AN: Nah, nah, I know what happens next. Hehehe inspiredthoughts@hotmail.com Feedback! Please? ************** One Night Stand: Chapter Five ***************** Keelie was in a good mood as she walked home from the bus stop, humming tunelessly to herself. It felt good to be employed, even if it wasn't her dream job. It paid well though, not obscenely well- she wouldn't have allowed for that- but Keelie had been more than scraping by these last few weeks. And working for AJ McLean was a lot of fun. A LOT of fun. Too much fun even. She was having WAY too much fun with an ex-one night stand (how wrong did that sound?). But she needed the money damnit. And AJ was so nice. So nice, and not even just to her because they'd had great sex. He was just genuinely a good guy, not perfect perhaps, but you didn't have to be perfect to be good. Keelie sure as hell knew that. She skipped up the stairs to her apartment complex, tool belt slapping against her hips, still whistling, but skidded to an abrupt halt outside of her apartment door, room 304B. Her door, her perfectly lovely door, was ruined with a not so nice note from her ex-boyfriend. "Bloody hell," Keelie muttered as she read the bright red spray painted words, 'GET READY TO PAY'. It wasn't Daniel's handwriting but then he wouldn't have to guts to something like this himself. He was a cowardly bully after all; he had some good friends who were a lot less cowardly though, bastards. And thanks to America's screwed up legal system he had probably been wandering the streets since the night she had him jailed. Thoroughly pissed, Keelie shrugged off her unease, kicked her ruined door in childish vexation, and went inside. Daniel wasn't going to scare her just because he was throwing a temper tantrum over some assault charges. Baby. She tried to ignore that fact that her hands were shaking as she unlocked her front door. So much for her good mood. ************************************************************* Keelie Stephanie Marie Childs was a stubborn woman. Stubborn enough to ignore the threatening message left for her by an enraged boyfriend because she wasn't going to let him intimidate her. Stubborn enough to try to preserve what remained of her once wonderful day. "Stupid ex-boyfriend, prat..." she muttered darkly as she slid on leather pants that clung to her like a second skin. She buttoned them up and paused to take stock in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. Her dark brown leather pants made her legs seem longer than her five foot three frame allowed them to be, and the cropped sapphire tank top showed a good stretch of tanned, toned stomach. The music notes tattooed around her bare wrist stood out in stark relief against her skin, and her hair coffee colored hair was swept into a simply high ponytail. Keelie frowned though and quickly added a dash of blue eye shadow and some lipstick to add color to her face before pulling on brown boots and zipping them up. She reexamined herself in the mirror, and shook her self when she noticed her palms nervously rubbing against her leather-clad thighs. Keelie stilled the motion swiftly- Daniel was NOT getting to her- and grabbed a light jacket and her wallet, which she shoved into one of the coat pockets. She sailed out of apartment with the regal bearing of a Queen and determinedly started walking downtown. ************************************************************* The music was blaring at The Hot Spot, and a line was already wrapped halfway around the building. Keelie ignored the people waiting outside the club, and cut straight to the front over the complaints of the hopeful. Shawn spotted her first and gave a hoot of welcome, a wide grin splitting his handsome face nearly in two as he pushed the crowd away with his six three frame and scooped Keelie up in a crushing bear hug. Little John, the other bouncer who was six four if he was an inch, came bounding over. He yanked her out of Shawn's arms and hugged her hard enough to squeeze the breath out of her as he laughed. "And where the hell have you been at missy? How'd your job interviews go? Are you now a Corporate Miss?" She shook her head. "Nope, they sucked. I have a handyman gig that I like." Shawn frowned. "Come on Childs, you hate construction..." She sent him a crooked smile. "Well, a girl's got to eat, doesn't she?" Little John was watching her with too astute eyes. "What about Daniel?" he asked quietly. Those too astute eyes watched her flinch. "What'd the bastard do?" John demanded as Shawn shifted and cracked his knuckles menacingly. Keelie squirmed enough to get herself set down. She glared up at her two friends and pointed. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I appreciate the sentiment but I'm fine." "What'd the bastard do?" Shawn echoed. She sighed petulantly. "He got a little angry when we broke up and tried out his fists on my face." "I'll re-arrange his damn face!" Shawn swore eagerly. Keelie's left foot began to tap impatiently. "Get in line. I sent his sorry ass to jail and pressed charges, end of story." John was still frowning but the two of them bought her story, for now. Blunt fingers tilted her chin up and examined her face, looking for any lingering signs of injury. "I'm fine," Keelie told him softly to ease his worry and Little John sighed. "All right, all right. But promise you'll let one of us know if we need to get physical?" She sent a genuine grin to both of her would be protectors, touched by their caring. "I promise," she replied solemnly. "Okay then, on that cheerful note, off you go. Dance and have some fun..." Shawn slapped her rear gently and shoved her through the club doors as the two bouncers took their positions back up, smiles replaced by professional masks of sneering boredom. Keelie made her way through The Hot Spot, calling out familiar greetings to the majority of the employees before accepting the coke Jimmy, the bartender, handed to her without a word, but a wink. She settled in on her favorite bar stool and felt herself finally relax. Keelie had been one of The Hot Spot's first customers when it had opened five years ago in downtown Miami. She had been a fiercely loyal customer ever since. The club had recently become to 'in' place to party, which probably explained why she had managed to pick AJ up here, but Keelie was on such good terms with all the employees, including the owner, she was always guaranteed a place to dance. She couldn't always afford to pay the cover or buy her drinks, but she always got inside, and Jimmy would send her all the sodas she could drink. Dancing was a passion Keelie had always had, even if she couldn't always indulge in it. She liked getting lost in the rhythm and the patterns of the music. Liked matching her body to the beat. It was the best escape from life she had ever found. The safest one anyway. A contented smile curved her full lips as a favorite song came on, probably courtesy of Mitch the DJ, for her benefit. Keelie set her glass down and slid off her barstool. She made her way onto the dance floor as Mitch turned the bass up, just the way she liked it, making the building hum with the suppressed rhythm. She shot Mitch a blinding smile at the DJ booth and let the dance take her as she moved under the changing strobe lights. An hour later Keelie was flushed, and happy, grinding and dancing with the masses that crowded the floor. Her current partner spun away and left her facing the well-defined backside of another man. The man was wearing black leather pants as tight as her own, and a mesh shirt that revealed the rippling muscles of his tight shoulders and back, along with several almost familiar tattoos. She couldn't tell under the shifting, blinding lights what color his closely cropped hair was, but it was dark. The crowd surged, sending Keelie his way, and she went, interested despite herself. The man leaned into her body as he sensed her come up behind him and she grinned pleased, until the man turned his head back to see who was pressed against him. Alexander James McLean's sultry brown eyes widened in surprise as he took in her own shocked honey colored eyes. "Keelie?!" Keelie groaned.