The pub was everything Julie ever imagined. There was weak light concentrated over each individual table as well as the bar. A thick fog of cigarette smoke hung in the air. It was intimate without being crowded. Cozy and familiar, though she'd never been in there before. Obviously the brothers had been a time or two. The second all three stepped in, a cheer went up in the crowd around the bar. Several glasses were raised and a few shouts of "Conner," "Murphy," and "Little bastards" were heard.
Murphy made a show of it, throwing his hands in the air and bowing like he was the main attraction. Conner just laughed and patted a few people on the shoulder, picking up a glass of dark beer that had been put on the counter before him. A waitress passed by Murphy, giving him a coy smile. Julie laughed when she saw Murphy's eyes follow the girl until she was out of sight. Conner came back over to Julie, throwing an arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to the bar.
"'Ey, fellas," he said, smiling at everyone. "This 'ere's Julie. She's a friend of me and Murph."
"What's a pretty girl like you doin' with these two losers," a man asked further down the bar with a smile.
"Someone's gotta keep us in line," Murphy replied, coming up on her other side.
Between the two men, Julie felt comfortable, even while they spoke gruffly with people she didn't know. She leaned against the bar, prepared to slide onto a stool when Conner stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
"Oh no," he smiled, shaking his head. "We're not havin' ye up here with these bastards."
"Right," Murphy grinned. "We're takin' ye to the back, where it's more comfortable."
"And I'm sure that the barmaids back there have nothing to do with it," Julie raised an eyebrow.
Murphy's expression was sheepish as he pulled her off the stool. He grabbed one glass of the same stuff Conner had, while Conner had his glass and a bottle of light beer. They led her to one of the booths in the back that faced the whole pub. She was slid between the two with enough room so that she didn't feel crowded. Both men lit cigarettes, placing the ashtray between the two of them and the bottle of beer in front of Julie. She eyed it wearily, making Conner laugh.
"It's not gonna bite ye, Julie," he snickered, opening it up for her.
Murphy nodded. "Aye, it's not 'til the tenth or eleventh that ye really start ta feel it."
Julie took the bottle in her hand, still leery of taking the first sip.
"Are ye scared, Julie," Murphy teased, leaning in close, eyes darting from her to Conner's amused face.
"Has a wee bit a drink got ye shakin' in yer boots," Conner prodded, leaning in as well.
Julie looked back and forth between them, a slow smile crossing her face. "Fuck you guys."
She put the bottle to her lips and took a long drink. Both men let out shouts of amusement and approval, laughing hard. Conner put a hand on the bottle to keep Julie from drinking it all down in one shot. "Easy there, lass. Don't want ye ta get sick on us."
Murphy turned and grabbed the waitress's hand as she passed by. She stopped, giving him a smirk, leaning over to hear what he had wanted. "I think our friend here is goin' ta need a few more bottles a beer."
The barmaid nodded, glancing up at Julie. "Friend?"
"When d'ye get off work," he asked with a devious smile. His voice had become so dark and sensual that it took everything Julie had not to laugh out loud and ruin the moment.
The barmaid looked from his face, to Conner, then back again with that same coy smirk. "My friend and I are off in an hour."
She pointed beyond the table to another barmaid, equally sexy looking with an equally coy smile. Murphy brushed his fingers over the nearest barmaid's arm. "Then I guess ye two'll be joinin' me and me brother for a drink in an hour."
Conner leaned over and whispered in Julie's ear "Just like our Uncle Civial, always tryin' ta get up the waitresses' skirt."
"Should we find another girl to entertain your friend," the waitress said, giving Julie a cruel smile.
Both brothers gave Julie a shocked look, but she just smiled, raising her bottle to say "No thanks. But I wouldn't mind one of your regular customers. Let him know I charge more though."
The waitress's face went red with anger and she stormed off.
"Oh, that was mean of ye, Julie," Conner laughed, slapping a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry if I cost you guys a good night," she said ruefully, taking another sip of beer.
"Ah, they'll be here in an hour," Murphy assured.
"What makes you so sure," Julie asked.
"Murph here fancies himself a ladies' man," Conner answered, flicking ashes into the tray and blowing smoke away from her. "He's of the idea that if something is female, it'll be drawn to 'im."
"Oh, so that explains the bitches," Julie nodded, trying to keep her face straight.
"Oh, yeah, laugh it up now. But in an hour, those two women will be over here. One for me," Murphy said, pointing at his brother with a smile. "And one for you."
"I hardly need ye findin' me willin' women, brother," Conner laughed. "Besides, what's Julie supposed ta do while we're entertainin' the other girls?"
"Oh, don't worry about me, fellas," she said, waiving her hand. "Just get me another beer and I'll entertain myself."
Murphy's cracked a smirk. "My, does that sound like fun."
"Well," Julie began, pretending to think it over. "I'm sure I could entertain myself for hours if your girlfriend would let me borrow her strap-on."
Murphy's face could hardly contain his laughter, and he finally let it out in a loud peel. Conner shook his head at her with a twinge of a smile. "You're startin' ta get a bit of a filthy mouth there, Julie."
"I'm sorry," she replied, blushing a little. "I caught it from Murphy."
"Oh, have ye now," Murphy scoffed, grabbing her chin and pulling her face close to his. "Then I guess ye should be givin' it back."
He covered her mouth with his, taking a second to suck gently on her lips. His head turned as if to deepen the kiss, but Conner put a hand on Murphy's chest and gently pushed him away from Julie, laughing. "Alright, Romeo. That'll be enough out of ye."
Julie took a few seconds to relearn how to breathe, to let her flushed face return to normal. While she looked still a little stunned, Murphy was all smugness as he leaned back against the seat. "Yer just jealous that I get all the best kisses from 'er."
"I don't know, Murphy," Julie smiled, shaking her head a tad. "That one in the kitchen the other day was pretty good."
"Didn't look like much," Murphy retorted, looking almost wounded.
Conner's lips were near her ear, his chin resting on her shoulder as he smiled and said "Should we give 'im a re-enactment, Julie?"
She tilted her head to look at him, and in that second he was kissing her. Even the awkward way her neck was twisted didn't take away from the tingle that went up her spine as his fingertips trailed down her neck and over the Celtic cross at her throat. Suppressing the gentle moan that was trying to escape her lips, she pulled away, breathing heavy.
"Oh, you boys are gonna have to start cooling it with that stuff," she whispered, fanning her flushed face with her hand. "Or one of these days I'm gonna grab a random one of you and drag you to bed."
It was Conner's turn to look smug as Murphy sat up and grumbled something about him still having better kisses. Julie leaned over to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and shoulders. He tensed a little as she leaned in and nuzzled her lips and nose to his temple. Then, Murphy slid his hand around her waist and pressed closer into her.
"Don't worry, Murph," she whispered playfully. "I won't take Conner to bed without taking you, too."
He laughed a little, letting her pull away to sit between them again. As she started to sip her beer again, she felt two hands, one from either side, snake their way a little up her skirt to rest gently on either thigh.
A/N Did I mention how much I like reviews? You know who else likes reviews? Conner and Murphy MacManus, that's who. So please, make me and them smile simply by dropping by that little purple button on the left and leaving a comment, anything, whether you like it or hate it. Remember though, the MacManus twins own guns and they hate being flamed too harshly ;)