Chapter Eighty-Eight

Shifting in the wide leather seat, Stephanie glanced around and leaned closer to Richie. “This is really nice.”

Richie looked around, trying to see the plane through her eyes. The table Jon, Dave and Tico were sitting at had four wider than normal, leather airline seats. The seats he and Stephanie were in were the same oversize brown leather. The sofa on the far side was also brown leather and very comfortable. He should know, he’d spent many a flight asleep on that sofa. He looked back at Stephanie and shrugged. He’d been traveling like this for so long it had become second nature. “It’s just a plane, Sweetheart.”

She snorted quietly, “right. Did you forget that I’m just a normal girl from a normal middle class upbringing? I’ve never traveled like this before.” She gestured around the plane with her hand to make her point. The few flights she had been on in her life had been on commercial airlines and she had sat in coach.

Jon, who was sitting at the table had overheard their conversation and interjected. “Not even when you came to see him-us in Toronto?”

She leaned forward so she could see his face, “no. I even hesitated paying the outrageous airfare that I did pay. Flying anywhere is pretty ridiculous these days.”

Jon was surprised. From what he understood, she, sadly, wouldn’t have to worry about money for the rest of her life. So why would she balk at the cost of flying? “You flew coach to Toronto? When you didn’t have to?”

She nodded, “and that surprises you?”

“Well, yeah. You could have at least flown first class. Been a little more comfortable.”

“I suppose I could have, but I didn’t. I didn’t even think of it to tell you the truth.”  She paused to gather her thoughts. Talking about Mark still made her emotional. “When Mark and I traveled, it was usually by car. The first time I was ever on a plane was our honeymoon.” She looked pointedly at Jon, “we flew coach that time too.  All the way to Florida.  It’s not so bad when you don’t know any different.” She felt Richie’s fingers tangle with hers and she gave his a light squeeze.  “We didn’t travel very often and when we did it was the cheapest way possible.  We never had a lot of money. We weren’t poor, but we weren’t rolling in it either.”  She shrugged and looked around, “I think it will be a long time before something like this” she gestured around her, “becomes second nature.”

The plane started to taxi and Stephanie braced herself for takeoff and the inevitable pain her doctor had warned her of.  She closed her eyes as they made their ascent, her grip tightened on Richie’s hand as the pressure in the cabin changed and the ache in her ribs grew.  She wrapped her free arm around her middle.  “Dammit.”  Apparently just because her skin didn’t show any signs of bruising anymore, didn’t mean her insides were healed.

“You okay, Sweetheart?”  He slid his arm around her as they made their ascent. “You want one of your pain pills?”  He knew she had them with her, he made sure she put them in her carry-on bag.

“I’ll be fine once we reach cruising altitude” she ground out between clenched teeth. She didn’t want a pill now, it was too early for her to fall asleep. “I’ll take one later.”

When they finally reached their cruising altitude, Stephanie took two extra strength Tylenol, deciding to save her prescription meds for later.  Vickie served them a light meal and once the dishes were cleared, Stephanie dug out her Kindle.

Richie came back from the bathroom and saw what she was doing. “I’m going to play cards with the guys for a bit.  You okay?”

She nodded and smiled, “I’m good.  Have fun and don’t let them take all your money.”

He leaned down, bracing himself on the arms of her chair and nipped at her bottom lip. “You know better, Sweetheart.”

She grinned, “okay then, how about this?  If you win big you can buy me something nice at some point this month.”

He returned her grin. That was the first time she had ever blatantly asked for anything from him. “You got it, baby.”

“Hey!” David was getting impatient. “Rich, man, you gonna play or you gonna fuck around with your girlfriend?”

Richie dropped a kiss on her pretty mouth and stood.  “You in a hurry to lose all your money Lema?”  He strode over and took a seat at the table.  “Deal me in man and don’t start crying when you lose your shirt.”

Stephanie chuckled and dug out her earbuds.  Plugging into her Kindle, music filled her ears and she got lost in the latest Nora novel.

They played in relative quiet for a while, the only sounds were the chips hitting the table and the request for two cards here or three cards there.  David folded his hand and glanced over at Stephanie then back at Richie.  “How’s she doing?”  They had all heard about what had happened to her, but this was the first time they had seen her since the incident had happened.

Richie tossed his bet into the middle of the table then glanced over at his girl.  “She says she’s okay.  It was tough though.”  He thought about how she had totally broken down in his kitchen that day.  “When I first got back and saw her, I wanted to find the guys who had hurt her and wring their fuckin’ necks.  Her bruises are mostly healed now, but her wrist,” he gestured to her right arm with the brace on it. “That was actually broken, just a hairline fracture she said, but still.”  He ran his hand over his face. He still didn’t like to think about it.  “We met with the DA and she cut a deal with the guys who did this to her.”

The card game was all but forgotten as they talked.

“A deal?” Jon shook his head in disbelief. “Why would you let her cut a deal with those two assholes?”  He would have made sure their asses landed in jail for as long as possible.

Richie took a long swallow of his water.  “She didn’t want the hassle of a trial.  She just wanted it to be over and done with.  It wasn’t a bad deal and they will be spending some time in jail.”  He downed the rest of his water.  “I’m more worried about them doing their community service with Habitat.”

At their blank looks he explained further.  “They’ll be working with her.  She quit her regular job and volunteers full time with Habitat.”

David’s fist came down on the table, fluttering the cards and making the chips dance.  “Was the DA out of her mind?  And What was Stephanie thinking agreeing to that?”

“Steph wanted it that way.”  Richie looked over at her, she had nodded off with her earphones still in and the Kindle resting on her lap.  “She figured she could keep an eye on them that way.”

“What if they try something with her again?”  Tico added his concerns to the conversation.

Richie sighed.  “I asked about that and she told me she’d report them, after she hit them both with her hammer.”

They all chuckled at that, feeling slightly better about the situation.  “Let’s figure out who gets this pot and get some sleep.”  Jon grabbed his cards and flipped them over.  The rest followed and Richie ended up sweeping the pot toward him.

~

Stephanie yawned and blinked her eyes open.  She had slept surprisingly well.  The wide seats had reclined nearly flat and, with the armrest raised, she had been able to cuddle up next to Richie.  She carefully shifted off of him and stood.  After stretching out the kinks, she checked her watch and dug for her toiletry bag.  It was morning, early morning, but morning nonetheless.

After taking care of her bladder, she used the tiny sink to brush her teeth and freshen up as best she could.  She ran her fingers through her hair and, using the hair tie around her wrist, she twisted her hair up on a messy knot on the back of her head.  Straightening her skirt, she opened the door and found herself face to face with Jon.  He was a little bleary eyed and his hair...she had never seen bedhead quite that bad before.  “Good morning” she managed without letting a laugh escape.

“Morning” he practically grunted. “You done?”

She stepped out and around him, “it’s all yours.”  She had tucked her toiletry back in her carry on and was tapping two pills out of their bottle when he came out and went to sit at the table.  She could smell the heavenly aroma of coffee and knew what he was waiting for.  She picked up her bottle of water and downed her pills.

“Join me?”  Jon pointed from her to the chair across from him.  At her hesitation he sweetened his offer, “Vicki tells me the coffee is nearly ready and she’ll bring us some.”

She grabbed her Kindle out of her bag before moving around Richie and sitting down across from Jon.  “Do you always wake this early?”

He frowned and nodded, “unfortunately.”

They sat in silence until Vicki set down two mugs, filled them and set the carafe on the table. Jon watched Stephanie stir two sugars into hers.  He blew across the surface of his own mug and took a healthy sip.  He closed his eyes and waited for the hit of caffeine to jumpstart his system.

Stephanie waited for him to open his eyes, “did you want something from me or did you just want me to sit here and watch you drink your coffee?”

He smiled in earnest, “I just wanted to see if you were doing all right.  Rich told us about what happened to you.”

“Other than this” she waved her right arm at him, “I’m fine.”

“He was worried, you know.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“We all were.” Jon took another sip of his morning brew. “You’re important to him and that makes you important to all of us.”

Stephanie ducked her head, she didn’t know what to say. To have him of all people tell her something like that was a little unbelievable.  She raised her eyes to his, “thanks, Jon.”

He raised his mug again, “you’re good for him. You make him happier than he’s been in way too long. I don’t want that to change. That means you need to be careful, maybe get yourself a little protection while those bastards are doing their community service with you.”

She frowned at his suggestion before stubbornly raising her chin. “That won’t be necessary. I plan on having them mostly playing fetch and carry.  And, I know how to use the nail gun if I need to.  I’ll be fine.”

Jon snickered and winced at her choice of weapons.  He admired the flash of resistance and steely determination in her eyes at his suggestion of a bodyguard.  Dammit, he liked this woman.  He hadn’t want to at first, she was a fan and he knew how crazy some of them could be.  But she wasn’t like anyone he had met in the fan community before.  She was as normal as his own wife and that went a long way with him.  He picked up the carafe Vicki had left and filled her cup, added two sugars and nudged it toward her.  “Rich takes his coffee the same way you do.”  He looked over to where his friend was starting to stir.  “He’s gonna want that in about 30 seconds.”

She rested her hand on his for a brief moment before hooking her fingers through the handle on the mug.  “Thanks.”  They weren’t friends yet, but this was definitely a step in the right direction.

Leaving Jon, she turned to find Richie sitting upright in his seat, rubbing his face and running his fingers through his hair.  Keeping a firm grip on the steaming mug she leaned down and brushed her lips across his stubble-laden cheek.  “Good morning.”

Cupping her jaw with his hand he gave her a sleepy smile before pressing his lips lightly to hers.  “Morning, Sweetheart.”  The fingers of his free hand found the enticing slit in her skirt and they blazed a trail up her leg, drawing light circles on her thigh.  “Do I smell coffee?”  He didn’t wait for an answer before he tried to tug her down to sit on his lap.

“Wait!”  She somehow managed to keep a hold on the coffee mug without dumping it on him.  Finding her balance again she held out the mug, “here, take it before you end up wearing it.”

Taking the mug in one hand, he grabbed her wrist with the other and in one very slick move, had her on his lap without spilling a drop of the still steaming coffee. 

She giggled out a surprised “hey” and he brought the mug to his lips and took a sip.  “Mmmmm, thank you.”

They sat together quietly while he drank his coffee and they steeped themselves in each other.  She wasn’t sure how crazy things would be once they landed and she was grateful for the closeness. 

All too soon Vicki came around to collect empty mugs and to let them know that they’d be landing shortly.

Richie shifted Stephanie off his lap and took his turn in the bathroom.  He slid open the door and stepped out and took a minute to just watch his girl.  She stowed her things in her bag and tucked it under her seat before sitting down and buckling herself in.  The slit in her long skirt gaped open and her mile long left leg drew him like a moth to a flame.  He couldn’t wait to get to the hotel so he could taste every tanned inch of that leg.

He strode over and sat down, running his fingers up her leg from knee to thigh.  “How do you still look so amazing even after 13 hours of flying?”

She turned her head and her nosed brushed his.  Her smile softened and she shook her head, he was such a charmer.  “I look more than a little worse for wear and would kill for a shower, but thank you.”

He buckled his seatbelt and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing her fingertips.  “We can start in the shower, but you’ll have to scream real loud for anyone to hear you.”

Her eyes widened and dilated, remembering their conversation on his balcony before they left.  “Once we land, how long will it take to get to the hotel?”

 Richie just chuckled.  This was gonna be fun.