Chapter 5 -
Elizabeth gave up trying to sleep the third time Cameron put his elbow in her ribs. Pushing the hair back from her face she sat up in bed and looked at her son. With his arms flung wide on the bed he looked just like he used to when he was a baby, escaping out of the blanket that the nurses would try to wrap him in.
Half asleep she swore she was hearing things. A dull cycle of rolling thunder in her ears. She tossed and turned for a bit before she sat bolt upright in the bed. Cameron groaned and reached for his blanket before he fell back asleep. Elizabeth was confused, wracking her brain for coherent thought. Had she left the dryer going when she went to sleep?
She listened again and the noise was unmistakable. Groaning she tossed her blanket to the side and got up, taking a minute to turn Cameron parallel to the headboard and 'fence' him in with pillows, in case he started rolling around.
Opening the door she was halfway to the laundry room when she realized she wasn't alone in the room.
Swiveling around on the balls of her feet, Elizabeth Webber found herself staring back at Jason Morgan.
"Hey." It sounded stupid even to her ears, especially when she was standing there in an oversized t-shirt that barely reached down to the middle of her thigh and Jason Morgan was wearing… boxers and nothing else.
"Hey." His answer back sounded a little less awkward than hers, maybe he was used to walking around a woman's house in nothing up his boxers.
Elizabeth pushed the thought out of her head along with the little green monster that had NO business playing with her emotions.
"Sorry, I-" she pointed at her bedroom, "heard the noise and thought…" she took a quick look at his impressive abs and then back to the open door of her bedroom, "that I'd left, uh…" she lost her train of thought when he reached up a hand to scrub through his hair and the naked bulb in the fixture above the kitchen counter shone golden light across his taut bicep.
He tilted his head to the side and gave her a smile. "You thought you'd left the washer on?"
Elizabeth nodded slowly, unable to speak at the moment.
Jason shrugged. "I hope you don't mind, I normally wash during the day, but Cam and I stayed a little later at the park that I'd wanted to and-"
She shook with sudden laughter. "I am such a dork!" She reached up to slap her forehead with the heel of her hand and then pressed it against her chest with a look of exasperation. "I'm sooo sorry… am I that stupid?" Elizabeth gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I should have offered you… well, I would have offered you some of Zander's old clothes, but the pants would be a little high-water on you and I think his shirts would probably resemble David Banner's after he got angry if you tried to put them on," she saw the look of confusion on his face and shrugged, "and I'm just rambling on here 'cuz it's late and I'm half naked and you're-" she held out her hand to explain and then swallowed her words as her cheeks heated.
"Sorry," Jason chipped into the conversation, "my pants are in the machine."
"Yeah." Elizabeth turned around and took a deep breath, "great… just great," she muttered, "you walk in here thinking… and then he's… and now you're all… good grief, girl... get a grip on… boy howdy I'd like to get a grip on… WHAT are you saying?"
She swung back around and avoided Jason's gaze. "Look… I'm sorry I just… barged on in here-"
"It's your house-"
She looked up and saw his smile. "What?"
"It's YOUR home, Elizabeth, I'm just a-"
"God I love how you do that," she uttered the words before she could stop herself and then covered her mouth in surprise.
"Do what?" He clasped his hands together and watched her.
Elizabeth brought her hand down slowly and told him, "the way you say my name… the whole thing. Most folks call me Liz…Lizzie… Beth… even my parents did… but you're the only one that calls me Elizabeth."
"It fits you," he took a step closer, "it's beautiful."
"Ha!" She laughed, disbelieving, "I'm standing here half naked and my hair all messed up and you think-"
"You keep bringing that up-"
"My hair?" Her expression was marked with confusion.
"No," he lifted his hand up toward her, his strong fingers taking much of her attention, "you keep talking about how much you're wearing…"
"I do?"
He nodded. "I can see it."
"What?" Her eyes grew wide in surprise and her hands pulled at the hem of her shirt. "What can you see?"
"What you're wearing... you don't have to tell me that you're… ah…"
She looked up at the ceiling and groaned. "I want to just disappear…"
"Then I wouldn't be having this much fun."
She lowered her gaze, now blazing with mock fury, "Go ahead… make fun of me… I'll… throw one of my red bras in with your clothes and-" she stopped right there. It made no sense… his clothes were all dark and the red color wouldn't do a thing except make her think of their clothes in the washer together and the thought was strangely erotic to her. "Never mind."
"Would it help if I went into the bedroom and wrapped a blanket around my waist?"
Lord help her but she had about as much discretion as she did after a night of drinking with the girls. "NO… not really… I'd still be looking at your chest and… please shoot me."
"Come here." God help her but she went. Walked over to him like she couldn't help herself and she couldn't… not really. Jason held out his hand and she took it, watching as his larger hand closed over hers and pulled her closer. "Elizabeth… I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and if I was out of line kissing you before, I'm so-"
She touched his lips with her hand, smoothing her fingers over his lips and the hint of stubble around his mouth. "Don't be… I'm not… It felt… really good and I didn't want to stop." She sighed and looked back up into his eyes. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for biting your head off about the… letter. Things have been a bit… exciting since I bought the diner." She kept a hold of his hand as she moved over toward the couch. "I had a little money saved and I'd been working at the diner off and on since high school."
Jason stepped past her and sat down on the couch first, gently tugging her down into his lap while she continued talking.
"Zander and I had met there, he and a few of his Marine buddies came in for something to eat and he ended up asking me out somewhere during dessert, so when he died in Iraq I wanted to come back to something, somewhere that made me happy." She sighed and watched her hand travel up over his forearm, her fingers trailing along his skin. "Then a couple of the major appliances broke down and when the repairmen came out to fix them I had to pay them, they all live in the town… I had to, and I told the bank I'd pay them… I just had to be late. I paid them too… but now, I'm getting these notices."
Jason took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb against her palm. "You won't let me pay them for you… what can I do for you?"
She leaned back and looked up at him. "Are you for real?"
"That's a trick question, right?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No… it's just me trying to figure out if I'm dreaming…" She reached out and grazed her palm over the muscular plane of his chest, "you feel real."
He slid a hand through her hair and around the back over her neck. "You're not dreaming, Elizabeth… this is very real."
She sighed, her lips parting slightly as she slid her hand around to the back of his head through his hair, pulling him down. "Thank God."
Elizabeth gave up trying to sleep the third time Cameron put his elbow in her ribs. Pushing the hair back from her face she sat up in bed and looked at her son. With his arms flung wide on the bed he looked just like he used to when he was a baby, escaping out of the blanket that the nurses would try to wrap him in.
Half asleep she swore she was hearing things. A dull cycle of rolling thunder in her ears. She tossed and turned for a bit before she sat bolt upright in the bed. Cameron groaned and reached for his blanket before he fell back asleep. Elizabeth was confused, wracking her brain for coherent thought. Had she left the dryer going when she went to sleep?
She listened again and the noise was unmistakable. Groaning she tossed her blanket to the side and got up, taking a minute to turn Cameron parallel to the headboard and 'fence' him in with pillows, in case he started rolling around.
Opening the door she was halfway to the laundry room when she realized she wasn't alone in the room.
Swiveling around on the balls of her feet, Elizabeth Webber found herself staring back at Jason Morgan.
"Hey." It sounded stupid even to her ears, especially when she was standing there in an oversized t-shirt that barely reached down to the middle of her thigh and Jason Morgan was wearing… boxers and nothing else.
"Hey." His answer back sounded a little less awkward than hers, maybe he was used to walking around a woman's house in nothing up his boxers.
Elizabeth pushed the thought out of her head along with the little green monster that had NO business playing with her emotions.
"Sorry, I-" she pointed at her bedroom, "heard the noise and thought…" she took a quick look at his impressive abs and then back to the open door of her bedroom, "that I'd left, uh…" she lost her train of thought when he reached up a hand to scrub through his hair and the naked bulb in the fixture above the kitchen counter shone golden light across his taut bicep.
He tilted his head to the side and gave her a smile. "You thought you'd left the washer on?"
Elizabeth nodded slowly, unable to speak at the moment.
Jason shrugged. "I hope you don't mind, I normally wash during the day, but Cam and I stayed a little later at the park that I'd wanted to and-"
She shook with sudden laughter. "I am such a dork!" She reached up to slap her forehead with the heel of her hand and then pressed it against her chest with a look of exasperation. "I'm sooo sorry… am I that stupid?" Elizabeth gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I should have offered you… well, I would have offered you some of Zander's old clothes, but the pants would be a little high-water on you and I think his shirts would probably resemble David Banner's after he got angry if you tried to put them on," she saw the look of confusion on his face and shrugged, "and I'm just rambling on here 'cuz it's late and I'm half naked and you're-" she held out her hand to explain and then swallowed her words as her cheeks heated.
"Sorry," Jason chipped into the conversation, "my pants are in the machine."
"Yeah." Elizabeth turned around and took a deep breath, "great… just great," she muttered, "you walk in here thinking… and then he's… and now you're all… good grief, girl... get a grip on… boy howdy I'd like to get a grip on… WHAT are you saying?"
She swung back around and avoided Jason's gaze. "Look… I'm sorry I just… barged on in here-"
"It's your house-"
She looked up and saw his smile. "What?"
"It's YOUR home, Elizabeth, I'm just a-"
"God I love how you do that," she uttered the words before she could stop herself and then covered her mouth in surprise.
"Do what?" He clasped his hands together and watched her.
Elizabeth brought her hand down slowly and told him, "the way you say my name… the whole thing. Most folks call me Liz…Lizzie… Beth… even my parents did… but you're the only one that calls me Elizabeth."
"It fits you," he took a step closer, "it's beautiful."
"Ha!" She laughed, disbelieving, "I'm standing here half naked and my hair all messed up and you think-"
"You keep bringing that up-"
"My hair?" Her expression was marked with confusion.
"No," he lifted his hand up toward her, his strong fingers taking much of her attention, "you keep talking about how much you're wearing…"
"I do?"
He nodded. "I can see it."
"What?" Her eyes grew wide in surprise and her hands pulled at the hem of her shirt. "What can you see?"
"What you're wearing... you don't have to tell me that you're… ah…"
She looked up at the ceiling and groaned. "I want to just disappear…"
"Then I wouldn't be having this much fun."
She lowered her gaze, now blazing with mock fury, "Go ahead… make fun of me… I'll… throw one of my red bras in with your clothes and-" she stopped right there. It made no sense… his clothes were all dark and the red color wouldn't do a thing except make her think of their clothes in the washer together and the thought was strangely erotic to her. "Never mind."
"Would it help if I went into the bedroom and wrapped a blanket around my waist?"
Lord help her but she had about as much discretion as she did after a night of drinking with the girls. "NO… not really… I'd still be looking at your chest and… please shoot me."
"Come here." God help her but she went. Walked over to him like she couldn't help herself and she couldn't… not really. Jason held out his hand and she took it, watching as his larger hand closed over hers and pulled her closer. "Elizabeth… I don't want to make you uncomfortable, and if I was out of line kissing you before, I'm so-"
She touched his lips with her hand, smoothing her fingers over his lips and the hint of stubble around his mouth. "Don't be… I'm not… It felt… really good and I didn't want to stop." She sighed and looked back up into his eyes. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for biting your head off about the… letter. Things have been a bit… exciting since I bought the diner." She kept a hold of his hand as she moved over toward the couch. "I had a little money saved and I'd been working at the diner off and on since high school."
Jason stepped past her and sat down on the couch first, gently tugging her down into his lap while she continued talking.
"Zander and I had met there, he and a few of his Marine buddies came in for something to eat and he ended up asking me out somewhere during dessert, so when he died in Iraq I wanted to come back to something, somewhere that made me happy." She sighed and watched her hand travel up over his forearm, her fingers trailing along his skin. "Then a couple of the major appliances broke down and when the repairmen came out to fix them I had to pay them, they all live in the town… I had to, and I told the bank I'd pay them… I just had to be late. I paid them too… but now, I'm getting these notices."
Jason took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb against her palm. "You won't let me pay them for you… what can I do for you?"
She leaned back and looked up at him. "Are you for real?"
"That's a trick question, right?"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No… it's just me trying to figure out if I'm dreaming…" She reached out and grazed her palm over the muscular plane of his chest, "you feel real."
He slid a hand through her hair and around the back over her neck. "You're not dreaming, Elizabeth… this is very real."
She sighed, her lips parting slightly as she slid her hand around to the back of his head through his hair, pulling him down. "Thank God."
but now I just keep laughing about it! Erotic laundry!
. Anyway, I can't wait for more!! Thanks!
Member of The Magnificent
Eleven
Although Jason and Elizabeth didn't really do anything while in the laundry room together, they certainly flirted. They flirted, she rambled...
and ogled, and they both admitted that they don't regret their kiss. To me, that's a pretty productive run-in during the middle of the night. And
that's not even counting what happened next.
