Chapter 4

Jon felt Sara move against him, snuggling closer, one hand spread on the centre of his chest. He looked down at the chestnut hair, smiled and kissed the top of her head. As he brought his free hand up to lay it over hers, he caught a glimpse of his watch, looking again in disbelief. Two o’clock. They must’ve fallen asleep he thought, realising he needed to leave - soon. Carefully, he disentangled himself from Sara, sliding the pillow underneath her head without waking her. He slid out the bottom of the bed, and pulled on his jeans before tiptoeing out of the room in search of coffee.

As he entered the main room, he heard the buzzing of his cellphone, which he’d left in the pocket of his jacket, so he detoured to the couch to grab the phone. Looking at the display, he saw ‘home’, and swore silently to himself before picking up the call.

“Hello”

“Jon, where are you? Are you picking the kids up this afternoon?” his wife asked.

“Uh, yeah, I can pick them up. Just finishing up with this photographer - did you call before?”

“I’ve called a couple of times, but you didn’t pick up.”

“Sorry - I left my phone in my jacket, and it was in another room.” At least that was technically true, he thought - so far he hadn’t had to lie.

“Oh, right. So are you all done now?”

Jon thought quickly, trying to remember if they had any plans for the following day. Nothing came to mind. “Well, finished for today, but I need to come back tomorrow apparently - something about doing a second set of shots in a different location. God knows why.”

“Well, the ‘why’ is because you agreed to do the interview, honey. If you do the interview, you know that they’re going to want photos. Don’t act so surprised - you’ve been at this long enough to know how photographers are. It’s fine. I was going to go shopping with your mom anyway tomorrow, in the city, and the kids have sports tomorrow evening, so I can pick them up later, when I get back.”

Jon couldn’t believe he was getting away with it so easily, as he agreed again that he’d collect the kids today, and told his wife he’d see her at home later. Hanging up, he checked the phone’s memory, seeing the two missed calls from home, and one message, which he played back. Richie. Short and sweet as usual. “Hey bro - I’ll be in town next weekend, so I was thinking we could get together. Gimme a call…..okay, bye.” Jon grinned - for someone who was perfectly happy to sing and record all day long, Richie hated answerphones, and very rarely even left a message.

In the kitchen, Jon poured another mug of coffee and took a long sip. Damn, but Sara made good coffee! As he headed through to the hidden bedroom again, he scooped up one of her cameras from the table, then pushed the door open silently, looking across at the bed where Sara still slept. She lay on her side, hair covering her face, with the blanket fallen to her waist. Walking silently, Jon set down the coffee and crept to the bed, carefully lifting the skein of hair, dropping it back over her shoulder so he could see her face. He picked up the camera and quickly took a few shots of her sleeping there, so innocent and beautiful, then turned the camera off again and laid it on the chair.

Coffee mug once more in hand, Jon sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at Sara. When she was asleep, he could see how vulnerable she was, before she had time to put up her confident front. He sipped at the coffee again, then dipped one finger in the mug, wiping coffee across her soft, full lips. She stirred, then licked her lips, smiling in her sleep at the taste. God, he hated to wake her, but he wasn’t going to just leave without saying goodbye.

“Sara” he laid his hand on her shoulder as he spoke softly, and saw her eyes flutter open.

“Mmmmm?”

“I’m sorry babe, but I guess we fell asleep. I’ve got to go.”

She licked her lips again, “You brought coffee.”

“Here you go” he held the mug to her lips.

“Ugh - no milk!” but she drank anyway. “What time is it?”

“Just after two, but I have to go, I need to pick up my.…..um”

She just looked up at him “Your kids? Your wife? I do remember that you’re married with kids, Jon - you don’t need to try to avoid the subject.” Her eyes widened “But I also remember that we haven’t done any photos! Damn! When do you need to leave?!”

“It’s okay - you did do some, when I got here at first, but I can come back tomorrow…..and I won’t have to rush off. Unlike today.”

Jon stretched out a hand for his boots, pulled them on, then turned to kiss Sara one last time.

“What time tomorrow?”

“Same as today? I promise I’ll be here on time!”

“Okay. Anything particular you want me to wear?”

“Nothing.” Sara blushed again, and Jon saw that even the tips of her ears glowed red, turning him on instantly, so he had to look away for a second “I mean……..anything you want…..”

Now Jon laughed as he stood to pull on his shirt, only fastening a couple of buttons for now. Sara stood up, too, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders as she followed him through to the studio, giving him a quick kiss as he picked up his jacket, but staying back from the door, just in case any of her neighbours in the building were passing - the last thing she needed was for them to see her wearing only a blanket!

After Jon left, she made sure the door was locked, then went back into the bedroom to find her clothes. As she tied the halter, she felt the back of her neck tender where his teeth had been, making her smile again. No matter how hard she tried, Sara was finding it impossible to feel guilty, even though he was a married man, and she straightened out the bed then threw the blanket over the top again.

Turning to leave, she saw the camera sitting on the chair, and frowned. She hadn’t brought that camera in here - all she’d brought in here was Jon. Picking it up, she switched it on and scrolled through to the memory, squinting at the little screen. ‘Who is that?’ she thought, then looked closer, spotting a small - and very familiar - mole on the back of the naked shoulder.

“Oh, you swine” she muttered, pulling out the memory card and taking it through to the PC to get a clearer view “You didn’t?”

The card loaded, and she shook her head “You did. You rotten bastard, Jon.” Her fingers moved the mouse over to the delete icon, but she stopped, considering the photos objectively. It was easier for Sara to look at herself on the screen than it was when she looked in a mirror, which she normally avoided as much as possible. On the screen, though, she was able to view herself like one of her subjects, and she tried to see what Jon saw in her. So maybe she wasn’t that bad looking, but she still didn’t get it, and closed down the PC impatiently….but without deleting the photos.

She picked up her appointment book, remembering Jon’s promise to return the next day, and saw that she already had someone scheduled in for the afternoon. After a brief hesitation, she picked up the telephone and called the agent to cancel, apologising profusely, but blaming it on a primadonna rock star - unnamed of course - whose demands on her time meant she would have to reschedule. Fortunately, the agent said that they had actually been going to call Sara, as their client was no longer available for the shoot, since she had just checked into a clinic to receive treatment for her eating disorder. They left things open for the future, with the agent promising to call Sara just as soon as the client was once more ready to be photographed.

Sara tidied up the studio, picking the photos of Jon out of the printer basket and scanning them. The one by the window was definitely worth using, but she thought she might reshoot it tomorrow, if the light was as good. Maybe with his hands in his pockets, or on the glass, above his head, so she could frame his face a little better. The one where he lolled in the armchair, facing full into the camera made her smile involuntarily, and she marked that one for use also. The others, her intended re-creations, she’d have to shoot tomorrow, since they never actually made it that far.

With that in mind, she went to the kitchen and checked the fridge. Yep, her absent assistant had left a pack of beer, so the only other thing she needed to find was the guitar. Funnily enough, it was exactly where she’d left it - propped in the corner of the props cupboard, safely wrapped in it’s soft case. She hesitated, then pulled the guitar out of the cupboard, unzipping the case and taking out the guitar. The guitar was an acoustic, deep, lustrous blue, with mother of pearl inlay around the centre, and she remembered the Christmas she’d been given it, so long ago. She took it over to the couch, and started to pick at some chords, but gave up - she hadn’t played in a while, and her fingernails were way too long to allow her to hold any chords. She left it lying on the couch as she took the empty coffee mugs through to the kitchen, washing them up and cleaning out the coffee machine, leaving it ready to switch on in the morning.

She switched off the lights as she left, locking up the door and making her way downstairs to her car, then drove home. As soon as she was home, she locked up the door and hit the shower, washing away the sweat and the sticky moisture between her legs, feeling the tenderness there. Even though it was still only 4pm, Sara felt exhausted, and she decided to pass on dinner, heading straight for bed. Maybe this way she’d be able to get up on time tomorrow.

At almost the same time, across the city, Jon drove up to his house with a car full of kids. He got them into the house and they immediately disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. Dot appeared from somewhere, talking on her cellphone, and he called softly,

“I’ll see you in a minute - I need to take a shower.” She nodded and smiled, still talking as she followed the noise of the kids down to the kitchen.

Jon ran upstairs, stripping off his jeans and shirt and tossing them into a basket on his way to the shower. He turned on the water and stepped under, letting it sluice down his chest, then moving closer to the wall so the steaming water ran down his back. Yow! His lower back stung, and he craned around to see why. He couldn’t see, so he slid open the shower door again and looked across to the mirror, seeing tiny red marks low on his back. Now he remembered - Sara had dug her nails into him, and he wondered how he was going to explain that to Dot, then decided to just wait and see if she noticed.

Finishing his shower, he towelled himself down then found some sweats to put on before heading downstairs to join the rest of the family. As he dressed, he felt a pang of guilt at cheating on Dot, but found his mind wandering to Sara at the same time. Confused by the contradictory feelings, but knowing there was no way he was going to confess to Dot, he tried to put it out of his mind. After all, it wasn’t as though he’d never cheated before.