take me back in time

well, shit

It may be possible to watch over one drunken outlaw, maybe, but to keep an eye out over three drunken fools was nearly impossible.
So, I simply gave up after some time.
I sat cross-legged on one of the red couches on the first-floor, watching John, Arthur and Lenny carefully as they played around like teenagers, tossing glasses and provoking other men, laughing loudly over everything and nothing, dancing and having fun.
Smiling, I took a sip of my warm beer, trying to calm my nerves a bit but it was hopeless. I would've killed for a coke right now but apparently the saloon didn't have it in stock, even though it was already invented back then.
I huffed loudly in annoyance as a stranger sat down next to me and I eyed him suspiciously; he was old, dirty and smelled awful.
"Hey there, miss. Ya'all alone by yerself or what? Needs some company?", he slurred and I shook my head defensively.
"No, thank you.", I stated dismissively.
But the man didn't give up that easy and as his hand landed on my thigh I flinched away.
"Ah, no'need to be like that, missy. I can show'ya areal goo' time."
He leaned in closer and I was just about to shatter my beer bottle over his head, as a large hand grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up, back against the railing of the floor.
"Ya heard the lady, dumbass. Now, get lost or I show ya a real good time! Promise ya that.", Arthur threatened in a deep voice and the stranger tripped backwards over his feet, fleeing down the stairs.
A shaky breath escaped my lips and I smiled a bit wary.
"Thank you, Arthur."
He slumped down on the couch, his thigh touching my knee, his left arm reaching out to lay down on the backrest behind me, sighing deeply once he was comfy.
"Damn girl. The hell was that?", he asked, head turned in my direction.
I shrugged. "Dunno. Feller came by and though I might be a nice snack."
Arthur snorted and laughed at the same time, a small blush creeping up his cheeks.
"That's... yeah. Whatever ya say.", he stuttered in response.
"Why is a man like you so easy to unsettle, Morgan?", I asked curious, the alcohol making me a bit too brave.
Elena always told me I was lousy drunk, too flirty, too blunt, too sexist, too funny.
"A man like me? What's that supposed to mean?", he snapped back, eyes darting over my face.
I held his gaze, leaning in to poke his chest with my forefinger, trying hard to ignore his muscles flexing under the black shirt.
"Strong, seasoned, takes no bullshit from everyone but if someone dares to say something flirty or, lord have mercy, mentions sex, you..."
His hand stopped me midsentence, rough palm covering my lips, eyes wide in shock.
"Jesus, woman. The hell is wrong with ya? Can't go runnin' 'round talkin' like that all'the time.", he nearly whispered and I chuckled against his hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling it away to speak again.
"Why not? You afraid?"
He huffed. "No. But that mouth of yars will get'ya into a whollatta trouble if ya not careful."
"Ah, mouths are created to cause trouble, Mr. Morgan.", I said dryly and his head dipped down, the brim of his hat shielding his eyes, a smirk on his lips.
"Jesus...", he grumbled but then he laughed quietly; his left hand grabbed mine, still poking his chest, holding it away from him.
"If I remember it correctly, ya were the one who ran away last night.", he stated low, his voice deep and raspy, eyes coming up again to meet mine.
His body leaned in closer, nearly touching and I was a mess, melting under his all-consuming glance.
My eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips, without my permission of course and he noticed, of course he noticed and a smug smile formed slowly on his lips; so much for easy to unsettle; but John's yelling tore me out of my trance and prevented me from doing something really dumb.
"Lenny! Lenny?!"
Wait... that was normally Arthur's part.
We looked up simultaneously, watching how John stumbled down the stairs after Lenny, both of them swaying dangerously from side to side.
"Oh crap. We need to get them, Arthur.", I said and was already on my feet, chasing after them, Arthur following suit but not that fast, because he was also tumbling, still drunk.
I was a bit curious about how this mission would evolve with John in it and, well, it was not was I was expecting, that's for sure.
By the time we stepped out the saloon-doors, Lenny and John were chased down the street by some lawmen. Arthur reacted quickly, given his state at least and dragged me by my arm in the alley between the saloon and the general store, pinning me back against the wooden wall, shielding my body with his.
He was way too close, but my mind had other things to process than this.
"What the fuck?", my voice was quiet and hoarse, Arthur simply nodded.
"Yeah, that's how it goes sometimes.", he whispered back. "But ya already knew that, right?", he added after a short moment and I sighed.
"No, sometimes things evolve different than I thought they would."
"Huh."
"A quiet drink, tz."
Arthur chuckled in response and I tried to get a look at the street around his shoulder, but I just saw the half of it and Lenny and John were nowhere to be seen.
"Why are we hiding exactly?", I asked him in a hushed tone and he laughed again.
"See that feller over there?"
My eyes followed his outstretched hand as he pointed at the man who had ratted John and Lenny out, walking alongside the lawmen towards the stables.
"Yeah."
"Well, let's jus' say we had a little misunderstandin' as well."
"Oh, great."
After several moments, the air seemed clear and Arthur stepped back, one hand scratching the back of his neck.
"U-uhm. Ya wanna head back to camp?", he asked sheepishly, words still slurred.
"What about them?", I asked, referring to Lenny and John.
"Ah, they'll come home sooner or later."
I shrugged. "Okay. You sure you can ride?"
"Dunno."
The answer was; no. He couldn't.
He was way too wasted to mount up, so I dragged him over to the hotel, rented a room and helped him up the stairs.
The plan was to get him into bed and then I'd sleep on the floor, because John still had my tent and my new bedroll on his horse, at least I hoped that.
As I unlocked the door, he leaned heavily on my shoulder, nearly crushing me under his weight, grunting and huffing all the way.
How he managed to be that clear a few moments ago and now this, well, it was unexplainable to me.
I dumped him on the right side of the bed, the frame squeaking under his body-weight and he groaned in response, stretching out above the covers.
"Great.", I muttered to myself as I reached for his boots, satchel and gun belt. Removing them wasn't that easy and I panted afterwards, sitting down next to him on the mattress, catching my breath.
Arthur was already half asleep, eyes fighting against the need to shut down.
I hesitated a bit but then snatched his hat from where it lay half on his head, admiring its form, weight and smooth leather for a short moment before I put it down on the nightstand.
My eyes trailed over Arthur's sleeping form, legs stretched out, feet in black socks nearly hanging over the edge, one arm resting on his stomach, the other next to him. His face was so peaceful in that moment, the usual frown of worry, anger and sadness gone. He looked young, way younger than he normally did and fucking cute.
Before I could stop myself, my left hand reached out and gently caressed his cheek, eliciting a small grunt out of him. His stubble scratched my palm a bit but it was smoother than I'd thought.
He leaned into my touch, head turning in my direction and I held my breath for a short moment, afraid to wake him up again but he didn't.
I was impressed how fast and deep this man could fall asleep, that was truly a gift. I retreated my hand from his face, successfully fighting the urge to explore more of his body.
A deep sigh escaped my lips and I chuckled to myself, shaking my head while standing up again.
What a day.
I inspected the floor and cursed under my breath. It was dirty, hard and seemed not very comfortable. The fireplace had the small room warmed up to a pleasant temperature but I still shivered a bit under my clothes.
So, I made a quick decision and slipped under the covers of the bed. Certainly, after taking off my boots and pants, because; let's be honest; nobody wants to sleep in pants, careful not to wake the outlaw sleeping next to me.
The bed was a bit too small for the two of us, one reason for that was the large man already sleeping in it and I made myself as small as I could, curling on my side into a tiny ball, knees nearly on my chest to warm myself up as fast as possible.
His arm rested a few inches away and I could sense his incredibly body heat on my back. I needed to fight against my inner-me not to turn around and snuggle up to this human-furnace on two legs behind me.
After I extinguished the lamp on my side of the bed, I tried to shut down every thought in my head but, well, it wasn't that easy.
Sleeping in one bed with one of the most attractive man I ever laid eyes on, was kind of difficult. And I never was a good sleeper, I always had problems with sleeping someplace new. All the strange and uncommon noises, smells and other things. It made falling asleep nearly impossible every time.
Arthur's steady breathing calmed me though, so I focused on it, trying to breath with him, deep and even.
Every time he twitched in his sleep, or mumbled something, I was pulled out of sleep again but after what felt like hours, I finally dropped off.