The first thing Abigail noted when she woke up, was a heartbeat right underneath her ear. The second was her painful neck. The third was a hand on her hip. Lifting her head a little, she turned her face to the left, squeezing her eyes as her muscles felt sore. Touched, she looked at Juice's sleeping face. His lips were parted a little, letting out a snoring sound that was rather cute than annoying. Not wanting to wake him up, she lowered her head back on his chest. Wondering if he would be dreaming of her again, she looked at his lower body. The only exciting thing she saw was the little strip of skin between his shirt and jeans. Without thinking, she brushed it with her finger tips. For a moment she considered to roll up his shirt so she could leave kisses on his stomach and chest – but she tried to ignore the longing.

It was hard. She had been joking around with all prospects, but there never had been one she felt attracted to, and she had definitely never spent a night with one of them on the roof of the clubhouse. Most of them bored her quickly with their big talk or they just lacked the ability to have a good conversation with, but this guy dared to show his vulnerability, making her feel comfortable around him. She liked literally everything about him – his honesty, his smile, his clumsiness, those cute red cheeks, his smirk as he felt confident, his sweetness, their innocent flirting, his little less innocent dreams...

It was so tempting to forget about the club for a moment. To crawl on top of him, to kiss him, to feel his rough hands on her body, his lips along her neck. Ever since he had told her about that dream there was this dark longing that had crept from under a giant rock where it had hidden itself for ages. It must have been a year since she had had sex. Growing up around the club had created an aversion to one-night stands; she had seen how desperate it had made all the girls crowding the clubhouse, how lonely the men felt, unable to really connect to someone. She usually avoided contacts like that but man, this time she really wanted to taste him, to feel him.

She however knew better. Being disrespectful to his sponsor wouldn't help him to get his patch, especially not if it wasn't a serious thing, and she was glad that he knew his limits and wasn't constantly trying to hit on her, like some others had tried in the past. Tomorrow she would go back to San Francisco and she was sure he would have found his place among the Sons the next time she would see him, meanwhile used to the many women offering to sleep with him.

Abigail noted that she was still stroking the small strip of skin with her thumb, enjoying his warmth, its smoothness. A second later she realized also that his breathing had changed and she looked up.

"Didn't know you were awake," she said as their eyes met.

"I know. Was afraid you would stop stroking my skin if you knew."

It took all her willpower not to slip her hand inside his pants to prove him the opposite. "Guess you're right. I was hoping you would be less attractive now the alcohol has left my blood, but I was wrong."

He lifted the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, can't say the same about you. It was definitely the alcohol that made you look hot."

She grinned and turned towards him, leaning with her elbow on his midriff until he let out a painful groan. "Ass."

"You haven't given me the chance to judge that part of you yet."

She sat up straight, arching her back to feel less stiff. "I have a great ass."

With a smirk he sat up too, rolling his shoulders to loosen the muscles.

"Got more steamy dreams last night?" she asked.

"Yeah. But you weren't in it. I was fucking mermaids this time."

She laughed. "Better than unicorns, I guess. So how does that work, with mermaids?"

"Why? You planning to become one?"

"A girl can dream we'd decided, right?"

He smirked and ran a hand across his mohawk. "How does this look in daylight? Still hot?"

"Lemme see." She got up on her knees and carefully took off the bandages, revealing his tattoos. Very lightly she brushed the ink with her thumb. "Your skin is still irritated but yeah, I really like it."

He looked up to her, saying nothing. The tension between them was almost touchable. Her eyes shot to his lips, that seemed to beg for a kiss. Her own lips started to tingle at only the thought of kissing him again. Swallowing, she aimed her glance at his eyes again. For a long time they just stared at each other, fighting the longing to kiss, both knowing there was too much at stake. In the end it was Juice who laid a hand against her cheek and right when she wanted to give in, he kissed her forehead instead of her lips and broke the magical moment.

To her own surprise, she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Really – was she blushing now? Opie was the only one who kissed her like that at rare moments and they were best friends since they could walk. It however hadn't felt like a flirty move, but something much more intimate.

"So, you're finally gonna tell me what you're doin' here?" she asked him to distract herself. "Where are you from?"

"Queens."

She raised her eyebrows. "That's a long way from here..."

He nodded, sighing. Pensively he looked at her, his legs crossed and his wrists resting on his knees while he was obviously trying to figure out if he wanted to share his life story with her.

"Well you have your experience with guys involved in criminal activities, so I guess you won't freak out if I admit that I'm on the run from the mob. I met Jax in a bar and we talked for a while and when he discovered that I know how to hack shit, he took me to the clubhouse and said they could offer me protection when I updated their shit."

"Yeah the computers here were bought in the stone age," she smirked. "So... how does a nerdy computer geek piss off the mob?"

"A friend brought me in. A good friend, I thought."

"Wait... you worked for the mob?"

"Yeah... They paid well, was just doing the computer stuff. But my friend fucked things up and cast the blame on me. As they turned their attention to me, he fled, and when I found out what he had done I had no choice but to do the same. They aren't exactly the understanding kind of people."

He stared at his shoes, rubbing the nail of his thumb.

"It hurt, hmm? Your friend turning his back on you."

"He didn't just turn his back on me, he stabbed me in the back," he said embittered. "We were friends for years. He felt like the only family I had."

Her heart squeezed as she heard the hurt in his voice. The betrayal felt heavier than the fact that his life was at stake and she imagined it left him with some trust issues.

"SAMCRO will be your new family," she promised him. "They won't turn their backs on you, I promise." She took his hand and pressed a kiss on the back of it. "Neither will I. Gotta go back to San Fran tomorrow, but you can call me whenever you want. Just give me your phone and I'll put my number in it."

"Thanks," he said softly, giving her his phone.

"Use it," she answered, saving her number. "It's not easy to start a new life. I know you feel comfortable around me, so don't be shy. Just give me a call when you're bored or when you need to talk, okay?"

He gave her a grateful smile that made her tingle from top to toe and tucked away his phone. "Now prepare yourself for hours of whining in the middle of the night."

She chuckled, nudging his shoulder with hers. "You don't have to limit yourself to complaints. As it seems your dreams are interesting too, so feel free to share 'em."

"Yeah? Is the idea of me having sex with mermaids turnin' you on?"

She grinned. "Every sex scene with you is turnin' me on."

"Even the unicorns?"

She scowled. "Please leave the animals to Tig."

Chuckling, he rested his head against her shoulder, taking her hand in his. "I think I'm falling for you, Abigail."

His words evoked an explosion of heat inside her. She squeezed his fingers. "I know," she said softly, pressing a kiss to his temple. "Me too."

"Yeah? You're falling in love with yourself?"

"Wouldn't you?" she joked, knowing he must have noticed her feelings anyway.

"Oh definitely. I'd be crazy in love with myself."

She laughed, getting up and pulling him on her feet when she feared she could no longer resist him. "Come on, let's find us something to eat. I'm starving."

"I thought you had planned a romantic roof picknick," he pouted.

She tapped his nose. "Think we've had enough romance for this year, before you really can't get me out of your head."

He looked into her eyes, making her hold her breath for a moment. "Before you can't get me out of your head, you mean?"

"Before I can no longer resist those lips of yours," she whispered, tracing the line of his bottom lip with her thumb.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "You have to," he said in a hoarse voice. "Cause the moment I taste you again I'll rip off your clothes and lay you down on that plaid, showing some of the tricks the mermaids taught me tonight."

There was a sparkle in his eyes as she started to laugh. "You had me breathless until that last line."

He lifted the corner of his mouth. "Come on, let's get breakfast before your dad finds us here doing things we shouldn't do."

"Yeah, you're right." She picked up the plaid and folded it. "Wouldn't want that nightmare of yours to come true, huh."

"Nope. I like you a lot, but I'm not ready to die for you yet."

"Yet," she repeated, winking at him. "I'll remember that."