His Savior, Her Hero (A Tim Gutterson Story)

Girlfriend

Tim was surprised at how easily Harper fell into the girlfriend role. She had a dazzling smile and still turned heads, much to the chagrin of the other women in the room. On the ride over, she had swished mouthwash that she kept in her clutch and waited until they were out of his car before she sprayed small amounts of perfume on her wrists. It was captivating everyone that passed her, Tim included.

When the game started, Harper did something no other woman had done before. While the others stood by their men or in the back of the room, Harper sat directly on Tim's lap, her dress riding up just a bit and she didn't bother to adjust it. One arm was draped around Tim's shoulders, unnecessarily so, to keep her balanced on his lap. Most of her weight was focused on her foot that managed to touch the ground.

"Hey, no helping," one of the men barked.

Harper had the most innocent look on her face, "I just want to learn. Can't I just hold the cards?"

Everyone was on board with the idea. Every man had his woman in his lap, and the games began.

For the first couple of rounds, Andy won. Tim leaned back as Harper adjusted how she was sitting, adjusting her dress accordingly. Still, Andy won.

"You said you're paying, right?" She murmured into Tim's ear.

"Yeah, why?"

Harper stopped the waitress. She only asked for two beers and something called an Amore Delane. Just before the waitress got a chance to walk away, she changed the beer to bourbon.

Tim won.

Tim let Harper do as she pleased. She already had everyone else intrigued and distracted. He did notice she was actively avoiding meeting Andy.

He looked at the pina colada placed in front of her, "What's that?"

"I didn't order it."

"Mr. Sellers got it for you," the waitress said with a smile.

"Awh, that's sweet. You can have it or someone else can drink it."

Tim was surprised by the shut down, her eyes moving to the cards again while her fingers snaked into his hair. The card game was much easier with Harper distracting everyone. More than a few men had been slapped and every time Andy lost, he would get a new girl to sit in his lap.

Harper gracefully stood, "I'm going to the bathroom." She kissed his cheek, "Hide your cards from the waitress."

With that, she left the room. Tim took her advice, cleverly hiding his cards when the waitress walked around.

Ricky won.

Three rounds went by before Harper returned. Her skin was cold, Tim noticed as she casually sat on his lap once more.

"You okay?" He questioned as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

She didn't answer as she took the cards and shifted closer to him to get warm. He moved his hand down her arm, gently taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. The skin was rough and the light taste of iron caught him by surprise.

He studied her bloodied hand, "Harper-"

"I handled it."

Her blunt statement and tone proved his suspicions. She had been in fight, something Art warned him might happen. It was a few minutes later that a man walked in, easily twice her size, with a busted lip and bloodied nose.

Tim absentmindedly placed his hand on the bare part of her thigh, gently moving his thumb up and down the smooth skin. The worked up woman slowly started to relax to the point he was holding her, their roles forgotten as he occasionally kissed her cheek or shoulder.