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The evening sun was like fire in the vibrant red and orange hues that shone down on the small, quiet town of Rhodes. You had lived there for all your life, and still the sunset never failed in its beauty. It marked the time of day in which all the men and women made their way to the tavern for a drink, and a gossip or two. You and your two best friends made your way to the tavern's swinging doors, the music already lively and couples already dancing a jig to the band. The three of you giggled in delight at the sight, and made your way over to the bar where you ordered your gin and tonic, or in your friends case, a tankard of ale. Taking your usual seat at the high end table, tucked away in a corner, you sat there and gossiped the night away, about the mistress you served as your job as a maid or about the goings on within town.
"Did you hear? There's new deputies in town," Harriet, your brunette, curly haired friend said lowly. She was beautiful in a natural and fair sort of way. Her skin was pale like alabaster with soft freckles dotting her nose and cheeks, "Apparently, they came out of nowhere, all three of them!"
"Are any of them good lookin'?" The other friend, Sally, said. She was the more burly out of the three. With black hair, tall, stocky, but no less beautiful. She was quite intimidating to the men, and it was perfect for when men would try and take advantage of either you or Harriet.
"Sally!" You gasped, which set the two giggling at your innocence.
"What?" Sally shrugged, "Nothing wrong with asking... and looking,"
"Apparently, according to widow Jameson, they all are quite the eye candy," Harriet carried on, her eyes twinkling, and the three of you giggled as the gossip continued.
An hour passed, and the tavern swing doors creaked as three men walked in. One man with a large hat walked in like a bull, a red boiled temper and shoulders broad. The other man walked in with a cool and collectiveness about him, enough so that he held the attention of the room from his appearance. And finally, the last man walked in with his eyes shadowed mysteriously by his worn hat and his gait almost bouncing with each step, it was captivating to say the least.
"Oh my, it's the new deputies," Harriet gasped under her breath, noting the deputy badges pinned to their chests. The three men walked to the bar and leant against the surface as they ordered their drinks, "They sure are handsome,"
"You can say that again," Sally uttered.
A few moments passed, and the three were joined by five other men, and the place was brought alive with jaunts and laughter. It wasn't long before Harriet was to her feet, "Excuse me, ladies,"
"Harriet," You called after her under your breath, but it was pointless as she made her way over to the men and began to chat away to them.
"Come on, [Y/N]!" Sally grasped your hand as she dragged you to follow after Harriet, but as you reached the bar, you hid yourself behind the two girls as you stood silently at the bar. The amount of confidence the two exuded was beyond what you were comfortable with, and so you ordered a drink quietly to yourself. It wasn't long before the gang of men began to disperse, once finally buying themselves a drink, and sat down at the available tables. Both Harriet and Sally had managed to get into giggling conversations with some of the men, leaving behind a couple of the men. One man looked African-American, but then dressed Native. The other being one of the new deputies with his low hat and mysterious gaze. The two spoke quietly to each other, and then their eyes fleeted over to you, noticing that you were watching them. With a deep blush to your cheeks, you looked down at your now empty glass.
"Are you coming over?" The Native man asked the other, but the other's southern drawls replied.
"I'll come over in a second,"
"Can I offer you a drink?" You heard after a few seconds, the same southern drawl now much closer, making your head snap up to see the man at your side, now revealing his ocean like eyes peering down at you.
"Oh... that's very kind of you," You nodded, smiling softly up at his taller stature. He smiles back gently and orders you another gin and tonic. You thanked him and looked down at his star badge, "So you're one of the new deputies then?"
"Yeah, my names Arthur," He introduced.
"[Y/N]," You replied back, and a blush once more heated in your cheeks, "What's brought you to Rhodes then deputy?"
"Ah... I was... laid down by my previous employer," He explained a little uneasily, his hand reaching to the back of his neck.
"Oh well... I'm so sorry to hear," Your brows furrowed slightly, "That must have been hard,"
"Yeah, yeah it was," Arthur nodded, "But hey, being a deputy isn't so bad. Got to handle some moonshiners yesterday, bastards were a slippery bunch of degenerates, hiding in the swamps,"
"Moonshiners? We have plenty of them around here," Your eyes widened slightly, taking a sip of your drink, "Skulking and hidin' around in the wilderness. The Lemoyne Raiders are particularly troublesome in these parts too,"
"I've had a run in with them, nasty folk,"
The two of you fell quiet, taking a sip of your drinks. It wasn't until your eyes met that you both giggled, and Arthur's deep tones spoke out, "Shall we join the others?"
"Yeah, I'd like that," You replied, and Arthur gestured you to take the lead, "Everyone, this is [Y/N],"
"You alright there, love," A copper haired Irishman called over, his accent thick, "Name's Sean McGuire,"
One by one they introduced themselves, Sean, Javier, Charles, Lenny, John, Bill and Dutch. Dutch seemed to be the father or messiah figure of the gang of men, and it reflected from his stance. You sat next to Arthur, listening in to the conversation between the men. Banter was thrown between them, and you listened with a small smile on your face. Drink after drink came to the table, as the men ordered in batches. Slowly but surely your head was beginning to spin, your weight heavily leaning against Arthur's arm, and instinctively, his arm wrapped around your waist to keep you steady. It was enough to make your drunkenly flushed complexion heat up even more and your stomach to flutter nervously. Silently, you unsteadily raised to your feet as you excused yourself. You made your way to the lavatory as you splashed cold water against your face to cool yourself down. It was the first time you felt this way for a man, a stranger at that. You just put it down to you being drunk.
Stumbling back out, you fell into a stocky figure. Looking up at the shadow that towered above your meek form, you saw Arthur, "Oh, I'm sorry,"
"It's quite alright, I was coming to check up on you. You were up there for some time. You okay?" He asked, you could smell the alcohol on his breath and could hear the slur in his tones.
"I'm fine, just needed to refresh myself," You smiled softly, quite surprised that he was going to check up on you, in fact you found it rather sweet of him, and your cheeks once more blushed. You didn't realise until now how much blushing you had actually done that day. With a second of silence, the two of you fought to find anything to say in the thick tension that hovered over you, and without a further thought, Arthur leant down as his lips pressed against yours. Your hesitation caused him to pull away, looking down at you drunkenly to see if you were okay. But when he saw no remonstration from you, he leant down once more, grasping gently at your waist. You melted into his hold and reciprocated in the kiss, your hand lifting to his bearded cheek and pulled him closer. It wasn't until you heard a cheer from the ground below that you realised you were in full view of the gang, and it immediately pulled you apart. Arthur chuckled awkwardly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Are you coming Arthur? Or shall we leave you two lovebirds alone?" Called Sean.
"Yeah yeah, I'm coming down," Arthur called down, and he turned to look at you apologetically.
"I'll er.... see you around?" Arthur asked, and you merely nodded, unable to form any words against what just happened, other than a meek 'bye'. And you watched with a small and content smile as Arthur left the tavern with the other men.
