FISHER HOME
Jason has no idea how much time has
passed, but he is still sitting on the couch, his head collapsed into his
hands and his heart racing. When the doorbell rings, he hardly even hears
it. It is distant, detached, something from a faraway place in which he
has no interest.
The second ring hits him differently.
It takes a moment to sink in, but as the chimes echo in his ears, something
clicks. He is suddenly alert -- and aware that he has to deal with another
visitor.
He hesitates in standing up to answer
the door, but a call from outside convinces him to do it. "Jason! Jason,
it's me!" comes Courtney's voice.
Something drives him to the door
and he scrambles to open it. At the very sight of Courtney, he knows everything
is all right: She is holding a bottle of champagne, smiling awkwardly,
her rage from earlier this evening nowhere in sight.
"Hi," she says as they share a lingering
stare.
"Hey." Instinctively Jason's hand
goes up to the back of his neck. "What's up?"
Courtney seems to contemplate her
course of action before taking a deep breath and proceeding. "I was thinking,"
she says slowly. "And maybe ... maybe you had a point before. Maybe I do
need to butt out of this--this thing with Lauren and Alex."
A flood of relief washes through
Jason. "Really?"
"Yeah. So I was thinking--" She steps
into the house, nuzzling against his body and holding up the bottle of
champagne. "--that maybe we could celebrate a little."
Jason furrows his brow, though there
is nothing playful about the way he does it. "Celebrate?"
"Mm-hmm." She brushes her lips against
his and feels his body tense up immediately. She draws back. "What's wrong?"
He just stares at her. "I, uh, I'm
just surprised ... to see you. I wasn't expecting it, that's all."
"Oh." Courtney returns to the kiss,
adding more intensity this time. Jason accepts it, but that is all he does.
Courtney pulls back again. "Are you
still upset?"
He doesn't respond. He doesn't even
meet her gaze.
"I'm sorry," Courtney says. "I know
I get ... a little dramatic sometimes. But Jason, none of that should matter.
Lauren and Alex, they shouldn't be a factor in our relationship. Our love
is too important to mess up because of something like that."
Something like that. Jason
ponders the bitter irony of her words but still says nothing.
"That's why, when I was thinking,"
Courtney continues, "I thought maybe it's time to make it more serious--to
take it to the next level."
She looks to Jason for some sign
that he is absorbing all of this and he nods lightly.
"I'm ready," she says, breathing
the words right over his lips. "I want you to make love to me." Her lips
return to his.
This time, she feels Jason responding.
She pulls his body closer to hers and kicks the front door closed behind
her. The kiss grows more passionate, more intense.
And then, suddenly, Jason tears himself
away from her. "I can't do this."
"What?"
"I--we--we can't do this."
"Why not? Jason--" But the fight
suddenly fades. She sighs, trying to find something in that face of his,
the face she's known so well for so long. And all she sees is resistance.
"I'm sorry," he says weakly.
She gives him a puzzled look, already
turning back for the door. "So am I."
He watches her leave without saying
another word.
END OF EPISODE #202
What do you think these new twists
will mean for Jason and Courtney? How will Alex and Lauren fit into the
picture? Share your thoughts on this episode over at the Message
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