Chapter 24
Caroline with Michael got off of the elevator, and smiled at Renaldo. “Hey
darlin',” she said, batting her eyelashes. “I brought you something to eat;
fries, Caesar salad and chicken pieces. I figured you'd be hungry since you're
pulling a double shift. By the way, where's Pat?”
“His sister gave birth yesterday, so he's visiting. Thanks for the food Ms.
Benson.”
Caroline raised her eyebrows and smiled.
“I mean Caroline. Sorry,” Renaldo said sheepishly.
Caroline laughed and handed him the bag of food. “Don't worry about it. It's
just that when I was in that hospital, everyone would call me Ms. Benson. Never
Caroline. It was like they were afraid to make us feel like a real person. I
missed hearing my name. I mean, it just seems more personal, and not as
detached.”
Renaldo nodded sympathetically. “Caroline, I must say that I'm glad you're back.
It's been kinda boring without you. You certainly know how to liven a place up.”
“Well of course it’s been dull. The everlasting Princess of Purity, Priss and
Perfection reigns here. Renaldo, honestly, how did you stand her eternal
goodness routine?”
Renaldo nodded again, but made no comment. He would choose Caroline over Robin
any day, but Robin was still his boss' girlfriend. “Ah…” he said embarrassed.
“Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot,” Caroline said apologetic.
Renaldo smiled. “Really? And here I thought that you were the type of woman who
liked to see men on the spot and hot under the collar.”
Caroline opened her mouth in mock anger. “Renaldo are you teasing me?”
“No way, I wouldn't dream of it,” he replied with a grin.
“Damn straight! The last man who crossed me got shot!” she said laughing, as she
opened the door. “I'll see you later,” she said as she entered the penthouse.
Robin and Jason looked up from the couch as Caroline and Michael entered. “What
are you guys doing?,” Caroline asked, putting Michael in his playpen.
“Nothing much. So… how was your afternoon?,” Jason responded, walking to the
playpen, as Caroline took off her jacket and placed it on a chair.
“It was fine. We went to Kelly's for lunch, visited with my dear uncle, then
took a walk in the park,” she answered, sitting on the opposite side of the
couch as Robin.
“You saw Luke?” Jason asked with a slight smile. Luke and Caroline were too
similar, and any meeting they had was bound to be interesting. “What did he
think of Shane?”
“Um, actually, he knew all about Shane. He knew about our past… about
everything. Anyway, there's nothing not to like about Shane, so I don't see any
reason why Luke wouldn't like him. Not that Luke has ANY influence on who I
date, anyway.”
Jason nodded and put Michael's pacifier into his mouth. In the back of his mind,
he had wanted Luke to disapprove of Shane. “So, where's Shane?”
“He went back to the hotel to change. We're going to go to that new club
‘Lustation’.”
“Oh, is that on Main Street?, Robin asked, suddenly interested in their
conversation.
“Yes,” Caroline replied, wishing that Robin had just kept her mouth shut.
“Jason, we should go. We haven't gone out for a while,” Robin suggested, her
eyes shining.
“I don't really feel like it. Maybe another night,” Jason said, running his hand
through his hair absently.
“Oh Jason… please? I really want to go,” Robin pleaded.
“Robin, only dogs beg. He said *no*,” Caroline said quickly. The last thing she
wanted was for Robin and Jason to ruin her evening with Shane.
Robin shot Caroline a dirty look, but didn't respond to her. “Jason, we have the
rest of our lives to spend our nights at home. Please?”
Jason sighed and nodded. “Okay,” he agreed reluctantly. He really didn't want to
spend the evening watching Caroline and Shane, but he knew that Robin was
feeling insecure about their relationship, and he wanted to reassure her.
“Oh thank you!” Robin exclaimed. She ran to her boyfriend and put her arms
around his neck and kissed him. “You always know how to make me happy.”
“He probably just wanted to shut you up, just like I did, “ Caroline muttered,
rolling her eyes. She got up from the couch, and went upstairs to have a shower
and get ready.
Robin smirked as she watched Caroline disappear. She knew that Caroline wasn't
happy about her and Jason going to the same club, but she didn't care. All she
wanted to do was make sure that Jason stayed with her. And only one way to do
that was to guarantee that Jason saw Shane and Caroline as a real couple.
“I'm going to take Michael upstairs and read to him, since I probably won't be
able to get a chance to do it tonight,” Jason said, picking up Michael.
“Oh, okay,” Robin replied as he walked to the stairs. She went over to the
coffee table and started to pick up some glasses, but was interrupted by the
telephone.
“Hello,” she answered, juggling both the phone and the glasses.
“Robin?” a male voice answered.
“Yes… AJ?”
“Um, yeah. I just wanted to let Carly… Caroline and Jason know that one of
Michael's stuffed animals was left at the doctor's office.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll be sure to tell them.” Robin was quiet for a moment. “AJ, I just
wanted to say that I'm sorry. I know that you're going through a lot, and it’s
all due to that horrible whore Caroline!”
“I couldn't agree more. Listen Robin, I just hope that the two of us can remain
friends, regardless of what the paternity tests reveal.”
“Of course AJ. I just want everything to be right… for everyone.”
“So do I. Um, should I come over and drop off the toy?”
“You just want to get a chance to see Michael, don't you?” Robin asked gently.
“Not that I blame you. The only thing is, we're all going out to that new club,
“Lustation,” and there is no way that the guards will let you in.”
“Oh. Well that's okay. I'll return it another time,” AJ said, the disappointment
evident.
Robin bit her lip. She was so tempted to tell AJ the truth. “Listen AJ, I've got
to go. Hang in there, okay?”
“Robin, do you know something?”
Robin sighed. “AJ, all I know is that Caroline is the devil's daughter, and that
she's used all of her evil to hurt others.”
*************************
Caroline stood in front of her full-length mirror, and examined her reflection.
Her short black dress was the right length, and hugged her figure to perfection.
She bit her lip, and focused on the top part of the dress. The thin straps
stayed put, but the plunge in front was kind of low. “Oh well,” she thought,
“I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm just going with Shane.”
She went to her closet door, and surveyed her shoes. She didn't really have much
of a selection: either black pumps, or black sandals. She pulled out both pairs
and tried to decide. She eventually decided on the sandals, because she didn't
want to go searching for a pair of pantyhose to wear with the pumps. Caroline
then went over to the mirror, re-applied her lipstick and brushed her hair once
more. She grabbed her purse, then went downstairs to find Leticia, Robin and
Jason waiting for her.
“Well Caroline, I see that you're making sure that the rest of Port Charles sees
your cleavage,” Robin said as soon as she saw her.
Caroline ignored her comment and turned to Jason. “Ready to go? I called Shane
and he said that he'll take his rental car.”
Jason just stared at her, his breath caught in his throat. Caroline looked
incredible, breathtaking, sexy and HOT. This was the woman who had turned him
into a man at Jake’s.
“Jase?,” Caroline said uncertainly. She was aware of his intense stare, and it
was making her feel weak and dizzy.
“What?” Jason asked coming back to reality.
“Are we going to go now? Shane will meet me there,” Caroline repeated.
“Um yeah, let’s go.”
Caroline nodded and turned to Robin, who was glaring at her with hostility and
anger. Leticia was beside her, but she however, was smiling. Both women knew
that Caroline's appearance had left Jason amazed.
Jason opened the door for both Caroline and Robin, making a great effort in
trying not to look at either of them.
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