Chapter 15

Claire watched as Lily stormed out of her apartment and growled in frustration. “Gaah, why me?!” she asked, flopping herself back onto the bed and closing her eyes. “Damnit, it wasn’t supposed to go down this way!”

Jon slowly walked over to the bed, sat down beside and gently rubbed her arm. “I’m sorry but I felt he needed to know. I’m sure she’ll see that once Richie talks to her. “

“Oh, no,” Claire said, sitting up slowly and meeting Jon’s eyes, “Thank you for telling him. Really. I’m not mad at you at all. Just- gaah. Lily.” she spit out, groaning. “She's so stubborn! Can’t she just see we were trying to help? I guarantee you, she was NOT gonna tell him. She was just covering her ass in front of him. She was gonna wait till he faded into the sunset and pray he never found out.”

“She wouldn’t do that , Would she ? I mean she don’t seem like that type of person. “ Jon asked “I can see how scared she was . It’s not easy finding out your pregnant then we show up out of the blue , maybe it was just overwhelming for her? “ Jon hoped , He liked Lily and didn’t want to see his bro hurt and prayed she wouldn’t do that to him.  He had been through enough hell for one lifetime.

Claire sighed, “She’s not that kind of person, except when it comes to putting others before herself, which yes is a great quality but sometimes she takes it too far. Yeah, she was overwhelmed but if you hadn’t shown up, she wouldn’t have called at all. Wouldn’t want to burden him.”

Jon rolled his eyes. “ Oh hell this isn’t a burden to him , shit once it hits him . He is gonna be like a lil kid with a brand new toy. And the way this tour is set up , he will be able to be there for her more than he had been for Heather. We are all about family now. “ He climbed up beside her and tugged her closely to him, stroking her long auburn tresses .

She leaned into him, “Good, I’m glad to hear that. She’ll be okay.” Claire sighed, “As for me, I’m obviously not wanted at the moment. God, Jon, I dunno what to do. We’re neighbors, and she’s gonna need time before she even wants to look at me. Hell, I dunno if she’ll ever speak to me again.”

“Oh I’m sure she will , her hormones are a bit wacky right now. “ Jon chuckled a bit. “ Seriously why don’t you come back to NY with me for awhile. That will give her time. You know what they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. “

Claire giggled, “Well aren’t you the poet. I don’t know, Jon, that’s not exactly the most responsible thing to do..” she sat up, grabbing her planner from the nightstand and flipping through it. “I guess I could go for a few days..”

“Well sometimes its just fun to throw caution to the wind once and awhile. “ Jon laughed. “ And so you don’t worry about Lily , I’m sure Richie could stay with her. I doubt he would mind that at all..  The family Christmas Vacation isnt for another couple weeks yet. “

“That could work, I guess,” Claire said slowly, “wait, Mr. Workaholic, when have you ever skipped out?!” she laughed softly.

A deep hearty chuckle escaped him. “ You got me there , but maybe you can see what I do and even I need a distraction once and while. My kids tell me that all the time. “ he leaned down and dropped a kiss on her lips.

“Oh I’m good at distracting,” Claire replied, raising an eyebrow and kissing him back.

He slipped his arms around her.  “Yes you are . So you make the arrangements with your office and I’ll let Richie know he’s staying “ Jon suggested while placing kisses along the nape of her neck .

“Okay rockstar but you gotta stop kissing me or I won’t ever get anything done,” she giggled, attempting to pull out of his grasp.

Jon pulled away and with a deep disappointing sigh.“ A’right A’right “ , then climbed out of bed. “ But you’re mine later “ he waggled his eyebrows at her before heading out in the living room to get his phone.

Once he had his phone , he pressed speed dial for Richie, sure the hell hope this works and if it doesn’t hell I get more time with Claire , a win win situation , he smirked to himself.

“Hey bro, things calm down over there?” Richie asked, nodding to Lily on the couch next to him.

“Not exactly and that’s  the reason I’m calling . I’m gonna take Claire back with me to NY for a few days . Maybe that might help smooth things over. “

Richie nodded, “Sounds good, hold on a sec.” He covered the phone and spoke to Lily, “Hey baby, would you want me to stick around for a few extra days?” he asked sweetly.

“I don’t mind if you don’t have anything planned , What about your daughter ? “ Lily asked as she snuggled closer.

“Nope, she’s with mom this week,” Richie shook his head, “I’m all yours darlin’.” He picked the phone back up, “I’m gonna stay here with Lily, unless you’ve got more ass-busting for us to do in the city.” he joked.

“Other than the Saturday Night Live gig on the 12th nothing as far as I know but if that changes I can give you a call. “ Jon answered while he scrolled through his blackberry.

Richie chuckled, “How you got signed up for that damn Artist in Residence thing baffles me, Kidd. Maybe they’ll put you in another really embarrassing skit. Alright, I’ll talk to you later then. When ya leaving?”

“I dunno whenever she can get her calendar cleared . How’s things over that way ? “Jon asked as he tossed a glance towards Claire , who was busy talking on her phone .

“A little better I think,” Richie replied, “but don’t expect Lily to run lovingly into Claire’s arms anytime soon. A break from each other would be good I think.” He kissed Lily’s head, stroking her arm.

“That’s exactly what I thought too , Claire’s worried she won’t ever forgive her. Hell, she should be mad at me not Claire . I was the one that broke the confidence not Claire. “ Jon replied as he rubbed his forehead.

Richie shrugged, “Ah, well hopefully things will be fixed soon.”

“If this don’t work , hell I dont know what to do. “ Jon turned away from hearing range of Claire then whispered.

“I hear ya, bro.” Richie replied, not wanting to say too much in front of Lily. “I have a feeling that time apart might be good though.”

“I sure fuckin’ hope so , look better go . If you need anything , you know where We’ll be. “ Jon was about to hang up. “ Oh one more thing Congrats Bro , I know how much this means to you. “

Richie chuckled, more excited than he wanted Lily to know at the moment, “Thanks Jon, I’m sure you do.” He hung up and kissed Lily again, closing his eyes and imagining the future he was going to have with her.

Claire strolled back into the bedroom as Jon hung up the phone. “Everything work out okay with Richie?” She asked, tucking her iPhone back into her purse.

“Yea its good to go , he’s staying for a few days . We have a gig at Saturday Night Live on the 12th so he has to be back by then. “ Jon answered “ You get things settled ? “

She nodded, “Yep, I’m all set. A coworker is going to be able to take my patients for me for a few days. When were you wanting to leave?”

“As soon as you can pack, I can call my pilot and have him on stand by. “ Jon walked over slipped his arms around her waist , tugging her close to him..

Claire reached over and opened her dresser drawer, pulling out a pair of lacy panties and tossing them towards her purse, grinning devilishly. “Done.”

Jon arched an eyebrow “That’s all you’re taking , shit girl I never seen a woman take less than 4 bags with them and that was for a weekend getaway. “ He chortled.

She rolled her eyes. “Damn, you know us too well. Gimme ten minutes,” she huffed, pulling away and walking into her closet.

“I thought so “ Jon called out as he leaned against the door frame of her bedroom , watching her toss clothes into a carryon.

Claire turned and stuck her tongue out at him, “Huh, guess that means no sexy panties for you then..”

“Panties or not panties “ He grinned devilishly. “Doesn’t matter eventually they would  come off anyway. “

“Uh huh, if you say so..” she winked grabbing her toiletries out of the bathroom and zipping them into the top of her suitcase.

“Am I or am I not right ? Your panties landed I believe - “ he sauntered into the bedroom , picked up a pair purple lace panties then twirled them on his index finger. “ Over here. “

Claire blushed for a split second, “No hon, those were yours.” she replied, zipping up her bag and grabbing her purse, making sure everything she needed was in there.

“These aren’t mine , remember I go commando baby “ He snuck up behind her , snaked his arms around her ,then nibbled on the back of her neck.

“Just keep telling yourself that,” she taunted, turning around and meeting his soft lips with hers, “I watched MTV in the 80’s hon, I saw the pink and purple spandex. I know sometimes you like to be,” she paused, winking, “colorful. It’s okay though.” she patted his cheek.

“I am never gonna live that era down am I ? Better be careful or you might earn yourself a spanking. “ Jon warned as he bit back a grin.

Claire smirked, “Okay first of all, with me in tow, you’re never gonna forget the spandex. It’s just way too entertaining. And second,” she added, kissing along Jon’s jawline, then reaching down and grabbing his ass, “you better be careful or I’ll spank you first.” She spun out of his reach and carried her bags out to the living room.

“Don’t tease me like that “ Jon taunted as he followed her out to the living room, while he dialed his pilot then for a cab.  “You know was wondering how would you like to join the mile high club? “ he grinned devilishly .