DO NOT OWN. Rated M for chapters like this. Hope you're liking the story. Sorry I was gone for so long.

CHAPTER 8: Bridget, LOCATION: Bridget's Apartment

Everything was fuzzy when I woke up and then I saw the shot glasses on the night stand and memories came rushing back like water through a broken dam.

"Ohhhhhh God," I groaned, getting up to close the curtains. Then I remembered I was naked and grabbed my shirt off the floor, along with my panties and slipped them on. I shut the curtains and snuck out quietly so Murphy didn't wake up. 'Shit, this is so not like me.' I said to myself as I opened the fridge.

"Ah!" I said as the light from the fridge hit my eyes. I had a massive headache. I grabbed the bottle of water I had put in there yesterday for my morning workout today. No chance at that now. I had last night's decisions to take care of. I made myself breakfast; a milkshake. It wasn't a regular breakfast, but I was tired of my routine. I was tired of eating things just because they were low calorie or high in protein. I wanted to feel everything again. I didn't want to cut off how I felt about Liam, especially now that we were over, I didn't want to keep ignoring my problems with Meegan, I wanted to be here, now and cut out the excuse that there was time to deal with it later. So I closed my eyes and remembered last night, sipping my milkshake through my wired teeth.

LAST NIGHT

He held me so nicely that I couldn't help myself. I asked him to stay with me. He agreed to only sleeping and that was fine, but I wouldn't sleep unless I had a shot first.

"Hey, you want to do a shot with me?" He smiled and sat down on my bed.

"Sure. If it makes you feel better." I bit my lip and smiled. I loved his voice. It reminded me of a trip to Ireland I took with my dad and Meegan when we were kids. It was the best time in my life. The warm memory followed me to the kitchen where I got shot glasses, the bottle of Jack and two beers as chasers.

When I came back and saw him relaxing on my bed I was feeling awkward again. I was always socially awkward that was why I was mean to people I just met. I didn't want to try to be nice or funny or charismatic and get laughed at or made fun of. So I went with mean all the time and that made it even harder to be nice. I tried my best to give him a smile. He smiled back. It was cute.

"Here," I said, climbing up onto the bed, holding out a beer. He took it, then a shot glass full of dark liquor, then another and another, right along with me. …

"I want to listen to music!" I exclaimed, running into the living room holding onto the bottle of Jack.

"Al'ight! Wait for me," Murphy called after me as I tuned the radio to the oldies station. The Who suddenly blasted into my apartment.

"Won't the neighbors hear?" He yelled over the music.

"No! This place is solid." I said jumping up on the couch. Murphy jumped up there with me. We laughed and danced until a commercial break. Then we switched to Top 40. Then soft rock came on when we were calming down. I stumbled away from the radio and sat on the couch feeling exhausted. Murphy came from behind the kitchen counter with the bottle of Jack only containing two swigs now and sat next to me. I shifted on the couch to reach for the bottle but I lost by balance and fell into Murphy's lap. We laughed. I rolled over and looked up at him.

"I would never guess you were like this."

"Like what?" I giggled.

"You just giggled like a school girl!"

MURPHY

She was out of breath. Her chest was heaving up and down. I couldn't help but watch. I think it was the alcohol. This had happened to me before. Jillian Wickham, who I used to work at the meat-packing plant with, had gotten drunk with me once and I had slept with her. I thanked God we were drunk. If we weren't she would have realized it was my first time.

Connor and I were virgins until we were twenty-three.* Mostly it was because we were picky and girls were always coming at us so it wasn't like we needed to jump on the first chance we got. And things didn't change after that. It was a one-time deal. Until now. Especially now. Jillian was sexy, but she wasn't like Bridget. Bridget was tough and sweet, turned out to be energetic and funny too. I loved all that red hair in my lap, her full lips. I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I felt like I didn't know anything about her.

"So, why boxing?"

"Because it's cool."

"That's all?"

"No, Meegan got into it first. She wanted to know how to defend herself." That struck me as odd.

"Why?"

"Cause Meegan's dad used to beat her and her brother and her mom."

"Jesus Christ…"

"He was good with a belt. He could make her bleed with one whack. She hates him so much."

"Your parents?"

"Are nice, completely normal, worked blue collar jobs until they got white collar ones. Nice normal people."

"Well that's… nice."

"It is." She smiled so beautifully even with all the wires. I couldn't help it. I leaned down and kissed her little nose.

"What was that for?" She asked sweetly. 'I could love her,' I told myself.

"Cause you're so goddam cute." This time I kissed her mouth. She tasted so sweet. Not like the alcohol at all. She slid her hand over the back of my neck and rubbed it a little. It felt so nice. I licked the inside of her lip, remembering that was all I could do. Her mouth was medically shut. Then I remembered her boyfriend.

"Wait, wait, I'm sorry. I forgot about Liam. I'm so sorry."

"We broke up on the phone… I need more alcohol." She bolted from my lap and to the kitchen.

MEEGAN

I grabbed another beer from the fridge and then he was right behind me.

"You don't need another beer. You need to calm down, get over him, or just enjoy yourself for a while." That kindness I hadn't felt for years broke me. I threw myself onto him and clung to his form so he wouldn't see my face, my tears, as few as they were. I pulled his face to mine quickly. I kissed him fiercely. He stopped me.

"Wait, why?"

"No one's said something that nice to me… In my life. And it's something I want to keep hearing. So, please," it sounded so harsh through the wires. I had never said a 'please' so desperately. "Please, just stay with me tonight. I need someone to be sweet to me just for a few hours." I put my hands on his chest and looked up into his handsome face. He reached out and put his hands on my hips bringing us closer. He touched our foreheads together, then he nuzzled his face against mine, wiping the tears off my face onto his skin. It seems so cheesy to have a guy comfort me when I was crying. Crying was something I hated to do in front of anyone. I should have felt totally embarrassed but a mix of alcohol and Murphy's sweetness was preventing me.

There must have been something in my eyes. He pressed his cheek to mine and I could feel his warm breath on my ear. "I can be sweet to you for a few hours… I can love you for a few hours too." His lips swept over the skin on my neck and I shivered.

We kissed all the way into the bedroom. I had him sit on the edge of the bed while I started undressing. It was something I always wanted to try for a guy, but Liam was never patient enough. I thought it was a sign that he was really into me. Maybe not.

So I took off my socks first, facing away from Murphy and bending straight down. Then I turned around and took the diamond studs out of my ears sufficiently fluffing my hair as I did. Then I crossed my arms over my chest and grabbed the bottom of my shirt pulling it over my head. I stopped to look at his face. He was completely into it.

"Come here for a second." I moved over to him. He grabbed me by the belt loops on my jeans to bring me between his legs. He looked up at me while putting his lips to my stomach. Then he slid his hands to the button and zipper of my jeans. He helped me out of my jeans. I touched his solid shoulder as I stepped out of them. Then I touched his head and his soft hair; it felt so nice to touch someone again, and not just someone. Murphy McManus's hand slid over my flat stomach, over my underwear. I gasped.

"Ugh, Murphy," was all I could say as he rubbed me through my panties. I was surprised I could feel so much. I was still pretty hammered.

"Come up here." He said taking my hips in his hands again, pulling me up on his lap. He started unhooking my bra.

"You're so helpful," I giggled while leaning to kiss his jaw. "Wait til' I get these wires out of my mouth. I will give you the best blow job you've ever had." He pushed up against me at that and I couldn't help but groan. I was burning up. Then he slowly pulled my bra off and threw it to the floor.

"You're fucking gorgeous," Murphy said looking at my breasts. I wanted to cry again. Liam always said that my boobs were too small and it was because I was too muscular. He wanted me to stop boxing. 'No,' I told myself, 'you're not thinking of Liam right now.' He put his hands over my breasts and squeezed gently.

MURPHY

She looked incredible and her 'in-bed' personality was really, really sexy, lively like her personality all day, but sweet now. I put my face to her chest. Bridget sighed and held me to her. I listened to her heart beat in the valley of her breasts. I had never felt this close to a girl before. And she was a girl. I knew she'd been out of school for a while, but not as long as me. I could tell just by her skin. So smooth and soft and white. I wanted to put my face on every inch of it.

She was so beautiful. So I said it. "You're so pretty."

"You're pretty too." I laughed. "But you are! I mean, your eyes…" She said smoothing my eyebrows with her thumbs. "Your cheekbones, mouth," she kissed me sweetly at first then increasingly fierce. I kissed down her neck so she put her face to my ear.

"Murphy," she whispered. "Have sex with me." It was the easiest sentence she'd gotten out all night. It sounded like the wires weren't even there.

BRIDGET

He rolled me over onto the bed and then was on me like a wolf. His jeans ground into my panties and warm, soft flesh. I started pulling at the bottom of his shirt. He got up for a second and pulled his shirt over his head. I reached out to touch his skin, it was velvety and hot. He had tattoos and muscles; it was so… manly. There were no other words.

He shed his jeans and I discovered Murphy was not the type to wear underwear. Then climbed back on top of me and I welcomed him with a kiss. I wanted so badly to be able to tongue kiss him. He tangled a hand in my hair and kissed my neck again.

"Ungh, Murph," I used his brother's nickname for him without realizing it. But I could tell he liked it when he pressed his hard cock onto my center. I wanted him so bad. He wanted me just as badly. He started pretty much clawing at my underwear. Then he just ripped them off. I gasped.

"Oh, Bridget," he said feeling my wetness. Then he slid a finger in me.

"Unnnnng. I'm ready."

"Protection?"

"I'm on the pill." He leaned over me again.

"You're, uh, clean, right?"

"Mmhmm."

"Me too." He said low and sweet in that beautiful accent.

He was slow and gentle, going in slowly, carefully adjusting me beneath him. I had the distinct feeling he hadn't done this much before, but he had natural talent. Each movement felt brand new and he was so romantic. He put one hand under my head and stroked my hair with the other. I ran my hands over his smooth back and then put my hands on his ass as he thrust into me, encouraging him to go deeper. He took the cue.

"Ah!"

"You alright? You look worried?" He asked out of breath.

"I'm fine. It feels good. It feels so good." I huffed. That got him going again, faster this time. I was about to lose control. Then he started whispering in my ear.

"Oh, Bridget you feel so good… I wish I could shove my tongue down your throat…" but he didn't say things Liam used to say like, 'no one can fuck you like I can', 'you'll be mine forever'; bull shit like that. I already knew I'd be Murphy's forever. He didn't know much now and he was fantastic. Once he learned he would be perfect. The things he was saying were making me crazy and now that he was going faster and harder I was going to come, which was rare for me. I almost never came when Liam was inside me and I was going to come in a few minutes with Murphy. I wrapped my legs around him and just waited for him to work his magic. It didn't take long.

"Murphy, I'm coming, Murrrrrph!" I grabbed his hair and ran my fingernails down his back. Yeah, I was his forever.

He finished just a bit after me, which was fine because that one orgasm exhausted me. Once he finished he fell on top of me. We breathed heavily together until we could get our words back. Then he said.

"I've been waiting for you."

"Then where have you been? I've been waiting for you too." I smiled at him and he smiled at me. Then he fell asleep in my arms. Murphy McManus, serial killer for God, sweetest man alive, excellent lover fell asleep like a kid in my arms.

NEXT MORNING

I snuck back into my room after my breakfast to find Murphy still sleeping so I laid next to him just watching him sleep; his handsome face so serene… until the phone rang.