Eighty-Seven

All of Allegra’s cravings were satisfied for the moment, and the next three days were theirs to plan.

They sat contentedly, sipping coffee in the kitchen, Richie clad in nothing but a pair of cargo shorts while she wore a tank and yoga pants.  The feeling of domesticity prompted a swell of warmth inside her.  It was something she could easily become accustomed to.

“So what do you want to do while we’re in LA, Sunshine?”

She shrugged carelessly, pushing away the silly fantasy.  “It doesn’t matter too much to me.  What do you like to do for fun when you’re home?”

“Hang out by the pool or go to the beach.  I don’t get a chance to relax all that often, but the combination of sun and water always does the trick.”

“Personally, the pool sounds better than the beach.  My body hasn’t exactly been on public display in a very long time.  I don’t want to worry about what kind of appearance I’m making next to a rock star.”

“Baby, one look at you, and they won’t even know I’m there.”  He kissed her lovingly. 

“You’re so full of it,” she pronounced, but was secretly pleased that he’d made the effort to fluff up her ego.

“You were full of me a little while ago,” he murmured wickedly, his face split wide in a naughty grin.

“Why yes I was.  And will be again, I hope.”  She trailed a finger affectionately down his cheek, tracing the deepest of his dimples with her fingernail before moving to the brightly colored ink adorning his shoulder.  “Did you get any of your tattoos done here in LA?”

“Strangely enough, no.  I got one in Jersey – two, counting the star on my hand – one in New York, and then my touchup work was done in Vegas.  Why?  Are you thinking about another one?”

“Would that bother you?”

“Baby, anything you’re comfortable putting on your body is great by me.  I won’t say that I’d be excited about full-sleeves or a huge tramp stamp, but I can’t imagine that you’d want them.”

“Conservatism at its finest,” she humbly admitted. 

“So what’s it gonna be?  A cross on your shoulder blade?  A butterfly on your ankle?  My signature across your ass?”

She choked on her astonished laughter, gaping at him until she could sputter, “Jon’s not the only egomaniac in Bon Jovi.”

“Hey, the world needs to know what’s mine,” he quipped, a mock-serious expression on his face.

There are more traditional means to do that.

Of course, she kept that thought firmly to herself.  Verbalizing it would only seem like guiding him down a path that they (she) weren’t ready to take.  The ridiculous comment didn’t deserve the attention anyway.  “I just want to get the one I have tweaked a little bit.”

“Yeah?  How so?”

What sounded like a wonderfully romantic notion a moment ago, now seemed trite and corny. 

“You know it was originally intended to remind me of the things I have instead of the things I don’t.  The dove is peace, ‘Hope’ is written on the tail.”

“Right...”

“It’s time to add ‘Love’.”  Anxious to minimize his chance to speak, she hastily plundered on.  “Because if we go our separate ways tomorrow, it’s still something I want to commemorate.  The first time I fell in love, and all that.”  Embarrassment had her sliding from her stool, mug in hand, for a refill.

Coffee was steaming from the cup, the carafe sliding back into its spot when he sidled up, slipping his hand under her tank.  The big, broad palm easily caressed the arch of her back.  “Whaddaya say we go to Seattle tomorrow?  We’ll get lunch at that little restaurant and have – what was his name?  Jack?  We’ll have him make whatever touch-up you want, Sunshine.”  His breath warmed her skin with the kiss he placed against her bare shoulder.

She peeked at him from the corner of her eye, delighted at the suggestion, but concerned that was needlessly extravagant.  “We don’t have to go all the way to Seattle.”

“If this is what you want, we’re doing it right.  The script should match on both words.”  His hand slithered from her back, delving into his shorts pocket for his phone.  “I’ll make a couple of calls and get us a flight.”

“Just so long as you know it doesn’t HAVE to be Seattle.  I’d be quite content with someplace local.”  She sighed and shook her head in wonder.  “You’re gonna spoil me.”

“Yeah, right.  Like you’d ever let that happen,” he scoffed.  “I’m going to the office to make my calls.  Be right back.”  He swooped in for a quick kiss before ducking out the doorway. 

Allegra rinsed her mug out in the sink, and turned to restlessly survey her immaculate surroundings.  With nothing else needing attention here, she decided to grab her own phone and give Dot a call.  Padding up the stairs, she traced her steps back to Richie’s bedroom, where she’d left her phone on the nightstand.

Crawling back into the big bed and propping herself against the headboard, she brought the phone to life with a flick of her thumb.  The brightly lit screen showed that her only missed call was one from David.  Momentarily putting Dot from her mind, she dialed his number instead.

“Hey Legs!”  The enthusiasm he radiated could lift anyone out of a funk.  As happy as she was right now, it sent her to the clouds.  While Allegra knew that Richie’s other friends were just as fond of her – and she of them – David made her feel special.

“Hey yourself.  Sorry I missed your call, but I was in the other room.  What’s up?”

“Oh nothing much, I hadn’t talked to you in a couple of days and wanted to check in.  How was your head shrinking session this morning?”

Slightly bewildered, she tried to recall when she’d told him about her appointment today.  There had been a lot of activity backstage on Monday night.  Maybe she’d been a little distracted while she was talking to him.

“It was…  fine.”  Allegra couldn’t accept that she’d completely forgotten, so she flat-out asked, “How did you know when my appointment was?”

“Why, you told me in the afterglow of our beautiful bout of lovemaking the other night.  I guess I really AM that good if you don’t remember.” 

“Oh, shut up you goofball.”  His ludicrous answer got him the laugh he was likely seeking.  “How did you REALLY know?”

“Elementary, my dear Legs,” he drawled in his best Sherlock Holmes imitation.  “Your first one was last Wednesday.  Given that these things are scheduled in weekly increments, and Richie said you were doing a phoner from Cali, today was logical.  Factor in his fear of morning sunlight and your weird desire to spend time with his sorry ass and there you have it.  Voila!  All the elements forming a rational hypothesis stating that your appointment was this morning.” 

The groan was ripped from the souls of her feet.  “You’re not normal, David.  I’m pretty sure your brain functions on a different level than us mere mortals.  Every time I think I can hold my own with you, you make my head spin.”

“Perfect!  I’ve been trying to turn your head for weeks now.”

“Enough!  Oh my God, enough!” she chortled.  “You’re totally insane.  Now stop being a clown and tell me what you, Lexi and the kids are doing with the week off.”

They spent the next several minutes catching up on their daily activities, until David concluded the call with a woebegone, “I gotta go, Legs.  I’m gettin’ the evil eye from Lexi.”

Allegra looked up from her reclined position on the bed with a smile.  “That’s okay, Richie just walked in anyway.  Tell Lexi I said hi, and I’ll talk to you soon.”  A quick tap ended the call and she placed the phone back on the nightstand.  “Hey, handsome.  Get all your calls made?”

  

♪♥♪

David disconnected from Allegra with a smile.  It was good to hear her sounding like herself again.  Lifting his head at the sound of footsteps approaching, he immediately knew he was in the doghouse.  The look on his fiancée’s face left no question.  Blowing out a huge sigh, he crossed his arms and asked, “What did I do now?”

She came up short at his belligerent tone, dumbfounded.  “You really have no idea.”  Lexi shook her head sadly, long blond locks swaying with the motion.  “David, do you know how many times a day I hear ‘Legs this, and Legs that’.  ‘How is she doing?’, ‘I’m worried about her’.”

“Dammit, she’s been through a lot lately.  I’d be a cold, unfeeling bastard if I weren’t worried about her.”

“You’re obsessed with her,” she corrected.  “And when the two of you talk, you flirt outrageously.”

Lexi had a tendency to exaggerate.  He usually found that particular trait cute – or at least amusing – but now it was just getting under his skin. 

“She knows I’m a shameless tease and doesn’t think a thing about it.  You’re making a big deal out of something stupid.”

David felt like a bug under a microscope the way her troubled blue eyes inspected him.

“Am I?”

♪♥♪

“What did Lemma want?”  Richie dropped onto the mattress, causing it to lurch as he scooted close.  He automatically nested their hands together after settling next to her.

“He was asking about my counseling appointment and just generally being David.”

Richie shook his head and huffed a little, before admitting ruefully,  “Sometimes a break from the guys is a good thing.  I don’t always miss David being David.  He enjoys being a pain in my ass a little too much.”

“Aww!  You guys are supposed to be like brothers,” she accused with a disappointed frown.

His brows drew together as he considered the most effective way to explain the relationship between he and his band brothers.  “You grew up with Matt and Tony, right?  How many times did you see them beat the crap out of each other for no reason?    David wears on my nerves once in a while, but I still love the stupid shit.  And I’m sure he would say the same about me.”

“I’ll be sure and ask next time he calls.  Can I quote you on ‘stupid shit’?”  She tipped her head back with an impish grin.

He growled playfully and bumped his hip against hers.  “Brat!  I’m through talking about David.  How WAS your appointment this morning?  You never said.”

“We’ve been busy,” she reminded him with a smile, walking the fingers of her free hand lazily up his chest.  “Let’s talk about it later.  I’d rather hear what you’ve been up to.”

“Promise that we’ll come back to it?”

“I promise.” 

Satisfied, he touched his lips to hers before filling her in on the plans he’d made.  “Flights are booked and your ink has been scheduled.  I even stumbled onto a couple of things for us to do Friday, if you’re interested.”

“I meant it when I said we can do anything you like, but I AM interested to hear what you found.”

“Well, the first thing this holistic spa I’ve been meaning to check out.  They offer ‘energy therapies’, among other things.  One of ‘em is called a Somatic Trauma Resolution.  It’s supposed to be a way to discharge trauma from your body.  I thought you might wanna try it.  They also have acupuncture and some other stuff.”

“Are you talking about some weird aura cleansing thing?”  The things people would come up with nowadays to make a buck.  She hoped Richie didn’t really believe in all that crazy nonsense.

“They do have the more… unusual stuff, like past life regression, and it’s a little strange even for me.  But the other stuff?  It’s just a natural way to restore your body and promote relaxation.  Come on, how horrible could it be?  So you relax in a little herb bath or something equally mundane.  They’re not going to try and get you to become a Hare Krishna.  ”

A little relaxation never hurt anybody, she supposed.  As long as they didn’t have her performing rituals involving eye of newt and swinging a dead cat over your head under the full moon, it would be okay.  She would do it for his sake.  At worst, it would be something to make fun of for the rest of her life.

“Okay, I’m in.”

“Great.”  He beamed with pleasure.  “Now.  How do you feel about basketball?”

“You’re not asking me to PLAY basketball are you?”

He chuckled, amused by the idea.  Hell, with that determination, he’d be scared to go up against her.  “I hadn’t planned to.  I was offered courtside tickets for the Lakers’ game on Friday night.  Wanna go?”

The time they’d shared together had all been centered around the tour.  She’d never stopped to consider what his non-musical interests would be, but evidently basketball was one of them.  There had never been much occasion for her to watch sports, but it could be fun.

“Sure, I’m game – especially if it’s something you enjoy.”

“Oh yeah, I love basketball almost as much as I love football.”  A shadow passed across his features, and he frowned.  “I don’t know.  Maybe I didn’t think this through.  It may not be such a good idea, Sunshine.”

“Make up your mind,” she teased.  “Do you wanna go or not?”

“I do, but…”

“Heather’s not the cheerleading coach, is she?”

He snorted at the thought.  “That would imply that she’s too old to BE a cheerleader.  No, it has nothing to do with her.”

“Then what?”

“Well, I think I’ve had as many pictures taken of me courtside as I have at awards ceremonies.  The press is pretty thick at the games.”

“Are you planning on having a bad hair day?” Honestly, as many pictures as she’d found of him online, there was no way he could be camera shy.

“No, smartass, but you’re gonna be sitting right there next to me.”

Confusion pulled her face into a frown.  “What difference does that make?”

“The press is gonna want to know about you, Sunshine.  Are you ready to face that?”

“Know what about me?”

“To start with, who you are.  Eventually, they may start digging a little deeper.”

She chewed on her lip thoughtfully.  Allegra had nothing to be ashamed of.  Even if the press did dig a little deeper they wouldn’t find anything she was embarrassed by.  Sharing the news of her adoption with her family would have to move further up her priority list, but that wasn’t  monumental news to anyone but them.

Allegra wiggled around so that she could look into his face when she asked, “Richie this is real, isn’t it?  Us?  We’re going to be together for a while?”

“If I have anything to say about it, a long while,” he told her sincerely, smoothing the hair from her face in a tender gesture. 

Happiness blossomed a little fuller inside of her, and her mouth kicked up in a half-smile.  “Then we may as well get it over with, don’t you think?”