Lost in Love

The Call

CHAPTER FOUR

It had been a week since Alex woke up and throughout that time she had not had a chance to be alone with Tony so he could finish the story. He didn't seem to mind by the way, which made her more curious. She was determined to find out what had happened between them and why everyone seemed uncomfortable to tell her. Nancy literally said no when she asked her version of events. She had said that Alex had to be patient and ask Tony. Alex had protested saying she didn't even know the man, but Nancy would not budge.

 Nancy and Jeff had visited almost everyday with the kids and Alex was grateful for the noise and life they brought. Nurse Evan however was never amused. Alex had read to them, played with them and everything but she was still too weak to get out of bed. She really loved kids and wanted some of her own one day. She suddenly wondered if she and her husband had ever discussed having kids.

Alex hated this whole bedridden nonsense. She could not do anything for herself, except eat, which would be great if she could keep the food down. The nurses would help her bathe and Alex did not like that at all. She did not like feeling useless and being treated like something that could soon break. 

Her husband had been such a rock over the past week. He had visited twice a day with flowers and her favourite candy from his company. He had gone back to work but he still came to see her. Sometimes he would even come to work while close to her. She was beginning to actually like him. She still did not remember anything but they say the heart never actually forgets feelings so maybe it was true. At this point she could not say she was in love with him but she felt something.

Alex sat in her hospital bed and looked outside the window at a world that seemed not to care that she was bedridden. For the first time in a week she was alone in her room. The room was quiet and nice. Tony had insisted that she continue to recover in her VIP suite even after she had protested so many times. She didn't even understand why he was so extravagant, but he was. When she asked him he had said his way of showing love was to shower her with gifts. Thinking about it now made her smile. 

“Daydreaming again amore?” she turned to look at Tony. He was standing by the door holding a bunch of long stemmed roses and a box of chocolates, it was kind of his calling card. 

“I was just thinking about you, what do you have there?” she said smiling as he walked to her and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. This had become normal over the past few days. She loved kissing him. Everytime he did it she would feel like a small electric shock was pulsing through her whole body to her feet. 

Usually he would just give her a peck on the lips but today he was not letting her go. At some point he had dropped the things he was holding on the bedside table and both his hands were now cupping her face. The kiss deepened and Alex responded with all the passion that was building inside her. His long fingers threaded through her hair and down to her neck. She moaned softly into his mouth. He took advantage of the opening and dipped his tongue into her mouth. He began to explore her mouth and Alex could only hold on. She felt this warmth travel from her chest to the lower part of her belly and her hands flew to his head, she held him and place and did her own exploring. Her hands moved slowly from his hair to his face, then that beard she loved so much. She moved to his neck then his thick muscled chest. It felt hard but also soft to the touch. Just as she was about to go lower, he pulled away from her. 

She felt so empty and exposed. Her lips felt swollen and heat rose to her cheeks. She looked away. She was so embarrassed that she had let herself go to this man who was basically a stranger to her. She wanted to scream but she only managed a sigh. She could feel his eyes burning holes into her so she turned to look at him. She could see the fire in his eyes died down almost as fast as it had appeared. Was she so undesirable that he could not even stand to kiss her? She felt her heart break into a thousand pieces. What had she been thinking? This man was way out of her league. Granted apparently they were married but there must be some logical explanation and love was definitely not it. She shifted in her bed and tried so hard not to cry. 

“I have a surprise for you,” he finally said in a husky voice that had no emotion whatsoever.

“What is it?” Alex asked feeling like this day would never end. Why won't he just go?

“Dr Brown said it was okay for me to take you out of this room , only for forty-five minutes,” he added when she turned to look at him with a mixture of surprise, excitement and confusion on her face.

“Where are we going?” 

“That is the surprise amore, but you cannot leave the building,” she liked the way he called her amore, she wondered why he called her that.

“Alright then let's go,” she said, faking enthusiasm. Her mind was still spinning from that kiss and everything it had not meant.

He then went outside to the nurse’s station and returned moments later with a wheelchair. He gently lifted her from her bed like she weighed nothing and as she rested her head on his shoulder she tried not to breathe him in. His scent always drove her mad with lust and desire. He gently sat her down and they made their way out of the room. This was actually the first time she had left her room and for some reason she felt excited.

“Where are we going?”

“You will see amore, patience,” he said with a laugh. It was a deep throaty laugh that made her smile. As he pushed her down the corridors toward the elevators nurses and patients alike kept smiling and blushing at him. She looked up at him and he was smiling. He caught her frowning gaze and laughed again.

“I am a popular guy, amore, but I only have eyes for you,” he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead and pushed her onto the elevator. She could not help but blush, what was with this guy and making her feel like a star struck teenager.

 Finally they arrived at the secret destination, it was the Paeds Ward for kids with cancer. 

“You always said how much you love kids so i brought you for a play date,” she looked up at him with tears glistering in her eyes. He really did know her. 

“Thank you Tony,” she smiled at him. 

Suddenly a dozen kids came running shouting his name. She looked up at him with surprise and confusion.

“Told you, popular guy. Hey guys, i brought someone to meet you. This is my wife Alex,” he said to the kids who had surrounded them. One of them actually crawled onto Alex’s lap. She hugged the little girl who looked about four years old. The girl and big blue eyes and a bold head, definitely going through chemo. Alex felt bad for her.

“And what is your name sweety?” Alex asked the girl. Her heart felt like it was being pulled out of her chest.

“Diane,” she said in a small sweet voice. Alex felt her tears about to fall but instead she hugged the baby again.

“Mr Tony will you sing for us?” one of the kids shouted. Wait, what, sing? She turned to look at Tony who just smiled and shrugged. The man had surprises. 

“Yes Billy, I will and Alex will help,” he said, not even looking at her. She could sing but she did not expect this. One of the nurses handed Tony a guitar and karaoke began. 

They spent the rest of their forty-five minutes singing, painting and generally playing with the kids. She had never felt this much joy in her life. Tony was also very good with kids. He made jokes and laughed with them. At one point when he was being tackled by Billie and his friend , Alex asked the nurse why the kids knew him so well.

“He funded the Paeds Cancer Ward two years ago, and he has been coming here to play with the kids since.” Alex was genuinely surprised. Seeing him like this made her just love him more. What?! She had said it was love, she did love him, but she would never let him know. He didn't seem like he felt the same for her.

Thirty minutes later, Alex was back in her bed feeling content. She felt much better after playing with those kids. She made a mental note to keep visiting after she got out of the hospital.

“Thank you for my surprise,” she said to Tony who had taken a seat on the chair next to her bed.

“You are welcome amore,” he said with a smile.

“Will you continue with the story?” she could see his mood change. Why was he so uncomfortable? It cannot be that bad, he cannot hate her that much.

“Well do l have a choice?” 

“No, not really,” she smiled as he started telling her what had happened next.

***

It was finally over, she had done a lot of court cases but this one had been different. Alex was a criminal attorney and she loved her job. People always said it was a dirty job and she was letting bad guys walk, but Alex thought of it as ensuring good guys do not end up in jail. Her job was never easy, at times she came too close to compromise her integrity so as to save a life, but she tried very hard not to. Going down the stairs she remembered the case that had made her want to do this job. It still hurt to think about and Alex knew it drove her to be better. Her phone started to buzz. She looked at it, she did not recognise the number.

“Hello?” 

“Hello Alex,” only one person said her name like that, it was Tony.

After the party Alex had not heard from Tony. She had been hurt but she had told herself that she had no right to be hurt . They had just had one conversation, granted the conversation was one of the best she had ever had but still, no point sulking. She decided to double down on work. She buried herself into cases, spent even more time at the office and court. Sometimes she would go to her loft just to shower and change. The month went by but Alex still felt pain.

“Took you long enough,” Alex said, trying not to act surprised that he had called her, finally.

“Were you waiting for me?” she could hear that smug smile in his voice. It took everything she had not to laugh.

“No i had a bet with someone on whether or not you would call,”

“Did you win?”

“No, you called.” he laughed, a deep rich laugh that made her tummy flatter. 

“How much do I owe you then?” he said in a low, provocative voice. She was not being drawn in by this.

“You couldn't afford it, trust me,” they laughed together this time.

“Lady did you not see my cake at that party and that sculpture?”

“I did , people from the space station saw it,even aliens were confused by it” she said, mocking him. He just laughed.

“So tell me about you Alex,” the conversation had flowed from there. Alex had sat at those steps in front of the courthouse and spoke to Tony like they were only the two people in the whole world. They had talked about their first pets, their first crushes and whether or not they would eat a snake to save their lives. Anyone who had heard them might have thought they were a couple teenagers. Alex loved how they could talk like this, no forced conversation, just two people talking and laughing a lot. She had half expected it to be awkward, considering he had ditched her at that party for a tall blonde, but that didn't seem to matter to her right now. It was not awkward, in fact it felt so natural, like it was meant to be.

“So tell me how it's like being a lawyer,” he asked, genuinely interested in knowing.

“What do you mean?”she said with a voice full of humor. He would be surprised how many people had asked her that very question. 

“I mean do you like it?” she didn't have to think of the answer to that question.

“Yes, it is the best job in the world.”

“Hmmm i wouldn't know about that. Criminals and all that, seems dangerous,” 

“Sucre that's the fun part,” she said laughing. She loved being a lawyer. It was hard sometimes, the long hours, the pressure to find evidence, the death threats she got sometimes and all that  but it was worth it. 

“What made you want to be a lawyer?” that was a big but short story. She stood up from the steps and walked to her car. She got in and tried to figure out how to tell him her story.

“Alex you still there?”

“Yes, i am here,” she said in a low tone. 

“You do not have to tell me,” he said as if he could sense her discomfort.

“No no, i will tell you,” she wanted to tell him. She just did not want him to think differently of her.  Her mind went back to the time before the accident where she had wanted to be a doctor. That accident had drastically changed her life. How could he tell him this? Before she could figure it out, there was  beeping in her ear. 

“Sorry Alex l have another call ,”

“Take it,” she said patiently.

“It is an emergency, l have to go,” he said after talking to the person on the other line for a few seconds. 

“That is alright,” she said feeling low all of a sudden but trying hard not to show it.

“No it's not, let me buy you dinner sometime,” he said.

“Like a date?” she asked, faking shock.

“Yes like a date,” he said laughing. He had this way to make her laugh and forget the world and its problems even existed.

“Okay, let me look at my schedule,” she went silent for a moment.

“Seriously Alex, girls still use that line to stall huh??” she laughed, she was dragging this out intentionally, but she really had check her schedule. Her days were pretty packed. She did a quick browse. Fortunately she had an opening Saturday night, but barely. She used her weekends to sought through case files and prepare for the coming week she was organised and liked being prepared. She felt better when things went according to plan, even though Nancy constantly told her to live a little because life was messy and did not follow some plan.

“I can do next saturday,”

“Next saturday sounds good,” he said looking at his own schedule. Next saturday was tight. He had a meeting on the Africa project that night but he would reschedule. They would be pissed but they would get over it eventually. He could not miss this opportunity with Alex.

He had already lost this whole month because of work. He had wanted to call her after the party but Nancy had refused with her number. She had said Alex was not interested in speaking to him but had not said why. Finally, today, after wearing her down, Nancy had curved and given up the number. He had spent all day debating whether on not to call her. His curiosity and the mere fact that he enjoyed her company had pushed him to finally try his luck and call her. He had an opportunity here, to take her out on a proper date and get to know her better. 

“Have a good evening Alexandrea,” he said in that voice she loved so much.

“You too, Tony,” she said suddenly feeling empty without him.  There was a pause that felt like it went on for hours before the line went dead. She stared at her phone for a minute, what had just happened? They had talked like old friends, she had almost told him about her past, a tale she never really told anyone, except Nancy. What had she been thinking? She never lost control like that. 

She had just been caught up in the moment, an oversight like that could hurt her in the end. It was always those that seemed good in the beginning that ended up dropping you. Besides, look at him, and then her. He was clearly out of her league and what was she doing swooning over him as if they could be actually something. But she had promised him a date and she was going to see it through. She had to keep her word, at least that was the excuse she was going with. After that date she wouldn't see him again. She had to be honest with herself and forget about him, she would do what she did best, work. She turned on her car and drove home.