Courtney looked over the jail again the next morning, all fear forgotten; she trudged with a newfound determination all the way into the guard tower.
Jason heard the catcalls before he even saw her, inmates banged harder on the bars, whistling and whooping. Jumping from the top bunk he finally got a good look at what was causing all the commotion, the site was enough to make him chuckle. There in the center of the long row of bars was a blushing Courtney ushered along by a male guard who kept shoving reaching hands back into their respective cells. That's when she spotted him and with a girlish wave, she approached, smiling all the way even at the ugliest of the inmates. It was not within her to frown or be impolite even to the cold blooded killers hanging half out of their cages.
"Hey want to get out of here for a few minutes?" Courtney asked holding up a bag as if Jason would know automatically what was in it.
It didn't matter the minute he heard the guard rattle his key ring, he almost salivated at the chance to have the bars disappear, have the one thing blocking him and Courtney taken away.
"Yeah why not?" He played it cool, all Courtney did was smile shaking her head, she saw right through the cavalier front, but instead of calling him on it she stepped back and let the guard unlock the door.
"Bathrooms down the hall you get 15 minutes, nothing more"
"Thanks Bill" Courtney pressed a quick kiss to the burly guards cheek earning a jovial smile, something that left Jason confused but instead of dwelling he lead the rest of the way. The other prisoners grew louder, but the guard beat them away ignoring the constant verbal jabs.
Courtney was hesitant to walk into the little alcove considered a bathroom. There was only one overhead light, thank god, she thought the room looked dingy enough dark. One sink, a few toilets and two shower stalls, it resembled the penthouse in simplicity but not in cleanliness.
"So what are we doing here?" Jason crossed his arms across the loose wife beater, well-developed muscles catching Courtney's waning attention. She gulped involuntarily, suddenly she felt flushed, enough that her mind whirled while she tried to form a sentence.
Pull yourself together girl.
"I heard your trial starts tomorrow thought you would want to shave, I brought some cologne and the only suit you had"
"It's my trial suit"
"Done this before have you?" Courtney saw a smile tug at Jason's lips, one that made her heart do flip flips in her chest. She wasn't supposed to be so warm, it was actually cold in the dingy room, Jason wasn't showing signs of breaking a sweat so why was she?
"I can't shave" He stated rifling through the rest of the bag.
"Why?"
"No mirror" he pointed to the wall above the sink void of any reflective surface, just another piece of the beige wall.
"Well you can't go in to court looking like this, I'll just have to shave you" Courtney couldn't believe those words slipped from her mouth and by the way he stopped all movement to stare at her, he couldn't believe it either.
"You want to shave me."
"Well you have to look good for tomorrow, it's the least I could do" She cracked a timid smile hoping it would be more convincing then her half assed excuse. Jason didn't move for another moment watching her, the way she twirled a loose strand of golden hair around her finger, the way she shifted from foot to foot every two seconds. He finally nodded, handing the bag back to her.
"So how are we going to do this I guess I can stand and… what are you doing?" Jason didn't answer placing his hands on either side of her hips he hoisted her off the ground and onto the edge of the sink, bringing her to eye level. It was uncomfortable at first; Courtney finally realizing how hard looking away would be his eyes were as intoxicating as the scent that surrounded him. He smelled like mint and cinnamon, enough spice to make the red tinge in her cheeks return in full. For a second his hands stayed on her sides not inches from her, their breath mingling in the space between them.
"So I guess we should get started huh"
"Yeah" He shook his head trying to clear away the momentary fixation, something felt different, being with her was different.
Her hand guided his face back up again a lather of shaving cream covering the rough stubble that covered his cheek.
"Have you ever done this before?"
Something in her eyes dimmed "Once, I was five and my father let me" their eyes met momentarily before she went back to applying the cream.
"Does your father live in Nevada?"
"He died a little after my sixth birthday" pausing to collect herself, their eyes met again, instantly knocking the air from her lungs. Something in his gaze stopped her tears from falling there was too much sadness already to shed tears on the past.
"I don't remember him much just what my mother told me. Wasn't much" Courtney's tone was considerably lighter her hand reaching for the razor, when Jason grabbed her wrist. The blade sat inches from his cheek, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion until he guided her hand to his cheek, the razor softly swiping the skin. After a moment Courtney stopped "Do you trust me?" there was another moment of silence, enough to almost cause her to drop the razor and move away. Then the soft yes came, his hand detaching from around her wrist, but still she did nothing.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
'Why do you trust me? You just met me"
"Because you're the first person to look me in the eye since I got here"
The silence in between words had become expected in their conversations but his response was so instantaneous, Courtney barely had time to think about it before she was forced to resume her task.
"So Jason Morgan tell me something about yourself" He kept his gaze locked on her face, not that should could tell all of her energy was focused on not slicing his skin.
"There's not much to tell other then I'm on trial for murder"
"How 'bout coffee importing" Jason looked taken aback for an instant then a devilishly innocent smirk lit up his features.
"And how would you know about me being a coffee importer?"
"I have my ways, just like getting in here today it's all part of my mysterious charm"
"You saw the business card on my desk and you talked to Bill about his 6 grandkids until he thought you were the closest thing to an angel on earth, did I miss anything"
"You take all the fun out of being a woman" The mock pout did not last long before Courtney was laughing aloud, Jason expected her to be taken aback at his perceptive nature, but for some reason it didn't surprise her. Nothing about this man seemed surprising, more comfortable then anything like a best friend or a lover. Do not think of him like that, Courtney's mind shouted her head dipping slightly to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks. She had never been so girly in her life but one more second this close to Jason and she would start flipping her hair and making dreamy swooning noises.
"Hey, Courtney you okay" Oh god why did he have to crane his neck inching ever so tantalizingly closer, those eyes filled with worry, it was enough to make her melt.
"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about stuff" Her hand had begun to shake but she forced it steady, holding the razor against Jason's other cheek, now very aware of his eyes on her face, watching, looking for something, she couldn't tell.
"What stuff?"
"How profitable coffee importing is"
"Very we have some rare stuff"
"Really so it isn't just a front for your illegal mob activities" She swore if he had been drinking something it would have been all over her by now, the look on his face was priceless. For some reason as much as he wanted to deny her words, the shock was too strong.
"What makes you think I'm in the mob"
"Relax my uncle Rory did the same thing for a bit, made his money then moved on, well we like to say he moved to a higher plane of existence"
"So he was killed."
"Yeah, so tell me do you have one of those weird names?"
"Like what?"
"Like Lou "the Fish" Rigettoni"
"Why was he called the fish, cause he swam with them?"
"Nope he smelled like one, so do you have a mob name like Jason "the mysterious" Morgan?"
"They call me anger boy at the police station"
"Probably one the better ones" Courtney realized her job was done, wiping the remaining shaving cream away, she sat back to admire her hard work. It was the smile that slowly broke at across her face that caused Jason run a hand along his face, no more stubble, just the smooth skin he had entered the jail with.
"Can you help me down?"
He hoisted her up once again, stumbling back slightly, enough to knock Courtney directly onto his chest as he tried to keep them balanced. Even when both their feet touched the ground neither noticed. Courtney felt the heat their skin created, it was enough to make her blood boil, the constant warnings her head sent falling slowly into the background. His face inched closer, eyes directly focused on her crimson lips; a little further, he could almost feel the sparks their kiss would create.
"Jason, I'm sorry I never meant to hurt you, please don't leave me I can't live without you"
"I don't want to hear it get out, get out" "Jason it's the middle of the night what if something happens?" "I don't care I guess I really never did"Courtney pulled back shocked out of the embrace; Jason's lips had not even had a chance to capture hers. He reached forward grabbing her elbow, which did not seem to get her attention.
"You sent her out that night, you could have stopped it"
"Courtney I sent who out what's going on?"
Before she could speak the guard came into the narrow doorway signaling their time was up, she didn't even look at Jason, mumbling something as generic as see you tomorrow, before disappearing. The guard remained one hand reaching to grab Jason's shoulder. Then he was back in the cage, the urge to climb the walls assaulting him more then the first day of being in jail.
"You sent her out that night, you could have stopped it" Those words, her words they meant nothing to him but the stricken look in her eyes, that one second of doubt it broke his will to continue. Shattered hope encircled him as he tried more desperately to forget the offer of freedom Courtney had offered him it was gone now, there was nothing left, not if she couldn't help him.