16
Elizabeth stretched and yawned as she woke up the next morning. She rolled over to her right, just to bump into a warm body laying next to her. She looked up into Lucky’s peaceful face as last night came rushing back to her. Last night, her and Lucky had made love for the first time since their reunion. What did this mean? Where were they going to go from there? Sighing, she reluctantly got up. She needed to think about the recent event and she couldn’t think clearly with Lucky’s nude body resting next to hers. Slipping on a robe, Elizabeth glided out into the kitchen, where Nikolas was nursing a glass of hot milk.
He looked up at her, his eyes dark with suspicion. "I see you and my brother had made love last night."
"Do you have something to say Nikolas?" Elizabeth looked wearily at her former friend, tired of fighting with him. "Because if you do, just say it."
"Ok. I will," Nikolas got to his feet, crossing his arms. "Lucky’s given you his heart once more. If you break it again, I don’t think he’ll recover like he did last time. So do us all a favor and don’t break his heart again. Because if you do, you think you’ve seen the worst of the Cassadines…you haven’t seen anything yet."
"Was that a threat?"
"No. Not at all," at first he seemed friendly and even smiled. But then his eyes darkened even more. "It’s a promise. Do not hurt Lucky like you did last year."
With one last glare, Nikolas left the room, sweeping pass Lucky, who was now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
"What’s his problem?" Lucky looked after his brother’s departing form.
"Maybe…maybe it’s the fact that we slept together last night," Elizabeth sighed.
"He knows?" Lucky arched a brow. "How did he find out?"
"Came in on us I guess. Lucky…he was so angry."
"Ah, who cares. He’s always angry about something. It’s the brooding prince thing. If he doesn’t have anything to brood about, his day is incomplete," Lucky grinned, trying to make a joke. Seeing that Elizabeth wasn’t laughing, he took her hand in his. "Don’t worry. He’ll get over it. But…we do need to talk. Last night was very unexpected."
"I know…are you sorry? That it happened I mean?" Elizabeth blushed. It felt like a long time since she had felt awkward like this around Lucky.
"No. Are you?"
Elizabeth shook her head, her blush deepening. "Not at all. In fact…I think it was a step in the right direction."
"So do I," Lucky grinned, before getting to his feet. "Well, I guess we better get ready to go into the office. It’s getting late."
"Oh, Laura told me that I can come in later. I have a shopping date with Em this morning," Elizabeth sighed happily as he pulled her up into his arms.
"Well in that case, have fun," he kissed her one more time, before disappearing up the stairs to prepare for the day.
Elizabeth smiled, happy that despite everything, she had found her way back into Lucky’s heart and this time she wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way. Not Nikolas, not Robin, and definitely not Jason.
~*~
Kelly’s was halfway full. Elizabeth sat at the table nearest the counter, sipping on coffee and waiting for Emily to show up for their shopping trip. She kept her eyes on her coffee as Robin came down and sat at the counter. Checking her watch, she wished that Emily would hurry up. She didn’t like being in the same room as Robin Scorpio for very long.
Elizabeth was about to think that Emily wasn’t going to show, when the teen finally came in, bright and smiling. But instead of heading for Elizabeth’s table, she headed for Robin, who hugged her in greeting.
Frowning, Elizabeth approached the two giggling women.
"Emily?"
"Oh Liz, hi," Emily greeted, turning away from Robin. "What’s up?"
"Waiting for you. We were supposed to go shopping this morning. Remember?" Elizabeth crossed her arms, not even bothering to look at Robin, who looked rather uncomfortable.
Emily’s mouth dropped open in shock and dismay. "Oh Liz…I forgot. Robin and I were going shopping for wedding dresses right now. I’m sorry. Maybe we can go some other time."
"No, Emily. That’s ok. I really can’t take another morning off to watch you and Robin bond. Have fun," Elizabeth turned and walked away, not even looking back when Emily called her name.
~*~
"So I see that you finally decided to come to work today," Gia placed a well manicured hand on her slim hip as Elizabeth rushed in and began setting up.
"Not now Gia," Elizabeth sighed. "I’m really not in the mood right now."
"I was just making conversation. But you are back earlier then I expected you to be. I thought you were off shopping with Emily."
"I was supposed to be, but she had other plans. Plans including her brother’s wedding."
"Oh," Gia fell silent, not knowing how to respond at first. Not really knowing what to say. She knew how hard it was to lose a best friend and have to find another. Maybe Gia could do something to make this easy on Elizabeth. After all, the girl wasn’t all that bad. It really was time to get to know her better. "Well…I know I’m not Emily…but if you want…we could go shopping. After work of course."
"Gia…you don’t have to do this you know," Elizabeth looked up at her, thinking that Gia was only offering out of pity. Pity was one thing she didn’t need.
"I know. But I want to. It’d do not only us good to get to know each other better, but Lucky as well. So what do you say?"
Elizabeth looked at Gia, seeing nothing but sincerity. No pity was in sight. What would it hurt anyway? Plus Gia was right. It would make Lucky very happy to see her get along with his brother’s fiancée. "Ok. You’re on."
~*~
Hours have passed since both Lucky and Nikolas had returned home. Lucky looked at the clock for the thousandth time, as he once again wondered where Gia and Elizabeth had gotten off to. The girls had both told Lucky about their plans, but in all honesty, he hadn’t expected them to be gone for this long.
Finally they arrived, giggling and laughing like they were old friends. Dumping their bags on the floor and shedding their coats, they notice the boy’s stares.
"What?" Both girls asked in unison.
"Noting," Nikolas shook his head.
"Well stop staring at us then," Gia turned back to Elizabeth. "So when do you want to start?"
"Tomorrow night?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sure. Tomorrow’s lesson will be fried chicken."
"What are you two talking about?" Lucky asked curiously.
"Gia is going to show me how to cook," Elizabeth grinned, following her new friend into the kitchen.
"Should we be afraid?" Nikolas looked at his brother curiously.
"I think so," Lucky nodded. But despite the feelings of apprehension, both men were happy that Gia and Elizabeth were on their way to being good friends.