,,daisy dukesBIKINIon top,,lexi.

[karlieann tallulah rhys]

You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
To the golden coast..
Once you party with us
You'll be falling in love!!
ooooooh oh ooooooh!

Karlie had been travelling so much of late, living in motels and in her car on the rare occasions that called for it. Karlie had locked her bank account so her father couldn't touch it so all the money that had been her mothers and that she had earned herself was safe. Her dad had control of her money until she was eighteen and still had a chance to take it off her so she took that chance away. He'd told her to go so she doubted he'd leave her with nothing but with her dad, you never quiet knew.

Karlie had ended up yet again in some cheap motel the night before this one but just being able to shower and shave her legs made it all worth it. One thing she would never do is let herself smell. She'd checked out of the hotel but something in her hadn't felt like driving off quite yet. She wasn't completely sure why she just felt like she needed to be there. She'd got herself looking pretty, content with the idea of sleeping in her baby that night and headed to a place she'd driven past on her way to the motel the night before... The cats meow.

Karlie's fake ID worked a treat getting her into the club and then she'd found a spot to slot herself in. It wasn't long before someone had come up and started talking to her and Karlie being Karlie, flirted up a storm. The guy was buying her drinks all night. It wasn't that Karlie wasn't capable of buying her drinks, it was more that she didn't see the point of doing so if she didn't have to.

She'd drank and she'd danced but that was all she planned to do. Don't get me wrong, Karlie wasn't a good girl, she wasn't innocent but she also was NOT interested in this guy what so ever. He'd leaned over to kiss her and she'd laughed, placing her hand on his chest to push him, telling him no. Then the guy got pushy and practically pushed Karlie back into the seat and pushed his lips towards hers. All Karlie could smell was booze and stale cigarettes, her hands slapping at his body.

--So poo im sorry!!--

[Alexis Blair]

Business as usual.

That was Lexi motto since the vampires attack and settling in New Orleans. She wouldn't allow herself any down time in which to dwell on what had happened and she needed the action to keep her mind from wondering what Max was up too. He'd been entirely to focused on taking out every damned blood sucker in the city and she lived in fear of him not coming home some night.

But, that was something to worry about later. Right now, at this very moment, she had a business to run and customers to see too.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

Pushing back the thoughts threatening to swamp her head, the slender blond helped Ben out behind the bar and filled drink orders as the crowd hit its peek. Since one of the bartenders had called in sick, there was slack to be taken up and Lexi found herself sliding into the roll with an understated easy.

Although she didn't missed the lame pick up lines guys always shot at her, she found that she did kind of miss the face paced action that went on behind the counter. Ben twirled his bottles and the crowds shouted in laughter as he dared her to do the same. Pretty soon, they were dolling out wicked looking shots and trying to beat each others silly stunts.

Oh yeah, this was the life as long as you were more used to the nightlife than living in the daylight.

As things started to die down once more, a familiar peel of laughter caught Lexi's attention and she cocked an ear. Turning her keen gaze along the far bar, she felt an eyebrow shoot up as she spied a familiar face.

What the devil? Karlie? What the hell was she doing here and more importantly..... Who was the asshole leaning over her? Flinging her towel to the bucket, Lexi frown and stalked towards the pair. The bartenders on that side moved out of her way and then she was placing palms down on the counter to stare directly at the pair. Her expression was bored but fire flashed in her eyes.

"Do we have a problem here?" she asked almost casually.

"Get lost!" snarled the young man as he gave her an angry glare. "There's no problem here."

Arching a brow, Lexi lost her bored expression and leaned forward to smile evilly.

"Oh... I"m afraid there is one... A few actually.... One being this is MY club and I don't like people harassing my patrons.... Two..... The girl your currently smacking on is my sister and she's underage..."Ok, yeah, small fib... Karlie wasn't her sister actually but close enough that the man would never know. The good lord knew they looked enough alike. "Thirdly, If you don't take your bloody paws off her... I'm going to ensure that your unable to ever use them again.... Feel me?"

Then, giving Karlie a chiding look, she continued.

"And you....... Where do I even begin?" she said lightly, her eyes twinkling momentarily.

[karlieann tallulah rhys]

You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
To the golden coast..
Once you party with us
You'll be falling in love!!
ooooooh oh ooooooh!

When she'd entered the club, Karlie didn't have the slightest idea who it belonged to. Karlie had always been pretty damn casual about the fact she was under age and it had been so long since Karlie had even seen or heard from Lexi in years so she didn't even know she had a club. Hell the petite blond didn't even know where her old modelling mentor lived these days. Karlie lived in Texas last time she'd spoken to Lexi and that had been a good few years ago now. For a girl that adored sex, Karlie definately didn't like being set upon. She wasn't the sort of person to say 'I like it all on my own terms' but with the past she'd never told anyone about, it was understandable she didn't like guys coming on too strong or basically pushing themselves onto her.

The voice that broke through the mess in her head was more than welcome, because of the instant silent it caused in her head as well as the fact the guy instantly moved off her to give the voice some attitude. The voice rang so familiar in her head but it took her a moment to even start taking in her surroundings again. As she did the face that went with the voice left Karlie with her mouth hanging open. As Karlie looked at Lexi in shock, she began to speak to the guy who was coming on a bit too strong. Telling him that this was her bar, a complete revelation that made Karlie raise her eyebrows. Well crap on toast!! Lexi no doubt remembered her age.. Well she just confirmed that now didn't she by telling this guy the fact. She assumed Lexi only told this guy she was her sister to get him to back off. Then she told him to take his paws off her and Karlie just turned to him, waving her hand and mouthing 'ba-bye' at him. Then as Lexi turned to Karlie, the guy announced ''I'm going to leave you guys to it'' before practically RUNNING out the club.

For the first time in a long time, Karlie looked up at Lexi with this sheepish look. She was in trouble and she knew it. Karlie wasn't used to feeling like she was about to get told off. Her gorgeous green eyes looked up at the slender blond. "I'm soooo" HIC! Great... Of all times for the hiccups to rear their ugly heads!! "Sorry.... I didn't know this was your place and that guy was just... And I just wanted to let my hair down because I'd been on the road and.... I'm really sorry!" She was rambling!! She knew, well she hoped, Lexi wouldn't call the police. She hated worrying that she'd upset Lexi because Lexi had in the past, always been really really good to her. If Lexi called the police she knew she'd get Lexi in trouble which she was worried more about than actually being in trouble with the police herself.. There was a difference between a slap on the wrist and losing a business potentially.

[Alexis Blair]

Some people see the revolution but most only see the girl
I can lose my hard earned freedom if my fear defines my world
I declare my independence from the critics and their stones
I can find my revolution I can learn to stand alone...
I'll be everything that I want to be
I am confidence in insecurity
I am a voice yet waiting to be heard
I'll shoot the shot, bang, that you hear round the world...
And I'm a one girl revolution

And so the story went with Prince Asshole running off for the nearest exit. Talk about a dime store cowboy wanna be. She'd seen bigger balls on some of the broads that came in and out of her club.

Real men were so hard to find these days it seemed.

Thank God that she'd found Max when she did or she might have sworn off the whole males species. He certainly hadn't tucked tail and run when her own little "problem" had reared its ugly head. Nah, he'd simply smile and said he liked the adrenaline rush he got by living dangerously.

Talk about smexy.

As a little smile at that thought crept over her face, Lexi forced herself back to the business at hand. Pushing off the bar, she crossed her arms over her chest and settled an arched gaze upon the other blond. Her blue gaze glimmered as she leveled her with a "All right, chicky, out with it and don't give me any of your normal bull crap" look.

"Karlieann Tallulah Rhys..... Its been.. What??? Three years since I saw you last? If I remember correctly, you weren't even driving a car at the time so unless you've found a fast aging potion I should know about..... Your in a world of trouble, missy!" she drawled before tilting her head to the back rooms that lead to her upstairs office. "Getcha ass off that stool and come with me."

Moving down the bar a ways, she flipped up a wooden gate and waited for the younger woman to join her. Once she was through the opening, she dropped it again and shouted to Ben.

"Ben!! I'm going upstairs for a bit... Buzz me if you need me down here!'

"Can do, boss lady!" the handsome manager shouted back before he grinned at Karlie and went back to serving drinks.

Pushing through the swinging doors and leading the way to a set of stairs, Lexi quickly navigated the path and soon had them both inside her sound proofed office. Motioning to the comfortable couch, she didn't bother to sit down behind the huge desk but perched on top of it instead.

"All right.... Now that we are out of the public eye.... Lucy.. You got some splainin to do! What the hell are you doing here and how the hell did you get past my bouncers? Not that I'm not really happy to see you ... cause I am.... but.... Shouldn't you be at home? Is everything all right?" she asked, questions flying a million miles a minute. "You said your on the road? Why? Where is your dad? And don't bother lying to me because I will know!"

As she waited for the other girls response, Lexi let her gaze travel over her. Her brows furrowed as she took in the world weary expression in her eyes and the tired set of her shoulders.

"Did that asshole hurt you again?" she demanded, growing angry. "What happened, honey bunch? If theres any way I can help....."

[karlieann tallulah rhys]

You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
To the golden coast..
Once you party with us
You'll be falling in love!!
ooooooh oh ooooooh!

Lexi told Karlie that unless she found an ageing potion she was in a world of trouble. She knew that anyway but as the words came out of Lexi's mouth, Karlie just looked down. She knew that she was good at making people feel sorry for her but that wasn't hat was going on here. Seeing Lexi's face at that bar had honestly made Karlie's heart stop and having her tell her off made her want to turn back time and not even go in there. She was told to follow Lexi and lifted herself off the stool and trailed after her.

Once she was upstairs Karlie settled down into the couch and looked at Lexi as she started to tell her off. One thing Karlie had always been taught as a kid was that when you were in trouble you face it and you look the person in the eye. She'd been asked what she was doing there and how she got past the bouncers, whether she should really be at home and if everything was okay, why she was on the road, where her dad was. She was told not to lie. Karlie's face was filling with emotion, she knew she'd have to tell Lexi what was going on and well Lexi would be the first person to find that out. Lexi was someone Karlie actually trusted. She'd never quite told her everything, but she told Lexi enough for Lexi to know her home life wasn't happy.

Lexi didn't even give Karlie enough time to speak before she started again. She asked if he hurt her. Lexi seemed to be going from question to question and changing her emotion a little with each one. As she finally stopped Karlie let out a huge sigh. "My dad kicked me out... I did something bad, it started after my Mom died... did you know my Mom died? I can't even remember who I contacted... But yeah it was a mess but I tried to be honest with my dad about what was going on and why my head was in the state it was and she refused to believe me and told me to leave... He thought I was just lying to get him to ponder to me.. Not that he EVER has or I expect him to EVER do so."

Not one to cry, Karlie tried desperately not to. "I have nowhere to go! You're a little bit screwed when your own father doesn't want you there anymore. All I have is my car, the contents of it and my savings account which granted is a lot but dad's tracking the account. He doesn't want me in his house but he still likes to have control of me.. Yeah I messed up and i held my hands up to that!! But I told my dad I was a mess and I needed him and he didn't even believe me!! Probably didn't even care because if he cared his fabulous wife wouldn't have been happy with him!!!"

Karlie looked up at Lexi. The puddle of tears across her eyes was undeniable but Karlie would try and deny it as much as she could. "I'm sorry!! I feel so bad that I could have got you in trouble and I would have never come here if I knew this was your place... I'm just in a complete mess and I like to drink and to party.. I don't know I'm just sorry Lex!" Had she answered all her questions? She didn't know but the fact she'd got tears, real tears, meant she'd told her more than she'd have told anyone else. Karlie didn't lie to Lexi very often and she'd always seen right through her when she did. But on this occasion she was in enough trouble as it was.

[Alexis Blair]

Lexi had known it was going to be bad. It was always bad when it came to Karlie and her dad. After years of modeling and being front and center for some of their altercations, she supposed it was a miracle one or the other hadn't tried to kill each other. Daddy Rhys was a controlling tyrant 90% of the time but Karlie was a handful herself. Neither one of them seemed to know how to deal with the other and it was painfully obvious that the stubbornness in the father was hereditary.

Sighing, the slender blond ran a hand through her hair and gave the younger woman a searching look. For a moment, she was silent as she gazed at her and when she spoke, there was determination in her voice.

"First off.. You don't have to apologize for anything. I'm only upset that you didn't think to come to me sooner with all this and that I didn't get a call the moment this all went down. Instead... I have to find this all out by accident because some creep decides that putting his hands on you in my club is ok." she retorted before seating herself beside her. "Sweetie... You know that you can come to me with anything. I know the past couple years I've been a bit .... busy... but that doesn't mean that you can't pick up the phone and call me if you need help."

Brushing a lock of hair from the other girls face, she continued.

"Now, enough of this crying. Your here now and your not alone. To hell with daddy dearest if he can't see the treasure he has in you as a daughter. He should be damned proud of the woman you've become even if its been a rough road."

Hugging her tight, Lexi fell silent for a moment as she thought about how to proceed from here. There were a few viable options but she knew Karlie would refuse anything she saw as charity so she had to be careful.

"Besides... Its actually really good that you've showed up. I'm in a bit of a pickle and was actually wondering how I was going to manage all this." she drawled out with a smile. "You see.... I'm not Alexis James anymore but Alexis Blair... You remember that guy I had just started dating last time we talked? Well, turns out.. He is my Prince Charming and we got hitched on Valentines Day in Las Vegas. Now.... Well... We're expecting our first child... Between the club and everything else.. I'm bound to be stretched as far as I can go and I'm also just recovering from a pretty bad incident..... "

For a moment, a dark cloud passed over her face before she shook her head.

"Anyways... The doctor insists that I take it easy but its a bit impossible. If your interested in helping me out with books and such... I've got an empty guest house and a million and one things to do to help me get ready for the munchkin!"