Meeting Jon

Jennifer woke early on Tuesday, donned a tight tank and workout shorts, and headed down to the gym. She missed having Richie there with her this morning, and she had to give herself a mental shake. It wouldn’t do to get too attached too quickly. She would see him later, maybe. It depended on what she and Gail got up to that night. All she knew for sure was that she was so glad to be acclimated to the time now. It was awful, feeling so sick all the time. She thought to herself that traveling this time around was markedly more pleasant because of Richie, and smiled a little self-satisfied smile. Being in his company was just wonderful. HE was just wonderful. She thought about what the girls on the boards had said last night when she had talked to them. They basically said to go with it, let the cards fall where they may. Just be herself, and things will be fine. She sure hoped so.

Today, she wanted to get a workout in because she hadn’t in the last few days and was starting to feel sluggish. The gym was empty when she arrived that morning, which suited her fine. She took her iPod and speakers from her bag, dialed up Ministry, and set out to warm up. She kept up pace with the hard and fast metal riffs had was sweating in no time. With a last stretch of her arms, she donned her boxing gloves, and set out to beat the shit out of Bob. Bob was a man-sized and man-weight boxing dummy that stood in the corner of the room with a bunch of his friends. Jennifer rolled him to the middle of the mat, adjusted his height, and promptly kicked him in the head, sending him rocking on his base, but not falling over.

“Fuck!” she yelled out loud. Her strength was tapped a bit. She took a moment to catch her breath, circling the dummy, and planning her next series. With a grin and a series of shouts, she punched, kicked, and jabbed the dummy until she was satisfied, and the bastard fell over. She rolled Bob back to his corner, downed half a liter of room-temperature water, and headed for the free weights. On the way, she set the iPod to slower music, so she wouldn’t be tempted to overdo.

Grabbing a set of 25-pound dumbbells, she positioned herself in front of the mirror. She folded the hem of her tank up under her breasts, squatted until she saw her ab muscles bunching, and started a series of curls. Halfway through her second set, a Bon Jovi song came up in the rotation, and Jennifer’s otherwise smooth repetitions faltered. She knew that somewhere in this hotel, quite probably on the same floor she occupied, the other guys were doing whatever it was they did at seven in the morning.

She wondered how the inquisition went last night. She was sure that they all peppered Richie with questions, but probably nobody more than Jon. He was Richie’s best friend, after all, and sort of responsible for the two of them meeting. She could just hear his voice in her head, asking Richie if she was normal or a psycho or what. She shook her head, glad that she hadn’t gone with Richie to the airport. She wasn’t even sure she’d be able to handle the after-show backstage passes she and Gail had. While Gail had said that just because the contest said they’d meet the band didn’t mean they actually would, Richie told her they would. The guys would all want to meet her, though she had no idea how they were going to play it.

Her mind went back to Jon. He and T had started getting close and comfortable on the board – to the point that he had asked her to come to Europe for some of the shows. T had demurred, partly because she couldn’t get the time off and partly because she still, in the back of her head, thought that Jon was only interested in her because of the cancer. Jennifer wondered how that was going; if he had made any headway in trying to convince her otherwise. She hoped so. She really liked T, and as a long-time fan of the band, she wanted to see all its members happy. She thought T could make Jon very happy. As if her thoughts summoned him, the gym doors opened, and in Jon strode; looking for all the world like he owned the place.

Jennifer’s heart rate doubled, and she quickly lowered the bottom of her tank. Though she was totally a Richie girl, now more than ever, she couldn’t deny Jon’s appeal. He was simply gorgeous. He was wearing navy jogging shorts, a tight moss green muscle shirt, and a barely tolerant half-smile that said he wasn’t pleased someone else was in the gym. She had to remember that he didn’t know who she was, even though she certainly recognized him. She decided to play it cool; or try to at least.

“Hey there; I can kill the tunes if they’re gonna bug you,” Jennifer said, turning away and feigning indifference at his presence. She started her overhead lifts, breathing steadily and summarily dismissing Jon.

“Nah, ‘salright,” Jon said, going to the treadmill, relieved that this woman, clearly an American, wasn’t making a big deal about who he was. He saw the recognition flash in her eyes, but she went right back to her weight training. He watched her in the mirror for a couple of minutes. She was an attractive woman, and annoyingly familiar. He’d put her in her mid-to-late-thirties, and she was in great shape. He appreciated that in people – when they took care of themselves. He watched as she straightened to her full height, and his eyes went wide. She was really tall. Jon took a closer look at her. Her blonde hair was tied back in a coiled braid, so he couldn’t tell how long it was. She couldn’t be – it wasn’t her, or was she?

“You gonna stare at my ass all day, Bill, or start your run?” Jennifer said with a smile, as Daughtry poured through the speakers. I was blown away, what could I say? Appropriate lyrics, given the situation, she thought.

Jon laughed. “I thought that might be you,” he said, going over to her. “Damn, woman, you’re tall, and Rich didn’t tell us you were staying here.”

Jennifer put down the dumbbells and held her hand out. “Hi, Jennifer Petruzzo, and I’m totally in your debt,” she said, blushing. “And I told you I was tall. It’s a real pleasure to meet you, and I don’t know why he didn’t tell you I was staying here. I’m two doors down from him.”

Jon took her hand and leaned in to buss her cheek. “That’s across from me and next to David, which is probably why he didn’t say anything. We’re assholes sometimes. I’m glad to meet you too. How’re you feeling?”

“Fine thanks,” Jennifer said, surprised that he seemed genuinely concerned, and her head spinning from the chaste peck and the surreal conversation. She was actually having an in-person conversation with a barely-dressed Jon Bon Jovi. “Uh, how was your flight in?”

“It was good, thanks. Rich said you got hit pretty bad with jet lag, though.”

“Yeah,” Jennifer agreed, blushing. “But a couple days of rest and I feel loads better.” She didn’t want to say anything about Rich taking care of her. She didn’t know what to say; Jennifer had no clue what ELSE Richie had told his friend, and now she all of a sudden felt really nervous. She was under the microscope big time, and didn’t know what she could and couldn’t say, or what she should. She started to fidget with the hem of her shirt.

“Hey,” Jon said. “Don’t do that. Don’t close up and get all nervous.”

“Sorry,” Jennifer said. “You caught me will full clarity this morning. When Rich met me at the airport I was doped up on Xanax, and really quite relaxed.” Jon noticed she called him ‘Rich’, and smiled. She clearly saw him as a man. He was glad his instincts about her were right.

“Come on, I’m a normal guy, just like Rich,” he said with a smile. “Just relax. Ya know, he couldn’t stop talking about you last night. You should have come with him to meet us at the airport. The other guys are dying to meet you.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t about to do that,” Jennifer answered, rolling her eyes. “You needed time to talk to Rich, and frankly, I wasn’t ready for the inquisition.” She laughed a little. “Still am not quite ready for it, truth be told, but if you wanna ask me questions, I’ll answer them honestly.”

“Yeah?” Jennifer nodded. “OK,” Jon said. “Where the hell is the next chapter of that story?”

Jennifer burst out laughing. She mock punched Jon’s shoulder. “Shut up!” she said, face flaming. “We’re working on it.”

“We?” Jon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, ‘we’. Now, can I ask you something? All kidding aside? It’s about T.”

Jon sobered. He should have seen this coming. “Sure,” he said warily. “I can’t guarantee I’ll answer it, though.”

“Fair enough, “Jennifer said. “I just want to make sure you aren’t just pursuing this with her out of pity. You know, you met her because of the cancer, and now that it’s gone, you feel you have to keep up the contact out of a sense of duty.” She could see Jon’s eyes shutter. He wasn’t pleased with this question, but Jennifer didn’t care. T was her friend. “I guess what I wanna know is, are you? Keeping this up out of pity or whatever?”

“No,” he said quietly. “No, I’m not. I’ll admit, I went out there because I was intrigued by her situation, and the way she stood up to me, but once I met her?” Jennifer watched as his eyes got – shit, was that dreamy? — and a small smile played over his mouth. “Well, after that, the rest of it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter whether she had cancer or not. Whether she was a fan or not. She was just someone I wanted to know better. Still do.” He watched Jennifer’s face, and saw she believed him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Now to get Tiff to believe him…

* * * * *

After the strangest workout ever; Jon spotted for her while she lifted, and she did the same for him, then they did a 30-minute side-by-side run, she went back up to her room. She actually peeked out of the elevator doors, and half-ran down the hall. She didn’t want to meet any of the others in the hallway. Jon was perfectly nice, and they had a chat while they ran and his questions weren’t all that bad. She answered everything honestly, and she actually enjoyed herself. She needed time to process that, though, before meeting any more of them.

When she got into her room, she opened the balcony doors to let the fresh air in. She heard voices on the next balcony over. It was David and Tico.

“I don’t know, man,” David said quietly. “Did you see those pictures? Really take a good look? She kinda resembles Heather. That can’t be good.”

“Oh c’mon. Aside from being blonde D, she doesn’t look anything like that woman. Anyway, did you not see how happy he was, man? Do you really think that if Jon thought for a minute she was like her he’d let her anywhere near Rich?” Tico was trying to be the voice of reason, but David was having none of it.

“C’mon yourself. Jon is interested in this woman’s friend, of course he’s gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. And yeah, I saw Rich’s dumb-ass smiles, but damn, how much of that is because of this girl and how much is because she reminds him of happier times with his ex-wife?”

Jennifer felt bile rise in her throat. She couldn’t believe they thought she reminded Rich of Heather. She hadn’t even thought of that. She felt like such a fool. She slid the doors shut and sat hard on the couch. Unbidden tears pricked her eyes. She shook her head angrily. No. No way. She had to hear from him if she was just a substitute for his lovely ex-wife.

She grabbed her key and checked the hallway to make sure it was empty before venturing out. She crept past David’s door, and knocked on Richie’s. He didn’t answer, so she knocked a little louder. He threw open the door, muttering, “what the hell --” then stopped when he saw Jennifer.

“Well good morning, Jennifer, darlin’.” Richie had a wide smile on his face. “Come on in.” He stood back to let her in, glad he’d thrown on sweats before answering the door. After shutting the door, he went to take Jennifer in his arms, but she stiffened against his touch. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you only attracted to me because I remind you of Heather?” Jennifer refused to let the tears that gathered in her eyes fall.

Richie was not expecting this. “What? No! Of course not, no! What the hell gave you that idea? Or should I say who?”

“Just something I overheard,” Jennifer said, dashing away the tears. “I wanted to be sure before this went any further than it has, and I wanted to hear it from you.”

“Darlin’,” Richie said, taking Jennifer’s hand. “Tell me who upset you. Where did you overhear that?” He took in her outfit. “You were at the gym. Did Jon say something to you? I’ll fucking kill him.”

“No,” Jennifer said. “It wasn’t him.” She didn’t want to narc on his friends.

Richie’s eyes narrowed. He looked at Jennifer again, then stalked to his balcony, throwing open the doors. “You assholes out there?” he asked without preamble.

“Yeah,” Jennifer heard David say.

“Get over here. Now,” he said, and slammed the door.

“Rich, no, I can’t face them. Not now.” Jennifer was panicked. “Please don’t do this.”

“I don’t want you being upset,” Richie said, anger in his eyes. At the knock on the door, he strode to it and flung it open. Jennifer wanted to hide in the closet. “Get your asses in here,” he said, and his friends came in.

“What the hell…” Tico started, but stopped when he saw the woman standing there, tears leaking from her eyes. “Mierda,” he said.

“Damn straight,” Richie said. “Look at this woman,” Richie said, and Jennifer wanted to die. “She does not remind me of Heather. Not at all. The share hair color, that’s it. She couldn’t be more different from my ex-wife if she was a man. You insensitive idiots should be more careful before you go spouting shit off.”

David was confused. “What?”

“She overheard you, and it upset her.” Richie went over to Jennifer, and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. “Her room is on the other side of yours, D,” Richie said, anger heating his eyes.

David’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry she’s upset,” he said, “but you can’t blame us for being protective of you. Have you SEEN the women you’ve brought around lately?”

Tico put a warning hand on David’s shoulder. “Calm down, D.”

David just shook him off. “I won’t calm down. Just because she puts on a pretty pout doesn’t mean she’s not trouble.”

Jennifer’s tears dried up; her embarrassment and dismay replaced by growing anger. She stepped away from Richie. “Excuse me? I’m standing right here. You have questions, you can ask me. English is just one of the languages I speak fluently. You can even use big words. I’m no dumb blonde.”

“Jennifer,” Richie began, but she turned and silenced him with a glare. “You started this by dragging their sorry asses in here,” she said. “But you will damn well let me finish it.” She looked at David. “Well?”

He stepped up to Jennifer, standing nearly eye-to-eye with her. “Are you just here because he’s a famous musician?”

“David,” Richie warned, but Jennifer waved him off.

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the band, and Jon in particular, so I guess you could say that I’m here because of that. Is it ‘just’ because of that? No. Famous or not, if he was an asshole, I wouldn’t be here. Frankly, I don’t need that kind of aggravation in my life again.” She had her hands on her hips, and hadn’t flinched from David’s stare. “What else you got?”

“What do you want with him?”

Jennifer thought for a minute. “That’s a loaded question. You could be asking a myriad of different questions with that question. I think you’re asking about material things – do I want the lifestyle or the publicity or whatever – the answer there is nope. I don’t need it. I already have more money than I could ever hope to spend in my lifetime, and the people who matter know who I am. I don’t want his money, and I don’t need the spotlight.” She looked at Richie, whose face was a mask of surprise. “I told you a sandwich wouldn’t deplete the bank account. I meant it. I’ll show you my portfolio if you don’t believe me.”

She turned back to David, who looked like he starting to relax. Too damned bad. She wasn’t done yet. “If you’re asking about more personal things, well, not that it’s any of your business who I fuck, but I’m not here looking for a good time. Look at me objectively,” she said. “I could do just fine in the dating department without hooking up with a celebrity.” Tico laughed a little at that, and Jennifer continued. “If you’re asking about the spiritual, well, I have my God, I don’t need someone else to worship. Emotional? I didn’t come here looking for love, just the chance to meet a wonderful man, and by God, I’m having fun doing it, and I won’t apologize for it. What do I want? I already got it. I got the chance to meet him in person. The rest? Icing on the cake. Does that just about cover it?”

David burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. “Jesus, woman, where do you keep them?”

She cocked her head at him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Your balls. Where do you keep your balls? I don’t see them in that getup.”

Jennifer laughed, the tension broken. “I tuck them in when I work out.” She put out her hand and David shook it. She did the same with Tico, but he just pulled her in for a hug, his arms like steel bands around her back. His strength took her breath away.

“’Miga, anyone who can put D so firmly in his place has a spot in my heart forever.” He took her hand and raised her knuckles to his mouth for a brief kiss.

She looked over at Richie and grinned. He just shook his head. “You are amazing,” he said to her, and came to take her in his arms. This time, she went willingly and happily. She smiled at him.

“Not amazing,” Jennifer corrected. “I was pissed off, and I stood up for myself. That’s just me. Now,” she kissed Richie’s cheek and stepped back. “I’m sweaty and smelly and have to go get showered and dressed to go out shopping. I think it was nice meeting you two,” she said, winking at Tico. “I’ll let you know after I calm down.”

She strode to the door, feeling six eyes on her back. “And stop staring at my ass,” she said.