A/N: Hey, all. I really don't have too much to say except for thank you to those who have reviewed and/or simply took the time to read this. Your feedback is much appreciated as it helps me gauge what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right. I've PMed responses to those who'd allow it. Hope you're enjoying the story so far.

A little over an hour into the night, Chase found herself sitting alone at the bar, the idle chatter around her blurring into one soft murmur that she was doing her best to zone out. She had lost John almost immediately after being properly introduced to all four of his buddies and was starting to wonder why he'd even bothered asking her to go. It had only taken not even fifteen minutes before Lily had walked up to the loft with a bottle of champagne, stating, "This is for you," as she pointed to a girl in a green dress on the lower level.

"That's how it's done, boys," John had said, fixing his tie and grabbing the bottle from Lily before venturing off to find his mystery girl.

After the boys had whooped and hollered in approval at John's retreating form, Chase looked at them only half-joking when she said, "Unbelievable. Is that all you guys care about? Sex and women?" Seeing him reach the stairs, she mentally pushed him down them for ditching her with people she'd just barely met. On any other occasion, she'd be happy to mingle with potential new friends, but she wasn't even supposed to be here anyway. But because he'd begged, she'd unwillingly agreed.

And now he was leaving her. Yep, she thought bitterly to herself. Should've just stayed home.

"Nah," came Jesse's voice in response to her previous inquiry. "We value money and cars pretty highly, too."

Smiling sarcastically with her head slightly cocked to the left, she said, "Typical boys." She stood up then, looking for any kind of excuse to dismiss herself for a few moments in order to figure out how she'd get home while her ride was off eye fucking (or maybe actually fucking, she inwardly cringed, disgusted at the thought) some random girl. "Alright, I'm gonna go get myself something to drink. Anybody want anything while I'm down there?"

As if on cue, all boys held up their glasses, each one nearly full.

"Right, then," she stated awkwardly. "Nevermind."

That brief interaction was nearly an hour ago and she still couldn't bring herself to head back up to them. She was exhausted and annoyed and risking going to face them would mean risking bitching them out for John's mistake. They were actually kind of decent guys and she wanted them to like her, not be scared of her.

Just as she was about to leave the barstool she was perched on to go find John, a man (possibly in his early 30's) snaked his way into the seat next to her before saying, "Leaving so soon? It's barely midnight."

Taking in his sudden appearance, she responded, "Yeah. Long day."

"Why don't you let me buy you a drink? Help you blow off some steam?" Chase contemplated it for a few seconds, noticing that he really didn't come off as too creepy (he actually looked extremely normal with a slight resemblance to Josh Holloway), but she knew better than to get involved with someone under these circumstances. Hookups only leave a person feeling good for a few hours, allowing the night to mistake the lust of two lonely people for love. Hookups in bars were even worse. Alcoholics were only romantic in the movies.

"I don't drink," she told him, doing her best not to be rude. "I'm only 20."

Not quite catching the hint, he leaned in slightly and said, "It'll be our little secret, then."

Before she even had a chance to shoot him down more directly, a gentle hand was inching its way around her waist and the body heat of another man was keeping her side warm. Startled at first (and ready to throw a swift elbow to the stomach if need be), she regained her composure when she saw the black hat but confusion still left her a little dazed. "There you are," AJ cooed. "I just got off the phone with your mom and, God, that woman is crazy. I really don't think your parents and my parents are going to be able to sit together at the wedding reception. There's just no way that-"

Still not totally understand what was going on, Chase just stared at him blankly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," AJ stopped himself politely, looking at the man who had just been hitting on the girl next to him. "Was I interrupting something?"

Cluing in on AJ's little scheme a little too late, all she offered the man was an apologetic look. "No," he said. "I was, uh, just leaving." And with that, he did as he said, walking away from the couple with his ego only slightly bruised.

When she was sure he was gone, Chase turned on AJ and smacked him on the side of his arm. "Ah! Wha-" he stammered out, trying to gauge what the cause of this reaction was. He had done her a favor, hadn't he?

"That was so mean. I can't believe you just did that." Seeing the smile on her face as she spoke, the tension in his muscles eased up and slowly started to fade.

"You looked like you needed some help," was all he offered as an explanation.

"A little bit of a warning might be nice next time. You're lucky I didn't hit you. I swear, you scared the shit out of me." Despite her attempt to act mad, the tone of her voice was playful and she knew she owed him one. The situation hadn't been in dire need of his aid, but it was a relief to know that someone had been watching out for her and maybe even a little worried about her. Or, you know, possibly even a little bit jealous, she silently hoped.

He laughed it off casually, scratching the back of his ear as he asked, "What's been taking you so long anyway?"

"I've been looking for John. I was hoping he'd be ready leave so we could go home." Seeing AJ's eyebrows raise, she answered the question they both knew he was asking. "No, no, no. It's not like that, I promise. He's like my brother. I could never- ugh, gross." She shuddered at the thought of her and John being at all romantically intimate. "Great, thanks for putting that image in my mind. Now, excuse me while I go slam my head into a wall a few dozen times."

Amused with her wit and quirky conversational skills (if you could call them 'skills'), AJ reached for her arm as she turned to leave. "Wait," he chuckled as his hand gripped the pale space between her wrist and her elbow. She turned to face him and for a brief second when their eyes met, the same flood of intensity as the first time hit her and she swore that he was going to lean in and kiss her. But instead, he let go of her arm and said, "That's actually why I came to find you."

"To get me to slam my head into a wall?"

He let out another light laugh and she reveled in its sound. "No. John was looking for you, too. When he couldn't find you, he came back up by us with the champagne girl and told us to let you know he was leaving with her."

"Wait, he left without me?" She couldn't believe it.

Feeling a little uneasy now, he spoke cautiously. "He said you'd know the way back and mentioned something about you being able to take the car."

Chase scoffed, fuming. Instead of throwing a fit and killing the messenger, she asked with a heavy sigh of disapproval, "Alright, where are the keys?"

"He said you had them...?"

"He said I had- You've got to be kidding me." Running a hand violently through her hair, she sat back down on the barstool. "I'm supposed to be sleeping right now," she muttered somewhat pathetically after a long pause.

"Listen," AJ said. He could see her obvious distress and for some reason felt the need to reach out and help her. John was a bit of a playboy and, although he meant well, he was not the same boy Chase remembered. "I was planning on heading out now anyway. His house is on the way. I could drop you off."

"I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You're not," he stated. "I'm offering." She looked up at him with her shoulders slightly slouched in defeat and her eyes imploring, trying to figure out if was asking her out of pity. She could barely handle her own and she definitely didn't want his. "Please? Let me make up for John's mistake."

When she still didn't move, he held out his hand for her to take. "Only if you promise to not do me any more favors tonight," she said, placing her hand in his.

Helping her off the stool, he responded with, "I'll do my best to resist."

They made their way back to the parking lot with her trailing behind him and she couldn't help but wonder how many other girls he'd took by the hand just to leave them with an empty bed to wake in to the next morning. But this wasn't anything like that and Chase had to scold herself for being so stereotypical. And then she mentally kicked herself for being so stupid as she thought, Maybe he's just being this nice so he can get in my pants. God, I should've known.

Oblivious to what was going on inside her head, as he unlocked the doors to his car he asked, "So are you really 20?"

"You don't think I'm 20?"

He put the key in the ignition and turned it, loving the way it roared to life. "No, I just wasn't sure if you'd been bullshitting him."

Intrigued by the man sitting next to her, she asked, "And how old are you?"

He pulled out of the parking lot, allowing the broken yellow lines to lead the way home. "23."

"Oh, so you and John are the same age."

"Well, he's a few months older than I am, but yeah. Gordan's the oldest. He's the one that kind of brought us all together. Jake and Jesse are brothers, but Jesse's kind of the baby of the group. He's only a year younger than you are." The conversation continued on like that for the rest of the drive back to John's, but AJ was careful to avoid any questions regarding anything work-related. He wondered if Chase knew that he was sketching out on some of his responses, but if she did she was good at hiding it. He figured she wouldn't be in town long enough to need to be filled in on the group's secret, anyway.

They finally pulled up to the house and Chase found herself reluctant to get out of the vehicle. "Thanks for the ride," she told him. "If John's got a couple bruises on that pretty face of his the next time you see him, don't ask questions."

Giving her a knowing look, he smiled and said, "Your secret's safe with me."

"Alright, well, thanks again." And with that, she leaned in to give him a hug and it, surprisingly, wasn't as awkward as she'd pictured it to be. When she began to pull away from his embrace, she was shocked to find him still holding on to her when their faces were just mere inches apart. She immediately froze up as she felt his breath mixing with hers and she was powerless stop herself from looking at his lips, imagining what they tasted like. It was like she was in a trance and the only thing that could snap her out of it was-

"I'm sorry," he said to her surprise, letting his grip on her waist loosen until he wasn't holding onto her at all. "We can't-"

Regaining what dignity she had left, she told him, "No, I know. You're right. John would probably freak if he found out. There's no way we could...And I just met you today. It'd end up bad for everyone involved." A small piece of her, though, was slightly crushed that he hadn't gone for it. But not wanting him to know, she said her goodbyes and swiftly made her way up the pathway to reach the front door. Grabbing the spare key from inside the mailbox, she unlocked the door in a hurry to get as far away from AJ as possible. And when she closed it, she leaned her back against the cool smooth surface, sliding her way down until she was sitting on the floor.

She breathed in long inhales of cool air, attempting to rid her brain of whatever lustful desires had been clouding her judgment. She couldn't get involved with one of John's friends. She came here for a reason and the more people she became attached to, the more difficult it would be to keep her secret and accomplish her goal.

Fuck, she thought. What have I gotten myself into?