Prompt: Dead End.

Part Fifteen

It was like they kept hitting a dead end.

Every time they came so close to finally give into the passion that coursed through them, something always ended up happening, making them put a stop to the ever growing need that was building within them. If it wasn't Max walking in on them while they shared their first kiss by the pool table, or Jason giving into noble notions that they should take the relationship slower, or a thunderstorm raging in the background while they were so close to giving into their pleasure at the lake, then it was Sonny calling, telling Jason that he needed him to go out on an assignment.

Freaking wonderful.

The car ride was filled with a comfortable silence, both deep in their own thoughts about what would happen when they got back to the penthouse. Elizabeth was patiently waiting until they reached home, wanting nothing more than to pick up where they left off at when they were at the lake. When they first entered the car, she was embarrassed and nervous with her actions at the lake, but with one look from Jason, one smirk, and one remark that had her filled with need, Elizabeth realized that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Screw her life before and the way everyone used to make her feel, she was a new woman and her past wasn't going to get in the way.

Especially when it came to seducing Jason.

She was in the middle of formulating her plan to seduce Jason—just incase he changed his mind to be intimate with her during the car ride back home—when his cell phone rang. She didn't think much of it, but when he uttered the words, "I'll be right there," she wanted to rip the phone out of his hand and toss it out the window.

He was not going to leave her. After causing her to grow so warm with wanting when he glanced at her and told her that he liked her better without a bra on, practically promising so much pleasure with the swipe of his tongue across his lips, he was going to leave her once they reached the penthouse? There was no way. No way would he be so cruel to leave her when they both knew once they reached the penthouse they were finally going to be together.

It wouldn't be fair.

But he still left.

He didn't actually apologize for leaving her, but when he looked at her after his quick shower, Elizabeth could see the regret in his eyes. Hell, the man walked to the door, turned around and looked her over in a slow and sexual gaze, lingering at all the right places, and then turned back around with a curse and stormed out of the penthouse.

She didn't blame him—even though she really wanted to. Elizabeth knew that his job was different, and that he would have to leave whenever Sonny called. She wasn't too familiar with the goings of their business, but she knew from what she read in the paper before she met them that Sonny was the boss and Jason his enforcer. She knew she couldn't be angry at either Sonny or Jason, but damn, Sonny had horrible timing.

Elizabeth was worried when she woke up the next morning to find that Jason still hadn't returned. She didn't allow herself to panic, telling herself that Jason was ok and had probably spent the night at Jakes. The thought of him staying at Jakes had her frowning when she opened the door to see Max standing guard.

"'Morning Miss. Webber."

Her frown grew deeper, Max rolled his eyes.

"'Morning Elizabeth."

Her smile was small, but still did its part it letting Max know that she was pleased he called her by name. "Good morning Max. Did…do you…where is Jason?"

As much as he wanted to, Max didn't laugh. "I can't disclose that information with you." When she openly glared up at him, clearly displeased by his answer, he pulled at his collar while clearing his throat and quickly added, "I can't tell you where he is, but he's fine. He just called."

She crossed her arms over her chest, let her gaze linger to the floor and ran her slipper encased foot back and forth in a tiny-child-like movement. "Did he say when he would be back?"

"No."

Her shoulders fell as she let out a long, dramatic sigh. "I guess that means he won't be taking me to Kelly's for my first day." Her eyes slowly moved from the floor back to look up at Max.

He looked like he was going to be sick.

"Your not going to cry again are you?"

"No!"

He released a deep breath as he muttered, "Thank God." Probably not meant for her to hear but she heard him anyway.

"I'm not some emotional girl Max." So much for getting any information out of the man. Placing her hands on her hips, Elizabeth let her exasperation show. "Are you taking me to Kelly's since Jason isn't here?"

"Yeah." He seemed to be just as disappointed as she was. But where her disappointment stemmed from not being able to see Jason, his seemed to be because he had to spend time with her.

That bothered her.

She was about to walk back into the penthouse and get ready for her first day of work, but before Max could close the door, she turned around. "Why don't you like me?"

"Huh?"

"Why don't you like me?"

"I…" He shifted from foot to foot, looking at anything but her. His face began to color a light shade of red. "I like you."

"It's ok Max; you don't have to lie just to make me feel better." She lifted her chin and took in a deep breath. "What don't you like about me?"

"I like you." His statement was forceful, spoken loud enough that neither of them heard the ding of the elevator or the doors sliding open.

"Max—"

"I like you Elizabeth." He emphasized his statement by placing his hands on her shoulders. She finally seemed to believe that he meant what he was saying to her when she smiled up at him. She opened her mouth to say something when a voice—an angry voice—behind Max interrupted her.

"What the hell is going on?"

Max's grip on her shoulders tightened as his eyes opened wide. Elizabeth stood up on her tiptoes and peeked over Max's broad shoulder, but not before frowning at him for holding her so tightly. Her frown stayed on her face when she saw Jason standing behind Max with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. Johnny's smiling face as he stood beside Jason only confused her more.

"Jason, hey I—" Before she could finish her greeting Max pushed away from her with so much force she stumbled backwards. It was as if touching her burned him he let go of her so quickly, only to turn around and hold his hands up in surrender as he spoke to Jason.

"Nothing… nothing is going on. She asked me why I didn't like her and I tried to tell her that I liked her and then she didn't believe me, so I…" Jason's sharp glare stopped Max from going on.

Jason shook his head as he dropped his arms to his side, walking past Max and into his penthouse, lightly grabbing Elizabeth's arm on the way to pull her back into the penthouse before he closed the door.

Max placed his hands over his face and groaned once the door was closed. Johnny's laughter beside him caused him to drop his hands and punch his friend in the arm. "What the hell is so funny?"

Johnny shook his head in amusement. "Hitting on the boss's woman like that…"

"I wasn't hitting on her, asshole."

Johnny punched Max in the arm before he walked towards Sonny's door. "You better hope Morgan believes that."

Max's face turned pale as he called out to Johnny's back. "You really think Jason thinks I was making a move on Elizabeth?"

"Yup."

"Shit."

Jason let go of her arm once the door was closed. He pulled off his leather jacket and when he looked back at her, he almost smiled at the way she was glaring at him. "Well that was ru—"

He snaked one arm around her back, pulled her towards him, causing her chest to crash against his, and bent down to kiss her before she could finish her sentence. His lips caressed hers gently before he pulled away. She stared up at him bemused, causing his eyes to glitter in amusement and a corner of his mouth to quirk upwards. "Hey."

"Hey." She spoke as softly as he had, forgetting about everything that occurred moments before. Jason was staring down at her as his hand on her back rubbed in soothing circles. She reached up and cupped his cheek, rough since he had not shaved yet. "You look tired."

He simply shrugged before he bent down and kissed her once more. He pulled away then and walked towards his leather couch. He plopped down, resting his head against the back of the couch while he rubbed his hands over his face, sighing. "I was up all night trailing some guy we thought was connected to the men who tried to kidnap you and Kristina." She sat next to him, tucking her feet underneath her as she leaned the side of her face against the couch. He turned his head to look at her, their faces inches apart. "It was a dead end."

Her eyes held understanding at his frustration. Where she really didn't understand the entire situation, she knew that Jason was frustrated with not knowing who was after his family. Elizabeth reached out and grabbed his hand, linking her fingers with his and giving a gentle squeeze. "You should go to sleep."

He shook his head as he sat up. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"You start work at Kelly's today."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to come. I think I can manage my first day at work without you there. You need to rest; you've been up all night."

"I've gone days without sleeping and I'm not letting you leave here without me." She opened her mouth to argue but he placed his hand over it. "There is still danger out there."

When he removed his hand she tilted her head to the side. "I wasn't suggesting that I leave here without a guard, I was just suggesting that you take the day off and get some rest while Max takes me."

When his eyes narrowed, she rolled her eyes. "Jason, you look exhausted, let someone else guard me for a couple of hours. Besides, it's not like this would be Max's first time, he was my guard when I found out I lost my apartment."

"Fine." When she smiled too brightly for his liking at getting Max as her guard, he added, "I'll call Milo and have him guard you."

"That's fine."

When she stood up from the couch and turned to walk upstairs he stood and grabbed her arm, causing her to turn around. "You don't care that Max won't be your guard?"

Her bottom lip stuck out as she wrinkled her nose in thought. "Not really. I like Max, but I don't really care who guards me—if you're busy and can't guard me. As long as you trust my guard then I'm fine with whomever. Just get some rest." She kissed him quickly before she ran upstairs to get ready for work.

Jason watched her practically skip upstairs with a swirl of emotions. He knew he was acting stupid and like an ass when he found Max holding onto her when he first stepped off of the elevator. Plopping down on the couch once more, he grunted in disgust, it was almost like he was jealous or something. Shaking his head, Jason looked back towards the stairs. He liked the feelings she caused him, except for the slight tinge of jealousy when he saw her smile at Johnny or Max. She cared about him, worried about him enough to order him to get some rest.

It was odd to have someone fuss over him, and even though he acted annoyed, it felt good, refreshing. It had been such a long time since anyone—especially a woman—caused him to feel…content.

It was something Jason could get used to.

And that scared the hell out of him.

She was not cut out to be a waitress.

Bobbie had started her off simple, training her on the items that were on the menu, then the cash register, and then finally allowing Elizabeth to shadow Penny, one of the waitresses. Elizabeth was just getting the hang of it when the lunch rush began. Apparently, two of the servers called in sick and Penny and Bobbie could not handle the entire restaurant by themselves. Elizabeth was nervous about taking tables of her own, but both Bobbie and Penny assured her that she was ready. Elizabeth didn't have much of a choice but to take a couple of tables, easing the stress on the other two women.

She ran back and forth the entire afternoon, going out of her mind with hearing customers continually call out 'Miss' to get her attention. She wanted to break down and cry in the middle of the rush but held her head up instead and continued to serve as best as she could.

How the hell could she have ever thought that being a waitress wasn't going to be hard?

Placing the three dollar tip she received from her last table into her apron, Elizabeth almost wept with relief when Bobbie called out to her.

"Elizabeth, once you finish cleaning off that table, you're done for the day."

Wiping down her table, Elizabeth turned and walked towards the counter where Bobbie stood behind, talking to a young blonde woman who walked into the diner a couple of minutes before. The blonde opened her purse to pull out her cell phone that was ringing.

When Elizabeth sat down on a stool at the counter, Bobbie gave her a sympathetic smile. "Thank you so much for your help today. I know you were only supposed to train today, but you did a wonderful job."

Elizabeth let out a pitiful laugh. "Please, I must have messed up every tables order and spilt more soda then I actually served."

Bobbie laughed with her. "Everyone starts out badly." When the blonde's voice rose in volume, Bobbie gave her a scolding look before turning her attention back to Elizabeth. "You'll get the hang of it, trust me."

"I hope your right."

"I am." They shared a smile before Bobbie reached under the counter and pulled out a slip of paper. "Here is your schedule for this week. Did you want to order anything to take home for you and Jason? It's on the house."

"Oh Bobbie, thank you but I couldn't."

The redhead was already making her way towards the kitchen when she called over her shoulder. "I'll just put in an order for what you two ordered yesterday. If you want something different let me know."

Elizabeth laughed at Bobbies antics. She stood up from the stool to remove her apron from around her waist when the blonde next to her cleared her throat. Looking up, Elizabeth saw the blonde staring at her and smiled in greeting.

"Hi." The blonde looked towards the kitchen before she looked back at Elizabeth. "I couldn't help but overhear what Bobbie said. Does the Jason your bringing home lunch for happen to be Jason Morgan?"

Giving the woman a skeptical glance, Elizabeth nodded her head slowly. "Yes. Do you know him?"

The woman's gaze turned from forced politeness to a blazing fire as she tilted her head to the side and smirked at Elizabeth. "Yes I do." The blonde stood up and placed her hands on her hips, now glaring at Elizabeth. "I'm Carly," there was a brief pause. Something, Elizabeth was sure, that Carly added for the dramatics of her next statement. "The love of his life."