The Sauna Part 6

I gasped as we entered the suite, as it was huge and lit dimly with candles all around. In the center bubbled an enormous hot tub, with rose petals gliding along the surface.

“Oh my God” I cried as he set me down on the edge of the hot tub.

“I told you, it’s just Jon” he grinned.

“How did you do this? When? It’s…so…beautiful” I said as I looked all around.

There must have been a hundred candles and they were everywhere. He poured two glasses of wine and came over to where I was sitting, still awestruck. I felt like I’d just walked into a fairytale. He handed me a glass and sat beside me.

“You like?” he purred.

“You did this all for me?” I asked incredulously. “It’s fantastic. Jon, I could never have even dreamed this…but how?”

“Remember I made a few calls while you were getting ready before the show. I wasn’t just stuffing my face, you know. And I already had the room. When we tour, we keep an extra room in a fake name on another floor, just in case someone needs it. Given our predicament this afternoon, I thought it was better to try and make it to the second floor in a couple towels than to run up the stairs all the way to the Penthouse. I just called down to the desk and gave them my instructions for what I wanted when we returned. I wanted you to know how I felt.”

I sat there staring at him in disbelief. I started to cry again and then, impulsively, I hugged him. Just a big ‘ole hug. I couldn’t help myself.

“No one has ever done anything like this for me before. I feel…special” I blurted out.

I had tried my best not to be vulnerable. I tried to be witty and clever and worldly. And most of all I’d tried not to get this close. At times I’d felt like it wasn’t even me, like I didn’t recognize the words coming out of my mouth. But not now. This was too much. He’d broken through the last shred of reserve I had. This was me. And there was no taking it back. He reached out and touched my chin, lifting it to meet his eyes, and searching my face.

“Will you tell me your name now?” he asked softly.

He knew. He knew. Dammit, he knew. There was a reason I’d avoided answering the question before. It would have made it all so real and I would be lost. Lost forever. And he knew. He would not let me look away. I whispered my name so low he could barely hear me. He repeated it. And then he said it again.

“It’s beautiful. And you‘re beautiful. Thank you. I was beginning to think you wouldn‘t ever tell me.”

“I wasn’t going to, you know. I was afraid” I replied and he smiled; a tender, gentle smile.

“I won’t hurt you, not ever. You don’t need to be afraid of me. Did you really think that I was just going to go away when the show was over? Move on to the next town, the next girl?”

I began to feel ashamed now that I had held back from him. Here he was, being open and vulnerable with me. This was no line. He said what I was afraid to ask, afraid to let myself hope. I knew his marriage had ended almost a year ago, but still. He was a rock star. Not just a rock star. A rock God. My rock God. I had to explain.

“You’re a rock star and I am an ordinary person. You could have any woman you choose.”

He came closer to me and held my hands in his.

“And I’m choosing you. You know me as a man, not a rock star. And that’s all I want to be. Just a man. Can I be just your man?”

What could I say to that? He was laying his cards on the table. I wanted the man, rock star or not, just the man.

“I want you, rock star or not, I want you more than anything else in the world right now. But I want you to really know me. Although, I think you may already know me far better than I thought.”

He let out his breath and only then did I realize he’d been holding it, waiting for my answer.

“And I want to know everything about you. And there’s so much I want to share with you too. I want us to take the time to really learn about each other. I understand fear. I understand holding back until you’re sure. I’ve done that too, but I don’t want to anymore with you. I don’t think I can anymore” he responded.

His eyes held back tears and my own were now flowing freely down my cheeks. The emotion was overwhelming and I felt all the tension from the day ebbing away. And then, wouldn’t you know, my stomach growled loudly. I looked down at my stomach as if to say “How could you?” and I looked up and met his eyes which were twinkling again as he smiled.

“So now you’re hungry?” he said, grinning. I couldn’t deny it. I was.

“Famished actually. S’pose the kitchen‘s open?” I asked. He laughed as I saw the tension leave him as well.

“Me too. I’ll call down and see what we can get. And I need a shower. No way I’m making you sleep with me when I’m this sweaty. Why don’t you jump in the hot tub and relax. I’ll be right back.”

When Jon returned with the room service menu and the phone, I was already in the tub, savoring the heated water.

“Sushi?” he asked. I wrinkled my nose.

“Shrimp?” I countered.

He dialed the desk and asked if he could still get room service. After a brief exchange, he turned and said the kitchen’s closed, but being a rock star has its moments.

“They’ll bring us cheese and crackers, fruit, and shrimp cocktail.”

I wondered idly what that was going to cost at this hour, but being suddenly mischievous, I asked “and coffee? I’m not ready to go to sleep just yet…”

He grinned and clicked off the cell phone.

“They heard that, thanks. My reputation will be embellished and you’ll have coffee.” He said as I grinned back at him.

“Quick shower and I’ll join you” and he dashed off to the bathroom, leaving me to soak alone and relax.