In this life awkward situations are inevitable. Whether it's being the third wheel on your friends' date or walking in on your brother and his nightly conquest. Whether it's your friend telling a bad joke you can't even pretend to find funny or bumping into your one night stand many weeks later at the supermarket; Awkward moments are a given part of life.

Claire had her share of awkward moments, and so did Chris. But all of the humiliation of all those moments combined couldn't quite add up to this...

Claire glared daggers at the bowl of cereal in front of her, head bowed and lips pursed as she chewed with deliberate slowness, her jaw clenching. Her hands rested on the table on either side of her, one gripping a spoon white knuckled while the other remained a tight fist. She could feel her brother's eyes on her but she absolutely refused to look at him knowing there would be a shit eating grin stretching from ear to ear on his stupid face...

A minute passed, the tension weighing heavily on Claire until she sighed, frustrated, and glanced up at her brother.

"And there's that know it all smirk we all hate." She commented dryly.

Chris waggled his dark brows, slurping down a spoonful of milk. "I thought you'd be less wound up after getting some, sis." He snickered.

Claire dropped her spoon, pushed her bowl across the table, leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. She could feel her face heating up with embarrassment even as a growl rumbled through her throat.

That bad feeling she got when Le—Alice- when Alice kissed her? She should have listened to it. Her instincts were always spot on, they never steered her wrong. She didn't want to go to that stupid strip club. She didn't want to go get drunk. Hell, she hadn't even wanted to leave the house! Now she was the laughing stock of all her friends Go figure.

"I didn't get "some."" She muttered hotly.

Chris grinned widely. "That's not what we saw."

Claire threw her hands up in the air, defeated. She could drill her words into Chris' head and it still wouldn't make a damn difference. And shit! Her brother of all people had to walk in on them. Well, her brother, her brother's best friends, her best friend, and Alice's girlfriend...

This was it. Claire knew it because her body was humming, purring, vibrating like a v8 engine. Alice was the key to her ignition and she was revving now, all warmed up and ready to go. Whatever morals, beliefs, values, or personal agendas were holding her back were gone, discarded, forgotten in light of her situation.

And what was her situation exactly? She was drunk, pissed at the world, horny as a teenager, and a hot woman was crawling all over her like a touchy kitty on catnip.

Alice leaned her head back, Claire's bottom lip ensnared between her teeth. The redhead whimpered and she loved it. Spurred on, she leaned forward, slipping her tongue into Claire's mouth.

Claire wanted to cry as Alice broke apart their kiss and slid off of her lap. She missed the contact dearly. She could only imagine how pitiful she must look with a pleading, desperate look about her but she was too far gone to turn back now.

"You're wearing too many clothes, Claire." Alice stated, walking backwards to the desk. She sat down on the edge, snatched up the bottle of rum, tipped back her head. Claire watched, eyes like a hawk's on its prey, as Alice's throat bobbed, as a drop slid from the corner of her mouth and slowly slunk its way down her neck.

She's never moved so damn fast in her life. Claire could attest to that. One second she was sitting, practically vibrating in her seat with the need to touch Alice. The next she was standing between the teasing blonde's legs with handfuls of the woman's hips in her hands, their tongues fighting for dominance.

Alice moaned as Claire's insistent mouth moved to the shell of her ear. She could barely catch her breath and it was all she could do to force herself to keep breathing. She couldn't claim to know the redhead, not by a long shot, but this assertive side of her was a welcomed surprise. She leaned forward into the hot kiss, baring her neck like a vampire's victim caught in the creature's thrall, eager to please her master. Truly, Claire had an instant power over her that should have been alarming.

Instead it egged her on. There was something about the woman that made her simply tantalizing, desirable, irresistible, something besides the obvious. It was something internal, deep, hot and bright. Something Alice needed to touch. Something she couldn't get to but desperately wanted.

She was determined to get it.

"A-are you sure we should do this?" Claire asked between kisses. A part of her was screaming for her to stop. This lust induced fever must be burning up the alcohol in her system but not nearly fast enough for her to put a stop to this on her own. She wanted this. Needed it. Even her first time with Steve hadn't felt this exhilarating and Steve was no chump in bed. It's like her body had been asleep the last three years and Alice was the wake up call.

"I'm sure we shouldn't stop." Alice whispered breathlessly, thrusting herself against her. Maybe tomorrow, in the light of day when everything became clear, she would look back on this moment and wish she would have stopped. Until then, she was perfectly content with giving in to her wanton desires. The last time she'd wanted someone this badly had been too long indeed. She missed the spark of energy and the burning hot passion that drove her to act recklessly, without abandon. "Come here."

Claire sucked in a sharp breath as Alice's hands glided across her body leaving a burning trail down to the button of her jeans. Her lithe fingers worked fiercely and quickly driving up her pulse in their frenzy.

Claire gasped then clamped down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. Alice's cold fingers on her hot clit were a divine contrast. Even with just a few gentle flicks she twitched and jerked in a fully body spasm. Leaning forward slightly, she braced herself against Alice, spreading her legs a little wider and grinding her hips harder on the blonde's hand.

"Shit..." She cursed softly, eyes fluttering shut. It was like invasion of the damn body snatchers, she had absolutely no control over herself. It was all Alice. If she was an instrument Alice was the expert musician intimately acquainted with every key, and every stroke, the slightest touch coaxed sweet music from her.

'Jesus H, Claire, you're a sad son of a bitch.' Claire thought to herself. 'I just had sex a week ago, but... damn...' There were just no words to describe the way her body was reacting to Alice. Like a virgin touched for the very first time.

"Shit." The redhead chuckled softly, catching the blonde's attention.

Alice cocked a shapely brow, a little half smirk lilting her kiss bruised lips. "What so funny?"

"Madonna."

"You're thinking about Madonna right now?" She laughed, eyes twinkling.

Funny how she never realized how beautiful colored eyes could be. Green and blue eyes ran in their family, she must have seen a million pairs of them in her life time but Alice's were... Mesmerizing. Enchanting. Hypnotizing. Curious. Confident.

"No," She said breathlessly. "I'm thinking about you." Their eyes locked in a heated stare, each woman taunting each other with a single glance, daring. Challenging. "You're beautiful, you know that?"

Alice smiled coyly, a witty remark laying on the tip of her tongue. A remark Claire squashed with her insistent hands.

She stroked her clit hard, insistently, with her thumb, her middle finger slipping and sliding down her slit. Alice was unbelievably wet for her. It brought a grin to her face knowing she inspired this kind of reaction from someone as beautiful and experienced as this woman.

Alice groaned. Just a few minutes of Claire's expert ministrations had her withering. She was right there, right on the edge, ready to cum. Her mind was a hot jumbled mess, even basic motor functions seemed difficult.

Claire shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Whatever thoughts she wanted to express erupted into a wall of blinding white behind closed lids. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, Alice, I'm- Oh fuck I'm going to-"

Alice moaned, the telltale signs of her own orgasm making her body quiver like jell-o. Her muscles clenched and tensed, body coiled like a tightly wound guitar string ready to pop. "Me too. Don't stop, baby, don't—don't-"

Alice shut her eyes, her throat tightening. Damn if this wasn't the ride of her life! She could feel it- All the best, most intense, most satisfying orgasms all rolled into one!

Claire arched her back, head tossed back, eyes closed, lungs burning and ready to scream until they collapsed. It had all lead up to this moment and she as going to enjoy it thoroughly...

"Yo, Claire, are you in there?" The back door burst open. Luther, Ada, Leon, Chris, and Jill stood there wide eyed and opened mouthed.

"Claire?!" Chris shouted,spinning around, incredulous. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Alice? Are you freaking kidding me?!" Jill roared shoving past the others, charging into the room. She set her hands on her hips, sneering as Alice and Claire scrambled to get behind the desk and pull their clothes on. "Really?" She scoffed, glaring at the blushing redhead. "With my girlfriend?"

Claire frantically buttoned up her shirt, her face, ears, and neck burning as if they'd been set fire to. She froze only when Jill's words clicked in her mind. "Your... girlfriend?" She asked slowly, turning to look at Alice.

"Yes," Jill snarled, "Alice is my girlfriend."

"Great." Chris groaned, slapping his hand across his face. He heard a chuckle beside him and shoved his elbow into Luther's ribs. "Bro, turn around, that's my sister!"

"Oh! My bad, dude."

Beside a red faced Leon, Ada grinned like a Cheshire cat. "This just got interesting."

Claire pinched the bridge of her nose feeling a damn headache coming on. She would never hear the end of this. Sooner or later the guys at work would find out, too, and she would be the butt of every bad stripper joke known to man from now until the end of times.

"Just shoot me now..."

Chris shook his head, got up and took his bowl to the sink, then came back and ruffled her hair before planting a kiss on her cheek. "Don't sweat it, Claire. At least she was hot. This guy at work woke up next to a five hundred pound black woman after a night of binge drinking."

Claire shuddered at the mental images Chris painted. "I guess there's worse things in life than almost having sex with some chick's stripper girlfriend... Wow. I just said that sentence." She cringed, slamming her head on the table. "I can't believe that happened."

Chris chuckled, patting her back. "I have to get ready for work. Eat some pizza later, it'll take care of that hangover."

"Okay."

"And Claire? You can blame it on the a-a-a-a-alcohol! A-"

"Chris, I swear if you sing that damn song one more time..."

He smiled, darting across the dining room. Claire stared after him, snorting at his antics. For as much of a pain in the ass as he could be, he definitely made her days brighter. Even a day like this one...

After Jill, Luther, Leon, Ada, and Chris walked in on them they'd left back downstairs to give them time to get dressed up. Not without Chris threatening to check on them every five minutes first. It really took her back to junior high when Chris appointed himself as her bodyguard whenever boys came around. If only he'd known then she had a certain affinity for his blonde girlfriend...

Claire buttoned her pants and buckled her belt in place. She took her time buttoning up her shirt. She was still finding herself feeling too damn hot to be wearing clothes but had no choice in the matter. Staying unclothed in the same room as Alice was just a baaaad idea...

Across the room Alice threw on her jeans as well though she chose to leave them unbuttoned. A part of her wished Claire would shove her up against the wall and finish what they'd started. It didn't seem likely. Not with the way Jill busted in on them. And did that guy say Claire was his sister? She couldn't imagine a worse scenario if she tried.

When she finished getting decent she cleared her throat to catch's Claire attention. The redhead turned stiffly, eyes cast at the floor as she did so. Alice internally cringed.

"So..."

"So."

Alice sighed, combing her shaky fingers through her hair. Her body had yet to come down from its sexual high. Every cell, every fiber of her being felt alive and charged. "So, that wasn't ideal."

Claire scoffed, leaning back against the desk, arms crossed securely over her chest. Her gaze danced across the room, unable to meet Alice's. "Yea..."

Alice squeezed the back of her neck. If anything that was the most intense lap dance she'd ever given, nothing more. She'd been doing this for years so why was this suddenly so damn difficult? So awkward? It's not like Claire was a regular or even someone she'd ever bump into again. If they hadn't done so yet chances were they wouldn't. So why? Why did she care? Why did she feel bad looking at her now?

"Listen, Claire, about Jill-"

"Do you do this often?"

Alice frowned, brows furrowing. "Do what?"

Claire looked around the room at the discard bottles, Alice's tossed jacket. "This. Almost fuck people and not tell them your girlfriend's sitting downstairs."

"Jill's not my girlfriend."

"Come again? I must have had more drinks than I thought. I could have sworn you just said the woman who came in here claiming to be your girlfriend isn't your girlfriend."

Alice nodded, leaning her back against the door. "She's not. We're... friends... friends with benefits."

Claire bit her lip. "Friends with benefits." Strange but she could have sworn... No. That wasn't a spark of jealousy. It couldn't be. She couldn't be jealous! Envious maybe but not jealous. What wasn't there to envy? She was gorgeous and oh so very talented. 'Definitely not jealous. That's damn creepy, you just met!'

'That didn't stop you from almost fucking her tho.' Sometimes she hated her conscious. She really did.

"I'm sorry, Claire. I should have told you about it. I just got caught up in the moment." A small grin, "Can you blame me?"

Claire swallowed hard, Alice's eyes roved over her body without shame. Her bright eyes made her skin tingle and her insides tickle. Oh it would be all too easy to start up where things left off...

"I should get going. My brother's waiting on me."

"Sure."

For just a moment Alice looked disappointed. But as quickly as she saw it, it was gone, leaving her to ponder her sobriety. She strolled on over to the door, cracked it open. Just as he'd promised, Chris was on his way back up to look for her. He grinned at her and waved, gesturing towards the club exit. It was time to go.

She glanced back at Alice and wasn't surprised to find the woman watching her. She smiled a little, feeling that familiar heat in her face.

"Maybe I'll see you around some time?"

Alice smiled back at her, eyes lighting up. "That would be great."

"Cool. Well... See ya, Alice."

"Bye, Claire."

Claire leaned back in her chair, propping her feet up on the table. Slowly, a grin etched itself on her face. She wouldn't call the previous night the best, nor would she call it the worst. Certainly better than she expected, though. Despite this aggressive hangover, her friends guaranteed teasing, and having one hell of a case of blue balls it turned out alright. Better than alright considering her long time boyfriend just up and left.

'Alice...'

"What are you smiling about?" Chris asked as he came out of his bedroom decked out in his RCPD Task Force uniform. He buckled the straps on his vest, looking up at her through his thick lashes.

"Nothing." She grumbled, jumping out of her seat. "I should probably get ready for work, too. I'll see you tonight."

"Don't forget K's coming over for dinner."

"Okay." She said distractedly.

Chris cocked his head to the side, observing his sister. That look on her face was familiar but he couldn't pinpoint it just yet. She'd looked awfully chipper just now. He wondered why. Maybe it was because K-Mart had finally accepted his invite to dinner on her behalf. As far as good looking women went K was no push over. She didn't irritate the crap out of him either, and she was pretty down to earth. Plus, he'd seen the way Claire acted around K-Mart, and he'd seen the way K acted around his sister. He always thought Claire should be with a woman. Not because of some twisted perverted fantasy of his but because he trusted a woman with his baby sister way more than he would ever trust a man...

He grabbed his keys off the table and headed out the door, his lips twitching as a thought crossed his mind. 'K's a leg up from Steve, but that stripper takes the cake.' He shook his head at his silly thought, remembering last night as he half dragged a falling down drunk Claire up the stairs. She'd reached up for a high five, a goofy grin on her face.

"Can I pick em or what?"

TBC?

AN: OMG Guys so sorry about the lateness my internetz was disconnected for a week and by the time I got it back on I got backed up on my schoolwork. I also apologize for this chap being so short but trust me there was some plot in there lol. R & R?

Ps- I have to write a term paper on porn for my psychology class, anyone here know a porn director or writer I could ask a few questions?