Chapter 25.

Hey guys, another chapter for you! Enjoy!

Lucy.

"Luce, c'mon, tell me quick, if I stay in the house too long I'll never leave." AJ greets.

"Well, hello to you too." I say, sarcastically.

"What's so important that it couldn't wait for a few hours?"

"You know me, AJ. Never the patient one." I shake my head. "Anyway, since you obviously want to get rid of me, I'll tell you." I pause purely for dramatic reasons. "I'm getting transferred. The local FBI office needs someone to join their Hostage Rescue team. And that person is me."

"You're moving to LA?" My sister asks, surprised.

"Yeah!" I shout, a huge smile breaking across my face.

We hug, and AJ says, "We have to celebrate. Forget ice-cream and beer, we're going out tonight!"

"AJ, sweetie, are you sure? You've just gone through a traumatic event, are you sure you want to go out with loads of people?" I ask, concerned.

"I'm fine, Luce. Don't worry about me. I'm fine." She babbles.

"Okay, if you're sure, what do you have in mind?" I ask, curious.

"Dinner. Maybe a few drinks after. I do not trust you in clubs."

"Awww! I like dancing!" I exclaim.

"I know, but no. Not after the last incident."

A smile spreads across my face, knowing full well that she is referring to the time we went dancing a few months before she moved here. I got so magnificently drunk that I broke my ankle when I was dancing. Typical me.

"Okay. Okay. Well, if were only going to a bar and dinner, will you at least bring that dashing partner of yours?" I learned the word dashing when I studied in London for a semester. "Pretty please?"

She looks at me, shocked. "You mean Nate? My partner, Nate?"

"Hell yeah! He is a tall glass of water. I like it. He's smart, too." I pause. "I mean, if you weren't so preoccupied with that mysterious secret agent, you would have noticed how many flirtation signals I threw out to him."

She scoffs. "Mysterious secret agent? Really, Luce? He has a name, and so does my partner."

"So you're not denying that you were a little preoccupied. I knew it."

"I never said that! I mean...um..." She trails off, puzzled by what to say next.

"You do! Invite him, too, and Ryan, and the rest of your team for that matter. It'll be fun."

"Fine. But we're only going drinking."

"Deal. Call them. Especially Nate." I wink at her.

"Fine." She picks up the phone.

"Hey, Nate, Lucy and I were going to go get drinks tonight, and we were wondering if you might like to join us." She pauses to listen to tall, dark and handsome's answer. "Great. O' Flanagan's on 8th, 7:30? Yeah, see you there." She turns to me. "Happy?" She asks.

"Not until you call Agent Blue-Eyes." I say, smirking.

"Stop calling him that. His name is Callen." She corrects me, picking up the phone. "Hey, Kens. You wanna come drinking with me, Lucy and Nate later? Great. O' Flanagan's on 8th. About 7:30? Yeah, bring Deeks. See you there." She hangs up.

"You didn't call him, not unless his first name is Kens. Tut-tut, sweetie. Call him. Now." She rolls her eyes at me.

"Hey, Nell, do you and Eric want to go out for drinks? It's just a few of us, Nate, Kensi, Deeks, Lucy and me. You guys in? Brilliant. O'Flanagans on 8th, 7:30? 'Kay. See you guys there." She, once again, hangs up

"Call him. Now." I demand, becoming more and more impatient.

"Fine." She dials a number on her phone. "Hey, Callen, um, do you want to go for drinks later? Just the team, and my sister. Yes, of course you can bring Sam. He's the life of the party." She laughs like a teenager on the phone to her crush. Well, half that is true, except she's thirty-six. "O' Flanagan's, 7:30? Great. See you there." She hangs up, and judging by her facial expression, she is trying very, very hard not to scream with excitement.

"Good." I say. "Let's find you something sexy to wear." I drag her into her walk in closet. My first impression of it was that it was meticulously organised. Not for long. "Jesus, AJ, you have so much clothes! How come I never see you in half this stuff?" I ask, shocked by the amount of colourful blazers and shirts I see. "Now, where are your dresses?"

"Back wall." She informs.

"Hmm..." I say, flicking through her vast array of dresses. "Nope." I disregard a red skater dress, with three-quarter length sleeves. Too conservative. "No way." I throw a yellow sundress on the floor.

"Hey!" AJ shouts. "Luce, I know your a slob, but come on, my stuff too? Put it back."

"Fine!" I scoff angrily, and continue my search. A baby blue shift dress? No. A black dress with lace sleeves? No.

"Aha!" I exclaim, my hands resting on the perfect dress. "When was the last time you wore this?"

AJ runs her hands over the black bodycon dress. Simple, yet perfect.

"I don't know, um, maybe to a blind date my friend set me up on a few months back? It made one hell of an impression."

"With a body like yours, sis, any bodycon dress would make an impression."

"You're just saying that because we're the exact same size." She says.

"Okay, yes, but it still would look phenomenal on you. Go put it on."

"Fine." She grabs the dress from my hands and walks off into the bedroom.

Nice one, Luce. Now, how to accessorise a simple black dress?

I find her jackets and blazers. God, there must be close to thirty blazers here. I pick out a structured red blazer. You can't go wrong with red and black.

Shoes. Courts? Ankle boots? Flats? Stilettos? Wedges. I find a pair of beautiful black wedge heels. Perfect.

AJ re-enters the room, wearing the dress looking amazing.

"Wow." Is all I can muster up. The dress falls just above her mid-thigh, and clings to every curve of her body.

"Thanks, Luce. Is it a little too slutty? I mean, I'm just going out with work friends."

"And it just so happens you have more than a little crush on one of them. This dress will leave him speechless." I hold up the jacket and shoes. "Put these on."

"In a minute. After we find something for you to wear."

She moves around her closet with graceful efficiency. I've always been jealous of her gracefulness, as I am one of those people who falls over nothing.

"Here." She says, holding up an aqua-blue bodycon with capped sleeves. I take it from her. "And here." She continues, holding up a black leather jacket. "And here." A pair of nude stilettos. Walking in heels has been one of the few things I am better at than her. "Shoo. Go put them on." She shoves me out of the closet and into her room. I quickly undress and stare at my reflection in the mirror. I came prepared, I think as I see the matching black lace undergarments I threw on this morning. I put on the dress, and leave the shoes and jacket on the bed.

"Oh. My. God. Luce. It fits you like a glove."

"Good. Look, we got a half hour before we have to leave. Make-up, hair, then let's go."

"Kay."

Half an hour later, AJ and I have our make up-done, AJ with a smokey eye in brown, me with winged eyeliner and a berry lipstick. My hair is in a messy side plait, and AJ's in a messy bun. When we get into her SRX, its 7pm, and it takes 25 minutes to get there. We're the first ones there. We take a seat in the corner booth, and AJ orders a round of beers for everyone. The door opens, and a 6 foot-something giant strolls in.

My heart stops.

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