“Me get it,” Riki called with a raised arm.
“No, you eat your eggs. Lexis will get it,” Cory laughed.
“Good morning, Dad… I’m good…. Yes, I’m fine, Dad,” Alexis promised while looking at Cory and rolling her eyes. Her mother must have told him about her hospital visit. Alexis talked to him while she ate her breakfast and watched Cory interact with Riki, mostly trying to get her to use silverware. She wasn’t having it. Her fingers were a lot more coordinated than the awkward fork.
“Everyone wants to wait until next weekend to get together because it’s so wet and yucky out,” Alexis relayed to Cory. She was secretly glad to be spending the day with just Cory and Riki. “They do want us to be at church in the morning, though,” she added.
“Then let’s go to church,” Cory alleged. He presumed it was something important to her, and truth be told, he’d never really gone to church. He went to a catholic school, but that wasn’t really about religion, more of a statuesque for his parents.
“Really?” she asked, surprised.
“Sure, but I have to go home for clothes, and I don’t think Riki has a dress. Does she need one?”
Alexis looked at him with her head tilted to one side and a frown. “No…she doesn’t need one, but what little girl doesn’t have a dress?”
“Do you wear a dress to church?”
“Sometimes.”
“Me wear a dress,” Riki chimed in.
“Way to go, Einstein,” Cory joked. He stood and took their empty plates to the sink.
“What are your plans today?” Alexis asked while taking Riki’s half-eaten plate and scraping it to Mr. Dog’s bowl. She scooped her up, catching her before she ran off to play and washed her hands.
“Hey, wet me go. Me wossed a pig,” she whined while sitting to the floor to escape the hold Alexis had around her waist. One of the three little piggies were misplaced from the basket Alexis gave her to carry them in. She noticed and needed to locate the lost farm animal.
“Wait, you have jelly on your fingers, look,” Alexis said while trying to wipe the sticky fingers before she ran off.
“Now me can?”
“Yes, you can go.” Alexis smiled and kissed her cheek from behind. “What?”
“I was worried about nothing. She loves you. You’re so good with her.”
“Let’s not talk about that. It just makes me mad all over again. Answer my question. What are your plans?”
“My plans are to spend the whole day with you. Whatever you’re doing, I’m doing.”
“Do you want to go to Canterville and go shopping for a dress?”
“I favor pants, but thanks anyway. Yes, we can go shopping if you want, but what I really want to do is lay you on top of this table.”
Alexis straddled his lap and forced her tongue between his lips. His hands ran up her shirt and to the bare skin on her back. As soon as those hands realized there was no bra below the baggy sweatshirt, he moved them to the front. She pushed them away.
“Stop, Riki is here.”
Cory didn’t stop. He stood and took her with him, placing her on the counter. The emotional kiss and his erection pressing on her already sensitive nub was probably enough to send her into the second phase, or was that the third one?
“This a bridge,” Riki announced with a giggle, splitting the connection between them. Thank God. “What you do, Daddy?” she asked with dark eyes, standing between them, looking up with a cow in one hand and a Rubik’s-Cube in the other.
“I’m going to get Lexis out of this house.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to get her into a public place.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s driving me crazy.”
“Why?”
“She’s a bad girl.”
Riki laughed and reached her arms for him to pick her up.
“Do you want to go buy a new dress?” he asked with a wink, looking at Alexis’s amused expression.”
“A pink one,” she decided.
“Pink, are you sure?”
“No, gween.”
***
“We can take my Jeep if you want,” Alexis offered while she petted Mr. Dog, leaving him on the front porch to hold down the fort.
“Okay, if you’re driving,” he answered.
“You don’t like my Jeep?”
“I like it just fine. I just don’t think you want me to drive it.”
“Why?” she asked, not understanding.
“Because it has a clutch,” he admitted and waited for her to laugh at him.
She did want to laugh, but refrained. “Okay, let’s take your city car. I’ll teach you how to drive a stick some time.”
“Don’t get in yet,” Cory ordered with a half a grin, buckling Riki in her seat. Alexis smiled and waited. Cory backed her against the door and forced his tongue between her lips. He placed two fingers inside the waistband of her jeans and tugged once before opening the door for her. “City car,” he said, closing her door. Alexis buckled up and smiled. How the hell did he do that? Her mind wasn’t even in the gutter. All he had to do was touch her and it went there.
They had a great day shopping in the Canterville mall. Riki got three new dresses, a pair of shoes, new socks, and a stuffed animal. They walked around the mall holding hands and Alexis was sure she’d never been happier in her life. As much as she wanted it, all of it, she couldn’t keep the nostalgic ending at bay. It was too real, too good to be true, and too much like a fairy tale. No matter how many times she told herself he wasn’t going to hurt her and things were great, she still had that feeling. The one in her gut that cautioned her wellbeing and reminded her of that pain. The one she never wanted to go through again. They stood in the middle of the mall with Cory’s arms wrapped around her from behind, watching Riki go from one kiddie ride to the next. Cory fed every ride a handful of quarters. Riki wasn’t satisfied until she rode every last one.
“Okay, that’s it. Let’s go find some food, I’m starving,” he finally said after the last one.
“No, Daddy, me didn’t wide dat one,” she whined while she squirmed, trying to get away from his hold around her wrist.
“Yes, you did. That’s enough.”
Riki sat on the floor and cried out. Cory picked her up and whispered in her ear. Whatever he said worked and she took his hand and followed him out. Alexis learned later that he’d told her that people were staring at her and they were going to think she was a baby. She didn’t want that, she was a big girl.
Cory took them out to a fancy steak house, and then complained when Alexis ordered a cheeseburger. “If I would have known you didn’t like steak, I would have taken you to McDonalds.”
“I like steak. I didn’t want steak.”
“Me no wike it,” Riki added her thoughts while dipping her finger in ketchup and sucking it off. Again, Alexis tried not to ruin the time of her life with thoughts of it all ending, of it crashing in around her. The conversation with Riki was just as engaging as it was with Cory and she never wanted it to end. By the time they had left the restaurant, the rain had stopped, the sun was shining, and it had turned into a beautiful September day.
“You know this wasn’t how I’d planned on spending nap time, don’t you?” Cory asked with his eyes looking in the rearview mirror. Riki was sound asleep with her new little monkey acting as a pillow.
“I hate to tell you this, but it’s almost five in the evening. I doubt she’ll be going to bed anytime soon,” Alexis explained while bursting his bubble. Cory grumbled and moved his hand to her leg. And with that simple little gesture, phase one started all over again. Cory stayed in the car next while Alexis ran into the grocery store and grabbed a few things. She didn’t really have snacks for three-year-olds, although Riki seemed to be fine with graham crackers and peanut butter, and she needed milk.
Riki was ridiculous after her nap. Crabby wasn’t even close to what she was. Everything was a major meltdown and nothing m
ade her happy. She didn’t want juice, she wanted milk. She didn’t want a bath, she wanted a shower, and then a bath again. She didn’t want the pajamas Cory had gotten for her, she wanted her Brave ones. She didn’t want to watch, The Little Mermaid, She wanted Planes.
“Riki, Alexis doesn’t have that movie.”
“Me do at my house,” she whined.
“We’ll watch it tomorrow. Here, look, a squirt gun. Play with this,” Cory said with agitation in his tone, trying to calm her tenth meltdown.
“Me need water in it.”
“No water, just pretend.”
“Me want a have water in it,” she cried with real tears, throwing herself to the floor in another tantrum. As hard as it was, Alexis kept her mouth shut and let Cory deal with her.
“Riki, you are not putting water in it. That is for outside,” Cory said while trying to sit her up. Alexis could tell he was getting short with her, but kept her distance. This wasn’t her business. Riki didn’t cry out that time, she screeched an ear-piercing scream, one that could break glass. Mr. Dog even ran from the room. That did it and Cory had enough. He snatched her up by one arm and shook her by the shoulders.
With a red face and popping veins in his neck, Cory yelled, “I said that’s enough.” Riki’s eyes went wide and she instantly stopped crying.
Alexis didn’t think before she reacted. She was up and had Riki in her arms before she realized what she was doing. “Is that really necessary?” she asked in the same pissed off tone he’d used while Riki clung to her and cried again. It took Cory a couple seconds to calm down and not lash out at her, too. Really? She was doing this.
“Alexis, don’t do this,” he requested in a calm yet heated tone.
“Don’t do what, Cory? You want me to sit here and let you treat her like this? Forget it. You’re not doing that in front of me, not in my house,” Alexis declared, irate, knowing she’d probably stepped over the line. “Go take a shower,” she said in a more pleasant tone, hoping this didn’t turn into something more than it already had.
Cory took his clenched jaw and walked away, glaring daggers straight through her while he ascended the stairs.
“Me want a put water in dis,” Riki whined with the tips of her fingers, wiping tears down her cheeks.
Alexis kissed her damp eyelid. “We can put water in it in the bathtub. Do you want another bath?”
“Okay.”
Alexis sat on the floor and let Riki play. That seemed to make her happy. Damn. Cory was pissed and this was probably it. He would take Riki and leave, never to be heard from again. All over a squirt gun—a squirt gun that Riki didn’t even play with. She was more interested in the cows swimming in the pond.
“You sit tight, Lexis will be right back,” Cory said as he popped around the corner, taking Alexis by the hand. “Okay?” he questioned.
“Okay, but come back.”
“I will,” Alexis promised. “She’s three. We can’t leave her in the tub by herself,” Alexis concernedly complained.
“We’re not leaving her. We’re just going right here,” Cory assured her while spinning her just outside the door. “Did we just have a fight?”
“I’m sorry. I was out of line. I should have stayed out of it, it wasn’t my business, but you can be such an ass sometimes.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. I was the one out of line, and I am very grateful that you care enough to come to her defense. On the flip side, however, you can’t apologize and call me an ass in the same sentence.” Cory lifted her chin with two fingers and kissed her lips. “I’m sorry.”
“I had good reason to call you an ass, and I think Riki has a good reason for being so fussy.”
“Oh yeah, and why’s that?”
“She feels warm. I think she may have a bit of a fever.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then I am definitely an ass. I’ll get the thermometer out of her bag. Do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive. Go get the thermometer, I’ll get Riki.”
Alexis wrapped Riki in a big fluffy towel and cuddled her on the sofa. “Yup, she has a mild fever. I’ll have to run back into town. There’s no Tylenol in here,” Cory alleged with a frown, looking through the bag for Tylenol that he always kept there. “Riki, did you take your medicine out of here?”
“Uh-huh, it in a dishwasher.”
Cory stopped looking and Alexis laughed.
“Let me call my mom first, she usually keeps that stuff on hand, they're always kids there.”
Cory took Riki and dressed her in the same pajamas she didn’t want before while Alexis went to the kitchen to call her mom.
“My dad is going to run it over,” Alexis explained. Riki reached her arms up for Alexis to take her as soon as she was by her. Alexis looked to Cory with a worried frown, hoping he wasn’t mad again when Riki left his arms for hers.
“Do you want to go swing on the porch?” she questioned with a kiss to her warm forehead.
“Yes, and Misser Dog, too.”
“Tell Daddy to come, too.”
“Come on, Daddy.”
Cory amusingly shook his head and followed. “Do you want a beer?”
“Not until my dad leaves, but it’s okay if you do.”
“I’ll wait, too.”
Although Riki wasn’t fussy or warm anymore, she still acted cuddly and clingy. Alexis rocked her on the porch swing for a while after Walt brought the Tylenol, until she handed her to Cory.
“I’m going to jump in the shower, go to Daddy.”
After a quick shower Alexis returned with two beers and a fuzzy blanket. Riki was sound asleep on Cory’s shoulder—cutest thing ever. His hand covered her entire little back and her head rested on his shoulder.
“Are you trying to turn me on again?” he asked while admiring her short Brady County Dragons shorts.
Alexis smiled and pleaded the fifth with her silence. She moved in beside him and covered her legs with the blanket. Cory carried Riki inside with Mr. Dog following. Even the dog was in love with her.
“I have been waiting all day to touch you,” Cory confessed. His hand slid up Alexis’s bare leg and she jumped, squealing from his cold fingers. “You don’t trust me?”
“No, but that’s not why I pushed your hand away. It’s cold.”
“Let me warm it up.”
“No,” Alexis countered with a stern tone, stopping his hand with hers. She didn’t push it away, but she did keep him from going any higher.
“Move your hand, Lex.”
Alexis could feel her breathing becoming rapid and shallow. Phase one. That was before Cory had even come close to intimately touching her. His fingers were at a standstill, lingering near the trim on her short shorts.
“Move your hand,” he repeated in a low, sexy tone.
Alexis wanted to move her hand, because she knew what he would do, but she also didn’t want to move her hand for the same reason. Alexis raised her hand and wiggled her fingers, letting him know she surrendered with a crooked grin. Cory held some sort of power over her and she was sure he could have talked her into dinner with the devil. He was that good. His fingers slid between her shorts and then the elastic on her panties. Her breath caught in her throat and her mouth watered. Okay, maybe she skipped that first phase. Cory’s fingers slid over her, back to front, and his attention on her throbbing button proved to be enough to cause her to skip that part.
Alexis grasped the wood on the back of the swing, trying to talk herself out of the inevitable bliss about to take place in her body. She didn’t want him to think she was like some sort of sex-craved maniac, but maybe she was. She did have a lot of catching up to do, and regardless of how much her mind tried to tell her she wasn’t feeling a surge of cosmic energy from his touch, she was. Both of her legs parted, her head dropped behind her, and she whimpered a quiet, erotic moan. There was no stopping it. Once she felt the surge deep in her stomach, it traveled at a startling rate, sending ripples of pleasure throughou
t her entire body.
“Come here,” Cory requested. He quickly slid his jeans low enough to relieve his own pulsating arousal and pulled Alexis to her feet.
“Cory, no, we’re going to break the swing.”
Cory ignored the weak plea and slid her out of her shorts. She robotically stepped out of them, feeling the cool breeze touch her skin. That wasn’t all she was feeling. She felt a sway in deep in her stomach, an ache in her chest, a throb between her legs, and a longing in her heart. Alexis was in love.
“I’ll buy you a new one. Sit on my lap.” Cory didn’t give her a choice. His fingers returned to the slice between her legs while his hand on her ass pushed her toward him.
“You can’t buy new legs if we break them.”
“Shhh, I’m a doctor.”
Alexis still fought with the embarrassing part of all of this. She wasn’t really comfortable with the exposure this position left her in or the way Cory watched, losing himself in and out of her while his hands rocked her back and forth. That lasted about three seconds. The feelings Cory caused her to feel replaced any awkwardness with pure erotic desire and she let go. Even though she didn’t quite understand it, giving this side of herself to Cory seemed to come natural.
“Aahhhhh. Yes. Hmm. Right there, baby,” Alexis moaned while the unveiling of another orgasm took over her mind and body. Cory circled the nub hard, and rocked her deep and firm, until her walls exploded around his own pleasure and they found paradise together.
“Jesus, you can’t talk dirty when we do this anymore. That was like a finger on the trigger,” Cory confessed, breathing in short, rapid breaths. He began to think he’d need to write himself a prescription of Viagra. Alexis made him want to detonate just by touching her. That had never been a problem before. Jesus. Was that even five minutes?
“That wasn’t even dirty. That was the PG version. I filtered the dirty ones out.”
“You did? Tell me. What did you filter?”
Alexis leaned in and kissed his lips with all tongue. Her warm lips traced his course jawline to his ear. “Hmm, fuck me,” she whispered, seductively.