Chapter Seven

Beads of sweat rolled freely down Rachel’s back between her shoulder blades as she finally slowed up running back through the gates of what she was becoming to think of as ‘home’. Easing down, her knee and lower legs trembled from the last sprint she pushed herself through; it had definitely been too long since her last run.

Upstairs, she peeled off her damp running gear and stepped under an icy shower, gasping as the jets of frigid water assaulted the back of her neck and shoulders. Bearing it for a minute before she flipped the dial, she relaxed against the tiled wall as the slightly warmer water cascaded over her from the rainforest shower head. Her brain was a whirl replaying the events of the morning in her head. Ever since she’d left him standing at that fence she’d had somewhat of a permanent grin plastered on her face. She felt exhilarated and excited and dare she say it – happy.

Twisting in the shower, she braced herself against the slippery tiles to arch her back up against the flow of water that was flushing the grainy sweat from her body. The last image she had of Jon grinning across the fence at her was emblazoned in her memory, that smile – it made her tingle deep inside in a way that she hadn’t since……

She screwed her eyes shut in an effort to keep out the memories that were threatening to flood her mind. That night in Hawaii with Nick, on their honeymoon when he had driven her to heights of ecstasy she’d never deemed possible. The makeup sex they’d had after their first big fight which had resulted in Lauren arriving in their lives. Nick’s face when she’d broken the news that they were expecting their first child, his eyes shining bright and incredulous with delight. One by one, snapshots of her past life flew through her brain each one as vivid as if it had been just yesterday.

Salty tears brimmed in her eyes, threatening to fall until she lifted her face upwards in the torrent of water to wash them away. She wouldn’t cry, she wouldn’t allow herself to – this was meant to be a fresh start. She snapped the temperature gauge back down, allowing icy water to shock her system back to reality and wash any further thoughts of her past life down the plug hole.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of grocery shopping and driving around Monmouth County taking in some of the sights and even venturing out as far as Ocean Avenue to dip her toes in the Atlantic Ocean. That evening, as she sat curled up on her bed with her laptop she idly tapped in Bon Jovi to Google’s search engine. Her eyes widened in surprise at the string of images that sprung up on her screen, Jon Bon Jovi was one well photographed guy!

Over the next couple of hours she immersed herself in catching up on what the band had done since her teenage obsession with their album Slippery When Wet. She laughed when she read about Jon taking on acting roles and seemingly doing well in quite a few, this guy was multi-talented. On his personal biography she learned of his divorce from wife Dorothea. She vaguely remembered hearing about their runaway marriage in Las Vegas, it had been all over the news but by that stage she had been head over heels in love with her own rock star. When Nick had come along, she’d left her long haired rocker obsession behind along with the last of her teenage years.

She was surprised to read they had only divorced a few years back, round about the same time her own world had fallen apart. It was no wonder she hadn’t heard anything about it. Her heart twinged with sadness as the biography mentioned his four children, now living with their mother in New York apparently. Opening another window she again typed the band’s name into the YouTube search engine, smiling when the familiar videos she remembered from the eighties popped up. God how many nights had she murdered karaoke versions of Livin’ on a Prayer in wild nights out with Nick?

It was well after eleven pm when she finally forced herself to power down the computer, now pretty much up to date with what her neighbour had been up to since the eighties. Turned out quite a lot! Yawning widely, she flicked the light off and snuggled under her light duvet, the warm summer night’s air gently ruffling the curtains as she fell into the deepest night’s sleep she’d had in months.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At ten am the next morning, Rachel brightly hopped from side to side, stretching out her toes as she waited for her new running partner to turn up. It was another beautiful day in Jersey, a few wispy clouds floating lazily in the blue sky and a warm breeze filtering through the air. She felt fantastic and had woken early, allowing herself the luxury of a light breakfast out on the decking behind the house. Impatiently scanning the road, she checked her watch again. Five minutes had passed since their designated meeting time and there was no sign of him.

A ripple of disappointment unfurled through her stomach at the thought he wasn’t going to show. Ever since they had arranged it the day before she had been looking forward to it intensely even if she was a little nervous again after all her research last night. Ten minutes later and with still no sign of life from the estate facing her, she resignedly turned to head up the road. Without Jon she had no access to the route they’d taken yesterday leaving her with little option but to stick to the main road. Her heart heavy with dismay, she reluctantly willed her feet forward on the pavement leading up to the main road.

“RACHEL! Wait up!”

She spun round at the sound of her name, her face breaking into a wide smile when she saw him hastily jog up the road after her. Her smile turned into one of amusement when he half staggered to a stop in front of her, clutching his side with an apparent stitch.

“Good morning!” Rachel giggled as she took in his gaunt appearance, grizzly stubble lined his jaw and he looked like he had literally fallen into the crumpled tee he was wearing. She could only guess what his eyes looked like, obscured from her vision behind a pair of dark aviators. Tufts of caramel hair stuck out from under his baseball hat, the peak pulled low on his forehead.

“Ugh……..Hi……” Breathlessly he offered her a small wave as he doubled over with a grimace at the sharp pain in his side.

“Sleep in huh?” Rachel asked amusedly, her tongue firmly in cheek.

Straightening back up, Jon nodded. “Yeah, something like that. You mind if we stick to my place? I’m not exactly fit for the public eye this morning.”

“Fine by me. Lead the way!” Still laughing at him, she walked by his side as they made their way past Rachel’s house and down to the little gate that lead onto Jon’s estate.

Watching as he fumbled with the code for the keypad, she cocked an eyebrow at him. “You know if you’re not feeling up to this, we can pass on it. It’s no problem!”

“I’m fine, or at least I will be.” Grumbling he finally swung the gate inwards and beckoned her in. “I’m just getting old as shit, that’s all.”

“Aren’t we all!” Rachel bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited for him to shut the gate.“Ready?”

Together, they set off at a brisk pace, Jon’s earlier stitch gone as he pushed forward with his jaw set in a firm line. They ran alongside one another in silence, only broken by the odd grunt from Jon when he set a foot down wrong on the path. He led them past the banks of the glistening river where a few early boaters bobbed gently on the water and then up the slight hill past the place where Rachel had continued on her own the day before. Running easily beside him, she took the opportunity to look across at the house from a previously unseen side. A large swimming pool with a few loungers stacked neatly in a corner ran the length of one side, set apart from the rest of the lawn with a boundary of small shrubs. As they jogged on past the main house, nestled amidst more trees she could see another smaller building, possibly a guest house situated half way down the main driveway. Her sightseeing was abruptly halted as Jon pulled up sharply, once more clutching his side in agony.

“Fuck!”

“You okay?” Rachel skidded to a stop beside him, watching in concern as he doubled over panting heavily.

A raised hand signalled he was fine, just seemingly unable to speak or look at her. Groaning loudly he sank onto the grass, his knees folded to his chest as he raised his face to the sky.

“Fuck!” He swore loudly through gritted teeth, his arms taut and strained as he placed them on the ground behind him to support himself. “Sorry Rachel, this just isn’t gonna happen this morning! I’ve got a hangover sent by the devil himself!”

Laughing openly, Rachel shook her head at him in mock disapproval. “Ah! So you didn’t just sleep in then!”

“Nope, got pretty wasted last night.” He smiled ruefully as he admitted the real cause of his discomfort. “Wasn’t planned, just kinda happened. Met an old buddy and well, I’m sure you can guess the rest.”

“You didn’t have to come out here this morning you know? I’d have been fine on my own!”

“I know! I just…..” Looking up at her sheepishly, he shrugged. “I didn’t want to blow you off!”

Rachel raised her eyebrows in amusement, her eyes twinkling. “You didn’t huh? Looks to me like you should have!”

Chuckling, Jon got to his feet, wincing at the sharp stab in his ribcage as he stood. “How’s about to make up for it, I give you the grand tour instead?”

Rachel drew in a sharp breath, this place was a realtor’s dream and she was dying to know what the inside looked like.

“Deal!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel was speechless with awe as she stood in the middle of possibly the biggest non-commercial kitchen she’d ever seen. A vaulted red brick ceiling combined with pale solid oak kitchen units gave the room an almost chateau feel, certainly not what she had expected from the outside. Large French doors and long sash windows filled the whole kitchen with natural light that reflected off the polished counters.

Spotting a stack of empty pizza boxes stashed in a corner, she quirked an eyebrow at Jon. “I’m presuming you don’t do a lot of cooking in here!”

Pretending to look wounded, he clasped a hand to his chest. “Hey, I can cook! Some…..” He followed her amused look at the cardboard delivery boxes and gave up his pretence with a short laugh. “Yeah well, I just don’t bother that’s all!”

Pulling off his hat and sunglasses, Jon threw them onto the central island and ran his fingers through his damp hair. Rachel from her position just inside the doorway studied him quietly. It had just occurred to her that this was the first time she had seen him in person without either a hat or glasses disguising his face. She knew from her investigations online that he had turned forty six this year, just two years older than her but hangover aside the guy looked amazing.

Jon turned to her, a mischievous grin lighting up the corners of his eyes. “I’ll tell you what I can make! Great coffee!”

Rachel teased him when she spotted the large barista machine nestled against the far wall. “You mean the coffee machine makes great coffee. You just know how to work it!”

“Ah! But there’s a knack to it! Takes years to perfect the art of great coffee making and trust me…” He paused to level his eyes at her, “….. I drink a LOT of coffee!”

Rolling her eyes at his dramatics, she leaned casually against the counter smiling as she watched him fumble with the chrome fronted machine. She was enjoying the easy banter between them, something she had lately found hard to find with anyone. A few minutes later, Jon triumphantly slid a large cup across the island to her, the rich aroma wafting invitingly from the steam that curled upwards from it.

“Careful, it’s hot.” Jon warned her gently before turning away to make his own cup. A few short bursts of steam later and he joined her in sipping tentatively at the hot liquid.

“See? It’s good isn’t it?” Winking at her across the wide rim of his cup, he watched smugly as she took another taste.

“Mmmn, not bad I suppose!” Laughing at his indignant look, her dark olive eyes sparkled in merriment, “Hey, any coffee I don’t have to make myself is pretty good to me!”

“Sheesh, go easy on the compliments woman, you’re killing me here!” Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Jon wrapped his fingers around his cup and beckoned her with his head. 

“C’mon, allow me to show you around Casa de Bongiovi!”