Chapter 11

A feeling of déjà vu swept through her. She stood in front of her studio door just like she had this morning. It was the right thing to do, she reminded herself. She needed to tell Jason her decision, even if it hurt to turn him away. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She stopped at the threshold. Her mind couldn't seem to register what her eyes were seeing. Lucky was sitting on her couch fingering through Jason's travel book.

"Lucky, what are you doing here?" She put down the food she had brought Jason on the table.

"I came to see my best girl and see if I could steal her away from her painting," he came up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Gia's photo shoot went quicker than I thought, so I have the rest of the day to spend with you." He leaned down to kiss her.

When he tried to deepen the kiss, she pulled away and turned to close the door. She glanced at the closet door. She knew Jason was in there. She looked back to Lucky and gave a tentative smile.

"That's great," she said uneasily.

Lucky sensed her unease, "I know you're worried about Gia's shoot, but you shouldn't. You are ten times more beautiful than she is. There's no competition."

She smiled. She had forgotten all about the Face of Deception. "I'm not worried," she said, "I know Laura will choose the right person for the job."

"Good. Now how about we get out of here and spend the rest of the day in bed."

Her eyes went instantly to the closet door. Had he heard that? What was he thinking? Oh God, she hated this. She hated that she thought about Jason and what he was feeling when she should be thinking about Lucky.

"You know I would love to spend the rest of the day with you, but I need to finish this painting."

He turned to the painting on the easel. "I was looking at it when I came in. It's great, Elizabeth. Do you really need to finish it right now? It looks almost done. I'm sure you can do any finishing touches to it tomorrow."

"I'd like to finish it while the feelings are still fresh in my head."

For a moment he looked like he would argue and try to get her to change her mind, but he didn't. Instead he sat back on the couch and grabbed the travel book.

"Okay, I'll wait until you're done. I'll just sit here and read while you finish up," he said. "Hey, since when do you want to go to Greece?"

Her mind was blank. She couldn't figure out how to get out of this situation without getting into a fight with Lucky or revealing Jason's presence. She went through the motions of gathering up her brushes and paint preparing to get to work. "What?" She asked. He held up the book to show her the cover. "Oh, yeah. Lucky you know I want to travel. Greece would be a wonderful place to go. After all those stories from Nikolas, I can't wait to see all the places he talked about."

"When you're the Face of Deception, we'll be travelling all over the world. You'll get to see all those places and more."

She smiled, "I can't wait." She turned back to the canvas, trying to think of a way to get Lucky to leave without getting into an argument.

Lucky was quiet for a minute and then began moving around the studio. He stopped by the canvases Jason had stretched that morning. "Did you stretch these canvases yourself?"

She sighed. Lucky couldn't seem to stay quiet. How was she suppose to work if he kept interrupting her? "Yeah, I'm going to need them."

"Wow. Well, you know, I could have helped you."

"Oh, well, doing it myself helps me think."

"Yeah, like music helps me. What do you listen to while you paint?" He went to her portable stereo and began looking through her CDs.

She put her brush down and abandoned the canvas. She wasn't going to get any work done. Lucky just wouldn't let her. He needed to have her full attention. "Anything. Whatever Nikolas gives me from L&B, or the radio." She reached for her coat, "Listen, why don't we go take a nice walk around the docks?"

Lucky ignored her. He put in the CD he found and turned to her. He took the coat found her hand and tossed it on the couch. Just as the music began he gathered her in his arms, "Why don't we dance instead?"

She was about to argue when she recognized the song. It was their song. Lucky pulled her tighter and they swayed to the music. Elizabeth tried to relax and let the song and Lucky's arms around her take over but all she could think about was Jason and another time she danced to this song. She remembered the feeling of being in his arms. She had felt safe and protected. Now she felt like she was betraying Jason with Lucky.

She knew Jason could hear the music. What was he feeling? Did he hate her? Did he feel she was destroying a moment that was special to them like she did? It was ironic. She had initiated the dance with Jason so she could feel close to Lucky and now that she was dancing with Lucky all she could think about was Jason.

Oh, God, she needed to end the song and get rid of Lucky. Get rid of Lucky? No she meant get rid of Jason. He had to leave so she could stop lying to Lucky. Then she could be with Lucky the way he wanted, the way he deserved. As the song neared the ending she pulled out of the embrace.

"That was wonderful," she said hoping he couldn't see the lie in her eyes, "but I really need to finish this and you're distracting me. A good distraction, but a distraction nonetheless."

"Elizabeth, you can finish this tomorrow," he whined, "I want to spend some time with you. Don't you want that too?"

"Of course, I do. I love you," she replied. "Just give me two hours, okay? I'll get this done, then I'm all yours."

"Okay," he sounded dejected like a boy whose favourite toy was broken. "But if you're not at Kelly's in two hours, I'm coming to get you."

She chuckled and opened the door, "Don't worry, I'll be there." She closed the door behind him and rested her head on it. It was quiet, then she heard Jason open the closet door.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe this is happening," she said softly as she turn and faced Jason. "Lucky thought he was alone with me. He would die if he found out you were listening."

"Why would he?"

"Because, Jason, he doesn't know about that night that you and I danced together and how I – how I pretended that it was him and it didn't work because it was really you and – he just – he wouldn't understand. He would feel betrayed."

"Hold on, Elizabeth, I didn't expect him to show up," he said defensively. He hated seeing her this way. She was hurting and he knew it was his fault for putting her in this position.

She covered her face with her hands, "Oh, God. How long was he here for?"

He shrugged, "A while."

"Oh. I am so sorry --," she stopped. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep lying to Lucky. I can't keep sending him away and apologizing to you because he came to see me. Lucky has the right to come to my studio. He has the right to be with me. I shouldn't have to feel guilty about it."

"Elizabeth." He moved closer.

She stopped him with a raised hand, "No, Jason, I can't. You have to go."

He stood with his arms at his side repeatedly clenching his fists. "I didn't mean for this to be so bad for you."

She gave a small smile, "I know you didn't. It's not you fault. It's mine and I have to make it right."

He brought his hand to his face and pinched his nose, "I need one more day. This will all be over in 24 hours."

She couldn't stop herself from wondering what he meant. She wanted to know what was going to happen to tomorrow, would it be dangerous, could he get hurt, but she didn't ask. She had to stop worrying about him. Jason was not her concern, Lucky was. She nodded, "Okay, one more day. Then you have to go."

He nodded. He looked around hesitantly, "You know, Sonny needs me here, so, you know, you don't have to come back until, you know, I'm gone."

She was speechless. It didn't sound like he meant just the studio. He was leaving, maybe for good. You told him to go. "Are you going to leave town again?"

"The less you know the better," he knew he sound cold, but he couldn't help it.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She knew she being wasn't fair, but it hurt. She didn't want to lose him completely. "Everything was so clear from the back of your motorcycle," she said quietly, "Cold, but perfectly clear. And nothing else mattered but going faster in the wind."

His face softened, "I like that picture."

She didn't know what to say. "I'm really sorry," she cried.

Jason reached for her and took her in his arms, "Hey, you don't have to apologized for how you feel."

For a second she savoured the feel of Jason's arms around her, then pushed away from him. "I've got to get going," she said picking up her coat.

He stopped her before she could leave. "I just want to thank you for letting me stay."

She gave a sad smile. "You're welcome," she said and left the studio.