Chapter 5

A few days later Jon, Tico, David and Hugh were drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in the studio, waiting for Richie and Jasmine to arrive. It was past 10am and Jon was getting more wound up the more the minutes ticked by.

“I know he isn’t a morning person but where the fuck is the fuckhead?” he mumbled in the general direction of the other men, who were not paying much attention to him.

David snorted, “Who peed in your coffee this morning? It’s only just 10. Give him a few more minutes. You know what he’s like. He’ll be late to his own funeral.”

Jon didn’t reply; he walked over to where his guitar was sitting by the window and picked it up. Sitting on the piano stool he began to strum out some of the new melodies that he and Richie had been playing with for the last few days. The recording was going really well and they had laid down the first few tracks and had a bunch of others that were waiting to be worked on. The room was silent for a few minutes, all except the sound of Jon’s gentle strumming;

Richie and Jasmine were running late thanks to a delicious breakfast at a new place just around the corner from the studio. They had decided to try somewhere else and had been rewarded with a hugely satisfying platter of thick, creamy pancakes and the sweetest, stickiest maple syrup Jasmine had ever tasted. Richie had the look of the devil in him that morning and had ordered ice cream to go with the pancakes, and two steaming mugs of the best coffee on offer. They had eaten slowly, savoring every mouthful and taking full advantage of the time alone together. Just as Jasmine finished the last mouthful of her indulgent breakfast she happened to look beyond Richie and to the clock behind the counter.

“Fuck!” she exclaimed.

Richie turned around to look at what had caused such an outburst from the usually quiet Jasmine. He couldn’t see anything wrong and there wasn’t anyone looking in their direction.

“What?” he asked.

“Its already past 10am, we’re late. What will Jon say?”

“Don’t worry about him. He’ll be shitty but he should be used to my time keeping, or lack of it, by now.”

“Yeah but I’m not you Richie. He’s got every right to get angry at me. What if he fires me?” Jasmine was starting to panic at the possibility of facing Jon’s infamous wrath. 

Richie scrunched his nose up at her and chuckled at Jasmine’s rising panic, which was made obvious by the increasing pitch of her voice.

“Even Jon doesn’t fire people for being late, at least not on the first instance. Blame me and he’ll be fine I promise. We had better get moving though now that we’ve realized the time.”

Jon rose and placed his guitar back in its cradle and looked at the clock. It was now 10.30 am and his temper was beginning to build. There was a lot to be done and he wanted to get back to work. He took a deep breath and looked out of the window at the exact moment Richie and Jasmine pulled up in Richie’s car. He watched Richie jump out of the car and run around to the other side to help Jasmine out, then watched with some amusement as they walked towards the building, Richie’s hand on Jasmine’s back and the two of them deep in conversation. 

Jon was sure that something was going on between them, whether they realized it or not and was happy for Richie. He wasn’t the type for being on his own and it had been a long time, in Richie’s world, since he had some female company. 

“Hey guys, you notice anything different about Rich lately?” he said, turning to look at the others.

“Nah, still the same fuckhead as usual.” Tico said, not looking up from the newspaper.

“Something’s different. Can’t say why though.” David said.

Obie was sitting by the recording desk and had the speaker on two-way. Thinking back to what he had witnessed a few days before he smirked,

“I know, I know!” he said, just like an excited child, 

“I know the answer to that. He’s in love. Lust. Whatever.” 

“What are you on about Ob?” David asked

“He wants Jasmine. Haven’t you seen the way he looks at her? Don’t you think it’s strange that Mamma Joan cooks dinner the exact same nights that Jasmine doesn’t come out for dinner with us?”

Jon, Tico, David and Hugh looked at each other then back at Obie, who was beaming with self importance at knowing something the others didn’t.

“Shit. I think you’re right for once. Makes sense.” Tico huffed, 

“Do you think she knows?”

“Not sure, but judging from the way she was looking at him on Friday, I’d say she wants to jump his bones as much as he wants to jump hers.”

“Well, as long as they don’t compromise what we’re doing here let them get on with it. Should be fun to watch them try to keep it a secret anyhow. They’re on their way up here so let’s forget we had this conversation.” Jon said, grabbing another coffee and joining the others on the sofas.

When Richie and Jasmine entered the room the conversation stopped in mid flow and David hollered,

“Lose your watch again Sambora? 10AM not pm you fool!”

Richie snarled at David and winked, “What can I say? I got distracted by a pretty lady.”

Jasmine blushed, “Actually there was a lot of traffic and we got stuck behind an accident. I’m so sorry.”

Richie looked at her and smiled a knowing smile, 

“Traffic was a bitch man,” he backed up Jasmine’s initial excuse.

“Sure it was. You’re here now so let’s get on with some work shall we? What do you want to start with?” Jon asked, glaring at the others in warning to keep their mouths closed.

The atmosphere in the studio was one of comfortable contentment and the creative juices flowed so much so that by the time David started to complain that he had forgotten what food tasted like, they had laid down another 2 tracks, Jasmine had mixed both of them and there was another one nearly finished. The day’s experiences reminded Jasmine of times in high school when she had worked on a project with a group of friends. They had worked and talked all day and produced some of their best work. Her work with Bon Jovi bore lots of resemblances with those school days and she hoped that it would continue to be a pleasure to work with the guys.

Everyone gathered with yet another cup of coffee and claimed their chair, Richie making sure that he was yet again perched next to Jasmine, their knees touching and his arm hanging limply from her shoulders.

“Comfortable there King?” Jon whispered and flashed a quizzical look at Richie as he passed the sofa and sat next to Tico. Jon was sure he saw Richie blush, and chuckled at the sight, the first in his memory of his friend getting embarrassed. 

Richie swore under his breath but inched closer to Jasmine. He ached to touch her but didn’t dare cross the line from the friendship that was blossoming between them.

“Tomorrow will be our last day in the city. Jasmine, I take it that Pete explained that we would be working from the studio at my house once it had been renovated?”

Jasmine looked up, shocked plastered over her face. Another bout of fan fantasy afflicted her speech when she next spoke. Voice trembling she explained what her boss had told her.

“He said that I’d have to base myself at your studio when it was done but he didn’t say exactly where it was.”

“It’s on the grounds of my house but totally separate. You’ll like it I think, Obie helped with the design and I know what you sound and recording geeks are like about the technicalities.”

“So says he of the ‘do it until it’s beyond perfect’ mentality,” she said, shocking herself at what she had just said,

“She’s so got you down man, didn’t take long.” Tico growled and raised his eyebrows in her direction.

“Yeah, well. As I was saying. We’ll pack up here tomorrow and head back to mine. I’ve got some meetings to do on Thursday and Friday so let’s start on this again on Monday. Think you can cope with the traffic in Jersey Rich?”

Richie showed Jon the bird and got up to leave, hauling Jasmine with him. She smoothed down her trousers and shirt and headed over to where her things were. Everyone else followed and headed home for the night. 

The next morning all hands were on deck to move everything and make sure that they had all the equipment that belonged at the band’s studio. They only needed to work the morning as they managed to get everything into the truck quicker than they had imagined they would. They ate lunch together in an old Italian place in Little Italy, one that had been there forever and had so far resisted the encroachment of Chinatown.

“Mmm red sauce just like Mama’s,” Jon exclaimed, licking his lips and rubbing his stomach in appreciation. 

“Don’t let Carol hear you say that, she’ll put your boys in a vice and crank the damn handle!” David laughed

“Didn’t think of that. None of you heard what I just said, right?”

“I never listen to you anyways,” Hugh mumbled. Jasmine was the only one who heard him and she smirked at him. 

Lunch was a civilized affair. Everyone was in high spirits and looking forward to a few days off. Jon was the first to leave as he was dropping by a radio station to record an interview. The others left soon after as each one had some kind of business in the city. Eventually Jasmine and Richie were left. They finished off the rest of the wine and had some dessert, eating in a comfortable silence. Once they were done Richie grabbed her coat and held it out for her to put on.

“Any plans for this afternoon?”

“Nope, I assumed I’d be working all day. I guess I’m just going to head home and chill out with a movie and more wine. I’ve not done it for a while.”

“Want some company?”

“Sure, if all you want to do is laze on the sofa like some couch potato.”

“We could always do something more interesting if you like. It’s a nice day so why don’t we head to the Shore for a few hours? I’ll treat you to an ice cream.”

“I’ve eaten so much rubbish lately. Working with you guys is going to turn me into a whale.”

“I can’t see anything wrong, I like a woman who likes her food. What do you say? We’ll walk along the boardwalk to burn off the calories.”

“How can I refuse such an offer? Lead the way.”

They arrived in Atlantic City a few hours later; the sun was still shining and the sand was warm from its rays. They walked along the beach with the casinos and hotels looking out from the boardwalk. The water lapped the sand gently and it looked so inviting despite the knowledge that it was still far too cold to take a dip. They compromised and paddled a little in the water until their feet became numb and Jasmine wasn’t sure if they had fallen off somewhere in the surf. Richie had spent most of their walk telling Jasmine of the trips he took to Atlantic City with his parents and then again when he had his first car. 

“Some nights we’d be out here shooting the shit so long that we were still here when the sun came up. Mom used to go bat shit crazy when I walked in like it was normal to stay out all night.”

“I bet she did. At least you had the excuse that you had no cell phone. They weren’t around that long ago.”

“I hope you’re not calling me old.”

“Never.” She said sarcastically, winking at him.

“If that water wasn’t so damn cold I’d have thrown you in there for that comment young lady.”

“Thankfully its freezing and you’re too much of a gentleman to throw me in and give me pneumonia.”

“Something like that. D’ya think we’ve walked far enough to have earned a chocolate ice cream with nuts, marshmallows and sprinkles?”

“You may have, but I think I’ll just stick to plain old strawberry.”

“Boring!”

“HEY! I happen to like strawberry. All the other stuff just ruins the flavor.”

Richie took her hand and led her up to the boardwalk towards the row of shops that sat between it and the road. Moments later they were both munching on ice cream and trying to stop it from melting quicker than they could eat it. Richie watched Jasmine lick the dripping ice cream from around the edge of the cone, her tongue expertly flicking out and capturing the drop before it stained her clothing. His pants tightened at the sight and had to tear his eyes away from her before he did or said something that he would regret. However as much as he tried he couldn’t get the image of her tongue lapping up the ice cream out of his head and he knew he was in trouble,

Jasmine had seen Richie’s reaction in the corner of her eye and had exaggerated her actions for his benefit. She had to stop herself from laughing when she saw the pained expression on his face just before he turned his gaze somewhere else. Her actions had backfired on her though as she now had the image of running her tongue around something different entirely.

They walked along the boardwalk and played some of the machines that lined it.  They were half way along when Jasmine spotted a wish machine,

“Hey, it’s like that Tom Hanks movie. D’you think if I put money in it my wish will come true?”

“Only one way to find out darlin’. Here.” Richie fished a quarter from his pocket and handed it to her. 

“I don’t know. I’m not sure we should be messing with this. What if I wake up tomorrow as a 10 year old?”

“Why? Is that what you’re going to wish for?”

“I wasn’t planning on it.”

“Well then, there won’t be a problem. Go on, do it.”

Jasmine stepped up to the machine, looking back at Richie for dramatic effect. She placed the coin at the slot and closed her eyes. Letting it drop into the machine she squeezed her eyes closed and made her wish. 

“What did you wish for?” Richie asked as they continued their walk down the boardwalk.

“I can’t tell you that, it won’t come true otherwise. Don’t you know anything?” she jested,

“Apparently not oh great one.” Richie smiled, putting his hand on the small of her back and leading her further down the boardwalk.

Half an hour later Jasmine was carrying an oversized penguin in her arms, thanks to Richie’s remarkable skills with the grabber machine, and Richie was alternating between feeding himself then Jasmine the contents of a bag of cotton candy.

“So, should we head back now? It’s going to be late before we get back.” Jasmine asked as they reached the road.

“What’s the rush? We don’t have to work tomorrow. Have you ever been to a casino?”

Jasmine shook her head.

“You’ve not lived Miss Moore. Follow me.” He said, turning back the way they had come. Jasmine had to jog to catch up with him, his face lit with the biggest smile that she had seen anyone wear.

Before long she was sitting next to Richie at a Roulette table with a bunch of chips in front of her. She had no idea how much each one was worth and she didn’t want to know. Knowing what she did about Richie, she knew it would be far more than she would feel comfortable with.

“Jas, choose a number.”

“I don’t know Richie, it’s your money, what if I pick the wrong one?”

“Don’t be so silly. We’re playing, it’s nothing serious. You’re not going to bankrupt me.”

Jasmine chose and then closed her eyes as the host rolled the wheel. She listened to the ball rattle along the side and clenched her fists as it slowed down ready to choose its final destination. When it fell silent she didn’t dare open her eyes, partly through fear of losing and partly through the want to hold on to the feeling of anticipation.

“Jas, open your eyes. Open them.”

She slowly opened them, her vision going from blurry to clear in a matter of seconds, then she looked at the wheel. It took her a split second to see that it had landed on the black 12; she looked down at the table and saw her chips on the black 12 that mirrored the wheel, then looked at Richie.

“We won?” she asked for confirmation,

He nodded, “Yeah, it looks like beginner’s luck darlin’. You’re a good luck charm for me tonight.”

“You’re kidding? I don’t believe it! I never win anything!” she squealed and hugged Richie spontaneously.

Richie took her in his arms and hugged her back. The smells of sand, salt and her shampoo was a heady mixture that had him stirring in the most inappropriate of places. Jasmine took a deep breath of his scent and closed her eyes, committing this moment to memory, before pulling away from him and looking sheepish.

They stayed another hour before cashing in their chips and heading home with their winnings. Jasmine’s body was buzzing with excitement, from the fresh air and from the emotions that were sailing through her at a rate of knots. She couldn’t stop her face from breaking out into a huge smile and she let out a small laugh.

“What was that for, smiley lady?” Richie asked, looking over at Jasmine, whose smile was infectious and bred a matching one on his face.

“I don’t know where that came from. I’ve had a lovely day Richie. Thank you.”

“The pleasure was all mine Jas. I like spending time with you, you get my mad sense of humor and I can just be myself with you. I should be thanking you.”

“No chance. This is the first time I’ve been outside of Middletown or Manhattan since I got here. I may go explore on these few days off.”

They pulled up to Jasmine’s apartment and, as usual, Richie walked her to her door.

“Right, well, you’re home safe so I’ll be off. Do you want to do something over the weekend?”

“You haven’t got any plans?”

“Not really, just getting some down time. How ‘bout dinner on Saturday?”

“Sounds like a plan. Have a good rest tomorrow, you don’t have to get out of bed til the afternoon if you don’t want to.” She said, smirking.

“Cheek will get you nowhere Jasmine.”

“You called me Jasmine. I must be in trouble!”

“Not yet sweetheart, but if you’re lucky you will be soon. See you Saturday.” He said, his breath blowing down her neck as he grazed her cheek with a lingering kiss that they both wanted to turn into something more, yet were unaware that they both felt the same.