And in time... (10 page)

Cory had been dishing out the chicken and rice casserole when she returned. The strange urge returned when she saw him, standing with his bare back to her. She wanted to wrap her arms around his waist and kiss his defined shoulder blades. She breathed in a long, deep breath and spoke, trying to keep things un-awkward and straightforward. “Smells good,” she said while retrieving a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge.

“It is. I cheated. Your mother is a magnificent cook.”

“Hmm, that she is,” Alexis agreed with a hum, meeting him at the table with their lunch. “I could probably find you a shirt,” she offered. How the hell was she supposed to eat anything staring at that?

“Or you could just take yours off.”

“Funny.”

“I have a shirt in the car if this bothers you,” Cory offered.

“It doesn’t bother me. It’s just distracting me.”

“I think I like that.”

Alexis shook her head and scooped a bite of food to her mouth. “You would.” Once again, they shared stories over lunch. Well, Alexis did anyway, Cory listened and asked probing questions. The topic was her and Bernie this time. Alexis told him about growing up with Bernie attached to her hip. She shared what it was like being best friends with the outspoken mouthpiece. The one who always got her into trouble.

“Okay, we’re burning daylight again. I’ll wash these up later,” Alexis offered while she stood, clearing the table. She placed the plates in the sink and watched Cory remove his cell phone from his jeans and frown.

“You’re not going to get a signal here,” she explained. Cory briefly looked distraught.

“Really? I need to call the clinic. I have a patient that I was supposed to get an update on. Can I use your phone?”

“Sure,” she said while nodding to the cordless. She watched cautiously while he made a rather strange call. Alexis eavesdropped while Cory walked out to the back deck.

“Hello, this is Cory… No, I can’t talk to her right now. Tell her I’ll see her at seven… I don’t have time for this right now. I’ll see you at seven.”

Again, Alexis got the feeling he’d been hiding something. It just felt odd. Although she didn’t hear the entire conversation, she did sense the walk further from the door was to keep her from that. Nothing about what she heard led her to believe it was a call to the clinic at all. Then again, that could have been Alexis being Alexis, paranoid and silly.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you didn’t have cell service out here.”

“There’s a tower going up about three miles from here. We should have service before long. Here, let me see your phone.” Alexis placed his phone in the window. “There…one bar. Now if you have an emergency, it’ll ring. You can’t answer it, but at least you have the number in case it’s someone you need to call back.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better. I’m going to grab a shirt from my car and I’ll meet you on the porch.”

Damn. That sucked. He made her endure an entire meal without a shirt. The least he could do was leave it off while they worked. Alexis laughed at the ball cap. “Not taking any chances, huh?” she taunted.

“Not with you,” he admitted with an outstretched arm, pulling her close to him again. Once again, they made out for what seemed like forever, and Alexis fell harder. The sensations this man caused became almost overbearing. Her knees grew weak, adrenaline pumped fast through her veins, and her body reacted in unfamiliar ways.

“You gotta stop doing that, Doc,” she rasped close to his lips again.

“What’s the matter, can’t handle it?”

“Hmm, that’s debatable. I’m not sure what it is I would be handling.”

Cory placed his fingers over the snap of his jeans. “Let me show you.”

Alexis laughed and pushed away. “Paint!” she ordered with a nod to his roller.

“You’re such a slave driver.”

By five in the evening, they had finished with the painting, all except for the floor. Alexis hoped for another beautiful weekend for that one before snowfall. It could happen, September was a long month. She should be okay.

Alexis and Cory stood in the yard, observing the completed work. She felt giddy with approval. The fresh white paint looked fantastic next to the new charcoal-gray siding. The new windows trimmed in the same bright white next to the newly shingled roof topped it off. She loved it. Really, really loved it.

“I don’t think we should paint the floor white.” Cory decided, tilting his head.

“You don’t?”

“No. I think we should paint it red to match the roof.”

Alexis studied it for a minute.

“Oh my God. I love that. I’m doing it.”

“I’m helping.”

She leaned into Cory. He dropped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her head. “You can help,” she agreed. She wanted him to help. He could help her do anything to her house. Inside or out.

They sat on the back deck and drank beer, flirted and kissed often while he cooked mouthwatering ribs. She felt sad when he declined another beer. It was almost six-thirty, and she knew he would be leaving. And she was right. Cory told her that he had to go right after the meal had been cleaned up. She didn’t want him to leave. It was too early, but she also knew it was probably best that he did.

“I had a really good time today,” he said in a low tone, holding her close to the freshly painted porch.

“Me too,” she admitted in her own soft voice.

“I’m dying to back you up against this banister here.”

“Don’t do that. Wait until it dries.”

“I plan on holding you to that,” he assured her. The passionate kiss was almost her undoing. Her head tilted when his lips wandered to her ear and down her neck. Alexis sucked in her bottom lip and bit down. His warm lips slid down her throat and to her chest while she tried to keep control. His thumb brushed across the pucker below the thin material on her shirt and she bit harder on her lip.

“Whoa, Doc,” she protested with her hands on both sides of his face, pulling his lips back to hers.  

“Damn, Lex,” he whispered in the same tone that sent shivers up her spine while his lips touched hers with soft, warm words. His forehead rested on hers and she knew they needed to stop. Him as much as her. She could feel the protruding arousal on her stomach.

“You need to get away from me.”

“I do. I’ll talk to you later.”

Alexis sighed a heavy breath and watched him stride to his shiny red car. Oh, brother. What did she get herself into now? Once the car was out of sight, leaving behind nothing but dust, Alexis went for the phone. 

“I have been waiting for your call all day,” Bernie answered on the first ring.

“Is Travis home?”

“No. He’ll be back tomorrow. What broke?”

“Nothing broke. Go get some beer and come over.”

“I have Taylor.”

“So? Get some night crawlers, we’ll take him down to the pond and let him fish while we drink a couple beers and I tell you about my day.”

“Was it good?”

“It was great, but just for the record, don’t be giving directions to my house out anymore. Are you coming over?”

“Hey, Taylor, do you want to go over to Aunt Lexis’s and go fishing?” she called extremely loud to Taylor. Alexis had to pull the phone away from her ear and even Mr. Dog looked up. Of course, he said yes. Taylor loved her, or maybe he loved her pond. “Okay, we’ll be over in a little bit.”

“Don’t forget the beer.”

Alexis carried two chairs down to the pond and another lounge chair with a pillow and blanket for Taylor. She knew he would be sound asleep by nine if he made it that long. She started a fire in the fire pit that she and Mr. Tate built years ago from fieldstone they’d gathered from around the property. She used to love coming there and fishing as much as Taylor did, and it kept her from running away and getting stuck in trees. As long as it was okay with Mr. Tate, her dad didn’t mind her hanging out there at all.

Alexis was right about Taylor. Three fish, two s’mores, and a whole can of coke had proven to be more than he could handle. He was sound asleep, curled on Alexis’s lap by eight thirty.

“Enough about painting and lunch, and supper. I want to hear the juicy stuff.”

“We kissed, that’s about it.”

Bernie looked at her with a tilted head. “You’re joking. That’s it. You kissed?”

“Bernie, I’m not going to jump in bed with him after a couple times together.”

“Why the hell not? I don’t know how you kept from it. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to control myself.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t easy. If he would have stayed much longer, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to stop him. Oh my God, Bernie, you should have seen him with his shirt off.”

“He took his shirt off? Now you’re talking. Spill.”

“Yes, and damn is he ever hot.” Alexis explained the whole paint spilling incident and her parents showing up. “I wonder how they knew he would be here,” she audibly pondered. Bernie avoided that one like the plague.

“You really like him.”

“I don’t know, Bernie.”

Bernie stared at her with a contemplative expression.

“What?” Alexis finally asked.

“I’m just trying to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“You… I mean, you have had a lot of hot guys chasing you and you wouldn’t even give them the time of day.”

“Believe me, this one scares the hell out of me. My mind keeps telling me to stop, and all the logic in me tells me to stop,” Alexis explained with a beer in one hand and the other, rubbing Mr. Dog’s neck. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something. He’s got a past, or he’s hiding from the law, or something. I can feel it.”

“Alexis, that’s just your way of not getting involved with anyone. You find something wrong with every guy that wants to go out with you, just so you can push them away. Don’t push this guy away, give him a chance.”

“I never want to hurt like that again, Bernie.”

“Lex, you don’t get one without the other. If you love, you’re going to get hurt, it’s life; you pick yourself up and move on. Don’t do that to yourself. Love is freaking amazing when you know it’s the one.” Bernie smiled while she thought about Travis. If anyone knew what it was like to be hurt by men, it was her. Unlike Alexis, Bernie didn’t learn her lesson the first time, or the second, or the third. It took five broken hearts and seven assholes before she found Travis. Thank God for Travis. “Not to mention, the sex can be over the top, mind-blowing.”

“That scares the hell out of me, too,” Alexis admitted. “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?”

“Yes. I’m your best friend. I do know that. What I don’t know is how you can go without it. I mean, do you have like a stash of toys or something?”

Alexis laughed and covered Taylor’s exposed ear with her hand. “No, I don’t. I just stay busy. I really don’t think about it at all, well until lately anyway.” That was the truth. She didn’t think about sex. Refinishing hardwood floors, stripping antique trim, and painting room after room in her house kept her plenty busy and her mind occupied. Plus, she had her business. That was crazy busy, too, and continued to grow with new clients every year.

Cory’s first day in his new office was busy. He met a lot of the town’s people and even diagnosed the little boy from the barbershop with asthma. He was extremely grateful the receptionist, Jackie, stayed on with him. He liked her, and she’d proved more help to him than he could have imagined. Things in a small-town doctor’s office were a lot different than a fast paced city hospital. Although it was going to take some getting used to, Cory looked forward to the slower pace and friendlier people. Dr. Rice’s nurse, Misty, also stayed on and he could already tell they were going to work well together. Misty was so caring and systematic with everything she did. That, too, had been a pleasant change. Cory knew just by watching her that Misty truly did care. This wasn’t a ploy to impress him for her job. It was evident that she was doing what she loved to do. 

Alexis stayed busy with her own appointments. She and Bernie tag-teamed and ran through nine slots back to back before one in the afternoon. That was a lot for a morning shift and a ton of kids.

“Holy shit! Who booked this many people?”

“We did¸” Alexis reminded Bernie. “It’s either that or start staying open until seven. I don’t want to do that. You can go to lunch if you want. I’ll clean this up.”

“Do you want me to bring you back something?” Bernie asked. She took her up on the offer. She’d get the hell out of there before someone else walked in. Alexis had been trying to kill her.

“No, I want to try to get out of here for a little bit. I need to run by and pay my electric bill and drop some stuff off at Mary’s.”

“Who?”

“Mary. Remember? She took over for Jason the accountant?”

“Oh yeah. Tell her I said hey.”

“You don’t even know her.”

“Yes I do. We had a beer together over at the line.”

“Figures. Lock the door and turn the sign when you leave.”

Alexis sucked air into her cheeks and then sputtered it from her lips. She was tired, too. Four and a half hours of moving kids, props, and backdrops without a break was a lot. The extra two hours of business looked more and more like a reality, at least until after the holidays. She tossed stuffed animals to their place in the corner, hung the different colored posing rugs on a hook, and stacked the fake rocks back on their shelf. After moving a fake fence and a pedestal back to their rightful place, Alexis turned to slide the backlight.

She jumped back and grabbed her pounding heart. “Aahhhh! Oh my God. You big dumb idiot! Who let you in here?” Alexis questioned while waiting for her heart to calm down. Stupid door chime.

Cory smiled a mischievously and leaned against the threshold. “Bernie. Did you just call me a big dumb idiot?” Cory Baker wore the business attire well.
Holy crap!

“Yes, I did. You’re lucky it was me. Bernie probably would have made sure you never had kids and called you a few choice words. What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Did you think about me?”

Alexis instantly smiled, but didn’t lie. “Honestly? No. I haven’t had time to think about anything.”

“That hurts,” he admitted with his hand over his heart. Cory took a few steps, closing the distance between them.

“I thought about you last night, and when I woke, if that helps,” she confessed while her hands easily went into his, like they belonged there. He moved them behind her back and pulled her closer.

“Does that mean I was the last thing you thought about before your eyes closed, and the first thing you thought about when they opened?”

“Can I plead the fifth?”

“Sure, that means you’re guilty. What’s this?” he questioned when his hands felt the tube-like object closed in hand. It sort of looked like an over-sized tube of lipstick, black with a red button on the end. His thumb hit the button and the camera and lights flashed simultaneously.

“You just had to push the red button, didn’t you?” she joked. Cory did it again. “Stop it, you’re taking our picture.”

“I want this one.” The lights and camera flashed again when his lips met hers.

Alexis kissed him back. One quick peck from the tips of her toes. “We’re not under the X,” she said as her eyes moved up, pointing to a light blue X taped on the ceiling.

Cory forced her feet to move with his. Two steps back and they were below the X. “Give me that?” she insisted. Her hands quickly reached for the control, trying to take it away from him. He did it again.

Cory raised it above his head out of her reach. “Kiss me.”

“No,” she protested just as he pushed the button again. Alexis moved her arms around his neck and kissed his jawline. She fought the impulse to press her lips against the erotic smell and the pulse on his throat. Alexis pulled herself up to the tips of her toes and kissed him. Cory kissed her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. The lights flashed again and Alexis broke the kiss.

“I’m not kissing you anymore until you give that to me,” she demanded. “Besides, you are all cleaned up in your pretty white shirt, and here I am wearing a polo. You’re going to look better than me,” she complained with her arms still around his neck.

Cory backed up and took the tie off.

Alexis watched amused. “Now what are you doing?”

He watched her with narrowed eyes, responding with his fingers and not words. He unbuttoned the white shirt and laid it over a black posing stool.

“You’re so bad,” she accused when he smiled and joined her back on the focusing spot. “Like that helped. I may as well be invisible,” she assured him. 

“Or you could just let me help you out of this,” he suggested. His hand clasped the hem of her pink polo shirt and he lifted, just enough to make her gasp. Of course, Alexis stopped him. His hands rested on her bare waist, and his lips brushed hers. The lights and sound of the camera caught her off guard long enough for Cory to lift her shirt over her head. It hung in his fists behind her back before she knew what was happening. Cory snapped another photo.

“There is no way I am developing these.”

He didn’t respond. He continued to discover her mouth and then her neck, her throat, and her chest. Her fingers tangled with the long hair at the back of his neck and her eyes closed. Alexis was so lost in everything about him. Cory pulled away long enough to slide the unfastened bra strap over her shoulder. The beat in her heart sped to a fast tick, but she never stopped him. She couldn’t. Cory was extremely sensual. Like nothing she’d ever been a part of before. Pulling off another heist, Cory slid the thin straps down her arms. Alexis let him remove the top half of her clothes, right there in the studio.   

His eyes left hers and wandered down to her bare breasts. He snapped another picture, but this time it didn’t intimidate her. She was immobile with her arms dangling next to her sides, focused on the lustful way he explored her body. Cory used the tips of his fingers, started at her throat, and moved down her chest. His soft hands cupped both breasts while his thumbs explored forbidden, hard pebbles, and his tongue discovered her mouth. Alexis felt the throbbing sensation between her legs again, not even trying to hide the moan. She wanted him. She wanted him more than ever, and she could feel the want he also carried, pressing against her stomach.

“Lex, you still here?” Bernie called.

Seriously? Alexis would be smashing the stupid chime with a hammer, breaking it into tiny little pieces. Alexis didn’t even try to move. There was no need. Bernie would be in the studio in two seconds. Nope. It was best to hide her face in Cory’s chest and wait for her to leave. Sigh…

“Oh…I forgot my…um…my cell phone,” Bernie stated with eyes as big as a full moon. Alexis pointed to the red phone she’d laid on the shelf with the books without looking up. “I’ll lock the door,” she said with a flabbergasted expression, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

Really Alexis?! In the studio?
Wow. She had it bad. Was this the wakeup call she needed?

Cory snapped one more photo and retreated. “Give me that thing,” Alexis demanded. Cory handed over the trigger without a struggle. Their eyes locked while they watched each other dress. Alexis tried to keep her eyes from the protrusion, laying to the right side of his dress pants, but failed. And truth be told, she didn’t really care. She fell once again. Harder, feeling a pang she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before.

“I have to get away from you,” Cory admitted as his hands took hers and he met her back under the X.

“From the looks of things, you may want to wait a little bit,” she teased not hiding where her eyes were led, letting them drift below his belt. She took the photo that time and then screamed when Cory scooped her into his arms. He carried her all the way out to the waiting area before placing her feet to the floor.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“I have to get back to the office, but I’ll be done at five. Do you want to grab a pizza? I don’t have a lot of time for much more than that. I have to be in Canterville by seven for a meeting.”

“Sure, pizza sounds good,” she agreed. She actually felt relieved that he couldn’t stay out any longer, afraid of what might happen if he did.

“I’ll see you in a little while,” Cory said with one sweet kiss goodbye.

“Okay. I better go delete some pictures before Bernie sees them. See you later, Doc.”

Alexis plopped her elbows to the counter and rested her chin on her fists. She watched him wave to the mailman and stride across the street. Well, it was too late now. She was in. She’d dropped her guard and let him in. All in. But for the first time in years, she was okay with it. Feeling like it was right this time, she slapped her hands flat against the counter and giggled. “You dumb girl,” she audibly spoke and headed to the camera room to get rid of the erotic photo shoot.

Once the photos were sent to her computer and deleted from the camera, Alexis went to her office. Oblivious to everything around her, she looked through the photos, all twenty-seven of them. There were way more than she remembered him taking. She must have really been caught up in the moment. She could tell by the erotic expressions on her face that she was in deep. Very deep. Like she needed boots, deep.

“What the hell? You took photos?” Bernie asked.

Alexis tried to click out of it, but it was too late. Nosy Bernie already saw it.

“No, go away. You and Paige have a busy afternoon.”

“No, what was that?”

“Nothing, Bernie.”

“Come on. Let me see.”

“No way, Bernie.”

“Did you just have sex in the studio?”

“No!” Alexis exclaimed with an elevated tone. For God’s sake. Really?

“Alexis McKinley! You show me those pictures right now. Can you see his penis?”

Alexis laughed. “No. There are no penis shots. Good God.”

“Then let me see.”

“No, Bernie. They’re too personal.”

“Alexis, give me a break. Did you forget who I was? I’m the one that washed the blood out of your cheerleading skirt in the sixth grade. I’m the one that washed the puke from your hair the first time you got drunk. I’ve seen you at your worst. Let me see,” Bernie whined. She could tell by the relaxed shoulders that Alexis had given in. They had already been through thick and thin together, a few risqué photos were nothing.

“Don’t laugh!” Alexis order while pulling up the folder. She really didn’t have choice. Knowing Bernie the way she did, Alexis knew she wouldn’t shut up until she did anyway. And Bernie was right. If anyone had ever seen her at her worst, it was her.

“That is freaking hot, Lex,” Bernie confirmed. They were hot, and they kept getting hotter with every click. Yes. Bernie had seen a lot, but that didn’t stop the crimson Alexis felt, searing the top of her ears and then her cheeks.

“Hey, what’re you guys doing?” Paige asked announced. Alexis tried again to get rid of the photos. AGAIN!

“What…was…that?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

“No way, you showed Bernie and she’s not even blood.”

Bernie shot her a dirty look. “Hey.”

“Sorry,” Paige apologized.

“Exactly, you’re my little baby niece.”

“I am not a baby. I’m almost eighteen and besides, I already saw you with a hot guy naked.”

“We were not naked.”

“Did you have sex in the studio?”

“No, for God’s sake, you two are unbelievable.”

“Show her, Lex, she’s one of us,” Bernie pleaded. Paige smiled with pride at Bernie’s comment and joined her right behind Alexis’s shoulders. Alexis relented, and tossed her arms into the air. Not saying a word, she stood and waved an open hand to her desktop. What the hell? Neither one of them were going to shut up until she surrendered anyway. Might as well get it over with. Bernie jumped in her chair and Paige gaped over her shoulder.

“Oh my freaking God. That is fuc—hot.” Paige did watch the F-bomb, stopping it just in time.

“My words exactly,” Bernie mumbled while her eyes glanced back to Paige, standing behind her.

Alexis stood behind them, leaning against a table full of papers and folders. Arms and ankles crossed, and head shaking, she twisted her mouth, back and forth. This was really happening. Alexis couldn’t believe the pictures herself, and letting Paige and Bernie see them, too, iced the cake. As soon as they got to the shirtless ones, the door chime rang through the building.