Later that afternoon Jon had corralled Richie into leaving the ladies behind in the house whilst they headed into the sanctuary of the Shoe Inn to have a few beers over a game of Pool. He had sweetened the prospect to Dorothea and Jasmine by telling them that they needed to talk about the tour and that it would be really boring. Dot followed his lead and understood what he was doing so she sent them out the door, promising to call them over when it was time for dinner, Richie and Jasmine having accepted her invitation to stay for dinner as well as lunch.
Once in the quiet safety of the on site pub and with an ice cold beer in his hand, Jon asked the question he had been dying to ask since his gut feeling had been confirmed in the middle of the dance floor the night before.
“Ok man, spill it. There’s no one here but me so tell me what’s going on with you?”
Richie picked up his cue and lined it up with the cue ball not looking at Jon,
“What do you mean? Apart from not having to hide my relationship with Jas, nothing is going on,”
“That’s what I was talking about. I know what you told me but I sense there is more to the story than what you said.”
“Who are you, a psychic all of a sudden?”
“No, I just know you better than you know yourself sometimes. We’ve known each other for so long that I can read your voice and tell whether there is something bothering you, and I know you can do the same with me. So, spill it.”
“I’m not sure what you want to hear. If you’re trying to get the intimate details then you’re more sick than I gave you credit for.”
Jon laughed, “If you want to share, then I’m listening but I didn’t mean that. How did it happen? Is it serious?”
Richie potted the ball and lined up the next one whilst considering Jon’s words. It was actually a relief to know that there was someone who was ready to listen to him, to help him make sense of the things he was feeling and to put into perspective the roller coaster ride he was on.
After taking his shot and missing, Richie sat down on the bar stool and began to talk.
“Like I said, it just went from friendship to more than that. You know that Jasmine and I spent pretty much all of our spare time together when we were in New York, and that we commuted from Jersey together. We hung out, I helped her look for somewhere to live and well, when I wasn’t with her I missed her so much. It was like I became full when she was around and empty when she was gone. I took her on a cruise around Manhattan one evening and it near enough killed me not being able to touch her and not knowing how she felt about me. We talked a lot that night and I told her about my past and the disaster that was my last relationship, and she was open with me. I think I fell in love with her that night but it wasn’t until the night her Dad showed up that I realized it.”
Halfway through Richie’s monologue, Jon had joined him at the bar and gave him his full attention. He listened attentively as Richie bared his soul, much to his amazement.
“Have you told her?”
Richie shook his head, “No. I came close a few times but things just keep getting in the way and I’m not sure she feels the same. I asked her to move in with me instead of moving to her new place but she said no. If she loved me then she would have said yes.”
“Did she give you a reason? You’ve not been together long, maybe she got scared.”
“Scared? You want to know what scared is? Scared is when you walk into a room and the smell of blood is thick in the air and you find the person who you’ve fallen in love with slumped in a corner and you’re not sure if she’s alive. I’ve never been so damn scared in all my life, or so sure about my feelings. Ever since that day I’ve not let her out of my sight for fear that her father will come back and finish off the job he started.”
Jon placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder, “I’m sorry man, I didn’t realize how hard it was for you. I take it you’ve not told her this either?”
“No. I don’t want to put this on her, she’s been so brave and strong getting over it that she doesn’t need to deal with my feelings about it all. Anyway she said that she didn’t want to move in with me because she wanted us to be sure we are together because we want to be not because the situation forced us into it. I don’t know what the hell she means.”
“Think about it from her point of view man. Jesus! When did you become so stupid? You’re supposed to be the caring and sensitive one. Look at it with her eyes, you’re friends one minute, admittedly very close, then she gets hurt and you’re more than friends. Don’t you think she may wonder if you’re just pitying her?”
Richie looked at Jon incredulously, he knew he was right.
“I’m not though. I couldn’t be happier than I am right now and it’s all because of her. I’m not pitying her, the attack just made me realize that I wanted to be more than friends and that I love her more than I have ever loved anyone before. In fact considering how I feel about her I doubt that I’ve ever actually been in love before now.”
Jon closed his eyes and shook his head. Richie was in a sorry state and there was nothing he could do other than persuade him to talk to Jasmine.
“Wow! Now that’s an admission if ever there was one. What makes her so different to the others? You were sure that Shelly was the one not so long ago.”
“Yeah, and look how that ended. Jas is completely different to anyone I have ever met. It’s like she can tell what I’m thinking and somehow she stays one step ahead of me. She gets me, gets the obsession I have with music, and even better than that she has the same obsession.”
Jon nodded and Richie carried on, “In some ways she’s like the female version of you, even down to the blueness of her eyes. She can read me, I can be myself around her and she doesn’t have an agenda.”
Jon waited until he was sure that Richie had finished and one thing stood out to him, something he couldn’t remember Richie ever doing before,
“Hey Rich, do you realize that you just spent 10 minutes talking about a woman and not once did you mention how she looks, or what she’s like horizontal?”
Richie hadn’t noticed but now that Jon had brought it to his attention he could see he was right,
“I didn’t know, but now that you mentioned it. Man, look what she’s doing to me. I can talk about her for ages and not even touch on her looks, she’s so beautiful on the inside that I don’t even need to talk about the packaging. That’s not to say she’s not gorgeous, because she is. Man, she’s so much more than gorgeous, she’s perfect.”
Richie’s cheeks reddened and Jon noticed. It was a look he was used to seeing when Richie had done something and gotten away with it but not when he was actually feeling embarrassed. Richie was too confident to get embarrassed about anything.
“Man, you have it bad. But something is worrying me.”
“What?” Richie asked.
“You said she’s like the female version of me. Does that mean you want me as badly as you want her, because I’m taken.”
Richie laughed loudly, glad that his brother had lightened the mood and hauled them out of the dark cave of their feelings back to the lighthearted banter he was more comfortable with,
“Nah man, you’re safe. She may be a lot like you but she’s a lot hotter and has a better ass than you.”
“Thank Christ for that, I was starting to worry that too many women hurting you had turned you the other way.”
“Ah shut up and shoot already.” Richie replied, handing Jon the cue and pushing him towards the table.
They played a few rounds, Richie winning all of them, which was becoming more and more embarrassing for Jon, who was not used to losing as often as was happening. They didn’t mention Jasmine anymore even though Jon still had questions and Richie still felt the need to talk about her. Richie was glad just to be able to talk about normal things but not have to omit Jasmine from the details. He sat watching Jon line up his next shot unaware that Jon was watching him.
“You did something didn’t you? I know that look. Where was it?”
“What?”
“Come on man, how many places are soiled?”
Richie looked over at Jon trying to ascertain what he was getting at. When Jon saw that Richie was looking at him, he raised his eyebrows and made a suggestive glance to his best friend.
“Who do you think I am?” Richie said, a little disgruntled but more amused than anything else.
“Don’t give me that shit, King of Swing, I know you far too well for that innocent look to work.”
Richie laughed wholeheartedly, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Well, uh, there was the time in the closet in the studio, and the Sambora Suite here.”
“The CLOSET? No wonder Jasmine won’t move in with you, not exactly romantic Rich.”
“We weren’t going for romance if you know what I mean,” Richie said, cheering up as the memories of the closet filled his mind.
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. She had been driving me wild all day, brushing up against me when she could, giving me suggestive looks from the sound booth, seriously man, I thought I was going to explode.”
Jon laughed, remembering the looks on both their faces the whole day, and their attempts to stay normal after they had both disappeared one afternoon.
“And here?” Jon asked, morbidly curious,
“The other night, after we were done with the record, when everyone else was here. You know what I get like when I’ve had a drink, and apparently it has the same effect on Jas, so when we bumped into each other in the hall, one thing led to another and…”
“I gotcha.” Jon said knowingly.
“You have no idea how hard it was keeping our hands off each other when we were with you guys, and to make it even more difficult Jas thought it would be funny to do anything to make me want her more. Take last night. You saw that dress man, can you imagine how tight my pants were?”
“She was smoking hot, I’ll admit it. We did wonder why you were walking around with a pained look on your face.”
“Pained? It was fucking excruciating. I was sure I was going to explode and that was when I lost all control and kissed her. I really hope no one from Island was watching because she could be in some serious trouble, not to mention her reputation would be in shreds.”
“About that…Obie and I have been talking. Even before we knew about you and Jasmine; Ob mentioned that he would like more help during the tour and asked if there was any way we could release Jasmine from her contract with Island. We all know how fucking good she is and she fits in with all of us so well. She’d be ideal.”
“Are you kidding? You want Jasmine to come with us on tour? That’s great!” Richie raved.
“Yeah, but we need to talk to Pete and Jasmine first. You want to talk to her about it?”
“We could both do it later. I’m not sure what she’d say if I asked her.”
“For fuck’s sake man, talk to the girl and tell her how you feel. From the way she looks at you I’m certain she feels the same. You’ve never been shy about your feelings before, I don’t understand why you are now.”
“I’ve never had so much to lose before. I love her so much.” Richie mumbled, surprised at his own admission.
“All the more reason to talk to her. Come on, they’ll be calling us soon.”
