Part Four

He was twenty minutes early. He stood on the docks, anxious. His heart was strangely beating fast, he paced back and forth trying to pass time. 'What if she didn't get my message? Maybe I should call her,' he thought to himself. He didn't know why he even called her to meet him. He didn't know what he would say to her once she arrived.

"Hey, it's Sonny, your probably still sleeping, but, um... I need to talk to you. Can u meet me by the docks at ten? Well, uh, I guess I'll see you then."

Alexis hung up her cel phone. Her mind was spinning. The last thing she needed right now was to see Sonny. She couldn't bare to look at him in the eye and pretend as though everything was fine. She knew full well that after her encounter with him last night, that she couldn't be near him anymore and maintain stability in her life. Her attachment to him made her emotionally unstable. And lack of emotional stability would affect her career --- her life. She looked at her watch, "Quarter-to-ten. So that gives me fifteen minutes to drink down this ridiculously bland white liquid." She looked down at the glass of milk and raised her left hand to her tummy. "I would only do this for you, little one." With that, she popped a tablet of vitamin C in her mouth and hastily flushed it down with the glass of milk. "Oh, what I would do for a glass of rum right now." She let out a snicker, "Your father would've paid big bucks to hear me say that at one point, you know." She touched her belly once again and caught a glimps of her watch. "Speaking of which, we better go. Your father is waiting."

He looked at his watch for the thirtieth time since he got there. He's been looking at it every minute as it seemed. She was ten minutes late. It wasn't like Alexis to be late for a meeting. 'Maybe she didn't get my message...or what if... what if something happened to her...' The thought of Alexis in danger made his heart race. And it's not the first time either. The night of the Sorel trial, oustside the courthouse when Sorel's men shot at them, his first instinct was to shield Alexis with his body. He didn't realize then what made him do it. He convinced himself that it was his chivalry and his history of endangering innocent women that made him do it. But what he didn't realize then, that he knows now, was that he had developed a special place in his heart for her --- he has opened up his heart for Alexis. In that instant he knew. He was connected to her somehow. Just the mere thought of losing her was unbearable to him.

"You rang?" The sound of her voice was like a breathe of fresh air. He turned himself around to her smiling face.

"Hey you." The trace of endearment in his voice made her heart skip a beat. He was looking at her with his full-dimpled grin that would make any hot-blooded woman go weak in the knees. She had intended for this to be a strictly professional meeting but the sight of him standing by the water, usual suit without, made it hardly possible. Instead he wore a smoky-grey jogging pants and a black sleeveless muscle shirt showing off his broad shoulders and muscular frame. Her eyes moved their way down to his chest, his rippling pectorals, to his flat and toned stomach, back up to his beaming face. His tousled hair made her realize that he had just finished his daily jog.

Sonny's smile widened. He saw her checking him out. And the look on her face was a great ego booster. She never seizes to amaze him. She wore her usual black pinstripe double breasted suit with the first button undone succeeding with the peek-a-boo affect that drove him mad. With it, she had on an above the knee length skirt to match, showing off more of her long smooth legs. She wore her hair up, a single clip holding it in place. Her bangs were at their usual place and little strands of hair rested on her neck, and some tucked behind her ear. His thoughts wandered back to that night in his room, with Alexis on his bed. As she let herself go and explored his body with her hands, as he ran his fingers through her loose silky hair.

He was smiling at her, staring. She suddenly felt naked under his roaming eyes. She broke the silence and asked, "Um, you sounded urgent on the phone. What's up? Do you have some legal papers you want me to look over for your caffeine industry?"

"Hey, I sell decaf too." She bit on her bottom lip and smiled. He was distracted by the sudden, yet routine movement of her lip.

She caught a glimpse of his eyes as they darted down to her mouth. She turned her face away from his, towards the lake. "It looks like a perfect day for a swim."

He felt her uneasyness in his presence. He turned himself to look at the horizon, "Yeah it is."

"So, you gonna tell me or do I have to pry it out of you."

"Right. Actually, it has nothing to do with my caffeine business. It's more of a personal matter."

"What, trouble in paradise already?" The tone in her voice and the content of it surprised her. As it did Sonny. He thought he caught a hint of jelousy in them.

"This is not about Carly, Alexis. I called you to meet me here to talk about you and me."

"You and me?" There was a slight quiver in her voice.

"Actually I lied. It involves Carly too," he paused and shifted his position. "You know, we're going to re-new our vows this evening." He looked at Alexis' face to see her reaction. They lacked the encouragement he sought to continue.

His words didn't sink in right away. For a harvard graduate, it sure took a long time to process what he was saying. Re-knew, meaning somehow, Sonny was able to terminate his divorce from Carly. The termagant was still Mrs. Corinthos.

Her silence confused him. "Alexis, did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah I heard what you said Sonny."

"Well..."

"Well, I'm glad things are going well for you and Carly," she swallowed hard.

"So that's it?"

"What do you mean That's it. I mean, what do you want me to say. How do you want me to react. Your my friend Sonny, and like I've many times said before, your happiness is my first priority. You evidently are still in love with your wife and I'm glad that your moving forward. Remember what I said before, no strings and no regrets."

Her words hit him hard. "No strings, and no regrets... Right... so you're back together with Ashton?"