09
Tall, Dark & Handsome Pt V
"So.. When do I get a dance, huh?" Johnny asked from behind her as she rolled her eyes, annoyed. She'd pretty much figured out by now that Johnny was on a self destructive bend of sorts, and that he was probably only after her because her father happened to be his competition. For no other reason than that, Cassie felt confident, did Johnny pursue her or want her even a little.
And she was determined not to give into whatever the hell it was about him that made her heart race and her stomach feel like it was full of butterflies and bees. She was going to keep him at arms length, just like she'd been doing with Nathan, with anyone who might show an interest in her. Her uncle Lucas, thankfully, saved the day this time and said aloud "She's going to dance with me. I haven't actually gotten to meet my niece, so if you don't mind."
"She ain't your type." Johnny sneered as Lucas smirked and shrugged then said "Yeah? Well she's not yours either. Now, if you don't mind, Zacarra, go talk to your flunkees or something. Do whatever it is you mobsters do at things like this. Whatever you do, though, leave my niece out of it. Are we clear?" as Cassie bit her lower lip, increasingly uncomfortable with the situation currently. She'd never actually liked confrontations, and this one in particular was making her a wee bit more nervous than the norm and she didn't know why.
Lucas got her to another side of the ballroom and with a laugh he asked, "So.. How are you enjoying it? I mean having a big family. I can imagine it's gotta be intrusive, from what my sister tells me, you're more of a private person than any of us. How in the hell do you manage that?"
"I keep my mouth shut unless I'm asked something first. If they don't ask, I don't tell 'em." Cassie answered with a laugh as she asked him, "So.. You and Felix, huh?" as Lucas looked at her and asked with a strange look "How'd you?"
"I guessed. And I'm fine with it. Love is love, love is blind. Trust me, hon, I know that all too well. Besides, I work at the hospital. It's not like anybody actually keeps a damn secret worth a shit there, right?" she stated as Lucas nodded and smiling asked, "So.. Is it true you and some of the girls have taken to calling Detective West Detective Hottie McHotterson?"
"That.. Was all my girl Maria.. Not me." Cassie said as Lucas looked at her and asked with a grin, "But you don't disagree?"
"Never said I did. Just said that was all Maria's doing. That I'm not lookin anymore. I'm not willing to risk messing up my Chloe's life. I'm a parent now." Cassie stated as Lucas nodded and then said quietly, "But you won't be doing her any favors when you do get lonely, if you just stop your own life completely."
"The way I figure it, Lucas, is that if I keep all the bad men out of my life, keep all the negativity out, I'll be just fine. Women live for years without sex or love or some guy takin care of 'em." Cassie blurted as Lucas looked at her and nodded, dropping the matter for the moment. A tap to his shoulder had him turning and he stepped back then gave Cassie a teasing wink before vanishing into the crowd, in search of Felix.
Nathan stood there, smiled as he asked "So.. Can I get that dance now?" as she looked at him a moment, blankly, then remembered what she'd said on the way into the Ball earlier. She had promised him a dance. And she nodded and let him lead her out onto the floor. From her table, Sam smiled and nudged Alexis who smiled and said "I like him. A lot more than I like Johnny hanging around."
Sam's eyes met with icy blue ones on her scan of the ballroom and she gasped for a moment. But when she looked back up at the spot she could've sworn she'd seen him in, Jason had vanished for the third time that night. "I'm gonna duck out.. I need some air." she mumbled numbly as she stood and walked out, walked down the hallway, looking for him behind every closed door she came to.
He was in none of them.
"Whoever is playing this game with me is really, really going to regret it." she mused aloud as she heard Silas speak up from behind her, "What game, Sam? What's going on? You've been acting weird all night."
"It's.. It's nothing. I guess I'm not feeling well." Sam said as Silas looked at her with concern and asked her quietly, "Are you sure that's it? You look like you might have seen a ghost."
She managed a smile and thought to herself ' If only you knew, Silas. I think I did see a ghost.' before dropping the subject, shrugging it off, because it'd be crazy if he wasn't dead, if he came back now when she'd almost given up hope. It hardly seemed fair, really. But Sam knew deep down that if he did come back, she'd want to be with him again, that she still loved him more than anything or anyone she'd ever claimed to love before.
Outside the hospital, Jason leaned against a lamp post and looked at the picture in his hands. He had a few loose ends to tie up, mostly for the sake of Sonny's damn business, and then he'd be able to come out, come back and explain what happened to him and where he'd been. He'd followed up on a wrong lead and it'd lead him to the docks that night.
Then he'd been shot, dumped off of the pier like trash and woken up with no clue as to who he was in a town not far from Port Charles. But now that his memory, all of it, was returning, he was hell bent on coming back. On taking back his family, his life, his place in society. And nothing was going to stop him. Not now, not ever.