There's something happening between us, and together, we're going to figure out what the hell it is…"

His mouth on hers. Had she ever really ever been kissed before? Not like this, not with lips that were all at once hard and demanding, then swiftly gentling and tender… not with kisses that burned their way into her soul and implanted themselves on all of her senses…. All of her fantasies had come nowhere close to reality. Sonny tasted like …like a fresh brewed cup of espresso. Dark. Strong, and a hint of sweetness underneath.

 Lying in her bed, Alexis floated somewhere between sleeping and wakefulness, letting the kiss replay itself behind her closed eyelids, reliving the touch of Sonny's lips against her own. A phantom river of desire coursed from her lips and spiraled downwards into her body, leaving behind an all too real ache. A few moments more, she told herself, just another minute then she'd wake up and banish these treacherous thoughts from her consciousness.

Was this why Carly fought so hard not to be banished from Sonny's life? Alexis's memories surfaced.  She remembered going to se Sonny after he'd been released from jail, and the look on Sonny's face when she'd questioned him about his wife's whereabouts….then the total the shock she'd felt when the realization hit her that it had been Carly that had betrayed Sonny to the FBI. In her mind's eye, she saw the younger woman screaming and banging at the penthouse door.

 "Sonny…you didn't have to change the locks…Sonny!!…" Carly's agonized cry echoed in her ears… In that moment, she'd pitied Carly. How could she have ever thought that trying to force Sonny into the witness protection program had ever been an option? This was supposedly the man that she loved and she hadn't understood this most basic thing about him? That his word, his sense of honor, his pride, his sense of self would never allow him to betray those he'd given his word and honor to?

Even I knew that much, Alexis thought to herself. And all we were, were friends. Even as her mind dwelled on that word -  friends – her body betrayed her as images of his Sonny's arms close about her, of his damnable and eloquent kisses replayed itself once more.  She sighed. Why did she allow herself to indulge in these infantile schoolgirl actions? That's all it was, she told herself sternly. She'd never had the chance to indulge in them when she was a teenager, Helena and Stavros had seen to that. So now her mind decided to play adolescent tricks on her? It was all just pitiful, really. What would Helena say...no what would she sneer and disparage and belittle -  if she could see her now?

 The thought of her deviant family tree brought Alexis into full wakefulness. It was just as well; as her body stretched against the cool sheets, the phone rang.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, yourself."
 
"Sleeping in this morning?"


"I needed the rest." She didn't volunteer the information that she'd spent the greater portion of the night tossing and turning. She had to get that man out of her mind, or else there were going to be plenty of sleepless nights in her future.

 
"Corinthos working you overtime again? Just because his life is empty, doesn't give him the right to impose himself on you all hours of the day and night."


"Jax, no one was imposing on me, believe me. Your concern, as always, is touching." Alexis deftly changed the subject. "Now, was there something specific that you called me about?"

"Just to ask you if you were coming to the club opening?"

"What is this, a preemptive strike?" Alexis shifted into a more comfortable position against her pillows.

"With your brilliant legal mind, how else could I possible win? I figured if you're planning to say no, this would give me the entire day to change your mind."

 "Well, since you've caught me at a disadvantage, and my mind is not functioning at one hundred percent capacity at the present time, I'll say yes." This solved several problems all at once. Jax would see that she was not tied to Sonny at the hip. Maybe that was a lesson Sonny needed to learn as well. And maybe it would quiet Kristina too. One could only hope.

"Yes?" Jax's voice was incredulous, but he was quick to hide his surprise. "Don't worry about  a thing; I'll make all of the arrangements."

Alexis sighed. "I suppose I can always claim diminished capacity at a later date, but yes. I and Kristina will be happy to be your guests at the club opening."

***


She got through the day, somehow, with a minimum of Sonny. Sometimes that was a good thing…. Thankfully, he'd been out of the penthouse most of the day, and the day she spent working at home had been blessedly uneventful.

But there were papers that she needed his final sign-off on because of last-minute revisions before they could be messengered out and there was no more putting it off. They had to go out tonight. Business was business, and pleasure was….not Sonny, she scolded her suddenly wayward thoughts.

Kristina came bustling through the door, a whirlwind of excitement. She carried an armload of bags and packages. Johnny, obviously recruited from his usual hallway post, carried another armful. Alexis smiled up at her, then gave Johnny her condolences in an open grin. He smiled ruefully and patiently followed Kristina as she chattered her way into the living room. The news this morning that Alexis would go with her to the club had sent her little sister into overdrive. Despite her own misgivings, it was easy enough to see that Kristina's enthusiasm was more than enough for the two of them.

"Alexis, it's already time to get ready. You'd think you could put those boring papers away for one night, at least."

"These boring papers, young lady, are what pays for the roof over our heads, so don't be so quick to disparage them so lightly." She laughed as Kristina made a face at her, sticking out her tongue as she deposited her bags onto the couch and began rummaging through them. "Well, the first thing I'm going to do is run you a bath with some special aromatherapy oils that I just picked up fresh." Triumphantly she came up with a small bag. "Now  you can allow their cleansing essences to just- just wipe away all those work vibrations. That should give you enough time to finish up what you're doing and be done for the night. And hurry…Jax and his club awaits!"

Before she could answer, Kristina ran upstairs. Alexis sighed aloud.

"Something troubling you, Ms. Davis?"

Alexis turned in surprise. "No, Johnny. Just work."

"So you're going to the club opening tonight?"

Was there a thread of disapproval in his voice? Alexis thought so for a moment, but couldn't be sure….."Yes," Alexis  said dryly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Johnny was a smart man. Sonny barely tolerated idiots in his presence. She was sure that he caught her sarcasm. But like any good bodyguard, his face remained perfectly immobile. Surely she was mistaken about the hint of a smile that had twitched at his lips.

"Not with Mr. Corinthos?"

"Not with Mr. Corinthos." Definitely not. He was going to be there for his ex-wife. She was going there…for herself. Alexis didn't realize that she'd straightened her shoulders as the thought went through her mind. Unconsciously, she tossed her hair back from her face and a sparkle of defiance flashed into her eyes. "No, not with Mr. Corinthos."

"His loss."

"You think?"

"I know."

The absolute certainty in the bodyguard's voice startled Alexis. Before she could react to that, Johnny was turning back towards the door. "You deserve more than this, but I hope you have a wonderful evening, Ms. Davis."

"Thank you, Johnny." She said, more than a little taken aback at his comment. The door closed behind him silently. After a moment spent staring after him, Alexis shook her head. She looked down at the papers still in her hand. She needed Sonny's signature on these final revisions in the very much immediate future in order for them to be express mailed out before ten, but suddenly she decided they could wait a bit. And so could he. She tossed the papers onto the desk. Time to think of herself first, for a change.

"Kristina, you wouldn't have happened to have picked up any gardenia oil?" she called as she headed towards the stairs.