Game Day
by Cowgirl

chapter 22 - Strokin'

Alexis sat at her desk, her glassed perched on the bridge of her nose, a pencil stuck between her teeth as she read over Sonny's latest business venture. She jumped slightly at the knock on the door, but calmed quickly when she recognized the knock that only her untitled friend and neighbor could muster. She rose and opened the door to find a dimpled Sonny staring at her. "Yes?" she asked in a playful tone of voice, her smile widening. Sonny cocked his head and gave her a quick once over. He loved the way she looked in jeans. "I uh...I promised Michael I would take him over to the lake today to sail his new sailboat."

Alexis held up her hands. "Oh, the poor boy...does he realize he's going to end up in naked in the lake with a bunch of strangers watching him?"

Sonny shook his head and laughed. "It's a toy boat," he said as he stepped closer to her. "We're going to be standing on land."

"Uh huh. So what's your point?"

"My point," Sonny replied as he stepped even closer to her and shut the door behind him. He snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her up against him. "My point is that I'll be gone all afternoon."

Alexis grinned. "Am I supposed to fall and the floor and wail because you won't be around?"

Sonny licked his lips. "No, I was thinking that maybe we could have dinner later...around seven?"'

"You were thinking, huh?" Alexis teased. "You didn't hurt anything, did you?"

"Very nice, Counselor," he said as he backed her up across the room until the backs of her legs touched the arm of the couch.

"What are you doing?"

"Just sampling the merchandise," he smirked as he leaned in and kissed her neck.

"Merchandise? That is a....oh my..." She stopped as Sonny continued his assault on her neck. She craned her head back offering him more of her neck until she lost her balance sending them both backwards onto the couch, Sonny
landing on top of her.

He raised his head and looked at her. "If you wanted to play on the couch all you had to do was ask," he said coyly.

Alexis braced her hands on his shoulders. "You have got to be the most egotistical man I know," she said pointedly.

"Yeah, but you like that about me. It turns you on," he remarked as he began to tickle her sides.

She let out a laugh and placed her hands on his to halt his movement. He bent down and kissed her lips. Alexis momentarily found herself giving into his ministrations but placed her hands firmly on his chest giving him a shove. "Sonny...we can't."

Sonny lowered himself back down and nipped at her neck once more. "I can't do that?"

"No," Alexis replied trying to sit up again.

"Why not?"

Alexis opened her mouth to explain but stopped when she caught sight of Kristina descending the stairs. She gestured at her sister. "Kristina's home."

Kristina bit back a smile. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt."

Sonny scooted off of Alexis and sat next to her on the couch. "Hi Kristina," he said flatly.

Alexis jumped up and attempted to straighten her rumpled appearance. "You're not interrupting. Sonny just came over to tell me he'd be out for a while." Kristina smirked and raised an eyebrow. "He has an interesting way of
relaying messages."

Alexis rolled her eyes and then gestured to the door. "Weren't you on your way out?"

Sonny stood up. "Yeah, I have to go get Michael," he said as he strode over to the door and opened it. He stopped and gave Kristina a look. Kristina took the hint and made her way into the kitchen. "Later Sonny."

Sonny made a face at her back.

Alexis frowned. "Sonny, I don't appreciate you dismissing my sister in her own home."

"What'd I say?"

Alexis shot him a look.

He smiled at her and brushed his lips up against hers. "Dinner tonight?"

Alexis looked at him for a moment and then shook her head. "You really annoy me you know that?"

"Seven?"

"You think you can just do as you want don't you?"

"I'm making rosemary chicken with those little round potatoes you like so much."

"You're unbelievable."

"Don't bother getting all fancy...what you're wearing will do," he winked at her and left the penthouse shutting the door.

Alexis turned away from the door and let out an exasperated grunt. Kristina walked back into the living room and smiled.

Alexis glanced at her. "What?"

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but you and Sonny are really cute together."

Alexis' expression took on a look of dread. "Sonny and I are not...cute."

She brought her hands up and massaged her temples. "What am I saying...Sonny and I...there is no Sonny and I ... he just came over to inform me that our...plans were going to be delayed."

Kristina giggled. "So you won't be getting any until later on?"

Alexis glared at her and pointed a finger. "That's enough."

Kristina laughed and headed for the stairs teasing Alexis in a sing-songy voice as she made her way up. "Sonny and Alexis are in love...Sonny and Alexis are in loooove."

She barely had time to duck the flying decorative pillow that Alexis hurled in her direction before she reached the top and disappeared.

Alexis stood with her hands on her hips muttering to herself. "I'm not in love. I'm having sex...really...really...great sex," she looked at the stairs once more as a small smile crept across her face.

Sonny glanced at the clock on his mantle and frowned. It was quarter after seven and no sign of Alexis. He busied himself setting the table and checking on the food that was cooking in the kitchen, all the while his mind wandering to where Alexis might be. He hoped she wasn't seriously annoyed with him earlier in the day. He knew Alexis wasn't the demonstrative type and it probably embarrassed her to have her sister walk in on them...again. He sighed and contemplated just going over there to see where she was when a light knock sounded on his door. He smiled to himself and moved to answer it. He opened the door and Alexis breezed past him. "I'm sorry I'm late...I got wrapped up in your contracts and lost track of time." She stopped and turned to him. "Does the invite for dinner still stand?"

Sonny coughed. "I don't know. I really hate it when people are late."

Alexis closed the distance between him and reached a hand out fiddling with the top button of his shirt. "That's too bad because..." She looked up at him and caught her lip between her teeth. "I brought dessert."

Sonny stepped back. "You did?" He looked her up and down. "I don't see any dessert."

Alexis gave him a coy smile and leaned towards him. "It's a surprise."

"I like surprises," Sonny responded, licking his lips.

"But it's too bad you've revoked your dinner invitation...because now I'll just have to take my dessert back home," she drawled as she moved towards the door.

Sonny caught her by the arm and whirled her around so she was facing him. "I didn't hear anyone revoke anything," he said as he nodded towards the table. "Sit...I'll get dinner."

They sat through dinner talking idly about things that happened during the day. Sonny filled Alexis in on his day with Michael and Alexis told him about his contracts and what she thought needed to be done with them. Sonny poured them each a glass of wine and they made their way to the couch where Sonny immediately flipped on the television.

"Must we?" Alexis said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah...we must. You know the routine. We watch sports on Sundays."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "Fine. What is it this week...mud wrestling."

Sonny chuckled. "Hey...that sounds good to me." He turned his attentions back toward the television. "Let's see if we can find it," he cracked as he surfed the channels.

"There...stop," Alexis said, pointing to the screen.

"I thought you didn't like boats?"

Alexis looked at him. "I said I don't like being on boats. I like rowing. I knew a guy at Harvard who was on the rowing team."

Sonny leveled a gaze at her. "Let me guess. You dated him."

Alexis blushed. "I didn't say I dated him. Anyway...I'd go and watch the team from time to time. It was fun...let's watch this for a while."

Sonny wrinkled his nose. "Fine...but I don't know anything about rowing."

Alexis gave him a mock sympathetic look. "Aww...poor baby. You hate it when you're not the center of attention don't you?"

Sonny stuck his tongue out at her and returned his gaze to the television.

"This really doesn't seem all that complicated," he gestured with his hand. "The guy at the bow of the boat yells stroke and they stroke and whichever team is faster wins."

Alexis nodded. "Basically, but there is more to it than that."

Sonny brought his hand up and gently swept his finger across the hollow of her throat. "Such as?"

Alexis swatted his hand. "Pay attention. The guy at the bow of the boat, as you referred to him, is called the bow man or the technical term is coxswain."

Sonny raised an eyebrow. "The coxswain?" He chuckled. "I'm not even going to comment."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't. Anyway, he is the person who steers the boat so to speak."

"I don't see a steering wheel," Sonny commented.

"The other members of the crew serve as the steering mechanism. There can be many different combinations of teams. There's a two-man crew, a four-man crew or there can be an eight-man crew. Sometimes the crew holds one oar per person, but most of the time it's two oars per person."

Sonny hooked his finger in the collar of Alexis' blouse and pulled it over to the side exposing her collarbone. He leaned in and kissed it, letting the tip of his tongue graze her skin. "Sounds exciting," he said unconvincingly. "A bunch of pasty white bread wasps rowing around in the water."

Alexis sat up straight and shrugged her shoulder away from his touch. "Well, most of the men I knew on the rowing team were far from pasty white guys. You have to be in very fine physical form in order to be on a rowing team. The guys I knew were built very well...and being that they spent hours out on the water practicing or competing...they were far from pasty."

Alexis went on for over fifteen minutes pointing out the different things she knew about rowing, all the while fighting off his obvious attempts at seducing her. Finally he gave up and started to pay attention.

"All right...what the heck is the coxswain guy yelling?" he asked.

"He's giving the commands."

"What commands? Row the damn boat...it doesn't seem to be rocket science."

Alexis laughed. "All right...listen," she said as she turned up the volume.

"There...he just called out let it run. That means to complete the rowing stroke and push the arms and hands out straight with the blades off the water. He wants them to hold that so the boat glides."

"All right...gliding. What's the next thing?"

"Now he told them oars down...simply bring the oars back down into the water. Now he's telling them arms only, which means to stop using the slides...or the moving seats that they sit in and just stroke with the arms."

Sonny smiled and inched closer to Alexis. "Just stroke with the arms huh?" He said as he ran a hand up the length of Alexis' thigh several times. "I can follow that command."

Alexis blushed and looked at him. "You really think you're smooth, don't you?"

Sonny raised his eyebrows in innocence. "Smooth? No...I can't help it if you explaining a sport turns me on."

Alexis cocked an eyebrow. "Is there anything that doesn't turn you on?"

Sonny slowly shook his head. "Not when you're doing it...no."

Alexis stopped and looked into his eyes suddenly not caring about rowing. Her heart picked up its pace as she stared into Sonny's eyes and saw his desire burning in them. Desire for her...no man had ever looked at her the way Sonny did and it unnerved her. She became aware of her shallow breaths as Sonny's hand came up and stoked her face. "Wanna go upstairs?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows.

Alexis gave him a shy smile. "And what would we do up there?"

Sonny leaned forward and kissed her, his lips lingering on hers longer than he intended as a rush of warmth seeped through his chest unexpectedly. He closed his eyes and sighed before looking at her with a devilish smile. "I could show you my coxswain."

Alexis returned his grin. "Full speed ahead bowman."

chapter 23