Three years later:

River stomped out of the Capital City Ballet Center. She was furious. Her feet were carrying her in a random direction and she didn't even care. The nerve! The gall! That's it, River decided then and there. No more boys her age. No more boys younger then her. No more BOYS. Men! From here on out. She knew that most of what she was feeling was residual bitterness of yet another relationship terminated with a boy her age, but now that she thought on it, it did seem the most logical solution.

Males her age were so intimidated by her knowledge… or her money… or her skill with dance. In her storm of anger, she was still holding on to the very vague and (even to her) ridiculous notion that maybe older men would be different. Maybe they would just be… better. The realization of such infantile and unfounded conjecture inside her own head made River screech softly, and that felt very good. To just scream.

She was in the middle of a busy street and couldn't even care less. Social reputation be damned, she was breaching the acceptable society limits of the city anyway. She walked faster in a direction she was barely even half aware of. As she walked she could feel herself practically steaming with anger. After a good ten minutes of walking in an undetermined direction, she paused and looked up at the grimy bar in front of her.

The lower west side of Capital City was home to maybe 100 of these types of establishments. Her warm breathe made clouds in the cold night air. She wasn't wearing much under her winter coat. She'd stormed out of rehearsal after all. Just her black dancing shorts and a red tank top. They were blocking her new show, so it was not like she needed to be in a leotard.

She considered the place in front of her. Maybe she would go in, have herself a drink. Simon would disapprove and sputter. The girls at the company would shriek. A well bred girl like her in an establishment like this? Unbelievable. Well, damn them! Damn them and their prissy society boys who were only interested in her for her status! If she wanted a gorram drink, she'd have a gorram drink! She'd just turned 18, so it was legal, though she'd had more than her fair share of alcohol at company galas and such before the legal age requirement was met.

She had some ID on her but hoped she could just pass for her age. She'd heard enough horror stories about society girls flaunting their status in the lower west side to know keeping a low profile was the best plan. With a determined grin, she walked inside. The heat was a vast relief. It was stuffy, almost humid, but hat was a wonderful change from the frost bitten night air.

The inside of the bar matched the establishment's exterior. Which meant it was mildly repulsive, but for River, that was a bit of a thrill. She slipped her black coat off and hung it up on the rack by the door, taking a chance that would have horrified Simon and assuming that it would be there when she returned for it. She gathered her nerve and walked over to the bar. The whole room was slightly smoky and reeked of cheap alcohol. All around the place the patrons' foreheads were starting to bead with sweat. And what must have passed for a dance floor was covered in a slight haze of warmed second hand smoke. Fortunately though, that's what River was looking for. Something as far away as possible from the stuffy ballet center she'd been cooped up in for three years.

There were only two seats left at the bar. One was between a small man of about sixty with graying hair mumbling agitatedly into his large drink and a girl who looked to be of a questionable profession. The other was at the very end of the bar, next to a large, muscular... rather handsome man who was probably in his late thirties. River jumped up and took that seat before someone else did. She figured it was her best bet for a quiet drink.

The young female bartender was mid-flirt with the large man beside her and didn't notice her right away. The tall blonde woman blushed at something he'd said about her attractiveness and looked away momentarily. She noticed River then.

"Hiya. What'll it be?" She said, reluctantly picking up her duties. River considered her options. Bad whiskey, bad wine, or bad beer. Well, she hated beer in the first place and cheep wine tended to make her sick. So... whiskey it was.

"Whiskey, straight." The blonde nodded and set a glass in front of River. She poured some whiskey into it and moved to continue her conversation with the man beside her. River was discontented with the amount in the glass though.

"Uh, can you make that a double?" The blonde grinned at her and poured some more alcohol into her glass.

"Hard day?" she asked.

"It wasn't the best ever, no." The blonde tilted her head and narrowed her eyes before guessing her troubles.

"Men or work?" River laughed softly, a touch of bitterness evident in the sound.

"A combination of both."

The blonde nodded sympathetically. "Hate when that happens. Just aint fair."

River took a sip of her drink, finding it not half bad. "I'm slowly finding out just how unfair the 'verse is." She replied. There was a sort of long pause.

"That bad?" The man beside her inquired. River turned to him and was startled by the blue-ness of his eyes. He was a little bit more than handsome, she realized. She registered the blonde being hailed further down the bar but the man in front of her had her whole attention.

"Uh, yes."

"What'd he do? If'n... ya don't mind me askin', that is." River caught on quickly that he was flirting with her. Simon would have a coronary. But… gorammit, she was enjoying the prospect of some positive male attention today. What was the harm? She answered him.

"Well, I'm a dancer. I work at the Center a few blocks from here. I was choreographing a show and the man in question did not approve of the way I was doing it. Or whom I had cast as the lead… because it wasn't him."

Blue Eyes grinned. "So... he made an ass out of himself. How?"

River giggled a little, finally being able to tell someone the story was rather therapeutic. No one she worked with would believe it, really. Timothy was a nice boy of good breeding, and she was the weird genius who had surpassed them all within months of her arrival there.

They didn't so much like her as tolerate her and the good press she brought the company. If she were to alert anyone of his horrid behavior it was more likely that she would be chastised for participating in a relationship with a co-worker and that more than anything else drove her up a wall.

"Well, first he accosted me in the hallway. I was just leaving the restroom and he came out of no where and pinned me to a wall. Tried to worm his way into a bigger part in the show."

The man beside her smirked. River tried not to drool. "First? Like... there's more?"

She nodded. "Then when I slapped him and told him to stop he stormed away and insulted me. So, after even all this, I'm half way through blocking the first act and he has to lift me. He purposefully dropped me and then insinuated it was because I was too heavy."

Blue Eyes raised an eyebrow and River was thankful she was sitting down, her knees felt weak. "Well. I've been told I aint the sharpest tool in the shed before but I don't think I've ever got masself on the bad side've a purty woman quite that thoroughly."

River laughed with him. "It was a masterful job, indeed." She said, smiling at him shyly.

"Well, Miss-- uh, what's yer name?"

"River. River Tam." She said, offering her hand to him and smiling what Simon called her smile made of starlight. He sat stunned for a second. Got you. River thought as he regained his senses.

"Well, River, t'was wonderin' if'n… since yer a dancer and all, if ya'd like to take a spin with me." He said, tilting his head to indicate the run down dance floor behind him. Regardless of the terrible state of the floor, River blushed and accepted his offer, on one condition.

"If you tell me your name, I'd gladly."

He chuckled and it sent thrills down River's spine. "Jayne Cobb, at yer service."

Jayne pushed her passionately against her own door. His lips captured hers a she felt as if a fire was consuming her. He was so physical, nothing like the Core boys she had dated before. Her arms found their way around his neck and she rubbed herself against him. He groaned and his hand found its way beneath her tank top. He only stroked her rib cage and still she gasped and shuddered. He was such a force.

An arm left his neck and tried to open the door. One of her hands held her electronic key and she kept trying to slide it through but she couldn't seem to get a grasp for where anything was other than the parts of the man in front of her. Concentrating very hard, she slipped the card through and the door behind her gave way. In an effort to keep her upright, Jayne wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up briefly, walking them both into her apartment.

Not for the first time, River was thankful that she moved out of Simon's and into her own apartment down the hall when she accepted her position in the company. Jayne broke the kiss to nibble at her neck. River couldn't believe what he'd said about not kissing on the mouth often. He was a superb kisser. The pair stumbled into the bedroom and River shook herself out of her coat, leaving her in her tank top, shorts, and dance flats. As she toed off her shoes Jayne found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck, near her ear and just under her jaw line.

She moaned and her knees buckled. The feel of his deep chuckle rumbling against her chest only aroused her further. They fell back on the bed and River giggled as they bounced. Jayne found it funny as well and River used his momentary distraction to turn the tables on him. Wrapping her legs around his hips she rolled them over so she sat straddling him.

His eyes glowed darkly. It was so new to her, a man passionate about just her. Not her money or her social status or her fame as a dancer. Just her. It did more than a little to fuel the fire her provoked in her.

River slid down to his feet, removing his boots and socks with an agility that was rare to Jayne. She touched the tops of his feet then slid down to his ankles and up over his pants. She slinked forward on all fours, making her way up his body, stopping to rub her face into his hip. Jayne thought she looked like a giant cat, rubbin' up against him all lean muscle and scent, streamline and… deadly. That's what she felt like to him, like holding Vera for the first time. The sensation threw his head back against her headboard.

River knew an opportunity when she saw one, and so she darted forward to lick at his neck in one long line. He growled and she felt it all through her body, from her chest down to much deeper areas. She loved his taste, it was making her dizzy. Like the barest sheen of sweat and something else, something male. Alpha male. He pulled her close as he could get her with one hand and grabbed at her bottom with the other, unintentionally giving the slightest of caresses to the spot between her legs.

River groaned loudly. The sound went straight to Jayne's cock. It was mere seconds before her top and shorts were off and forgotten on the floor. It struck her then how odd this was. She was not the kind of girl who did this sort of thing. Bringing a man home she'd only just met that night to have sex with him? Never. But… but ever since she'd laid eyes in him she'd felt swept up in him. Like he was the great storm and she was helpless against him. It wasn't a wholly unpleasant feeling.

With a single rolling motion, Jayne had flipped them over and somehow undid her bra. The straps slackened and she threw it away from her. The man on top of her sat back on his haunches and gazed longingly at her before he pulled his shirt off almost violently and covered her torso with his. The rub of his chest hair against her nipples made her squirm and desperate to kiss him once more. He tilted his head down and she sighed with contentment as his tongue played with hers.

Her hands reached between him to get his pants undone. Many failed attempts later she registered that their bodies were just too close together for that to work. She pushed at his shoulders and he sat up. A confused frown crossed his face. He was panting and out of breathe.

"What's wrong?" he asked. And River found it mildly amusing that he'd taken her action as meaning that she wanted to stop. She smirked a little bit.

"Your pants are still covering you, that's what's wrong."

Jayne let out a surprised bark of laughter and River grinned at him. Then, in a move that she even shocked herself with, she bent over and undid his button and fly with her teeth. A string of raspy Mandarin curses from Jayne made her giggle. His gaze locked on hers and River felt at least ten degrees hotter with the look he was giving her. Her whole body felt tight and hot and her panties were soaked through.

She pushed his pants and boxers down as far as they would go with him still kneeling and his erection came free, rubbing against her cheek. Still looking deep into his intense blue eyes, she licked from the base to the tip, bold in ways she never knew she was. She sucked on his tip, the feel of him hot and softer than expected in her mouth was enough to make her eyes roll back into her head. She didn't understand, this was never something she'd cared to experiment with any of the other boys she'd been with. They hadn't instilled in her the fire that Jayne did.

But it felt good to know that she instilled a fire in him too. She could tell by the way his whole body jerked and his hand funneled into her hair… almost gently. She opened her eyes to gaze at him and he stole her breathe away. He pulled her up the length of his body urgently and laid her down on the bed. He crawled over her and the play of his muscles under his skin made her shiver.

Jayne locked eyes with her and rested his forehead on hers. He settled between her legs and a hand came down to test her readiness. He slipped two fingers inside her panties and when he found her soaking, he pressed a hot open kiss to her lips. In the space one violent and stunningly erotic moment he had ripped her panties off and tossed them on the floor. River was so excited she could barely contain herself. She had never wanted a man inside her this badly.

Her legs came up so her feet were firmly planted on the mattress on either side of him. He smirked like the predator he was and finally pushed inside her. River screamed in utter pleasure. Jayne's breathing was intensely labored and his arms were having a difficult time holding him up. It might have been the alcohol but it was most likely how tight she was. He'd never felt anything like it. She was so hot and wet and his head was spinning with the pressure that was pressing all around him. His head fell down into the crook of her neck and shoulder and he held himself still for a moment.

"Wuh de tyen, ah!" River murmured. She could hardly see straight. When Jayne started moving inside her she lost all semblance of control. One leg came up to rest hooked over his shoulder without her knowledge as the other one locked around his lower back, the flexibility involved was second nature to her. She left her body completely open to him now.

Jayne couldn't believe that thing she was doing with her legs. It was honestly the most gorram erotic thing he'd ever seen, and he'd been around the block a few times. His thrusts came harder and River was getting closer, if her increasing moans and cries were something to go by. Jayne breathed deep and tired very hard to control himself. She really gave as good as she got, meeting his thrusts and matching his fierce rhythm. He thought in that moment he was closer to heaven than a man like him outta get.

River was lost, in feelings and sensation. She felt her orgasm building with every passing second. But it had never felt this strong before. Normally she wasn't very vocal, but Jayne had her wailing for him. Jayne was just about ready to explode and he wanted her to come with him. One hand snaked between their bodies and burrowed in her folds to find her clit. He pushed and rubbed in circles and she came apart beneath him. Her walls clamped down on him and Jayne felt like his heart had just exploded. Moreover, like he would give anything for it to happen again.

For a few seconds, River's world was all colors she had never seen before. Lights and dreams of another time and stars in the inky blackness of space. Pleasure like she'd never known rocked every part of her. And then she blacked out. Only for a minute.

Jayne woke her up. "Girlie." He rasped and she woke with a gasp. "Y'alright?" he said, collapsing just to the right of her.

She took a few deep breathes and nodded. "What… what just happened?" River said dreamily. Jayne chuckled. River got the impression that was about all he was capable of right now.

"Really good sex." He murmured sleepily, pulling River to him and tucking her under his arm. River nuzzled her nose into his chest, the course hair there tickled her nose and she giggled softly.

"If that was sex, I don't know what I've been having before this."

Jayne nearly glowed with masculine pride. "Sure as hell weren't Jayne Cobb, sweetheart." He felt more than saw her wide smile against his chest.

"You have to leave in the morning, right? For Whitefall?" She whispered sleepily. Jayne sighed and held onto her a little tighter.

"Yeah. Believe me darlin' when I say I'd rather stay here with you for a while longer."

River shrugged, though with the exhaustion she was feeling it was more like a twitch of her shoulders. "Wake me before you leave." She said, falling asleep even as she said it.

As she nodded off she had time to hope he'd heard her. She was met with a snore and assumed he hadn't. But she couldn't form a response because she was already asleep. But he had heard her. Loud and clear.

It wasn't but four or five hours later when Jayne awoke. Just in time to hustle his ass on back to Serenity. He moved a little to stretch and encountered a very warm body lying next to his. Last night came back to him and he hardened at just the thought.

River Tam, pretty little Core girl wandered into a dive like that, danced him into a frenzy and then sexed him up like he wouldn't have thought possible. He still couldn't figure that thing she'd done with her leg. He moved out a'tha bed and searched the room for his clothes.

The boxers and pants were in a pile just off the edge of the bed and he snatched 'em up and put 'em on. Next he found his socks and boots along with a pair of underwear ripped clean down the middle that made him smirk and chuckle a bit. Sitting on the edge of the bed he glanced back at the still sleeping girl while slipping his socks on.

She was a wonder, even got him to kiss her on the mouth. How'd a punk like him get so lucky to find a gal like that? One helluva natural beauty, all pale skin and silky soft brown hair. She was somethin' tiny too, few feet shorter than him and maybe weighed 90 lbs soaking wet. Had to, she was a dancer if he recalled correctly, a ballerina. If he recalled somethin' else correctly too, she had wanted him to wake her before he left.

He leaned over and shook her softly. Her eyes shot open and slowly focused on him.

"Are you leaving?" She said, voice sleep laden and groggy.

"Reckon I am." She scowled at him and Jayne thought it musta been the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

"Just a minute." She mumbled, turning over and fumbling around in a drawer in the nightstand. She rolled back over with a pad of paper and a pen. She scribbled something on the pad and ripped the paper away, handing it to him with a flourish. "It's my personal frequency, wave me when you're back on Osiris." She yawned, and her head fell back on the pillow.

Jayne sat stunned for a second or two. No girl had ever… well, most likely because he'd always paid for his company before. But still… it was… a real nice feeling. "I think I will." He muttered, half to himself. But River heard him.

"Jing-tsai." She said softly. And with that, she'd fallen asleep once more. Jayne chuckled and scooped his shirt off the floor. He pulled it on and snatched his coat off a chair just outside the bedroom. Before leaving, he stole once last glance at River sleeping. Gorram lucky hun dan he was.

He grinned as he slipped quietly through her apartment and out her door. In the elevator down he examined the wave frequency and beamed at the small slip of paper. It wasn't even a question as to whether he'd be using it or not.