Chapter 8

Valerie’s heart is pounding wildly in her chest as she stands outside on the deck, deeply inhaling the fresh air. She feels a multitude of emotions run through her. Longing from the passion that was flaring up inside her. Fear from the images that flashed in her mind. Embarrassment that she pushed Richie away. And lastly, anger that Brad still had this hold on her. She wants to lash out at something ... anything. Unable to stop herself, she drives her fist into the wood railing of the deck. The flash of pain a welcome release to the storm raging inside her.

Once she calms down a little, she sits down on one of the chairs on the deck. She grabs her pack of cigarettes and lighter from the small table beside her. She pulls out a smoke and lights it, deeply inhaling, eager for it’s calming effect. Her heart finally stops it’s racing, although she can feel moisture gathering in her eyes. She wipes the tears from her face, not wanting Richie to see her like this.

A few moments later she hears the door to the deck opening. She looks over to it as Richie walks out to join her.

“I’m so sorry Richie. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” Valerie apologizes.

Richie looks into Valerie’s eyes. He can see the pain there, and curses himself. “You have nothing to apologize for. I didn’t mean to make you feel pressured into something you’re not comfortable with. I just can’t help myself when I’m near you. Don’t be afraid to tell me to fuck off.”

“It not your fault Richie, it’s mine. I have demons that don’t seem to want to let go of me.” She doesn’t want him to feel responsible. “I’ll understand if this is too much for you .... if you don’t want to get involved with me.”

Richie can sense that this has to do with what happened in the past with her ex. Although she hasn’t told him all the details of what happened that night, he has a feeling it involved more than just a beating. He curses the man that hurt her, and wants to do everything in his power make that pain go away. “Trust me, I don’t scare away that easily.” He tries to reassure her.

Richie kneels down in front of her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. He looks into her eyes, seeing the wetness from her tears. “I feel lucky to be with you. You’re a special woman, any man would be crazy not to see that. You’ll get through this, and I’ll be here to help you. Don’t be afraid to talk to me about anything.”

Valerie can see the sincerity of his words in his warm brown eyes. She wants so badly to believe him, but has been hurt so many times in the past, she finds herself struggling. “ Thank you Richie for understanding. I’ve been trying so hard to forget and move on, but it just keeps coming back to haunt me.” Valerie looks away from his face, willing away the sting of tears.

Richie can sense that she’s not comfortable talking about what happened, and he doesn’t want to push her. He knows time will heal her wounds, and when she’s ready, she’ll open up to him. He’ll just have to be patient, and try harder to control the raging desire that courses through him when he’s around her. He has a feeling that in the long run it’ll be worth it, and maybe this relationship between them will be what he’s been searching a long time for.

Valerie looked into Richie’s face again after getting control over her tears. She is amazed at her luck in finding a man like him, and just prays that she doesn’t screw it up. She finds herself memorizing all the features of his face, feeling that tinge of butterflies in her stomach. She wants so badly to kiss him again, but holds back out of fear that the moment will get ruined again by her visions.

Valerie reaches over to the ashtray on the table and snuffs out her cigarette, then placing her hands on the armrests of her chair she starts to push herself up. Richie takes her lead and stands up with her. They both look at each other for a moment, until Valerie reaches her arms around him in an embrace. She places her head on his chest listening to the soothing sounds of his heartbeat. She feels one of his hands rubbing her back while the other one is lightly caressing the back of her head.

“It’s going to be ok, we’ll get through this.” Richie promises her, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.


Valerie nods her head in agreement, not wanting to break the spell. She feels safe in his arms, and slowly closes her eyes, wanting to savor this moment of tenderness. Unfortunately the moment was cut short by Richie’s cell phone ringing. He growls as his pulls it out of his pocket and looks at the caller ID. She hears him mutter the word fuck as his flips the phone open to answer it. She reluctantly releases her hold around his waist to allow him to talk to the person on the phone. She can’t help but smile at the annoyed look on his face.

“Hello?” Richie answers the phone, annoyed at the intrusion.

“Hey man, where are you?” Jon asks on the other end.

“I’m at Valerie’s. What do you want?”

Jon can hear the annoyance in Richie’s voice, and can’t help but laugh. “Sorry man, did I interrupt something?”

Richie knows what Jon is hinting at, and doesn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “No it’s fine.”

“Listen, Tico and Dave are here to discuss tour plans, and we could really use our guitarist’s input. So do you think you could get your ass over here.”

“Right now?” Richie really doesn’t want to leave just yet.

“Umm... yes, right now. Get your dick out of Valerie’s pussy, and get your ass over here.” Jon’s tone left no room for argument.

Richie so badly wants to deck Jon for that comment, but he controls his anger. “Fine, I’m on my way.” Richie replies before hanging up the phone.

Valerie had gone and stood over on the other side of the deck to give Richie some privacy while he was on the phone. She was leaning forward on the railing looking at the trees and flowers in the backyard when Richie walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. She instinctively leans back into him, loving the feel of his arms around her.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. My boss needs me to help with decisions involving the tour.” He apologizes.

Valerie turns around so she can look into his face. “Your boss?” She asks arching an eyebrow. “I didn’t know rock stars had bosses.”

Richie chuckles. “Yeah, Jon’s the boss. He calls most of the shots. He handles most of the business side of things, which is cool with me.”

“Well I should probably crack open some of my school books and start studying. I have a full week of finals coming up.” Valerie admits.

“Ok, well I’ll talk to you later then.” He replies before bending his head down to give her a quick kiss.

Valerie and Richie walk back into the house and she follows him to the front door. She watches him as he walks out to his car and drives away. She then shuts the door and leans against it for a moment gathering her thoughts. She knows she should get started with her studying, but doesn’t feel like doing it. She has all day tomorrow to pour over books and notes.

Valerie walks into the kitchen to grab her cell phone out of her purse. She told Nikki she’d give her a call, so she dials her friend’s number and waits for her to answer.

“Hey sister. Wasn’t sure if you were going to call me tonight.” Nikki answers the phone.


“Richie just left so I thought I’d call you.” Valerie replies.

“So.... what did you guys do when I left?”

“We came here to my house. I ordered a pizza, and we watched a movie..... I think I fucked things up.” Valerie expresses her fear to her friend.

“Why? What happened?” Nikki questions, the surprise evident in her voice.

“We started kissing on the couch. Everything was feeling great, then all of a sudden I had a flashback from that night, and I panicked. I pushed him away and ran out to the back deck.” Valerie confesses.

“Oh shit. What do you think triggered it?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I was laying on my back with him half on top of me. I remember feeling him start to caress one of my breasts, then it happened.”

“How did he take it?” Nikki questions.

“He followed me outside, and apologized. He thought he’d done something wrong. I told him it wasn’t his fault, it was mine.”

“Wow.... So he wasn’t upset?”

“He didn’t seem to be. Surprisingly he seemed very understanding, but I don’t know. I’m afraid he’s going to decide it’s not worth the trouble to get involved with me.”

“I don’t know Val. Even though I was only around him for a little while, he didn’t strike me as the kind of guy to turn tail and run. He seemed very interested in you. Not like the other guys you tried to date, who I’m sure were only interested in one thing.” Nikki tries to reassure her.

“Yeah, but how am I going to get past these flashbacks?”

“I hate to say it, but, I think you brought this on yourself. You never really dealt with what happened that night. I know you’ve tried to sweep it under the rug, pretend it never happened, but it did. I’m sure you did it, because you wanted to protect Chris and I from knowing all the details, but you need to talk about it, with someone ...anyone. It’s the only way you’re going to be able to moved on, and finally be able to put it past you.”

Valerie kind of felt like she was being scolded, although she knew what Nikki said was true. She did have a tendency to not ask for help, trying to take care of things on her own. Usually that meant pretending nothing happened. She really didn’t want to go into details of what happened that night because she didn’t want Chris and Nikki to treat her differently than before, like she was broken and needed special treatment. She also didn’t want anyone’s pity, it was her fault she dated Brad in the first place, she should have seen the signs, now she’s the one that has to live with the consequences. She knows Chris feels guilty for not going over to Brad’s with her that night, and she doesn’t want him to feel worse by knowing all details of what transpired.

“You’re right, Nic. I know I’m going to have to open up and talk to someone about it. I don’t know when, or with who, but I will eventually. I so badly want things to work out with Richie and I. I just have to get over my fears.” Valerie finally responds.

“I know it’s going to be hard for you Val, to relive that night, but it’ll be worth it.” Nikki encourages her.

“Thank you Nic.” Valerie replies somberly.

“No problem sis. You’ll get through this, I know you will, and you’ll be happier then you have been in a long time. I’m sure you’ll feel like you old self again, before that night happened.”

“Then I can get back to being a troublemaker, right?” Valerie can’t help but chuckle at memories of the stunts her and Nikki used to pull.

“Exactly” Nikki laughs. “Richie won’t know what hit him.”

Valerie laughs at that last remark. “ Well, I should probably get some studying done. I’m dreading this week full of finals. Just hope I do ok.”

“You’ll do fine.” Nikki promises.

“Alright I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok.... love you sister.”

“Love you too .... bye bye.” Valerie hangs up her phone.

Instead of getting her books out, Valerie climbs the stairs to her bedroom. All of the day’s events have left her exhausted, she just wants to climb into bed and sleep.

******

Chapter 7

They both get out of Richie’s car. Valerie grabs her shopping bag, before walking to the front door of her house. She pulls her keys out of her purse to unlock the door, then walks inside holding the door open for Richie. She’s a little self conscious, wondering what Richie is going to think of her house, no doubt small compared to his. Valerie leads him into the open family room.

“Well this is my house I share with my brothers, although Mark is hardly ever here.” Valerie gestures towards the open room which also includes the dining and kitchen area.

“It’s nice.” Richie comments. He can see Valerie’s unease.” You know, I grew up in a house much like this. I didn’t always live in big fancy houses.”

Valerie smiles at his comment. “I’ll show you the upstairs.”

She leads him up the staircase to the second story. Richie tries hard not to stare at her perfectly shaped ass swaying in front of him. Valerie opens the door to her bedroom letting him follow her inside as she lays her shopping bag on her bed. Richie looks over the room. He’s a little surprised that it doesn’t look girly, instead it has neutral colors. A dark bedspread covers the queen size bed and she has some very nice oak furniture.

Richie notices a sketch book laying open on her dresser. He looks at it and sees a beautiful drawing of a rose on the page. “Did you draw this?” he asks, pointing at the book.

“Yeah I did. Sometimes I draw while I’m in class when the professor is giving a lecture.” Valerie explains.

“It’s really good. Shouldn’t you be studying art instead of business management.” Richie questions.

Valerie smiles at his compliment. “I really enjoy drawing and painting, but could never see myself making a living doing it. I guess you could say I took the more responsible road.”

“Well don’t give up on it, you’re really good at it.”

“Thanks” Valerie blushes. She didn’t expect him to take an interest in her art.

They leave her bedroom, and Valerie shows him the rest of the upstairs before heading back downstairs. She walks into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator door looking inside. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Sure, anything you’ve got is fine by me.” Richie replies.

“Pepsi it is.” Valerie reaches into the fridge to pull out two cans then sets them on the counter. While she searches the cabinets for some paper plates the door bell rings.

“I’ll get it.” Richie offers as he walks to the front door.

Valerie grabs some paper towels along with the plates and sodas, then carries them into the family room placing them on the coffee table. She can hear Richie talking to the pizza delivery guy, and is surprised to hear the guy thank Richie for the generous tip.

“You know, you just spoiled my pizza guy. He’s going to be disappointed next time he comes here to deliver a pizza.” Valerie scolds Richie teasingly.

“Sorry, force of habit.” Richie chuckles.

“Well I’m sure you made his day. Maybe next time I’ll get a faster delivery.” Valerie smiles.



Richie lays the pizza box on the table beside the sodas Valerie placed there. His stomach grumbles in hunger at the aroma wafering from the box. He remembers that he hasn’t ate anything yet today cause of his excitement at spending time with Valerie. Food has been the last thing on his mind.

Valerie grabs the tv remote before sitting on the couch. She turns on the tv then starts skimming through the channels until she finds something half way interesting, a funny movie. She puts the remote on the coffee table as Richie sits down beside her. They both reach towards the pizza box at the same time, brushing their hands. Valerie feels that tingling feeling coursing her body from the simple touch.

Richie gives her a sheepish smile and hold open the box for her. “Ladies first.”

Valerie reaches in and grabs a slice of the pizza. “Thanks.” She smiles back at him.

Richie grabs some pizza for himself, and they both start eating while they watch the movie, laughing together at the funny parts. Once they ate their fill of the pizza, they both lean back onto the couch and relax while watching the movie. Richie very nonchalantly puts his arm around Valerie’s shoulders. At first she is a little nervous, but after a few moments she relaxes against him, and enjoys the closeness. She’s a little amazed at how right it feels being close to him, as if she was always meant to be by his side.

Richie is enjoying the feel of Valerie’s body against him. He can smell the light fragrance of her hair, and has to control himself to keep from burying his face in her long locks. The warmth of her body is driving him insane, he is fighting the urge to sweep her up in his arms and carry her upstairs. God this is such, sweet, torture. He is trying his damnedest to concentrate on the movie, but every time Valerie laughs at a funny part, he can feel the blood rushing to his cock. He loves the sound of her laugh, the look on her face when she smiles, the twinkle in her eyes.

The movie reaches it’s end and the credits are rolling. Valerie starts to sit up from her comfortable position. “That was a pretty good movie.” She comments.

“Yeah it was.” Richie barely keeps the groan out of his voice at the loss of her warmth against him.

Valerie is unsure of what they should do now, she can feel the nervousness coming back. She would be content to watch another movie, and just enjoy being close to Richie, but she doesn’t want him to get bored. Richie sits up from his relaxed position on the couch, as Valerie is fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. She looks up into to Richie’s face shyly, and is mesmerized by his warm brown eyes.

Richie can’t hold back any longer. He has to feel her lips against his. It’s all he’s been thinking about since the kiss they shared last night. He slowly inches his face towards her until at last her soft, warm lips are against his. He can feel the course of electricity though him, as well as the rush of blood. He is surprised at how turned on he gets, just from kissing Valerie.

Valerie is swept up in the flaring passion from the feeling of Richie’s lips against hers. She can feel his tongue gently coaxing her mouth open, and when she does the kiss deepens. She then feels Richie’s hands cupping her face, his thumbs lightly caressing her cheeks. Valerie raises her hand up, running it through his long hair until it rests at the nape of his neck, subconsciously drawing him nearer. She doesn’t want this feeling he elicits in her to stop.

Valerie closes her eyes, just concentrating on the feelings coursing through her body. She doesn’t realize she’s leaning back until she feels her back rest against the couch with Richie partially on top. One of his hand’s leave her face and she can feel it lightly caressing her side along her rib cage. She can’t help but notice his hardness straining against his pants pressed up against her thigh. Her senses are overloaded, her heart is pounding, her breathing is heavy, her skin is tingling, and she can sense the wetness between her legs. It’s been so long, if ever, since she’s felt this way.

Richie knows he should stop, before things go to far, but he can’t help himself. It feels too damn good. The feeling of Valerie’s body beneath him, is about to send him over the edge. His cock is straining painfully against his jeans, he wants so badly to release it. He has never felt this intense of a response just from kissing. If this is the way it going to be between them, then there is no way in hell he’s ever going to let her slip through his fingers.

Valerie is caught up in the moment enjoying the sensations that are traveling though her. She envisions what it will be like making love with Richie. She didn’t notice his hand, that was caressing her side, move up to start lightly caressing her breast. Something she wasn’t expecting coursed through her at that moment ... panic...fear. Before she realized what was happening, images of that night long ago flashed in her mind.

Valerie broke the kiss and started pushing against Richie’s chest. “Stop .... please stop.”

Richie was startled, but immediately sat up when he felt Valerie’s hands pushing him to get off her. He watched in stunned silence as Valerie got up from the couch and rushed outside the back door. Oh shit, did I go too far?

*******

Chapter 6

Valerie and Nikki are walking through the mall trying to decide what store they want to go to next. Neither of them finding anything they can justify buying. More than anything they just enjoy being able to hang out since their busy schedules keep them from getting together as much as they’d like. Unlike when they were in high school spending just about everyday together, doing their best to stay out of trouble, but failing more often than not.

“Hey, why don’t we go to Macy’s. I found some cute jeans there last time.” Valerie suggests.

“Alright, fine .... let’s go there.” Nikki teases in mock annoyance.

“Well don’t let me twist your arm.” Valerie replies sarcastically, causing both of them to laugh.

They continue walking towards the department store when Valerie’s cell phone starts to ring. She pulls it out of her purse and glances at the caller ID. She doesn’t recognize the number, but is hopeful it’s Richie.

“Hello?” she answers.

“Hey darling.”

“Hi Richie. Are you at the mall?” Valerie can feel the butterflies starting in her stomach.

“Yeah, I just parked my car. Where are you at?” Richie replies.

“We’re walking towards Macy’s”

“Ok, I’ll meet you there.”

“Alright, see you in a minute.” Valerie responds, then they both hang up.

“So I finally get to meet this mystery man.” Nikki comments, seeing the flush in her friend’s cheeks.

Valerie smiles. “Yeah you do.”

They stand in front of the store waiting. A few minutes later Valerie spots Richie walking past a crowd of people. “There he is.” Valerie points him out.

Nikki turns around and looks at the man approaching them. Tall, dark, and handsome.....not bad. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was already married, she might have been jealous. He’s face looks somewhat familiar, but she can’t quite picture where she’s seen him. She looks at Valerie with a questioning look.

“Good afternoon, Ladies.” Richie greets them with his charming smile.

“Hey Richie, let me introduce you to my friend.....This is Nikki.” Valerie gestures to her friend standing beside her. “And Nikki this is Richie .... Richie Sambora.”

Nikki still looks confused, but holds out her hand to shake Richie’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Valerie hasn’t told me much about you, yet” She gives Valerie an accusing look.

Valerie chuckles a little at her friend’s discomfort. “Sorry Nic, Richie is the guitarist for Bon Jovi.”

Nikki looks at Valerie with a shocked expression on her face. “You’re serious?” She glances back over at the guitarist, appraising him again.

“See.... I told you, you wouldn’t believe me if I didn’t show you.”
“Wow ..... and you guys met at the bar?”

Valerie smiles remembering the night before. “Yeah, I was surprised too. Richie and Jon were there last night when Chris and the band played. They came over and chatted with us, and offered the band a record contract.”

“Well good for Chris, about time someone recognizes his talent. And I assume you guys hit it off?” Nikki asks looking at the couple.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Valerie replies looking into Richie’s eyes, smiling.

“Well you’re a brat, I can’t believe you didn’t invite me. I missed out on all the fun.” Nikki pouts.

Valerie chuckles. “I told you sorry.”

“Yeah ... you’re not sorry.” Nikki accuses.

“Nope, not really.” Valerie admits.

Richie can’t help but chuckle at the banter between the two ladies. He’s really enjoying seeing this fun, playful side of Valerie’s personality.

“Well let go see if this store has anything worth a damn.” Valerie suggests, not wanting to stand around anymore.

They walk to the clothing section in the store, Valerie and Nikki start browsing through the racks, while Richie stands back to watch them. Valerie finds a pair of dark blue, almost black jeans, that she likes the looks of. She scans the racks again until she find a top to go with them, a black halter top with a tribal design.

“Ok I think I’ve found what I want, but I’m going to try them on to be sure.” Valerie tells Richie.

“Where are the dressing rooms?” Richie asks.

“Just over there.” Valerie points to a doorway not to far from them.

Richie follows Valerie to the dressing room and waits outside the door, while she goes in to try on the clothes. He has to force himself to not go in the room and help her out of her clothes.

“I hope your not just leading my friend on to believe you’re interested in her, if your not.” Nikki startles Richie.

Richie didn’t realize she was standing behind him, pretending to be looking through the rack of clothes. He could see the seriousness in her face. “I really like Valerie, and I’m serious about seeing where things will go between us.”

“Just be patient with her, she’s been through a lot with what her ex put her through. None of us want to see her get hurt.” Nikki warns him.

“Trust me, I have no intentions of hurting her.” Richie promises.

About that time Valerie emerges from the dressing room with the new outfit on. Richie takes one look at her then feels the sudden rush of blood to his lower regions. Damn, she looks hot in that. The jeans hug her curves in all the right places, and the top shows off just enough of her cleavage to drive him crazy. As good as the outfit looks on her, he can’t wait to see it in a heap beside his bed.

“So how does it look?” Valerie asks, slowly turning in a circle in front of Richie, a little self conscious.

“Damn girl, it looks great.” Richie manages to get out between slow calming breaths.

“Are you ok?” Valerie can’t help smiling at Richie’s obvious discomfort.

“God, if you only knew the effect your having on me right now.” Richie confesses.

Valerie flashes him a seductive smile then heads back into the dressing room to change back into her other clothes. Richie is trying his hardest to calm himself down before Valerie comes back out.

Valerie comes back out of the dressing room after changing back into her clothes. She finds her friend Nikki talking on the phone. Richie follows Valerie to where her friend is standing.

“Sorry Val, it sounds like I need to head back home. Jimmy just called, I guess the girls have taken him hostage.” Nikki apologizes.

Valerie chuckles at the image of two little girls taking their father hostage. “Hey, no problem. Tell Jimmy not to be afraid to stand up to them.”

“Yeah they have him wrapped around their little fingers.” Nikki replies with a look of annoyance.

“We’ll have to get together and do this again sometime.”

“Yeah of course, I’ll see what my schedule looks like. Maybe we can get together in a couple weeks.” Nikki suggests.

“Yeah sure, at least I’ll be done with school by then.” Valerie agrees.

“Ok sister, I’ll got to go. Give me a call later.” Nikki gives Valerie a hug. Then she turns and holds out her hand to Richie. “It was nice meeting you, Richie. Take care of my friend”

Richie shakes Nikki’s hand. “It was nice meeting you too.”

Nikki leaves the couple heading back through the mall to where she parked her car.

“Well, I need to go pay for these clothes. Maybe afterwards, we can go to my house, order a pizza and watch a movie.” Valerie suggests as she starts walking towards a cashier.

“Sounds good to me.” Richie replies, trying to stop all the naughty images running through his head.

Valerie pays for her items, then the couple walks through the mall to the parking lot where Richie’s car is parked. Richie opens the door for Valerie and waits for her to get in before shutting the door, and getting in himself.

“Ok darling, you’ll have to remind me how to get to your house.” Richie asks.

Valerie smiles then gives him the directions again. “You handled shopping at the mall very well. Half expected you to start complaining about being bored.” Valerie comments.

Richie chuckles. “Honestly, I could have stood there and watched you try on all the clothes in that store. You have a gorgeous body.”

Valerie blushes at the compliment. “Thanks” Damn, he makes me nervous.

On the way to her house, Valerie pulls out her cell phone and calls her local pizza parlor. She places an order for a large supreme pizza to be delivered. When they get to her house she tells Richie to go ahead and park in the driveway. She notices that Chris’ truck is gone, no doubt he’s at Deanna’s house for the weekend. Valerie can’t help but feel a little nervous having Richie at her house, alone.

Chapter 5

Valerie reluctantly wakes up from the dream she is having about Richie. She wants to roll back over and continue sleeping until she sees the time on the clock. It’s almost ten, her friends will be there any minute. She forces herself to get up.

She grabs some clothes and heads to the bathroom to take a shower. She’s tempted to run downstairs when she smells the coffee brewing, but decides she better get her shower out of the way first. The warmth of the shower relaxes her. She can’t help but close her eyes imagining Richie. Damn he’s sexy. She still can’t believe he’s showing an interest in her. Valerie can’t wait to see him again.

She finishes up in the shower. When she steps out of the tub she hears the door bell ring. Knowing that her friends are waiting for her, she hurries to get dressed. Instead of fussing with her hair, she puts some mousse in it which brings out the natural curl, then runs a comb through it. She puts on some makeup, and sprays on a little perfume.

Once Valerie is satisfied with her appearance she goes back into her bedroom to put some shoes on, then heads downstairs. The first thing she does once she gets into the kitchen is pour herself a cup of coffee. Her friend Nikki is sitting at the counter on one of the bar stools chatting with Chris.

“Where’s Michelle?” Valerie asks when she notices that Nikki is alone.

“She called me this morning, said she was sick. Did you take long enough getting ready?” Nikki teases Valerie.

Valerie gives her a dirty look as she reaches into her purse to grab her pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She picks up her coffee and walks out to the back patio to have a smoke. Her friend follows her outside.

“Chris told me you guys went to the bar last night. Why didn’t you call and invite me?” Nikki asks as she sits in the chair beside Valerie.

“Sorry . . . I guess I got a little distracted.”

“Distracted?”

“I told Chris I’d get up on stage with him to sing backups. So I was a little nervous about making a fool of myself and didn’t think to call and invite you... sorry.” Valerie replies while she lights her cigarette and takes a drag off it.

“Yeah...right, you just didn’t want me there making fun of you.” Nikki teases her.

“That too.” Valerie shrugs smiling.

“So did you guys have fun?”

“Yeah we did. I met a guy there and Chris got offered a record contract.”

“Chris mentioned that he finally landed a record contract. You met a guy? I thought you had sworn off men for awhile after what happened with Brad.” Nikki asks.

“I wasn’t looking to hook up with anyone, it just kind of happened.” Valerie answers her question.

“Are you sure you’re ready to get involved with another man?”

Valerie can see the concern in Nikki’s eyes. Nikki has been like a sister to her since they became friends early in high school. Valerie can talk to her about anything, and at least she’s not as overly protective as Chris is... usually.

“Yeah I’m sure. It’s time to move on. This guy is different, I know things will be better this time. Chris is already giving me the third degree about it.” Valerie responds, the frustration evident in her voice.

“Well, I can’t say that I blame him. He saw first hand what Brad did to you. If it would have been me to find you like that, I would have killed the bastard, instead of ruffing him up like Chris did.” Nikki replies venomously.

Valerie had no doubt in her heart that Nikki meant what she said, and was only glad that she hadn’t been there that night. As bad as that night was, it would have only been worse if her best friend had been carted off to jail for murder. Valerie stares off into the distance as images of that night flash into her mind. She hears the screaming, and then the begging for him to stop. She can feel the pain from the blows all over her body, and then just before the blissful darkness overtakes her, she feels him ....

“Hey....Val, are you ok?” Nikki startles her out of her reverie.

Valerie looks at Nikki as a shiver courses through her body at the haunting images. “Yeah I’m fine.” she replies darkly, frustrated that after 6 months she still can’t forget.

“It’ll get better.” Nikki tries to reassure her.

“I hope so, don’t know how much more of it I can take.” Valerie mutters before taking a long relaxing drag from her smoke.

“Do you still have the nightmares?” Nikki asks, concerned.

“No, thankfully they seem to have subsided for the most part.” Valerie is relieved.

“That’s good. So .... this guy you met. Do I know him?”

Valerie smiles at the mention of Richie, welcoming the change in topic. “Umm, kind of, but you won’t believe me if I tell you.”

A look of confusion crosses Nikki’s face. Valerie can tell she’s racking her brain trying to figure out who it may be.

“He wanted to get together today and hang out, so I told him he could meet us at the mall later.” Valerie tells Nikki, while a smile plays at the corner of her lips. “I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, that’s cool with me. I’d like to meet this mystery man.” Nikki responds, still trying to figure it out. “Speaking of the mall, we should probably get going. Are you done with your coffee yet?”

“Yeah, just a sec.” Valerie downs the last little bit of coffee in her cup, and takes one last drag from her cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray.

Nikki follows her as she walks back into the house and puts her empty cup of coffee in the sink in the kitchen. Valerie then grabs her purse from the counter and tells Chris that she’s leaving. Both ladies walk out to Nikki’s car chatting as they leave for the mall.

*******

Richie slowly wakes up from the erotic dream he is having about Valerie. His morning wood a painful reminder of the effect she is having on him. He has to figure out how to get it under control or else he’ll be sporting a perpetual hard-on every time he’s around her. He really doesn’t want to scare the lovely lady away.

After climbing out of bed, Richie heads to the bathroom to take a cold shower. He doesn’t allow himself the luxury of relieving his annoying little problem this time. Luckily the cold water does the trick. When he finishes in the shower, he grabs a towel then goes back into the bedroom to get dressed. He puts on some blue jeans with holes in the knees, and a black T-shirt. After he’s dressed, he grabs a comb to run through his long brown hair.

Richie grabs a few things off the dresser, shoving them into his pockets before heading downstairs. He is a little surprised at how quiet it is in the house. He walks into the kitchen and finds Dorothea sitting at the counter reading a newspaper.

“Where’s Jon?” Richie asks, startling Dorothea.

“He left a couple hours ago. Said he was going to breakfast with Tico and Dave. I thought you were with him.”

Richie looks up at the clock, noticing for the first time that it was already after noon. He didn’t realize he had slept that long. Although it was no wonder considering how late it was when he finally fell asleep.

“Did you want something to eat?” Dorothea asks.

“Na, I’m fine. I’m heading out to go meet someone. I’ll get something to eat later.” Richie responds.

“Ahh ... Your new girlfriend?” Dorothea teases with a smile on her face.

Richie chuckles. “I don’t know if I’d call her that yet, we still have to get to know each other first.”

“Jon told me about what happened last night. He thought it was amusing, the idea of you taking it slow with this girl.” Dorothea wasn’t too sure of Richie’s abilities at slowing down herself. She’s heard all the stories.

“Yeah, he doesn’t think I can do it, but I’ll show him.” Richie shook his head. He can’t believe his best friend is giving him such a hard time about this. No doubt he’s telling the guys all about it, and they’re laughing at his expense. “Well I better get going.”

“Ok, have fun.” Dorothea smiles. She thinks it’s cute. Richie is actually taking his time with a girl. She must be something special.


Richie walks outside to his car. Before he takes off, he checks his pocket for the paper with Valerie’s number on it. Reassured that it is still there he takes off towards the mall. When he’s within a couple miles of the mall, his cell phone starts to ring. He glances at the caller ID before answering the call.

“Hey Tico ... what’s up?” Richie answers.

“Hey man, you missed breakfast.”

“Yeah I know, I kind of over slept.” Richie replies.

“So I heard. So what’s the deal with this band Jon wants to bring with us on tour? They any good?” Tico asks.

“Oh yeah .... a hell of a lot better then the band we have now.” Richie reassures the drummer.

“Your not just saying that cause you want to get into the pants of the singer’s sister....are you?” Tico questions.

“I guess Jon told you about that too, huh. No, they really are good.”

“Yeah Jon told us about the guy’s sister, that she’s a real knockout, and that you were drooling over her. He thinks it’s hilarious that your planning to take it slow with her. He even started a bet with Dave and I, on how long you’ll last before you’re in her pants.” Tico informed Richie.

“That little fucker.... So how much you in for?” Richie ground his teeth cursing Jon.

“Jon bet a grand that you wouldn’t last two days, Dave bet 3.....I gave you the benefit of the doubt and bet 4"

“Thanks a lot guys. I’m glad to see I have your support...... I tell you what, if I last more than four days then you’re sharing the pot with me.”

Richie could hear Tico chuckling. “Sure man, just as long as Jon doesn’t win.”

“Oh trust me. He isn’t going to win. Even if I have to wear a damn chastity belt for the next week.” Richie replies, peeved at Jon for making him look like a fool.

Tico laughs at Richie’s last remark. “Ok, well just thought I’d check with you on the band. I’ll let you go now.” Tico manages to get out between bouts of laughter.

“That’s good cause I need to give Valerie a call to let her know I’m at the mall where I’m meeting her.” Richie replies as he pulls into the parking lot.

“Ok man, just remember to keep your dick in your pants.”

“Yeah, yeah .... Talk to you later.” Richie hangs up the phone before Tico can make another remark. He finds a parking spot then dials Valerie’s number.

*********