So I took a break from Band on the Run to get this one out of my head. It's been rolling around in my brain for some time, and I needed a minute to work out the next chapter in my story anyway. Tight Fittin' Jeans is a song by Conway Twitty, and I always thought it was rather sweet.
At any rate, this is very much a K/A fic for sure. Hope you enjoy. Please review.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Conway Twitty...
Tight Fittin' Jeans
"Somebody want to explain to me exactly what we are doing here?" Lance took another swig of his bottled beer and turned away from the bar, resting his elbows behind him. He looked through the smokey haze of the bar.
It was a small place barely lit by the neon signs on the walls and the tea lights on the round tables that made a U around the dance floor leaving the back wall open for a makeshift stage that was vacant at the moment. The jukebox cranked out some loud, upbeat country song that neither Lance nor his friends recognized. Men and women danced around the floor in time with the music every now and then stopping to stomp their cowboy boots on the floor. The Senior cadets from Galaxy Garrison's flight academy looked decidedly out of place in their loose jeans, T-shirts, and combat boots.
Keith chuckled. "This was Ginger's idea. You know this is her thing. And it is her birthday, so I suggest that we try to make the best of it."
"Whatever." was Lance's reply. At that moment, two young women sauntered by them each wearing plaid shirts that was unbuttoned just enough to show a hint of cleavage. Their tight fitting jeans, however, left very little to the imagination as their swayed their hips. They gave the cadets a saucey smile as they passed. Lance followed them with his eyes as they moved to the back of the room where two pool tables were occupied. He grinned at Keith. "On the other hand, this could turn out to be a very promising evening."
Keith rolled his eyes. Typical Lance. "There they are." He pointed toward the entrance where their friends stood, each pulling out their ID badges in turn. "Ginger." He called waving to the pretty blond who happened to be first in line.
Unlike the others, she looked like she belonged in that honky tonk. She was wearing a white tank top with a long sleeved plaid shirt over it. It was left unbuttoned and tied at the waist. She shrieked loudly and almost trampled the door guy as she sprinted to the bar and hopped into Keith's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"I'm so glad you guys came!" She yelled over the music.
The sweet smell on her breath confirmed Keith's suspicions. He smiled at her. "You started the party early, didn't you?" He sat her back on her feet, holding her arm to steady her.
"I may have had a couple of chocolate martinis before we left the dorm." She giggled.
"Alright, Ginger!" Lance crooned. "Let's do this right!" He quickly finished the last of his beer. "Keith, get me another. I'm going to get the first dance with the birthday girl." She giggled loudly again as he took her hand and pulled her out onto the dance floor.
Keith shook his head and turned back to the bar where Jeff was now standing next to him. Jeff watched Lance and Ginger on the dance floor and shrugged. "I think it's going to be a long night."
"I think you might be right." Keith agreed. "Enjoy it while you can. The summit starts early Monday morning. We're on security duty."
"Gah." Jeff screwed his face up. "Intergalactic diplomats. Fun times."
Not too much later, they found themselves at a large, round table in the back corner of the bar. They were joined by other members of their class, and Hunk who had graduated the year before. As the time wore on and the pitchers of beer rapidly found themselves empty, Keith took the opportunity to sit back and relax, observing his fellow cadets. Everyone was having a good time. Ginger was planted in Jeff's lap giggling loudly and whispering every now and then in his ear. Others had found dance partners and were doing their best to look like they actually knew how to two step. And Lance had found the opportunity to hit on nearly every woman under the age of fifty who didn't have a large cowboy attatched to her arm. Finally, he had found his way back to the chair next to Keith.
He reached across Keith and emptied the nearest pitcher into his glass. "How can you possibly be having fun, just sitting here by yourself?"
"I'm not by myself." Keith motioned to the others at the table.
"You know what I mean. Why don't you find a little honey to dance with? They lo-o-ove military men here." Lance winked at him.
Keith shook his head. "Guess I'm a little pickier than you, Lance. I don't fall all over myself for every pretty face that walks by."
"Eh," Lance shrugged. "I figure, the more I talk to, the better my odds of actually finding one that I like. I'll never find one just sitting on my ass." He smiled stupidly.
Keith watched his friend for a moment. Every now and thing, Lance actually said something that made a little bit of sense. Then he shook his head and decided that the beer was beginning to fog up his judgement. No way he was ever going to take Lance's advice about matters of the heart.
"Well, hello," Following Lance's lust filled gaze, Keith was immediately struck by what had just walked into the bar. The beautiful blond that stood in the doorway as her ID was examined by the doorman looked as if she had just stepped out of a storybook. It wasn't the way she was dressed. In fact, her clothes closely resembled most of the other women's attire in the bar. She was wearing a black cardigan sweater that just barely covered the pink baby doll t-shirt that, while definitely more conservative than most of the blouses sported around him, most definitely did nothing to hide the curves underneath. And then there were her tight fitting jeans. Keith suddenly couldn't recall when he had seen a pair of jeans that fit like that.
But it wasn't the clothes that immediately caught his attention. She carried herself differntly from the other women in the room. She stood tall and confident with almost a regal demeanor. He couldn't decide whether it would be more appropriate to ask her to dance or kneel and kiss her hand. When she walked, she glided as though she had been doing it all of her life. There was no concern about the others in the bar who had noticed her when she entered. She was used to people looking at her. Interesting.
Next to him, he could sense Lance begin to get up from his chair, and he knew what was coming next. Even as Lance got to his feet, Keith grabbed his wrist to stop him. When Lance looked down at him in surprise, Keith just smiled.
"I'll take this one, if you don't mind."
It only took Lance a moment to decifer his words before he stepped aside to allow Keith to get up. He was grinning from ear to ear. "By all means. I can't keep them all to myself."
The woman was already at the bar when Keith finally made his way across the floor. And she already had a sloppy drunk cowboy hitting on her. To her credit, she was smiling graciously at him, though she appeared that she had no clue how to get rid of him.
"Come on, sweet thang, let me buy you a drink."
She shook her head, obviously unsure how to handle the situation. "I really don't think..."
"It's about time you finally got here, honey." Keith sauntered up to her, slipping an arm around her tiny waist. She flinched at the sudden contact. "I was beginning to worry." He tried to convey with a look that he was trying to help her, which she seemed to accept as she relaxed into his arm. He turned to the man next to and gave him an accusatory glare masked with a smile. The man had no problem interpreting the situation. He held his hands up in defeat.
"Hey man, sorry. I didn't know she was with anyone."
"No worries." Keith said. Then the man was forgotten as he turned back to the woman. He realized that he was still holding on to her and immediately detatched himself. "Sorry about that. Sometimes you just have to be straightforward with them."
Even the dimmed lights couldn't hide the deep blush that spread across her face. But what little light did illuminate the bar revealed the brightest pair of blue eyes that he had ever seen. "It's okay. Thank you. He was being a little forward."
"Yeah, I get the feeling like your not too used to that."
Suddenly indignant, she lifted her chin with a certain kind of authority, and Keith knew that he was definitely not dealing with any ordinary woman. "He just caught me off guard. I could have handled it." She said dismissively.
Keith smiled at her. "I'm sure you could." And akward silence fell around them as Keith pondered what his next move would be. He suddenly wished he had paid more attention to Lance when he was wooing one of his prospects. Although he doubted that any of the cheesy pick up lines in Lance's playbook would work on this one. So he decided on a more direct approach. "Would it be too forward for me to buy you a beer?"
She studied him for a moment, obviously trying to decide if he was sincere. Finally she smiled and nodded. "I would like that very much."
Keith caught the bartender's attention and ordered two drinks. "I'm Keith."
"Allura." The way she said her name seemed a little awkward to him. Like she wasn't used to introducing herself that way. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that she was lying to him. But she didn't seem to be the type to go to a bar and intentionally misrepresent who she was. It then occured to him that she might be hiding something else. He berated himself silently. Who cares if she's hiding something? We all have secrets.
The bartender returned with their drinks, and Keith smiled as she snatched hers up and took a long swig from the bottle.
"So, Allura, don't take offense, but I get the feeling that this isn't the kind of place that you're used to hanging out at."
She sighed as she put her beer down. "Is it that obvious?"
Keith gave her a gentle smile. "Yeah."
She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well," she gave him a once over. "you don't exactly look like you belong here yourself."
She was right, of course. In his red t-shirt, loose jeans, and combat boots, he didn't look as if he was accustomed to spending his evenings in a country bar. "Touche." He said simply and lifted his bottle in respect for her observation.
She lifted her own and surprise him as she finshed off what was left. "You think you've got me figured out, do you? I'll make you a deal, if you can tell me something else about myself, I'll buy the next round."
Well, now, that was an interesting proposition. But he figured he was up for it. "Well, I don't think that you're from around here. I would even venture to say that this is your first time on Earth."
She was clearly impressed. "You're half right. This is actually my second visit to Earth." She waved the bartender over and ordered two more beers.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Keith ventured.
Allura grinned at him. "Absolutely not."
He laughed. "Okay, fair enough."
Resting her elbow on the bar and her cheek in her hand, a pink stain tinged her face, giving a good indication that the beer was having an affect. "I tell you what, Keith, if you dance with me, I might just be pursuaded to tell you a little more about myself."
Suddenly, Keith started to feel a little drunk. It certainly wasn't the beer. But between her lazy smile and the light in her deep blue eyes, he got the feeling that he wasn't no longer in complete control. "I have to warn you, Allura. I am don't really know any of these dance steps."
"That's okay." She hopped down from her barstool and grabbed his hand. "We can figure it out together."
Still not sure how he ended up there, Keith found himself on the dance floor with this beautiful creature wrapped up in his arms, trying desparately to at least stay with the beat of the music. He held her out so he could make sure that their bodies didn't touch. Not that he didn't want to, but the beer and the company were quickly taking hold of his good senses. It didn't help that she gazed up at him like he was some sort of a hero from a movie.
"So, Allura, you owe me a story." He said, trying his best to keep her at arms length.
"That I do. What do you want to know?"
"Well, at the risk of sounding cliche, what's a girl like you doing in a Honkey Tonk like this?"
Allura dropped her eyes. "It's kind of embarrassing. You see, I was raised, well, let's just say that I was pampered alot as a child."
"So you come from money."
She nodded. "Well, yes, I suppose you could say that. But along with being pampered comes being sheltered. I've never had a normal life like other people. 'Always act according to your station.' That's what I was always told."
Keith noticed a sadness in her voice. He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. In their depths, he saw that same sadness reflected back at him. Suddenly, he realized exactly why she had come to that bar tonight. "You just want to be normal."
She nodded, and he noted that the sadness was now replaced by a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. "I actually just came out for a good time."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really? And just how much of a good time are you looking to have?"
She immediately caught his innuendo and giggled. "Just a couple of drinks and a dance or two."
Her response was a relief to him. Unlike his counterpart, Lance, Keith really had no interest in one night stands. For Lance, they always proved much more trouble than they were worth. But Lance seemed to enjoy the choas that generally insued. Keith liked to keep things as uncomplicated as possible. And that usually meant going home alone. "I think we can manage that."
They continued around the dance floor, almost oblivious to the other dancers around them. Keith told her about his training at the Galaxy Garrison Academy, and how he wanted to travel to other planets. While he got the feeling that she was used to conversing with upper class sorts, she seemed genuinely interested in his life story.
A loud giggle erupted not too far from where they were, and a quick look told Keith that Lance had his hands full with a tipsy woman who was a few years older than he was. With her arms locked behind his neck, her black hair tickled his nose as she pressed herself firmly against his body. Lance met his gaze, gave his friend a shit-eating grin before returning his attention back to his partner, subtly sliding his hands down her back to grab her bottom. Keith only shook his head.
It was only after Allura announced that she was thirsty that he realized that they had been dancing for five straight songs. He looked at the table where his friends were indulging, getting boisterous and decided that they would be better off back at the bar. They found two seats closest to the stage and ordered another round of beers.
Lance was not one to complain when he had a woman in his arms, seemingly ready for anything. But he was almost jealous as he watched Keith with his smoking hot partner as they talked closely at the bar. It was a rare occasion that Keith actually had a good time at a bar with a member of the opposite sex. And this one seemed to have him completely enthralled. The lady must be something special.
A tap on his shoulder pulled him out of his revery. He turned around to see a man almost six inches taller than him and about twice as wide. He sported a black t-shirt with a sleeveless denim vest covering the name of some country band that Lance had never heard of. He held a pool stick in his hand and had three guys, just as big and wide as he was, standing behind him. He ground his teeth at Lance.
"Hey puke," he growled. Lance could smell the beer on his breath. "that one's with me."
The woman that Lance was dancing with laugh loudly. "Oh god, it took you that long to notice I was gone?" She roughly turned Lance's face to hers and planted a slobbery kiss on his lips. When she was done, she glanced back at the man. "Go away, Burt."
Lance grinned at him. "Yeah, Burt. Go away." He tried to turn back to dancing, but was roughly whipped around until he was standing in front of the woman, squaring off with Burt. Without a word, Burt swung a wild fist a Lance. Lance was quicker. He side-stepped the attempted assault easily. Unfortunately, Burt did not have such reflexes. His swing went right past Lance and ended up connecting directly with the woman's face. She dropped like a rock, holding her nose, crying out loudly.
Lance couldn't help but laugh at the stupidity of the situation. "Nice going, Burt. Way to put her in her place."
He wasn't prepared that time, and he suddenly found himself knocked to the floor when Burt lunged at him with his whole body, taking them both down.
It was the first punch that took out the women that caught Keith and Allura's attention. Keith had no idea what had started the conflict, but he certainly knew what was coming next. His assumptions were confirmed when Lance was knocked to the ground with a mountain of a man wailing on top of him.
"Isn't that your friend?" Allura asked, concerned.
He sighed. "Yeah." He set his beer on the bar. "I hate when this happens. Would you excuse me for a minute?"
She smiled. "By all means, go help your friend."
"I promise I will be right back." With that, he turned and strolled to the dance floor.
By the time he had reached to crowd, Lance had managed to kick Burt off of him, but was immediately hauled onto his feet by two of Burt's friends who were now restraining him so that Burt could get a good lick in. Before that could happen, Keith yanked one of the men hard, spinning him around and landed a solid kick to the man's stomach. He howled and doubled over. It was just enough time for Lance to break the other man's grip and knock him to ground with a solid punch.
From her seat at the bar, Allura watched amazed as all hell broke loose. There was suddenly a surge of testosterone on the dance floor when Burt's other friends and the Academy cadets flooded the dance floor in a barrage of swinging fists. Keith found himself taking on three guys at once while Lance was now squaring off with Burt again. A tap on her shoulder made her turn. It was the bartender.
"You might want to get your friends outta here. The owner just called the cops."
Keith swung at the first man, connecting with his jaw, before landing a roundhouse kick to the man's face behind him. The third man rushed him. Keith grabbed the front of his shirt, planted his foot in the man's gut, and rolled backwards, flipping the man over his head. He glanced around and found that the rednecks in the bar had been ill prepared for the fighting skills of the Academy cadets, who where easily taking them out one by one. He suddenly saw a large streak that was Burt being thrown against the bar.
Fed up with being pushed around by a bunch of upstarts, Burt grabbed the nearest bottle, cracked it on the bar and turned to face Lance. Lance paused at the sight of his newly armed assailant. Burt edged forward, ready to hack and slash the younger man to pieces. His opportunity never came. There was a loud crack, and Burt dropped the bottle and fell unconsious to the floor.
The guys looked up surprised to find Allura standing over Burt, still gripping what was left of a splintered pool stick in her hand. The sounds of smashing glass and breaking tables still thundered around them. She threw down the stick. "We've got to get out of here. They've called the police."
Keith got Lance's attention and made some sort of hand gesture. Lance understood and nodded before heading back to the dance floor. Keith grabbed Allura's hand and led her quickly towards the door.
She came to a halt. "What about your friends?"
"Don't worry about them. Lance will get them. I've got to get you out of here." He took her hand again and led her out the door. Just as they made it to the sidewalk, three police cars screeched to a halt in front of the bar.
Shit! Keith thought. They were caught for sure. Before he could decide what to do next, a pair of hands grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him forward. The next thing that he knew, he was leaning into Allura, who was supported by the nearest window of the bar and his lips were pressed firmly to hers. What the hell was going on? Then he got it. Instinctively, he wrapped his hands around her waist and pinned her to the glass. As he struggled to stay focused in the compromising position, Keith counted five sets of footsteps run passed them and into the bar. Maybe they were in the clear.
"Exuse me." A deep voice interrupted the moment. They broke apart, much to Keith's disappointment. A young police officer cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed that he had intruded.
"Yes, Officer." Allura's breathy voice and dreamy eyes sent a jolt through Keith's body. If he thought she was attractive before, she was sexy as hell now. Unfortunately, being pressed all the way against her body, he saw no way out of keeping her from finding out just how much it affected him.
"We got a report that there was an altercation in this bar. Do you know anything about it?"
Allura batted her eyes innocently. "No, Officer. We've been out here for some time."
Thinking quickly, Keith gave the uniformed man a look like he had just grown another head. "Sorry, man. As you can see, I've got better things to be doing than getting into it with a bunch a drunk rednecks."
The young man looked from Keith to Allura, then back again, considering the story. He seemed to buy it. "Alright then. But I suggest that the two of you take your little escapade some place a little more private."
"Yes, Sir." Allura's syrup smothered voice purred as she gave him a sweet smile.
He nodded and disappeared into the bar.
Keith let out a breath that he hadn't realized he's been holding. It was only after he turned to look at Allura and nearly bumped noses with her did he realize that they were still pressed against the glass. She was watching him, a slow smile creeping across her face. Knowing full well that his face was beet red and that tale-tell signs were giving away his obvious desire, he could nothing but give an embarrassed laugh and untangle himself from her. If she had any inkling about his arousal, she was gracious enough not to show it.
Not having anyway to diffuse the awkward situation, Keith was more than elated when he heard familiar voices echoing off the walls of the nearby ally.
"Ow, Ginger! What the hell was that for?" Lance was rubbing his chin gingerly as Keith and Allura met them where the ally met the sidewalk.
"You asshole! That's the last time I invite you to one of my parties!" She stopped suddenly, crossed her arms, and pouted. It was Lisa who took her to the side to try to calm her.
Keith looked to Jeff. "How did you guys get out?"
His friend gave him a lop-sided smile. "One of the cocktail waitresses that Lance was hitting on earlier showed us out the backdoor."
They turned to Lance who merely smiled. "See? And you think I'm just a lecherous dog. See what happens when you show a girl a little attention."
"You are a pig!" Ginger was back in all of her drunken glory. "None of that would have been necessary if you hadn't been hitting on some jerk's girlfriend."
Lance sauntered over to the girl, putting a friendly arm around her. "Ginger, Ginger," he spoke sweetly, "just think about it. This will go down as one of the most talked about birthday parties ever."
Ginger chewed on her lip thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, it was pretty cool watching you guys whoop up on those rednecks." She gave Lance a big smile. "Thanks, Lance. You are now re-invited to all of my parties." She kissed him on the cheek.
Jeff sighed loudly. "Can we go home now?"
The others milled around, laughing and joking, for a bit. As the adrenlaline began to wear off, they decided that it was, indeed time to call it a night. One by one, they said their goodbyes and made their way out of the ally to the parking lot. Soon, the only ones left were Keith, Allura, and Lance.
"Can we give you a ride somewhere?" Keith asked, still not sure if she had a car or not.
She shook her head. "No thank you. I'll get a taxi back to my hotel."
Well, she was certainly skilled at being evasive, Keith thought. But, he had known since this all started that this was all the time they would have. She had to go back to her world, and he to his. He tilted his head to the side and admired the flush on her cheeks. He couldn't tell if it was the beer or the adrenaline, and his thoughts briefly strayed to what she would look like after... He shook his head to steer clear of where his thoughts were going next. "Why don't you let me get you a cab, then?"
She smiled. "Sure."
"And I will wait in the car." Lance announced, clearly feeling like a third wheel. He nodded to Allura. "We didn't really get to meet, but it was a pleasure." He turned to Keith and clapped him on the shoulder. "Take all the time you need, bro." He flashed a devilish smile and disappeared around the corner.
Keith and Allura finally emerged from the ally and found themselves back on the street. "I'm really sorry that we messed up your evening, Allura." He said quietly.
"Are you kidding?" She smiled broadly at him. "That was the most fun I've had in ages!"
He narrowed his eyes appreciatively. "You don't get out much, do you?" He spotted a taxi and waved it over. "Just tell the driver wherever you want to go." He opened the door for her.
She surprised him when she raised to her tiptoes and planted a feather soft kiss on his lips. For such a light kiss, he felt the jolt from his toes to the end of each hair on his head. When she settled back on her heels, she gazed at him. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Keith."
For his part, Keith was speechless as the young woman climbed into the backseat of the taxi and closed the door behind her. Unable to move as the cab pulled away from the curb, he watched until it turned the corner at the next light and disappeared.
It was only after a loud whistle coming from the direction of the parking lot did he realize that he was still standing alone on the sidewalk.
"Hey!" Lance yelled front where he was standing by the car. "she's gone, cowboy. You coming?"
Two days later, the cadets stood in formation, lining the side walls of the Galaxy Garrison meeting hall. It was day one of the Intergalactic Summit, and the Senior cadets had been called to serve as security. Even in their dress uniforms, they were highly dangerous with firearms strapped securely to their sides. The diplomats from the various planets who were members of the Alliance, began to file in, taking their assigned seats behind the desk labled with their particular planet's name.
Lance stood next to Keith watching with disinterest. It was well known that while there were worse assignments that cadets could recieve, serving as security for a bunch of uptight diplomats was about as boring as they came. Lance glanced not too far down the formation to catch Ginger's attention. He smiled and nodded. She simply glared at him, sticking her tongue just far enough out not to be noticed.
"She sobered up and is pissed at me again." He grumbled softly to Keith.
"You ruined her birthday party because you couldn't keep your hands off someone else's date."
"Hey, she didn't tell me she was with someone."
"Ahem."
Both cadets darted their eyes to the Master Seargent standing not too far from them and met with the most death threatening stare they had ever recieved.
"Eyes forward, men. Mouths shut!"
Keith wondered idly why he continued to keep company with Lance McClain. Trouble always seemed to follow wherever he went. And while it wasn't fair to say that it was always Lance's fault, he certainly did very little to avoid it. His thoughts grinded to a halt when a new face entered the room.
Her long blond hair was twisted and tied elegantly around her face while the rest fell gracefully to down her back. She wore a pink and white dress that dropped from her shoulders, cinching at her tiny waist before draping to the floor. Certainly not the same woman who had just two nights prior had been circling the dance floor in a pony tail and tight jeans. Surrounded by a group of older men, she seemed to be trying to focus on all the differnt voices around her as they passed the cadets. Her gaze fell on Keith as they walked by and they suddenly found themselves locked onto each other.
Allura's eyes widened with sudden recognition and her step faultered slightly. Something in her expression told Keith that this was the last place that she expected to see him. He had to agree.
"Princess Allura. Are you alright?"
She turned back to the older man with a bushy mustach who held her eyebrow. "Yes, I'm fine, Coran. Thank you."
"Your seat is this way, Your Majesty. You will be the first to speak after the commencement address."
She nodded. "Yes, of course." Casting one more brief glance at Keith, she allowed Coran to gently guide her to her chair behind the plaquard that was labeled Arus.
Princess? Your Majesty? Keith suddenly felt light headed. Two nights ago he had gotten the Princess of Arus into a bar brawl? Holy crap. No wonder she didn't want to tell him who she really was. He glanced at Lance who seemed to be preoccupied with something else at the moment. Now he really wanted to smack his friend, hard. Looking back to the tables of delegates, he caught Allura looking at him. Panic, fear, or a mix of both etched her beautiful features. She was scared that he would out her. That he would announce to everyone that she had gone to a honky tonk, had a few drinks and got into a bar fight. What a scandel that would be.
Keith cocked his head and gave her a lop-sided smile before nodding to her. He had no intention of telling anyone about her little jaunt with the commoners of Earth. Although, he knew that she didn't see them as mere commoners. It would remain their little secret.
She seemed to understand his conveyance, and her features softened and the panic seemed to dissipate. The small smile of thanks that he received was more than enough to convince him that she understood.
One by one, the rest of the diplomats took their seats as General Graham took his place at the podium to begin the opening speech. Keith heard very little of it. He could hardly take his eyes off the Allura who was splitting her attention between listening to Graham's boring welcome and scribbling notes on a piece of paper. Her head jerked up suddenly when Graham addressed her.
"And one of the newest planets to join the Alliance is Arus. Princess Allura is here to address the delegation. Please give her a warm welcome."
As the assembly clapped, Allura made her way to the podium to give her address.
"Dude," Lance gave him a light elbow in the ribs. "Isn't that the chick you were dancing with at the bar the other night?"
There were many words that Keith would use to describe the woman that he met that night. Chick would not be one of them. "No," he said quietly. "that's not her."
"You sure?"
"Think about it a minute, Lance. What would the Princess of Arus be doing in a country bar getting involved in a brawl?"
Lance only shrugged.
He watched in awe as she gathered herself at the podium an began to speak. The elegance and grace with which she spoke about the plight of her distant planet and the ongoing war with the planet Doom amazed him. She exuded such stregnth that Keith felt himself falling for her all over again.
But she was back in her world. And he was certainly back in his. But for one evening, they their worlds had collided, and Keith knew that he had given her something that she sorely needed. For a moment in time, she had been a regular person. Not a young Princess with the weight of an entire planet on her shoulders. He was grateful that he had been the one to give her that gift.
For his part, he knew that he had held more woman than most men had ever seen. That night he loved a lady wearing tight fittin' jeans.