Chapter 41. Sonny sat in a chair beside the bed where Brenda was deep in a peaceful sleep. Outside a heavy rain had been falling for a couple of hours and the streets were empty. Sonny and Brenda had spent 2 hours in the casino before Sonny gathered enough information to realize that his friend, Pedro, hadn’t worked at the hotel for about a little over a month. Brenda had stood back and watched in awe as Sonny moved from gambling table to table, gathering chips and information. She quickly picked up on the difference between Jax and Sonny’s gambling styles. Jax always singled in on one table, and one player and then challenged that player to the death. Sonny moved around a lot, keeping both the dealers and the other players off guard, and at the same time, at ease. Sonny acted as if he could care less if he lost or won, he had an air of detached confidence that no one in the room mistook for ego. His style seemed to be popular with the casino crowd and it got results as well. By the end of the two hour period Sonny had learned exactly where Pedro was currently working, he had won the respect of just about everyone in the room and he had amassed a large stack of chips as well. Brenda couldn’t help but admire his style. It turned out that Sonny’s friend had been fired from his casino job when he was caught romancing an underage girl that worked in the coat check room. He was now working in the back room of a bar in the seediest part of Buenos Aries. Sonny was determined to go that very evening and talk to Pedro. However, he gave Brenda the choice to go with him or wait at the hotel. Her only answer had been to show him the finger with her wedding ring. They had found Pedro exactly where he was supposed to be and he had been more than happy to use his computer knowledge to help Sonny. Sonny gave him the names of all the Argentinean men who had died in the warehouse attack. Pedro was able to track them to San Marcos, which was located about 4 hours south of Buenos Aries. Pedro and a friend of his had agreed to take Sonny and Brenda to the village. Pedro had gone to find his friend leaving Sonny and Brenda alone in his run down apartment. Pedro was extremely taken with Brenda, and when she indicated that she was exhausted, he had insisted that she rest in his bedroom. Brenda had only intended to rest her eyes, but she had quickly fallen asleep. The phone rings and Sonny quickly picks it up to prevent it from waking up Brenda. Sonny: Hello? Pedro: I found the friend that I was telling you about and he knows the way to San Marcos. Sonny: Good, how far is it to the village? Pedro: It should take about 4 hours, maybe a little longer in this weather. We could wait until morning and hope that the storm passes. Sonny: How likely is it that the storm will pass? Pedro: Not very, it tends to rain a lot in early winter, it might even get worse. Sonny: I would rather leave tonight, if that is okay with your friend? Pedro: He doesn’t really care when we go, he has a jeep so the weather shouldn’t cause a problem. Sonny: The we will leave as soon as the two of you get back here. I’ll ask Brenda if she wants to be dropped off at the hotel or if she wants to go with us to the village. Pedro: I would guess that she wants to go with us. I get the feeling that she would follow you anywhere. Sonny: That is what she always claims. Pedro: How is your wife, is she comfortable? e there will talk to me. Sonny looks down at Brenda. Sonny: She’s sleeping, so I guess she is okay. Pedro: Okay, let her rest for now. We’ll be back there in about 30 minutes. Sonny: I hope that someone in the village will be willing to talk to me. Pedro: There is an American doctor that lives near the village, he probably knows just about everyone. Sonny: Good, we should probably talk to him first. Pedro: Good idea, I’ll see you in 30 minutes. Sonny hangs up the phone. He lays his coat over Brenda’s sleeping form, which she pulls it tightly to her. She has changed out of her dress and is wearing a simple cotton shirt and a pair of pants. Her hair is pulled back, but a few strains have pulled loose to delicately frame her face. She looks so peaceful and beautiful that Sonny can’t help but touch her hair and face. She has a content smile on her face and he wonders what she is dreaming about. He wonders what she dreams about, in general, if she ever dreams about him. He lightly traces the features of her face with one of his fingers. His gentle touch sends pluses of energy thorough her whole body and stirs her from her sleep, but she keeps her eyes closed. She never could have imagined that his touch would still affect her in such a profound way after all this time. There is no doubt in her mind that his touch affects her, but she isn’t sure that he is as affected by her. She knows that when they kiss it sends her pulse racing and makes her short of breath, but she never really paid attention to Sonny’s reaction. What if she not only made Sonny afraid to fall in love, what if she made him incapable of experiencing passion on any level? She had to know, and she could only think of one way to find out. She had to kiss Sonny and not get lost in the feeling. She had to pay attention to his reaction for once. Brenda wasn’t sure that she had ever done that, not even with Sonny. She had always been wrapped up in her own feelings, making sure that she was being fulfilled. She had never even stopped to wonder if Sonny or any other man was experiencing fulfillment equal to hers. Sonny notices that her breathing has changed and he knows that she is awake. Sonny: Brenda? She opens her eyes and gives him an intense look. Sonny: Pedro and his friend will be back in about 30 minutes. It will be at least 4 hours before we reach San Marcos. We can leave you at the hotel if you would prefer to wait here for me. Brenda: I want to stay with you. She knows that there is only one way to find out if he still feels real passion for her. He is already extremely close to her, so when she reached up and gently pulls his face to hers she does not have too far to go. As their lips meet in a lingering kiss of passion she pays attention to the changed in his body. He leans into her and his pulse quickens as her mouth fuses with his in a moment of hot passion. She can also feel his heart beat faster and she realizes that his body must be experiencing the same reactions as hers. She opens her eyes and notices that he has his shut tightly, as if he is trying to block out the rest of the world. She shuts hers again. She finally lets the rush of excitement over power her as she deepens the kiss, which he pulls out of only when he is out of breath. All doubt about a lack of passion is completely erased from her mind. Sonny wanted her, she had felt it when they kissed. She had never realized before how much she affected him. It was as if she had just discovered something new and thrilling about him. Unfortunately, it made her want him even more than before. Brenda: Thank you. Sonny: I think I should be the one thanking you, but do you want to tell me what that kiss was all about? Brenda: Just an experiment. Sonny: You mean like mixing two ingredients together and seeing if they explode, that kind of experiment? Brenda: Something like that, I wanted to see if I really still turned you on. Sonny: Why didn’t you just ask me? I would have told you that you did. Brenda: I know, but I wanted to see for myself. I had to feel it for myself. Sonny: And, what did you find out? Brenda: I think you already know the answer. Sonny: Maybe I want to hear you say it. Brenda: I think that we will both be in trouble if we don’t go back to our ordinary world very soon. Sonny: I’m afraid that the ordinary world is going be a big let down by the time that we make it back. Brenda: True, but we can’t be together for much longer and not end up getting together. Sonny: I know, it gets harder by the minute to not take you in my arms and never let you go. Brenda: How about if I just lean on your shoulder and go back to sleep? Sonny: That sounds like a plan. Brenda sits up in the bed so that she can look out the window. Brenda: Does it ever stop raining here? Sonny: Apparently not in the early winter, that is all that it does. Brenda: It was so nice when we were on the beach. Sonny: It was not, it was freezing! Brenda: Okay, so maybe it wasn’t bathing suit weather, but at least it wasn’t raining. Sonny: True, but I’m sure that the beach is beautiful in the summer. Brenda: Maybe I’ll come back someday. Sonny: I forbid it! Brenda: *Surprised* You what? Sonny: I will not let you return to our beach and frolic around on it with Jax! Brenda: Now it’s our beach huh? Sonny: Yes, it’s yours and mine. Brenda: You didn’t even like it on the beach. Sonny: I liked it enough to buy a water color of it for you. Brenda: That picture is so beautiful. Actually as long as I have it, I don’t need to go back to the beach. Sonny: You can just look at it and go there in your head. Brenda: Yeah, I’ll be able to see myself sitting on the shore and you pacing around trying to keep warm! Sonny: *Smiling* Yeah, it is kind of like the picture that you took of our farmhouse. Brenda: I remember that picture, it was supposed to be our escape. What happen to it anyway? Sonny: The land or the picture. Brenda: Both, I guess. I haven’t even thought about either one in ages. Sonny: I guess the land is still mine, unless the FBI or some other agency has taken it by now. The picture still acts as an escape. Brenda: You have the picture? Sonny: Yeah, it was one of three things that I carried half way around the world, they are the three most important things I have. One is that picture, another is that platter that Mike gave us as a wedding present. Brenda: You’re supposed to give back the presents if you don’t get married. Sonny: I don’t have that many things from Mike. It meant a lot that he picked it out for me, for us. Brenda: Sonny, it’s okay that you kept it. In fact, I think that it is great that the platter was one of the things that you took with you. What was the other things that you carried half way around the world? Sonny: The “other thing?” Brenda: You said that there are three things that are the most important things you have. You only mentioned two of them, I just wonder what else is important to you? Sonny: Oh, you can’t get mad, okay? Brenda: Why would I get mad? Sonny: Because the other thing that is important to me is your picture. Brenda: *Surprised* You carry around a picture of me? Sonny: Would that upset you? Brenda: No, I think that it is kind of romantic. The only picture that I have of you also has Robin and Stone. Sonny: I’m surprised that that Jax hasn’t thrown it out by now. Brenda: He might have thrown it out since I have been gone. You really have a picture of me? Sonny: Yeah, it is sitting on a table in my living room, unless Maria threw it into the ocean. Brenda: Which picture is it? Sonny: It’s a 8x10 glossy from the Deception Valentine’s campaign. It was one that was never really used in print. It’s a head shot where you’re wearing this black dress and your hair is kind of blowing. Brenda: I remember that shot, Lucy and I never liked it. Sonny: I know you didn’t. It’s because it shows the real you, not the professional model. It isn’t as polished as some of the others. Your hair is not perfect and you have this look of almost wild freedom in your eyes, but at the same time you are young and innocent. Brenda: You like that? Sonny: It is the most naturally beautiful picture of you that I’ve ever seen. It’s a picture of the woman that I fell in love with. Brenda: I’m not that woman anymore, I’ve changed. Sonny: I know and some of the changes have not been for the good. Brenda: I’m not as reckless anymore and I’ve had to give up on passion. Sonny: No you haven’t, the fact that you are here with me right now instead of sitting alone in Jax’s penthouse. Brenda: *She interrupts* it’s my penthouse, Jax is broke, the feds confiscated all his assets. Sonny: I didn’t think that it had come to that. I figured he would cut a deal and save himself. Brenda: Wait a minute, you knew that the Jacks family were laundering money for the mob? His silence was her answer. Brenda: how long did you know about this? Sonny: Since I came back last May. Jerry owed Carlos money, so I bought his marker. I found it all out then Brenda: You paid off Jerry’s debt and then kept the rest a secret? Sonny: Jason knew, and I guess he told Justice, who blew the whole thing. Brenda: Why’d you protect the Jacks family? Sonny: To protect Jax. Jerry and I agreed on one thing, Jax had to stay clean. Brenda: Now I get it, you did it for me? Sonny: Who else would I be willing to give up everything for. Brenda: It must have nearly killed you to have to protect Jax and his family. Sonny: That wasn’t the hardest thing about last summer. Let me get this straight, you’re supporting Jax? Brenda: Only until he can invest in enough businesses to make his fortune back. Sonny: Based on your money, and the man won’t even marry you? Brenda: It isn’t what you are thinking, Jax isn’t using me. Sonny: Brenda, it’s worse than I thought! Not only are you living in a gilded cage, you are the one paying for it. Brenda, you used to be smart and independent. What happened, I can’t be blamed for everything! Brenda: I’m still independent! Sonny: Yeah, when you get away from him! Brenda, you never would have done this in the past. What happened to that energetic brat that I fell in love with? The one that used to tell me to go to hell when I screwed up? Brenda: I don’t think that she exists anymore. Sonny: I think that she does. I think that you are more confident now and more mature, but in your heart you are that same woman that I first introduced myself to on the docks on a cold November day. Brenda: You didn’t fall in love with me that day on the docks, I know that you didn’t. Sonny: Why do you think that I didn’t? It could have been love at first sight. Brenda: Except that wasn’t the first time that we laid eyes on each other. Sonny: You’re right, I had seen you for the first time when you followed Karen to my club. Brenda: Yes, and then there was that time that you burst into my room at Kelly’s looking for Jagger. Sonny: Yeah, but I didn’t know your name until that day that we met on the docks. Brenda: *Smiling* True. Sonny: So, it’s kind of hard for me to fall in love with a woman when I don’t know her name. Brenda: You could have asked Karen what my name was, but you didn’t. Then after we met on the docks it was months before we even saw each other again. Which means that you weren’t in love with me. Sonny: Okay, I admit that it might not have been love at first sight. Brenda: More like lust at first sight? Sonny: Not even that, remember I was fascinated with Karen at that point in time. Brenda: So then when did you fall in love with me? Sonny: When did I fall in love with you or when did I admit to myself that I was in love with you? Brenda: It happened at different times? Sonny: I feel in love with you almost immediately, but I didn’t realize that I loved you until we kissed. Brenda: We kissed a lot of times Sonny, which kiss was the one? Sonny: The first time we kissed. Brenda: In your Jaguar, when you were taking me out to dinner? Sonny: Yeah, I kissed you just to prove a point that I wanted to be with you and not Karen. Brenda: I remember that, you realized that you loved me at that moment? Sonny: Yep, that moment that our lips met for the first time, I knew that we were forever. How about you? Brenda: I used to think that I fell in love with you when I found you bleeding to death in the snow. Sonny: Saving my life and giving me your blood was, without a doubt, a sign of affection. Brenda: Yeah, but the problem is that I feel like I always loved you. It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact moment when I realized that I was in love with you. Sonny: Maybe it would be easier to ask you when you fell out of love with me? Brenda: That is easy to answer. Sonny: It was when I left you at the altar, wasn’t it? Brenda: No. Sonny: Was it before that? Brenda: Sonny I never fell out of love with you, I don’t think I could if I tried. Believe me, I have tried not to be in love with you it just doesn’t work. I can fool the rest of the world, but I can’t fool myself. Sonny: I know that you love me, but you aren’t in love with me. Brenda: You aren’t listening to me. I’m in love with you, it feels good to be able to say it out loud! Sonny: Wow! Okay, I knew that you were and I was just wondering how long it was going to take for you to realize it and admit it. Brenda: I think that it took too long. Sonny: Never admitting it would have been too long. This is fine, you really mean it, your in love with me? Brenda: I have never denied that I love you. Now I’m telling you that I’m In Love With You! Sonny: Okay, I won’t ask you again because you might change your mind. Brenda: I doubt it. Sonny: I hope this isn’t a dream, because I’ve had enough of those. It can’t be though, because if I was going to dream that you were in love with me I would not have chosen a run down apartment in the worst area of a foreign city. Brenda: Does the place really matter? Sonny: Not really, but I need to know what this means, do we have a future? Brenda: Maybe, but I really have no idea. I know that I’m in love with you, but I don’t know where we go from here. It might just mean that I’ll spend the rest of my life in love with you. Whatever happens next I guess we’ll figure it out, together. Sonny: Those are the most beautiful words I have heard in a long time! Brenda: First we need to find out who framed you. Sonny: Okay, we can handle that. They hear a car pull up outside the apartment. Sonny: That is probably Pedro, are you ready? Brenda: *Picking up her purse* Lets go, no wait. Sonny: *Putting on his coat* What’s wrong? Brenda: Nothing, just come here a minute. Sonny walks over to her and she wraps her arms around him and pulls him to her in a long passionate kiss. For the second time she pays attention not only to way that his touch makes her body tingle, but she also notices how his mouth and pulse respond to her gentle touch. She unbuttons a few buttons of his shirt and kisses his neck and then notices how his pulse rate increases. Sonny: I don’t think we should start something that can’t be finished in the time that it will take Pedro to get up here. Brenda: Your right, but that was so amazing! Sonny: We’ve kissed before, I’ll admit that it is always thrilling, but surely you knew that. Brenda: I know how I feel when we touch in any way, but I never really knew that you enjoyed it. Sonny: Why would I do it if I didn’t enjoy it? Brenda: I just never really paid much attention to the way that your body responds to my touch. Sonny: You couldn’t even begin to know how you affect me physically. You make my blood boil, sweetheart and you set my skin on fire. Brenda: All I know is that your heart rate speeds up and your breath quickens when we kiss. Sonny: So does yours. He gives her an very intense look which she returns with equal intensity. Brenda: I know, I just never knew that I affected you the same way that you affect me, it is kind of intriguing to know that I have that kind of power over you. Sonny: It would be dangerous for you to learn what kind of power you really have over me, Brenda. The sexual tension between them is so thick that it is almost visible in the narrow space between them. Brenda: I thought that you liked living on the wild side? Sonny: I do, and believe me you have convinced me that it would be worth it. Brenda: I knew that you would come to your senses about us, we are inevitable. They have been moving closer together, until they are finally so close that they can feel heat radiating off of the other persons body. Sonny: I never could fight the connection that we have. I don’t know why I even ever tried. Brenda: Because your stubborn, we both are, and your scared. Sonny: We both are, but it doesn’t matter. If I didn’t know that Pedro was on his way up here right now. Brenda: *Smiling* I think that we both know what would happen. They are about to kiss again when they hear the key in the door. Sonny: *Whispering into her hair* Very soon, Brenda, I’m going to truly make you my wife in as many different ways as I can think of and then their won’t be any turning back for either one of us. She only gets to smile before the door opens. Pedro: Good you’re both awake. Are you ready to go? Sonny: As ready as we are going to get. Pedro: Lets go then, we will probably just make it to San Marcos before day break. Sonny and Brenda follow him out.
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