Time Changes

Part Twelve

The next day Alexis was involved in a particularly taxing immunization project, everything was done through an interpreter, which made things so much more difficult, and time consuming. She had a raging headache and was particularly tired when she got in.

She’d barely climbed out of the shower when there was a knock at the door. Wrapped in a towel, another wound around her hair, she opened it to find Luiz there smiling.

"Hey! You look tired!" He was astute if nothing else!

She nodded, "sorry, been a busy day. I’ve only just got home!"

He leaned against the door frame, "that’s ok. You look too tired to go out. I’ll go get us some take away and some wine or beers?"

Smiling she looked at him, loving his insight, she’d have forced herself out, but the effort may have made her not the best company! "Thanks Luiz, that would be wonderful!"

Lex was more refreshed when he returned, dressed in comfy denim shorts and a t-shirt with her hair partly dried. He’d brought burgers and fries from a local grill house, and they were greasy yet rich, and covered in cheese. They sat on the small veranda with the smells and sounds of Copacabana drifting up to enclose them, and to Alexis it was the best meal she’d ever tasted, and was perfect washed down with the ice cold beers.

Luiz was funny, enthusiastic, and he let her relax and listen, which was exactly what she needed.

They sat later on the sofa talking, and Luiz once again inched closer to capture her lips again. After a few moments of pleasant, passionate kissing, he pulled back.

"I really like you!"

She smiled, "thank you. I like you too, but I am mixed up at the moment."

He groaned, "Is it another man?"

Shrugging she tried to keep things light, "it’s over, but I may need time to clear my head."

He reached out and cupped her cheek thoughtfully, "So we just need to see where this heads?"
As she nodded again, she was overwhelmed by him, mouth seeking, tongue tasting, and as his hands started to climb her body, she had to physically fight the visions of Peter that wafted into her brain. Shaking her head, she tried to bury her demons, once and for all, by leaning forward, pushing him back into the cushions, devouring him as urgently as he’d kissed her. Within in moments, they were surrounded by piles of clothes, naked in each other’s arms, Luiz’s dark toned body a stark contrast to her soft pale one. He was enthusiastic, wanting to please her, with a sigh; Alexis succumbed to his touch, his pressure and finally his joining to her.

So much for taking things slowly.

Peter was thinking of giving up work. There was no way he could concentrate, let alone work. He’d spent weeks skiing and snowboarding, but now as the weather was changing, even that as an avenue was becoming exhausted, not that it helped anyway. He was sure he’d paced trenches into the floor boards in his house with his insomnia and inability to focus. Since Alexis had entered his house, she’d forever branded his home with images of her, forlorn, desperate...and SO much braver than he’d ever been. And now she’d gone. She was halfway across the globe, all because he’d forced her away. Snubbed her when she’d turned up, heart on her sleeve. He was right she was the bravest person he knew. And he was the weakest.

He collapsed onto the sofa his face in his hands, she’d picked through the remnants of their Stockholm interlude and realised that she wanted him regardless of how he’d behaved. And he didn’t deserve that adoration. What did he want? Her! That was easy, but a dozen failed relationships and a chip of guilt on his shoulder the size of Australia all made him think that she deserved better. He was tarnished, damaged, with more baggage than Heathrow airport! He was thirty one, jaded, and unable to hold down a relationship. She was twenty three, fresh, vibrant...in no parallel universe was he worthy of her.