A/N: Hi, hi! I'm back with another amazing chapter. This one is really good, or at least I think so. Please review and let me know what ya'll think.

I Miss You-12. Stripped Bare

Courtney found that during the next week her mood had not improved. She was still furious with Duncan for his stupidity. He had the perfect job. It was easy and paid well so what more could he have asked for?

She herself had never worked a day in her life. After high school she had gone directly to college with a full scholarship for everything. Not many had it as luck as she did and she had to work incredibly hard to get to where she was today. A C had never graced a single assignment or report card and she seldom saw a grade less then an A-. So, with all of her scholarly ways, she never had a cause to work, but she was more then certain that the position Duncan had was an easy one.

She was a very intelligent individual who put her all into her future, except when it came to Duncan. She took a risk when it came to him. She dared to experience the instability of his life by being a part of it. And, to her chagrin, she felt she had experienced too much of his disorder already.

Why couldn't things be simpler with Duncan? Why did he have to be so challenging? Why couldn't he get a hold of himself and control his actions? Strangely, Courtney had all of the answers to these questions. Things weren't simple with him because things that are worth having are never easy attain or simple to understand. Duncan had to be challenging because that was just who he was. He was an annoying challenging juvenile delinquent and Courtney wouldn't have it any other way. And Duncan couldn't control his actions because he was just a spontaneous person. He liked to say what was on his mind because he didn't seem to see the good in keeping it bottled up inside of himself.

She did understand him, if only a little. She knew him and wanted to know more. She was trying. She was letting him in. She hadn't pushed him away in the kitchenette or at the book store. She only hoped that Duncan realized this. She may be reluctant to let him have all of her, but she was trying for their sake.

He had a wild life style that Courtney was infatuated with in the past and having him come back into her life suddenly reawakened that feeling. But, despite that feeling, she was still furious with him. He was still a pain in the ass and stupid as stupid can be. He wasted a golden opportunity and she refused to let up on him until he found a new job.

When that stopped working, when he found a new job, she became angry with him because he refused to tell her where he worked at. He found a new job three days after he quit from Barnes & Nobles and now he had been working there for four days. In those four days, he had refused her any inkling of information on his place of work and she couldn't seem to get over the feeling of betrayal and loathing that she seemed to now constantly associate with ogre.

Courtney found herself sighing again, disrupting Bridgette as she attempted to watch a documentary on the TV. "Would you please quit that?" She asked, feeling fed up with Courtney's sour mood.

"I'm sorry that my boyfriend isn't the perfect little angel who makes me not worry," Courtney snapped back snidely.

"Duncan is you're boyfriend?" Bridgette asked, catching Courtney's slip before she did, "Since when and does he know?"

Courtney gulped back her outburst before answering the blond, "Since you and Geoff interrupted us and no,"

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Hell, no!" Courtney spat vehemently, "Not after what he just did. He doesn't need to be rewarded for that."

"You better tell him soon though," Bridgette warned, gaining Courtney's attention.

"Why?"

"You don't think that he's just going to stick around and wait for you?" After receiving a blank look from the other girl, she continued, "Oh come on, Courtney. You do know who we're talking about here, right?" Bridgette exclaimed, "We're talking about Duncan, the unreliable delinquent with poser sunglasses. If you keep pushing him away like you're doing and hiding you're true intentions, how long do you think he's gonna stay? He's a guy. You need to spell things out for him,"

Comprehension seemed to dawn on Courtney as she slouched forward onto the spine of the kitchen chair she was occupying. Bridgette was right. Duncan had probably already moved onto better conquests by now. His job was probably as a male escort or something. She could picture it right now: Duncan Bigalow Male Gigolo. Courtney groaned at the idea, covering her face shamefully.

"Come on, Courtney," Bridgette assuaged, "It's not that bad,"

"Yes it is. He's probably already moved on by now." She fretted.

"Well, then, if he has, you need to move on too," Bridgette affirmed, "Come on, you and I are going out to get you a man,"

"Bridgette, no," Courtney resisted as the blond girl approached her to get her out of her seat, "That's ridiculous. Where are we going to go to find me, of all people, a man?"

"Trust me, Courtney," Bridgette encouraged, "You'll find out soon enough."

The trip to the mystery destination was short-lived. The area around the campus was filled with clubs and party destinations. The campus itself was smack-dab in the middle of the city, so it made since that there were land marks and entertaining events taking place all around on a daily basis.

Bridgette had insisted that Courtney blindfold herself, which confused the former CIT greatly. Bridgette had never really shown this adventurous side to her before and she couldn't help but think that Geoff had influenced her slightly. She did as she was told and found that her stomach was flipping with nervousness as they finally came to a jarring stop outside of their destination.

Courtney heard the familiar sounds of the driver's side door opening and closing before she felt and heard her own door open. She reached her hands out to grasp desperately at Bridgette's shirt. She could have sworn that she heard the surfer chick chuckle before she glared darkly at her through the shrouding blindfold.

"Chill, Courtney," Bridgette ordered as she helped said girl to her feet, "You're going to enjoy yourself," She affirmed as she stepped behind her and urged her forward by the grip she had on Courtney's shoulders.

"I'll believe that when it happens," Courtney mumbled, nearly tripping over the curb and tossing a few choice curse words over her shoulder.

Now more cautious with her steps and calm, Courtney took notice of her other senses. The air was crisp and chilly as summer was beginning to end and giving way to autumn. She could smell the familiar sent of food. It was the scent that one knew came from some sort of restaurant. The last sense that began to take notice of her surroundings was hearing as she heard the sound of a throbbing beat of music. It was a deep underground techno sound. Something that probably didn't even come from this country, she figured, as she heard the deep foreboding voice of a man's voice in German.

Her excitement began to peak, thinking that she and Bridgette were heading into a new club or something. Courtney enjoyed dancing a great deal and the beat of the music was beginning to sink into her skin. Techno was defiantly a type of music that she favored as she moved her hips minimally to the intoxicating beat.

"Alright, Bridgette," She sighed contentedly, "Dancing, this is just what I need,"

Bridgette didn't respond to her statement as she grabbed a hold of Courtney's right arm before opening the door to the facility and ushering her in. The next thing that Courtney became aware of was the strong scent of alcohol that filled the air. She curled up her nose to it and hoped that Bridgette didn't have a fake ID like Geoff. She really didn't feel like getting drunk tonight. The air was warm, almost hot, and she felt herself tugging distractedly at her sweater. She could hear and feel the throbbing beat of the music more clearly in the facility along with the alarming sound of female catcalls.

What was going on?

Suddenly the room became visible in a flourish and she had to hold a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing hysterically. Bridgette had apparently taken them to a male strip club. The first sight that she took notice of was that of a woman shoving bills in the front of a very well built man's g-string. The woman herself was an old shrew with a few too many kinks in her life to be allowed out in public. Courtney's exterior cracked as she saw the man wincing away from her grouping hand. Light bales of laughter burst forth from her mouth as she turned to look at Bridgette who had a sympathetic, if a little disgusted, look on her face.

"Ha, ha, ha! I can't believe you Bridgette," She gasped, clinging to Bridgette's sleeve as she leaned forward. Laughing desperately, "Oh, my, God! This is just too much,"

Bridgette laughed along with Courtney as she walked them over to a corner of the club to take a seat along the wall, which was lined with padded cushion seats. "I didn't bring you hear to get a laugh, Courtney," She commented through her own chuckles, "I brought you here to pick up a man."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha...okay, ha!" Courtney continued to laugh, actually attempting to get a hold of herself and failing miserably. This whole situation was better then when Owen squished Heather during their boot camp challenge.

"Look around," Bridgette grinned, "Let me know if you like any of the guys and I'll hook you up," Bridgette instructed.

Courtney coughed to clear her throat and regain her lost composure. Her eyes took in the sight of the strip club fully now and she couldn't help but grin at the thought: her, Courtney, the former CIT goodie-two-shoes, in a male strip joint. How did it come to this?

The club itself was very spacious aside from the vast female population that occupied the vicinity. The lights were dim, if at all there, and punctuated with neon glows of pink green and blue. Right of the entrance was a bar that covered the entire east side of the place. The entirety of the center floor was bare, as it served the purpose of a dance floor and cat walk with a stripper's pole gracing the end of the walk way. The only place to sit was along the walls of the club, where she and Bridgette were currently occupying. There was a scattering of booths on the back wall of the club with a little more lighting. Courtney also took notice of an alcove off in the left corner of the club that was basically a harem of men with their masters for the night. Directly to the left of the entrance was the DJ stand and his equipment.

After surveying her surroundings, Courtney took notice of the men in skimpy outfits who seemed to strut around the floor, looking for their pay for the evening. There were about twenty to thirty men that she could see and each of them seemed to have a different theme in the outfit that they wore. One was wearing a set of deer skin chaps a cowboy hat and a thong with nothing more. She nudged Bridgette's arm to get her attention and pointed him out to her. The surfer chick shuddered disgustedly at the implication that he reminded the two girls of Geoff.

Bridgette arrested Courtney's attention before pointing to a guy that she thought would suit Courtney's interest. His back was to them as he was walking toward the left corner of the building where the male harem was. He was tall with very broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His upper half was bare and his lower half was adorned with a pair of black pants covered in chains and zippers. From his left wrist dangled a pair of handcuffs and Courtney grinned. An escape convict was a theme that she was defiantly interested in.

She continued to watch him as he sauntered over to a bleached blond who sat in the harem, looking oddly familiar to the former CIT. When he turned around to fall fully against the cushions and place his arm over the back of the cushion that she was leaning against, Courtney froze. She watched as Duncan, of all people, struck up a conversation with the same bleached bimbo that he had been with at the club they had first found each other at. She watched as the same bleached bitch leaned in to kiss along Duncan's throat, the delinquent tilting his chin back to allow more access.

She felt her throat clench up, preventing breath from reaching her lungs. She felt a shiver run up her spine as a cold chill washed over her skin. She could almost taste the tears that she wanted to cry, or was she finally crying again? She couldn't discern if she was, but she would make it stop.

She got to her feet, not noticing the curious look that Bridgette passed her way as she forged forward to interrogate the deceitful delinquent.

A/N: How was that? I love cliff hangers, but this story hasn't really called for them much. The next chapter is on its way, but I'm giving ya'll fair warning now. My grandparents are coming into town and I haven't seen them in three or four years. So, more likely then not, I won't be updating all next week. Please keep reviewing and don't fret, this story is too good for me not to finish. Oh, and I've also got a really good idea for a one shot Duncan and Courtney that I'm going to be working on after this. It's based off of Yellowcard's 'Fighting'. That song just inspired me one night. If ya'll haven't heard it then go to and type in Yellowcard Fighting. You can listen to it or make a playlist for yourself and put it on your myspace or facebook. I've got an awesome playlist, by the way. Okay, enough blabbing; please review and let me know what you think.

P.S.: NeoChick, I miss your input!