Chapter Twenty
Her throat burned as she swallowed down the cool liquid.
Her lips tingled and puckered from the strength of the liquid that settled in her body.
Without pausing, she reached for another piece of perfectly sliced lime. Bracing herself, she sucked the sour lime in on one draw. Throwing the bare skin aside carelessly, she reached for the saltshaker. Gulping down the last remnants of the lime in her mouth, she grasped the saltshaker and sprinkled a decent amount on her opposite wrist. Chuckling, she licked off the salt and stretched her arm to grab the tequila shot that slid down the counter. In one swift move, she tossed back the shot and swallowed roughly. Slamming the shot glass down with added emphasis, she raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at the star struck brunettes that flanked her.
"You were saying?" Elizabeth challenged her best friends.
"You win," Brenda said in awe as she placed a crisp twenty-dollar bill in front of the young brunette.
Inhaling, Emily started at her best friend with proud and amazed blue eyes as she too handed over a twenty-dollar bill. "I'm never doubting your ability to take tequila shots again."
"Want to double the number of shots?" Elizabeth suggested with a devilish twinkle in her eyes.
"To ten?"
"Yes, Brenda ten," Emily rolled her eyes. "You'd think she was the one that took five tequila shots in a row."
Raising both eyes eyebrows; she looked back and forth between her best friends. "Well?"
"I think you've had enough shots for tonight," the youngest Quartermaine declared, pushing away the empty shot glasses and lime peels.
"Oh come on," Elizabeth whined. "You're the one that said I needed to let loose and tequila shots are the best way to do it."
Emily and Brenda exchanged alarmed glances.
"Not tonight," the eldest brunette declared, gesturing to the bartender attending to other customers.
"It's time to go home," Brenda announced, signaling to a brooding Johnny.
The Musketeer sighed in relief and moved towards them, but immediately retreated back to his corner when Elizabeth shot him a warning glare.
"Not yet," the nanny murmured. Smiling mischievously, she faced the bartender and pretended to think for a moment. "I'll have…hmmm…a sex on the beach, James."
"Coming right up, Miss Webber," the blonde Club 101 bartender took her order and rewarded her with a wink.
"You're absolutely the best," she cooed.
"And you're drunk," Emily mused.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are," Brenda countered.
"Am not," Elizabeth harped, a twinkle in her eyes.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
Emily swung her brown eyes back and forth, watching her adult best friends be childish.
"Am too," Elizabeth declared.
"Are not," Brenda fell for Elizabeth's trap.
"I win," the nanny hooted before throwing back her sex on a beach in one swing.
Groaning, Brenda shook her head in shame. "How are we supposed to explain…her state to the prison wards?"
"I'm thinking. I'm thinking," Emily chirped.
"Well, think faster," Brenda encouraged while attempting to cut off Elizabeth.
"You know what," Elizabeth slurred, waving around a newly refilled sex on the beach. She didn't wait for the others to respond, she rushed on. "People with penis's suck."
Brenda laughed. "That would mean the male population."
"And the few exceptions," Emily responded.
"Don't get technical."
"Men suck," the nanny declared louder this time.
"That's a known fact," Emily replied.
"They're flawed," Brenda added, reaching for a bright blue martini.
"Send out crazy mixed signals."
"Yup," Emily sighed, giving in and reaching for a drink.
Realizing that they weren't going to be going anywhere for a while, Emily and Brenda gave up their feeble attempts to curve their friends drinking. Elizabeth's tone and the spark in her eyes said she had a great deal to get off her chest. Sitting back, all three brunettes reached for a drink and unwind.
"Make you doubt yourself."
"Uh huh."
"Do romantic, mushy, gushy things that make you melt inside and turn you into a ditz."
"Hate it when that happens," Brenda muttered.
"Can never come out and say their feelings for God's sake," Elizabeth declared, signaling for another drink.
"Makes you want to smack them," Emily growled.
"I've got one," Brenda stuck her hand up in the air for permission to speak. "They make you worry for nothing and then look at you like you're a head case for being genuinely concerned."
Dr. Quartermaine began to giggle.
"What are you giggling about?" Elizabeth asked her friend, nearly falling over in her chair.
"I can think of reasons that they don't suck." She wiggled her eyebrows before breaking into a fit of laughter that the others joined in on.
"True," Brenda agreed, recovering. She waved her hand in the air to get everyone to pay attention to her. "But they're absolutely, completely, utterly terrible when they tease you mercilessly."
"And then make up for it with a mind-blowing orgasm," Emily sighed contently, a nostalgic look in her glittering eyes.
"Who are you been sleeping with?" Elizabeth asked bluntly, mixing up her tenses loud enough to turn heads.
"Speaking from past experience," the doctor rushed to answer, all the while blushing beet red.
Brenda shrieked. "You're sleeping with someone!"
"Am not!"
"We're not doing this again," Brenda rolled her eyes.
"Just tell us and it won't be painful," Elizabeth said, but the desired affect failed due to the goofy grin splayed across her face.
"I am not sleeping with anyone."
"Fine," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, dismissing the topic this time. "Just a clue," she came back to beg.
"No."
"So there is someone?" Brenda grinned, raising her nearly empty glass.
"Can we not have this conversation," Emily whined as she blushed redder. She avoided eye contact and began to fidget; tugging at the hem of her short dress all the while making sure no one was eavesdropping.
"As long as he's gorgeous, have fun," the married brunette advised the youngest.
"Another reason men suck," Elizabeth sighed. "They turn women into drooling idiots."
"I don't like how they order people around and expect them to follow like a bunch of foot soldiers."
Elizabeth and Emily exchanged glances, knowing exactly which man in particular Brenda was referring to.
"That's why you don't follow them," Elizabeth grinned, finishing off her drink.
"You're damn right I don't."
The brunette nanny freely laughed with the others before the sound of a piano tinkering in the distant stole her attention. A still silence fell over the once energetic nightclub. Her eyes strayed from her friends to the still forms on the dance floor on the opposite side of the bar, waiting for what was to come. The piano tittered into a low melody and soon was joined by a deep voice of a female singer. The bustling activity that had surrounded them all night disappeared and a cloak of serenity fell over the crowd as couples began to join on the dance floor.
A young pair caught her attention. Both dark haired and slender in their build held each other close. Their hands twined, arms wrapped securely around each other, bodies molded to perfection. There was a tranquility that surrounded them as they moved gracefully together.
Resting his chin on top of his companion's head, the young man gazed off, never losing track of the melody or forgetting the woman in his arms. He looked utterly content. Raising her hand to his mouth, he tenderly brushed a kiss against his ladylove's knuckles. The loving gesture granted Elizabeth a view of glittering stones and she immediately knew they were on more than just a casual date.
The brunette fiancée's body language declared that she wholly trusted the man she had promised her life to lead her on the dance floor and share her life with him. Eyes closed, head resting against his wide chest, the brunette smiled at the touch of his lingering lips on her knuckles. Shifting, she tilted her head back to stare up at him. He returned her gaze.
Their eyes were focused solely on each other.
The rest of the world faded away for them.
And Elizabeth tore her gaze away.
She felt the sting of tears. There was a time that seemed long ago that she had been in the arms of the man she loved. Forgetting everything, but him and the love they shared. Having your heart shattered left you avoiding every man that was a threat. Unknowingly, the months spent silently observing Jason Morgan had taken her heart captive and lead her down a path she had tried her best to avoid. For two years, she had dodged any relationships that went past two dates to then spend a year watching a man that had barely acknowledged her presence. And once again, she had fallen for the man she shouldn't have, bound to nurse her broken heart when her time in his life ran out. She had unknowingly fallen head first in love with Jason Morgan and there was no escape from the heartache that would consume her in due time.
Inhaling deeply, Elizabeth attempted to gather a hold of herself, but failed miserably. Giving into the sinking feeling of dread that danced in the pit of her stomach, she easily grabbed a hold of the bottle of Jack Daniel's that James had been passing down to a customer at the end of the bar. Sighing, Elizabeth poured the Tennessee whiskey into a short wide glass, watching the dark golden color lighten under the light. She calmly raised the glass full of liquor to her lips and took a long pull. It burned her throat, but the feeling barely registered in her mind as her eyes strayed back to the swaying couple.
The heartache that would come would be her fault. The past few days had been nearly perfect and in that time she had let the feelings she had held at bay to fully develop. She let herself imagine a life with Jason Morgan as more than just her employer. She let herself imagine children and a home with the man she was supposed to see as nothing more than the person signing her paycheck.
Without faltering, she watched the serine couple while pouring drinks for herself. She never noticed her friends watch her cautiously or the bottle of whiskey quickly empty of its contents with every passing moment.
She could have walked away without tangling her life and emotions to Jason when he showed no real signs of having strong feelings for her. But she would make it because she would have her memories of not only him, but also of Lil to cherish forever.
Exhaling heavily, Elizabeth finally tore her eyes away from the dance floor and let her gaze lower to her glass. The golden liquid stayed perfectly still, an antithesis of the emotions that raged inside her. Her heart ached with every breath that she took. A tingling sensation coursed through her body, mingling with her blood. Her nerve endings were sluggish and her mind raced to keep up with the noises that surrounded her. A muffled buzz invaded her hearing. It gradually grew steady and clear.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth focused her eyes on first Brenda and then Emily. She saw anxiety reflected in their eyes. She flashed them the brightest smile she could muster up, but it didn't have the desired effect. Her best friends continued to watch her with wary eyes.
Brushing off their concerned glances, she took another long pull of her drink. A drop of the whiskey clung to her bottom lip; with one swipe of her tongue it was gone. The tang of the alcohol lingered in her mouth as the memory of a subtle taste filtered through her mind. A taste that only belonged to Jason Morgan.
Her skin warmed at the memory of his lips demanding that she return his kiss. His hands tangled in her hair. His apparent arousal pressed against her abdomen. His breath dancing against her cheek a second before he pulled away. His passion and presence overwhelmed her senses, but left her floating in a sea of bliss. Also, left her extremely sexually frustrated. Just remembering his kiss left her damp and flustered.
Groaning, Elizabeth dropped her head to the black marble bar top. She wanted to feel her bare skin pressed against his. Wanted his clever lips skimming over not only her lips, but the rest of her. His work roughened hands traveling over every hidden crevice of her without any hesitation. She wanted to taste his skin on her tongue. She wanted him to make love to her. She wanted to make love to him. She wanted to love him. She wanted to be loved by Jason. Wanted everything with him.
But none of it was possible.
Sighing ruefully, she sat up and pushed away the tension between her thighs that consumed her senses. Grasping her glass tightly, her eyes found the young couple again. Her gaze unwavering she threw back her drink in one swallow and began to laugh. Not her usual lively laugh, but a deep mechanically laugh. She laughed so hard tears blurred her vision. She laughed at the pathetic state of her life. She had intended to spend the night out with her best friends and try to make sense of what her future held. More than a hand full of men had made their interest in her evident, but she had hardly paid any attention to them simply because the memories of another man lingered in her mind. For the second time in her life with the exclusion of kindergarten love, Elizabeth Webber was in love with a man that didn't return her feelings. A man that only lusted after her.
Chuckling softly, she poured herself another glass. Elizabeth glanced at Emily and Brenda, vaguely acknowledging their saddened eyes.
Raising her glass, she smirked at her best friends. "I proclaim a toast," she declared. "To all the men out there that have strung along delusional women and to the delusional women that let themselves hope to only to be disappointed. Wait," she paused for a moment. "That last part needs to be changed. To the delusional women that let themselves hope to have their hearts and dreams crushed. There that's better." Elizabeth swooshed her glass in an upward motion, gesturing for the others to join her, but they just stared in confusion.
Shrugging, she gulped down a ridiculous amount of her whiskey and exhaled a long breath. "Another reason why men suck," Elizabeth began. "They lust after women. They cloud our minds and leave us feeling vulnerable. And," she trailed on. "They kiss you senseless to the point that you can't remember your name."
Her two brunette cohorts exchanged wary knowing glances.
"They turn on their charm when you least expect it." Her words ran into each other. "They are despicable human beings because he made me fall in love with him against my will."
"I have to agree with that. Amen," the young doctor of the trio seconded right before she chocked on her drink. Her face flustered from the lack of oxygen that reached her heart, eyes widened in shock, Emily stared with a bit of panic in her eyes. "You're in love? As in L-O-V-E with my brother? Right? It's my brother, right?"
"Calm down, Emily," Brenda reached over to pat her young friend in comfort before focusing her attention on the very drunk woman sitting next to her. "Now Elizabeth," the older brunette softened her voice and smiled cautiously. "Why don't you put down the glass and tell us what happened?"
"I'll put down the glass," Elizabeth mumbled and frowned. "But I'm not giving up my drink."
Stifling a groan, Emily smiled sweetly. "Okay, but do tell us what happened." She shot Brenda warning a look to hold back any objections that she may have.
"My brother's in town," Elizabeth muttered, resting her drink and grasping her head. "And decided to offer his opinion on my life. He was happy for me. Thought Jason was a wonderful and Lil the cutest thing ever."
As the nanny recounted her visit with her brother, Emily stole a quick glance at Brenda before giving Elizabeth's whiskey bottle a quick shove away from her friend and racing down the bar.
"And he listened to me make a fool of myself while I gushed about them and then casually drops a huge bomb on me."
Watching the whiskey bottle glide smoothly down the surface of the bar, Emily nervously bit down on her lip until James grabbed the bottle and disposed of it. Sighing, she immediately turned to face Elizabeth in time. Nodding her head in understanding, she patted her friend's arm and urged her to continue.
"He was being a total know it all," Elizabeth pouted, facing her drink again.
Over Elizabeth's head, Emily flashed Brenda a quick thumbs up before returning her attention back to her slightly intoxicated best friend.
"He asked me flat out if Jason knows if I'm in love with him. Wasn't that insensitive of Steven?" Shifting on the leather cushion of her bar stool, Elizabeth faced Emily. "I mean he just assumes I'm in love with my boss. I thought he had better manners than that. Another thing, men lack manners."
As Elizabeth ranted, Brenda watched the younger brunette closely as her hand slowly itched towards her friend's whiskey. Just as her hand closed around the glass, Elizabeth turned to face her and reached for her half full glass. Instantly, Brenda let go and whispered a curse under breath all the while ignoring Emily's amused face.
"I mean what is wrong with men?"
"How about you tell us how you responded to your very wise brother's question?" Brenda asked, trying to divert Elizabeth's attention away from her drink.
Elizabeth immediately went silent. She hadn't voiced how she felt about Jason in a very specific description. Her friends had always supported her, but she was afraid. Afraid to admit out loud to the whole world that she was not only infatuated by her boss, but in love with him. The kind of love that remained with you till the last breath you took. Indirectly admitting it to her brother was no crucial threat to her dignity because he would possibly never cross paths with Jason again, but Brenda and Emily were major figures in his life. Her declaration from a few minutes abruptly filled her mind and she groaned. She had already announced how she felt about Jason.
Sighing, she squared her shoulders and decided it was time to elaborate on her thoughtless remark. "I didn't exactly deny anything," she whispered, dropping her gaze to the dark liquid in her glass. She couldn't remember what was exactly in the glass. The buzzing noise she had fought, vaguely plagued her.
"Elaborate, woman," Emily urged. The twinkle in the young brunette's eyes was bright and an emotion that Elizabeth was scared to identify stared right back at her.
"I'm in love with him," Elizabeth declared firmly and loud enough for not only her best friends to hear, but anyone else in the their area of the bar. "I'm in love with him," she repeated in a hushed tone. "I love Jason."
Emily squealed and Brenda grinned like a child as both brunettes launched themselves at their best friend. Even as her closest friends rejoiced, the foreboding of her departure in a matter of days weighed down the happiness that being in love guaranteed in most cases. She was going to be gone in exactly six days, but her heart would remain with Jason Morgan and there was nothing she could do to change her future.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Brenda murmured, releasing her friend to brush back one of her fallen locks.
"I'm in love with him."
Her two best friends exchanged bewildered looks.
"That's what's wrong," she elaborated. "I'm in love with him."
Once again, Brenda and Emily turned to each other in confusion.
"I'm in love with him and he doesn't love me. It's pretty pathetic how I tend to fall for the wrong guy. The guy that will break my heart and walk away." Exhaling, her shoulders collapsed and she reached for her drink again. "At least this time I didn't make a fool of myself and pour my heart out."
Shaking her head, Brenda tucked in the stubborn lock of her young friend's hair that refused to stay in behind her ear and smiled at her sympathetically. "You won't know what will happen if you don't take a chance."
She scoffed. "I can see it now. I profess my undying love to Jason and he either runs away mortified or…" she searched for the word as the buzzing in her ear grew fierce. "Laughs in my face. There we go. Laughs in my face."
"Honey, you don't know that," Emily murmured, gently rubbing circles into Elizabeth's tense shoulders.
The young nanny shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "None of it matters. I'm gone by next week," her voice hoarse, she looked away before the tears could fall. She swallowed roughly and tightened her grip on her whiskey to hide the tremble in her hands. "It doesn't matter that I can see myself with him. That I can imagine taking care of Lil and Jason." She smiled wistfully, her eyes dimmed. "I can see myself giving Lil the little brother that she wants. I can see forever with him, but it doesn't mutter. None of it matters."
"Yes, it does," Brenda said sharply, grabbing for the whiskey glass she had failed to get away from Elizabeth.
"Does not," was the grumbled response that the smashed nanny muttered. Elizabeth's held on tight to her whiskey, barely flinching in her seat as one of her best friend's struggled with her. "It doesn't matter anymore," she sneered. "It doesn't matter anymore because I am leaving. I am leaving because he doesn't want me other than in his bed." She chuckled. "In his bed. That's all he wants me for. A nice roll in bed." She chuckled again this time darker. "Oh and to take care of his daughter. The sad thing is if I could have that one night with him I would be able to walk away knowing that for a few seconds. For a tinsy winsy little bit," she demonstrated with her thumb and forefinger. "He was mine."
The corners of Emily's lips dipped at the sorrow that she glimpsed in her best friend's eyes. The twinkling cornflower blue eyes that usually stared at her were full of sorrow and remorse. A part of her wanted to go knock some sense into Elizabeth and her brother, but the other part of her knew that forcing the issue tonight wasn't going to help anyone. It could just make things worse. Confused as to how a night that was intended to be relaxing had turn into a disaster, the young shook her head and dipped her head to rest her forehead against her best friend's bare shoulder.
"It'll work out." Even as she muttered the words, Emily didn't believe them herself. A knot had developed listening to her best friend. There was enough misunderstanding and miscommunication between Jason and Elizabeth to cause a third world war to break out. Their pasts had them protecting their hearts with cast iron gates and they needed an honest conversation where neither of them held anything back. But it wasn't going to happen. The two would avoid the underlying issues between them until it was too late.
Peeking over Elizabeth's shoulder, Emily's eyes locked with Brenda's dismal gaze and knew the other woman was thinking along the same lines as her. Flashing her a sad smile, the youngest brunette's head fell again and she listened to the drumming of her friend's broken heart.
Rubbing her young friend's arm in a gesture of support, Brenda silently cursed in her mind. This night had not gone as planned. Cursing the male race and her husband's best friend, she raced to find a solution, but her usually devious mind failed to produce an idea that could fix everything. The only thing that could help Jason and Elizabeth now was a time machine, which weren't in production.
"Maybe we should head home now," Brenda suggested, already signally Johnny.
Raising her glass again, Elizabeth smiled ruefully at her best friends. "To the male race and their ability to create havoc in a woman's life."
Finishing off her whiskey, she gingerly lowered herself off her bar stool and onto her heels. The imbalance rushed through her and she felt Johnny immediately steady her. The world around her tilted. Shaking her head, she smiled at her Irish friend. "Hello Johnny my boy," she slurred. "It's nice to see you. The whole thing about hating the male race doesn't imply you. I like you," she reached up to pat his cheek.
The young guard raised a dark eyebrow in response.
"I know you wouldn't ever break my heart," Elizabeth cooed to a very confused Johnny.
"You let her get drunk," Johnny growled, swinging a very intoxicated Elizabeth into his arms. "You're going to have a lot explaining to do when we get back."
"Tell us something, we don't know," Brenda replied tersely, smacking the guard upside the head.
Losing his balance for a moment, Johnny straightened and tightened his hold on the brunette in his arms. Observing Elizabeth, he came to the conclusion that the whiskey had been the finishing touch. She snuggled into his chest and grinned up at him. He was glad for once he wouldn't have to be the one explaining the circumstances of someone's drunken state.
Jumping off of her stool, Brenda whistled to grab the bartender's attention over the music. He was at her side within seconds. "Place everything on my husband's tab and can I get coffee to go please?"
"Sure thing," James, the bartender, complied.
With a warm stainless thermal in Brenda's hand and Elizabeth's purse in Emily's, the two brunettes followed the Irish Musketeer out of the nightclub. Both of them watched warily as Johnny attempted to settle Elizabeth down in his arms, but failed miserably.
"Johnny, does your boss keep scotch in the limo?" Elizabeth asked innocently.
"I think I'm going to need a shot by the time we get home," Emily grumbled.
Watching Elizabeth coddle a very flustered Johnny, Brenda replied. "We might not live long enough to take a shot of anything."
"At least we learned something to night." When Brenda raised arched eyebrow in question, Emily elaborated. "That it's true when they say that the most honest people besides children are drunks."
Elizabeth chose that moment to squeal in joy before leaning into Johnny to whisper something in his ear that had him blushing beet red.
The Corinthos matriarch groaned in dread. "Jason's going to kill us."
"Or he might just thank us."
"Let's hope you're right," Brenda muttered, stepping into the limo.
The night had been full of surprises and it was yet to be over. They could only imagine what the prison wards had in store for them at home.