Sweet Talk Ch. 03

Depression and sugar. Not a good mix for her. But now that Sam was here, she was just waiting for the cookies to finish baking so they could leave.

"What'd be cool?" she called back to him from the kitchen.

"If you invested in some satellite TV or something," he responded, and she could hear him clicking buttons on her remote. "These four and a half channels you've got are pretty lame."

She laughed. "I have half a channel?"

"Yep. One of these is so fuzzy I'm not even counting it as a full channel."

She was still laughing when someone knocked on the front door. Walking out of the kitchen, she shot Sam a suspicious glance. "Did you call a cable guy while I wasn't paying attention?"

He smirked at her. "I wish."

Laughing, she opened the door and came face-to-face with Jason.

He was standing there in a black Mariners shirt and jeans, his eyes shadowed by the curved bill of a white baseball cap. But, even under it his gaze was bright, intense.

He looked almost nervous, but then he gave her that devastating, Jason Blake smile that made her insides melt every time he turned it in her direction. God, he was handsome.

"Hey," he murmured.

Anna shook herself. What was he doing here?

She was about to ask just that when his eyes slid past her, into her apartment, and she turned to see Sam sitting on the couch studying them both with an unreadable expression. For some reason, she got a little uncomfortable and, before she thought about it, stepped into the hall and closed the door.

Inside, Sam watched the door close behind Anna. He knew that look on Jay's face. He wasn't happy—at all—to see him here. For a second, his mouth curved up into a small smile.

He and Jay had been friends for six years and he loved him like a brother but sometimes Jay could be a real asshole. Anna didn't deserve half the crap he gave her so, yeah, Sam found it a little funny to know that Jay was pissed off about seeing him in her apartment.

That was too bad for him, though, Sam thought. Jay might be used to treating Anna like a piece of furniture, but he hated seeing her the way she'd been these past two weeks. Yep, Jay would just have to suck it up.

Out in the hall, a moment passed while Jason just stared at the closed door. It might as well have still been open because, for a second, the only thing his brain seemed able to process was the sight of Sam. Inside Anna's apartment.

And here he was, standing in the hallway like a damn stranger. Fuck, this sucked.

He looked down at her.

"Sam's here?" he asked, without meaning to.

To Anna, it didn't sound like a question, really. It was more of a statement. And, strangely, that made her nervous.

She hid it though, and asked, "What're you doing here?"

It'd been three days and he just showed up out of nowhere? This so wasn't like him and she didn't know what to think. The last thing she wanted was another fight, though—she felt like they'd been having the same argument over and over for the past two weeks.

His eyes searched her face, like he was trying to gauge her mood. She wondered what he'd find there because, honestly, she didn't know what she was feeling. Her heart, as always, was pounding from the excitement of being so close to him, but at the same time, she was so tired of fighting with him and part of her just wanted to tell him to go.

Before she could make up her mind, he said, "I have something for you."

It wasn't until then that she noticed he was rolling and unrolling a few pieces of paper in his hands. He held them up to her and she stared at them for a moment in confusion.

Then she took them and, smoothing out some of the creases he'd put in them, she read the heading on the top page: Seattle Central Community College—Petition for Late Registration.

Her eyes shot to his face, then back to the papers as she scanned to the bottom of the forms. On the line next to the place where the professors needed to sign, someone had written "Waived" and, further down, there was a signature scrawled in the box next to a line that said, "Department Chair."

She blinked. Then it clicked—somehow, he'd gotten her into school.

She was shaking her head in disbelief when she finally brought her gaze back to his.

"How…how did you do this?" she asked, holding up the papers. "I went down there—twice—and they kept telling me I needed the professors signatures to get into class."

Jason shrugged. "I talked to one of the ladies in the registrar's office and, I don't know, she said that in a rare case she could pass the forms onto the department chair. That way, you wouldn't need the professors' approval."

Anna was staring at him, trying to come to grips with what he'd done. He wasn't going to come out and say it, but she knew he'd gone down there and put on the Jason Blake, Celebrity Chef charm to get her into school.

"I didn't know what classes you needed," he was telling her matter-of-factly, "but when I mentioned your name, the registrar remembered you. So I…" he paused, noticing the way she was staring at him, "I hope it's the right department," he said, slowly, then added, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Because you make it impossible for me not be crazy in love with you when you do things like this, she thought.

But she just shook her head again. "Because I…don't even know what to say. Thank you."

His smile disappeared then and his gaze grew more intense.

"You don't have to thank me, Anna. That," he gestured at the papers in her hand, "it's the least I can do." He sighed. "I know this is apology number two, and considering how the last one went, you might be about to knee me in the balls, but…I just wanted to say I'm sorry. Again. For acting like such a jerk."

He paused for a moment. "And I know you have your own life and everything. It's just, when you said you were quitting, all I heard was leaving and, you know," he peered past her shoulder, "I don't think I could take that…"

Anna didn't need to be told that he was thinking about his mom and she felt her heart ache for him.

"Jay," she said, her voice quiet, "I was never going to leave you. Not really. I just feel like it's time to get on with my life. And all I wanted was for you to support me in that."

Jay bowed his head, not able to meet her eyes when she was killing him with how right she was. He'd taken her for granted. He knew he had. After she'd walked out on him on Thursday, he couldn't even get angry because he knew she was right.

He'd partly expected her to just forgive him and move on. Then he'd realized he needed to show her that he did care about what she wanted. That's why he'd gone down to the college.

"Yeah," he said at last, "I am happy for you. It's just that we've been a team so long I wasn't ready to let that go. Truthfully, I'm still not."

Her smile turned soft and gentle, the way he remembered it and he felt some of the tension in him easing. "You'll be fine, Jay. Believe me. You just need to take yourself more seriously. Take your job more seriously, too."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. I'm turning over a new leaf and all that. A new and improved Jason Blake. Although," he said, his tone turning teasing, "I'm not really sure how to improve on perfection."

Anna rolled her eyes and, like old times, she shoved his shoulder. "Get over yourself, will you? You get one cooking show, an invite to a national baking competition and you sweet talk a registrar into letting me into school and you think you're God's gift."

"Hey, that's a damn impressive list," Jason protested with a laugh. "By the way, I hope you're serious about starting school this summer. Because I totally whored myself out for you."

Laughing, Anna's brows shot up. "What? How?"

Jay pretended to shudder. "I don't want to talk about it. But let's just say, there was a bit of a stir when I walked into the registrar's office…and I've never seen so many middle-aged women with camera phones in my freakin' life."

Anna couldn't help herself. The pretend look of trauma on his face had her laughing and, in the middle of it, she realized that, once again, he'd managed to kill her anger with him in less than five minutes.

Once she finally stopped laughing, she said, "I am serious about starting school. And, yes, I appreciate you prostituting yourself for me."

He grimaced, but laughed. "Glad to help." Then, his expression went serious again.

"Look," he said after a moment, "I don't want this to seem like, I show up with those papers and expect anything from you but I…" he hesitated. "I'd really like it if you came to the competition with me. When I applied, I assumed you'd be there and it just doesn't feel right knowing you might not be. You don't have to answer now," he said quickly when Anna started to respond. "Just…will you think about it, at least?"

"I don't know…" she started, hating the way his face fell.

It wasn't that she was still mad at him. How could she be after what he'd done for her? It was more that she was scared. She'd gotten really good at being upset with him, but now that that was gone, she was right back where she'd started. Absolutely in love with him.

He held up both hands. "Please, Anna. I…I'm kinda freaked out about the whole thing. That's partly why I didn't tell you about it. And, I don't know, it'd really mean a lot to me if you went. Not as my assistant, but as my friend."

Anna sighed. She couldn't say no. He needed her, she could see it in his eyes, and, as his friend, she couldn't bring herself to say no.

Jason gazed at her, all seriousness. He knew she was close to giving in and, even though he should feel bad, he didn't. If she didn't go, he honestly wasn't sure if he could manage it.

"I'll think about it," she finally said, "but—" she didn't even finish her sentence because Jay hauled her into a bear hug.

Her feet came off the floor as he leaned back, buried his face against her neck and let out a growling laugh. His baseball hat fell to the floor and he left it there, hugging her to him.

Pressed up against him, Anna could feel his heartbeat through his shirt and felt her own heart flutter in response—she had the vague thought that it had just betrayed her to the enemy.

Well, the former enemy. But after these last two weeks away from him, she couldn't bring herself to truly care.

She'd missed him.

"Thanks, sugar," he said after a moment, then tilted his head up so they were eye-to-eye. "You know I hate this, right?" he whispered. "The idea of you quitting."

"I know," she told him, "but after the competition—if I decide to go—that's it, Jay."

He grinned, back to his carefree self now that she'd almost given in.

"Got it. And I swear, whether or not you go, I'll be on my best behavior. No missing deadlines, dodging phone calls or binge-drinking sessions."

Laughing, Anna gave him a skeptical look. "Baby steps, Jay. Baby steps."

Her laughter worked a miracle on his tight neck muscles and, for the first time in days, he felt himself relaxing, the tension easing. He was still holding her when the door opened behind her. Jason was facing the door and so ended up eye-to-eye with Sam who took in their embrace with a raised eyebrow.

"Guess you two made up, huh?" he asked, looking at Jason.

Grinning, Jason set Anna back on her feet, but slung an arm around her shoulder and faced Sam. "Yeah. And guess who might be going to Chicago with us?"

"Oh yeah?" Sam's blue gaze moved to Anna.

"You're going, too?" she asked him, her brain working. If Sam went, she might be able to do this. With him there as a buffer, she might be able to keep Jason at arm's length.

"Yep," Sam said. "I figured someone should be around to keep an eye on him."

"Plus," Jason told her, flicking a thumb at Sam, "Richie Rich here has some family business or something out there that he wants to check in on."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You two and the rich boy jokes, I swear…" Then he jangled his car keys in his hand. "Anyway, Anna, the movie starts in fifteen minutes. We still going?"

"Yeah," Anna said, ducking out from under Jay's arm. "Let me grab my purse and a jacket."

Inside, she quickly took the cookies out of the oven and, as she gathered up her stuff, she was wondering what the heck she was going to do. She'd told Jason she'd think about going but, really, she was nervous. Space and time had been at the top of her to-do list when it came to him. But she knew she couldn't deny him.

Not when it was something as important as this competition.

"Guess who just invited himself to the movies with us," Sam said as Anna stepped back into the hallway and locked the door behind her.

"Really?" she asked, glancing at Jason as they all started walking down the hall. "It's a foreign film, Jay. You hate those."

He gave her that grin again, and her stomach did a perfect cartwheel.

"We'll call it even since you're going to Chicago," he told her.

"I thought it wasn't a sure thing yet," Sam said, eyeing them both.

"It isn't," Anna replied. "I'm still thinking about it."

But even as she said it, she knew she'd be there.

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

Jason was tired, jetlagged and hungry. Damn he hated flying. And the muggy Chicago heat wasn't helping, either. He, Sam and Anna had landed an hour before and after a slightly nightmarish cab-ride into downtown from O'Hare, they'd finally made it to the hotel.

Sam had already checked in and Jay was waiting in line to get himself and Anna checked in, too. He'd fully embraced his 'new leaf ' promise and had taken care of planning the whole trip—he'd even paid for Anna's plane ticket as an additional, unspoken, 'Sorry I was such a douche' token.

The last two weeks leading up to the competition had been hectic and stressful for him, but he was glad she'd decided to come. Being here without her wouldn't have felt right.

Still in line at the hotel front desk, he heard Anna and Sam laughing and glanced over his shoulder to where they were sitting on a bench, waiting for him.

They'd gotten awful close lately. And it was kind of bugging him for some reason.

He loved them both like family, but in his head, Anna was his old family. And Sam was his new family. The fact that they were hanging out and doing stuff together now seemed…weird.

Actually, he might've been okay with it if they'd all been doing stuff together.

But for the last two weeks—after he'd shown up at Anna's with the papers to get her into school—while he'd been busy with work and preparing for the competition, Sam and Anna had been doing their own thing. Then, during his downtime, when he'd call or drop by Anna's, Sam was almost always somewhere in the background.

And now Jay thought, eyeing them both on that bench, here Sam was in Chicago, too.

One big happy family.

Shit, he thought, turning around and blowing out a breath. He knew he was acting like an ass, but in his head, Anna kind of…well, she sort of belonged to him. That's what happened when you grew up with someone. You belonged to each other. Now he was having to sort of share her with Sam and it wasn't a comfortable feeling for him.

What the hell was his problem?

"Good evening, can I help you, sir?"

Jay snapped back to himself and stepped up to the hotel front desk.

"Yeah, I'm checking in. The name's Jason Blake," he told the desk attendant, a cute blonde who looked to be about nineteen.

The girl went through her check-in process with a polite, training-induced smile and Jay let his mind wander. Finally, she printed out his receipt and handed him the room keys. He went to pick them up but noticed there was only one key there.

He stared at it for a second, his gut clenching in apprehension. Oh, crap.

"Uh," he said, still looking at the key. "I only booked one room…didn't I?" Part of him prayed that she'd deny it, but he already knew what she was going to say.

The girl stared at him in confusion for a minute then typed a few things into the keyboard. She looked up. "According to our records, you only booked one room. Number 646. For Monday through Friday nights."

Jason winced before she even finished talking.

Son of a bitch.

He'd forgotten…to book a room…for Anna.

So much for turning over a new leaf. She was gonna kill him.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, while the desk assistant tried not to fidget, Jay leaned in, giving the girl his most engaging smile.

She blinked rapidly then blushed.

"Do you see that brunette over there?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder at Anna. When the girl nodded, he went on. "Well, I forgot to book her a room. And there's a very good chance that if I walk over and tell her that, she'll kill me." He paused. "And I mean that literally. She will kill me." His smile turned boyish and pleading. "So, can you help me out here?"

The girl looked nervous and embarrassed all at the same time but still managed to say,

"I-I'm sorry, sir. We're completely booked because of a baking competition. Every hotel in the area is…"

Jason wasn't even listening anymore. He glanced over his shoulder at Sam and Anna.

"Oh, shit," he muttered as he grabbed his room key and walked over to them.

"All set?" Anna asked, standing up.

Jay rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. "Uh, not quite," he said, then added, "but before I tell you what happened, can we just agree that this doesn't count?"

Anna's eyes narrowed and, even though he knew she was about to be pissed off at him, Jason wanted to laugh. It was kind of funny if you thought about it. He just wasn't so sure Anna would think so.

"What did you do?" she asked.

"Yeah, Jay," Sam chimed in, grinning, "what did you do?" He had no idea what was up, but from the 'Oh, shit' expression on Jay's face, it was probably going to be hilarious.

Jason shot Sam a dirty look and glanced back at Anna.

"Seriously, though," he insisted, "this doesn't count as me being careless or whatever. Technically, I was still in the transitional stages when I—"

"Jay, what did you do?" Anna demanded again, slowly crossing her arms.

"I, uh," he started. "I forgot to book you a room. And the hotel's completely full."

A few seconds of silence passed. Then Sam started snickering. Jason glared at him then watched as a look of disbelief crossed Anna's face. Yeah, she was pissed.

"You're serious aren't you? Oh my God," she sputtered. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Okay, wait, though," Jay insisted, "you have to admit, I've been doing pretty good lately. I booked your plane ticket and—"

"And what good is that if I don't have anywhere to sleep, Jason?!"

At that, Sam started laughing outright. "Don't worry, Anna. We can always find you a broom closet or—"

"Hey, shut up, man," Jason said, shoving Sam's shoulder, while trying not to laugh. "Look, Anna, it'll be fine. You can just stay in my room." He gave her a crooked grin. "It'll be just like those camp-outs that you, me and Nate used to have when we were kids."

Anna stared at him. He was serious. He'd honestly forgotten to book her a hotel room and now, his brilliant solution was for her to share his. What the heck kind of sick fate was this? She hadn't even really wanted to come to Chicago because she was afraid of being too close to him.

And now it looked like she was going to be way, way too close.

It freaking figured.

He'd be damn lucky if she didn't smother him in his sleep. "If either of you were gentlemen," she grumbled, pushing between Jay and a still-snickering Sam, heading for the elevators, "you'd share a room and let me have one of yours."