emilybradshaw

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 9

Hey my lovelies, sorry it's been a while! I've been away and everything has been hectic! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

TW: Angst, a creepy rapey perv, incredibly protective Bradley and Dagger Squad.

Taglist: @bratshaws

Emily had about half an hour to pull herself together before she was hopping on the back of Maverick’s motorbike to join Penny who had left to set up at The Hard Deck. She’d never been on a motorbike in her life so was clinging onto Pete like there was no tomorrow. They did ultimately arrive at the bar unscathed as Pete offered Emily his hand to help her off.

“You not coming in?” she asked.

“I have a few errands to make first, but I’ll make an appearance later, is Bradley going to be in tonight?”

“He said he was, I think the whole squad are stopping by, according to Hangman anyway”

“Well, I’ll you later, have a good shift” he smiled at her as she walked up the steps into the bar.

She opened the door to the bar and saw Penny taking down all the chairs ready for the night ahead, with it being the weekend it should be busy one and with the Daggers set to make an appearance she had a feeling she would be rushed off her feet.

“Hey, how was your date with Rooster?”

“It was lovely, we just went down the beach and back, talked a bit”

“Did you tell him, you know, about earlier?”

Emily stopped, looking up at Penny and starting to chew on her lip again, “No I didn’t, I don’t think I want to”.

“Well, I’m sure Pete’s already said this to you, but he will understand and he will support you, it’s the type of person he is”

“Yeah I know, I just don’t feel ready yet”

“Well, until you feel that way, I’m here and so is Pete and you can come to us about anything if you need it, alright?”

Emily just nodded, moving to start taking down chairs from the other side of the bar, thinking about what Penny had just said, she was very lucky to be where she was, with these people. She couldn’t work out how she had got so lucky, but she really wasn’t complaining. As soon as she’d done the chairs she began to take some glasses down and started to stack them underneath the bar, in easy reach for the impending rush they would be facing very soon.

“I’m just gonna take these bottles out to the bin Em, can you get the cash from the storeroom please”

“Yeah sure thing!”

When Emily returned carrying the cash from the till Penny was still outside as she could hear the bottles smashing against the sides of the bin, but there was another person that had appeared in the bar, he was propped up against the side of the bar, smirking to the girl as she approached with the drawer for the till.

“I’ll be with you in just a minute”

“Sure thing, Sugar. That’s a lovely accent you’ve got”

“Everyone says that, I’m from England” she laughed at the man, slotting the drawer into the till and turning to face him. He was middle aged, maybe mid-fifties, quite large with a beer belly, a little too old to be referring to her as ‘Sugar’ she thought. “So, what can I get you?”

“I’ll take a bottle of beer, and whatever you’re having” he chuckled, his eyes scanning her up and down as he spoke, she so wished she had popped her longer top on this evening rather than the red cami she had found tucked in the side of her suitcase.

“That’s kind of you, but I don’t drink” she lied.

“Well, that’s a shame, Sugar. Will have to think of another way to repay you”, he handed over a five dollar bill, telling her to keep the change as he did so. As she turned to the till again she heard Penny heading back into the bar and behind the counter, shuffling past Emily as she did so, gently moving her by the waist slightly so she could get to the cupboard beneath the till. The man at the bar looking at Penny but not daring to speak to the older woman, probably for fear of being thrown out if he said the wrong thing.

Emily went about setting up the rest of the bar for the evening ahead as the man from earlier kept his position at the bar, watching the young girl’s every move. She knew this and was becoming quite uncomfortable with it. As she walked past her, Penny grabbed Emily softly by the wrist, “you know, if he’s making you feel uncomfortable, I can ask him to leave”.

“No, it’s okay, I can handle it. He hasn’t actually done anything wrong, it’s just a vibe I’m getting” she smiled up at her boss, a flicker of worry still evident in her eyes.

“Well, the moment it becomes more than just a vibe, he’s out” Penny replied, rather forcefully.

Emily returned to the bar and was immediately asked for another drink by the man, “I’m Frank by the way” he added as she passed him another beer. She simply nodded, not replying with her name, “what, don’t I get to hear your name you pretty little thing”

“It’s Emily” she replied shortly, “now is there anything else I can get you?” The man shook his head as she once again turned to the other side of the bar and began to clean it up and get ready. She sighed, this would be long shift with Mr Creep lurching over her, she did hope Bradley would make an appearance, that would make it pass faster.

About ten minutes later Frank piped up again, “I’ll have another” he said, waving the empty beer bottle around his head, Emily without words obliged and handed another bottle to the man, taking payment in a silent fashion. It was only now that the bar had started to fill up, small groups trickling in, but no daggers to be seen yet. Unfortunately.

After another half hour the bar was bustling, and yet again Frank needed another beer. “Come on Sugar, what can I get you?” he asked for about the millionth time, clearly not knowing when to take no for an answer.

“I’m good, honestly”, she smiled, trying her best to be polite as she slid the change across the bar top for him. As she began to retract her hand to move onto the next customer he grabbed her wrist, not nearly as softly as Penny had earlier, “hey, what the fuck. Get off me” she shouted at him, clearly startled by the turn of events. Frank did not let go, he simply dug his nails in deeper, earning a hiss from the girl he had captured. Before she had the chance to say anything else a voice popped up from behind Frank.

“I suggest you take your hands off my girl before I do something I might regret.” Bradley. He had showed up at precisely the right time, Emily smiled, still in the grip of the man, but genuinely relieved to see her boyfriend and his Squadron behind him. “Now, I’m gonna count to three and by the time I finish, I expect you to be out of that door… one…two”, that was all Frank needed, he abruptly let Emily loose and quickly shuffled off from the bar to the door, followed by Payback and Fanboy to make sure he actually left.

“Are you alright?” Bradley’s demeanour completely changing as he looked to his girlfriend.

“Yeah, I am now you’re here. Thank you”, leaning over the bar to kiss her boyfriend, met with an ‘ew’ from Hangman and the sound of a slap from Phoenix shortly after, she pulled away chuckling and turned to get the whole squad beers. “On the house, on account of being my Knights in Shining Armour… obviously Phoe, you’re included in that”.

“Yes Ma’am” Phoenix quipped, patting the girl on the shoulder as the squad walked over to the pool table and assumed their usual positions.

“I’m fine Bradley, honestly. I need to get on though, look at how many people are here!”

“As long as you’re sure, I’m over there if you need me. And Emily, I’ll drive you home tonight”

She smiled at him, giving him another quick peck on the lips before she carried on serving customers. It was about an hour before the rush died off and Emily turned round to see the biggest mountain of empty bottles she thinks she had ever seen in the box.

“Hey, Penny, I’m just gonna take these bottles out there, we’re overflowing down here”

“Good idea!”

Emily stepped out from behind the bar, carrying the large box with her, watched every step of the way by Hangman, while Rooster was currently engaged in a very serious game of pool with Bob, who was surprisingly good at the game. She reached the bottle bin outside but had forgotten it was locked, fumbling with her keys in the jeans she placed the box of bottles on the ground to attempt to manoeuvre her jeans to find the key in the pocket, she was sure the pockets weren’t this deep earlier she thought. As she found the key she went to turn it in the lock and as she did she felt two hands around her waist, she smiled, “Brad, I’m working”, she turned around to face the pilot, except it wasn’t him. Instead of her boyfriend, she was met with the face of Frank.

Before she had time to scream he clamped a hand over her mouth and pinned her against the wooden wall to the bins. As he spoke she could smell alcohol on his breath. It was evident he had gone to the Liquor Store to get something stronger. “Now, Sugar. Let me repay you for earlier” he smirked. Emily didn’t think, she kneed the man with such force he doubled over, clutching his crotch and howling in pain. She made a break for it back to the bar door but was yanked back by her hair and slammed into the ground, being pinned behind a vehicle so no one could see, “you’re not getting away from me now Sugar, you’ll enjoy this, I promise”.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she fought but made no progress, she shouted and shouted but there was no one outside and the music and chatter from inside the bar drowned out her screams. As he moved his hands to her jeans the weight of his body was suddenly removed from her.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” the voice bellowed, slamming Frank into the car, beside her Phoenix appeared, quickly hooking her arms underneath the girl’s shoulders and helping her to stand up. Emily looked round and saw Hangman practically feral, pinning Frank to the car.

“I SHOULD KILL YOU, I SHOULD FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE PIECE OF SHIT” he screamed at him, Emily still in Phoenix’s grasp as Fanboy too made his way out of the bar to look for his two friends who had left the bar without word minutes earlier. Presented with the scene in front of him, and Phoenix holding you as you full on sobbed, the reality of the situation sinking in, he muttered three words, “I’ll get Rooster”. Before heading back into the bar to find the aviator. If Hangman was feral, what would Bradley be like?

About twenty seconds later the doors to the bar flew open and Bradley, quickly flanked by Fanboy, Coyote, Bob and Payback and shortly after followed by Penny walked out to the scene of sheer carnage in front of them.

Rooster scanned the scene, he didn’t know what was going on, Fanboy had just grabbed him and told him to come outside, he looked to Hangman who had the man who had grabbed Emily earlier pinned to car, screaming obscenities at him as he did so, then looked to his left where Phoenix had his girlfriend in a hug.

“What the fuck has happened?” he demanded.

Hangman, as calmly as he could began to relay the information. “I saw Emily leaving the bar with the bottles like normal, but she was a long time so me and Phoenix came out to check on her to make sure she was okay, especially with what had happened earlier. I come outside, I hear her screaming, and I mean screaming. Then I look behind this car and this piece of absolute shit is on top of her trying to pull her jeans down.”

Bradley takes a moment to process what he has just heard, his eyes going between Hangman and his girlfriend, he then tries to launch himself at the man, but is held back by Coyote.

“She needs you, Rooster. Let us deal with him” Coyote said to his friend as he turned him in Emily’s direction and let him go. Bradley wasted no time in scooping you into his arms, quickly joined at your side by Penny, as the rest of the Daggers took Frank away to teach him a lesson.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe, I promise”, he spoke softly, rubbing circles in your hair and Penny rubbed them in your back. “He’ll never come near you again, I promise”.

“Take her home Bradley” Penny whispered, “stay with her too”

“I wasn’t going to leave her on her own Pen, not after this” he said as he began to guide his girlfriend to the bronco, “Come on darlin, let’s get you home, yeah?”

Emily muffled a yes from her position inside Bradley’s chest, clutching onto him for dear life, not wanting to let go.

“I’ve got you baby, I’ve always got you” Bradley whispered into her hair as he helped her into his car, shutting the door and climbing in the driver’s seat.

“Let’s get out of here.”

[emilybradshaw]

I won’t be updating tonight as my friends and I have gone away for the weekend so I’ll upload chapter 9 on Sunday night xoxo

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 8

Sorry it took so long to post this! My internet went down unexpectedly last night. I hope you enjoy! General Bradley being whipped for this girl, and vice versa, mega fluff and Hangman being a cute big brother figure.

Taglist: @bratshaws

Let me know if you wanna be added to the Taglist!

The day rolled on, Emily guessed that Pete had filled Penny in on the morning’s events as when she went downstairs before she left to go and meet Bradley she was shot a severely sympathetic glance and was pulled into a very secure hug. Nothing more was said, but Emily knew that was Penny’s way of saying ‘I’m here if you need me’ without being too overbearing. Before she had left the house Maverick had asked her to give him Hayley’s phone number, she didn’t know why but did so anyway, making a mental note to ask Bradley if he knew why when she got to the beach.

She headed out of the house after a chorus of ‘have fun’, ‘don’t do anything I wouldn’t do’ and ‘be careful’ came from Penny, Maverick and Amelia respectively. It was a nice day, not absolutely sweltering like previous days she had experienced since arriving in California, but not cold. To be honest, Emily knew she would deal well with the cold that they experience in Miramar as the North of England gets exceptionally cold in winter, normally not rising above freezing at all in January, so she was well equipped.

She popped her headphones in and listened to some Harry Styles as she walked her way to the place she agreed to meet Bradley, not noticing his bronco pull up beside her as she wandered, too much into the music that was playing into her ears to notice anyone else around her, it was only when Bradley decided to hop out and catch up with her that she noticed. He tapped her lightly on the arm and she spun around, greeting him with those hazel orbs that he could get lost in, a smile appearing on her face when she took in who it was. She quickly took out her headphones and caught Bradley chuckling at her as she did.

“What?” she enquired.

“Nothing, just that explains a lot… I’ve been trying to get your attention for at least five minutes. Completely in a world of your own obviously”

“I was yeah” she chuckled back, sniffling a bit as she did so, this morning’s panic attack still playing heavily on both her mind and her body as her nose was still slightly stuffy and her eyes still a bit puffy.

“How’s my favourite English girl then?” he asked, eyes scanning her slightly as he did so.

“Bradley, I’m pretty sure I’m the only English girl you know, but I’m good. All the better for seeing you”

“You’d still be my favourite, regardless. So, wanna hop in and I’ll drive us the rest of the way?” he said, pointing the waiting bronco.

“Yeah, sounds good. Sorry, my allergies are playing up a bit today” she lied, wiping her nose slightly as she spoke.

“Allergies, yeah” he nodded, not quite sure if he should believe her. “Come on then”

The pair got into the bronco and made the short drive to the car park, they got out and started strolling down the beach, close to the water’s edge, the incoming waves tickling their bare feet as they walked, arm in arm.

“Bradley, can I ask you something?”

“Of course you can, gorgeous girl”

“Before I left, Pete asked me to give him Hayley’s number, do you know why he’d ask that?

“Maybe Mav needs it in case something happened to you? But then surely he’d want your family’s number… I don’t know” Emily shuddered slightly at the mention of her family, she didn’t want to tell Bradley yet, but if he kept making comments like that she may have to, she knew he didn’t mean anything by it, he couldn’t as he didn’t know, but it still made the breath in her throat hitch slightly. “You alright?” he asked, noticing her change in mood.

“Yeah, just got a little chill up my back” she smiled, hoping he believed her. Bradley then moved his arm from being interlinked with hers and brought it round to her back, stopping their walk to pull her into a hug, something which he sensed she might have needed.

He was right, the second his arms closed around the girl she pulled him in so tight, as if afraid to let him go. Whatever was going on inside her head right now, Bradley knew he had to be there for her, even if he didn’t know what is was she needed from him, what he did know though, was that he didn’t plan on pushing her into telling him as he knew how that would end. The pair stayed like that for a while, Bradley only releasing his grasp when he felt Emily pull away. “You okay, sweet one?”

“I will be” she smiled, biting down on her lip slightly, something that sent Bradley wild inside.

“Good, in the meantime, I know something that’ll take your mind off whatever is swirling round that pretty little head of yours”

“Oh yeah?” she gazed up at him, his hand subconsciously moving to her cheek, cupping it softly as he gently pulled her close to him, their lips sealing together, a soft moan escaping from Emily’s lips, taking her by surprise Bradley deepened the kiss, wrapping both his arms around her thighs and yanking her upwards, forcing her to jump into his arms, something she had never actually experienced before but was not complaining about. Bradley made it effortless; she wrapped her legs around his waist as she sat comfortably in his arms, never once breaking the kiss. She moved her hands up to his hair, tangling her fingers in his golden locks, this time making him moan in surprise. Their heated beach session lasted about 10 minutes before they finally broke apart, both a bit breathless, staring into each other’s eyes, Bradley still holding the girl in his arms. She smiled, “I enjoyed that a lot”

“As did I, we should really do that more often”

“We really should, and you’re right, it did take my mind off everything. Thank you”

“Well, I’ve never been thanked for a kiss before but I’ll take it” he chuckled, still not letting her down, instead he manoeuvred her, quite skilfully into a bridal carry and set off down the beach with her.

“Are you sure I’m not too heavy?” she genuinely questioned; concern clearly evident in her voice.

“Too heavy? What are you talking about?”

“Well you know, I’m not like super thin or anything like the girls you’re probably used to” she muffled, burying her head into his shoulder so she didn’t have to look him in the eye.

“Sweets, you’re the prettiest girl, I’ve laid eyes on… you’ve got the most amazing body, so curvy and beautiful and most definitely not heavy, you hear me” he said very seriously, “and just for that comment I’ll be carrying you all the way back to the car park.” She could feel him smirking from where her head was, this was pure bliss to her, she couldn’t recall a time where she felt more comfortable.

From her position she could vaguely hear someone shouting at the pair from behind, Bradley heard it too, whirling around at the sound of his call sign being shouted repeatedly. As soon as the two did they saw a rather tired looking Hangman jogging his way up to them.

“I thought it was you two” he said, coming to a stop on the sand in front of them,

“Well you’d look rather stupid if it weren’t, wouldn’t you” Bradley quipped.

“Now, now Rooster, lets not argue in front of your little girlfriend” he retorted, “just thought I’d say hello to my favourite English girl, who looks rather comfy like that I must say”, his eyes scanning the way you were neatly slotted in Rooster’s embrace, your head not even lifting from his neck as you engaged in conversation.

“Well there’s a story behind this, Hangman” Rooster said, looking down at the girl in his arms, “this one believes she is too heavy for me to carry, so I had to prove a point to her didn’t I”

“Too heavy? Come on, Emily, you’re not serious”

“Oh she is, don’t know who’s got inside her head with that one”, a flash of anger in his voice at that last remark.

“Does she need a second opinion?” Hangman asked, the two pilots exchanging a knowing look, and before Emily had even opened her mouth to argue she was transferred, effortlessly again, into the arms of Lieutenant Seresin, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck to steady herself.

“Well, I would like to know who told you that you were heavy because, like Rooster here, I have to say, you’re really not. I could hold you like this for hours, little one” he said, concern lacing his voice, looking once more at Bradley and exchanging another glance, only this one was filled with worry. The trio then set off down the beach, the girl still in Hangman’s arms, Rooster knew not to be concerned, they literally reminded him of siblings and as far as he could tell, Emily needed the support network around her.

“You know, I am capable of walking, I’m 25 after all, not a baby” she sighed.

“That is true, but as your handsome, strapping boyfriend over here said, we’re proving a point here. If anyone ever tells you shit like that again, about you being heavy, send them to your big brother Jake, alright little one?”

“Or to me, I’ll happily teach them a lesson” Bradley growled, as he quickly walked ahead to get the door to the bronco open for the girl.

“You know, I know there’s something up, and you can tell me if you want or you don’t have to, but please know that I will be here if you need me. We all will be, especially that pilot right there, he’s completely head over heels for you sweetheart”, Hangman said, eventually lowering the girl to the ground and pulling her into him by his arm for a hug, planting a kiss in her hair as he released her, “now go on, you two really do make me want to puke”

“You’re just jealous Bagman” Bradley smirked,

“Oh no Rooster, I’m not jealous at all.” He smirked, offering his goodbyes and a ‘I’ll see you later’ as he turned to continue his run.

Bradley turned to his girlfriend, pulling her by the arm and lifting her into the seat of the bronco so she was facing him, “you know I could’ve done that myself” she huffed.

“I know, but I wanted to. And look, you’ve got two of us saying not to listen to whoever told you that horrible thing, so please listen to us.”

“Okay, I promise I’ll try”

“That’s my good girl” he said, pulling her into another tight embrace, kissing her forehead. She decided to tell him the one bit of good news she had received this day.

“Hey, you know what?”

“What?” he questioned, holding her at arm’s length so he could look at her,

“I found myself a dance school, I have to go for a trial lesson on Friday to show them what I can do”

“That’s amazing! Where is it?” he beamed at her, seeing the smile on her face when she talks about her dancing made him very happy indeed.

“It’s about a twenty minute drive from Penny’s, she helped me look it up the other night, I still need to tell my old teachers so they can talk to the new ones too”

“Well, if you want I can drive you there, I know you don’t have a car yet and it’s probably safer for the first time if you don’t get the bus if you don’t know where you are”

“You don’t have to do that Roos” she smiled at him,

“Again, I know I don’t have to, but I want to, and god I love it when you call me Roos sweet one” he smirked. This time Emily took him by surprise, pulling him by the shirt in for a kiss, not deepening this one, but it was sweet all the same. “I love kissing you, darlin’” he whispered as they parted.

“I love kissing you too, it’s my new favourite thing” she giggled,

“I should get you home, m’lady, don’t want you running late for work, do I?”

“Absolutely not, Lieutenant. Will I be seeing you tonight?”

“I might swing by, got my eye on the hot new barmaid” he said, gently pushing a strand of Emily’s hair from her face, “she’s so beautiful you know.” He smiled, looking at her with a glint in his eye, he wanted her, so badly, but he knew it needed to be so special, so he had to bide his time. “C’mon you, let’s get you home.”

She smiled, rearranging herself in the seat and popping her belt on as Bradley made his way round to the driver’s seat, climbing in and switching on the ignition he pulled out of the car park, Emily was even attracted to this man’s driving, she had it bad that was for sure. As he drove her back to Penny’s he moved his hand down onto her leg, giving it a firm squeeze, smiling at her, knowing she was definitely a fan of his touch. As he pulled up to the house, Emily unbuckled herself from her seat and leaned across to give Bradley a peck on the lips before leaving the vehicle and sticking her head through the window.

“I’ll see you this evening, Lieutenant.”

“That you will, sweet one” he replied, winking at her. Watching her intently as she skipped into the house, offering him one last glance and wave before she closed the door. He too had it very badly, hadn’t felt like this, well ever and he knew he had to hold onto Emily no matter what.

[emilybradshaw]

Chapter 8 coming later on!

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 7

I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's very angsty and delves into Emily's backstory...

I won't be updating until Wednesday now as I'm away down to London for a few days.

Taglist: @bratshaws

Emily woke up on Monday morning and immediately beamed, she hadn’t gone to bed until late as she and Hayley were up talking until about 1am for her, she had so much to tell her about her now boyfriend, and Hayley was thrilled.

 She hadn’t heard her best friend so happy and full of life in so long, her mother and brother made sure that was eradicated from her very existence by the time she decided to leave England, and Hayley couldn’t blame her, if she had to put up with half of what Emily had been through she would have upped and left years ago, Hayley thought the only reason she stayed in the end was because of her, she knew Emily wouldn’t have wanted to leave her, but now hearing her this happy, she knew it was the right thing for her completely.

Emily must have been laid staring at the ceiling for a good half hour before she finally started to get herself up and moving for the day. She tapped her phone screen to see what time it was, 08:46, still early, considering she hadn’t actually fallen asleep until gone 2. She glanced down and saw several notifications, so many in fact she had to scroll the lock screen to see them all. She laughed as she saw the whole of the Dagger Squad had requested to follow her on Instagram and be her friend on Facebook, Bradley had sent her a soppy good morning text and Hayley had sent her an equally as soppy goodnight text, she let out a happy giggle moving her finger so she could see the rest of her notifications.

The breath quite literally hitched in her throat as she looked down at her phone, there were two texts. Two texts from people she had hoped to never see or hear from again, she realised that was unrealistic but she had hoped for at least a month she might have some peace, as it happened she had no such luck.

Mum: You think you can run away from your family? You stupid, little bitch. We will find you and bring you home. Mark my words.

Charlie: I can’t believe you left us. How could you do this to Mum? We’ll work out where you are Emily, I promise you. You can’t hide forever.

Suddenly the world started to close in on Emily, her vision was fuzzy and her ears were ringing, the phone slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor with a thud, closely followed by Emily’s body collapsing into a heap on the floor as she became unable to hold herself up. Her body soon became wracked with sobs and she started to shake violently, they were going to find her and take her home, back to that hellhole.

She had tried so hard to escape, times before she tried to run away but lost her bottle just before. Emily’s mother and brother were awful, her mother the worst, the alcohol turned her into a demon, and her brother for some reason idolised his mother, he could do no wrong in her eyes, but Emily seemingly could do no right. Her Dad looked after her and cared for her but he had died, ten years previously in a car accident, right after he had dropped Emily and Charlie off at school. That’s when the drinking got the worst and it never got any better. The day Michael Walker died was the day that Emily’s life truly fell apart. She had tried to put a brave face on for the last decade, passing her GCSEs and A-Levels with the highest results in the school and getting her place at University, but nothing was ever enough for her mother. To Caroline Walker, Emily was a major disappointment, she would be used as her mother’s verbal and emotional punch bag, have glasses and objects launched at her over the slightest inconvenience. The final straw came two weeks before Emily boarded her plane to California. Emily had come in from a shift at the pub she worked at, her mother was drunk as per usual but was a lot more aggressive than usual. Caroline decided that she would once again blame Emily for the death of her father, a vitriol of verbal abuse followed and as Emily was trying to get away from it Caroline had pushed her into the side of the fireplace. She knew she couldn’t take much more of this, she felt as though if she had stayed in England her mother may have ended up killing her.

Emily’s cries had got so loud that they had alerted Maverick who had come in from his morning run, he thought it was Penny or Amelia at first but then remembered that there was a parent/teacher day at the school so both had left early that morning. He then realised the cries must therefore belong to Emily. He jogged up the stairs, gently knocking on her door, after there was no answer he quietly opened it and peeked his head around it, gasping as he saw the young girl crumpled in the middle of the floor crying her eyes out. He acted quickly, not thinking twice as she scooped her into his arms, she then circled her hands around his waist and pulled him tight to her, crying even harder than she had before.

“Hey, hey it’s okay, whatever it is, we can sort it. Are you feeling homesick?” That last sentence made her wail even more, so he assumed, quite wrongly, that she was homesick. The pair stayed like that until Emily calmed down slightly, her sobs becoming sniffles and hiccups every time she inhaled.

“Th-Thank yo-you” she mumbled, pulling herself away from Pete as he released her from the hug. Her eyes were all puffy and bloodshot and she had tear tracks running down her cheeks.

“Not a problem, but what was that about?” he questioned.

“No-nothing” she replied, looking down at the floor.

“Well, it’s not nothing is it. You’re sat hyperventilating and crying in the middle of your bedroom floor. That is nothing”.

“it’s complicated” she replied, taking the biggest deep breath possible, still not looking Maverick in the eye.

“Well, kid, I’m not leaving this room until you explain to me why I’ve just walked in on that”. He forced, moving his hand to her chin and forcing her head up so his eyes met hers.

“erm, well, so. I kinda came to America because I needed to get away from my Mum. She’s an alcoholic and, and, well she makes my life a living hell”

“How does she do that, Emily?”

“She’s abusive Pete, she has been for years, verbal, mental, physical. You name it, she’s done it to me”

Maverick let out a sigh, he hated this. How could anyone hurt a girl like Emily? He hadn’t even known her a week and he had already worked out that she was one of the sweetest people you could meet. “So, Emily. I don’t mean to be blunt, but… what’s happened to make you cry this morning?”

The girl said nothing, just passed him the unopened phone and directed him to the two texts that had sent her into a panic. He gasped, looking between the girl and the phone a couple of times before he spoke again. “Emily, Emily look at me.” She looked up at him, her eyes glassy as tears were brimming at the surface of them once more. “They will not take you back, they won’t. We won’t let them. If they find you they won’t come near you, I promise you that. We will protect you.”

“We?” she questioned,

“Me, Penny, Brad-“

“No. He can’t know about this, he only asked me to be his girlfriend yesterday. This will scare him off”

“No, it really won’t, Bradley will want to protect you Emily, that’s the type of man that he is”

“Even so, I’m not ready to tell him yet. Can I just be normal for a bit longer?”

“Well, I won’t go behind your back and tell him if you don’t want me to, but I will tell Penny. She needs to know in case this happens again, so she can look after you, okay? But I mean it, Bradley will want to look after you when he finds out about this”. He smiled at her, giving her shoulder a squeeze as he did so.

“Thank you Pete. I really do appreciate it.” Emily said, getting up from the floor and placing herself on the bed, calming herself down with every breath that she took. Maverick tapped her on the knee and he stood up and made to leave the room, turning back to Emily who looked at him expectantly as if she knew he were going to speak again.

“I guess I should also say congratulations, Bradley told me he asked you to be his girlfriend last night”, he winked at her as he left and closed the door leaving Emily alone with her thoughts once again.

She decided to delete the two messages from her phone and block both contacts, she then opened another text and smiled.

Bradley: Good Morning gorgeous, hope you slept well. Wanna meet at the beach for a walk later?

Emily: Good Morning Lieutenant, I would love too. See you at 3?

Bradley: Sure thing sweet one, see you soon <3

Emily held the phone to her chest, inhaling deeply as she finally got rid of her hiccups and sniffles, she really was lucky to have these incredible people around her, like Pete said, they would look after her now and although they scared the living daylights out of her, her family wouldn’t be able to touch her, not with the Daggers around.

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 6

Well, here's chapter 6! Sunday has arrived and its date number two for Emily and Bradley.

Absolute fluff in this one, with a hint of suggestive...

Taglist: @bratshaws

Sunday came rather quickly for Rooster and he found himself walking down to the beach with the Dagger Squad to set up their football game, Emily had text him earlier to say she would join them at around two so they had enough time to play a couple games before she got there. The whole Squad were looking forward to properly meeting her and getting to know the girl Bradley had spent the last 48 hours pining over since their first date, it had gotten so bad Phoenix had caught him stalking her Facebook and Instagram profiles when they were eating breakfast, something which she was sworn to absolute secrecy over. He had not, however, heard about the little debacle with Lieutenant Jackson, something which Hangman was presently on his way over to talk about.

“Hey, Rooster. Wait up!” he shouted as he jogged to the pilot from behind. “I want to talk to you about Emily.”

“What about her?” he asked inquisitively.

“Well, I like her. She reminds me of my little sister and she handled herself so well after the little thing with Jackson”

“What little thing with Jackson?” he asked, his eyes now growing wide in concern.

“He tried to have a little go with her, grabbed her wrist and that, wouldn’t take no for an answer”

“He did what” Rooster replied in an incredibly low, angry voice, “I’ll kill him.”

“No, no, she had it more than covered, managed to flip his wrist so she had control and then threatened him a bit, it was quite something” Jake said, noticeably impressed as he was retelling the tale.

“If he ever goes near her again…”

“I don’t think he will, Bradshaw, she scared him, then I did”

“You defended her?” he asked, surprised.

“Yeah, like I said, she reminds me of my little sister, I’m not gonna let anyone hurt her, she’s too sweet for that.”

Bradley patted him on the shoulder as they reached the part of the beach they usually play on, setting up the lines and dividing themselves into teams before they started the first game. They went on to play another two games before a figure started walking towards the group.

“Hey lover boy, your little girlfriend’s here” Fanboy sarcastically shouted as she approached, earning a hard stare from Rooster.

“Shut up, she’ll hear you” he whisper shouted, quickly replacing his scowl with a smile as Emily drew closer, she looked breath taking, she had a little pink and white summer dress on, it hung off her shoulders and pulled her in at the waist, giving her an hourglass figure, then it stopped in the middle of her thighs, highlighting all the muscles he knew she worked so hard for with her dancing, she had her trusty Nikes on her feet and Bradley was quickly starting to believe they were the only pair of shoes she’d brought with her to America.

“Hey you” he shouted as he walked up to her, pulling her into him with one arm and planting a kiss on her hair as she returned the hug, “how are you?”

“I’m good! I’ve been looking forward to this all morning actually” she giggled as he released her,

“I have too, and all day yesterday” he admitted, giving her a wink, “come on, I’ll properly introduce you to the others”

He led her to the rest of the group, his hand on her lower back guiding her as they walked, she seemed to relax into his touch already and he liked that.

Hangman was the first to move as they approached, “hey little one” he smiled as he too pulled her into a hug.

“Little one?” she questioned, looking up at him, her shoulders still held by his hands as she did so.

“Yeah, I mean you’re younger than me, smaller than me and remind me of my little sister, so why not?” he smirked.

“Well, it’s an improvement on the last nickname you gave me so I’ll take it” she laughed, slapping his hands away as she moved to hug Coyote. She then worked her way round the rest of them, giving hugs to all of them as she fully introduced herself. Some of the aviators calling her ‘Emily from England’ earning a laugh from the group and a glare from the girl herself.

“So have you been playing long?” she asked.

Phoenix, who was midway through a bottle of water replied “yeah, we’ve just done three games, we’ll probably have a bit of break now and start again in a half hour”

“Oh right, nice” she smiled, looking down at her feet, Bradley picked up on her change in mood immediately and asked if she wanted to go for a walk, she of course said yes and he quickly grabbed her by the hand and started leading her away from the group, who in turn began gossiping like school children the moment they were out of earshot. Emily couldn’t help it, she was sometimes very anxious and she had thought her arrival had stopped them playing, but Bradley assured her it was just because they were all a bit tired after their previous exertions. They walked a bit further down the beach until they reached a quieter area away from other people and they decided to sit for a while, when they were both comfortable Bradley turned to her.

“So, Hangman said you had a bit of trouble with Lieutenant Jackson” he stated, not taking his eyes off of hers, she looked down momentarily before looking back up and straight into his.

“Not really, I mean, he tried it on, wouldn’t give it up”

“Hangman said he grabbed you?”

“He did, kinda hurt, but I think I scared him more than he did me” she chuckled.

“I heard about that… Hangman was very impressed” he smiled, but then he suddenly looked all serious again, “if he does it again, you’ll tell me right?”

“I don’t think he will, Bradley, I think he got the message, total dickhead”

“Well, if he does. I want you to tell me straight away, promise?”

“Alright, I promise I will tell you Lieutenant” she smiled, leaning in for a cuddle, something he immediately opened his arms to. The pair stayed like that for a while, just content in each other’s company, no words were needed. After about ten minutes Emily spoke,

“I can’t quite believe this time four days ago I didn’t know you existed, funny that”, Bradley could feel her smiling into his chest, he laughed at this, sending vibrations through her scalp and down into her spine, making her shiver slightly. Feeling this, Bradley instinctively pulled her closer. “Bradley?” she questioned.

“Yeah, sweet one?” She nuzzled in further at this.

“Do you believe in fate?”

“I didn’t, but then you just came into my life… I guess that was fate” he smiled, taking a deep breath before he continued, “listen, Emily.” Oh no, she thought, the last time she heard this Charlie was breaking up with her, I mean he was an arsehole but when he ended things, it hurt a lot. She leaned herself out of the cuddle, pushing herself up from Bradley’s torso and once again looking him dead in the eyes, this time with a more worried expression.

“Look, I’m sorry if I said something wrong there Bradley, I really didn’t mean to, I don’t know what came over m—”

“Emily, hey, slow down… let me finish” he said, placing his hands on the top of her arms and squeezing them slightly, “what I was going to say was, if it didn’t sound too forward, how would you like to go out with me? Officially?”

“Like…be your girlfriend you mean? We’ve only been on one date”

“Two” he corrected, “look, I’ve never felt like this before, like something is pulling me towards you. I’ve not stopped thinking about you since I first laid eyes on you, I know it’s quick, but sometimes, well, sometimes you just know, don’t you. So what do you say? Miss Emily Walker, will you be my girlfriend?” He grinned.

Emily just sat there looking perplexed for a moment, her mind processing the words that had just been directed towards her, Bradley was now starting to look a little worried at her lack of response, but this worry was soon quelled as she practically launched herself at him, connecting their lips almost instantly.

“I’ll take that as a yes then” Bradley murmured through the kiss, not breaking it once, closing his arms around her waist and turning her he could lower her onto the sand so he was on top of her, only then did he pull away. “You. You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, Queenie, and I promise that I’ll take good care of you my sweet one”. She giggled, pulling him back in, both of them fighting for dominance in the kiss, Bradley winning as he decided to pin her arms to the sand, catching her by surprise and making her gasp, allowing his tongue to enter her mouth, quickly circling hers. They continued this for a while longer before Bradley broke the kiss and softly moved his hand over Emily’s cheek, the pair gazing at each other so longingly.

“We’d better head back, reckon we’ve missed a couple of games” Bradley said as he got up from their position, offering his hand to Emily and effortlessly pulling her up to join him. He then held out his arm for her, “shall we, my lady” he asked in an absolutely terrible English accent, making Emily scoff as she looped her arm through his.

The pair laughed and joked their way back to the group, when they were in sight, Phoenix leant over to Hangman, “I bet you 10 bucks he’s asked to be his girlfriend” she quipped.

“No can do Phoenix, I’m not betting on those two, besides, it’s obvious he has, look at them”

“A picture of happiness” she smiled.

“Sickening, that’s what I call it, but I like her, we’ll be seeing a lot more of her now” he stated,

“Yeah, I imagine we will. She’s part of the Dagger Family now, Hangman, once you’re in there’s no getting out.”

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 5

Chapter 5... where we see the start of a blossoming, platonic relationship between Emily and Hangman.

TW: Creepy man, mentions of athsma, Emily being a badass bitch and Hangman being a protective brother figure.

Taglist: @bratshaws

Naturally the first thing Emily thought of doing as soon as she shut the door on her first date with Bradley was to tell her best friend everything. The only issue there being that there was a time difference between them and Hayley would be just waking up and getting ready for work, leaving no time to talk about the juicy stuff. She’ll just have to call her after shift, she resolved, surely she can wait till then, plus Penny will be at the bar so she can fill her in on it all in the meantime.

It had just gone five by the time Emily eventually managed to get to the bar it had gone half five, she’d spent a good hour and a half looking through her limited belongings trying to find her inhaler, panicking when she thought she’d left it in England, but it turns out it was shoved right inside the bottom of her bag underneath all her worldly goods.

Emily has suffered with acute asthma since she was four, it didn’t affect her too often but sometimes if she gets too stressed or breathes in some smoke or fumes it sets her off. Growing up she used to get little attacks in the lead up to her dance competitions (until she learned how to control these), then her Mum got worse with her drinking and that became a trigger, she’d lost count of the amount of times she’d rang Hayley panicking because she couldn’t get her breath. Hopefully now she was out here they would die down and she wouldn’t have to worry about them for a while.

The bar itself was quiet when she arrived, though she was in no doubt it would be getting busy later with it being a Friday night. She helped Penny get the glasses ready, the tables cleaned, and the place smartened up while they still had time, the pair gossiping over the blossoming romance between the young girl and the Naval Aviator she had seemingly fallen head over heels for. Penny wanted to know everything, though just as Emily was leading up to the best part of the date a rabble of young aviators walked through the door of the bar. Penny sighed, looking at the girl with a ‘we’ll finish this conversation later’ look.

Amongst the crowd of younger officers, Emily saw two she recognised, Hangman and Coyote. She flashed them a smile, both returning it as they walked up to the bar. “If it isn’t Emily from England” Hangman quipped.

“Hangman” she nodded in return, doing the same to Coyote.

“You know, you can call me by my name darlin’”

“and what exactly would that be?”

“Jake, or Lieutenant Seresin”

“Well then, Jake, what can I get for you?”

“I’ll take two beers and the lowdown on what exactly happened on your little date with Bradshaw” she smiled, winking at her as he added the last part.

“I’ll give you two beers Lieutenant, but a girl never kisses and tells” she quickly snapped back, smirking at him.

“So you kissed him then” Coyote interjected, “you owe me 20 bucks, I said they would”.

Hangman sighed as he reached into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and slammed a 20 dollar bill into Coyote’s hand, glaring at him as he did so, “the date went well then I take it?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows at Emily as he did so.

“Funnily enough” she started, picking up two beer bottles from the fridge and placing them in front of the pilots, “you’re not the first person to ask me that exact question today, and in answer to it, yes, it went really well. I’m coming to watch you guys play football on Sunday.”

“Ahh, Coyote, we’ll get to witness the second date” she smirked, turning to his friend. Coyote simply returned the devilish looking smile in return.

The bar was getting busier and busier, more younger pilots coming in and separating into groups around the room, Hangman once again turned back to the young barmaid, “Hey, if any of these give you any trouble, give us a shout yeah?”

“I will do, but I’m sure they won’t” she said, already turning away to serve another customer. The two pilots sloped themselves away to the dart board, Hangman turning round one last time to look at the young girl, she was really starting to remind him of his little sister, she was bubbly, quick witted and sarcastic, he had a feeling they would get on well if this thing she had with Rooster progressed, which it most definitely would.

Two hours past, Hangman and Coyote must have been well into their twelfth game of darts and Emily had barely had chance to get around the bar to collect the empties due to the sheer level of people wanting to be served. She looked back and took stock of the glasses they had left and noticed they were running desperately low, she knew Jimmy was out ready to wash and dry the glasses but he couldn’t be expected to squeeze and shimmy through the crowds at his age, it wasn’t fair, it also wasn’t fair to ask him to serve on the weekends, too much for him she thought, Penny had told her as much during their little chat the day before, but Jimmy liked to be useful and Penny didn’t like to upset him.

“Pen, I’m just going to collect some glasses, we’re looking a bit low”

“Alright sweetie, thank you!”

Emily picked up her caddy and crawled under the bar and through the first part of the sea of people surrounding it before returning to her full height and manoeuvring herself over to the tables. She arrived at a table occupied by a group of young aviators and thought to herself ‘that’s where the glasses went’, the table had at least twenty of them on, it was obvious the four men that were sat there had come to get more drinks without returning the empties.

“Can I just grab these please guys” she said, reaching over the table to pop the glasses in her caddy, “can I also ask you bring your empties back to the bar when you’ve finished with, we’re super busy tonight and I don’t really have time to be coming out to get these.”

“Sorry, sugar, didn’t mean to cause you any trouble” one of the men said to you, he looked like a budget version of Elvis Presley and really needed to lay off the hair gel and maybe invest in some deodorant.

“Just please do what I’ve asked if you don’t mind” she replied quickly, trying to stack the glasses carefully but as fast as she could so as not to spend so much time with this table.

“I don’t mind at all sugar, what’s your name anyway doll?” he persisted,

“Emily” she replied bluntly.

“You’re not from round here are you?”

“Well spotted” she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I really have to get back to work”

As she turned to leave, budget Elvis grabbed her wrist, clearly thinking he was not done with this conversation, unbeknown to him, the two elder pilots had been watching this situation play out, Coyote notably scoffing on his beer as Emily dropped her sarcastic disinterest in the table of rookies. The minute he moved to grab her wrist however, Jake Seresin was across the bar in no time. Before Emily had the chance to tell the man to get off of her, a thick Texan accent burst into the conversation.

“Lieutenant Jackson” he barked, “take your hand off her wrist immediately.”

The young pilot did nothing but stare at Hangman, Emily cutting in this time, “I’ve got it Jake.”

“Ah, so you two know each other then”, Jackson retorted, “is this your girl then, Hangman?”

“I am not!” Emily spoke, “now, get your hands off me before I do something I’ll regret”.

Still, he did not let go of her arm, well, she’d given him a chance, she thought. Swiftly and without warning, Emily twisted her arm so that it was her who had control and she who had the man’s wrist in her grip. “I told you to let me go, don’t you ever, ever, put your hands on me again, do you understand me?” she said, bending slightly to look into the pilot’s face as she said those words, “and another thing… you might want to take a shower.”

With that Emily turned swiftly and headed off to the back room of the bar to deposit the glasses with Jimmy, leaving the pilots, including Hangman and Coyote, in a state of awe. Hangman then made his way up to the group, “you heard her right, don’t touch her again, because the thing is, she might be tough, but you’ve also got to deal with me”, the pilots sat there in abject shock and fear, from not expecting Emily to be a very strong, independent woman but also from the veiled threat Hangman had just given them.

Coyote, ever the dramatist wanted to add to their fear even more, come Monday, these rookies would be shaking in their boots, “you see as well, a point Hangman here failed to mention, that girl there, Emily. She’s Bradley Bradshaw’s girl”.

I mean, she wasn’t, the pair had only been on one date, as nice as it was, but the four men weren’t to know that. To know she was protected not only by herself and her own abilities, but also by Lieutenants Bradshaw and Seresin was sure to make her untouchable, to the Navy at least.

[emilybradshaw]

I wonder if I can spot Glen Powell's dad in the Top Gun: Maverick bar scene...

....I can it's literally the exact same smile 😁

[emilybradshaw]

I won’t be updating tonight lovelies as I’ve taken my Archie on a woodland adventure!

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 already my lovelies! Hope you enjoy, just more fluff from the pair of them. Will they kiss? Won't they kiss? Read to find out...

Taglist: @bratshaws

The buzz of the alarm brought Emily from her sleep.

She hadn’t got to sleep until after 3am due to the sheer excitement she was feeling about her impending date with Bradley Bradshaw. She turned to look at her phone, 08:00am, England was 8 hours behind them in terms of time so she hoped Hayley was still awake as it’ll have just turned midnight back home.

She didn’t care as opened Messenger and clicked the video button in the top right corner, hoping she would pick up on the other end. It buzzed a few times before she was met with the sleepy eyed face of her best friend, her hair all over the place and her eyes black where she had clearly tried and failed to rub off before climbing into bed.

“Hey you” she smiled as she pulled herself up slightly to lean on the giant bear Emily had bought her from IKEA for Christmas, “why you facetiming me so late? Is everything okay?” she continued, her brows furrowing in concern.

“I’m sorry, everything is fine! Actually it’s brilliant, the thing is Hayl, I need your help… I may have bagged myself a date”

“A DATE” Hayley squealed, “OH MY GOD, EMILY!!”

“I KNOW!!” Emily replied, the excitement in her voice matching the girl on the other end of the call.

“So, tell me EVERYTHING, you’ve been there what, three days?”

“Three days yeah, I managed to find a room with someone called Penny, she’s so so nice and she’s given me a job at her bar”.

“She sounds so nice Em, now, tell me more about this date”

“Well, he’s called Bradley, he’s 34 and he’s a pilot”.

“A PILOT?!” Hayley squealed again, “EMILY ELIZABETH WALKER YOU ABSOLUTE LEGEND”.

Emily just giggled at the sight of her best friend, who was sleepy five minutes ago but now seemed so wide awake at the news she had just received. “So, Hayley, this is where you come in. What the fuck do I wear?”

“Well what did you take with you?”

“Not a lot..”

“Oh Emily, come off it, I told you to pack more”

“I know, I know, I should’ve listened to you”

“You really should’ve. You should always listen to me, I always know best”, she chuckled.

“I wouldn’t go that far”, Emily said as she moved out of bed and propped her phone up against the lamp on the side table, moving to her still packed suitcase she unzipped it and tipped out the small amount of clothing she had brought with her to America. “The only outfit I think of is this, but it’s a bit, well, revealing.”

She held up a pair of denim Mom shorts and a red flowery crop cami. Hayley just smiled at the girl through her phone, clearly sensing her uneasiness. “Emily, that’s not revealing at all. It shows your legs off nicely and I personally love that outfit on you”.

“My legs Hayley, that’s the problem”, she sighed.

“What do you mean?”

“They’re huge and big and fa-“

“Whoa, right, I’m gonna stop you right there, I am not having my best friend say that about herself. Your legs are not huge or fat. They’re big because of all the work you’ve put into them, the muscle in your legs is insane, you’re an Irish dancer for Christ’s sake Emily, they’re hardly gonna be small are they? And I warn you now, if you so much as think of calling yourself fat again I’ll be getting on the first flight over to you to bash your head into a brick wall, do you understand me?” Emily just nodded at her friend, “Plus, this Bradley must’ve liked what he saw or why would he have asked you out today?”

“Okay. Yeah. Thanks for that. I needed it. Sometimes I just look in the mirror and think ‘why would anyone like me?’ I mean I haven’t got a great track record with men have I Hayls.”

“Pfft, only because they were all wankers, Em. Nothing to do with you, you’re amazing”.

Emily smiled up at her phone and noticed her friend yawn, they must’ve been talking for nearly an hour and Emily realised Hayley would have to get up for work the next day, “I’ll let you go Hayl, you look exhausted, and I forgot you have work tomorrow”.

“Thanks Em, look, this date will go amazingly if you let it. Ring me later and give me the debrief, yeah?”

“I will do, love you.”

“Love you too.”

After the call ended Emily looked at the time and it was just gone 9am, so two and a half hours until Bradley was picking her up. She quickly ran downstairs and into the kitchen saying good morning to Penny, Pete and Amelia who were sat around the breakfast table, she made her apologies as to why she couldn’t eat breakfast and made herself a coffee before retreating back upstairs and jumping into the shower. Back in the kitchen Pete and Penny were talking over the fact that Bradley had asked Emily on a date so quickly and Penny mused that it could be ‘love at first sight’ based on the interaction she witnessed between the two the previous evening when Emily’s clumsiness made an appearance, Pete nearly choking on his coffee as Amelia renamed Bradley as Emily’s ‘Knight in shining armour’.

Emily jumped out of the shower and ran straight back into her room, she now only had two hours to get ready and she was panicked. She pulled her hair out of her towel and diffused it using her hair dryer, letting it dry slightly on its own so she could focus on her makeup for the day ahead.

She decided to keep it simple and went with her everyday routine of foundation, brows and contour but decided to add some winged eyeliner and a small set of false eyelashes she had found lurking at the bottom of her suitcase, presumably from the trip she and Hayley had taken to Ibiza. Yet again she had every single bit of jewellery on that she could manage, it was in fact identical to what she was wearing the previous day when she was on shift at The Hard Deck and of course she was wearing her name necklace that Bradley had first used to identify her.

She then yanked on her shorts, huffing to herself as she looked at her muscly legs in the mirror, but she quickly remembered what Hayley had said to her and pulled on her cami top, glancing at her reflection again she did like the way she looked, but she did also notice that two of her more intimate piercings were very noticeable, she shrugged this off again and realised Bradley would only really notice if he spent their date staring at her boobs, and she hoped he had more substance than that. Emily’s phone buzzed and pulled her from these thoughts.

Bradley: Hey Princess, I’ll pick you up a little earlier if that’s alright? Say 11?

Emily: Hey, yeah that’s great, thank you Roos!

Both Emily and Bradley felt their hearts skip a beat as they both read the texts with the little terms of endearment in them. For Bradley, he loved that she was already shortening his call-sign and for Emily, well, she just loved being called his Princess already. These two were falling hard for each other already.

Emily was sat on the step of the porch with Amelia when Bradley pulled up in his Bronco. “Oh Lord, he’s here” she whispered to Amelia as she looked up to see the vehicle coming to a stop at the top of the path.

“I can see that, I have eyes you know” Amelia whispered back, sarcasm at the forefront of her voice.

Emily just shot her a cold stare as she got up from the wooden decking and adjusted her clothes as she headed off down the drive, Amelia smirking to her as Bradley got out of the driver’s seat to open the door for her.

“I forgot your cars are the other way round to ours” she laughed as he opened the door for her, shutting it gently as she climbed in and secured her seatbelt.

“Yeah, and we drive on the opposite side of the road as well” Bradley retorted, laughing along with the girl in his Bronco. “May I say, Emily, you look absolutely gorgeous, like really”.

Emily blushed at this, she’d never experienced a man like Bradley before, so courteous and kind. He was a rare breed and she was so glad to have met him. “Why thank you, if I may say, you look very handsome today too”. Bradley was wearing his standard jeans and Hawaiian shirt combo, but it was a look he pulled off so well. Bradley half removed his aviators at her comment, subtly scanning her up and down in a smooth, fluid movement, so subtle that he thought Emily wouldn’t have clocked it, but oh how she did. Her insides flipped. Bradley Bradshaw was quite literally checking her out.

“So, where are we going?” she asked, snapping back to reality.

“I thought we’d head into town so you can get your bearings, then if you’ll let me I was going to buy you lunch, Miss Walker.” He smiled at her as he started to roll the Bronco from its position outside Penny’s home, watched by Amelia as he did so.

“Bradley you don’t have to buy me lunch” she challenged,

“I know I don’t, but I want to, Princess.” There he goes again with the ‘Princess’, against her better judgement, she decided she was going to ask him about it.

“Princess?”

“Well, yeah it’s sweet plus your English and you guys have a Queen over there don’t you?”

“Yeah we do, I’m named after her actually. It’s her Platinum Jubilee next year, she’ll have been on the throne for 70 years”

“Named after her, ey? Well then, I’ll stop calling you Princess and start calling you Queenie” he laughed, as did she. Subconsciously he moved his hand to rest on the top of her thigh and smiled to himself when she didn’t shy away from his touch. Emily meanwhile was nearly spontaneously combusting at this move, his hand was so big it made her thigh look small.

Bradley parked the Bronco up outside the row of shops in the town near to where he had planned to take Emily for lunch. Truth is, he’d been up half the night with Hangman and Payback planning where he was going to take ‘Emily from England’ as she would now forever be known to them. He took her for a walk around the town, showing her the shops and telling her the places she could get the best deals for things, then told her the bus routes that would take her to different places if she wanted it and then decided to walk her along to the diner for some lunch, he knew this is where Emily had come on her first day when she was looking for somewhere to stay so thought she would enjoy being back.

“Here we are then” he spoke as they walked up to Martha’s. “Thought we’d eat here as it’s the best food in town.”

“I love it in here, Martha was the first proper person I spoke to here other than the taxi driver” she said as she headed into the diner, immediately being enveloped in a large hug by no other than Martha herself.

“I knew I’d be seeing a lot of you around here, child. And with Lieutenant Bradshaw too, how sweet. Here, take any seat you like” she beamed, handing them both menus as she scuttled off into the kitchen.

Emily and Bradley sat down in a booth towards the back of the diner, “you know this has been really fun so far, thank you Bradley”, Emily mumbled from behind her menu.

“It’s my pleasure, I’ve really enjoyed myself too”, Bradley too scanned the menu, both fell silent for a moment as they decided what to order, “I think I’ll go for the cheeseburger with fries, how predictable of me” he chuckled.

“I’ll go for the Buttermilk chicken tenders I think, they sound too good not to eat”

“Ready to order my dears?” Martha spoke as she tootled over to them.

“Yes, thank you, I’ll have the chicken tenders and a diet coke please”

“and I’ll have the cheeseburger with a diet coke too, thanks Martha”

“No problem my dears, coming right up”, and with that, she was off again to whip up their lunch.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, both just enjoying the time they were spending with each other, but Emily broke that silence with a nervous cough.

“Bradley…” she started,

“Yeah”

“I was wondering, you probably don’t know this but, its worth a shot. There aren’t any Irish Dance Schools in Miramar are there?”

“Irish Dance Schools?”

“Yeah, I’ve danced since I was four, kinda want to keep it up while I’m out here”

“I’m not sure, there must be one somewhere though, why don’t you google it when you’re home?” he suggested, “that’s pretty cool though, never met an Irish dancer before, you compete?”

“I did, just retired after this year’s World Championships, been competing since I was seven so I have my fair share of trophies, plus I want to study to take my Grade 12 exam which means I wouldn’t be allowed to compete anymore when I get it” Bradley just sat smiling at the girl before him, talking so passionately about her hobby, no wonder she had those eye catching legs, she’s worked so hard for them, how he’d love to just grab them and squeeze them, he was brought from his thoughts by Emily’s revelation that she was currently ranked 8th in the World, a huge achievement for any dancer, but she beamed with sheer pride as she said it.

“That’s seriously impressive Emily, well done you. I’m sure any dance school here will take you in with an achievement like that!” he encouraged. See, he knew she had low self-confidence, he worked that out in the bar the night before.

Martha re-joined the table with their food and drink in hand, quickly giving them their respective orders and letting the couple get back to the conversation they were both so deeply enthralled in. After they’d eaten Bradley settled the bill and the two strolled out of the diner, both full to the brim with Martha’s delicious cooking. Emily linked her arm through Bradley’s without a second thought as they meandered back to the Bronco, they really had hit it off.

Bradley drove them back to Penny’s house and once again helped her out of her side of the truck and walked her up the path, stopping on the decking she was sat on earlier with Amelia. It was now 2:30 and the pair had been out for ages, Emily knew Amelia was going to her friends to do some school work and Penny and Pete would no doubt either be at The Hard Deck or on Penny’s boat.

“I had a really good time today Bradley, thank you so so much”, she smiled as she whirled round to face him, her hand coming to rest on his bicep.

“I did too, I was wondering if you wanted to do it again? Maybe Sunday? You could come and hang out with me and the guys, we play some football on the beach on the afternoon.”

She didn’t need asking twice, “I’d love to, yes”, she beamed. The two didn’t say anything as they gazed into each other’s eyes, Bradley placing a hand on Emily’s hip, his hand coming up and gently caressing the gap in between her shorts and top, it felt like an age until one of them broke the silence.

“Can I?” Bradley questioned, not taking his eyes off of hers for a second.

Emily knew what he meant and what he wanted, she wasn’t usually a kiss on a first date sort of girl, but Bradley had this hold on her that she couldn’t quite shake, and God, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him right here, right now. She gently nodded her head and Bradley moved his hand to her cheek, gliding his thumb over it as he pulled her in. The kiss was soft, both being very gentle with the other, Emily’s hands went to Bradley’s hair as she pulled him in closer, only then did he deepen the kiss, moving his hand from her hip to encircle her waist, holding her body as close to his as he could get. Pure bliss, that’s what this was, until…

“Ugh can you two get a room”

Bradley and Emily broke away from each other wide eyed as she looked to her left and saw none other than Amelia, “I thought you had gone to your friends house?”

“Change of plan” she sniggered, “date went well then”, that part came out as a statement rather tha a question, the smirk and raised eyebrow so obvious on her face.

“Thank you Amelia, you ruined a perfectly brilliant moment”, Emily retorted as Amelia slid past them into the house. “I’m so sorry about her, I had no idea”

“It’s no biggie, I enjoyed that though… a lot” he said, still holding onto her as he looked down into her eyes. “Can we do it again?”

“Not with her stood at the window looking at us, no. But I’m sure on Sunday we could give it another go” she smiled up at him, moving her hand to his cheek and grazing over the scar.

“I don’t want to wait that long” Bradley whined,

“Well you’re gonna have to, besides it’s only two days away” she spoke, releasing herself from his grip and giving him a quick peck on the lips as she did so, “I’d best get inside, I’m working the bar again tonight so need to get ready”.

“Sure thing, I’ll see you Sunday then my gorgeous girl” he said with a wink as he mooched back to the Bronco, getting in and flashing her a smile as he drove off.

My gorgeous girl, she thought. That was the best first date she had ever been on, everything about it was just incredible, but the kiss. THE KISS. It was the most beautiful thing she has ever experienced, how could a man she had met 24 hours ago make her feel this way?

One thing was for certain, it would be a long two days of not seeing Bradley. Sunday couldn’t come soon enough.

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 3

So I know it's still the same day that I uploaded Chapter 2 but I don't care. Have a double chapter day.

TW: Emily being clumsy, fluff, Hangman being annoying and Rooster being lovable

Taglist: @bratshaws

That three minute interaction with Bradley Bradshaw ruined Emily for the rest of the night. Occasionally she would glance over to where he was playing pool with the rest of his friends but she was too busy behind the bar to let her gaze linger over him for too long. How could three minutes make her feel like this?

She fancied him, and I mean FANCIED him. Sure she’d had her fair share of boyfriends in England, she was 25, but this man, she’d never fancied her exes like she now fancied the literal Adonis who had spoken to her for THREE MINUTES at the bar. What was wrong with her?

She was quickly pulled back to reality by Penny “…ily, Emily, you’ve been cleaning that glass for two minutes now, I think it’s clean enough”

“Oh, um yeah, sorry. I got…distracted”

“Distracted… yeah I noticed”

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again Penny honestly”

“Emily, it’s fine. I’d be distracted by him too if I were a little younger” she smiled.

“Is it that obvious?” Emily asked as she looked down, the floor suddenly becoming incredibly interesting to her. “it’s stupid I know.”

“It is obvious yes and it is most definitely not stupid” Penny scolded the girl who was now looking very timidly at her from the corner of her eye, “now, why don’t you go and gaze at your new pilot friend while you collect me some glasses”.

Emily just looks at Penny for a moment before she picks up her glass carrier and makes her way out from behind the bar. Unbeknownst to her Bradley Bradshaw is watching her every move from the windowsill by the pool table.

“Come on Roos, it’s your turn” Payback called from across the table “hurry up or Hangman’ll take it for you”

“Alright, alright, calm down Payback it’s just a game” he retorted, somewhat angry he couldn’t keep his gaze fixed on the beauty he had spoken to at the bar earlier.

“Have you noticed…” Hangman started “He’s not stopped making eyes at the new girl since he got us those beers earlier”

“Oh yeah, he’s been staring at her all night” Fanboy joined in.

“Knock it off guys, seriously” Rooster challenged as he potted the shot he had lined up, “I have not been staring at Emily”.

“Ohhh, so you know her name then…” Hangman smirked as he took the cue off Rooster and passed it to Coyote. “What else did you find out about her Roos? Other than the fact that you’re clearly into her”.

Bradley sighed, clearly caught out by his friends. “All I know is she’s called Emily and she’s from England, that make you happy?”

“Not as happy as the news I’m about to tell you…” Hangman paused, smirking while taking a swig of his beer “Emily from England is headed right this way”.

Bradley’s eyes went wide, and he nearly choked on the beer he had in his mouth. As he looked up there she was, walking directly towards him, her long wavy hair bobbing up and down as she smiled and shimmied herself past the patrons of the bar. He could hear her asking if there were any empty glasses as she walked by everyone, occasionally picking one up and adding it to the collection in the holder she had draped over her right arm.

As she moved herself around the last table before him she finally caught his eye. “Bradley” she smiled, “have you guys got any glasses or bottles I can take back with me?” God she was cute. Her hazel green eyes staring up at him so innocently as she asked the question. Bradley just stared at her without a word until Hangman butted in.

“Here you go darlin’” he handed her three empty bottles from across the pool table, “you must be the new girl, Emily from England?”

“Thanks, erm, yeah I am new, Emily from England. That’s me”. She smiled, taking the bottles from him and placing them into the holder which was getting fuller by the minute.

“So, what brings you here, Emily from England?”

“I needed a fresh start and I always fancied seeing California”

“Well, I’m sure Rooster here wouldn’t mind showing you some of the local area, would you?” Hangman had his arm wrapped around Bradley’s shoulder, nudging him slightly as he finished his sentence. If looks could kill, Jake Seresin would be dead right now.

Bradley let out a small cough to clear his throat “um, no not at all, sorry about my friends by the way. This is Hangman, Coyote, Fanboy and Payback, they’re all very annoying and don’t mean to be.”

By this point both Emily and Bradley had turned a completely new shade of pink and both were still gazing at each other, the rest of the Daggers could see this would be very fun indeed.

“Well, I really do have to get back to work, it’s my first day, I don’t want Penny to regret her decision in taking me on” Emily said as she finally snapped out of her daydream.

“No, we certainly wouldn’t want that would we Rooster”, Hangman chuckled before looking back at the younger girl stood in front of him. “It was nice meeting you, Emily from England”.

As Emily walked away she could hear the exasperated Bradley Bradshaw telling his friends off for embarrassing him, “and did you have to keep referring to her as ‘Emily from England’… REALLY?”

She chuckled to herself as she headed back to the bar, before she could reach it however, she managed to slip over a puddle of spilled beer and landed quite literally with a crash on the floor, closely followed by another crash of glass. Oh great, she thought to herself, all the glasses and bottles smashed to pieces. Penny will not be pleased.

The eyes of the entire bar were on her, and Penny had started to make her way over to the young girl who was now laid out on the floor with shards of glass around her looking incredibly dazed.

“Are you alright?” She asked as she got closer, bending down and helping Emily into a seated position, “you didn’t hit your head did you?”

“No no, I’m so so sorry Penny I really am” she apologised profusely as she took a moment to gather herself, it was quite the tumble she took and, as much as she wouldn’t like to admit it, it really hurt.

“Pen, is she alright?” A voice called from the crowd behind them. Emily and Penny just looked at each other, they both knew who it was, and sure enough, pushing his way through the crowd was Bradley Bradshaw, concern etched all over his face, increasing as he saw the girl laid back into Penny’s chest.

“I think so Bradley, she’s just a bit dazed”, Penny moved to help Emily stand but was stopped as Bradley moved to her side and hooked his arms under Emily’s shoulders and pulled her from the floor effortlessly, steadying her as she wobbled slightly from the sudden change of position.

“Are you okay?” He asked, staring into her eyes while still holding onto her arms.

“I think so, just feeling very silly and sore” she mumbled as she flushed pink noticing all eyes in the bar were on her. Bradley noticed this too.

“Penny, I’m just going to take her outside for some fresh air”, Penny nodded as Bradley guided Emily through The Hard Deck to the door, not taking his hand from her arm once. Once they got outside Bradley guided Emily to sit on the steps next to the door, he knew nobody would be coming in and out right now as on the way out he heard cheers as the bell behind the bar was rung.

“What a first impression I’ve made for myself” Emily sighed, attempting to put her head in her hands.

“Hey, don’t do that, you didn’t know you were going to slip did you? Now, are you sure you’re alright” Bradley pressed, eyes scanning over the girl as she sat there still a little dazed from the fall.

“I think so, it just hurts a bit, you know” she mumbled again, moving her arm to her left side and holding it there, “I think I must have banged myself as I landed.”

Bradley’s eyes also scanned down to her side, her hand glazing itself over her crop top as she looked out across the beach, “mind if I take a look?”

She snapped her head back at him, a look of confusion written all across her face, so he continued, “um, to check there’s no glass or it’s not broken or anything”, her eyes widened as she took in what he was saying.

“oh yeah, thank you, I didn’t think of that.”

Bradley’s hand moved slowly to hers, moving it back onto her lap and gently taking the fabric of her top and lifting it slightly, exposing Emily’s skin, making her feel very self-conscious, Bradley did notice this but carried on, reasoning that if he were to pull her on it now she might clam up all together. He gently moved his hand over the area Emily was holding moments ago and lightly prodded the side of her ribcage, she hissed slightly at this but he knew she hadn’t broken or cracked it.

“Well Miss Emily, I think there will be a bruise there in the morning” he chuckled, rolling her top back down over her body.

Emily instinctively wrapped her arms back around herself and looked up at Bradley who towered over her even as they were seated. “Is that your professional opinion then, Doctor Bradshaw?”

“It certainly is” he chuckled, he so wanted to wrap an arm around her but felt it may be too much for her, she was just too beautiful, he had honestly never seen someone as beautiful as Emily in his entire life, inside and out, but already having known her what, half an hour at best, he knew she didn’t see herself like that and Bradley Bradshaw wanted to change it.

“So, Emily…” he mused. She replied with a little mumble as she once again looked round at him with those big eyes he knew he would fall in love with. “You know my last name, so why don’t you tell me yours?”

“It’s Walker” she chuckled. “Are we playing a question game now then? Cause if we are then… how old are you if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I don’t mind at all sweets, I’m 34, so I’m getting on a bit” Emily took an intake of breath at the term he had just used to refer to her, her heart was going pitter patter in her chest and she knew she could feel herself falling hard for this man. She quickly composed herself and laughed, “don’t be daft, that’s not old at all!”, lightly tapping the side of his bicep getting a rye smile from him.

“And you then Miss Walker, how old are you?”

“I’m 25” she smiled.

“It doesn’t bother you then? The fact I’m nine years older than you?”

“Why would it? Age is just a number Lieutenant Bradshaw” she gripped Bradley’s arm at this statement, smiling up at him again.

“Well, I’m glad. Listen, this is going to sound really forward, so feel free to say no, I would totally understand, but I was wondering if you were free tomorrow if you maybe wanted to grab a coffee or some lunch with me. I know Hangman was joking earlier but I wouldn’t mind showing you round, I know how daunting being in a new place can be, plus I’d really like to get to know you better.” Bradley finished talking and looked back at Emily, her smile now growing wider and wider by the second.

“Yes! I would love to. I have no idea where anything is round here and if I’m being completely honest I would like to get to know you better too.” Emily could not believe what was happening to her, was this a date? Oh God, no, she’s overthinking, why would he want to date a girl like her?

“So, can I get your number? Then I can text you tomorrow when you’re ready and I’ll come pick you up.” Bradley handed Emily his unlocked phone so she could type her number in.

“Yeah sure, my number’s so different to the American ones” she laughed.

“There’s nothing wrong with being different Emily, nothing at all” the two just stared into each other for what seemed to be the millionth time that evening until Bradley broke the silence, “I should let you get back inside to help Penny, but how about I pick you up at 11:30 tomorrow and we can head into town?”

“That sounds perfect”, Emily moved to get up, Bradley holding out his hand for her as she climbed the step to get back inside, his strong grip supporting her as she hoisted herself up the deck, “I’ll see you tomorrow Lieutenant.” She smiled to him as she disappeared inside and left Bradley sitting outside smiling to himself.

As she made her way back into the bar Emily felt her phone buzz in her pocket, she reached round for it and opened it.

Unknown Number: It’s Bradley, see you tomorrow sweets <3

That was it, her heart exploded. It was a date, the loveheart meant it was. She was going on a date with a Pilot. A handsome, muscly, Adonis man. She couldn’t wait to tell Penny and wasted no time doing so as she got back behind the bar. The shift was nearly over and there was a lot of clearing up to do, but she didn’t mind. Come 11:30 tomorrow she would be on her first date with Bradley Bradshaw.

This was the fresh start Emily Walker needed.

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley Bradshaw Story

Chapter 2

I hope you all love this chapter! Sorry I have been a bit sidetracked in getting this out as the Queen passed away on Thursday and it's been quite emotional! Lemme know if you want to be added to my taglist!

Anyway, will they meet in this chapter? Read on to find out!

taglist: @bratshaws

Emily awoke to the sound of chatter coming from the downstairs in her new home, she could hear the wind blowing in the trees outside and the sound of people walking by the house.

Getting out of bed, she wandered over to the window and she was met with such glorious sunshine, she couldn’t believe her luck. She really had landed on her feet.

Pulling on her old York University jumper she headed downstairs to locate the sound of the chatter and as she walked into the kitchen there were three people sat around the breakfast bar.

Penny, she recognised, a teenage girl, obviously Amelia, who she had heard a lot about and a man, who looked up as soon as she entered.

“Morning” Emily smiled, sleep still evident in her voice, “Penny, your home, it’s incredible”

“Thank you Emily, I hope you slept well?”

“I did! Best I’ve slept in ages if I’m being honest with you”. Emily let out a slight giggle as she looked to the two others who had not yet spoke, “I’m Emily, its nice to meet you. I take it you’re Amelia?” Amelia nodded at this and went back to eating her waffles and strawberries.

“and I’m Pete, I’m Penny’s partner, it’s good to meet you Emily, you’re a long way from home aren’t you kid” Pete said taking a gulp of coffee, “what brings you to California?”

She couldn’t tell them the real reason, that would involve a whole lot of pity and sympathy she didn’t feel she was ready for. “I just felt like getting away, life in England was getting a bit boring for me”

“That sounds like a good enough reason, don’t you think, Pete? Now, sit down and have some breakfast with us, we can talk about rent and a plan for you after".

Emily sat down between Penny and Pete, who she discovered was a naval aviator based at the Fighter Weapons School or ‘Top Gun’ as he called it. He was part of a squadron called the Iron Daggers who went on classified missions and helped to train the next top pilots, sounded pretty cool and not what she was expecting. Oh, and they all had funny little nicknames or callsigns and his was ‘Maverick’.

After breakfast Penny took Emily on a walk around the neighbour hood and through the paths to the beach. They arrived at a quaint little place called ‘The Hard Deck’ that Penny owned. Emily loved it. It was so American and exactly where she had hoped to end up. They discussed rent and how much Emily would pay, she also offered Emily some bar work if she wanted it as they were down one after Cindy left.

Now, I know what you’re thinking, the daughter of an alcoholic working in a bar, quite paradoxical. Yeah. But it had got Emily through her University days in York, she was good at it and not all the patrons were like her mother, or at least, she hoped they weren’t. Plus, it would give her chance to meet new people and hopefully make some friends. She would start her first shift tonight with Penny, on hand to help if she needed, but after hearing of her past experience she knew she’d fit right in.

“You’ll be a talking point you know” Penny nudged her shoulder.

“Huh?”

“Pretty, new, young girl behind the bar, then when you speak you’ll have them all enthralled because well, you’re English and your accent is cute as hell”.

The pair erupted into a fit of laughter and began the walk back to the house. When they got there it was nearing 3pm and Penny started to make some food for them as they would be needing to head out after 4 to get the bar set up for the evening, Amelia had briefly dropped in after school to say she was going over to her friend Karen’s for a ‘study sleepover’, though how much studying the girls would get done was tangible.

Emily and Penny quickly ate the food they had made and Emily’s next task was to decide what she was going to wear to work. In York the pub she worked in made her wear a uniform for it was always black jeans and a black top with the words ‘Ye Olde Starre Inne’ printed on the front and back, so it was rather refreshing that she would be able to choose for herself.

She eventually decided on her blue wash mom jeans, a dark green ribbed crop top, a thick black belt with a silver hoop detail and her trusty Nike Air Forces. She had all of her jewellery in too, all eight ear piercings had studs and hoops in tonight, she went for a simple diamond nose stud and paired everything together with her white diamond belly bar, and to top everything of, in case she forgot who she was, she slipped a silver chain with ‘Emily’ written in silver lettering around her neck.  Her make up was natural, a slight wing on the eyeliner and some blush and contour to highlight her cheeks, her long brown hair flowing down her back in waves from where she had washed it this morning.

She took a moment to look in the mirror before grabbing her tote bag and heading down the stairs.

“Ah, we have a Harry Styles fan in our midst, Amelia will be pleased” Penny mused as she stood waiting for the girl at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh” Emily glanced down at her tote, Mr Styles himself was on it, a print of the Fine Line cover on one side and the track list on the other, “yeah I love him, my best friend Hayley got me this for my birthday last year”

“How sweet, are you ready to get going?”

“As I’ll ever be” Emily smiled, confident but nervous at the same time. She then marched forward out of the house towards Penny’s car and the two drove off to The Hard Deck.

Emily was shown how to ring up orders, told what the most popular things on offer were and what sort of cliental they got in the bar, mostly Naval Aviators from the base, something Emily was looking forward to as she was a bit of a sucker for a man in uniform. She was also shown the rules by Penny.

“Disrespect a lady, the Navy, or put your cell phone on my bar, you buy a round” Emily said out loud, reading the wooden sign that hung from the bar, “don’t people buy rounds anyway?” she questioned.

“They do, but not for the whole bar…”

“Oh right, I get it, so if I hear or see that, what do I do?”

“You ring this” Penny pointed towards a large old fashioned bell atop the bar, “then everyone cheers… if the person in question can’t pay the bill, they get thrown overboard”

“Overboard?”

“We chuck ‘em out”

“Ohhhh right, I really get it… this will be fun” Emily giggled, a glint in her eye as she looked up at Penny.

The pair continued setting up and making sure everything was ready as the first customers of the night started trickling in, Emily got to work behind the bar, Penny watching over her to make sure she was alright, but she was so Penny needed stay hovering for long, and soon the pair got into a rhythm, sharing customers between them and taking turns doing the rounds to collect the used glasses.

It was 7:30 when Emily looked up to see a group of five men walk in, Penny leaned over to her, “they’re some of the Iron Daggers that Pete works with. You have Coyote, Payback, Fanboy, Hangman and Rooster… Rooster is Pete’s Godson” Penny eyed the girl as she stared at the men, looking in a form of adoration at them.

“Oh my…”

“Quite something huh”

“I’d say, bloody hell” Emily suddenly felt very self-conscious, I mean she wasn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination, but she wasn’t thin either, she was a UK size 12 so she had worked out before coming to America she could fit into size 8s over here (because let’s face it, Emily had packed exceptionally lightly and would need to go shopping as soon as possible).

 But these men, they were muscly and beautiful and the one they call Rooster was a literal Adonis, Hangman was also mighty fine but there was something about the moustache, aviators and Hawaiian shirt that had Emily absolutely staring, to the point she managed to let the towel she was using to wipe the bar slip from her fingers.

“God Sake Emily” she mumbled inwardly, bending down to pick it up “get a grip woman” she continued whispering to herself. She began to pick herself up off the floor having given herself a good talking to and nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared her for the sight she was about to be met with.

Standing right in front of her as she surfaced above the top of the bar was the Adonis. Rooster.

“Um, Hi” Emily said, in a shocked and very surprised manner “what can I get you?” she asked.

“I’ll have five beers please… Emily” Rooster spoke, Emily’s eyes creased in confusion at this “oh, erm, your necklace has Emily on it, I assume it’s your name. You’re new aren’t you?” he said, now slightly embarrassed that he has said that out loud, she was pretty. Very pretty. One of the prettiest girls he’d seen, and she wasn’t from round here, that was an English accent he heard, he was sure of it.

“Yeah it is, I’m Emily, first day here today, second day in America… I’ve moved in with Penny so she’s given me a job here”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Emily, I heard Pen was looking for someone. So she’s got herself a little English Rose has she…”, Emily and Rooster made eye contact for what seemed like forever before he spoke again, “I’m Rooster, or Lieutenant Bradshaw, but you can call me Bradley if you’d like”

“I’d like that” Emily said, smiling as she handed him the 5 beers on a tray. “I’ll see you around Bradley Bradshaw” she smirked at him.

“That you will Miss Emily, that you will” Bradley said as he trailed away from the bar. God, he hoped he’d be seeing a lot of her, and little did he know Emily was thinking exactly the same thing about him.

[emilybradshaw]

I am British and the loss of the Queen is something I have felt profoundly saddened by since the news was broken from Balmoral a little after 6pm GMT. A woman who I have greatly admired my entire life, remarkable in her tenure as Queen. She will be remembered and missed.

For one final time, God Save the Queen.

And also, now and moving forward, God Save the King.

[emilybradshaw]

watching topgun maverick ruined my life, before that movie i could've grown up to be the president for all we know, now im just a whore

[emilybradshaw]

English Rose - A Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw Story.

Emily Walker was impulsive.

So impulsive that she had bought a one way ticket two days previously and had ended up halfway around the world.

Impulse, she would tell everyone, which it was. But it was also the only way she was ever going to free herself from the life she had been living in.

See, Emily’s life wasn’t all bad, she had friends, a good job and money, however all that paled into insignificance when you took her mother into account. She was an alcoholic. Always had been for as long as Emily could recall, however, the past two years had been a living hell. Alcohol had turned her mother into a very abusive woman and Emily couldn’t take anymore of it.

That’s how we end up here, in California. No plan, no job, no anything. Just Emily and her suitcase.

Peace, she thought as she wheeled her suitcase from the airport, there was no one here to shout at her, she wouldn’t need to tread on eggshells, no one would hurt her (she hoped). Peace.

She tentatively started walking towards the row of taxis standing outside the arrivals area of the airport, still unsure of where to go but happy to be away from the drudge that was her former life.

“Excuse me?” She said nervously to one of the drivers,

“How can I help you, doll?”

“I was wondering do I have to book for a ride or can I just get in?”

“You can just hop right in, here, let me get that case for you”. Getting out of the taxi, the driver took Emily’s case and put in the boot of the car (that’s trunk to all you Americans out there). “Where is it you want taking?”

“That’s the thing, you see I’m not sure… I’ve got no plan really, I just had to get away.” Emily paused and took a deep breath, “is there anywhere you would suggest?”

“I could take you down to Miramar, that’s a nice area. Some good rentals and places to explore, if you’d like that is”

“Um yeah, sure. Thank you”

Emily got in the taxi and they set off for Miramar, she’d never heard of it but the driver, who was called Tony, told her all of these really good fighter pilots trained there and that it was a super friendly place to live. Tony dropped her off at a shop in the town area and gave some pointers for looking for a place to stay, said she wouldn’t have trouble if she spoke to a woman named Martha in the diner as she knows everyone’s business apparently.

Tony got Emily’s case from the car and she paid him and said goodbye, heading off determinedly to the diner to speak to this Martha about sorting somewhere to stay.

This place was so lovely, very American and just what she’d dreamed of when she’d concocted her plan to escape. She didn’t have to walk far before she encountered the diner, the smell of the food emanating from it was making her stomach rumble.

Walking into the diner it was exactly like in the films she’d seen and she saw a little oldish lady behind the counter who she assumed was the Martha that Tony had told her about.

“Excuse me, are you Martha by any chance?” Emily asked, smiling at the woman, but you could hear the nerves in her voice.

“I am sweetie, and you don’t sound like you’re from round here, what can I do for you hun?”

“I was wondering if you could help me”, Emily shuffled on her feet, clearing her throat as she spoke again, “I’m new here, obviously, flew in today and I don’t have anywhere to stay. The taxi driver who brought me here said you may be able to help me, I’m looking for a room somewhere if you know of anything”

“Ahh hunny, I’ll be more than happy to help, as it happens I know a friend of mine is looking for someone to rent a room in her house, why don’t I give her a call for you and see what we can do?”

“That would be amazing, perfect even!”

“I’ll get right on it, in the meantime, do you want something to eat while we wait?”

“Erm, yes please, I’m starving!”

“I’ll fix you something real nice darling, what’s your name by the way?” Martha beamed at her.

“Emily, Emily Walker”

“Well Emily Walker, welcome to America!”

Martha tootled off into the kitchen, Emily could hear pots and pans clanging and Martha on the phone to someone, she sat blissfully taking in her surroundings. She decided after five minutes to look at her phone, something she hadn’t done in about 24 hours, not long after she decided to tell her friends she was leaving the country indefinitely.

Facebook Messenger - 15 unread messages

17 Missed Calls

5 Voice Mail Messages

Oh fuck.

Hayley Thompson – Did you get there alright?

Emily?

I miss you

Gary Walker – Emily, what the fuck. You cannot just disappear, what the hell were you even thinking.

Countless other messages she couldn’t be bothered to read, Hayley was her best friend and Gary was her Uncle. They are the only two that matter. Time to check the missed calls, all from her Mum, and all the voice mails the same. She wasn’t going to listen to them, she knew what they’d say. A torrent of abuse no doubt.

Footsteps interrupted her thoughts as Martha came scurrying over, a plate full of food in her hand.

“Here you go darling, get that down you, the lady about the room is going to come and see you, should be here in 10 minutes”.

“Ah thank you so much, Martha!” Though Martha couldn’t really make out this is what Emily had said as she was too busy piling food into her mouth to speak really. “This is delicious”.

Martha smiled and walked away, leaving Emily to eat her food in peace, must be hard she thought, coming to a completely new country with nothing but a suitcase, no plan or anything. She’ll be fine here, the people will look after her for sure.

The door to the diner opened just as Emily was finishing up her plate. Emily looked round on the stool and in front of her was the prettiest woman she thought she’d ever seen.

“Hi, I’m Penny Benjamin. Martha said about you needing a place to stay?”

“Hi, I do yes, I’m Emily Walker”

“And where are you from girl, not round here I’ll say!”

“I’m from England, a small little town in the North East to be specific”

“Well Emily Walker from a small little town in North East England, how would you like to come and live in my spare room? It’s just me and my daughter Amelia, so you’d fit right in I’d say”

“If you’ll have me, I’d love to!”

“Fabulous, well we can sort out rent and bills tomorrow, we can have a proper chat, but from what Martha told me on the phone, you’ll be wanting to sleep more than anything right now”.

“I am rather tired, I can’t lie”, just as she said this Emily let out the most gigantic yawn, Penny laughed, as did Martha who had emerged from the kitchen and enveloped Penny into a warm hug.

“You all sorted then?”

“Yeah, Emily here is going to come home with me, we’ll sort out the fine print in the morning, this girl is dead on her feet” Penny giggled as she helped Emily with her case.

“Um, how much do I owe you Martha?”

“Oh it’s nothing sweetie, call it a welcome present, I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot of you from now on” she smiled, a very warm smile Emily thought, “oh honey I forgot to ask you, how old are you?”

“Oh, I’m 25, just turned”

“She’s but a child Penny, needs some looking after I think”

“I’ll see to it, Martha, we’ll see you around”.

With that you turned on your heel to leave, Penny guided you to a rather flash looking car, though her knowledge of vehicles did not stretch far. She couldn’t believe her luck, coming to America on a whim and landing a place to stay with what appeared to be one of the nicest people she’d met. She hoped the rest of her journey would be just as smooth.

Impulsiveness, something Emily was now very glad she had.

[emilybradshaw]

So I’ve decided to start my own story, very self indulgent but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless!

[emilybradshaw]

So should say hi to everyone.

My name’s Emily, it actually is Emily Bradshaw too (thanks Dad).

Massive Top Gun fan for literally my whole life and I live across the pond from it in lovely England.