Chapter 136

Sara managed to get through the day without thinking about Jon too much, although she was very glad Paul had gone for lunch when Jon called her, since he was obviously in no mood to go to a meeting, but told her in excruciating detail exactly what he intended to do to her, next time he saw her. By the time the phone call ended, her face was burning, and she knew her lace thong was completely soaked through.

“Baby,” she wheedled, “are you sure you can’t stop by here on the way to your meeting………I need you so bad right now.”

Jon chuckled. “Sorry, darlin’. I’m going the other way. I’ll see you tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“I guess.” Even though he couldn’t see her, Jon knew she was pouting, and he chuckled again.

“Oh, hey - I forgot to mention it this morning. I’ve left you a key for the apartment. It’s in your jewel box.”

“Thanks, Jon. Is there anything particular I should pack for the weekend, d’you think?”

“For seeing my parents? Anything you like. For back at the hotel? Nothing. Not a thing. Trust me, darlin’, once we get back into that room, you will not be needing clothes!”

Sara heard Paul’s key in the door lock and tried to compose herself. “I gotta go, baby. Paul’s back.”

“What? And you don’t want to keep talking to me while he’s there, huh?”

“No, I don’t, because I have to work with him, Jon!”

“Guess I should go to my meeting anyway. I’d rather be there, though. I’d rather be stripping your jeans off, because I’ll bet your panties are wet, aren’t they? You’re wet for me.” The last was a statement, not a question, and Sara’s soft answer was almost a moan.

“Yes. Now go! Goodbye, Jon!”

“Bye baby.” He laughed, and Sara clicked her phone off, dropping it onto the couch and picking up her laptop, flicking through photos as Paul brought over the pastry she’d asked for.


While Sara worked the afternoon away, finally heading home around six, Jon sat through his meeting. Although he loved the charity stuff that he was in the fortunate position to be able to do, he did find the interminable meetings a bit of a bore sometimes, driving his thoughts to wander. Previously, they’d wandered to lyrics and Soul performances, but these days he was finding that his mind preferred to drift off to something far more alluring. Sara.

Back at home, while she cooked some pasta, Sara decided to call Linda, see how she was coping without Richie, since she knew from Jon that his buddy had left town earlier that day. When Linda answered her cellphone, Sara could hear other voices in the background.

“Hi Linda. Is this a bad time?”

“No……it’s fine, hon. How are you?”

“I’m good. I just wanted to say hi, see how you were coping without Richie. Sounds like you’ve company though.”

“Oh, it’s just Tara - you remember Tara, right? Strawberry blonde……”

“From the fan pit?”

“Yeah. That’s her. Tara’s here, with two of our friends, Paula and RuthAnn. They brought wine, to try to get all the dirty details about Richie, and we’re just getting quietly drunk.”

Sara heard one of the voices ask Linda who she was talking to, and Linda obviously spoke without thinking as she continued to talk to Sara.

“Hey - Sara - I have to tell you!” Sara could hear the excited voices at the other end, and realised Linda hadn’t really meant to say her name. “Richie, well before he left, he asked me if I’d move to LA with him.”

“Really? And you said…..?”

“I said I’d think about it. And I thunk about it - thought about it - and I’m going.”

“Oh my God - that’s great, Linda! Congratulations! Does Jon know?”

“I don’t know if Richie’s told him. Is he there?”

“No. He’s got a meeting this afternoon, so I’ll see him tomorrow. Listen - I’m away this weekend, but do you want to catch up next week? When do you leave?”

“I don’t know when I’m going. Soon. Call me when you get back, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll let you get back to your girlfriends, Linda.”

As Linda closed her phone again, she became aware of three pairs of eyes staring at her, and looked across at her friends.

“What?”

“Sara, huh?” Tara said. “Would that be Mr Bon Jovi’s Sara then?”

“Yeah. She was checking to make sure I was okay, now that Richie was gone.”

“And why didn’t you invite her over?” Rue asked.

“Uh….because I wouldn’t do that to the poor girl! You lot would put her through the wringer! Asking her for all the juicy details about Jon.”

“Well, yeah.” Paula said with a grin. “But in a friendly, loving way!”


Sara ate a lonely dinner then pawed through her closet, picking out some clothes to take to Florida. She decided to take a cab to the studio next morning, then she could just get a cab to Jon’s apartment rather than leave her car in a parking lot somewhere, so she had to pack a bag ready to take in the morning. When the bag was packed, she was fairly sure she’d covered every eventuality, mainly because, for her, jeans covered most situations!

Jon called just before she headed for bed, sounding exhausted from his meeting, and they only spoke for a few minutes before Sara told him to go to bed.

“You sound like my mom.” He sighed tiredly.

“Oh, my reasons are very different.” Sara giggled. “I want you well rested tomorrow night!”

“In that case, okay - I’ll hit the pillows.” Jon grinned through the drowsiness. “G’night, darlin’. Love you.”

“I love you, too, Jon. ‘Night.” She was just about to end the call when she remembered. “Oh, hey, Jon!”

“What, baby?”

“Have you spoken to Richie recently?”

“Not since we saw him and Linda. Why?”

“I called Linda, see how she was getting along now he’d gone.”

“And…..”

“And, she’s great. Because she’s moving to LA. With Richie.”

“Really?! Damn, he doesn’t waste any time. Thanks for lettin’ me know baby. I’ll call him tomorrow, pass on my congratulations!”

“Okay. Sorry. Good night, Jon.”

“G’night.”


The next day, Jon called his mom, to remind her they were coming to visit. After he’d spoken to her, he realised he should maybe forewarn Sara that his mom could be a little……difficult. He quickly tossed some clothes into a bag, ready for the next day, then settled himself comfortably on the couch with a mug of coffee and a pile of Soul paperwork he’d promised to review.

Sara finished her workday at the studio early, sending Paul away at his usual Friday time, then she locked up and headed downstairs to a waiting cab.

When she arrived at the apartment building, the doorman on duty was the nicer of the two she’d seen so far, but when he smiled and began to reach for the intercom phone, she held up her key.

“Thanks, but I’m okay. Have a good evening.”

“You, too, miss.” He returned to his newspaper as Sara walked over to the elevator, and she successfully used the key to access the penthouse floor, walking out into the cool marble foyer a few minutes later.

She let herself into the apartment, dropping her bag in the bedroom before heading down to the living room to look for Jon. The room was in darkness, and Sara had to smile when she flicked on the light and saw him, asleep on the couch with a sheaf of papers clutched to his chest. Crossing to his side, she just managed to avoid kicking over the mug of cold coffee which sat on the floor, picking it up and laying it safely on the table. She gently drew the paperwork from his hand and laid that on the table, too, then perched on the edge of the couch beside him, looking down at his face with a tender smile.

With a gentle touch, she smoothed his hair back, seeing the faint lines on his forehead, fainter than was decent for a forty four year old rocker. He sighed heavily, a smile creeping onto his lips as he felt her touch.

“Sara.” He murmured, not even opening his eyes. “I can smell your perfume. You’re here early.” Now he did open his eyes, comically confused to find the room so dim. “Or maybe you aren’t. What time is it, darlin’?”

“Just about five. Did you have a good day?”

“It got a whole lot better about thirty seconds ago.” He grinned, pulling her down on top of him, raising his head just enough for a kiss.