Chapter 7

Jason's POV

Carly looked absolutely stunning. She always looked beautiful, but tonight was the first night out that I actually allowed myself to look at her as more than a friend.

During dinner I couldn't stop staring at her. We went to a restaurant a little out of the way because I didn't want anyone we knew to be there. I wanted some privacy, and I knew not a lot of people knew about us yet.

I guess Carly noticed that I was staring at her because she asked me if she had something in her teeth or something.

"No, it's just… you're beautiful."

She smiled. "Thanks."

At the Haunted Star, things were going pretty smooth. Everyone there, except for Spinelli and Maxie, just thought Carly and I were there as friends. That's what we all wanted everyone to think for now. Eventually we would tell everyone, but right now we liked just keeping it between us, with a few exceptions.

Then, Sonny and Kate walked in and everything went to hell.

Carly went crazy, telling me that she couldn't be in the same room with Kate.

"Carly, calm down. Just ignore her."

"I can't, Jason!" she said before walking over to Kate. "Hi, Kate. Here to ruin another one of my nights?"

"Believe it or not, Carly, but not everything is about you."

Just to make things even better, Jax decided to show up.

"Oh, hey Kate, are you congratulating the happy couple," he said, in a pissed-off tone.

"Jax, please, don't," Carly pleaded.

"What?" Sonny asked. "Carly and Jason aren't a couple. Are you crazy?"

"No, it's true," Jax told them. "Carly and Jason are together."

"Is it true?" Sonny asked. "Or is this just some big ruse like when you told me you were pregnant with Jason's baby?"

"Hold on!" Jax said. "What—"

"Okay, that's enough. All of you," I said. "Yes, Carly and I are dating. We're happy. So, please, just leave us alone and let us be happy."

"Well," Kate said. "As far as I'm concerned, Jax, you should be thanking Jason for getting Carly off your hands."

"Shut up!" Carly yelled.

"Carly, just ignore her, okay?" I asked her calmly. Then I looked around and almost everyone in the room was staring at us.

Then, Carly turned around, faced everyone in the room, and yelled, "Yes, Jason and I are dating! So, everyone just get back to your own lives!"

"Jase," she said, turning to me, "I think I've had about enough for tonight. Can we go home?"

"Sounds like a wonderful idea," I said.

The drive home was pretty silent. I didn't know how to feel now that everyone knew we were together. It wasn't like we were high schoolers sneaking around behind our parent's backs. We weren't hiding it before, we just wanted to get used to the idea ourselves before everyone else knew.

"Jase, I'm sorry. Are you mad?" she asked.

"No, Carly, I'm not mad. It's just different now that everyone knows."

"I didn't mean to do that; I just got so mad. I hate Kate Howard."

"Try not to think about her, okay? It's not healthy for you to be upset so much."

"What does that mean?"

"It just means that when you get upset, you get all worked up. It's okay for you to be calm some of the time."

"Okay, fine. I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

"I did have a good time tonight, though," I said.

"Me, too."

When we walked in the door and Morgan was asleep on the couch.

"He fell asleep just a few minutes ago, and I didn't want to wake him," Lulu said.

"I'll take him upstairs," Carly said.

"No, I'll do it," I told her. I picked him up and carried him upstairs. I put him under the covers and tucked him in.

"Uncle Jason," he said, half-awake.

"Hey, go back to sleep."

"Are we still going to the park tomorrow?"

"You bet. Love you," I said.

"Love you, too," he said, as he went back to sleep.

I went back downstairs, and Lulu and Carly were both gone. I walked into Carly's bedroom, and she was trying to get her dress unzipped.

"How's Morgan?"

"He's asleep."

"Good. Can you help me get this dress unzipped?"

"Yeah," I said. I unzipped her dress, and I knew I was in trouble. My hands were on her bare back, then she turned around. She let her dress drop to the floor, and she was standing there in just underwear. She stepped as close to me as she could, and then kissed me. The way I was feeling was dangerous. I had so much desire. I wasn't going to be able to stop if we kept going for very much longer.

She pulled off my jacket, and it fell on the floor near her dress. She started to unbutton my shirt. I wanted this, but I had to make sure it was what she wanted.

"Carly," I said, "are you sure?"

She didn't answer, she just kept unbuttoning my shirt. "Carly," I said again, pulling her hand away from my shirt, "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything," she said. "Unless, do you want to stop?"

"No, this is what I want. You and me. I just wanted to make sure you were ready."

"I am," she said.

She took off my shirt while I took off my pants. I cupped her face in my hands, and kissed her again. Then, I kissed her neck. I slowly lowered her onto the bed. I realized then that I didn't have protection.

"Carly, I don't have a condom," I said, between kisses.

She reached over and pulled out a drawer in the nightstand and threw one at me. I grabbed it, and I tore it open with my teeth, for old times sake. She smiled.

"I love you," she said.

"Good because I love you, too," I said. Then we made love. That's what it was: love. I loved this woman so much that it scared me. Who knew that the girl who walked into Jake's, who just wanted a boy on the side, would be the love of my life?

The next day, like I promised Morgan, the three of us went to the park. We spent the whole day playing, laughing and smiling. It was the most fun I had had in forever.

For dinner, we went out to eat. It was the first time I had been out in public with Morgan, and I was nervous, but everything turned out okay, just like Carly told me it would be.

"It's a restaurant, not anything to do with your business," she told me.

I loved being able to make Carly and Morgan smile. They made me happy, and I think Michael would be happy knowing that I was making his mom and brother smile.

On the car ride home, Morgan fell asleep. Once we got home, Carly took him upstairs to his bed.

"You're right, Carly. That boy can sleep through anything," I told her once she came back down.

"Yeah, he can. And right now, I want to follow his lead and go to sleep." She walked toward her room, and then asked, "Are you coming?"

"You go ahead. I've got some work that I want to try to finish first," I said.

"Okay, but don't stay up too long. The bed feels empty without you."

I had planned just to work for about 30 minutes, but when I walked into Carly's bedroom and found her sound asleep, I decided to work longer. It had been about 2 hours when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is Carly Jacks there?" the person asked.

"She's asleep right now. This is Jason Morgan. Can I help you?"

"This is the long-term care facility."

Fear rose inside my body. What was wrong with Michael? Was he dead? No, Jason, you can't think like that, I told myself. Maybe they're just calling about billing or insurance or something like that.

"Is this about Michael? Is everything okay?" I asked.

"It's about Michael's condition. Something's happened."