Chapter Text
Chapter One
Jamison spotted him from across the bar, sitting and scowling at anyone who came by but she could see that he was lonely despite his behavior. She'd been the same when she had been younger. Angry at the world, at her mother, at her mother's asshole boyfriend Frank. She hadn't realized she had needed friends, someone to lean on to help her through the hurt. Her friend Gaila had seen to it.
The red-head had been her saving grace, forcing her to finish school and find her way out of the dark hole she had been digging herself into. She had helped bring her into light and Jamison, aka Jim, had flourished. She had finally completed her master's degree program in social work and had landed a sweet job far enough away from Iowa that she could be able to put her past behind her.
Gaila and her were celebrating Vegas-style, enjoying the freedom that only young graduates can when he had caught her eye. He looked to be a little more than 6 feet tall, dark soulful eyes and very handsome.
"Ooh, yummy!" Gaila's arm flung around her and Jim shook her head and laughed.
"He's cute in a grumpy way. Kind of like that cat that everyone's spreading on the Internet." Gaila told her as she hung on Jim's shoulders eyeing the man and Jim's grin grew wider.
Gaila giggled. "Ohh, tall dark and handsome. I get it now."
Jim shrugged and gestured with her fruity drink that the red-head had forced on her. "He just looks like he could use a friend, that's all."
Gaila looked back at the brunette at the bar, her nose wrinkling. "I dunno. He seems a bit broody."
Kirk laughed and patted her friend on the back. "Where's your sense of adventure? Just remember "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". That's my motto."
Her friend shook her head and laughed. "Alright, but just remember we fly out tomorrow."
Gaila pulled back. "Go. Have fun. I'll see you at the hotel room tonight."
Jim smirked and jerked her head at the eye candy at the bar. "Only if I strike out."
She gave Jim a shove towards the bar. "The Jim Kirk charm never fails."
She waved Gaila off and headed towards her target, sitting on the stool next to him. He immediately glared at her and his eyes took her breath away. They were a dark brown but she could see gold flecks hiding in the dark which only made them more intense. She could see that he was angry. Not with her but he was angry with the world.
She smiled at him and his expression faltered. "Aren't you gonna buy a lady a drink?"
The man looked surprised. It was likely that she had caught him off guard. Most of the other patrons were giving him a wide berth sensing his less than hospitable disposition.
He looked her over and Jim preened at it, feeling her body come alive at the scrutiny. She loved it when people noticed her.
"I don't see a lady. I see a kid. Don't you have some homework to do?" He growled in a southern accent and turned back to his drink, throwing it back and grimacing at the burn.
Well, that stung. She was twenty-four! Let it be said that Jamison Kirk never backed down from a challenge. She signaled the bartender and pointed to her companions drink, ordering another for him and one for her. If Mohammed won't come to the mountain...
The drinks were put in front of them and Jim quickly paid. The brunette turned back to facing her and raised an eyebrow in disbelief. He picked up the drink, watching her and waiting. Jim smirked and copied the gesture, clinking their glasses together and they both downed the bourbon together.
The alcohol burned all the way to her belly, leaving a warm feeling and she struggled to not let it show that she really wanted to cough. McCoy returned her smirk and watched as she signaled for another.
"Smooth." She gasped and McCoy started laughing and shook his head.
"I'll give you credit, kid. You certainly know how to spice up an evening." He held out a hand and Jim took it. "McCoy. Leonard McCoy."
"Jim Kirk. What brings you to Las Vegas?" She sipped on her second drink, this time savoring in the flavor rather than just swallowing.
"Celebrating my divorce becoming final yesterday. Ex-wife took almost everything and I'm spending the rest before she tries to get a hold of that, too. All she left me with was my bones." He saluted with his glass and took a drink.
She could see the hurt and Jim put a hand on his arm, hoping to provide a small measure of comfort.
"How 'bout you?"
Kirk shrugged. "Just out to have a good time." She turned to the casino floor and spotted Gaila playing at the craps table, jumping up and down and letting a young blond man blow on her dice for luck. That was what she loved about her. She was always fun. "Came here with my friend who is, apparently, doing fine without me." She smiled and gestures to her. "She loves blondes. Thinks they're lucky."
McCoy laughed and damn, if that wasn't a sexy sound. "Maybe she's right."
Jim moved closer, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "How about we do a proper celebration? Do Vegas the right way?"
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McCoy groaned and rolled over, his head pounding and his tongue feeling like sandpaper in his mouth. He felt a warm body next to him and he cracked open an eyelid, closing it immediately as the sunlight pierced through into his brain.
He didn't remember much of last night. He remembered a blonde girl with vivid blue eyes, dancing, craps and blackjack and lots of booze but that was about the extent of it. There was a lot of laughing...and crying? But he remembered most of all that she hadn't recoiled from him. Instead, she had pulled him closer.
He moaned as the jackhammer in his skull pounded. He slowly opened his eyes and rolled over. The girl was still there. It was then that he realized he was naked. Just what had they done?
He looked around the room, noticing that they weren't in his room that he had booked. It seemed to be a suite. On the nightstand were a lot of chips. He'd never done anything like this before. Jocelyn had been his one and only. They'd been high school sweethearts, married right out of college. Sure, things had become strained after his father's death and when they realized she couldn't have children but they'd never done anything wild.
He looked closer at the blonde, trying to remember her name. Joanne? Jennifer? No...it was a boy's name. Jim? Yes, Jim. She was lying on her stomach, the blanket only covering her hips, naked and McCoy had to admit, she was beautiful. Her skin was a golden color, slightly tanned and she was slender but curved in all the right places. Her hair was a dark blonde, slightly wavy and it fell past her shoulders in waves.
He especially liked her face. There was a small smattering of freckles that lined the bridge of her nose and cheeks and her face was heart-shaped, kind. He remembered meeting her at the bar, surprised that such an attractive woman was talking to him, especially considering just how angry he was. It had been her eyes that had really engaged him. They were a bright blue, like a summer's sky back in Georgia.
Ever since he'd walked in on Jocelyn and Clay, he'd never thought he'd be seen as anything other than a failed husband but this girl had been a breath of fresh air. He felt...lighter.
His bed partner's eyes snapped open and she jerked awake, suddenly groaning and covering her face with the pillow much like he had earlier. "Oh, my god." She peeked out. "What happened?"
McCoy chuckled but stopped when his headache protested. "I was hoping you knew."
She kept the pillow over her face, her voice muffled. "I remember...nope. I know it was fun but this is one thing I am not repeating...for a long time." McCoy lifted the pillow and Jim hissed, covering her face. "Give a girl some warning."
When she finally opened her eyes she looked down. "So, we uh-you know?"
"Looks like it."
She looked around the room and McCoy saw both of their clothes strewn everywhere. She looked back to him and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Shame neither of us can remember. It looks like it was fantastic."
He shook his head and laughed.
"You should do that more." Jim looked at him closely, her eyes serious.
"Do what?" McCoy asked.
"Smile. It looks good on you."
All traces of humor were gone and McCoy felt as if his heart was being squeezed. "Thanks."
Jim lifted her wrist and looked at her watch, her body stiffening like a piano wire. "Oh, shit!" She jumped out of bed, unashamed of her nakedness as she ran around the hotel suite and collected her clothing. He couldn't help a good long look. He wished he remembered last night.
She was pulling on her boot and jumping on one foot. "Sorry, Bones, gotta run. Places to go, people to see." She ran over and pressed a chaste kiss on his cheek. "It's been fun."
She was halfway to the door when McCoy shouted after her, stopping her and gesturing to the pile of chips. "Isn't that yours?"
She tossed her jacket over her shoulder and shook her head, eyes sparkling. "Nope. That's all you. I guess my friend Gaila was right. Blondes are lucky."
McCoy huffed a laugh and watched as she left wishing he had her number or even her last name. Once the door shut, he stood and stretched, walking over to the nightstand and looking at his/their winnings. He'd come with five thousand and he wondered how little was left.
He noticed they were all green thousand dollar chips. -the hell?!? He counted them out and couldn't believe it. He had won over sixty thousand. Enough to make up for everything financially he'd lost in the divorce.
"Jim, you are a wonder, kid." He packed the chips a small toiletries bag when he noticed a piece of paper and picture barely poking out under the bed. He knelt and pulled it out, careful to not damage it.
He looked at the picture. It was of him and Jim kissing under a heart-shaped arch next to an Elvis impersonator. The smile slipped of his face fast as he read the border. "Little White Chapel". His hands started shaking as he put the picture down to look at the other piece of paper. A marriage certificate between Leonard H. McCoy and Jamison T. Kirk.
"Ah fuck."