A Kiss Goodnight
by Cowgirl

part 1

Alexis stared out the window of the limo as she and Sonny rode back to Harbor View Towers. It had been an odd evening at best, not to say it wasn't a nice time, just awkward, especially for Alexis. In her heart she had hoped this night would be wonderful. Carly had insisted that Sonny bring her to the club opening as his date, and Alexis was secretly thrilled that he had done just that. She had been thrilled until moments before Sonny picked her up she found out from Ned what her sister had blurted out to Sonny. Her secret excitement had turned to unabashed embarrassment as she thought about Sonny's behavior lately. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the window letting her eyes close lightly. How could she have been so blind? He was placating her. It probably thrilled him to no end to think that she was in love with him. Her heart did a little dip as she came to the conclusion that he was playing with her.

Once they had gotten to Club 101, Sonny had barely paid attention to her. He ushered her inside the club under the scrutiny of the press and had left her at the table several times to go off and make sure Carly was okay. She had danced with Jax and with Ned and finally towards the end of the night Sonny had found his way over to ask her for a dance. He smiled and flashed his dimples as they moved across the dance floor. He had teased and flirted and she had felt even more humiliated knowing he was doing it because he felt sorry for her.

The limo moved on slowly down the street and Alexis fought the lump in her throat. No, she thought. She would not start crying like a crushed schoolgirl. She sniffed and straightened her posture, letting out an audible sigh in the process.

"Hey," Sonny said softly as he placed his hand over hers. "You're mad at me aren't you?"

Alexis turned her head to him and tried to feign puzzlement. "Why would I be mad at you?"

He tilted his head. "I know I wasn't the best date tonight. I should have been with you more."

Alexis let out a fake laugh. "Sonny, it wasn't a real date. You had every right to be by Carly's side. She was trying her best to impress you tonight and you were proud of her."

They stayed silent the rest of the way to the penthouse. When the elevator reached their floor Sonny stepped out first and held out his hand to Alexis as he held the doors open. She reluctantly took his hand and stepped into the hallway fully intending to make a beeline for her apartment, make a huge bowl of popcorn and cry in her room until it didn’t hurt anymore. She took a couple of steps past him and tried to remove her hand from his but was unsuccessful as he gave her arm a tug, pulling her to within inches of him.

"Lexis," he said in a whisper. "You're mad at me and I think I know why."

Alexis said nothing but pulled the corner of her lip between her teeth.

Sonny looked her in the eyes and she was held mesmerized like always. "I'm sorry I spent so much time with Carly tonight. You're right you know. She wanted to impress me...she wanted to impress the whole town, but most of all she wanted to show me she could do it on her own and I was proud of her and I thought it was important that I let her know that." He tilted his head. "I finally had a beautiful woman on my arm for the first time in a while for an actual date and I blew it."

"It wasn't a date..." Alexis mumbled averting her gaze.

Sonny's hand came up and tilted her chin up to him, his other hand still holding hers firmly. "I was hoping it was." He gave a slight shrug. "I wanted tonight to be special for us."

Alexis narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Why?"

Sonny shook his head. "It doesn't matter, I blew it and I'm sorry."

Alexis face softened. "It's okay...I understand Sonny, really, I do."

Sonny shook his head again. "No, I don't think you do." He stepped closer to her. "I know you've been around for everything that Carly and I have been through and I know that every time I wanted to leave her or divorce her that you've rolled your eyes and told me to think about it, but..." He let out a sigh. "It's really over this time and it has been for over a year. I care about her...I love her, but I don't hurt over her anymore. I don't think about her anymore." He stepped even closer to her, his chest brushing up against hers and it was making her weak. "You know what I think about now Alexis?" he said quietly.

Alexis stared into his intense gaze, her chest heaving with the ragged breaths that only seemed to come when he was near her. She slowly shook her head from side to side. "No," she said almost inaudibly.

Sonny leaned forward until his forehead was almost touching hers. "I think about you," he whispered as his lips brushed hers, barely making contact at first then deepening as he applied gentle pressure. It was the sweetest thing Alexis had ever tasted. Her heart fluttered faster than a hummingbird in flight as she pulled back.

"You're...you're just saying that because of what my sister told you," she said and looked away.

Sonny moved his hands so that he captured each of her elbows and drew her closer. "Not true. What your sister said made me think...it made me curious, but it also made me realize," he said stopping short.

Alexis forced herself to blink. "What did it make you realize?"

Sonny moved his face close again. She could feel his breath on her skin. "It made me realize that I've been thinking about you more than I cared to admit." He moved his hands to cup her now flushed face. "It made me realize that I have feelings for you that go deeper than friendship." He kissed her again; Alexis never envisioned a man like Sonny being so delicate and so gentle. "And it made me realize that I wanted to kiss you...so many times I wanted to grab you and kiss you."

"Why now?" Alexis managed to get out.

He smiled. "I knew with a woman like you that I couldn't just grab you and kiss you. A woman like you should be taken and kissed tenderly..." he dropped one hand down and clasped her fingers in his, keeping the other hand lightly against her cheek. "I wanted to kiss you when it was the absolute right time. I was hoping tonight was the right time. I was hoping we'd have a wonderful time tonight and dance and then I would bring you home and I would kiss you goodnight."

Alexis felt the blood rush back to her head, her courage creeping back into her consciousness. "At least the last part worked out okay," she said with an embarrassed smile.

Sonny chuckled. "Yeah, the last part worked out." He stared into her eyes. "You looked beautiful tonight...absolutely breathtaking," he said as he moved to her again, taking her mouth with his, this time not so gently.

The ding of the elevator jolted them from their intimacy and they put space between them just as the doors opened, Ned and Kristina emerging to catch them still joined at the hand. Kristina's face lit up in the incredibly irritating smirk of hers while Ned rolled his eyes.

Sonny cleared his throat. "Goodnight counselor," he said letting go of her hand, stepping around Ned and Kristina giving them a courtesy nod.

Alexis smiled. "Goodnight...thanks for the dance," she chided and headed into her apartment.

Kristina's eyes followed first Sonny into his apartment and then her sister into theirs. When they had both shut their respective doors, she turned to Ned. "I think we may have interrupted something."

Ned grimaced. "Well thank goodness for small favors."

Kristina shook her head. "No I mean it. I mean if I didn’t know better, I think those two were kissing."

Ned shot her a look indicating that she was crazy. "Sonny and Alexis?"

"What the hell do you think they were doing out here in the hall? Did you see her face? It was practically a shade of scarlet."

Ned shook his head. "I really don't want to think about it." He said as he pulled Kristina to him planting a kiss on her. "Goodnight."

She reached up and tweaked his nose. "Goodnight. I'll call you tomorrow with the details."

Ned turned and hit the down button for the elevator. "I can hardly wait."

Kristina entered the apartment and was immediately hit by the darkness. Alexis had probably rushed upstairs in the hopes of avoiding her. She rushed up the stairs to Alexis' room where she found the door shut. She quietly turned the knob...locked.

She turned from the door and suppressed a laugh. "Oh you were definitely up to something big sister," she said to herself. "But you're not going to avoid me forever."

part 2