Carly had gotten drunk and went to confront Sonny on being the bastard he really is. They had argued, of course, and she had cussed him out for all the hell he had put her through. When Sonny had tired of fighting with her, he opened the front door.
"Johnny, escort Miz Benson Roberts Quartermaine whatever-the-hell-her-name-is home." His eyes flickered for a moment. "Make sure she gets there safely."
"I don't need assistance." She slurred 'assistance' and giggled. "I am perfectly capable of finding my way home - by myself."
Sonny gave Johnny a brisk nod and she felt a gentle hand on her elbow.
"This way, Miss-"
"Carly," she corrected, as Johnny closed the door behind them. "After all, you should always be on a first name basis with the girl you're takin' home..."
She leaned against the wall of the elevator and gave Johnny a long curious look. He had always been cute, and fun to flirt with. But in this moment she found him incredibly attractive and majorly sexy. He was one damn fine hunk of man... She sighed softly and tried to picture what he would look like minus the stuffy suit.
Johnny looked over at her, catching her stare.
She grinned at him and the elevator doors opened.
"Well, you turned out to be more of a gentleman than I could've ever dreamed," Carly said, leaning up against the closed door of the Brownstone and smiling her sexy smile. "Opening doors, driving me home, walking me to my door... You're quite a catch, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't really know," he answered. She thought she caught a blush on his cheeks.
"Mmm. Has someone caught you yet?" she purred, taking his hand in hers and touching the bare spot where a wedding ring would be.
"No, I'm not - caught - at the moment."
"Well, this must be my lucky day," Carly grinned. "Or maybe your lucky day?" She brought his palm to her lips and kissed it.
"Miss-" Johnny looked almost stunned at her sudden affection.
"Carly." She raised her eyebrows. "Say it... Car-ly..."
"Carly..." He smiled and laughed softly, but then frowned. "I thought you and Mr. Morgan had something going on between you..."
Carly rolled her eyes. "Mr. Morgan was never MAN enough to make something real with me..." She bit her lip softy and stared up into his deep brown eyes seductively. "What about you, Johnny? You man enough?" she challenged sweetly. "Ohh..." she murmured as her hand slipped down his well-sculpted chest. "Definitely a man..."
"C'mon, babe." Carly took his hand and pulled him inside, leading him to her room with a smile. "Let's go get real..."
She flicked on a lamp and started unbuttoning his blazer, dropping feathery kisses on his neck.
Johnny's hand covered hers as she began to unbutton his shirt. "Are you sure about this?" His other hand brushed across her cheek gently.
Carly looked into his eyes for a long moment. "Are you?"
He smiled and shook his head slowly. "No."
Carly grinned and laughed nervously. For a moment she looked away, wondering what the hell she was doing and doubt crept into her mind. But she looked up at him again slowly, into his eyes. He was looking at her the way she had always wanted to be looked at, the way she had only imagined she would ever be looked at. Like she was special, and beautiful, and the most desirable thing this man had ever laid eyes on.
And there was no more doubt in her mind.
She stretched up to him and kissed him with a passionate hunger, her mouth hot on his and her hands pulling him closer with a sudden frenzied urgency. Her fingers fumbled at the buttons of his shirt, desperate to feel his hot skin, desperate to touch him.
"Hey, hey..." Johnny pulled back and caught her hands in his, searching her face. Their breathing was already heavy, his chest rose and fell quickly as he took deep breaths.
"What?" she asked, her voice soft, uncertain. Had he changed his mind? "You don't want this?" She tried to pull away, but his strong warm hands closed over her shoulders.
"No, I... I definitely want this. I've wanted this... for a long time, actually. Just... slow, okay? There's no rush..."
Carly bit her lip and looked into his warm brown eyes wonderingly. "Just umm... enjoy the moment?" She tilted her head to the side and laughed a small soft laugh. "That would be a new experience," she admitted.
Johnny's hands rested against her neck, his thumbs moving lightly over her jawline. He stepped closer to her, their bodies barely touching. Her eyes fluttered shut as he leaned down to her, his lips soft on hers, his kiss slow and delicate, as if she was some treasure. His hands slipped down her arms, till their fingers entwined. She squeezed his hands for a moment, suddenly feeling very vunerable. This was so different than anything she had felt in a long time.
He seemed to almost sense her hesitation, and gazed into her eyes for a moment. Carly just smiled, and gave him a kiss, and she pulled off her shirt quickly. She watched his face as his eyes held hers for a moment, then he looked down her gorgeous body. He thought she was perfection incarnate, and he wanted to worship her.
"You're so beautiful..." he whispered, his voice throaty.
"You're not so bad yourself." She giggled and looked away from his eyes, for the life of her feeling like a giddy teenager all of a sudden.
Two of his fingertips touched her chin, moving her head back so that she faced him again. His knuckles brushed over her cheek gently. Her hand went to his, and her palm laid over his hand for a second, then slowly followed his long muscled arm up to his shoulder. She felt brave again and her hand pulled on the back of his neck, drawing his lips down to hers. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders and led him over to the bed, pulling him down on top of her. He took his time, kissing her long and slow, his hands wandering her body lazily, as though he wanted to savour every touch, every breath, every kiss. As if there was nothing more in the world that he wanted than just to please her.
Johnny zipped up his pants and looked over at Carly, who was still naked under the covers. He bent down to give her a sweet kiss.
Carly was feeling acutely sober now and wondering why the hell she always jumped into things head first without thinking.
But Johnny looked at her for a long moment, reading her doubts clearly. "I'll call you tomorrow. I promise."
"No, you don't have to-" She sighed in frustration, not meeting his eyes. "You don't have to say that if you don't mean it. In fact I'd rather you not say that if you don't really mean it. I'm used to it. You don't have to sugar coat it for me or anything. And if you don't want me to ever mention it again, I'll understand..."
Johnny sat down beside her on the bed and took her hand gently. "I'll call you tomorrow." He brought her hand up to his mouth and touched his lips to it.
Carly smiled, almost happily. "Oh, I should walk you out." She shrugged her robe on quickly and took his arm as they went to the front door. She opened it and leaned against the frame.
He stared into her eyes for a long moment, then gave her another deep kiss.
Carly laughed softly. "I bet this wasn't anything like what you expected this night to be, huh?"
"It was definitely unexpected." Johnny smiled and nodded a little. "But definitely better than I'd thought it would be. I'll see you again soon."
She found herself believing that he really did mean it. "Okay." She watched him walk back to the limo, and kept an eye on the red taillights as he drove off down the street.
Her head tipped back and she looked up at the stars, hugging her arms around her tightly.
Carly wondered what the hell she had just done. Was it wrong? Was it right? It was so different. It didn't feel wrong, she didn't feel guilty. In fact it felt pretty damn good. It felt... like a beginning of something. Of what, she had no idea.
She came to the conclusion that whatever it was, she was gonna go with it. Just go with it - not try to manipulate it, not expect too much, not fool herself into believing it was something it wasn't. She would just ride with it until it... until it was or it wasn't.
Just enjoy the moment, right? She grinned up at the stars, then went back inside.
the next day...
The doorbell rang. Carly was on the couch and Michael was playing with his toys next to her on the floor. Carly grunted as she lifted Michael to put him inside the playpen.
She swung the door open to see a delivery man holding a huge basket of vibrant flowers. "Yes?"
"You Carly?"
"Yeah, that's me..."
"Then these are for you." He held the basket out to her.
She took them reluctantly, doubting that they were actually for her. She checked the envelope, it had her name. Not her last name, but her first name. "Umm, could you just check the address? I mean, just to make sure that you didn't get the wrong house or something..."
He looked down at his clipboard. "Yep. It's the right house."
"Okay... Oh, of course, a tip." She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a 5$. "Thanks."
Carly flopped down on the couch again, staring at the flowers. "Wow. Look what mommy got, Michael. Aren't they pretty?" She ripped open the small envelope and read the note inside aloud.
"To Carly. Sometimes the unexpected moments are the most unforgettable ones. Thank you for enjoying the moment with me. From Johnny."
Carly grinned and took a deep breath of the flowers.
"Well... Things just might be looking up for me, Michael. Who knows? Maybe... Just maybe." She slid down to the floor and reached inside the playpen to ruffle her son's hair.