Part II

"Well - unless you want to elope with me instead?"

Carly had no idea how tempting that idea was. He could just take her out of here and marry her himself. Then he wouldn't have to lie awake at night wondering what she was doing with Jax when she should be with him. "Do you want to be even more late than you already are?" Jason asked.

"Do you want me to marry Jax?" Carly asked.

Jason sighed, knowing where this conversation was going. "It's your life, your decision – not mine," Jason said.

"I'm asking you," Carly said, walking over to Jason. She reached for his hands, frowning when he pulled back. Instead she reached forward and touched his face, "What you think matters to me, and if you don't think I should marry Jax, I won't."

Jason leaned slightly into her hand before moving her hand and lightly holding it in his own. "He loves you. Do you love him?" Jason let go of her hand and looked away before she could answer. He knew the answer, he just didn't want to hear it.

Carly waited a few moments before answering, she placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to turn around. "That's beside the point," Carly said. "I'm asking you if you want me to marry Jax."

"It's your life," Jason said.

"I know it's my life, and I'm asking – "

"You love him, you're in love with him – "

"He's not you," Carly whispered. "No matter how much I love him, he's not you – he'll never be you."

Jason let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He could live with Carly loving another man. What he couldn't live with was Carly loving another man more than him. "We should get going, you're going to be late – "

"I don't care if I'm late," Carly said. "Just – just answer my question. Stop avoiding it."

"Carly, I can't make your decisions for you. If you don't want to marry Jax, don't marry him. Don't use me as an excuse – "

Carly glared at Jason, angry tears replacing her tears of sadness. "That's not what this is about and you know it," Carly said. "I saw – " Carly paused and shook her head. "I saw you watching me. I felt you watching me. I could feel you undressing me with your eyes." Carly waited a few moments before continuing. "Do you want me to marry him?"

Her unspoken words hung in the air. If you don't want me to marry him, I won't. He shouldn't have this much power over her love life. Technically, she hadn't been his for almost ten years. But he did have this power and he liked having it. He liked knowing that even though they weren't together, even though he'd made mistakes, even if she was married or about to marry another man, it was his opinion that mattered most.

"Jase, tell me what you want," Carly softly said. "For once, be honest with me – with yourself."

All the times he'd rejected her flashed through his mind. All the times he refused to admit what he felt. All the times he added a qualifier at the end of I love you. He couldn't do it again. He couldn't stand by and watch her marry a man that wasn't him. If she wanted to marry Jax, then he wasn't going to stand in her way. But if she wanted him, then it was her choice to make. "I want you," Jason said.

Carly stared at Jason in disbelief, as if she didn't believe what he just said. A wide smile filled her face, but she didn't move. "What else is new?" Carly asked. "You've always wanted me."

He saw the doubt fill her eyes and it was gone so fast that if he hadn't been looking into her eyes, he would've missed it. The doubt was quickly replaced with a dare, as if she were denoting a challenge. He should've known that she wasn't going to make this easy on him. A small smile filled his lips, just admitting he wanted her wasn't going to be enough, and it shouldn't be. "You've always wanted me too," Jason said, stepping closer to Carly, erasing the distance between them.

"At least I've been honest about it," Carly said.

"I've been – " Jason paused when Carly raised an eyebrow at him. "I've been as honest as I could be." Everyone thought Carly was the liar and he always told the truth, and that was true. With one exception - how they felt about each other. Most of it was unspoken, but Carly never hesitated to verbalize her feelings, but he did. He wasn't sure why he didn't say how he really felt. Mainly he was scared about how much he felt for her. It was easy for him to compartmentalize his feelings for her, it made it so they didn't overwhelm him. He wasn't afraid she would wreck him, not anymore. He was afraid he wouldn't be enough for her. He was afraid of drowning in her. But if he didn't do something soon he could lose her, and that scared him more than anything else.

Carly reached forward and touched Jason's face. "I know," Carly whispered. "But you need to tell me what you want. You say you want me, I already knew that. How do you want me in your life? As your best friend? In your bed? Or something more?"

No matter what he said, his answer was going to change the course of their lives. Jason stepped closer to Carly and reached for her hands, scowling when his thumb brushed over Carly's engagement ring from Jax. "I want everything," Jason said. "I don't want you to marry Jax. I want to get you out of here, out of this dress and have you all to myself. I want to get us back on track, get you to trust me – "

"I do trust you," Carly said.

"Trust in us," Jason said. "I want to marry you. I want everything. I want our family. I want – "

"I want that too," Carly said.

"Good," Jason said. He brushed his lips over hers in a chaste kiss. He laughed softly when Carly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. "Not here." Once they started he wasn't going to want to stop and he wasn't going to want any interruptions. He was surprised no one had wandered upstairs looking for Carly yet. He wanted a clean slate for him and Carly. There were going to be hurt feelings, especially on Jax's part - but he couldn't ignore his feelings for Carly any longer. "You need to change - "

Carly nodded and closed her eyes for a minute, "Jax is going to hate me," Carly said. "I didn't mean - "

"I know," Jason said. He and Carly hadn't set out to hurt Jax, but he was going to be hurt. But he didn't regret their decision for a minute. Besides, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone - especially Jax. He was well aware of the fact that Jax was jealous of him, of his relationship with Carly. The only regret he had about this was that it happened on their wedding day. He would marry Carly tonight, but he didn't want their wedding anniversary associated with another man. Maybe it made him callous that he didn't care about Jax's feelings, but Carly was his - she always had been and she always would be. "Do you want to talk to him here or - "

"It'd be easier to talk to him here, but I can't take the easy way out," Carly said. She walked across the room and started pulling clothes from her dresser. "Unzip me."

Jason smiled, walking over to Carly. He pushed her hair aside and trailed his fingertips along her neck and shoulders, smiling when she sighed at his touch. He unzipped her dress and started to help her out of it when Carly turned around and pushed him away.

"You need to wait outside," Carly said, pushing Jason away.

"Carly - "

"Jason, I'm serious," Carly said. "Wait outside."

"What happened to me seeing it all before so there's no need to be modest?" Jason asked.

"That was different - that was before," Carly insisted. "I'm not wearing anything underneath my dress - "

"I know - you flashed me," Jason said.

"We both know that if I get out of this dress with you in the room, I'm not getting dressed. My mother is downstairs, so is Lulu - do you really want one of them wandering up here to find me?" Carly asked.

Jason took a deep breath, Carly had a point. He didn't like it, but she was right. The moment he'd walked into the room he'd been trying to figure out what she was wearing underneath her dress and now that the knew, he wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself. "Five minutes," Jason said. "I'm sorry for waiting so long to figure everything out - to figure out what I wanted. I'm sorry that this is happening now - today - " Jason paused, brushing the tears from Carly's face. "It's my fault we've wasted all this time - "

Carly shook her head as a fresh batch of tears streamed down her face, "It's not just your fault. We've both made mistakes," Carly said. "I want - "

"It's going to be different this time," Jason said. "I'm going to be honest with you - with myself and I'm going to make it up to you. Every time I pushed you away when I didn't want to, when I wanted you - "

Carly smiled, tracing her fingers over Jason's lips. "Is that a promise?" Carly asked.

Jason gently kissed her fingertips, "That's a promise," Jason said. He leaned forward resting his forehead against Carly's for a moment. He wanted to kiss her so badly he could taste it, but today marked the last time he pulled away from her without kissing her. "Five minutes."

"Five minutes," Carly whispered, her breath hot against Jason's skin.

Jason reluctantly pulled away, "I'll be right outside," Jason said. He smiled when Carly blew him a kiss over her shoulder as he stepped in the hall. When he came here today, he hadn't planned any of this. The only thought running through his mind was that he had to get through the next five minutes. He didn't have any idea that those five minutes were going to change his life.

THE END