Chapter 64

In the morning, Jon woke first, discovering that neither of them had even moved during the night, Sara still wrapped in his arms. The bed felt unusually soft, then he felt the slight roughness of the blanket on his naked shoulder, and remembered they were sleeping on top of the cover because of the chocolate on the sheet. Remembrance of how the chocolate got onto the sheet woke him up even more, and he sneaked a look at the clock, seeing it was almost eight am. Obviously Sara had forgotten to set her alarm.

He extricated himself from Sara, and she was still deeply enough asleep that she just snuggled against the pillows, allowing Jon to slip out from under the blankets, tucking them back down around Sara to keep her warm. Pulling on the bathrobe he’d worn the previous night, Jon headed for the kitchen, with a quick stop in the bathroom on his way, then he switched on the coffee machine before opening the fridge to see if there was any food. Not much. The coffee was ready, and he poured a mug, taking a long sip, and the caffeine made his brain work a little faster, giving him an idea for breakfast.

Working as quietly as he could - and trying not to use too many dishes this time - Jon whipped up some eggs, pouring them into a pan to cook while he made toast, and dimly wondering how Dot had always made it look so easy to make breakfast! Once the eggs were scrambled, he added the remaining smoked salmon from the previous day, mixing it through then serving it onto plates which he laid on a tray with a plate of toast, some silverware and two mugs of coffee.

Along in the bedroom, Sara was still asleep, huddled under the blankets. Jon laid the tray on the bedside table and flipped back the blankets. Sara was facing away from him, and he gently ran his hand across her flank and onto her tummy, tickling his fingers across her skin.

“C’mon - wake up, gorgeous.”

When she didn’t wake immediately, Jon leaned across to lightly nip her ear with his teeth, then spoke right beside her.

“Sara…….breakfast.”

The mention of food worked, and she blinked awake.

“I smell coffee.” She whispered, rolling onto her back to look up at Jon, who struggled to keep his eyes on her face and not on her naked body. “Good morning.” She said with a smile.

“Mornin’ darlin’. Breakfast’s ready.”

“You cooked again? I have to tell Richie! He’ll be so impressed.”

“Yeah, yeah. Do you want to eat or not?”

“Aw, I’m kidding baby. C’mere.”

She drew him to her, knowing he was really only pretending to be hurt, and kissed him softly. “Forgive me?”

“I’ll think about it. You can apologise some more if you want.”

Sara giggled. “Can we eat first? What have you made?”

Jon tucked his hands under her arms, hoisting her up to a sitting position, then tucked the blankets over her lap. He sat on the bed beside her, then picked up the tray and sat it on his own lap, handing her a plate.

“Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.” He told her.

“Wow! Coffee?”

He handed her the mug, and she took an appreciative drink then took a fork from the tray and dug into the eggs.

“Mmmm. Coffee and smoked salmon. I love you!”

Sara kept her eyes on the plate as she realised what she’d said, and Jon wisely kept his response to himself, starting on his own breakfast. They made short work of the eggs, eating them before they cooled off, then Jon took Sara’s empty plate and offered toast.

“You’re so domesticated.” She said with a smirk, and he rolled his eyes.

“I’m wrecking the rock star image, huh?”

“From where I’m sitting, you’re enhancing it, sweetheart. Proving people like Kay wrong.” As she mentioned Kay, Sara realised she hadn’t told Jon about her new assignment. “I didn’t tell you - I got a new job yesterday!”

“Great - I guess I didn’t realise how in demand your services were. Who are you shooting this time?”

“Well, it’s a long story. A couple of months back, I put in a proposal to Practical Horseman magazine, and they’ve finally made a decision and given me the job. I’ve to fly over to the UK to photograph fox hunting. The British government are going to ban it, apparently, and they want to run a series on it before it’s gone.”

“Hunting? Isn’t that cruel? I kinda thought you were an animal lover.”

“I am, but I don’t really know much about fox hunting, so I’m keeping an open mind. I’ll find out soon enough, I guess.”

“When do you go?”

“End of next week. From the list of meets they’ve given me, looks like I’ll be gone nearly three weeks.”

As she said it, Sara suddenly realised that meant three weeks without Jon, and her heart sank at the prospect.

“Next week? Aw, shit!” Jon exclaimed, looking seriously downcast.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, we’re playing a show down in Florida, and I wanted you to come with me, so you could meet the rest of the guys. Can’t you go a little later?”

Sara was a little surprised that Jon wanted her to change her job around just to suit what he wanted, but she wasn’t too sure of the schedule for her trip, so she didn’t answer directly.

“I’ll check if I can, but I’m not sure. The hunts only meet on certain days, so I need to be there when they’re actually hunting. I’ll look into it, though, okay?”

“Great.” Jon seemed to assume that Sara would be able to change her trip, and he continued enthusiastically. “I think you’ll really like the guys. I know they’ll love you, baby - hell, Richie loves you and he’s the toughest of them. If - and only if - you want, we could go see my mom, too - she’s back down in Florida again.”

“I’d like to meet the rest of your friends, too, but I guess we’d better wait until I know if I can change my trip before you mention anything to your mom.”

“Okay, hon.”

Jon shifted the tray back onto the bedside table, turning to face Sara.

“You’re gonna be gone how long?”

“Nearly three weeks.”

“What am I going to do without you?”

“You’ve got an apartment to move into, remember. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Under the blanket, Jon’s hand touched Sara’s thigh, creeping upward.

“Three whole weeks…….”

“Not whole weeks - more like two and a half.”

“That’s still - what - eighteen whole days that I can’t touch you…….can’t even see you……” He turned his blue eyes on her face. “Do you have to go?”

“Jon, it’s my job. It’s what pays the bills. Plus, one of the hunts is in Cornwall, and I’ve always wanted to go there. I may even be able to fit in a little surfing.”

His hand under the blanket was rubbing gently across her tummy as he answered, this time not looking at her.

“I could pay the bills. You don’t have to go all the way to the UK to surf either. I could take you to Malibu, or wherever you want to go, just so long as you go with me.”

Jon knew he was making a mistake as soon as the words were out. He felt Sara stiffen against him and heard an unfamiliar note of anger in her voice as she answered him.

“But I don’t want you to pay my bills, Jon. I love my job, and this trip is to photograph something pretty unique, something that’s about to disappear forever. You could always come to the UK with me, after your show in Florida.”

He sat up, his hand sliding off her. “Sara - I can’t just fly over to the UK - I’ve got stuff I need to do here.” He suddenly realised how harsh that sounded, and tried to soften it. “Sorry, babe, that came out wrong. I just meant I have stuff happening after the show at the Hard Rock Café, stuff I can’t really put off.”

“And I can’t turn down this job. I’ve already accepted it. I will see if I can go over a few days later, if you still want me to come to Florida with you.”

She wouldn’t look at him, and Jon was mentally kicking himself. His hand tentatively touched her belly again as he spoke.

“Of course I still want you to come to Florida! I’m sorry, Sara - but I did warn you up in Canada - I’m a bit of an asshole at times.”

“Only at times?” Her voice was teasing, and it looked like they’d just ended their first very minor argument, much to Jon’s relief.

“Hey! Truce?”

“Okay. Truce.”

His hand ran right across to her side, twisting Sara around so he could kiss her. Jon made a slow, thorough job of the kiss, feeling Sara responding equally, until he was sure the disagreement was forgiven, if not totally forgotten. As their lips parted again, Sara gave a sigh.

“You certainly know how to end an argument, don’t you?”

Jon’s hand was still wrapped around her side, his fingertips kneading her back.

“Making up is always the fun part of fighting.” He told her with a smirk, getting a smile in return, then feeling her fingers tracing along his thigh.

“I’m sorry, Jon. I guess I’m more independent than I realised. I, well, I just didn’t like the implication that my job wasn’t important. I’ve had to fight for this, to build a reputation, and it isn’t easy for a female photographer sometimes. Getting the job over the other people who put in proposals is a huge thing for me, and I hoped you’d be happy for me, not try to stop me.”

“Aw, baby, I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean it to sound that way. I’m just gonna miss you so damned much. Guess now I get to see what Dot had to put up with for all those years, huh? When I was running all around the world, leaving her behind for months. It’s only a couple of weeks, right? I’m a big boy, I guess if I keep myself busy, it’ll be okay.” He gave a dirty laugh. “Just know one thing, though - when you get home, you’d better take a good look at the floor, baby.”

“What? Why?” Poor, innocent Sara didn’t get it.

“Because for the first few days, all you’re gonna see is the ceiling, honey. I’m not letting you out of my bed until I’ve had my fill of you, and I’ll have a whole lot of lovin’ built up for you after three weeks!”

“Two and a half.” She grinned, then bit on her lip before she spoke again. “But I’m not gone yet.”

“Y’know - you’re right. Come here, you!”

Jon pushed her onto her back and rolled close beside her, and Sara’s mouth reached for his even as her fingers tugged open the belt of his robe.