Chapter 15

Richie made good on his promise the following week; Jasmine was pampered and looked after better than anyone ever had been in the history of the world, at least according to Richie, who had been bragging about how good he was to Jon when he had called on Monday to check up on Jasmine.

Jasmine thought she had died and gone to heaven. She had an attentive, caring and domesticated man looking after her every need, both physical and emotional. She had woken up on Tuesday morning when the alarm went off, then remembered that Jon had given them the week off so she rolled over and snuggled into Richie’s chest and went back to sleep until midday. When she woke again she found that she was alone and judging by the coolness of the space next to her, Richie had been up for a while. She showered and checked on the bruise on her back before getting dressed and going to find Richie.

She found him in the living room, guitar in hand and his eyes closed. She recognized the tune immediately as the one that he had been playing on Sunday, the one that he wasn’t ready to share yet. She stood leaning against the door frame for a few minutes, watching as Richie let his fingers play out what was on his mind. She could see that the events of the weekend were affecting him, the darkness around his eyes and the way he slumped in his chair were evidence enough, not to mention that he hadn’t shaved in 3 days and the stubble was fast growing into a beard. Not that she minded, scruffy Richie was hot, but she worried that he was not coping with what had happened and she felt guilty.

She walked slowly to where he was sitting and rested her hand on his shoulder. Richie looked up at her and smiled a smile that was reflected in his eyes.

“Hey, how long have you been down here?” Jasmine asked.

“About an hour I guess. You were sleeping, I didn’t want to wake you. How are you feeling?” Richie replied, laying his guitar down and reaching for her hand. 

“Actually, I’m feeling better, my back doesn’t hurt so much and I’m not aching as much as I was. The bruise on my back is going a yellow color now, it looks horrendous.” She said, turning and showing him.

Richie winced then brought his fingers up to touch it. He caressed the bruise gently and laid a kiss in the middle of her back. 

“It’ll go soon and you’ll never know it had been there,” he said, pulling her down to sit next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in for a hug. He had been hoping she would wake up soon as he was feeling the need to feel her against him. Instead he had taken comfort in the music and had worked through the melody and lyrics that wouldn’t leave him alone.

“So how is the song coming along? I heard you playing it again.”

“It’s alright I guess. I don’t know what will come of it but it won’t leave me alone right now.”

“I know how it feels, I don’t want to leave you alone either,” Jasmine said, grinning.

“That’s good to hear,” he said, kissing her completely.

Richie and Jasmine spent the rest of Tuesday chilling out and enjoying each other’s company. Richie couldn’t keep his hands off her and didn’t leave her side all day until it was time to eat. Jasmine had noticed how clingy Richie had become during the day so when he finally pried himself away from her to go and make dinner, she followed him into the kitchen and watched him work.

After dinner they were curled up together watching television when the phone rang. Richie reached over and picked it up. Jasmine watched his expression soften as he talked to the person on the other end and guessed that it was his mom. She was going to leave Richie to talk to his mother alone, but as she moved to get up he pulled her back in place and anchored her to him. She smiled and rested against his chest, feeling it rumble as he talked into the phone.

“I’ll ask her, but I’m not sure she’ll be ready,” she heard Richie say,

Richie covered the speaker with his hand, turned to Jasmine and said,

“Mom wants to know if we want to go over for lunch this week. I think she’s worried about you and wants to check that I’m looking after you properly.”

Jasmine nodded her agreement then resumed her place on Richie’s chest. When he had finished talking to Joan, and had reassured Adam that Jasmine was fine, Richie put the phone down and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. In fact everything is fine. Well, except for the fact I haven’t beaten your father to a pulp yet. Mom said to come over on Thursday if you’re up to it. You don’t have to though, so no pressure.”

“No that’s fine. I liked meeting Joan and Adam.”

“They like you too, darlin’. In fact I think they like you a lot. They were checking to make sure I was looking after you properly. Honestly, you’d think that I was totally inept at anything domestic, the way they carry on!”

Jasmine laughed at Richie’s pouting, “At least they care. It’ll be nice to see them.”

The rest of the week passed without any drama; Richie and Jasmine visited with Richie’s parents on Thursday but other than that they were on their own. They took a trip to the beach to get some fresh air but mainly they stayed at home, relaxing and enjoying being finally able to show their feelings for each other physically. Richie made sure that Jasmine got a lot of rest and, despite her protests, wouldn’t let her do anything around the house. She slept a lot but by the weekend she was feeling restless and ready to get back to work. She had called Obie when Richie had popped out to get some things from the store, and was up to speed on what needed doing when she got back to work.

“You know Richie will kill you if he finds out you called me?” Obie complained.

“I know, but I’ve got cabin fever, I need to work. I’m not good at staying still for so long.”

“Don’t come back until you’re ready though, we don’t want to rush you.”

“I’m fine Obie, honestly. I’m bruised but I have no lasting damage. Richie has been looking after me really well so I’m rested and I’m healing. I just want to get back to normal.”

“Ok, well you discuss it with Kidd and Rich. Take care Jas,”

“Thanks Obie, see you soon.”

On Sunday Richie and Jasmine went to lunch with Jon and Dorothea, mainly to discuss whether Jasmine was ready to come back to work but also so that Dorothea could make sure that Jasmine was okay. After eating, Jon and Richie headed out to the studio, while Jasmine and Dot settled themselves in the lounge.

“So, how has Richie been treating you?” Dot asked. Jon had asked her to try and find out about their relationship. He needn’t have worried, she was just as interested as he was.

Jasmine smiled but looked down at her feet so that her eyes wouldn’t deceive her.

“He’s been the perfect gentleman. I think he missed his calling in life. He may be a great guitarist but he makes a fantastic nurse too.”

Dorothea laughed at the mental image she had of Richie dressed in a nurse’s uniform, emptying bed pans.

“He’s a caring soul. He comes across as the class clown but he’s a softy deep down. You scared the shit out of him, actually out of all of us.”

“I know. He sometimes looks so scared, like I’m going to fizzle away or something. He’s hardly left me alone all week.”

“Don’t you find that weird?”

“Not really. We’ve spent a lot of time together since I started working for the band. He’s a good friend. I never thought I’d have a friend like him, but I’m glad that he’s around. I dread to think what would have happened if he hadn’t have found me when he did.”

“Let’s just be glad he did find you. He’s a good guy Jasmine, you won’t find a better friend than him, if that’s all you want.”

Dorothea fixed Jasmine with a quizzical stare that could rival Jon’s stink eye. Jasmine’s stomach jumped into her throat and the room began to spin. 

“What do you mean, if that’s all I want? Dot, we’re just friends. I’ll admit it might look like its more than that but we’re just close friends and that is all there is to it.”

Dorothea nodded in acceptance but Jasmine wasn’t sure that she had managed to convince her otherwise. She and Richie would have to be careful around other people. 

Jon and Richie had headed towards the studio but got sidetracked in the Shoe Inn. They sat at the bar, both nursing a bottle of beer. Richie was silent, staring into his beer,

“Anything you want to talk about?” Jon offered.

“Nah, just tired I guess.”

“You’ve been through a lot this week. Finding Jasmine and looking after her. You two have become close, it must have been hard on you as well.”

“It has been. I’ve never been as scared as when I found her. I thought she was dead. We’ve become close friends the last few months and I thought I’d lost her already. You know, I’ve never had a girl as a good friend before, except Dot, but she’s a different thing altogether because she’s family.”

“Is that all she is, a good friend?” Jon asked. He knew what Richie would say but he also knew that Richie would be lying. Everyone could see that Richie and Jasmine were more than that but until they were willing to admit it, everyone would have to accept their version of the truth.

“Yeah she is, and that’s all there is to it. Don’t get me wrong, we’re close but not romantically. I’m just enjoying having a woman as a friend, rather than all the drama of a relationship.”

Jon nodded to show he understood what Richie was saying, but he didn’t believe it for a second.

Later that evening Richie and Jasmine were lying in bed in the afterglow of slow and indulgent sex, Richie had Jasmine in his arms and she had tucked her head under his chin, resting it on his chest.

“Dot asked me about you and me today.” Jasmine blurted out. It had been bothering her ever since they had left Jon’s place.

“Really? Jon asked me the same. What did you say?”

“I denied anything was going on. I said that we were close friends but that is as far as it goes. You?”

“Same. Do you think we’re that obvious?”

Jasmine took a few seconds to think about it before replying.

“No, I think they’re just fishing. You know, a man and a woman who are as close as we are is not that common. Normally something else is going on.”

“Something else is going on Jas, in case you’d forgotten,” Richie grinned and kissed the top of her head,

“How could I forget? But they don’t know that. They’re just trying to get us to admit to something. As long as we carry on like we were before they will have no reason to think anything has changed. Unless you want to tell them?”

Richie turned to look at Jasmine, 

“You’re right, they don’t know anything for sure. We could tell them but I kinda like it just being you and me, and I’m not sure legally where we stand. How about I look into the contract but until then, lets keep us to ourselves. I think it’s cool that we have a secret from the rest of them.”

Jasmine laughed, Richie’s devious side showing itself,

“Very devious sir, but I like it. You think you’ll be able to cope at work all day without being able to kiss me? You can hardly go a few minutes right now.”

“We’ll see when we get back to work tomorrow won’t we?”

“We certainly will,” Jasmine chuckled, then pulled herself closer into Richie.