A/N: So, this one's the product of the random thought "what if Deeks worked undercover at a strip club?"

Kensi followed Sam and Callen upstairs, having returned from the crime scene of their most recent case. Former Corporal Mark Jackson had been found shot and dumped in a dumpster behind a Mexican restaurant.

"Eric, Nell, tell me you've got something good," Callen said as they walked through the sliding doors. "Restaurant owner didn't know anything and we don't have any other witnesses."

We were able to track Mark Jackson's credit card activity, and in the last week, he visited an exotic dancing establishment called "Love and Lust" five nights in a row," Eric explained.

"Seriously, another strip club?" Kensi complained. "Haven't we interviewed enough Roxie's and skeezy guys for a lifetime?"

"Well, this time around it's more likely to be Fabio. I can't speak for the patrons' character," Eric responded, then clarified. "It's a male strip club."

"You got any opinions on male strippers, Kens?" Callen asked.

"What?" Kensi scoffed, forcing a laugh. "How would I know? That is so not my thing. I might have gone to a couple of bachelorette parties with a stripper, but why would I want to see men with tear-off pants?" Which she immediately regretted as soon as she saw Sam fighting a smile. God, why did she always have to ramble at the very worst of times?

"I'm going to move on," Nell said helpfully.

Kensi rubbed her temples. "Thank you."

"Alright, so why is this significant? Maybe Jackson just wanted to be entertained. Nothing illegal about that," Sam pointed out.

"It's significant and of interest because Jackson was also in contact with one of the dancers half an hour before Jackson died." Nell pulled up a website with "Love and Lust" at the top in loopy black letters and navigated to the employee photo gallery. "We flagged Jason Wyler, otherwise known as Jack Dawson, as a possible suspect." Nell clicked through the pictures, pausing on a man in a police costume. He had vivid blue eyes and little bit of blonde hair peeked out from beneath his cap.

Kensi rolled her eyes before she could look any further. "Oh, give me a break. This guy is supposed to be Jack from "Titanic"? As if."

"Eh, I could see it without the hat and if he threw on some suspenders," Callen said, tilting his head to the side.

"It's like I don't even know you sometimes," Kensi joked.

Shaking his head, Sam nodded to the big screen. "Anything else on this wanna-be-Jack?"

"He's pretty squeaky clean outside a couple speeding tickets from years ago," Eric said. "Before this, he worked a series of jobs, the last being a barista at a coffee shop."

"Huh, that's an unusual career jump, but I guess you have to pay the bills somehow," Callen commented.

"Alright, let's go talk to this guy," Kensi sighed, shooting one last look at Wyler and his sculpted jaw.

Walking into "Love and Lust", Kensi was struck with the memory of a college friend's very adult 21st birthday. Granted, the strip club back then had been less classy, but there was still loud music, barely clothed men, and lots of excited women.

Kensi tugged the hem of her clingy lace dress down her thighs and silently cursed her teammates.

Instead of tracking Wyler down during the day, Sam and Callen had decided they should wait until he was performing, electing Kensi to go scout out both him and the venue. So once again, she was in a skimpy outfit. At least this time she hopefully would get enough information before she had to flirt with anyone.

Ignoring her discomfort, Kensi slowing made her way towards the main stage, sidling past

a man in exceedingly tight and short shorts giving an enthusiastic woman a lap dance. She chose a small table a few yards from the front towards the middle. It would give her a good view of the stage without making her stand out.

Some kind of pirate-themed routine was in progress, each of the dancers sporting fake hair and pirate hats, eyepatches, and artfully ripped pants. It was a little hard to tell with the props, but Kensi didn't think Jason Wyler was among them. She leaned back, alternating between scanning the crowd and pretending to be engaged in the performance. She'd never been a big fan of strip clubs to begin with, but she found the pirate gimmick especially cheesy.

Finally, it ended to thunderous applause from the people around her. Several women rushed forward to stuff money in what was left of the dancers' costumes before they left the stage. The lights were lowered and the music switched to an upbeat song between routines.

"And now," an emcee boomed over all the noise, welcome our next, highly anticipated dancer. Jack Dawson!"

Kensi straightened, not having expected to see Wyler so quickly.

The crowd hushed following the announcement and the music cut out suddenly, bringing a strange tension to the room. After several long seconds, a single spotlight flashed on, directly in the middle of the stage. A single figure stood there, legs crossed, hands in pockets.

His face was still in the shadows, so all she could see were brown pants and a darker shirt, paired with suspenders. Slowly, he walked forward, revealing his features bit by bit.

When he his face was fully lit, Kensi nearly gasped. With his hair smoothed back and the unexpected hint of softness to his cheeks, he looked remarkably like Jack Dawson.

He slowly dragged his gaze around the room, taking time to pause on random patrons throughout the crowd, then in perfect time with the start of a new song, thrust his hips forward.

All around her, women and men shouted, tossing bills onto the stage as he began to dance in earnest. Kensi sat through it all in stunned silence, unable to look away from Jason Wyler's circling hips. When he slowly stripped off his shirt, suspenders tights against his muscular torso, Kensi felt her skin flush from her chest to her face.

The performance ended sometime later, possible several minutes, maybe far less, with Wyler kneeling on the very edge of the stage, head lowered, hips thrust forward towards the crowd.

Kensi exhaled noisily, not sure how long she'd been holding her breath. As if he could hear her, Wyler lifted his head, finding her through the crowd, and winked.

Oh, she was so screwed.