"How funny is it that you and I are drowning our sorrows while your wife and my fiancé are playing house together?" Sam tilted her chin back and brought the cold bottle of beer to her plump, painted lips. Droplets of moisture rolled onto her left hand, stopping when they caught on the gold of her engagement ring. Lucky's eyes followed the motion with a narrowed, glassy glare.
"I don't think funny is the word I would use to describe this situation. My wife and my son are living with a known mobster. I really don't find any of this the least bit amusing. Sick and demented, maybe. But not funny," Lucky dangled his empty, brown bottle from his numb fingertips. It crashed to the floor behind the bad as Coleman placed another one in front of him. "You know what? I shouldn't be insulting Jason around you. I don't even blame him. Elizabeth is the one who walked away and took Cameron with her. This is her disaster, not Jason's,"
"Three days ago I would've said that Elizabeth was a friend of mine. But the last few days have shown me that Elizabeth is exactly like my mother. She is a treacherous, lying snake that manipulates every person in her life," Sam shook her head, a rueful smile on her face. The image of Elizabeth and Jason on the couch with Cameron made her skin crawl. She shrugged the memory away as she finished her beer. Lucky pushed a fresh on in Sam's direction.
"Elizabeth isn't perfect and she isn't like Alexis. She ripped my heart out and destroyed any hope I had of having a family. Cam isn't legally or biologically mine so I have no way of fighting for visitation. Oh my God," Lucky buried his head in his hands. Sam rubbed a hand up and down his back, afraid of whatever revelation he had just had. He looked up and met her unwavering gaze. "I've just lost my son,"
"Jason and I have always believed that a family is love, not legalities or biology. He won't stand by and let Elizabeth keep you away from Cameron. You're the only father that little boy has ever known. You will only lose him over my dead, cold body," Sam's eyes never left Lucky's. Her voice never shook as she took his hand in hers. Jason was far from being her favorite person, but she knew that he would back her up. Disgust churned in her stomach at the thought of Cameron being torn away from Lucky.
"Do you really think that my wife's new boyfriend will give me, the drug addicted ex, visitation of the baby he can now call his own?" Lucky let out a rueful laugh. He resisted the urge to wrap his hand around the neck of the tequila bottle. He and Sam had been drinking together for the past three hours. They'd spent two hours on tequila, fifteen minutes with whiskey, and forty-five long moments of beer.
"Jason isn't spiteful. You don't mean enough to him for him to go out of his way to rip your life to pieces. You'll get to see Cameron. Now," Sam got to her unsteady feet, gripping his shoulder for support. She somehow made it to the jukebox, selecting the first song that she recognized. She stumbled back over to Lucky, falling into his limp arms. "Dance with me,"
"I don't dance," Lucky argued as he got to his own shaky legs. The room spun around him as Sam's arms looped around his neck. She giggled as they tripped over each other's feet and crashed against the pool table. A tall blonde woman, that looked familiar through the heavy haze of alcohol, glared at them as she gripped the green felt of the table. "Correction: I don't dance well,"
"Can we dance all night?" Sam asked softly as her head rested against his shoulder. Lucky brought one of his hands from her waist to her hair. Her soft sigh forced her warm breath to connect with the chilled skin of his neck. "I have no where to go and when we're dancing that doesn't haunt me,"
"Come home with me," Lucky suggested quietly. Sam's head shot up in clumsy surprise. Her lips meshed with his and, as their tongues tangled for dominance, she could taste the faint aftertaste of tequila. One of them moaned their approval although neither of them were sure who it was. Coleman cleared his throat, breaking their kiss, and muttered something about a cab waiting outside. Lucky brushed the hair out of Sam's face. "Let's go home,"
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"Lucky just left here with that tramp, Sam McCall. He said something about going home. They're both drunk off their asses," The blonde snapped into her cell phone as she tossed a twenty onto the pool table. She stepped outside as the taxi that was holding Sam and Lucky pulled out of the parking lot. "They downed whatever Coleman would give them. I'm surprised that they haven't passed out yet, let alone that they were dancing,"
"This is all so wrong," Her partner, a tall and petite brunette, snapped angrily. The blonde snorted her agreement. "Jason and Elizabeth just put Cam to bed and settled in the living room with some stupid movie of Liz's,"
"Awfully cozy aren't they?" The blonde questioned sarcastically as she put her keys in the ignition of her car. The engine roared to life in the empty parking lot. "I'll call you when I get to Lucky's and find out what's going on,"
"Fine," The brunette muttered as she watched the screen in front of her. Jason's gaze seemed to be drawn to the window where the cracked glass from a bullet still taunted him. She flicked her phone shut and gave the unaware couple her full attention. Elizabeth laughed at something in the movie, drawing Jason's focus to her. The brunette's eyes narrowed in disgust. This wasn't the way her plan was supposed to work. No, but she would fix it all somehow.
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"What's wrong?" Elizabeth questioned as Jason's gaze wandered, along with his mind, for the third time since she had turned the movie on. She hit pause and watched his gaze flicker back to hers. She almost wished that Cam would cry so that nothing happened to quickly. Jason still loved Sam and she still had a husband. Lucky would probably always hold her heart, but there were some things that just couldn't be erased. "You know what? I won't ask. I should go to bed. I have to go to the apartment tomorrow for some stuff and I need to talk to Lucky about Cameron,"
"Are you going to cut off visitation?" Jason asked as he got to his feet and crossed to the windows. Elizabeth sighed from her place on the couch, knowing what was flashing through his mind as he touched the shattered patch of glass. He shook his head slowly as if to banish the memory. He actually hoped that Liz allowed Lucky to be Cameron's father. Jason knew that it wasn't his place. Lucky had helped raise the dark haired, blue-eyed baby. He was Cam's dad and Jason was ready to support the young cop.
"No, I don't think my son should be penalized for his parent's mistakes. Lucky and I have both screwed up, but he's Cameron's father in every way that remotely matters. I can't change that," Liz murmured as she got to her feet. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and watched him carefully. She had stood in this same spot so many times before with Jason. She just prayed that somehow things would play out differently. "Goodnight Jason,"
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Sam squinted against the sunlight that filtered in through the tiny windows above her head. She felt the bed shift and winced at the sound of the mattress creaking. The scent of rich coffee forced her to open her eyes. Lucky's bemused smile caught her off guard as her eyes flickered down to find herself naked in the sofa bed at Lucky's apartment. She took the cup of coffee from him and sipped it cautiously. They had both figured out what they'd done, but neither of them seemed to want to mention it first. She bit her lip to keep from making some inane comment about the coffee. She forced her eyes to close as she set the mug down and flopped back into the pillows. "I remember tequila. Lots of tequila,"
"There was definitely tequila involved. I have this funny feeling that more happened afterwards," Lucky smirked as he pulled the curtains shut to block out the sun and ease Sam's discomfort. She flashed him a dirty look and pulled the blanket over her head on a groan. She heard him laugh into his own coffee. "I meant what I said before the tequila started, Sam. You're welcome to move in,"
"Do I have any other choice?" Sam questioned bitterly as he pulled the covers away from her flushed face. Lucky grinned down at her, running a hand through his already mussed hair. He shook his head, a teasing glint in his eyes. She groaned again, wondering why he was so chipper after a night of heavy drinking. She found herself smiling as she met his gaze. "So... Home sweet home,"