Kensi POV

It had been 6 months since Jack left and my friends had decided we were going to hit the clubs and have a girl's night. I had fought until the bitter end but sadly they had just dragged me along anyway, forcing me to dress up in a short black dress that came mid-thigh and was very low cut, black stilettos, and dark makeup, giving me a mysterious edge. I looked pretty on the outside but on the inside I was a mixture of turmoil and sickening emotions. I was so nervous I felt like throwing up.

"Kensi! Hurry up we're already ready! You almost done?" I sighed, grabbed my clutch and walked out the door, willing myself to at least try to have a good time.

The club they picked was big and loud, my kind of club on a normal night, but I wasn't into it. My friends Jenny, Marie, and Katherine dragged me onto the dance floor and I lost myself in the music, finally feeling free from my six months of hell. After a while I got thirsty so I told them I was going to get a drink and left. When I sat down at the bar I ordered a beer and shot.

I sat there absentmindedly sipping my beer so lost in thought I didn't even realize a guy had sat down next to me until he began talking. I startled and looked up at him, he was handsome, about the same age as me, with shaggy blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, he had a lean body with muscles, you could tell by looking at his cocky exterior he knew how handsome he was.

I rolled my eyes and turned around, not giving him the satisfaction he was obviously looking for. "What's your name?" he asked. I ignored him.

"I bet it's Fern, you look like a Fern." I whipped around "It's not Fern."

He quirked an eyebrow at that and smirked even more, if that was possible. "Come on, Fern at least let me buy you a drink."

"No thanks, Blondie" I replied coolly. This just made him grin like a Cheshire cat. He suddenly turns towards the bartender and called out, "Get her another of whatever she's having." The bartender nodded and started on my beer.

"Wow, you really want to waste your money, do you?" I told him. He just looked at me with that damn smile which had to be the absolute cutest smile on the face of the planet. He held his hand out, "I'm Marty by the way." I looked at his hand for a moment, inspecting it before finally holding my hand out as well shaking his.

"Kensi." I replied hesitantly. He smiled, "A beautiful name, for a beautiful girl."

I smirked, got real close to his ear and whispered in a seductive tone, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Marty." Then nipped his ear before heading back out to the dance floor and getting lost in the crowd. Not five minutes later, he had found me.

"Will you dance with me?" he asked me, holding out his hand. I smiled in spite of myself and thought for a moment. You have to admire his determination. He was cute and it was just dancing, right? So, what's the harm?

I reached out and grabbed his hand as he pulled me close and our bodies moved to the rhythm of the music. We danced for a few hours before we made our way back to the bar and sat down.

"So, Kensi, tell me about yourself. You know besides the fact that you are one hell of a dancer." I laughed.

"Well I'm in training to become a federal agent." He looked at me in surprise a small smile playing at his lips.

"I'm impressed." He stated and I grinned, "What about you?" I asked, "What do you do."

"I'm in college to become a lawyer." He told me truthfully. "Nu-uh, no way!" I said surprisingly, "You don't look like a lawyer." He laughed, "You have no idea how many times a day I get that." He said, "I think it's the hair.

I smiled, "I like your hair." I told him as I reached up and ran my fingers through it. And suddenly our faces were inches apart and our lips were touching. We kissed until we were breathless and then we came up for air, looked in each other's eyes and smiled softly.

I pulled back and we gazed at each other for a while, he could tell I didn't know what to do. Jack and I never talked when we were still together and I hadn't been out and dating for years. Then he asked me some random off the wall question, I laughed, and we started talking again. We talked about serious things and stupid things, things that mattered and things that didn't, we just talked…and it was the best night of my life.

I told him about my dad, he told me about his. I told him about Jack and he just held my hand and comforted me and told me he was a dumbass and told me about Monica, some girl that had cheated on him with one of his friends. I told him she was a dumbass and he laughed.

He told me about law school and I told him about NCIS academy. He listened to me and it felt so damn amazing. It was great for someone to listen to me for once, without judgment or a catch. He listened to me because he wanted to, not because he had to.

And he was funny when we talked, he made jokes and cracks and I hadn't smiled that much since before Jack came back from Fallujah, no, before my dad had died. I laughed and laughed and he just grinned and teased me about my inability to use the word touché, properly.

He thought my jokes were funny, even the ones Jack thought were stupid. He had never gotten my humor before and now I had found someone who didn't necessarily have the same sense of humor but one that coincided with my own. His sarcasm matched my biting comments perfectly. I hadn't talked this much in God knows how long.

At about three a.m., after all my friends had left and the club started shutting down, he offered to walk me home and I accepted. He dropped me off at my house and kissed my cheek goodnight. Just as I turned around he called out, "Hey, Kensalina?" I turned around in question.

"Do you think that, maybe I could have your number so we could do this again sometime, only at dinner?"

I thought it over for a moment, as he started looking more and more nervous by the second, before I broke out in a grin, "Yes, Marty, you can have my number." He had made my night fun and I found myself wanting to spend more time with him.

He handed me a pen which I accepted, and used to write down my number on his hand. "What kind of guy carries a pen anyway?" I asked teasingly

He chuckled, "I'm a lawyer, remember." I laughed and nodded in agreement, before turning around, unlocking my door and heading inside.

No sooner did I enter my small apartment, did my cell phone ring. I didn't think anything of it and just answered it, thinking it was just Katherine or Marie. "Yes I'm ho-"

"Oh, I already know that, Princess. Or did you forget about me, already? I'm hurt." I smiled as he continued. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't give me a fake number. You know so I could, officially, ask you out."

"I didn't know you unofficially asked me." I replied evenly, smiling.

"Well, it was implied, earlier, and I didn't want there to be any confusion about you and me this Friday." I could feel his nervous smile on the other end.

"Hm, I don't know, I'll to check my schedule," I paused a moment, "You're lucky I'm free. Pick me up at six?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Princess." He replied and I smiled, loving the nickname he had chosen for me, although I would never admit it, especially to him. We said our goodbye and hung up and I went to bed already trying to figure out what I was going to wear on Friday.

And for the first time in months, I couldn't care less about Jack. My thoughts were consumed by Marty Deeks and Marty Deeks alone. I fell asleep to my racing thoughts of Friday night. I hadn't been sure about tonight but by the end of it I was glad my friends are pushy.