Chapter 24 Nik stood dumbfounded and just stared at Sarah. "Sarah?" was all he could say. Sarah smiled and repeated. "Did you miss me? It's been a long time since we've last seen each other." "Yes, two years. How have you been?" Sarah started to walk around the leaving room, every now and then touching a knickknack briefly. "Well, you know I spend my last year of high school going to school in London to be close to my parents and after that I just spent a year traveling around Europe. It was *very* educational. I can't believe I left Europe to come back here but here I am." "Why did you come back?" Nikolas couldn't help but ask. Sarah looked at him as if he was crazy. "Well it was wonderful over there but I missed my Gram and Liz so I came back. In the fall, I will be going to PCU." "So am I. I took off a year also to devote myself to Cassadine business but now I have enrolled in PCU also." "What a coincidence." Sarah nodded and went to stand by the fireplace. "So, why are you here?" Nikolas asked the question that had been bugging him. "Is it so wrong for a girl to want to come by and see her old boyfriend? We are still friends aren't we?" "Well, we didn't exactly part in the best of ways." Sarah waved a hand in front of her. "That's old news, I've gotten passed it, haven't you?" "Yes." "Good." Sarah smiled. "So tell me, Nikolas, are you dating some one?" Sarah had made sure to call Deenie before she came over to get all the gossip so she knew what was going on and what wasn't. "Actually, I haven't." Sarah cocked her head to the side. "That's too bad. I thought a guy like you would have had the girls lining up." Nikolas laughed a little. "Nope." "I would have thought you and Robin would have hooked up. I guess that never worked out, huh?" "Me and Robin?" "Yes, you and Robin. I know you dumped me for her." Sarah leaned against in the mantle in a pose to show Nikolas what he had lost. She tried not to grin as she thought of how he had dumped her for a gangster's girlfriend who only saw him as a friend and some one to lead around by the nose but never get involved with. Revenge is always sweet, she thought. "I didn't dump you for…" Nikolas stopped himself, mid-lie. As much as he wanted to deny it, he had dumped Sarah in order to be with Robin. But Robin hadn't wanted him; he learned soon enough that all he was good for was following her around like a puppy. "I'm sorry for what I did to you and for the way I hurt you." He apologized. "Like I said, I'm over it. If you hadn't dumped me, I wouldn't have went off to Europe to be with my parents and I wouldn't have gotten a chance to meet all those delicious European men." Sarah threw Nikolas a sidelong glance. "You know how they are, you are one after all." Nikolas shrugged. He really didn't want to be talking about this with Sarah. "I guess. You know, I'm a little busy at the moment, I need to get some things…" "Is it Emily? I've heard that you two have been seeing a lot of each other lately." Nikolas narrowed his eyes. "How did you know?" "News travel fast, you know. I heard about her two suicide attempts. I was shocked. I had no idea that Emily had those sorts of problems. But then again I was shocked when I heard that Emily used to be a model. Emily? A model?" Sarah laughed. "I never saw her picture in any of my magazines. I wonder why she doesn't do it anymore?" "Emily was a very good model but some things happen that made her decide that she didn't want to do it anymore." He said simply. "It's none of my business. So I guess you've been helping her out or something? Is someone forcing you to? Does she still have that crush on you? It must be awkward." How did everyone know that Emily used to have a crush on him? How did he not know? "Emily doesn't have a crush on me. I don't `help' her because someone's forcing me. We're friends." Yeah, right, she thought. "Whatever." Sarah shrugged. "So if you're not dating, how about you and I do something this Saturday? Not a date, just two old friends hanging out. If you're not busy, that is." "I'm not busy." "I heard that this club is opening Saturday, wanna go?" "I can't." "Why not? It sounds like fun and God knows there's barely anything to do here." Nikolas didn't want to explain about the experiment because it was none of her business. "I just can't, okay." "No big deal, Nik. How about we go to the movies Friday? Can you do that?" "I can do that." Nikolas said coldly. "Great. I'll see you Friday night, pick me up around 7ish, hmm?" Sarah started to walk to the door. Nikolas folded his arms across his chest. "How about I meet you at the theater?" His picking up Sarah would make it almost a date and he didn't want that. "No biggie. See you later Nik." ~~~~~~~~ Emily blinked and stared at Liz. "Sarah's home? What?" "She just got home tonight and according to Gram she was on the phone with Deenie for an hour and then she went out to Spoon Island." "She didn't even stop by and see you?" Emily had to ask. "Nope. I guess I wasn't important." Lucky tapped Liz on the shoulder. "Liz, don't dwell on it, okay. And could you wrap this up? We need to get going." "In a minute Lucky. So what do you think about this?" Emily shrugged. "I don't care. If she wants to see Nikolas, she can. He's her ex-boyfriend." "But what about you?" "What about me? Nik and I are only friends. That's what he wants and that's fine with me." "You sure?" It's the way it has to be for now, she thought. "Positive." ~~~~~~~~~~ Friday It was close to the end of her session and Emily was waiting for Gail to ask her about the experiment. So far they talked about everything but that. Gail laid down her pencil and took of her glasses. Here it comes, Emily thought. "It's been one week since you've seen Nikolas. How do you feel?" What kind of question is that? Emily shrugged. "I don't know how I feel. I feel okay, I guess." "How have you been coping?" "I've been coping all right I guess. I haven't fallen apart yet." "What have you done this week without him?" "Stuff. I've hung out at home a lot. I did some shopping with Carly yesterday, Liz and I talked on the phone a lot, my bill is gonna be *huge*, and me and Tino's been doing stuff." "Tino? You've been seeing Tino a lot?" "Yeah. We're supposed to rent videos tonight." Gail nodded and wrote something down quickly. Emily raised up in her seat and tried to see Gail's notepad. "What are you writing?" Gail looked up in surprise. "Excuse me?" "Every time I mention Nikolas or Tino, you write something down, what are you writing?" "Just some notes." "Notes?" "Yes, notes." Gail checked her watch. "You know it's about time for the session to be over." "I guess." "So I'll see you next Wednesday, have a nice weekend." ~~~~~~~ Jason picked up his phone and then put it down. He wanted to call Carly and tell her not to go on that date tonight but he knew it wasn't his place to do that. But he could do something to make sure she'd be okay. Jason stood up and went over to the door. He opened it and Renaldo snapped to attention. "You need something, boss?" "I want you and Vinnie to follow Miss Spencer tonight, starting now. She should still be on Spoon Island. I want you guys to follow from a distance but be close enough to help her if the guys she's with tries something and she doesn't want it." "Okay boss. I'll put Johnny on the door." Jason started to turn around when he remembered. "Don't be sloppy about it. Carly's smart, she'll know when someone's following her." Renaldo nodded. "Right boss." It wasn't his business to wonder why Morgan would want to have his old girlfriend followed when he allows his current to go out without guards. ~~~~~ Carly stood in front of her full-length mirror and looked at herself with a severe critical eye. When she and Emily had picked out this dress yesterday, it looked great in the store but now…She turned around and tried to see how it looked from the back. She crinkled up her nose and hoped that this guy liked the dress. She hoped it was okay for the date tonight. It was a simple black sheath, cut not too low in the front but in the back it plunged very low. That was the reason she bought the dress. "I hope this isn't *too* dressy." She said as she bent down to put on her favorite black pumps. She was just putting on her earrings and checking her make-up when she spotted Michael behind her. She turned around. "What are you doing here? Where's Leticia or Grandma?" "Mommy pretty." He told her. Carly picked up Michael. "Oh, yeah, you know the way to a lady's heart all ready. You're going to be a real lady killer." Michael smiled and gave her a big wet kiss on the cheek. Carly laughed and grabbed a tissue to clean up. "That's not going to distract me. You know you're not supposed to wander around here without someone with you. This place is so big you'd get lost. I know I could." Carly muttered. Bobbie came rushing into Carly's room. "Carly, Michael's…" She stopped when she saw Michael in her arms. "Right here. I went to get him from his room and I almost had a heart attack when I couldn't find him." "I told him about walking around Wyndemere without someone with him. But he likes to explore anyway." Bobbie took him out of Carly's arms. "I hope he doesn't do it again tonight. He just scared a few years off my life." Bobbie looked Carly up and down. "You look very nice." Carly twirled around for Bobbie to get the full affect. "Do I really?" "Yes, I love the dress." "Emily helped me pick it out yesterday." Nikolas poked his head instead of the room. "Hey, Carly, there's some guy here for you." He glanced at the dress. "Nice dress." "Thanks." Carly smiled. "Could you tell him I'll be right down?" "Sure." Carly turned to Bobbie. "One thing before I go downstairs." "Yes?" "What's his name?" ~~~~~~ Carly laughed at another of Marcus's jokes. She had learned that his name was Dr. Marcus Sanderson and that he was in his early twenties just minutes before she went down to meet him. She had been pleased to discover that he was very tall and dark brown hair and deep blue eyes and that he had a great sense of humor. "Would you like another glass of wine?" They were lingering over dinner before going to a club for a little dancing. Marcus had brought her to the PC Grill and he scored major points with her by doing that. "Mmm," Carly wrinkled up her nose. She wanted to keep her head on straight. "No, that's okay." "Well how about we get to that club?" "Let me just visit the ladies room, real quick?" "Sure." Marcus stood when she stood. Wow, a real gentleman, she thought, I've never been on a date with one of those before. On her way back from the bathroom, Carly did a quick double take. She could have sworn she just saw Renaldo. She looked around but she didn't see Jason or Robin anywhere. Carly shrugged. They must be around her somewhere but she wasn't going to dwell on it. ~~~~~ Carly and Marcus were outside the club. They had danced until Carly's feet began to hurt and she swore she couldn't walk in her pumps anymore. Marcus was holding open the passenger door for her and she was just about to slide into the car when she thought she saw Vinnie slip through a crowd of people. Now what's Vinnie doing out here? She knew that neither Jason nor Robin was the dance club type of people so they couldn't be at the club. Maybe it was Vinnie's night off and he had a date. Carly tried to shrug off the feeling that something was up. ~~~~ Carly and Marcus stood at the docks. "Maybe I should ride over to the island with you. I always see my dates to their door." Marcus was insisting. Carly had enjoyed her date with Marcus. He was someone she would like to see again. He knew who she was and that she had a kid and he didn't mind. Carly knew it was too good to be true but she wanted to hold onto it for as long as should could. "No, it's okay." "Well, I had a good time tonight." "Me too." "We should do it again. Soon." Marcus hinted. "I would like that." Carly nodded and waited for him to ask her out again. "Are you free Sunday? Maybe we could go on a picnic. I could meet Michael maybe?" Carly had talked about Michael most of the night. "That would be nice. I am free Sunday afternoon." "Great," Marcus smiled brightly. "So I'll come by around 2?" "Sounds good to me." "Terrific." Carly stood patiently and waited for Marcus to kiss her goodbye. She knew he wanted to but she didn't want to be the one to make the first move. Just then out of the corner of her eye she saw Renaldo *and* Vinnie standing in the distance watching them and she realized what was going on. Jason had sent them to spy on her. That bastard, she thought. How dare he! "Marcus, I better be going. I had a great time and I can't wait until Sunday." She reached up and gave him a peck on the cheek. She hoped Renaldo and Vinnie saw that. If she wanted to really tick off Jason she would have given Marcus a kiss he would never forget but she didn't want to play games with Marcus. He was a nice guy unlike Jason Morgan.