One.

Lindsey woke up this morning to the beeping of her alarm, 7:00 am. It felt like any other ordinary morning, so she got up and went into the shower to wake herself up further. The water was steaming hot as it slowly caressed down her body and along the curve of her back.

She turned off the shower faucet, wrapped on a towel, and went over to the sink. She picked up the toothpaste and quickly began to brush her teeth. Her eyes fell upon her own reflection in the mirror, scrutinizing every inch. She wasn't too thin, but she had a smaller than average frame. Her fingers gently glided over her body's flaws and imperfections.

She quickly snapped out of her trance and pulled on some clothes. She had to get to work in thirty minutes and was not looking forward to Los Angeles traffic. She had just moved here and in with her best friend, Kristy Will. Luckily enough, she landed a job as an editor with a huge fashion magazine company shortly after she moved here.

"Hey Lins, want to go out tonight after you get off work? Landon and I along with a couple of our friends are going to hit up a club tonight. You up for it?"

She jumped a bit from surprise at the sound of Kristy's voice coming from her open bedroom door. Kristy always had a bubbly personality, normally cheerful with a smile always upon her thin pink lips. She had long wavy dirty blonde hair, and deep hazel eyes with a tan complexion. She was a sight for sore eyes. Lindsey looked more conserved, with long thick brunette hair. Her complexion was paler, making her light brown eyes more noticeable.

Lindsey quickly pulled herself together. She wasn't completely out there, but she did enjoy a good time with good company.

She smoothly called back to her friend, "Sure Kris. Meet you back here at 8?"

"Great! See you then, girl!"

Lindsey quickly made her way out of her apartment after giving Kristy a small peck on the cheek and headed off to another long day at work. Although she did have to admit, for the most part, that she enjoyed her job as a fashion magazine editor.

Lindsey arrived back at her apartment a little after 7:30. She saw that Kristy was already dressed and talking to her boyfriend of four months, Landon Mitchell, over the phone rather loudly. Lindsey quickly hopped into the shower and redid her makeup. Opening her closet door, she stared inside looking for something to catch her eye. She did, after all, want to look great.

She pulled out a black baby doll halter-top dress that accentuated her thin waist. The dress fell a little bit above mid thigh, sexy yet not too revealing. Her breasts fit neatly in her dress without threatening to fall out. The halter-top only made them appear larger, more succulent. She then put on her two-inch, black, open toed Jessica Simpson pumps.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror and let her hair cascade down in messy curls around her shoulders. She was a beauty, but she nevertheless felt self-conscious. She had more secrets than anyone new about, and they were all bundled up inside her.

The apartment door suddenly opened and excited voices filled the inner walls. Kristy was the only person she knew here in Los Angeles since she moved away from Boston after graduating from Boston University with a degree in Communications. Her and Kristy had gone to university together as well as high school. She took a deep breath, and gathered up the courage to walk outside and greet everyone.

She walked into the living room to find Kristy smothering Landon with kisses. She rolled her eyes at the public display of affection. She has met Landon a couple times before, since he'd come over often to see his girlfriend. He was 2 years older than Kristy, so that'd make him 23. He was well built, toned but not too muscular. He stood an astounding 6'1" with messy brown locks of hair gathered into a faux hawk. Kristy primarily fell in love with him because of his intense ocean deep blue eyes. She felt that he was a good person, so she didn't think too much about it. They had other company with them, two other girls and another guy.

"Lins! Come meet everyone! You already know Landon, so you don't need to meet him." Kristy knowingly smirked, "This is Chelsea and Rachel my coworkers, and Deane, Landon's best friend."

The girls gave their forced and polite hellos, primarily because they had to. They weren't bad girls, but they weren't interested in meeting another girl either. Deane on the other hand, had his eyes intently fixated on Lindsey and he confidently walked up to her to personally introduce himself.

"Hey." He held out his hand as he towered over her at 6'2" with a genuine smile across his lips. His breath was fresh and he smelled lightly of cologne.

"Hi Deane." She blushed slightly red and received his rather firm handshake. She noticed his messy locks of almost black hair and his strong chin. But most of all, she noticed the genuine smile that was accompanied by piercing blue eyes.

"Care to be my date tonight, Lindsey?" He said barely above a whisper, only so that she could hear him.

She felt her face becoming even more flushed. "Neither of those two girls are your dates?" She turned and glanced suggestively at the two girls who were busy talking amongst themselves with Kristy. Landon snuck off by himself to use the bathroom.

"Those two? Are you kidding me?" He amusedly chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. Lindsey could sense his slight awkward confusion. "I'm in the same position as you are. I only know Landon and Kristy."

She shyly smiled at him and nodded. "Well, if that's the case, then sure, but we'll go only as friends - not as dates - and you can call me Lins. Most people do, so you can call me by that as well. It feels weird for me to hear myself being called by Lindsey. Only my mom calls me that usually, so-" She suddenly became hot and red in the face as she realized that she was rambling. Am I that nervous? Geez Lins, relax a little.

"Nervous are we?" Her head slowly lifted up to his, and she couldn't help but smile at the way that he was sweetly smiling at her. "Just trust me."

They arrived at the club around eleven. The room was hot with body heat and the DJ was playing the latest tunes. The ceilings were high with a rather flamboyant chandelier in the center, which only made the place look more appealing. Colorful lights were beaming throughout the room from the DJ, revealing barely clothed girls and grinding couples.

"Care to dance?" Deane offered his rather large hand to Lindsey, his lips formed into a mischievous grin.

"I'm not a very good dancer," she hesitatingly yelled over the music. She sent him a shy smile and began rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'm sure you're not that bad. Come on." His hand reached out farther to her, his eyes innocently pleading.

"I don't know-"

"Just go and dance with him already, Lins! Loosen up a little!" Kristy chimed in unexpectedly, and Lindsey sent her an unappreciated glare. Her friend only returned her an childlike smile and shrugged her shoulders. "You're making it hard on the poor boy."

"Yea, you're making it hard on me." Deane said with a slight childish frown, his arms loosely crossed over his built chest.

"Fine." She shot an evil look at Kristy, but took his offer anyway and they headed slowly over to the dance floor. They had to push through and make their way by tons of sweaty bodies, eventually finding an empty spot near the middle of the dance floor. I'll get her back for this.

"Just tell me when you feel uncomfortable, okay Lins?" She hesitatingly looked up at Deane, who gave her a reassuring smile.

She nodded and wrapped her small hands loosely around his shoulders. His hands slid around her waist gently holding her. They silently danced for a while, and he made no effort to go any further than the sweet and innocent position that they were in. But she was tired of having other people's sweaty bodies rubbing up against her and slightly resisted against his hold some time later.

"Hey Deane, I think I need a little break," she gestured back to the table where Kristy and the rest of the group were sitting having some drinks.

"Just hold on a little longer, okay?" He gave her a reassuring smile, but it didn't help his case any.

She pondered a little for another excuse, and smoothly looked down towards her feet. She had stopped dancing for a few minutes. "My shoes are killing me."

He looked down at her feet unconvinced, furrowing his eyebrows together. "A little longer Lins."

Lindsey had already had enough with making excuses. She wanted off the dance floor, and she wanted off now. She just wanted to go back to the table to be with Kristy. She continued in a slightly firmer voice. "Deane, I'm getting really uncomfortable."

"It's okay, you've got me." He slightly tightened his grip around her, and he tried to smile only to have it falter when she violently pulled away. A look of hurt shot through his eyes, but he quickly brushed it away. "Loosen up a little."

"Look Deane. I don't want you to expect or think anything out of this." She sighed and crossed her arms. "I already told you I'm really not looking to get involved with anyone."

"I don't expect anything." He frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. He looked angry. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I'm going to go get a drink."

And with that he quickly left to the bar before she could fit in another word. Lindsey stood by herself on the dance floor, but quickly felt a little guilty for assuming anything. She went back to the table by herself to where everyone else was and sat back down. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she had a slight pout on her face from the tension earlier.

"Hey, where's Deane?" Landon shot her a look of concern, Kristy sitting comfortably on his lap.

She shrugged with her arms still crossed. "He just went to get a drink."

Deane looked at her from the bar across the dimly lit room. He took a sip of his coke and rum before placing it back down onto the counter, never taking his eyes away and staring intently at her every move.

Her name was Lindsey Pratt, and he was going to have her. It was that simple.

N/A: My first attempt at writing again after so many years of absence. If the story interests you, feel free to review.