Chapter 2

Jason was draining the last of his beer, half-sitting on the bar stool while he weighed-up whether to get another or quietly slip out for home while everyone was busy with the Sonny show. If he slipped out now he'd only had the one drink, his truck was outside so he could drive home in comfort and get takeout on route. Or he could stay for another round or two and it would be a walk home or a shared Uber with one of the guys but knowing the guys it would end up being a late and messy one. He wasn't feeling up to any more mess right now.

Before he could make a decision he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, taking it out he saw the words he'd been waiting for: Mandy Ellis calling. He let it ring a few times, composing himself.

"Hey"

"Hey yourself" answered Mandy

"So does this mean you're back stateside?" he held his breath hoping that it did

"It does indeed. I called, see. You impressed I did as I was told?"

Jason laughed "I'm actually genuinely surprised"

"So, I have a couple of confessions. Confession one… I promised you a call, but I figured since you got stabbed for me n all that I probably owed you more than a call"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… so I came to see you in person.."

Jason didn't say anything as he was totally confused, hearing silence Mandy continued

"…Second confession, you're not the first person I called. I called Lisa first and she let me know you were here tonight"

Jason looked around the bar "You're here? at the Bulkhead?"

As he looked around Davis caught his eye and seeing him on the phone looking confused she just gave him a nod and a smile

"Technically I'm in the parking lot... We didn't get to say what we had to say in private last time we saw each other, without everyone else around. It's your choice though Jace, I can walk in there now and we can share a drink with everyone, or you can come out here and we can take a moment."

"Stay right there" Jason hung up, and was up off his stool and out of the back door to the bar.

There, leaning against his truck was Mandy, as promised. Black jeans, red converse for a change instead of her usual black, hair scooped up in a messy bun and a silky looking navy shirt. Tapping her foot on the ground looking off into the distance, she looked full of nervous energy, she looked as nervous as he felt. She turned to him when she heard the bar door shut behind him, watched him striding towards her. He couldn't tell but she was holding her breath.

The Jason of old would just have strode right up and scooped her into a tight hug, the kind of hug he only reserved for her. But this Jason and this Mandy, this was something different. As he approached her he found himself torn, he wanted so desperately to hold her, to find a way to express through actions what he was feeling, but now, face to face, nearly touching and he didn't know what to do with himself.

She smiled softly somehow reading the tension, understanding his hesitance. "We didn't hug in North Africa" she smiles again. "Everyone else hugged me. At first I thought it was because you were mad at me, maybe you still didn't believe me"

"It wasn't that. I believed you…" he felt bad now that he had made her think that he doubted her.

"… it was just…" Jason looked down, then up at the dark sky and then back again at Mandy's face somehow trying to find words, Mandy reached out to touch his hand, letting him know it was OK to say what he needed to say"… I went spinning out when I found out you were taken, I felt like a mad man. All I wanted was to have you here, to just hold you…"

"But…" Mandy squeezed his hand

"But, when you were safe, you were actually there and we were surrounded by everyone, I realised if I hugged you that I might not let go. That everyone would see exactly how I felt about you" Jason breathed out, like he'd just let something huge off his chest

"And now…" Mandy watched Jason as he shifted about on his feet relief on his face

"And now it's just you and me out here in the dark… and I've really fucking missed you." Jason took a step forward and pulled her into him, her head on his chest tucked under his chin, his strong arms wrapped around her

"I missed you too…" Mandy whispered into his chest, her eyes making a damp patch on Jasons shirt "I closed my eyes every night and imagined you would come for me. I knew it was impossible, that no one was looking. But you came anyway, you came for me even though it was impossible"