The Sauna Part 72

Wednesday dawned early and I woke to the sound of the alarm blaring. Jon lay beside me, and I reached across him to shut off the obnoxious sound. He groaned and reached for me, wrapping his arms around me and burying his face in my neck.

“Is it morning already?” he asked, his voice muffled against my shoulder.

“I’m afraid it is, for me anyway. Baby, stay and sleep. You don’t need to get up with me” I said, not moving yet myself to get up either.

“Mmhhmm, that’s only tempting if you’re still here in bed” he said, lazily stroking my ass.

Eddie reached out a paw from behind my head, tapping Jon lightly on the head and we both laughed. If there was one thing that made me follow a routine, it was the cats. They had a schedule to keep too.

“Guess somebody’s hungry, huh?” Jon grinned, reaching out to pat Eddie’s head indulgently.

“Yep. Who needs a snooze alarm?” I chuckled.

“I’ll feed him and get the coffee started while you shower” Jon offered, stretching.

I reached over and rubbed the fur on his chest, unable to resist. Goddess, how I loved to wake up with this man. It was getting out of bed that was my downfall. My hand trailed down a little lower, rubbing his belly and he stuck out the tip of his tongue in mock simulation of how the cats responded to a belly rub. I started to giggle, but Eddie was not amused and smacked me in the head this time, less gently than he’d tapped Jon.

“Guess I’ll feed him first” Jon muttered and we roused ourselves finally.

The shower helped clear the cobwebs from my brain and Jon had coffee waiting on the sink when I finished. I took a sip and began to comb out my hair when I saw Jon approaching in the mirror.

“Here, let me” he said in my ear as he took the comb and began to run it through the long mass of curls falling down my back.

I watched in the mirror as he gently combed through the knot of tangles at my neck, carefully teasing it through to avoid pulling too hard. I saw my nipples stiffen in the mirror as he bent to kiss my shoulder and his hand slipped around to cup my breast.

“Richie mentioned these last night” he said softly as he pinched my nipple lightly.

“What?” I asked, rather shocked, and wondering how that came up in the conversation.

“We were talking about how lucky I am” he elaborated.

He rubbed his cock against the crack of my ass as I stared speechlessly at our reflection in the mirror. His hands slid to my hips and he stepped closer, grinding a little harder against me as he brought his chin to rest on my shoulder. The light stubble of his beard tickled my skin and sent a shiver through me. His fingers reached around to play in the damp curls below my waist and I completely forgot what we were talking about.

“You’re so beautiful, I just can’t leave you alone” he said, shaking his head as his chin scraped along my shoulder again before he stepped back. “I’ll go and let you get ready in peace.”

I dried my hair and finished getting ready and joined Jon on the patio where he had started reading again. I noticed he was dressed in his jogging shorts and a t-shirt, his baseball cap on the table and assumed he was planning to go for a run after I left.

“Is Richie still asleep?” I inquired.

“Oh, yeah, he won’t be up for a few hours yet, and I’ll just let him sleep.”

I asked how the conversation last night went and Jon told me the details. I was impressed with how he’d handled it and I was glad I’d butted out and left them alone to work it out. He was planning to call the band’s attorney this morning and then to talk to the D.A. and try to get the charges dropped. I kissed him goodbye and went to work, knowing that Jon had all the bases covered.

Jon went for his run and stopped at the grocery store to pick up a paper. He was anxious to know if last night’s excitement had made the papers and was relieved not to find any mention of it. If that had happened in a bigger city, no doubt it would’ve caught the attention of the paparazzi, but Gowanda rarely made the news.

He returned home and made himself some breakfast and settled down to read the paper before he called the lawyer. The Buffalo News certainly was a far cry from the New York Times, but the quaint small town was rather growing on him. It had its own charm. He dialed the lawyer and quickly explained the situation and gave him the number for the D.A., hoping they could work out some kind of deal.

Richie woke about ten o’clock and found he had some new and unexpected friends with him in bed. He reached down and stroked the furry body stretched out alongside his legs and Zeke, the wild cat from Hell, stretched and yawned, rolling on his back for a belly rub.

“Hey, Bud, who are you?” Richie inquired, responding to Zeke’s provocative gesture by rubbing his soft white belly.

The cat shamelessly put all four paws in the air, begging for more. Meanwhile, Beowulf had woken and was now demanding her turn. She sidled up alongside Richie’s face and rubbed herself against it, purring madly. He nuzzled her back and ran his long fingers through her silky black fur, noticing how soft she was. He smiled. Richie loved animals and he had a way with them as they sensed his gentleness.

Now awake, he rolled out of bed, leaving the contented cats in his wake. He headed for the bathroom and heard sounds in the kitchen, assuming Jon was up. After he finished in the bathroom, he wandered into the kitchen, seeing the coffee pot was still brewing. Jon looked up from the paper.

“Second pots almost done; grab a cup in the cupboard on the right. How’d you sleep?”

“Like a baby, man. I had a couple visitors too” he said, nodding towards Zeke who had followed him from the bedroom.

Jon looked over as Zeke made a wide berth around him and sauntered over to Richie, rubbing his leg.

“You’re kidding? Not that little monster?” he asked incredulously, jerking his head in Zeke’s direction.

“Yeah, him. Why do you say he’s a monster?” he wondered as he poured his coffee and sat down at the table across from Jon.

“He’s a wild thing. Nearly tore the place apart when we got home and he won’t come near me” Jon said suspiciously, eyeing Zeke.

As if to prove him wrong, Zeke jumped onto Richie’s lap, rubbing and purring madly. Richie scratched his chin and Zeke looked directly at Jon, before he closed his eyes and curled up for a nap in Richie’s lap.

“Son of a bitch! How’d you tame that little shit?” Jon questioned, sounding just a bit put out.

“I was nice to him, Jon, that’s all. I didn’t call him a little shit. You can’t bullshit a cat. They know when you don’t like them” Richie replied, smiling as he continued petting his new friend, delighted that it actually got under Jon’s skin.

“Fuck you, Richie. The girl cat, Beowulf, now she likes me” he said competitively.

Again, almost on cue, Beowulf strode into the room and walked past Jon, pausing to rub Richie’s leg on her way to the food bowl.

“I fuckin’ hate cats. Hey, remember who fed you this morning?” he demanded.

Richie chuckled. He was thoroughly enjoying this now. Any chance to agitate Jon was an opportunity not to be ignored. He rubbed Zeke on the head for added effect and he purred loudly in response.

“What’s the matter, man? Not as easy to please as your fans?” Richie baited him.

“Who cares? So they don’t like me, I don’t particularly like them either” Jon said petulantly.

The truth was he did care, more because he knew how much they meant to me than for himself. But he wasn’t about to concede that to Richie. And Jon hated to lose, even if it was only the affection of a cat that was at stake. He got up to pet Floyd who was lying stretched out on the counter. And that was his undoing. He’d forgotten the warning not to touch Floyd’s butt and he got a nasty reminder in the form of a long bloody scratch down his forearm. Richie howled with laughter and Jon cursed.

“Awww, hell, you win. Let’s go outside on the patio and get away from the furry bastards” he said, conceding defeat.

They went outside in the sunshine and Jon’s mood brightened. He was anxious to tell Richie about some ideas he’d had for songs and Richie listened attentively as Jon described what he’d been thinking. Richie went in to grab his guitar and then they worked through a couple melodies. Richie added a couple lines and they tweaked the songs until they both felt satisfied that they had something worthwhile.

The lawyer called and had some good news. He’d talked to the D.A. and had gotten the charges reduced. No trial. Richie had to appear on Friday, plead guilty to the lesser charge and pay a stiff fine. But that would keep it out of the papers and off the news. That was the most important thing.

The day passed uneventfully and they hung around the house, mostly outside in the sun and talked. Richie spoke more about Heather than about Denise. He admitted he threw himself headlong into a relationship with her as a way to forget about Heather, but Denise had been only a distraction. He missed coming home to her and Ava and their family. And now, with the tour being over, he felt the loss even more. He felt like he had nowhere to go and hanging out with Jon and me wasn’t a viable option for the long haul.
He was seriously thinking about going on the road if the handful of new songs he’d written for a solo album could get recorded fast enough.

Jon felt bad for Richie. He knew he’d been devoted to Heather and the whole thing had never made any sense. One racy email that Richie never solicited had ended the whole marriage. He’d said as much to Heather, but she didn’t believe him. And he thought it was really more her ego that got in the way. She needed to be the star in that relationship and she couldn’t take a back seat to Richie, no matter what. Jon understood it, but he didn’t like it and he hoped he’d never become so shallow as to let the success of someone he loved make him that jealous.

It was late afternoon and getting closer to the time I’d be home from work. Jon went in to take a shower and Richie called Ava. It was good to hear her voice. He missed her terribly. If Heather gave any sign that she’d consider reconciliation, Richie would have been on the first plane home. But that sign never came. Richie said goodbye to Ava and was left to contemplate a less than desirable future, alone.