“Wow! I have never been that close to a train in my life,” Cory exclaimed with great excitement—the kind you would expect from a little boy, not a grown man.
Alexis couldn’t help but to laugh at him.
“Oh you think that’s funny do you?” he asked with a smirk.
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I was laughing with you,” she taunted and then blushed, realizing how close she was to him. Before she knew what hit her, he swooped down like a gracious swan and kissed her lips, quick but soft.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“We better head back,” Alexis suggested, not knowing what else to say. This was so far out of her comfort zone, she didn’t know what direction to turn. What the hell was that? She felt almost faint and woozy, unsure of the feelings raging inside of her.
Cory called from behind her on the tracks. “Just for the record, when you laugh with someone and not at them, the other person is supposed to be laughing, too. I wasn’t laughing.”
Alexis peered over her shoulder, batted her lashes, and smiled flirtatiously. “Okay, I’m glad you cleared that up.” She stepped from the ties and held her arms out, simulating wings for balance. Cory mimicked her, doing the same to the track beside her, only he wasn’t as gracious at it as she was. He kept falling off and having to step back up.
She laughed. “Having a little trouble there, Doc?”
“Having a little trouble there, Doc?” he mocked in a whiny girl tone.
That laugh made her lose her balance and she had to step back up too. Although they didn’t really talk about anything, they talked a lot. He was so easy to talk to. Alexis stepped off the tracks and led him back toward the path, Cory offered his hand and helped her down the slope. She took the unneeded help and placed her hand in his, feeling that unfamiliar tingle run through her entire body again. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her again, or was she only hoping? Laughter from kids in the nearby playground pulled their gaze from each other, releasing the uncomfortable quietness between them.
Alexis wondered if it is awkward for him, too, or just her? She spent many years avoiding this. Whatever this was. She was happy in her own little world, doing what she loved to do. But this felt good, too.
“Hungry yet?” Cory asked after a long bout of silence, breaking the stillness between them.
“Yeah, I think I could eat.”
“April’s?”
“I have a better idea,” she answered jauntily.
Alexis waved her meddling, gawking best friend and niece away from the window when she and Cory jumped in her Jeep. Both noses planted against the glass door with giddy smiles. Stupid girls.
“You mean there’s more than one place to eat in this town?” Cory asked with his eyes watching her shift gears. That was something he’d never seen, either. He liked it and he thought it was sexy as hell.
“Yes, actually there are three—wait, does pizza count?”
“I think it does.”
“Ice cream, we have an ice cream shop, too…does that count?”
“No, ice cream doesn’t count as a restaurant. Do you know how many there are in Chicago?”
“No… Do you?” she quipped with curved eyebrows, doubting that he did.
“No, but that’s a good question. I’m going to find out.” Cory pulled his smart phone from his pocket and started surfing. “Wow, there are over six thousand.”
“Really? That is unfathomable. We don’t even have six thousand people.”
Cory frowned when Alexis twisted in her seat to retrieve her purse from the back seat. You wouldn’t leave your purse in the car in Chicago. The thought of her leaving her purse in the car was crazy to him. She fished her own singing cell phone from the pocket, feeling a little outdated with the old flip phone. Maybe it was time to listen to Bernie on that one and update.
“I told you she was a freak,” Alexis offered with a shake of her head to the “Soft Kitty” song. Cory laughed.
“Hi, Dad… No. I’m not busy, just going to grab a Coney dog over at Drake Valley, everything okay?”
Cory listened to the one-sided conversation while wondering about Drake Valley. It really was a valley. Alexis downshifted and descended a long, curvy road. Surely nobody came clear out here to eat. Like everything else around there, it was in the middle of nowhere.
“I sure will, I need to stop at the store on my way home anyway. Okay, if you need anything else just call. I’ll see you after bit. Love you, too, Dad.”
Alexis smiled over at Cory. “My dad wants some ice cream—strawberry.”
“Do your folks live close to you?”
“Yes, on the same road actually, about four miles down the dirt road, but only two if I run the trail along the river.”
“You run to their house along the river?” he asked, amused.
“Yup, at least three mornings a week. My mom makes breakfast for us and then my dad takes me home on his four-wheeler, unless I am feeling really energetic and I run back, which isn’t very often. A couple times in the spring just because I am so tired of being cooped up all winter and relish the outdoors.”
Cory watched her attentively, passing farmhouses, a nice new housing development, and a nice sized lake. Alexis told him about the trout her dad and brothers caught there and then laughed at him because he’d never fished before. Cory wondered what he’d gotten himself into when Alexis pulled to the small white building with red trim in the middle of nowhere. There were picnic tables outside on a patio all painted red to match the décor of the building. The place was packed—way more people and cars than he would have ever imagined. The place was just shy of a dump alongside the road.
Alexis waited on a car to back out of a parking spot and jumped out. “Go grab that table,” she ordered with a nod, seeing the family vacate it.
“You don’t know what I want and there is no way you’re paying for my lunch.”
“I owe you one from the other day. Now go get that table before we have to sit in my Jeep. I really don’t want the mess in my car.” Alexis didn’t give him time to protest. She was off.
“Mess, why would there be a mess?” he asked no one in particular, acquiring the vacated table with a confused stare toward Alexis.
Alexis waited in line, trying to strike up small talk with one of her high school teachers and keep her eyes off Cory. He stared right at her and she knew it. Why couldn’t she have worn jeans? Mrs. Barkley asked about her folks when her order was up. Alexis’s eyes darted to Cory and she couldn’t help but smile at him. Damn was he ever hot.
Alexis joined him a couple minutes later, carrying a tray with one huge basket of fries, two red and white checkered paper plates, containing the biggest and messiest Coney dogs he’d ever seen. Two bottles of ice-cold, old fashioned A&W Root Beer, and a whole pile of napkins topped off the lunch tray.
“How am I supposed to eat this?” Cory asked with big eyes, entranced by the massive hot dog in front of him. Chili sauce oozed from both ends and over the top of the bun, and tiny chopped onions and mustard decorated the top.
“Like this,” she explained while her mouth opened wide and bit into the messy sandwich. The sauce ran out of both ends, leaving a mess on her face, her hands, and her plate. She sucked her fingers and licked her lips clean with her tongue and a few napkins.
Cory raised both eyebrows and took a deep breath like he was about to tackle a major task.
“Oh my God,” he exclaimed. “This is the best hotdog in the world.” He, too, made a mess all over his plate and his own face. “What about all of this on the plate?” he asked, not wanting to waste one bite of the delicious spillovers. Alexis picked up a French fry, scooped up some sauce, and bit into it.
Cory followed. “Oh my God, that is awesome,” he admitted again as his taste buds explored with the foreign flavor. He finished his messy hot dog in record time. “I have to get another one,” he assured her. Alexis plopped a fry in her mouth and laughed.
“You’re laughing at me again,” he accused with a tilted head and a smile. “Would you like another one?”
“I can’t help it, you make me laugh, and no thank you—I’m fine with one.”
“I’m glad I make you laugh,” he quietly said with a softer tone, using the palm of his thumb to wipe chili sauce from the corner of her lip. He sucked it off and tucked a strand of strayed hair behind her ear before leaving her for more food.
Alexis closed her eyes and took a deep breath. What the hell was she doing? This needed to stop. This needed to stop right now before someone got hurt. Someone like her. Hell no. No way would she go through that again. She turned and watched him at the little window. Cory smiled at her, and she smiled back. Sort of.
He tried joking with her when he returned. Something was different and he could tell. Her entire demeanor had changed in three minutes. As soon as he finished, Alexis told him she needed to get back.
Cory felt the change in the atmosphere around them as they drove back toward town. Alexis was quieter and seemed to be distracted.
“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned. What the hell happened? He didn’t understand.
She smiled weakly at him. “Yes. I’m fine,” was all that she replied with.
They drove the short drive back to town in silence.
“Stay there,” Cory demanded when Alexis pulled to the curb in front of her studio. Dammit. She didn’t want to stay there. She wanted far, far away from him. She watched as Cory rushed out of the Jeep and around to her side. He opened her door but didn’t move to allow her space to step out. She stared straight ahead, keeping both her hands on the bottom of the steering wheel. The deep breath she took was audible—an attempt to avoid eye contact.
“Are we still on for a painting date Saturday?” he questioned with one hand on the door and one on the roof of her jeep. She was trapped. Great.
“Cory, I really don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” she explained. Alexis stepped out with her eyes on the ground, forcing him to take a step back. The step wasn’t far enough. He still held her captive between his arms and her Jeep. She kept the air in her lungs and her eyes down, avoiding his at all cost.
“Who broke you, Alexis?”
She looked up briefly and gave a fragile smile. She patted his chest with the tips of her fingers and pushed past him. Nope, wasn’t having that conversation. Cory stared after her but didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure what to say, and he wasn’t sure what the hell just happened. She was fine before. What the hell?
***
Alexis locked herself in her office and tried to keep busy with work, happy that Paige and Bernie were busy with a shoot in the back. She sorted through photos, picking out the best ones, and then emailed them to her clients. Sorting through photos did help with her wandering mind, somewhat. She did manage to get a couple hours of non-interrupted work done before Paige and Bernie came bouncing into her office, excited to get the scoop on Cory.
“Tell us everything,” Bernie commanded with a loud slap of her hands, jumping on one of the two vinyl-covered chairs, just like the ones in the waiting room. She threw her feet underneath her butt like she planned on being there for a while, and waited with a smile and laced fingers.
“How was the walk?” Paige nosily asked with the same dumb smile, sitting next to Bernie.
“Guys, I have to get this done. I want to get out of here and paint some while I have good weather. Besides, there’s nothing to tell. We went for a walk, had a hot dog at Drakes Valley, and came back. It was nice,” she added.
“Did he kiss you,” Bernie asked.
Alexis thought for a moment, reflecting on the small, sweet kiss by the railroad tracks. “Yes, just a quick peck, though. Now get out, go work.” Alexis decided to let Bernie continue thinking there was hope with Cory. She would endure that lecture at a later time. When she absolutely had to.
Alexis left around four in the afternoon and headed to her parents’ to drop off the strawberry ice cream. Her mom had just placed the plates around the table when she arrived.
“Sit, Sputter Bug,” her dad commanded with a nod.
Her mom placed the extra plate at Alexis’s spot on the table and she sighed. She wanted to argue. She didn’t want to eat. She wanted to get home and start painting while she had some daylight left. But experience reminded her it was an argument she wasn’t going to win. She reluctantly sat, glad that she did when her mom started placing the evening’s supper in the middle of the table. The food was delicious as always: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, lima beans, and bread with homemade apple butter.
Alexis remained quiet during supper and really only spoke when she’d been asked a question. She had a lot on her mind, or a someone on her mind. Dammit. What the hell did she go and do that for? She knew better, and she sure as hell didn’t want to think about Cory Baker, or how her hand felt on his, his lips on hers, his smell, the way he looked in jeans and a ball cap. Damn. Damn. Damn.
“You okay, honey.”
“Yeah, I am fine, Dad, just tired, it’s been a long day. I’m going to take off. Want me to help clean up, Mom?” she asked with her hand moving back and forth across her mother’s shoulders, knowing the answer was already no.
“No, you’re dad will help. You go on home.”
Walt walked her out and hugged her on the porch. “Love you, Sputter Bug. If you need anything, you let me know, you hear?”
“Yes, Daddy, I will, and I love you, too. Night, Mom,” she called through the screen door. “Love you.”
“Goodnight, Alexis, I love you, too, dear.”
It was nearly six when Alexis finally made it home. She changed into old jeans, sneakers, and a tee shirt and got to work. Not wanting to agitate Mr. Dog any more than she had to, she started on the opposite side of the porch. She moved the picnic table and swept up one more time before starting. The stereo played her favorite station loud through the open window. She listened to Mix-109 and sang to country, oldies, light rock, and classic rock while she painted the tedious spindles and drank the four leftover bottles of beer from her refrigerator, trying to drown out thoughts of him. She worked until the porch light was no longer enough and quit for the night.
After a quick shower and slice of her mom’s apple pie, Alexis curled up on her sofa with a Lifetime movie. One hand rubbed Mr. Dog’s neck, and the other twisted the string from her sweats around and around her finger nervously. Just when she thought she had the mystery figured out, the movie would throw in another twist.
“Seriously? It’s ending like that?”
Mr. Dog breathed a deep, doggie breath, but didn’t move. Alexis groaned at the ridiculous ending and curled to her side. She changed the stupid movie, flipping through the channels for something less senseless. She stretched her legs with an audible yawn, looking at the clock. It was after eleven and she knew she should get to bed, but she wasn’t tired and she needed the distraction of the television. Maybe she’d just fall asleep on the sofa.
Four
Alexis stayed busy at work over the next couple of days, trying her best not to think about Cory. It worked for the most part, but she would be lying if she said he didn’t cross her mind—a lot. The demanding schedule and hectic workload helped, along with Paige and Bernie. The three of them together was just plain fun. Bernie was a nut and Paige was just too young to care about taking anything seriously. They both left her early on Thursday for prior engagements. Bernie had parent-teacher conferences for Taylor and Paige had cheerleading practice for the big game. That would help, too. Friday night football with her friends and family was just what Alexis needed.
By Friday¸ they were all pumped and ready for the game. Paige was there long enough to do one shoot and leave the studio in shambles.
“Are you serious? You’re leaving me, too?” Alexis questioned in disbelief while cleaning up the mess her niece left for her. Brat.
“Travis is home. We’re going to eat pizza before the game. You only have t
he Williamson baby. You’ll be done with him in three minutes,” Bernie assured her without a glance, grabbing her things from Alexis’s office. “I’ll see you at that game.”
“Save me a seat. Try to get behind Paige if you can.” How was it she owned the place, she was the boss, and the person who signed their checks, yet they were the ones leaving early on Friday night. How does that happen?
The Williamson baby wasn’t a three-minute job at all. He wasn’t the three-month-old that smiled at the feather duster anymore. He was a one-year-old scared of his own shadow. Alexis couldn’t even look at the kid without him screaming. The quick shoot turned into an hour-long session, but she didn’t quit. She didn’t build her business to what it was by giving up. There would be no snot-nose baby shots in her studio. With a little sweat, and a lot of determination, Lacy Williamson was going to get the one-year-old shots she wanted. Phew…
Washing up in the studio bathroom, Alexis replaced her khakis with jeans and a Brady County Dragons jersey. She ran her hot straightener through her long dark hair and added a touch of makeup. After locking up, she jumped in her Jeep, looking up and down the empty street. Bradley was nowhere in sight. He’d never know. She pushed in the clutch, looked one more time for the town cop, and pulled out to make the illegal U-turn she’d been warned about multiple times. It was dumb for her to drive around the block when there was no traffic. The clutch went back to the floor when she saw Cory. The decision to make the illegal turn was halted by his presence.
“Hey,” she spoke as her car inched toward him, rolling down the window. Damn he looked good. And that hat. Gah!
“Hi.” He smiled the same Colgate white smile she loved. No…hated.
“How are you?”
“I’m good, and you?”
“I’m okay. You got a haircut,” she noticed. Grrrr. Why did she have to go and say that? He was wearing a hat.
Cory smiled and lifted the cap from his head. His fingers sifted through his hair and he replied. “Yeah, not too bad, huh?”