40 - What's on the Agenda?

Lilah came out of the bathroom after her shower the next morning, pulling her hair into a ponytail before rummaging in her makeup case for moisturizer.   “Mornin’,” she greeted the bare-chested, bare-footed man with the morning stubble.  Tony was seated at the desk in nothing but his cargo shorts and bed-head, intently studying the screen of his Mac.  He had still been sleeping when she slid out from under the covers about twenty minutes ago.

“Hey.”

After squeezing a bit of the lotion onto her fingertips and swirling it over her face and neck, she rubbed the rest of it into her hands as she slid up beside him.  She wanted to run her palm across his bare shoulder and dig into the tension sitting at the base of his neck, but she wasn’t sure how he would feel about that level of familiarity without benefit of alcohol.

That question was answered when his forearm circled her waist.  Tony pulled her into a loose grip and winked up at her. 

“What’s got you lookin’ so serious at that computer screen, Jersey?” she inquired, settling her hand around the nape of his neck and kneading gently. 

“Ah, nothin’,” he deflected her concern, cocking one corner of his smile into full gear.  “I’ve been trying to get a business venture up and running and I’ve hit another snag.  The time difference is killing me.  I can never get in touch with anybody when I have time to deal with this shit.”

“Sounds interesting.  What kind of venture, if you don’t mind my askin’?”

“Mm.”  He leaned into her manipulating hand, eyes drifting shut at the steady continuity of motion over his taut muscles.  “Pasta sauce.”

She smirked at him with one arched eyebrow.  “Italian guy making pasta sauce.  That’s not too cliché.”

His hand dropped to her backside and had no trouble pinching her through the thin cotton of her black capris.  Leaning back and reading the rhinestone “jovi girl” scripted across the front of her pink t-shirt, he offered his own bit of sarcasm.  “You like shiny shit, don’t you?”

“Guilty.  Bright colors and sparkly stuff.  I’m a sucker for them.  I bought an orange belly dancer’s costume covered in sequins, for no other reason than I was drawn to it like a magpie.   I’ll end up sending it to one of my friends after I get home.”

“Let’s see it.” Pinching fingers flattened out and smoothed over the curve of her bottom, cupping the underside and gliding a finger along the crease at the top of her thigh.

It felt good.  So…  intimate, but not in a blatantly sexual way.  Lilah’s stomach muscles clenched with pleasure even as she shook her head in refusal.  “Mm… no.”

“Why?”

Because I don’t have the two drinks necessary to make me feel beautiful and sexy.

She nodded to the bedside clock.  “You have to be at the venue in about ten minutes.”

Following her line of vision, he sighed and pushed back from the desk, rising to his feet to drop a quick kiss over her mouth.  “True ‘dat.  Tonight, though...  I’m gonna hop in the shower.  Would you get me a shirt out of my bag?  Sleeveless.”

Lilah did as he asked, finding a black tank promoting the Sturgis motorcycle rally from 2007.  She draped it on the bed, noticing that he didn’t bother to close the bathroom door.  That feeling of non-sexual intimacy found her again.  Neither of her husbands had ever left the door open when they showered, stating that they wanted their privacy.  God only knew for what, but she’d never questioned it.

“Hey, Bluegrass,” he called over the running water.  “I know you said you don’t wanna hang at the venue today, but do you want to go over with me and grab something to eat from hospitality?”

Last time she’d gone to hospitality, she’d encountered Jon.  Jon, whom she promised wouldn’t see her again.  As tempting as it was to just spend time with Tony, she couldn’t risk it.

“No, but thank you,” she answered from her seat on the side of the bed.  “I’m just goin’ to go downstairs.  I enjoyed dinner last night in the hotel restaurant, so I’ll pop in there again.”

“Suit yourself.  You wanna watch the show from backstage?”

Again, not something she could indulge in and fulfill her promise. 

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got a Diamond Circle ticket.  That’ll be fine.”

In reality, she might not go at all.  Her overall concert experience was sure to be dulled a bit by the front man who was ready to send her down the river at the first opportunity.

The water shut off and the shower curtain swooped open with a tinny clatter of metal shower hooks.  In another minute, Tony was padding back into the bedroom, once again wearing his shorts and glasses, and rubbing a towel over his head. 

“You know, I don’t get it,” he mused, locating his shaving kit and pausing in his return trek to study her with confusion.  “A couple days ago you were killing yourself to get back there, and now you don’t seem to care one way or the other.”

That’s not true.  That’s not true at all.

“You answered my most pressin’ question.  I wanted to know if you chose the screen shots, and now I know.  It’s best if I stay out of the way.”

He looked like he wanted to debate the point further, but there was a knock at the door that interrupted their conversation. 

“That’s probably Rew looking for me.  Grab that while I run a razor over my face?”

Tony disappeared into the bathroom – leaving the door open – while Lilah rose to admit his visitor.  Having only spent a minimal amount of time with him, she wasn’t sure how she felt about Mike Rew yet.  He was probably a nice guy, but on a couple of separate occasions she’d caught him looking in a way that made her feel he was laughing at her.

Turning the knob, she quickly found that she wasn’t going to have to worry about that this time, because it wasn’t Mike at the door.

It was Dorothea Bongiovi.

“Hi,” she greeted with a warm smile, discerning eyes making a quick assessment of Tony’s roommate.  To her credit, the scars barely made a noticeable hitch in the swiftness of her perusal.  “I’m going to assume you’re Lilah?”

“Um, yes.  Please come in.  I’ll tell Tony you’re here.”  Taking a backward step, she called out for him.

“Oh, no, no,” Dorothea dissuaded her, without crossing the threshold.  “I’m actually stopping by to invite you for lunch.”

“What’s the problem?” Tony started to ask before his smile went wide, as white as the remaining shaving cream on his jaw.  “Dorothea!  What the hell are you doing here?”

“Hey, Tony.”  His sister-in-law stepped in to give him a kiss on his freshly shaven cheek.  “I decided to hook up with you guys for a couple of days.  Since you have to go to work, I came to invite Lilah to join me for lunch.” 

Lilah was standing beside the nightstand, hooking a conservative gold hoop into each ear.

“Bluegrass?” He spoke her nickname into a question as he wiped his face.  “She’s much nicer than my asshole of a brother.”

Closing the door behind her, Dorothea’s chocolate eyes narrowed along with her lips, but she managed to keep her smile pinned in the appropriate manner.  “No comment.  I just wanted a chance to meet Lilah since…”  Her comment trailed off uncertainly.

“Since I’m shacked up with one brother while the other thinks I’m devil?” Lilah inquired drolly, tucking her hands into her back pockets out of nervous habit.

“Cut that shit out,” Tony ordered, grabbing his shoes and socks as his phone started ringing.  The phone got ignored.  “You're here because I want you to be, and he’s going to give you a wide berth from now on.  I made sure of it.”

She stifled a sigh, beyond annoyed that Tony had to play referee.  How much more did Jon want?  She told him she would stay away from him.

“You know,” Dorothea interceded.  “How about we leave my dear husband out of this for now?  Lilah, Tony seems to like you, so I’d appreciate the chance to get to know you, too.  That’s all.  No ulterior motive.”

Standing, he swooped up his shirt and settled it over his head, moving in on Lilah.  “Why don’t you go, instead of spending the day alone?” he asked in a low voice.  “You’ll have a good time, I promise.  Dottie’s great.”

“What do I say when she asks me why I’m here?  You know she’s going to,” she murmured in an even lower voice. 

Tony tipped her chin with a little smirk, dropping a leisurely kiss on her mouth and whispering, “You tell her it was a strange twist of Fate.”

Lilah was still savoring that handful of words half an hour later in the hotel restaurant, and regretting that she hadn’t been in a position to drill him with questions.  She was dying to know if that meant he believed her.  More than that, she wanted to know if he was agreeing with her that Fate had brought him into her life.

Instead, she was crossing and uncrossing her legs uncomfortably across from the wife of the man who hated her. 

“I’ve heard a little bit about you, Lilah.  Enough to make me curious.”

Looking up from the bubbles floating in her glass of Coke, Lilah politely turned the tables on Dorothea.  “I feel the same way about you.  It’s very odd hearing your voice, as a matter of fact.  You’re the most famous mime in rock and roll.”

Dorothea burst out into husky laugh.  “That’s a new one on me.  I have very little patience with quotes taken out of context, and learned early on that it was best for me to do nothing but nod and smile at the press.”

“Still…  After all these years, I would’ve had to say somethin’ to somebody.  You’re a far more patient woman than I.”

Shrugging, she accepted a salad from the waitress with a nod of thanks and waited for Lilah’s sandwich to be served.  "Didn't you order a croissant?"  She flipped her hair behind her shoulder with a frown, noting the dark bread on Lilah's plate.

"Yes, but this is fine."  

"You're sure you don't want to send it back?  They should bring you what you ordered."

"Heavens, no.  It's not that big of a deal," Lilah insisted, even as Dorothea continued to frown.  Jon's wife waited another moment, to ensure that Lilah didn't change her mind and resumed their conversation.

“As for patience, not really.  I spend my mental energy on more important things.”  She smiled shrewdly, draping the linen napkin over her lap.  “Like who in the crowd around me has gotten a breast enhancement, lift or Botox since the last event.  Or who is due for a root job.  That’s how I entertain myself.  It keeps me too busy to worry about whatever mundane things the celebrity press are shoving down people’s throats.”

Reluctantly impressed with the Queen of New Jersey, Lilah felt herself relax a little.  Tony had faith in his sister-in-law and, so far, Dorothea had done nothing to indicate that it wasn’t warranted.

“That very candid response has earned my respect,” she admitted, picking at the garnish adorning the plate.  “So I’m goin’ to make this easy on you.  Why don’t ya just cut to the chase and tell me what you’re wantin’ to know?”

Squarely meeting her gaze, Dorothea picked up her fork and said calmly, “I just want to know about you, Lilah.  Where you’re from, what you do.  If you have children.  That kind of thing.”

“Really?”  Lilah frowned skeptically.  “You’ll be content knowing that I teach technology classes just outside Lexington, Kentucky and that I have a nineteen year old son?  Given my dealin’s with your husband, I find that hard to believe.  I’d rather not beat around the bush waitin’ for the axe to fall, as it were, and I’m perfectly willin’ to give you honesty for honesty.  Ask what you want.”

She pierced a small bit of tomato, popped it in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.  “I’m not entirely sure what your ‘dealin’s’ have been with Jon, but based on the little I know, I think you’ll find my agenda much friendlier.”

“If he isn’t sayin’, then neither will I.”

“I’m sure he will appreciate that.”  Dorothea tilted her head amicably, this time choosing a cucumber.  “Your son.  Is he in college?  My daughter’s the same age and she just finished her freshman year.”

“Seriously?  That’s it?”

With a Mona Lisa smile, Lilah was assured, “That’s it.  Seeing you two together was enough for me.  You’re in love with him and he’s caught up in you.”

Lilah very nearly choked on the bite of turkey that just went into her mouth.  She was forced to take a long swallow of Coke before her windpipe was clear enough to speak.  “Tony would be an easy man to love, but I’m not in love with him.”

“Whatever.  You have feelings for him, which means you’re not jacking him around or playing him for a fool.  That’s all I care about.”

***Note:  This chapter was written almost a week ago, prior to the information about Tony retiring from touring being released.  Weird coincidence....