Complications
One door opened. Then the other. Two sets of eyes met across the empty spaces between them. And a silence waited to be broken.
"I think we just had our first lovers' quarrel."
"Lovers?"
"Well maybe technically, not yet ..but…"
"But…"
"But now we have to make up."
"That could be good."
"Hmmm…"
"Trust me."
That brought forth the first smile between them today. "Always."
"We need to talk
." A nod of assent followed the words. Relieved, Sonny, still standing in his
doorway held out his hand. "Alexis?"
Slowly, Alexis
crossed over to Sonny. Why such a short distance felt so far, she didn't know.
But when she stood before him, she hesitated. Something in her made Alexis stop
to look deeply into his eyes. Sonny met her eyes unflinchingly…and what she saw
forced her to let her heart's guard down… be honest. With him and herself.
Forget what her mind said, her heart said differently.
"I know." she
said. After a long moment, she slowly placed her hand in his. Silently, his
fingers tightened around hers. Alexis allowed Sonny to lead her inside. The
door closed behind them, together they walked to the couch and sat down, facing
each other. Another little silence sprang up between them, one that Sonny was
the one to break. "Why is this so hard?" He asked her softly.
"It's
complicated." Alexis said and shrugged. "We're complicated people, Sonny. Maybe
too complicated. And then there's Carly and Michael. And Courtney and AJ."
"That's them – and they will all be dealt with, in their time. But that's all out there." Sonny gestured at the door. "But right here, right now, I'm talking about us." He hesitated for a moment…Sonny is a proud man, not one given to making apologies...but something that has been so important to him in the past has suddenly been relegated to a secondary position in his life. Having Alexis in his life has taught him lessons he'd never thought he'd had to learn. She'd forced him to accept her as an equal, first as business associates, then later as friends. He realized that she would accept no less of him, even now. And so he told her the truth. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Alexis. And I'm sorry."
She looked into his eyes. And it was like it always was; Alexis was able to see past the façade that Sonny normally presented to the rest of the world, but the one that he allowed only her within to see. The same, yet at the same time, different. This was deeper somehow, maybe because they were treading into new territories of their relationship never explored before. That thought sent a rush of emotions through her and it was a dizzying and exhilarating feeling…. Maybe it was the fact that he wanted to have her see him just as he was. But nonetheless, it was clear and all too apparent to her. And she knew what those last three words cost him. And yet he did it. For her. "But the truth is, you did, Sonny. You did hurt me. And then I turned right around and hurt you, didn't I?" Unbidden, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Not on purpose." Sonny reached out and brushed a thumb gently along her cheekbone, wiping away the trace of moisture hovering at the edges of her eyelashes His heart swelled with an unexpected longing at this simplest touch. His heart struggled against his pride and his voice roughened with pent up and unexpected emotion. "I am what I am, Alexis. You know that. But I would never willingly or knowingly ever hurt you."
"You know we could be walking into a minefield with our eyes both open. Neither of us are simple people. We're complicated, with complicated lives."
"This doesn't have to be complicated. This can be as simple as we want it. I care about you – you care about me. Where we go from here is up to us. Or up to you."
Alexis looked away for a moment. "I don't know if I want that responsibility." His next words brought her eyes back to his face.
"What I mean is that we can take this as fast or as slow as you want or need it to be. We will, I promise. But it…we ….are going to happen."
He understood. Alexis was almost afraid to face that fact. Somehow, Sonny understood her need – for whatever the reason – to take this - whatever this was - slow. Her heart was so vulnerable; it could be hurt so easily. It had been a long time since she'd allowed herself to feel anything for anyone. And she'd told herself for the longest time that what she was feeling for Sonny Corinthos was all in her mind. So how could he know?… His declaration sent her heart to racing. "You're that sure of this?" she asked.
"I'd bet the house on it."
"I thought you weren't a gambling man."
Was that a softening in her gaze and her words that he heard? Sonny took the chance that it was. "It's not a gamble…it's a sure thing. Let me prove it to you. How about lunch?"
"Sorry,
I have a working lunch with another client…at Club 101, in fact." Sonny raised
an eyebrow. "It was at my client's insistence, not mine's." Alexis said. "But
the point I was making is that I do have other clients."
"Maybe
I should remedy that situation." Sonny said, a teasing tone creeping into his
words. "Eliminate the competition…"
"Don't you dare, Sonny!" For a moment, she'd believed him, until Alexis caught the mischievous gleam in his eyes.
"All right. Fine,
go ahead and meet with your other client or clients. See, your wish is my
command." He said and grinned. "But am I not one of your clients? I need some
attention too; some unexpected contract negotiations have come up and needs
your immediate attention."
"And
these unexpected urgent negotiations just suddenly came up, did they?" Alexis
asked dryly. Sonny could be so blatantly obvious when he wanted something. But
when what he so obviously wanted was her – how could she possibly be angry at
him for that?
"That's usually
the case with unexpected urgent things…stuff happens unexpectedly." Sonny
smiled and shrugged. He read Alexis easily and he knew she wasn't annoyed in
the least little bit. "So how about a late lunch?" Sonny said. She shook her
head, but Sonny thought he saw the shadow of a smile hovering on her lips. That
only encouraged him; he grinned and kept going. "A late brunch?… an early
dinner?… midnight snack?…middle-of-the-night refrigerator raid? I'm not giving
up. You should know that about me."
"I
do." Alexis replied. "You're stubborn, willful, obstinate…." The smile that had lurked there burst over
Sonny with a full jolt of wattage, like the sun bursting through a bank of rain
clouds. "Normally I'd consider that a character flaw."
"But now…" Sonny asked, his eyes holding a
mischievous sparkle in the dark dark depths.
"Let's
just say I'm beginning to appreciate the merits in those sentiments. Mea
culpa, Sonny; I'd planned on getting some work done this evening, but an
early dinner will be nice." After all, Sonny never did anything halfway. The
idea of him her and the wonderful meal he would prepare for the two of them
sounded more appealing by the minute. She smiled at him. "Okay, get the
pertinent papers to me and I'll handle it." Her smile deepened. "Of course,
with such short notice, I'll have to bill you double."
Sonny smiled back. "It's a date, then. Clear your calendar, Councilor."
