Call Back

On travel days, Richie got up early. Grudgingly early. He knew though, that if he wanted to sleep on the plane later, he had to get up now. Groaning, he slid out of the bed in his room at Jon’s place. He always stayed there when they were traveling from the East coast. His apartment in Philly was fine, but he’d still have to drive or take a shuttle to New York to fly out with the guys, and this was just easier. He looked at the clock: 6:30. It was way too fucking early to be up. He threw on a pair of jogging shorts and after a short trip to the bathroom he stumbled down to the kitchen. Lorraine, Jon’s housekeeper, had coffee brewing already.

“God, I love you woman,” he murmured as he sipped the heavenly strong brew.

“And you know I love you right back,” Lorraine answered, smiling. A mother of six and grandmother of twelve, she knew all about taking care of the people around her. She knew damned well that Richie was not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, and that he’d need truck-driver strength coffee to get jump-started this morning. “You hungry yet?” she asked.

Richie’s stomach woke at those words, and grumbled loudly. “Apparently,” he said, chuckling. “Let me grab a shower, I’ll be back in ten.”

“Take your time,” Lorraine said, and set about making a big breakfast. She knew all her boys well, and this one could eat.

Richie went back upstairs, and eyed the computer sitting at the desk. Should he? Chuckling, he logged on and scrolled to his favorites. He had the link to Jennifer’s photographer story saved, and wanted to see if she had updated it. She had. He read the newest chapter, laughing out loud at the way she left it. The tease. He checked his watch again. It was a little after seven. He knew she worked, so chances were, she was up. Smiling, he dialed the phone.

Jennifer was sitting at her desk, prepping for her 7:30 video conference when her cell rang. Distracted, she flipped on the Bluetooth headset that seemed to be a permanent part of her wardrobe.

“Good morning, this is Jennifer, how can I help you?”

Richie chuckled. “You sure are a tease, darlin’,” he drawled.

Jennifer laughed. “Well good morning to you, too, friend-of-Bill.” She looked at the clock on the computer. “What the hell are you doing up so early?” She was trying to keep the edge of excitement out of her voice, but suspected she was failing badly. She was so tickled he called her back. Tickled and thrilled beyond belief.

“We’re flying to Germany later this morning, and I wanna sleep on the plane,” he said, grinning at the barely contained pleasure in her voice. “If I wanna sleep on the plane, I have to get up early.”

“That’s funny. If I wanna sleep on a plane, all I have to do is close my eyes. The European leg starts tomorrow, right?” She couldn’t believe she was talking to him about this stuff like she was his friend or something. She had such a wide grin on her face that her officemates were smiling back at her. She hadn’t been smiling much lately.

“Yeah,” Richie said. “Several days in Germany, then a bunch of other places like Spain, Portugal, Denmark, then some dates in the UK, then a swing through Canada, then we’re back stateside.”

“Don’t you get tired of all that travel? Does the joy of performing really balance the time you spend away from home?” she asked, slapping her forehead for sounding like one of those annoying reporters. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that. It’s none of my business.”

“No, it’s fine,” Richie said, a little surprised at her questions. That’s not what he expected from talking to a fan. “Yeah, traveling gets tiring, especially since I’m not a young kid anymore. And it’s hard, being away from Ava, but it’s the life I know. I take whatever time I can with my family, and make it count. I talk to my daughter and mother every day when I’m on the road, and miss them like crazy.” What the hell was he doing, spilling this stuff to her? He couldn’t seem to stop though. “The joy of performing, as you put it, doesn’t counteract that, but it is still there. I absolutely love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else. I’ve had to make some sacrifices, and so have the people in my life, but we manage.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Jennifer, you still there, darlin’?”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m here. I just wasn’t expecting...” She trailed off. “Never mind. This is still a bit surreal to me, so bear with me while I get over my preconceived notions and when I gush every once in a while, ok?”

Richie laughed. “Sure thing. So listen, the reason I called. I read the latest piece of your story. Why’d you stop it where you did?”

Jennifer was clearly shocked. “You’re still READING that? Shit.” She thought for a minute. “Did you really think I would just jump in to more sex?” She had lowered her voice to a soft rumble, and Richie’s breath made an interesting little hitch.

“Hell yeah, why not?”

Jennifer chuckled. “Well, friend-of-Bill, because I wasn’t sure if YOU were reading it for Christ's sake. And you are! It’s not just my girlfriends anymore. And anyway, I don't know about real you, but I’d think the characters would need a break to recoup their energy. Besides,” she said, blushing, “I have no idea what to write now.”

“What do you mean?” Richie was enjoying this conversation. He felt relaxed and at ease talking to her. Maybe Jon was right. Maybe he needed to stop with the one-night stands and work on building something with a real, regular person. Friendship, relationship, whatever.

Jennifer sighed, and Richie could hear the reluctance in her voice. She clearly didn’t want to be talking about this, but was too polite to change the subject. Too bad for her. “I mean I don't know what to have them do next,” she said.

Richie lowered his voice seductively. “You mean have 'us' do next, right?” He laughed at the stunned silence on the other end of the phone. Man, this was fun. “Jennifer? You still there darlin'? I’m gonna have to start video-conferencing you to make sure you aren’t hanging up on me.”

He heard a very soft, small voice come through the phone. “I’m here,” she said. “Barely.”

Richie laughed again, thinking to himself that he couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so much in the span of twenty minutes. “So how 'bout it? C'mon, it's harmless fun right? That's what you say about your stuff, yeah?”

“Yeah...”

“So play,” he said. “Come on. What should we do next?”

“Stop saying ‘we’, or I’ll never get through this. Besides, I’m at work, no way am I doing this now.”

“You’re actually at work already?”

“Sure, been here since 6:30,” she said. “I have meetings most mornings with India, and this way, I don’t have to do them at ten or eleven at night. I come in a little early, they stay a little late, and it all works out.”

“You’re changing the subject, but I will say, that is way too damned early to be at work.”

“Preaching to the choir, there sweetheart,” she said sarcastically, the endearment just slipping out. Jennifer just closed her eyes and groaned. Samantha assured her that she wouldn’t sound like an idiot. Yeah, sure.

“So. . .” Richie prompted, smiling into the phone.

Jennifer sighed sharply. “Fine. You wanna play? Fine, play. You tell me.”

“What?”

Jennifer laughed, pleased to be able to turn the tables on him, to make him a little uncomfortable. “I scripted the first interlude, it's your turn. Amaze me. And you have ten minutes, then I have to go meet with India.”

Richie laughed long and hard. “Darlin’, it’ll take me ten minutes just to strip your clothes off you properly,” he said. “When can I call you back and do this right?”

Jennifer was shocked and not a little turned by his last comment, and her brain wasn’t working anymore. “You are terrible,” she said. “How the hell am I supposed to get work done now, with that remark rattling around in my head?” She laughed. “Tonight is ribs-n-ritas night with my girlfriends, so I won’t be home. You’ve got interviews, I’m sure, and stuff to do tomorrow before the show. Hmmm. I don’t know… Friday morning, I guess. I’m holding interviews all day starting at noon.”

“That’s fine. That gives me plenty of time to plan your seduction,” he said suggestively. “I will talk to you on Friday then.”

“Alright,” Jennifer said. “I should go. Travel safe, and have fun,” she said.

“Thanks darlin’,” he said, surprised at her signoff. “I intend to. On both counts.”

“Bye, friend-of-Bill.”

“Say my name, darlin’,” Richie said.

Jennifer chuckled. “Bye now, Richie.”

“Bye Jennifer. Talk to you soon.”

When they hung up, Jennifer sat back hard in her chair. She had to pinch herself, hardly able to believe their conversation. He was going to actually call her back on Friday morning. Maybe she should take that morning off.

Richie smiled as he closed his phone. Now he had something to occupy his mind when they had down-time. He went and took a quick shower, pounded down the stairs, and dug into a hearty breakfast. He was starving.

And his mind was whirring.