Friday, January 13, 2012

Chapter 11...another long one

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading! I have school starting again one week from monday so I want to make sure that I get as many ads in as possible before life gets hectic again., so enjoy the long add...fair waring there is a little juiciness in there for the couple :)

A few minutes later the tears subsided, and she looked at Jon sheepishly. “You don’t want me. I’m a mess. It’s probably why I’m so good at my job. I’d rather take care of others than take care of me.”
“I like messes,” he said kissing her forehead. “Whatever is wrong, we can fix that together.”
“Why do you always know just what to say?” she said with a smile.
“Didn’t anyone tell you? I’m famous because I’m terrific with words. I put them into beautiful songs. Its who I am.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. “Such the ego.”
“Stick around baby. You haven’t seen anything yet,” he joked, and then grew serious. “I’m sorry if it seemed like I was rushing you. And whatever it is that upset you, we’re going to have to talk about if we’re going to work.”
She sighed, “I know. I’m just not quite ready to talk about my past.”
“I get that,” he said giving her a quick peck on the lips. “Patience is my strong suit. I can wait.” He grinned.
“You are so full of shit,” she said with a smile. “I haven’t known you very long, but you’re one of the most stubborn, impatient people I’ve ever met.”
He laughed. “You get me so well. I can be patient when it involves waiting for the right thing.”
“So you think I’m the right thing?” she asked softly.
“Definitely worth waiting for,” he said. “Now come on, let’s get dressed and go to lunch before we blow off the guys.”
“Ok,” she said walking over to her room to grab a change of clothes.
“Hey baby?” he called after her.
“Yeah, Jon?” she called back.
“Maybe we should give up this whole separate rooms thing. I mean, how many times have we actually slept in a separate room since coming here?”
She laughed. “True.”
They walked up to lunch, and Jon put one arm around her protectively.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
“You’re hot, and these guys are always flirts with you. I want them to know that you’re mine,” he whispered back.
“It’s ok Jon,” she whispered to him. “I think they already were planning on us getting together. You’re forgetting that I talk to them too you know. And flirt? That they do. But it’s just fun.”
“Ok, ok,” he said, “I forget that the guys love you and you love them.”
“I’ve quickly become like the little sister for them.”
He opened the door to the restaurant and they walked in, hand in hand. The guys were sitting at a table cracking jokes and being goofballs when they walked over. “Ahem,” Jon said. The guys looked up and noticed Jon and Steph.
“Hey you two,” Richie said looking at them and a grin spread across his face. “What’s going on?”
Jon gently squeezed Steph’s hand as they slid into the booth. “Oh, you know,” he said airily, “Same shit different day.”
Steph just grinned at the guys.
“You were in the middle of something when we came up this afternoon!” Richie said. “I knew it. You both look too happy not to have been doing what we thought you were doing.”
Steph and Jon both burst out laughing, and then grew serious, as Jon spoke. “It’s not like that guys. Not that what we do together is your business, but we are going to explore our feelings for each other, and nothing like that has happened yet.”
“I hope this doesn’t affect our working relationship you guys,” Steph said.
David spoke up first. “Hardly. This is a good thing. Maybe you’ll distract this guy from being such a jerk when he gets in his moods.”
“Moods?” Jon said with a grin. “What moods? I don’t have moods.”
“Not anymore, you don’t.” Richie said with a grin. “Since Steph came into your life, you’ve been a completely different man. Mellow, laidback, not a care in the world. I think I speak for all of us when I say we’re happy you guys are together or at least exploring things. However don’t screw this up Jon. I mean it, if you fuck this up and you go back to the way before, then I think all of us will be pissed.”
“It will be fine,” Steph said with a grin. “He’s very patient and understanding with me.”
Tico snorted. “Jon’s not patient. Only when there’s something good in it for him, which you are.”
They all laughed and Jon just grinned. The rest of lunch flew by and Jon decided to take Steph to the out for a proper first date. “I’ll pick you up at 7,” he whispered in her ear as they were all on the elevator. “Since we still have separate rooms, I plan on taking advantage of that tonight. So go get ready for our first official date.”
She grinned, “Ok.” She whispered, and they all got off the elevator and headed in separate directions.
She walked in her room and looked through her closet, not really knowing what to wear. She knocked on Jon’s connecting door. “No fair!” he called. “You have to get ready without me around tonight.” He opened the door anyway and pulled her in for a quick kiss. “What can I do for you?”
“I was just wondering what I should wear tonight,” she asked. “Are we going someplace where I need to be dressed up?”
“Dressy is good,” he said thoughtfully. “No go get ready. I have to make some plans for the evening since I’m dating my PA now and if I want to surprise her with the perfect evening in London, then I need to do all of the planning myself instead of having her make the reservations.” He grinned at her, and picked up his phone. “I’ll pick you up at 7.”
She walked back into her room, closing the door behind her and looking in her closet again. She found the perfect dress hanging in there and ironed it and jumped in the shower. She used her special citrus scented shampoo, conditioner and shower gel and got out and put on the dress and shoes. She blow dried her hair and  pulled back part of it leaving the back falling in waves down her back. She pulled out two small strands and let them frame her face. She put on a little bit of makeup and looked at the clock. It was 655 and she was ready for whatever Jon had in store for her that evening. At 7 on the dot, a knock came at her regular door instead of the connecting door. Surprised, she went to the door  and opened it to Jon standing there with a beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand for her with a grin on his face.
“For you my lady,” he said handing her the flowers. “And might I add, you look beautiful in that dress.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking the flowers and used the ice bucket in her room as a vase for them. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Jon was wearing a crisp white button down with a black tie and a pair of black dress pants.
“Shall we?” Jon said, holding his arm out for her being the perfect gentleman. They walked downstairs and the driver drove them to a quiet little restaurant, where they were quickly escorted to the back to a private table.  Jon ordered a bottle of wine for the two of them, and asked her if she wanted a menu, as he didn’t need one. He knew the menu well.
“How about if you order for me?”
“Ok,” he said, and ordered two dishes. One was steak and the other was chicken. “Both of these are fabulous here, and since we had a late lunch, they’re small enough portions that you won’t feel overly stuffed afterwards.”
They talked all through dinner, and it was amazing since they already knew each other, they didn’t have to go through any of the awkward first date stuff.  The waiter brought the check after they had dessert and coffee, and Jon paid it. A few moments later some soft music began to play, and Jon stood up, and held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”
She smiled at him, “Of course.”
He held her close and they danced for a few songs. She rested her head on his shoulder smiling happily.
“I had a wonderful time tonight,” he said to her.
“I’m not ready for tonight to end,” she said happily. “This has been an absolutely amazing day.”
“It’s not over yet,” he promised, “But the dinner and dancing portion of the evening is over.”
“Where are we going next?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said smiling, as they walked outside to where the car was waiting for them. It was a beautiful starry night, and they got into the car and the driver drove to the park they had lunch at their first day in London.
“What are we doing here?” she asked, confused.
“You’ll see,” he said as the driver handed him a blanket and a small basket, he thanked him and took her hand and they walked to the middle of the park where there was a big projector screen set up, and a small crowd already seated on blankets. She smiled and looked at him. “They show old movies here on Wednesday nights. So I thought we’d end the evening with a movie under the stars. Luckily the weather is perfect.”
She smiled. “This is perfect.”
“Do you want to sit up close or in the back?”
“The back is fine,” she said, “Hopefully it will be more private and no one will recognize you.”
“Good point,” he said, finding them a spot and laying out the blanket. They settled in and the movie began. It was Casablanca which was a favorite of hers. She leaned back and snuggled against Jon, who opened the basket and offered her candy. “What movie wouldn’t be complete without snacks?” he whispered.
“Perfect,” she said reaching in for some M & Ms. They snuggled and kissed during the movie and when it was over she looked at him. “Thank you. It really was the best first date I’ve ever been on. I get to plan the second one though.”
He laughed. “Ok, but I don’t know how much more romantic you can get than this.” He took her hand and suggested they walk back to the hotel and upstairs to their rooms. Jon stopped at her door. “Well, beautiful, this is good night.” He smiled and bent down for a kiss. She pulled back a moment later, and opened her door.
“Would you like to come in for a night cap?” she asked smiling.
“I’d love to,” he said grinning, “But just so we’re clear, there’s no pressure for anything tonight.”
She grinned. “I know. I just thought since we were eventually just going to stay in one room, we may as well sleep in the same bed tonight, and since you walked me to my door and all, I figured we’d sleep in mine tonight.”
He grinned. “If it means I get to hold you all night, I’ll spend the night with you. I’ll just run to my room and change quick.”
“Ok,” she said opening the door and letting herself in. “But hurry back. It’ll be lonely in here without you.”
She walked in and pulled out a pair of silk purple boxer shorts and a matching tank top. She went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth and took her hair down. She walked over to the connecting door to Jon’s room and opened it and crawled into bed. While she was waiting she thought of the afternoon and him touching her the way he did before lunch. She was okay with it, and really wanted to be with him, but memories of her past hit her like a ton of bricks and she froze. He was the sweetest, sexiest man she had ever met and she felt extremely safe with him, and yet she couldn’t overcome her past to be with him.  She wished she could. Maybe he was right, and she needed to tell him what had happened to her so that he could help her get through it.
“What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Jon came back in the room and looked at her.
“Tonight was perfect,” she said. “Come over here and hold me please.”
“My pleasure,” he said crossing the room quickly and climbing into bed with her. He wrapped his arms around her tight. “How’s that?” he asked softly.
“Just right,” she said turning to look at him. “I was thinking, maybe I should tell you what happened to me. It may help me to move past things. Because I really want you, but I don’t want another flashback of memories to come rushing back and cause me to freeze up again. That wouldn’t be fair to either one of us.”
“Baby,” he said, “You don’t have to. Tonight wasn’t about that. It was about us both having a proper first date. Honest, I’m okay with just this.”
“Well, we don’t have to do anything tonight, but I thought maybe if I told you what happened, we can start getting me comfortable to the point where we will be able to do this.”
“That I like,” he said gently. “It must have been pretty awful for you to deal with, and I have a good listening ear.”
“My ex?” she said. “The one that I had a shitty past with?”
He nodded silently.
“He beat me. And raped me. It only happened once and it was a few years ago and I left him right after that, and got help and thought I was fine. I went out on a few dates here and there, but nothing ever serious and no sex. And then you came along and I kept denying that I was starting to care about you, and then the flashbacks started coming of that night along with nightmares that I fought so hard to make go away.”
Jon felt a tear roll down his face. He knew something awful had to have happened to her, and wanted to make her feel safe again.  He wrapped his arms around her tighter. “Baby, I will never ever hurt you. I promise. I wish I knew this guy. I’d like to kick his ass for doing this to you.”
“You don’t have to,” she whispered. “After I left him, he killed himself. I guess he couldn’t live with what he had done to me.”
“I hope that’s the reason. He’s still a scumbag for doing that to you. I’m glad you decided to tell me this. It means a lot that you trusted me that much. And we’ll work through this. You’ll feel safe again. I promise.”
“I already feel safer with you than I’ve felt with a man in a long time. I guess it’s not enough yet.”
“Don’t worry,” he said softly, “It will be.” They lay side by side facing each other while he held her. Finally he broke the silence. “Can I try something? I promise, if it’s too much, I’ll stop. Trust me.”
Not sure what he wanted to try, she nodded.
He gently ran one of his hands down her stomach and to the soft thin material that was just barely covering up her skin.
“Look at me,” he said gently, “Keep your eyes firmly locked on mine. I’m just going to take care of you right now, and we’ll see how you do with that.”
She nodded. “I trust you.” She said softly.
He gently began to rub her through the silky fabric of her shorts, all the while keeping his eyes locked on hers.
“Ok,” he said softly.
“Yes,” she said, feeling herself become turned on as he rubbed her. He continued to rub her spot through the fabric of her shorts and felt her becoming wetter and wetter. It turned him on immensely but he wasn’t going to go there yet. He kept gazing into her eyes, and he could see the effect he was having on her.
“Do you want more?” he asked gently still rubbing her clit through her shorts. “I promise no sex just yet, I just want to feel you.”
Unable to speak, she nodded. It was all he needed, he gently peeled off the shorts and panties. His eyes still stayed fixed on hers. If anything he knew that this would help his erection a little because he wasn’t moving his eyes to look at her wet vagina. He gently slid two fingers inside of her.
“Good?” he asked, moving his fingers around a little, as she let out a tiny moan, he chuckled softly. “I guess so. I can tell it’s been a while for you. This will probably go very quickly.” He moved his fingers in and out of her, and the feeling of it felt too good for her, she started to close her eyes.
“Hey,” he said commanded softly, “I know this feels good, but keep your eyes on mine and open. I don’t want this to end with a flashback and you not enjoying it.”
She opened her eyes and continued to gaze into his, pretty soon she was moaning loudly, and she exploded into his hands.
“Good girl,” he said gently and taking her into a sweet kiss. He pulled back and lay down with her head snuggled up on his chest.
“That was amazing,” she said. “But what about you?”
“No worries,” he said. “This was about you, and making sure you were ok. We will slowly get there.”
He was right and she knew it. “Okay,” she said softly, and then yawned.
He chuckled. “I tired you out anyway. Sleep my angel.” Sure enough within about ten minutes she was sound asleep in his arms.
“I love you,” he whispered softly once he was sure she was asleep. And he did. He just wasn’t quite ready to admit that to her yet.
The next couple of weeks passed, and they grew closer. They still hadn’t had sex, but things were definitely getting closer. They had just reached Madrid and there were a little more than two weeks left of the tour. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and they were spending an incredible day together before headed to the venue for the show.
“Steph,” Jon said, “I want to tell you something and I hope it doesn’t freak you out too much. “
“Ok,” she said just as his phone rang.
He looked at the caller id. Dot. Figures. He thought. “Hello Dot? I’m in the middle of something. What can I do for you? The papers should have arrived yesterday. Steph called you to confirm you received them.”
“Yes Jon,” Dot confirmed on the other end.  “I signed yesterday. We are officially divorced. But I just wanted to let you know something.” She sounded nervous.
“What’s up Dot?” he asked.
“Your parents wanted to see Romeo and Jake before school starts and I thought that was a great idea.”
“That’s fine. We’ll be home in about 2 weeks so I can take them.”
“Well I thought it would be good for them to have some good quality time with grandma and grandpa and they’re really excited about it.”
Jon wasn’t born yesterday, “So you want to take a vacation with your new friend.”
“Something like that,” she admitted sheepishly. “He actually had something planned for us, and knows you’re on tour and I told him I had to see because it may have to wait until you get back, but then your parents mentioned wanting to spend some time with them and I thought it would be a great idea.”
“Ok, it would probably do the boys good to spend some time with Mom and Dad for a couple of weeks.”
“Really?” she asked, incredulous. She was expecting more of a fight from him.
“Yeah, I mean, I would like to spend some time with the boys myself when I get home. As you know we’re off for a few weeks before I want to start on work stuff again.”
“That’s fine,” she said quickly. “How long would you like to see them for?”
“I was thinking a week or two.”
“Ok,” she said. “Not a problem.”
“Have a good time on your vacation. Will I get to meet your mystery man anytime soon?”
“Um,” she said nervously, “Probably when you get back.”
“Dot if he makes you happy, then I’m sure I will like him.”
“How about you?” she asked, knowing fully well what the answer would be.
“Yes,” he said with a grin at Steph, who was sending a text to someone on her phone. He assumed it had something to do with the show tonight.
“She’s right there next to you isn’t she?” Dot said laughing. “I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy.”
“I did,” he said honestly. “Now go plan your trip. Have a great vacation.”
“Bye Jon,” she said. “Thank you.”
After he hung up the phone he looked at Steph. “Sorry the moment was kind of ruined.”
“It’s ok,” she said looking up from her phone. “So, Dot is taking a vacation?”
“Yeah, she’s leaving in a couple of days with her new mystery man”
Steph’s eyes widened. That means Dot is coming here. I wonder if all hell will hit the fan when Jon finds out. Maybe I should talk to Richie, and tell him I know. He has to tell Jon the truth. “But the tour isn’t over for a couple of weeks.”
 “Romeo and Jake will stay with my parents.  I’m glad for her. I hope she has someone who makes her as happy as you make me.”
She smiled, and looked at her phone. She had overheard Jon’s side of the conversation, and he had just confirmed things so she sent Richie a text letting him know that they needed to talk and soon.
When he wrote back and told her to come to his room, she wrote back, ok, and looked at Jon.
“I have to take care of something before tonight,” she said. “I know you wanted to get a workout in, so why don’t you take care of that?”
“I thought everything was all set for tonight? I wanted to spend some time alone this afternoon,” he said with a pout.
“I know,” she said, “But it’s something last minute that came up at the venue. I promise I’ll see you there.” She walked up to him and gave him a long kiss. She pulled back and was about to walk out the door.
“Steph, wait!” he said. “I know I was about to tell you something before we were interrupted, and I wanted to say it before you left.”
She smiled at him. “Yes.”
“I love you.”
She broke into a bigger smile and walked back over and kissed him again. “I love you too.”
“Stay with me,” he asked, kissing her again. “Can’t the thing at the venue work itself out?”
“Unfortunately not,” she said. “We’ll have the whole night tonight after the show. I love you.” She said again as she was walking out the door.
“I love you too!” he called after her. She practically floated to the elevator, thanking her lucky stars Richie was actually on a different floor from them in their hotel, so Jon wouldn’t see her going to his room. She hurriedly got off the elevator and knocked on the door.
“What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “What did he do?”
“Nothing,” she said airily, “Besides telling me he loved me for the first time. Dot’s taking a vacation before you guys get back with her new guy. Did you know that?”
Richie’s eyes widened, and she came back to earth getting kind of pissed. “Why would I know that?”
“Oh gee Rich,” she said sarcastically, “Because you talk with her.”
He paled. “How do you know that?”
“The first night I was at Jon’s apartment I took a wrong turn and overheard her talking with you on the phone. It’s not my place to tell Jon, but it should be yours. You’re his best friend. And now I assume she’s coming here. How in the fuck is that going to work?”
Richie sighed. “Look, this is complicated.”
“Complicated? Then uncomplicated things. Tell Jon the truth,” she said angrily.
“The plan is to tell him the truth. After the tour.”
“After? But she’s coming here. To Europe. While we’re all here. To be with you. Again, I ask you. How the fuck is that going to work?”
“She’s not going to any concerts. She’s seen enough of those. And you two have been so busy in your own little world for the past few weeks, I don’t think he’ll notice if I’m not around during the free time. I’ve purposely made sure to be on a separate floor, and Dot will be flying commercial while she’s here. You’ve kept quiet this long. Can I please count on you to keep quiet for a few more weeks?”
She sighed. “What if he wants to go over a set list or something?”
“Then you’ll text me and I’ll come to his room.”
“Something will go wrong. Weren’t you the one who told me that secrets in the Jovi family always have a way of biting you guys in the ass?”
“This one probably will,” he admitted, “But I’m hoping he’s ok with this because he has you. And I swear, he will never ever find out that you knew about this. That will be a secret that we both take to the grave. Dot will too.”
“I don’t know…” she trailed off. “This could get really ugly. Maybe if you just talked to him before Dot got here.”
“No,” Richie said simply. “I can’t jeopardize the end of the tour. I already jeopardized enough of the tour with being in rehab and I’m not going  to jeopardize it further.”
She shook her head. “Bringing her here is a mistake.”
“I know,” he said, “But I miss her so damn much, and it’s hard being out here alone when everyone around me is so happy and in love. I know it’s only two more weeks, but really, it’ll probably be even longer before I would see her, because I have to fly to LA to see Ava.”
She softened. “Ok. I’ll keep quiet. And if this comes out while she’s here, then I will do my best to calm him down. I don’t think he’s going to be too upset that you guys are together. I think he will feel like you betrayed him by not telling him about it for so long.”
Richie engulfed her in a big bear hug. “Thank you! You’re the best little sister a guy could ask for.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said wryly. “I’ll have you know that I’m a terrible liar.”
“It’s ok,” he said. “This will work.”
“When is she getting here?”
“In two days.” He said. “When we get to Italy.”
“Ok,” she said. “I have errands to run when we first get there, and you guys have an interview. Do you want me to pick her up at the airport? I was planning on renting a car that day.”
“That would actually be quite perfect. And then she’ll be waiting for me in my room when we get back from the show, and Jon won’t see me leaving a room key at the desk for her.” Then a realization hit him. “Hey when you got here, you told me something. He told you he loved you?” He grinned.
She couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yes he did. I told him I loved him too. And I decided to make Italy the night.”
“Ooh, so are you shopping for special things?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Maybe Dot can help you. I’d like you two to be friends.”
“I’m sure we will be once everything blows over with Jon,” she said, “But for now, I want to not be a part of this as much as possible. The fact that I know about you two is bad enough.”
He gave her an apologetic look. “I’m really sorry you knew about all of this at all. I hate putting you in this position.”
“Yeah, well I’m not happy about lying to him. He’s the man I love and he’s my boss. If he finds out, he’s going to be furious with me.”
“I know,” he said. “Don’t worry your pretty little head. He won’t find out. This will be a family secret that just stays between the three of us. Jon and I have a couple of those between the two of us.”
“You do?” she said raising her eyebrows. “And I don’t know these secrets?”
“Yup,” he said. “They’re past secrets from the early eighties. They’re really not that bad, but we swore we’d never tell.”
Just then a knock came on the door. “Hey Sambora!” a voice called. “Can we go over the set list? I want to add a couple of things.”
“Shit,” she hissed. “Jon thinks I went to take care of something at the venue.”
“It’s ok Steph,” he said. “I’ll handle this. I just got of the shower Kidd! I’ll meet you upstairs in fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, but hurry up, I want to do something extra special tonight for the girl I love.”
“Aww,” she mouthed at him.
“Ok!” Richie called through the door. Richie peered through the peephole on the door and watched Jon walk away down the hall. He had an end room so he had a perfect view of the elevator. “He’s gone.”
She clenched her jaw again. “I hate lying to him. Really hate lying to him.”
“I’m sorry,” Richie said.
“Hey Rich,” she said. “Don’t screw this up. If you fuck this up, and hurt him, it’ll cost everyone a lot.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m hoping this doesn’t hurt him, but to be honest I know his reaction won’t be pretty.”
“I know,” she said.
“And you’re going to have to be there for him when he finds out. He’s going to need you as much as you’ve needed him over the past few weeks.”
“I know,” she said. “I’m going to go. I’ll see you guys at the venue. I might as well go down there and check on everything to make sure it’s all set up correctly for you guys. The car will be by to pick you guys up in an hour. I’ll send him a text and let him know.”
“Ok,” he said. “Thanks little sis!” He really did love her like a sister.
“I’d say anytime, but I sure as hell hope you don’t put me in this position again big brother.”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
With that she left, and Richie headed upstairs to Jon’s room.
Once she arrived to the venue she made sure everything was all set with the tour manager, and sent Jon a text letting him know everything was fine.
“Crisis averted?” he wrote back.
“For now,” she wrote. “Everything should be perfect tonight. I love you.”
He sent back a smiley face. “I love you too. Richie and I are just going over the set list and we’ll be on our way. By the way, you are off tonight. I want you to sit back and enjoy the show. I’ve already arranged it.”
Thinking of the something special he had said earlier, she sent a smiley face back to him. “Ok.” She replied.
“I’ll see you in a little bit baby. Why don’t you go get a bite to eat for yourself? I’m sure everything is all set there, and your front row ticket should be at the box office for you to pick up.”
“Will I see you before the show?” she asked.
“Come back right after the opening act and give me a good luck kiss,” he wrote back. “I want you to sit back and be a fan tonight, and be on your feet the whole show.”
“Ok,” she wrote back. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” he wrote back.
“Doubtful,” she replied with a smile on her face as she wrote. She went from the back stage area to the box office area, and the attendant gave her the ticket Jon had arranged for her. It felt weird to be holding a ticket for a seat when she had an all access pass around her neck. She decided to go out and grab a bite to eat and follow Jon’s suggestion. She let the tour manager know that she had the night off and would be enjoying the show as a fan tonight, and left to take a walk. Before she did, she slipped her all access pass inside of her purse.  Madrid was a beautiful city, and it was a beautiful summer day. She wandered around and found a quaint little outdoor café where she ordered dinner for herself. She knew it was probably along the same route that the guys would take going to the venue. Sure enough just after she ordered, she heard a whistle and looked up to see the guys had stopped on the side of the road. Jon was looking out the window and he grinned at her.
“Hey beautiful! What’s a girl like you sitting all alone for?”
She grinned back at him. “I’m meeting my boyfriend later for a concert. I’m just waiting on dinner first. He had to work today so couldn’t join me.”
Luckily the area was quiet, because Jon leapt out of the car and ran over to her, and planted a firm, hard kiss on her lips. “Screw the boyfriend. Come with us instead.”
She laughed, and shook her head, playing along. “Nope. He promised me the night off, and I really want to see this concert tonight. Maybe you’ve heard of the band? Bon Jovi?”
“Come with me and I’ll take you backstage,” he teased.
She pretended to think about it. “Only if I get to have my way with Jon.”
He kissed her and lowered his sunglasses at her, still playing. “You can have your way with me any time you want. “
She batted her eyelashes, “Oh my gosh. You’re him. I love you!” she said in a silly girly voice.
“Does that mean the boyfriend is forgotten?” he teased, still playing with her.
She smiled at him playfully, “Never. I love him too much.” She said seriously.
He kissed her again. “He’s a very lucky guy.”
“No,” she said. “I’m lucky.”
“I love you,” he said, dropping the game.
“I love you too,” she said, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a waiter on his way over with a plate of food. “Now, go to work before you’re late for sound check.”
He kissed her again. “See you later baby,” he winked at her as he jogged back to the car. She shook her head laughing. He was such a clown.
As he got in, she heard the guys hooting and hollering as they drove away, and she shook her head. Boys will definitely be boys. She thought. She couldn’t wait to see what kind of surprise he had in store for her tonight.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Chapter 10-a long add :)



Just then the phone rang, and she jumped. He just grinned at her and headed back to his room to get dressed, as she answered the phone. It was Richie.

“Do you need reinforcements?” he asked.

“Got it under control, Rich,” she said, “He’s showered and getting dressed. On his second cup of coffee. Food is on the way. We’ll see you in about an hour.”

“Sounds good,” he said.

She hung up the phone and finished getting changed. She carefully applied some lip gloss and brushed her long waves out and was happy with how she looked. Room service came a few minutes later, and she wandered back into Jon’s room, food in hand, where she found him dressed and sipping on his third cup of coffee. He looked up at her.

“What the hell was I thinking?” he said taking a big bite of the burger, “Getting drunk this afternoon when I have a show tonight is definitely not my style.”

“Letting go of the past is a difficult thing,” she said gently, “Even if it’s not what you want anymore.”

“I know,” he said, “But I really thought that when the time came that she wanted this, and I knew she’d want this before I said anything; that I’d have accepted it. I knew she was seeing someone else. She was too happy every time I saw her.”

“Just because you knew that still doesn’t make it easier. This can’t be easy on either one of you. You have a lot of history.”

“We do,” he said. “Did you still want to hang out tonight? I understand if you don’t.”

“Why don’t we still plan on going out after the show tonight, but put off our talk until the dust settles a little?” she said, still afraid to open up to him the way he opened up to her. “Being that we both have a day off tomorrow, I give you full permission to drink away your demons with me tonight.”

“I think I’ll lay off the Jack tonight,” he said, “Oh and Steph?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“Thank you for listening. You didn’t have to, but you did. And thank you for helping me sober up this afternoon. I definitely needed someone to whip me back into shape.”

“Any time. I think that’s part of my job description,” she said.

“By the way,” he said, eyeing her outfit, “You look beautiful in that.”

“Thanks,” she said blushing. She looked at her watch. “We should get going.”

“Let me just brush my teeth. Can you grab the set list I wrote out for tonight? I think I put it on the desk.”

“Sure,” she said, walking over to the desk, and pulling grabbing the notepad where he had written out the set list. A few minutes later he came out of the bathroom.

“Ok,” he said. “Let’s get going.”

The show was awesome as usual. Steph stayed mostly back stage that night. She’d seen quite a few shows. Jon was actually a little different that night. He didn’t run up to her and kiss her before going onstage the way he did the first night. She figured it was because he was trying to deal with his own issues, and didn’t really care about her. After the show and a quick shower, Jon and the rest of the guys came to get her all amped up.

“What an awesome show!” Richie said. “The crowd was on fire tonight.”

“Definitely,” Jon agreed, as they walked outside, and saw two cars waiting for them.

Jon headed towards one of the cars while the guys headed towards the other one. Steph seemed puzzled.

“We are still going out tonight right Steph?” Jon asked with a grin.

“Of course,” she said. “If that’s what you want. I just thought with everything that happened earlier today…you said you were going to lay off the Jack tonight…”

He grinned. “Just because I’m laying off the Jack tonight doesn’t mean that I was cancelling. Come on.”

She smiled and climbed into the car with him. “So where are we going?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” he said mysteriously.

About twenty minutes later the car pulled up in front of a small building. Jon thanked the driver and they got out of the car. Jon held the door open for Steph and she stepped inside and heard someone singing.

“Where are we?” She asked.

“Keep walking and you’ll see,” he said with a grin.

She continued to walk inside and realized it was little tiny bar. The atmosphere was cute. Everything seemed to be purple, which was her favorite color. There were purple chairs and 4 small purple tables each paired with a black booth.

“Cute,” she said, “But what’s the big surprise with a bar?”

Jon smiled and pointed towards the stage, “A little birdie told me that you like to sing karaoke. It happens to be karaoke night.”

She smiled. “Yay! Come on let’s get drinks.”

She walked over to the bar and Jon was greeted immediately by the bartender.

“Hey Jonny!” she said, enthusiastically, “Your usual?” She reached for the bottle of Jack, and Steph grinned.

“No Amanda,” he said, “I think I’ll just stick with beer tonight. What would you like Steph?”

“Beer is fine,” she said.

Jon ordered a pitcher of beer and they headed to a table near the back and sat down.

“So,” she said, “Are you on a first name basis with bartenders in every country?”

He laughed. “No. Just in the countries we frequently visit. We have to have places to go where people don’t really recognize us. I stumbled across this place in the mid nineties. It has its charm and the girl behind the bar has been here for years. She’s always good to me here when we’re in town.”

“That’s a good thing,” she said, grabbing a song book from the table and flipping through it. “Hmmm…now what to sing? They have a ton of choices.”

Jon reached over and grabbed one from a nearby table. “How about I pick for you?”

“No,” she said, “You’ve never heard me sing before. I want to at least make it a song I’m not terrible at.”

He laughed. “How about I pick the second song?”

“Maybe,” she said, “Or maybe you can put on that baseball hat and sunglasses and sing a duet with me.”

He grinned. “I may have to switch to Jack for that. Although it wouldn’t be the first time that I got up in a bar and belted out one of my own songs. Of course all of the guys and I were piss drunk and it was not karaoke. That was in the late eighties when it was cool for us to be piss drunk all the time.”

“You guys are rock stars. I’m pretty sure it’s still considered to cool to be piss drunk all of the time. Now, tell me more about you guys singing in the bar.”

“Well, I think it was actually my idea. We had just finished a three night stretch at Madison Square Garden, and of course there was a backstage party with lots of booze for us. We all hit the bottle pretty hard that night and then stumbled out of the Garden and down the street to the nearest bar. Of course a fan recognized us and pretty soon the whole bar was begging us to sing. So we got up and started singing ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’. We were not in tune, and about 2 minutes into the song people were booing us. Except for the drunk girls who had attended the concert. They thought we were fantastic.”

Steph laughed, “That’s fantastic. I can just picture you guys with your big hair getting booed at a bar.” She paused and scribbled something down on a piece of paper. “Found the perfect song.” She got up and ran over to the DJ and handed him the slip of paper.

When she got back to the table, Jon looked at her. “What are you singing?”

“You surprised me with the karaoke. I’ll surprise you with the song. I usually go with sappy, but tonight I think I’m in the mood for upbeat.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said with a teasing grin, “When I pick your second song.”

She was called up to sing shortly after that and smiled at Jon as she started to sing.

“I saw him dancing there by the record machine, I knew he must have been about 17…”

She continued the song (I Love Rock and Roll) and felt good when she was done as everyone cheered for her. She grinned and walked back over to the table to Jon grinning.

“Well?” she said.

“Don’t quit your day job,” he joked, “But not bad.”

Jon was already thumbing through the song book and he smirked.

“What?” she said. “I know that look….can’t be good.”

“I’ve got one for you,” he said.

“What is it?” she said taking another sip of her beer, and leaning over to look at the slip, which he let her see. “No way!”

“Please,” he said with a grin, “For me?”

“No,” she said laughing.

“Ok…how about we have a little bet? If I win, you sing the song. If you win, you pick your next song.”

“Ok,” she said. “What are the stakes?”

“See that guy over there?” Jon pointed to a man sitting at the end of the bar by himself.

“Yeah,” she said.

“I bet you he’s here because his girlfriend dumped him. And I bet you that he gets up and sings a really sappy love song. Better yet, I bet he sings one of my songs.”

“Which one?” she said eyeing the man. She knew people. This did not look like a guy who would sing karaoke and he didn’t even have a book in front of him. This bet would easy. “Be specific.”

“Hmm,” Jon said thoughtfully. “Always. He will sing Always or This Ain’t a Love Song. Is that specific enough for you?”

She grinned, “Yes. You have a deal.”

“Good,” he said. “I plan on winning this one.”

“Should we set a time limit?” she said.

“One hour. If he doesn’t get up to sing by then, you win.”

“Ok, but I may get up and sing something else before then,” she said.

“Ok,” he said. “I’m going to enjoy winning.” He looked at the empty pitcher of beer. “Should we get another one?”

“Yes,” she said, “But I’m buying this one. Don’t want you to go cheating now and paying to get that guy to sing.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he grinned, “But you go right ahead.”

She walked over the bar and got them more beer. The DJ came over to chat with Jon while Steph grabbed the pitcher. She came back over, and sat down, while the two men were talking.

“You wouldn’t be cheating would you?” she said as she sat down.

“Never!” he said. “I’m shocked you would think that. We never actually set any ground rules.”

The DJ laughed. “Good luck you two,” he said with a wink at Steph.

“What did you do?” she asked watching the DJ walk up to the bar and order a drink. She noticed him say hello to the guy they bet on.

“Nothing. I told him about the bet. Maybe they know each other,” Jon said innocently.

“Well,” she said standing up again. “Two can play this game. I’m going to get shots.”

“I’ll join you,” he said standing up.

“No way,” she said with an innocent expression on her face, “Wouldn’t want to lose our table.”

He looked around. There was an actual good amount of people in the bar he huffed. “Ok. You win, but I still have 45 minutes. Oh and Steph?”

“Yes dear?” she said grinning.

“I see a song book in front of him. And he’s flipping through it. He doesn’t look like he’s too far into it. Could be in the Bs for Bon Jovi.”

“Bite your tongue,” she said turning and tossing her hair back and walking over to the bar. She said down and smiled at the guy at the bar, batting her eyelashes a little. “Hi,” she said. “Can I see that book?”

The guy looked up at Steph. “Oh um, sure,” he mumbled, handing it over to her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jon pouting, and she grinned.

“So,” she said with a flirtatious smile at him, “What were you planning on singing?” She looked at the page he was on. Fuck. Jon was right. There were two pages of Bon Jovi songs there.

“I don’t know,” he said glumly. “My girlfriend broke up with me earlier tonight. So I wasn’t going to sing anything happy. More like a love song. She dumped for another guy. I was thinking about singing Always. In fact, the DJ said it was a good break up song.”

“Don’t sing that,” she said. “I hate Bon Jovi. You should sing a more upbeat song. You know who is sexy to hear? Nickelback or Aerosmith. I love Steven Tyler and Chad Kroeger.”

The bartender set the two shots down in front of Steph having heard the conversation Steph was having and had heard the whole conversation between the DJ and the guy. “Yeah,” interrupted with a grin and a wink at Steph, “I couldn’t help but overhear, but I think that definitely Aerosmith or Nickelback would be better.”

“Here you go,” she said handing him the book and pointing at a song. “I think this is a good angry breakup song. How You Remind Me or Figured You Out are both good actually. I’m going to go back to my friend now, but I think you probably have a great Chad Kroeger style voice. Its very low and sexy.” She winked at him and slid off of her bar stool and walked away swaying her hips to the music. She was pretty sure he was watching her walk away, and had won this bet. She sat down at the table.

“Flirting huh?” Jon said with a grin. “Sneaky. Very sneaky. You know what your mistake was?”

“What?” she said with another smile. “I don’t think I made one. I’ve got this bet won and in the bag.” She tossed down her shot. “One ground rule. You can’t talk to him. He may recognize you.”

“Fine,” he said with a grin. “But I can talk to Amanda.”

“She’s already on my side. Sorry,” she said innocently.

“Hmm,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve got an idea. I’ll be right back.”

“Ok,” she said, “But I think I’ve got this down. You only have 20 minutes left to get him up there to sing.”

“Don’t worry your pretty little head. You just worry about keeping him from putting in a song. Because I guarantee you it will be one of those two songs.” He stood up and walked over to the DJ, and pulled him out of the light while the current singer was singing. He mentioned something to him and handed him a something out of his pockets and grinned. This will work. He thought walking back over to Steph.

“I think you underestimated me,” he said sitting down.

“What did you give him?” she asked.

“You’ll see.” He grinned.

A moment later, the song finished and the DJ took the microphone. “Hey everyone! We have ourselves a celebrity in the house. And that celebrity has offered up two front row passes to his show tomorrow night at the O2 arena.” He paused for effect as most of the crowd gasped and looked around to see if they could see Jon. Fortunately their corner of the bar was dark and they couldn’t be seen. “Anyway, we’re going to have a little sing off in which Jon himself will be the judge. Here’s the catch. You have to sing one of two songs. Always or This Ain’t A Love Song. He will judge from where he’s seated and let me know the winner. So if you think you have a great voice and can win, it might make a great gift or a great way to get an ex back if you win.”

She looked over at their friend at the bar. Sure enough, he was eagerly filling out a slip. “Cheater,” she said. “I can still stop him.” She stood up and went to walk over to the bar once more.

“Give it up!” Jon called after her. “I won and you know it.”

Laughing she shook her head. This was a challenge, but she was going to win.

The guy looked at her a little excited. “I know hate Bon Jovi, but I have to win these tickets. I had promised my ex I would get her tickets, and then she broke up with me. I’m sure if I gave her front row tickets she’d take me back.”

“Honey,” she said slowly trailing a finger up his arm. “You don’t want a girl like that. One who will take you back just because something material. You want a girl with some substance.” She said seductively.

“It’s not about that. She said I can’t keep promises. If I actually follow through on this promise, she’ll see I’m really serious about her. I’m going to sing.”

She sighed defeated. She had to admit that what the guy was doing to get his girlfriend back was sweet, and she was a sucker for romance. “Go,” she said. “Sing. Maybe I’ll put in a good word with Jon for you.” She winked at him, and headed back to her table leaving the guy shocked.

She said down at the table. “Okay,” she said. “You win. But he has to win this contest. He’s doing it to get his girlfriend back.”

“I’m sorry,” Jon said. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“I said, you win.” She muttered.

He grinned. “I always do. To be fair I had planned on him winning the tickets all along.”

“Don’t you worry,” she said. “I’ll get you back.”

He grinned again, “But round one goes to me.”

They watched and applauded as about 10 people sang those two songs. The DJ made a big show narrowing it down, while Steph walked up and handed the slip of paper with her song and the winner’s name on it. She winked at the poor guy that she and Jon had used for their little bet and walked away, as the DJ announced the winner, the other singers looked disappointed until the DJ handed them each a ticked for the show the next night-they weren’t seats as good as the winners but they were still tickets.

Steph looked at Jon and smiled. “You’re so good to your fans.”

“Someone has to look out for them.” He grinned as the DJ called her up to sing.

“I hate you,” she said laughing and taking a big chug of her beer.

“You love me,” he called back as she walked away rolling her eyes.

She got up and heard the opening chords of a familiar song and decided to put on a little show. She started moving along with the music seductively and began to sing the song Like a Virgin.

She made it through the entire song, dancing and singing while the whole bar was cheering and all of the guys were practically drooling as she gave a little bow at the end of the song and walked back over to their table, where Jon was grinning.

She sat down and crossed her legs, and took another sip of her beer. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was starting to feel just a little on the tipsy side, but was having a fabulous time.

“I’m impressed,” he said grinning. “Not too many people can pull off that song with a straight face.”

“Honey, just you wait. I’ve got skills.”

He scooted over a little closer to her in the booth, and leaned over closer to her. “I’m sure you do beautiful.”

She pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “You know your eyes really do shine like diamonds.”

“So I’ve been told,” he said gently said.

“It’s probably way too soon for either one of us to be getting involved with anyone, and really not a good idea for us go get involved with each other considering I work for you,” she said, not sure who she was trying to convince anymore, and moved closer to him so that their legs were touching.

“Yeah,” he breathed, “It would be an absolutely terrible idea.” He reached over and ran one hand up her leg, causing her to shiver a little in the dark booth from excitement. It had been a very long time since she felt this kind of attraction to anyone, and she kept trying to deny it, and now she was trying to figure out why she was denying it.

“Fuck it,” she said softly and reached up and cupped his chin in her hands and pulled him closer for a kiss. They had kissed a few times before, but this just felt different. Their lips were both soft against each other, and they each slowly opened their mouths so that they could taste one another. The kiss was amazing for both of them. It was soft and sweet, and tender. They pulled apart and stopped to look at each other both smiling.

“That was amazing,” Jon said softly. “I know we’ve kissed a few times, but it’s usually me, and then you end up pulling away. It just felt so-“

“Right,” she said finishing his sentence. “I don’t know why I hesitated for these last several weeks.”

“You had some pretty solid reasons,” he pointed out.

“I did,” she said softly, “And this is probably still all wrong. This is probably a rebound thing for you. Just this afternoon you were upset about your failed marriage.”

“Hey,” he said leaning in and kissing her lips gently, “I wasn’t upset because I was still in love with my soon to be ex wife. I was upset at having failed at something, and because you’re right. It is hard to let go of the past, even if you don’t love it anymore.”

“Maybe we should get out of here, and talk this over back at the hotel,” she said, wanting to say more, but not wanting to say it in this bar.

“Good idea,” he said before giving her a quick peck on the lips again. “Why don’t we walk? We’re really close to the hotel.”

“Ok,” she said. They walked out and this time she reached out and took his hand in hers and walked back to the hotel in a comfortable silence.

They arrived back upstairs and walked into Jon’s room. They both sat on the couch. She looked at him.

“I’m scared of this,” she said softly. “I mean, I know you don’t see me as a rebound person, but at the same time you are going through all of this with Dot. What if I am just someone that you need to help you let go of the past, and am just a rebound thing? What if you don’t see that?”

“You can’t deny that there has been a spark and attraction with us from day one,” he said. “I opened up to you and more or less told you that my marriage was a sham and had been for a long time.”

“But Jon,” she protested, “We’ve only known each other a few weeks. How can you be so sure I’m not a rebound thing to help you get on your life after marriage?”

“Doesn’t it feel like we’ve known each other a lot longer than that? I mean, I can honestly say that you know more about me than Richie or the guys do, and you learned these things so quickly. You seem to have figured out my moods and what makes me happy and you just do it.”

“That’s called my job,” she said simply.

“It’s more than that and you know it. Because as much as you’ve figured out about me, I’ve figured the same about you. Granted there are still things we both don’t know about each other and our pasts, but we’ve got the important stuff figured out, and I have no desire to let you go little one. Ever.”

She didn’t want to let him go either. It still scared her, but she was falling for him. And she didn’t want to stop falling for him. She leaned in and kissed him again and snuggled into him on the couch.

“Ok,” she said happily.

“Ok what?” he said.

“You win,” she said still snuggled against his chest.

“I win what?” he teased, kissing her forehead.

“We can try this. I’m ready if you’re sure you are,” she said softly. “But don’t you dare hurt me or I’ll kick your ass from here all the way back to New Jersey.”

He chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her. “Never. Now what do you say we go to bed?”

She didn’t want to disappoint him, but she wasn’t quite ready to have sex with him, “Um, Jon?”

“Yeah,” he said and looked at her, and realizing what she was thinking. “Oh, we don’t have to have sex yet. I want you to be ready for that and I want it to be a special night for both of us. I just meant sleep. I want to hold you.”

“That we can do,” she said smiling happily, as he scooped her up and carried her over to the bed. They lay there snuggling and kissing each other for what seemed like hours before finally falling asleep content in each other’s arms.

The next day they both slept until noon woke to someone knocking on the door.

“Ignore it,” they both whispered at the same time, and chuckled softly.

“Maybe whoever it is will think we’re out,” she whispered, and just then her cell phone rang loudly and so did his.

“So much for that,” he groaned. “I’ve got Tico calling me.”

“I’ve got Rich. I swear these guys know when we can sleep late and just have to bug us.” They both pressed the ignore button on their phones.

“We know you’re in there!” David’s voice called cheerfully. “We heard the phone ringing.”

Out in the hallway, Richie and Tico grinned. “They both just pressed the fuck you button on the phone to ignore us. That means it’s time we woke their asses up.” Richie said, knocking louder on the door.

“Ok,” she grumbled pulling herself out of Jon’s arms, and he pouted at her. “I’m officially going to kill them. Whoever is out there is dead.”

“Wait!” Jon said before she got to the door. “Mess with them a little. They’re messing with us right now. Tell them we’re busy,” he said with a meaningful wink. “That usually gets rid of them. Or it makes them hound us more.”

She slipped on a terry cloth robe and grinned at Jon, and reached up and smoothed out her hair. He laughed.

“You look sexy when you first get out of bed.”

She opened the door and did her best to glare at the guys. All of them were standing in front of her. “Do you guys mind? I was in the middle of something very urgent.”

They all looked at her appearance. “Um, did you just wake up?” Tico asked innocently. “We didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Teek, man have some sense,” Richie said suddenly apologetic. “It’s after noon. None of them sleep that late. Ever. Clearly we interrupted something else. Steph, my apologies. If we had known…hell we probably still would have interrupted.”

Steph just gave them a look. “Why don’t we all do lunch later and I’ll go back to what I was doing?” she smiled innocently.

“Wait!” Richie said. “Kidd isn’t in there with you?”

“He’s at the gym,” she said. “I was busy. And about to get in the bathtub for a hot soak. Jon’s tub is bigger than mine and he said I could use it. It is my day off after all.”

“We’re so sorry Steph. Maybe we’ll go find Jon and see if he wants to hang with us.”

She gave them all a look. “He said he’d be back up in about an hour or two if you guys want to come back. Better yet, we’ll meet you guys upstairs in the restaurant for lunch. I’ll call and make a reservation for us.”

“Ok,” the guys said. “Sorry we bugged you Steph,”

“Please try not to bug me on a day off again. I like to relax too you know.” She smiled at them. “I’ll see you guys around say 230?”

“Ok,” Richie said. “See you then.”

She closed the door and practically ran back to bed to snuggle with Jon who was laughing softly. “I’ve got to say, you’re good. You had them thinking we’re not in this room together. That gives us 2 more hours before we have to go to them.”

“So…” she said giving him a good morning kiss, “Should we tell them at lunch?”

“Tell them what?” he asked.

“About us?”

“That’s your call to make. I’m sure they’ll figure things out eventually. Richie probably will first. He can read me like a book.”

“Think they’ll be okay with it?”

He kissed her. “Baby, anything that makes me happy will make them happy. If I was miserable, they’d be just as miserable. Probably worse because I was being a dickhead and taking my mood out on them.”

She snuggled against him. “Well, then I’ll just have to keep you happy then.” She rested her chin on his chest and smiled at him.

“Then lets never leave this bed,” he teased, cupping her chin with his hand and pulling her into a deep kiss.

They both pulled apart a minute later. “You’re a good kisser,” she said smiling at him.

“So are you,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of your lips on mine.”

She smiled, and sat up and stretched her arms. “Didn’t you promise me a workout today?”

“You sure you want one of my workouts? I can think of some great workouts we can do right here without even going to the gym,” he said. He couldn’t help it. He had a little bit of morning wood just seeing her in his arms made him want her.

She bent over and kissed him feeling just as much as he was feeling, but still afraid to completely let go with him. “Jon, I want you. I really do.”

“Well good,” he said running a hand up her leg and pulling her to him in a long, slow kiss. He pulled back for a minute and looked at her, and gently laid her down on her back. “I know I said we’d wait, but if you’re ready, I am.” He said smiling at her, and leaning over to take her in another long slow kiss. She returned the kiss, so torn between pulling away and letting him continue this. His hands expertly reached up under her tank top she had worn to bed the night before found her breasts and he gently massaged them causing her to let a out a little moan. She was quickly losing all self control as far as he was concerned, and she wasn’t at all sure if she cared anymore. She sat up as they continued to kiss each other and she ran her hands down his naked back wanting to feel more. She knew he had worn sweats to bed the night before, but slept shirtless, and her fingers continued to massage his back while he massaged her breasts and slowly lifted off her tank top. They continued to kiss and roam the top half of each other’s bodies, when a flashback started to hit her and she froze.

He sensed her freeze and pulled back, and gently ran his fingers through her hair. “Baby,” he said softly. “It’s ok. Whatever it is, we can stop. It’s okay,” he said.

She was crying softly.



Monday, January 2, 2012

Chapter 9...finally

Hi! I'm not sure if anyone is still reading, but here is a new add. :)

“That’s ok,” Richie said, “There will be.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You just keep on pushing this.”
“What are you up to today?” he asked.
“Not much,” she said, “Just have to make some calls.”
“Thought maybe you might want to do lunch with me and the guys,” he said.
“Considering Jon and I just ate breakfast,” she replied, “I could meet you guys for lunch around 1.”
“Cool,” he said.
“So, about last night…” he said…”Jon was sleeping in your room?”
“I just had a bad dream…he came over to comfort me,” she said simply, “Like I said, nothing happened.”
“Ok,” he said, “I give. I’ll stop pushing. I just want to see him happy. It’s been way too long.”
“He is still married you know,” she said reaching for her purse, and putting her room key in her wallet, and slipping on a pair of shoes.
“Where are you going?” Richie asked.
“Shopping,” she said. “You can join me if you want.”
“Yes,” he said “And we can continue this conversation.”
“Ok. As I said, he is still married.”
“Yes, but only on paper. A divorce has been a long time coming. They’re both not happy with the marriage anymore and want to see each other happy.”
“I see,” she said as they headed outside. “And you’re the expert on your best friend’s marriage because…?”
“Because Jon is more than my best friend. He’s my brother. We may not be blood related, but we are family. He tells me everything and I tell him everything.”
“I’m sure you guys have kept some secrets from each other over the years,” she said thoughtfully.
“Well, sure we have,” he said, “And it usually comes back to bite us in the ass. But that doesn’t have to do with what’s going on with Jon’s marriage now. Trust me. They’re both unhappy with the marriage.”
Steph walked into a dress store and Richie followed. “Well, maybe when he’s available, I’ll rethink things a little,” she said, holding up a dark purple, silk baby doll dress with spaghetti straps. “What do you think?”
“Nice,” he said. “What’s the occasion?”
“Am going out after the show tonight. Am debating between casual or dressy.”
“Is Jon taking you out?”
“Yup,” she said.
“Hang on one second,” he said. “I’ll find out for you.” He took out his phone and dialed Jon. “Hey Frank, what’s going on?” Jon must have answered. “So Steph mentioned you guys were going out tonight? Where are you taking her?” He paused while Jon answered and Steph grinned as she went in the dressing area with three more outfits in her hand. Richie was slick. Once she was out of earshot Richie spoke again. “Nice. She’ll love that. Just remember what I said about taking it easy with her. I’d hate to think you’ll fuck this up.” Richie paused again. Then he started laughing. Then he grew serious, “Oh, okay. I’ll let you go deal with that. Yeah, I’ll talk to you later Kidd.”
He hung up the phone. Steph came out of the dressing room wearing a silky blue baby-doll tank top and a pair of black Capri pants.
“That’s perfect. Dressy, but still casual,” Richie said. “I wouldn’t try on anything else.”
“So,” she said, “Where is he taking me?”
“You’ll just have to wait for tonight,” Richie said with a twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes.
She rolled her eyes. “Ok,” she said going back to the dressing room to change back into her clothes. She walked over to the register and paid and then they headed back to the hotel. Steph went up to her room and told Richie she’d be down in about an hour for lunch. She figured she’d see if Jon wanted to join them, but the connecting door to their rooms was shut. She thought about knocking and then remembered that she had kept him up pretty late the night before. She figured after his work out he might want to nap.
Just then she got a text. “Are you back?” It was from Jon. She smiled. I guess he is awake after all. She thought.
“Yes,” she wrote back, “I figured you might be napping.”
“God no,” he said, “On a phone call. You can come over if you want. The door is unlocked.”
“Okay,” she said, walking over to the door and quietly letting herself in his room.
“If that’s what makes you happy,” Jon was saying into the phone. He picked up a little bottle of Jack from the mini bar and took a swig. “I’ll call the lawyer myself and have him draw up the papers. Yes Dot?” He paused and took another swig of the Jack Daniels, and gave Steph a wry grin. “Yes, we agreed that if we found someone who made us happy, that the divorce would happen sooner. I just thought that it would be for both of us to find someone. Now you’re happy and I’m all alone.” He paused again.
“I am happy that you found someone that makes you happy. Keep in mind that I want to meet him before he meets our children. Okay, I’ll see how fast I can get the papers drawn up from the lawyer. Bye Dot.” He slammed down the hotel phone, and took another swig of Jack.
Steph reached out and touched his arm, “Jon, you have a show tonight. I know this is a lot to deal with right now, but you have to focus.”
He took another swig of Jack. “I can focus before tonight. Don’t worry your pretty little head on that one.”
“Jon,” she said gently, “I thought you said that you wanted the divorce to happen.”
“I do,” he said, “But damn it, Steph. I feel like I failed at marriage. If I can’t marriage work that’s been 25 years, how the hell am I supposed to find someone I can move on to spend the rest of my life with?” he took another swig of Jack.
“Jon,” she said gently, reaching for the bottle of Jack once he set it down. “You’re not a failure. It takes two to enter a marriage and two to end a marriage.”
“Yup and in my case it was Dot and her new boyfriend.” He reached to take the bottle of Jack out of Steph’s hand. She pulled it back quickly.
“No way sir,” she said. “It looks like you’ve drank more than half the bottle already. If you’re not sober for tonight, you’ll let the guys down.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he muttered, reaching for the bottle again. She stood up.
“Maybe we should cancel tonight,” she said. “You’re obviously not in a good place right now. Is there anything you need me to do?”
“Get me some more whiskey,” he said.
She shook her head, “You’ll thank me for that after the show.”
“Call my lawyer then,” he said, “And let him know that we need divorce papers drawn up.”
“Ok,” she said reaching for her phone.
“You can leave me alone now,” he said.
“So you can order more booze from room service?” she said. “I don’t think so. Look, last night you were there for me. Let me be there for you today.”
Just then there was a knock on the door. “Hey, Kidd!” Richie called. “Is Steph with you? She’s supposed to meet us for lunch.”
“See,” he said a little drunkenly. “You had plans.”
“Things change,” she said, opening the door.
“Now isn’t a good time Rich,” she said. “Can you tell the guys I’m sorry?”
“Hey Dean!” Jon said.
“Shit,” Richie muttered. “He’s drunk.”
“Just a little. Don’t worry, I’ll have him sobered up before we leave this afternoon.”
“No,” Jon said, “She’s going to lunch with you guys.”
Richie shook his head. “I told you not to screw this up Jon.”
“He’s not screwing anything up Rich,” she said softly. “He’s had a rough day. Dot is officially filing for a divorce. Apparently, she has a new boyfriend that she’s happy with.”
Richie raised his eyebrows. Steph handed Jon some water. “Why don’t you go shower, Jon? That may help sober you up before the show tonight. Please do this Jon. For me?”
He sighed, defeated. “Ok. Hey do you think you can make some coffee?”
“Yes,” she said. “Good boy.”
Jon went to the shower and turned the water on full blast.
Richie sighed. “Did Dot mention anything about the guy?”
“No,” she said, “But I’m thinking you know something about that.”
“I do,” he said. “How the hell did you find out?”
“When I made a wrong turn in the hallway the first night I spend at Jon’s house and overheard Dot on the phone with you. Listen, your secret is safe with me, but you guys have to tell him. He deserves honesty.”
“This tour only has a couple of months left. I’ll tell him when we get home.”
“I think you’re wrong to keep this from him. Didn’t you say this stuff has a way of coming back to bite you in the ass?”
Richie sighed. “I’ll think about it. Do you need help with him? I can cancel on the guys.”
“I’m good,” she said. “Please think about what I said.”
Jon came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, freshly showered and with just a towel wrapped around his waste.
“Ok, beautiful,” he said with a grin. “I’m still drunk, but the shower did me a little good.”
“Good,” she said pouring him a cup of coffee. She handed the black cup of coffee to him and he took a sip.
“Hmm…” he said. “Hot.”
“It should be,” she said. “It’s a fresh pot. We have to leave in about an hour and a half for sound check. Are you hungry?”
“Hmm…” he said. “How about a burger from room service, or scrambled eggs?”
“I’ll go with the burger. It’s greasier for you. It’ll help absorb some of the Jack Daniels. I have to change for tonight,” she said. “The bottle of Jack is safely hidden. You promise you won’t touch anything else in the mini bar within in the next five minutes?”
“Ok,” he said. “I’ll be good.”
“I’ll leave the door open. I’ll hear you if you go for anymore bottles, understood?”
“Yes ma’am,” Jon said, standing up and going for more coffee, and proceeding to knock the towel off his waist.
She couldn’t help admiring him as he stood naked before her. He was a beautiful man. “You might want to get dressed,” she said sweetly. “Your jeans and t-shirt are already hanging in the closet for you.”
He walked over to her. “I think you like me better this way,” he said his face really close to hers.
She wanted him to kiss her. She really did. She was screwed.