Charlie

The bar was pretty busy, but that didn’t stop people from gawking at us as we came in. New girls were always given a bit of attention, but this time around it was even more so because she was so damn hot. I wanted to claim her so that other men would see that it wasn’t in their best interest to try something, but short of grabbing her and kissing her in front of everyone else, I didn’t think that there was going to be a way to do it.

I put my arm around her and I felt a moment hesitation as my fingers touched the back of her shoulder, but she relaxed and I was able to take a breath of relief myself. I didn’t want her to think badly of me, but I wanted her and that was that. It was better that she knew, though maybe she wouldn’t agree to work for me if she knew that I was envisioning her being pulled to the floor and slammed into over and over again.

I shook my head to get the image out of it. It was hard to breathe when I was thinking of such things and the more I tried to get it out of my head, the stronger it held on and bothered me even more. I was rock hard and I was supposed to be showing her that I was harmless. It was a hard thing to do when I was feeling more animalistic than I could ever remember feeling before. It had been too long since I was in bed with a beautiful woman and Merle was one that would top all of the rest. Patience was not something that was in big supply at the moment.

“What would you like to drink?”

She shrugged and finally went for vodka. It wasn’t what I would have guessed for her, but she had to have some fire in her to be all the way at the end of the world looking for gold. I was born and raised here and I can’t say that I would ever be able to pick up and leave. I have been here so long, I don’t know if I would be brave enough to leave now. It is supposed to be one of the hardest paces to live, but it was home to me and I don’t know if I would want it any other way.

“So tell me about yourself Merle. What brings you to the end of the world?”

She giggled a little and told me that the name alone was enough to bring her here. It was a nice little saying that was on some tourist stuff for the few people that made it up this far. She wasn’t a tourist though. She was here for fame and fortune. There was a big difference. She also wasn’t staying around and that made me a little more determined to put myself out there.

“Gold. I guess I want to see what all of the fuss is about. Maybe I got the fever. I guess I just like the idea of it just sitting out there, waiting for me to come suck it up.”

I had felt the same way when I first got into it. I liked the chase and the wonder, never knowing if today was going to make me a rich man. It hadn’t done it yet, but I lived comfortably because of it. I wouldn’t have changed anything for the world and I liked that we had that in common. I didn’t have a lot in common with the women here. They wanted to be taken care of and I found something refreshing about Merle. She was here on her own two feet, trying to make it happen. I almost wished her better luck than me. Maybe if she did well, she would think about doing it in the winter too and she could just stay here year round. It was an odd thought for someone I didn’t know, but I was drawn to her and the easy smile on her face warmed me up in more ways than one.

“With that attitude, I am sure you are going to go far here. It takes a lot of time and skill, but it is determination more than anything. I still like the feel of the jar of gold when it has been a good day or week. There is nothing like it and it almost makes me want to go back out on the boats to see it live in action.”

“Can I ask why you don’t go on your own boats that much? Most of the people I know wouldn’t trust people with their gold and expect them to be honest. How do you know that no one is stealing half of it?”

“I’ve worked with these guys for a long time and I just trust them. There is always ways to check on them, but most of the time I just let it go. The do well for me and make good, so why would they take more and jeopardize it all?”

She shrugged. ‘I don’t know. You are very trusting. You are unlike anyone I have ever known. I want to thank you for the offer to work with you. I thought I had really messed up coming all the way up here for nothing. At least now I know it was for a reason.”

I just shook my head and took a drink of the whiskey in front of me. I was going to learn to hold everything in a little better. I knew that I was going to have time now. I was going to go back out on the water and I was going to have Merle. It was only a matter of time. While patience wasn’t one of my strong suits, I was going to make it one. It was worth the wait, I was sure of it.