"You were looking for me?"
Elizabeth's eyebrows raised as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. The noise in Jake's was a bit overwhelming tonight and she wasn't exactly sure she'd heard right.
"Yep," Jeremy said, nodding. His hand delved into the basket of peanuts sitting on the table and he popped one into his mouth. "I went be Kelly's, but you weren't working. I asked your friend… Emily… and she said you might be here."
"Oh really?" Elizabeth's eyes drifted over to the door and she saw Francis come back in, pausing for a moment to straighten his suit jacket. He caught sight of her sitting at the table with Jeremy and he immediately started towards them. With a shake of her head, Elizabeth stopped him. "Why were you looking for me?"
Jeremy looked around Jake's. "I need your help with something."
Elizabeth's eyes widened slightly. "What could I help you with?"
"I'll tell you… in a second." Sitting forward in his seat, Jeremy motioned to the bar. "Do you hang out here often?"
Elizabeth froze for a second. "I have… I usually meet a good friend of mine here?"
"You two meet in a bar?"
Shrugging, Elizabeth looked around, not entirely comfortable about the conversation. "Sometimes… so what was it that you needed my help with?"
Jeremy smiled, avoiding her question. "How come your boyfriend can't get the clue that it's over?"
Stiffening in her chair, Elizabeth bit her lip. "How… how do you know about Lucky?"
A confused look crossed Jeremy's face. "You told me. In class a couple of days ago. You were going on and on in class about how you and Lucky broke up."
"I was?"
A chuckle escaped Jeremy's lips. "Don't tell me you don't remember… no wait. You were probably trying to block that horrible class out of your mind. That lecture that day put half the class to sleep!"
Elizabeth giggled, the sound uncertain to her ears. "Yeah… uh… sometimes the professor goes on and on…" She hadn't remembered talking about Lucky to Jeremy, or anyone else from school for that matter. She hadn't even talked to Emily about it.
Sighing, Elizabeth looked down. Then again, with everything going on lately, her mind was never into what she was doing. Maybe she had told Jeremy all about her and Lucky…
"What's wrong, Eliza?"
Elizabeth's head jerked up and she forced a smile on her face. "Nothing."
"You looked upset. Is it because your ex is bothering you? I shouldn't have mentioned him, I'm sorry."
"No, no… it's not that. I've just had… a bad week."
Jeremy reached his hand out and poked Elizabeth's arm with his index finger a couple of times. "Want to talk about it?"
Elizabeth's eyes drifted to the stairs that led to the rooms. "No, I'm fine… thing are going to get better… starting tonight." Her eyes focused once more on Jeremy. "Weren't you going to ask me to help you with something?"
Jeremy laughed, ducking his head. "I'm a little embarrassed about this."
Leaning back in her chair, Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "What is it?"
"Well… I'm having a little trouble in the Art Interpretation class… and the professor suggested that I got to the PC Art Gallery with someone who understands art…"
Elizabeth smiled. "That sounds like good advice."
"Well… I was wondering if you would… would come with me?"
"Come with you… to the gallery?"
Jeremy nodded, reaching his hand into the basket of peanuts once more. "Yeah… you said art was your passion… I was hoping some of that could rub off on me, you know? Maybe help me get an A in the class… or at least a C."
Elizabeth laughed. "Sure… I'll come." Her eyes drifted to the stairs once more and she smiled apologetically at Jeremy. "You know… I have to be going."
Nodding, Jeremy stood when Elizabeth did, watching as she went out towards the back door of the bar. His eyes followed her until he could no longer see her before he smiled to himself.
"It's a date," he whispered before pushing in his chair and making his way out of the bar.
As Jeremy was walking out of the bar, Francis stepped up, bumping into the younger man.
"Hey," Jeremy muttered, glaring. "Watch where you're going."
Patting Jeremy on the shoulder, Francis apologized. "Sorry there… I wasn't watching where I was going. No harm done, man."
Eyeing the man carefully, Jeremy nodded slowly, absently taking note of the expensive suit the man in front of him was wearing. "Right… no harm done." Jeremy gave Francis one more look before walking out of the bar.
As soon as Jeremy was gone, Francis opened his fist, eyeing the small wallet he'd grabbed. He opened it, taking out Jeremy's license. Reading over the information on the card, he frowned, pulling out his cell phone as he walked towards the stairs leading to the second floor. He knew Miss Webber would be there.
He peeked around the corner and saw her standing in front of Jason's door. Satisfied, he climbed back down the stairs, taking up post there. Hitting the speed dial button on the phone, he held it up to his ear, waiting for someone to pick up.
"Johnny, it's me… Remember that guy Sonny asked to have checked out… Jeremy Barker. Did Benny ever get any information on him?"
Shaking his head, Francis frowned as he listened to the information Johnny was giving him. "Damn… Try this name instead. Thomas Jeremy Baker, Jr."
Elizabeth stood in front of Jason's door, her hand poised and ready to knock. Taking a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles against the door.
The door opened a second later, and Jason smiled. "Elizabeth."
Smiling back almost shyly, Elizabeth stepped inside. Jason watched her carefully as she looked around his room, finally opting to sit down on his bed. "Did you… clear your head?"
Elizabeth smiled up at him. "I didn't ask to be alone to clear my head. If I had wanted that, I would have asked you to take me for a ride. I needed to think about a few things."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth reached out for Jason's hand. He stared at it for a moment before slowly raising his hand to join with hers. Using him as leverage, Elizabeth pulled herself off the bed.
"I walked around a lot. And I finally realized something… I would have been up here sooner, but I got held up downstairs."
Jason's eyes narrowed slightly. "Did someone come up to you? Are you ok?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, no… it's nothing I couldn't take care of." She looked down for a second. "Jason, I want to talk about us."
Jason's mouth twitched slightly but other than that, he kept his face impassive. "Us?"
Exhaling forcefully, Elizabeth took a few steps around the room. "I care about you, Jason… you know that, right? And I know I've confused you lately. One minute I'm telling you that we can't be friends, and the next, I'm running to you, crying in your arms…"
Reaching out, Jason snagged Elizabeth's arm, turning her so that she would face him. "That's all in the past, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth let out a shaky breath. "That's what's so great about you. I made mistakes. I made so many mistakes… but you don't care about that." Looking around, Elizabeth walked over to the desk, her hand brushing up against the short stack of tour books Jason had. "Lucky and I are over… you know that, right?"
"That's what you told me."
"And we are… it hurts, because I hate hurting him… and I still love him. A part of me always will."
Jason held his breath. "What are you trying to say, Elizabeth?"
Elizabeth looked over at Jason. "Lucky was supposed to be the love of my life. And our relationship hasn't been the same since the fire. When Lucky came back, I tried to tell myself that everything would be fine as long as we had each other. I tried to tell myself that as long as I remembered my love for Lucky, I would be fine… that I didn't need anything else."
Reaching up, Elizabeth tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. "I was wrong… I needed more."
Jason's voice was soft, catching slightly when he finally found his voice. "What do you need."
"I need for you to tell me that… that I didn't mess this up."
"Mess what up."
Elizabeth swallowed hard. "Us."
Jason shook his head. "You didn't mess us up. You were trying to do what you thought was right."
"No… I'm not talking about that." Taking a deep breath, she took a step closer to him. "After you were shot, you told me that what you felt for me… it was more than friendship…"
Jason's eyes burned into hers. "There's no word for what I feel for you," he whispered.
"Is… is that still true?"
Reaching out, Jason just barely brushed his fingers over her cheek. "Yes."
Elizabeth's chin quivered slightly. "I… so I'm not to late? I didn't ruin everything by running back to Lucky?"
Jason took a step closer, his hand cupping Elizabeth's cheek. "Nothing's changed… watching you go to Lucky… I just wanted you to be happy, and you said you were… but that didn't change how I felt."
Bringing her hand up, Elizabeth held Jason's hand to her cheek. "After I broke up with him... I tried telling myself that it was too soon after Lucky to feel what I feel for you. It was too soon. That I needed to wait before I moved into something else."
"Time doesn't matter… it's what you feel that does."
Elizabeth closed her eyes, leaning into Jason's hand. "What I feel… this feels right."
She opened her eyes, locking her blue orbs with Jason's. Her hand traced over the hard line of his jaw and she felt him tremble slightly under her soft touch.
Standing up on her tip toes, she hovered near Jason's face, closing her eyes. She could feel his warm breath on her skin, and she shivered slightly with anticipation. Jason's nose brushed against her own as he titled his head slightly to the side.
With her arms slowly sliding up to his shoulders, she stepped fully into his embrace. His hands immediately locked together behind her back.
Tilting her head forward, Elizabeth sighed softly as her lips lightly brushed against Jason's in a feather-light touch. She paused a moment, and leaning into him, their lips connected once more.
A low moan came from the back of his throat as he bent down, tightening his arms around her waist before straightening, lifting her feet off the floor. Her body was flush against his and he couldn't stop the second moan that came when she kissed him back, pressing into him even harder.
Moving over to the bed, he sat her down on the edge and knelt down between her legs, never once removing his lips from her own. His hands moved to her hair and he pushed her face closer to his own.
Finally pulling away, Elizabeth took a shaky breath, resting her forehead against Jason's. Opening her eyes, she peered into his as a single tear fell.
"Why are you crying," Jason whispered.
Elizabeth licked her lips and a small smile came to her face. "I'm happy."
Jason's eyes shimmered and he moved his hand over her cheek. "That's all I ever wanted, Elizabeth… that's all I wanted."