Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For those of you who are not familiar:

Garfield (Gar) Logan = Beast Boy; Richard (Rich/Dick) Grayson = Robin; Victor (Vic) Stone = Cyborg; Terra Markov = Terra; Rachel (Rae/Raven) Roth = Raven; Kori (Star) Anders = Starfire; Jenna (Jen/Jinx) Adams = Jinx
____________________________________________________

"Don't worry, Garfield, I trust you!" Terra said for the fifth time that day. The blonde beauty looked at her fiancé over her strawberry milkshake. His emerald eyes showed doubt and concern, as they had been all day.

"Are you sure, Terra? Cause I don't have to do this. It's not that important."

"Gar, every man wants a bachelor party before he gets married! And you deserve one. Even though your friends are a little crazy and weird, I trust you and I want you to have the time of your life before we tie the knot. Come on, I had a bachelorette party and it was no big deal," Terra argued.

"Well…..I guess if you're cool with it….I'll call Victor tonight and let him know it's on," Gar said, defeated.

"Great! I want you to have the time of your life with your friends before you give up the single life," Terra said, sincerity reflecting in her electric blue eyes. She sipped up the last of her milkshake and slid out of the booth as Gar pulled out his wallet to leave a tip. She took his hand before they walked out of the diner and gave him a reassuring smile. Garfield smiled back, considering himself the luckiest man on earth.

When Gar arrived at Terra's house, he shut off his car and leaned across the seat to kiss her goodnight. She smiled seductively ran her hand down his chest.

"Care to come inside?" she asked.

"I'd love to, but, there's still some work I have to do at home yet. Maybe next time?"

Terra smiled and nodded, kissing him again. She loved a man who was hard-working.

"I'll be waiting…until next time," Terra smirked. She stole one more kiss and then exited the car and went to her front door. When Garfield was satisfied that she was safely inside, he pulled away from the curb and headed home.

All of his friends thought he was crazy for not living with Terra before they got married. But the truth was, it worked really well between them. Garfield was a veterinarian and owned what used to be his dad's office in the city. Terra was an archaeologist and spent most of her time in the rockier areas of the state, digging up old artifacts and bones. Garfield and Terra didn't want to experience everything like they were a married couple before they actually got married. They looked forward to moving in with each other after the wedding. Garfield thought about the fact that he was the first of his friends to have a serious relationship. His family was ecstatic at the idea of him getting married. His friends…were not too thrilled. They called Terra his "ball and chain" and didn't seem to be too thrilled with her. They acted as if they had to 'put up' with her. He rolled eyes as he thought of what Richard had said to him before he proposed to Terra. "I dunno, man…I just don't think she's right for you. And you're still young….don't you wanna look around at what else is out there? What if she's not THE ONE?" Like Richard knew anything about relationships. He went through women like water and he was that biggest womanizer Garfield knew. Even bigger than Victor, who was a total heart-breaking ladies' man. But Richard was right on one thing: Garfield was still pretty young. He was only 22.

When Garfield arrived at his apartment, he threw his keys on the counter and locked the door behind him. He checked his text messages and leafed through his mail before calling Victor.

"Hey man! Glad you called! I'm guessing this means you're giving in to the whole bachelor-party thing?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, dude. Terra said she trusts me completely and she wants me to have a good time, so we're on for tomorrow night," Garfield responded.

"Awesome! You are gonna have the time of your life, man!" Vic exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what everybody keeps telling me..." Gar murmured.

Chapter Text

Rachel Roth had never been one to consider herself what one would call "pretty", and definitely not "sexy". Yet, her two best friends and roommates were staring at her, their eyes popping out of their heads, repeatedly saying words like "sexy", "alluring", "hot", and "wooooowwwww". Rachel sighed.

"So is that a 'yes'?" Rachel asked, a little irritated.

"Ugh-duh," Jenna said, tucking a pink strand of stray hair behind her ear. "I wish I looked that good…" she mumbled.

Rachel rolled her eyes and her other friend.

"I think you look-how would say it-mysterious and beautiful," Kori replied with sincerity in her voice. Her green eyes sparkled with awe and admiration.

"Well, it's settled, then, I'm buying it," Rachel said matter-of-factly. She turned and retreated back into the dressing cubicle she had come out of. Once inside, she stared at herself in the mirror for a moment, fingering the black lace that edged the black and purple corset. When she had spotted it, she fell in love with the lacy garment right away. She hadn't planned on trying it on until Jenna had spotted Rachel staring it down and urged her to try it on. She hadn't even planned on coming out of their apartment that day, but Kori had insisted that the three roommates go to "the mall of shopping" for new outfits. After all, Kori had mentioned, Rachel's fishnets were getting pretty holey and her favorite corset had more than a few runs in it, thanks to the fact that it was made out of cheap nylon, fake leather, and polyester. Rachel knew what Kori said was true, and couldn't ignore her for too long, so she agreed to come.

When Rachel was back in her own clothes, she gathered the new corset, the two new pair of fishnets, and the box containing her new shiny black Pleasers and headed towards the cash register with Jenna and Kori. She waited for Jenna to pay for her new items, then Kori, before she set hers on the counter to pay. The blonde cashier raised an eyebrow at the three friends, a rude and slightly disgusted expression on her face.

"Any certain reason why you're buying so much trashy lingerie?" the girl asked quite rudely. Rachel felt Kori perk up behind her, ready to answer the question.

"You do not think the articles we are purchasing are beautiful?" Kori asked innocently, genuinely confused.

"No, I do not think they are 'beautiful'" the girl replied to Kori in a menacing sneer. "I think they look like trash strippers would wear. That will be $154.25."

As Rachel produced the cash from her purse, now irritated and slightly embarrassed, Jenna took the chance to reply to the rude cashier.

"That's because we are strippers, dumbass," Jenna retorted. The cashier looked at Jenna, dumbfounded. It was clear that the girl had meant for the comment to be an insult. Kori giggled at the girl's expression. Rachel turned away from the register and grabbed Jenna by the arm, walking her out of the store before she could make any more remarks. Kori trailed behind, pleased that her friend had stuck up for her. Rachel gave Jenna a death glare before letting her arm go. The three friends stopped after they were a good distance away from the store.

"What the hell was that all about?" Rachel asked, angry for some reason she didn't understand.

"What? It's not like I lied or anything," Jenna said, peeking into her black and pink plastic bag from the store. "She wanted to know why we were buying what we were buying, so I told her." Jenna shrugged it off like she did anything else.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to tell her our personal business," Rachel replied, becoming more and more irritated. Jenna looked at Rachel, disbelief written all over her face.

"Since when is being an exotic dancer our 'personal business'?" Jenna asked.

"Since…..well…since…I don't know!" Rachel replied exasperatedly. "But still, you don't have to tell everyone we meet what we do for a living!"

"Why do we not forget about this whole argument and get the shakings of milk?" Kori interjected her hands on either of her friend's shoulders. Rachel knew she was trying to prevent her and Jenna from fighting, and she appreciated it. Jenna sighed.

"You mean 'milkshakes'?" Jenna corrected Kori without taking her eyes off of Rachel. Kori nodded vigorously.

"Alright," Rachel said letting the fight with Jenna go, and allowed herself to be led by the hand by Kori over to the ice cream shoppe in the mall.

After the girls bought their milkshakes, they began the short walk back to their small apartment, arm in arm in arm, laughing and joking with each other. When they arrived, they wasted no time showering and preparing for the night ahead of them. As Rachel took a shower, she let her thoughts wander. Rachel was 21 years old and had never been in a serious relationship. She had grown up in a household where her father was physically and sexually abusive. When she was 14, her mother died in a car accident. When she was 17, she emancipated herself and moved out of her father's house and never looked back. When she was 18, she had found her job at The Hive, the hottest men's club in the city. Every night, the girls of The Hive would start off waitressing or bartending. Once the clock hit 11 pm, the waitresses and barmaids became strippers. The only thing that made The Hive different from all other sleazy clubs in the city was that the girls never went fully nude. The Hive managers told the girls that the club focused on teasing patrons. That's why The Hive was so popular. It drove men crazy to see girls take off their clothes, and then walk around in lingerie all night long, never fully revealing themselves to the customers. Of course, the girls would dance on stage and on patrons, for cash.

Jenna knocked on the bathroom door, breaking Rachel's train of thought.

"You gonna save some of that water for the fish?" Jenna asked sarcastically. She heard Kori ask something like 'We must save water for the fish also? Do they not have enough water of their own?' Rachel smiled slightly. Poor Kori was from a different country and had a hard time understanding certain American figures of speech and slang. She also spoke English in a different manner from native speakers. It was understandable, but a little mixed around. Rachel turned off the water and stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in an oversized navy blue towel, letting her straight black shoulder-length hair lay against her head, sopping wet. Jenna opened the door and grabbed the hair straightener from a clear roller case the girls shared. Kori stood in the doorway, wrapped in a soft pink robe and slippers.

"Will you have the honor of making me up tonight, dear friend Rachel?" Kori asked politely. Rachel smiled and proceeded to dry her soaking hair with her towel and reached for her black silk robe and the hairdryer.

"Sure, why not?" Rachel replied and dried her hair as quickly as she could. When she was done, she did Kori's makeup and the girls dressed in their room. When all three were completely dolled up, they stared at themselves in the mirror and blushed.

"We look hot, guys!" Jenna said, pulling the required uniform of a white button-up shirt and black pants with a black tie over her lingerie. They slipped on their shoes and grabbed their purses, locked the door behind them, and hailed a taxi outside of their apartment complex. Rachel had a fleeting thought that tonight would be different in some way, but she pushed the feeling aside, deciding again to ignore her ever-changing emotions and thoughts. Instead, she closed her eyes and laid her head against the back of the taxi seat and enjoyed the air-conditioned ride to The Hive.

Chapter Text

"So where exactly are we going?" Garfield asked from the back seat, leaning forward to catch a better glimpse of the road and darkening sky. His attempt to figure out where they were headed was met with Victor's large hand pushing his head back into the backseat. He couldn't see anything out of the windows, either, they were tinted too dark. Richard turned around to Garfield and smirked.

"Don't worry, we got it all taken care of, man," Richard said. Garfield could feel goose bumps rising on his arms in response to Richard's smirk. He started to wonder if he should tell Victor that he changed his mind, and to just drop him off at Terra's house. He could have a fun time there… He was quickly jolted out of his thoughts when Victor's car came to a stop. He sat up straight and squinted his eyes, trying to get his bearings.

"Where are we?" he asked, sliding out of the back seat. He turned to his right and saw a large black building across the street. It boasted a sign that said "THE HIVE" in glowing yellow light. Garfield could hear music playing within. His friends motioned for him to come along and began to cross the street. When they arrived at the door, a large man in black sunglasses folded his arms across his chest.

"Are you on the list?" he asked in a low voice, his question directed towards Victor.

"Yeah, we're on the list. Under 'Stone'," he replied. The large security guard uncrossed his big arms and looked down at a clipboard.

"Welcome back, Mr. Stone," the man said. He then turned and opened the door. Victor nodded his head at the man and led the way in. Garfield scanned the large room. There were black round tables throughout the place with small red lights in the middle of each one, centered around a large circular stage, which wasn't lit up at the moment. Along the wall, the furthest away from the door was the bar, stocked with all different types of alcohol. Groups of men sat at almost every table. They were all dressed rather nice, and most of them had drinks in front of them. Some listened to the music, others chatted amongst themselves. Gar followed his friends to a table that was rather close to the circular stage.

"What is this place?" he asked Victor. Victor smiled mischievously.

"The Hive, duh," Richard replied as if Garfield should have known. He crossed his arms and removed his sunglasses as he leaned back into his seat, his blue eyes shining with impish delight.

"Yeah, but, what are we here for? All I see is a bunch of guys. What kind of place only allows guys to-" Garfield started to ask. Then his eyes widened in realization. "Richard! Victor! What the hell!"

Richard laughed a bit wickedly. "Loosen up, man! Besides, Terra said she trusted you, remember?"

"Yeah, but-" Garfield started to reply, but he was cut off by a tall, thin, pink-haired pig-tailed young woman. She smirked at the men sitting in front of her.

"So, what'll be boys?" she asked.

"Uh-I'm not-I mean, I don't pay for-" Garfield stuttered.

The girl placed her hands upon her hips and raised an eyebrow. "You don't drink?" she asked in disbelief. Richard snickered behind his hand, understanding that Garfield thought the girl was a prostitute. Garfield could be pretty naive at times.

"Bring us three shots of Patron, with lime and salt. And uh….maybe a sidecar of you," Victor replied, placing a hand on the waitress's leg and tracing her thigh. She smiled evilly and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Anything for my best customer," she replied, stopping Victor's hand with her own before he began tracing parts of her body that were inappropriate. She turned and walked towards the bar.

"Who was that?" Garfield asked, gesturing in the direction of the young woman.

"Her name is Jinx," Victor replied, his eyes still on the waitress.

"What kind of name is that?" Garfield asked, throwing up his hands and narrowing his eyes.

"It's not her real name…she won't tell me her real name…it's just a name she uses here at The Hive," Victor replied, a grin spreading across his face as he watched Jinx returning to the table with their shots. His eyes traveled down her body and his grey eyes reflected a certain hunger. She placed the shots on the table and said, "Bottoms up, boys." All three did their shot like a pro. Garfield grimaced afterward, the tequila burning his throat as it went down. Jinx then collected their emptied shot glasses and took them back to the bar.
________
"The high rollers are in tonight," Jenna told Rachel and Kori back at the bar. She handed the emptied glasses to Kori, who quickly cleaned them and put them back in place. Jenna motioned as subtly as she could with her head to the table where Victor was sitting. "Tonight is a good chance to make as much in tips as we can in one week. Victor is always ready to drop the cash, and now he has two friends with him."

"That man must greatly enjoy your company, Jenna," Kori said, referring to Victor. "He is always looking at you, and very much enjoys your dancing."

Jenna smiled at her friends. "And I very much enjoy his cash," Jenna replied, looking over her shoulder and back at the table. Victor was staring at her again. She loved that she had such power over a man. She knew that Victor would only pay for her, but he had two friends with him, and she had two friends.

"Hey! Can we get another round?" the black-haired man sitting at Victor's table yelled towards the bar. Kori quickly prepared the shots and started to hand them over to Jenna. Jenna pushed the round tray holding the shots back to Kori and shook her head.

"No, this is your chance to make sure they know who you are, and make a shit ton of cash," Jenna said, gently pushing the small of Kori's back to guide her to the table. Kori blushed and headed towards the table, looking shyly back at Jenna and Rachel. Jenna urged her on with a wave of her hand. Kori's shy expression was replaced with a sexy smile and she changed her walk from a timid stride to a suggestive saunter as she approached the table.

Chapter Text

Garfield looked up from the table and at the woman sauntering towards them. She had waist-length red hair and green eyes that were almost the exact shade as his. She was wearing the same white button-up shirt, black tie, and black pants as the previous waitress, Jinx, or whatever her name was. Her skin glowed with what looked like a natural tan, and she had been looking at him until she saw Richard ogling at her. She shifted her gaze and smiled at the black-haired man who had called for another round. He was practically drooling at the sight of her. She set the shots on the table and winked at him. Richard closed his open mouth and his eyes snapped back into focus.

"Enjoy," she said as they downed the second drink. She took the empty glasses and went back to the bar, Richard's eyes following her the whole way.

.......(three shots later).......
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA DUDE! THAT IS FUCKIN' HILARIOUS! WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT JOKE!" The table where Victor and his two friends were becoming increasingly loud. An hour had passed and Richard, Garfield, and Victor were drunk. Garfield was loosening up more and more with each drink, and now he had become the life of his bachelor party.

"….Hunnid bands in my pocket, it's on me/Hunnid deep when I roll like the army/Get more bottles, these bottles are lonely/It's a moment when I show up, got 'em sayin', "Wow" (Wow, wow)/Hunnid bands in my pocket, it's on me (on me)/Yeah, your grandmama probably know me (know me)/Get more bottles, these bottles are lonely/It's a moment when I show up, got 'em sayin', "Wow" (Wow, wow).…" the club's stereo blared the last chorus of the song, signaling to the patrons who frequented that the clock was now striking 11 pm. The men started to cheer and clap as the lights started to turn down and the music grew louder.

"What-what's going on, guys?" Garfield asked as best he could without slurring his words. Victor smiled at his drunken friend.

"This is what we came here for," he replied, and leaned back in his seat. However, he was too drunk to realize that his football-player built body was too much weight for the tiny chair, and both he and the chair went all the way to the floor. Garfield and Richard laughed so hard they almost began crying. Victor got up and sat back down on the chair after putting it upright again, his face red with embarrassment. Garfield stopped laughing, though, when he realized what Victor was referring to. A waitress Garfield had not previously noticed emerged from the shadowy part of the bar. When she saw him, their eyes locked. Everything seemed to slow, and in his intoxicated state, Garfield couldn't identify if it was the alcohol or...something else. The music, the cheering men, his drunk friend's laughter, the waitresses that were undressing, the flashing lights… there was no one else in the room. No other movement but the movement of her body, no other woman but her. She was breathtaking, ethereal, stunning, beautiful. Her eyes were a violet-blue and they seemed to shine under the multicolored lights of the club like polished gemstones. Her full lips were painted with a deep red lipstick. He hadn't realized she was in front of him now. His eyes were blurry and unfocused because of the alcohol, but he could still see her with perfect clarity. She was inches away from him, unbuttoning her shirt and winking at him.

"Wh-what-whatsurmane-I-I-uh-mean-" Garfield managed to slur out. 'God I must sound stupid to her ….how can anyone be so beautiful? I mean, isn't that unnatural? Un-human? To be that gorgeous? Dammit…I can't even ask her name.." Garfield thought as he spluttered to the beauty in front of him.

"My name? It's Raven," the beauty said smiling. Garfield felt his face flush. She wasn't wearing her shirt anymore. Instead, a revealing black and navy corset hugged her curves. She began unbuttoning her pants. He swallowed. She leaned into his ear.

"Would you like to watch me dance?" she whispered in his ear. He nodded in response to her question.

____________________________

"My name? It's Raven," Rachel replied to the drunk young man in front of her. She continued to remove her shirt. He only had eyes for her. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage, she was the most nervous she had been since the first day she began working at The Hive. She had spotted him when Jenna pointed out the table Victor was sitting at. She thought he was extremely attractive. He had inviting green eyes, a warm smile (well as warm as a drunk smile could be), and sandy blond hair that fell in his eyes just right. She could tell by the way his tee shirt hung around his shoulders that he was rippling with muscles. She had, at first, planned on going for her usual crowd, which consisted of the tattooed, pierced, drug-dealing men. They gave her the most money. She was different, like them. No clean-cut, clean-shaven, actually good-looking man wanted a freak like her dancing on him. No, that was what Kori was for. She attracted the "real" men, not the scum bags.

But there was something about him that she was drawn to. Something enough to make her throw caution and insecurity to the wind and allow her to approach him. Maybe it was the way he laughed, or maybe it was the fact that the tee shirt he was wearing was a dark purple, her favorite color. Whatever it was, it made her want to dance for him, and only him, that night. She began unbuttoning her pants. He swallowed. She leaned into his ear.

"Would you like to watch me dance?" she whispered in his ear. He nodded in response to her question. She smiled and removed her pants the rest of the way, revealing her shapely legs sheathed in the new fishnets she bought earlier that day. She spun around in front of him as gracefully as she could in her Pleasers and put her hands on her hips as she looked at him over her shoulder. Rachel-or Raven, as the young man knew her-smiled.

"I think we're going to have a lot of fun together," she said mischievously, rolling her hips to the music.

Chapter Text

**Creeek creeek creeeeek.....pkchk pkchk shhhhhhhhhhh…**

Garfield slowly attempted to pry his eyes open. What was that noise? It was the noise that had woken him up. Not the sunlight beaming directly into his face, not the coldness that his uncovered feet felt. The noise had woken him up. He stopped his attempts to open his eyes and kicked his blankets over so that they covered his feet. He threw an arm across his eyes so the sun stopped staring him in the face. When that didn't work, he rolled onto his left side and reached his arm to pull the person next to him closer for added warmth…

Gar shot up in bed.

Why was he reaching for someone? Who would be sleeping next to him?

Suddenly he was awake, more awake than he ever remembered being in his life. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and jumped out of his bed, only to find that he was naked. He cursed at himself and searched the room for his boxers. As he did, he felt the blood rush to his head and begin to pound with a headache. He found them, carelessly tossed across the back of his desk chair. He grabbed them and yanked them on.

He surveyed the room. It was a complete disaster. He began to try and replay the events from the night before in his head. Why was everything so blurry? Why could he not remember ever coming home? He sat down at the edge of the bed and pressed his head into his hands, and closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath.

He remembered being in Victor's car. He remembered arriving at the bar, drinking…then everything was fuzzy, like a dream he was half in and out of…he couldn't quite grasp what else happened that night, it was all a blur. His head jerked up at the realization that the sound responsible for waking him up had ceased. The sound had been coming from his bathroom....the shower! Of course!

Whoever was in his shower was preparing to come out. He stood up and looked towards the door that led to the bathroom connected to his room, bracing himself. His eyes wandered around the room for a moment. He spotted a pair of pure violet lace panties on the floor near the bedroom door. He stopped breathing for a minute. He tried to think as hard as he could. Did he ever see Terra wearing violet undergarments? No, Terra hated any shade of purple. Terra wore bright colors, like yellow, and orange, not the dark colored clothes he was now noticing were strewn across his room like candy wrappers after a child's birthday party. So it definitely wasn't Terra who shared his bed last night. His blood grew cold. Who was it then?

The doorknob to the bathroom turned.

Chapter Text

Rachel slowly opened her eyes as she tried her best to lay as still as humanly possible. Her head was pounding, no, throbbing - and it reminded her exactly why she didn't regularly drink. Why did she drink last night? Despite having a job that might cause others to question her morals, Rachel prided herself in maintaining complete control over her emotions and actions. It was rare that she gave in to peer pressure or was persuaded to act uncharacteristically.

She felt grimy and overheated. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to slow the throbbing in her skull. Bringing her hands to her face, she felt something shift beside her and heard a soft sigh. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the sound and opened her eyes, smoothing her hands back to her hair. She exhaled slowly as she examined the sight next to her. Kori was passed out on the futon next to her, red hair strewn across the pillows. Next to Kori was a familiar looking pale man with dark hair, who was very naked. Rachel could feel her heart rate increase as she continued surveying the room. She wasn't in the apartment she shared with Kori and Jenna. Nothing looked familiar. She slowly dropped her arms as she came to the realization that she was naked under the large green comforter she and Kori were sharing. Her hands began to shake as she struggled to focus on the events of the night before.

....Think, think, think...... Where did you go last night? Work. What did you do while you were there? I served drinks and danced like usual. Who did you serve drinks to? A group of three men who were friends, they were out, for a party. Is that all you did? No, I drank too, and so did Kori... Weren't they celebrating something? I - I think - maybe? A bachelor party? Yes, that's what it was...

Closing her eyes again, she replayed the first song she danced to in her head. As she reached the chorus, glimpses of the night before flashed before her. Watching Jenna give a lap dance to a handsome blonde man...taking a body shot off Kori...grinding against the handsome blonde man...a muscular African American man stuffing her garter with cash...taking a body shot off Jenna...the blonde man accidentally ripping her new fishnets...Kori sitting and giggling in the lap of a striking man with dark hair as he whispered in her ear...more cash being stuffed in her garter by the attractive blonde as she gave him a lap dance...the man with dark hair snaking his arm around her waist as his other held Kori close...

She looked at the man sleeping next to Kori again. She moved as close to the man as she could without making too much movement and waking Kori. It was him. The dark-haired man from the night before, naked as the day he was born, but certainly not as squishy. She tried to swallow, but her mouth and throat were dry; it felt like she was swallowing sandpaper. Slowly, she wrapped the comforter around her naked torso and inched closer to a large plum t-shirt she spotted thrown over the back of the couch. As the comforter dragged over Kori's sleeping frame, her arms twitched and she pulled the blanket from Rachel's hands with such strength Rachel toppled backward onto the futon, her back colliding with the metal frame. She clenched her jaw shut and squeezed her eyes, stifling a pained scream with her hands.

Completely exposed, her back burning with the sensation from the fall, Rachel stood up on shaky legs and walked over to the shirt. Slipping it over her head, she scanned the room in search of her own clothes. She tiptoed around the room, searching every corner but found no items that were her own. Everything she picked up belonged to Kori and presumably, the handsome man sleeping next to her. Plopping onto the couch, she cradled her head in her hands. The throbbing in her skull returned, making her nauseous.

Rubbing her eyes with as much pressure as she could stand, images began to resurface. Fragmented scenes played in slow motion behind her heavy lids, producing goosebumps on the young woman's arms. She gasped as her eyes flew open, wide as saucers. Images from the club were fuzzy, most of that part of the night was black. Everything after the arrival at the apartment she was currently sitting in was now clear as day.

Rachel needed to shower, immediately. She needed to scrub the night off of her skin. She took another glimpse at Kori, sleeping peacefully against the chiseled chest of the man who had persuaded both women to drink excessively with him. Convincing herself that Kori could hold her own if the man became aggressive, she slinked down the hallway to find the bathroom.