With a sigh, JC runs a hand over his face and turns to look at Jimmy who is talking to one of the girls about her next part. He absently plays with a few dials on the control board in front of him and thinks back to that morning.
He’d been looking forward to kissing Ari ever since the moment she’d first smiled at him. When she’d actually said that she was scared that he wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him he’d almost fallen off of couch with surprise. How could she have ever thought that? Sure she wasn’t the type of girl he’d usually fallen for; the long dark hair, the exotic eyes and skin tones, the money grubbing gold diggers.
This is good.
I must be growing up and getting to appreciate different things in life other than a good time and a warm body to end the night with.
He’d been honest with her when he’d said that he had not dated in months. It's hard for him to not give his total attention to a project and let his friends, family and whatever current girlfriend he had sort of hang onto the back burner.
He never means to, but he is just a passionate person: he works hard and he falls hard whether it be for a woman or a new project. It had taken a failed second album, a slow writing and producing time period and recently the JCS cancellation to realize that these things would come and go, but the people that matter to him most are always sticking around no matter what. He really needs to cherish that and nurture that, not take it for granted as he had done so many times in the past.
Maybe, just maybe Ari would be willing to stick around for a while, long enough for him to screw up a few times and see how she would take it.
Would she cut and run? Or would she stay?
He really is willing to make an effort to balance his work life and a new relationship but after so many years of trying and failing at it, he’ll probably fall on his face a few more times before he finally figures it out.
He has a feeling that Ari would be willing to keep him to his word and help him achieve his goal. After all it really is time for him to start thinking about settling down eventually, he isn't getting any younger and in the last few years the cat and mouse games at different night clubs and resorts has been getting old. Would it be so bad to come home to a house that isn't empty and lifeless: a house that has the smells and sounds of a home?
“C?” A nearby voice shakes him out of his thoughts. “The girls are going to take 15.”
“Yeah, sure,” he answers absently as he feels his cell phone vibrate against his leg.
Is Maestro allowed into the pool?
He smiles as he sees the text from Ari. They’d decided this morning that once he was done at the studio that he’d pick her up and they’d go grab some dinner before swinging by her place to collect a few of her things since she’d be staying at least another couple of nights.
He’d given her a tour and showed her where everything was. He wanted her to feel at home in his house and mentioned to her that the only place he’d rather her not venture into was his studio where he’d rather be present if she wanted to hang out, but other than that she was free to roam.
Yes…why?
Well…you see, we were playing outside and when I threw his frisbee across the lawn instead of running around the pool he just jumped into it…
JC chuckles and shakes his head, imagining her reaction when the dog took a swan dive into the pool not knowing if he was allowed in there.
It’s fine. Just make sure he’s dried off before he goes back into the house and rolls around on my bed all wet. You know you’re allowed in there too huh? In the cabana off the pool there’s a change room and I always keep towels and different swimsuits for guests to use when I have a BBQ. Find something that fits and have fun.
He looks up as he hears a commotion coming from the studio entrance door; the girls are back with drinks and snacks, talking loudly to one another as they scatter around the room on the couches and chairs.
Maybe, thank you. I promise I won’t go roll around on your bed while all wet if I do.
He actually laughs out loud for a moment and his cheeks redden.
Another of her texts pop up a moment later.
Fuck. I didn’t mean it that way….LOL
It’s fine; I was going to make you solemnly swear that this was a promise that you were not going to keep ;)
Go back to work :P
Yes, Ma’am!
He shakes his head once more and slips his phone back into his pocket. When he looks up into the room he sees that the girls nearest to him have gone quiet and are looking at him excitedly.
“Pops has a girlfriend!” One of them grins as she takes a sip at the straw in her drink.
“Don’t call me that.” He laughs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“So she’s who? A girl that’s a friend…C’mon Papa C, spill it.”
“Yes, she’s a girl that’s a friend and I’m not spilling anything, this is my business – and don’t call me that either.” He chuckles grabbing a piece of balled up paper on the corner of the control board to chuck it at them. “Now, who's turn is it now? I want to get out of here before tomorrow morning.”
*********************************************************
Who wears these things? Might as well go naked!
Ari sighs as she looks through the pile of swimsuits he’d said were there for guests to use. She could imagine what kinds of guests were wearing most of these. They all looked brand new and most of them still had tags on them so she felt safe in knowing that she would not be wearing someone’s old underwear, but come on.
After looking through the pile again, she picks out the one that seems the less scandalous; a deep purple bikini top and boy shorts. She changes out of her clothes and pulls them on.
Hmm. Not bad.
The top is made for someone with a larger bust, but it works and doesn’t look bad on her. She looks around to see if she can find any sunscreen but doesn’t. This is bad. Her skin and no sunscreen will equal lobster in about 15 minutes, so she looks around again and is rewarded with a t-shirt that she can wear over her top.
I’d rather look like this than suffer the consequences later.
Plus, he said he wouldn’t be home for at least another couple of hours, so I’ll have time to change.
As she exits the cabana, she finds Maestro resting in the shade of a tree and smiles. She walks over to him and pets his fur which is still damp. She sits in the shade of the tree for a moment and looks around.
He truly has a beautiful house. Of course he’s paid for it with hard work and dedication, but it must be nice to enjoy the spoils of your labor when you’re so young. She thinks of her parents who both work very hard but don’t get to enjoy it as much right now and won’t until they are both able to retire and not have to worry about money anymore.
Must be a different way of life.
She thinks about not having to worry about a mortgage, car payments or sending your kids to University. Her parents do well for themselves as they are not struggling in the least, but when both parents work seasonal jobs then it makes it tougher on budgets.
She’d felt the pinch of the dreaded budget when she was researching for a replacement camera earlier. They’d gone up in price since she’d bought her other one. It was going to be a while before she could afford to get another. Maybe the insurance company would give her a quick settlement and she wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Yeah, right.
Ah well, in the meantime she could use her backup camera although it required more work to use and more time to edit her pictures. She’d make due.
She gets up off of the grass and walks over to the patio table where she’d left her book: might as well enjoy the pool a little before he gets home. She grabs her book and set it on the edge of the pool before she walks back to the cabana where she’d seen one of those floaty chairs. She carries it out and sets it gently on top of the water. She dives in smoothly and swims underwater for a few moments before making her way up and toward the chair, thankful that he is not around to witness the awkwardness with which she slides onto it. With a contented sigh, she lays back comfortably and closes her eyes, letting the rays of the sun warm her wet skin.
Now this I could get used to.
************************************************
“Ari?” JC calls as he walks through the front door and drops his keys onto a table near the entrance. When he doesn’t hear her or Maestro make a sound as he walks through the living room and into the kitchen he peeks through the patio doors and sees her floating in a sun chair, her eyes closed and her hair wet. She’s wearing what seems to be a wet t-shirt over what he assumes is a swim suit.
Well isn’t this a sight for sore eyes.
He grins as he turns on his heel and heads up to his bedroom, peeling his shirt off as he goes. After taking the rest of his clothes off, he pulls on a pair of green and black swim trunks before he makes his way back downstairs and out of the house.As he walks over the patio stones in his backyard, he glances over at his dog who his watching him with pointed disinterest from a shaded spot under a tree. She doesn't seem to have heard him yet so he keeps his gait slow and his steps soft until he gets near the edge of the pool that is closest to her. Without a moment’s hesitation he cries out “Geronimoooo!” before he cannon balls into the cool blue water of the pool.
When he comes up for air, he can hear her coughing and sputtering.“You jerk!” She squeals and laughs loudly.
“What? I just got home and I was hot, so I decided to get into the pool.” He grins and shrugs a shoulder innocently as he watches her rub her eyes with her hand, catch her breath and tries to keep afloat as she is no longer seated in her chair but in the water with him.
“Yeah, I’m sure. You just had to sneak up on me and create a tsunami wave so that you could cool off.”
“My pool, my rules.” He winks, leaning back to float on his back for a moment. “This feels nice though. Have you been in here for a while?”
“No, not that long. I thought you’d be gone for a few more hours.” She answers as she swims closer to the edge of the pool and leans back against the tiled wall.
“Got done what needed to be done and they didn't need me for the rest. Why are you wearing a t-shirt?” He asks, eyeing her for a moment.
“Well first of all, I don’t think you can call most of the swimsuits in there anything else but glorified lingerie,” she says wryly and is rewarded with a smug grin which leads her to confirm that this was his total intention. “Secondly, I couldn’t find any sunscreen.”
“So?”
“You forget my dear, that where I come from.” She laughs. “We get maybe 3 months a year where the sun is hot enough to cause sunburns. Add to that being a natural blonde…” She shrugs. “You get the picture”.
He chuckles and nods.“Pretty sure I have some in my bathroom somewhere.”
“I wasn’t going to go through your drawers. What if I found something I wasn’t supposed to see?” She smirks again, eyeing him with amusement.
“I keep all of my naughty sex toys in my closet, so unless you went sneaking in there…” He smirks back, swimming closer to her.
She laughs and watches him move closer, he can tell that she’s checking him out and feels emboldened by it.
“Maybe I’ll let you sneak in there someday,” he whispers as he reaches her, sliding a dripping hand over her cheek and to the back of her head as he pulls her face closer. “Soon…”
He feels her arms slide around his neck and moves even closer to press his chest against hers before he crashes his lips onto hers. This isn’t the gentle first kiss he gave her this morning; this one is full of the promise of what is to come when they eventually become lovers. His lips move over hers roughly, his tongue probes the seam between her lips and she opens them obediently.
He groans softly as their tongues meet and play a lustful game. After a few more moments, he pulls away to catch his breath. He looks down at her lips and finds them reddened and swollen. He smiles and leans forward to gently bite her bottom lip and is rewarded with a soft moan. Soothing the bite with the tip of his tongue, his eyes meet hers.
“Never again doubt my attraction to you,” he whispers and watches her smile and shake her head slowly.
