The rain is pouring down and he's chasing her through the streets. She's upset, he saw that clear as day, and he wanted to help her. To make it okay for her. Elizabeth had another idea though. She decided that it was smart to run through a rainstorm with him chasing behind her.
"Elizabeth!" he shouts after her, cursing the fact that she was a former track and field gold medalist every year in high school. "Wait up!"
"No!" she shouts back, taking the pathway that leads to the docks.
It wouldn't be so hard to catch up to her if he didn't stay behind long enough to sock her boyfriend in the mouth and bring him down hard. Thanks to his need to stand up for her, Elizabeth's way ahead of him and he's running as fast as he can just to catch up.
Finally catching up to her, Jason gets there just as she's slamming the door to her studio and locking it up tight. He pounds on the door, pleading with her to open up, but she doesn't. He can hear her crying through the door and it breaks something inside him. He couldn't help but blame himself for this. He had been the one to convince her to give dating a chance and then this happens.
"Liz...please." he begs, laying his head against the door. "Please just open the door."
"Go away." she says through the door, defeat in her voice. "I just want to be alone."
"I'm not leaving." Jason says with conviction. "If I have to stay out here all night, I will. I'm not leaving you."
"Just go." Elizabeth slumps against the door. "Please...just leave...you're just making it worse."
"I'm not leaving." Jason says in a low voice, slumping down against the door. "I'll be here when you're ready."
Hours pass by in torturous silence. He wants to barge into the studio with the key he has, but he won't do it. She's been through enough and definitely didn't need him barging in on her uninvited. So he sits there, waiting for her to open the door, praying that she will.
The sound of the lock clicking is his salvation, prompting him to stand up as the door is pulled open. Her face is stained with tears long since shed, the look on her face tears another hole through him. He wants to say something, but the words wouldn't form. So, instead of saying something stupid, he pulls her into his arms and holds her close. Some would say possessively.
"I'm sorry." he finds the courage to say, softly rubbing the small of her back. "I wish I had the words to make it okay for you."
"There are no words." she whispers in that broken tone he hates so much.
"Can I come in?" he asks, pulling away slightly.
She doesn't speak, afraid of her voice, simply allowing him to guide her inside. The day had not turned out like she had planned it and she was breaking apart inside. She had really thought he was the one, only for it to turn out to be a complete lie.
He didn't love her. Hell, from the way he acted that night, she doubts he even likes her. As if breaking up with her on her birthday wasn't bad enough, she had to catch him in bed with her sister moments beforehand. This had to be the worst birthday in her entire life.
"What can I do?" Jason whispers, standing in front of her, wishing there was something he could do or say to make her stop crying. "Name it and I'll do it...anything to help you get over this guy."
"There's nothing you can do." she says plainly. "There's nothing anyone can do."
"There has to be something." he says almost pleadingly. "I can kill him if you want. Just say the word and he'll be gone."
There it was. The smile that he was trying so hard to bring out. He knew that the mention of him killing someone would get a smile out of her. She finds his line of work laughable, proving that by laughing at him on occasion. Thankfully, when its almost impossible to get her out of her funk, mentioning killing someone for her has gotten the job done.
"I appreciate the offer, but no." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "If you were the one to kill him, it would make him mean something and I'd die before I gave him the satisfaction."
"Okay." Jason chuckles softly. "So what can I do?"
She stares at him for a moment, her breath caught in her throat as she looks at him. There was something in his eyes, something she had never seen before and it had her inching closer to him. Everything was happening in slow motion for him. One minute he's simply consoling her over the end of her relationship with her boyfriend and now he's dying to kiss her.
Their lips touch and he could literally feel his heart explode in his chest. A fire is ignited between them and soon they are clawing at each other's clothes - needing to feel skin upon skin. He's nervous because he knows she has never done this before. A part of him knowing that he should stop her.
"Are you sure?" he whispers, a cloud of lust in her eyes telling him that she was already on the edge.
"Yes." she says without hesitation, yanking her shirt over her head. "I'm sure."
And that was the end of him. He couldn't protest it even if he wanted to. Article by article of clothing is tossed aside just before they fall onto the makeshift bed of hers. The rain is pounding against the windows, but neither of them care by this point. All that mattered was them, in that moment, making love to each other like they never thought they would.
"Happy birthday, Liz." he whispers, placing a soft kiss upon her forehead.
"Thank you."
The moonlight shines through the glass doors of the balcony, showering his body in a soft glow. As she sits up, Elizabeth remembers her first time, it had been the moment she fell in love with him. She hadn't realized it at first, but she knew it soon enough. That's why this shouldn't have happened. It only made it harder to be just friends.
Quietly sliding out of bed, Elizabeth slips into her clothes before snatching her heels from where they were tossed. A part of her didn't regret it happening, having wanted it to happen for a long time, but another part of her did. She regrets it because of Sam. Because even though Jason's heart may not be in it, Sam didn't deserve this.
So she takes one last long look at him before quietly making her way out of the penthouse. Making it out of the building and into the parking garage, Elizabeth finds her car parked where Johnny's truck was, her keys in the visor. With a slight smile, she gets in and starts it up, heading back to her place to call it a night.
"Emmy?" she says in surprise, finding Emily sitting on her doorstep. "How long have you been sitting there?"
"A few hours." Emily admits, standing up when Elizabeth walks up to her. "I need your advice."
"Why didn't you call?" she counters, unlocking her door to let Emily in. "I would have came sooner if I knew you were waiting for me."
"I kind of figured you were with Jason." Emily shrugs, tossing her coat on the rack before sitting on the couch. "Fourth of July and all."
"Right." Elizabeth sighed, handing her a glass of water before sitting down across from her on the club chair. "So...what's going on?"
"Its Johnny." Emily sighs, taking a drink of water. "I know he likes me, but he just doesn't act like it. He keeps trying to push me away and its driving me crazy."
"You know him."
"Yes, I do, but still!" Emily groans, putting the glass down. "I came back because I thought that it would be different. We talk almost every night and now that I'm back he acts like we're just friends."
"Well...you kind of are."
"Ugh!" Emily throws her hands up. "Sometimes I think that I'm getting somewhere with him...that he's finally ready and then he does this."
"Does what?"
"He pulls away." Emily states sadly. "Why do I even try if he's not going to?"
"Em, you know that he really cares about you." Elizabeth says seriously. "Johnny...he's just afraid he'll end up hurting you."
"He already is." Emily counters. "Every time he pulls away, it hurts like nothing else possible could. I'm getting to the point that I just don't want to try anymore."
"You don't mean that." Elizabeth sighs, getting up to sit in front of her on the coffee table, taking her hands in hers. "Johnny's, for lack of a better word, Johnny. You just have to be patient with him."
"I'm in love with him." Emily says on a whisper. "I just wish he'd see that and trust in us."
"I know." Elizabeth wraps her arms around Emily. "I know exactly what you mean."
"Why do guys have to be so complicated?"
"Trust me, they're thinking the same thing about us." Elizabeth laughs softly, pulling away from her. "If its meant to be, it will be. You just have to be patient with him."
"I know." Emily says with a shrug. "I guess I just needed to get that off my chest and I thought of you."
"Well, if you ever need to unload again, you know my door's always open." Elizabeth smiles slightly. "How about something stronger?"
"Tequila?"
"You just read my mind." Elizabeth chuckles, standing up and walking to the kitchen.
"Liz?" Emily calls to her as she gets to the doorway of the kitchen.
"Yeah?" Elizabeth turns back to look at her.
"Be patient with Jase." Emily says softly. "He'll get to where you need him to be. You just have to give him time."
"He's marrying her." Elizabeth counters, shaking her head. "I'm okay, Emmy. Its how it has to be."
"No...it doesn't." Emily points out. "Don't give up on him just yet...that's all I'm saying."
"Okay." Elizabeth takes a deep breath. "I won't."
"Good." Emily laughs softly. "Now go get the tequila."
"Yes, ma'am."
A/N: Thank you for the reviews, we hope you keep up with them.
-ROCkER & The Jackal's Vixen-