Auther: bradshawsbaby

“Another round over here, hot stuff!”

You did your best to refrain from rolling your eyes, making your way over to the table in the back, where one of the most obnoxious men you’d ever encountered in your life was snickering with his friends. Setting your tray down on the table, you began clearing away their empty glasses, your chin held high as you did everything in your power to ignore their leering glances. You had purposely worn a pair of high-waisted jeans and a T-shirt with The Hard Deck’s logo on it, one that completely shielded your chest from prying eyes. But creeps would be creeps.

“I’ll be right back with a fresh round for you guys,” you told them in as neutral a voice as possible, managing to sidestep the hand that was coming perilously close to your behind.

“Thanks, cutie,” the jerk in the pink polo shirt said with a wink and a lascivious grin.

Skin crawling, you lifted up your tray and quickly moved away from them. If Penny wasn’t such a good friend, you would’ve walked out of The Hard Deck right that minute.

Though you technically hadn’t been on payroll at Penny’s bar since before you and Rooster were even engaged, you still volunteered to help out from time to time on the nights when The Hard Deck got really busy. You always refused to take any money from Penny, but she insisted that you keep your tips. It was a little agreement that the two of you had come to.

“Are those guys giving you a problem?” Penny asked as she refilled their drinks. She shot a look over at their table, where they were guffawing obnoxiously, probably at some stupid joke.

You glanced over your shoulder and followed her gaze. This time, you did roll your eyes. “No more so than your standard, run-of-the-mill loser,” you told her, carefully arranging the mugs of beer on your tray.

“Y/N,” Penny sighed, shaking her head. “I can ask them to leave. Or tell them they’re going to have to buy a round if they don’t cut it out. You’re doing me a favor. I don’t want you—”

“It’s fine, Penny,” you cut her off, smiling. “Really. Not worth making a scene over. You don’t need any more stress.”

“Okay, if you’re sure,” Penny replied, still looking skeptical. She shot another glance at the table in the back, then smiled conspiratorially. “Rooster and the others will be here soon anyway, huh? I’m sure they won’t want to mess with them.”

“Definitely not,” you laughed in agreement, hefting the full tray of beers over to their table. “Here you go, gentlemen,” you said politely, setting their drinks down in front of them. They were the farthest thing from gentlemen in your mind, but you’d learned to be polite to even the rudest of customers from your full-time waitressing days.

“Why don’t you join us, hot stuff?” Pink Polo smirked, brushing his hand against the back of yours, which made you stiffen immediately. Evidently the wedding band sitting very snugly on your finger wasn’t sending a clear enough message.

“Can’t,” you told him curtly, snatching your empty tray back up. “There’s a lot of other customers who need me. Plus, my husband will be here any minute,” you added pointedly.

“Husband, huh? You got a husband stupid enough to let his pretty little wife prance around this bar all night?” he shot back, leaning back in his seat smugly.

You bit your tongue to keep from firing back at him, not wanting to cause any trouble for Penny. But his words, paired with that smug look on his face, had infuriated you. Swallowing back your anger, you pasted a false smile on your face. “No, but I do have a husband who respects and trusts me enough to let me help out a friend,” you told him, spinning away without a second glance. The sound of their laughter echoing behind you made your blood boil.

Dropping your tray on the bar, you closed your eyes and took a couple deep breaths. There was no point in letting a pack of losers like that ruin your night. Just as you were getting ready to turn and go check on some of the other customers, you felt a pair of strong arms wrap around your waist from behind and a familiar cheek press against yours.

“There’s my best girl,” Rooster whispered in your ear, grinning as he captured your lips in a quick kiss of greeting.

You laughed, instantly feeling better once you were in his arms. “Well hello,” you grinned, turning so that you could wrap your arms around him. He had swapped his flight suit for a pair of jeans and one of the Hawaiian shirts that you knew had belonged to his dad. Handsome, as always, was your husband.

“How’s the night going? No one giving you any problems, I trust?” Rooster asked, raising an eyebrow. You could tell he was only half-joking.

“None,” you fibbed, pressing a reassuring kiss to his lips. There was no point in telling him about the creeps from the back. It would just upset him, and for what? He deserved some time to unwind after work. Those jerks weren’t worth a fight. 

Over Rooster’s shoulder, you spotted your other friends already congregating near the pool table. You waved to Phoenix, Bob, Payback, Fanboy, Coyote, and Hangman, who all waved back and shouted their greetings to you. Mav, too, had arrived with the rest of the team and was already helping Penny behind the bar.

“Why don’t you go have some fun with everyone and I’ll bring you guys some drinks, okay?” you suggested, resting a hand on his chest as he stole another kiss from your lips.

“Come sit with us, baby,” Rooster begged, resting his hands on your hips and giving you his best puppy-dog look.

You smiled at that, swatting at him playfully. “I will when I can. But I’m here to work tonight,” you said, shooing him away.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long, Mrs. Bradshaw,” Rooster winked, making his way over to play a few rounds of pool.

For the next hour or so, things went just fine. The Hard Deck started to get more crowded, just as you all had expected it to, and you were running orders back and forth all over the bar. Pink Polo and his friends continued to get more and more intoxicated, their comments becoming increasingly lewd and perverted.

“Maybe I could show your husband how a real man handles his woman,” Pink Polo whispered with a smile that sent a shiver down your spine.

Hurrying away from him, trying to push his comments out of your mind, you found yourself running straight into your husband’s arms.

“What’s wrong?” Rooster asked, taking one look at your face and knowing something was up. He touched a gentle hand to your cheek, his eyes meeting yours.

“Nothing, just getting a little flustered with all these orders. I’m out of practice,” you told him with a smile, deflecting as best you could.

Rooster didn’t seem to buy what you were saying completely, but he didn’t push the point. “Let me help you then.”

“You don’t have to, babe. You’ve already been working all day. Go have fun,” you told him, giving him an appreciative kiss before sending him back on his way to the pool table.

“Oh, hot stuff!” came Pink Polo’s irritating voice.

Sighing and wondering when the hell he was going to leave, you turned to find your least favorite customer waving his empty glass in the air and smirking at you.

“Another round, babycakes,” he told you, teasingly holding the glass out of your reach when you went to take it from him. “Oops, sorry,” he chuckled, finally handing it to you. 

As you turned to leave, however, he suddenly reached out and smacked your ass. Hard. Despite the music blaring, the sound of it seemed to reverberate throughout the whole bar.

“And make it fast, sweets,” he winked.

Before you could even blink, before your brain could even fully register what had just happened, your husband was already tearing across the bar, the rest of your friends shouting loudly as they followed behind him.

“What the fuck did you just say to her?!” Rooster demanded, roughly grabbing Pink Polo by the front of his shirt and hauling him out of his seat.

Your husband was the kindest, gentlest, most loving person you knew. But he was also fiercely protective of those he loved and completely unafraid to get physical when he needed to. You could tell from the rage blaring in his eyes at that moment that he felt he needed to. No one was going to disrespect you like that and get away with it, not if Rooster had anything to say about it.

Pink Polo’s friends stood up and moved as if to lunge at Rooster, but quickly backed down the second they saw Coyote, Hangman, Payback, and Fanboy taking up the rear, ready to back Rooster’s play. Bob, knowing he was the least intimidating looking of all of them, hung behind the rest, still wanting to offer his support if needed.

Penny and Phoenix grabbed your arm to pull you back, Mav making his way over to keep an eye on things as well.

“Huh? What the fuck did you say?” Rooster repeated, shaking the creep by the front of his shirt. “You think you’re gonna put your fucking hands on a woman like that and get away with it? Let’s see how you like it when I put my fucking hands on you,” Rooster shouted, raising a fist as Pink Polo attempted to scramble out of his hold, his useless friends just staring, slack-jawed.

“Baby, no!” you cried out suddenly, covering your face with your hands in panic. “It’s not worth it. He’s not worth it,” you told him, knowing your husband would go to any length to defend you.

Rooster looked back at you, recognizing the concern on your face. Normally, he wouldn’t have backed down in a situation like this, but when he saw how much stress it was causing you, he slowly lowered his fist.

“You’re lucky my wife’s a better person than I am,” Rooster told Pink Polo through gritted teeth, letting go of his shirt and shoving him away. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“I’m going to settle my tab,” Pink Polo sneered, reaching for his wallet.

“You know,” Penny said, stepping forward in that instant and raising a hand. “One of the rules of my bar is that if you disrespect a lady, you buy a round. But I’ll do you a favor. You can just get the fuck out of here and never come back,” she told him coldly, prompting a chorus of cheers from the crowd.

“Fine,” Pink Polo frowned, glaring at Rooster and then at you. “God, such a big fucking deal over one stupid slut.”

Not even you were able to stop Rooster this time as he slammed his fist directly into Pink Polo’s nose, knocking him to the ground.

“I think you broke my fucking nose!” he cried out, blood spurting out and staining his lovely pink polo shirt.

“Aw, what a shame,” Hangman sighed, bending down to pick him up with Coyote’s and Payback’s assistance. “Penny, my dear?” he asked, looking over at her with a knowing grin.

Smirking, Penny gave a nod to signal exactly what they should do with him. As the rest of the crowd booed and tossed their drinks at him, Pink Polo and his friends were tossed soundly out onto the sand.

“Wish we could say it’s been a pleasure,” Payback smirked, slamming the door shut behind them once he, Hangman, and Coyote were back inside.

Once Pink Polo and his posse were taken care of, everyone surrounded you, checking if you were alright and asking if there was anything they could do. But you only had eyes for the man standing before you, his bruised knuckles and slightly skewed Hawaiian shirt the only indications that he’d been in any sort of scuffle at all.

Stepping over to him, you wasted no time in wrapping your arms around him and burying your face in his neck. “You didn’t have to do that,” you whispered, holding him close.

“Yes, I did,” Rooster whispered back, stroking your back gently as he pressed you close to his chest. “Nobody’s ever going to disrespect you like that, baby. Nobody.” He pressed a kiss to the side of your head, then pulled back to look at you. “Are you alright?”

“I should be asking you that,” you replied, lifting his bruised hand to your lips and pressing a tender kiss to his knuckles.

“Ah, I’ve had worse,” Rooster grinned, reaching up to cup your cheek with his battered hand. “Totally worth it to defend you, Mrs. Bradshaw.”

“God, I love you,” you told him, wrapping your arms around him and kissing him soundly, right there in the middle of The Hard Deck.

“Ugh, you guys are gross,” Hangman joked, rolling his eyes as everyone else laughed and turned away to give you both some privacy.

“Thanks for protecting me, baby,” you whispered, snuggling against his chest.

“Always, honey,” Rooster murmured, his arm wrapped firmly around your waist for the rest of the night.