CHAPTER ONE

MOVING TO A NEW area was always nerve wracking, but aurora was making the best of it as she sat at the bar of a pub near her apartment. her college best friend was from around the area and had recommended she move near her so they could stay closer together. harley had offered for aurora to move into her dad's house with them, but aurora didn't want to overstep. she'd only met harley's dad once and she was too piss drunk to even remember their interaction, so having to live with him would be embarrassing. she was nervous to even see him in person again. would he remember her making a complete fool of herself? she didn't even know what she had done because she told harley to not even tell her.

the blonde brushed her hair over her shoulder to get it away from her face as she looked up to see the bartender placing another beer in front of her. "oh, i didn't order another one." she stated and the girl behind the counter smirked at her.

"the gentleman over there bought it for you."

aurora's light brown eyes darted over to the man sitting at the other end of the bar. he gave her a small smile and lifted up his beer. she did the same before taking a sip. she had no intention of going over to talk to him, but wasn't going to pass up a free beer. her eyes wandered around the busy bar, spotting a man that was a bit older than her sitting by himself near the back of the room. he had a beer in his hand and a plate of fries in front of him on the table. he seemed like he didn't have a single care in the world and aurora hoped that one day she would feel like that.

when she turned back around the man that bought her the beer was making his way over to her and she internally panicked. she left the beer at the counter and made her way in the direction of the man that she aspired to be one day.

she quickly spoke, her words rushed. "can i please sit with you for just a minute? this guy is trying to talk to me and i don't want him to."

"sure." the guy nodded and she slipped into the booth on the other side of the table. she looked over her shoulder to see the guy hesitate before turning away and making his way towards the bathrooms. was he going to just continue to follow her if she didn't sit down?

she let out a sigh of relief. "thank you. i'll just duck out while he's in the bathroom."

"do you want me to walk you to your car?" the older man questioned.

she glanced back over her shoulder, seeing the man emerge from the bathroom. she cursed under her breath. "i'm sorry. i don't mean to be a bother."

he shook his head, "you're not. i understand why you're nervous. people are crazy nowadays."

she leaned back in her seat, "are you?"

he let out a small laugh, "am i crazy?" he only nodded and he eyed her for a moment before licking his lips. "i mean, i must be to admit to you that i think you're beautiful, but that's as far as i'll go considering you're probably like my daughter's age."

"that's not crazy." she pointed out, jokingly adding, "that's creepy."

he quickly shook his head, "i'm sorry. i don't mean to be." she only smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him. he was fucking gorgeous. one of the best looking older guys she'd seen, probably ever. age had never really mattered to her considering she'd dated someone eleven years older than her when she was a sophomore in college.

she decided to let herself relax a bit, "care to have a drink with me?"

he eyed her for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "sure." he signaled the waitress and held up two fingers, earning a nod from the woman as she headed towards the bar. he rubbed at the stubble on his face. "have you been here before? you look familiar."

"no." she shook her head. "this is my first time coming here. i just moved into the area about a week ago."

"oh." he shrugged his shoulders. the waitress came over with their drinks and the man thanked her before heading off, leaving the two alone to look at each other again. the longer she looked at him the more she realized he looked familiar to her as well.

"maybe we've run into each other at the store or something." she said. "you look familiar to me as well."

"what's your name?" he asked. "pardon my manners for not giving you mine. i'm tim."

"aurora." she responded and he smiled at her.

"nice to formally meet you." he said, lifting his beer for her to do the same. the glass bottles clinked together before they both took a sip. "so, what brings you here of all places?"

she answered, "my best friend is from around here so i found a decent job and a cheap apartment and decided this is where i'm supposed to be." she smiled at him, "how long have you lived here?"

"a long time." he responded. "it's a good place to live though. i like it here."

"i think i'm going to like it here too." she said to him and a smile toyed on his lips as he slightly tilted his head.

"oh yeah? what makes you so sure?"

"i just have a feeling." she stated, shrugging her shoulders.

a hum fell from his lips and he looked around the bar before looking back at the girl. she'd just finished off her drink. "want me to walk you to your car now?"

she nodded at him, "yes, please." she stood up, rather fast, and her head was spinning. she'd had way too much to drink. she stumbled a bit and tim quickly grabbed her waist, keeping her upright.

"are you sure you're okay to drive home?" he tossed a couple bills on the table. "i can call you an uber or something."

she shook her head as he led her out the door. his one hand was placed on the middle of her back and the other was lightly holding her arm. "i'm okay." she said. "i'm over here." she pointed to her car.

"oh, my truck is right next to you." he stated as he helped her over to her car. "you should really let me get you a ride home, aurora. i really shouldn't be letting you drive with alcohol in your system."

"you've got alcohol in your system." she pointed out.

"not as much as you do." he stated. "listen, i really can't let you drive. i'll feel obligated to arrest you."

she giggled, leaning against her driver side door. "arrest me? that's super kinky, tim." she reached for his jacket, pulling him closer to her. "you should just take me home with you then, so i don't drive."

he hummed, his hand coming up to her face. his fingertips brushed across her jaw and he shook his head, "i can't do that."

she pouted, "why not, officer tim?" she batted her lashes at him and a soft groan left his lips.

"you're way to young, aurora."

"i'm twenty-two." she stated. "i'm just as much of an adult as you are." she licked her lips. "i would let you arrest me anyday." she knew she was going to hate herself the next day. she was so embarrassing, but had the confidence of ten people when she was drunk.

"i'm going to call you a car." he stated as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"will you at least kiss me goodbye?" she rested a hand on his toned chest. he ignored her as he tapped away at his phone. once he was finished he pocketed the phone and looked back at the girl. she was still giving him the pouty lips and puppy dog eyes.

"don't look at me like that." he mumbled, shaking his head.

"why not?" she asked.

"because that look is going to get you into trouble." he mumbled.

"stop beating around the bush and just kiss me, tim. we both want it and you know it." she was persistent.

"aurora," he sighed, "i can't."

"why not?" she asked, looking down at his hand. "i don't see a ring on your finger. are you seeing someone?"

"no." he shook his head. "i just don't want you to regret this in the morning."

"oh, trust me." she looked him up and down. "i won't regret a single thing with you." she lifted her hands to caress both his cheeks. "do you want to kiss me?"

he pursed his lips and nodded, "yeah, i do."

she smiled at him, "then kiss me."

i am so excited
for this and next
chapter is kind of
spicy so heads up