Chapter Twenty Three

“Well give me the first available slot you get – I want to be airborne by midnight at the latest!” Jon barked the order into his phone and hung up, his brows furrowed in an angry frustration.

“And you’re in such a rush to get home why exactly?”

Richie regarded his friend suspiciously as Jon stuffed the phone back in his pocket after making several fruitless calls to the airport authorities. He had been under the impression that Jon was going to at least stay till the weekend to get some more work done. Actually on second thoughts the work part was merely an afterthought – Richie had planned plenty more extra-curricular activities to keep them entertained but now it seemed he was going to be left flying solo.

Jon shrugged and drained his beer in one long swallow. From the sound of things he wasn’t going anywhere soon.

“I just got stuff to do back home Rich and we got a decent bit of shit done yesterday……..”

“We wrote ONE song my brother – that ain’t gonna build us a new record Jon!”

“We JUST came off tour a few months ago – I think we got time on our side.” Jon shook his head and chuckled despite his annoyance at being stuck in California for a few more hours. “Normally you’re the one telling me to cool my jets and chill the fuck out – try taking some of your own medicine for a change.”

Richie narrowed his eyes and smirked. “It’s a woman!”

Sandy hair flopped forward over Jon’s brow when he jerked his head upright at Richie’s confident declaration.

“What is a woman?”

“There are only two reasons you’d be busting your chops to get back home so soon and the first one on that list is a woman! Add that to the heart blistering lyrics you pulled outta the bag yesterday and the severe lack of interest in the delectable Janelle and I rest my case – so who is she?”

A victorious grin lit up Richie’s dark eyes, the familiar creases in his face glinting across the table over the remains of their dinner. Folding his arms he settled back in his chair to await Jon’s validation to his verdict. He knew he was right; nothing fucked with Jon’s head more than a woman.

A long sigh escaped Jon’s lungs, while he had no intention of keeping Rachel a secret he would have preferred some more time to figure things out before Richie came barrelling into it. His best friend had an uncanny knack of figuring things out and he might have known it was only a matter of time before he put two and two together and came up with three. Although he had to admit this time Richie was spot on with his observations. Motioning to the pretty young blonde server that was constantly hovering near their table he ordered a fresh round of drinks and prepared to fill in an expectantly waiting Richie on the latest developments in his love life. 

“I have a new neighbour……..”

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

The plane had barely touched down before Jon was on his feet and tugging his coat on. His personal flight attendant knew better than to reprimand him on neglecting the usual safety instructions that always bored everyone senseless. Instead she stayed sitting in her jump seat, her feet crossed neatly at her ankles and her hands resting lightly on top of the safety belt buckle that kept her safely strapped in with an amused smile twitching at her lips. Jon Bon Jovi was one of the most impatient men she knew but he was a great employer and she had never had any objection to dropping everything at the first sign that he wanted to get somewhere.

“If you give me a moment Jon I’ll get those bags down for you.”

Jon chuckled and shook his head at her before reaching up to the overhead compartment and yanking down his luggage himself.

“Time waits for no man Anna but thank you. You got plans with that husband of yours for the weekend?”

As the jet smoothly ground to a halt and the pilots powered the engines down, Anna slid elegantly from her seat and nodded with a smile before heading to release the safety lock on the door. 

“It’s our anniversary tomorrow so we’re heading into the city for the night. Going to stay in one of those fancy hotels you’re always telling me about – The Plaza.”

Jon winked across at her before he slid his aviators over his eyes. “Ted’s going all out huh? Enjoy it sweetheart – you deserve it!” 

Slinging his guitar case on his shoulder and with his bag bunched up under the opposite arm he bent down to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. “Be good!”

Anna laughed and waved him away down the unfolded steps leading to the tarmac.

“Always am Jon, always am! Take care of yourself!”

Sliding into the back of the car that awaited his arrival, Jon pulled out his phone and made a quick call to the Plaza’s manager to arrange a complimentary upgrade on her booking. Anna had flown with him for years and he appreciated her attentive service, it was the least he could do. Good staff were hard to come by these days.

Once that was taken care of he sank back in the comfortable upholstery relieved to be finally on the last part of his journey home. Thanks to some last minute fuel problems at the airport he used in California the earliest they’d been able to take off had been just after six that morning. Following a few more drinks after dinner during which Jon had given Richie the brief run down on Rachel and her previous life, the two men had gone for an early night with Richie promising to fly east in a few weeks for another writing session and of course the obligatory introduction to Rachel.

Jon smirked to himself, his thoughts subconsciously reverting to the memory of readily agreeing to introduce Richie to her. Without even realising it he was making plans for the future – with a woman.

Interesting. 

A glance at his watch reminded him to flick it forward back onto Eastern Time, the hour was fast approaching four in the afternoon and a growl from his stomach reminded him he’d had nothing to eat since leaving LA that morning. Dinner with his favourite new neighbour sounded more than appetising right now. Picking up his phone again he hit Rachel’s number and waited for the call to connect as he gazed out the window at the passing scenery. When her voice mail kicked in he frowned and disconnected before leaning forward to talk with his driver.

“Hey Phil, drop me at the studio will you?”

“Sure thing Boss.”

He couldn’t wait any longer, he’d spent the best part of the last three days thinking about her – he needed a visual reminder before he lost his mind altogether. Less than twenty minutes later and Jon was striding purposefully across the road to the adjoining property having left Phil to drop the bags at the main house. The driveway was a lot neater than the last time he’d seen it, the piles of dirt and kerbing blocks gone leaving an array of freshly sown raised flower beds and shrubs on display.

Whipping his phone out he tried Rachel’s number yet again but to no avail, it still went unanswered but the fact that her SUV was there confirmed she was in residence at least. Choosing to bypass the front door he retraced his steps around the rear of the house to where he had found her last time. A glittering blue sheet of water rippled invitingly from the renovated pool, a pair of new sun loungers laid out on the bathing area making him smile. It was just the evening to try those babies out. A stickiness underneath pulled at his boots and he frowned in puzzlement at the wooden decking beneath his feet. It looked different somehow, darker maybe………..freshly VARNISHED??

“FUCK!”

Stumbling in his haste to get off the still wet boards, he swore loudly and teetered on his tiptoes to the nearest window sill for support. A clear line of footprints followed his path from the front of the house, the lines of the soles of his boots nicely etched into the shiny varnish. 

Great! 

Barely three steps ahead he could now make out the fresh line of varnish that stopped short of the once again open French doors, obviously the geniuses had run out of paint and called it a day at that. 

A fucking sign wouldn’t have gone astray! Still muttering to himself as he examined the undersides of his boots a familiar sounding drum beat travelled to his ears from the kitchen. What the….?

Giving up on his footwear for the time being he stretched over the remaining wet boards and kicked the sticky boots off once he landed on what was left of the untreated decking. The music was in full flow now and he grinned amusedly when the opening lyrics burst noisily across the summer air.

This ain’t a song for the broken hearted …....

No silent prayer for faith departed…….

Moving silently to the doors in his socks he caught sight of her at the open range stove, her hips clad in dark blue denim cut offs swaying to the beat of the song that blared loudly from her iPod stereo on the kitchen island. Her perfectly rounded ass bumped and grinded in unison with the guitar riff until the chorus broke through and her head started bopping.

It’s my life………

It’s now or never………

I ain’t gonna live forever…….

Chuckling he snuck in the door and perched himself on the corner of the sofa where they had watched the thunderstorm together that night. Rachel oblivious to his presence continued frying something on the stove that smelt delicious to Jon, her back turned away from him throughout the duration of the song until it ended in one final proclamation which she sang out loud waving the spatula in her hand as if to reiterate the point to an unseen audience.

“It’s my LIFE!”

“So you’re one of those ‘closet’ fans huh?”

Rachel whirled around, alarm flushing her face as she gaped at Jon laughing at her from the corner of the room.

“Don’t you EVER knock?!”

Shrugging his shoulders he lifted his hands in self-defence and waggled his brows at her; “I called…….TWICE but you didn’t answer my dear. So I decided to break in again but since you’re prone to leaving these doors wide open you made it easy…..well sort of easy.”

He grinned sheepishly at her and nodded to the decking outside before gesturing to his bootless feet. 

“Too bad you didn’t tell me about the painters……..”

“Oh no…….you didn’t?”

“Yup! I sure did – you might want to call those guys back – there are footprints all OVER the place out there!”

Rachel’s mouth dropped open in disbelief until she stuck her head outside to examine the decking. Dissolving into giggles at the sight of his boots discarded in a sticky mess beside the door she shook her head at him.

“Ooops!”

“So next time pick UP your phone when I call  - prior warning of all future booby traps would be greatly appreciated!” 

Smirking Jon got to his feet and padded over to Rachel who blushed as she guiltily motioned to the phone sitting on the island beside her iPod.

“Sorry, couldn’t hear it over Bon Jovi!”

“So I noticed…..” Reaching her his eyes swooped appreciatively over the fitted white tank top she was wearing and zoned in on the bra that she wasn’t wearing……..the rosy pebble of her nipples poking through the light cotton drawing his full attention.

“You know, seeing as your place is so close to MY place…….what are the neighbours gonna say when they think all this music is coming from MY house?”

His hands stretched out to run lightly down the outsides of her slender arms, the fair hairs prickling to his touch until he moved lower to rest just above the curve of her ass.

Rachel giggled and grinned up at him, her arms snaking between his to travel up his chest and cradle his neck.

“They’ll think ‘That Jon Bon Jovi guy – he’s sure proud of his shit!’….”

Jon snorted back a laugh and dropped his head to brush her smiling lips with a light kiss, his hands travelling lower down her ass drawing her body closer as he murmured;

“I like that shirt – a lot! Especially when there’s nothing underneath it…..” Keeping one hand caressing the curve of her butt cheeks he brought the other up to graze his thumb gently against the side of her unfettered bust.

A light blush coloured Rachel’s cheeks and she playfully swatted him away to move back to the sizzling pan on the stove. Following her Jon hooked his fingers into the back pockets of her shorts and peered over her shoulder sniffing the air appreciatively.

“Smells great baby……” His eyes grew wide when he took in the mountain of chicken chunks browning in the pan nestled amidst a deluge of bright vegetables.

“Are you expecting company? That’s a lot of meat for one little blonde.”

Regaining her composure Rachel shook the pan confidently, the sizzling of the ingredients intensifying.

“No I just thought I’d cook a double batch to have tomorrow but since you’re here…..care to join me for dinner? It’s nothing fancy, just chicken fajitas.”

“Sounds great – I’m starved.” Bending over her, he nuzzled the hair off her neck and inhaled her sweet scent. “Want me to run to my place and grab some wine?”

An involuntary shiver travelled down her spine when she felt him nip her neck and she fought to contain the flutter of arousal rising from her belly.

“I bought a couple of bottles, they’re in the fridge or there’s a pitcher of iced tea either – whichever you like, I’m easy.”

She rolled her eyes at the inevitable chuckle Jon gave before giving her a final nibble and then pulling away to head for the fridge.

“You’re anything but easy baby!” Swinging the door open he blew out a low whistle, his eyes taking in the stocked compartments.

“Holy shit you weren’t kidding when you said you’d been shopping!”

Armed with a bottle under one arm and the pitcher in the other he kicked the door shut with a foot and went to one of the overhead cabinets in search of glasses. Rachel took the pan off the heat and started piling the chicken and vegetables into a dish, directing him to the right cabinet for the glasses.

“Over by the wall, to your left.”

Snagging the long stems of two wine glasses with his fingers, Jon carried them to the table and set them down with the bottle and pitcher. Retracing his steps he retrieved a pair of high balls for the iced tea and started poking about in the cutlery drawers.

“Don’t suppose you remembered to get a corkscrew?”

Finished mixing the spices through the chicken, Rachel turned to face him with a happy smile grabbing a cloth to wipe her hands. Having him here felt so comfortable, like how she remembered her life to have once been. Standing watching Jon fumble noisily through the assortment of kitchen utensils piled into one of the drawers for a second he was replaced by Nick, always complaining that he could never find anything. He had been a master of the barbeque but a disaster in the kitchen. A painful twang on her heart strings brought her crashing back to the present, faced not with her husband but with the man that had come barrelling into her life, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil of emotions he invoked in her. There were moments when he made her heart soar like just now when he had turned up in her kitchen but so far in their short relationship there had also been moments when he’d torn it out and trampled all over it. He was like a drug, intoxicatingly high in the heat of the moment but soul destroying in the aftermath. She felt like she was playing with fire and it terrified her.

“Aha! Got it!”

Cheerily Jon pulled the silver tool out triumphantly and turned back to examine the label on the bottle of wine.

“Nice choice on the wine selection baby! Top class!”

Hearing no response he glanced over to where Rachel stood gazing at him, still slowly wiping her hands over and over in the small towel, seemingly miles away.

“Eh……Rach? You okay baby?”

The worry in his voice jerked her back to reality and she gave him a quick smile before turning to retrieve the floury tortilla wraps from the warmer in the oven.

“Sorry got side-tracked, what where you saying?”

Puzzled Jon turned back to the bottle of wine and began to sink the corkscrew into the waxy top. “I was just saying you managed to pick some great wine here.”

Although unintended his words hit her like a condescending brick. Faced away from him and before she could even stop herself, Rachel murmured quietly not quite under her breath;

“Yeah well even us common girls can pick out a good bottle of wine.”

She regretted it the minute the words came tumbling out but try as she might she just couldn’t shake the remnants of their angry words to one another that day. It had somehow been easier on the phone to forget and she had been so caught up in her own misery the night he’d come over she felt as if they had skimmed over those damning words ‘….irresistible to common…’ but now that he was here……..well it was now or never.