Note: For CC and Tracy, and all the rest of the Kinky 9.
Chapter Twenty
"He really said that?" Emily O'Brien's green eyes were wide and sparkling as she lifted another cheese fry to her lips. "I mean, seriously?"
"Oh, yeah," Elizabeth nodded emphatically, reaching for her soda. "I couldn't make this stuff up, Em. He really did say it!"
"He wants to be your best friend," the young woman sighed, pretending to swoon. "Oh, that's so cute."
"I know, isn't it?" The brunette's sapphire orbs were dazzling as she flicked the straw with her tongue. "Gosh, Em, you have no idea – when I woke up to find him still there with me, and he said he meant what he said the night before…oh, man. I completely melted."
"He's a keeper, he is." She played with the ice in her cup, swirling it around and around before motioning to the waitress for a refill. "So what else happened while I was gone?"
"Well, the gang came over after graduation and we threw a little party." Elizabeth saw Emily open her mouth and stopped her with a quick glare. "And if you apologize once more, Emily O'Brien, I'm going to scream – it wasn't your fault that you couldn't be there so don't you dare think it is."
"You know I wouldn't have dreamed of missing it," the redhead sighed. "I've been looking forward to it for months. But-"
"I know, I know," Elizabeth cut in, waving her hand at the young woman. "Trust me, I'm just glad Papa O'Brien's doing better. He really scared us there."
Emily nodded emphatically. "He's a tough old goat, though. That's what Johnny always said. And he was right. But anyway, tell me about the party. Who came?"
"Practically everyone," Elizabeth replied. "I even called Jason over and he stayed until everyone left. I mean, he made sure to point out three million times that the assortment of brownies alone would send me to an early grave, and that the music was so loud that it'd crack the foundation, and I think I caught him glaring at Drew once or twice, but he still stayed and helped me take all the trash out afterwards. Then we went out to dinner."
Emily remained silent as her best friend rambled on, choosing instead to just study the brunette guardedly. Elizabeth's eyes sparkled when she talked about Jason, and the happiness in her voice was evident as well. In fact, Emily hadn't ever seen her friend like this before – things must have really changed during the two weeks that she was gone. Though it was easy for her to see the difference, she found herself wondering offhandedly if Elizabeth actually did or not.
"We've just been having the best time together," Elizabeth sighed, letting a smile dance over her lips. "It feels like I've known him forever." She polished off another fry and saw Emily open her mouth only to snap it shut abruptly. "What?"
"N-Nothing," the redhead stammered awkwardly, not even sounding fully convinced herself. "I…just forget it."
"No, what is it?" Curious now, Elizabeth quirked a brow at her best friend. "Say it, Em."
Emily studied the clean fork that lay next to her plate, debating the best way to say what was on her mind. In the end, she went with what Johnny always suggested – she just spit it out. "Elizabeth, what are your feelings for Jason now?"
The brunette's dark brows furrowed together. "What do you mean? We're friends."
Emily sucked a breath in through her teeth, making a skeptical hissing noise. "See, are you, though? I mean, are you friends?"
The brunette was staring at her. "Yeah, we are."
The defensive note in her voice did not go missed by Emily, who reminded herself to tread carefully – she was on dangerous ground. Especially considering how stubborn Elizabeth could be, or how she had a habit of scaring like a Welsh rabbit when things seemed to lose the first semblance of control. "I'm not trying to say you're not – obviously, you are. You guys spend lots of time together and you probably know him the best out of anyone in this town except for Bobbie. What I'm trying to get at is…are you sure you're just friends?"
Elizabeth lifted one brow humorlessly at her. "What are you saying?"
"Well, it sounds like – correct me if I'm wrong – but it sounds like you guys are more than that. I've seen the way he looks at you, Elizabeth, so I'm not worried about that – I'm just asking, are you sure you haven't developed real feelings for him?"
The brunette just gaped at her, her lips parted in surprise, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to come up with anything to say.
Nervousness set in once Emily noticed that all the blood seemed to have drained from Elizabeth's face. Hurriedly, she tried to reassure her friend. "Not that it's wrong if you have – I didn't mean that at all. Because if you really do…you know…then I think it's great." Letting out an irritated huff, Emily rubbed her temples. This conversation was not at all what she meant for it to be. For Christ's sake, they sounded like a couple of schoolgirls, and this was more serious than that.
Gritting her teeth, she tried to channel her husband and his dog-after-a-bone attitude. "Elizabeth, are you or are you not in love with him?"
"What!" she squawked, banging her palm flat against the table. Her chair scraped against the floor as she abruptly pushed it back. "No, I am not!"
Emily just looked at her with raised brows. Everything in Elizabeth's voice screamed panic and cover-up, and she knew in an instant that she had been right. "Careful there, hon – your pants might catch fire."
If looks could kill, Emily would have been struck down on the spot. Elizabeth's dark eyes shot daggers at her as the brunette leaned closer, palms flat against the table, and hissed, "I am not in love with him."
Letting out a sigh, Emily leaned in as well. "There's nothing wrong with it if you are," she reminded her gently. "I mean, I know this started out as a game, a stupid plan that we cooked up because we had way too much time on our hands."
Elizabeth opened her mouth with a retort but Emily continued anyway.
"Sure, it was about teaching Jason a lesson, and it was also about you getting into the swing of things. I get that. But what if…somewhere along the line…it turned into something more?" Her emerald eyes were wide, beseeching Elizabeth to at least think it over before she ran away from it. "What if he's the one? Have you thought about that?"
Her chair scraped against the floor as Elizabeth pushed herself back completely, abruptly standing up and squeezing past her best friend. "I don't want to talk about this."
"We have to talk about this," Emily hissed, doing her best to keep from attracting too much attention.
"I have to get back to work," her best friend corrected coolly, already heading toward the counter to take up her apron once more.
But Emily wouldn't have any of that. Quickly, she stood up and grabbed her best friend's elbow. "Elizabeth, you need to think about this – if there's actually something more going on here, then as your friend I'm not just going to let you ignore it. What if this is your one chance for real happiness? Are you willing to give up on that?"
"Let me go!" the brunette snarled, trying to rip her arm out of Emily's grasp. "You have no right-"
"Elizabeth, this isn't a game anymore!"
Furious, the waitress turned on her heel and looked the redhead directly in the eyes. She was visibly seething and she had to fight to keep her voice low and under control, but there was no mistaking her anger. "Back off, Em. This is none of your business."
"You're my business," Emily corrected hotly. "If something affects you, then it affects me."
"Contrary to what you may think, not everything in this world revolves around you! What's going on between me and Jason is only between me and Jason!" Her dark sapphire eyes were narrowed and blazing. "So just back off and quit butting into everything! You think that everyone around you needs your opinion – news flash, Em: we're perfectly capable of managing our lives without you! So just back the hell off!"
The redhead steeled her jaw, her cold emerald eyes looking directly back into Elizabeth's. "You want me to back off? Fine." Turning on her heel, she angrily grabbed her purse from the table and headed for the door, but not before looking over her shoulder. "See if I ever try to help you out again. My mistake for thinking you were actually brave enough to listen."
Before Elizabeth could spit back a nasty retort, the redhead flung open the door and stomped out, letting the door slam behind her. The few customers that remained in the diner looked up curiously at her noisy departure and then turned back to their business, but Elizabeth just stood there glaring daggers at the door her best friend had just left through.
She couldn't get over the nerve of the woman – to march back into town after missing what was probably the most important moment of her life in Port Charles, spewing some nonsense about falling in love with Jason and…
Shaking her head briskly, Elizabeth stomped into the kitchen. She needed to find something to do and remain busy – she just couldn't think about what Emily had said right now.
Max Giambetti hiked up his worn jeans and padded over to some of the members of his crew who were smoking under the tall shademaster locust tree on Jason's property. They had put in long hours today but managed to get most of the major wiring done; they were moving faster than they had anticipated. Soon, they'd be finishing up the insulation and applying the first coat of paint to the drywall, and after that, Jason could start moving his furniture in.
A dark-haired man tipped his head at Max as the foreman strode up to them. "Hey, Francis," he greeted him gruffly. "Is Jason around?"
"You just missed him," Francis Corelli replied, letting out a puff of smoke and watching as it curled into the air. "If I had a nickel for every time I said that…"
Max laughed. "Yeah, we don't have the greatest track record – whenever I need to see him, he's already cut out. Any idea where he's gone, or when he'll be back?"
"I have a feeling he'll be busy the rest of the night," a young man by the name of Adam smirked, taking a bite out of his ham sandwich.
Francis quirked a brow at the boy, amused. "And what do ya mean by that?"
Adam shrugged. "I heard him take a phone call – some woman, and I think she asked him to come home because he told her he would and he left right afterwards. Who knows?" He shrugged indifferently. "Maybe his wife or something, like Seth was saying."
"Is Morgan married?" one of the older workers spoke up. "I didn't know that."
"I think he is," another worker replied. "Her name's Elizabeth, if I'm rememberin' right. I heard him on the phone a while back with one of his friends and he cancelled on some plans because he said that Elizabeth was sick or something and he was going to stay with her."
"I haven't seen him wearing a wedding band," Francis frowned, still not convinced.
Max quirked a brow at him. "Are you wearing your wedding band right now, Francis?"
The Italian glanced down at the visible tan line on his ring finger. "Only because I don't want anything to happen to it while we're workin' here," he replied defensively. "It's at home on my dresser. I didn't wanna lose it in the rubble or nothin'."
The foreman shrugged. "Maybe Jason doesn't wear it for the same reason," he replied. "Besides, if I were a mechanic, and I was rootin' around on a construction site, I'd make sure mine was safe, too, otherwise the little Missus would have my balls in a jar."
"Ain't that the truth?" Francis agreed with a laugh. "Anyway, I just think that it's strange – he never mentioned her or nothin' in front of the rest of us."
"Jason's a quiet guy," Adam offered, finishing off the last of his sandwich and stuffing the sandwich bag into the pocket of his denim jeans. "He doesn't talk much. Did you really expect him to give you the details of his personal life?"
"If there is a Missus, how come she hasn't been around to visit the garage?" Francis countered suspiciously. "After all, she's gonna be movin' in soon, too. And there are a whole lotta rooms in this place for one guy alone – she's gotta be gettin' a sewing room or office out of the deal. Why wouldn't she come check it out?"
"When I had our house built, Kris didn't come see it until it was done, either," Max cut in. "She wanted to wait and see the whole thing. Besides, she already knew what she was getting because the woman had practically memorized the floor plans. So there weren't going to be any surprises. And since Jason planned the garage out himself to every last detail, Mrs. Morgan probably already knows what the place is going to look like." He shrugged again and then reached for his cell phone. "She'll probably come around when it's time to decide on paint colors for the walls and window treatments and where to put the damn plants – women like that sort of thing."
Adam was chuckling as Max quickly flipped his phone open before turning to his men. "You guys can go home for the night – we're not going to get much else done. I'm leaving Jason a message to meet us early tomorrow, and we'll try to finish up the central wiring. The insulation's coming in some time in the afternoon, so we'll have to store it in the garage until we can get around to putting it up." His men nodded as Max found Jason's number in his stored directory and clicked to connect. "But for tonight, we'll just let him and Mrs. Morgan take it easy."
Elizabeth kicked the back door open and stomped into the alley, lugging a black garbage bag full of trash. Huffing all the way, she dragged it to the dumpster and heaved it in, dusting her hands together out of habit before wiping them on her black jeans.
Stupid Emily.
A sneer curled her lips downward and the brunette was about to stalk back into the building to grab a sweater before Jason got there, but a pair of headlights on the brick wall stopped her in her tracks.
Turning around, she saw the one thing that could lift her spirits at a time like this. Jason Morgan, wearing his leather jacket over a blue t-shirt and straddling that wonderful motorcycle of his.
She didn't know what it was about the scene that practically brought tears to her eyes, and she felt really foolish trying to blink them away before he got close enough to see. There was something so soothing about Jason's presence when she was feeling terrible; no matter what, he always seemed to be able to fix everything so that it wasn't so terrible anymore. He knew how to get through to her, he knew how to talk her down from her ledge, and he was one of the few people that accepted her mood and let her be angry when she felt like it, and sad when she felt like it.
Just seeing him made her feel better, and a heavy feeling began to grow and spread low in her belly as Emily's words echoed through her head. Pushing those thoughts back, Elizabeth forced herself to smile as Jason coasted to a stop and put the kickstand down.
He could see straight through her façade as usual, and didn't waste any words in greeting. "Wanna go for a ride?"
She nodded, certain that her voice would betray her if she chose to use it. Jason tossed a sympathetic half-smile her way before shrugging out of his jacket, offering it to her as she neared him. Elizabeth hurriedly threw it on before jumping onto the bike behind him, latching on to his waist as Jason put his feet on the pedals and roared out of the dark alley.
"I've never seen that trail before," she murmured softly, glancing back up the hill toward where Vista Point lay. "Where are we?"
"The bridge," he replied simply, pointing out the dark creek that ran silently under a solid stone bridge only a few yards across. "I come here sometimes. I thought you might want to see it."
She wiggled her fingers in his, enjoying the warmth of his hand, and followed slowly as he led them over to it. The stone was cool and rough under her fingertips as she skimmed them over the thick edge, her eyes trained on the inky black water underneath. She could already see the beginning of a painting come to life in her mind, and it was beautiful. Dark and secretive, mysterious. Curious splashes of pale moonlight on inky, indefinite waves. The rough, eroded stones that matched the glow of the moon. Brooding pine trees as they stood like silent sentinels on both sides of the water, shielding the bridge and its patrons as if the area was some enchanted, hidden land far removed from the rest of the world.
Jason seemed to know exactly what she was thinking; it was clearly visible in those expressive eyes of hers. Tugging on their linked hands, he brought her up to the ledge and leaned over, staring down at the water, and Elizabeth immediately followed suit.
He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as she forlornly studied the small waves and multiple ripples, propping her cheek up in her hand. Finally, she shifted closer and nudged him lightly with her shoulder. "Hey." He turned to look at her, waiting for her to continue. Sure enough, after indulging in a sad little sigh, she did. "I'm sorry about dumping all that stuff on you earlier. It wasn't fair of me, but…I don't know. Emily just made me really mad."
"It's okay to vent, you know that," he replied honestly, clasping his hands together in front of himself. As they sat around at Vista Point, she slowly began to tell him why she was so upset. She and Emily had a fight earlier in the day, and although he wasn't too sure of what it was about – Elizabeth didn't really feel like expounding but had just told him it was stupid anyway – he knew how upset she was. After all, she had said, she only had two best friends in the world and she hated that one of them had to be such a witch sometimes.
He hadn't really known what to say to any of it, so he had let her go on for a while, venting out her frustration. It seemed to help, because she seemed a bit better after she had purged herself of it all.
A wistful smile kicked up the corner of her mouth. "You're really great, you know that?"
Jason turned to face her again, a sly smirk pulling at his lips. Elizabeth tilted her head, eyeing him thoughtfully, and the moonlight cascaded over her porcelain skin, making it glow. "You let me go on and on about what's bugging me, and you never try to shut me up or tell me I'm being childish. This is going to sound silly, but sometimes it feels good to be childish. Just for a little while – to let out all your anger and your insecurities and every gripe you have with the world. Because you just feel much better after that. You know, you should try it."
"I don't really have much to complain about," Jason replied with a little smirk as he turned to the water again. And it was the truth – he really didn't. His garage was almost up and running again, and he planned to open it up the first day after he moved everything in. After all, there was no guaranteeing that he'd get work right away, so he wanted to get a head start. Hopefully, once word spread that he was back in business, his regular customers would return. He was pretty confident about that.
In general, things in his life were going well. He got to see his aunt more often ever since he had moved in to the diner, and he knew how much it meant to her. And besides that, he had Elizabeth. She lifted his spirits every time he was with her, and Jason couldn't imagine going a single day without seeing those beautiful blue eyes or that dazzling smile he'd grown so used to.
"Such a typical Jason answer," she muttered, amused. "I don't think I've ever heard you complain."
He just shrugged. "Things are good."
"Yeah," the brunette murmured softly, studying his face as the moonlight struck his hard, angular features. "Yeah, things are good." An ant scurried past her hand and Elizabeth frowned at the little creature. "Well, they would be together if Em could just get her head out of her ass and stop thinking that she's involved in every aspect of my life."
Jason just smirked as Elizabeth hunkered down against the ledge and pouted out at the water. "I just want to knock her block off. I swear, one of these days - pow! To the moon!"
"Huh?"
"Old TV show."
"Oh." Jason glanced at the slender brunette and shook his head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think you could send anyone to the moon."
She frowned up at him, not pleased with what he was implying. "What do you mean?"
"Look at you," he chuckled. "You're small. How much force could you possibly pack?"
"Hey!" Elizabeth was glaring indignantly at him, and Jason only barely managed to contain his smile. "I'm stronger than I look, Morgan!"
"Yeah?" he challenged, backing away from the ledge and holding both his palms up at chest level. "Prove it. Hit me – right on the palm. Let's see what you can do."
She was nibbling her lip again, mangling it between two rows of pearly white teeth. "Oh, no, Jason, I couldn't hit you."
"You won't hurt me," he assured with a smile. "Just punch right into my palm; I want to see how hard you can do it." He could see her giving in, and he nodded as she curled her hands into fists. "That's it, just hit my hand as hard as you can."
Still a little unsure of herself, Elizabeth stepped closer and sent her balled fist directly into his open palm, creating a loud smacking noise in the quiet forest. "How's that?"
It took everything in him not to laugh at her. "You can do better," he insisted, widening his stance. "Come on, harder. As hard as you can. Don't worry about hurting me. Just do it as hard as you can."
She tried again and produced the same smacking sound, and Jason's voice was instantly spurring her on. "Again, harder, come on. You couldn't fluff a pillow with that kind of force."
Frowning, Elizabeth stepped back on one foot and forced herself to concentrate on directing as much pressure and force into his open palm as she could. She let loose and swung and to her delight, Jason nodded with approval. She tried again with the other hand, meeting his palm with a swift crack.
Tossing her a smirk, Jason wiggled his fingers, inviting her to do her worst. Elizabeth bit her lip to quell a mischievous giggle and was just about to make contact between her fist and his hand when he unexpectedly blocked her. Surprised, she acted more out of instinct than anything else and swung at him using her left hand. Somehow, as he blocked her again and pretended to execute a similar jab as the one he was teaching her, Elizabeth twisted her body around and found herself in Jason's arms with his hands on her hips and her back pressed against his chest.
His laughter rumbled underneath her and rustled through her hair, and she was shaking with a case of the giggles herself. Trying to compose herself, Elizabeth let him turn her around in his arms so that his hands were settled easily at the small of her back, anchoring her small form to his larger one. Her fingers curled into his muscular forearms as she continued to laugh, her eyes closed as the wind danced through her hair.
Jason smiled down at her, already feeling his heart begin to race at her proximity. One hand abandoned her tiny waist and gently tucked her loose hair behind her ear, lingering there as she chuckled. Slowly, as if hypnotized, Elizabeth let her lashes flutter and opened her wide blue eyes, staring deeply into his. A hint of a smile still floated on her lips but it slipped slowly away when she saw the intensity with which he was staring at her.
Jason's eyes bore into hers before drifting over her delicate features and finally coming to rest on her luscious mouth. Ever since the day she graduated from Port Charles University, he had wanted to let her know how he felt about her. When he had first been forced into close quarters with her at his aunt's diner, it had mainly been about attraction; she was nearby and she was with him constantly, and he would have been a blind fool not to notice her innocent beauty. But after his blunder in the kitchen, things had taken a turn for the unexpected. Instead of avoiding him, the little brunette had actually sought him out, and somehow, they had bonded. He had grown so used to spending time with her every day that he couldn't imagine not being able to do so.
There were so many times in the past two weeks where he had been painfully close to kissing her. That was all he could seem to think to do – it was primitive and boorish but, God help him, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her and let her know once and for all that whatever it was that first drew them together, it had matured to the point that he couldn't go on without her.
Elizabeth gulped when she realized what he was staring at. Absently, her thumb stroked his biceps through the fabric of his shirt and she could hear Jason draw in a long breath through his nose. Emily's words fought their way to the forefront of her consciousness but she persistently brushed them back; she just couldn't think about it. She couldn't have thing spin out of control; she had to know what she was doing.
It would have been different if he actually told her himself that he felt something more. But he never did. And she definitely didn't plan on making the first move.
And that was the debilitating dilemma that they found themselves in. What Jason didn't know was that while he was trying to show Elizabeth how he felt with his actions, she was waiting for words; and what Elizabeth didn't know was that Jason Morgan didn't work well with words and chose instead to let the endless bike rides, the limitless pancakes, the never-ending rounds of pool at Jake's speak for him.
His lips were inching toward hers with deliberate slowness and Elizabeth's heart began to thunder in her chest. And it was when she felt his warm breath float over her lips that she panicked altogether and did the first thing she could think to do – she flung her arms around his neck and turned the would-be kiss into a hug.
Stunned, Jason could only snap his open mouth shut and numbly return her hug. For a second there, he had actually thought they might be able to finally get somewhere tonight. But once again, he had been wrong.
Elizabeth's tiny body trembled against his and, mistaking it for a reaction to the cool night breeze, Jason rubbed one hand up and down her back. Tears pricked at her eyes as Elizabeth buried her face in his shoulder, wondering when everything had become so alarmingly confusing.