Broken Arrow Ch. 01

Notes: all characters are well beyond 18 years of age; after all their ID is checked by the bouncer ;-) Copyright is retained by scandtx, two authors writing collaboratively.

This is only our second story ever, so we look forward to constructive feedback and to rankings. We know it's a little bit short, but we're trying out the scenario outlined here to see if it works for future chapters. Please click at the end to let us know how we did, and thanks in advance for your high fives. Enjoy!





Danni had just finished putting the last bottle in the chilled rack of the bar, when her boss Cody came through the door.

"Come 'ere babe" he shouted across the room.

Cody was a good boss, and owned one of the most popular bars in a working class town. Unfortunately he thought he was a ladies man, but just came across as a jerk. Danni rolled her eyes, wiping her hands with a towel, before vaulting over a low section of the bar. She made her way over to the front door as Cody finished unloading some boxes from the trunk of his car.

"I've got a new bouncer coming this evening."

He grabbed a folder from the back seat and began flipping through the pages; Cody was never very organized. Again Danni rolled her eyes; hopefully the new guy wasn't another lazy piece of crap. She thought to herself that Cody had a tendency to hire friends of friends, with the result being a never ending revolving door of deadbeats in a fast paced work environment.

"This better not be another loser, Cody. Last time, I had to carry the load of two behind the bar, all because you wanted to hire a friend."

She had been one of the main bartenders for the Broken Arrow Tavern for the last four years. Cody gave her a cross look from over his shoulder.

"This one is reputable." He hated being wrong, although it happened often, and he just didn't like hearing about it from an employee. "Heard only good things about this one."

He flipped the pages back and forth in his little pocket notebook, looking for the slip of paper.

"Nathan...something, I don't know." He closed the folder and tossed it in the back seat. "He'll be here tonight, so get him set up, ok?"

She hoped he was right this time. There were nights when, like any bar, things got a little out of control.

"Sure Cody, no problem."

The boss smiled and slapped her on the ass affectionately, "that's my girl, oh and he's kinda a quiet guy so work some of your..." he thought for a moment trying to choose his words wisely "...charm...on him."

It was no secret that Danni was a social butterfly, and single, but for some reason Cody was under the impression that she slept with every man who crossed her path. She was beautiful: 5'7", long brown hair that she kept tied in a ponytail when she worked, blue eyes, and a body that she took care of. She'd been a gymnast in high school and hadn't let go of the habit of staying in shape. She was always sporting some kind of top that accented her breasts, if only because she knew it got her good tips.

The pop to her ass made her jump, and also made her feel like she needed a bath. She hated it when Cody did that, but she let it slide. She knew he didn't mean anything by it.

Returning to the bar, she did a few final checks before the rest of the staff arrived, and noticed a leak in one of the tap lines. Grabbing a wrench, she crawled under the bar, and began to tighten the line. She heard the front door open and close; none of the staff came in that way because of the parking in back. Cody must have forgotten to lock the front door.

"Bar's closed!" she hollered from under the counter, as she tightened the line. She could hear the footsteps on the hard wood. "I said the bar is closed."

The steps continued to move forward. Danni tossed the wrench to one side and crawled out from under the bar, placing her hands on the counter, meeting practically face to chest with a strange man. As she brought her eyes up, she could see that he wasn't smiling, actually he didn't have much of an expression at all, but his eyes demanded attention. She was a bit apprehensive at first—the bar had been robbed in the past and, being empty right now, this would be a perfect time for someone to make a move.

"I'm Nathan."

Her relief was palpable. "Hi Nathan, I'm Dani. Cody told me you'd be coming, and to get you set up for the shift tonight."

She reached across the bar and shook his hand before realizing, too late, that she'd been gripping some oil as she worked on the tap lines. As she pulled her hand back from his, they each saw the large black smudge she'd left on his palm.

"Oh shit, look what I did. I'm sorry about that. Here, let me grab a rag so you can wipe it off."

She looked around briefly for something appropriate to remove the grease, but stopped when she saw Nathan simply look down at his hands, wipe them on his jeans, and then look back up at her.

"I assume that stool over by the door will be mine for the night?"

"Yes" Dani answered, "but don't you want to know the routine? How things work around here?"

"Let me guess: if it seems like they're about to fight, I stand next to them and look like this:" he stood and looked down at imaginary brawlers at the nearest table, although his expression didn't change a bit from the vaguely threatening countenance he'd been wearing since he walked in. "If they're actually fighting, I throw them out. If they look to be under 30, or the least bit nervous, I card them. If you see something I missed but you don't want to make a scene, you call out 'Nate' instead of Nathan, or use a hand signal of some kind, and I come over and give them that look."

...pause...

"Is that pretty much the routine?" he asked, slightly raising one eyebrow, tilting his head and looking at Dani without blinking.

For the first time in a long while, Dani was speechless, before bursting out laughing, continuing until she had tears in her eyes. For his part, Nathan was genuinely taken aback by this reaction, but his eyes widened only a little in response, and quickly settled back into their usual distant gaze, as if he was looking at something, or someone, far away. Dani missed this momentary shift as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the routine. I guess you've done this before. Our signal of trouble is to reach up and change the time on this broken clock above the bar. If you see that, catch one of the bartender's eyes and we'll motion toward the problem. In the meantime it's just about starting time so I'll mark you down on the timesheet here under the bar, and you can take your stool. Can I get you something to drink?

"Water. Please."

Noise from the back signaled the rest of the staff arriving. Dani flipped a switch turning on the neon lights in the window, the sections of an animated broken arrow above the bar began rotating, and the first songs of the night blared from the fancy new smart-phone driven jukebox, as the first customer walked through the door.

'if they look like they're going to fight, I make this face' Dani thought as she replayed the scene in her head, beginning to laugh again. 'Cody's right, he is a quiet one, but maybe he'll work out after all.'

As Dani did every night she hit the ground running. The bar was getting busy as she began pushing out drinks, making small talk with customers, simple flirting, bar tricks for tips. Tonight, though, she felt a little distracted by the mysterious new bartender.

She glanced up from time to time to see him standing at the door checking IDs. It was no surprise that he attracted the attention of some of the female bar flies. They made many attempts to talk to Nathan and capture his attention, but he didn't seem easily swayed by them as he constantly watched over the crowd. His quiet intensity made her even more curious about him. He didn't seem too keen on making friends while he was here.

The bar was in full swing. Dani had more than her fair share of customers at the bar. It was nothing she couldn't handle, but her cockiness got the better of her when she turned her back for a moment. One of the patrons reached over the bar and grabbed a bottle, then turned away to claim it without paying. Dani turned back just in time to see him.

"Alright buddy put it back" she shouted over the loud music.

The man stumbled a bit, obviously drunk. "Come'n get it babe." Taunting her, dangling the bottle in front of him.

Dani planted her hands on the bar and vaulted over the counter, moving toward him. She reached a hand out to snatch the bottle from his hands, underestimating the customer. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him; his grip was strong and she couldn't break free.

"Hous about a listle dance babe" his words slurred into her ear.

"Let me go asshole" she said, struggling against him. "I know I didn't serve this guy enough for him to get this drunk" she thought, "he's either high or smuggled something in here with him."

Before she knew it the bottle dropped from his hand, luckily hitting another person's foot and spilling rather than smashing, while his grip on her arm loosened remarkably. As Dani wrenched herself away from him and stooped quickly to pick up the dropped beer bottle, she could hear the man gasping for air. Nathan had his forearm around his throat and his hand twisted up the

middle of his back.

"The lady said to let her go."

"I...I...lemme go!"

Dani could see a dark animalistic intensity in Nathan's eyes, as if he wanted to rip this man's throat out but struggled to control himself.

"You want to go, asshole? Ok, go." He pulled the man to the door and, using the drunk's body to open it, shoved him outside. The man stumbled to the bottom of the two-step drop and seemed to consider turning and arguing, before thinking better of it and sullenly wandering off down the street.

When Nathan returned, he made eye contact with Dani, his features relaxing as he saw that she must be ok. She was continuing with her job, quickly cleaning up the spilled beer. She stepped as if to approach him, but he cast his eyes away and moved back into his position on the stool.

Later when the tempo of the evening slowed, Dani took her break, grabbed a bottle of water, and headed over toward Nathan. "Thought you could use this" she said, handing him the water.

"Thanks." He stared out at the crowd, casting her a side glance.

She took his demeanor for rudeness or ingratitude and turned to walk away. When she turned, something caught his eye. Before she could take a step his hand reached out quickly and grasped hers.

To her it felt like a bolt of electricity through her fingers. She gasped at how quick and yet gentle he was. "You ok?" he asked, turning her wrist over and revealing a slight bruising. Pulling her hand back, breaking the connection, Dani played down the whole thing.

"It's nothing..." she said, mimicking his intense stare. "I'm a lot tougher than you think."

Nathan took a sip of his water to hide his slight smile, Dani didn't miss this attempt at covering his reaction.

"Oh my god. Was that a smile?" She faked enthusiasm, glad to see his concern and to learn that he wasn't a total asshole, not that it would have stopped her from being nice to him.

"Thought tough guys like you weren't supposed to smile?"

"Just doing my job."

A look lingered in the air between them before he pointed with his chin and a tilt of his head, saying "I'll be protecting you from Mr. Leather Jacket over there soon if you don't get back to the bar and get him a drink. He's looking impatient."

"Tony?! He's sort of a cross between Fonzie and Mr. Rogers; thinks that jacket makes him look tough. Don't worry, you won't need to protect me from him."

Turning, she walked back to the rear of the bar, picking up a stack of empties and dirty plates along the way, with maybe just a little hint of sway in her hips as she went. Sliding the dishes through the small window connected to the kitchen, she filed away her confused thoughts about the interaction with Nathan, to be studied later, on her long drive home.

The corner booth was filled with a group of women, at least mostly women, from the county government office just down the street. A new redistricting plan for the county was only recently completed, and the process for generating new tax assessments was well underway. This meant they all were under a lot of strain at work, and had decided at the last minute to blow off some steam with this trip to The Broken Arrow after work.

Lily in particular needed the release but was also the least likely to seek it out on her own; the urgings of her co-workers to 'live a little for once' had eventually convinced her to join them. Still, she was at the edge of the crowd both literally and figuratively. The size of their group crowded into the booth forced her to sit with only half of her rear end on the edge of its cushion. The rest of her weight was supported by her other toned leg, and by an arm slung over a chair pulled close.

The petite redhead was only half paying attention to the kibitzing of her colleagues and the rolled-eyes accompanying descriptions of people coming in to complain about tax bills that hadn't even been settled on yet. Her eyes were on the interaction between the ruggedly handsome bouncer and the bartender, or bar wench, as Lily cattily found herself thinking of the woman. She realized with amusement that her negative cast of this woman she'd never met was due in part to jealousy, when Nathan gently grabbed Dani's arm and asked about the bruise he saw there.

With a start, Lily came back to herself and realized how long it had been since she'd been with a man, and wondered if the bouncer was taken.

"Damn" she thought, "I don't see a ring on his finger, but it's just my damn luck that I wore granny panties tonight and haven't shaved anything in over a week. Of course, that's not noticeable in the dark."

She laughed out loud at the shamelessness of her thoughts, leading her co-workers to pause in their own stories and ask "What's up? What's so funny?"

"Who...what?" Lily stumbled with her words. "Nothing, just something funny popped into my head. So, how about I get the next round of drinks?"

Her coworkers cheered as she was able to divert their attention. She flagged down a server and ordered the next round, side glancing over at Nathan. She had watched him handle the intoxicated customer with controlled rage, and was impressed that the bouncer was back to normal seemingly as soon as he'd resolved the situation. Since then she noticed his eyes constantly scanning the room for the next sign of trouble.

For the quickest moment, Nathan's eyes stopped on her, and her breath caught in her chest as his eyes drifted down her exposed leg and back up to meet her gaze. His expression never changed as he nodded and went back to scanning the room.

Lily's pulse raced, god she was horny, and he was just the kind of man she needed to satisfy her needs. Tall and handsome, she could see the muscles in his stomach under his T-shirt. Her panties were wet just thinking about it. It occurred to her that she almost never came into this place, so she could take him home for a night of fun and not have to worry about the awkwardness of running into him regularly.

When the drinks arrived she didn't hesitate to down hers upon completion of the toast. Her friends were having a good time and the conversation continued until eventually someone said it was getting late. Agreement spread like a virus among the group. Collecting their things, they moved out of the booth.

Lily was the last to leave, as a result of being purposefully slow in paying her tab. She eyed Nathan as she walked to the door, before stopping in front of him, clearing her throat.

"Hi" she said.

He looked down at her. "Hi." His reply was simple and monotone, but it made her knees shake.

"Um...would you mind walking me to my car." She bit her lower lip in anticipation of his answer. "Last week this woman I know found someone trying to break into her car when she went out to it around this time of night." She noticed his demeanor seemed to change as he focused on her, casting a glance along her length.

"Lead the way" Nathan said, pushing the door open, allowing her to move first out into the darkness. It had recently rained and there was a slight chill in the air.

Her car was parked in the small lot around the corner. There were hardly any lights in the area, and he could see the pros and cons a customer might weigh before walking here alone. He scanned the area and saw no threat. He approached her small economy car and looked inside, again scanning the area, before looking in her direction when he was not only satisfied that it was clear, but that they were alone.

She approached the car, her nerve to try for a quick romp suddenly fleeting. "Who are you kidding? He wouldn't go for you. Besides, where would you go even if he were interested? The walls in the new apartment are paper thin, and the neighbors would hear everything."

"Thanks" she said, smiling quickly, nervously, before bypassing him and pulling out her keys and opening the car door.

She stood in the tight v-shaped nook created by the angle of the door sticking out from the car. The outer edge of her right leg touched the speaker in the door, with her left leg partially bent and resting on the leather of the driver's seat as she faced him, thanking him for his protection. She expected that he would simply turn and walk back to the bar. Instead, one of his hands slid by her head, resting on the roof of the car, the other on the open door, enclosing her in this small space that was suddenly both familiar and utterly foreign.

"Is that all you want? A walk to your car?" he asked in a low tone, his lips close to her ear.

Lily turned as he closed the last of the short distance between them. His hands dropped low to rest on the back of her thighs, pulling her against him. She could feel his hard-on through his jeans; she moaned slightly in longing.

Nathan's hand slid under her skirt and up between her thighs. She gasped when he reached the apex of her thighs. His fingers slid up and down the front of her panties, finding her soaking wet. Lily gasped again and grabbed his shoulder. His eyes met hers and held the contact, before looking purposefully at the bulge stretching down the leg of his jeans.

"Oh god." This is what she needed, her hand cupped the front of his jean stroking him. "I...want...this."

"It's all yours. Go ahead."

He pulled back, letting her unzip his pants, slipping her hand inside, grabbing his cock. She liked the way he groaned at her touch, making him rock hard. She stroked the hair she found at its base, almost tickling, then ran just the edge of a manicured fingernail along the thin strip of skin between his legs' juncture. As she started to drop to her knees in front of him, he stopped her abruptly and pulled her back to her feet.

"No" he growled low in his throat, "we both want more than that, don't we?"

Wide-eyed, and surprised at this turn of events, Lily could only nod in agreement.

Reaching both hands under her skirt, Nathan grabbed the thin material of her panties at the hip and tore it away from her. She froze momentarily, feeling a tinge of apprehension, almost fear at the violence of the act, before calming as he gently stroked the skin he'd exposed.

Unleashing his cock from the last of its confines and hooking his arm under Lily's thigh, he spread her legs wide as he lifted her slightly, before dropping her fully onto his length. He entered her swiftly and forcefully, and completely. Again, she felt a temporary panic at the seeming loss of control, and the suddenly-remembered risk of being discovered in this public place. Both were washed away as waves of pleasure rolled through her core. She supported herself with arms on the car's door and roof, while she buried her head in his chest to muffle her loud cries.