grin to break through.