LIII

About half an hour after noon, Frédérique was on the elevator of the hotel, i-pod still on, on her way up to Richie’s suite after jogging and walking for the last three hours or so. She had just bumped into David and a handful of crew members in the lobby and greeted them. Jon was nowhere to be seen and judging by the time of day, he was probably still in bed or trying to get out of it. She had also bought a bottle of mineral water at a store near the hotel and gulped half of it while she stood on the sidewalk, on the phone with Alain to go over the final details of his, Thiage’s and both their girlfriend’s trip to Paris to see the show.

As she walked out of the elevator, taking her headphones off, all she could think of was a good shower and lunch…then some Richie for dessert. She stopped and hesitated: there were still some journalists outside Richie’s suite so she decided to go back downstairs and hang out with the rest of the band for a little while.

She pressed the call button and as she waited, putting the headphones back on and humming to Richie’s “Blood on the ground” – his voice in that song drove her crazy - she took a couple more gulps of water and stared at the details around the perimeter of the elevator door. She unconsciously swayed her hips to the bluesy rhythm. The elevator came back and she reentered it as she tried to put the cap back on the bottle, but her still shaky hands from the exercise couldn’t hold on to it properly, so it fell to the floor and she bent over to retrieve it.

“Hey Cinderella”, she heard Jon raise his voice so he was heard over the music, “If you’re looking for your sandals, I got them”. She looked up and there he stood on the corridor outside the elevator cabin: his usual jeans and boots, long-sleeved white T-shirt and sunglasses.

She contained a wry smirk. What were the chances?

“I didn’t know you were a high-heels kind of guy”, she replied as she straightened up and took the headphones from her ears. Jon threw his head back and laughed hoarsely, covering the infrared sensor with his hand so the door wouldn’t close back. She stepped back out of the cabin and Jon wrapped his arm around her neck to pull her close for a hug. “It’s good to see ya, Fred”, Jon flashed her the mega-watt smile and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh, please I’m disgusting from my run”, she giggled and pulled apart, then nodded with a gentle smile. "It's nice to see you, too, Jon"

“I haven’t put them on. Yet. So ya better hurry before I change my mind”, he warned mockingly.

Frédérique flapped her hand at him and shook her head with abandon. “You were on your way out. Maybe you can resist putting them on a little bit more and give them to me later”. 

“Naw..I was just bored to death and I thought maybe downstairs someone would put me out of my mysery”, he rolled his eyes and spoke as he breathed out. “Want some coffee?”, he offered carelessly and tipped his head down the corridor.

“Sure”, she shrugged and nodded. “Why not?”

As they walked over to Jon’s suite and past Richie’s, Frédérique was relieved that everything was the same way as before: she and Jon were as comfortable and at ease around each other as always.  

Once inside, he started the coffee machine and as she waited seated on the loveseat, one leg folded underneath he, one arm along the backrest, she inquired about the shows. She already knew that they’d been nothing but awesome because Richie had told her, and Jon repeated more or less the same, only adding some new information here and there. He poured two cups of coffee as he continued talking and took the sugar. He frowned and looked at her: Frédérique silently raised her hand folding her thumb and pinky.

“What about you? What’ve you been up to these days?” he asked with sincere interest and sat by her side mirroring her pose, right hand holding the coffee cup and the other along the back of the loveseat so their arms were parallel but not touching. She took her cup and told him that not much had changed: just work, work, work. They both sipped from their coffees as they chatted. “I’ve been having some conversations with my bosses”, she told him excitedly. “After the museum certification is done, all the work I take from then on will be as free-lance”, she bowed her head. “That way I can work with more flexibility and perhaps focus on specific contests or tenders, I don’t want to be glued to the office anymore”. Jon held a quizzical look and she answered the unspoken question. “No, they don’t know yet. Not until the project is finished. Richie's friend knows we want to keep it down so he won't say anything to Leonard, either”.

When she finished her coffee, she took Jon’s wrist and twisted it to look at his watch: she’d been there for more than half an hour. Then she gently dropped it back on the back of the sofa.

“I’d better get going”, she stood up with a friendly smile. “Thanks for the coffee”. Yes, what had happened between them had never been meant to happen and she was glad they’d both put it behind them.

Jon stood up, too. “You’re welcome”, he replied kindly with a tight smile. She gave him a double peck on the cheeks before motioning towards the door.

But Jon captured her wrist. “Wait”, he ordered huskily.

She froze with disbelief at first, but then looked back and tried to add levity to the situation by smiling while she spoke with a little amusement in her voice. “Let me go, Jon”

He held her gaze. “I’ll let you go only if you promise to make him happy”, his voice held all that cockiness that was just…so him.

Frédérique chuckled softly, then spoke emphasizing with soft pulls of her wrist.

“Of course I will. Not because you command me to, but because I love him”, she told him calmly, with warmness in her voice. “And you will let me go because you love him, too”.

They stared into each other’s eyes silently for a few more moments and then Jon released his grip of her wrist. He didn’t expect anything different from her, but he needed to feel he had some sort of control, even if it was only the illusion of it.

“I care for both of you, Fred. But you already know that”, he told her. He could verify that there was no wall, but she wasn’t going to talk about it - it had never happened.  Telling her how much he wanted her was out of the question. And pointless - he’d have to keep that to himself until he could turn it into something else.

Frédérique took a step towards him for a hug and spoke with heartfelt voice against his shoulder. “Yes, I know”, she sighed in relief. “When you’re not playing Superman you can be the nicest guy...and I like Clark Kent the better”.

He sighed softly, pressed a little harder and gave her a smooch on the cheek. “You’re too sweet…ya haven’t seen me pissed off, yet”, he smirked and she chuckled softly - she’d missed that mock self-deprecation. “So ya better be a good girl, or I’ll have to spank ya”, he warned with mock sternness and she replied with a hoarse laughter before pulling apart.

“I’ll try”, she promised with a smirk. “I hear you can turn people to stone by just looking at them”. She gritted her teeth and faked a shudder.

Jon let his head fall back, exposing his prominent Adam’s apple, and let out a throaty chuckle, then he pulled his head back up and his lips tightened in a warm smile. He still wanted her, but it was Richie who was standing in the way between Jon and something he wanted, and that’s where he drew the line. Yes, he’d let her go. It was the right thing to do. And Jon always did the right thing. He was a strong man, and this time, for Richie’s sake, he wouldn’t let his dick get in the way.

He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. “Friends?”, he asked against her skin, curling the corners of his lips upwards and raising his eyebrows. That was all he knew he could ask from her - that was as close as he could get.

She let out a little smile and squeezed his hand. “Of course, I’d be honored”, she agreed as she bowed her head and flexed her legs as a courtesy. There was a pause. “Goodbye, Jon”, she told him finally, with a gentle smile after lifting her head back up to look into his eyes.

“Bye, Fred”, Jon replied pursing his lips and releasing her hand. After she left, he closed the door behind him, took her sandals from the cupboard and walked again towards the door. Then he waited for an instant. There was a knock and he opened it, ducking his lips to contain a evil grin and keeping the sandals hidden behind his back.

“Now unless you’re planning on wearing them for the show tonight…don’t you dare dream you’re keeping my sandals”. Frédérique faked a reprimand.

“You’re welcome”, he couldn't contain his grin anymore, and he handed them to her. "I'm sure they look much better on your feet".

“Thanks”, she grinned and giggled. Then spun on her heels and walked towards Richie’s door. There was no one outside. As she opened it, she heard Jon’s door close behind her so she turned her head and watched him swaggering down the hall with one hand in his front pocket. She shook her head and chuckled softly when he looked over his shoulder and winked.

Then, he walked on. 

…

Frédérique found Richie alone, splayed on the couch, head on armrest, one foot on the floor and a leg extended along the seat. His other arm hung down holding his blue shades. He looked drained.

“Hello, handsome!”, she told him with a bright smile as she walked towards him, showing him the pair of sandals before carefully putting them on the floor next to the loveseat. “Can you believe Jon found them inside the elevator?”, she wrinkled her nose. He took her hand and pulled her down so she landed on top of him, then he kissed her.

“No shit”, Richie replied with amusement. After giving her another smooch, he motioned to sit back up: her energy had immediately boosted his own energy level up.

He put his lips against her neck and sucked slightly. “As delicious as you taste”, he hummed, “if I keep feedin’ on ya I’m afraid I’ll run outta ya too soon. Wanna go out for lunch?”.

“Sure”, she said seductively before nibbling on his lips. “Only if I can have you for dessert”.