Chapter Four

Bianca

"What the hell happened in here?" Kendall, with Miranda on her right hip, stands in my doorway scanning my hurricane tossed bedroom.

"I'm trying to find something to wear."

"Bianca, you've been running around in a towel trying to find something to wear for the past two hours."

"I know and nothing looks good," I whine.

Without another word Kendall walks to my closet, pulls out a black dress and throws it to me. Miranda lets out a burst of giggles as it lands in a heap on top of my head.

"Try it on," Kendall orders.

I step behind the shoji screen and slip the satin dress over my body. I gasp as I try to pull the hemline down. "I cannot wear this," I exclaim while stepping out from behind the screen.

"Why not? It looks great."

"Yeah, but I should leave something to the imagination."

"Binks, every time you see Gia you babble like an idiot and stare at her. I'm actually surprised you don't have drool dripping from you mouth."

I sigh because I know it's true.

"Listen, you are Erica Kane's daughter. It's time you show Gia what that means." And with that, Miranda claps her pudgy little hands in agreement and they walk back into the living room.

Jason

I've been standing out here for a few minutes wondering why I can't just knock on the door. The worst she can tell me is to go away and I've heard worse than that before so this should be easy.

So I knock. And I wait. And wait. She must not be home. As I turn to leave, the door opens and I see Kendall with an adorable baby girl attached to her hip.

"Hi." For a moment, that's all I can think to say. Will you be my friend seems kind of pathetic so I go with, "I didn't know you had a baby."

"I don't. This is my niece, Miranda."

"Oh." I just stand there looking at her looking at me and wonder why this is so hard.

"Come in," she says with that smile that says she knows exactly what's going on.

"Okay."

"How did you find out where I live?"

"Someone new moving into the lighthouse is big news." She looks at me like she expected a different answer.

"We were just getting ready to watch The Little Mermaid. Are you in?"

"Sure," I try to remember the last time I sat down to watch a movie.

"You pour the soda and I'll make the popcorn."

"Deal."

Gia

Omigod.

Oh. My. God.

Bianca is walking towards me and I almost stumble over my tongue as it hits the ground. Her dress is just . . . I mean she looks like . . . and her skin is the most . . .

Wow.

She finally makes her way to the table and I continue to stare.

"You like?" she asks with a tilt of her head.

"Definitely," I answer as I stand to give her a kiss on the cheek. Her black dress is sleeveless which gives my eyes the perfect opportunity to see that her skin is as creamy as I spent all of last night imagining. The bodice hugs every single curve from her torso to the start of her hips then flairs slightly into a pleated skirt that stops just this side of me demanding we skip dinner altogether.She scoots in from the other side of the booth and I can tell she is enjoying her effect on me.

"This is a really beautiful restaurant," she says while looking around. "It's cozy."

"I'm glad you like it," I smile back. I look around and decide that Carmella's is indeed a perfect date restaurant.The center of the room is filled with different sized square tables each draped in a white tablecloth and holding a single red rose in a glass vase. Three of the four red walls are lined with semi-circled leather booths just large enough for two.Everyone is speaking quietly and the sounds of a soft male voice singing in Italian can be heard through hidden speakers. I turn my head back toward Bianca and the look she graces me with causes my heart to skip.

"You are beautiful," she whispers gazing directly into my eyes. I tell myself that I am just leaning forward so that I can hear her better, but my body just keeps going.My lips graze hers in a kiss so soft I think I may have imagined it. So I kiss her again. This time her hand comes up to my face and her thumb caresses my cheek. In that moment had anyone asked what the kiss was like I would have sworn to seeing stars and rainbows and butterflies.

"Wow," she says as we slowly pull apart. "I thought the kiss was supposed to come at the end of the date."

"Well,I've never been one for following the rules."

"Good." She looks at me like desert before dinner sounds like a good idea.

Carly

I sit at the counter while Bobby locks the door behind Kelly's final customer. I've been here for twenty minutes eating a single slice of pecan pie. Now that we are finally alone I have no idea where to start. As Bobbie walks to the far end of the counter and begins wiping it down I realize that she is not going to make this easy. She makes her way in my direction making small circles with her rag and a bottle of 409. I lift my plate so that she can clean my crumbs and the words just tumble out of my mouth.

"I'm in love with Elizabeth."

She stops mid spray and stares at me, possibly looking for a second head. I place my plate back on the counter. My heart drums so hard that I can almost hear an African tribe chanting to the beat.

"You don't even like Elizabeth."

"I know."

Shaking her head she puts down the cleaning spray and takes a seat on the stool next to me. "When did this happen?"

"When we were stuck in the elevator together during the hotel fire."

"That was six months ago!" Her normal baby voice picks up a squeak. "You've been having an affair with Elizabeth Weber for the past six months?" Her disbelief and disappointment is evident.

"Momma, you don't understand," I plead.

"Make me understand."

And there was the challenge. How do I put into words what I feel for Elizabeth and how we got there when I barely understand it myself?

"We were stuck in that elevator for hours thinking we were going to die and she asked me a question."

"It must have been some question."

"We were scared out of our minds and for some reason we were holding hands. She just looked at me and asked 'what did you want to be when you grew up?'

"What?"

"I know. I thought the smoke must finally be getting to her, but then I looked at her and I could see that she was completely sincere. She looked at me like it was the most important question she had ever asked. And after a few minutes of silence I just started to cry because I couldn't remember the last time someone had asked me about my dreams. I couldn't even remember the last time I asked myself."

I stopped talking as Bobbie reached over to wipe the tears I hadn't known were falling. "And then what?" she asked as she handed me a napkin.

"I told her I wanted to be a psychologist and we laughed because I mean really, look at my life. Then we just talked about everything and I told her the truth. My truth."

I look at my mother. My eyes beg her to understand what I sometimes can't comprehend. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. When she opens them all I see is resignation.

"Does Sonny know?" she asks, squinting slightly as if preparing to decipher my answer

"Yes."

"Is Elizabeth worth ruining your family over?" She walks away before I can answer which is for the best because the shame of my utter confusion colors my face.

Bianca

"This is possibly the best date I have ever had," I say as we near the front of Kelly's and I furiously try to think of reasons why I should not go upstairs if the offer presents itself. We have been holding hands since we left the taxi and she pulls me to a stop just before we reach the front door. "So, I guess this is goodnight."

Gia pulls me close. Only the barest summer breeze separates out bodies. "It doesn't have to be," she whispers and I can almost taste the words.

The delicious perfume she is wearing completely intoxicates me and causes concentration to become an extremely difficult task. "Doesn't have to be what?" I manage.

"Goodnight." The last things I see are her eyes closing before our lips find one another. It starts out soft and sweet like the kiss we shared at Carmella's, but quickly turns into something hungrier and I know my increased body temperature has nothing to with the humid August night. A soft moan escapes the back of her throat and the Kane genes that have been intermittent at best make a roaring appearance.

I slowly push her back against the brick wall of the diner. My teeth pull on her bottom lip. She quickly parts them and I get my first taste of her. I press my body against hers wishing for more contact than our clothes will allow. My hands cup her face as hers slide down my back. We would have stayed like that forever had the need for oxygen not been so persistent.

"Come upstairs with me," Gia says, nearly out of breath as our lips pull apart. Whatever reasons I almost thought up for saying no are long forgotten as the word yes eases its way onto my tongue.

"Oh, I'm sorry," someone interrupts. Gia and I turn our heads to see a woman with red, puffy eyes hesitating just outside of Kelly's front door.

"It's okay," I say as I disentangle myself from Gia's embrace.

"Carly? What's wrong?" Gia asks, keeping contact by taking hold of my hand.

"Hey, Gia I heard you were back in town." Carly looks from me to Gia with a mixture of wistful sadness that is impossible to ignore. "I'm really sorry to interrupt. I'm . . . I'm just going to head home."

Tears begin to well up in Carly's eyes so I lean in and give Gia a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow. You two should catch up." Gia smiles her thanks as I begin to back up.

"God, I'm so sorry. I've completely ruined your date. Gia and I aren't even friends." Carly pauses realizing what she's said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just going to head home."

"You look like you are having a bad night and you need a willing ear, so I am the one who's going to head home. I hope tomorrow is a better day for you," I turn around and start my trek toward a very cold shower.