The Sauna Part 274

Tonight’s show was at the Crown Towers and I was glad we didn’t have far to go. We weren’t moving very quickly as it took time to recover and we were both ravenously hungry even though our dinners had long since grown cold. Jim knocked on the door first and he was a bit startled to see us still in our robes, munching on salad and obviously cold chicken.

“You guys aren’t ready yet? It’s almost seven-thirty” he reminded us anxiously, checking his watch.

“It’ll only take me a minute and the show’s right here” Jon said reassuringly, licking his fingers as he took another bite of the chicken.

“Okay, maybe you won’t need very much time, but…” he continued worriedly, glancing in my direction.

“Hey, I’m already bathed” I answered sarcastically, removing the towel from my hair and heading into the bathroom.

He was right, it was rather late and I wasn’t in the mood to move quickly. I dabbed on my make-up and began drying my hair just as I heard Richie’s voice join Jon and Jim. I switched on the dryer and bent my head downwards, drying it as quickly as I knew how, when I suddenly felt Jon’s hands on my butt.

“If we weren’t already so late…” he teased, lifting my robe and slapping my ass with his stiffening penis and I laughed.

“Baby, you’re gonna give Jim a heart attack! Did you see his expression when he saw we weren’t ready?” I grinned.

“Yeah, he looked pretty nervous” Jon agreed, removing my robe and licking his lips.

“Did the two of them go on ahead of us?” I asked with a gleam in my eye.

“Hell, no. They’re both out there waiting. Apparently I can’t be trusted when we’re both nearly nekkid” he chuckled mischieviously.

“I’d say they’re both fairly perceptive” I giggled, stroking his cock as it grew exponentially.

“Hey! Shake a leg, you two, or I’m coming in!” Richie’s voice boomed threw the door.

“No need for threats, man, you’re just jealous, that’s all” Jon called back.

“Shit” Richie muttered to Jim as he dialed Tico’s cell and told him we were all running late.

Despite the inviting possibilities Jon’s renewed vigor was offering, I slipped on my jeans and a gray tank top and brushed out my hair. Jon sighed with displeasure, but he followed suit and donned his ass-hugging black pants and the black leather vest that I dangled in front of him. I leered at him as he struggled to get the pants over his bulging member and he flicked my nipple with his tongue, leaving a wet spot.

“Stop that or I’ll have to change into a new shirt!” I protested, pushing his mouth away albeit a little half-heartedly.

“No time for that now” he cackled lecherously and I pursed my lips in mock indignation.

When we emerged from the bathroom we heard a sigh of relief from both Jim and Richie until Richie’s eyes came to rest on my noticeably protruding nipple. He rolled his eyes and reached out to cuff Jon, but he saw it coming and ducked, grinning wickedly.

“Fuck, it’ll dry” Richie said resignedly. “C’mon children, Dad’s getting annoyed” he added under his breath, jerking his head in Jim’s direction.

Jim was now pacing and beginning to seem genuinely distressed and he pointed to his watch as he hurried us on out the door. I grabbed a light weight bolero and closed the door to our room.

“Five minutes! There’s no opening act tonight, we should already be there” he chastised us as we walked down the hall to the elevator.

We arrived five minutes late, but no damage was done. Tonight’s show was a smaller one and the proceeds were going to benefit a woman’s shelter in Melbourne. A few people in the crowd appeared slightly disgruntled as they’d hoped that their thousand dollar ticket had bought them the right to socialize with the band. That wasn’t the plan, however, as Jon wasn’t feeling especially indulgent and he’d purposely stalled some just to avoid the paparazzi, though he did make a brief statement before heading directly to the stage.

Jon had actually planned things this way, leaving the press little choice except to listen to me wax on rather passionately about the needs of victims for shelter, support and legal assistance. I had no idea that was the plan, but I got a clue as he winked at me before racing off to join the rest of the guys. He’d given me a segue into the discussion and I was grateful for the chance to reach a broad audience and I took full advantage of it. I saw Jim shaking his head as it dawned on him too that we were never really in danger of disappointing the audience.

The guys performed flawlessly, playing a mix of acoustic and electric versions of all the fan favorites and the audience ate it up like a connoisseur savoring a fine wine. The more intimate atmosphere of the Crown Towers was well-suited to this type of show and the guys seemed to enjoy the change of pace from the regular venues. Jon spent more time than usual talking to the crowd and that made up for the lack of social interaction some had been hoping for.

“Nothing he does is ever random, is it Trish?” Jim observed, nudging me slightly.

“Nothing public anyway” I admitted.

I was proud of Jon and the smooth way he handled the business end of his life. He was neither brash or impulsive nor was he foolish or arrogant. He took what he did very seriously and it was rare to see him have an off-day. He was thoughtful and skillful in the way that he wielded his power and he was nothing if not charismatic and purposeful. I watched the show from the sidelines, smiling knowingly as he made the well-scripted banter appear to be spontaneous. I admired his discipline and his public persona and I hoped that I could measure up to what he expected and needed in a business associate as well as a wife. I needed to earn his respect far more than he needed to earn mine.

I thought back over the mistakes I had made with the website and how I had gone against instinct and trusted his brother. I had allowed myself to become caught up in the wealth of experiences that touring had brought me and I had let my guard down and it had led to a ruinous fall from grace for Jon. I was ashamed of myself and proud of him at the same moment. Jon would never had made the mistakes I had made and I resolved then and there that I would do everything in my power to make him proud of me too.

“Trish?” Jim said rather softly, eyeing me as I watched Jon.

“Trish? Is everything okay?” he asked, interrupting my reverie but capturing my attention.

“Why do you ask?” I wondered, my eyes narrowing slightly.

“You just had this look in your eyes. Almost sad, but not exactly…something, ah… unsettled” he remarked. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.

“I let him down. I screwed up. I let things slide as I was having so much fun on the tour…if I’d been paying closer attention, Matt never would have gotten away with what he did. Jon trusted me and I let him down. Because I was irresponsible, I nearly cost him his reputation. How can I ever make up for that?” I spat miserably, feeling the full weight of my burden.

Jim stood there and stared at me. He was simply aghast. He’d thought me many things in the past, even a ruthless bitch in some of my worse moments. But irresponsible? That was something he couldn’t even imagine applying to me.

“Trish, are you kidding?” he asked, knowing I was dead serious by the tears glistening in my eyes as I choked back my regret. “You’ve never even approached irresponsible, honey. May I remind you that Jon’s been doing this act for nearly twenty-five years? How long have you been running in his circles?” he demanded, wiping a tear from my eye.

“That’s no excuse. I’ve been in management for years and I should have known better. I just don’t seem to be able to focus on work like I used to, you know? It just isn’t the priority it once was anymore. It’s like…” I tried to explain.

“It’s like you’re in love, sweetheart. Finally there’s something else that matters more than work and that is a new experience for you. Believe me, I know” he said a bit dismally.

I looked at him intently and I saw the pain in his eyes. My lack of commitment to him when we had been lovers had hurt him deeply and the wounds may have healed, but the scars still remained. I felt real regret now, both for him as well as for Jon. Perhaps I just wasn’t capable of maintaining any balance myself in a rlationship.

“Jim, I’m so sorry. Neither you or Jon deserve the suffering I seem to inflict on those that I care about” I said earnestly as I slipped into remorse.

“Stop it! Just stop it! When are you ever gonna realize that you don’t need to be perfect to be worthy of love?” he shot back and it was my turn to be stunned.

“I don’t need to be perfect! I just need to stop messing things up!” I hurled back to which he responded with a twisted grin.

“And just how do you define perfect?” he asked wryly.

I swallowed hard as I considered my words and his. The show was wrapping up and the applause from the appreiative audience was deafening. Jim and I stared at each other before turning our eyes towards the stage. Jon was watching me from the center of the stage and I smiled brightly back at him. There’d be time later to sift through my feelings. Right now he needed his wife to pull it together and that I could do.