Chapter 28

Thanks MarnieNichole for helping me smooth out the edges on this one!!  :o)

Motherfucker.  I haven’t been this wound up in God knows how long, and all because of a woman I can’t touch.  Motherfucking promises to friends to watch out for their family members.  Goddamnmotherfuckersonofabitch.

Richie shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to relieve the ache in his groin.   In reality, he was afraid the only real relief for it had just left in a cloud of red.

What was he going to do?  She obviously wanted him.  He sure as hell wanted her.  But could he do anything about it without hearing Jon’s voice in his year, saying ‘watch out for her’?  Or seeing that damn stink eye in his mind’s eye when he touched her?  

Damndamndamndamn.   Richie needed a drink.  Or a smoke.  Or something to do with his mouth that didn’t involve tasting Allegra.  Tasting Allegra.  He groaned quietly as his dick expressed its pleasure at the thought.

He just needed a distraction.  There had been a blonde circling around him earlier.  Where had she gone?  He scanned the room, searching, but his eyes just locked on HER again.  She was laughing at something Matt or Tony had said, her face shining.  Jesus, how had he ever thought her plain and ordinary?   He shifted again, looking up when Tico sat in the seat Allegra had just vacated. 

“She’s beautiful isn’t she?” he asked, seeing the direction of Richie’s gaze.

“She’s a Bongiovi.  According to the press, they all are.”

“Yeah, but there’s something about her, don’t you think?  Something special.”

Richie saw the way that Tico was looking at him, and knew he was going someplace with his line of conversation.  “Just spit out whatever it is you wanna say, T.”

“All right.  I’ve seen that look on your face too many times over the years, Rich, and I know what it means.  You’d better watch yourself, and be damn sure before you do anything.  Allegra’s not just another piece of ass, and you’ll do well to remember it.”

That pretty effectively killed Richie’s arousal.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.”

Tico didn’t even bother looking at him, still watching Allegra sip her champagne and talk with Tony.  “Yeah, you do.  Play dumb if you want, but you sure as hell better treat her with the respect she deserves.  If you don’t, you and I are going to have words, old friend.”

It’s not like he didn’t already feel guilty about wanting her.  Now the old man had to come on like some mafia godfather?  What the fuck?

“What do you know that I don’t?” Richie asked suspiciously.

“How to treat a woman?”

“Wiseass.  I’m talking about Allegra.  You never cared about my sex life before, so there must be something about her.”

Tico rose and prepared to drift back into the throng of partygoers, giving Richie’s words back to him. “Other than the fact that she’s family, I don’t know what you’re talking about, man.  And I still don’t give a rat’s ass about your sex life.”

Growling in frustration, Richie mulled over whether it was still best to base his actions on his friends’ opinions or if it was finally time to let loose and trust himself.  He could hear Allegra’s voice in his head, asking him if he ever did anything to please himself, and wondered if he should listen to her.

Then he sighed, remembering the tagline on her question -   ‘Besides screw around’. 

That didn’t help a damn bit.

♫   ♫   ♫  

Allegra slipped out of her dress, nude except for her red lacy panties.  The red satin robe that she’d bought to match them was lying across the bed, and she slipped her arms into it, savoring the sensation.  The way it caressed her flesh made her think of Richie, and her nipples beaded instantly.

Rather than torture herself with those thoughts while she was waiting, she reflected on the rest of her time at the party.  After leaving Richie, she’d spent almost another hour chatting with the band and family, occasionally mingling with strangers.  There had been a number of flirtatious advances from different men at the party, but she politely brushed them off, noting Jon’s speculative look as she did so. 

Good.  Maybe he was finally getting a clue.  

Just as she was finishing her last glass of champagne,  David had appeared, asking if he could stop by to get his computer.  She took a quick look around the room, checking one last time on Richie’s whereabouts.  After locating him talking with a small group of people, rockstar smile in place, she told David that she was ready to leave anyway.  

After making their goodbyes, Dave escorted Allegra to her room, chatting and teasing with her along the way, like he always had.  Maybe she had imagined that he was acting strangely with her?  If it had been any other time, she would’ve broached the subject and satisfied her curiosity.  But it wasn’t any other time and her mind was preoccupied with when Richie would come upstairs, and her preparations for that visit.  So, instead, she made small talk,  packed up his computer, and subtly hurried him out the door with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to see him the next day.

 

That was two hours ago.  And still no Richie. 

Refusing to doubt that he was just detained, she noticed that her champagne buzz had dwindled considerably.  The minibar across the room beckoned to her, and she rose to heed its call.  On her way across the room, a glimpse of light colored plastic on dark carpet caught her eye.  It was a room keycard lying in front of the door.  Allegra checked the coffee table and found hers lying right where she’d tossed it earlier. 

That could only mean Richie had returned the one she’d given him.  Thank you, but no thanks. 

Anger and hurt welled up inside he like a hot fountain, and, not knowing which to acknowledge, she chose anger. Well, really she just chose the opposite of hurt, not willing to let herself go there.   Not yet anyway. 

Embracing the anger, she thought, Screw him!  His standards were evidently lower than she’d realized, but that was his problem, not hers.  She could have had any number of men sharing her bed tonight, remembering the admiring glances cast her way.  There was nothing wrong with her.

Pacing restlessly as she talked to herself, Allegra realized she was too agitated to sit still in this rapidly shrinking room, especially with nothing but the television for company.   She had to burn off some of this aggression before exploding.   What was there to do in the middle of the night in Seattle?  More specifically, in this hotel?  Even in her current state of mind, she knew that leaving the property by herself wouldn’t be a good idea.  Some of Jon’s ranting had sunken in over the last couple of days.

Wait.  There had been a sign in the elevator for the hotel pool – a heated pool with adjoining sauna, if she recalled correctly. 

Swimming would be an excellent way to expend this useless energy.   

But, of course, she didn’t have a swimsuit with her.  In a fit of pique and with a snort of derision, she made up her mind.

Well, screw that, too. 

Skinny dipping sounded like a lot of fun right now.  Maybe she’d find somebody to take her up on her offer. 

Allegra stripped off the red lacy panties and traded the satin robe for the plush hotel robe.  Snatching the key off the coffee table, she deliberately stepped over the one in the floor as she walked out the door. 

♫   ♫   ♫

“What?”  Jon responded to the man on the other end of the phone.  “Are you kidding me?  Well tell them to turn the damn things off, and give me ten minutes.  I’ll take care of it.”  He sat up in bed, the covers dropping to his waist, and he leaned over to put his hand on Dot’s arm.  “Baby?”

“What now?”  She was used to Jon getting calls at all hours and having to deal with one crisis or another.  It was yet another reason she preferred to stay at home while he was touring.

“We have a little bit of a security issue.  I need your help.”

She looked curiously over her shoulder, finding a bemused smirk on his face.  “What?  You need me to ‘karate chop somebody’s ass’?”

He laughed outright at her words.  “No, not this time.  That was Rew, who hotel security called because they immediately recognized Allegra on their live surveillance feed.”

“Oh, God.  She’s okay, right?”  Jon had told her about the incident with the video guy in the elevator.

“Yeah, she’s fine, but somebody’s going to have to go get her.  She’s down in the pool area – fucking skinny dipping.  Hotel security and my security didn’t want to be the ones to go in after her.  Apparently I have something of a reputation and they didn’t want to do anything that could be taken as inappropriate.”  His smirk had moved into a full-fledged grin. 

“Skinny dipping?  Allegra?”

“I told you she’s on this rebellious kick.  She warned me that it wasn’t over until the plane hit the ground at Teterboro.  But, I think she’d be less embarrassed if you were the one who went and asked her to go back to her room.  I sure as hell don’t want to go, and I’m not about to ask any of the guys.”  He gave her his puppydog eyes.  “Please, Baby?”

♫   ♫   ♫  

By the time she’d reached the pool, Allegra’s confidence had begun to waver.  The sign on the door showed that pool hours had ended more than five hours ago, and it was now only partially lit, lots of shadows and dark corners.  In a word, it was creepy.

Then there was that whole being naked in an open room thing, which made her see why this wasn’t something people usually did by themselves.  At least with a partner in crime, there was someone else to distract you from the totally stupid thing you were about to do – or to make you that much more excited about doing it.   By herself, the minute she’d unbelted her robe, she felt like the whole world was watching with a disapproving eye.

Determined to go through with it, she forced herself to drop the robe, step in and push to the bottom of the pool.   The sensation was pleasant, as the warm water glided easily across her body.  If she’d let loose enough to truly enjoy herself, it might even prove to be slightly decadent.

She swam half the length of the pool before breaking the surface again.  Gulping in a huge lungful of air, she still couldn’t believe she was naked in a public pool.  This was SO not something she’d considered, even in her most farfetched thoughts.   And it wasn’t too bad as long as she stayed under the water, but being exposed to the air made her feel – well, exposed. 

After a few more minutes, Allegra was satisfied that she’d DONE the whole skinny dipping experience as much as anyone could.  Now she was just getting wrinkly.  It was time to crawl back into the safe, warm cocoon of her bathrobe.  Dipping to the floor of the pool one last time, she emerged from the water to the sound of a throat being cleared. 

Her stomach clenched in fear.  The sound had come from behind her, and she glided back down into the water and crossed her arms over her chest, making sure she was covered before turning to search the shadows. 

“Dot,” she said with surprise.  “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been sent to escort you back to your room, before they arrest you for indecent exposure.” 

“Arrest me?!  Who sent you?”

“Hotel security asked Bon Jovi security, who asked Mike Rew, who asked Jon, who asked me.”  She laughed with a shake of her head.  “You just can’t remember that there are video cameras all over this place, can you?”

Allegra’s face flushed with embarrassment.  “Crap.   Apparently I had a little too much champagne and it affected my judgment.  I never even thought about cameras.   How mad is he?” 

“He’s oddly amused by the whole situation.”

“Oh.  Well, good.  I think.” 

Then the words sunk in.  Cameras.  Video footage.  Her naked body in said footage.  She swallowed the lump in her throat.  “Did he mention possibly getting the tape back?”

“He didn’t, but you know him.  He’ll make sure it’s taken care of.  Come get your robe on so that the security of the hotel can remain uncompromised.  Then we’ll talk about why you’re here skinny dipping in the middle of the night – by yourself.”

Allegra sighed and swam for the steps.  Water sluiced down her body as she emerged from the water, and she wrung out her hair before stepping onto the concrete pad surrounding the pool.  

Dot politely averted her eyes and held out the robe, waiting until Allegra was covered before moving to sit on one of the pool chairs.  She gestured to the empty chaise next to her, silently inviting the other woman to sit with her.

“So things didn’t work out the way you wanted with Richie?”

Her anger long ago spent, tears welled in Allegra’s eyes.  “You could say that.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry.”  Dot wrapped her arm around Allegra’s shoulders. 

“How am I… going to… look at him tomorrow?  I’ve completely… disgraced myself,” she hiccupped in the midst of her tears.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“You don’t understand how brazen I was with him.”  She swiped at her cheeks, trying to regain control of her emotions, and relayed her earlier words to Richie.

“And then I put on the satin robe that you helped me pick out, and waited for him.  And waited.  Then, when I got up to get a drink, I saw that he’d slid my room key in under the door.”  Another wave of tears broke free, the hurt and humiliation fresh again at the memory of that white keycard on the dark carpet.

Dorothea squeezed a little tighter and sighed, not knowing how to make things better.  “Well, we’re leaving really early Saturday morning.  If you can just get through the birthday dinner tomorrow, you won’t have to face him after that.”

Allegra’s eyes grew round with dismay and she shook her head, scrubbing the trails of moisture from her face.  “Oh my God, no!  I can’t go through with that, knowing he’ll be there.  Nuh-uh.  Did you not HEAR what I said to the man?”

Eyes sympathetic, Dot gently told her, “Sweetie, you’re going to have to.  Everyone is expecting it, and Jesse is thrilled to be sharing this with you.  They would all be incredibly disappointed if you weren’t there, and Richie’s just as much family as Matt or Tony.  There’s no way around it.”

With a deep, heartfelt groan, she dropped her head back and looked at the ceiling.  “I’m seriously reconsidering the whole nun thing, you know.”