The Sauna Part 179

Jon and Richie headed off to some of their favorite haunts in Asbury Park and Jon was glad for the opportunity to talk to his best friend more in private. He had also noticed how cool Elaine’s response to Richie had been and he was anxious to broach the subject.

“Are you and Elaine fighting again?” he asked as soon as they were alone in the limo.

“No, why? Do you mean all those questions about the wedding? Geez, Jon, I’m sorry about that. She just doesn’t understand really about the handfasting. She sees marriage much differently” Richie replied.

“No, I get the fact that she doesn’t accept Wicca. I was referring more to the luke warm goodbye kiss she gave you” he explained.

“Oh that, Lainie’s just more reserved than you two usually are” Richie laughed, trying to make light of her behavior.

“And how do you feel about that, bro?” Jon pushed.

“I wish she’d relax a bit, honestly. I had hoped that getting married would have put her more at ease, but actually she’s been more uptight ever since. I think she’s just so self-conscious now about her image because of the media attention. Ava still hasn’t really warmed up to her yet and that doesn’t help either” Richie said, trying to rationalize her aloofness.

“Jake hasn’t really come around yet either. That’s why Dot thought coming to the wedding would be a good idea-you know, sort of a concrete way to help him move on too” Jon reflected.

“You’re really blessed, man, you know? You’ve had two really wonderful women in your life. You’re a lucky bastard” Richie said wistfully.

“I know it, Rich, I know it” Jon agreed.

Jon sensed that Richie wasn’t completely happy, but he also realized that now wasn’t the time to pursue it. They were supposed to be out for a night on the town and it seemed like Richie wasn’t quite ready to admit to himself that Elaine might not be all she appeared to be, at least not yet. Jon poured a couple glasses of wine from the stock in the limo and Richie raised his glass for a toast.

“Cheers, bro” he chirped.

“Cheers” Jon replied.


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Elaine was clearly bored as I worked on the scrapbook and we’d exhausted most neutral topics of conversation by now. It seemed we had little to talk about anymore and I found that I actually preferred the silence.

“I think I’m going to turn in early tonight if you don’t mind? It was a long flight” she announced as she stretched and yawned.

She and Richie were staying with us tonight as the guys would be home late, so I took her upstairs to the guest room. Actually I was relieved she was tired as her company was more trying than pleasant, so I said goodnight and hurried back to my project. I worked on the book in earnest now as I was almost done-the rest would have to wait until I had the photos from the wedding tomorrow.

I packed up the supplies and hid them away and decided I would turn in early too. It was just after one o’clock and I didn’t expect the guys to be home until much later so I snuggled in bed with the cats. They seemed to rather enjoy having me all to themselves, especially Floyd, and soon we were all fast asleep.


*******************


Jon and Richie stumbled in around four o’clock and the house was still, but I’d left a light on so they could find their way.

“SSSSSSSSShhhhhhhhhhh! be quiet! You’ll wake the dead!” Jon whispered very loudly, the way only drunks can manage to do.

“Me? What the fuck, man? You slammed the door!” Richie protested.

“I did not, you staggered into me and I fell on it” Jon said as he poked Richie in the chest.

“Sure, blame it on me, you drunken asshole” Richie grinned through his alcohol-induced haze.

“Hey asshole, who are you calling an asshole?” Jon said and they both cackled at their own humor.

Jon fell down as he tried to remove his shoes and Richie broke into a fit of hysterics while Jon grimaced. He put out his hand to help him stand up and Jon succeeded in dragging Richie down too and they both found that to be hilarious. They decided to take off their shoes where they sat, considering it to be safer. Zeke had heard Richie and went to investigate and Richie scooped him up as he kissed his head.

“Hey buddy, wanna come to bed with Uncle Richie?” he teased.

“Take the furry little fucker, see if I care” Jon snorted.

“You’re just jealous because he likes me better. The cat has good taste” Richie countered and even Zeke was beginning to squirm as Richie released him and he bounded up the stairs to safety.

“See, even the freakin’ cat doesn’t wanna sleep with you. Can’t say that I blame him!” Jon guffawed loudly.

“Fuck you, man. He went to my bedroom” Richie sneered and they both got up.

“Night, bro, see ya tomorrow” Jon said as Richie made his way up the stairs.

“Night asshole” he said as he staggered his way to bed.

Jon stripped off his clothes and headed for the bedroom, making a pit stop in the little boys room first. I stirred at the commotion, but I hadn’t woken up as I was a sound sleeper. He sat down heavily on the bed and Eddie woke with a start, annoyed at being jostled around. Jon crawled in beside me and nudged the cat out of the way as he wrapped his arms around me. He gave me a sloppy kiss and I woke up abruptly.

“Smells like you had a good time” I observed as I wrinkled my nose.

“Yeah, we played with a house band and they all bought us drinks all night. How’d your night go with that bitch?” he inquired.

“Not nearly as much fun” I answered truthfully.

“Wanna have some fun now?” he leered at me.

“Go to sleep, love. We can see how you’re feeling in the morning” I suggested.

“Aaawwww, c’mon, babe, I’m ready. Lil’ Jonny wants to play” he insisted and I laughed.

“You’re in no condition, mister, but tomorrow’s another day” I said affectionately and I tousled his hair, pushing him off me and onto his side. “I’m going to get you some aspirin” I added as I rolled out of bed.

When I returned, Jon had already passed out and was snoring loudly. I set the aspirin down with the water by his side of the bed and covered him up. I was glad he’d managed to remove his clothes as I didn’t think I’d have been able to manage it and I giggled when I saw that he still had his socks on. I crept into bed beside him and promptly fell back to sleep.

Jon woke up a few hours later thanks to the call of nature and threw on his robe as he made his way to the bathroom, tripping over the clothes he’d left in a heap on his way. He grabbed a couple aspirin and headed into the kitchen for a glass of water and noticed the light was on. There at the table was Lainie, watching him intently.

“Here, Jon, let me help you” she offered, taking the empty glass from his hand.

“Thanks” he mumbled as he popped the pills in his mouth and blinked in the light.

Damn, his head hurt and he was certain that someone was using his brain as a drum set. He swallowed the pills and the water and opened the frig, looking for a snack. Lainie moved beside him and began to pull out some cold cuts and bread and proceeded to make him a sandwich. Jon noticed absently that she was rather scantily clad in some slip of lingerie. When she bent down to retrieve the mustard he noticed she was wearing a thong and he turned his head away.

“Can’t sleep?” Jon asked as he yawned and sat down.

“Richie is snoring too loud so I came down here for a drink and a snack” she replied as she proceeded to fix him a sandwich.

“So what did you girls do tonight?” he asked, trying to be pleasant since she was fixing him something to eat and he was hungry.

“Nothing exciting. Trish worked on some craft project and I went to bed early” she replied as she grabbed a plate for the sandwich.

Jon took the plate she offered to him and Elaine reached out and brushed the hair from his eyes. She was still standing beside him and her hand lingered on his cheek as she pressed her body against his face. Jon was chewing his sandwich and although he was still pretty ripped, he was dimly aware that something wasn’t quite right with this picture.

“You are such a handsome man, Jon” she said in a silky voice.

“And what about Richie, Elaine?” he confronted her.

Even in his intoxicated state, Jon was no fool and he realized fully now where she was trying to lead him and he wanted to see how far she would take the seduction. He sat poker stiff in the chair, neither flinching nor responding to the signals she was sending and he waited to see what her next move would be. He didn’t need to wait long as she lifted his chin to look at her.

“Richie’s sound asleep, Jon, and so is Trish, but I’m wide awake and so are you” she purred invitingly.

“What are you suggesting?” Jon asked, choking back the bile he felt rising in his throat.

He wanted to trap her, to hear her say it, so there would be no doubt about what she intended. You fucking bitch, Trish was right all along. He waited, unable to look at her without retching.

“Why waste this night? This opportunity? I want you Jon, I’ve always wanted you” she whispered as she leaned down to his ear, feeling bolder now.

“You fucking whore! Get away from me, you make me sick! Do you really think I’d betray two people I love more than life for the likes of you?” he spat at her, recoiling from her touch as though he’d been burned.

“But Jon, you and Richie, I thought you were like brothers! I thought you shared everything, including your women” she protested.

“Well you thought wrong! You disgust me!” he said with a vehemence that shook her to her core and his rejection enraged her.

“Don’t you pretend to be so high and mighty with me, Jon Bon Jovi. I know all about you and the games you and Richie and the others would play on the road! What makes anything so different now?” she hissed.

Jon was completely taken aback and he was livid. How dare she try to throw up the past in my face? That was a long, long time ago and I’ve paid for those sins many times over. How dare she try and make me feel guilty when she’s the one who wants this? He wanted to strike her and beat her senseless, but he felt sick to his stomach when he thought about Richie. This will kill him. I need time, time to think and to talk to Trish about how we should handle this.

“Get the fuck out of my sight before I kill you, you fucking whore!” he said disgustedly as he turned away, unable to stand the sight of her.

Elaine tore from the room and ran up the stairs, her heart pounding loudly against her chest. She was tempted to wake Richie and blame the whole thing on Jon or claim that he had misunderstood her and had overreacted because he was drunk. Her mind raced as she considered the possibilities. She went to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water as she tried to calm herself down and think.

Jon looked ashamed when she reminded him of the past frolics he and Richie had shared and she knew she had scored a hit with that remark. Perhaps he was too ashamed of his own behavior back then and would rather keep this a secret than have his ‘wife’ find out about the things he had done. She listened carefully and heard nothing but silence and the sound of Richie’s snoring coming from the guest room. Surely she’d have heard noises or shrieking if he’d decided to wake Trish up and tell her what happened.

But it was deathly quiet still. Maybe all would yet be well and she wouldn’t need to do anything. She could always explain later on that Jon had been drunk if he told Richie some wild story about her. And Richie knew that was true. Yes, she would wait and see what unfolded and she would be ready with her side of the story. Richie loved her and he’d stand by her. She smiled as she made her way to the guest room and crawled into bed beside Richie, nuzzling against him. And there was plenty she could do in the meantime to make sure he believed her.