Its late into the night and Elizabeth was sitting up on the couch. Her father would be calling soon and she has really wanted to talk to him. She didn't know what was going on and if things were being dealt with. As much as she likes staying with Jason, she'd really like to just go home. What she wasn't aware of was Jason sitting on the stairs. He wanted so badly to drown in alcohol, but the night's events had him cautious. They were leaving the hotel when a drive-by shooter nearly took her out. Now he just wanted to watch her, to know for sure that nothing happened to her.
"Daddy?" Elizabeth said quickly, answering her phone.
"Its me." her father replied. "I heard about the drive-by."
"I'm okay." she assures, taking a deep breath. "Tell me you're safe too."
"Don't worry about me." he says simply. "Things are escalating a little over here. I don't know when I'll be able to call again."
"Daddy, why am I the only one being protected?" Elizabeth questions, curious about her siblings. "What about Steven and Sarah?"
"I wish I can tell you everything, but I can't." Jeff sighs, running his fingers through his hair. "Just know that they're safe and that Corinthos will keep you safe."
"I'm worried about you." Elizabeth admits, wishing he'd tell her something. "I can't lose you."
"You won't." he promises. "I have to go, but I'm glad you're okay."
"I love you." she says softly.
"I love you too, princess." Jeff says with a heavy heart. "Stay safe."
Ending the call, Elizabeth tossed her cellphone to the side before letting out a heavy sigh. In spite of herself, the tears started to fall as she hugged the small pillow to her chest. Jason watched as she let her tears fall without a care. He doubts that she knows he's there and he couldn't help but watch her cry. This is a side he hasn't seen before, in any woman. He never cared enough to be around during this part of their lives, when tears start, Jason's out.
He wasn't sure what had him standing up and walking over to her, but he did. Elizabeth looked up at him before turning away. She really didn't want him to see her cry, but he wasn't about to go anywhere. So, instead of bailing, like he'd normally do, Jason took her hand and pulled her up off the couch, encircling her in his arms. Elizabeth wasn't sure what he was doing or why he was doing it, but she didn't care. She clung to him as her tears fell. It wasn't every day that she was shot at and it kind of shook her up.
"Come on. Lets get you to bed." Jason says as she stops crying. "Its late."
"Sleep sounds good right now." Elizabeth admitted, pulling away from him. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I'm sure you'd rather have been shot instead of holding me while I cried." Elizabeth says simply. "Thanks for that."
Elizabeth walks away from Jason, leaving him a little conflicted. He wasn't ready to admit that he actually didn't mind holding her while she cried. He wasn't ready to admit that he felt the need to be the one who held her while she cried and let her hurt out. He sure as hell wasn't ready for the feeling that surged through him while he held her close. Trudging up the steps, Jason stripped out of his clothes once he was in his room and crawled into bed. In spite of his best efforts, the last image to enter his mind as he drifted off into a deep slumber was of the kiss he shared with Elizabeth.
In the early hours of the morning, Jason wakes up and immediately starts to workout. He had thought that, by morning, all thoughts of Elizabeth would be gone from his mind, but it was the exact opposite. Knowing she was just in the room next to his, suffice to say that it didn't help his sexual tension. From doing push-ups to sit-ups and chin-ups, Jason did his best to workout the sexual tension in his body.
Elizabeth was awoken by the sound of him moving around downstairs. Slipping into her robe, she walked out of her room and made it to the stairway where she stood frozen. The kiss she had initiated caused such a vivid dream that Elizabeth almost didn't want to wake up. Now, she is frozen to the spot, staring at a bare chested Jason, who's doing chin-ups. Her lips going dry, Elizabeth licks her lips to dampen them again. If the kiss wasn't bad enough, this image was sure to add to her vivid dreams.
"You okay?" Jason asks, landing on his feet as he released his grip.
"Huh? Wha?" Elizabeth shook her head, walking down the stairs. "Um, yeah...s-sure."
"You don't seem sure." Jason comments, grabbing the towel from where he slung it on the pool table.
"Uh, no, I'm fine." Elizabeth shook her head. "I just...uh, yeah. Breakfast."
Jason eyed her curiously as she walked off to the kitchen. Shaking his head, Jason shrugged it off before dropping and doing more push-ups. Seeing her set him back a good amount and he needed to work it out before he went to check on her. Elizabeth, on the other hand, used her time to cook breakfast. She wasn't the cooking type, but anything was better than going back and seeing him working out again. This situation just got a hell of a lot harder to bear.
"Everything okay in here?" Jason asks, having washed up and changed.
"Yeah." Elizabeth shakes her head, pouring a couple glasses of juice. "Hungry?"
"I can eat." Jason shrugs, carrying the plates of food while she carried the drinks.
Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth walked out into the living room and joined him on the couch. Jason, who's completely relaxed at this point, tests his theory and puts their plates close enough to where she'd have to sit right next to him. He knows that she's just as affected by him as he's affected by her, but one way to prove it is if she moves her plate.
Setting the drinks down, Elizabeth eyes him intently before picking up her plate and sitting a little further away from him. A hidden smirk appears on his face as he digs into his food. At least he wasn't the only one hot and bothered by their closeness. They eat in silence, neither really knowing what to say or even wanting to say anything. Saving them both from acknowledging anything, a knock sounded at the door and Johnny came walking through the door.
"Hey beautiful." Johnny greeted, closing the door behind him.
"That would be you." Jason says as he takes her plate and glass from her. "I can handle the dishes."
"Jason, wait." Elizabeth stops him. "I'm going into the kitchen anway...I'll do it."
Elizabeth takes the dishes from him before smiling at Johnny and walking off to the kitchen. Jason turned to see Johnny shrugging out of his jacket and granted him a nod before walking upstairs. Once he was out of sight, Johnny couldn't help but laugh. It was clear on the other man's face that he was affected by Elizabeth. When his friend came back out, Johnny pulled her into a warm embrace before kissing her cheek.
"So, I have work to handle, but I'm free tonight." Johnny says, getting to the point of why he's there. "How about we grab some drinks at Jake's?"
"Um, tonight?" Elizabeth mulls it over. "Sounds good."
"Great." Johnny smirked, plopping down on the couch. "Now how about a movie, huh?"
"You're going to willingly watch a movie?" Elizabeth laughed softly before plopping down beside him. "I'm not going to pass that up."
Jason watched as Johnny slung his arm across the back of the couch while Elizabeth nestled in beside him. A sudden urge to punch the man spread through him that Jason had to go back into his room where he kept his punching bag and started beating on it. The rational part of him told him that this was nothing. That she wasn't interested in Johnny that way, but it still didn't stop him from being completely angry. Not at the closeness of the two of them, but at the stupid feeling of wanting to be the one sitting with her.
It was completely insane because he hates watching movies. He doesn't see the point in it, all of it just gives him a headache, but that feeling was still there. By that night, Jason's body was completely getting back at him for working out so much. Elizabeth wasn't completely oblivious to his mood as they drove to the bar, but she didn't question it.
"Your usual, beautiful?" Coleman called out to her once she walked into the bar. "Fresh produce."
"Sure." Elizabeth smirked. "Send them my way."
"You got it." Coleman winked before gathering up her things.
"There she is!" Zander exclaimed, pulling her into a spinning hug. "You're seriously a sight for sore eyes."
"Rough day?" Elizabeth guessed, truly happy to be back with them again.
"More like rough week." Zander groaned, pulling out her chair for her. "Heard about your close call. You okay?"
"Still alive." Elizabeth shrugged, sitting down. "Take my mind off my life. What's up with you?"
"Where to start?" Zander joked. "Emily is seriously riding me about wanting to get married."
"Seriously?" Elizabeth accepted the stuff from Coleman, granting him a smile before returning her attention to Zander. "I thought you love her though."
"I do, I just don't know if marrying her is the best move right now." Zander sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "You know how things are."
"Right." Elizabeth shook her head before downing a shot. "Lets drink."
"Amen." Zander took the shot she held out and downed it.
Jason watched as Elizabeth downed shot after shot. The more she drank the more she was laughing and smiling. She was right though, she really could hold her liquor. He had given up all pretences of playing pool when she undid the tie of her hair and let her hair flow down her back.
"Still haven't slept with her?" came Carly's mocking voice from beside him. "Must be killing you."
"Not now, Carly." Jason barked, the muscle in his jaw twitching.
"Come on, just go kiss her already." Carly scoffed, watching as Johnny was laughing at Zander and Elizabeth dancing. "I'm sure she's already dreamt of screwing you."
"Enough!" Jason turned to look at her. "Its not like that with her."
"Oh, I know." Carly smirked. "But you want her...why not make it physical if you're not ready for anything more?"
"Carly, for the love of god, stay out of my life." Jason groaned, downing his beer.
"Look, from what I can see, you've got two choices." Carly crossed her arms over her chest. "One, wallow in your sexual tension or two, do something about it."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Don't even think about it, honey." Carly pushed his chest abruptly. "That ship has sailed. I'm a one man woman now."
"Since when?" Jason countered, arching his eyebrow.
"About the same time little miss muffin came into your life." Carly shrugged, loving the look on his face. "Like I said, man up and go after what you want."
"Kill me now." Jason groaned, taking the shot from her hand and downing it. "End it all."
"Sorry handsome." Carly shook her head. "That would do the whole world an horrific injustice."
"Jason?" Elizabeth made her presence known, causing them to look at her. "Wanna dance?"
"He'd love to." Carly took the pool stick from his grasp and pushed him to Elizabeth. "Later, Morgan."
Jason was so ready to strangle the blonde, but found himself being pulled over to the corner of the bar by the jukebox. Instead of fighting it and telling her that he didn't want to dance, Jason wrapped his arms around her as the song started playing. Elizabeth wasn't sure if he'd do it again, but was glad that he sucked it up long enough to dance with her.
"You're hating this, aren't you?" Elizabeth guessed, pulling away slightly to look him in the eyes.
"No." Jason shakes his head. "I've been through worse."
"Gee, thanks." Elizabeth laughed softly. "Zander will be back from the bathroom soon and then you can go back to your game."
"I don't mind dancing with you." Jason admits. "Okay?"
"Okay." Elizabeth laid her head against his chest. "If you say so."
Jason closed his eyes as they swayed to the music, really hating himself for what he was feeling in that moment. He could tell that the song was coming to an end and soon she'd be out of his arms. Opening his eyes, Jason spotted Zander returning from the bathroom and he didn't know what took him over, but before he knew it, he spun her around and pushed her up against the wall.
"Jason?" she manages to get out, his eyes stopping anything else that would come out.
Jason simply shook his head before claiming her lips with his. Elizabeth was taken by surprise when his lips came into contact with hers, but her body immediately reacted. As his leg slid between hers, successfully pinning her up against the wall, Elizabeth's fingers got tangled up in his hair as he kissed her soundly. Her head was spinning and every part of her body was reacting to the way his mouth was moving against hers. His tongue snaking into her mouth battling hers for dominance. Like last time, the kiss was over before she truly wanted it to be.
"Sorry." Jason pulls away, taking a step back. "I don't know why I did that."
"Its okay." Elizabeth wipes the side of her mouth. "I'd say we're even, huh?"
"Yeah." Jason shook his head, helping her stand upright. "I guess."
Elizabeth leant over and kissed his cheek before walking back to her guys. Jason, on the other hand, ran a hand down his face in frustration. The girl was seriously messing with his head. He has never done that before. He didn't even know what came over him. He felt the moment coming to an end and he just acted on impulse. Ordering up a couple shots, Jason downed them before grabbing a beer and downing that too. Every part of him knew that this was just the start of the impulsive actions in regard to Elizabeth and he was truly hating himself for it. He's supposed to protect her, not want her in more ways than one. Someone kill him now.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews!
I hope you like this update! Can't wait to read what you think.
Till next time...