One Hundred Sixty-Three

Thank you all for your patience.  Happy New Year!

“Well, crap,” Allegra bit out, pushing to her feet in anger at herself.  “I’ve got to go explain.”

Jon grabbed her wrist before she took more than a step, shaking his head and frowning.  “I wouldn’t do that yet if I were you.”

Had he lost his mind?  Of course she was going to go apologize for the miscommunication and make things right. 

“Babydoll, he’s already pissed at Heather and what he thinks just happened.  It won’t take him all that long to figure out there’s more to it than what he’s seeing, but you need to give him that time.  He ain’t gonna be in a listening frame of mind for a little while.”

“I appreciate the advice.”  She extracted her arm from his grip.  “But I’m not going to let this linger and let him think something that’s just not true.”  The tile was quickly eaten up under her tennis shoes as she sought to follow Richie’s footsteps.

Jon shook his head again, afraid this wasn’t going to go well.  He hoped he was wrong, but his gut and thirty years of disagreements with his best friend told him he wasn’t.  He whipped out his phone to do a little meddling and keep Richie and Allegra separated until after the show.

♪

As a last resort, Allegra stuck her head in David and Tico’s dressing room.  “Have you guys seen Richie?”

“Nope,” David said, standing from where he was running through a song on his keyboard.  “I heard his big feet stomp by the door a little while ago, but I haven’t actually seen him since dinner.”

“Sorry, querida, but I’ve been here with Lemma the whole time.”  Tico was stretching out his back, locking his wrists together over his head and leaning to one side, and then repeating the process in the opposite direction.  “But we’re on our way to the stage now.  I’d guess he’s in the Underworld.”

“Thanks,” she sighed and moved along with a wave.  It had been the same story everywhere.  His dressing room was deserted, and each person backstage had either ‘just’ seen him or hadn’t seen him at all.  No one could seem to pin down his whereabouts, and now it was five minutes ‘til show time.  Tico was probably right about him being in the sacred area under the stage. 

For her own peace of mind, she moved that direction, just to make sure.  Stepping up to the perimeter of the area, she nearly collided with Takumi as he emerged from Richie’s quick change room. 

“Sorry, Takumi,” she apologized, already looking past him.  “Is he in there?” 

He glanced back over his shoulder, looking uncertain.  “Uh, yeah.”

She nodded.  “It’s okay.  I know not to bother him.”  Richie had his mind focused on the show, which is exactly how it should be.  Interrupting his focus, even for something she considered imperative, wouldn’t make him any happier.  “If he happens to be looking for me after the show, tell him I’ll be waiting in his dressing room?”

“Sure, Allegra.”

With that, she retraced her steps back through the hallways, stopping only to give Dave, Tico and Hugh high fives before they ducked under the stage. 

The walls were already thumping with the beat of Tico’s bass drum when she closed the door to Richie’s dressing room.  Wandering aimlessly through the small area, she picked up his discarded shirt, smiling as the scent drifted into her nostrils.  It was a sad state of affairs when his dirty laundry appealed to her, she thought as she tossed it in his bag. 

Anxious for something to kill the time, she dug her laptop out of its case and tried to concentrate on her homework.  Another week and this next round of classes would be finished. 

There had been moments lately that she questioned her sanity.  Running around all over the continent, maintaining the band’s social networking presence, pushing past the pregnancy fatigue, planning a wedding and going to school along with half a dozen other things every day was… daunting at times.  There had been more than one night when Richie had chastised her for being so tense, and then done his best to release that tension.

She smiled in remembrance.  Granted, her experience was restricted, but she couldn’t imagine there being a better lover.  He pushed her until she thought she would break, never dreaming that the breaking point would bring such pleasure.  Then he tenderly put her back together again.

Her brow puckered in a frown and Allegra chewed at her bottom lip. 

Considering his extensive… history in that particular area, Allegra knew without a doubt he’d been with ‘better’ partners than she.  With her total lack of proficiency, that was a given.  However, it didn’t diminish the desire to make their wedding night special – something that he would remember, despite all of the groupies and…  things she didn’t want to think about.

So while she should’ve been doing homework, she redirected her train of thought to something a little more captivating…

♪

Richie couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.  Two and a half hours later, things didn’t seem nearly so bad as they had with Heather harping in his ear.  He’d set his personal turmoil aside the instant he scaled the steps to the stage, and put his heart and soul into the performance.  That was nothing new, he did it every night, but some nights it felt as if the crowd paid back more than he gave.  As though they knew he needed them, tonight was one of those. 

The last show in US stadium leg of the tour, with a six-week break had the band pushing to give that extra ounce of sweat to their faithful.  The need to please never lessened, and tonight the raw energy of his bandmates dragged Richie into the zone.  He got a little extra shot of adrenaline when he saw the in the pit waving a vanity license plate that bore SAMBORA. 

The rush of having people go crazy over your band never got old, but it intensified when it was aimed specifically at him.  He wasn’t just a guitarist to some of these people.  They were here for him as much – if not more, in some cases – as they were for any of the band members.  It made him humble and arrogant all in one fell swoop. 

Jon felt it too, along with that desire to offer up a little something more.  The crowd in the circle was begging for everything they had and were blown away when Dry County was pulled out of the hat.  Richie played it from the soles of his feet and the fans weren’t shy in showing their appreciation.  At the end, the screams echoing across Soldier Field were tantamount to those flying from the highest roller coaster Disney ever dreamed about.

Damn, I love my job.

He ambled down the steps for the last time, unhooking the monitors and passing them into a waiting set of hands.  Congratulations and well-wishes surrounded them from the tech and backstage crew and he slapped hands with each of them, thanking them for their hard work. 

“Allegra’s waiting in your dressing room.”  Takumi spoke loudly in his ear to be heard over the crowd that was still shaking the stands with their screams and applause.

And welcome back to reality.

“Thanks, man.  You kicked ass as usual.  I appreciate you.”  He pulled his guitar tech into a one-armed hug before pushing on toward his dressing room.

It’s gonna be okay.  We’ll work it out.  We’ve come through too much to let this stop us.

“Rich!”  Jon’s bellow caused him to spin, a question in his eyes.

“Yeah, bro?”

His friend clapped him on the shoulder, studying his eyes briefly before dipping his chin in a nod.  “Good show, buddy.  You got your head on straight now?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.  Now you can go find her and clear this shit up.  Don’t screw up my vacation by making me worry about the two of you.”

Bumping fists, Richie knew now why Jon had his ass running all over the stadium on lame-ass ‘technical issues’ before the show.  He’d been keeping Richie away from Allegra.

“Dude.  Was all that really necessary?”

His friend quirked an all too familiar brow at him.  “Yeah.  It was.  Go listen to what your woman has to say, asshole.  You can thank me later.”

Richie gave a curt nod, for once thinking Jon’s high-handedness was probably for the best.  If she’d found him while he was still hot, they’d have fought and he would’ve said things that couldn’t be taken back.  Now he was ready to talk – and listen with a little more acceptance.

He stepped into his dressing room, armed with that positive attitude, only to stop dead in his tracks.  An affectionate smile stole across his handsome features.  It looked like their problem would wait a little longer to be resolved. 

Allegra was tucked into the sofa, fast asleep.  Her open laptop was on the table next to her.

Quietly gathering his street clothes, Richie slipped into the bathroom.  She needed to rest and he needed not to stink.  He would wake her when he got out of the shower.

♪

The soft sounds of running water awoke Allegra and she lay there blinking at the wall.  She couldn’t believe she’d dozed off.  She swung her feet to the floor, sitting upright and rubbing her eyes sleepily as the water stopped.

In a matter of minutes, Richie stepped into the room wearing a fresh t-shirt and jeans.  He smiled upon finding her packing up her computer and his other miscellaneous items. 

“Did you finally wake up, sleepyhead?”

She wasted no time dropping the few items she held into his bag and plastering herself against his front, arms wrapped around in a tight hug.

“Hey you.  You’re still speaking to me?”

Still damp lips touched hers tenderly after returning the hug.

“Yeah.  I told you I just needed to get my mad out.  I’m sure there’s an explanation and now I’m willing to listen to it without jumping down your throat.”

“There is,” she assured, pushing him down on the sofa so that she could crawl into his lap.  “My head was lost in fixing the problem and I didn’t know you’d asked a question until Jon told me.  I’m paying attention if you want to ask again.”

Richie lost himself in the scent of her hair, inhaling the berry smell he’d become so intimately familiar with.  There were times that smell alone made life more bearable.

“What am I supposed to do, Sunshine?” 

“Well,”  she began with a feathery kiss on the underside of his jaw.  “You don’t have to do a thing.  That was literally a wakeup call for me, and I’ve realized how selfish I was being.  Of course we’ll live in California.  Ava should have her Daddy nearby.”

Thank God.

Whatever tension had lingered after the show and his shower now dissolved.  He captured her chin, searching the depths of her eyes for proof that she meant it.  “Are you sure?”

“I am.  It will be an adjustment for me, but one I’m willing to make – with the stipulation that we have this discussion again in about five years.”

“Okay, but why five years?”

“Ava will be eighteen, ready to head off for college God knows where.  She may or may not stay in California, but that’s also when Bug will be old enough to start elementary school.  As of right now, I’d really like to her to do that back East.  Of course,” she added.  “Things could always change and it may become a moot point.  But as of now I’d like the reassurance that we’ll re-evaluate where we are as a family.  We’ll make sure whatever we do is best for all of us.”

This was the woman he loved.  She put everything in perspective and came up with the best possible solution.  This time, it meant shoving her personal wants to the bottom of the pile, but Richie would make sure she didn’t regret it.  He swore to himself make sure she came first whenever possible.

“What are you thinking?” she asked suspiciously.  “You’ve got a dirty smirk on your face.”

“No I don’t,” he denied, broadening the smirk into a full-blown smile before swallowing her mouth in a long, wet kiss.

 “Thank you,” he breathed across the dampness of her lips after he’d drunk his fill.  “You have no idea how much this means to me, baby.  I promise I’ll do everything in my power to see that you’re happy in California.”

She nodded, tracing her thumb along the tendon in his neck.  “Since you’re being so agreeable, how about you take me back to the hotel so we can have wild sex for hours?  Then we can make love for a few more hours.  I want to worship your body all night, because…” 

Allegra drew in a breath, unsure as to how he would react to this next part.  He was likely going to hate it, but she hoped he’d handle it with his usual good grace. 

Although… she’d never denied him something like this before.

“Because?” The muffled question came from behind her ear, where his mouth was busy, alternately nipping and licking the tender skin.

“Because, after tonight, I don’t want us to have sex again until we’re married.”