CHAPTER 38

TARGET OF GOSSIP

Dianna was trying to look at the photos that the guys and girls posted on Instagram, that they took during the barbecue and now that Will was arrested, they could post. Dianna already was following Emma before, and she followed her back, so she smiled when she saw that Emma posted on her stories a photo with her dad and Ray, and then she DM'd Dianna asking if she could post on her stories another photo where she appeared, because of her 'new job'. She quickly answered that of course she could, and could tag her.

Jason glanced at Dianna in the car, smiling while looking and texting on the phone. And still sitting on her side. They had to come back from the cabin to VA Beach because they had to go on an op, and Dianna was called, too, so since it wasn't anything that she helped Davis arrange, it meant that it was likely that they needed the HVT alive, which meant a lot more difficulty. Jason never told Dianna how risky it was to capture an HVT alive, because she'd probably feel guilty about that, even though it's her job and it's the best outcome for the country.

Since they were away, the rest of the team would be briefed without them and they had to quickly gather their things at their houses or at the Base and go straight to the airport, to be briefed in there and plan the op with the rest of the team.

"What are you smiling at?" Jason asked, curious.

"Nothing" she answered, still looking at the phone. "Emma was the first one to ask me if I was CIA" she told him, smiling.

"She asked via text?" he asked, alarmed.

"No, Jason, yesterday, at the barbecue. Jeez. Now she's just asking me if she can post a photo where I'm at too, 'because of my job'". Dianna giggled.

Jason opened a cute smile. "I'm glad you two are getting along" he said, affectionate, and she looked up.

"Me too" she muttered. "She's really nice. And cute". Dianna noticed that both of Jason's kids had a cute way to smile. Great genes.

"Well, thank you" he proudly said, and Dianna looked, confused. "Well, if she's nice it's because of how well her parents raised her, and if she's cute, it's because I'm cute" he cockily grinned.

"Dear God" Dianna, chuckled, shocked with his smugness. But he wasn't wrong. She kept quiet for a while.

"Anyways" she decided to change the subject, "when we show up there, we have to pretend that we're not together, then? Since we didn't sign anything. Yet" she quickly added, looking at him.

He exhaled, annoyed. "Yes. On Friday I requested the cancellation of my previous relationship form, and Lindell has to approve that, then we sign a new one, and then" he looked at her, smiling, "we can give quick smacks on the lips or the cheeks, but even that is disapproved by most Military men".

Dianna chuckled. "Well, would you look at that, apparently the Navy is really against PDA's during working hours" she sarcastically said, because she was ok with that. She thought it was quite 'ew' when someone kept kissing and touching each other at work. Very unprofessional. Obviously Natalie did just that, which says a lot about her.

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, we'd have to control ourselves, huh" he looked at her with hungry eyes and placed his hand on her thigh.

She smirked, but the discomfort inside of her was still very present. He obviously was exaggerating, she knew he wouldn't be so eager every time they were working together. Right?

"So" she licked her lips, curious, "Have you never dated any co-worker before?"

He chuckled, because it was obvious for him. "No. I was married for more than 15 years, and I think I actually saw Alana for like, 8 or 9 years, total. The deployments and ops keep us away for almost half a year, sometimes, when you add up the time. You'll see" he looked at her, amused, because now she would be away from VA Beach for a long time, too. "And after that I only had some flings, not with any co-worker, no". He didn't need to mention Natalie to her, and he was right. "How about you?" he asked, curious, remembering what Davis told him of what Dianna said to her about dating co-workers. That she avoided that.

"Co-workers, no" Dianna answered, pensive. "I dated a guy from college that took almost the same classes as me, though" she answered, and she shivered. That one was really clingy and obviously it didn't last long.

Jason saw her expression, and he squirmed. Clearly she didn't like clingy guys, but at the same time, he was sure he was never clingy. On the contrary, he kept his distance from women when he wasn't sleeping with them. And his wife filed for divorce because he couldn't share anything with her.

"So, do I drive you to the hotel? Or where do you want to get your things?" he asked, because they were inside VA Beach now.

"Oh, my car is at my new place. And I just need to take, like, one more change of clothes, just in case, and my toiletries I have in this bag already, so it'll be quick. So just take me there and we'll meet at the Navy Airport".

He ignored the fact that she still couldn't remember the name of the Naval Air Station. "But can you drive? I thought you'd go there with me".

"But aren't we supposed to keep it a secret for now? If we arrive together, it'd be odd" she said, confused.

"Dianna, they all saw that both of us missed the briefing. I'm sure Blackburn, the guys and even the interns can figure it all out. We just can't show intimacy in public, or confirm anything".

"Oh. Sure. Ok, then I'll go with you, stop at my place, I'll get my things, then we'll go to your place" she said, because she really wasn't sure if it wouldn't be uncomfortable for her to drive, yet.

Jason squirmed. He really, really, didn't want Dianna to go into his apartment. It was sad, a bit messy, and there were some of Natalie's stuff in there. "Or" he smiled, "I'll take you to your place, then I'll go to my-"

"Jason, I know you don't want me to go to your apartment because it's messy. That's ok, I'll wait in the car".

"Oh. Ok. It's not that messy, really. Just… ok".

"There's Natalie's things in there, huh" she said, looking out the window.

Jason looked at her, they were coming close to her new house. "Yeah".

"Then I'm definitely not getting in. Don't worry", Dianna stated.

"Jason, please give me my bag, it's tiny" Dianna nervously pleaded, because he insisted on carrying her bag to the plane while they walked there. A lot of the crew and guys were there already, all looking at them.

He stopped walking, and looked at her, annoyed. "You know that even if we were just colleagues I'd carry your bag, right? I did that before, remember?"

Dianna looked up at him, he had a really serious and face, and she suddenly felt a heat in her core, and the discomfort was a lot more tolerable already. "You're right. Sorry".

"U-hum" he said with a husky voice, and they continued walking.

They got in the plane and the team guys were all whispering something in a circle, and Sonny advanced at Dianna as soon as she arrived.

"Did you talk to Davis? What did she say?" he asked, anxious.

"What? I talked to her yesterday, when you guys left. What happened?" she asked, concerned, looking around and realizing she wasn't on the plane.

Ray then explained to Dianna and Jason that Davis was pulled away from the briefing meeting and that something serious happened, like some disciplinary hearing would take place the next morning. At least that's what Blackburn just told them, on the plane. Neither of them could believe that she'd do something that bad, but all they could do now was to expect that it was a quick op.

Then they shared whatever information they had about Will, and he was in ICU, in critical condition, since he came out of surgery. Luke shot him in the chest, apparently his intention was to kill him and do justice to his nickname.

Suddenly Blackburn approached the cluster.

"Now that you two are here, we can make another quick briefing for you and then you can plan the op, ok? Come on, we can discuss Davis' case later on".

Dianna touched Blackburn's arm, "Where's Nick?"

"He asked for a few days off. CIA needs him, I think" he explained, then he kept staring at Dianna, and glanced at Jason. Obviously he was uncomfortable to ask.

"He broke up with Natalie last week" Dianna explained, a little annoyed, and without confirming that she was with Jason, as he told her to do. Blackburn sighed, and nodded.

They all stood around the table and were briefed about the op that was going to take place in Bangladesh, and while the guys were planning everything, Dianna noticed that a few of the CIA interns and tech people, mostly the ones who only worked with her once, were staring at her and whispering. But not just gossiping, they had disapproval stares and even one girl was obviously mocking.

She realized that they probably thought that Jason was still with Natalie, or had barely broken up with her, and that Dianna had quickly snatched him. She felt really nauseated, even though she wasn't friend of any of those interns. She memorized their faces, hoping that she'd remember them on their next op, when she would assist Davis and appoint them to the most annoying tasks. Dianna still was their boss, after all.

Timothy was a little separated from the others, and walked to Dianna. He looked anxious.

"Boss, are you really the Master Chief's lover?" he bluntly asked, but smiling, with excitement.

Dianna stared, annoyed. "Of course not. And he broke up with Natalie on Friday".

Timothy looked at her for a couple of seconds. Then, he made a 'meh, whatever' gesture, like he was bored with her life. He wasn't disapproving her, he just wanted the gossip. And if it was true, he'd probably tell Dianna to 'ride that stallion' or something. He was exactly like that.

Dianna ignored him, and sat on the bench behind her. Slightly on her side. She was worried about Davis and now grumpy because of the gossip around her. She never cared too much about what people thought of her, but no one never accused her of being someone's 'mistress'. That was disturbing. And she also was still uncomfortable. That would be a long day.

Dianna was getting used to watching Jason and the guys run an op, but still, the fact that she couldn't hear everything they talked to each other was really nerve wrecking. But she learned how to trust them, and lately she felt it was best for her to just stay looking at the drones images, to help and alert when they could see enemies or something happening nearby.

On this op there was an explosion, she noticed it happens during a lot of ops, and they couldn't get to where Sonny, Brock and Cerb were, but in the end it all worked out, and the guys came back to the airport and the plane carrying a safe instead of the HVT. That one was dead. And Jason had a cut on the side of his neck.

Dianna tried to disguise her concern, and walked by Jason, glancing at the cut.

"You need to check that" she said, looking up at him, while he walked fast. His face and uniform were covered in dust, and so were the others.

"It's just a flesh wound" he said, dismissing her concern, not stopping, "I'll go take a shower and change, then I'll see the medic".

Dianna waited, with her arms crossed, for him to get back. Discreetly, because again the interns were staring at her.

Jason came back and the cut was still bleeding a little, so he had a towel on it. He sat right beside where Dianna was, and the medic immediately approached him, without asking, and took a look at the cut. The doctor applied local anesthesia and started to sew him up right there, and Dianna tried to look away, because she hated watching someone sew stitches on a person. She felt less bad looking at an open cut.

"Sonny" Jason called him as soon as he passed by them, "I don't know what the hell is going on with you, but work the problem, ok?" he whispered, annoyed.

Sonny looked around, glancing at Dianna. "It's been worked out now, boss. Clay helped", he calmly said.

"Good" Jason stated, smirking.

Dianna sat next to Jason, just a little on her side, she was feeling much better after all those hours standing up. She barely sat down. "He was distracted, huh?" Dianna guessed, glancing at Jason, because it was obvious the reason why Sonny was like that.

"Yeah. Not good. Do you see, now, why it's best not to date with your superior?" he gestured, whispering.

Dianna smiled, affectionate, and whispered back. "I don't think it has anything to do with it. If she was his girlfriend, a civilian, whatever, he'd still be distracted".

The doctor finished sewing Jason up, and walked away. Jason turned to Dianna, and she could see his stitches. There were a lot of them, even tough the cut wasn't that big or deep. "I know. They were always good friends, to be honest. He'd be worried about her anyways. So are we, the team, so we're going to her hearing straight from the plane, if we can make it in time" he looked up, because an intern passed by them, staring. Then he looked around and noticed other ones staring, but they were terrified of Jason, so they quickly disguised it. He turned back to Dianna. "Fucking interns. Have no life" and Dianna chuckled from his grumpiness. "Do you want to go to her hearing with us? It's at the Base. Or are you too tired? And, you know, in pain? Because you could take my truck and go home, if you are".

"No, I want to go to with you guys. I want to see Davis, even if I'm not allowed in the hearing" she looked down, concerned.

After the long, long flight, the guys almost ran off the plane when they landed, because they were away for an entire day. They went to their cages to get changed into their fatigues and be able to attend Davis' hearing. Dianna waited for them in the hallway, and because of the time difference, it was still early morning in VA Beach.

The hearing had already started and they all got in, except for Dianna and, surprisingly, Ray. Dianna watched when Jason gave Ray a stern look, and got inside, while Ray walked away.

The guys came out the room first, and Davis was still inside for a few minutes. Then she waited outside, nervous, for the decision.

Dianna gave her a hug. "You're important, Davis, and they believe in you. They know you just made an honest mistake, it could happen to anyone" Dianna tried to calm her down, but she just looked at her and nodded. "I just should have told them right from the start what happened. These two guys were teasing me and I pushed one to stay away from me, then the cop was at the wrong place and I punched him" she said, stern. Then the officers called her back inside, and everyone waited outside for the decision. Which was very obvious from the smile that Davis had on her face. "Just a reprimand" she said, relieved. They all decided to celebrate that night at The Bulkhead, after they went home, to sleep.

"Just leave me at my new house" Dianna told Jason when they got in his car. "I don't want to go back to the hotel, it's depressing. I have bed sheets, towels and clothes in my house, and my toiletries are still inside this bag, so I'll stay there and enjoy my first sleep in my cute new home".

Jason smiled, nodding. "Ok then, no problem".

"Do you want to call an uber to the bar?"

"No, I'll drive. I'm not drinking more than a beer, I think" he said, shrugging.

Dianna shrugged. "Ok then. So, I think you can pick me up around... 7PM?"

He took a second to answer. "Sure. No problem. 7PM. Alright", he nodded.

In a few minutes, they arrived at her new place, and Jason noticed that people could see inside her sunny living room, because it still had no curtains, even though the house was quite distant from the street.

"Hey, aren't you going to put on some curtains? Everyone can check you out from the street", he said, while stepping out of the car and carrying her bags to the front door.

"Oh yes, I was going to do that this weekend, while the company guys would come here with my furniture and heavy boxes. But of course I couldn't do anything I planned" she said, opening the front door, and Jason walked inside to put her bags down.

"Well, from where I stand, I did a lot more than I had planned this weekend" he charmingly said, coming closer to her, and she felt the heat. "And I'd gladly install some curtain rods in here, tomorrow" he said, after looking around and noticing that she didn't even have that.

Dianna smiled. He was incredibly charming. "Well, I don't want to be a bother, and you should rest for at least one day, it's been a long weekend" she said, looking at his stitched cut.

"It's not a bother, and I hate staying at home doing nothing" Jason said, with a husky voice, then hunched down to kiss Dianna, embracing her completely and even raising her a bit. He kissed her eagerly and when she had just wrapped her arms around his neck, he breathed in and parted his lips. "See you at 1900", he said, stern, and walked away.

Dianna watched, breathless, as he got inside his truck, glancing at her, still serious, and drove off.

Jason got inside his apartment and it looked sadder than before. Probably because he had just left Dianna's house, and her living room had beautiful windows, and it was bathed in light. Her kitchen was cute and had a view from the backyard, and even though the house was small, and was still almost empty, it was way prettier and cozier than Jason's apartment. It was the first time that he would sleep in his place since he broke up with Natalie, and she kept a lot of her stuff in the bathroom, and clothes in his closet, and he made a disgusted face when he saw the vegetarian crap she kept in his freezer and fridge.

He honestly didn't remember if she really spent that much time in his place, to keep so many things in there, but obviously because she was controlling him, she was also slowly transforming his apartment into hers, too. Jason was working a lot for the past months, and spending time with the guys, or at the gym, or in The Bulkhead, with Natalie at the bar too, and apparently while he was out, she stayed there, moving his stuff around, instead of going back to her house.

So he knew he wouldn't feel comfortable until he took off all her crap from the apartment and put it in a box, then he took all her crap from the fridge and freezer and put it in a bag in the trash outside, then she had a lot of crap inside the kitchen cabinets, and he threw that in the same box of her clothes, he didn't care. Then he changed the bed sheets, towels and everything she touched that could be washed, and then he was hungry and ate a sandwich, and then he finally laid on the bed, to sleep. It was almost 1530 hours.

His alarm clock went off at 1800 hours, and he hit the snooze button three times, which wasn't usual, so it was 1830 hours when he painfully got up and took a shower, feeling a little less sleepy, and put on his clothes to leave. He decided to not think too much and wore a black T-shirt with his green flannel shirt, jeans and boots, because it was a bit chilly, and grabbed his car keys to get Dianna.

He arrived at her house precisely at 1900 hours and watched, from the street, when she turned on the lights of the stairs, walked down the stairs, and then turned them off. He decided to wait outside, leaning on his car, just to look around and see if there were any perv neighbors living on that street, but he only saw an older couple walking by, in gym clothes. He noticed when the old lady checked him out, but he was focused on the front door of the house, because Dianna walked out, smiling, as usual, wearing jeans, low boots, a black long sleeve top and her beautiful cream knitted wool coat. He remembered he fucked her on Sunday morning while she wore that coat, and nothing else, and it felt really soft. Her hair was loose, and he liked the fact that she usually wore it down, in its natural shape, at least it seemed like it, with light waves at the end.

"Hi. Did you sleep ok?" she came closer, and Jason immediately opened the passenger door, behind him, to let her in. She gave Jason a soft kiss on his lips, and got inside.

"U-hum, just got to my place and crashed on the bed" he joyfully lied. "You?"

"Well, it took me some time to find the bed sheets, but then I just fell asleep, too. But I didn't do anything physical like you, and stayed on the plane, so I'm ok anyways".

"I can't really sleep on the plane that easily. I used to, but I don't know, it's not that easy for me anymore".

She glanced at him. "The back hurts, to be honest. You should get a hammock".

"I have one, I use it when I go camping. But the hammock is usually something that the younger ones use" he stated, as if the younger ones were too soft. Dianna just smirked at him.

"Do we have to keep it a secret while we are at the bar?" Dianna asked, curious, when they arrived at the parking lot of the bar.

Jason had forgotten about that. "Yeah, I guess so", he said, annoyed, glancing at her. He placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed it a bit. "Let's go" he said, getting out of the car, and Dianna followed.

Davis was celebrating more than ever, and anyone who saw her would think that she got some promotion, and not that she just had received a reprimand. But she decided to just drink shots of tequila until she felt better, and it took her two and a half shots to feel the joy. And Dianna joined her for the two first shots, while Jason stood next to Sonny with a bottle of beer in his hand, probably the only one he'd have that night. He started to feel sleepy, so he walked to the bar and asked for a whiskey. He'd just have one, to wake up.

Dianna was happily celebrating with Davis, when all of a sudden Davis looked alarmed to Dianna, gesturing to her side, and she slightly turned. Natalie was standing next to her, and obviously she didn't see Dianna there either. They both noticed each other at the same time, and simultaneously looked at each other from head to toe, then decided to ignore each other, too. Dianna walked to the guys' table after she daringly and loudly ordered a Cuba Libre, and the bartender whispered at her, asking if it could be 'rum and coke' instead. She agreed, annoyed, but asked for some lemon slice in it. And a lot of ice.

She saw Jason drinking a glass of whiskey, neat, at the bar, and drinking it quite fast. She didn't know if he saw Natalie there, because she was still at the bar, near the counter, so Dianna quickly made her way to Jason, with her drink in hand.

"Are you okay?" Dianna asked him, standing beside him at the counter.

"Sure. I'm just going to drink this one and then I'm done" he said, smiling, then he took another big sip.

"Oh, that's not what I meant" Dianna said, glancing to her side. He followed her look, and couldn't hide an annoyed expression.

"Oh crap. What the fuck" Jason said, leaning on the counter but turning away from where Natalie was staying.

"Well, if you want to, we can leave. But you'll have to get used to her being here, at The Bulkhead, and in VA Beach".

Jason nodded, and came closer to Dianna. "She's a psycho, Dianna. She switches faces in a second. And I can't even think about the things she knows about me now, like…" he stopped, because he felt nauseated. Things he told his therapist, intimate thoughts, now maybe that horrible woman knew too.

Dianna saw he was feeling overwhelmed, and touched his arm, to calm him down. "You know what, we should just go to the table, and if she doesn't leave soon, we can go home ok? You don't need to get used to her being around tonight. Take your time".

"U-hum. You're right. But I don't want that woman to ruin our night-"

"Want who, huh? Jason" Natalie suddenly appeared next to Dianna and Jason, and they simultaneously turned to look at her. "Are you really talking about me? Because, well, how considerate of you" she said, in a calm voice, and two of her girl friends were next to them, looking at the couple with hateful eyes, and Natalie took a sip of the beer she had in her hand, while waiting for their response.

"I told you to stay the fuck away from me" Jason came closer to her, and unconsciously put a hand on Dianna's waist, slightly pushing her away from Natalie.

Natalie looked at him up and down, and then to Dianna. "Oh, don't worry. I will. You can enjoy your foreign mistress, I won't-"

"What did you just call me, you despicable woman?" Dianna completely surprised Natalie, because she thought that Dianna would stay quiet or, in the worst case scenario, act all 'latina' on her, loudly starting a fight, because that's how she thought 'latino people' always reacted. But instead, Dianna just took a small step closer to Natalie, and stood between her and Jason, with dangerous eyes and an elegant pose. And a really calm voice; she almost whispered.

"Exactly what you heard. Or are you really denying that you were sleeping with him while we were still together?" Natalie answered in a louder voice, and a few people around them heard. Jason tried to advance towards Natalie, to answer her, but Dianna held his arm, without deviating her stare.

"You know that I wasn't. And you know that because if I was, he would have told his therapist. Your friend. How happy he was. Because we know exactly what you two did. And if you don't stay away from us I promise you, you and your friend will never have another decent job in your lives. I really promise you".

Dianna noticed how Natalie's face twitched, with fear, when Dianna told her about the therapist, and she knew her mind was working fast and she was opening her mouth to answer something ridiculous or another lie. But Dianna knew that the best way to annoy her was to ignore her, and that's what she did. She turned around completely, giving her back to Natalie, and grabbing Jason's arm to get the hell out of the bar and towards the guys' table, where they were all watching the fight, attentively.

"You're just…" Natalie said, then stopped because they were already far from her, and she just stared at them, angry as hell. And humiliated.

"So that's it? No slaps, hair pulls, nothing?" Sonny asked indignant, as soon as Dianna sat at the table, and Jason sat next to her. The guys were looking alarmed, but Dianna smiled because Sonny was obviously trying to break the tension and awkwardness.

"Sorry, not tonight. I can't get into a girl fight with my hair all loose" Dianna answered, smiling at Sonny, who laughed very loudly, glancing at Natalie. He obviously never liked her, and Dianna had her back to Natalie, but she was sure that Natalie would think that Sonny was laughing of her. And it was fine by Dianna.

"I reeaaally don't like her. Glad you finally saw through her, Jace", Davis stated, standing next to Jason and staring at Natalie, while sipping her beer.

"She never bothered me" Clay admitted, receiving a killer stare from Sonny, Davis and a few of the guys. "What? She was always really nice to me".

"She's a psycho. Honestly. She did some horrible shit. I'll tell you some other time. Just please" Jason gestured, while everyone stared at him, alarmed and curious, "don't trust anything she says, ok? Seriously".

"Jeeez. Now I'm kinda scared of her, boss" Sonny admitted, shivering.

Jason sighed. Dianna noticed he looked really tired and down.

"You didn't sleep much, did you?" she whispered at him, concerned.

"I cleaned up a bit, threw some stuff away. But I slept, yes", he tried to disguise a yawn. He realized that he shouldn't have sat down.

"We've been here for a couple of hours already. We can go home, Davis won't be angry with you" Dianna said affectionate, and Jason made an expression like 'meh'. Then she sighed, "Or if you prefer, you can get wasted and we'll leave your truck here and call an uber, or get a ride with one of the guys" she smirked.

Jason smirked at her. "You know what" he joyfully stood up, tapping the table, "I think I'll have another whiskey, maybe another beer, just to wake up, then we'll see how it goes, huh?"

"Thanks for the ride, Ray" Dianna said, affectionate, while Ray walked next to her and a drunk Jason out of The Bulkhead, to Ray's truck.

"No problem. I'm used to being the designated driver" he answered, chuckling, while Sonny walked, also very drunk, next to them. They basically shoved Jason in the back seat, and Sonny, without ceremony, pushed him a little more to the side, to get inside too. Dianna took a seat at the front while Ray closed the door and got in.

"Where are we going?" Jason suddenly said from the backseat, and Sonny released a hick up next to him.

"You're going home, brother" Ray answered, chuckling with Dianna.

"My home?" Jason asked, miserable, and Ray looked at Dianna, confused.

"No Jason, we'll go to my place, is that ok?" Dianna said, affectionate, turning her head to him at the backseat.

Ray thought for a second. "Your new place, your hotel, or where?"

"My new place" she answered.

"Do you want me there? I don't want to bother" Jason said, just a bit dramatically.

"Yeah. I thought that you were sleeping there anyways" she answered, chuckling.

He opened a wide smile at Dianna, then he turned to Ray, smiling at him, too. "Ok then", he said, smug, resting his arm over the backseat, near Sonny.

"What are you doing, man" Sonny mumbled, taking Jason's hand off his seat, behind him.

"You know, he rarely drinks this much" Ray stated, in a low voice, to Dianna.

"Really? He's not so bad" she glanced at Jason, because he could walk on his own and talk. She had a high tolerance for alcohol and hardly ever got really drunk, but she saw many of her friends, and Sonny, do a lot worse than Jason was.

"For him, this is a lot. He almost never loses control" Ray said, stern.

Dianna nodded, she knew why he was drinking that much. "Yeah. I have an idea why that happened. Don't worry, I'll take care of him".

Ray swallowed, and kept quiet for a few seconds. "Look, I'm really sorry for telling him about you. And Nick. I really shouldn't have meddled. I feel terrible".

Dianna looked down and touched her cream coat. "That's ok. You just told him what you saw. You're a good friend. I think I'd do the same for Davis".

Ray parked his car in front of Dianna's house, but he still felt bad. "But I should have known you wouldn't do that. I really hope you can forgive me".

Dianna smirked. "I do. Like I said, you were just protecting him. You didn't know me that well, I suppose. And you're his friend before mine, of course. We're good, Ray. Don't worry". She said, affectionate, and he nodded, and Dianna had to get out of the car because Jason was already opening his door.

Dianna took Jason's hand and guided him to the front door, while he stood up right next to her, looking down at her.

"Got your keys? I can quick it for ya, if you don't" he said, playful, but Dianna quickly showed him her keys that were inside of her purse, just in case he really meant it.

They got inside and Jason walked around the empty space. "Do you want to go to bed, or shower? I don't have anything to eat, sorry. Just water and soda" she said, pointing at the fridge that was in the house already, while Jason looked around the living room and made his way to her kitchen.

Jason exaggeratedly pointed at the wall above the kitchen cabinets. "I can install some shelves for you there", then he opened the faucet to see if it worked, and looked under the sink, inside the cabinet. Dianna slowly walked to the kitchen and watched him. He was checking everything for her. She never knew what it was like, before, and she felt a warmth in her heart. But she also noticed he was agitated.

"What's wrong, Jason?" she asked, affectionate, when he leaned on her kitchen countertop, looking stern.

"What do you mean" he muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Did she say anything else to you?" Dianna asked, worried, because Natalie stayed at The Bulkhead for a while before leaving, but Dianna didn't see her coming close to him.

"No" he answered, very aware of who Dianna was talking about. "I just didn't like… how she looked at me". He admitted, feeling very vulnerable.

Dianna walked around the island to come closer to him. "How did she look at you?" she asked, concerned, and ready to kill Natalie.

Jason sighed, "I don't want to talk about it, ok", he walked by Dianna, then stopped.

"Is it really ok if I sleep here? I mean, it's the first night at your new place, maybe you want to enjoy it alone, or something" he said, feeling awkward and uninvited. And quickly sobering up.

She smiled and walked to him. "I swear, I was really going to ask you to sleep here tonight. Even if you weren't drunk" she teased, caressing his chest.

"What" he said, in a high-pitch voice, "I'm not drunk", he stated, indignant.

"Yes you are" she said, looking down at his chest, and then to his face again, "you didn't even notice that we're here with the lights on, no curtains, and everyone in the street can see us".

"Oh God" He looked at the street and quickly hunched down a bit, as if his 6'1'' frame could disappear just by doing that, and walked, still hunched, to the stairs, where there was no light on.

"Calm down, soldier" she teased, turning off the lights of the dining room and kitchen that she turned on before, when he was walking there. Now they were all in the shadows, and he grabbed her hand while walking up the stairs, even though she was a lot more sober than him. She stopped drinking after she finished her 'rum and coke', when Jason decided to get wasted.

They barely got into her bedroom and he pulled her by the arm, kissing her passionately and leaving her breathless, just the same way as he did that morning.

"Can I make… sex with you? Have sex. Or are you in pain?" he asked, stuttering, stern and anxious.

Dianna was surprised by his gentle question, he usually used the verb 'fuck' for pretty much everything, but she wouldn't do anything of that kind with him that night. He was drunk and vulnerable, obviously bothered by something else.

"We shouldn't do anything tonight, Jason. You drank a lot, and your mind is somewhere else. I think you should sleep and rest" she said, affectionate, and he was about to say that he wasn't drunk and was ok, but Dianna kissed his neck, avoiding his cut. "I want all of you, tomorrow" she whispered in his ear, and he closed his eyes, swallowing hard.

"Ok. U-hum. I can do that", he quickly answered, and Dianna smiled.

"Good. Now I'll get another blanket for us, because it's cold here, and you can get ready for bed" she said, hunching on her 'bed stuff' box, to give him the option to undress or not, and to go to the bathroom, if he wanted to.

"What's that" Jason walked next to her, touching her coat, because he noticed a pinkish stain on it's back, right in the middle. The bedroom only had the harsh ceilings lights, so he could see it perfectly now. And Dianna was carrying her coat on her arm, but put it on when they left the bar.

"Just a stain. I left the coat hanging on the chair while I went to the bathroom, and I think someone might have accidentally dropped something on it" she said, bitter, while she remembered her shock when she came back from the bathroom and saw her wool coat all reddish pink. And Natalie, the Campari drinker, was nowhere to be found. The guys were away from the table, playing pool and getting drunk, and she quickly took the coat to the bathroom sink, to try to take off the stain, but it was in vain. She felt horrible, because it was one of her favorite pieces of clothing, for sentimental reasons. But obviously she didn't say anything to Jason, to let him enjoy his night.

Jason took a few seconds to remember that Natalie liked to drink Campari, besides beer, and touched Dianna's shoulder when she got her heavy blanket off the box.

"Give it to me. I'll take it to the laundry, to be dry cleaned" he muttered, feeling guilty and vindictive, and taking off the coat from her.

She stopped him, "I know a good place, too". But Jason just stared at her, and she let him take off her coat. He folded it and put it over a box, near the bedroom door. Then he started to take his boots and flannel shirt off.

"That's what she wants. You know that, right?" Dianna said, behind him, while she took off her boots. Jason turned to her, confused. She saw his look. "I know you're like this because of something that she did, but I don't want to talk about her in here". She didn't believe much in that energy, feng shui stuff, but she definitely didn't even want to mention Natalie's name in her bedroom. Dianna noticed that Jason was still pensive, probably thinking if he should tell her or not, then she had an idea and walked to him, grabbing his hand. "Come with me". She guided a confused and now only slightly drunk Jason to her bathroom, which wasn't as small as Jason thought. It was a lot bigger than his bathroom, actually, and had a bath separated from the shower, under the window.

"Get naked, Jason. I'd like to talk to you about something" she said, smiling, and he smiled back at her, quickly doing as she said.

Dianna got another bath towel from her box and came back to Jason already in his white boxer briefs.

"There are two towels here" he pointed at the hanger.

"I use one for the body, one for the hair" she casually explained, and he continued confused, but that was probably one of the reasons why her hair always looked so good, so he shrugged. And was sobering up by the second, because Dianna was getting undressed, too, even though she wasn't trying to seduce him while doing it.

"Get in there" she chuckled, pushing Jason inside the shower after she turned it on, because he was standing naked right behind her, even though she was still with her bra and panties on.

"You know, I already had two showers today" Jason stated, proud and annoyed at the same time.

"One. The other one was yesterday" she said to a confused Jason, who forgot that the flight from Bangladesh took many hours and they moved through different time zones.

But he stopped complaining when she finally got into the shower with him, and she hesitated, because she had just washed her hair, but it wouldn't work that well, from the psychological point of view, if she didn't wash herself completely.

Dianna deviated from Jason's body, and got under the shower. "I don't care much about feng shui and energy things, but I really didn't want to talk about Natalie in my bedroom. Especially on my first night here. I don't want the reminder. And I feel clean when I take a bath, so I thought maybe we can talk about her in here" she said, smiling.

Jason looked at her, stern, but kept quiet.

"That was my mother's coat" Dianna bluntly said. "One of my mother's favorite coat. One of my favorite coats. They don't do coats like these anymore" she continued, and Jason noticed her lips trembling a little. She sighed. "Natalie threw her drink on it, on purpose. And I hope the laundry can take off the stain. That's it" she finished, bluntly. And smiled. "I feel a lot better" she stated, coming out of the shower. "And I don't want you to feel guilty, please. I'd feel bad if you did". Jason nodded, still stern.

Dianna kissed him on the lips, gently guiding him under the shower. She stopped kissing him, looking into his eyes, but he still looked stern and vulnerable, so she kissed him again, now more eagerly, to make him feel safe, and when they parted he kept holding her and touching her wet hair while he rested his face on her neck. He lazily grazed his finger on her lower back and buttock, making her shiver, but she waited.

"I don't know what my therapist told Natalie. I'm afraid he told her everything that I said during our sessions. My thoughts, fears. Dreams. Things from my past. Things about Alana, about you. About my kids" he pressed Dianna's waist and felt angrier every time he thought about all the things she could know about him now.

"I didn't share much with her, Dianna. She pressured me to talk about my marriage with Alana, and I told her a few things, but almost nothing, compared to what I told my therapist. Obviously I wasn't completely open with him yet, because I was seeing him for a little over three months, but still".

He sighed. "I feel invaded" he stopped for a moment, then decided to use a more accurate word for it. "Violated", he said, with a shaky voice. "Like those celebrities that get nude photos, or personal information, leaked to the press by some hacker. I hate the idea that she could possibly know so many intimate things about me, without my consent. And I hate my therapist, for doing that".

He stopped and distanced from Dianna. He stood still in the shower, with his eyes closed, combing his hair with his hand. He opened his eyes. "You know what, I do feel a little better", he slightly smiled.

Dianna, however, felt terrible, and thirsty for revenge. She'd find everything out and punish his therapist, for sure, if he willingly leaked something to Natalie. And punish her too, if she really did that. But she decided to shake off that vindictive feeling for now, and feel happy that Jason could share that with her.

"Do you really? Feel better?" she looked up at him, and decided not to mention how awful it was what Natalie and his therapist did to him.

"Yeah" Jason now was almost completely sober and completely in the mood, and pulled Dianna closer, slowly kissing her and pushing her, gently, against the wall of the shower. He put his hand between her legs, even though she was all wet, but that wasn't the reason he did that. She giggled.

"How is it going down there?" he playfully asked.

Dianna was doing great, from head to toe. She raised her leg and wrapped it around him, making him grunt. "Doing great. How sober are you?"

"Oh, I'm very, very sober, ma'am" he answered, kissing her neck and squeezing her breast, while still massaging her core. She gasped.

"How much is 7.867 plus 134?" she calmly asked him.

He took a few seconds, while lazily kissing her collarbone and now lazily pressing her clit. "8.101" he answered, calmly.

She had no idea if that was the right answer, but his kisses on her breasts and his finger between her legs were making her worse in math than she already was. "U-hum".

"Can I slowly and gently fuck you now?" he seductively asked, kissing her neck again. "8.001. I was wrong before" he suddenly said, looking at her, alarmed.

Dianna laughed. He was more sober than her, apparently. Or just better at math, which wasn't hard. "I forgive you. And yes, Jason. You definitely can".

.