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.”