Game Day
by Cowgirl

chapter 10 - Need for Speed

Sonny walked down the stairs into his living room, skipping the last two stairs altogether. He was in a good mood. It was Sunday and Nascar racing was on. Above all that, however, it was Sunday and Alexis and he had made plans to watch the race, although she stated, she didn't get how interesting it would be to see a bunch of grown men driving around in circles. Things between he and Alexis had been pretty great since they had their conversation about where things were headed between them. Neither of them knew and neither of them thought they should delve too deeply into it for now. They were enjoying the ride, they were enjoying one another's company, and most importantly, they were enjoying each other. Before last week, things between them were pretty uncomfortable during the regular week. They had been fine at first, but as the weeks and months passed, they were suddenly unaware of how to act around one another during the regular business week. On Thursday, Sonny had been hauled in by Taggart because of a stray shipment that had ended up on one of Sonny's piers. To Sonny and everyone else, it was apparent the illegal shipment had been planted there, but of course to Mac and Taggart, it was the crime of the century and of course Sonny was guilty. Alexis, once again, had been brilliant in making Taggart and Mac look like a couple of monkeys swinging from a tree and he was released. But it was what happened in the interrogation room that had sort of eased the everyday tension between a man who was sleeping with his lawyer.

Alexis had strode into the PCPD, straight past Taggart who jumped up to follow her, and into the interrogation room. She stopped knowing full well Taggart was behind her and glanced at Sonny.

"Why is he still cuffed?" she asked, not turning around.

"Procedure, Ms. Davis," Taggart replied.

"Has he been charged with something? Did he resist arrest? Does he pose an immediate threat to you or anyone else in this building?"

Taggart shook his head. "No m'am, but you know the rules."

Alexis turned and glared at Taggart. "I need to talk to my client. Alone."

Taggart held up his hands in defeat and left the room closing the door behind him.

Alexis then closed the blinds and turned back to Sonny with a wicked grin. "I used to get so annoyed when they left you sitting in here with your hands cuffed behind your back."

Sonny wriggled, annoyed with that very thought himself. "It doesn't make me any happier."

Alexis then moved towards him and to Sonny's surprise, sat down across his lap, leaning in close. "Now I'm kind of turned on by it."

Sonny had nearly choked on his own spit, and might have too if Alexis' mouth hadn't crashed down upon his. Sonny smiled now as he thought about it. They had made out for several minutes before Alexis stood up and with a wink left the room. Minutes later Taggart had come in and released him with the charges dropped. He shook his head and set down the light lunch of chicken salad and potato salad, which had had made from scratch, on the coffee table. As he was retrieving two Heinekens from the refrigerator, he heard her open the front door and call out his name. He took a deep breath to collect himself and walked casually into the living room. "Hey," he said as his mouth involuntarily curled into a large smile.

She grinned back at him and tilted her head. "Hey yourself," she raised an eyebrow as she studied him. "You seem happier than usual today."

Sonny laughed. "I guess I am. I can't stop thinking about the PCPD."

Alexis lowered her head to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks and moved to the couch. "I don't know what got into me."

Sonny walked to the couch and sat down beside her, placing the two beers on the table. "I don't care what got into you...I liked it."

Alexis shook her head. "Well, don't count on it happening too often. That's my place of work. I can't lose control like that...it could cost me...well a lot."

Sonny nodded. "Okay, we'll keep it in private," he said breathily as he moved his face to within inches of hers, placing a searing kiss on her lips. He pulled back and gestured to the table. "Lunch is served."

Alexis gave him one of her patented nervous eye rolls. "I can see that. What time does the race start?"

Sonny picked up the remote and the television came to life. "Should be on in a few minutes," he replied as he found the appropriate station.

Alexis picked up her sandwich and took a bite. "Tell me again the excitement in watching men drive in circles at high speeds."

Sonny shook his head. "Car racing is actually a skill Alexis...very scientific, you'll see."

Alexis raised an eyebrow. "Scientific?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of factors that go into each race. Everything depends on science. How much air in the tires, the airflow on the track, timing...it all factors into winning the race. It's not just guys driving aimlessly around the track."

Sonny and Alexis sat eating and talking about the race. "There are so many cars lined up. How can they all drive on the track at the same time?" Alexis asked between bites of her sandwich.

"They start out all clumped together like that, but you'll see, they won't be like that for long."

Alexis pointed to the screen. "That doesn't seem fair that those guys get to start out in front. Look at that car in the back, how can he possibly catch up?"

"Oh, they do. See, before this race, during the week, there was what they call a qualifying round. Each of those cars runs the track and that's how they line them up...based on whose times were fastest and so on."

Alexis nodded. "I see...I guess that's fair."

Sonny glanced at her and smiled. "Yeah, it's fair," he said as he leaned back and stretched his arm out, placing it on Alexis' back. She scooted forward so she was sitting on the edge of the couch cushion. Sonny absently traced patterns on her back while they watched the game. "See everything is sort of a science in this sport. Everything on or in the car is finely tuned to help the car go faster, smoother and make turns better."

"What's with all the decoration on the cars?"

"Well, race cars and running them take money. All those things on the cars are like advertisements for the companies that sponsor the car. They give money to the driver and his team to build the car and run it, and they get the name of their company or logo on the car."

"See there...why are those two cars riding one right behind the other?"

Sonny cleared his throat. "That's called drafting. See, if a guys team member is in the lead or is one of the leaders, and it's getting close to the end of the race, they'll line up nose to tail like that. The first car is displacing air in front of it creating a vacuum behind it, pulling the other car around with it, making it go faster because it is taking the resistance away from the second car."

"That's pretty clever."

"See, I told you it's scientific."

Alexis nodded again. "I get it. What's with the guy waving the flags?" she asked as she settled back against Sonny, letting him wrap his arms around her.

"Well, the flag man, he stays on the platform up there at the start/finish line and that's how the drivers know what's going on during a race. The green flag is used to start a race...or restart it if something happens where they have to slow down the race, like a crash or something," he replied as he grazed the top of Alexis' hair with his nose, taking in the scent of her shampoo. "If they start waving the yellow flag, that means that the cars have to bunch up again like at the start of the race and slow down, keeping to a pace because their might be debris on a track from a crash, or rubber burning off of the tires." Sonny hugged Alexis closer to him and felt her relax into his embrace. "The red flag is a strong caution flag. This means that maybe there was an accident and someone needs medical attention or it starts raining really heavy. Then the cars have to stop and go to an appointed destination. The white flag means that there is one lap to go in the race and the checkered flag means that the race is over." Sonny could barely stand it any longer. Holding her so close and breathing in all the scents that were her. He bent his head down and slowly dragged his lips across her neck, feeling her shiver beneath his touch.

She took in a sharp breath of air. "Sonny?" she said lazily.

"Yeah?" He replied as he continued his assault on her neck.

"What color flag can I wave to get you to make love to me?"

Sonny let her go from his embrace and stood up, offering a hand to her. She took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. He glanced at the stairs as he drew her up against his body. "I've got some flags up in my room." He smiled seductively, making sure she caught his dimples. "Let's go up and see if we can find one that works."

chapter 11