Chapter 5: First Kiss

When Richie got back to the house, he joined David in the kitchen for a sandwich and a beer. “How’d it go, brother? You gonna need a lawyer?” David cracked wise, grinning like a fool.

“No, we came to an understanding.” Richie hopped up onto the counter, munching as he talked. “She won’t call the cops on me, and I won’t vault her wall anymore. She advised I use the gate next time.” He shook his head. “What the hell was I thinking? She’s not even really my type, but dammit, I don’t know, man, there’s something about her – there’s some connection there, I think.” He shook his head again and jumped down, wiping the crumbs from his hands. “I know Jon wants to work on that new song this afternoon, but I need to work off some of this – whatever it is. I’m going for a run. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

To help keep his mind off the crap year he had last year, Richie put all his extra energy into working out. He wasn’t getting any younger, and he’d be damned if he’d let Jon be in better shape than he was. He didn’t advertise the fact, just kind of quietly kept at it. After six months, and thirty pounds, he looked and felt better than he had in years. Exercise had become his new refuge -- it was better for hm than the drinking he had tried -- when he needed to get his head around things. He went to his room to change to running gear, and headed out toward the lake. He needed to sweat.

* * * * * * *

Julianna was settling onto the back deck with her lunch, thinking about the encounters she had with the two men today. Both men had hidden their interest, but not quickly enough. She didn’t get to be where she was without learning to read the artistic types she worked with professionally day after day, not to mention those in her own family. She’d dealt with the diva, the prima-donna, the super star, the wannabe – all of them. She could tell from a hundred feet what kind of trouble an artistic person will cause her.

Reflecting on the exchange with Richie, she groaned. He was going to be the worst kind of trouble; he was going to drive her to distraction. As for Jon? Well, she imagined he wouldn’t cause any trouble for her. While they were both intriguing and just plain heaven to look at, only one of them really turned her head. While Jon was glorious, especially in the near-naked state she saw him in this morning, it was Richie’s dark and dangerous air that had her juices flowing.

From the other side of the wall, she heard someone mumbling, “Where the hell is the gate?” and she burst out laughing. A deep chuckle drifted over the wall. “Busted again, huh? I swear, I wasn’t going to climb over; I’m really just looking for the gate.”

About twenty feet from where Richie was standing, Julianna stepped through the wall to the other side, and came over to him. “How long have you been looking?” she asked.

“The better part of the last half hour,” he said. “I was this close,” he put his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart, “to going over the wall again, cops be damned.” He smiled and winked at her.

Julianna’s breath caught in her chest. He was flirting with her! And, looking pretty damn good all sweaty good Lord! in jogging shorts and a snug t-shirt. “C’mon, I’ll show you the trick.” She started back for the gate, talking as she went. “You know, when this wall and gate were built, the –” she turned back to see if Richie was listening. He was following her closely, and she smacked right into him. He put his arms around her to keep them both from falling over. For once, she was glad for her tall, lean frame. Her long legs brought their hips into perfect alignment. Wow, his body is very tight. She apologized to him. “Sorry about that. Not too graceful for a dancer, yeah?”

She started to step back, but Richie didn’t let her go. He cocked his head to one side and studied her. “I don’t know, darlin’ – don’t forget I’ve seen you move, I know how graceful you are.” He stared into her eyes.

Julianna stared back.

A tune played from Richie’s waist, and a voice followed. “Hey, asshole, where are you? I want to get to work.” It was Jon. Richie made no move to answer the phone.

“Aren’t you going to --” Julianna started.

“No,” he cut her off. “Not yet.” He cradled the back of her head to tenderly she almost couldn’t stand it. The other arm tightened around her, pulling her as close to him as their clothing would allow. Her arms slid around his waist and tightened. Passion darkened his eyes. He angled his head slightly and sipped from her lips. Richie looked into Julianna’s eyes with a question in his. To answer, she reached up, grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. If the first one was a sip, this one was a keg-stand. Her lips parted to accept his tongue, which twined with hers in an intimate dance. Richie backed Julianna against the wall, and continued the assault on her mouth. Between a rock and a hard place, she thought irreverently, as she felt the evidence of his desire.

Richie’s phone squawked again. It was David this time. “Hey, man, you peeping again? Dammit, if you get arrested, we may just let you rot.” He laughed. Julianna giggled, which broke the spell.

“Shit, darlin’, I’m sorry. I need to talk to them. Don’t go anywhere, please.” All Julianna could do was nod as Richie stalked away to give his friends hell.

“What?” he snarled into the phone. “What the hell do you want?”

“Hey man,” David answered, “whatcha doin’? J wants to get some work done.”

“So do some. I’m busy. Really busy. Piss off.”

“Are you spying on the neighbor again?”

“No,” he sighed. He knew they wouldn’t relent, and would probably come after him like the pests they were. “Gimme fifteen minutes.” He slammed his phone shut and contemplated hurling it against the wall. He turned back to Julianna. She had heeded his plea, and hadn’t moved. Seeing her pressed against the wall, flushed and smiling, had him groaning.

“Darlin’, you don’t know how much this pains me,” he said with a grimace, “but I need to be getting back.” He held up his phone. “The boss wants to work, and he’ll be a real son of a bitch the rest of the night if I don’t get my ass back to the house.”

Julianna nodded. “I should get back to work, too.” She reached up to lay a hand on his stubbled cheek. “But, don’t think for a minute that I’m not disappointed.” She kissed him lightly, and danced out of his grasp. “I’ll leave the gate unlatched for you; come on through any time.” With a wink, she slipped through the gate, shooting one last longing look over her shoulder, and was gone.

* * * * * * *

Richie sauntered into the studio, freshly showered. “So, I’m indispensable, huh? Let’s get to work.” Jon cocked an eyebrow at him. Richie winked back and grinned.

Jon shook his head, chuckling. “You went back to watch that woman again, didn’t you? One track mind. You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”

Richie laughed. “’That woman’ has a name, you know.” He smiled to himself. And a mouth I can’t wait to taste again, he thought. “It’s Julianna.”

“Huh,” Jon said. He had lain next to her on that rock, both of them nearly naked, and except for “don’t burn yourself” she didn’t speak to him. It was always a blow when a beautiful woman wasn’t interested, but he was man enough to accept it, and an ass enough to razz his friend about his interest. “Boys, I think we should go check out Julia-a-anna,” he said, drawing out her name in a sing-song voice.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Richie said. “You dragged my ass back here to work, let’s work. You can met her another day.”

They all laughed, and settled down to work.