"Elizabeth?"
Her body jerked slightly, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought." She turned away from Jason, missing the wink exchanged between the two men.
Sonny wrapped an arm around Elizabeth's shoulders. "You and Jason have met, right?" He kept his face impossibly neutral, knowing full well that his secretary knew his best friend.
Elizabeth nodded and took a long drink of her beer. Her eyes fell on the bottle, shock registering on her face when she realized she had drank the second half of the bottle all at one time. She turned to Sonny, his hand reaching out for the empty bottle. He offered her another one and she accepted. She took the second bottle from him, barely letting him extend his hand towards her, and downed half of it.
Carly walked up to Elizabeth, gently wrenching her fingers open to take the bottle out of her hand. "Honey? Take it easy. Dinner won't be ready for a little while yet, right Sonny?" She looked to her husband for assistance.
Sonny nodded, "Dinner won't be ready for another half an hour, but I do have some hors devours, if you're hungry?"
Elizabeth pressed her lips together, her mind straying to the man behind her who was busy tickling Michael. "Actually, I think I should be going. I don't know why I agreed to come." She turned towards the door, and took a few steps, but was stopped by Sonny's hands on her shoulders. "Mr. Corinthos, please." She tried to pull away, but he had a firm hold on her.
He turned her around, his hands remaining on her shoulders. "It's Sonny, and you're not leaving." He guided her to the sectional, pushing her down into the soft cushions. "Let me go get the hors devours, I'll be right back." He motioned for Carly to watch her while he disappeared into the kitchen.
Carly plopped down on the couch next to Elizabeth, glancing over her shoulder and Jason and Michael to make sure they were out of earshot. "He's not bad, huh?" Her smile widened at Elizabeth's obvious discomfort. "It's ok, I won't say anything."
Elizabeth stared at the woman, then back at Jason. "Yeah, he's not bad at all." She finally exhaled, a nervous laugh erupting from her lips. Her body relaxed with the realization that she could possibly trust Carly. "He is. . . something else."
Carly nodded, "That he is." She placed her hand on Elizabeth's knee. "And he's painfully single." She studied Elizabeth, measuring her up while Elizabeth watched Jason with Michael. "Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth whipped her head around, painfully aware that she'd drifted off again. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
Carly chuckled, and was about to repeat what she said when Sonny came out with a tray of breaded calamari and marinara sauce. He set it down on the large ottoman, passing out plates to everybody, leaving one on the couch next to Elizabeth for Jason.
Sonny sat down next to Carly, wrapping his arm around her so he could grab the calamari off of her plate. "So Elizabeth," his eyes followed Jason as he let Leticia take him upstairs so he could sit with the adults. "Did you get some sleep like I told you to?" He kept his face completely neutral while her face turned a new shade of red.
Elizabeth stiffened slightly when Jason's knee brushed against hers while he reached for some calamari. She quickly recovered, sitting up a little straighter, forcing herself to ignore the man sitting much too close for her comfort. "Yes actually, as soon as I walked into the apartment, I collapsed on my bed." She took a dainty bite of the calamari, unsure if she would like it.
Sonny nodded while he swallowed. "Good, I'm glad. Don't do that again, ok? Nothing is more important than your health."
Elizabeth watched Sonny take a piece of the calamari, dip it into the marinara sauce, and hold it in front of Carly's mouth for her to eat. She opened her mouth, waiting for him to give it to her. When he didn't, she leaned forward to take it between her teeth, only to be denied when Sonny pulled it away. They played like this for a couple of seconds before Carly finally grabbed Sonny's wrist to hold his hand in place. Elizabeth could feel the love radiating from them, and wondered if she would ever find a love like that.
She turned her head slightly to look at Jason out of the corner of her eye. He was completely oblivious to the couple's antics, his eyes trained on the french doors, and the balcony just beyond them. Elizabeth stood up suddenly, startling her hosts. "I think I need some fresh air. Do you mind?" She pointed in the direction of the balcony, waiting until Sonny nodded before placing her plate on the ottoman to step outside.
The cool air hit her face like a brick wall, instantly cooling down her flushed face. Goose bumps crawled up her bare arms, forcing her to cross her arms over her chest, her hands rubbing her upper arms to warm herself up. She closed her eyes, her mind conjuring up the image of Jason throwing the little boy into the air. With his sleeves rolled up to the elbow, just like Sonny's, she could see his corded muscles strain, catching and releasing the toddler. A shiver ripped through her as she imagined those powerful arms around her.
"Are you cold?"
Elizabeth spun around, her eyes flying open to lock eyes with Jason's baby blues. "Yeah, it is a little chilly I guess." She moved to return to the penthouse, but was stopped when she noticed his fingers unbuttoning his shirt. He shrugged it off casually, unrolling the sleeves, and held it open for her to slip her arms through.
Elizabeth forced her eyes to remain on his face, hesitant to take what he offered. "Won't you be cold?" He merely nodded, walking around her to slip his shirt over her shoulders.
She reluctantly slipped her arms through the sleeves, the cotton baby soft against her skin. She didn't button it, instead wrapping her arms back around herself, her fingertips barely peeking through the sleeves. She was instantly submerged in his scent, the hint of minty after shave, but under that, something more. Something male. Raw and heated. And completely irresistible. Her nose was flooded with it, her body consumed by it. Her tongue wanted to taste it, taste him.
He stood directly behind her, careful not to touch her, and scanned the twinkling lights below. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He looked down at her head, the soft curls of her hair. He knew they would be soft, and oh so sweet. She swayed back a little bit, and her hair brushed gently against his bare torso. Oh yeah.
She nodded, her teeth caught on her bottom lip. "I wonder if he'd let me paint it." She said this quietly, more to herself than to him, but he caught it.
"You paint?" He couldn't believe that the girl he met in the bar these past couple of nights was an artist.
She inhaled deeply, the fresh air felt good in her lungs. "Yeah, from time to time. Nothing spectacular. Just as a release, I guess you could say." She turned around, spooked that he was so close, but didn't back away. "Kind of like the way you ride your motorcycle." Her eyes dragged up his hard chest to meet his pale eyes.
Her breath was hot against his skin, her low voice a caress, wrapping around him like a tendril of smoke. "And how would you know about that?" His eyebrow arched slightly, realizing her mistake a second before she did.
Her eyes widened for a split second, realization blaring in her head. "Um, I've seen you, around town." She spun on her heel, turning back to the lights below, silently cursing herself.
His grin was smug, but he let her mistake slide for now. "Would you show me your paintings some time?"
They stood there for a moment, Jason waiting, Elizabeth debating. Just when she was about to extend the invitation, Sonny came out to announce that dinner was ready.
His eyes darted between his shirtless friend and his secretary, wearing said shirt. "Are you guys ready?"
Elizabeth nodded furiously, shrugging Jason's shirt off before going inside. She caught Carly's curious glance, but didn't say anything. "Where should I sit?" she looked over the table, her mouth water at the delicious smells.
Carly motioned to the chair across from her, "Just go ahead and sit there." She watched the young girl, amused at her unabashed interest in Jason. "So Elizabeth, tell me about yourself." She was going to need to know all about her new friend in order to get her together with Jason.
Sonny and Jason approached the table, Sonny choosing the seat next to Carly. "Yeah Elizabeth. Carly brings up an interesting subject. I know hardly anything about you." That statement was as far from the truth as humanly possible, considering Sonny performed extensive background on all of his potential employees. But he wanted to hear it from her, and hopefully it would put her more at ease.
Elizabeth sighed as Jason took the seat next to her, his eyes sparkling.
This was going to be a long night.