Chapter 10
Skye came into the lobby, looking quite regal in a gown of deep purple. It had a high neckline, no sleeves, and fanned outward from the waist into soft folds on the floor. The bodice had delicate beadwork, and the skirt was a soft floaty material. Her hair was up, and she had twined a purple ribbon through it. She spotted Sonny, who was over by the concierge desk. He had obviously seen her, but was standing there unmoving, as if he was frozen in place. Skye took the opportunity to admire his tuxedo. She had figured he would look amazing in a tuxedo, and indeed he did. Finally he snapped out of his reverie, and walked over to her. "You look stunning," he said, as he pulled a box out of his pocket. "I saw these at a shop earlier, and figured they would go well with your gown." She took the box from him, hesitantly, and opened it. Inside were a pair of dangling earrings made of silver with an antique finish. They were very old, and very well made. Tears sparked at the back of her eyes. "They're exquisite," she whispered, and put them on. She smiled. "Thank you." Sonny smiled back and offered her his arm.
When the opera was over, Skye was glad that she had brought some tissue in her evening bag. Tears were streaming down her face. "I should have known," Sonny said, smiling. "You may be a corporate executive, but you're also a hopeless romantic." Skye would have been embarrassed at his statement if she hadn't heard a distinct tremor in his voice. "I'll admit to being a hopeless romantic if you admit that it wasn't allergies or illness that caused all that sniffling you did during the death scene." Sonny grinned. "I'm thinking I should have my attorney present for this line of questioning."
When they exited the opera house, they decided to walk a little, to avoid the line of cars waiting to pick up the attendees. They passed by a cart that was bursting with a variety of different flowers. Sonny stopped, stared at the cart for a moment, then plucked a single flower from its midst. It was a tulip, in a deep shade of purple that almost matched her dress. He paid the cart owner, and handed her the tulip. "It's absolutely perfect," she said. They finally hailed a taxi, and returned to the hotel. Sonny walked Skye to her door. She smiled shakily at him. "More sightseeing tomorrow?" He nodded. "I'd like to see a few more things tomorrow afternoon. But I have a surprise activity planned for the morning, if you're up to it." Skye raised her eyebrows. "I love surprises." He smiled. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 9am. Wear comfortable clothes." He hesitated, then leaned over and gingerly kissed her on the cheek. He stared into her eyes for a moment, then turned and walked away.
The next morning, Sonny ushered Skye out of the lobby, where a car was waiting outside. "No driver?" Sonny nodded. "Yeah, me. I hope you can read a map." She slid into the passenger seat, and Sonny skillfully maneuvered the car out into traffic. Before long they were heading out of the city. "How in the world did you arrange this?" Sonny flashed her a smile. "The concierge has many ideas for well paying customers. I can't say anymore until we get there." They followed the directions until they were well out into the countryside. Finally Sonny pulled onto a dirt road that ended in a wooded area. He got out and popped the trunk. Skye was surprised to see a picnic basket and blanket. She grinned in delight. They followed a trail until it ended in a clearing by a stream. On the other side of the stream, Skye could see rolling hills in the distance. "Oh, Sonny, this is absolutely magical."
Sonny spread the blanket, and they sat down. Skye unpacked the picnic basket, delighted with each treat that she pulled out. They ate until they were both absolutely stuffed. Then they reclined on the blanket, staring off into the distance. Skye looked thoughtfully over at Sonny. "When we were in the alley, and you thought you were going to die…what flashed through your mind?" Sonny stared at her, his face unreadable. "I thought of Michael. I found myself hoping that Jax would be a good father to him." Skye looked down, wincing slightly. She swallowed the words that threatened to come to her lips, that AJ would be a good father. "I'm sure Jax would be a fine father. I don't think Carly would have married him otherwise." Sonny nodded, looking pained. "How about you? What flashed through your mind?" Skye looked off in the distance. "I thought of Adam, my adoptive father. My mother and I are on relatively good terms right now. But the last time I spoke to Adam was well over a year ago. We didn't part on such good terms. I'm afraid I was rather upset at the time over discovering that he was not my real father. I felt betrayed, and I lashed out at him." Sonny smiled mirthlessly. "I can relate to that." Skye sighed. "I've been meaning to go visit him, to try and reconcile, but so many things have happened this past year. Almost dying made me realize that I shouldn't waste time. I think I'm going to have to make time to go to Pine Valley and see him and Stuart. Stuart is his twin brother, and the sweetest man on the face of the earth. I shouldn't have punished him for my anger towards Adam."
Skye looked off in the distance, tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. She shrugged. "I suppose now you'll think that in addition to being a hopeless romantic, I'm also a sentimental fool." Sonny stared thoughtfully at her. "Y'know, Skye, it seems to me that you're desperate for people to love and accept you. When they don't, it hurts a great deal. And when they do genuinely care for you, it's difficult to accept. You were angry at Adam because you felt his love was counterfeit." Skye shrugged again. "I suppose that's true." Sonny went on, "You've got all this love inside your heart, just waiting to be poured out on someone who would love you back. But the problem is that with your heart in frozen storage, no one can see what's inside. All people see is someone who is cold-hearted. They don't realize that there is something inside the coldness, waiting to be thawed. Jax didn't see it." By this time Skye was crying profusely, and she shook her head. "No, Jax saw it. He saw what I was really like. He just didn't do anything about it." Sonny looked grim. "Then he was an even greater fool than I thought."
Before she could respond, his lips had closed over hers. Skye was so surprised by his action, that she didn't even think about her response. Without pausing, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His hands were running down her back, and then back up to twine into her hair. She caressed his cheek and neck, her tears continuing to stream down her face. They rolled around on the blanket, letting loose all the frustrated passion and anger that had been building in them from the moment they met. Sonny pulled her shirt out of the waistband of her jeans, caressing her bare midriff. He was about pull her shirt up to expose her bra when the moment was completely shattered by an inexplicable barking right next to their ears.
They both froze, and looked over to see a big shaggy dog sitting right next to the blanket, panting at them. Flabbergasted, they were unable to move, until the sound of a child's laughter coming closer spurred them into movement. They leaped over to opposite sides of the blanket, Sonny combing his hair with his finger, and Skye quickly tucking her shirt back into her jeans. A little girl burst into the clearing, chattering in a language that sounded like German. She stopped short when she saw the two on the blanket. A man and a woman followed right behind the girl, and also stopped when they saw the couple. They asked a question in German. Sonny and Skye looked at each other, and burst into laughter.
They drove back to the hotel in relative silence. They dropped off the car, and headed out for more sightseeing. Skye showed Sonny how to use the camera, and he took a few experimental pictures, including some of Skye. At one point they visited a gallery. Skye was drawn to two of the paintings. One was a pastoral setting that looked remarkably like the place where they had their picnic. The other was one of a woman reading a book in an Italian garden. She decided to purchase the latter picture for her office. She paid for it, and arranged for it to be shipped to ELQ. That night they had their last dinner in Rome, as Skye would be taking an early flight out in the morning. In the elevator on the way up their rooms, Skye was particularly somber. She didn't want it to end. Not the vacation, and not their truce. Sonny walked her to her room, and insisted on going inside to check for intruders. Since he had not done a check the previous nights, Skye knew it was a ploy. After making a circle around the room, Sonny came over to stand in front of Skye. He was about to move in to kiss her, when Skye stepped back.
"Look, Sonny, I think it would be best if we say goodbye now." Sonny gazed at her with his usual unreadable expression. "You don't want to finish what we started at the picnic?" he asked in a low voice. Skye started to tremble as she fought for control. "It wasn't real, Sonny, none of this is. I know what you were trying to do before, and I…I don't approve." Sonny frowned and put his hands on his hips. "What was I trying to do." Skye folded her arms. "You gave this nice little speech about the state of my heart, which was more or less accurate. Then you…you felt sorry for me. So you decided to throw me a bone and…and make love to me. Sort of the cherry on top of the sundae that was this trip." Sonny's lips quirked as he realized that she had no idea of the innuendoes she made. "Skye, I…" "No! I don't want your pity. You've made it clear on past occasions that you're not attracted to me." Sonny exhaled in exasperation. "Not attracted to you? Are you saying that you didn't feel that…bone that I was…throwing you?" Skye flushed a deep red. "You could have been thinking of someone else," she muttered.
Sonny threw up his hands, his anger beginning to take hold. "I find it hard to believe that your self esteem is that low. Which leads me to only one conclusion. You may be attracted to me, but you're disgusted by the idea of making love to me. I'm beneath you. I'm a thug, a…a goombah who couldn't even begin to touch the likes of rich, lily white you. If that's what you want to think, fine. But I'm not going to let you reject me, and then make me feel guilty about it." Sonny walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. And so ends the truce, she thought. Skye packed her clothes, her movements mechanical, stopping every so often to wipe the tears from her face or blow her nose. She briefly considered going to Sonny. But she had already thrown herself at a man once this year, only to be rejected. She wasn't about to endure that humiliation again.
The next morning Skye checked out of the hotel and boarded her flight home. The entire trip she stared unseeingly out the window, the purple tulip in her hand. Every so often she would draw it over her cheek and lips, imagining that it was Sonny caressing her, wondering how it was that she always managed to make such a spectacular mess of her life.
Skye came into the lobby, looking quite regal in a gown of deep purple. It had a high neckline, no sleeves, and fanned outward from the waist into soft folds on the floor. The bodice had delicate beadwork, and the skirt was a soft floaty material. Her hair was up, and she had twined a purple ribbon through it. She spotted Sonny, who was over by the concierge desk. He had obviously seen her, but was standing there unmoving, as if he was frozen in place. Skye took the opportunity to admire his tuxedo. She had figured he would look amazing in a tuxedo, and indeed he did. Finally he snapped out of his reverie, and walked over to her. "You look stunning," he said, as he pulled a box out of his pocket. "I saw these at a shop earlier, and figured they would go well with your gown." She took the box from him, hesitantly, and opened it. Inside were a pair of dangling earrings made of silver with an antique finish. They were very old, and very well made. Tears sparked at the back of her eyes. "They're exquisite," she whispered, and put them on. She smiled. "Thank you." Sonny smiled back and offered her his arm.
When the opera was over, Skye was glad that she had brought some tissue in her evening bag. Tears were streaming down her face. "I should have known," Sonny said, smiling. "You may be a corporate executive, but you're also a hopeless romantic." Skye would have been embarrassed at his statement if she hadn't heard a distinct tremor in his voice. "I'll admit to being a hopeless romantic if you admit that it wasn't allergies or illness that caused all that sniffling you did during the death scene." Sonny grinned. "I'm thinking I should have my attorney present for this line of questioning."
When they exited the opera house, they decided to walk a little, to avoid the line of cars waiting to pick up the attendees. They passed by a cart that was bursting with a variety of different flowers. Sonny stopped, stared at the cart for a moment, then plucked a single flower from its midst. It was a tulip, in a deep shade of purple that almost matched her dress. He paid the cart owner, and handed her the tulip. "It's absolutely perfect," she said. They finally hailed a taxi, and returned to the hotel. Sonny walked Skye to her door. She smiled shakily at him. "More sightseeing tomorrow?" He nodded. "I'd like to see a few more things tomorrow afternoon. But I have a surprise activity planned for the morning, if you're up to it." Skye raised her eyebrows. "I love surprises." He smiled. "Good, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 9am. Wear comfortable clothes." He hesitated, then leaned over and gingerly kissed her on the cheek. He stared into her eyes for a moment, then turned and walked away.
The next morning, Sonny ushered Skye out of the lobby, where a car was waiting outside. "No driver?" Sonny nodded. "Yeah, me. I hope you can read a map." She slid into the passenger seat, and Sonny skillfully maneuvered the car out into traffic. Before long they were heading out of the city. "How in the world did you arrange this?" Sonny flashed her a smile. "The concierge has many ideas for well paying customers. I can't say anymore until we get there." They followed the directions until they were well out into the countryside. Finally Sonny pulled onto a dirt road that ended in a wooded area. He got out and popped the trunk. Skye was surprised to see a picnic basket and blanket. She grinned in delight. They followed a trail until it ended in a clearing by a stream. On the other side of the stream, Skye could see rolling hills in the distance. "Oh, Sonny, this is absolutely magical."
Sonny spread the blanket, and they sat down. Skye unpacked the picnic basket, delighted with each treat that she pulled out. They ate until they were both absolutely stuffed. Then they reclined on the blanket, staring off into the distance. Skye looked thoughtfully over at Sonny. "When we were in the alley, and you thought you were going to die…what flashed through your mind?" Sonny stared at her, his face unreadable. "I thought of Michael. I found myself hoping that Jax would be a good father to him." Skye looked down, wincing slightly. She swallowed the words that threatened to come to her lips, that AJ would be a good father. "I'm sure Jax would be a fine father. I don't think Carly would have married him otherwise." Sonny nodded, looking pained. "How about you? What flashed through your mind?" Skye looked off in the distance. "I thought of Adam, my adoptive father. My mother and I are on relatively good terms right now. But the last time I spoke to Adam was well over a year ago. We didn't part on such good terms. I'm afraid I was rather upset at the time over discovering that he was not my real father. I felt betrayed, and I lashed out at him." Sonny smiled mirthlessly. "I can relate to that." Skye sighed. "I've been meaning to go visit him, to try and reconcile, but so many things have happened this past year. Almost dying made me realize that I shouldn't waste time. I think I'm going to have to make time to go to Pine Valley and see him and Stuart. Stuart is his twin brother, and the sweetest man on the face of the earth. I shouldn't have punished him for my anger towards Adam."
Skye looked off in the distance, tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. She shrugged. "I suppose now you'll think that in addition to being a hopeless romantic, I'm also a sentimental fool." Sonny stared thoughtfully at her. "Y'know, Skye, it seems to me that you're desperate for people to love and accept you. When they don't, it hurts a great deal. And when they do genuinely care for you, it's difficult to accept. You were angry at Adam because you felt his love was counterfeit." Skye shrugged again. "I suppose that's true." Sonny went on, "You've got all this love inside your heart, just waiting to be poured out on someone who would love you back. But the problem is that with your heart in frozen storage, no one can see what's inside. All people see is someone who is cold-hearted. They don't realize that there is something inside the coldness, waiting to be thawed. Jax didn't see it." By this time Skye was crying profusely, and she shook her head. "No, Jax saw it. He saw what I was really like. He just didn't do anything about it." Sonny looked grim. "Then he was an even greater fool than I thought."
Before she could respond, his lips had closed over hers. Skye was so surprised by his action, that she didn't even think about her response. Without pausing, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. His hands were running down her back, and then back up to twine into her hair. She caressed his cheek and neck, her tears continuing to stream down her face. They rolled around on the blanket, letting loose all the frustrated passion and anger that had been building in them from the moment they met. Sonny pulled her shirt out of the waistband of her jeans, caressing her bare midriff. He was about pull her shirt up to expose her bra when the moment was completely shattered by an inexplicable barking right next to their ears.
They both froze, and looked over to see a big shaggy dog sitting right next to the blanket, panting at them. Flabbergasted, they were unable to move, until the sound of a child's laughter coming closer spurred them into movement. They leaped over to opposite sides of the blanket, Sonny combing his hair with his finger, and Skye quickly tucking her shirt back into her jeans. A little girl burst into the clearing, chattering in a language that sounded like German. She stopped short when she saw the two on the blanket. A man and a woman followed right behind the girl, and also stopped when they saw the couple. They asked a question in German. Sonny and Skye looked at each other, and burst into laughter.
They drove back to the hotel in relative silence. They dropped off the car, and headed out for more sightseeing. Skye showed Sonny how to use the camera, and he took a few experimental pictures, including some of Skye. At one point they visited a gallery. Skye was drawn to two of the paintings. One was a pastoral setting that looked remarkably like the place where they had their picnic. The other was one of a woman reading a book in an Italian garden. She decided to purchase the latter picture for her office. She paid for it, and arranged for it to be shipped to ELQ. That night they had their last dinner in Rome, as Skye would be taking an early flight out in the morning. In the elevator on the way up their rooms, Skye was particularly somber. She didn't want it to end. Not the vacation, and not their truce. Sonny walked her to her room, and insisted on going inside to check for intruders. Since he had not done a check the previous nights, Skye knew it was a ploy. After making a circle around the room, Sonny came over to stand in front of Skye. He was about to move in to kiss her, when Skye stepped back.
"Look, Sonny, I think it would be best if we say goodbye now." Sonny gazed at her with his usual unreadable expression. "You don't want to finish what we started at the picnic?" he asked in a low voice. Skye started to tremble as she fought for control. "It wasn't real, Sonny, none of this is. I know what you were trying to do before, and I…I don't approve." Sonny frowned and put his hands on his hips. "What was I trying to do." Skye folded her arms. "You gave this nice little speech about the state of my heart, which was more or less accurate. Then you…you felt sorry for me. So you decided to throw me a bone and…and make love to me. Sort of the cherry on top of the sundae that was this trip." Sonny's lips quirked as he realized that she had no idea of the innuendoes she made. "Skye, I…" "No! I don't want your pity. You've made it clear on past occasions that you're not attracted to me." Sonny exhaled in exasperation. "Not attracted to you? Are you saying that you didn't feel that…bone that I was…throwing you?" Skye flushed a deep red. "You could have been thinking of someone else," she muttered.
Sonny threw up his hands, his anger beginning to take hold. "I find it hard to believe that your self esteem is that low. Which leads me to only one conclusion. You may be attracted to me, but you're disgusted by the idea of making love to me. I'm beneath you. I'm a thug, a…a goombah who couldn't even begin to touch the likes of rich, lily white you. If that's what you want to think, fine. But I'm not going to let you reject me, and then make me feel guilty about it." Sonny walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. And so ends the truce, she thought. Skye packed her clothes, her movements mechanical, stopping every so often to wipe the tears from her face or blow her nose. She briefly considered going to Sonny. But she had already thrown herself at a man once this year, only to be rejected. She wasn't about to endure that humiliation again.
The next morning Skye checked out of the hotel and boarded her flight home. The entire trip she stared unseeingly out the window, the purple tulip in her hand. Every so often she would draw it over her cheek and lips, imagining that it was Sonny caressing her, wondering how it was that she always managed to make such a spectacular mess of her life.
