Title: You Are What You Read
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They all belong to whoever they belong to. I just like to play with my favorites every now and then. I'll give them back as soon as I am finished.
Summary: AU - What happens when Sonny discovers that someone in Port Charles has been writing some very steamy romance novels. Starring him!
Chapter 2 Hunger
"Shit!" Carly cursed as she heard the front door slam. "Shit, shit, shit," she mumbled, digging through her purse for her cell phone.
Stomping her foot against the base of Sonny's bar in aggravation, she finally unearthed the tiny device and punched in numbers as fast as her fingers would allow.
"Pick up, pick up," she spoke out loud, taping her now sore foot, with frustration. "Oh thank you!" she exclaimed as the other end was answered. "You are not going to believe what has happened! …Sonny found one of the books! …Yes, those books! I don't get this worked up over Jane Austen! …No, you're the first person I called. …We have to tell her. …I know. She's going to flip out. …Yeah, I can be there in twenty. Call the others and meet me there."
Clicking the phone shut, Carly tossed it into her purse quickly, before rushing towards the door.
A mantra of 'shit' could be heard trailing behind her.
"Thanks, Vincent," Sonny murmured into the phone cradled between his ear and shoulder, quickly scribbling down an address before clicking the phone shut. "Head to this address Max," he instructed, passing the paper through the glass divider of the limo.
It wasn't as bad as he'd thought. Port Charles Publishers was not as huge of a publishing house like he had dreaded, merely a small press house located behind a book store, its main clients being the local news and school papers.
The book store itself was a popular shop on Main Street, just a few blocks from Kelly's, and Sonny had frequented it with his kids often due to the large children's section. The publishing house wasn't accessible from the store though it did share the same owner, an older couple with a fondness for literature. Due to their friendly nature, as well as their soft spot for his children, Sonny was sure Mr. and Mrs. Williams would give any information he required.
Unfortunate for him, today was a Sunday.
Sunday, meaning shorter hours.
"Damn," he grumbled at the 'closed' sign hanging innocently behind the glass door of the shop. He had missed the couple by a measly twenty minutes. Now forced to save his inquiries for the following day, Sonny dismally made his way back to the waiting car and slumped into his seat.
"Where to boss?" Max asked from his seat beside the driver.
"Uh," Sonny paused, thinking of a response as he stared bleakly through the tinted glass. "Just take me home," he finally replied, but a sudden growl from his empty stomach protested his decision immediately. "Actually, make that Kelly's, Max."
As the car rolled to a start and began its short trip, Sonny let out a breath of aggravation. It was amazing to him that one little book could reek such havoc on his once simple life. He was normal yesterday, but today he was the star of his very own shameless sex tale.
Pulling the book from his coat pocket, he glared down at the cover. 'Why me?' he thought to himself. There were plenty suitable bachelors in Port Charles, none of which were in his line of "work" or a father of three. This thing Antoinette had for was puzzling.
It was a common thing to find Sonny Corinthos detained at the local police station or making an appearance at the courthouse, and yet she was looking past all this. Though, maybe she wasn't. Ms. Heart (if that was even her name!) wasn't making herself known to him and he had only discovered her book by accident. If Carly hadn't left it behind, Sonny would still be unaware that Antoinette Heart even existed.
She did exist though, and now Sonny was torn between strangling her or perhaps, acting out a few of her chapters. Turning his eyes away from the front cover, which would undoubtedly haunt his dreams that evening, he thumbed through the pages of the book. Telling himself he was really only reading it to gather clues to Antoinette's identity, he stopped at a rather racy scene involving the barn and the saddle pictured on the cover. As the words he read painted a vivid picture in his thoughts, his body started to react.
With a throaty groan, Sonny snapped the book close and hid it again in the pocket of his coat. This was really one story you didn't read outside of the bedroom and he was positive he didn't need Max or his driver discovering his current state of distress.
Antoinette wrote with more passion and affection than he had ever been handled with. Her scenes aroused an excitement in Sonny that he hadn't felt since he was a teenager. If he was sure of anything, he was sure he'd have the healthiest sex life on the east coast if he found his author.
"Ok, I'll have the grilled chicken salad…a side of mash potatoes…three pickles…four blueberry pancakes…and…an…order of toast!" Emily finished with a satisfied smile.
"Is that all?" Mike asked, humor written across his face.
"No!" she quickly spoke. "Your tallest glass of water, with two…not one…two wedges of lemon." She emphasized her final request by holding up two fingers.
"You got it," Mike chuckled before heading into the kitchen.
"I think you just ordered half the menu," Elizabeth teased from her seat across the table.
"I'm eating for two!" Emily growled, her hormones raging. "Sorry," she quickly apologized. "I think I'm just really hungry."
"Obviously." Elizabeth laughed, understanding exactly what her best friend was dealing with.
"Ug!" Emily groaned. "I think I have to pee again." Elizabeth laughed again in reply and watched with sympathy as her very pregnant friend waddled towards the back of Kelly's. Lost in her thoughts, the ringing of the bell above the door to Kelly's broke her reverie and she turned to see Sonny entering.
"Hi Sonny," she greeted with a smile from her seat.
"Hey Elizabeth," he replied coming to stand beside her table. "Hungry?" he laughed as two waitresses began covering the surfaces of her table with plates of food.
"Having a late lunch with Emily," she replied with a laugh and he smiled in understanding. "How've you been?" she asked politely, after giving the young waitresses a sympathetic 'thank you'.
"Good," Sonny replied, any further comment cut off as a customer bumped him from behind as they were exiting the restaurant. The 'thump' that echoed at his feet caused a nervous intake of breath from Sonny.
"Oh, I'll get it," Elizabeth said, bending down from her seat to reach for the book that had fallen from Sonny's coat. As her fingers were just closing on it's spine, Sonny's own hand snatched it from her grasp and thrust it into his coat.
But the damage was done and Elizabeth hurriedly hid her surprised expression, replacing it with a friendly smile.
"Some people are so rude," she stated with a nod towards the closing door, trying to not let Sonny know that she now knew exactly what was hidden in his pocket.
"Yeah," he mumbled with a sort blush of embarrassment, before reassuring himself that he had grabbed the book too quickly and that Elizabeth hadn't had the chance to see its cover.
"Hey Sonny," Emily greeted warmly as she approached. "Oh! Food!"
"Hi Emily," he greeted quickly before excusing himself to the counter to order his own lunch.
"What's up with him?" she asked, dipping a pickle into her mash potatoes.
"I'll tell you in a minute," Elizabeth replied, pulling her purse from her feet. "Come on Emily, we have to get out of here."
"But…but my food is here!" she protested.
"Come on," she urged, standing from the table. "I'll get you a doggy bag…or maybe a forklift."
"Funny."
"I thought so."
The elevator doors slid open and Carly quickly immerged from inside. Pushing past its other occupants with a quick 'excuse me', she rushed to the penthouse at the end of the hall. Reaching its door, she stood on her toes and skimmed her hand across the top of the door frame.
"Yes," she exclaimed with a smile at her friend's predictability, a spare key falling to the floor. "Way too trusting," she mumbled, inserting the key into the lock and letting herself in.
Dusk approaching, the apartment was flooded in a warm glow as Carly entered. Closing the door behind her, she threw her purse onto the table beside the door and began pacing back and forth through the living room. Filled with anxiety, she drummed her fingers nervously against her crossed arms and mumbled to herself.
"This is bad," she spoke out loud to herself and greatly hoped that her friend would make the best of the situation and finally admit her feelings to Sonny. Broken from her thoughts by the sound of the front door creaking open, she spun quickly and was greeted with an anxious inquiry.
"Is she home?"
"No, I don't know where she is," Carly replied, resuming her pacing.
"She didn't answer her cell," Alexis Davis answered back, setting her purse beside Carly's as she entered the apartment.
"I think she was going to the cemetery today," Sam McCall replied, following her mother inside.
"Then she should be home soon," Alexis spoke, lowering herself to the couch. "She doesn't like to stay there once it's dark."
"She's going to flip," Carly moaned, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Maybe not," Sam replied as she perched herself on the couch arm beside Alexis. Receiving raised eyebrows of disbelief from the room's two other occupants she continued, "Ok…at first she will, but maybe this is for the best?"
"How so?" Alexis questioned with a laugh of skepticism. "She never wanted anyone to connect those books to her…especially HIM."
"We all did though and that didn't bring such horrible results," Sam replied. "Those books are the reason we are all friends now. Granted it took some time, but we are."
"Well, those books are also going to be the reason we have one less friend, once she finds out Sonny knows," Carly protested sarcastically.
"Stop pacing!" Alexis complained to Carly. "You are making me dizzy."
"He doesn't even know about the rest of them!" Carly responded, ignoring her friend's annoyance and continuing her well worn path. "Wait till he finds out that The Rising Sun, was only number two out of the six published!"
"That was a good one," Alexis grinned upon hearing the title.
"And wait till he finds out Elizabeth painted the cover art for the last three!" Carly added.
"I would have loved to see his expression when he realized he was the main character," Alexis continued.
"It was pretty funny," Carly admitted, letting her mood lighten as she recalled his response. "He said I made him into a 'sex crazed stable boy'."
Laughter quickly filled the room.
"He accused you of writing it?" Sam asked once her amusement subsided.
"Of course!" Carly replied. "I'm sure you're next!" she added pointing towards Alexis.
"Oh, great," Alexis replied with a roll of her eyes, her response muffled by the sudden noise outside. Three head simultaneously snapped towards the opening door.
"You obviously don't remember what it was like to be pregnant," Emily was saying to Elizabeth as they entered, each carrying a large paper bag filled with food.
"Look we're here," Elizabeth responded in exasperation. "You can eat now." Setting the bag she held on the coffee table, she moved aside as Emily reached for it immediately.
"You eating for two or six?" Carly teased as Emily pulled the coffee table closer to the arm chair she was sitting in and stuffed a slice of pancake into her mouth.
"Don't start with me," she replied with a mouthful, causing a laugh from her friends.
"Is she home?" Elizabeth asked once Emily was content with her food.
"No," the other three women replied simultaneously.
"We think she went to the cemetery," Sam added.
"Well, then she should be back soon. I know she hates it there once it gets dark," Elizabeth stated with a helpful shrug.
"So what happened at Kelly's?" Alexis asked her.
"Oh, you should have seen his face!" Elizabeth laughed. "It fell from his coat right in front of me. He was so embarrassed."
"He's carrying it on him?" Sam asked in astonishment. "That's kind of cute."
"It's only cute because we know who the author is and know that she is head over heals for him," Alexis responded.
"Yeah, it'd be kind of weird if that weren't the case," Elizabeth added, wrinkling her nose.
"So, how are we going to break this to her?" Carly asked, slumping beside Alexis on the couch.
"I say we draw straws," Alexis teased.
"I believe I said 'how are we going to break this to her' and not how am I going to break this to her," Carly replied, giving Alexis a playful shove.
"You are the reason we are in this current situation," Sam added with a teasing smile.
"How so?" Carly exclaimed.
"You left the book behind," Emily responded with a mouthful of toast.
"Well…not on purpose!" she protested.
"I still like the straw idea," Alexis added, before dodging Carly's attempt to shove her again.
"No, no straws," Elizabeth laughed.
"Thank you!" Carly exclaimed, glad that someone was on her side, even if the others were only teasing her.
"She's going to be so upset," Emily spoke with a sigh.
"Who's going to be upset?" The five women turned quickly to the door, surprised by not having heard their friend enter her home. "And can I ask why you all have broken into my home?"
The room was quiet, no one quite sure how to respond. Rising from her seat after a moment, Carly took a step closer to their friend and spoke.
"We've got something to tell you Skye."
TBC