Nikki listened as she skillfully avoided revealing too much about herself. "Alex?" She waited for her to open her eyes and look her way before she continued. "Will you tell me about yourself?"
Alex regarded her carefully, as if searching for any sign of deceit or ulterior motives. "What do you want to know?" she finally asked.
"Anything you are willing to share."
"If I would only answer one question about myself, what would you ask?"
Nikki bit her lower lip as she thought about all of the things she wanted to know. She looked back up at her and asked, "You won’t be upset?" Alex’s eyes narrowed. With no hint of the question to come, she shook her head and waited. Nikki took a deep breath and asked, "Why is an incredibly beautiful, generous, and caring woman like you so alone?"
Surprised by the question, she swallowed hard, and fought back the tears that threatened. "No holding back huh?" Nikki sat quietly and waited. "You’re not going to ask me about my sexuality like Dani?"
"That isn’t as important a question."
"No maybe not, but I’ll tell you anyway. It’ll make the rest of the story easier to tell. Before I do, care to take a guess?"
Nikki tilted her head to one side and contemplated her for a second. "Every time I think I know, you do something that makes me change my mind. Right now, I think you’re straight."
"Why’s that?"
"You're very uncomfortable with your attraction to me. Each time you’ve felt it, you’ve pulled away and changed the subject. You completely refuse to acknowledge it."
Alex moved across the pool and stood a couple of feet in front of her. "So that makes me straight?" Nikki shrugged. "Maybe it just makes me cautious. I don’t know you. You might turn into a gold digging, jealous, cheating, abusive bitch like my last girlfriend." Nikki pushed off the side of the pool and reached for her. She hastily ducked under the water and swam away, surfacing at the opposite end of the fourteen-foot long pool.
Nikki dropped her hands to her sides and slowly leaned back against the wall, hurt at her reaction. "I’m sorry, please come back." She watched as Alex swam closer, leaving several feet between them. "Please continue."
Alex eyed her warily before saying, "Back to your question. I am alone because I choose to be. I have no family." She held her hand up stopping her questions. "You already asked your one question." Nikki nodded. "Maria, her husband Ilario, and their daughter Caitlyn are my only family now. They are the family I have chosen, and with them, I chose well. I did not choose so well when it came to a partner. Joann was charming and wonderful when we first met. The change happened gradually over time. At first I didn’t realize how jealous and possessive she was." She blushed with embarrassment as she admitted, "The violence started out small, and she was always so sorry afterward. Like a fool, I tried so hard to make her happy instead of walking away."
Nikki was surprised that someone as strong as Alex had stayed in an abusive relationship. She’d seen so many victims flow through the emergency room over the years, and always wondered how they had reached that point. She surfaced from her thoughts and saw Alex watching her. "I’m glad she’s gone."
"Me too." She pushed off the wall and slowly sank down underwater, closing her eyes. She resurfaced and took a deep breath.
"Are you okay?"
"Just gathering my thoughts." Alex made her way over to the side of the pool and, resting her arms on the deck, began to float on her stomach. "I can split my life into three distinct stages. The first is through age fifteen. I really don’t like to talk about that time in my life." She looked over at Nikki who simply sat quietly listening. "The second was from age fifteen to the age of twenty-three. I was very naive then, and was taken advantage of frequently. The trust issues I didn’t have before arose in that period of my life. I was in the public eye, which doesn’t help build trust either. I am now in the third stage. I walked away from everything so I could have a more normal life. I value my privacy, my friends, and my chosen family. I’m still learning how to trust, not only others, but my own judgment as well."
Alex turned around and leaned against the deck, closing her eyes. Nikki let her eyes slowly roam over every inch of exposed skin. Her head was tilted back, revealing the long column of her neck. She could see her pulse beating steadily in her throat. Her eyes snapped up as Alex said, "I met Jo in a bar one night. We hit it off and began dating." She sat up straight. "I need you to be completely honest with me, Nikki."
"Of course."
"Do you know who I am? Have you ever heard my name before?"
She searched Alex's face. "No, Alex. I don’t recognize your name, and I don’t know who you are. Should I? Are you Steven Tyler’s love child?" Alex laughed and shook her head, and Nikki gave her a tender smile. "I don’t know who you are, but I want to. Who you were before is only important because it has played a part in forming who you are now. I'm more interested in who you are, Alex, and less about who you were." She slowly pushed off the wall and inched closer. "I want to know you because I am attracted to you. I want to see where this will go if given a chance. I’m sure there are many things about you that aren’t important to that process, but there are things that I need to know before I can feel safe." She saw Alex's eyes widen slightly as she stopped within
