WARNING - MATURE CONTENT AHEAD!

Step 6 - Rebound Relationships

Rebound relationship ('RR') are typically rife with cautionary tales. However, rebound relationships can be rewarding if an individual approaches such relationships with realistic expectations. The RR can help ease the transition to single life easier especially when the broken hearted is not yet ready for another long-term relationship. Most importantly, use the opportunity to find what qualities you would like in your next partner.

- HTGOS in Ten Easy Steps

'Why, Oh, Why on Earthland did I agreed to this?!'

Levy was seriously regretting her life choices, particularly her outfit and this mission. 'Or is this a date?' She had a sneaky suspicion that this fundraiser could definitely count as a date

The red dress was perfect when she tried it on in the dressing room. It gave her a nice boost to her bust and the cutouts gave the dress a sexy and tasteful appeal without being sleazy. But among the sea of various dresses of silk, satin, and intricate bead work, Levy was beginning to feel like she had under-dressed. Worse, the high heels were really hurting her feet!

She stopped in front of a building of the address that Orga gave her. Grateful that the building was a few blocks from her apartment so she didn't have to walk too far in heels.

"Ms. McGarden, I presume?" She turned around at the sound of her name and found a handsome man in a dark tuxedo addressing her.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Tomo Rigby." The man introduced himself and reached out to shake her hand. "Orga spoke to me about you possibly joining this mission. I have heard of you Ms. McGarden and I would be both honored and delighted if you were be able to participate. Ancient texts are your area of expertise, is it not? I hear you are among the best."

Levy felt her cheeks warm at the flattery. "I'm not sure what exactly you need, but I would be happy to discuss this with Orga and my team."

"Of course. Right this way," he offered her an elbow to guide her into the party. "Orga and your team have already arrived. Shall we meet them?"

Levy took his elbow and followed him to the party, trying hard to ignore the looks thrown her way. Jet spotted her right away and was enjoying a glass of wine. Droy was next to him, eating a heaping plate of food. Tomo excused himself to find Orga.

She walked over to her teammates, not missing the look of admiration on their faces. "Excuse me, Miss? Have you seen our teammate? She's about three of four inches shorter than you and has blue hair like yours. Does anyone like that ring a bell?" Jet teased.

Levy smiled. "Seriously, Levy, you look gorgeous!" Droy complimenting her between bites of a turkey leg.

Orga walked up from behind Jet. His face lit up when their eyes met and Levy was suddenly very glad she chose to wear such a daring and sexy dress.

"Levy." Orga took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "You look amazing." He had trouble tearing his eyes away from her.

She began making introductions between Orga, Tomo Rigby, and her team before the mission was discussed. The mission would be a simple one and it paid well. The team would have to decipher some runes and ancient text to retrieve a priceless artifact. The location was in a dense jungle south of Stella so it would require the magical talents of all four mages in order for it to successful. The pay would be equally divided among the four so they all agreed to leave after a simple clearance from both guilds on Monday.

The rest of the evening was a blur spent dancing, drinking, and eating. As the evening wound down, Orga offered to escort Levy back to her apartment. An inebriated Jet and Droy tried to protest, but their argument failed once they realized that they both lived on opposite sides of the town.

Levy was quite tipsy and her feet really hurt from her high heels. Using Orga's elbow as support, the pair made their way through the quiet town. Orga made sure to walk slowly because of Levy's shoes, but he had really done to prolong the date.

The night had ended up better than he hoped. She looked sexy in that dress, far better than any woman in that party. He had liked how the dress had playfully twirled around her shapely legs. It was enough to send his mind in the gutter, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

Her hair had become undone and her sky blue tresses fell around her face in unruly waves. She was so cute slurring her speech and twirling around in her highest heels, burning an image of her in his memories. The fifteen minute walk to her house ended up taking over an hour.

"Stay for some tea," she offered and he agreed. Once they were inside, she had changed into a long shirt that hung off her shoulder. He could tell she was still tipsy by the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.

Orga wasn't one to take advantage of girls, but he did find an opening to delve into her recent past with Gajeel. She had mentioned that she was previously dating Gajeel and Orga had learned from Rogue that Gajeel was cheating on her.

"So. Levy," he ventured cautiously. "I heard you were dating Gajeel. What happened between you guys?"

"I-I knew yougonna ask that," she slurred. Before she had a chance to explain, the teapot whistled in the kitchen and she got up to pour the tea. She slammed her shins right into the coffee table and stumbled.

"Uh, Levy, let me help you with the tea." Offering to help her since he was afraid that she would scald herself. There were already two mugs set by the stove and he began to pour the hot water into one mug. Levy grabbed the empty mug and poured wine into it.

Levy made her way back to the living room couch. "Go 'head, ask me again." A drunken smile plastered on her face.

For the second time that night, Orga couldn't resist. "Okay. What happened with you and Gajeel?"

The drunken smile quickly turned into a frown and he regretted asking her. "He cheated on me with a friend, Erza. And I knew her since I was a kid. That bastard." She took a long sip from her mug.

"How did you find out?" He pressed a little further.

"I came back fromamission and he was kissin her and she was topless." Levy slurred, pausing as a thought passed through her drunken mind. "Erza has big cans." She distractedly looked at her own breasts before lightly cupping them.

"Do I have big cans?"

"Levy, your tits are great," Orga replied, honestly.

She smiled again, "Yeah, they're great. I don't get boob sweat…"

"Where did you find them?" he interrupted, steering her back to the conversation and not wanting to hear about boob sweats and rashes that he particularly knew plagued woman with a generous size.

"Oh. Orga! They were in the library." She took a long sip of wine. "Ew! It was gross because I live there an it took me a month since I could go back there!" A stream of tears ran down her face and Orga grabbed her into a big hug. He grabbed the side of her face to brush away her tears with his thumb. "Levy," he said tenderly. "You're beautiful. It was his loss. I'm lucky that he cheated on you."

"You are?"

"Yes, because then it means that I get to have a chance." The truth was shining in his eyes.

Levy wiped her tears away. "It sucked because I had a surprise, too."

"What was the surprise?"

"I pierced my nipples."

Orga was intrigued. "Really?"

"Yes and it hurt," she frowned and covered her chest protectively.

"Can I see?"

"NUH-UH. NO WAY!" she protested before letting a string adorable giggles.

Orga smirked. 'This was too easy.'

"I don't believe you," he challenged.

"I knew you were going to say that." She seductively bit her lip and pulled her shirt over her head. He was treated to the sight of her perfect, perky breast. Each of her delicate pink nipples were adorned with a small tasteful barbell. Orga had to admit that it turned him on and he began to lick his lips hungrily.

"Don't touch them, they're a little sensitive." She gave unintentionally gave him a coy, smoldering look and he started to go for her lips. He gently grabbed her by the back of head and their lips crashed together.

They kissed passionately for several minutes, daring to push each other towards sex. His fingers would tease up her bare sides and she responded by pushing him back onto the couch to straddle him before rubbing her exposed breast onto him. Finding every bit of restraint he can muster, Orga pulled away. Unsure if her actions was because of the alcohol or the breakup. He didn't want to be rebound.

"Levy, we should stop."

"Why?" she asked as she tried to capture his lips once again.

"Because I don't want to be a rebound. I don't want to take advantage of you when you're drunk. Pick a reason." He sat up and placed her back on the couch.

"Isn't the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else?" she purred, attempting to straddle him again. Orga grabbed her by the shoulders more determined to put a stop to things. So tempted by her tousled blue hair and sexy boy shorts clad body. He wanted to roll the piercing on his tongue and taste her honey.

"I want you, Levy, but I want to be more to you than a one night stand." Levy finally relented and she began to pout.

"You don't want me?" She was drunk and confused.

Orga handed her shirt back and Levy began to put it on. "I do. I want you so bad, but I want to wait after a few dates. I don't want to be something that you would regret."

Levy brightened again. She got on her knees and gave him a hug. "Was tonight a date?" she cutely asked.

"Tonight was our first date," he reassured her. Smiling, he stood and picked her up. She responded by wrapping her legs around his waist as he made his way to her bedroom. They started kissing again, his resolve was slowly being chipped away by her breathy sounds. He pulled the covers away before he carefully set her down on her bed. Orga nuzzled her neck, "At least three dates."

She yawned as Orga pulled the cover around her. He made sure that she was sleeping before he made his way out of her apartment. It was the moment before the dawn when he reached outside. Orga had a serious case of blue balls, but he was secure in his decision. He remembered how tempting she looked, heating up at the thought of touching her gorgeous body and the tantalizing pierced nipples. Sex with her surely would have been fulfilling for them both, but in doing so would cause the relationship to move into a friends with benefits situation. Orga did not want to be just a bed buddy and he would have to persuade the Script Mage that he was worthy for much more. He silently thanked his lucky stars that Gajeel did something incredibly stupid. Levy would definitely be worth the wait.

Gajeel and Lily left their apartment a few minutes after dawn to get some training done. He had awoken to the sound of Levy's laughter and assumed that someone was sleeping over again. Burying his head back into his pillow, he was about to fall back asleep when he heard a man's voice. Instantly, he woke up and pressed his ears up against the wall. Gajeel was trying desperately to listen for anything, to make sure that she was safe. Half worried that a man was trying to take advantage of Levy.

He stayed in that position for a good ten minutes before he got up to take a shower. His morning was already off to a bad start. After he showered, Gajeel pressed his ears to the wall again and heard nothing but the soft sounds of her sleeping peacefully. So he changed and ate breakfast before he was headed out the door.

As he stepped outside, a smell from Levy's apartment caught his attention. It smelled like a man. Someone that he knew but couldn't put a face or a name to. He could tell that the man was aroused and Gajeel became a little uneasy. Questions began bombarding his thoughts:

'Who?' It was not Jet or Droy that he heard this morning. Nor was it anyone from the guild.

'Was she intimate with someone else?' Despite their foreplay, he knew that she was a virgin. Had he not been caught with Erza, Gajeel was sure that they would have sex by now.

'Was she drinking?'

'If she was drunk, did someone take advantage of her?'

"Something wrong, Gajeel?" Lily asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"I smell a man. Smells familiar but can't put a face to the scent," Gajeel said. "Heard a man in her apartment this morning, too."

Lily frowned at his words. He knew from Mira that Shadow Gear was possibly going on a mission with Sabretooth's Orga Nanagear. It was highly likely that Orga was the one that had been in her apartment. From what Gajeel had told him, it looks as things have progressed between Levy and Orga. Nevertheless, Lily had kept this knowledge to himself. Unsure if his partner was yet able to handle sensitive information about the woman he loved.

Lily wisely steered Gajeel away from his thoughts and from her apartment. He had at least hinted to Gajeel that Levy was moving on from him. All the same, he cursed himself for going along with Erza's plan to get the two back together. Not taking into account that Levy had made a quick foray back into the dating scene. It was unexpected, but it wasn't a surprise considering that Levy was beautiful in her own right. Lily knew that he would have to do some serious backpedaling before Gajeel's jealousy ventured into regrettable territory.

'I really shouldn't have meddle with this one,' he thought, but there was no way Lily could not have truly anticipated Gajeel's true devotion.

A/N: I rushed to post this. Please forgive me for any mistakes that I missed. Thank you for reading.