This is the second part of the story. The third and final chapter will be posted in the end of the week. Thanks to everyone for reading my fic.

PART 2

"You are a really good dancer, I didn't know that about you," Michael Vaughn said as he twirled Sydney in the dance floor currently occupied by several of their friends. Lauren and Julian shared their dance in the near distance and they could also see the future newlyweds Eric and Kelly dancing and looking like a couple madly in love with each other.

"Thank you, I guess there are privileges to having a dance teacher as a best friend. Lauren actually says that I'm her pet project as according to her, I was terrible before she stepped in and made a favor to the male dancing population by training me. I remember you saying something at the Barbecue that you didn't dance, so what made you change your mind tonight?" Sydney asked in a teasing tone and hoped that her attraction to Michael wouldn't be as obviously as she suspected it would be.

"I normally don't dance, but if I wouldn't have asked you to dance, some other lucky guy would have. You look really good and I actually wanted to call you a couple times recently. Too bad I don't have your number," Michael said and shortened the gap between them. Not that there had been a huge distance before, but now they were standing only inches apart.

"Do you want you have my number now that you will have it the next time you want to contact me?" Sydney said in flirtatious voice and hoped that her legs wouldn't fail her at this moment. Maybe that 'action' she was talking to Lauren about earlier would not be so far fetched after all.

"Your number is not the only thing I want from you. I want to do this to you," Michael said and lowered his lips to hers. As the first shock of the kiss ended, she was eagerly kissing him back. After a few moments, Michael pulled away and hesitantly looked in her eyes to see what her reaction would be.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go that far. I really shouldn't drink any alcohol in places where there are beautiful, kissable girls like you," Michael said and hoped she wouldn't take offence at his directness and move away from his arms.

Instead of telling Michael how much she had liked the kiss, she decided to show it. She brought her hand to Michael's hair and kissed him with more intensity than before. Tonight was going to be much better than she could have even imagined.

--

Julian had found it quite hard to break through Lauren's resistance and hadn't been able to get anything other than a few polite yes or no's from the blonde he was dancing with. She was deliberately avoiding his eyes and instead looking at Michael and Sydney interact with each other.

"Your friend mentioned that you are a choreographer. That must be a fascinating and interesting job, isn't that right, Miss Reed?" Julian asked and hoped that Lauren would come out of her shell when talking about her profession.

"Yes, it's quite interesting. So Mr. Vaughn said something about you being a lawyer, what's that like?" Lauren said with polite interest. She would have preferred to be sitting in a quiet corner and gossiping with her friends, but since Sydney had suckered her into dancing with this man, she didn't want to be rude. She had not been raised that way and her mother, the mild mannered and sophisticated New York socialite Olivia Reed would be appalled if her daughter didn't follow the party etiquette of polite small talk. God knows, she had disappointed mother enough by filing for divorce two months ago.

"Well, on a day to day basis, I try to keep the hospital out of the courtroom. Too bad Mickey and Weiss don't make it so easy with their methods that even Dr. House would be dumbfounded by," Julian laughed, wanting to lighten her mood by joking. He hadn't seen her smile at all and really wanted to know how she looked when smiling. He found her incredibly beautiful already, but was certain that she would be even more stunning then.

"You watch House MD? I love that show, I'm absolutely obsessed with Hugh Laurie and I have seen all of his movies and television shows. I have even watched Stuart Little multiple times just because of him, but if you repeat that to anyone, I'll deny it," Lauren said excitedly and found it hard to sulk when the topic turned to her favorite television show and actor.

"I'm finding new sides of you that I like all the time. This must be my night, an attractive, single Hugh Laurie fanatic is dancing a slow dance with me." Julian joked again and dipped her low as the song came to an end.

"I'm not single," Lauren said and let go of Julian's hands as soon as he had stopped dipping her. She wanted him to understand that nothing would come of this dance, no dates, no kissing and certainly no bedroom action.

"You're getting divorced, that's single in my books. It's not like you and ex- hubby are still living together or anything. You have kicked him out, right?" Julian commented and put on his most charming smile.

"It's none of your business what goes on between me and my husband. Thank you for the dance, now excuse me," Lauren said without even pretending to be polite. She didn't want to explain the happening of her personal life to someone she didn't know at all. She attempted to leave, but he had grapped her arm and pulled her with him to a quiet corner outside of the dance floor.

"I don't mean to be so forward, but it doesn't matter how many times you lie to yourself about your marital status, it still doesn't make you happily married." Julian said pointedly and felt no need to sugarcoat this issue. She was clearly one of those bury-your-head-in-the-sand type of people while he wanted to face an issue head on.

"This is the second time today when a wannabe Dr Phil tries to analyze me and I have to say I don't like it at all. You have a lot of nerve to start giving me relationship advice since I met you roughly 10 minutes ago. Let go of my arm now," Lauren hissed in a angry tone and was shooting daggers at the man who had a firm grip on her left arm.

"You are incredibly sexy when angry. I should make a habit to annoy you as much as possible in the future," Julian said unfazed by the blonde's furious disposition. She was most definitely a hellcat and he liked that in a woman.

"I'm sorry, but I don't find this caveman attitude of yours attractive at all. I'm going to ask you one more time to remove your hand from my arm if you don't want me to slap that smirk of your face." Lauren said and lifted her hand to the level of his face to make a point.

"Fine, my mistake. I would have just thought that you were a woman with an adventures streak, but now I see that you are nothing but a shrinking violet. I'll go and leave you to pity yourself in peace," Julian said and let go of her arm. He was certain that underneath of that prudish exterior lay a completely different person just waiting to be unleashed.

"Wait, I'm certainly not a shrinking violet. I'm usually the epicenter of excitement in a party, you just caught me on a bad night." Lauren said defiantly, it was a blow to her ego to be considered a boring and uninteresting person. She would now have to prove him wrong.

"I find that hard to believe after everything I've witnessed from you tonight. You are an uptight prude pretending to be someone else, like your friend over there. She apparently knows how to unwind and have fun," Julian baited her and gestured towards Sydney and Michael who were still engaged in passionate lip lock in the middle of the dance floor.

"What would it take for you to change that perception of me? Because, I'll have you know, I'm the most exiting person you'll ever meet." Lauren noted with resolve, she didn't want to act like her mother, who lived for manners and appearances.

"You could share another dance with me and we can continue from there. All I need is your undivided attention for the rest of the night and no more talk about ex husbands, divorces or any other dreadfully boring topic. If you can do that, I could be swayed into believing that you are full of fun after all." Julian replied with a smile curving into his lips.

"You got yourself a deal, but only if you help me avoid that woman who is now making her way over here. Her husband Thomas went to school with me and Sydney and when she gets talking, there is no end. You will be forced to listen to everything about her life including the way she has her spices in an alphabetical order!" Lauren exclaimed and moved a little so that she was hidden behind Julian's back.

"I'm at your service, Miss Reed. I have the perfect away to avoid talking to a woman who sounds very irritating," Julian replied and took Lauren by the hand and lead her to the other part of the room.

--

"Are you as happy as I am?" Kelly Peyton asked her fiancé as she pressed her head on his shoulder during their dance.

"I would hazard a guess that I'm way happier than you are right now. Not every day can you leave your miserable bachelor lifestyle filled with hot women, wild parties and no responsibility at all to settle down and have a family." Eric joked in his typical manner that Kelly had gotten used to by now after a four year courtship that would lead to the altar the day after tomorrow.

"You have succeed in making me the happiest woman on the planet and I want you to know that most things won't change in our lives after the I Do's, except I'll call you husband and you'll call me wife. Don't you love the sound of that?" Kelly noted happily and took another look at her ring that would very soon get a friend.

"I know you'll be the perfect wife. You won't pull a Nadia on me, I'm sure of that." Eric laughed once again thinking about their friends Noah and Nadia Hicks, who married last summer. Ever since becoming a Mrs., Nadia had dedicated herself into playing super wife and desperately tried trying to get pregnant. Noah had been practically been chained to her until she got pregnant some months ago and had missed most of their Lakers games that their whole work crew went to watch on a regular basis.

"No worry sweetie, I don't have any hurry on the baby front. And you I would never tell you not to go to a Laker game, as you don't mind me going to see the Angels play. I think we are a pretty perfect match in every way possible and marriage won't change that." Kelly said in a voice that had no regrets or worries in it.

"I'm a lucky man that I managed to get together with the only hot chick in Los Angeles that loves sports as much as I do. Don't ever change, honey since your perfect in every angle." Eric said and stopped dancing for minute to kiss his bride on the lips.

--

"Come on you, don't chicken out now. You told me yourself that you are fun, so now you can prove it. Just follow my lead," Julian said as he steered Lauren towards the stage where the DJ was playing.

"Fine, but don't do anything that I can't blame alcohol for." Lauren agreed and went along with whatever the blond haired man had in mind. She had a bad feeling about this, but there was no backing out now.

They entered the stage and Julian whispered something the ear of the female DJ who nodded and stopped the song she was currently playing.

"Ladies and gentleman, please welcome to the stage Julian and Lauren who wish to perform to our happy couple. Let's give them a big round of applauds," the DJ said handing Julian and horrified Lauren microphones and leaving the stage. She was going to kill him for this.

To be continued…

Next chapter: Julian and Lauren sing and Michael has something he wants to ask from Sydney…