Blaze looked around the club. It was packed, as common of a Friday night, and she looked to see if she recognized anyone. No such luck. She went to the bar and ordered a beer. She didn't feel like having a shot of anything at the moment. She enjoyed being alone, people watching. She saw someone interesting. He was 6'6", at least, and muscular. She looked at his enormous biceps. They were at least 24, maybe 26, inches in circumference she mused. He walked in like he owned the place, a little blonde Barbie hanging on his arm. The bimbo looked like she would drool any second. This made Blaze nauseous and she took another swig of beer. Girls who had nothing better to do than hang onto men was just plain pathetic. The really sad part was the guy was probably getting a really big ego boost from it to boot. She smiled wryly at herself. Maybe she could have a little fun with the pair tonight. She checked her reflection in the bar mirror. She looked okay. Her golden hair was hanging loose with a pair of sun glasses perched on her head. She was wearing a black tank top with a pair of jeans. Her belt was made of soft black leather, woven to form an intricate Celtic knot. She smiled at her reflection, a cat like but not quite coy look that would definitely make this guy take a second look. He was playing pool, and his girlfriend was watching. She sidled up to the table.

"Mind if I buy in?" she asked innocently, placing 10 bucks on the table.

"No. I'd hate to take money from a pretty girl like you." This made his girlfriend look up jealously.

"Too bad. I hate to take money from an ox like you, but I'm going to do it just the same" she countered. She quickly racked the balls in a neat and tight fashion. He raised his eyebrows at her. She waved her hand, indicating the table. He bent low over the table and expertly hit the cue ball. It smacked into the triangle of colored balls. Two solid balls rolled neatly into the pockets. He repositioned himself and took another shot. He banked the ball, sending it toward the side pocket. It almost made it in, but bounced off the side. Blaze easily put three balls in but missed in the fourth. She cursed softly under her breath. They played this way until only the 8 ball was left. It was in the exact middle of the table, not easily accessible nor easily put into a pocket. Blaze had made her last shot, so she walked around the able, chalking her cue. She found the best spot and bent over the table. The guy she had been playing leaned over her. His breath was warm on the back of her neck. He whispered in her ear.

"The names' Riddick."

"Blaze. Won't your girlfriend get mad that your paying so much attention to me?" she asked innocently.

"Hmm.probably." He commented but made no effort to move. Blaze swung her arm back in one smooth motion. The ball glided towards the pocket. It fell in with a satisfying "plop". She stood up, Riddick still invading her space. She leaned up to his ear, placing her hand on his chest.

"Where's my ten bucks?" she whispered mysteriously. Riddick grudgingly dug into his back pocket and extracted a ten dollar bill. Blaze plucked it from his fingers, grabbed the money lying on the table, and pranced off.

The next Friday night, Riddick came in alone. After the pool fiasco his girlfriend had dumped him. Needless to say he was not in a good mood. He saw the girl that had cost him his $10. She was sitting at a table, obviously flirting with two guys hanging on her every word. He smiled to himself. Pay she would. He sauntered over to the table they were sitting at. Her smile got even wider when she saw who had walked up.

"Hello Riddick" she practically purred, sensing his annoyance.

"Hi honey" he said. To the two guys, "you like talking to my girlfriend?" They both shook their heads and left without a backward glance.

"Payback?" she grinned. It miffed him that she was so calm about him just dismissing the guys she was talking to. She shrugged, "Those two were idiots. Thanks for getting them to leave. So, I was right about your girlfriend being jealous, wasn't I?" She smirked.

"How did you know?" he asked sarcastically.

"Easy. A, you're not the type to go bar hopping stag, and B, you're mad."

"Right on both accounts." She waved to a waitress. They girl came over.

"How can I help you?" she asked with a smile.

"You can bring me a bottle of tequila, two shot glasses, and two beers."

"Coming right up." The girl said and walked away. Riddick gave her an interested but questioning look.

"Tequila is the only good liquor to get plastered on. Trust me, I've done them all." The waitress returned with the order. Blaze uncorked the bottle and poured the amber liquid into the shot glasses.

"Bottoms up." She saluted and downed the glass in one swig. Riddick did the same. They took a swig of beer next.

"Damn that's good" she commented. They drank together for the better part of an hour, making small talk and getting to know each other. They drained the bottle easily. Blaze put her head onto the table. She gave a small groan. Seconds later, he could hear her deep and even breathing.

"Christ" he muttered. He threw some cash on the table and hauled the sleeping girl to her feet. He shrugged the sleeping body over his shoulder. He marched out to his car. After pulling open the back door he laid her across the seats. He got in the front and started the car. The drive to his apartment was only about five minutes. He carried her up the stairs princess style and put her on his bed. He pulled up the covers. She pulled the covers to her chin and slept for the rest of the night. Riddick grabbed an extra blanket and settled into his big arm chair to get some sleep.

The next morning Riddick woke about an hour later than he normally would have on a Saturday morning- 9:00. He checked n Blaze, noting that she was still passed out. She really needed to learn how to hold her liquor if she was going to go around and drink half a bottle of Tequila in an hour. He smirked and remembered when he had done that kind of stuff- just last week, to be exact. He had learned at a young age how to drink like a man. Riddick realized suddenly that he was slightly hung over- not good. He poured himself a huge glass of water, downed it, and did it again. He heard a low moan from the bedroom and the sounds of a person waking up- he decided to go have a little fun with her.

When he walked into the room he immediately noticed something was wrong. The sheets were all knotted up now and it was obvious Blaze was sweating up a storm. He untangled her and smoothed her hair from her face. Her forehead felt hot. He set her back down and changed his clothes. He threw a pair of Oakley sunglasses over his head and went back to Blaze. He grabbed some ice and threw it into a towel and held it to her head as he carried her to his car. He laid her in the back again and hopped into the front. They sped towards the hospital, Riddick daring to push his engine to the limits.

60-70-80

The speedometer went up steadily, Riddick's eyes never passing over it. He was one with the car, his muscles tensing and relaxing with the shifting.

80-90-100

He pushed the engine to its max, eating up the semi-deserted highway. The car's liquid engine and his liquid muscles worked together.

110-115-1120

The engine bottomed out- he'd pushed it to the limit. He noticed a hill coming up. He was in 7th, but he needed more power to make it up. He downshifted and the engine screamed. They made it up the hill and Riddick up shifted again. He heard the wail of a police siren behind him and he slowed to a stop. The officer pulled up behind him and turned off the siren. Riddick quickly removed his sunglasses and tossed them onto the passenger seat. He rolled down his nearly limo tinted window and looked at the officer.

"Did you know you were going 120 in a 50?" The officer asked, nearly stupefied. He had never seen a car go that fast that wasn't completing 500 laps in Daytona.

"My friend's sick" Riddick said calmly and opened the door, his hands in view of the officer. He opened the back door and pulled Blaze out, "I need to get her to a hospital. I have no clue what's wrong" The officer nodded.

"I'll give you an escort" the officer said. Riddick nodded his thanks and got back into the car. He threw his glasses back on and heard the familiar purr of the car as the engine turned over. The police cruiser, lights flashing, rocketed ahead of him. Tires squealed as he pealed out from the shoulder.