Chapter 38

By the time Sara had tidied the studio again and cleaned out the coffee pot, it was just gone four thirty, and of course this time - when she did want to get home fast - she caught traffic, so that it was almost six by the time she got home. Locking the door behind her, Sara ran straight for the shower then, her hair dripping, started to rummage through her closet for something to wear. Hanging way over the back, she saw a dress she’d bought a few years before, but only worn once.

Plain black, short and close fitting, with a lightly padded halter top, it seemed just right for tonight, and Sara brought it through into the bedroom, dropping it on the bed while she went to dry her hair. She left her hair just a little damp, then folded it into a French roll at the back, pinning it in place and leaving her neck bare. As she’d mentioned to Jon, she did apply a little makeup, something she very rarely bothered with, then she stepped into her dress, pulling it up and tying the halter securely. The padded top even gave her a bit of a cleavage, which she seemed to remember was the reason she’d only worn it once, because she hadn’t been entirely comfortable with the way it looked. This time, though, she liked the dress much better, and just hoped Jon would like it too.

Checking her watch, Sara realised she needed to get going if she was going to be at the restaurant for seven. A quick spray of perfume, then she put on a pair of long silver earrings and a matching pendant which hung low between her breasts. A pair of black, spike heeled sandals completed the outfit, and Sara threw the necessities into a black handbag then left the house, not bothering with a jacket.

The great part of being a non-drinker, of course, was that she could just drive to the restaurant, and Sara parked outside at a few minutes before seven. As she pulled up, Kay was just exiting a taxi, and she waited for Sara to walk from the car, raising her eyebrows a tiny bit at Sara’s outfit.

“You look nice.” Kay said.

“Gee - thanks for sounding so surprised.” Sara said. “I just felt like making an effort tonight, for a change. You look nice, too.”

As usual, Kay did look nice. Unlike Sara, Kay wouldn’t even leave the house without her make up on, and she wore tight black pants and a shimmering silver halter which hung in loose, low folds at the front. Sara had seen Kay wear this top before - usually if she was headed out on a hot date, since every time she leaned forward, the halter gaped open, giving the guy she was facing a bird’s eye view of everything on offer. Nobody had ever accused Kay of being subtle.

Sara hid a smile as they entered the restaurant, and she gave her name.

“Ah, yes, Holland. Table for….”

“Two.” Sara interrupted, and the waiter hesitated, then obviously remembered the instructions he’d been given and nodded.

He led them to a table set for four, and Sara quickly went around so she faced the door, leaving Kay no option but to sit facing her, with her back to the door. The waiter gave Sara a tiny smile as he said that someone would come to take away the spare place settings, then he took their drinks order and left.

Sara gave Kay a few more details about the wedding once they had their drinks - diet coke for Sara and an Amaretto sour for Kay - and she was describing the ranch when the door opened and she watched Jon and Richie stroll in. The waiter stepped forward, but Jon put a finger to his lips, and the waiter returned to his station with a grin. Sara had to look down at the table to hide her smile when Jon smiled over at her, a wide, genuine smile that crinkled his nose and made his eyes dance.

From where he stood, Jon couldn’t see all of Sara’s outfit, but he liked what he could see. At first he couldn’t work out why she looked even prettier, then he caught the sparkling on her eyelids, and realised she was wearing makeup, for the first time since he’d met her. Very subtle, and just enough to enhance her natural colouring. With her hair swept up, and the long earrings, she radiated understated glamour, and the top of the dress, combined with the pendant low between her breasts, certainly pushed all the right buttons for Jon.

Jon hung back slightly as Richie walked up behind Kay, grinning at Sara fighting back her own smile, then he casually put a hand on one of the empty chairs.

“Are these seats taken?” He asked, and Kay swung around, ready to either tell this interloper to get lost, or start flirting if the guy was cute, but instead she froze in shock.

For the first time ever, Sara saw Kay stuttering and stammering as she tried to speak, and her astonishment was compounded when Richie grinned and spoke again.

“Hey, Sara. Been waiting long?”

“No, we just got here a few minutes ago, right Kay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, we………..you know each other?” Kay couldn’t believe her eyes or her ears, especially when Richie pulled out the chair and sat down.

He extended a hand in her direction. “Hi, I’m Richie. Nice to meet you, Kay.”

Dreamlike, Kay shook his hand. “Hi.”

She looked over at Sara again, and now she got her biggest shock. As Kay watched, Jon walked over and took Sara’s hand, pulling her out of her chair with a huge smile as he looked at her whole outfit, the dress short enough to show off her long legs perfectly.

“Hello gorgeous.” He said huskily, pulling her close and kissing her gently, not wanting to embarrass her too much in front of Kay.

“Hello yourself.” She replied, then leaned closer to whisper impishly in his ear. “I forgot again.”

“You for……..Oh, right. I get it.” He said, realising she meant all she wore was the dress, but trying not to dwell too much on the mental picture. “You’re bad.” He whispered back to her, then they both sat down - Jon rather quickly since his attempts to control his body’s reaction to her words hadn’t been entirely successful.

Kay was fairly resilient, really, and the brief interplay between Jon and Sara had given her a chance to get her head around the situation, but a thought now struck her and she looked at Jon a little angrily.

“What’s wrong, Kay?” Sara asked, seeing the look on her friend’s face.

“Oh, I was just wondering,” Kay replied, “if this was why his wife’s thrown him out. The latest in a long line of flings - the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Before Jon or Richie could say a word, Sara burst into laughter. Once she finally got her giggles back under control, and seeing Jon and Richie smiling in sympathy with her outburst, she spoke again, glad she could actually defend Jon this time.

“Kay - sweetie - not that it’s actually any of your business, but that’s absolutely not the reason they’re divorcing. And, quite honestly,” she continued as Kay stared at her, not used to hearing Sara speak so vehemently, “if it’s just a fling - I’ll take what I can, for as long as I can.”

Grinning, Jon reached over to take her hand, and he half-stood to kiss her forehead and whisper “It’s not a fling, baby.”

Jon sat down again, still holding Sara’s hand, and Richie grinned at Kay’s discomfiture.

“So - now that’s all settled, can we eat?”

After such an inauspicious start, they actually ended up having a pretty enjoyable evening although, while Kay tried her best, Richie didn’t seem to hit it off with her. He talked with her comfortably enough, but there was no sign of any attraction on his part, and Sara thought it was possible that Kay’s obvious near hero-worship was putting him off. Maybe Richie just wanted someone to like him in spite of who he was, and not because of it. If Sara were honest, she really didn’t care how Kay felt, not after what she’d just said about Jon, but she kept quiet and enjoyed her meal.

Eventually, the restaurant owner came over to the table, to politely ask them to leave, since he wanted to close up for the night. The few other customers who’d been eating had left some time ago, and it was just the four of them now, still sipping coffee and talking. As he approached the table, Jon looked up, and the owner’s demeanour changed immediately.

“Aw, hell - it’s you. I forgot you were here tonight. How are ya, Jon?”

“I’m great, actually, Sam. How’s business?”

“Pretty good, pretty good. Hey - I was sorry to read about you and Dot, although,” he glanced at Sara, “I have to say it looks like you’re coping okay.”

Jon grinned. “Better than that, but you know Sara, don’t you? She said she loves this place.”

Sam took another, closer look at the brunette sitting beside Jon, not recognising her initially as the girl who normally came in wearing jeans or shorts, hair in pigtails.

“Sara? Jesus - you look amazing! Tell me you’re not seeing this guy, please!”

“Sorry, Sam. Guilty as charged.”

“Well, you’re obviously good for each other.” Sam gave his considered opinion. “I’ve never seen you look so happy, Sara.”

With a smile, Jon reached for his wallet. “How much do I owe you, Sam?”

“On the house.”

“Are you sure?” Jon asked, thinking the restaurant must be doing better than ‘pretty good’ if Sam could afford to pass on their bill.

“Yeah. Call it a thank you for making Sara happy. That girl’s been coming in here alone for way too long. About time somebody snapped her up.” Sara blushed at that, standing up to give Sam a peck on the cheek.

The others got to their feet too, and they headed for the door. Jon stopped as they got there, pulling out his cellphone.

“I’d better call a cab.” He said, starting to dial.

“I could drive you.” Sara offered. “My car’s just there, and I’ll be dropping Kay off anyway.”

Strangely, it was Richie who answered first, since Jon was already speaking to the cab company.

“If you like, I could take the cab and drop Kay off, if you didn’t want to head back to the hotel just yet, Jon?”

“Sara?” Jon looked at her to see what she wanted to do.

“Up to you.” She passed the decision neatly back to him, and Jon smiled.

“Well, if you two don’t mind?” Richie looked at Kay, who shrugged, trying to contain her excitement at the idea of getting him to herself - or getting him into her apartment. She didn’t know, but Richie had quite different ideas.

“Okay, buddy,” Richie said, “I’ll drop this young lady home, and I guess I’ll see you later, since your car’s still at the hotel.”

Just as this decision was made, their cab arrived, and Richie gallantly opened the door for Kay. Before he got into the cab himself, Richie slapped Jon on the shoulder.

“See ya tomorrow, buddy.”

“Yeah - ‘night Richie.” Turning to Sara, Richie opened his arms wide with a grin. “Can I have a hug, beautiful?”

Jokingly, Sara looked over both shoulders before replying.

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah, you!” Giggling, Sara took a step forward, putting her arms around his waist as Richie wrapped his arms around her and gave a gentle squeeze.

“Goodnight, Sara.” He said. “I’ll make sure Kay gets home safe and sound.”

“Thank you. Though I’d be more worried about you getting away from Kay safe and sound.” Sara replied as Richie let go.

With a grin, Richie waved at them both and got into the cab, slamming the door as he took his seat beside Kay, who turned her head to smile at Sara as the cab drove away.

Sara and Jon watched them leave, the Jon put his arm around Sara’s shoulders, hugging her to his side. With the heels she wore, she was almost the same height as Jon, maybe even a tiny bit taller, which felt strange but didn’t seem to bother Jon.

“C’mon baby.” He said softly, and they walked to the car, Sara tucked close to Jon, her arm around his waist.

They climbed into the car, and Sara leaned down to unbuckle her sandals, pulling off the first one and tossing it into the backseat.

“I wondered how you were gonna drive in those heels.” Jon said as he watched, though he was mostly watching the hemline of her skirt inching up as she stretched forward.

“Oh, I can drive in them.” Sara told him. “But it wrecks the heels, so I don’t do it very often.”

The buckle on the left sandal was proving recalcitrant, and Sara pulled her knee higher to afford her easier access, making Jon chuckle softly as the short skirt rode even higher. Reaching across, he twisted in his seat so he could lay his right hand on her thigh, his left on the back of the seat. He laid his hand on the warm, smooth skin, bringing his fingers up to the hem of the skirt, then pushing the fabric higher still.

Sara smiled, but brought one hand off her sandal to catch her skirt.

“Hey! Remember I’m not wearing any underwear here.”

Jon grinned widely, moving his hand under the skirt now, sliding across the top of her thigh and down between her legs, pushing her thighs further apart.

“Thanks for reminding me. I’d forgotten about that.”

Chapter 37

Jon and Richie grinned at each other, then said at the same time, “Free coffee!”

Sara smiled at them, loving the affinity between them, and hoping she could catch it in the photos. She stood up and walked to the worktable, picking up a camera and checking it was fully charged.

Dropping to sit on the floor, almost in a lotus position, Sara aimed the camera at Richie, who grinned goofily at her, then she took a photo of Jon, who crossed his eyes.

“Great.” She said, shaking her head at them. “Are you two still drunk?”

“Nope.” Richie said. “Not drunk, just crazy.”

“Perfect - you’ll fit right in here, then.” Sara said, standing up. “Come on over here, guys.”

Taking them to the main area with the bright lights and backdrops, Sara worked them through a variety of shots, mainly of them both, but also some of just Richie, since she already had quite a few of Jon! All three of them were relaxed, and Sara was sure it was going to come through in the photos, as both Jon and Richie clowned for the camera, but were just as ready to give off the mean, moody rockstar image when she asked for it.

Thankfully, she didn’t feel the attraction toward Richie that she’d felt for Jon since they met, but she liked Richie instantly. He was more photogenic than she’d expected, too, with those glittering eyes that had certainly mesmerised Kay for a long time. As that thought struck her, Sara laughed, making the two guys look at her questioningly.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about Kay.”

Now Jon laughed, too, leaving Richie in the dark.

“Who’s Kay?” He asked.

“My friend. She came around here the other day, when Jon was here, and she……well, let’s just say she didn’t have a very high opinion of him. She’s been a huge fan for years, but she prefers you to Jon. Especially after the last week.”

“Hell,” Richie said with a grin, “I can understand your friend preferring me to Captain Kidd here, but what did he do to make her mad?”

Sara smiled apologetically at Jon.

“She thought he was being mean to me, that he was acting like a………well, acting like a rockstar.”

“You’re too polite, babe. She said I was a prick, which was kinda funny since she was the one being cruel to you.”

Now Richie was very confused.

“But, if she’s your friend, why was she being mean?”

“She wasn’t - not really - she was just being honest I guess.” Sara tried to defend Kay. Anyway, from what she’d heard recently, like Paul saying how he’d been scared of her, and Ryan’s comments to Jon, Sara thought Kay had probably had a valid point.

“Yeah, right. Honest.” Jon said with great feeling. “Telling you that you’re cold and heartless. Sure sounded friendly to me.”

“Cold and heartless.” Richie repeated. “Believe me, I’ve got some experience of cold and heartless, and you ain’t it honey. How long have you known this Kay?”

“Oh, God, I’ve known Kay forever. You have to take it in context though. She was saying it because I don’t…..I haven’t…….well, I hadn’t…….actually, why are we even talking about this?” Sara had turned bright red, and Richie looked curiously at Jon, who gave a tiny shake of his head, silently mouthing ‘later, bro’.

Richie still didn’t get it, but he let it slide for now, although he didn’t entirely change the subject.

“I’ve got a great idea.” He announced, and Jon looked wary.

“What?”

“Well, no offence, Jon, but you were pretty boring company last night.” He laughed when Jon flipped him off with a grin. “I think tonight, you, me, Sara and this Kay should go out. I’d like to see what kind of person thinks you’re cold, girl.”

“But Kay doesn’t know about……….well, about Jon.” Sara said, and that just made Richie grin more, Jon starting to grin too as the idea blossomed.

“Jesus! Even better.” Richie laughed, and it was such a natural, spontaneous laugh that Sara automatically snapped a photo of him. “Give her a call, and arrange to meet her for dinner. Just don’t mention it’s actually a table for four!”

Sara glanced from Richie to Jon and back again. The two of them looked like a couple of kids plotting a practical joke, and the mischief on Jon’s face was infectious. Maybe it would be pretty funny to see Kay’s face when she showed up to find Sara with Jon and Richie.

“Oh, okay then!” She agreed. “Where’ll I tell her to meet me? Bearing in mind, of course, I don’t go out much, so she’ll smell a rat if I suddenly have an urge to head off into the city for dinner.”

The guys exchanged a look, then Jon suggested a small Italian restaurant quite near to Sara’s home.

“I love that place.” Sara exclaimed. “But how do you know it? Not exactly on your doorstep, is it?”

“I know the family that owns it.” Jon explained, then grinned. “Where did you think I got the pizza last week? You call Kay, I’ll call and book us a table. What time?”

“Seven?” Sara suggested.

“Kinda early, isn’t it?” Richie said.

“I normally eat even earlier - I get real grouchy when I’m hungry!” Sara said. “Well, I also tend to pass out if I don’t eat enough, too.”

“Okay, seven o’clock then.” Richie acquiesced with a smile, and Jon dialled the restaurant on his cellphone as Sara went to the worktable to call Kay.

For a change, Sara actually got through to Kay first try, with Kay interrogating her about the wedding, and who’d been there, and if anything outrageous had happened. It was a good ten minutes before Sara could interrupt her questions to ask Kay to come out for dinner. It took another couple of minutes to get her to agree, with Sara hinting she had some juicy gossip she’d only divulge face to face. Once, she looked over to where Jon and Richie sat waiting, seeing them deep in conversation and oblivious to her attention.

It was a good thing she couldn’t hear them, since Richie had - in his usual blunt manner - asked Jon to explain Sara’s earlier embarrassment. Jon tried to sidestep the question, but all he managed to do was make Richie more insistent. Finally, Richie said fine, he’d just ask Sara, and Jon shot him a poisonous look.

“No, you fuckin’ won’t!” He snarled, his angry reaction surprising Richie, then he sighed. “You really wanna know?”

Jon knew Richie wouldn’t hesitate to ask Sara, now that his curiosity was aroused, and he really didn’t think she’d want that. He knew Richie well enough - he should after all these years - to know that he wouldn’t drop it now, but he also knew that, once he knew the whole story, Richie wouldn’t repeat it.

“Yeah, I wanna know. It’s killing me - especially now you’re being so mysterious about it.”

“Fine.” Jon lowered his voice, glancing over and seeing Sara was still trapped on the phone with Kay.

“But Richie, I swear, if you ever mention this to Sara, I’ll kill you. I mean that. I will kill you. You cannot tell her you know. She’d never trust me again.”

“Jesus, Jonny - it can’t be that bad!”

“Oh, it’s not bad, but she wouldn’t want everybody to know.”

“I’m not everybody.” Richie said quietly, and Jon nodded, checking again that Sara was still busy.

“Shit. Can’t believe I’m telling you this. Okay. The first time Sara and I………well, you know,” Jon hesitated, and Richie nodded encouragement. “The first time, well it was the first time. For her.”

Now Richie glanced over at Sara for a long moment. “No way. She couldn’t be.”

“Oh, she was.” Jon said softly. “That’s why I don’t want to rush her.”

“Well, fuck!” Richie said, astonished by the revelation, but before he could say anything else, Sara came over and Jon gave him a cautioning glare.

“Okay, Kay’s going to meet me - or, rather, us - at the restaurant just before seven. Wait - what name did you book the table under?”

“Way ahead of you, honey. I told them it was a surprise for someone and booked in your name.” Jon told her, and Sara looked relieved.

“Well,” she looked at her watch, “It’s nearly four pm, and I guess the photos are done. Good thing, since I now need to go home and try to get beautiful to go for dinner.”

“Yeah - ‘cause that’ll take all of thirty seconds.” Richie said with a smile, and Sara gave him a disbelieving look.

“Did you two go to the same charm school?” She asked, and Jon laughed.

“We just tell it as we see it, babe. Sara’s got a real ego problem.” He said to Richie. “She doesn’t have one.”

“Put it this way.” Richie looked at Sara with those hypnotically glinting eyes. “It’s a good thing Jonny boy told me you two were together, or I’d have been making a play for you myself. However,” he hoisted himself to his feet, “while it won’t take you five minutes, it’ll take us a bit of time to make ourselves presentable for dinner. I’ll call a cab to take us back to the hotel.”

Jon stood too, taking hold of Sara’s hands, his eyes flicking to Richie who immediately caught the silent message.

“I’ll wait for you outside.” Richie said, heading for the door with his cellphone in hand. “Sara - great to meet you, and I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Richie.”

As Richie closed the door, Jon pulled Sara into his arms, her hands naturally wrapping around his back, resting just above his butt.

“I like Richie.” Sara said with a smile, then spoke softer. “But I still prefer you.”

“Glad to hear it!” Jon answered, squeezing her tightly, and Sara’s hands pressed gently into the muscles of his lower back.

Tilting her face upward, Sara softly kissed Jon’s lips, her mouth chastely closed until his tongue reached out to part her lips, then she returned the kiss with equal passion. It was a brief but torrid kiss, a promise of things to come later, then they pulled apart.

“Richie’s waiting.” Sara took her hands off Jon’s back, and he released her.

“Yeah, I know. We’ll get to the restaurant just after seven - make sure Kay has her back to the door.”

“Okay. Crap - now I need to find something to wear. Who knows,” Sara joked, “I may even get carried away and put on some makeup!”

As he walked away, to a safe distance where she couldn’t slap him, Jon laughed.

“And here I thought you were gonna get carried away and say ‘fuck’ again!”

Sara just giggled at that, and Jon left the studio with a wave and a smile.

Chapter 35

By the time Richie came back, Jon had drunk half a pot of coffee, and Richie poured himself some of what remained, adding a lot of sugar, but drinking it black. He drank it like medicine, gulping down mouthfuls as Jon picked up the phone. Jon arranged for a cab to pick them up - no way he was risking the Chevelle the way he felt - then he went for his jacket as Richie poured what was left of the coffee into his mug. When Jon returned, Richie had drained the mug, and they left the suite, both feeling more or less human, but desperately in need of food. Greasy food, to soak up the alcohol.

Their cab was waiting, and Jon gave him the address of the studio, asking the driver to stop somewhere on the way where they could pick up some food.

“What kinda food?” The driver asked, looking at them in the rear view mirror.

“Hangover food.” Richie replied, and the driver grinned.

“I know just the place. Not far from where you’re goin’ either.”

Traffic was surprisingly light, and soon the driver pulled into a mall, which Jon recognised as the one just along from Sara’s studio. The taxi went up to the drivethru, and Richie leaned out to place a lengthy order, asking Jon what he wanted. They collected the order, then Jon noticed a bakery, and he asked the driver to stop again, jumping out of the cab and running inside to buy donuts and something sweet for Sara. With enough food for half a dozen people, let alone three, they continued to the studio where Jon paid off the taxi and led the way to the door.

Belatedly, he remembered he was supposed to call to let Sara know they were there, but he decided it was too late now as they climbed the stairs, Richie bitching about the lack of an elevator. When they reached the studio level, Jon approached the door, then paused as he heard music from inside. Didn’t sound like a recording, just a single guitar and a soft voice, and he cocked his head as he tried to place the tune. Something old, he thought, but couldn’t work it out, so he just knocked on the door and the music stopped abruptly.

Richie leaned against the wall, straightening suddenly as the door opened and he saw Sara silhouetted in the doorway. Jon had his back to Richie, so at least Richie didn’t see his face light up when he saw her in those low-cut jeans and a plain black t shirt, her long hair caught up in a ponytail high on her head. He gave Sara that sparkling grin, seeing her eyes warm though she just smiled back silently.

“Hi.” She said softly. “Come on in.”

As she stepped back to let them in, Jon saw Sara was barefoot again, and he waited until she had closed the door behind Richie before introducing them.

“Sara - this is Richie. Richie - Sara Holland. A very talented lady.”

“I’ll bet you are.” Richie said, offering his hand to Sara with a grin. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too. I’ve heard quite a lot about you. Anybody want coffee?”

“God, yes.” Richie replied, and Jon held up the bag of food.

“I told you we’d bring lunch.” He said. “And, yes, I’d love coffee.”

“Um, Richie - what do you take in your coffee?”

“Black with sugar……lots of sugar today!”

Sara laughed at that. “Okay - make yourselves at home, and I’ll bring the coffee through.”

She went back into the kitchen, and Jon hesitated a second.

“Rich - I’ll go give Sara a hand - there’s a couch over there - go grab a seat and I’ll be right back.”

Richie nodded, heading over to the couch and spotting the guitar lying abandoned on the cushions. He picked it up, strumming experimentally and liking the tone, then playing softly as he waited.

In the kitchen, Sara jumped, coffee pot in hand, as Jon planted a kiss on the back of her neck.

“Good morning baby.” He murmured, pitching his voice low so it wouldn’t carry through to Richie.

He took the coffee pot out of her hand, laying it on the counter and turning Sara to face him, tilting her face up to him and kissing her soft lips hungrily. The jeans she wore were loose and low on her hips, and Jon was able to slide his hand inside the back to pull her closer. Sara was slightly tense in his embrace, conscious of Richie in the other room, and after savouring the good morning kiss, she pulled back from Jon’s lips.

“Good morning to you, too.” She whispered with a smile, caressing Jon’s face for a moment then pushing him back. “So - what food did you bring?”

“Burgers, fries, donuts…….good, healthy food! I did get you some chocolate cake, though.”

Sara grinned as she poured coffee into three mugs, adding a couple of spoons of sugar to one mug, then looking at Jon enquiringly.

“Is that enough sugar? He said a lot, but I don’t know - I don’t take sugar - what’s ‘a lot’?”

“More than that!” Jon laughed, taking the spoon from her hand and dumping in another three spoonfuls.

Making a face, Sara stirred in the sugar, then bent to open the fridge for milk, giving Jon a tantalising glimpse of red underwear when her jeans rode down a little further.

“Hey - I tried to tell Richie last night, y’know, about us?” Jon said, serious for a second. “Well, actually, I did tell him, but he’d fallen asleep, so he didn’t hear me. The guy just can’t take the pace any more.”

He shook his head sadly, and Sara giggled.

“Yeah, and who was it that phoned me at three in the morning? He sounded a bit worse for wear, too! You’re getting old, babe.”

Jon pouted at her, and she giggled again.

“That’s not fair!” Jon said.

“Well, that’s what happens when you wake me at that time of the morning - I’m cranky next day! I’ve actually been up since you called - couldn’t get back to sleep.”

“Wow. Sorry, babe. How can I make it up to you?”

“I’ll think of something. Right now, food would do the trick. You know me - I’ll do anything for chocolate!”

Jon gave her that naughty grin as he considered that statement, but made no comment - for now.

She laid the mugs on a tray with a handful of napkins and balanced it on one hand, carrying it through as Jon brought the food. Richie was lounging on the couch, still picking at the guitar, but he stopped as Sara put the tray on the table.

“Sorry - it was just lying there.” He apologised, propping the guitar against the couch.

“It’s fine. Nice to hear it being played so well. I didn’t know it could sound like that.”

Richie inclined his head, accepting the compliment, then turning with a wide grin as Jon protested.

“Hey! What are you trying to say, Sara? I played it last week!”

“Whoops! Sorry, so you did. It’s just because I was playing around with it earlier, that’s the last time I heard it, so I forgot it could sound good.”

“That was you? When we arrived?”

Sara blushed. “Dammit. You heard me? That’s so not good! Sorry.”

“Sounded good to me, too.” Richie said. “What were you playing?”

“See - it was so good, you couldn’t tell what it was!” Sara joked. “It was times they are a’changin. Could’ve been worse, I suppose. I was playing country first. At least you missed that.”

“I’ve told you before, about putting yourself down like that.” Jon said, not noticing Richie’s sharp and inquisitive look at the familiar way he spoke to Sara.

Tearing open the bag, Jon distributed the food and they dug in, the guys because they were trying to absorb some of last night’s alcohol intake, and Sara just because - as usual - she was hungry. Jon stole a few of Sara’s fries with a cheeky grin, then handed over the chocolate cake, his fingers lingering a second on hers when she took it. As she ate the cake, Jon watched with a faint smile, remembering their conversation about chocolate ganache, fuelling Richie’s suspicions, but for the moment he said nothing. When they finished, Sara asked if anyone wanted more coffee, and they both said yes, so she collected the mugs and took them to the kitchen, also taking the pile of food wrappers away.

“So - is there something I should know, Jon?” Richie asked quietly once Sara was out of earshot.

“About what?” Jon hedged, and Richie snorted.

“About what. About you and Missy Sara there. Is something going on?”

Jon sighed, then grinned, not even bothering to try to deny it, and Richie knew he was right, because it was a long time since he’d seen a look of such naked joy on his friend’s face.

“Yeah, bro. You got me. I’ve been seeing Sara for a couple of weeks. Hell, I tried to tell you last night - well, this morning - but you fell asleep on me.”

“And does this have anything to do with Dot and you…….”

“Not at all! This did start before we split up, but the rest of it’s true - Dot was the one who wanted out - I, well I just didn’t argue. Nobody else knows, Richie, not yet.”

“Well, it’s only been a couple of weeks. No reason for anybody to know, is there? Or is it serious?”

Richie knew how impulsive Jon could be sometimes, but he’d never known him to jump into something like this with both feet. Then again, for most of the time Richie had known Jon, he’d been with Dot, and the groupies and one night stands didn’t count, at least not in Richie’s mind. If it was that recent, Richie thought, the chances were it was just a brief fling, but Jon quickly disillusioned him.

“Serious? I think it might be, Richie, at least for me. Just don’t tell Sara I said that!”

“Why - you keeping your options open?”

“Never. She’s, well, she’s not exactly done this kinda thing before, and I’m trying to go slow. I just don’t want to scare her - I don’t want to lose her.”

Richie grinned, somewhat surprised by Jon’s attitude, but in another way he wasn’t all that shocked - deep down, Jon was just a romantic at heart.

“Oh, you’ve got it bad, buddy, haven’t ya?”

Jon shrugged, and Richie continued sincerely. “I’m happy for you, Jon. Truly. You’re a lucky guy - if you hadn’t told me, I might’ve made a play for her myself.”

“She’s not your type, Richie.” Jon grinned, glad Richie now knew. “She’s way too innocent for the like of you!”

Sara came out of the kitchen with fresh coffee and brought it to the table. As she laid down the tray, she realised both Jon and Richie were grinning at her.

“What?” she said with a slight frown, disconcerted when Richie stood up and hugged her.

“Guess congratulations are in order.” He said in her ear, then lowered his voice so Jon wouldn’t hear him. “You’re makin’ him happy, girl, and I love you for that. Just don’t hurt my buddy, ‘k?”

Surprised by his words, Sara managed to whisper back. “I couldn’t hurt him, Richie. I’m glad you worry about him, though.”

Richie squeezed her tighter, but in a brotherly embrace, until they heard Jon protest.

“Hey - okay Richie, enough, put her down! Sara - you don’t know where he’s been!”

With a grin, Richie released Sara and Jon grabbed her hand, pulling her onto the couch beside him, leaving Richie to sit on the armchair.

“So……I guess you’ve told him, then?” Sara joked, and Jon grinned again.

“Sort of. He guessed, babe. Looks like we weren’t being as discreet as we thought!”

“Actually,” Richie said, “it was you that gave it away, Jon - Sara was pretty convincing. Looks like those acting lessons were a waste of money, pal.”

Jon opened his mouth to respond, but Sara laughingly clapped her hand over his mouth.

“Children! Enough!” She pulled her hand away quickly as she felt Jon lick her palm. “Do you still want to do these photos, then? Or did you just come here for the free coffee?”

Chapter 34

Jon went back to the Chevelle, climbing in and starting the engine. Before he drove away, he looked up at Sara’s front window, seeing her standing there watching him. She waved, then put one hand behind her ear, pantomiming that she couldn’t hear the engine. Jon grinned and slammed his foot on the gas pedal, making the engine road, and he saw Sara grin and nod her approval. He waved to her then drove off, accelerating just a little harder than usual to make the car snarl loudly.

Sara smiled as she turned away from the window - she really did love cars like that. And when they were being driven by a gorgeous man like that, she was a goner.

Jon drove to the hotel to meet Richie, aware of the stares that the car attracted in a city full of dark sedans and the ubiquitous yellow taxis. Turning into the hotel garage, Jon saw the valets look over, then one took advantage of his seniority, stepping forward to open the door for Jon and claiming the privilege of driving the Chevelle.

“Good evening, Mr Bongiovi.” This was one of the few places where people called him by his true name. “Good to see you again, sir.”

“You too, Billy. How’s the family?”

That was another reason the valets loved him - not only did he drive some kick-ass cars, Jon never forgot a face or a name.

“They’re very well, sir. Thank you for asking.” Diplomatically, given what he’d recently read in the press, Billy made no mention of Jon’s own family but just got into the car and drove her carefully to a safe spot.

Jon carried his small bag over to the elevator and rode it up to the penthouse, calling Richie to let him know he was on his way. When the elevator door opened, Richie already had the suite door open, waiting, and Jon was pleased to see he looked really well - fit and healthy and ready to cause trouble.

“Jon! Jesus, it’s good to see ya!” Richie grabbed Jon in a bear hug, slapping his back, then stepping back to study him. “How are ya, man?”

“I’m good, Rich. How about you? You’re looking good.”

“Me? Hell, I’m fine. I dumped her, remember? Shoulda done it months ago.” He looked at the expression on Jon’s face, and beat him to it. “I know - you all told me, but you know me! What can I saw? I was in love.”

Jon snorted at that as they went into the penthouse.

“No, man - you were in lust. Thinkin’ with your dick as usual.”

“Probably.” Richie agreed with a laugh, then turned serious. “So what’s happening with you and Dot? I can’t believe, after all these years, you two are finished. Can’t you give it another shot?”

“Rich - I don’t really want to talk about it. Dot’s got a new guy, and she’s happy. The kids are okay, and that’s all that matters to me.” Jon dropped his bag on the floor, going over to the bar for a drink. “So - what’s the plan, then?”

“Hold on - back up a minute, Jon. Dot’s got another guy? Jesus - she was cheating on you?”

“Yeah - she’s been seeing somebody else.” Jon laughed at Richie’s stunned expression, recalling Sara’s reaction when he’d first found out. “C’mon - not like I’ve never done it, is it? We honestly are cool with this, though. We talked it out, and we’re both happy, Richie.”

Richie found it hard to believe Jon was taking this so calmly, but when he looked at him again, he could see that Jon really did mean it. Actually, Jon looked kinda happy himself, and Richie wondered about that for a second, then decided to let it drop. When he wanted to be, Jon was just as stubborn as Richie himself, so he wouldn’t be able to pressure any more details out of him until Jon was ready.

“Okay, bro. If you’re happy, that’s great. So, the plan. Well, I thought we could just head out to some of our old hunting grounds……..see what trouble we can get into.”

Jon poured himself some red wine as he nodded in agreement.

“So long as we can eat somewhere, I don’t mind. Oh, and we’re expected over at the photographer’s tomorrow lunchtime.”

“Who? Ah, yeah - your new best friend.”

“What?!”

“The one you gave a ride home to. What’s her name, anyway?”

Jon’s blood pressure dropped a little again as he realised Richie was just kidding him about his slip of the tongue on the phone.

“Sara. Sara Holland. She’s pretty good. Nice lady, too. Great personality.” Jon deliberately picked the usual back-handed compliment reserved for people who didn’t have much else going for them, mainly because he wanted to see Richie’s face the next day when he met her.

“Holland…..I think I’ve seen some of her work, actually. She is good. Guess I’d better not be too hungover then - she’s good, but she’s not a miracle worker.”

They finished their drinks then Jon showered and changed and they were ready to go, heading out to a nearby restaurant, where the maitre d’ put them in the VIP area to let them eat in peace, especially when he saw the female heads turning as they walked in. Now that it was public knowledge both the main members of Bon Jovi were free for the taking, they noticed a lot of hair flicking and tugging at clothing as they walked to their table, smiling pleasantly but not speaking to anyone, hearing the murmuring of the girls they passed.

Over dinner, they caught up on each other’s lives, but Jon never found the right moment to mention Sara. The split with Denise really seemed to be good for Richie, and he was drinking wine sparingly, no longer knocking back vodka, but Jon didn’t say anything - Richie knew how he felt about Denise, and there was no point going over it all again. It was over, that was what mattered, and hopefully now Richie could get back on track.

Richie paid the check, making a joke about Jon having more alimony payments now than he did, and they headed back to the bar at the Four Seasons, one of Jon’s favourite haunts. Of course, the fact that they were staying there helped too - not so far to stumble back to bed. As they left the restaurant, a few of the bolder girls came over to ask for autographs, and one stuffed a slip of paper into Jon’s pocket. Outside, he took it out, finding her name and phone number, and Richie raised an eyebrow when Jon crumpled the paper and dropped it into a trash can without a second thought.

“Uh - buddy - you forgetting you’re a free man now?”

“Am I?” Jon said enigmatically, as they arrived at the Four Seasons and made for the bar.

Many hours, and quite a few bottles of wine later, Jon and Richie managed to free themselves from the crowd of acquaintances, people they vaguely knew, and the obligatory skinny, big-breasted blondes, staggering together toward the elevator. They stepped inside and leaned against the walls facing each other.

“I think we’re gettin’ old, bro.” Richie only slurred his words a little. “Why the fuck are we leaving all those girls behind?”

Jon looked exhausted, his blue eyes dulled by the wine as he tried to come up with an answer.

“Maybe we’re finally growin’ up.” He suggested, then shook his head at the thought. “Fuck, no - I don’t wanna grow up. You wanna go back?”

It was funny, but when Jon was with Richie, his speech lost the polish he’d acquired over the years, and he slipped back more into his native Jersey style. Being drunk probably helped with that, too, as he forgot himself more. The one thing he didn’t forget tonight, though, was Sara, and he wished she was there with him.

Richie gave a grin, looking as tired as Jon felt - the long night of drinking had sapped his energy.

“Nah. Not in the mood for all that shit tonight. Tomorrow, maybe.”

With a soft ‘ding’, the elevator doors opened and they made a more-or-less straight line toward the door, Richie swiping the card and opening the door for Jon with a mocking bow.

“After you, sir.”

Jon gave a drunken chuckle as he pushed past Richie into the suite.

“Glad you know your place.” He muttered as he passed, stumbling straight for the bar in the living room.

He sloshed brandy into a couple of glasses and they sat down to enjoy their nightcap - Jon sprawling on the couch while Richie dropped onto an armchair, putting his booted feet on the coffee table. Staring into space, Jon’s mind drifted back to Sara, and after a while he spoke.

“Rich - I guess I should tell you - the photographer, Sara? I’ve been seeing her for a couple of weeks. She’s special, Richie, I can’t stop thinking about her. Wait till you meet her - you won’t believe this, but until I met her, she was…..” It dawned on Jon that Richie hadn’t made a sound, and he turned to look at him.

Richie was asleep, brandy glass still cradled in his hand. He hadn’t heard a word, and Jon laughed quietly.

“Great, buddy. Here I am pourin’ out my fuckin’ heart, and you’re asleep. Thanks Rich.”

Tossing back the remnants of his brandy, Jon stretched a leg and kicked Richie’s feet, knocking them off the table and waking him rudely.

“Huh? What?”

“You fell asleep, rock star. Can’t take the pace, huh? Maybe you are gettin’ old. I’m goin’ t’bed.”

Raising his brandy, Richie waved at Jon. “So, who can’t take the pace, then?! See you in the morning, buddy.”

Alone in the bedroom, Jon pulled out his cellphone, then looked at his watch. Three am. How mad would Sara be if he called now? While his befuddled brain was still working on that thorny issue, his fingers were dialling, and he’d hit the ‘send’ button before he realised what he was doing. Shit - now he was in trouble. The phone rang a few times, then a sleepy voice answered.

“Jon?”

“Hey, baby……sorry………I woke you up, didn’t I?”

“What makes you think that? It’s only three am - why on earth would I be asleep?”

“Shit…..I’m sorry….”

“Are you drunk, Jon? You sound it.”

“Maybe a li’l bit, well, maybe a big bit…..sorry…..”

Sara laughed, a sleepy chuckle like a contented baby. “Oh, stop apologising Jon. It’s fine. Did you have a good night with Richie?”

“Yeah, until he fell asleep…..see you tomorrow?”

“I guess it’s today, but yes, I’ll see you guys at the studio. Go to sleep, Jon - I’m good, but I don’t want you turning up with big bags under your eyes!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jon saluted, then realised he was on the phone - she couldn’t see him. “G’night Sara. Love you.” This last was said so quietly Sara wasn’t sure what she’d heard, but she didn’t press him to repeat himself.

“Good night, honey.”

She hung up and tried to get back to sleep, but she felt wide awake now, and after tossing and turning for half an hour, she gave up, throwing back the cover with an exasperated sigh and going to the kitchen to make herself some tea.

Jon, on the other hand, got to sleep no trouble at all. He sat on the bed to take off his shoes, decided to lie back for a second, and that was it. Out cold, fully dressed on top of the bed, until the sun finally penetrated his eyelids, forcing him awake. Eyes tightly shut, groaning, he fumbled for his jacket and found his sunglasses, putting them on before he dared open his eyes.

Now that he could almost see, he looked at the clock. Ten thirty, but he couldn’t hear a sound from Richie. Jon stripped and threw his clothes on the bed, then went into his bathroom where he took a long shower, trying to wash the cobwebs out of his brain. Eventually, he turned the temperature control all the way down to it’s coldest setting until he was shivering under the torrent of icy water. It did help, though, and when he stepped out and toweled himself dry, he felt at least alive. He felt even better once he’d cleaned his teeth, and could no longer taste stale wine, and he was fairly chirpy as he went through to the bedroom and pulled on his jeans and a shirt.

Barefoot, he went through to the living room to look for some juice or coffee, but stopped in the doorway when he saw Richie, still in the armchair, still asleep. The curtains were tightly drawn over the windows, keeping the room cool and dark, and Jon quietly got his juice and started some coffee going before walking to the window and hauling the curtains apart, flooding the room with light. Richie groaned, slowly coming awake.

“Ohhhhhhh fuuuuuck…..” he moaned, shading his eyes. “Jon? Wha’ time is it?”

“It is,” Jon checked his watch, “eleven fifteen, and it’s a beautiful morning. Shame you’ve missed most of it.”

Craning his head around, Richie looked at Jon, then grinned. “Yeah, and you missed most of it, too, didn’t ya? Shades indoors? Does somebody have a headache?”

“Well, yeah. We need to get going, buddy - we’re expected at the studio, remember? She said she doesn’t want us with bags under our eyes, so you’d better hit the shower!”

“I need coffee.” Richie announced as he prised himself out of the chair, stretching to try to work the kinks out of his muscles.

“Already done.” Jon told him, pouring himself a mug as Richie hobbled away to his room.

Chapter 33

Friday morning, Sara overslept again, and she showered and dressed in record time, not even taking the time for coffee before heading out to the car. On the way to the studio, she called Paul, finding out what he wanted for breakfast, then having to struggle up the stairs lugging her cameras, laptop and a large deli bag. She managed - only just - and was grateful when Paul opened the door as she arrived, relieving her of the food. By the time she’d opened her bag to get out the laptop, Paul was back from the kitchen with two plates and two mugs of coffee on a tray.

Sara took a mug as he passed her, savouring the coffee as she followed him to the table. She sat down on the armchair - the couch held too many memories - and ate her breakfast while Paul rhymed off the phone messages he’d taken while she’d been away. Only half-listening, nodding occasionally, Sara choked slightly on her coffee as Paul gave her the final message.

“This one came in this morning.” He said. “A bit cryptic. All the guy said was to tell you it was John, and that he’d found them. I asked what ‘them’ were, but he just said you’d know.” He studied Sara’s face, seeing the flushed cheeks and secretive smile.

“Oh, come on, boss - you obviously know what he meant. Spill!”

Sara shook her head, still smiling, but silently vowing to get Jon back somehow.

“Paul - you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Was all she’d say, and Paul just had to stay curious.

Trying to change the subject, Sara booted up the laptop and showed Paul the photos from the wedding, and he raised an eyebrow slightly when the ones of Jon appeared.

“Isn’t that crazy - you just photographed him last week, and then he turns up at your next job. What a coincidence.”

Quickly glancing at Paul, Sara was relieved to see he seemed to mean it genuinely, and didn’t have a clue what was going on. As usual on a Friday, Paul was hoping to get finished early, so he could get a head start on the weekend, so after a couple of hours of work, Sara let him leave. When he was itching to get away, Paul was more of a hindrance than a help anyway, so he was just as well getting out of her hair, and she wished him a good weekend as he left.

Finally alone in the studio, Sara spent a little time sending proofs of the wedding pictures to Ryan and Danny, then had a quick tidy up since it looked like she’d be working Saturday afternoon.

Shattering the quiet, the phone rang, and when she answered, it was Danny. He asked how she was, sounding slightly nervous, and Sara tried to ease his fears.

“I’m fine, Danny. I’m just glad that Mr Bon Jovi was passing by. So nice of him to look after me like that - really not what I’d have expected of someone like him. Thanks for calling, though, Danny. Oh, I’ve sent through the proofs of the photos, so you can get back to me whenever suits. Okay, bye.”

She hung up the phone again, cursing Jon for putting her in that situation, but not really worrying about it now - sounded as though Jon was right - Danny would just drop it to save any negative publicity over the wedding. As she stood up to go for more coffee, the phone rang again, and she grabbed it.

“Sara’s Home for waifs and strays!” She said into the phone, and there was a quick laugh at the other end.

“Do I qualify? Guess I’m about to be homeless.” Jon said, and she laughed.

“Nope. No room at the inn.”

“Shit. Well, I just wanted to say hi, and make sure it was still okay to come by with Richie tomorrow?”

“Yep, fine. I’ll be here. Oh,” she remembered, “Paul gave me a rather cryptic message earlier. Some guy called Jon……”

“Would you rather I’d told him the exact message?”

“God, no! He did ask me, but I told him he wouldn’t believe me if I told him.”

Jon sighed. “I want to see you tonight, Sara, but I’ve got Richie flying in.”

“He’s your friend, Jon, and he’s just broken up with his girlfriend. I think he needs you.”

“More than you do?” Jon asked, and Sara couldn’t help herself, answering before thinking.

“Never. But he is only here for the weekend - I’m here all the time.”

“True, babe, but I still want to see you. Can I tell Richie about you?”

Sara was touched that he’d ask her permission, and also nervous that he wanted to tell his best friend about her.

“Up to you, Jon. I don’t mind, but just let me know tomorrow if you have told him.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll just see what happens - it kinda depends what mood he’s in, though, with the Denise thing, and……..oh, hey - looks like I may have a new place to live!”

“Really? God, when I was looking for a place it took me months to find what I wanted. When did you go looking?”

Jon laughed a little self-consciously. “Well, I didn’t actually go looking. I asked my secretary to look for me, and she’s left me a message to say she’s found me somewhere.”

“Oh, what it is to have staff to do everything for you!” Sara teased him. “That, and plenty of money to spend, of course. Suppose it makes it easier, when you don’t have to worry about the mortgage payments, huh?”

“Yeah. You don’t need to tell me how lucky I am - seeing some of the people we’ve helped through Habitat for Humanity, I know exactly how fortunate I am.”

Now Sara felt bad, she’d forgotten how many charitable things Jon did with his money, and she hoped she hadn’t hurt his feelings.

“I’m sorry, Jon. I didn’t mean that the way it probably sounded. I know you do a lot of good things.”

“Don’t be silly, Sara - I know what you meant, and you’re right. So when are you heading home?”

The sudden change of subject threw Sara off-balance, and it took her a second or two to answer.

“Probably be just another half hour - Paul’s long gone - his weekend starts around Friday lunchtime - and I don’t have much else to do.”

“I’m out with Richie tonight, and I’ll probably stay at the same hotel rather than go back to the house. We can be at the studio by lunchtime tomorrow, if that’s okay? I’ll even buy lunch.” Jon suggested.

“Okay - enjoy your boys’ night out, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Does Richie drink coffee, or should I get something else in?”

“He’ll love your coffee. See ya tomorrow then, babe.”

Sara said goodbye, hanging up the phone and clicking on the answering machine - she just couldn’t be bothered answering any more calls today. She went into the kitchen, where she washed out the coffee pot and got it all ready just to switch on in the morning, then decided to award herself an early finish, shutting up shop and heading for her car just after three o’clock.

Fortunately, she was just ahead of rush hour traffic, and was quickly home, where she could get on with some of the laundry that seemed to pile up all by itself. Sara had a giggle to herself when she dug into the basket and came up with the flimsy babydoll, putting it aside to be washed by hand as she recalled the morning she’d worn it for Jon. She threw a load of laundry into the machine, then grabbed a snack, a diet coke and her book, since the hammock was sitting in a patch of sunshine, just begging her to go lie there.

While Sara was lying reading and, ultimately, dozing off, Jon was throwing a few clothes into a bag and telling Dot and the kids he was spending the weekend with Richie at their usual hotel. He also prepared the way for his departure, by telling them it looked like he had a new place to live, but he wouldn’t know for sure until the next week. The kids started bombarding him with questions about where it was, what was nearby, when could they come stay, and he had to explain he hadn’t even seen the place yet. His cellphone rang, rescuing him from the interrogation as he answered with a quick ‘Yeah?’.

“Hey, bro, it’s me.”

“Oh, hey Richie.” The kids started yelling more as he said the name, so he pulled the phone from his ear, and let the kids scream hello to their favourite uncle-but-not-uncle before speaking again.

“What’s up?”

“Nothin’. Just wanted to let you know I’ve just landed in your fair city, and I’m headed to the hotel.”

“I’ll see you there in an hour or so.” Jon told him, and Richie said goodbye and hung up.

Jon kissed the kids, gave Dot a peck on the cheek, then took his bag out to the car. This time he did take the beautiful old Chevelle, since he knew the valet parking guys at the hotel would take care of her. He was looking forward to seeing Richie - it had been a couple of months since they’d gotten together, and he wanted to see how he was doing. Jon still hadn’t decided whether or not to tell him about Sara, but that could wait.

Thinking of Sara, Jon glanced at his watch before pulling out onto the road. Her house lay roughly on his route to the hotel, well, not really, but not all that much of a detour. Jon was finding that he just wanted to be near her, and it felt alien to him - he hadn’t felt this much of a need for anyone in so many years - not just a sexual desire - God knows, there’d been enough of those over the years - but a longing deep in his soul to be close to somebody. And not just any somebody. Sara.

Without conscious intent, Jon was driving to Sara’s house, and he picked up his cell to call her, then laid it down again. He drove up to her house unannounced, and was relieved to see her car sitting there - at least she was home. Jumping out of the car, he strode up to the door, knocking softly, then harder when there was no response. Still nothing, and Jon bit his lip indecisively for a second, before heading around to the back of the house, to check if she was in the kitchen. As he rounded the corner of the house, he saw her in the hammock and smiled as he crossed the lawn to her side.

She made no reaction as he said her name, and Jon realised she was asleep, her book fallen to the ground, where it had knocked over a can of diet coke. He stood looking down on her for a few minutes. He loved to watch her sleep, almost the way he’d felt when Steph was born, and he’d spend hours sitting by her cradle as she slept, although his feelings toward Sara weren’t exactly as pure as those he’d had for Steph!

Jon gave the hammock a gentle push, and Sara rolled her head, but didn’t wake. Quickly glancing around, Jon made sure no neighbours could see over the fence, then knelt by the hammock, holding it steady against any sudden movements as he stealthily lifted the bottom of Sara’s t shirt, placing his hand on her belly. She still didn’t wake immediately, a slight frown creeping over her face as her unconscious mind registered the touch, but when his hand moved and his fingers closed on her breast, she woke up very quickly!

“What the?!” She opened her eyes angrily, then saw who it was. “Jon? Jon, what are you doing here?”

His hand was still under her shirt, and he grinned, squeezing her nipple gently with his fingers.

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Sara struggled to sit up in the hammock. “I thought you were going to see Richie?”

“I am. I was just passing by, and thought…..”

“Passing by? Jon, you don’t ‘pass by’ here going to the city. Not from Jersey anyway.”

He hung his head. “Okay - I wanted to see you,” his voice lowered even further, “I wanted to touch you.” His blue eyes peeked up through the unruly blond hair. “Is that okay?”

Taking his face in her hands, Sara smiled, “Of course it’s okay. It’s more than okay, actually. Help me out of this thing?”

“Sure.” He leaned toward her, stealing a kiss. “Put your arms round my neck.”

Sara wrapped her arms behind him, and Jon hooked his arm under her knees, lifting her straight off the hammock and standing there holding her in his arms.

“Thank you. You can put me down now - I’m no lightweight.”

“Yes, you are.” But he put her down on her feet. “I can’t stay, babe, I just wanted……just, well, just wanted to see you I guess. I need to go see Richie, though.”

“I know. I love that you came all the way over here to see me though. C’mere.”

Lifting her face to his, Sara kissed him, their tongues duelling until Jon pulled back, forcing himself to let go of her.

“I really have got to go.” He muttered. “And I if I don’t go right now, I won’t go at all.”

Sara smiled and stroked his face. “Then go. I’ll see you tomorrow at the studio. Now go!” She dropped her hand and smacked his ass, hard, and he jumped.

“That’s something else you’ll have to pay for.” He warned her, pressing his lips to her forehead then turning and jogging away around the corner of the house before he could talk himself out of it.

Chapter 32

They reached their seats as the plane’s angle increased, buckling themselves in and Sara laughed at Jon’s fidgeting as he tried to make himself comfortable - or at least less conspicuous - in his seat.

Mischievously, she kicked off a sandal and stretched out a bare foot under the table, sliding her toes along Jon’s thigh toward his groin. He groaned pitifully as she rubbed her foot over his hardness, looking across at her with a pathetic expression.

“Jesus, Sara - what are you trying to do to me? You’re killing me here, babe.”

“Awww - poor baby.”

She rolled the sole of her foot over his cock again, and this time he caught her foot, pulling it tighter onto him, thrusting his hips against her foot. Sara wriggled her toes against him, and Jon gave a lopsided grin as he released her.

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for this later, honey.” He promised her, and Sara made wide, lascivious eyes at him as she replied.

“That’s what I’m counting on, sweetie.”

The plane came down the last few hundred feet, and Sara put her foot back on the floor, glancing out of the window, as they touched down, then looking out again.

“Ummm - where are we?”

“The airport.” Jon replied, confused by the question.

“Yeah - which airport? Doesn’t look like JFK to me!”

“Oh, no - it’s not JFK. Private airport, babe. We always use this one.”

“Oh-kay, but my car’s at JFK.”

“Ah. Not a problem, Sara - I can drive you to JFK - or I could just drive you home.”

They were taxiing now, heading over to a hangar, and Sara slipped her sandal back on as she thought about it.

“Much as I’d love you to drive me home, Jon - I need my car tomorrow! I’ll have to go rescue it from JFK. I can’t ask you to drive me all the way over there, though. I can get a cab.”

“It’s not that far - only take about 40 minutes - and you’re not taking a cab. I don’t have anywhere else I need to be, so I’ll drive you.” Sara opened her mouth, and Jon raised his hand. “No arguments! I’m taking you to get your car.”

“Thank you, babe. You really are a sweetheart, aren’t you!”

Jon grinned at her, shaking his head slowly.

“No, I’m not. I just want to keep you around as long as I can.”

The plane came to a stop, and Jon flipped open his seatbelt, leaning across the table to give Sara a quick kiss before the co-pilot emerged from the cockpit. She unbuckled her own belt and stood, walking down the plane to get her bags as the co-pilot dealt with the door. They left the plane, and Jon led the way to the car, a black Suburban with dark tinted windows which was parked in the corner of the hangar. Loading their bags into the back, they climbed into the car and Jon drove away, opening the window to give a brief wave to the pilot who was just exiting the plane.

As they drove out of the hangar, heading for the airport gates, Sara looked at Jon curiously.

“Not really the kind of car I expected you to drive.” She said. “In fact, the only one I’ve seen you with before was that gorgeous blue and white one. The old one.”

“She’s my baby.” Jon said with a grin. “But this is more practical for taking the kids to school and stuff. Plus, I’m not gonna leave the Chevelle sitting in a hangar - it’d just end up covered in bird crap, and I wouldn’t do that to her.”

“Her? Please tell me you don’t name your cars…..that’s almost as bad as naming stuffed toys!” She teased him, and Jon laughed.

“Nah. She’s just ‘she’. You like her?”

“Mm-hm. I like cars that sound like cars, not modern ones that purr - I prefer the ones that snarl a bit. Does she snarl?”

“Hell, yes. I’ll have to take you in her.”

Jon looked at Sara with a glint in his eye, leaving her wondering about his exact meaning. The idea also made her think, though, and she looked around the big half-ton beast as Jon braked at the barrier, waiting for it to open. Jon drove out of the airport and headed down a quiet road, surrounded by trees. Sara sighed despondently as she surveyed the layout of the car, and Jon looked over, concerned.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

“I was just looking at your car.” She said, with a sad expression.

“Yeah…….and……..”

“And there’s no back seat.”

Now she started to smile, and Jon looked at her incredulously.

“You are such a bad girl, you know that? You really are a tease, aren’t you!”

“Who’s teasing?” Sara asked, stretching out a hand to caress his thigh, moving her hand higher.

The car swerved a little as she brought her hand up further and Jon’s concentration wavered, and he was relieved to see a gap in the trees up ahead, guiding the car off the road and braking, unclipping his seatbelt the moment the car came to a halt. His hard on had returned at full force, and he turned to grab Sara by the shoulders, his tongue forcing her lips apart as he kissed her, and he had to force himself to relax his grip on her, not to bruise her.

As they kissed, Sara was trying to open his jeans, finally tearing her mouth from his so she could see what she was doing. She got the button open and the zipper down, reaching in to pull his cock through the opening as Jon kissed her again, her own arousal building swiftly after their antics on the plane. Now she realised the difficulty, as the divider between the two seats was very much in the way, and she whimpered with her need as she pulled away again.

“I can’t…..”

She tried to move over to him, and Jon understood the predicament, pressing a button which slid his seat back from the steering wheel. Sara grinned now, and while Jon lowered his seat into a reclining position, she wriggled out of her jeans, leaving them on the floor along with her sandals. There was now just enough room for her to squirm across to the driver’s side, Jon helping - sort of - by grabbing her as she started to cross over, dragging her on top of him so she lay between his thighs. His hands were on her face, and she could feel his hardness beneath her as his tongue invaded her mouth again, but that wasn’t the penetration she was so desperate for.

“Oh, wait!” She whispered, “The seat……it’ll get all messed up………”

“Fuck the seat.” Jon growled, and Sara gave a breathless laugh, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

“No. Fuck me, Jon.”

It was the first time Jon could recall hearing Sara say ‘fuck’, and for some perverse reason the incongruity of the word on her lips made him want her even more.

“Oh, I always do as I’m told, baby!” He told her.

She shifted her weight, rising onto her knees between his legs and pulling her thong down, then Jon sat up to help, hauling the fabric down and off over her feet, throwing the black and white lace over his shoulder somewhere and taking hold of her ass with both hands.

Sara spread her knees on either side of his hips as she brought their mouths together again, and she let Jon direct her movement until he sank deeply inside her with a groan that she felt more than heard. She gave a gasp as Jon slid a little further down in the seat, the movement driving him even further inside her as her knees were pushed wider apart. Sara moved on top of Jon, his hands still gripping her hard and dictating her movement, driving her on to their shared orgasm, made more shattering by their earlier, interrupted, tryst on the plane. They didn’t even break their kiss, crying out into each other’s mouths as they came, Jon gradually allowing Sara’s hips to slow and stop moving.

Collapsing on top of Jon, Sara’s breathing was ragged, as though she’d been running, but her senses felt heightened and she could feel every inch of him inside her, and the tender spots on her buttocks where his fingers had dug into her.

“Now that,” Jon spoke shakily into her ear, “was worth waiting for.”

“Oh, yes, yes it was. So am I forgiven? For teasing you?”

“Hell, no. We’ll discuss that later!”

Sara laughed, and gave Jon a soft kiss as she tried to push herself onto her knees, which were aching from their position. Jon’s hands on her ass gave her a bit of half-hearted assistance, even though he’d have been quite happy for her to stay there, but she slid off him and back onto her own seat, looking over at him with a satisfied smile.

“You see what you’ve done to me?” She asked, not really expecting an answer. “You’ve turned me into a shameless hussy. Having sex in your car, in…….actually, where are we?”

“Well, first off, you’re no hussy, babe. Second, I’m sure as hell glad I had this car, not the Chevelle, since it’s open-topped, and third, we’re about ten minutes from the airport. We didn’t get very far.”

Jon tucked himself in as Sara picked up her jeans, then paused.

“Ummm - where’s my underwear?”

“God knows. I threw them over the back I think.”

He grinned as Sara gave a shrug and pulled her jeans back on anyway, then he remembered something else.

“Hey - you said a bad word, girlie. Never heard you say ‘fuck’ before.”

“I don’t swear very often. Usually takes a horse - or bad drivers - to make me swear - just how I was brought up I guess.” She blushed, and Jon gave that sexy chuckle.

“I like it. Somehow, when you said it…..I dunno……..it just seemed really hot. Say it again?” He pleaded, and she shook her head, turning even redder.

“Call it the heat of the moment - but I’m not saying it again! Guess I just got carried away.”

“In that case,” Jon started the car, putting his seat back in the right position, “I’ll have to get you carried away more often!”

Sara slapped his arm, but without any real force, and Jon grinned over at her as he pulled back onto the road. They managed to drive the rest of the way to JFK without ripping each other’s clothes off again, and Sara directed Jon to the car park where she’d left her car, slightly surprised when he turned into the car park.

“You can just drop me here, and I’ll walk to the car.”

“Nope. I’ll make sure you get safely to the car - I don’t like airports - too many bad things happen at them. I was raised to be a gentleman, and protect young ladies.”

He drove right up to where Sara’s car was parked, stopping across the back of it so she could take her bags straight out of the Suburban and into the trunk of her car.

“So, when will I see you again?” He asked, trailing a finger down her cheek.

“I don’t know. When do you want to see me again? My social calendar - as usual - is pretty damned quiet. I do have to go to the studio tomorrow - especially since Danny’s going to call now. You’ve got Richie coming for the weekend, too, haven’t you?”

“Yeah. Are you busy on Saturday afternoon? I could bring him by the studio.”

“Uh, no, I’m free Saturday. Just give me a call before you arrive so I can let you in.”

Sara made to open the car door, but Jon caught her arm and pulled her to him for a farewell kiss before letting her go. She opened the back door and reached in for her bags, transferring them to her own car.

“Okay,” she stuck her head inside the car to speak to Jon, “I can’t see my panties anywhere…..where did you throw them? Out the window?”

Jon laughed. “I’ll find them later, babe. Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep them as a souvenir.”

Sara looked appalled, and Jon quickly reassured her. “I’m kidding! I’ll give you them Saturday afternoon - when Richie’s not around.”

Now Sara laughed, too, saying goodbye and shutting the door. Jon watched her get into her car and saw her push down the doorlock before she started the engine, then he drove away.

Chapter 31

They sat holding hands for the rest of the journey, until the driver slowed and announced over the intercom that they were just turning into the airport. Jon directed him to go to the private terminal, and the driver followed the signs then parked at the door. The trunk popped open, and Jon opened the car door, stepping out then giving Sara his hand to help her out. The driver seemed mollified that Sara was okay, and he gave them both a genuine smile as he laid their bags on the ground. Jon tipped him, and he drove off again, leaving Sara to follow Jon into the small building.

Inside, a uniformed attendant took them through to a small golf-type cart, driving them across the hot tarmac to Jon’s plane. Sara’s mouth dropped open slightly as she looked at the plane. She’d been picturing something much smaller, and she just couldn’t imagine why one person would need such a large aircraft to themselves. Jon must have guessed what she was thinking, because as they climbed up the stairs, he explained that it was used for touring, and that it took the whole band plus a lot of essential staff.

“I know - it seems a bit pretentious to use it just for me - but what’s the point in having it, and not using it?”

“Rock star.” Sara muttered with a smile, and Jon nodded.

“Yep - that’s me.”

The co-pilot met them at the door, only slightly surprised to see Sara, and Jon introduced them quickly before leading Sara into the main body of the aircraft, telling her to dump her bags anywhere. He dropped his own bags on a seat and headed up into the kitchen of the plane, where he found the coffee was already made, so he poured two mugs and brought them back with him. By this time, the co-pilot had the door secured, and had disappeared back into the cockpit.

Jon sat down opposite Sara and handed her a mug.

“Here - you never got your coffee this morning.”

Sara was touched by his thoughtfulness and took a long sip.

“God, that’s good. Thank you.”

The pilot - or maybe the co-pilot, Sara wasn’t sure - spoke over the intercom, telling them they should be taking off in around ten minutes, and Sara found it a little strange not getting the usual safety briefing you’d find on a commercial airline. She mentioned it to Jon, and he smirked at her.

“Okay, then. In the event of an emergency, you should just run straight to me, because if we’re gonna crash, I want to die with you in my arms.” He told her, only half-joking. “Will that do?”

“That would do wonderfully.” Sara said quietly, looking out of the window as they started to taxi.

While they were waiting to take off, Sara glanced around the plane, marvelling at the plush décor and leather upholstery.

“Once we’re airborne, I’ll give you a tour, if you like.” Jon offered. “Then you can get down to work, and I’ll make some calls. Sooner we start, sooner we’re finished.” He didn’t add the rest of his thought, though, which involved the bedroom at the back of the plane.

They accelerated along the runway and took off, quickly climbing to altitude. Jon unbuckled his seat belt and beckoned to Sara, who followed suit, standing up with her coffee. Taking her hand, Jon led her further back in the plane, showing her the kitchen and the bathroom - which bore no resemblance to any airplane bathroom she’d ever seen - then up to the very back of the plane. Opening the door, he showed her the bedroom, and Sara shook her head.

“All the comforts of home.” She said.

“Not exactly. All the comforts would mean you were in that bed right now, but you gotta work, don’t you?”

“I do. I do. I really do.” Sara tried to convince herself that she really did need to work, and unfortunately for Jon, she succeeded, and turned away from the open door.

He grinned ruefully at her back as she walked back down to where they’d been sitting, leaving her coffee there as she went to retrieve her case of cameras, then bringing the bag up to the table. While she got out her laptop and cameras, and started working, Jon picked up the phone.

“I’ve got a couple calls to make.” He told her, and Sara nodded with an absentminded smile.

“Okay - this shouldn’t take me too long, I hope.”

Sara got one of her cameras hooked up, waiting while the photos loaded onto her laptop, and she could hear one half of Jon’s conversation with - she assumed - the Soul coach. It was all a bit too technical for her, though, since she didn’t follow football of any kind, and she picked up her empty mug to go for a refill. As she stood up, she lifted Jon’s mug, too, waving it in front of him in query. He nodded with a smile, and she went through to the kitchen to pour more coffee. Feeling a little guilty, she had a quick search in the cupboards to see if there was any food, since they’d missed breakfast. All she found was a pack of cookies, so she gripped that in her teeth as she carried the coffees back through, laying them down on the table and opening the cookies.

Jon finished his call and picked up the fresh coffee as he dialled another number. Sara’s laptop beeped at her, and she unhooked the camera, connecting up the second one before taking a cookie as Jon’s call connected.

“Rich? Hey buddy - how you doin?” Jon gulped a mouthful of coffee while Richie spoke. “Yeah, I’m just flying back now.”

Sara offered Jon a cookie, which he took, speaking without thinking, “Thanks babe.”

He winced as he realised he’d spoken into the phone.

“No, Rich, not you! I was talking to somebody else. We still okay for the weekend?” He tried to brush over his slip, but Richie was having none of it, and Jon had to explain, grimacing at Sara as he did.

“I’m just giving somebody a ride back home - she missed her flight. Actually, you’ll probably see her this weekend - she’s a photographer, and she wants to get some photos of you - well, both of us - that’s if you’re not too busy.”

Richie laughed and said something that made Jon laugh back at him, then they made arrangements of where and when to meet up, and Jon hung up.

“Sorry, babe - didn’t mean to do that!” He apologised, and Sara shrugged.

“It’s okay.”

“Well, if you still want to do those photos, Richie likes the idea - he said, now he’s a free man again, he needs the exposure.”

“Sorry - he’s not the one I want exposing himself.” Sara clapped her hand over her mouth. “Shit. Did I say that out loud?”

She could tell from Jon’s laughter that she had, but she was saved from further embarrassment when the laptop beeped again, and she could finally view all the photos she’d done over the last couple of days. As she settled into her seat, Jon came around to sit beside her, asking diffidently,

“Do you mind? I’d like to see what you’ve got…….the photos I mean!”

“Don’t mind at all - it gets a bit boring after a while, though.” She warned him, but he sat down anyway, and Sara angled the laptop so they could both see the screen.

Once again, Jon was impressed by her professionalism, and her talent, as she worked through the photos, often deleting as substandard photos he thought were okay. He actually managed to look a little selfconscious when she came to the photos of him at the wedding, which Sara found quite endearing - for all his years as a performer, he still seemed a little awed by the attention he received. Finally, after a few hours of viewing, editing and saving, she reached the end of the photos and closed down the laptop, stowing it in the bag with the cameras and taking another cookie.

As she raised her hand, Jon grabbed her wrist and pulled it toward him, taking a bite from the cookie with a cheeky grin.

“Hey - get your own!” Sara exclaimed. “I’ve had no breakfast - you do not want to get between me and my food!”

Jon released her, taking a cookie of his own, then seized her hand again.

“C’mon.” He said, pulling her out of her seat, leading her toward the back of the plane, and Sara pulled back.

“That chauffeur was right - you’re trying to take advantage of me! I should shout for help!” She told him, then whispered almost inaudibly, “Help.”

She pulled back again, not really fighting him, just playing, and Jon growled, gripping her around the waist and lifting her off her feet. Even as she pretended to resist him, Sara couldn’t help thinking of how strong his arms were, that he could carry her like that, and she could see his biceps bulging against his t shirt as she wriggled, one sleeve riding up so she could see part of his steer’s head tattoo.

Bumping open the bedroom door with his hip, Jon stepped inside and threw Sara at the bed, and she laughed as she hit the mattress and bounced before Jon slammed the door and stalked across to her. Sara rose up on hands and knees facing him, and he bent to kiss her, pressing her further back on the bed so he could kneel there too.

They knelt facing each other on the bed, bodies close together so Sara could feel Jon growing hard against her as they kissed, his hands running under her t shirt and up to her breasts. She tucked her hands into the back of his jeans, caressing him, then let him push her onto her back, arching her back to assist him as he tugged her t shirt up over her breasts. Jon pulled at one side of her bra, freeing her breast so he could fasten his lips over her nipple, and Sara twisted her fingers into his hair, pressing up against his mouth.

Whimpering, Sara pulled his head up, reaching her lips up for his, and Jon plunged his tongue into her mouth, fondling her breast with one hand and feeling the slick wetness where his mouth had been. Sara moved on the bed, her thigh making contact with the hard bulge in Jon’s jeans, and he groaned at the touch as she deliberately rubbed her thigh against him. She brought her hands down, popping open the button on his jeans and running the zipper down, sliding her hand inside to cup him, and Jon reached for the waistband of her jeans, searching blindly for the button.

Just then, there was a soft chime, and the co-pilot’s voice came across the intercom.

“Okay folks, we’re beginning our descent now, so could you make sure those seat belts are buckled up. Should be another ten minutes at most, and we’ll be on the ground.”

Jon raised his face to look at Sara, who had her eyes closed, shaking her head and withdrawing her hand from his jeans.

“Perfect fucking timing.” Jon said disgustedly, and that made her giggle.

He looked at her in disbelief as she sat up, pulling her shirt back into place then zipping his jeans closed with a naughty grin.

“We’ll just have to take up where we left off later.” She told him, and he made a face.

“It’s okay for you babe.” He gestured at the hard lump in his jeans. “What do you suggest I do about that?”

Sara smiled wickedly, “I know exactly what I want you to do with that, but we need to go sit back down now.”

Jon rolled his eyes, but he buttoned his jeans and stood up, hauling Sara up from the bed with him and kissing her hard, thrusting himself against her. She laid her hand on his chest, pushing him back and giving that same naughty smile that almost made him cum right there.

“Good things are worth waiting for.” She told him, leading the way out of the bedroom, and he followed her back down the plane.

Chapter 30

Sara lay in Jon’s arms, feeling the weariness creeping back over her as the warmth of the bed made her drowsy. She decided to enjoy the comfort of his embrace for a little longer, then go to her own room, and closed her eyes with her head pillowed on his chest. Jon lazily stroked her back, and the calming touch mingled with the cozy feeling made her fall fast asleep.

Much, much later, Jon was woken by the sound of a cellphone ringing. He knew it wasn’t his, but he slid out of the bed, leaving Sara asleep under the cover while he padded across to where her jacket lay. The phone was in her jacket pocket, and he pulled it out then, as he hesitated, the voicemail kicked in and the ringing stopped.

Carrying the phone, Jon returned to the bed, glancing at his watch. Whoops. They’d both fallen asleep, and it was now almost ten in the morning. He climbed back under the cover and cuddled up to Sara, caressing her face as he said her name.

“Sara……..wake up honey…..time to get up.”

She wrinkled her nose in protest, burrowing her head against him, and he smiled - she was as bad as the kids. He raised her face from the pillows and kissed her lips, and Sara instinctively opened her mouth to him, returning the kiss before opening her eyes and smiling dreamily.

“Mmmmm - hello.” She looked almost surprised to see him. “What time is it?”

“I don’t think you want to know.” He told her, and Sara twisted his arm around to look at his watch, suddenly sitting up in a panic.

“Oh, shit! I’m so late!” She stopped as Jon held up her cellphone.

“Somebody called you, or we’d have still been asleep. I think there’s a message.”

Sara took the phone and picked up the voicemail, putting the phone on speaker. An anxious voice burst from the phone.

“Sara? My God - where are you? I’ve been calling your room for an hour. There’s no way you’ll make your flight now. Sara? Sara - it’s Danny. Will you please call me as soon as you get this?”

“But the phone didn’t ring……..” Sara began, then trailed off as she looked around and realised it wasn’t her room. “Oh. How the hell am I going to explain this?”

She dialled Danny’s number, looking worriedly at Jon.

“Hi Danny - yes, it’s Sara.” Jon could hear the strident voice on the other end, and he decided to step in, taking the phone from Sara’s hand and interrupting Danny.

“Danny? Hi. It’s Jon - Jon Bon Jovi,” he clarified, and that stopped Danny in mid-flow. Jon grinned at Sara, raising a hand to keep her quiet.

“Danny - Sara told me about your message. She had a bit of trouble last night, with one of the wedding guests, and I made her stay in my room, because the guy had her room number. I guess one of your people must’ve told him which room she was in.”

Jon knew Danny, and he knew the best way to deal with him was to keep him on the back foot, putting him on the defensive, and it obviously worked, because Danny started to stutter as he tried to respond, but Jon cut him off.

“Look, it doesn’t really matter. Sara’s okay - physically anyway - and she doesn’t want to take it any further. I don’t know who the guy is, but I don’t like to see a lady being treated like that. Guess the waiter was right - he warned her not to walk back alone. Just glad I was there.”

Danny spoke again, and this time Jon listened.

“Well, don’t worry about the flight. I’ll sort it out. I think your people have done enough, don’t you? I’ll make sure she gets home safely. Yeah, fine Danny - I’ll tell her. Bye.”

He clicked the phone off and handed it to Sara with a smile as she looked stunned at his audacity.

“Danny said he’s sorry about what happened. He’ll call you tomorrow at the studio, to make sure you’re okay.”

“I can’t believe you did that! What if somebody gets in trouble because they think they gave out my room number?”

“Well, nobody did give it out, did they? So they won’t know what he’s talking about. Besides, if anybody did give out a room number, they deserve to get found out. Relax baby - I know Danny - if you’re not taking it further, he’ll keep quiet. More than likely he won’t even mention it to Ryan.”

Sara still looked dubious.

“Look at it this way, Sara - other than saying the guy knew which room you were in - every word was true, wasn’t it?”

She considered that for a second, then nodded slowly, starting to smile again as she realised there wasn’t really any harm done.

“I guess you’re right. You didn’t exactly tell him the whole truth though, did you?”

“Well,” Jon said with a smile, “I admit I may have been a little economical with the truth, but I didn’t tell a lie.” He held up his right hand. “Scout’s honour!”

“Oh, yeah, you’re a real Boy Scout!” Sara giggled, pushing him over onto his back, then flopping back down beside him.

“So how am I supposed to get home?” She asked a moment later, and Jon rubbed his palm across her belly as he answered.

“I can give you a ride.”

“What? You drove up?”

He laughed. “No - I flew up, but the plane’s still here. You can fly back with me, unless you actually prefer flying cattle class.”

Turning her head to look at him, Sara started to speak, then stopped herself, starting again.

“Oh, right, I forgot. Rock star. Private plane. That’s the way to travel - no check-in, no security.”

“So, do you want a ride, then?”

“Would you mind? I mean, it would make things much easier. Would I be able to use my laptop?”

“I don’t mind at all, babe. The longer you’re with me the better, far as I’m concerned. What about your laptop? You actually want to work?”

“Well, yeah - what else is there to do on a flight?”

Jon chuckled, and Sara reddened as she caught his meaning. She turned over onto her stomach, lying with her face buried in the pillow as she laughed, then turning her head to one side to look at Jon, who was watching her with amusement.

“I need to upload yesterday’s photos - I should’ve done it last night, but I got kind of distracted. Won’t take me too long, though.” She added as Jon looked crestfallen.

“I guess I can catch up with a few things too.” He said thoughtfully. “I need to have a word with the Soul coach, and maybe give Richie a quick call. I’ve been distracted myself, the last week or so.” Jon smiled and kissed her shoulder as he spoke, letting her know just what - or who - had been distracting him, and Sara smiled sleepily at him.

“I still feel so tired.” She said, closing her eyes. “I could just lie here all day.”

Jon ran his hand down her back soothingly, and Sara made a low purring sound, deep in her throat, smiling broader now. Pushing her hair back, Jon kissed her cheek.

“Why don’t you just lie here, baby. I’ll go take a quick shower, then we can head along to your room, get your things together.”

“Mmmm………okay……..sounds good to me…”

Climbing out of the bed, Jon pulled the cover up over Sara, who was almost asleep already, and he went into the bathroom, closing the door to keep the noise of the shower from disturbing her.

When he emerged from the bathroom, a towel around his waist, Jon found Sara curled in the middle of the bed, the cover kicked away, leaving her bare. He stood for a while, just watching her sleep, then roused himself and sat on the edge of the bed. It took most of his willpower to force him to wake her, and not just crawl back into bed with her, but he gently shook her shoulder until she opened her eyes. He almost said ‘to hell with the plane’ when Sara stretched, rolling onto her back and arching so for a moment only her head and heels were on the mattress, making him catch his breath.

“Shower’s all yours, Sara.”

She shook her head, sitting up.

“I’ll shower back in my room - I’ll have to change when I get there anyway.”

“Okay - just give me a few minutes and I’m all yours.”

While Jon threw on jeans and a t shirt, Sara picked up her black trousers, now badly creased from lying on the floor all night. She quickly dressed in yesterday’s clothes, knowing she’d only be wearing them for a few minutes, then she tried to put her hair into some semblance of order, eventually just scraping it back and holding it there with the velvet scrunchie. By now, Jon had tossed his clothes back into his bag, dropping his suit back into the carrier and zipping it closed.

“Ready when you are, baby.” He told her, and Sara smiled, leading the way to the door.

Along in Sara’s room, Jon dropped his bags just inside the door as he surveyed the room, taking in the mess.

“Well, you did say you were messy.” He commented, and Sara shrugged.

“I know. I’m just lazy, really. Okay, I think there’s coke and stuff in the fridge - I’m going to hit the shower.”

She disappeared into the bathroom, and Jon found some orange juice in the fridge, bringing it across and sitting on the bed to drink and wait. Pulling out his cellphone, he called his pilot, telling him he’d be there in an hour or so for the flight home. Since he’d flown up alone, Jon hadn’t bothered bringing a stewardess, mainly because the girl who looked after them on band flights was away on vacation. Anyway, he was quite capable of pouring his own coffee, and it looked as though it had been a good decision, because now it would be just him and Sara - once she’d finished her work, of course. Jon actually enjoyed Sara’s dedication to her work - it was nice to find somebody else who really cared about what they did - but he did hope he could inveigle her into taking some time out for a little R&R on the flight.

Sara came out of the bathroom, swathed in a towel, and sat down to dry her hair. Jon lay on the bed watching her, sipping juice in silence, until she finished and stood up, going to the closet for her clothes.

“Awwwww!” Jon said, pouting as she pulled on her panties, and Sara smiled.

“But, look,” she told him, “they match!” And she put on the matching black and white bra, twirling around for his approval.

“Oh, okay then.” He assented, looking at the little keyhole cut into the back of the waistband of her thong, then at the ribbons in front as she turned.

Sara walked across to pick up her hairbrush again, and Jon watched every step she took.

“Dammit, baby - unless you want to take those back off again, right now, I think you need to put some clothes on.” He said, feeling his pulse accelerate as he gazed at her brushing her hair in front of the mirror, which meant he could see both her back and front views.

“Huh?” Sara looked at him in the mirror, then grinned. “You don’t like them?”

“Oh I like them…….but I’d like them better if they were on the floor.” He said hoarsely, and Sara took pity on him, dropping the brush and going across to pull on her jeans and a black t shirt.

“Now we match.”

Jon gestured at his own jeans and black t shirt.

“But you’re not a coyote.” Sara pointed out, since her shirt said Coyote Ugly across the front, and he just laughed.

She laid her bag on the bed, flipped it open and quickly dropped a mixture of clothes, shoes and toiletries into it, then zipped it closed, then brought over her camera case and carefully loaded up her cameras.

“I’m ready.” She announced, taking a bag in each hand, and Jon sprang off the bed to pick up his own bags.

“Let’s go.”

They headed out through reception, dropping keys as they went, but walking slightly apart from each other as they went out of the main doors. There were a number of limos waiting, and one of them drew up in front of them, the driver getting out to take their bags.

“Are you travelling together?” He asked as he took Sara’s bag, and she recognised him as the driver who’d brought her up from Calgary.

“Yes. I missed my flight, so Mr Bon Jovi has been kind enough to offer me a ride home, since we’re both going to the same place.”

“Very kind of you, sir.” The chauffeur said with a slightly ironic tone as he took Jon’s bags to the trunk, leaving them to climb into the back of the car.

“I think he thinks I’m trying to have my wicked way with you.” Jon said to Sara as he closed the door, and she looked at him in surprise.

“Sorry - and your point is….?” She said in disbelief, and Jon swatted at her, smacking her thigh as he sat down. Unfortunately, though, he caught the bruise from the previous morning, and she yelped, just as the driver opened his door.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, looking through the open divider, and Sara nodded.

“Fine, thanks. I just managed to smack my leg off the door, and I’ve already got a bruise there.”

The driver smiled at her as Jon took his seat.

“Would you like the divider up or down, Miss?”

“Would you mind if we had it up, please? I need to make some calls, and it makes the car quieter.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Miss. If you need anything, just press the button.” He half-glanced at Jon as he spoke, and Sara hid a smile as the divider rose, shutting them off.

“I don’t think he trusts you.” She whispered, and Jon gave a crooked grin.

“And you do?”

“Actually, yes, I do. In a way, that scares me - I really don’t know you.” Sara put her hands in her lap, looking down at them.

Jon’s eyes softened as he looked at her, then he laid one hand over hers as he tried to explain how he felt, to make her understand him a little more.

“If there’s one thing I can tell you, sweetheart, it’s that you never need to be scared of me. I won’t let anybody hurt you, Sara, and I’ll try not to hurt you myself. Sometimes, though - as you’ve already seen - I’m a bit of an asshole, so I can’t promise I’ll never upset you.”

Sara moved so Jon’s hand was caught between hers, smoothing her fingers over his as she raised her gaze again.

“My knight in shining armour, huh?” She leaned across to kiss him lightly. “I guess we’ll just have to play it by ear, won’t we?”