Game Day
by Cowgirl

chapter 8 - Technical Merit

Sonny smiled to himself as he stood in the shower. It was Sunday, and that day was rapidly becoming his favorite day of the week. It was, as he had come to call it in his head, his and Alexis' day. He would never admit that to anyone, especially her, but that's what he called it...in his head. He wondered to himself why they even bothered with the whole charade of sporting events, but he guessed he knew the reason after all. Neither he nor Alexis was ready to go there. Their Sunday trysts were certainly more than enjoyable, and Sonny was certain that they were becoming more than just being about two people who needed to have sex. At least for him it was. He was starting to depend on it each Sunday, and not just the sex. He was starting to depend on having sex with Alexis. That thought both scared and delighted him. Was it even feasible that he and Alexis could ever be more than good friends with a tendency to sleep together? He expelled a short puff of air through his nostrils and shook his head. Alexis didn't see him that way. He mentally chastised himself for having such thoughts and finished up his shower.

Alexis busied herself around her penthouse, deciding to actually sit down at her desk and review some documents. She tried to keep thoughts of Sonny out of her mind temporarily, for fear of driving herself nuts in anticipation of their inevitable Sunday routine. Not that she didn't enjoy it. She'd come to look forward to Sundays and the little game they would play before actually getting down to the real reason they met up each week. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine when she had allowed herself to become a person who had casual sex with her neighbor. When you started to have feelings for him, a voice inside her head mused. She snapped her eyes open and wondered where in the world that thought had come from. She didn't have feelings for Sonny...did she? She leaned forward onto her elbows and brought both hands up to her temples to massage them. Finally she stood up with such a force that her chair wheeled backwards several feet. No...she did not have feelings for Sonny. They were just using one another because at this particular time in both of their lives they were lonely...and bored. She paced her living room...that was it. They were both bored and lonely. Neither one of them had a significant other in their lives right now. It had been a while since either of them had a sexual relationship with anyone...well at least on her part anyway -- she couldn't be sure about Sonny. She flopped down on the couch and sighed. Sundays were becoming very complicated for her.

The inevitable knock at the door jarred Alexis from her thoughts. She shifted her eyes to the door and stared at it a moment before getting up to answer it. She slid the chain off and swung the door open slowly to find Sonny standing there.

"Hey," she said nervously.

Sonny flicked his head up. "Hey yourself."

They looked at each other for a minute. Alexis brought her hand up and rubbed her forehead. "Sonny, I think we need to talk."

Sonny nodded and moved into the apartment, closing the door behind him. "Kristina here?"

Alexis stopped in her tracks and then slowly turned around. "She's out."

Sonny nodded again and moved closer to Alexis. Alexis started to speak, but before she got a word out, Sonny's mouth came crashing down against hers. Her first reaction was surprise, but she soon found herself melting into his kiss, and responding by wrapping her arms around his neck. Finally, her brain kicked in and she gently pushed him back, away from her. "What was that?" she asked wide-eyed and out of breath.

Sonny gave her a half smile and shrugged. "I don't know...it was an impulse thing."

Alexis slowly moved away from him and sat on the couch, picking up the remote control. "I bought some of that beer you like," she said as she pretended to focus on changing the channels.

Sonny stood with his hands on his hips. "Heineken?"

Alexis nodded her head. "It's in the fridge," she replied and started to get up.

Sonny held up his hand. "I'll get it. You want one?"

Alexis let out a deep sigh. "Oh yeah."

Sonny smiled and went to the kitchen to retrieve their beers. When he returned to the living room Alexis was watching the television. He rounded the couch and sat down handing her one of the bottles.

"Thank you," she said, refusing to look in his direction.

"What are we watching?"

"Figure skating?"

Sonny wrinkled his nose. "But we watch sports on Sundays."

Alexis turned her head to look at him and raised her eyebrow. "Figure skating is a sport."

Sonny guffawed. "Says who?"

Alexis shot him a bewildered look. "Are you for real? Figure skating is an Olympic event. If it wasn't a sport, why would it be in the Olympics?"

Sonny sat upright and waved a hand. "Nothing that involves a guy wearing shiny tight pants and puffy shirts can be a sport."

"How incredibly shallow of you."

Sonny held his hand out in front of him. "Come on...no man should have that much grace and rhythm."

"You have rhythm. You danced beautifully in Puerto Rico."

"That's different."

"How is that different?" Alexis argued, her voice raising and octave.

"Dancing is..." he wagged his head from side to side. "Sensual...it's like a primal thing."

Alexis twisted her face into a look of disbelief. "Do you actually listen to yourself when you talk?"

Sonny opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it. He sighed and turned his head lazily to her. "I'm not going to win this, am I?"

Alexis smiled and shook her head as she settled into the couch. "Nope."

Sonny grimaced and acquiesced. "All right. You win, we'll watch the sissy sport." He leaned back and relaxed into the couch as well. He had scared Alexis earlier by kissing her. He saw it in her expression and in the way she had skillfully avoided discussing it. He wasn't sure if he should touch her now. He usually draped his arm around her shoulder and she would lean into him and the two of them would pretend that they weren't aware of their closeness while they watched television.

Alexis must have sensed his apprehensiveness because she gave him a coy look, pursed her lips and took hold of his arm, guiding it over her head so that they were in the usual position. He smiled back at her and relaxed as he turned his eyes to the television. They were back on track, Sonny mused to himself. An hour later Alexis was giving him the finer points of figure skating. "See, you have to listen to the music while you watch their movement...it really is beautiful...kind of like the ballet. You like the ballet," she said softly.

Sonny turned his head to her and smiled. "Yeah, I like the ballet." He nodded his head. "Okay, so this is sort of enjoyable, but it's not like watching a sport."

Alexis chuckled. "Wait...at the end of their routine he checks her into the boards."

Sonny sat up. "Really?"

Alexis playfully gave him a shove. "No."

Sonny sat back and pouted. "It would be more interesting if he did." He cast a glance at her. "I'm impressed, by the way, that you retained some terminology from our hockey excursion."

"I retain everything," Alexis corrected him.

"All right...so how does this work. Every couple that we've seen has done the same thing. They twirl, they jump, they spin...how the hell do you know who wins?"

"Well, the skaters are assigned points for everything they do in their routine. There's two sets of marks, technical and presentation."

Sonny leaned forward and rubbed his chin. "Go on...this is sort of interesting."

Alexis smiled and shook her head. "Technical points are awarded for the required elements, meaning the moves that the judges need to see. They award points based on the difficulty level of the moves that the skaters put in their program, and how well they execute those moves."

Sonny nodded. "I get it."

Alexis continued on. "The presentational marks are for things like the choreography involved with their routine, the speed of the skaters, the grace and fluidness of their moves and how well they flow from one move to the next. They also get marks in this category for how well they interpret their chosen music as well."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "How well they interpret?"

Alexis nodded. "Right...." she motioned with her hands. "Okay, it's like...well they can't pick salsa music and do the bunny hop. Their routine has to show the flavor of the music they picked."

"That makes sense," Sonny said as he gazed at Alexis. "How do you know so much about all of this?"

Alexis waved her hands. "I've been watching skating for years. It's relaxing to watch."

Sonny leaned his head to one side until it rested on her shoulder. "It's kind of sexy."

Alexis turned her head, her face just inches from Sonny's. "Told ya."

"I should listen to you more often," Sonny said as he stretched forward and placed a kiss on her lips.

Alexis turned her body towards his and returned his kiss. Sonny's hand came up and stroked her hair. "I bet I could get good technical marks," he said, his voice becoming thick with desire.

Alexis raised and eyebrow. "You think so huh?"

"I do," he replied as he played with the hem of her shirt. "Care to be the judge?"

"I don't know...I'm pretty hard to please."

A wicked smile crossed Sonny's face as he pulled Alexis to him and kissed her with all the passion he could muster while his hands roamed her body.

Alexis moaned. "Mmm, well...I'd say your presentation is definitely way up there."

Sonny stood and pulled Alexis to her feet. They stood and looked at one another for a second before he smiled, picked her up over his shoulder and headed for her staircase.

"Hey..." Alexis yelped in surprise. "Where are we going?"

Sonny patted her on the behind. "Up to your room...I want to get technical."

chapter 9