Jason's Story Ch. 18

She swiped a glass of champagne with her good hand and took a sip while Jack began.

"Nigha; I had no idea that it was him and by the time I'd found out, you were already here. Are you alright?"

"As alright as I can be" she replied honestly. "It's not your fault Jack; I know that you would've told me if you'd known" she reassured him and touched his arm with her bandaged hand.

"Is your hand alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine" she said as she balled up a fist. "Sorry I scared you, but this is child's play compared to what I've been through" she smiled as she held her fists up to her face, flicked her nose, and sneered while shrugging her shoulders.

"Touché tough girl" he said with a laugh. "I imagine it is."

"So is this the part where you tell me that you've changed your mind and won't leave me at the mercy of the Big Bad Branson?"

"No, it's a little late for that" he said as he smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder. "This is the part where I remind you that if you ever need to pick up elsewhere; you just say the word" he said while looking into her eyes, conveying the gravity of his statement.

"I'm a big girl Jack..."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it; you'll be fine" he said throwing up his hands while finishing her statement.

"Exactly" she said as she reached up to give him a hug. "Is it normal to anticipate missing your old boss so much?"

"Of course it isn't; but then again, there's only one boss like me" he smiled into her hair.

"Ain't that the truth" she agreed as she let him go and took a step back.

She saw Jackson looking over her shoulder with a look that let her know that Jason was walking up to join them.

"Jackson."

"Jason. Well, I guess once you got promoted; there was no holding you back."

"I have a goal that I'm working toward and once I set my mind to it; there's no stopping me. Although, you could say that I missed home a bit too much to stay away for longer than absolutely necessary. My heart is here."

Jackson nodded in understanding. "I wish you the best Jason, and you've definitely got the best in the business backing you up" he said as he touched Nigha's shoulder.

"Don't I know it" he agreed as he looked down at her.

Nigha mustered her best smile, attempting to not look uncomfortable before she downed the rest of her fifth glass of champagne. In the distance; she heard the first chords of one of her favorite songs. She felt a gentle hand on her elbow and realized that Jason had been looking at her for a few moments.

"May I have this dance" he asked in a debonair tone. She nodded in agreement and they walked over to the dance floor as the lyrics started.

Baby, baby...when we first met I never felt something so strong You were like my lover, and my best friend All wrapped into one with a ribbon on it

"This song makes me think of you" he said as he held her hand close to his heart.

It made her think of him too. It was such a tragic love song that was almost tailor-made for them; she imagined it encompassed how he felt about her. She didn't respond, figuring that he already knew that she felt the same.

As they swayed to the music; he pulled her closer, his large hand possessively positioned at the small of her back. She didn't protest; relishing the feel of being close to him again, if only for a song.

And I'll never give myself to another the way I gave it to you You don't even recognize the ways you hurt me, do you? It's gonna take a miracle to bring me back And you're the one to blame, and now I feel like...oh

You're the reason why I'm thinking I don't wanna smoke on these cigarettes no more I guess that's what I get for wishful thinking Shoulda never let you enter my door Next time you wanna go on and leave Should just let you go on and do it Cause now I'm using like I bleed

It's like I checked into rehab...baby you're my disease...

It felt so good to be close to him again. They hadn't been this close since the last night they'd made love, and she leaned in closer to him; not thinking that it was possible to get any closer. He welcomed it and pressed her into him.

************ Ginger came up to stand next to Jackson as he was watching them dance. Unable to stop herself; she leaned closer so that those nearby wouldn't hear what she was going to say next.

"He's the one, isn't he?"

The question snapped him out of staring as his mind raced. He understood the question, but hoped that he was wrong.

"The one?"

She looked at him like he was thick-headed and explained her question.

"He's the one that broke up her marriage, isn't he?"

The look on Jackson's face was all the answer she needed.

"It's okay Jack; you don't have to confirm it. Even the blind could see that something huge is going on between those two. Is she going to be alright?"

"One can only hope so" he said as they continued to watch Nigha and Jason dance.

**********

The end of the song was approaching and Nigha knew that she had to put some distance between the two of them. As the last note played; she tried to push herself away from him, but he wasn't letting go. She heard another set of all-too-familiar notes start to come from the speaker.

Irony is such a cruel bitch.

Lost without you, can't help myself How does it feel, to know that I love you baby I'm lost without you, can't help myself How does it feel, to know that I love you baby

"Jase; you've got to let me go."

"Nope; can't do that right now. I'm busy reliving the best night of my life" he whispered into her ear as he pressed his cheek against the side of her forehead.

"I can't do this" she whispered against his collar; not thinking that he could hear her.

"Of course you can. We'll be working together; we'll be parents together, and before this is all over, we will be together."

"You have to know that's not going to happen."

"I know that you've been trying to convince yourself that it's not going to happen, but I'm a patient man and I'm not trying to rush or pressure you."

"What would you call it then?"

She pulled away just enough to look into his eyes and immediately regretted taking that course of action.

"Stating the facts" he said; his eyes full of want, love, and intent, with no hint of patience.

"But Jason; you have to know...."

"Shhhh" he whispered before he put his cheek against the side of her forehead and started to sing quietly into her ear.

Baby you're the perfect shape, baby you're the perfect weight Treat me like my birthday I want it this way, I want it that way, I want it Tell me you don't want me to stop, tell me it would break your heart That you love me and all my dirty, You wanna roll with me, you wanna hold me You wanna make fires and get Norwegian wood with me I just love to hear you say it, it makes a man feel good baby...

Her mind flashed back to the first time he'd sung this song for her. It made her melt then just like it was doing now. Her resolve was weakening and she knew she had to find some way to get away from him.

If only it didn't feel so good to be held in his arms again.

"Do you ever think about the time this song became a pivotal part of our lives?"

"Yes" she answered easily.

'FUCK' she thought; why did she admit it out loud so quickly.

"Do you still think about it; about us?"

"How can I not?"

'WHAT THE FUCK...blame it on the alcohol I guess' she said in her mind.

What was in her heart was flowing freely and she couldn't rein it in. She didn't realize how many glasses of champagne she'd knocked back until her brain-to-mouth filter shut down, and left her at his mercy.

"Do you think that we'll be together?"

"We can't be."

Even though she wanted to; even though she wanted him, her head and her heart were in agreement on that one.

She could feel his heart beating when he pulled away just enough to be able to look into her eyes. He wasn't angry or surprised.

"And why is that? Who decides what's right forus?You? You've made decisions for too many people for far too long. This is a decision that neither of us can make alone, and you're something; we're something that I'll never give up on. We'll work together, and things will be strictly business. I'll continue to spend time with my girls and get to know what it's like to be an active father who lives only minutes; not hours away. Eventually I'll make you understand that we'll be together; this I promise you."

Within seconds the song was over and he took a step back, bowed, and kissed her hand.

"Thank you for the dances; I'll see you on Monday" and with that he put his hand in his pocket and walked away with a devilish smirk on his face and a swagger next to none while she stood on the dance floor; alone and stupefied.

He hadn't come all this way for nothing, and he would never let her go.

********************

Three months later

He'd kept his word and they worked just as well together as they had before he'd left. They would work, sometimes go to lunch together, and he would come over every night around 7:30 to spend an hour with the twins before they were put down.

There were times when she felt tortured; times when she wanted to throw him down on a desk, and then there were times when she would visit the boys and think of no one but Brett when they were in the same room. It was the feelings for Brett that reminded her why she and Jason could never be together, and vice-versa.

It would kill her when Brett would open the door and she'd see the sparkle in his eyes, and then the realization would set in, and the sparkle would fizzle out. The hurt was showing less and less, but she always wanted to scoop him into her arms and make it better.

She had resigned herself to the fact that she'd more than likely end up alone. Life was passing her by and it seemed that she'd have either too many or no one to share it with. The two men she loved most would always be a part of her life, but neither could be in her life as anything more than the father of her children, and there was no room for anyone else.

**********

He'd made a vow to get her the right way this time; but it was proving to be just as difficult as he thought it would be. Being so close to her; day in and day out, was wearing heavily on his resolve. He needed to speed things up before he lost his shit.

********************

"Oh my god...oh my god...oh my god...I can't believe it Nigh" Bria exclaimed almost on the brink of hyperventilation.

"What in the world girl; calm down" she laughed as she tried to calm Bria down.

"Wait" she said before quieting down and looking around. "Are the boys here?"

"No, they're having a boy's night in with their dad."

"Are the girls asleep; I didn't wake them did I?"

"No" she answered laughing again. She had an idea what had Bria so excited, but seeing her little sister like this was just adorable. "They're having a Daddy's night with their old man, so it's just me and you" she said wide eyed. "Now, let's take it slowly; what-is-going-on" she said as she motioned her hands to make Bria spill it.

"Okay, okay, deep breaths Bri...deep breaths. You know that today is the two-year anniversary of our first date right?"

"Aww sweetheart; I didn't think you'd remember" she threw her hands up over her mouth.

"Oh shut up!" Bria said as she shoved a laughing Nigha onto the couch.

"I'm sorry honey; please continue" she said, a smirk still on her face.

"Okay, Kane told me that he loved me and..."

Nigha made a big show out of yawning and Bria shot her another look.

"He wants to spend the rest of his life with me; he wants me to be the mother of our children, and he asked me to marry him."

"Oh my god; that's wonderful" Nigha said as she jumped up and down, but stopped abruptly when she saw the look on Bria's face.

"Bri; where's the ring?"

"I didn't say yes" she said in a quiet voice.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Why the hell not? That man is crazy about you and you're crazy about him. What's really going on?"

"I used to look at your life and think I'd never have that. The gorgeous husband; the perfect kids, an awesome life. You were my inspiration; you had it all, and then..."

"I fucked it up, huh?"

"Yeah...well; that's not what I meant. If you knew that Brett wasn't the one; would you have married him anyway?"

"Brett was the one and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for our time together. He was my first, my everything; he just wasn't my last. If I could go back to when we were falling in love; to the day he asked me to marry him, after all of the things that I've put him through, I would still say yes. I would say yes because I loved him then, and I love him still. No one can change that and that's why I'm alone."

"And Jason?"

"Ahh Jason" she sighed with a smile. "Before Jason, I thought there was only one great love in one's life and he made me realize that there can be more...although there really shouldn't be. I love him; not in the same way that I love Brett, but I'm cursed to be in love with two wonderful men and deserving neither. Honey, you can't base your happiness on 'what ifs' and 'maybes'. You can't base one of your most important decisions in life on how your big sis fucked up. This man adores you and you him, go say yes and put him out of his misery" she said as she reached out and hugged Bria as they both cried.

"Nigh" she said as she wiped her eyes "what are you going to do?"

"The million dollar question. I'm going to encourage Brett and Jason to move on with their lives; without me in any other capacity than the mother of their children."

"So that's it huh? You're ready to just give it all up and throw in the towel on love and a life with either of them? I think one of them will throw a kink into your plan; if not both."

"What else can I do?"

"Keep an open mind and an open heart. I know that you don't feel worthy and yes; you did fuck up, royally, but in the end you did the best that you could."

"So it sounds like you have an inside track huh?"

"Not really, but my money's on my brother-in-law; whichever one you think I mean" she said with a chuckle before the pillow hit her in the face.

"He haunts me" she said more to herself than to Bria.

"What? Who haunts you?"

"Jason. Almost every night; I dream about him...about us. At first it was disturbing, but it's been going on for months, so it's pretty much a given now."

"Whoa; do you ever dream about Brett?"

"Pretty much on the nights that I'm not haunted by Jason; most of the time, I have guilty dreams about Brett. I keep seeing the pain and realization in his eyes when I told him about the girls."

"And your dreams about Jason?"

"There are times when I have similar dreams about him, but most nights; our time together is very...animated."

"So -- animated like you guys are always fighting, or animated like you two are..." she motioned the rest of her statement with her hands.

"Let's just say that my dreams are about as close as I've been to the real thing, and are probably as close as I'll get for a long time to come."

"Don't you think that maybe your 'torturous' dreams are your mind's way of telling you something? Like maybe the fact that you want to be with the man rocked your world so hard that it cost you your marriage?"

"My body has always wanted to be with him, but my mind and my heart won't let me. Too much has been done."

"Umm hmm. So, is it as good in your dreams as it is in real life?" she asked before she burst into laughter at Nigha's expression.

"Not funny" Nigha said as she pushed her over.

"No, not funny...hilarious" she said holding up her hands to shield her from the next pillow.

********************

She was very busy at work when there was a light tap on her office door.

"Yes" she called out.

He peeked his head around the corner as that lustrous mane fell to the side. She smiled at him as he walked in.

"What are your plans for lunch today?"

"I'd actually planned to order in because this new account is taking up more of my time than I'd like. Why?" "Oh, no reason really. My brother just told me that the woman that he's madly in love with has agreed to be his wife and I was hoping to celebrate with my favorite coworker for lunch or...dinner maybe?"

She gave him a huge smile. "Good for him; I'm so happy that he's found his happiness. Who's the lucky girl?"

"Well, he met her out of the strangest of circumstances, but I can honestly say that I love her like she was my own. And; I win the bet."

"The bet?"

He ran his hands over his mustache and down into his goatee before grabbing his chin. 'Ever since we were kids; we always had this bet. He thought that when we grew up; even though he's got me by two years, that I'd beat him to the altar. I always said that he was more of a romantic than he knew; he just needed to find the woman who'd make all others pale in comparison."

"Your brother has found his; do you think you'll ever find yours?"

"If finding mine would've won him the bet; then he won almost 3 years ago when I sat downstairs in a training class and she stormed into my life..."

She dropped her pen on the glass top of her desk causing quite a commotion. He just turned to her and smiled.

"What were you expecting? Me to say that 'oh, maybe someday I'll find the girl for me'. There is NO one else for me and I'm not looking for someone to occupy my time. But back to my earlier question; would you like to have lunch or dinner?"

She had to snap herself out of her temporary stupor before she could answer.

"Jase I..."

"Tell you what; why don't you and the girls come over tonight and I'll cook you dinner?"

"Hmm...you'll get to spend time with the girls; I can work through lunch and get home at a decent hour, sounds like a win-win to me" she said with a smile.

"I'll go get the girls. I'm leaving around 4 today" 'as of right now' he thought, "so I can pick them up from your mom's and you can come straight to my place when you're done here" he added with an I've-got-this-all-figured-out smile.

"Great" she heard herself say with a little too much enthusiasm. "Are you working this weekend?"

"Hell no" he said with a laugh. "I plan on spending every waking moment with my girls. Can they spend the night tonight? Come on, you know you want to sleep through the night" he added in a sing-song, pleading tone.

She smiled and shook her head before answering.

"Sure. That'd be just fine."

"Awesome" he said as he pumped and tucked his fist in that classic 'yes' move.

"You're a nut! Get out of here so I can get some work done" she laughed out and threw a stress ball at him.

He caught it midair and ran out of her office with it.

Why did he have to be so gorgeousand cute? It's completely unfair.

**********

Jason practically skipped back to his office, so excited that the situation unfolded the way it did. He had no idea that it would happen, but was so glad that it had. She'd agreed to let him to cook for her and she could definitely use some good meals. She was still so thin and her clothes practically hung off her body. He longed for the return of her curves, and for those curves to return to him.

He desperately wanted her back in his life; back as his woman, not just the mother of his children, and would officially make her his wife. He just hoped that he could make it happen sooner rather than later. But tonight he wouldn't push it, tonight would just be about taking care of her.

**********

Nigha wrapped up her last meeting at 5:00 on the dot and made sure that it didn't carry over. Ending on time meant she'd be leaving on time, and she was really looking forward to cuddling her babies and the celebration dinner with Jason.

It scared her a little at just how much she was looking forward to the latter.