Holding Onto Heaven [MJ]

[Matt Riggins]

The night was young for the group of frat boys, college men with scholarships on the football team and rowdy as they headed towards the club. After the season final, with another win tucked under their belts, they were heading out to celebrate in teammates’ cars and SUVs. The only boy not part of a fraternity rode on a motorcycle in the convoy of yelling and partying men, his leather jacket flapping over a white wife beater and jeans, his boots snug on his feet.

Pilot Ridge was gonna get rocked tonight.

The cars and SUVs and bike parked outside of the club and boys right and left piled out, with the bike rider taking his time getting off. He slid off his helmet and tousled his already messy hair, grinning as he watched his football brothers tripping over themselves. Marcus and Sam came over and linked their arms over Matt’s shoulders and helped him walk in, the girls watching the crowd of college boys smiling and flirting hardcore.

Once inside, the music was loud and the light show was amazing. “Drinks!” Marcus yelled, and soon all of the college boys were on their way to the bar. Matt followed behind slowly, checking out some girls who were watching him. He shrugged off his jacket, showing off the muscles in his arms, and followed his brothers, grabbing a beer and chugging it down before ordering another. Soon the group dispersed with girls onto the dance floor and Matt sat on a stool at the bar, watching them with a grin and a fond shake of his head.

That’s when she appeared. Golden curls, big eyes, and legs that stretched on for miles. Normally, Matt liked the brunettes, but damn, this girl had his full attention. She approached the bar and opened her mouth to order a drink, but he beat her to the punch. “Drinks for her are on me,” he told the bartender, smiling as he winked at the girl. He could kiss that full mouth of hers for hours, and her body was just so sinfully curvy in all the right places.

He offered his hand to her with a smile. “Matt Riggins,” he told her politely. “And you are?”

[Marianne Scott]

Marianne needed a bit of a stress relief. She need to have fun and get out of her apartment. So, she decided to go downtown and find a club. It was a simple enough solution. She wanted to have fun so she though she would go to a club like she did when she lived in Paris. It wasn't going to be the same, but it would be nice enough. She dolled herself up, although she knew this wasn't Paris, she planned to dress close to it. She wore a sleeveless royal blue dress that cut out and showed a little cleavage. Her hair was in a soft curl and her make up was light and flattering. She threw on a pair of strappy black heals and walked the streets to the club.

Once she stepped in she could feel the beat in her chest. She smiled and glanced around, looking at all the frat boys and their catch of the night. No matter what country you were in, you could never miss a group of frat boys. She found the bar and strode over to it, not really paying attention to who was at the bar. Before she got a chance to order her drink, a guy piped up and said that her drinks were on him.

He was cute, she wouldn't deny that. She smiled at him and told the bartender she wanted a long island iced tea. She wasn't a light weight drinker like other girls. She could drink more and hold it like a frat boy. She took his hand and shook it lightly, giving a charming smiled, "Marianne Scott. Nice to meet you as well. I see your friends have already got all the other girls, hmm?"

She was being playful in her jab at him. It was written on her face that she was only flirting. She leaned against the counter and took a few sips from her long island iced tea. She glanced around and then back at him. His tousled hair and blue-green eyes were vibrant in the light and she couldn't help but be captivated by them. She took another drink and smiled at him again, "So what brings you and your boys out?"

(dress minus the one sleeve)

[Matt Riggins]

Her smile made his heart race, for it illuminated her features and made her damn sexy. Her hand in his was intricately feminine, his larger hand taking hers and encasing her soft skin in warmth. “Marianne…a beautiful name,” he told her, and sincerity rang in his voice. Normally, at this point, he would have told the girl that she was beautiful and asked for a dance, and if all went according to plan, he would have her in his bed tonight.

This one, however, was different.

“Yeah, they’re go-getters,” he told her with a smirk, sipping his beer lightly, the lights making his eyes shift from blue to green and back again. He ran his fingers through his hair as he watched Marcus dancing with a leggy redhead. “Me, I like to see who’s brave enough to approach me. I like a girl who doesn’t take no for an answer and is bold enough to come over and chat me up,” he told her, smiling at her. His teeth flashed in the dark room as he finished his beer and ordered another one.

With her question, his grin widened. “We just won the season finals for our football team,” he told her, turning and leaning towards her. “We play for U of V, and since last year, we’ve been rocking the football circuit, so our coach let us have the night off to go goof off.” And oh, wouldn’t his coach kill them tomorrow while they were nursing hangovers and vomiting all over the field. He could smell the suicides that he would have to do.

Thus, only two beers and the third lightly touched.

He stood and offered his hand to her, grinning wickedly. “Wanna dance, Marianne?” he asked, his hand welcoming.

[Marianne Scott]

Marianne listened to him while sipping at his drink. When he said he was a football player, she smirked. She hated the sport, but the guys tended to be quite a bit of fun. Her mischevious side was beginning to rear its head. Marianne had learned how to pick out the men that would be fun, and how to avoid and lose the ones that were not. Paris had tainted her sweetness, but she didn't let it entirely ruin her. She consindered herself more knowledgeable instead of naive.

When he asked her to dance, she wasn't quite sure what to say. Normally, Marianne wasn't much of a dancer. It wasn't that she wasn't good at it, she just prefered to enjoy her drink while she was there. But this guy, he was something else. So, she decided to give it a shot. She smirked at him and slammed the rest of her drink back. That would set her back a little that night, but she wanted to have fun anyway.

She put her hand in his and followed him to dance floor, already beginning to feel some the alcohol losen her up. She started swaying her hips and closed her eyes, knowing her body was very close to Matt's. She didn't mind, in fact she rather enjoyed it. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually gone to a club and danced with a handsome man.

Marianne looked up at Matt and winked before turning around so her back was against his stomach. She held his hands to her hips as she swayed to the music.

[Matt Riggins]

Waiting patiently wasn’t in Matt’s forte with women. He preferred to get them hooked onto his charm, get them in his bed, and then get them out before he went on his daily routine. A bit of a womanizer he was, he would admit it, but hey, he loved the ladies. They were soft and sweet, like freshly made chocolate chip cookies, and they were delicious to sample.

His eyes widened slightly when she threw back her drink and took his hand, and he smiled as he led her to the dance floor. He felt movement around him, grinned at some of his friends, who whooped and hollered in drunken excitement. He let them go back to the girls they were dancing with and turned to look at his companion on the floor, and he was pleasantly surprised to see her dancing already.

Their eyes met for a brief second before she turned and pressed her back to him, her fingers tugging his hands over her hips. God, she was curvy, and his palms settled on the curve of her waist perfectly. He could feel every movement she made against him and his body tensed, wanting more than probably what she was willing to offer. His fingers tightened on her as he moved with her, his mouth finding the curve of her ear and breathing softly.

“You’re playing with fire, Marianne,” he murmured hotly in her ear before kissing the skin underneath, on her neck. Pulling back slightly, he tugged her harder back into him, showing her how…hard he truly was. “See what you do to me?”

[Marianne Scott]

If he was expecting more than just what was happening at this club, she needed more to drink. She wasn't a one night stand kind of person. It had happened before and the morning was always super awkward. She prefered to avoid awkwardness. He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, before showing her how hard he had become from her dancing. It surprised her but she knew he had been hard just from the way they moved against each other.

It was pretty steamy, something Marianne wasn't normally found doing. Dancing was not her art. She wasn't bad, obviously, but it wasn't her forte. Her body dipped down and slid back up his legs to his hips again. Her dress had significantly slide up her legs, but she wasn't showing her ass, so she didn't really care. Besides, Matt was probably enjoying himself.

Twisting in his arms, she was now facing him again. Her body still moved with the beat, but her eyes were staring into his. She wondered if he realized that he was the one playing with fire. Besides, she was older than him, there was no doubt about that. It probably wouldn't bother him if he knew. All his boys would hoot and holler if they found out he was with an older woman.

Once the song switched, Marianne suddenly needed a drink again. She smiled at Matt and walked away, ordering a shot at the bar and slamming it. She leaned against the counter and looked at him, "I'm wondering if you've figured out that I'm not the one playing with fire."

[Matt Riggins]

They kept moving in perfect sync to the music, Matt loosening his grip a little to give them some distance, but still keeping her close. What was going on with him? He had never felt this off-kilter around a girl before, and he didn’t know what to make of it. He danced with her until she faced him, and he met those big eyes of hers with his own, blue-green swirling in the depths.

The music shifted and she smiled at him, and he followed like if on a string as she went to the bar. She shot down a shot and he watched, an eyebrow raised as she talked to him. “It goes both ways, in my opinion,” he told her truthfully, ordering a shot for himself. Once the glass was passed his way, he held it up to her as a salute before knocking it back. The liquor heated up his face and chest in a slow burn, one that he enjoyed as the music shifted yet again, this time into a slow number.

He knew exactly what to do.

Taking her hand, he led her back onto the dance floor and held her close, swaying to the music with her in his arms. He had never danced a slow song with a woman before, finding it too deep for his playboy tendencies, but with her, he felt that it was right for them to dance this way. “Is this better, Marianne?” he asked in her ear, soft and sweet, as the lights dimmed and couples danced around them.

[Marianne Scott]

Marianne was pulled back onto the dance floor and into Matt's arms, this time to a slow song. She was very surprised. Normally she wasn't easily surprised by frat boys and their tactics, but not this time. Matt just pulled a move that she hadn't seen in a long time. Either he really liked her and wasn't looking for a little nookie, or he was extremely desperate. She smiled, in her surprise. She wished she could get into that head of his.

She spinned and looked at him, "Well this is a pretty interesting move to make, Matt. I don't know if you're as firey as you wish to be." She still needed another drink if he was desperate. It would take quite a bit to get her to go back to a bed with him. He was cute, but he was younger, and a frat boy. He didn't really fit into the picture of a boyfriend for Marianne. Perhaps he would surprise her, but she didn't think so.

The song finished and she was pretty bored with dancing. Now, she wanted to sit down and enjoy a drink. More people crowded onto the dance floor as Marianne squeezed her way off. She lost Matt behind her, but she knew that he would either move on or find her again.

A table opened up and she ordered a beer and some french fries. She crossed her legs and dipped her french fry in the ketchup and mayo mixture, while looking around the room.

[Matt Riggins]

The longer that they were in each other’s company, the more that Matt felt like she wasn’t interested, just humoring him since he was younger. He knew she was around his age, maybe a bit older, but that didn’t stop him from trying. Although, if a girl wasn’t willing to give in to his charms, it was exhausting to try and get her to do something that she didn’t want to do.

So he was at a stalemate.

The dance floor got crowded and he lost her. Wanting to give her up for a lost cause, he got caught up with his buddies trying to start a fight amongst each other, their companions of the evening pleading with them to calm down. As the only sober one, he quickly broke up the altercation before it got them all kicked out and went searching for her. He found her at a table with food, and while she didn’t seem pleased to see him, he sat opposite her.

“Sorry, had to break up an argument,” he said gruffly, feeling frustrated and unwelcome. He stopped a passing waiter and ordered a beer before leaning back, watching her. “So, I was wondering…if you’d like to go out on a date sometime. Something simple, like dinner or something,” he offered, the beer arriving at the end of his sentence. Taking a swig, he awaited her reply.

[Marianne Scott]

He found her again, and Marianne couldn't help but let out a sigh. This frat boy didn't give up. She was impressed that he was keeping up with her and that he was still trying. She felt bad, but she just couldn't keep leading him on. Marianned just wasn't that kind of person. She could be flirtatious and have fun, but if she managed to have a follower who was interested in more, she couldn't just let them think that way.

She sighed and grabbed his hand, looking at him gently.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't accept your offer. I think you're a great dancer and a nice guy, but I'm just not interested in anything beyond tonight. I just needed to come and unwind. Besides, I think I'm a bit older than you seem to think and I don't want you to end up getting involved with an old fart like me."

Marianne smiled and leaned back, hoping he took it well. She sipped at her beer and looked at him. "You are a really nice guy, Matt. And I'm very flattered. But I think it would be best for you and me that you moved on to someone a little more your pace."