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Alexis Davis tried as hard as she could to temper her excitement and anticipation. It wasn't as if this was her first date with Neil; after all, they had already made love. Still, she couldn't rid herself of those annoying butterflies that fluttered about her gut and her sense of breathlessness that occurred when she contemplated seeing him that only intensified in his presence. In some ways, he still felt mysterious to her, unknowable and even slightly dangerous which probably, she thought wryly, only intensified her attraction to him.
It was Neil's idea to meet at the park and he had told her to dress athletically. She wasn't exactly sure what that meant but it didn't sound like the romantic date she had been hoping for. As she dressed in a pair of black Lululemon leggings and a pink vee neck tee, she tried to recall if she had ever mentioned anything during their therapy sessions about her dislike of exercise. Probably it hadn't come up with all the discussion of her attraction to psychopaths, her history of criminal behaviour, and her traumatic past.
Alexis stood at the North side of the park and wondered where Neil was. This must be revenge for all those times that she had sauntered into therapy late. Of course, as Neil always reminded her, that was her time that she was paying for and squandering. Then, Alexis heard someone clearing his throat behind her and she turned in surprise, gasping, as she saw a very atypical Neil smiling at her.
"You do realize you walked right by me?" Neil smirked. Alexis, speechless, was still surveying his appearance, askance. Neil was wearing a tight black t-shirt, which hugged his toned pecs as his button down shirts never had, and displayed his taut biceps. His shorts ended above his knees, hinting at his muscular thighs.
"I didn't recognize you. I've never seen you dressed so casually. You look really good, actually better than good; you look, look, um hot." Alexis rambled, finally pausing to take a breath.
Neil smiled down at her with amusement, his kind, intense eyes glittering with laughter. He answered huskily, "Thanks. I like the way you look too. I don't usually wear a suit to power walk. I do own a casual wardrobe."
"Woh!" Alexis interrupted, "Please tell me that I misheard because I thought you might have possibly said 'power walk' which can't be because everyone knows that I don't work out. In fact, Sam just tried to get me to work out - she actually took me to a gym and it did not end well."
"Really?" asked Neil, sounding intrigued, and trying not to laugh, "How did it end then?"
"This is not funny." Alexis insisted, hearing his silent laughter, "I ended up in the steam room, got extremely sweaty, and had to wait for Sam to finish working out. It was unpleasant."
"Alexis," said Neil, "I seem to recall that you met Kendra when you were doing Boot Camp."
"And look where that lead." Alexis countered. "By the way, I was only doing Boot Camp because you had just fired me from therapy and from your life and I needed a distraction to take my mind off of you."
"And did it work?" Neil shot back, his eyes suddenly full of searing heat. Alexis found it hard to breathe, as his eyes bore into hers.
"How am I supposed to power walk when you look at me like that?" She panted, "I can't breathe and we haven't even started to move yet."
"You really are irresistible," Neil drawled, eliciting a shy but flirtatious smile from Alexis.
"Don't worry," Neil continued, " we're not going mountain climbing or trail biking; I just planned a walk. I thought, that since we've both been feeling a little down about our careers, doing some cardio and getting some fresh air would be great for us." Neil began to walk briskly, leaving Alexis no choice but to follow quickly in order to catch up and walk by his side.
"Research has proven," continued Neil, "that cardiac exercise is often as good as antidepressant medication in improving moods and alleviating depression. In fact, you release endorphins when you get your heart rate up during exercise which can really help in changing your mood. Endorphins are a natural, healthy way of creating joy."
"I can think of another cardiac activity we could do that will have the same effect. It's one I actually enjoy doing," Alexis suggested slyly, looking up suggestively at him, through hooded lids.
"Which activity are you referring to?" Neil looked at her curiously, and then, as comprehension dawned, he barked a laugh. Then he looked at her searingly, his eyes travelling suggestively up and down her body, as if reliving their night together.
"I promise you," Neil said softly, his breath a whisper in her ear, "we will get to that activity. It's one of my favourites, too." Alexis smiled softly, her face reddening.
"Well, as long as our next date isn't camping," She said, "I think I can manage a walk.
"Hmm," mused Neil, "Let me guess, your idea of camping would be a 4 star hotel?"
"Touche," countered Alexis, laughing. "Just, let's agree not to call it a power walk. That put me off. Why don't we call this an amble?" Alexis suggested, as she tried to keep up with Neil, who had no problem breathing evenly as he motored down the path, seeming very invested in producing those endorphins he was talking about.
"Okay.., " Neil chuckled, "I have never used the word 'amble' in my life before, but if it makes you happy to call our power walk an amble, then, you should do that." As Neil was about to continue, he looked to his left and started. "Uh oh!" he burst out.
"Wh-What do you mean 'uh oh'?" asked Alexis, in consternation, "What happened?" Neil pointed to the crossing on his left. Alexis, following his line of sight, stopped walking in surprise. "Uh oh," she echoed.
Coming towards them from the left, about to meet at the mutual cross road, were Kevin and Laura Collins. Both Neil and Alexis were simultaneously flooded with similar feelings of shame, awkwardness, and embarrassment.
"Look," Neil drawled, "I can imagine what you're feeling, because, believe me, I'm feeling it too. But Alexis, we're adults, not teenagers, and we don't owe anyone any explanations or excuses for the choices we made. It's enough that we're paying the price."
"Right, everything you said, absolutely, totally agree," Alexis nodded, "and now with that said, can we turn back and run away. I'm ready for full-out cardio."
"Okay," Neil answered, speaking with calm deliberation, "and then what are we going to do? Run away every time we see someone we know or who knows about what happened to us? Is that the way you want to live? Because, that's not what I want. And, this time Alexis, it is about what we want." In order to reinforce his point, Neil took Alexis' hand firmly in his own. Alexis wondered when Neil had become so confident and tough. She couldn't deny how attracted she was to this side of him.
"Why are you always so logical and so right?" Alexis groused. "Fine, but this is going to be awkward. And, believe me, I have been through a lot of awkward moments in my life."
"I know that," Neil quipped, "Remember, you told me to google some of those moments in therapy and I did. This will be a lot less embarrassing and less awkward. For one thing, careers may have been lost, perjury may have happened, forbidden lovemaking occured, but no one fell onto a knife and toppled over a balcony." Neil laughed down at her.
"Not yet, at least" Alexis muttered, under her breath, although she saw from the laughter in Neil's eyes that he heard her and did not look overly concerned. They were so involved in their conversation that they didn't realize that they had just abruptly come upon Laura and Kevin, who had evidently seen them coming, as well.
For, a moment, there was silence as the four of them halted awkwardly. Then Kevin smiled and said amiably, "Neil, Alexis..hi, how are you?"
Neil smiled back and answered calmly, "Kevin, Madame Mayor, nice to see you."
Laura smiled at both of them. "Alexis, Dr. ...," Laura halted abruptly, realizing that Neil was no longer 'Dr. Byrne.'
Neil smiled. "Please, call me Neil," he said.
Laura smiled gratefully back. "Then please call me Laura."
Alexis knew that it was her turn to speak, but she felt as if she was frozen. Then she felt Neil gently squeezing her hand as if he sensed her uncertainty.
"Hi Kevin, hi Laura," Alexis croaked, hoarsely.
Neil realized he was going to have to navigate this conversation and his point of departure was always, ironically, total honesty.
"Look," he said, "I know you've both heard about what happened with the board and with our careers so we might as well just get it out in the open."
"I did hear," answered Kevin compassionately, "and I really am so sorry Neil. I wanted to call but, truthfully, I wasn't sure what to say. Wait, you said 'our careers'?" Kevin questioned.
Neil looked down at Alexis, gently stroking her palm with his thumb. He waited for her to answer.
"I was disbarred because I lied to protect Neil," she choked out, wondering how many times she would need to say this. Maybe she should put out a press release.
"Oh no," said Laura softly, her eyes alight with compassion, "I am so sorry but I really admire the two of you." Kevin looked down at her in surprise. His beautiful wife never ceased to amaze him. Alexis also looked shocked by Laura's unexpected and inexplicable words.
"I understand people being disappointed in us or thinking that we were complete morons but what could you possibly admire?" Alexis questioned, truly curious and puzzled.
"I know what it's like to be so in love that nothing else matters." Laura began.
At hearing the "L" word, both Neil and Alexis tightened their grip simultaneously and then immediately dropped each other's hands, resolutely looking anywhere but at each other. Laura continued, completely oblivious to the reaction her words had elicited.
She smiled at Kevin. "So few people are willing to sacrifice everything for love anymore. Everyone tries to fit love into their busy lifestyles and careers, but they don't prioritize it anymore and if there are obstacles, they throw it to the curb. Trust me, it may not feel like it now, but it is worth it; love is so worth it." She looked up at Kevin with her heart in her eyes. Kevin smiled down at her tenderly. Kevin also noticed how uncomfortable Neil and Alexis had become at the mere mention of love. Obviously, that declaration had not yet been made.
Neil, despite his discomfort with the conversation, found himself very impressed with Kevin's wife, whom he had only met briefly. She emanated compassion and strength.
Trying to change the subject, he said, "Thank you, I appreciate that, Laura. And I realize that I owe you an apology. I never called to officially refuse your offer to run the drug rehab clinic. I guess I assumed you would have heard about my career but I should have called, in any case."
Laura shook her head, as she answered, "No, not a chance, I'm not rescinding my offer to you, Neil. You don't need a medical license to run an addiction clinic. You do have a PHD in Rehabilitation Counselling, don't you? If you need to prescribe medications, then Kevin can deal with that aspect. I need you for your years of experience and your expertise in treating addicts. I sincerely hope you will agree to accept the position. And your situation actually benefits me. I thought you would only be available part-time but now you can run the clinic full-time. There is an urgent need now that Port Charles is being flooded with drugs."
Neil looked completely stunned. He had assumed that his career was over and hadn't even imagined that this was a possibility.
"Thank you, Laura. Oddly, I hadn't even considered this but it sounds like it just might work. That is a very generous offer, considering everything."
"It's you that would be doing Port Charles a huge favour," Laura insisted.
"I would love to work with you, Neil," Kevin said smiling. "It was nice to see you two, but we're interrupting your power walk." As they turned to leave, Alexis stated firmly:
"This is an amble, not a power walk!"
As Laura and Kevin walked away, there was a short silence between Neil and Alexis. Then Alexis said, her eyes filled with unshed tears, "Wow." Neil looked down at her in surprise. "Wow?" he repeated, a question in his eyes.
Alexis looked up at him, smiling, her heart bursting with pure joy. "Neil, do you know what this means? You can be a therapist again. You can go back to doing what you love best: helping people, the way you helped Kristina and me. I know you told me not to blame myself, but I still feel like a huge burden has been lifted from my back. How do you feel about this?"
Neil smiled down at Alexis, amazed by her tender heart and feeling more cared for than he had ever been in his life.
"I feel very grateful for this opportunity but mostly," Neil firmly took her hand and pulled Alexis to a stop. He pulled her into the circle of his arms, and continued speaking softly with deliberation, "I feel so grateful to have you in my life." His lips came down on hers and he kissed her thoroughly, taking his time and savouring every moment as he tended to do. As his lips lifted, Alexis's legs felt boneless and she clung to Neil in order to stay upright.
As she regained her breath, she asked, "Is this a regular part of a power walk because if it is, I may completely change my attitude towards exercise." Neil laughed and as they continued to power walk, the word they had still not spoken, the 'L' word, seemed closer than ever before.