Chapter One ~ The Best She Ever Had

He was worried about his friend. She didn't look well. Her face was pale. Her eyes were droopy and tired. They appeared to be haunted pools of blue. She just wasn't herself. In fact, she looked drugged.

His best friend looked stoned and he wanted to know why. "Carly, what's wrong?" Jason asked in concern as he knew her like the back of his hand. "Talk to me."

She avoided his gaze which only deepened his worries. She was holding something back from him. He could tell.

"It's just that I- uhhh... I'm not getting enough sleep. With the baby and all," she said, but he knew she was lying to him. Jason always knew.

"Donna's keeping you up at night?"

"Yes... uhhhh... that's it," she replied far too quickly.

Jason just stared at her, shaking his head. He didn't believe a word she was saying. Something else was wrong. Something was bothering Carly and he was determined to find out what was troubling her, so he could help her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Carly demanded.

"Like what?"

"Like you don't believe me."

"Because I don't believe you. You can't lie to me. I always know when you're lying."

"I haven't been sleeping well, Jason. I keep having these...these dreams!" she blurted out.

"What kind of dreams?"

"I can't tell you!"

"Why not? I am your best friend. You tell me everything."

"No, not always."

He stared into her eyes. "What have you been keeping from me?"

She lay beneath him naked as their bodies merged, his breath hot and wet against the sensitive flesh of her neck. He panted, thrusting inside her deep and hard. She cried out as he made her cum again and again. He let out a moan of lust as she crumbled. It was too much. He was too much. Together, they were far too much. He was the best she had ever had.

"No... no," she said as she attempted to get up and leave the table as well as the conversation. "Don't make me say it."

He caught her arm, holding on to her so she could not escape him. "Carly," he prompted. "You're upset. Something's wrong. You need to tell me. Why aren't you sleeping at night?"

"I am having erotic dreams... okay?" she cried out as a look of shock settled over Jason's features. "Dreams about a certain someone... a man who is not my husband."

"Okay," he said, not sure where to go as she had totally blindsided him. Apparently she had been keeping vital information from him. There were some things they just didn't say.

"Carly, have you been dreaming about Jax?" he prompted.

"What?! No! Absolutely no way!"

His hand slowly let go of her arm as she sunk back down into her seat. "Look, Jase. We can't talk about this anymore. We can't go there."

The pain in her eyes caused his heart to fiercely ache. "Carly..."

"No. We can't. I just can't."

A tear slid down her face and she angrily brushed it away. "It's just dreams. Dreams... that's ALL it is," she tried to tell herself. "But still every night they keep coming back to me. I'm in your arms... and - and it's as if I never, EVER left them..."

In the afterglow of passion, he held her pressed against him. She felt cherished and safe. She smiled at him in the near darkness, drinking in the glow of his eyes. They didn't know even know each other's names, but she knew his body so intimately. There were no whispers of love between them, just the quiet exchange of soft caresses. Their eyes said more than words could ever express in those moments. She lived for those nights with him. He was the best she had ever had.

Now he knew it without a doubt. HE was the subject of her dreams. She hadn't been sleeping because of him. That troubled Jason greatly. He didn't want to see his best friend going through so much agony.

"You're just remembering the past, when we..."

"No. No, Jason, it's more than that. Ever since you were forced to stay away from Sam; when the two of you broke up, I have been so restless. Ever since Donna was born... I haven't slept with Sonny, not even once."

"That's because the baby was fussy."

"Yeah, that was it at first. Donna was up a lot. She needed to be nursed ... so I slept in the guest bedroom, so we wouldn't disturb Sonny... but Donna is eight months old now and I haven't - I haven't returned to his bed," Carly admitted.

Jason stared at her as it all sunk in. Finally he spoke. "Carly, I don't want to know the details about you and Sonny and you being in his bed."

"I'm not giving you the details, because there are no details to give. I no longer sleep with my husband. We sleep in separate beds and he doesn't even seem to mind. It's as if... I don't know... as if he just doesn't care..."

Her words trailed off as another tear slid down her cheek. Jason ached inside as Carly's voice was shaking. He took her hand in his and he felt her fingers tremble.

"Sonny's been preoccupied with Mike and everything with Dev."

"This isn't about Sonny, Jason. This is about us - you and me. Because every night, I am with you... you're holding me... and I just want... I want that back soooo damn much."

There. She admitted it. The truth was out and they had to deal with it now. Suddenly it was Jason's turn to nearly dart across the room. He almost ran, but he didn't. He wouldn't. Instead he stayed and clasped Carly's hand.

"I love you," he said.

"Ohhh Jase, I love you, too." She broke down in his arms, wetting his shirt with her tears. She was talking incoherently. She wasn't making a bit of sense, but he held her anyway, caressing her hair as she cried on his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright," he told her softly. "I promise. Everything is going to be okay."