Grace blinked against the California sun as she stepped out of the Stockton airport. The overnight flight had left her with an airport bench as a bed which had tensed her muscles and put a wicked crick in the middle of her shoulders. One of the airport employees had been kind enough to supply her with a cart for her bags and rolled it out to the sidewalk with her. Grace thanked him as she slipped a pair of sunglasses over her face.

Luann pulled up in the passenger seat of a shiny black Cadillac with a woman Grace didn't know. She waved them down and they stopped at the curb in front of her.

"Grace, this is Gemma Teller-Morrow, Clay's wife," Luann introduced. "Gemma, this is Grace Callaghan."

Gemma shook hands with Grace. "Luann seems to have taken a particular liking to you."

Grace gave a polite smile, but glanced at Luann just the same. Luann hugged Grace to her side.

"Because Grace is a good girl. She's not like the other whores I had to hire," Luann commented.

Once in the car, Grace removed her sunglasses. She knew they were going to see the bruise on her cheek; it was kind of hard to miss. It had caught her a little bit off-guard when she looked at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall of the airport bathroom. It hadn't welted, but it was definitely tender to the touch.

Gemma frowned in the rearview mirror as they pulled away from the airport. "What bastard did that to you?"

"An ex," Grace replied. "Well, he's an ex now, anyway."

"You don't have to worry about him anymore," Luann told her, silencing Gemma with a look. "We'll get you back to my place and you can rest before the club opens tomorrow night."

"I was just going to get a hotel," Grace offered.

"It's all right," Luann said. "You can stay with me till you find a place of your own. That house gets so lonely with Otto gone."

Grace noted the sadness in Luann's voice and decided it was best not to argue. She simply sat back and watched the scenery pass by out the window. She didn't see the look that Gemma and Luann traded.

.:.

"Everybody is running from something, I told you that," Gemma scolded.

"I know," Luann said, trying to calm Gemma down. "Grace isn't bad news. When this thing with the strip bar started, I called Penny in Miami to see if she had any girls interested in relocating. She told me about Grace, asked if I would take her as a favor. Look at her, Gem. She's a beautiful girl, and she dances like a dream. The kiddies are going to go nuts for her. SAMCRO is in this with me, so what's good for my club is good for your club, too."

Gemma sighed and shook her head. "Last time a girl ran to SAMCRO, we ended up with a dead fed on our hands."

"Grace isn't Austin," Luann assured. "This ex of hers, he's a piece of shit landscaper or some pussy shit like that. She's not going to cause trouble."

"Fine. But do me a favor – keep her away from my guys. They'll go nuts for her."

"She's already connected to one of them."

"Come again?"

"Juice. They know each other from when they were kids or something."

Gemma licked her lips and nodded. "Just make sure she behaves."

Luann walked Gemma to the door and hugged her. She loved that woman – Gemma had been her best friend for years – but Gemma's compassionate side was sometimes lacking a little. Luann liked Grace, as a person, and she was going to do whatever she had to get the girl straight.

.:.

That Friday night, everyone was gathered in the clubhouse for the usual festivities. Rachel hadn't been completely effective in distracting Juice's mind from Grace the other night, but it was good enough for him. He snagged the girl almost as soon as she walked in that night. He started again with the tequila shots, but his distraction was to be short-lived.

"Chibs, Tig, Juice. Luann's opening the strip club tonight. I want you guys to head over there," Clay ordered.

"I thought she had security," Juice questioned.

"I want a SAMCRO presence there, just to make things clear. Shit doesn't go down at this club."

Juice took another shot and nodded. He didn't even kiss Rachel goodbye or say anything to her, but she didn't second-guess it. Rachel knew her place, and she wasn't one to cause a stir.

Austin exchanged a look with Juice as he prepared to head over to the strip club with Tig and Chibs. Juice had spoken with her a couple more times over the last month about Grace, and she knew how uneasy he felt about the situation. Juice lit a cigarette and headed outside for the picnic table. Austin followed not long after.

"You all right with this? If you want to stay here, I'll send Jax. He can tell Clay he'd rather be there himself."

Juice smiled. "That's sweet of you, Aus. I know you'd rather die than see Jax around some strippers."

Austin nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But I don't worry about him right now so much as I worry about you."

"You don't need to worry about me. Grace and I – it was stupid of me to think that she'd just open up to me like before. I can't let that get in SAMCRO's way."

He put out his cigarette and joined Tig and Chibs walking to their bikes. He was just going to have to suck it up and remember that the Gracie he knew had changed. She didn't want him to be part of her life anymore, fine. He'd respect her wishes, but knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from keeping an eye on her from a distance.

.:.

The turnout for the first night was much larger than had expected. Luann had certainly done a good job with promotion. Good thing, too, because as nice as Luann was, Grace was anxious to get into her own place. All of the money she had was in an account that still had Tyler's name on it – one he had made sure required his signature to withdraw any money. She was starting from scratch, but she knew she could make it.

"Grace, you're up next," Luann announced. "As soon as Stephanie is off the stage, DJ's going to start your music."

Grace nodded and checked her hair and makeup one more time. She'd been able to mostly hide the bruise on her face, and the lighting would hide the rest of it. Grace had been stripping for years now, but she still got nervous just before. She always played that sexy girl-next-door, and tonight was no different. Her red bra and thong were hidden by the shortest, tightest pair of denim shorts she could find and a crop-top Red Sox jersey that she didn't even bother buttoning. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, but that wouldn't hold for the whole dance anyway. A pair of red platform heels completed her outfit.

"Knock 'em dead, girl," Stephanie encouraged, coming off the stage. "Oh, and some Sons just walked in. They're VIP, keep that in mind."

She stopped in her tracks. "You know who they are?"

"You mean like which guys? I just saw the cuts, didn't focus on faces. Better get going."

Grace closed her eyes and shook her head; she had to get him out of her mind or she was never going to be able to do this.

The music started and Grace took the stage. Whoops and hollers started not long after. She played to the men seated right at the stage, making sure they got an eyeful of cleavage before she pulled the elastic from her hair and ran her hand through the locks as she backed up a little, shedding her shirt first.

.:.

Juice sat with a scowl on his face as Chibs and Tig watched her strip. The second she stepped onto the stage, every protective nerve in his body had been struck. These men seeing her, touching her – he wanted to beat the shit out of all of them.

That's not your place anymore, he reminded himself. That worked, until she removed that red bra and her breasts were exposed for the whole club to see, and Juice's muscles tensed all over again.

"Come on, Juice," Chibs said, nudging him. "This is supposed to be fun, not painful."

Juice nodded. "I'm just going to get a beer. You guys want anything?"

They both agreed a beer would be good. Juice ordered up a tequila shot to go with his, and bottomed down a second before returning to Chibs and Tig. He was getting buzzed now, and while he was still pissed off, at least maybe he could control it better.

Grace came off the stage twenty minutes later. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, until she came out again to walk the floor. Her bra was back on, and an extremely low skirt was slung across her hips, still not leaving much to the imagination.

"I want her," Juice said out loud, getting up from his seat with Chibs and Tig.

"There you go," Tig encouraged. "Getting in the spirit of things."

Chibs applauded Juice, but he recognized the distressed look on the younger man's face. He'd go with it tonight, but he was going to find out what was going on in the next couple of days.

.:.

Juice tapped her on the shoulder when he finally caught up to her. She was sweet talking another customer who must have recognized Juice because the other man turned and left as soon as Grace turned around.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Thanks. You planning on running off all my customers?"

He held up a hundred dollar bill. "I am a customer."

"You're not serious," Grace scoffed. "What are you gonna do? Pay me to just sit in the back? That's not how this works."

Juice put a hand on the small of her back and pulled her against him. "You're a stripper, and I'm a guy hard up for some action. Dance for me, Gracie."

Her face softened and she pushed away from him. "You're drunk, Carlos. I can smell the alcohol on your breath."

"Two hundred," Juice said, digging more cash out of his wallet. "What's it going to be?"

Grace sighed and grabbed him by the hand. "Come on."

She dragged him to a private room and pushed him down to the cushioned seat. A button on the wall started a different song that only he could hear; Grace moved provocatively in front of him, pushing the skirt down to her ankles before kicking it to the side. Juice took a deep breath and felt his jeans tighten significantly. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her without clothes, but she'd never had the confidence to do anything like this for him.

Maybe it was the music, maybe it was being alone in the same room with him. Whatever it was, dancing for Juice slowly started to ebb away at the anger she felt towards him. Her heart beat faster, almost as if she was nervous – no, not nervous. She was excited.

Juice's hands went immediately to her hips when she got close enough, pulling her into his lap. Grace's breath caught in her throat and she grinded her hips against him. Juice buried his face in her chest, and Grace couldn't help but moan in pleasure when his lips connected to her sternum. She pushed him away from her before reaching for the clasp on her bra and releasing the hook. The garment fell away, slowly revealing her breasts.

Both of them paused momentarily, their eyes meeting for just seconds before their mouths connected and their tongues battled for control of the kiss. Juice wrapped his arms around her, and Grace pushed his cut back off his shoulders.

The song stopped, signaling the end of the dance. Grace was taken back to reality; this wasn't her Carlos. This was Juice, a guy she used to know – a paying customer. Without a word, she scooted off his lap, putting her bra back on first before pulling the skirt back up her legs.

"What are you doing?" Juice asked, fixing his cut back in place.

Grace shook her head. "I let that go too far, I'm sorry. Please, just don't tell Luann, okay?"

Juice reached for her arm. "I'm not going to say anything to Luann. Just talk to me. Gracie, please."

"I can't, I'm working. I overstepped a line."

Juice nodded. "All right. Please, just take this money."

It was far too much for the few minutes she had danced for him – especially when it had gone to the extent it did. "I can't take your money."

"Please," he pleaded with her.

She didn't like it, but she took it just the same. "Do me a favor. I know you've got to come in here because of SAMCRO and all, but just … if you want a dance or something, go to one of the other girls, okay?"

He pushed the door shut when she tried to open it. "I was wrong the last time we saw each other. You know how things were before. I never saw you doing this kind of thing."

"I knew you wouldn't understand," Grace said, shaking her head. Juice could see the tears well up in her eyes.

"Maybe I'd understand if you would talk to me."

Grace sighed. "I'm off at two. Pick me up and we'll talk."

Juice agreed. "Fine. I'll be here at two."

"Quit drinking tonight. I'm not riding with you if you're drunk."

There was the Grace he knew. He agreed, kissing her cheek before finally allowing her to open the door and return to her work.

Juice sat back down with Chibs; he didn't see Tig but guessed he was in a room with one of the other girls. Chibs just stared at him until finally Juice caved in.

"What is it, man?"

"You tell me," Chibs replied. "What's with the girl?"

"Her name is Grace," Juice told him. "I know her from back East. We were good friends. Look, only Austin knows and I'd rather keep this quiet. Grace, she gets to me, and I don't want everyone in the club think I'm a fucking pussy."

Chibs nodded. "Let her go, Juice. You're holding on to something that's long gone. Can hear it in your voice."

Chibs got up to find a girl for his own dance, leaving Juice to his thoughts. Was he wrong to think that he and Grace had any chance for a friendship, or to even be acquaintances? There was no way of knowing until he talked to her. He still had a few more hours to wait, so he headed for the bar. He'd keep his promise to her and sober up, but he'd stay out of her way until she was done for the night.

A/N: Glad everyone is liking it so far! Thanks for the reviews and the alerts.