Chapter 42

Sara looked at him in silence, and Jon asked, “Do you want to speak to her?”

She paused for a second then nodded.

“Richie, can I pass you back to Jon? Kay’s on the other line.”

“Oh. Okay, girl. You go talk to her. Will I see you again before I leave town?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully. Okay - here’s Jon. Bye Richie!”

Jon and Sara swapped phones, Sara taking a deep breath before she spoke.

“Hello?”

“Sara - it’s Kay.”

“Yes, I know. What is it?” She asked coolly, and Kay had her confirmation that she’d left a nasty message while she was drunk.

“Okay, Sara, last night I was pretty drunk, and I think I argued with Richie in the cab. I also think I left you a message which, from your tone, I’m guessing wasn’t very pleasant.”

“Correct. So what can I do for you?”

Jon had to walk away as he started to grin - Sara certainly wasn’t going to make things easy on Kay, and he told Richie as much when he got through to the living room.

“Good. Bitch deserves it. I’d better go - Sara might need you - call me later, bro?”

“Yeah, sure thing Rich. You just wanna know what happens, don’t ya?”

“Hell, yeah! Bye Jon.”

“Okay - we’re goin’ out tonight anyway, aren’t we, so I’ll call you later, Rich.”

“For God’s sake, Sara, I’m trying to apologise!” Kay said loudly, regretting it as her headache intensified again.

“Apologise for what? I thought you couldn’t remember.”

“I can’t. I mean, I’m pretty sure I called you, but I can’t remember what I said. I was drunk, remember?”

While Kay spoke, Sara slid the cooked pancake onto a plate and poured more batter, taking a sip of coffee before she answered.

“Yes, I remember you were drunk, Kay. I also remember what you called me. I still have the tape, if you’d like to hear it. At least now I know what you really think.”

“But I was drunk - I didn’t mean it, Sara, whatever I said.”

“Kay - you’re the one who always tells me that alcohol doesn’t change people, it just lets them get rid of their inhibitions. If you remember, that’s why you kept telling me I should start drinking, so I’d loosen up. Now you’re telling me that a few drinks made you say things you didn’t really mean? Give me a break.”

“Dammit, Sara, I can’t believe you’re being such a bitch about this. I say one thing that upsets you, and you condemn me for it?”

“Actually, Kay, I’m not being a bitch. If you’re to be believed, I’m being a slut, and it’s not as though this is the first time you’ve acted like this, is it? It’s just that this is the first time I’ve actually seen it - and you - for what it is. But the good thing is, at least I know where I stand now, which is as far from you as I possibly can. Goodbye Kay.”

Sara hung up the phone and turned back to her cooking, then swung around when she heard Jon applauding softly, standing in the kitchen door with a grin on his face.

“Wow! Very nicely done, babe. You didn’t even sink to her level - kept your cool and showed your class. I’m proud of you.”

“Truth be told, I think it’s been coming for a while now. Last night was just the icing on the cake.” She flipped another pancake with a wry smile. “Speaking of food - do you want bacon with your pancakes?”

“Yeah, why not.”

“Well, it’s in the fridge. There should be another pan in the cupboard - do you want to cook some bacon for me?”

“Y’know,” Jon looked closely at Sara, “I’m kinda surprised you’re not more upset about this thing with Kay. Sure you’re okay?”

She smiled at Jon, and it was a genuine smile, devoid of pretence. “I’m fine. I don’t know why I’m fine, considering I just told a very old friend to get lost, but I am - honestly.”

The phone rang again, and they both looked at it, then Sara hit the speaker button.

“Hello?”

“Sara - it’s me.” Kay again.

“Kay, can’t you take a hint? I don’t want to speak to you. Please don’t call me again.” Sara hung up again. “If that rings again - can you answer it?”

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” Sara gave Jon a soft kiss. “Whoops! Pancake!”

She flipped it over - it was dark brown, but not quite burned, and she slid it onto the plate and started the next one.

“Hey - rock star - the bacon won’t cook itself you know!”

Jon laughed and got the bacon from the fridge, cooking a generous portion for each of them while Sara finished up with the pancakes, taking off the apron as she took the pan off the heat.

They sat down together to eat, Sara finding some maple syrup in a cupboard and bringing it to the table along with the coffee pot. Jon took a couple of pancakes from the stack and dug in after pouring copious amounts of syrup over the top. Sara took a pancake, but sat nibbling on a piece of bacon, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Jon asked, seeing the faraway look on her face.

“Hmmm?” She blinked, focusing on his face again. “Sorry, babe, what did you say?”

“I just asked what was wrong. You looked so sad.”

“I was just thinking about Kay. Do you think I was too hard on her? I just don’t know - I’m not usually like that with her - I think I may have upset her, but I was just so angry about what she said. Maybe I should call her.”

“No! You definitely shouldn’t call her. Baby, she’s the one in the wrong here, not you. If she really values your friendship - values you - she’ll get in touch again. You’ve every right to be angry, Sara.”

Jon reached across the table and took her hand, pulling her toward him as he leaned across the table and kissed her. As he let go of her, Sara licked her lips with a smile.

“You taste of maple syrup. Pancakes okay?”

“The pancakes are great - you’re a good cook. Now will you eat your breakfast?”

Sara poured some syrup over her pancake and they finished their breakfast in companionable silence, occasionally glancing at each other, smiling when their eyes met. Finally, Sara stood to make another pot of coffee, thinking as she stood that she really should go shower and put on something other than her black dress. She cleared away the plates, dumping them in the sink, then went across to Jon, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry - I need to go shower - I need to put on some clean clothes, too. Coffee should be ready in a minute.”

“Okay, baby.” Jon took her hand, kissing her fingertips gently. “And stop worrying about Kay, you hear me?”

Smiling, Sara nodded at him, then went through to the bathroom, turning on the shower before untying the halter and shrugging her dress to the floor. Glancing in the mirror, she realised that she still wore last night’s makeup, although thankfully it had been minimal, so it didn’t look too bad. There were some wipes in the bathroom cabinet, and she cleaned her face before stepping into the shower, letting the steaming water cascade down over her head, slicking her hair back.

She didn’t spend too long in the shower, since she felt rude leaving Jon sitting alone in the kitchen, but she showered and washed her hair quickly then turned off the water. A towel around her hair, another to dry herself, Sara cleaned her teeth then tied a towel around her body and went back to the kitchen. While she’d been in the bathroom, Jon has slipped along to the bedroom and found the book he’d been reading on his last visit, and he was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading.

When Sara came in, he looked up with a broad smile.

“Feel better?”

“Oh, much! I still had makeup on, too - I don’t know how I didn’t look like a panda this morning!”

“You looked gorgeous. You still do. Come here, you.”

Jon laid the book down and held out his hand to her, pulling Sara onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s fine - stop worrying about it!” Sara ruffled his hair, raking it back from his face with one hand and kissing his forehead.

Tightening his arms around her, Jon pressed his lips to the closest part of her, which was her upper chest where it showed above the towel.

“What do you want to do today?” He asked, his voice muffled against her skin.

“I don’t know. Oh, I did think of something when I was in the shower.”

“Oh, yeah?” Jon looked up at her expectantly. “So what exactly were you thinking of when you were naked and wet, huh? It better have involved me!”

Sara giggled. “It did, sort of.” She turned serious. “What I was actually thinking was that Kay might cause trouble for you. Working for the magazine, if she’s feeling nasty, she might try to make a big deal of you and me, try to make it seem, I don’t know, sordid?”

Jon took about a millisecond to consider that, then he grinned.

“Well, I know exactly how to deal with that, honey.”

“How?”

“Richie and I were going out tonight anyway, to a party, so you can come with me - if it’s already out in the open, then Kay can’t do much about it, can she? That is, if you want to be seen in public with me?” Sara could hardly believe it. He actually looked unsure if she’d want to be seen with him, and she kissed his forehead again.

“If you want me to come with you, then of course I will. I’m not the one the cameras’ll be pointing at anyway. Will your kids be okay with it?”

“I think so. They’ve pretty cool about it all so far, so I can’t see any real problem. Besides, they don’t exactly read gossip mags yet! Now, can we go back to your other comment?”

“What other comment?”

“The one where you’re going to cum with me. When can we get to that, then?” Jon moved underneath Sara, pulling her tighter onto his lap and grinding his hips against her.

Laughing, Sara twisted slightly to kiss Jon, tasting the sweetness of the maple syrup in his mouth as her tongue darted between his teeth. She pulled back again, scratching her fingers in the fur at the top of his shirt.

“We can get to that after you’ve showered………I’m clean already!”

Jon grinned and lifted her onto her feet, standing up behind her.

“In that case, I’ll hit the shower now.”

As he left the kitchen, he stopped at the door to turn back.

“Sara!”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t waste time getting dressed, baby. I’ll be right back.”

She laughed and nodded, running water over the dishes in the sink, then pouring herself more coffee.