The Third Wheel

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXpZi4I4G7k:3fyti9nv]As the next song started[/url:3fyti9nv], Taylor quickly began to trot out every trick she had. Her dancing was something like a mix of punk rock thrash, flirty party-girl dancing, and sassy, sultry, sexy, vaguely hip hop inflected pop. She loved to dance, but she wasn't exactly educated on the subject. Her athletic prowess, her punk rock attitude, and her enticing body were more than enough to do the job.

Jess had the edge of years of professional experience and hard work. She watched Taylor with a smirk while they danced, while Taylor couldn't help but grin and laugh delightedly. A distinct circle had formed around the two on the floor, and more than a few cellphone cameras were out, while the two girls went back and forth.

When the song ended, both of them laughed, and Jess couldn't help but give Taylor a sloppy hug. They talked and giggled exchanged compliments, while Taylor's excitement relative to Jess' tipsy cool showed their age difference.

Ever watchful and always on the prowl, Jess caught sight of the incoming boys out of the corner of her eye. "Watch out, girl, he's got a friend now." She grinned. "Dibs."

"Yeah, I call the spikey silver one." Taylor laughed.

Taylor grabbed Johnny by the shirt and pulled him into a kiss. "I'm having so much fun!" She said to Johnny, loudly, over the music.

Jess didn't miss a beat. She locked eyes with the new boy and with a flirty look and move with her hips and extended a hand out to him, palm down. "Hey, cowboy. Come here often?" She said girlishly. "Promise to buy me a drink and I'll let you take over for Blue."

Taylor leaned in close to Johnny with her eyes on his friend. "Who's that? Do you know him? Is he cool?" She asked, unconsciously trying to screen him for Jess.

Johnny was corralled by Taylor into a hot but quick kiss. He grinned as Shinobu was left bewildered for a second, grinning. "Guess he doesn't waste any time..." He muttered to himself. Johnny had mentioned his girlfriend and from the bits and pieces he told about her, he could pick her out pretty well, just from what he had said. She seemed cool, and was definitely cute. She lived up to what Johnny had described of her so far. But he left the couple to their own devices and swiveled his attention over towards Jess where he gave her a cool smile.

"That's great, babe!" johnny said and slid his hands around Taylor's hips to keep them close. "Nice to get out once in a while and not have to fight off crazy people with a stick." He added with a chuckle.

Shinobu nodded his head at Jess' words. "Not often enough, apparently." He said with a cool chuckle. Shinobu then eyed Johnny. "Save us a spot, We'll be back in a hot minute. You know, let them ogle you two a bit before we come in and steal the show!"

"Psh!" Johnny said and grinned. "You can't wrestle, what makes you think you can dance!"

Shinobu took Jess' arm smoothly and raised his other hand, calling out as he strolled with Jess towards the bar. "Already had dancing lessons, Johnny-kun!" He said before turning to Jess. "He's a good kid. So, what's your poison... uhhh..." Shinobu leaned against the bar and motioned towards the bar with a casual finger while he eyed Jess. "My name's Shinobu. Shinobu Fujiwara."

Johnny paused for a moment to banter with Shinobu before turning back to Taylor. "Yeah, man. He seems cool. Met him a few weeks ago. He was new to Tension and we started chattin in the gym one day. Been hanging out a bit since, kinda. Cool guy. Doesn't quite make up for when yer in Tokyo though." He said and gave Taylor a squeeze.

"Kamikaze." She said to the bartender. It was equal parts vodka, Triple Sec, and lime juice, and her new favorite drink. She turned back to Shinobu.

"It's Jess, but you can call me Haruki if it makes you happy." She laughed and leaned against Shinobu with her hands on his shoulder. The bartender put her drink down and she threw it back immediately. She could handle her liquor like a champ.

She slyly looked over her new friend. He was well put together, well dressed, a dashing young man, but she could tell that he wasn't quite in the same age bracket as the rest of these kids. It seemed like she lucked out with this one.

"How old do you think I am?" She asked girlishly with a giggle, starting to slur just a little bit.

Taylor grinned at Johnny as the next song started, slow and heavy, and she kept dancing. "Cool." She said, not taking her eyes off Johnny as she lifted up her hands and worked her hips.

Shinobu watched in amazement as Jess threw back her drink like a pro. He nodded to the bartender. 'Beer. I think I'd like to taste my drink." He said and smiled at Jess. "Not that that wasn't impressive." He added and took a generous draught of his beer when it was passed to him.

"I like Jess. That's a fine name." He said. She was clearly foreign, but that was part of the charm. She was exotic. He felt no need to sully all that with a Japanese name. He wasn't like his other kin who were utterly xenophobic.

Jess suddenly put the screws to him with an impossible question. There was no way he could answer that and get it right. He smiled slyly and took another small sip of beer. "You don't waste any time do you?" He noted before settling his face to make it look like he was thinking as well as sizing her up. "I'd say you're old enough to kill all these girls on the dance floor but young enough not to stick out while doing it."

He leaned against the bar coolly and surveyed the area. "Why don't we go show those kids a thing or two?" He asked before he suddenly heard a voice.

"Hey! Yeah, hey! You're that guy!"

Shinobu didn't think anything of it aside from a small twitching in his ear.

"You're the Phantom Detective!"

That one got his attention as he saw a girl parting the crowd to come at him.

"S-shit..." Shinobu muttered under his breath. The girl's words got some heads to turn curiously and a soft whisper began to fill the crowd lingering around the bar.

Shinobu looked to Jess and raised his shoulders with a grin on his. "Well... things can get a little interesting around me sometimes. I'll explain later, c'mon!" He grabbed Jess by the hand and attempted to pull her through a crowd of young girls who was starting to collect around him and squealing at him, trying to beg him for any scrap of attention he would offer them.

Johnny had barely noticed the developing scene as he pulled Taylor close and slid his arms around her. He pressed his hands into her butt and pushed their bodies close as he stared into her eyes and ground with her. "Guess they got lost..." He muttered. "Maybe ... we could do the same after this dance and junk..." He said with a smile as he leaned in and kissed Taylor.

Jess gave Shinobu a flattered grin. "Oh," she purred. "So you're saying I'm not a kid, huh?"

Nobody needed to tell her twice with dancing, and she pushed her shot glass back across the bar and stood up, ready to hit the floor and make every girl in the room hate her. She didn't notice the commotion at first. It took a moment for her mostly inebriated mind to parse what was happening.

"Hey!" She shouted at the crowd over the music. She could be louder than one would think. She had experience being around famous people, and with dismissing eager admirers. "In your dreams. Get lost!" She followed quickly after Shinobu.

Meanwhile, Taylor had yet to learn how to resist Johnny. He was like a walking, human tube of Spanish Fly, except the Japanese version. Being close to him, to his body, every touch brought back memories of how he had made her feel that sent tingling waves of excitement from her hands and feet in to her heart. The idea that they could have a never ending well of passionate, athletic, creative sex was one of the things that kept her sane.

"Yeah..." She said, thinking about Jess. She was sure she'd run into her again. She looked back at Johnny and worked her body right back against his. "We definitely could. I have to show you my new outfit, and you have to tell me what you think. It's a very sensitive issue."

Shinobu flashed Jess a smile as she followed behind him, maneuvering through the giddy crowd like she was a pro. He led her outside and pulled her under the awning of the club, looking at her. "Thanks!" He said as he looked at the line. There were still a lot of people looking to get in. He ignored them. He turned his attention back to the mystery woman.

"Jess-san, you're amazing." He said with a soft laugh. "Sorry about all that." He added, blushing a bit. "I'll explain it later." He gave her a nod. "We still have a dance to finish and I think I know a place that is probably more our caliber."

Shinobu would then begin to lead Jess down the streets of Tokyo towards a smoky little Jazz club that was hidden away from the rowdy main drag. Shinobu knew all the places to get away from the crowds and he loved this one too. The odd combination of really Japanese people playing really American Jazz music made the place an oddity but they played their hearts out like it was their own and there was enough booze, class and dancing to keep the place in the black.

Meanwhile, back at the club, Johnny and Taylor ground together wonderfully. The pain of the match was long gone and she wanted to just be with his sexy gal. She was definitely making the club seem like a place he could do without as well.

"Yeah, man... that sounds cool and junk." He said turning his head a little bit and grinning as he blushed. When the dance ended, he couldn't take it any longer and crouched down to scoop up Taylor over his shoulder. "Well, that was pretty cool!" He shouted extra loudly as he tried to pull Taylor along to the outside of the club. "Better get goin and junk, though!" Like it mattered to the rest of the club kids.

Jess held onto Shinobu's hand until they were out of the club, and she wiggled her hands in a restrained little dance to the dull, thumping remnants of the music inside.

"Lead the way, Phantom Detective." She said with a bright, sunny laugh. She was slurring a little, but even drunk she was so harmlessly easy going that one couldn't help but be at ease around her.

"I'm gonna warn you, officer, I'm totally drunk and I'm gonna need a place to crash soon. I don't know if I can make it all the way back home by myself in this condition." She said coyly. She shamelessly flirted with her new friend all the way to their next stop.

"Eep!" Taylor squeaked and giggled as Johnny hoisted her over his shoulder. She didn't resist, and mercifully she wasn't wearing a skirt, although other club-goers still got quite a view of her in her compromising position. She pulled up his shirt in the back and playfully bit his side, and then began giving soft little kisses to whatever exposed skin she could reach until she lost her balance and nearly fell off the back of him.

"Whoa there, you'd better hurry up. Find a cab or something. Or a limo with some privacy."

Shinobu laughed as they entered the cluba nd Jess flirted with him. He enjoyed her frankness, if not the fact that it was a little alcohol soaked. I'll be sure and get you somewhere hospitable by the end of the night." He said charitably. He didn't want to be too forward, but he certainly wasn't' going to leave her hanging. "I take it then, " he said as he flashed her a smile. "That I should only order one drink for me. Seems like you're cut off!" He laughed softly and made his way tot he bar with her. He ordered a drink for himself and let her do as she liked with another drink before pulling her onto the dance floor. In a place like this, there were only a few people. The floor was theirs if they wanted it and Shinobu pulled her close. "Let's cut a rug!" He beamed and then laughed. "Oh... wow... I can't believe I said that! All this Jazz is already getting to me, maybe I'M the one who needs to be cut off!" Either way, he grabbed Jess' hips and began moving fluidly around the floor with her as they danced to the peppy beat.

Johnny grinned and giggled as Taylor teased him back. He hauled her out of the club and flagged a cab before setting her down and wrapping his arms around her, hugging her tightly and pressing his chest against her back.

The cab rolled up and he pulled her in and closed the door. Muttered the address in quick Japanese and turned his attention back towards Taylor with a hungry grin as he pressed himself up tightly against her.

Jess laughed, but didn't say anything. Not to Shinobu, at least, with a sharp whistle she got the bartender's attention and held up a finger. "Vodka!" She said, and slapped some money down on the bar.

The threw back her shot like a champ before she was escorted out onto the floor. Once they were there, with Shinobu behind her, his hands on her hips, she stopped suddenly and pressed herself against him. She reached back over her shoulder to put a hand on the back of his neck and looked back with a smile while she slid down, and then back up the front of him. She began dancing like she belonged on stage, though she kept it low key and stayed close to her partner.

"So you're the Phantom Detective? Do you solve crimes? Like... Scooby Doo?" She asked with a laugh. "I've always had a thing for cops. I love a man with some authority." She slurred a little.

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Taylor grinned and leaned her forehead against Johnny, but as the cab began to move she straightened up and looked away, turning her nose up with an aloof look.

"No. Not in the cab. It wouldn't be appropriate. You'll just have to wait." She said in her very best impersonation of a chaste, prudish girl, barely keeping a straight face.

There were no two ways about how impressed Shinobu was with Jess' determination to be a heavy drinker. He wondered though, how often she did it and how well she really could hold her stuff. He decided, for her sake, that he should lay off the booze himself for the night and instead keep an eye on her. Not that she needed it, but if both of them were tipsy, who knows what could happen.

As they danced, Shinobu remained close. e too, was skilled at dancing, something he had practiced for a long while because of his acting. Though he may not have been the best at club dancing, he was easily able to keep pace in the smoky jazz soaked setting and his body pressed tightly against Jess' in a sensual, yet rhythmic manner that made the two the jewel of the dance floor.

Shinobu laughed as she chatted while they danced. "Something like that!" He said, beaming a little bit. "I solve murders with the help of some ghostly critters. Think of it like Pokemon meets Detective Conan." He paused. "Um... if you know what that stuff even is. I really didn't until I got this part!" He felt he needed to add that because he really wasn't the type to be interested in kiddy stuff like that.

"What about you? Seems like Kyoto's a strange place for a lady like yourself." Shinobu grinned. "Then again, I don't think I question very much any more. I sort of like being able to find things that don't quite fit in." Shinobu smiled. "Or maybe I should say, that seem to stand out a little bit more than usual." He gave Jess a squeeze while they continued to dance to the peppy Jazz.

***

Johnny grinned as Taylor feigned prudishness. "Aww, c'mon, babe! No one's even gonna know..." He chuckled and slid his hand along her thigh but other than a little bit of sneaky touching and a few kisses he was good until they got back to the apartment.