AN. Thanks so much for the messages about Seeking Satisfaction - I've been trying to make the rest of it work on paper, but it's not quite coming together yet (I will finish it eventually, I promise!). In the meantime, I've been working on something short, and just a bit of fun, to shift the mental block. I've got a fair chunk of the first few chapters pre-written, so thought I would share at this point and cross my fingers that the rest of it all works out for the best (no, I will never learn). Title taken shamelessly from the Beatles song which covers the basic concept of the story - when you've been struggling along through life in the dark, can one person make the sun come out to shine again?
Hope you enjoy (and thanks as per usual to itsembarrassing for being an awesome reader / sounding board / supplier of CJ pictures when I'm in need of inspiration).
Molly hoped that the frustrated scream she felt like releasing hadn't actually escaped her body as she served the latest punter to aim a lecherous comment in her direction. This was her chance to earn a bit of regular cash, she wasn't passing it up just cos some horny, sex deprived squaddies couldn't keep their comments, or their hands, to themselves. She'd been able to get a night's trial in the pub after the manager had either taken pity on her, or just got bored of listening to her list of reasons why it'd be a great idea to give her a job behind the bar. It didn't matter either way, she wasn't prepared to walk out of here without a job. She couldn't afford not to.
She straightened her back to make her feel taller than her tiny 5 foot and 1 and 3/4 inches, fixed her most determined smile to her face and faced the source of her irritation. Maria, the manager, was watching her from the corner of the bar with interest. There was no way she was going to make it obvious this twat was pissing her off.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that. What you after mate?"
The man in front of her smirked, looking her up and down as a low whistle escaped his lips. The corners of his mouth twitched with amusement. He was a man that seemed to possess a self confidence that didn't match up to his short height and unremarkable face, although his blue eyes sparkled with mischief as they finally drew up to hers and he responded.
"2 pints, packet of salt n vinegar and whatever your tidy little arse is drinking."
"Don't start on her Smurf, she's on trial. Hawkeye's in the corner watching her."
The warning voice beside her at the bar intervened on her behalf before she could smile pleasantly and thank the punter for his offer. Usually the way to deal with his type was to encourage them that they were as attractive as they actually thought they were. It was a good way to earn a decent tip.
"I'm not starting nothing Kate. Just enjoying the view. Old Maria sure knows how to keep the punters coming in."
He wasn't wrong. Maria had always picked her bar staff with a shrewd eye for what would keep a pub right next to an army barracks full. While Molly had always been told she was pretty, but not in an obvious way, Kate was the opposite. The first thing that presented itself when you met her was her appearance. She had long blonde hair that tumbled around her shoulders and stark blue eyes that pierced whoever she spoke to. They were currently looking at Smurf with amusement.
"You'd better watch who you're calling old. She'll bar you if she hears you hitting out with that sort of talk."
"She won't bar me. She's not immune to the charms of the Smurf." He grinned confidently as Molly pulled the second of the pints he'd ordered and placed it in front of him.
"Smurf? Do I even wanna know why you're called that?"
"Isn't it obvious?" With Molly's shrug of her shoulders he sighed and let her in on the secret, leaning into the bar as he beckoned her towards him. She leaned forward slightly, not missing Maria's curious glance from her vantage point at the opposite end of the room.
"It's cos the ladies can't control their blue thoughts when they're around me."
Molly briefly considered his words before she burst out laughing, clocking the look of disappointment that fleeted across his face.
"Thank god you said that mate, I thought it was just me! You must just have that effect on every woman."
Molly's sarcasm wasn't lost on Kate as she leaned past to retrieve some straws beside the beer tap and smirked. She tapped Molly on the shoulder with a wry smile, joining in her fun.
"Our Smurfoid's a regular Casanova, Molly. You've gotta watch out incase your knickers drop just from looking at him."
Molly noticed the beginnings of a blush creep it's way around the young Welshman's neck as he realised he was being mocked.
"You can laugh all you like Kate. Didn't hear you complaining round the back of the Indian that night." His comment was tinged with a hint of bitterness and the mood changed from playful to verging on hostile in moments.
Kate laughed it off, although Molly wasn't convinced she wasn't affected. "I was too busy wondering if it'd gone in yet, it wasn't that obvious." She grinned at Molly as she began to walk away. "Anyway, you've chucked your rattle over there, best go and collect it." Kate turned her attention to the opposite end of the bar, where a new crowd of thirsty punters had arrived. It was a Friday evening, and the usual crowd was starting to fill the small country pub. Locals, regulars and squaddies from the nearby barracks. Smurf remained at the bar, still assessing Molly as he began to sip his pint.
"Ain't you taking them somewhere?" Molly eyed the other drink he'd bought.
"Bit busy right now" he mused as he watched her. He was quieter since the exchange with Kate, but he was obviously still waiting to try his luck. Molly tipped her chin up, ready to deal with him.
"Doin' what exactly?"
"Trying to work out what our kids are gonna look like. When little Dylan Junior grows up and asks the story of how we met, I'll tell him his mam served me a cracking pint and the rest was history."
Molly stared him square in the eye and giggled, despite herself.
"You've got a screw loose."
"Nah darlin, he's just after a screw." Another of the squaddies joined Smurf at the bar, knocking the side of Smurf's head playfully as he sat down and helped himself to one of the pints sitting at the bar. Smurf ducked out the way and flattened his hair while the other man leaned against the bar and took Molly's appearance in. She'd made an extra effort tonight, using the nice makeup she'd treated herself to months ago and made it last, and curling her long hair in loose waves.
"Fingers" he held out his hand, but instead of shaking it when Molly responded in kind, he pulled her knuckles towards his face and dropped a kiss on them. "Lovely to meet you sweetheart. What's your name?"
"She's Molly, and you can keep the fuck away from her. I was here first." Smurf sniffed with distaste as Molly retrieved her hand from the new stranger. He licked his lips provocatively and turned to incline his head towards his drinking partner.
"Let the lady speak for herself Smurfoid, I'm sure she can decide who the best bet is between the two of us." He aimed a winning smile in Molly's direction, although Molly was only conscious of the increasingly irate look being cast in her direction from Maria as she was watched. She took another order as the two men remained at the bar.
She drew her eyes back to Fingers as she worked. "Now that I've had the explanation behind Smurf, I really, really don't wanna know how you got your nickname."
Fingers grinned widely. "I'll give you a real life demonstration whenever you need it. Working behind this bar must be stressful, bet you need a way to work that frustration off."
As Molly glanced over from the row of spirits she was serving from, she met his entirely serious face. "You're alright, think I'll cope. And besides, I ain't even got a job yet anyway."
"Maria'll give you a job no problem. You're a natural." Smurf's words were kind but he retained the predatory look that Molly knew would lead nowhere good. She gave him a brief, grateful smile in any case before she ducked under the bar briefly for crisps.
"I am the nuts as a barmaid." She didn't hint that she was sorely disappointed that it had come to this, yet another bar job trying to save enough cash to pay the bills and cover her tuition fees for a paramedic course that was becoming more and more of a remote prospect.
She'd been distracted enough to miss whatever Smurf said in return. When she asked him to repeat it and looked up, her eyes met the furious gaze of whoever was marching up behind the two men propping up the bar. His face was a smooth mask of hardness, cracked only by one line of tension across his furrowed brow. His furious brown eyes bored into the two men from behind.
"Now, gentlemen" his initial tone was low and almost menacing before he let out a loud bark in their ears. "How the fuck did I know you two bellends would be in here."
Molly watched with curiosity as the backs of both men straightened immediately in response to the authoritative tone from behind them. Whoever he was, he obviously didn't take any prisoners, and the immediate response of fear from both men wasn't lost on her.
"Alright boss?" Fingers' voice had lost the lazy sense of relaxation he'd been practicing. "Just a quick pint then we'll be out of 'ere." His previously deep Mancunian tone sounded almost squeaky with nervousness. Molly noticed that even Maria had made the effort to swing her hips over to their side of the room, glancing at the back of whoever this scary sod was. If the front of him was anything to go by, he must have a tidy arse, and Maria was making the most of the view.
"Captain James", she drawled as she sauntered towards the trio. Molly had to hold back a laugh at the sudden transformation of the stern, challenging woman who'd interviewed her, into somebody who looked almost nervous. The other squaddies in the bar were backing away from the situation, none of them wishing to be dragged into it.
"Maria" he looked away from the men in front of him, his hands on his hips. "Sorry to bring this in here, but these two cockwombles-" he aimed his head in the direction of Fingers and Smurf "-have a mandatory PT session at 5am, and are under strict orders to be back at Barracks hydrating, not propping up the bar trying to charm your barmaid.
Molly couldn't help it. A nervousness had been building up inside of her since Captain Shoutyface had come into the pub. With Molly, that sense of nerves only ever expressed itself in one way. She looked at her feet and let out the loud chuckle without thinking, before looking up and realising it had been a really bad idea. The disbelieving eyes of Smurf, Fingers, Maria and Captain Scary were all on her.
"Something funny?"
He was looking at her with a sense of such venom that she felt herself shrink by about three inches, and suddenly became very glad she didn't ever have any plans to join up. There'd surely be a big black mark against the name Molly Dawes by now if she did.
"Sorry" she stammered in the face of his continuing stare. "It's just...cockwombles." She giggled again as she said it, this time completely aware that she'd blown whatever chance she had of Maria taking her on. "It's a good description."
She could have sworn she saw him bite the inside of his cheek to prevent a smile for a second, but then it was gone and she'd been left wondering if she had imagined it.
"Glad you approve" he remarked in a sense that suggested he was in no way glad, that he was actually fuming, and that he would probably go out of his way to shout at her again given half the opportunity. His voice was one that could cut through glass, such was its sharp tone.
"Interesting choice of barmaid, Maria." He emphasised the word 'interesting' with a cruelly amused twist of his mouth. He didn't say anything more than that, not needing to. Molly saw Kate wince on her behalf, and send a sympathetic glance in her direction. Her cheeks heated from a combination of annoyance with herself, and anger at this total pain in the arse, who had quite clearly done her out of a job. He might be gorgeous, but he was obviously a total dickhead. She blinked away the angry tears that had begun to gather behind her eyes.
"She's on a trial run tonight." Maria supplied helpfully, sending a look of annoyance in Molly's direction. "I'll come to a decision on whether she has a job at the end of the night."
He snorted as he turned to leave. "Good luck with that." He drew his eyes onto Smurf and then Fingers, both of whom were glancing at Molly apologetically.
"If you two aren't tucked up nice and tight in Barracks within 15 minutes, I'll make it my life's mission to ensure neither of you does anything other than latrine clean for the rest of your career. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir." the dual cry came from the pair as he stalked away. Molly couldn't look anywhere other than at the floor as she continued to try and blink away her watery eyes. She didn't watch him as he walked away, but he didn't reach the door in any case.
It all must have happened quickly, but at the same time it felt like everything moved in slow motion. The crash of the stool Smurf had been holding onto as it fell to the floor, combined with him slumping beneath the bar and out of Molly's sight. Kate let out a stifled scream as she watched, while Fingers fell to the floor in an attempt to catch his friend, and shouted desperately for help.
Molly felt no panic, her first aid training kicking in immediately as she ran to the other side of the bar. She reached Smurf's lifeless body at the same time as Captain James, having sprinted back from the door to the pub on hearing the commotion and kneeling down to try and figure out what had happened.
"Smurf?" he screamed at him, as if his sense of fear and loyalty to his CO would somehow override what had happened and force him to open his eyes and answer.
"Smurf? Fucking hell!"
Molly saw the sense of panic quickly taking over from the previously composed man. She knelt down beside Captain James, firmly pushing him aside and began to work her way through the initial checks she'd been trained to do.
He had no pulse, no obvious signs of breathing. Shit.
"He's not breathing." She heard herself say the words as she brought her hands to his chest and began the slow series of pushes she knew she needed to perform in this scenario. A real life body felt a hell of a lot different to the dummy she'd practiced on, but she knew what she had to do. The adrenaline of the situation caught up with her and allowed her to move onto autopilot.
"You!" she shouted at the Captain as he watched helplessly. "I need you up at his head." She continued to push down on Smurf's chest, counting internally as she did it. "After three more pushes, I need you to pinch his nose and hold his chin up, then blow into his mouth, two times. Got it?"
He took in her instructions silently and nodded, watching as she pushed.
"Got it. On three."
Molly continued to push down as she pressed down on his chest.
"One. Two. Three."
He did as he was told, and they continued in the same pattern, for what could only have been minutes before the ambulance arrived, but felt like hours. Working together, maintaining eye contact as they both silently understood that this was the only thing keeping Smurf alive.
As he was stretchered into the ambulance, Captain James following closely, Molly felt her body sag until she reached the brick wall that was the pub's exterior. She sank down to the floor, not caring that her jeans were soaking up the excess rainwater from the damp pavement. She finally allowed the tears of relief that had been threatening for the last half hour to fall. As she brushed them away and looked up, sniffing, she noticed the imposing figure who stood in front of her, hands still on his hips. He had opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead stood still, mouth partly open. His tongue rolled around his mouth as though he was hesitant to speak.
Molly brushed the rest of her tears away with a hurried sweep of her sleeve over her face, although she could feel her lower lip and chin still trembling with emotion.
She looked up at him. "Thought you were goin' in the ambulance."
"No room. I'll take the car. I just.." he paused again, that look passing his face once more, as if he was going to say something but was holding himself back.
"You saved his life." The words weren't delivered in the same contemptuous tone she'd heard from him earlier that night. This was genuine, the words spoken as he looked at her with what she thought could even have been admiration if she didn't know better from earlier that night.
She shrugged her shoulders, feeling uncomfortable with the praise. Especially from him.
"So did you."
He batted her words off with a shake of his head and a deep whoosh of breath escaped as he exhaled.
"I just did what I was told."
When she looked up she'd been expecting his face to be harsh and cold, as it has been when he'd spoken earlier that night. Instead, a warm smile lit up his face. It transformed his previously hard features, making his brown eyes stand out in a way they hadn't before.
She remained silent, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Anyway. Just wanted to say thank you." He spoke the words as he backed away, hands buried in his pockets. He inclined his head towards the pub. "I'll pop in tomorrow, let you know how he's doing."
"You won't find me in there tomorrow. Think it's fair to say Maria don't need me as a barmaid."
She dared to glance up at him again as she shrugged her shoulders. "My Nan always did say my middle name should be Trouble."
He grinned again at that as he continued to back away. "I think you might find she's had a change of heart."
Molly could have sworn she saw a wink aimed in her direction as he turned his body and walked towards his car, leaving her to sit on the pavement in silence.