Elliott sat in the garage listening to Mike Helton going over the basics that would be expected of them over the next week and a half. He'd managed to get out of the suite before Carmen had gotten up, quickly checking in on her before leaving a note on the counter of the kitchenette that he had some meetings this morning and he'd be back later.

He hoped that not being there when she woke would give her time to deal with what had happened as well as give him time to think about what the hell he'd done last night.

Glancing at his watch, he groaned and looked back up into the smirking face of Dale Jr. "So what happened after you two left last night…Peanut?" he snickered drawing out Elliott's nickname.

"Shut up Dale." Elliott didn't feel like getting into this with anyone right now. It was going to be bad enough facing Carmen when he got back to the room.

"Yeah Peanut," Martin joined in. "What'd you two do… she seemed ready and willing…"

Dale chuckled at his friend, enjoying the way Elliott's jaw tensed as they spoke about Carmen. "And with a body like that, she's definitely more than able…"

Unable to take anymore, Elliott grabbed Dale by the collar of his shirt and pulled him within a couple of inches from his face. "Don't ever, talk about her like she's a piece of meat, do you understand me…" he threatened darkly, confused as Dale cocked an eyebrow and started to laugh.

"Yeah, you two are just friends. I believe that," he responded rolling his eyes as the meeting was dismissed and the three of them rose to leave.

Martin slapped Elliott on the back and stopped him from walking away. "So, what's with Peanut? I never figured you as being disproportionate…"

"Ugh!… It's a nickname that CJ gave me back in fifth grade when I got a cashew stuck up my nose and had to go to the emergency room to have it removed okay! It has nothing to do with the size of my… my… equipment."

Dale busted out laughing. "What the hell were you doing with a cashew in your nose anyway?"

"Don't get me started Dale… Or do I have to bring up bows and tree stands." Elliott countered. "Now shut the hell up, I've got to go face the firing squad."

---

Carmen rolled over, burying her face in the pillow with a groan as the sun glared harshly into the room.

She felt absolutely miserable, her head was swimming, her mouth was dry and … "What the…"

Lifting the covers she felt the cool air rush against her naked body immediately pulling them back down, tightly over her. She glanced around the bed looking for her clothes only to find one of her t-shirts crumpled up on the bed next to her. Pulling it over her head she slowly sat up trying her best to ward off the nausea she knew was looming.

Once she managed to get into a sitting position she sat there momentarily to catch her bearings before slowly standing and making her way to the door of the room. She stepped into the empty living room, seeing the door of Elliott's room opened and his bed rumpled from sleep but no sign of him.

Carmen went to the kitchen pulling a bottle of Gatorade out of the refrigerator as she closed the door and slid to the floor, leaning back her head as the throbbing increased and her stomach began to rumble. "I'm never drinking again…"

"You have no clue how many times I've said that same thing…" Elliott chuckled as he closed the door behind him and squatted next to her on the floor. "How ya feeling?"

"Like shit…"

He just smiled and shook his head. "I know that feeling well."

She closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Where've you been?"

"Drivers meetings. I left you a note on the counter," he answered, grabbing the sheet of paper and handing it to her.

"I see that now… I wasn't upright for very long so the last thing I was looking at was the counter top… Oh… oh God…" she groaned as she jumped up and ran to the bathroom barely making it before her stomach emptied into the toilet.

Elliott followed her, grabbing a washcloth off of the towel rack and soaking it in cold water before he sat behind her on the edge of the tub and pulled her hair out of the way, cringing as she threw up once again. "Here CJ," he mumbled, handing her the washcloth, fighting back the urge to follow suit. He'd always had a weak stomach when it came to other people losing theirs.

She held the rag against her mouth and looked over at Elliott through blood shot eyes. "I'm sorry El… I know you can't handle this. You don't have to sit in here, I'll be fine. Just suffering from being an idiot last night I suppose."

He cocked his head at her statement. "What'd you mean?"

"Just drinking so much," she shrugged. "I never have been one to hold the liquor. I guess I was trying too hard to forget everything last night."

"Ah." He nodded his head. "I know what ya mean. I'd be drinking a lot too if I saw me dance."

She giggled. "That's not what I was trying to forget, Peanut." She couldn't help but smile as his eyes lit up at his nickname. He'd never liked it but just the fact that she'd given him that name made it special to him. "Speaking of forgetting though, did I come back here with anyone last night?"

Elliott's body tensed. *Here goes.* "Just me, why?"

"Um… well… I just woke up with nothing on. I suppose I got restless and somehow undressed while I was asleep…" she watched Elliott closely as she said this noticing his sudden inability to look her in the eye. "El?"

"Huh?"

"We didn't have sex last night did we?" she asked with trepidation, silently praying that they hadn't because she hadn't been sober enough to remember it the next morning… *No.. I'm engaged to someone else so… no… It would be really bad if that had happened.*

He took a deep breath, silently relieved that he wouldn't have to lie to answer that question. "Sadly… no," he said matter-of-factly.

"Why sadly?"

"Because it's something that I've wanted to do since the day you walked into Sal's office. Not to mention for the last ten years."

"Elliott…"

"No. Don't worry. I know you're engaged to Frank. Although for the life of me, I can't figure out why."

She shook her head angrily. "Don't. He loves me and he's there. I don't want to hear anything else about that. We're together because of business and if you want we can be friends but I'm drawing the line there."

"You don't love him do you? How could you want to marry someone you don't even love CJ?" He cupped her cheek in his hand, his soft eyes gazing into hers.

"Because when I love people they leave. If I don't open myself up to that, I can't get hurt." She stared at him in silence waiting for him to absorb her words. "I'm gonna take a shower. I should feel better after that."

He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him as the water was turned on in the shower. He'd gotten away with it. She was none the wiser as to their actions the night before and if nothing else it would make it easier if he was the only one that had to deal with it.

Just as he opened the refrigerator to get a drink, all of that changed.

"Elliott!?!?!?!?" she bellowed from the bathroom, scaring him as he ran and threw open the door finding her standing there in nothing but a towel.

"What!?! What happened?" he questioned breathlessly not sure what the hell was going on.

"If nothing happened between us, then where the hell did I get this?" She was pissed as she lifted the towel to the side and turned her leg, showing him her inner thigh and practically the rest of her…

*Focus Elliott focus.* His eyes widened at the light bruise on the inside of her thigh. "What is it?" he asked non-chalantly.

"Ugh! Why don't you take a closer look?" she growled. "You've obviously already seen what's down there."

"Look CJ," he started but was quickly cut off by a slap to the face.

"You lied to me! How could you do that? I sat there and asked you if anything happened between us and you said it didn't!?! Why would you do that?" She was to the brink of tears, she was so angry and hurt.

"Ceeg, I didn't lie. You asked if we had sex and we didn't. But… well, when we got back, things got a little out of hand and I took… c-care of you."

"Wh…wh…" She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. "Get out."

"Noth…"

"I said get out Elliott."

As soon as he left the room, she stepped into the shower and sat down, letting the water pour over her as sobs took control of her body. She didn't know why she was so upset. Was it the fact that she'd gotten drunk and totally lost control of her actions and obviously made advances towards Elliott? Or was she angry that he'd taken advantage of the situation?

Maybe he was being honest about taking care of her but how was she to know that was all that had happened? Sure she didn't feel like she'd had sex with him, which from past experience she would know where Elliott was concerned. She'd ached for nearly a week after their first time, her body hadn't been prepared for his size and obviously stretched more than it naturally allowed to accommodate him.

What had she done at the club, in front of his friends?

Deep down she knew there was no way Elliott would use the situation to his advantage while she was inebriated. She trusted him that much. Maybe she was just angry because she obviously couldn't trust herself and the alcohol had released her true feelings and actions towards Elliott. But if she'd gone to the extent that she'd gone physically, what the hell had come out of her mouth before she finally fell asleep?

-next-