Chapter 4:

She worried that confronting this table head on would be awkward. An altogether utterly terrible decision. She thought it would tear her apart. She dreaded his reaction, each one that came into her head increasing exponentially in horror as the seconds stretched far beyond being uncomfortable. He stared at her. She stared at the notepad in her hand.

Lorenzo cleared his throat.

"Miss McCall. A pleasure. I didn't realize you worked here. Now this meeting makes complete sense," he kept his intense blue eyes on the man sitting across from him as he spoke, a smirk wrinkling the corner of his nose mockingly, "I'm fine, just coffee."

Sam nodded and jotted it down, taking extreme care with her handwriting. Proficiency wasn't her goal at this point: she wanted to write as slowly as possible in an effort to keep her attention away from the remaining customer at the table. It was a futile effort. Coffee was just not a long enough word to stave off the inevitable.

"And… and you?" Her voice lacked all confidence she tricked herself into thinking she had. She felt exposed and vulnerable, her shaking hands hidden by her firm grip on the notepad. Jason closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. She nodded and, thinking that was it, turned to get Lorenzo his coffee. A light touch, barely a graze, on her arm made her stop. Turning slowly, she found Jason leaning out across the table, half standing, his hand hanging in the air as his eyes met hers.

"Uh… thank you…" he said awkwardly. Bewildered, Sam nodded, then shook her head, then nodded again. She gave up on finding a response and, half bowing and half shirking, escaped to the safety of the kitchen.

She was used to doing stupid, crazy things. She knew what fear was, what pain and every other terrible feeling was. She also knew pure love and unhindered joy. She was familiar with the full spectrum of emotions. Yet the way her heart was pounding now, the rhythm of her pulse in her ears that drowned out the hum of the diner, the cold shiver that tingled with warmth as it ran through her body: all of this was completely new. Swallowing hard, she drew a deep breath to steady herself.

At the table, Lorenzo was giving Jason a comical grin. Jason eyed him, silently warning him not to say a word about what passed. Like most of the warnings he sent to the Alcazar organization, this one went unheeded.

"Looks like you have a few more things on your plate than our business arrangement. So why don't we make this quick?" He lowered his voice, but kept his demeanor calm and open. He might have been talking about less than savory behavior, but as long as he didn't look like he was no one around them would care. Jason echoed his calm body language, slacking in his seat, "Everything went flawlessly. As if it never occurred at all, in fact. The shipment is out of both of our territories now, which means it's no longer either of our concern. Our contract is dissolved."

Jason nodded. He had never been comfortable with how this all fell into place. Someone had effectively pulled their strings. While he couldn't speak for Lorenzo, he was beyond angry considering the way he had been manipulated into handling this shipment and passing it through his territory. Strategic holdings had been threatened, his business raided far more ruthlessly than any legitimate takeover could hope to accomplish, hostile or not. But with this movement came the promise of being left alone, like lifting a blockade.

As if no one had even been threatening him in the first place.

Jason couldn't accept it. He couldn't believe that someone would go through all the trouble of trapping his financial holdings so securely, only to let them go once one relatively small arms movement had been delivered. There had to be so much more here, and he was blind to it. Whoever had accomplished this little feat was showboating. It was a display of obvious power and business prowess, and it was to be taken as a warning. Jason's organization was not out of danger. In fact, he didn't doubt that he would be hearing from this mystery rival very soon.

He needed to figure out who he was dealing with, and how to shut him down before then.

Lorenzo raised his eyebrows as seconds moved into minutes and Jason did not reply. Sighing, he came to the conclusion that the cold former enforcer was not interested in discussing anything at all, and that being here was a complete waste of time. They were enemies again: there was no room for discussion. Carrying all the worries that plagued Jason into silence, Lorenzo stood and nodded his head at the kitchen, "Apologize to our lovely waitress for me. I think I've left enough of a tip to cover the wasted coffee."

He left before Jason could reply, though, there was no indication that he was going to do so.

Jason let his eyes refocus as he came out of his thoughts. There was a generous amount of money waiting where Lorenzo had been sitting, and the ringing echo of his mocking words lingered in the air. Shifting uncomfortably, Jason shook his head. It didn't sit well with him that Alcazar knew enough about him to tease him so casually. It was as if they were friends. Jason had many words to describe Lorenzo Alcazar, some of them even beginning with the same letter, but friend was certainly not on the list.

Though, at this point, with this unidentified, undeclared threat looming teaming up with the suave mobster might not be a bad idea. He was a keen mind, and more likely to come up with some answers than if Jason strove to do it on his own. Of course, Jason had already decided on the latter.

He stood and turned to leave, but his feet betrayed him. He moved away from the table, pushing the chair in politely, and took a few uncertain steps towards the counter. Mike was standing by the cash register, watching over the diner like a mother lion would her cubs. Not a man used to being intimidated, Jason felt out of his depth. Why should he be nervous of Mike? They had known each other for a while now, and there was no bad blood between them.

Mike looked at him with a severe air about him, nodding slowly. It was an enigmatically permissive motion, and Jason took it for what it was. He moved behind the counter, eyes on the ground, and made his way to the back of the kitchen. He saw Sam standing at the sink, the water running but her hands were hanging at her side. She didn't hear him approach.

"Sam…" he said softly, not wanting to scare her. She turned to face him fluidly, her body snapping around so quickly he was worried she might have pulled something. Stumbling against the sink, Sam let out a cry as water ricocheted off a plate as it slipped in the pile and drenched her back, from shoulders to tailbone. Jason moved and took her by one arm, pulling her away from the spray while he reached forward with his other hand to shut off the water.

Sam laughed, holding on to him. Jason, for what felt like the first time, laughed as well.

It all felt very familiar. Comfortable. Perfect. For both of them. Sam looked at him, shaking her head in embarrassment, and he touched her face tenderly. For a moment she was stunned, her eyes searching his, but his eyes were a mystery. They always had been, and she felt at home being lost in them. They kissed, slowly and with the timid restraint of young school kids on a first date.

He pulled away, taking a full step backwards.

"I'm sorry, this… that wasn't what I came back here… for."

Sam couldn't hide the disappointment on her face, "Oh, ah… I'm sorry. Wh-what… did you come back here for?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay," Jason felt like he was trapped in a room that kept getting smaller. As the walls closed in he found himself beginning to panic. "…are you?"

"As fine as I'm gonna be, I guess," she crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the floor. She didn't know what to do or think at this point. She knew what had just happened had been a natural reaction for the two of them, because they had spent so long together they had experienced many moments like it, but that didn't change the fact that they weren't in a relationship at the moment. It meant everything to her, but at the same time it didn't mean anything at all. It couldn't change anything.

"Okay, good. I'm… I'm glad you're doing okay. I guess I should go," Jason said, his face expressionless once more. She sighed at him. She couldn't find the words to get him to stay. It was almost as if they didn't exist. She just knew she would find them later that night, when she was trying to get to sleep.

Jason waved and backed out, turning just in time to navigate around a stove. Sam watched him go, stared at the space he left behind for a long while, then looked at her watch. She had to meet with Sonny before the day got too late. She couldn't imagine him having much to do with his time, so he was probably already waiting for her.

"Hey Mike?" She called, her voice strained, "I'm going to head out for a bit, okay?"