And in time... (11 page)

“Oh, now the chime works. Get out of here, both of you. Go work.” Bernie and Paige finally left her alone and Alexis closed out of the photos. She opened up the ones she needed to work on. Unfortunately, her job did little to keep her from thinking about the stimulating photo shoot. She couldn’t wait to see him. This was so, so bad, but she didn’t care. Was that her first mistake, or was it like Bernie said? Was she looking for reasons to push him away? Nonetheless, she was falling. Regardless of Cory being a bad idea or not, she may have been in the beginning stages of falling in love. No. There was no
may
about it. She
was
falling in love.

***

Alexis and Cory sat in a corner booth at Antonio’s Pizza. They both ordered a beer and one medium pizza with the works. Alexis was happy that he liked his pizza with everything on it. She’d hoped he wouldn’t be like Bernie and only eat pepperoni. Cory explained his busy day, and Alexis was ecstatic. Liking the idea of hearing about his day, she smiled and listened to him talk about Jackie and Misty, hanging on every word he spoke.

“I just did a shoot with Jackie’s granddaughter. She’s the cutesiest kid ever,” Alexis explained. Cory’s eyes shifted to his drink, and he breathed a long, deep breath. Alexis wasn’t sure about the expression or the mood change.

Cory reached for her hands and quietly spoke. “There’s something I need to tell you, Lex,” he said in a soft and serious tone.

Alexis pulled her hands away from his, feeling the calm before the storm.

“No, Cory. There is nothing you need to tell me. I don’t want to hear it.”

“But I really think you need to hear this, Lex.”

“Will it hurt me if you don’t tell me?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that.”

“Will it affect my safety if you don’t?”

“No, Lex, it’s nothing like that.”

“Cory…then stop, I don’t need to know.”

Thank God the waitress brought the pizza and she’d been spared his past, for now. Dammit. She knew it. She knew there was a past. Of course there was a past. People don’t just move to small towns unless they have a past. However, the past was left in the past for a while longer and they were back to flirting and talking. Phew.

“I want a picture,” Cory stated.

“I don’t think so.”

“I promise I won’t show anyone. You have to at least let me see them.”

“I deleted them.”

“You did not. You showed them to Paige and Bernie.”

Alexis almost choked on her drink. “Who told you that?” It had to be Bernie. Paige would never say anything to him.
Stupid, Bernie.

“Nobody told me. I could tell by the way Bernie and Paige were looking at me, and giggling like little schoolgirls when I came to pick you up, but you just confirmed it,” he stated with a mischievous grin, stretching pizza cheese a foot long.

“Well, just for the record, I did not show them, they walked in when I was looking at them. I couldn’t close them fast enough,” she explained with an apologetic smile, hoping he wasn’t mad.

“Then I should get to see them, too.”

Alexis looked at him with the same defeated look that she gave Bernie, knowing she’d give into him, too.

“Okay, you can see them. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

“Are they hot?”

Alexis leaned across the table on her elbows, and Cory kissed her. “They are scorching hot. I love you without a shirt,” she whispered to his lips.

“I could take it off,” he joked with his fingers on the top button of his dress shirt.

“Okay.”

“Or you could. The studio will be closed by the time we get back, right?”

“Stop it. Now you’re embarrassing me.”

“Girl, you have no reason to be embarrassed. The truth is, I sort of love you without a shirt, too,” he admitted. The ice-cold Coke did little to cool the burning in her cheeks.

Their time together ended way too soon. Alexis didn’t want to say goodbye. Maybe it was time to take this thing to the next base. Frustration began to set in, fast. Cory pulled in behind her jeep and they sat in his shiny red car and made out like a couple of schoolkids.

“Do you want to have lunch tomorrow?” Cory asked with his held high on her leg.

“I’m meeting my parents at April’s for lunch, but I would love for you to come.”

“I would love that, too, maybe I can get a second chance at a first impression.”

“Don’t wear white,” Alexis teased as her lips moved close to his. She kissed him quickly and exited the car.

“I only wear white for you.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Doc,” Alexis said through the opened passenger window, wearing a smile.

“You know, just because I’m a doctor doesn’t mean you have to call me Doc.”

“I like it,” she said with a wink and walked away.

Cory smiled to himself. “I like it, too,” he said out loud to no one.

Alexis stayed up later than planned doing some Photoshop on the pictures from her and Cory’s shoot. She printed off the best ones and put them in a manila envelope, taping it shut, using more tape than she probably needed to.

The next morning, she swung by Cory’s office before going to the studio.

“Good morning, Jackie,” she announced to the receptionist.

“Hello, Alexis. I haven’t seen you in a while. Jody just gave me new pictures of Kayla. You do such a remarkable job with her. The portraits are absolutely beautiful. I especially like this one,” Jacki boasted as her fingers pulled the picture of her one-year-old granddaughter from the wall. She held it to the glass window and beamed with pride.

“She was a little pistol. She wasn’t about to sit and look pretty. I had to get creative. Jody was trying to change her into her dress when I got that. She was standing there in the perfect spot in her little white diaper. I handed her the purple beads and she put them around her neck. I just started shooting and they turned out wonderful.”

“I love all of them.”

“I’m glad. Is Cory busy?”

“Cory? You mean, Dr. Baker?”

“Yes,” she answered while feeling a little self-conscious.

“He’s with a patient. Did you want an appointment with him?”

“No, not exactly.” She grinned while her toes curled in her shoes, hoping she got it without having to say anymore.

“Oh,” Jackie replied like a light bulb had just gone off in her head. “Well, I can send him a message with Misty and tell him you’re here if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay. Can you just give him this?” Alexis handed over the sealed envelope.

“Sure I will.” Jackie grinned a toothy smile, knowing there was romance in the air. She could feel it. And what a cute couple. Alexis McKinley and Cory Baker. Splendid.

Cory emerged from his last patient just as Alexis walked out the door, missing her.

“Was that Alexis?”

“Oh, yes, and she left this for you.” She handed him the envelope reading, “Doc” in black ink. Cory smiled with a snort, knowing exactly what it was. He wanted to run into his little office and open it right away, but he knew he couldn’t. His next patient waited for his care in the exam room. He tossed it on his desk and hurriedly got to the next patient, a little boy about four with an ear ache.

Although he was anxious to get out of there and couldn’t quit thinking about what was in the envelope, he did a comprehensive job. He checked the little boy out completely before giving his mother a prescription for amoxicillin and Tylenol for the pain.

Nurse Misty was still in with the next patient doing the preliminary exam and he used the time wisely. He locked his door and pulled the abundant amount of tape off, shaking his head with a grin. The photos were shielded by a note in her handwriting.

Cory chuckled at the note while he read it.

“Doc… please protect what you are about to see in a well secured place, preferably a safe with a combination, deadbolt, and a key lock. Text me later if you have time and let me know if you are going to meet me here or at April’s.”

Finally a phone number.

“P.S. Not too bad for an amateur.”

Cory removed the cover page and his heart skipped a beat as he viewed the first photo. They were playfully staring at each other while he held the wireless remote high in the air. She had been trying to reach for it. The next one took his breath away. The black and white photo was the two of them fully clothed, engaged in an erotic kiss.

The next one was also in black and white, only they were both shirtless. Cory held her clothing in his clenched fists behind her back. Her arms hung at her sides while her head was thrown back. A look of pure rapture covered her face while he kissed her throat. The next one, Alexis’s favorite, was in color with the black backdrop. It was cropped and only showed from the waist up. Her fingers were tracing the line of hair at his belly button and her eyes were focused on his body. He stared at her intently as he watched what she was doing with her fingers while caressing her breasts with his thumb. His dress pants hung low, and a tan line along with his sexy build were visible. The next one was also cropped, it too was in black and white, only showing their faces. Their foreheads touched and they smiled friskily at one another. The last one was one that she had taken after Bernie had interrupted, the one where he scooped her up into his arms. They both had the happiest smile on their faces and were again looking into each other’s eyes.

Cory placed the photos back inside the envelope and tucked them away in a drawer for later viewing. A ten year old boy with a swollen ankle waited for him in room two. If there was ever a time he needed the distraction, it was now. Jesus, what the hell was this girl doing to him?

***

Alexis stayed detained in her office, trying to catch up on work while Bernie was busy with a session. Her phone sang the tune from
Happy Days
, alerting her of a new text. She wasn’t even mad at Bernie when the unfamiliar number displayed on her screen. An instant smile took over and her lips curled, knowing it was Cory.

Cory—I am sorry to inform you, that under the circumstances, I will not be able to accompany you and your
parents
for lunch today. I do apologize, and please give my regards to your folks. Although I was looking forward to it, I do not think it would be in my best interest to have this be my second first chance with your parents. There is no way in hell I could keep my hands off you after what I have just been subjected to. I will, however, come over this afternoon to see you.

Alexis smiled from ear to ear as she closed the outdated phone and got back to the portraits on her computer screen. Her phone sang again before she had a chance to change it back to the vibrating buzz.

Cory—I love the photos. Thank you. You are remarkably hot.

“Nope. Not responding to that one,” Alexis audibly said, unable to hide the giddy smile.

Bernie took Cory’s place for lunch, meeting Lola and Walt at April’s. They both endured a ten-minute lecture for not being in church the last two weeks. The promise to be there on Sunday was made with crossed fingers below the table.

“I thought your friend Cory was joining us for lunch,” Lola questioned. Her mother was more excited about Cory than Bernie was. She, too, wanted her to find someone to love, someone to share her life with, and someone to be happy with.

“He was too busy at work, but he said to tell you he was sorry. I thought maybe I would ask him to come over Saturday night,” Alexis suggested, not sure if she felt ready to introduce him to her family just yet. It made her wonder about his family. They always talked about hers, never discussing his. The mental note to ask him about his family when she saw him later was planted in her mind. He would probably derail it anyway. That’s what he always did. Alexis listened to the chatter around the table while she remembered his request. Maybe she should let him tell her. If what he hid was a deal breaker, it was best to know now.

Alexis and her dad both had the tuna with provolone cheese, A-1 sauce, and pickles while listening to her mother and Bernie complain about how disgusting it was. They ate their boring soup of the day and ham and cheese sandwiches. Walt reminded them that his lovely wife was the one that had gotten him started on the sandwich. She lived on them the entire time she was pregnant with Alexis. Walt smiled over at his aging wife and patted her wrinkling hand while Alexis and Bernie exchanged their own admiring smile. Walt and Lola McKinley was what it was all about, true soul mates.

Alexis declined dessert and kicked Bernie under the table when she wanted pie. Cory was going to be closing for lunch. She didn’t want to miss him.

“Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

“Bernice, you’re in a public place. You watch your mouth,” Lola scolded.

“Well, she kicked me.”

Walt laughed and ordered pie, too. Just like old times. Bernie was probably closer to Alexis than her own three sisters. Bernie was around a lot more, that’s for sure. Great. Cory was going to show up while she was out. She should have never agreed to this.
Let’s all eat pie. Grrrr.

“Paige was pretty excited last night. She said you taught her how to fan outside light, whatever that means,” Lola explained.