Shower

Receiving no affection, Carson retreats, his silly expression turning to one more like a dog that knew he'd displeased his master. "No..." His finger traces an imaginary design on the coffee table. "I w's just.. um.... thirsty." 

He nods and gives Misty a sidelong glance. "Maybe I sh'd go take a shower? So... I c'n g' a kiss?"

A new smiles spreads on Justin's face as he remains lying in the grass. "I'm not gonna say no to dessert - especially if you make it." And... maybe a part of him wanted to take advantage of their time... days like today might become a rarity. 

Rolling onto his side, he props himself up on an elbow and studies Beth for a few moments. "Ma thinks I should tell Jared why he and I didn't get along." The subject was out of the blue, but it had been bothering him for quite a while. "What do you think?" 

"Good." Eli nods his agreement. "I'll go hunt down some food then and I'll be back in a while." 

Tal sighs and rolls his eyes, knowing that fighting these two was pointless. "Alright, I'll behave myself..." A teasing glint enters his eye as he looks at Ryan. "With you around though, it's awfully hard for a guy to take it easy." 

"Okay, I'm gone." Eli covers his ears and aims for the door. "You two... go through bills. And only bills," he warns. Though his back was turned, a grin forms on his lips. He had no worries in the world about Tal and his sister. Even if Tal wasn't in bad shape, Eli had rarely seen a man with as much respect for a woman as Tal had for Ryan. 

Tal chuckles and winks at Ryan. "Yeah, okay. If we have to."

"You do." Eli waves at them before heading out of the apartment. 

Left alone with Ryan, Tal leans his head back in the couch, letting just a little bit more of his weariness show now that Eli was gone. "First thing I gotta do is sell those pups. Otherwise... I'm gonna lose everything." 

Jason's thumb runs along Katie's hand and he nods. "It'll come... I know it will." The sunrise had to. It had always come for them before. This wasn't  the first time they'd faced a rough patch. They'd had plenty of bumps along the way. Maybe this was the most severe, but they could make it... couldn't they?

Getting back to work after lunch, Jason felt a little better. And anything in that direction was good. Going to the movie with Katie later was fun. They didn't talk much, but just holding hands during the movie made Jason feel a little closer to her. Maybe Con was right. Maybe they just needed some good old fashioned dates, just the two of them. 

Things seemed to go fairly well over the next couple days. Jason was glad simply for lack of arguing with Katie. It still felt... awkward... but he was doing his best. Though still not spending as much time together as they had once, he hoped that it was a good enough balance between them having their own space but still doing some things together. Once the night of the concert rolled around, Jason hoped that maybe going to Mom and Pop's afterward would be like old times again...

Backstage, JetStream hustles to get ready for the concert after they'd been misinformed about the starting time and were now running late.

"Phil! Throw me that duct tape!" Mike is promptly beaned in the head with a roll and he smirks. "Thank you... very much." 

Phil snickers from where he's leaned over an open bin. "You're welcome. Jase, you got those cords?"

"Yeah... I think." Jason rummages through another box and pulls out an extension cord. "Yup."

Phil jumps up onto the stage to set up the mics, his eyes scanning the auditorium. "Hey! There he is!"

Axel had just entered the building and he waves. "Sorry I'm late."

"We're all late." Phil grins. "Come on back, we're just setting up. We're making good time, considering."

Axel sheds his jacket and tosses it to the side. "Good deal. Where do you want me first?"

Remaining backstage, Jason kneels on the floor and opens up one of his cases, pulling out his electric guitar. Plucking a few notes, he fiddles with tuning it by ear.

"Ah, here you are."

Jason's head snaps up to see Sandy and he smiles. "Well hi there. Didn't expect to see you 'til afterward." He'd actually been on the lookout for Katie, figuring she'd be showing up soon to scout out the area and keep an eye on things.

Sandy chuckles and wanders closer, her hands tucked in her jeans pockets. "Didn't have anything better to do and I figured seeing JetStream backstage would be pretty cool."

Jason laughs and introduces her to Mike and Phil, then Axel as well. "And he's here helping with sound since Jen can't make it tonight."

"Isn't he from..."

"Cryptic."

"Ah yes. Very cool." Sandy nods and watches with fascination as Jason straps on his guitar and continues to tune it. "Well... I don't want to keep you."

"Naw, you're fine." Jason stands up straighter and continues to fool with his guitar. "People started coming in out there yet?"

"Yeah. Nobody knows you're running late."

Jason chuckles. "Good. Don't tell them."

"I won't." Sandy takes a couple steps closer and bites her lip. "I guess I better go see if the guys made it. They weren't too far behind me and we were gonna sit together."

"Alright." Jason nods and finally lifts his eyes to her. "I'll be lookin' for ya while I'm up there."

She smiles, her eyes sparkling. "Knock 'em dead, Jase."

His own smile forms. "I'll do my best."

"Well... for a little extra luck then..." Sandy closes the distance between them and sets a hand on his shoulder, pulling him down a little closer. "Not that you need it but..." Before Jason can react, her hand slides behind his head and she lifts herself on her tiptoes, bringing her lips to his in a warm kiss.