Chapter 1

Not a Day Goes By.

The band has been excellent tonight. Jayjay’s pleased with how the new lead guitarist and back-up vocalist are gelling with the group. They’ve got one more set, and he’s chilling in the corner booth in the front bar of our local pub, away from the din in the back-bar band room. This pub is where we had our first gig in front of paying customers. Most of them were friends and family of the band, much like it has been tonight, our first night back here after a tour of the county and then the need to replace some band members.

You’ve probably been into a bar like this. This place has recently had some major renovations but has managed to maintain the character. Dark timber panelling on the walls and no sticky carpet. A few booths, stools along the bar, and Stella behind the bar. She calls everyone’ love’. Jayjay’s Dad says Stella was here with her mum when he was a young buck. No fancy cocktails here, just a good selection of beers, spirits, and a surprisingly good offering of quality wines. This country used to have thousands of pubs just like this. Now becoming rarer as they get ruined by poker machines or turned into an up-market bistro or worse still, bulldozed by developers to make way for soulless apartment builds. This place doesn’t need bouncers. The regular patrons take care of the troublemakers. Jayjay once saw one young buck give Stella some lip. A few of the guys looked up from their form guides then took him out back for some etiquette lessons.

==//==

When She Walks In The Room.

The door from the corridor between the two rooms opened and the front bar briefly filled with racket emanating from the back bar. Everyone looked up at whoever was entering, wishing the door to close faster than the closer will allow, to restore our ambience. The fact that Heather, the most beautiful woman Jayjay’s ever known, is the person who interrupted the salubrious atmosphere is of no concern to the others here. They just want the door to close.

When they say beauty is more than skin deep, they’re talking about Heather. She is a beautiful person to the core, and Jayjay has thought so since first grade. He always considered her to be out of his league. He was staggered when they became friends and remained so from third grade. Sometimes he had to play big brother when guys wouldn’t take no for an answer.

All she has to do is smile to melt his heart, and he’s sure she has no idea that he’d do anything for her. Anything at all. If someone harmed her, he wouldn’t hesitate. 

She scanned the room and smiled as their eyes met and yes, his heart fluttered.

She walked over, “I thought you’d be in here. Old habits die hard. Do you mind if I sit here with you?”

“I could think of nothing I enjoy more.”

She kissed his cheek and sat next to him. “It’s great to see you, but if you don’t mind me saying so, you look like shit. You’ve got to take better care of yourself.”

If anyone else had said it, he’d have told them to get fucked. But from Heather, it actually makes him want to do something about it. She continued, “Are you drinking again?”

“No, not really.”

She looked disapprovingly. Obvious she didn’t believe him.

In a vain attempt to reassure her, “No, really, I’m not drinking like before.”

“Good, you better not because I’ll kick your arse.”

He laughed, “As if.”

“Don’t think I wouldn’t.” she scoffed. “You cleaned up when you married Allison.”

He looked away at the mention of her name, and she apologised.

He cleared his throat, “How do you know I cleaned up. We haven’t seen each other in... way too long. We should try to catch up more regularly. I’ve really missed you.”

“You’re so sweet. Yes, I’ve missed you too. I’ll make sure we catch up. You know I’ll pester you about looking after yourself.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“l was concerned when I heard about your split. Concerned you’d start your heavy drinking again. I heard how you announced it to the audience.”

“What can I say, I always had a flair for the dramatic.”

They both chuckled.

“Just say so if you don’t want to talk about it and I understand if you don’t want to, but what happened. You were so happy, but then when I heard, I couldn’t believe it.”

Anyone else he would have told them to mind their own business but, Heather asked, so he told her. This was the first time he has spoken to anyone about it.

“I hired a new lead guitarist, Rod, and found out a year later, he and Allison used to be an item. I didn’t find out from either of them. A guy who runs a venue in Brisbane told me. He said he was surprised that I had Rod in the band, and I should keep a close eye on him. This bloke said he didn’t trust Rod and I shouldn’t either. Allison and I had our first and only real argument about it. I asked her. You didn’t think to share it with me? She told me I was overreacting. I had caught them in compromising situations before I knew for sure. Still, they’d always be able to explain it away, and stupidly I trusted Allison, so I just let it ride. The day of our last gig of the tour, I walked into Rod's dressing room to find him in bed with someone who covered herself up before I could see, but I recognised the clothes on the floor. Particularly the lingerie. I excused myself and left. Standing outside the door. I remember this part like it happened ten minutes ago. I clearly heard Allison say,

‘Shit that was close, he nearly caught us this time.’

That night on stage, at the beginning of the last song, I said,

‘I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight and hope you all had a good night. I’d particularly like to thank Rod and my ex-wife Allison as tonight was their last show with the band. I hope they’ll be very happy together.' 

And I just started playing the final song. I’d had all her clothes in suitcases, and the bouncers escorted them from the building as soon as we finished the last song. The bouncers gave her the suitcases. I heard they split two weeks later, and she called me to apologise. She wanted to come back. You know if she’d tried to contact me straight away and apologise, I might have considered it, but it took her two fuckin weeks. So, no. fuck her and the shit head guitarist. Pity, because he is a good guitarist. So that’s it, and here I sit before you a broken man.”

She kissed his cheek, then turned to face her, and she kissed him on the lips and hugged him.

Jayjay asked Stella for another scotch, and she said, “I’ll get you a coffee. When the band has finished if you come back in here, I’ll cook you something decent, and not some greasy hamburger or pizza you were probably going to have.”

“Thanks, Stella, always looking after me.”

Heather smiled at Stella, and he saw her mouth ‘Thank You’ to her.

Heather turned back to Jayjay, “I heard you were back with Gemma.”

“Not really. We’re just… friends.”

She smiled, “With benefits.”

“Mmm.” He said with a wry grin.

He looked at his watch, “Shit, I’ve got to get back on stage. Will you come back in here after I’ve finished? It’s great seeing you again. I’d really love to catch up some more it’s been too long.”

“I’d love to.”

He skulled down his coffee, kissed her cheek and ran off.

== //==

Chapter 2

We Belong Together.

He helped the roadies pack up as he always did, then went to the front bar. Afraid Heather might have gotten tired of waiting because the front bar would actually be closed now. Stella was keeping it open just for him.

He pushed the door to the front bar, the room was dark, except for two candles burning on the corner booth. A huge smile washed over his face as he saw lit by the flickering candles, Heather sitting patiently waiting for him. She stood as he approached and hugged him. He apologised for being sweaty, but she didn’t care.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am that you waited, but what’s all this?” he asked, pointing to the candles.

“That’s Stella’s doing. She’s cooking you a steak, medium rare with lots of veggies. Is that how you like your steak?”

“Yeah, it is. Stella’s amazing. It must be three years since she’s cooked anything for me, and she remembers how I like it.”

“Yes, we’ve been talking while we’ve been waiting. She thinks a lot of you, and she showed me a scrapbook with every newspaper clipping and heaps of your tour posters and all sorts of stuff on everything you’ve ever done.”

“She has been there through some bad times. She has seen me at my worst. Fed me when I needed it and nursed me when I couldn’t remember why I needed nursing.”

“Stella was telling me how she nearly lost this place. It’s getting old and was costing too much to keep repairing it. She was about to sell it to a developer who was planning to knock it down and put up an apartment building when another investment company trumped their offer by over $600,000 over the original proposal. That company renovated the place, and they pay her a reasonable wage to run it. She said they spent a fortune upgrading everything. The best of everything.

Just then, Stella brought out Jayjay’s meal along with a glass of wine for them both. She put the plate down and kissed him on the forehead.

“There you go, love, that’s better than whatever shit you were going to have. Have you got somewhere to stay tonight, or do you want to stay in the room upstairs? You’ll love it, it’s been renovated and has an en-suite and everything.”

“Do you mind?”

“You know that room is always available for you and if you need to move in and stay there, that’s fine. At least, I’ll know you’ll be eating properly.”

“You’re too good to me. I don’t deserve a friend like you.”

“No, you don’t, but if I don’t look out for you, sure as hell you won’t do it. It’s a new bed, and there are clean sheets on the bed already. You know where the keys are to lock up. Just put your dishes in the kitchen when you’re finished.”

She kissed them both on the forehead. As she walked out the door, “Good night, love, don’t forget to blow out the candles. It would piss me off if you burnt the place down.”

Jayjay tucked into his meal.

Heather smiled, “The band is sounding great, really tight, you must be happy.”

“Yeah, it’s good to get back on track again after all the shit. The brass section is sensational, yeah I’m happy.”

“Jayjay, having to stay here, are you okay? Do you… need anything?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I made a few investments when things were going really well, so I’m okay. I’ve got enough money, just nowhere to call home, is all. I’ve got an apartment in that small development being built next door. Should be finished in a few weeks. Until then, this place will be fine.”

She looked at him unconvinced, thinking, that’s a top-end luxury complex. How can he afford that? Jayjay didn’t want to be quizzed on this so changed the subject.

“I can imagine Mike fell in love with you the second he saw you, then as he got to know you, he fell in love all over again.”

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Of course, I am. Not that I expect anything to come of it. That’s just how I felt when I first saw you. When I got to know you, I couldn’t believe I’m so lucky to be able to call you a friend. Sorry if I’ve offended you. Just a bit of harmless fun. You’re happily married to a great guy. I’m not one to cut another guy's lunch.”

Tears welled in her eyes.

Jayjay was concerned he had upset her. “I truly am sorry if I’ve offended you. Please don’t cry. Oh god, what have I done?”

“You haven’t offended me. Quite the opposite. Haven’t you wondered why Mike’s not here tonight, or why I’m here with you, and not with him?”

Tears continued to well in her eyes. “I’m not happily married. Far from it. He’s an arsehole and fucking everything with a pussy except me unless he comes home still horny after being with one of his whores. I have no idea where he is, all I know is he’s not with me, and he’s not at home; otherwise, the security system would have advised me by now.” She pulled out her phone to show the security system app. “No one’s home right now.”

She burst out crying, and he put his arms around her to comfort her. When she gained her composure, “What did mean just before when you said, that’s how you felt when you met me?”

Jayjay cleared his throat. “The second I saw you, on the first day of school I thought you were what true beauty was and the more I got to know you it has merely cemented that view. To me, you are beautiful inside and out. To say I have a crush on you would be like saying the second world war was a minor disagreement between neighbours.” He hesitated but continued, “I have major fantasies...” tapering off and not finishing that sentence. He continued feeling embarrassed, “I’m sorry. I’ve said too much.”

“No, you haven’t. I want you to finish that sentence, in fact, I demand you finish it. You were saying you have fantasies. About what?”

He looked into her eyes as he cleared his throat again. “I’ve had many, many fantasies about you. In my mind, I have made love to you so many times. It’s amazing you’re not pregnant with my child.” She blushed and laughed nervously. Jayjay continued, “You are the reason I couldn’t keep a girlfriend. I thought I was finally going to be okay with Allison and then… well, we don’t need to go there again, do we?”

“What? Don’t blame me for that. How is that my fault?”

“Because none of them... are you. You don’t realise it. I’d give up everything for you. Get a real job and settle down. Anything you wanted. It was all just a dream. You were always with someone else, and you’re…”

“I’m what?”

“You deserve better than the likes of me.”

They both had tears rolling down their faces. She kissed a tear on his cheek then kissed his lips, but this wasn’t like other kisses. Over the years, they have kissed many times. This kiss was different, full of caring and passion. And it didn’t stop.

She pulled away, “Why the fuck haven’t you said anything before. I had no idea you felt like that. I... have always loved you. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you are so far out of my league. I was afraid if I let on, I’d lose you as a friend, and I couldn’t bear that. I haven’t seen you in so long, and that has been bad enough. To lose your friendship forever would just kill me.”

She kissed him again, “You stupid man.” And gave him another kiss, “Do you remember, it was me who came and spoke to you in grade three because I got tired waiting for you to talk to me.”

They continued kissing until they noticed one of the candles had burnt itself out. Heather stood and took his hand. “How about you lock the pub while I blow this other candle out and put your dishes in the kitchen. You can take me stairs and see if you can get me pregnant for real.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life. While we are confessing fantasy secrets.” she paused and took a deep breath, “When I masturbate, you are the only one I’ve ever fantasised about.”

He jumped up and held her tight as they kissed. “Jayjay, what have you got in your pocket?”

“Are you kidding, with what you just said, I’m surprised my cock hasn’t undone my fly pulled your panties down and taken you right here on this table all by itself?”

She undid his fly, slid her hand around his still growing erection and freed it from the confines of his pants. She blew the remaining candle out. Now with only the light through the window from the streetlight casting shadows across the room.

“Do you like to fuck me here in the bar?”

“Is the Pope a Catholic?” he retorted quickly.

He undid his belt, allowing his pants to fall to the floor, she removed her panties, then rested her arse on the table and pulled him to her and guided his shaft into her wet sex.

She whispered in his ear, “I’ve never wanted to be fucked so much… ever.”

Together with the fact that neither had been intimate for quite a while, the years of pent up yearning and fantasies, this was an extremely fast and furious liaison. Both climaxing faster than they’d ever experienced before.

Composure gained, Jayjay took her hand to lead her upstairs. He found that Stella had left a bedside table lamp on for him, and he laughed when he saw the bed.

“What’s funny?”

“Stella has turned down both sides of the bed and left two towels here on either side. She was expecting you to stay the night.”

“Weren't you?"

"No. It's something I would always dream about but never expect. You’re married, and I would never assume anything like that."

She kissed him and whispered, "I never want tonight to end… I think I'd like a quick shower."

He slowly removed her clothes, and she did the same for him. Once naked Jayjay noticed several old bruises and a couple of new ones on her body. Frowning, he quizzed, "What are these? What happened?"

She gently pulled away, "Jayjay, please."

He got angry, "Does that bastard hit you?"

She couldn't look him in the eyes. He asked again and waited for an answer.

"Sometimes he comes home after being out with his sluts and makes me suck him. I can taste them, and sometimes it tastes disgusting. If I refuse or even hesitate, he hits me."

He held her, "I know this is easy for me to ask but, why don't you just leave?"

Crying into his chest, "I have, but he always finds me, and the beatings are worse. It's so hard to do it on your own."

"You're not on your own now. Stay here with me until we figure everything out for you. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. That arsehole will never hurt you again."

He led her into the shower but couldn't stop looking at the marks all over her body. Heather wanted to change the subject, have him think about something else. "I was talking with Gemma during your last set. She told me about you two, and she called you her fuckbuddy. She's concerned about you and told me that she said, you would straighten yourself up if I asked you to. I told her I'd try, and she seemed very happy about that. How does she know that? What makes her so sure you would do that for me?"

He was reluctant to answer, but it was clear she wasn't going to let it slide. "You know before when I told you that I couldn't keep a girlfriend, because none of them are you."

She just looked at him waiting for him to continue, "She's the one who told me. I couldn't see it, but she said there's only one person I will ever give my heart to and that person is you. I denied it for a long time, and It took a lot of soul searching for me to realise, she was right."

Heather cried as she kissed him. "Why have we both been so stupid and waste so much time?"

"I don't know, but I'm never going to let you go now."

Once showered and dried, they just held each other on the bed until Heather could no longer ignore Jayjay's erection pressing against her. This time they make love. Each having secretly longed for the other. This was a moment both had thought about, fantasised about countless times. It was slow and sensual, taking time to get to know each other. He enjoyed bringing her to many climaxes in several different ways before allowing his own orgasm. He then realised if they didn't get to sleep soon, the sun would be up for a new day.

==//==

Chapter 3

We Belong Together.

They woke late in the morning and made love again before coming downstairs seeking something to eat. Walking into the kitchen, Stella greeted them with a smile and gave Heather a massive hug then kissed her forehead.

Heather said, “What about Gemma?"

"What about Gemma," Jayjay replied.

Just then Gemma walked into the kitchen, "Yeah, what about Gemma," she chimed as she walked straight up to Heather, hugged and kissed her, then did the same to Jayjay.

Now Gemma was here. She was reluctant to continue; however, it was clear she didn't have a choice.

"You told me Jayjay was your... friend with benefits."

Jayjay tried to conceal his smirk, and Gemma laughed, "Oh, Sweetie, I believe the word I used was fuckbuddy. Are you feeling guilty for taking my fuckbuddy?"

Heather didn't need to answer; her face said it for her.

Gemma hugged Heather again, "I just want him to be happy, and you deserve a bit of that too. I know you will make him happy, and you two are meant to be together. I was just keeping him warm until you left that arsehole." Gemma paused, "Don't look at me like that. I've seen how Gary treats you in public. I can only imagine what he does behind closed doors. I've also seen when you've caked on the makeup trying to hide the marks. I've asked you a few times about it, hoping you'd open up so I could help you, but you wouldn't."

The blood ran from Heather’s face as the euphoria of last night was replaced with the reality of her life. "Gary is going to kill me!” she screamed. “He'll be wondering where I am."

She turned her phone on, and it chimed with several waiting texts and voicemails. All were from her husband starting with angry then progressively getting more and more irate and abusive. She checked the security system app. It was triggered by him coming home just after 9:00 am and messages started almost immediately after that.

Stella, Gemma and Jayjay looked at each other as they listened to them. By the end, Heather was crying uncontrollably. Gemma who had been standing next to Heather hugged and comforted her. "I don't want to go back," She cried, “I can't take it anymore."

Gemma supportively whispered, "Don't go back. You've got a real man right here who has loved you since the first second he saw you and the years have only intensified his love."

Heather looked at Jayjay, "She's right. I want to grow old with you." He took her hand. “If you’ll have me.”

He wrapped his arms around her tightly in a symbol of protection.

Jayjay tried to remain calm about the abuse she'd suffered, "Show them the bruises." he asked sensitively.

Gemma let out a quiet gasp, as Heather glared at him, "Please don't, Jayjay. I feel humiliated enough."

Stella embraced her, "It's alright, love. You've got nothing to feel humiliated about. We're all friends here, but if you don't want to show us, you don't have to."

"I can't. I haven't got any panties on. I don't know where they are."

Stella laughed, "I found them in the front bar on your table. I've washed 'em and hung 'em out to dry. Don't worry, love, you ain't got anything Gemma, and I haven't got. I'm sure you've shown it to Jayjay,” she chuckled, “so you don't have to be shy."

Heather blushed a little, and the feeling of growing closeness between them all gave her confidence, so she stepped back and lifted the hem of her dress and took it off. "I'm lucky I don't have any on my face at the moment.

Jayjay turned away to hide his growing anger while Gemma tried to contain their emotions. "Put it back on, love. We've seen enough of what that arsehole's done to your pretty little body. You're not going back, plain and simple."

Jayjay calmed himself to ask, "Apart from clothes, do you have many things that can't be packed up quickly and easily?"

"Yes, most of the furniture is mine from before we were married. Gary didn't have much and what he had was crap. Anything we bought since we were married, he can keep. I don't want it."

He thought for a moment. "I can get our roadies, Nick and Kevin with the band’s people mover and we can get as much as we can into that this afternoon. I'll organise for a truck for later in the week to get everything else.

Heather wiped her tears as Jayjay continued, "My cousin Adam is a lawyer. A good one. I'll call him to start arrangements for a divorce, and as soon as that is finalised, if you'll have me, we can get married."

Heather jumped on him, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "Are you sure after just one night together?"

Stella chuckled, “Not a very romantic proposal, but pretty good for Jayjay.”

Jayjay ignored Stella’s quip. "I've never been surer of anything in my life. This isn't a spur of the moment thing after one night. This is something I've dreamt about all my life, and now I've got you, I'm not letting you get away now." He gently kissed her. "You already know me better than most, and no one loves you more than me. Yes, I'm sure and so is that a yes? Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Yes, Yes. A thousand times, yes." She smothered him with kisses.

Stella and Gemma hugged them both at the same time, then when they moved apart, Stella looked at Jayjay, "What are you crying about, ya big sook."

Wiping his face, "I'm just a bit happy, is all."

==//==

Chapter 4

Set Me Free.

Heather's phone lit up with an incoming call from her husband. There was a chorus of "Don't answer it." from everyone.

A few phone calls were made arranging to meet Nick and Kevin at Heather's place with the van.

Jayjay wanted to knock on the front door, and when Gary answers the door, he would tell him, Heather is leaving him, then deal with the fallout of that statement. He would only let Heather inside to retrieve her things after Gary was suitably dealt with. Sitting in the car out the front, the new couple had their first argument. Heather wanted to face him. She had to be the one to tell him. Heather stressed, "For my own dignity, I didn't want to hide behind anyone."

Not happy about it, Jayjay conceded. Standing at the bottom of the front steps, he watched as she unlocked the front door and stepped inside. On hearing the keys in the door, Gary came strutting down the hallway screaming, "Where the fucking hell have you been, you slut."

Heather straighten her back standing as tall as she could, "Gary, I don't have to put up with abuse like that, I'm leaving you, and I mean it this time. You won't stop me."

"The hell you are, bitch," he screeched back as he slapped her face so hard, she fell over. He was about it lay a boot in while she was on the floor when he looked up to see Jayjay running at him at full speed. Jayjay grabbed him in an aggressive rugby-style tackle both crashing to the floor.

Jayjay began punching him to the head in a frantic blur, shouting, "You're a lowlife fucking coward. Make you feel tough, does it? Hitting your wife. Why don't you hit me instead, you coward?"

Gary had curled up with his arms up trying to protect his head from Jayjay's frenzied barrage, much in the same way that Heather has had to do many times.

Gemma helped Heather up, and she was crying for Jayjay to stop. Nick and Kevin watched on for a while until they figured he'd got his message across then they stepped over and pulled Jayjay off Gary. Nick trying to calm Jayjay, "Come on, mate, any more and you might kill him, and that'll just ruin the day. We'll have to find somewhere to bury the body, dig a hole and come up with an alibi. You know I'd help you bury a body if I had to. Truth be told, I'd rather not have to if we could avoid it."

Kevin laughed.

Jayjay said, "I don't want to kill him. Just beat him until he wished he was dead, then stop."

"As much fun as that sounds." Nick admitted, "How about we just get Heather's stuff today. You can beat the shit out of him some other day. Besides, look at your hands. You're not going to be able to play the piano with your hands all beat up like that."

It was only that comment making him realise it would affect his music that calmed him down.

Heather stood over her bloodied husband, "This must be what I've looked like so many times." She gave him a good swift kick to the groin then walked into her bedroom to begin collecting her things.

Kevin saw Gary pull his phone from his pocket, so he bent down and took it from him. "You don't want to do that mate."

He stepped out the front door with the phone and threw it, frisbee style out onto the street. "It's a quiet street. If you're lucky, it'll still be there when we leave. Just hope no passing cars run it over."

As they were leaving, Nick knelt next to him. "We'll back for her furniture. It better all still be here, in good order because our friends don't think much of wife-beating, cheating arseholes and you'd rather Jayjay came back than those guys. They won't dig a hole. Just find a constructions site with some wet cement. We'll be off now. You have a nice day." And he pulled the door closed behind him.

After unloading Heather personal effects, the girls were sorting everything, so Jayjay said he was going for a walk. He needed to clear his head after what he'd just done. Some hours later, Stella found him sitting in a storeroom. She kissed his forehead and sat next to him, putting her arm around him. "It's not sitting well with you, is it? Beating up the arsehole is playing on you. Even if he deserves far worse than you gave him."

"It makes me no better than him, but I couldn’t stop myself."

"Kevin told me Gary is bigger than you, so you were hardly beating up someone weaker than you as he does. That's the difference."

"I'm not sure that makes me feel any better. Violence doesn't solve anything, but I was so angry when he hit Heather, and he was about to kick her. I couldn't control myself. He could charge me for assault or excessive force. I shouldn't have kept hitting him, but I couldn't stop it. It’s like I was possessed with anger, and that scares me." Jayjay sighed, looking at his hands, "Besides, look at what I've done to my hands. I should probably make sure I haven't broken anything because it hurts like hell.” He snickered, “I'm getting hungry, and I'm sure I won't be able to hold a knife and fork."

Stella laughed, "I'm sure Heather won't see you starve, talking of which, she's looking for you. Something about wanting to thank her knight in shining armour."

He scoffed, "Knight in my favourite Cold Chisel T-shirt from the '98 tour, which is torn now because of my stupidity. Could you please tell her I'll be out soon? She'll need me in a better mood than I am at the moment."

About a half-hour later, Heather walked into the storeroom, beaming at him, "There's my hero."

Seeing her smiling face instantly made him feel better. She lifted the hem of her skirt so she could straddle his legs and sit on his lap, facing him. She made sure to lift it high enough for him to see she wasn't wearing panties. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, then kissed each of his battered hands. "I thought I was never going to say this to anyone again, but I love you so much and need you to make love to me right now."

"What, here, in the storeroom,"

"Yep, we started in the front bar. How about we work our way around the building. How else are you going to get me pregnant?"

She stood so she could lower his pants then sat straight back down, guiding him inside her. She paused to allow herself to stretch to accommodate him, then little by little, slide down until she could go no further. Now kissing as she rocked back and forth slowly increasing the pace until he asked her to pause because he was going to get there before her, she panted, "No, no, don't stop I'm nearly there."

He quickly lifted her top off and flicking his tongue across her nipples, bringing the desired effect. He did explode first, but she was so close behind, it was inconsequential.

A visit to the doctor confirmed no broken bones, just severely bruised and a few cuts.

==//==

The Following Tuesday Evening.

"What'll ya have, love?"

"A Coopers Pale Ale thanks."

"Certainly, love. What happened to you?"

"Oh, just a disagreement with someone.” He clears his throat to continue. “Is Heather Darcy about? I heard she was staying here."

Stella stopped pouring the beer and looked up at the stranger.

"You heard that, did ya?"

He spoke quietly, "Yeah, I'm her husband, and I'd just like to have a word."

Stella spoke loudly, "We don't serve wife beaters here."

The bar suddenly became incredibly quiet as everyone was looking at him. "Is that Heather's ex?" somebody called as a few of the men in the bar were getting up from their seats and surrounding him. Gary tried to protest that she was his wife, not his ex-wife, but nobody was listening. Someone else said, "It's not just his wife he beats up. I know that guy. He picked up a woman at the Gold Wave Night Club and slapped a woman around after he'd finished with her. He's been banned from a few clubs around."

There had been two off-duty cops having dinner at a table on the other side of the bar. Stella looked around to see what they might do about this assembling mob. The table was empty, with two half-finished drinks and half-eaten meals, but no cops. They obviously needed to be someplace else.

Somebody in the group said, "I think he might need some… attitude adjustment. Learn some respect." As they escorted him out the back door, Everyone followed.

Soon after, the bar had emptied, the cops were back quietly, finishing their dinner.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of 3.

Thank you for reading my story, and I look forward to your comments.