a fanfic by SonnyandAlexisGal
Chapter Five
“What are you doing here?” she asks.
“Now, that’s not nice,” he says. “Aren’t you gonna invite me in?”
Reluctantly, she stands aside.
“I guess you might as well,” she says.
"Not as enthusiastic as I’d like,” he says as he walks past her and into the room, “but I’ll take it.”
She closes the door.
"What are you doing here, Sonny?”
“Well, when Kristina told me that you’d just disappeared without telling anybody, I got worried.”
“I left a note.”
“I know that you left a note but I wanted to see for myself that you’re alright...What’s going on with you anyway?”
“Nothing,” she insists. “I just…I needed to get away for awhile -- by myself. Get it? That’s why I left alone and I didn’t tell anybody where I was going.” She stares at him and shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you did this…Why on earth would you follow me all the way down here?”
“I told you last night that we weren’t finished,” Sonny says. “I’m not gonna let you resign, Alexis.”
“Oh, for goodness sake, Sonny. Don’t you ever give up?”
“Not when I want somethin’,” he states.
“I’m tired, okay?” she insists. “I need to do new things, to have new experiences.”
“So you’re saying that representing me isn’t challenging enough for you?”
“No,” she quickly answers. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying that…”
“What exactly are you saying, Alexis?”
“I don’t know!” she exclaims. “I don’t know what I’m saying anymore…”
“Okay, okay,” he says, trying to calm her. “I’ll let it go for now. You can breathe, Alexis. Remember – inhale, exhale, inhale…”
“I know how to breathe, thank you,” she says.
“I know that you know how,” Sonny says. “But you do, you know…forget to do it sometimes…”
She glares at him.
“I’m fine.”
“Listen,” he says, “why don’t you let me take you to dinner?”
“Sonny…”
“You’ve gotta eat, right? So let me take you to dinner.”
She takes a deep breath and exhales.
“I can’t make you leave, can I?”
“I don’t think so…”
“Fine,” she says. “Dinner would be lovely.”
“Good,” he says. “I’ll be back to pick you up in what – about an hour or so?”
“Yes,” Alexis answers. “An hour will be fine.”
Sonny smiles and winks at her.
“See you in an hour,” he says.
Alexis follows him to the door and closes it after he opens it and walks out of the room. She is still in disbelief. He actually followed her all the way to Puerto Rico. She never expected him to do that. He’s doing that persistent thing again. That’s how you found yourself working for him in the first place, she reminds herself. Fine then. She’ll have dinner with him. Then she’ll tell him that she still intends to go through with her plans this time. She won’t let him change her mind again.
__________________________________________________________
Almost an hour later, Alexis comes out of the bedroom, wearing a red dress with a scooped neck that hugs her waist and continues into a skirt that fits around her hips and finishes reasonably tight at the knees, with a small slit in back. After pinning her hair up and then taking it down again several times, she decides to simply wear her hair loose.
Wearing her dressy high-heeled black pumps, she walks to the mirror next to the door and studies her reflection. I should have kept my hair pinned up, she tells herself. No, it’s fine. Look, it’s almost eight o’clock and Sonny will be here at any minute so your hair is about as good as it’s going to get! Well, at least this time, she knows that there’s a dress code in effect for the dining room.
There is a knock at the door. Alexis has just enough time to tell herself that she’s making a huge mistake before the door opens and Sonny peeks in.
“Hey!” he says before walking in and closing the door behind him.
He is wearing an expensive black suit, white shirt, and black tie. Of course he looks great. He always looks great, she tells herself.
“Hey!” she answers.
“Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she answers.
She holds her breath as he looks her up and down.
“You look lovely, Alexis.”
Liar!
“Can we just get this over with?” she asks.
“Let’s go,” he says.
He walks to the door and holds it open as Alexis walks out past him. A smile crosses his lips as he watches her walk down the corridor. He shakes his head and laughs as he closes the door.
__________________________________________________________
Alexis feels Sonny’s hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward the entrance to the dining room. As they approach, a distinguished and well-dressed gentleman in a black tuxedo stands prepared to greet them.
“Buenas noches, Senor Corinthos,” the man says and extends his hand.
“Buenas noches, Guillermo,” Sonny answers as he shakes the man’s hand. “Que tal?”
“Buenas noches,” the man says to Alexis. She smiles back at him as she remembers how much she likes listening to Sonny speaking Spanish.
“The private dining room has been prepared to your specifications,” he tells Sonny.
“Bueno,” Sonny says. “Shall we?”
Alexis manages another smile before following the distinguished looking man past table after table of other diners, to an impressive looking wooden door. He opens the door and holds it while Alexis walks into the room, feeling Sonny close behind. Once they’re inside the room, Guillermo closes the door while another well-dressed man approaches.
“Good evening, Mr. Corinthos,” he says.
“Good evening, Jose,” Sonny answers.
The man leads Alexis to a large table for two that is beautifully decorated with two lit candles that are white in color, mounted in crystal candlestick holders. She notices two crystal champagne glasses and fine porcelain china on gold charger plates, the flatware in the same color, all atop a crisp white tablecloth that has a fine gold thread woven through it.
The effect is quite spectacular.
Sonny holds Alexis’ chair as she sits and keeps reminding herself to inhale and exhale.
“Would you like some champagne?” Jose asks.
“Yes, thank you,” Sonny answers as he walks over to sit in his own chair and unfolds the napkin on his lap.
Jose disappears and Alexis studies the table in front of her.
Sonny looks at her and smiles.
“What do you think?” he asks.
She smiles in spite of herself.
“Very impressive,” she says.
“Thank you.”
“All of this wasn’t necessary, you know.”
“Nothing but the best for my beautiful attorney.”
Sonny can see Alexis’ dimples. He knows that he is on the right track.
So far, so good, he tells himself.
___________________________________________________________
After dinner, Alexis sips at her coffee, puts down the cup, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly.
“Dinner was wonderful,” she says.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Sonny answers.
“You know,” Alexis begins, “I have to admit something.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“I…love it when you speak Spanish.”
Sonny smiles.
“Muchas gracias,” he says.
“Now you’re flashing.”
“Can’t help it,” he says. “That’s what happens when I smile.”
“Well, I also like it when you smile.”
“Back at ya.”
“Did your mother speak Spanish a lot at home?”
“Sometimes,” he answers. “Sometimes it would make Deke mad. He’d figure that we were talking behind his back, plotting against him, you know?”
“What was she like?” Alexis asks hesitantly.
“She was…kind-hearted and gentle…I almost can’t remember a time when she wasn’t sad or afraid…”
“…I’m sorry I brought it up, Sonny.”
“It’s okay,” he answers, quietly.
“So…what next?”
“How do you know there’s something next?”
“I know you,” Alexis says. “There’s always something next with you.”
“Okay,” he admits. “I thought that we could do a little dancing and then I thought we might play some roulette…”
“Ah, gambling. Sounds like fun.”
“Exactly,” he says. “You came down here to relax and I’m gonna make sure you do just that.”
Just then, Jose appears at Sonny’s side, carrying a gardenia.
Alexis sees it and smiles as Sonny takes it from Jose.
“Gracias,” he says.
“That for me?” Alexis wonders aloud.
“Well, it ain’t for me,” he says before handing it to her. “Here you go.”
Alexis takes the flower, brings it to her nose and inhales the delicate fragrance.
She smiles at Sonny.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says.
____________________________________________________________
Sonny follows Alexis over to the bench, his bodyguard a respectable distance behind them but close enough for safety. He takes off his jacket, loosens his tie, and watches as she sits and kicks off her shoes…and breathes in and out, still holding the gardenia in her hand. He knows that she has had a good time.
That makes him happy.
“Wow!” she says as she fans herself with her hand. “Losing money makes you hot…”
“You did much better this time,” he says.
“That’s true. I get to keep three chips this time instead of only one…”
“That’s because you stayed away from the blackjack table.”
She laughs.
“You’re probably right,” she agrees. She looks up at him. “You did it again, you know.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve had a wonderful evening,” she says.
“I’m glad.”
“You had a good time, too, didn’t you?”
He smiles.
“Always do when you’re around.”
“Why, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He thinks for a moment. “Still wanna quit?”
She shrugs.
“Don’t know,” she admits. “I do have my reasons, you know.”
“I know,” he says, quietly – both of them knowing that he really does. “Just do me a favor. Think about it some more. Then, if you think it’s what you wanna do…I won’t try to stop you. Okay?”
“Fair enough,” Alexis says. She stares at him for a moment. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”
“…Sure,” he says. He walks over to the bench and sits. “Better?”
“Better…So, what now?”
“Well, the restaurant is closed and so is the casino…How about a nightcap?”
“That would be nice. Rum?”
He laughs.
“If you like although…I think that you…you know…may have had enough…”
“I am not drunk, Sonny.”
“I know, I know…”
“As a matter of fact,” she says, “I think that a rum nightcap would feel pretty good…”
“How about a brandy instead?”
“Instead of rum?” She thinks for a moment. “Oh, alright.”
“Good,” Sonny says. He stands up from the bench, leans over, and picks up Alexis’ shoes. “After you.”
Alexis stands and dances her way along the path.
“After me,” she repeats.
____________________________________________________________
Alexis opens the door to her room and walks in. Sonny follows her inside, drops her shoes into the corner by the door, and closes it.
“You know,” she begins, “I’m kinda glad that you showed up after all.”
He drapes his jacket over the back of the sofa.
“Don’t go getting all carried away now…”
“I won’t, believe me. I don’t know how…”
“Tell that to someone who hasn’t seen you salsa…”
She laughs.
“Well, I never said that I couldn’t salsa.
Alexis disappears into the bedroom as Sonny takes off his tie and lays it on his jacket. After a moment, Alexis comes back into the living room, carrying her gardenia in a shallow bowl of water.
“Flower needs a drink,” she says before sitting the bowl on the coffee table.
“So let’s all have one,” Sonny says.
“Here, here!” Alexis exclaims as she sits on the sofa and looks at her flower.
And remembers.
Sonny goes to the bar cabinet and swings open the doors. He takes out two snifters and sits them side by side. Then he opens the bottle of brandy and pours a little into each glass. He puts the stopper back into the bottle and carries the glasses over to Alexis.
“Here you go,” he says and hands one to her.
“Thank you,” she says and takes the glass.
He clinks her glass and sits down on the sofa.
“Cheers,” he says before having a healthy swig of his drink. Afterward, he takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, sits back, and exhales slowly.
“Tired?” she asks before sipping at her drink.
“I guess…”
“Wanna talk about it?”
He shakes his head no.
“Nope,” he says. “Tonight’s not about me.”
“Sonny, it’s okay…”
“No, it’s not,” he insists. “I’m always comin’ to you with my problems about Courtney and Mike…”
“And Carly…”
“And Carly,” he admits. “Anyway…tonight’s about you, Alexis.”
She smiles.
“Thank you again,” she says.
“You’re welcome again.” He has another sip of his drink. “I have an idea.”
“Oh?”
“Wanna play poker?”
“Hey!” Alexis exclaims. “I like that idea. I’ll go get the cards!”
____________________________________________________________
A couple of hours later, Alexis stares at Sonny from across the table. He smiles and empties his glass. She looks down at the cards in her hand and then up at him again.
She shakes her head.
“I know I’m gonna regret this,” she says as she reaches for her last four poker chips and drops them onto the pile in the center of the table. “I’ll see your two and raise you two more…”
Sonny picks up two of his many poker chips and drops them on top of the pile.
“Call,” he says. “Whatcha got?”
She lays her cards on the table.
“Two pair – eights over threes.”
Sonny puts his cards down on the table and smiles.
“Three tens.”
“Of course,” Alexis says. “Well, that about does it for me. I’m out.”
He laughs.
“I know.”
Alexis stands up from the table, picks up her glass, and has a sip or two on her way over to the sofa and plops down.
“I don’t remember losing this badly…ever…”
Sonny stands up to stretch.
“You just met your match, that’s all.”
She watches him cross over to the sofa and sit. He looks at her and laughs.
“You sure you weren’t cheating?” she asks.
“I never cheat,” he says. “It’s just skill, that’s all.”
“I hate you,” she says.
“I know, I know…”
“You must have hustled me or something. You’re some kind of shark or something, aren’t you?”
“Why – because you owe me something like a hundred grand? Alexis,” he says, “you lost because you’re an open book. I can always tell when you’ve got a good hand.”
“Really? How?”
He looks at her for a moment and smiles.
“I’ll tell you later,” he says. “Maybe…”
“Well,” she says while curling her legs underneath her. “Despite my horrendous showing at the poker table…I really want to thank you for tonight, Sonny. I’ve had a wonderful time…Thanks for coming after me…”
“I had to make sure you were okay.”
She looks at him and smiles before having some of her brandy and leaning into the pillow at her side.
“Oh. I see.”
Their eyes meet.
“You uh...you stop breathing when you’re sittin’ on a...a good hand…”
“I stop breathing? Who notices something like that? Nobody notices something like that…Does anything ever get past you?”
“I notice everything about you, Alexis,” he says softly. “I thought you knew that by now…”
Their eyes connect again – for longer, this time.
Alexis is drawn to the intense brown eyes that she knows so well. Only they’re softer right now. A voice in her head keeps telling her to look away. But she can’t. She can’t break the connection. She doesn’t want to.
Sonny looks at Alexis’s face – the smile in her eyes, the hint of indentation in her cheeks. He knows that he’s looking at the person that he trusts more than anyone else in the world – someone who brings him peace and contentment, someone who matters more to him than he realized up until this moment. It would feel so natural to just let go.
Sonny’s eyes drift from her eyes and down to her mouth and back again.
Slowly he begins to lean in her direction.
Part of him expects her to pull back but she doesn’t move. Alexis knows what’s happening and she’s frozen to the spot. She keeps waiting for his cell phone to ring or for the ever persistent knock at the door. Sonny’s face is close enough for her to feel his heat approaching, coming closer and closer. He can smell her perfume and the scent of her hair. The fragrance of Sonny’s cologne drifts into Alexis’ nose – expensive and elegant – a scent made all the more potent by the sheer masculinity behind it.
Their lips are no more than a whisper apart. There is still time for one of them to back out, to pull away, to blame the near miss on the tropical heat or a little too much brandy.
Then their lips touch, gently at first, as if testing the waters to see if it’s safe to proceed. Then they touch again and again and again. Then they make contact again but, this time, for longer and more intensely.
Alexis’ mind is in a fog. She is kissing Sonny Corinthos and he is kissing her back – again and again and again. She can’t really believe that it’s happening but she doesn’t want it to stop.
Sonny feels his desire building. Alexis’ lips are soft and inviting. He doesn’t want the kiss to end but he doesn’t want to push too hard – not yet.
Their lips part reluctantly, leaving them both breathless.
“Wow…” Sonny manages in a hoarse whisper.
Alexis looks up into his eyes, stands up, and walks out onto the patio. Sonny stands and follows.
“Why did you do that?” she asks, sincerely.
He shrugs.
“I don’t know,” he answers. “Just felt like somethin’ I wanted to do…”
“Well, I want you to know that you are under no obligation to placate me or to play along because of what Kristina told you.”
“Oh, I know that,” he says. “Can’t it just have happened because you are a beautiful woman that I felt like kissing?”
“Now who’s bluffing?” she scoffs.
“Stop that!” he insists. “Stop making fun of yourself.”
“I don’t make fun of myself.”
“You always make fun of yourself,” he counters. “And I’m sick of hearing you do it.”
“Look,” Alexis begins, “I know that I’m…you know…attractive. It’s just that the word beautiful is not a word that I generally associate with myself…”
Sonny approaches her, takes her face in his hands, and kisses her once again – a kiss that clearly speaks of desire and passion.
He pulls away, leaving her startled.
“You are beautiful, Alexis,” he says. “You are strong and brave and pretty and funny and capable and beautiful – outside as well as inside…”
He takes a deep breath and lets her go, taking a small step backward.
He looks down at the ground between them.
“I’ve never known anyone quite like you…”
“You mean neurotic?” she manages.
“I’m used to that,” he teases. “But…I didn’t know that this would ever happen between us or that it was even possible…” He lifts his head and looks into her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me…that I was falling in love with you?”
Alexis is in shock. He said that he was falling in love with her. Sonny said that he was falling in love with her.
“I didn’t know…”
“So…what happens now?” he asks.
“Your guess is as good as mine…”
“Alexis…you’re my best friend…and I don’t want to ruin that or…hurt it in any way…”
“Neither do I.”
“But here we are…and I want this, too…”
“Maybe…maybe if we sort of…feel it out, you know? Take it one step at a time…”
“Take it slow?”
She nods.
“Okay,” he agrees. “We’ll go one step at a time…and we won’t rush it.” He looks into her eyes once again but manages to resist their pull this time. “I think I’d better go to my room now…”
“You think so?”
“Well, I don’t want to but…if I stay…it’ll be anything but slow…”
“Okay,” Alexis says. “That’s…probably a good idea…”
He steps closer.
“When we make love,” he begins quietly. “And I didn’t say if. I said when…When we make love, Alexis…I want it to be after we’ve gotten to know each other all over again. You know?”
“I know…”
Their eyes meet one more time.
He smiles at her and gently kisses her forehead.
“Goodnight,” he whispers.
“Goodnight…”
Alexis reaches up and places her hand in his. He smiles and pulls her back inside and over to the sofa. Her hand drops from his grasp as he reaches down to pick up his jacket and tie. She walks to the door and opens it.
“See you later,” he says.
“See you later,” she repeats.
He walks out the door and she closes it softly.
She leans against the door and inhales deeply.
“Wow…” she whispers.