Bossa Nova
by lsquared

A strange thing happened when Alexis saw Jerry stroll into the PCPD. The overlapping, chaotic sounds of ringing telephones and charged voices dimmed into a low hum. She stood in the middle of the room. People crossed in front of and circled around her, but to Alexis they were moving in slow motion. The only person that was not an indistinguishable blur of color and movement was Jerry, and the world remained a fuzzy haze around Alexis until he stood only inches from her.

“Good morning, Alexis,” Jerry greeted her. “You’re looking lovely today.”

The cool, flirtatious sound of his voice broke Alexis’ spell; she had to be alert to adequately resist Jerry’s charms. The volume of the noise around her spiked and the rest of the room came into focus. “Did you come to turn yourself in?” she chided.

“For what?” he asked, crossing his arms, managing to look indignant at the suggestion.

“Oh, any number of your nefarious deeds.”

Jerry grinned. “I came to see you, of course. When you weren’t in your office, your assistant said to check down here.”

“Remind me to fire her,” Alexis remarked under her breath. She made an attempt to bypass Jerry, but he leaned to the right and she brushed the side of his body. The brief contact made her blush and her spine tingled.

Jerry turned and followed Alexis to a desk where she shuffled some papers, doing a poor job of distracting herself and ignoring him. He leaned forward, close enough that when he spoke, he was certain she could feel his warm breath against her neck as it ruffled her hair. “Don’t you even want to know why I was looking for you?”

She tensed. Alexis knew that if she turned around, it was likely there would be little to no space between them. But if she stayed as she was, her back to him, she would continue to be weakened by the sensation of his breath on her neck. She was already gripping the edge of the desk. “Not at all,” she told him, doing her best to steady her voice.

Jerry took a step back. “I will tell you anyway.” Alexis turned around, satisfied at the safe distance between them. “Jax gave me two tickets he had for the opera tonight and-”

“I have plans,” Alexis blurted out.

Disbelieving, Jerry nodded, playing along. “Oh, really? What sort of plans?”

“A date. I have a date.”

He couldn’t read the firm tone of her voice. Jerry’s shoulders sank, wounded. “I see. I didn’t realize… with whom?”

Alexis looked over his shoulder just as Cruz exited the interrogation room. “Detective Rodriguez,” she said.

Jerry followed her gaze and looked over his shoulder at the unsuspecting Cruz. He looked back at Alexis, suspicious. “Your date makes you call him Detective? Is that some kind of kinky foreplay?”

She sputtered, shifting her weight from one spiky heel to the other. “What? I just… we’re at work. I use his professional title at the office.”

“Of course,” Jerry nodded. “Where is Detective Rodriguez taking you?”

“Not that it’s any of your business,” she said, stalling. Alexis’ mind worked at warp speed; if she made up the name of a restaurant, he would easily prove she was lying, but if she said something common like dinner at the MetroCourt, Jerry could easily show up and prove she was lying. “Dinner. Somewhere new. You probably haven’t heard of it. It’s a Brazillian restaurant.” She was picturing an advertisement she’d seen in that morning’s paper. “It’s near the docks.”

Jerry nodded. “Bossa Nova? I’ve heard it’s good. Very sexy.”

“Excuse me, Ms. Davis?” Cruz said, coming up behind them. He situated himself between them, his dismissive attitude toward Jerry playing well into Alexis’ charade. “I’d like to talk to you about the Rosen case if you have a minute?”

She nodded. “Yes, of course. We can go up to my office.”

“I guess I’ll let the two of you get to work,” Jerry said and winked suggestively. “Have fun tonight.” He gave Cruz an affable slap on the back and added, “Have her home by eleven,” before he turned and walked away.

“What was that about?” Cruz asked.

Alexis pursed her lips and stared down at her shoes. She felt Jerry lingering at the door, watching them. She hooked her arm through Cruz’s and pulled him in the direction of the elevator. Once they were safely out of Jerry’s range, she gripped his arm in a desperate plea and asked, “Do you have any plans for this evening?”

Startled and confused, he hesitated to respond one way or the other. Cruz shrugged and then said, “No, not that I can think of.”

“Would you pretend to have dinner with me?”

“Excuse me?”

Alexis heaved a sigh. She loosened her grip on his arm. “I’m trying to get Jerry Jacks off my back. I lied and told him I had plans tonight. He wanted to know who I was having dinner with and you walked out of the interrogation room, so I told him I was having dinner with you at that new place, Bossa Nova. I know him and he’s going to show up there tonight to try and prove me wrong! So if you don’t have anything else to do, I’d really, really appreciate if you could pretend to be my date tonight?”

Cruz was silent, letting Alexis’ words sink in. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips; he was baffled, but her rapid-fire speech and anxious demeanor were rather amusing. Not to mention charming. “I don’t understand, Ms. Davis. Am I just pretending to take you to dinner, or would I really be taking you to dinner?”

She squinted. After a pause, right as the elevator doors opened, she said, “I guess you’d really be taking me to dinner.”

They walked out into the hallway and toward her office. “Why didn’t you just say you didn’t know where you were going? Or that it was none of his business who your date was?”

“I don’t know! He doesn’t listen, that’s why. He’s impossible. He’d figure out that I was lying.”

“Ma’am,” Cruz said gently, “you are the D.A., you know. If that man is stalking you or harassing you, it’s within your power to do something about it.”

Alexis held the door for him to enter her office and closed it quickly behind them. “It’s not like that,” she insisted.

“Okay. Um,” he looked around, lost and a little nervous.

“Just forget it,” Alexis laughed, dismissing her appeal with a casual shrug.

Cruz leaned against the edge of her desk. He seemed to be evaluating the situation. She was somewhat his boss, but she was an attractive single woman, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a nice dinner with an intelligent, thoughtful companion. “No, no, let’s do it. A pretend date. With any luck, a pretend date will go better than my last real date.”

Alexis smiled. “I’m so sorry to drag you into this. We can just talk about the Rosen case over dinner and make it worthwhile.”

He nodded. “That sounds good. Should I pretend to pick you up at seven o’clock, or really pick you up?”

“Let’s meet there,” she said.

He nodded and stood up from the desk. “Okay, Ms. Davis, I’ll see you tonight.”

“You’ll have to call me Alexis,” she laughed.

Cruz stopped at the door and turned to face her. “Right. Alexis,” he tested it out. “See you tonight.”

Jerry had been right; the restaurant did have a sexy atmosphere. When Alexis walked in, near the bar and a dance floor, she was greeted by the pulse of music. She was lead across the room and under a small archway that took her into the dining area. The tables were small; diners had no choice but to sit close together. The lights were dim and the music from the other room was muted enough that Alexis could hear something softer and more romantic playing from speakers she couldn’t see.

She sat at the small table, feeling all too exposed. Not only because she was alone as couples filtered in; Alexis was beginning to question her choice of a tight black dress with a hint of red lace showing under the low, round neckline.

It began to seem like Alexis was being ditched by her pretend date. She imagined the worst – that Jerry would show up, finding her alone and humiliated. And even more awful? Jerry not showing up, proving she really was insane and foolish. She felt heat rise to her cheeks, a prick of sweat around her hairline. And then Cruz was standing at the table, setting a glass in front of her. It was something red with slices of lime floating at the top.

“Hi,” he said. He stared down at her, flustered; Cruz hadn’t been expecting her to wear that kind of dress or have her hair pulled up, showing off her neck and collarbone. He noted how the tiny sleeves of her dress bared just a hint of her shoulder. “Uh, sorry it took so long. They put the bar right by the door,” he explained, taking the chair that was not so much on the other side of the table as it was next to her, “so you feel like you have to order a drink right away. It’s Caipirinha.”

Alexis took a sip. “Thank you, it’s good,” she said.

“You look nice.”

“Thank you.”

Cruz swallowed, his mouth parched. He took a long drink from his own glass. “I’ve never been on a pretend date,” he confessed with an amused grin.

“Well, I have,” Alexis said, “so just follow my lead.”

“So you do this sort of thing often?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No, no. It’s a long story,” she said, thinking of her faux marriage to Jax. “If I drink a lot of these, maybe I’ll tell you about it.”

Cruz jokingly searched out a server to wave him over for another round of drinks. Alexis reached up and pulled his hand down, pressing his palm down onto the table. Her hand lingered over his. She didn’t do it on purpose, she didn’t know Jerry had done exactly as she’d feared – hoped, maybe – and had been watching them from across the room.

Her gesture, and the way she and Cruz laughed and leaned into one another, perplexed Jerry even more. He watched them over the rim of his glass. He had been convinced Alexis was lying. He had been so sure he’d lurk in the shadows, watch as her plan fell apart, and be there to swoop in and give her a real date. But the scene playing out before him did not strike Jerry as a last minute effort on Alexis’ part to throw him off her trail.

“So,” Cruz said, putting one of his pastéis on Alexis’ plate, “why won’t Jerry Jacks leave you alone? I mean, obviously you’re an attractive, desirable…” He swallowed and fidgeted. “I mean, I can understand why he’d pursue you. But to have to go to such great lengths…”

Alexis bit her lip. She took a deep breath and said, “He doesn’t listen. He doesn’t believe me when I say I’m not interested in him.”

Cruz studied her, his head tilting to the right and then the left.

“I tell him over and over that I’m not attracted to him. I’m through with bad boys! His charm and his accent and his flattery are wasted on me.” She grew breathless as she listed Jerry’s attributes, failing to make them sound as negative as she wanted. “Really, he’s so full of himself! He thinks that because he makes my daughter laugh and brings her a rose and compliments me and watches out for all of my children like some kind of guardian angel that I’m just going to fall at his feet.”

Cruz cleared his throat. “It couldn’t be that he doesn’t believe you because you’re lying?”

“What?”

He set his fork down and pushed his plate to the side. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“What?” Alexis screeched.

“I’m sorry, Alexis. Believe me, you’d be hard pressed to find someone I dislike more than Jerry Jacks. And I certainly think you deserve much, much better. But I’m sitting right here listening to you insist you can’t stand the man, and I’m just saying, I’m not sure I’m convinced.”

Alexis leaned back in her chair. She glared at Cruz, arms folded.

Behind them, Jerry leaned forward in his chair, his interest piqued by the shift in Cruz and Alexis’ conversation.

*

Their dishes were cleared and they each ordered another drink. For the tenth time since Cruz had suggested Alexis was actually interested in Jerry, she said, “You couldn’t be more wrong.”

He shrugged and held up an apologetic hand. He had noticed Jerry in the corner, studying them, back when they’d first placed their order. “If I told you he was here, watching us, what would you do? Would you take our pretend date a little further and pretend to dance with me? And if you did, would you be pretend dancing to make him realize you’re very into another man, or to make him jealous?”

Alexis stiffened. She whispered, alarmed, “Is he here?”

Cruz nodded. “Shall we pretend dance and find the answer to my question?”

Buoyed by the drinks, Alexis nodded and accepted her pretend date’s hand. They walked across the dining area and onto the dance floor, joining a few other couples already engaged in a slow, sexy dance.

“I’m not really very good at this,” Alexis confessed, her words garbled when Cruz wrapped one arm firmly around her waist, forcing her hips against his, and his other hand held tightly to hers, their fingers entwined.

Jerry watched from the archway as Cruz followed the sultry rhythm of the music, tilting Alexis back with the weight of his hips, twisting her so that her leg had nowhere to go but around his.

“Well?” Cruz asked, lifting Alexis up, chest to chest.

“What?”

He smiled and nodded toward where Jerry stood, not very well concealed. Alexis saw him, and even with the low lights she could recognize the look on Jerry’s face as raging jealousy, possibly even plain hurt feelings.

Alexis felt Cruz slow, shifting their dance to more of a sway. She rested her chin on his shoulder and carefully considered his question, his implication. She was being held in the arms of an attractive, kind, unattached man, his arms and hips moving her to a sensual beat. Yet all Alexis could see, feel, hear, and focus on was Jerry Jacks.

She lifted her head from his shoulder. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this,” Alexis said. She gripped his arms, giving him a friendly, affectionate squeeze. “Really, I feel ridiculous. I won’t blame you at all if you go into work tomorrow and tell everyone what a silly fool the D.A. is! You’d be right. I am!”

Cruz shook his head. His hand moved from low on her back to just below her shoulders, wrapping her in a brief but firm hug. He pulled back and said, “You’re not. The truth is, Alexis, I really enjoyed myself. I wish I could convince you that Jerry’s no good, but I have a feeling it doesn’t really matter what anyone else says or thinks. You’ve already made up your mind.” He stepped back. “This pretend date was the best date I’ve had in a while. Thanks.”

She looked down, embarrassed, and then met his kind, soft eyes. “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you at the office. We can talk about that case tomorrow.” He reached into his pocket for his wallet.

“No, let me,” she said. “You’ve done more than enough.” He smiled his appreciation and she waved until he turned and walked out.

By the time Alexis had said goodbye to Cruz, she’d turned and saw that Jerry was no longer lurking at the archway. He wasn’t at the bar or his table. Alexis took care of the bill and grabbed her coat, holding it over her arm as she hurried outside.

There was a small patio to the side of the restaurant that was not being used. Alexis found Jerry standing at the ledge, fingers curled around the railing. She dropped her coat onto the back of a stack of chairs and set her purse on top. The music poured out from an open window and vibrated the wooden floorboards. It drowned out the sound of Alexis’ voice at first. She spoke again, louder and firmer, “Jerry, I’m sorry.”

He turned around. “Sorry?”

Alexis would have been cold on such a night, in such a dress, if it weren’t for the few drinks she’d had and the rush of heat she felt any time she was around Jerry. “I give you a hard time for the lies you’ve told, the way you’ve deceived people. But I lied to you.”

“Really? About what?” His mood lightened; his plan, it seemed, was starting to work in his favor.

She took a few more steps, closing the distance between them. “I didn’t have a date with Cruz. I went through all this trouble,” she said, indicating her hair, dress, and shoes, “to make you think I was dating him. I don’t want to like you, Jerry. I don’t want to be attracted to you. But I do like you.” She paused, took a deep breath, and confessed, “I am attracted to you.”

“So what you’re saying,” Jerry drawled, “is that you went through all this trouble…” His eyes swept the expanse of her chest, her soft shoulders, collarbone, the red lace peeking out from under the revealing neckline of her dress. “…for me?”

Alexis nodded. Finally admitting the truth lifted a weight from her shoulders and gave her a sense of freedom. She felt lighter, more open, more daring. It was as though she had been holding her breath for months, since she met Jerry under the guise of James Craig in the dankness of Wyndemere, and she finally had the opportunity to exhale and release all of the tension that went along with denying her feelings.

“I’d like to start over,” Alexis said. Jerry looked at her, questioning, and she explained, “I’d like you to ask me again if I have plans tonight.”

He grinned. Jerry’s eyes darkened with lust, excitement. “Do you have plans tonight, Alexis?”

“Well, it is awfully late,” she responded. “I just had a big dinner.” She pressed a hand to her abdomen. “And, really, I’m not sure where we’d go at this hour.”

“Now you’re just being mean,” Jerry inserted.

Alexis’ teeth pinched her lip, her expression playful and beckoning to him.

He sensed the change in her, the new and arousing boldness, and the teasing way she looked at him. Jerry strolled toward her. He had every intention of being the one to grab hold of her, pull her to him, and lay a resounding, firm, sensuous kiss on her mouth. But to his pleasant surprise, Alexis closed the gap between them and grabbed the lapels of his coat. She tugged him down as she rose up on her toes and her mouth opened against his. As the kiss intensified, Alexis wound her arms around his shoulders, pressing even further to him, and Jerry’s arms circled her waist.

Just like earlier in the day, the world around Alexis – and Jerry – became distant and hazy. She could only feel his arms and lips, only hear the erratic beat of their hearts and their labored breaths.

When they finally broke apart, arms still tangled around one another, Jerry caught his breath and managed to say, “I really like this new take-charge attitude of yours.”

“You better enjoy it while it lasts,” Alexis said. “I’m not sure if it’s the music or this dress or the drinks…”

“It’s you and me,” he assured her, placing a delicate kiss on Alexis’ forehead. His hands framed her face, the pad of his thumb tracing a soft line under her mouth. “You don’t have to pretend anymore, Alexis. Just go with it,” Jerry whispered.

She looked up into his sparkling eyes. She felt warm in the secure clasp of his hands around her face, and when Jerry began to massage his hands down to her shoulders, sweeping the length of her arms and stopping to hold her hands in his, Alexis’ breath snagged in her throat. As the music poured dreamily out into the night air, Alexis found that the control she had been guarding so closely, she easily handed over to Jerry and let him guide her into his arms, into their own private, slow dance.

Note: I had to research to find Cruz's full name. I always thought that was his last name, but imdb.com says it's Rodriguez. Shows how little I pay attention to anything not directly related to Alexis and/or Jerry. if I'm wrong, oops!