"Can I get another one please?"

Grace turns to the brunette sitting beside her. "Are you sure?"

"Yep." Mackenzie nods, her head bobbing in the way that only a tipsy person could do. "I'm off the clock and it's Friday night."

"Ok." She says lowly, biting her lip to keep from laughing.

As they were leaving the office that afternoon Mackenzie asked if she wanted to go to the bar around the corner later and have a night out. She was unsure if Mackenzie even knew what a night out was but as she's been unable to stop putting them down, it's very clear that she does indeed know what it is.

Mackenzie's had two margarita's and doesn't seem to be nearing a stopping point. In fact, she's finishing each new cup faster than its predecessor.

"You know, I'm glad he's out of town." Mackenzie says. "We needed a few days off."

"Preston?"

"Yes, Preston. I mean, I care about him but we haven't had the talk."

"What talk?" Grace asks, a smile on her face.

"You know, the talk. Our future."

She nods. "Is there a future?"

"Of course there is! We're so compatible together. It makes sense and I really care for him." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything else.

"Mackenzie, I'm going to say something and I don't want to piss you off, ok?" Grace starts, cautiously. "You and Preston are gross. Really, really gross. I like him, don't get me wrong. But he's got a kid older than you. Let's be honest, he technically could be a grandfather to your children if you had any."

"You know, I'll never have kids either." She pouts as another margarita is set in front of her.

"I thought you wanted kids." Grace watches her take big swallow from the drink. "You always said you wanted lots of kids."

"I do!" She says loudly, people sitting in the booth behind them turning to stare. "I do want kids. Lots and lots of babies running around."

"Then what's the problem? He doesn't want any?"

She feels this conversation is getting ready to cross some sort of border that shouldn't be crossed but over the last few weeks, since Preston left for Chicago, the two of them have been spending more and more time together. Grace thinks it's mostly because Mackenzie doesn't seem to have anyone else that's a constant in her life.

Mackenzie chews on her bottom lip, blind to the pain it's actually causing her. The alcohol in her system clouding her brain right now. She's not sure if the answer to that question is something that should be shared but Grace is her friend. They've known each other for years and sure, they hadn't always been close but they're friends now. In fact, Grace might be the only person she's ever really called a friend.

"He can't.....you know?" She finally says, her voice taking a soft tone.

Her eyebrows come together. "Can't what? Take care of a kid at his age?" She shrugs. "Big deal. He's loaded, you hire a nanny. Problem solved."

Mackenzie shakes her head, eyes wide as if to say the words she can't get out.

Suddenly Grace stops moving and her jaw drops. "You mean to tell me he can't get it up?"

"Shhhh!" She reaches out and smacks her in the arm.

An uncontrollable laughter comes out of her mouth and now there is more than one table with people staring at them. The sight of Grace laughing hysterically and Mackenzie with her head on the bar top getting a few laughs from other people, not sure what's going on but enjoying the image.

"Are you kidding me?!" Grace finally manages to get out in a gasp of laughter. "That is....wow. I mean, I'm not surprised. He's like a hundred and four years old. Does he use Viagra? Ew, never mind. I don't want to know."

"Grace, shut up!" She hisses, face a bright red.

"Come on, that shit is funny."

Shaking her head, she reaches out and quickly drinks have the glass in front of her. It's not that Preston can't do it, it's just he needs a little help.

"You need to bail that ship and bail fast." Grace brings her beer to her lips. "Because that is not going to make you happy."

"What's not going to make you happy?" A voice comes from behind them.

"Hey!" Grace smiles at him. "What're you going here?"

"Just grabbing a drink." Justin returns the smile before looking at Mackenzie. Her eyes dart to the floor and he can't hold back a chuckle. "You never did answer my question. What's not going to make her happy?"

The two women look at each other and again Mackenzie's face flushes making Justin that much more curious as to what they're talking about.

"It's just....I'm not sure if she and-" Grace is cut off then Mackenzie kicks her shin. "OW!"

Justin laughs at their interaction. "You know what, I don't care." He turns to her, "Mack. How you doing? Haven't seen you in a while."

"Fine." She downs the rest of her drink. "I need to use the ladies room."

The floor seems a little unsteady under her feet when she slides off the stool. He reaches out and grabs her around the waist to keep her from stumbling into Grace. Quickly she jumps away from him, steadying herself on the back of the stool.

"I'm fine." She snaps and he holds his hands up in defense. "Be back."

Grace just shakes her head as Justin watches her walk away.

"How much has she had to drink?" He asks taking her seat.

"Just finished her third." She turns to him. "Guess I'm the DD tonight."

He nods and orders a beer. "How long are you guys gonna be here?"

She shrugs, looking around him to see if she's coming back. "No clue. I hope not too much longer. I've got to get up early tomorrow for something."

"Oh?"

"The boyfriend." She's unable to hide the goofy grin on her face. It's one of those ‘just fallen in love' smiles that seems to happen at the beginning of a new relationship. "Wants me to meet his family."

"That's a big deal." He nods at the bartender who slides the beer in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm a little nervous." She confesses.

"You'll be fine." He turns to where the bathrooms are, searching. "You're a great girl. They'll love you."

She watches him as his continues to look over his shoulder every few minutes. His fingers toying with the label on the bottle, feet bouncing against the crossbar of the stood.

"You ok?" She questions.

"What?" He snaps his head back to her. She's got an eyebrow raised and he can feel a blush creeping up his neck. "I'm fine."

"I can see that." She laughs and he rolls his eyes. "If you're going to make a move, you need to do it soon."

"What?" His voice is high. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She gives him a knowing smirk. "I'm just saying."

Before he can respond Mackenzie plops into the stool beside Justin and order another margarita.

"Mack, don't you think you've had enough?" He says softly.

"Go away Justin." She waves a hand in his face. "Grace'll drive me home."

They both turn to find Grace with her phone to her ear.

"Yeah, I can see that." He smirks at her. She makes a face at him and his eyes dip to the low collar of her shirt.

"Hello!" She snaps a finger at him. "Stare much?"

He laughs when he sees her cheeks are flushed. He leans in close and whispers, "You know you liked it."

"I do not you-"

"Mackenzie, I'm really sorry but I have to go." Grace throws a few bills on the bar. "Michael's car broke down and I need to go pick him up from the shop."

"I'll go with you." She moves to stand up.

"No, stay. You've still got a drink." She grabs her purse. "Justin can take you home. You don't mind do you?" She turns to him, oblivious to the look Mackenzie is giving her.

"Of course not." Justin says. "Do you need some help getting him?"

"No, it's fine. I just gotta pick him up." She shrugs her jacket on. "He's ready to hurt the guy behind the counter. Every time the guy says something the price estimate goes up so it's best to just get him out of there."

"But-" Mackenzie watches as Grace hurries to the exit.

"Thanks!" She calls over her shoulder before stepping out the door.

Huffing she drops back down on the stool.

"Looks like it's just you at me." Justin grins at her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You brought me to a strip club?" Mackenzie hisses, eyes narrowing at him.

Justin laughs and throws an arm around her shoulders which she instantly shrugs off. "Relax. We'll get another drink in you and you won't even know it."

She eyes him skeptically but follows after him. He leads her to a booth in the far corner of the dark room. She quickly slides in next to him, her head ducked so that no one sees her.

"What can I get for you?" A pretty redhead wearing very little smiles at the two of them.

"I'll have a jack and coke." Justin smiles at her. "And the lady will have one of those sweet-tart lollipop things." The waitress smiles before turning away. He turns to the woman beside him, hiding his smirk. "Sit back and relax. The girls won't bite."

She rolls her eyes but sits back anyways, wondering what she's doing here and why she agreed to go with him. She tells herself it was all the margarita's she had earlier but that's not really true. She just wasn't ready to say good-bye to him.

Her eyes wander the dark room, discretely looking at the men scattered around. Most of them dressed in suites and ties, nursing a drink, their eyes fixated on the dance stage. She takes a quick look up to see a statuesque blonde moving her body to the music in a slow, seductive way. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, her eyes dart away.

"Thank you." Mackenzie says softly when the waitress places her drink in front of her. She quickly takes a big swallow hoping to relax her nerves.

Justin eyes her, bemused at her reactions. He knew she was a little more than tipsy no matter how much she's trying to hide it. He saw her coming unraveled after the third margarita and the bigger part of him couldn't help but egg her on.

The more time he spends with her the more he's beginning to learn that there's more to her than work and the goody-goody act she's always doing. He caught a glimpse of that at the party when she yelled at him. He could see it in her eyes that she was on the verge of losing it. And he was a little more than turned on by it.

He's still trying to figure out why she's doing this thing with his dad. She seems very open to accepting the gifts Preston showers her with. Not to say she's only with him for the money and gifts but he's very wary of women when it comes to his father.

"Can I get another one?" Her voice snaps him out of his daydream. He glances down to see she's already drained her glass. "Please?"

"Of course." The waitress takes the glass from in front of her. That's the first time he notices her standing there.

He can see Mackenzie's eyes have gone glassy and he knows he couldn't let her drink anymore. But again, that bigger part of him feels she should let go a little bit.

She turns to look at him, her head fuzzy. "What?"

"Nothing." He grins and shakes his head a little.

He turns his head back to the stage and she watches him. He's a good looking guy, there's no denying it. He has this way about him that while she hates it, it draws her in and no matter how hard she tries, she can't help but find him charming and funny. And sexy.

She blushes at the thought and shifts in the booth, her knee bumping his. He doesn't move and she glances up at him. When she sees he never takes his eyes off the stage, she relaxes. She finds herself unable to pull her gaze away from the blonde dancing on the stage. She's not naked but Mackenzie knows it's only a matter of time before she is.

The waitress slides another drink in front of her and she smiles gratefully before taking a sip. Beside her Justin stretches both arms out over the back of the booth, the heat from his arm warm behind her neck. His fingers dangerously close to brushing up against her arm. She licks her lips.

"You doing ok?" He says, voice close to her ear.

She jumps at the closeness and turns to him. His face close to hers and she forgets how to breathe. She nods and forces herself to swallow.

His eyes roam over her face, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. He doesn't. Instead he leans back and turns to the dancer. But he can feel her eyes on him.

Before he can say anything, she's got her lips pressing against his.

She leans her body into his, lips moving in a desperate way against his. He pulls away to catch his breath before it's only for a second before she slides a leg over his lap to straddle him, lips back on his.

He wants so badly to say something, anything but he can't get his brain to process words with her sitting on his lap like this, her lips moving against his. So he slides his hands up her back and to the cradle the base of her head.

She doesn't know what's come over her but she feels like if she pulls away from him, she might be in physical pain. She can't concentrate on anything other than the way he feels against her, his fingers getting twisted up in her hair, his lips soft and wet against hers. She can't help the moan that bubbles in the back of her throat.

It's that very sound that snaps his eyes open.

He pulls away from her and she moves her head to kiss him again but he holds her back. She licks her lips and he shifts uncomfortably under her body and her eyes flutter at the movement.

This time when she drops her lips to his, he doesn't stop her. She's gripping at his shoulders, trying to get him to keep pace with her but she can feel the hesitancy in his lips.

"Let's go back to my place." She breathes against his lips.

His mind stops and he pulls back to look at her. The look on her face is one he knows well. He's been given it more times than a few times. Hell, he's given that look on more than one occasion.

He swallows and slides her off his lap. "I don't think that's a good idea."

She crosses her arms over her chest and pouts. Her lips looking very kissable and he wants nothing more than to be the one doing just that but the feeling that's spreading throughout his chest is one that he hasn't felt in a long time and it makes him nervous.

He cannot get feelings for his father's girlfriend.

He cannot sleep with her.

He shouldn't even be kissing her.

"Why?" She leans into him, the smell of alcohol on her breath still strong. Her lips move to brush against his neck, just below his ear and he clenches his fists together. "It's not like you haven't had a one night stand before."

He scoots back in the booth trying to get away from her before he does something stupid. Letting out a nervous laugh, "You're not allowed to judge, it's an uneven playing field." He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear when a look of disappointment mixed with hurt and embarrassment take hold of her features. "I cannot be held accountable for corrupting Atlanta's princess."

The pain of rejections rips through her. She needs to get as far away from him as possible. She snaps her head away from where his fingers are lingering near her face.

"I'm going to go." She stands on wobbly legs, hands gripping the table.

He sighs, annoyed at her for feeling like she has to run away. Annoyed at himself for not knowing what's going on with him.

"Don't go." He tries reasons with her but he can tell by the look of determination on her face that she's leaving one way or another.  Shaking his head, he slides out of the booth. "I'll take you home."

"No." She shakes her head firmly. "I'll just take a cab. I'm fine."

Her voice was laced with anger and he can't blame her. He never should have kissed her. "Please, just let me take you home."

"Fine." She snaps.

He nods wordlessly and leads the way out of the club.

The car ride across town is silent, neither one brave enough or stupid enough to say anything. He keeps sneaking glances at her but her head stays motionless as she stares out the window.

As he pulls into the parking lot she whips the seatbelt off and is reaching for the door handle before he throws the car into park. She slams the car door closed behind her and is practically running towards what he can only assume is her apartment.

She doesn't know that he sat there for another hour, in the parking lot, staring in the direction she headed.

He doesn't know that she was crying when she left his car. Or that she cried herself to sleep as he sat downstairs watching the door.