A Kiss Goodnight
by Cowgirl

part 8

Two hours after Alexis had bolted for the sanctity of her bedroom Kristina was in the middle of her evening yoga when the tell tale knock sounded at the door. She moved to the door and opened it. "I was wondering when you’d make your way over here."

Sonny rolled his eyes. "Is she around?"

Kristina stood back and let him enter. "She’s up in her room…I’m not sure if she wants to be disturbed."

Sonny sighed. He didn't want to fight with Kristina. "Look, I would like it very much if you could see if she will talk to me for a second all right?" He asked with all the politeness he could muster. "Please?"

Her first instinct was to shut the door and tell him to go to hell...but something in his face, the wounded little boy expression that he wasn't bothering to hide made her change her mind.

She nodded her head toward the stairs. "Second door on the left."

Sonny looked at her like she had two heads. "You want me to go up to Alexis' bedroom?"

Kristina rolled her eyes. "You can't give her time to prepare. She'll have me giving you a million reasons why she can't come down here...just go on."

Sonny started to walk past her but stopped. "You're really telling me to go upstairs and try to make up with your sister?"

"Yep," she responded flippantly.

Sonny cocked his head. "You realize that I want your sister right?"

"I think I heard that somewhere yes."

"And you're not going to try and tell me to leave her alone...yada, yada yada?"

"Nope."

"So it's okay with you if I try desperately to get your sister to realize that she loves and wants to be with me?"

"Uh-huh," she answered in the affirmative.

Sonny started towards the stairs again but stopped. "Am I on some camera show or something?" he asked, not quite comprehending Kristina's change of attitude.

"Look, Sonny, you and Alexis are two adults. Are you the man I would envision my sister with? Not really, but it's very obvious she's madly in love with you. And as much as I hate to admit this, I think the two of you are good for one another, so...." She pointed up the stairs.

Sonny shook his head still confused but smiled and made his way towards Alexis' room.

He made his way down the hall and stopped at her door. It was open just a crack and he peeked in. She was sitting in an oversized chair that stood by her balcony doors, staring out into the night. Her legs were tucked up underneath her and her head rested eloquently on her hand which lay propped up on the arm of the chair. He could have stood there all night just watching her do nothing.

He smiled to himself and wondered just when it was that he realized that he couldn't live without this beautiful creature in his world. When did she become so prominent in his life? Why didn't he realize sooner that it was Alexis that made his world spin on its axis?

He didn't know the answers to any of those questions, but he did know one thing. Now that he did realize what Alexis was to him he couldn't simply go on letting her pretend that there was nothing more than friendship between them. There was no way that he could continue on daily knowing that they loved one another but refused to explore it further for fear of ruining what they had already. He needed her. He wanted her and he would do whatever it took to make her realize it too.

He gently knocked and pushed the door open.

Alexis jumped slightly at the sight of him entering her room. "What are you doing in my room?"

Sonny shrugged. "Believe it or not, your sister told me to come up."

Alexis rolled her eyes. "I'll speak to her later about that."

"You want me to leave?"

Alexis stood up and folded her arms across her chest. "You could tell me why you're here."

"I wanted to apologize?"

"For?"

"You know...earlier...dinner."

Alexis shook her head. "You don't owe me an apology for that...or at all for that matter."

Sonny took a few tentative steps closer to her. "No, I do. I should have told Carly that I had plans, but..." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I'm not making excuses, but I want to handle Carly...delicately. We both know how she can get if she's blindsided with something."

"And what would she be blindsided with?" Alexis asked calmly.

"Us."

"There is no us Sonny. Not in any way that she doesn't already know about."

Sonny held up his hands. "Okay, that's fine. But the fact remains that if Carly decides she wants to try again with me I'm going to have to tell her that it's not what I want and she's going to want to know why and as much as my marriage to her is over I do care about her and don't want to...you know...throw it in her face that I want you."

Alexis shifted her gaze away from him and took deep breaths.

"Alexis, see I couldn't just say hey Carly you have to go Alexis is coming over for dinner. You know how she would have reacted and I just want to tell her in my own way. Ease her into it you know?"

She looked back to him, her brow furrowed in confusion. "Tell her what in your own way? Ease her into what?"

"That I love you, that I'm in love with you and that even though you won't let yourself give into it right now, that I'm going to keep showing you that I love you and eventually you're going to have to admit to yourself that I'm the man of your dreams and you want to live happily ever after with me."

Alexis couldn't help but smile and shake her head at his unending cockiness. "You really think you know everything don't you?"

He tilted his head from side to side and gave her the dimples.

She pointed a finger at him. "No you don't. Don't flash those things at me. You can't get everything you want by flashing those at me."

He moved closer until they were inches apart. "I'll use the dimples and I'll keep using them if it will get me closer to having you."

She placed a palm against his chest to prevent him from coming closer. "Have me? Can you not make me sound like an entrée on the menu at the Grille and I think you should leave my room."

He smiled. "Afraid you can't control yourself?"

She sighed. "Your ego knows no bounds."

"Hey, I'm a man who knows what he wants."

"You're a pain in my..."

He chuckled and backed away toward the door. "I'll go, but...I'm not stopping."

"Goodnight Sonny."

"Goodnight Alexis."

"Hey."

"What?"

"Can we try the dinner thing again tomorrow?"

"I don't know...will I actually get to sit down and eat it this time?"

He shook his head and laughed. "Seven?"

"Goodnight Sonny."

"Goodnight Alexis...seven."

"Leave."

"I'm going," he said turning around and exiting the room.

Alexis watched him until he disappeared around the corner. She moved to the end of her bed and flopped down onto it, a pressure that had been sitting on her chest suddenly lifting away. As frightened as she was of what was happening with her and Sonny, she felt relieved that they were back to bantering back and forth. God why does he know how to manipulate me so well? she thought as she closed her eyes.

part 9