Chapter Forty-Four

With a frustrated sigh, Stephanie hitched her laptop bag and her purse higher on her shoulder and pulled her suitcase behind her down the hall.  Her flight had been uneventful, long, but uneventful. It was getting through customs that had been a real pain in the ass. She had forgotten just how insane it was getting into another country.  For some unknown reason the agents had decided it was her day to be singled out, have her bag rifled through and ask her umpteen million questions about why she was there, where she was going, who she was going with and how long her stay was going to be.  It would be worse going home, she was sure.  But she had answered their questions as simply and pleasantly as possible. I’m going to see a rock concert.  I’m leaving on Tuesday.  No, I’m not meeting anyone. Liar.  I’m going to get laid.  Okay, so she hadn’t said that last bit, but maybe she should have.

Who would have thought going to see her boyfriend’s band play would be such a big deal?

Fishing her key card out of her pocket she let herself into her room.  Closing the door behind her she leaned against it and let out a low whistle.  “So this is how the other half travels.”  She set her purse and laptop on the table and wandered through the suite.  The color scheme was quiet, comforting in its beige and gold tones with soft blue in the bedroom.  The king-sized bed took up much of the space and the view of the City from the window was spectacular.  The bathroom had her nearly drooling with marble everywhere and its separate walk-in shower.  Dragging herself from the decadence of the bathroom she wandered the rest of the suite, running her fingers lightly over the high-polished tables and antiques.  The wet bar looked inviting.  She’d have to break into the complimentary bottle of wine later.

She wandered back to the door where she had left her things and took her suitcase into the bedroom.  After unpacking her things, she took her laptop and purse to the living room.  While her computer was booting up, she gave in to temptation and took a glass from the wet bar, uncorked the chardonnay and stood in front of the wide window taking in the city below.  It was a hell of a view.  Twilight was settling over the cityscape, lights were winking on here and there while people bustled from store to bar, from cab to restaurant.

Reaching over the back of the sofa, she rummaged in her purse for her phone.  She had a sudden urge to talk to Richie.  They hadn’t really talked since the night she had made her arrangements to come to Toronto. And he still didn’t know she was here.  Unlocking her phone she found she had two text messages and a voice mail.  Scrolling through, the texts were from her friends wishing her a great trip.  The voice mail was from Richie.

Hey sweetheart, looks like I missed you again. We seem to be doing that a lot lately.

She smiled at the low chuckle and almost hung up at the long silence.  Before she clicked off she heard his voice once more.

I miss you.  I’ll try calling you again.  Hopefully next time I’ll get you and not your voice mail.  Bye for now.

Closing out of her voice mail, Stephanie set her wine down and sat on the couch.  He had sounded a little like she felt right now.  Alone and a little lonely.  Sure, she had traveled alone before, but she was always heading somewhere to meet up with her friends, sharing a hotel room with three or four girls.  She looked around the room once again.  A room like this she would have shared with Mark for a romantic getaway.  She smiled wistfully.  Maybe not exactly like this, but at least she wouldn’t be sitting here alone with her laptop ready to work.  

She finished her wine.  Enough wallowing.  Picking up her phone she unlocked it and scrolled through her contacts to Richie’s number.  Right now she had a strong need to hear his voice.  Hitting dial, she waited, hoping to get him and not his voice mail.

~

Picking up his jacket and reached for his phone to slip it into his pocket.  The guys were going to be heading to dinner soon and he didn’t need one of them calling him to hurry him along.  He ran his fingers through his hair.  The nap had done him some good.  He didn’t feel quite so tired now.  They had only been back on the road two weeks and already it was getting to him.  How was he going to get through the next five months?

His phone vibrated in his pocket as he was perusing the contents of the wet bar.  Plucking one of the small bottles from the shelf he stood and dug his phone out.  Finally he thought as he touched the screen with a smile.  He was going to get to hear her voice and not the damned voice mail.

“Hey Sweetheart,” he abandoned the bottle, the need for a drink dissipated and settled in the nearest chair.  “How are you?”

She smiled.  “Better now.  I was beginning to think we’d be playing phone tag forever.”

He chuckled quietly.  “It’s not my idea of fun, but it happens sometimes.”  He didn’t miss the catch in her voice.  The hint of sadness she couldn’t quite conceal.  “Is everything okay sweetheart?”

She got up and wandered back to the big window.  “I’m-” she paused and reconsidered.  No more pussy-footing around.  You wanted to see him that’s why you came here.  “Rich, I’m here.”

He sat up straighter in his chair, his heart beat a little faster.  Did that mean what he thought, hoped it meant.  “Here where, Sweetheart?”

She studied her reflection in the window.  “Here, Rich.  In Toronto.  At the Four Seasons.”

He was out of his chair like a shot and nearly to the door as he asked his next question.  “What room are you in?”

 “3517.”  Setting her phone down she hurried to her door and had it open before he could even knock and found herself wrapped in a strong embrace and lost in a welcoming hungry kiss.

“Sweetheart” he asked between kisses, “what are you doing here and why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

Cupping his face in her hands, she raised his head up so they were eye to eye.  “Surprise.”

Smiling, he kissed her again and kicked the door shut with his foot.  Without letting her go he crossed the room and sat down on the couch, settling her on his lap.  “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, sweetheart” he murmured as he nuzzled into her neck.

She shifted on his lap, rubbing her bottom against his rapidly rising erection. “I think I can guess.”

He laughed before capturing her lips once again.  “Naughty girl” he muttered and rearranged her so she was straddling his lap, cradling his harness in her softness.

She leaned in to his kisses, pressing against his chest and Muddy Waters’ Who Do You Trust started playing from somewhere.  She pulled her mouth from his, “I think your pocket is ringing.”

The only sound he could hear was the roar of his own pulse in his head.  He took a deep breath and fished in his pocket, his hand brushing against her breast had him nearly saying “fuck it” and letting the call go to voice mail. 

She rocked against him and her breath was warm at his ear, “answer it.”

With his free hand he held her hips down, “you need to stop.”  He held her there as he answered the phone.  “What do you want?”  It was Jon, he didn’t need the formality of ‘hello’.

“Hey, you coming to dinner?   We’re waiting on you.”

Fuck.  He had forgotten about dinner.  “Yeah, I’ll be-” he paused and looked at Steph.  “Is there room for one more?”

Jon roamed to look out the door at the car.  “Sure why not?  Who are you bringing?”  They had only been at the hotel for a day.  Who the hell could have found in such a short time?  He shook his head at the absurdness of the question.  It was Richie, he could find anyone at any given time.

“We’ll be down in a minute.”  He shut the phone and looked at Stephanie once more.  “Did you eat yet?  Want to come to dinner with us?”

She swallowed back her nerves.  “Us?”  She had a feeling she knew who ‘us’ was, but she wasn’t going to assume.

“Yeah, us.  The guys.”

She climbed off his lap, grabbed her purse and headed toward the bathroom.  No way was she going to see Jon again and meet the others looking like she’d traveled half the day and been ravaged by her man.  “Just give me a minute.”