Chapter 18 

Emily sat down on the stool next to Liz. “Hi.” 

“Hey.” Liz smiled. 

Emily and Liz had taken the opportunity to get to know each other without the 
guys around. Emily and Liz had never been friends but they were willing to try 
if Nikolas and Lucky were. 

“I'm surprised Lucky isn't here.” Emily said. “I know that the two of you are 
almost never without each other.” 

Liz sighed in the way all girls hopelessly in love do. “Yeah, Lucky's the best. 
He's always there when I need him and even when I don't. Boyfriends are like 
that. You should know. Aren't you and Nikolas close like that?” 

Emily blushed slightly. “Um, no. Nik and I aren't a couple. We're just friends.” 
Just friends, just friends. She was going to pound that into her head. After 
finally killing her crush, why does waking up in the same bed almost brings it 
back to life? 

Liz's hand flew up to her mouth. “I'm so sorry. I just thought… you two seemed… 
I put my foot in it, didn't I?”

Emily shrugged. “It's no biggie. I used to have those feelings for Nik but he 
never had them for me. I got over it and I'm happier being friends with him.” 
Emily wasn't sure who she was trying to convince. Liz or herself. 

“Yeah. Lucky is also my best friend. Let's do something we can't do with the 
guys around.” 

“Window shop?” Emily asked. 

“Perfect! I haven't done that in ages! Lucky hates it.” 

“So he's not *that* perfect, huh?” Emily teased. 

“You didn't hear that from me.” Liz laughed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

PC Grille 

“We'll be in touch.” Jason said to his lunch companion who nodded, stood, and 
left. 

Jason looked down at his plate and pushed the food around. He wasn't very hungry 
but pretending to eat out in public where everyone was trying to act like they 
weren't watching him was better than returning to the penthouse and Robin. 

Jason sighed. Lately living with Robin had become Hell. Everyday she acted like 
he was going to leave her. She was becoming paranoid. Every time he was out of 
her sight she accused him of being with Carly. But he hadn't spoken to Carly 
since that night. Carly wouldn't talk to him. And every night Robin demanded he 
make love to her to prove he still loved her. 

Jason's been using the old business excuse to get away from Robin, she was 
definitely right about that. Her accusations were driving him crazy. Last night 
he was kinda happy she'd left. 

A husky laugh rang out and Jason looked up. He knew that laugh. It was Carly. 

She was walking into the Grille with AJ, who was carrying Michael. To Jason they 
looked like the perfect family they could have been. He watched as AJ put 
Michael in his own chair and then held Carly's chair out for her. Carly fussed 
over Michael, getting him situated. Carly looked great. Beaming and refreshing 
in a yellow sundress. 

A waiter came over and it looked as if AJ was ordering for all of them. Carly 
never let him order for her the few times they went out together. She always 
wanted to do it herself. It made her feel independent. 

Jason wondered why she was there with AJ. It had to be for Michael's sake. 
That's the only thing that makes sense. She told him herself that AJ had been 
making her feel uncomfortable. Or maybe she wanted to be there with AJ. Maybe 
that's why she stopped taking his calls and the one time he asked to see 
Michael, she sent him over with Leticia? Had Carly, in the five weeks since 
they'd last “talked”, decided that AJ wasn't that bad of a guy for a 
Quartermaine? Had they worked things out so well that they could take having 
lunch with one another when after AJ had found out the truth, they couldn't even 
stand to be in the same room with each other? 

This was just too hard. Why was he sitting here, watching them? It was like 
torture. 

Jason just couldn't drag his eyes from the sight of them. Where was Keesha? How 
did AJ's wife feel about him spending time with Carly? Did she even know? 

He watched as Carly scolded Michael for doing something and AJ stopping her by 
laying his hand on hers. Jason crushed his napkin at the sight of this. Then 
Michael said something and their table got quiet. Jason wondered what he said. 
Michael repeated it. He watched as Carly and AJ reluctantly stood. Then Carly 
went and hugged AJ. She hugged him! Jason angrily threw down his napkin and a 
couple of bills to pay for lunch. He wasn't going to stick around and watch 
this. He stalked out of the Grille. 

Michael noticed him and said. “Uncle Jase!” 

Carly quickly turned around. “Jason? Where?” 

AJ didn't like how happy Michael sounded and the way Carly started looking for 
him. He wanted their attention. 

“He was here eating but he just left.” He informed her. 

“Oh? I wonder why he didn't stop by.” Carly sat down and re-arranged her napkin 
on her lap. 

She wanted to talk to Jason about that night in the limo. She'd been avoiding 
him since then because she didn't know how to explain about what happened. She 
didn't know what she was trying prove. That she could still make Jason feel 
something for her other than friendship? But what made her stop was the 
realization that Jason would probably never feel anything for her but friendship 
and lust? And love was reserved for precious Robin? Or maybe she could just 
blame it all on being drunk. Carly sighed. What she would have liked was for 
Jason to come to her, so she wouldn't have to swallow her pride and go to him. 

“Maybe he was busy.” AJ shrugged. 

“Thank you.” Carly said to the waiter who placed their food in front of them. 

“This looks good.” AJ dug in while Carly fixed the food on Michael's plate. 

“It does.” Carly decided to turn the conversation to the questions that had been 
bugging her since he invited her. “Why am I here? Why are we doing this? What 
are you after?” 

AJ laughed uneasily. “All we are doing is having lunch as a family. That's all.” 

“Really?” Carly didn't believe him. “So I'm supposed to believe that? Yeah, 
right.” 

“Carly, is there something wrong with me wanting to spend time with my family?” 

Carly laid down her fork. “Family? I hope you don't include me because I am not 
your family. Michael is and Keesha is but not me. How would Keesha feel about 
you claiming me as your family?” 

AJ shrugged and continued eating. “What does Keesha have to do with anything?” 

Carly stared at AJ. Surely he realized that she and Keesha hated each other. Was 
he blind? Or was something else going on? “AJ, I know it's not my place to ask 
you this but, is everything all right with you and Keesha?” 

“Yes. Why would you ask something like that?” 

You seem extra sad for some reason, she thought. “I don't know, it just…” 

AJ cut her off. “We're perfectly happy together. Keesha's off on one of her 
shopping trips or spa trips somewhere. Either out of state or out of the 
country, she never tells me where and that doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother 
me that she doesn't want to be around Michael or take a hand in helping raise 
him, so you don't have to worry about that. And it doesn't bother me that she's 
changing. A lot. It's like I don't know her anymore.” 

“Um, well.” Carly looked away. She didn't feel comfortable having this 
conversation. After the way she's treated him in the past, she didn't feel right 
having him come to her for help. 

AJ sighed. It felt good to get a part of his problems with Keesha off his chest. 
Carly was the last person he thought he'd find himself blabbing all his thoughts 
too but there was no one else to talk to. He remembered when they were friends 
before that night came between them. She used to be a good person to talk to. 

“Don't worry about it Carly. I just want to enjoy right now. This time with 
Michael. And you. We used to have some good times, didn't we?” AJ gave her a 
smile that caused Carly to pause. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Jason came storming into the penthouse. He was still angry at what he'd saw even 
though he didn't know why he was. There was no reason that the sight of AJ and 
Carly hugging should make him mad. But it did. 

Robin jumped up from the couch. She immediately started in on him. “Jason, I 
don't appreciate you having the door slammed in my face when I'm talking to you! 
It was rude and…” 

Jason turned and glared at her and said in a soft but deadly voiced. “I am in 
the mood to have someone shot right now and if you don't lay off, it just might 
be you.” That should shut her up. 

Robin gasped and backed away. “J… Jason. Y… You don't mean that. Don't take your 
anger out on me.” She started to cry. 

He sighed and rubbed his face. “I didn't mean it, Robin. I was just in a bad 
mood.” I wonder if Carly and AJ are still eating together. 

Robin continued to cry anyway. 

Jason walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “I'm sorry. You know I'd 
never hurt you. Never.” Why was he worrying about Carly? He had the woman he 
loved right here in his arms. Carly seemed determined to make her own life and 
he should stop worrying about her. She was a big girl who could take care of 
herself. She and Michael were no longer in his care. He had Robin to look after. 
Robin, the love of his life. His first love. She taught him that first loves 
where special and that was what Robin was. 

“I just don't know what's going on with us anymore, Jason.” She sobbed into his 
shoulder. “All we do is fight.” And it's all Carly's fault, she thought. 

“Things are… rough right now but they'll get better, I promise.” Jason told her. 

“And when you make a promise you always keep it.” Robin wondered how she could 
get him to promise to never see or talk to Carly again. 

“Always.” Jason assured her and then thought of that night in the limo with 
Carly when he almost broke his promise to Robin. 

“Always.” Robin nodded. She pulled back from Jason. “Can we talk about 
marriage?” 

Jason stepped away. Marriage? Married to Robin? “What's marriage really? Just 
someone saying we can live together legally? Or be together? We don't need 
that.” 

Robin looked disappointed. She wanted to marry Jason just so Carly would know 
that Jason was hers forever and ever and that while Carly was alright to fool 
around with, Robin was the type of woman a man married. 

Robin then thought of something else. “Jason, how do you feel about adopting a 
child?”