CHAPTER 114

For the next hour or so, we mingled with different people, several more of the same remarks being made. It seemed Alexis was the talk of the party, the women thronged to her. Finally it was time for the birthday girl to open her gifts, everyone gathered in the huge den. One by one, she opened a variety of gifts, some serious, some gag gifts, giving everyone a laugh. She finally got to the brightly decorated gold bag Alexis had brought in with her. She opened the card and announced to everyone this gift was from Alexis. She pulled the top few layers of tissue paper out, removing a small black velvet box. She opened the box to find a very nice pair of gold earrings. She squealed in delight, jumped up and ran over to hug Alexis. As she went back over to where she had been sitting, Alexis told her there was one more gift in the bag. She looked down deep in the bag pulling out several more layers of tissue paper. I almost died , when she pulled out one of the new Hyper Dunk tee shirts from the bag. It was extra large, it would have to be a sleep shirt on her, I thought as she held it up.

"Oh, I really like this guy, not as much as Josh, but he's pretty good too", she laughed, "Thanks so much."

Although I had noticed several people staring intently at me during the party thus far, no one had actually come up and acknowledged they knew who I was.

"Oh Sandy, he's going to be crushed that you like Josh more. He may never get over it." Alexis laughed.

"Oh he'll never know.", she laughed, waving her hand at her friend.

"Uh yes he does know.", Alexis laughed back pointing over her shoulder at me.

It took a moment for the remark to register mentally I guess, then a sheer look of embarrassment crossed Sandy's pretty face. She immediately lifted her hand covering her wide open mouth in surprise.

"You mean he's...he's this guy ?", she exclaimed, pointing to the shirt.

"Yep, that's him."Alexis giggled.

"Oh my God, I feel terrible.", she said to me, while everyone else was dying laughing.

"That's ok Sandy, I will mention to Josh you're his favorite, I'm sure he will appreciate it.", I said smiling.

"You really play for San Diego, you're this guy ?", she asked, still hesitant.

"I knew he looked familiar.", said one of the women standing across the room, "I have seen him on TV."

Sandy got up and walked around the sofa, coming up to me with her arms extended outward. I bent down as she hugged me tightly, then let me go.

"I'm really pleased to meet you, even if I did put my foot in my mouth.", she giggled.

"It's ok Sandy, Josh is most everyone's favorite player, it comes with the job.", I replied.

By now the news had circulated around the room about what had happened, the room was packed with people. She walked back around the sofa to her seat, sitting down opening the last few presents. She was finished rather quickly, then once again thanked all of her guests. I was standing against one wall with Alexis, when Sandy came back around holding the shirt in her hand.

"Would you mind autographing my shirt for me ?", she asked meekly.

"Not a problem, you have a Sharpie anywhere ?", I replied.

She scurried quickly out of the room, returning quickly with a large black permanent marker. I walked over to the dining room table, laying the shirt out flat on the table. I had the large gold lettering facing up , since it was the brightest color, I was going to sign inside the number eighty nine. Before I did, I turned to Jenny with a smile.

"You want me to sign my name, or would you prefer Josh Henson ?", I said, trying my best to sound irritated.

"Oh he got you a good girl."Alexis laughed at her friend.

I turned back around and wrote inside the letters :

"Best Wishes Jenny, Brian Stevens , # 89"

I handed the shirt back to Jenny with a smile, she graciously hugged me again.

"Would you mind taking a picture with me too ?", she asked, grinning.

"Sure, no problem.", I replied.

She ran back into the house and returned shortly with a digital camera, handing it to Alexis. She quickly explained the controls to her friend, then picked up the shirt, standing next to me. We each held one corner of the shirt, as Alexis snapped several pictures. She thanked me once again, then moved towards Alexis. Before she could get the camera from her friend, several other people asked if I minded taking pictures with them. I must have taken at least a dozen or so pictures with different people before all of the requests seemed to be fulfilled. I found my way back to Alexis, who seemed to find all of this amusing.

"I'm sorry, I let the cat out of the bag.", she giggled.

"No, you're not. You're enjoying this.", I answered.

"Yea, I am.", she laughed.

It was amusing to see how differently I was treated at the party, after they found out what I did for a living. I had beautiful women come up to me and just strike up a conversation, no reservations whatsoever. Everytime I seemed to look over at Alexis for help, she was giggling at me. The rest of the night was pretty much routine, we decided to leave somewhere around eleven thirty. On the ride home, I asked Alexis if she wanted to stop for coffee or something to eat. She told me she could put a pot of coffee on at her place, if I wanted to stay for a cup or two. Since I didn't have to get up early the next morning, I accepted her gracious offer.

We were back at her place a little after midnight, the coffee was brewing. I was sitting on the sofa as Alexis was in the kitchen getting everything ready. A few minutes later she was back with a large tray, two cups of coffee, cream and sugar. I noticed that she once again sat relatively close to me, as she had done the night we had shared our past experiences with each other.

"Brian, I can't thank you enough for saving me tonight, I had such a great time.", she said softly.

"It was fun, anytime I can get my mind off the game for a while, it feels good.", I replied. "Besides, I had the prettiest date at the party."

"Oh you're just being nice. I saw all those girls hitting on you.", she giggled.

"None of them compare to you .", I stated quickly, looking deep into her eyes.

I immediately saw the change in her mood, I had caught her off guard, which was usually the position I found myself in. I saw her swallow hard, her eyes blink several times, then finally taking another long sip of coffee.

"Thank you Brian, you don't know how good that makes me feel. It's been a long time since I even considered what a man thought of me in that way.", she said, touching my hand gently.

I decided for once in my life to seize the opportunity, not wait around for someone else to make the first move. I quickly seized her small hand in mine, holding it gently but firmly, looking into her eyes. I could sense she was extremely fragile to say the least, but thankfully due to our previous conversation, I knew the reason why. I knew I was going to have to be very gentle, very patient and understanding, if any type of relationship between us was even possible. To her credit, she didn't pull back away from me, instead she held my hand in response, it was a good first sign.

"Brian, I don't….. I mean you know about….", she stuttered.

"It's ok Alexis, relax. I promise you, I would never do anything to hurt you.", I answered, looking deep into her eyes.

"I do so want to believe that Brian, I really do.", she responded.

She leaned forward slowly towards me, almost like she was about to do something for the first time. I knew emotionally she was taking a huge leap of faith, I didn't want to let her down. I met her half way, my lips softly touching hers in a brief, very soft and moist kiss. It lasted for maybe five seconds, but it was the most intense kiss of my life. I can't explain the electricity that shot through my body, the mind numbing effect her lips had on me. When she finally pulled away, her eyes were still closed, almost like she was afraid to open them. She finally lifted her eyelids, a soft, gentle smile on her face. She leaned back in again, this time with a little more hunger, a little more urgency. I reached over and placed my hand on the back of her neck, as our lips pressed together, her breath warming my face. After several seconds, I felt her lips part slightly, the tip of her tongue brushed my lips. I decided to be very delicate in my response, my own tongue, softly brushing her lips in response. Once again, after perhaps a half a minute, she pulled back away from me slowly.

"You ok ?", I asked, whispering.

"Oh yea, I'm ok.", she answered, a deep tone to her voice.