He had called that morning asking could he bring dinner and could they just have a relaxed evening... he then made a comment about her in a certain pair of jeans and how he hoped she would be barefoot... he even reiterated about her bare feet again at the end of their conversation

She didnt roll her eyes she instead grinned uncontrollably on the other end of the phone

She loved, that he loved that side of her...

She loved that it was what seemed to make him happy, to turn him on

And she loved that it was the simplicity that was between them

He would be there at 7:00

She sat a vase full of roses, too many to count on the dining room table. She had, had them hidden earlier for fear of questions of who they where from...

Her nerves that had seemed to consume her from the moment her eyes opened that morning had now strangely calmed

Everything was in place

Jeans, a black cashmere sweater and bare feet per his request

Per Lorenzo Alcazars request

Alexis looked at the clock, a quarter past 7

It wasnt like him to be late

The phone rang, she knew it would be him

"Hello"

"Ms. Davis?"

It wasnt him

"Yes?"

The voice on the other end of the phone cleared his throat

"Um my name is Snake"

There was slight pause

She could tell he was thinking how absurd his name must have sounded to her just by the tone of his voice

"I mean my name is James, my nickname is Snake" he corrected trying to be polite

Alexis was confused

"Ok... can I help you with something?"

"Ms. Davis I am a trusted friend of Mr. Alcazar"

Trusted friend... she knew what that meant

"What happened?"

Her reaction was unsettling. It was as if she expected it would be something bad

Like she understood that when a man like Lorenzo had his trusted friend Snake call something bad had happened

"He wanted me personally to give you a message... he had an altercation on the docks earlier this evening. He asked that I apologize sincerely to you. He will not be able to see you"

"Is he ok? What happened?"

"Just a small altercation Ms. Davis. He will be fine" Snake said calmly

"Where is he?"

"Um the emergency room. He is having trouble being released?"

"Trouble being released?"

The way he said it sounded completely absurd

"Ms. Davis I apologize but I was not told to specifically give any more details other than an apology"

"I understand" Strangely she did understand. She had done this dont ask thing before. "Snake, thank you for calling"

"Youre welcome Ms. Davis"

And they hung up the phone

She had a million thoughts of what she should and shouldnt do

She cared about him, she wanted to know if he was ok

But she couldnt get caught

Alexis paced the floor a few times trying to make the right decision

She stopped, then looked around for her shoes and her purse

*****************

"If you wanted to bail out on our date you could have found other ways to..."

"You shouldnt be here"

His words told her to go, his face was happy, even relieved she cared enough to come

She ignored him

"What happened?"

"Just a little bump on the head"

"Yeah I can see what a little bump it is"

"Took me out the next thing I know Im at General Hospital"

"Well the blood goes nice the black and blue"

"Thanks" he said trying to smile but wincing instead

"Who did this to you?" She wasnt thinking about her question

"No one, no one you should worry about"

"Sorry, I forgot. Im not suppose to question"

"Alexis" he was sorry he couldnt tell her

"Its ok... And I assume you dont need a lawyer to press charges for assault?"

"No need"

"Is that a macho related thing or a job related thing?

"You would be my lawyer?" he asked surprised and making it clear he was ignoring her question knowing good and well she had an opinion on both the macho thing and the job thing

"I dont have to like you to be your lawyer" she said smiling

"Right now I wish you were my doctor so you could get me out of here. Ever busted anyone out of a hospital before?"

"You need to stay here for obvious reasons, they wouldnt keep you here if they think so"

Lorenzo reached for her

"Youre standing so far away"

"Thats just what I need to do is get caught holding your hand and making eyes at you"

She walked closer anyway letting him grasp the tips of her fingers

"A bit dangerous coming here dont you think"

"I wanted to know you were ok"

"Im sorry I ruined our evening. I was looking forward to spending it with you"

"I was looking forward to it myself"

His hand reached for the waist of her jeans

She loved that he would touch her there

"I hope you dont mind me saying I was looking forward to getting those off of you"

She blushed

She didnt mean to, but she did

"Thats what I was looking forward to, too" she said boldly

"Thank you for coming here, you shouldnt have, but thank you. It was good to see your beautiful face"

"Youre welcome... and I should go before I get caught. I will see you tomorrow if you are up for it"

"Its a date"

She gave him a quick soft kiss

"And tomorrow, dont be late" she said trying to be completely serious

"Yes maam

End Ch. 6