Silk and Cotton

"Hey! Lizard!"

Elizabeth Webber's eyes flew open at the familiar sound of her nickname. No, it couldn't be…

"Yo, Liz! Hey! You in there? It's me!"

Shit.

Elizabeth's nails dug into the skin of the gentleman that was currently on top of her and doing wonderful things to her with his mouth. "Hey," she whispered, tugging on the strong shoulders and forcing him to look up at her.

The gentleman caller was none too pleased, as the irritated growl he let loose conveyed. But he didn't move, and Elizabeth didn't push him to until her visitor knocked again.

"I know you're in there! Damn it, Webber, wake up and let me in!"

"You have to go," Elizabeth whispered urgently, lifting herself up from underneath him. Her companion scowled, not liking the fact that he was losing her body heat and being kicked out of bed on top of that. "Go – hurry. She can't see you here."

"I'm going, I'm going," he muttered, running a hand through his wild, tousled hair. A small grin rose to his lips when he reflected that the brunette beauty beneath him had everything to do with that. "Damn it, woman, quit pushing."

He stopped for a split second, and Elizabeth saw his eyes glitter. "Oh, please," she huffed as she tried to shove him off the bed and in the general direction of his clothes – all of which were scattered around the room, no thanks to her. "Don't turn that into an innuendo, too."

The man laughed and treated her to a saucy grin before he claimed her lips fiercely with his. His powerful muscles rippled as he smoothly rolled himself off the bed, and Elizabeth all but sprang up after him. He handed her a robe which she immediately donned as her visitor continued to pound a drum solo into the door.

"Here," she hissed, picking up his jeans and t-shirt and boots and all but shoving the articles of clothing into his bare chest. "Now…hide. Hide!"

"OK, OK," he replied as she took it upon herself to shove him into her closet. As soon as he was safely hidden from view, Elizabeth spun around and quickly took inventory of her bedroom above Kelly's.

The bed was completely undone, due to her and her partner's best efforts the evening before…and the night before…and that morning…and two minutes ago. Her clothes were scattered to and fro and Elizabeth scrambled to pick them up and dump them on her chair, where at least the mess looked more inconspicuous.

"I'm coming, Em," she called to her best friend who was now kicking the door lightly with her shoe. "Hold on one sec!"

Emily had just gotten back from a trip to Canada with her boyfriend, a guitar player by the name of Zander Smith. The two of them had taken off about two weeks earlier, much to the displeasure of Emily's older brother, Jason. Elizabeth knew why Jason didn't like his sister's newest fling – the boy was confident, tough, at times smug, and completely wild. He was a lot like Jason, Elizabeth reflected with a smirk.

And of course, the minute that the two of them got back into Port Charles, Emily had beaten a path to her door. Her best friend had felt extremely guilty right before leaving – probably because that was when Elizabeth had ended things with her serious boyfriend of three years, Lucky Spencer. The brunette had been devastated, and Emily wished that she could have stayed to help her through it. But Elizabeth knew how important it was for her to finally have some alone-time with her man, so she urged the girl to go.

And now Emily was back, and Elizabeth was not at all ready to let her in.

But let her in she did, after casting a nervous glance at the closet where her gentleman caller stood, in all his nude glory, waiting her best friend's departure so that he could finish what he had started.

"Lizard!" Emily cried as soon as Elizabeth opened the door. She had no sooner stepped into the room than the redhead threw her arms around her best friend for a hug. Inwardly, Elizabeth was wondering if she smelled.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," Emily smiled, pulling back but retaining a grip on Elizabeth's shoulders. "Honey, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Elizabeth smiled warmly back. "But first things first – tell me about you and Zman."

Unless her mind was playing tricks on her, Elizabeth could have sworn that she heard a low groan emanate from the closet.

Emily, however, was too excited to notice. "Oh, we had a blast. Zander took me canoeing – I've never done that before. I mean, I know that we have canoes back at the estate, but I was always too afraid to try it, you know? Plus, AJ didn't make it any easier for me – he was always threatening to tip me if I ever did get in."

Elizabeth smiled. Emily's other older brother AJ was a real card. And he never missed an opportunity to tease his little sister.

"But Zander convinced me and we went out on this huge lake and it was incredible!" Emily exclaimed. "We didn't tip or wobble or anything – oh, Elizabeth, it was so beautiful! You would have loved it. Canada is just so spectacular this time of year – it's so peaceful, and it's like nothing else exists around you except the lakes and the trees and the birds…"

"It sounds amazing, Em," Elizabeth sighed. "I'm so glad you had a good time."

"Oh, we did," Emily agreed, setting her purse down on Elizabeth's cluttered desk. "But enough about us – sweetie, tell me about you."

The petite brunette wrung her hands, unsure of how to start the conversation. Especially with her gentleman caller present and in hearing range. "What about me?"

Emily glared at her in disbelief. "You and Lucky," she cried. "How are you? Oh, I'm so sorry that I left you, but-"

"Em, it's okay," Elizabeth assured her with a smile. "Really. I'm okay."

The redhead stared at her for a minute before a small smile claimed her lips. "Good. Good, I'm glad." She stripped off her tweed coat and slung it over the back of Elizabeth's leather desk chair. "Because – as much as it surprises me that I actually think this – there's someone better out there for you."

"Oh, I know it," Elizabeth agreed slyly, casting a discreet glance at the closet. Someone better in every way.

Emily frowned slightly, wondering for a second if Elizabeth meant something else by that, but quickly shook it off. "See, here's my view-" She set her hand down on the desk then stopped when her fingers became tangled in something…silky.

"Um…" Emily lifted her fingers and looked at her friend questioningly. From the perfectly manicured tips hung a pair of black silk stockings. "Elizabeth…?"

Elizabeth blushed fiercely and quickly snagged the stockings from her best friend's hand. Knotting them up into a tight little wad, she quickly threw them out of view. "Uh, yeah…"

Emily's green eyes glittered. "Did you have an interesting night on the town last night, Elizabeth Webber? Have you been holding out on me?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Actually, I did go out to dinner last night, but it was kind of a bust, so I just came back home early." That wasn't the truth. The truth was that she and her suitor had actually ventured out in public to eat but soon discovered that they'd rather taste each other than the sushi and had high-tailed it back to her place to do just that.

"Oh." Emily crinkled her nose. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Elizabeth waved her sympathy off. "No big deal."

"Well, hey, I think it's pretty cool that you're already going out and having fun," Emily supplied helpfully. "I mean, that you're not closing yourself off and spending a few days just in bed, you know?"

Elizabeth nodded as a rosy blush tinged her cheeks. She had been spending quite a bit of time in bed recently, though.

"That's what I would do," Emily continued, puzzled by her friend's flushed face but trying not to call attention to it. "I'd just want to hide away and sleep for a week. But I think it's awesome that you're already dating."

"I wouldn't really call it a date," Elizabeth responded slowly. "I mean, I've known the guy for a while, so it wasn't really a first date kind of deal."

"Oh." Emily's slender brows furrowed. "Do I know the guy?"

Elizabeth's cheeks turned even redder. "Uh, I doubt it."

"Please don't tell me that he's one of Lucky's friends," Emily beseeched. "Please don't tell me that, Lizard."

Elizabeth was already shaking her head furiously. "Oh, no, trust me, he's not friends with Lucky."

"Good," Emily sighed with relief. "Because there is nothing messier than breaking up with a man and then going out with his friend. Because then the first dude gets totally jealous and does his best to try to spoil your fun, and then the second dude might think that he's just a booty call…"

Elizabeth choked on her saliva at that. Damnation. Hopefully, her nude guest in the closet didn't think that. "Oh, it's not like that, Em," she strove to assure her friend and her hidden companion. "I don't think I've ever gone for a 'booty call' or whatever it is-"

"Oh, I know," Emily replied. "I'm just saying."

There was a moment of silence and Elizabeth didn't know how to fill it in. But then Emily spoke, and pretty soon Elizabeth was wishing she hadn't.

"So…let's talk about Lucky."

The brunette crinkled her nose. "Lucky? Why?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "Because I left right in the thick of things and you didn't get the Best Friend Benefit and you had to keep those angry feelings tucked inside and if you keep doing that you're going to get an ulcer, you know, plus, I haven't been filled in on the latest happenings and we all know that is just not right, so spill."

Elizabeth smirked as her friend caught her breath. "Really, Em, it's not a big deal-"

Emily cut her off by placing both hands on her shoulders and shoving her back toward the bed. Elizabeth's knees hit the frame and she fell down on top of her pale blue comforter while Emily perched herself on the edge. While Emily's only concern at the moment was her friend, Elizabeth's only concern was that they better not have accidentally left a used condom between the sheets. Damnation indeed.

"OK, honey, you don't have to be so strong about this now," Emily said softly. "Really – how are you doing?"

Elizabeth sighed with the weight of the world. It felt so good to actually talk to her best friend again – the only problem was that she had to watch what she said. "Well, it was hard at first…"

Emily sat back on the bed and Elizabeth cringed for a moment, trying not to think of just what her best friend might be sitting on at that very moment.

"But I'm good now. I really think I've moved past it."

"How?" Emily asked quietly. "How did you?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, my painting really helped me. Everything is always so clear when I'm painting. It's like all the answers to my problems are tucked away in those cans of paint, and when I take that brush and put them on canvas, I can see it."

"What did you see?"

"I saw that…that I'm not that person Lucky fell in love with," Elizabeth confided. "And I don't think I want to be, to tell you the truth."

"Who are you, then?"

"I'm…I'm someone completely different. I needed so much when I first fell in love with Lucky, Em. And he gave it to me. He gave me what I needed and never asked for anything in return. But after he came back from the fire, it was too different."

"I just…I didn't need him anymore, Em. And the more I tried to convince myself that I did…that I still had it in me to make it work, the more miserable I felt. And after the whole thing with Helena, I thought we made it. I thought I had done it. But I was wrong – there was something else between us."

"Jason," Emily whispered. Her brother was a sensitive topic between her and her best friend. For the longest time, Emily was resentful of the brunette because she felt that Elizabeth was using her brother, but Jason was the one that told her to back off and that he was in just as deep as she was.

"Yes and no," Elizabeth whispered, her eyes shut. "Maybe. I don't know. All I know is that somewhere along the line, Jason made me see that I wasn't the same person that needed Lucky. I wasn't the same person that Lucky needed. I guess I just discovered that I was stronger than that – that just because I was in love with someone didn't have to mean that I needed that person, you know?"

Emily nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"And that was just so…liberating. Sure, it hurt when Lucky cheated on me with Sarah, of all people. But after a few days, the hurt just…disappeared. Isn't that weird?" She looked at her friend questioningly. "Like, isn't that not normal?"

"I don't know," Emily answered honestly. "What do you mean that it just went away?"

"I mean that…" Elizabeth thought for a moment, all considerations for the man in the closet gone. "That I just moved on. One morning I just woke up and said to myself that there was no point in being depressed because there was so much more out there for me. So much to do, so many other people that I'd rather spend time with…"

Emily smiled. "Well, congrats – you're a lot smarter than the rest of us."

"Maybe I'll just take it slow from here on in, you know?" Elizabeth asked, leaning back on the bed and forgetting about her suitor altogether. "I want to make the next relationship I'm in the right one. I want to really be with someone I care for, someone that cares about me."

"Sounds like a plan," Emily smiled. "Because there is definitely someone out there that understands you, someone that can make you feel like no one else ever did."

Elizabeth pressed her hips together at that remark – oh, that was definitely the truth.

"And I'll be looking for that someone," Elizabeth smirked. "But who knows? Maybe I've found him already."

Emily's green eyes narrowed – there was definitely some sort of double-meaning in play. There was no doubt about that. She was about to call her friend on it when Elizabeth jolted slightly on the bed, letting out a squeal.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked instantly.

Elizabeth grinned up at her and pulled out a small silver cell phone. "Oh, nothing. It was on vibrate and it just felt good."

Emily laughed as Elizabeth set the phone on the nightstand, but something occurred to her that put an end to the merry mood. Elizabeth didn't own a silver cell phone – she owned a red one.

Emily frowned at that. If Elizabeth had, in fact, gotten a new phone then she would have called immediately so Emily could change the number on her speed dial. So if it wasn't Elizabeth's phone, whose was it?

"Oh, before I forget," Elizabeth cut in as she rummaged through her drawer. "I burned you that CD you wanted – I just forgot to give it to you."

Emily sat silently as Elizabeth continued to search. The realization had been troubling – whose cell was it, damn it? It was little things like this that just seized control of her mental activity and drove Emily insane. The redhead shifted on the bed, frowning when she sat on one corner of the comforter. Elizabeth moved on to the second drawer and didn't notice Emily squirm just enough to bring the comforter out from underneath her.

The only problem was that along with the comforter, she also removed a pair of black cotton boxer-briefs.

The redhead's green eyes bugged out of her head – Holy mother of-

"Here it is!" Elizabeth exclaimed, pulling out the CD triumphantly. Emily instantly shoved the underwear back in place and sat down on top of the comforter again, doing her best to conceal her shock.

"Thanks," she replied slowly, grasping the CD and pulling it into her lap. "Liz, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," her friend nodded. "Like what?"

Emily's mind raced. Like what? How about "whose phone is that?" or "why do you have a pair of mens' underwear in your bed?" Good God.

"Um, so how are you, really? How do you feel?"

Elizabeth frowned. "How do I-"

"Just answer the question," Emily cut in. "How are you?"

"I'm…I'm happy." Elizabeth's smile was small and genuine, and unbeknownst to the two women, it mirrored that of the man in the closet – the man currently short one pair of boxer briefs.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm happy."

Emily frowned, despite the fact that she was glad. Happy? Already? She knew her friend well, she liked to think, and she knew that there was definitely someone behind this. Someone that Elizabeth wasn't telling her about.

She was about to confront the smug brunette before her when her own cell phone rang. It was her mother, and after a brief conversation Emily sighed and flipped her phone shut.

"That was the house," she informed Elizabeth. "They want me to come home."

"Oh," Elizabeth nodded understandably. "OK. Thanks for coming, Em – I mean it."

"You're welcome," Emily replied, slightly distracted as she hugged her friend. This time, she noticed the faint hint of cologne. Elizabeth smelled of leather and pine trees and…

Emily's eyes widened as Elizabeth patted her back. Holy shit.

"Well, I won't keep you," Elizabeth sighed, tucking her hair behind her ears and fiddling with the sash on her robe.

"Oh, no," Emily disagreed. "Actually, I don't want to keep you."

Elizabeth frowned at that, and her mouth fell open when Emily flipped up the corner of the comforter as she turned, revealing the pair of boxer-briefs. Emily's grin was cheeky as she flounced to the door and pulled it open.

"I'll be around, Lizard," she called gaily before turning to face Elizabeth's closet. "And I'll see you when I see you, Jason!"