“Really, Alexis? This is why you’re so pissed off at me?”
“Why did you introduce me to your doctor friend as your fiancée?”
“I don’t know. Why does it even matter?”
“Because I am not your fiancée, that’s why. And furthermore, why her? She’s the only one you have introduced me to as your fiancée. I want to know why.”
Cory poked his head out to make sure Riki was still watching TV and hadn’t escaped. He dropped to his knees and took a soapy hand in his. Alexis pulled it away
“Lex, I don’t want to fight with you. I love you and I want us to have a good time.”
“Why, Cory?”
“I don’t know. I guess I wanted to get back at her for doing sort of the same thing a few months back.”
“You wanted to get back at her? Do you have feelings for her?”
“No. I only have feelings for you. We had convenience sex for a very long time. She wanted more and I couldn’t give it to her.”
“Why not?”
“Lex, why does this matter?” Cory asked in desperation, wanting to forget his life there. None of this mattered and she was rekindling fires that were better off left smoldering in the past. It was irrelevant.
“Why couldn’t you give her more, but you can me?”
“Because she didn’t love Riki.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, she treated Riki like she had some sort of disease. She didn’t want her around if we did anything and if she came to my place, I always had to take her to Ellen.”
“How could she not love Riki?”
“Nobody has ever loved Riki like you do, Lex.”
“Is that why you’re with me, Cory?”
Cory ran his finger through his hair frustrated. “God no, Alexis. It just makes me love you ten times more.”
“Daddy!”
“Go, I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
Alexis turned her head when Cory reached in and caught the corner of her lip. She was in a somber mood after that and she wasn’t sure why. Did she have a reason to be pissed, or was it just the hormones? Regardless, she was in a mood.
The fluffy white hotel robe smelled the same as the flowering bubbles and felt soft against her skin. She flipped her hair upside down, wrapped the same scented towel around her head, and joined Riki on the couch.
Riki’s eyes never left the cartoon while her little body scooted to Alexis’s side. Alexis raised her arm and pulled her close. How could anyone not love Riki? She was happy that Cory had Riki. She probably loved him more because of her, and she couldn’t imagine anyone not falling madly in love with her. She was the blessed one, not Riki.
As soon as a commercial came on, Riki wanted attention and straddled Alexis’s lap. “You have a big head,” she giggled as her eyes fell on the towel covering her wet hair.
“You have a big belly,” Alexis repeated with fingers, tickling her belly.
Riki tapped the top of her head and requested the attire like Alexis wore. “Me want a wear a towel on my head.”
Alexis pulled the towel from her hair and tried to wrap it around her head, but it wouldn’t stay. Cory sat at the small table and watched, pretending to be busy on his laptop and texting on his phone.
“Are you getting hungry?”
“No food in this house,” Riki exclaimed with opened palms. Alexis laughed and Cory smiled, too.
“Let’s get room service. They’ll bring us some food here. How does that sound?”
“Me eat pop a corn.”
“No, how about a cheeseburger and some fries? Let’s go look at the menu.” Alexis stood with Riki and felt the same familiar pain again, almost like a pinch in her lower abdomen. She slid Riki down her body and to the floor and it subsided. Maybe she should stop picking Riki up. She was almost thirty pounds.
“Froot Loops.”
“You can’t eat Froot Loops for supper, silly. Let’s look and see.”
“They have grilled cheese. Do you want that?”
“Me no wike it.”
“Yes you do. Okay, how about a cheeseburger and french fries?”
“You eat that, too?”
“Yes, I’m going to have a cheeseburger.”
“And me too.” Riki spun on her heels when she heard the Doc McStuffins music and ran back to the show.
Alexis followed her and moved her from her standing position inches from the screen. She pulled her backward toward the sofa by one arm, refraining from lifting her to the fluffy couch. “Do you want something?” she asked as she made herself look at Cory.
“Can I see the menu?”
Alexis walked over and handed him the laminated menu and Cory pulled her to his lap.
“Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Will you just order us some food?”
“Will you stop being mad at me?”
“I’m not mad.”
“Then what are you?”
“Confused.”
“About what, baby?”
“Don’t call me that when I’m mad at you.”
“You just said you weren’t mad at me.”
“Will you just order the food?”
“Not until you tell me what you are confused about.”
“Can we talk about it later?”
“Will you kiss me?”
“No.”
“Can I kiss you?”
“Yes,” Alexis said barely above a whisper. Cory kissed her more passionately than she had expected. His hand found its way through the opening of her robe and a warm hand rested on her ribs. His thumb brushed across her breast, causing an immediate hardness. Alexis pushed him away and tightened her robe.
“You asked me if you could kiss me, not cop a feel.”
“I’m sorry, but not for that.”
“Then what are you sorry for?”
“For screwing up this whole weekend.”
“Order.”
Alexis stood and went back to Riki. She didn’t want to do this and she was hungry.
They all sat at the table and ate cheeseburgers and fries while speaking to Riki and not each other. Cory continued to text on his phone and Alexis continued to get mad. He really didn’t care. After eating all of her food, and some of Riki’s fries, Alexis cleaned up the trash, happy that Riki had started yawning. Crawling into bed with Riki seemed like the perfect ending to one screwed up day.
Cory left them for a shower and returned to find Riki sound asleep. He lay beside Riki and kissed her sleeping lips. Riki rolled to her stomach and Alexis stroked her hair from her face and rubbed her back.
“I can’t imagine my life without her,” Alexis said, still thinking about what he’d said about his doctor friend not wanting anything to do with her.
“I can’t imagine my life without you, Lex,” Cory responded. Alexis looked over to him without words. He stood and carried Riki through the door and to her own king-sized bed.
“There’s plenty enough room for her in here,” Alexis protested. She wanted her to sleep between them. She was fine with Riki being between them.
Of course, Cory ignored her. Why wouldn’t he? “You are going to talk to me, dammit.”
“I’m tired, Cory, let’s just go to bed.”
“Talk to me, please. I hate this.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell me what has got you so upset.”
“Do you love her?”
“No, I love you,” Cory said, exasperated. He knew they’d end up talking about Camille. Again!
“Did you love her?”
“I thought I did until I met you, and what we have is nothing like what I had with her.”
“Why did you tell her that I was your fiancée?”
“Because I knew her reaction would be the same as my mother’s.”
“And what she thinks matters to you?”
“Do you want me to call her and tell her that we’re not getting married? Is that what y
ou want?”
“Sure, Cory, you do that,” Alexis said with more attitude than she meant to. “I bet you have her number right on speed dial.” She studied his face for a second before she spoke. “Oh my God. You do, don’t you?”
“I don’t know, Alexis. Yes. I think she is still on speed dial, but today was the first time I have talked to her since before I left here.”
Cory’s phone beeped once from the small table they’d just eaten on and Alexis looked over to him.
“Have you been texting her tonight?”
Cory didn’t answer and she knew that he had. Alexis got up to retrieve his phone and brought it back to the bed. As soon as she slid the screen open it said new text message from Camille. It wasn’t even that she was surprised. She’d been thinking about it all night. She’d told herself several times he was talking to her, but it still stung a little. Right there in front of her and Riki. Unbelievable.
“Go ahead, Lex,” Cory said with a nod, giving her permission to go through his phone in an agitated tone. What the hell? He had no right to be mad at her.
“No, Cory. I’m not going to be the jealous, resentful girlfriend. I don’t play those games.”
“No, go ahead. Read every one of them, and that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“You think I am playing games?”
“Read the damn text messages, Alexis.”
Alexis opened the last one sent.
Camille—Come on just meet me downstairs at your hotel. You can get away.
“She wants you to meet her?”
“Just keep reading.”
Alexis went back to the first text.
Camille—Hey, good looking it was nice seeing you today. You’re looking damn hot as always.
Cory—Thanks, it was good to see you too.
Camille—So you are pretty serious with this girl?
Cory—Yes I am. I would marry her tomorrow if she would say yes.
Camille—Wow… well maybe you should meet me tonight, and let me change your mind.
Cory—You couldn’t change my mind, not in a million years.
Camille—Try me.
Cory—I wish you only the best, Camille, take care.
Camille—What? You’re blowing me off?
Cory—No, not blowing you off, just moving on.
Camille—How long you going to be in town?
Cory—Heading home in the morning.
Camille—Will you please come over to my place? I’ll be home in an hour. I really need to talk to you.
Cory—Camille, we have nothing to talk about. Have we ever talked? We’ve never had a relationship and you know it.
Camille—Fine, we won’t talk. Come over and I’ll fuck your brains out. I miss the way we were.
Cory—LOL, no thanks, I can get that right here.
Camille—But is it as good? Does she let you do everything that I do?
Cory—I’m not discussing that with you. I will tell you that I am madly in love with her and I never want to be without her.
Camille—Damn…You’ve got it bad, Dr. Baker.”
Cory—I do, Dr. Giovanni. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it.
And the last one was the one with her wanting him to meet her downstairs.
Alexis dropped his phone to the bed and ran her hands exhaustedly over her face. “I’m sorry.” She should have known better. It had to be the hormones. Nothing else explained it.
“I’m sorry I took you there. I’m sorry I brought you here. I think I have finally realized, I didn’t leave anything behind here. I love my life with you in Cedar Springs and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m sorry.”
Alexis fell to the bed beside him and stared up at him. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Tell you what?”
“What did she mean? You know, what kind of things? What does that mean?”
“Yeah, let’s not go there. Ellen messaged me, too. She forgot to give you your phone again. She’s going to meet us for breakfast.”
“That bad, huh?”
“No, I just don’t think we need to talk about the things Camille and I did before I met you. You’d just get mad at me all over again. I don’t like it when you’re mad at me.”
“I think we should kidnap Ellen.”
Cory agreed and kissed her. “Can we have makeup sex now?”
Alexis refrained from saying what she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him to do to her what he did to Camille, but she didn’t. That was enough drama for one night. She responded by opening her robe as an invitation.
Fifteen
Alexis was never so happy in her life to be home. “I’m never complaining about the smell of cow shit again,” she assured herself more so than Cory. She’d take that smell over the smog any day. The familiar back road leading them home felt like a welcome party.
“Cow shit.”
“Hey, you stop that,” Alexis teased with a tone that didn’t match the happy on her face. Riki giggled and said it again. “Mr. Dog is going to be so happy to see you.” That worked. Riki forgot all about the bad word she wasn’t supposed to repeat and raised her head. “I bet he missed you.”
“Him did.”
Alexis laughed and let Cory take her hand. If she never went back to Chicago it would be too soon.
“Where Misser Dog?”
“I bet he’s on the porch. What do you think?”
“Him sweepen.”
“Probably. I missed him.”
“Me did miss a him, too.”
Mr. Dog met them in the driveway, tail wagging like a mad dog. He was just as happy to see them. Alexis led Riki up the steps by her hand, not needing to remind herself not to pick her up again. The frigid air prompted a fast approaching winter, and as much as Alexis hated the thought of it, she was happy she had Cory and Riki to share it with.
“Brrr, it’s cold in here,” Cory said as he dropped bags to the floor.
“We could build a fire?”
“Me have a mores.”
“No, not that kind of fire, but we can read a book in front of it.”
Alexis sprinted to the bathroom while ignoring the ringing phone. “Aaah,” she moaned in relief.
“It’s your mom.”
Alexis took the phone from Cory and declined the invitation for supper. She was tired and only wanted to stay home and cozy up with her family and Mr. Dog in front of a warm fire. Lola understood and Alexis accepted the invitation for the following night. Cory had already warned her he’d be tied up until eight, maybe nine o’clock.
“Let’s make homemade chili and bread,” Alexis suggested.
Cory swung her around and kissed her. “You’re such a hillbilly.”
“After this weekend, I’m taking that as a compliment.”
“You should, I’m going to carry in some wood.”
“And me too, Daddy.” Of course, Riki had to help. Cory helped her put on her new hiking boots and her warm coat.
Alexis started hamburger and called Bernie while it browned. She explained the entire conversation from the night before while she played with her new smart phone. She would never get used to having a smart phone. Why anyone needed Internet on their phone was beyond her. She would never use any of that stuff.
Alexis and Riki left Cory alone in the den to work after her delicious, warm, and inviting chili. They bathed in a tub of bubbles and then built a castle out of pink and purple Legos. The cozy fire and hardwood floor was the perfect place to build a home for a princess.
“Look, Riki,” Cory said as his feet glided down the steps and his arms held a thick book. “Ellen left this in your suitcase.”
“You do that on purpose,” Alexis accused.
Riki took the book and moved between Alexis’s legs. She leaned against the sofa while her eyes held Cory’s smirking, blue eyes.
Cory slid down beside her and Alexis leaned into his naked, damp chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He knew exactly what she was talking about, the gray sweats, riding low on his hips, the messy, wet hair that made him look like he was in a boy band, and the bare chest with bulging muscles. Cory knew exactly what he was doing, and…it was working.
Hands wandered to forbidden places while Cory and Alexis took turns reading about the Sesame Street party. Ellen had gotten it for her from the show she’d taken her to. The date and their picture with Elmo was taped to the front.
“No, no, Daddy. Wexis have a read Big Bird.”
“Oh, sorry.” Cory handed the book over to Alexis and she handed it back after one Big Bird paragraph. He read his part, or he tried anyway. Alexis’s meddling hand caused him to repeat himself more than once. The torture was traded when the book was back in her hands—on and on until Riki’s head bobbed and rested on her lap.
“Take her to bed,” Alexis whispered with warm words as close to Cory’s neck as she could get. Riki’s position on her lap kept her from shoving her tongue between his lips like she wanted to. Cory was flat on his feet in two seconds. He tossed Riki over his shoulder and sprinted up the steps. “Take Mr. Dog,” Alexis called as she pulled a blanket from the back of the sofa and spread it out in front of the fire.
Alexis quickly stoked the fire and removed her clothes. The thought of Camille’s message crossed her mind…again. What did she mean? What did Cory do with her that he didn’t do with Alexis? Cory dropped his pants at the bottom step and stroked himself in his hand. Water formed in a pool below Alexis’s tongue and she found it difficult to swallow. As soon as his mouth was on hers, his hand was replaced with hers.
Blame it on Camille’s text, blame it on the desire, or maybe even blame it on the hormones, whatever the reason, Alexis played the ace of spades. The cards were in her hands and Cory folded. Sharp nails slid down Cory’s chest as she dropped to her knees in front of him. His hands went above his head and something between a grunt and a rumble escaped his throat. Alexis took the job at hand seriously, using her hand to intensify the sensations. She took Cory in and out of her mouth, all the way to the back of her throat for longer than he’d ever allowed before. Alexis wasn’t sure who enjoyed it more, him or her.