Chapter 31 - The Show Must Go On

 

Jon stands there, wrapped in her comforter unsure of what to do.  This can go one of two ways, and he opts for the best outcome. 
It doesn't look good, but it could be as innocent as he wants it to be.  But he can't fight the feeling that something has gone on between them, even if it was just one time.  The feeling was one he couldn't shake, but he decided to act as if it was innocent. 

He walks around to Monica's side and shakes her a little bit, "Hey."  She stirs a little, "Monica, wake up."

Monica opens her eyes and sees Jon wrapped in her blanket.  A little disoriented herself, she sits up and looks around.  She's cold, so she pulls the quilt over her legs. "Hey.  How long have you been up?"  She asks Jon, trying to piece the night back together.  She looks over and Richie is out like a light. She rubs her eyes and leans into Jon and kisses him, "Lets go to bed."  She stands up and leads Jon into the bedroom.  Stopping to pee, she asks Jon, "Can you get me a glass of water?"

"Sure."  He turns around and heads toward the kitchen.  He stops where Richie is and covers him with the quilt the rest of the way and turns the TV off.  With her glass of water in hand, he returns to the bedroom and finds Monica already in bed.  "How long has Richie been here?"

"Since you fell asleep.  He was still pretty psyched so he came over to have a beer with us, but you already passed out."  She throws the blankets back and takes the glass of water from Jon.  "Thank you."

Jon slides in next to her, his hair still damp and his muscles a little sore.  "What did you guys do?  It looks like ya had a few beers."

"We had a couple while we watched a movie, must have just dozed off." she takes a drink of her water and sets it on the headboard.

 

"You should have woke me up, I would have celebrated with you guys."

 

"You were sleeping beauty, why would I wake you?"

 

"To hang out with you and Richie."

 

"There will be other nights.  Let's get some sleep.  I don't know about you, but I have to work tomorrow; I mean later today." she lets out a little giggle as she moves in close to Jon.  With her had on his chest she can hear his heartbeat and she thinks that it's a little fast.  "Are you okay?  Your heart is racing."  She rubs his chest in a circular pattern, listening to his heart.

 

"What's your history with Richie?" he has to know, he thought he could let it go - but he can't.  He wasn't one for surprises and he didn't like omissions of facts, so he had to ask.  "Have you dated?"

 

"Me and Richie?" she asks real fast. 

 

"Yeah, you guys seem pretty close.  Have you dated?" he has little affect when he asks, he doesn't know if he's going to like her response or if he's going to hate it.  He couldn't get emotionally invested at this point.  As much as he enjoyed being with her and as much as he loved having sex with her, he could never date anyone that any of his friends had.  New or old. It wasn't right to him, and he swore he would never do it.

 

Monica gets up on an elbow and looks at Jon and winks.  She loves the way his long hair is fanned out on the pillow, and when you add it to the sexy chest - she's in love.  "Nothing has ever gone on between me and Richie and nothing ever will.  He's the cool big brother that I never had."  She explains to Jon, seeing the relief coming over his face.  "Richie is my protector and my best friend." 

 

"You have never dated?" he reaches up and tucks some hair behind her ear, then traces her face with his finger. 

 

"Never."

 

"You've never been intimate?" was what he really wanted to know. 

 

"Never." And that was all he needed to hear.  He hasn't known Monica long, but he knows that she can be trusted.  He believes her when she says never and that was good enough for him.

 

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In the weeks that had gone by, Bon Jovi has become all but a household name.  The album release was better than they ever could have imagined and the schedule much worse that they thought they could ever do.  They were gearing up to start a small tour, just some US dates but they were excited.  Jon wasn't as happy as the other guys, because he had to leave Monica behind.  Her career has taken off as well, and they needed to be on opposite sides of the country and couldn't be together.  They have one day together before she leaves for Los Angeles.  She has a photo shoot to do to for a sun tan lotion and they were shooting in Malibu. 

 

While she was packing her suitcase, Jon sat on her bed and chatted with her.  "How long is the shoot?"

 

Putting four of her six brand new bathing suits into her suitcase, she says, "I'll be back here in a week, but then I'm off to Paris for fashion week.  Georgette wants me to go, since she can't."  Georgette is Monica's boss at Macy's; a pillar in the fashion community and once she learned about Monica's desire to be a photographer and a model - she utilized that dream as often as she could.  Who better to send to fashion week than someone that loves fashion and has a great eye for detail.  "With that being said, I'll be home in two weeks."

"I'll be gone a little longer." he tells her, with a little sadness in his voice.  "There has to be someplace we can meet along our paths.  I know were heading toward L.A., I'm just not sure of when and where.  Richie has the schedule." 

"Are you going to miss me Jon?" she pokes fun at her rock star, knowing that she's going to miss him tons.  They have become close over the last few weeks and she's enjoyed watching them grow into this rock band that is going to take over the world. 

She had to step back though, she was losing sight of her own dreams while she watched Jon's come true.  She  took some of the promo pictures that are being used for the tour and she has gotten attention over that, but her calling right now is modeling.  She wants to do modeling now and then when she has time, she'll follow her real passion; photography.

Jon, being a man of few words, unless needed admits to her, "I will miss you.  I'll miss you a lot." he stands and walks up to her.  "I'll miss waking up to you and going to sleep with you.  I'll miss our morning jogs and breakfast over the Times.  But most of all, I'll miss your smile" and he takes her in his arms and kisses the side of her head. 

Her arms go around his waist and she confesses, "I'll miss this, right here, the most."

"Me kissing your head?"

"No.  The way I feel when I'm in your arms."