Aw.
Another text comes in and she opens that one.
Maestro is so depressed that he decided to sleep in your spot tonight.
My spot huh?
She can’t help but smile and types back.
Poor Maes, I’ll have to come over soon to cuddle him again. I think he’ll manage though; he used to get along just fine without me around.
Nothing else comes through for a few moments and she figures he got busy doing something else.
Her phone buzzes.
I miss you too. A lot. I had forgotten how nice it is to have someone else here to talk to and laugh with.
She blushes and flicks from the text message to her contact list to call him.“Hi.” She says softly, leaning back against the couch.
“Hey.”
“I miss you too. Especially since I’ve been having really great dreams lately. It really helps when one of the last things I see is you slipping into bed in nothing but your underwear.” She grins although he can’t see her.
“Oh yeah? Want to tell me about those?” He chuckles and she hears him move around a little.
“Well, I’m sorry to tell you that this phone call won’t be turning into Digital Get Down…”
His chuckle turns into a real laugh and it makes her insides feel alive. “I’d rather show you next time we’re together...”
“I guess that could be arranged. When is that time going to be?” He questions in a teasing tone.
“Didn’t you say you were leaving town for a few days with the Girls?” She asks, grabbing a throw blanket near her to cover herself with it.
“Oh yeah, I was forgetting about that. We have a few interviews tomorrow morning and then we fly to New York for a few days. I should be back by…Saturday afternoon, I believe.”
“I have a wedding all day Saturday, but I don’t usually leave too late, depends on the schedule of the wedding. I should be able to leave sometime after dinner is done and I capture a bit of the dancing. It’s actually at that golf course near your place, really pretty location.”
“So that means you’ll be coming straight here after you’re done right?” He asks, she can tell by the tone of his voice that he is smiling. “You could spend the night and we could do something Sunday…if you want of course.”
She smiles as well and settles deeper into the couch. “Yeah, I guess I could do that. I mean, it’ll have been almost a week since I last saw Maestro. I don’t want him to think I’ve deserted him or anything…”
He laughs softly again, “You know, I never really figured that one day I’d have to entice women to sleep over by promising my dog would hang out with them…”
“Well of course I’ll be happy to see you as well.” She grins.
“I sure hope so-” He gets cut off by a yawn, “I really should get some sleep, see you Saturday? I’ll let you know when I get in tomorrow.”
“Yeah, travel safe. Good Night, JC.”
“Ari?”
“Hmm?”
“You know, if you want to…you can call me Josh.”
Her insides flutter again, “Good night, Josh.”
“Night, Ari.”
********************************************************
Thank fuck that is over.
Ari sighs as she pulls her car into JC’s driveway and shuts off the engine. She takes a moment to close her eyes and take a few deep breaths. She glances at her watch and sees that it is past midnight. She had hoped that she could have been here earlier but things had gotten out of hand, way out of hand. With a final sigh, she reaches over to the passenger seat to grab her camera and travel bags before getting out of the car. Her feet ache with each step up his driveway until she reaches the front door and pushes it open slowly. “JC?” She calls out softly, unsure if he may have decided to go upstairs already. She shuts and locks the door behind her before she sets her bags under the entrance table. She stretches her back as she straightens up again and hears paws on ceramic tile.“Hey Maes, where’s your Dad?” She asks him with a smile as she reaches down to pet him then walk into the living room. The room is quiet and tidy; she walks to the kitchen and sees it is much the same way. She notices that the basement door is ajar and that there is a glow coming from the studio. She looks at the light above the door and notices that it is not glowing red. He’d said that when the red light was on he was recording something and wasn’t to be disturbed.
Well, it isn’t on.
She bites her lower lip and quietly makes her way down the carpeted steps toward his studio. Her step falters as she gets close enough to hear the sounds of a guitar being strummed and JC’s distinct voice as he hums.
“Kiss me…” He sings out for a second, then the same words again in a different key.
Her stomach fills with butterflies and a large smile spreads over her lips at the sound of his beautiful voice. The guitar sounds start again and she walks forward slowly toward the door. She peeks into the studio and finds him sitting in a chair, holding a guitar and scribbling into a notebook set in front of him. She suddenly feels as if she is breaching his privacy and questions herself as to if the red light really was off upstairs.
“Hey babe,” His voice breaks her out of her freak out session and she lifts her eyes to find his. They are amused and pleased, “You alright?”
Ari shakes her head slightly and smiles, “I just started freaking out for a second; I thought maybe I hadn’t noticed correctly if the red light was on…”
He laughs and sets the guitar gently on a stand. He leans back into his chair and runs a hand over his face. “It’s fine, I’m just playing around. The door would have been shut if I was actually recording. You know you’re welcome in here.” He smiles and reaches for her hand. Tugging her forward gently, he pulls her down into his lap and kisses her cheek. “You look beat. Long day?”
Ari groans and rolls her eyes, “A great day always starts with a wedding party being 3 hours late…” She answers in a sigh. “And then the bride wanted pictures of everything, in five different angles.” She feels him chuckle softly against her and watches as he reaches forward and gently runs the tip of his index finger along her cheeks and her nose. “Oh yeah, I probably look like hell right? I ran out of sunscreen and had to keep shooting and shooting…”
He laughs again and leans forward to kiss the tip of her nose and each cheek, “You look fine. Just a little…red” He says with smirk.
“Oh, and that’s not even the worst of it!” She adds before turning in his lap a bit to show him the back of her left shoulder and the back of her neck.
“What the hell, Ari?” He asks quickly, turning her completely around in his lap so that he can look more closely at the three huge red welts on her skin. “What happened?”
“Bees! Fucking bees!” She answers, wincing as she feels him touch the tender skin. “Or wasps, I’m not sure. I was up in this small tree trying to get a good angle and the friggers got me!” She feels a vibration beneath her and turns her head as far back as she can to try and look at his face, “Are you laughing at me?” She asks in a mock offended voice.
“No, of course not, honey.” He says but laughs anyway, “They must have been wasps, I don’t feel any stingers left over.”
“I tell you, I don’t even know why I still do weddings. I hate feeling like someone’s puppy and most of the time I end up with Bridezillas.” She sighs and leans back against his chest. “I guess it pays the bills right now.”She feels his arms wrap around her waist and she turns her head on his shoulder to kiss his cheek. “I’m sorry I’m so late and…busted up.” She smiles, “I was planning on being here earlier and was hoping we’d be able to spend some quality time together. Gosh, I didn’t even ask you how the rest of your trip went.”
“It’s fine. I know how it goes, sometimes thing run over time and you can’t control it. The rest of the trip went well; happy to be home though.” His arms tighten around her, “How about we go upstairs and shower? I think we both have a date with a good night’s sleep.” As if to confirm his statement, she yawns and covers her mouth. “Come on.” He gives her hips a pat and they both stand up. He reaches down to flick a few switches on a large control board and shut down the laptop nearest to him.
As they make their way up the basement stairs and into the kitchen she dares to ask him, “Were you working on a new song?”
He smiles crookedly at her as he double checks the patio door’s lock. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” She smiles back as she follows him into the entrance hall and turns up the stairs toward the second level and climbs a few steps. She turns and watches him check the front door, grab her bag and then take the stairs toward her quickly.
“Maybe.” He says again now directly behind her as they cross the threshold of his bedroom, she turns to find him with a goofy grin on his face. “It’s a secret.”
She laughs and rolls her eyes as she takes her bag from him and sets it on the bed. “You want to shower first?” She asks, unzipping her bag and taking out her bathroom supplies. He doesn’t answer right away so she turns to look at him and finds him standing there scratching the back of his head with slight color on his cheeks.
Oh.
“I know you’re tired and I’m really tired as well but I thought that maybe…” He stammers and chuckles nervously, “I’m not talking sex or anything…just I’ve missed you and I’m craving the intimacy.” He finishes with a shrug of his shoulders.
You don’t have to ask me twice, honey.
With a smile she walks over to him and leans up on her tip toes to kiss his lips softly. “Okay.”
*********************************************************
JC reaches into the shower and turns the water on, he tests the water with his hand a few times before shutting the glass door. He turns to find Ari standing in front of the mirror pulling pins from her hair and setting them with a click onto the marble counter.She looked so beautiful when she’d appeared in the doorway of his studio earlier, her cheeks and shoulders slightly reddened by the sun. She was wearing a black dress that molded to her curves and left her shoulders bare. Her hair was up in a bun at the back of her head but he could see a braid running along the top and side of her head. She’d seemed shy about seeing him sitting there with his guitar and his notebook. He smiles and walks forward behind her at the mirror.
If she only knew that I’m already writing a song about her…
He hadn’t felt this inspired in a long while and he was enjoying it.
“I like it when you braid your hair, it reminds me of the day we met.” He says quietly as he leans down to kiss her shoulder gently. He watches her smile in the mirror and his stomach flutters again. She reaches behind her and starts to run her fingers through her now freed hair to untangle it.
He steps back and pulls his polo shirt over his head, unbuckles his belt, undoes the button and zipper of his jeans and steps out of them. After his underwear joins the pile, he pulls open the shower door and steps inside. He sighs audibly as the hot water streams over his face and hair, down his chest and over his legs. He opens his eyes when he feels her hands slide over his back and around to rest on his chest. He smiles and turns around to face her, leans in and presses his lips to hers softly. “I’ve missed you.” He whispers against her lips before kissing her again. He pulls away and holds her close against his chest; he can feel her heart beating against his as she presses her lips gently to the side of his neck. Although he really wants to take this further and honestly, get her up against the wall, tonight isn’t the night and all he wants is to have her close to him.
They take turns under the water spray to rinse off soap, trading sponges, kisses and soft caresses in the steam of the shower. He’s done much faster than she is but can’t help but stay to help her rinse the shampoo out of her silky hair, his fingers rubbing her scalp and sliding through the thick strands. Once done, he wraps her in a thick towel and uses another one to dry himself off. He goes back into the bedroom and pulls on a clean pair of underwear before he slips into bed to wait for her to finish in the bathroom. A now familiar melody fills his mind as he thinks back to their shower and he smiles as he reaches for his nightstand. He pulls open the drawer and pulls out a notebook. With a few quick strokes her jots down the lyrics that have just formed in his mind:
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
He smiles again and shuts his notebook, sighing as he leans back against his pillows.
If she only knew…
