Carly wakes up in Jason's bed. They had finally made it upstairs after their second time together. Jason had been insatiable, turning to her again and again during the night. Turning her head, she watches him sleep. He looks so peaceful, almost content.
She considers sneaking out, worried he will wake up in the cold light of day and regret everything. And a mistake is the last thing she ever wants to be in Jason's eyes. But in the end, running feels too cowardly. Plus, she's determined to be there for her best friend through this heartbreak. She's willing to let her pride take a hit to accomplish that.
"Good morning," Jason says, breaking her out of her thoughts. Awake, he looks cautiously at Carly. His eyes heat briefly as he looks over her curves barely covered by the sheet.
With concern, she asks him, "How are you doing?" Then, giving him a sexy smile, "Was our very enjoyable distraction at least a little helpful?"
He gives her a smile, the tension easing at her playful manner. "Very helpful."
She runs her hand down his arm until reaching his hand and then entwines their fingers. "I'm happy to help. So, I was thinking…"
"Always dangerous," Jason teases.
She narrows her eyes at him, but continues on, "That we should have a day with the boys. We can go to that Motorsport park with the go-kart racing that you love, the one with dirt tracks for the kids to ride their bikes. We can binge on junk food and all our guilty pleasures." With a sexy smirk, she teases, "Those guilty pleasures seem to have worked so far."
"Carly, I don't know…"
"Nope. I am not going to leave you here all day to wallow by yourself. If you aren't up for racing and such, just come over to the house and spend the day with me and the boys. We can grill out or order takeout. You can attempt to beat Michael at that video game you bought him for his birthday. You know how excited they will be to spend the day with their beloved Uncle Jason." With imploring eyes, she tells him, "Please don't sit in this apartment and stew. Come spend the day with me."
Seeing his reluctance begin to crumble, she begs, "Please, please, please!"
He gives her a look, but relents, "Okay. I'm in."
She lets out a squeal, "You won't regret it." She sits up, looking around for her clothes before remembering that they are likely still on the living room floor. With a shrug, she stands up and walks naked to Jason's closet to grab one of his shirts.
Jason sits up against the headboard to enjoy the view, his body responding once again to the sight of her. She notices his appreciation and gives him a sexy smile as she adds a little more sway to her hips. The sight of her wearing only his shirt does nothing to ease his arousal, instead he feels his body reacting more strongly.
Running his hand over his face to distract himself, he tells Carly with a serious tone, "We need to talk about last night. I shouldn't have…"
She interrupts him, "Two things: First, last night was one friend helping another through something difficult. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about or any awkward expectations. As far as I'm concerned, we're absolutely fine. Second, I need coffee before I can convince you that last night was not some catastrophe."
She turns and walks out of the door, calling out, "You better put something on quickly if you are going to save your poor kitchen from my cooking."
Laughing, she bounds down the stairs, but stops short when she notices both Spinelli and Sam at the bottom looking up at her. Jason follows closely behind, wearing only a pair of low-slung navy sweatpants. "I'm coming, I'm coming." He grumbles at her with a smile on his face.
He almost runs into Carly, and ends up grabbing her arms and pulling her back against his chest to steady himself.
Everyone in the penthouse stands frozen for a long moment. Sam has tears streaming down her face, her mouth open in shock. Finally, she says in a tortured voice, "Jason?"
Then, everyone begins moving at once.
Spinelli averts his eyes and tells the room, "Stone Cold, my apologies. I think I need to go see the lovely Lulu." He quickly leaves, going out the front door.
Carly begins as she walks down the stairs, "I should just get…"
Sam walks to the bottom of the stairs, blocking Carly. "You should what? Because from where I'm standing, you have done more than enough. How could y…"
Jason barks out, "You have no right to speak to her that way. You are the one who was in bed with Ric. You are the one who broke us. So, back off on blaming Carly. None of this is her fault. This is all on you!"
"It's not her fault?! She slept with my fiancé! I made a mistake, Jason. It was just a mistake, and how long before she ran over to jump in my fiancé's bed?" Her voice comes out in a yell.
"I'm not your fiancé. I'm no longer your anything. We were over the moment you decided to sleep with Ric." His voice is cold and hard.
"Jason, please." Sam pleads. "Can we talk about this?"
Jason lets out a sigh, running his hand through his hair before telling her reluctantly, "I don't know what good it will do. No matter what you tell me, I can't forget what I saw. And honestly, your face is the last one I want to see at the moment, second only to Ric's."
"It was a mistake, Jason. I love you, and I know you love me. We can get past this."
"My feelings for you don't make any difference when I can't trust you. And right now I don't have it in me to try." Jason's voice sounds exhausted and shut down. Sam's heart gets colder and colder as she sees Jason shut her out.
Carly interrupts, "I need to go pick up the boys from Sonny's. If you will just let me…" She says trying to ease her way around Sam.
"No! I won't let you!" Sam shouts at her, grabbing her wrist in a crushing grip. Carly flinches briefly at the pain. Jason, seeing the flinch, moves between the two women, breaking Sam's hold.
"I told you to leave her alone! She hasn't done anything to deserve this."
"She hasn't…?! Are you kidding me?! She slept with you! She slept with the man I love! She's nothing but a dirty tramp!" Sam yells.
Getting in her face, he snapped, "I called her. I made the first move. I did this. And you lost the right to have a say in it. And from my vantage point, the only dirty tramp here is you." He grabs her upper arm firmly, and marches her to the front door. "I will have your things delivered to wherever you are staying, but right now, I want you out of this apartment and out of my life."
When he has her on the other side of the door, she looks up at him with tear filled, pleading eyes, "Jason, please don't do this. I love you."
For just a moment, he stands looking down at her, his expression shuttered. Then, giving the door a shove, he slams it in her face.
Turning around, he finds Carly leaning over to pick up her clothes. He takes a moment to appreciate the view, then shakes his head. "I'm sorry about that, about how she talked to you. You didn't deserve that."
She ticks up one shoulder, "It's okay, Jase. I can handle Sam."
He walks to stand directly in front of her, his hand resting on her upper arm, "You shouldn't have to." He hesitates, trying to find the right words, "I'm grateful you were here for me last night. I needed you and you came. And then you wake up this morning and get yelled at. I hate it. You don't deserve any of it!"
"I mean, can you believe her nerve? Saying all of that to you after what she did." Taking hold of his hand, she insists, "But, Jase, I really am okay. I'm more worried about you. That can't have been easy."
"No. It wasn't." Jason admits.
"Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you, for whatever you need."
He pulls her into a hug, resting his head on hers. "No. Really no. What I need is a day with you and Michael and Morgan, relaxing and being distracted from my mess of a life."
Leaning back to look up at him, she promises, "That I can do."
