Chapter 33

There...the truth of it laid bare and he wanted to snatch every word back.

"If that’s the way of it, Rich,” Jon laid a hand on his shoulder, “you think touring will kill it?”

“It has to,” Richie whispered.

“We’ve always been about taking chances, man. What makes this any different? You’ve never been a coward.”

Richie’s eyes flew to Jon’s. “Fuck off!”

“No, you fuck off and get over yourself while you’re at it. I’m sick of your shit and so is everyone else. Bring her on the road for awhile, what’s one more on the bus for Fuck sake.”

He pushed his hair back. With a night of Jack and the sweaty dreams, the need for a shower was acute. "Fuck," he held the door. "Let me take a fucking shower. I think best in the shower."

Jon backed off. If he badgered him any more then he’d go the opposite way just to be stubborn. "Sure thing man, you think. Just don’t think too long, we’ve got a plane to catch tonight."

The first crack of a smile lit his face. "Yeah we do."

Jon turned and moved back towards the living room. "’Bout damn time, Shithead." He hated to be wrong, but Elena was definitely more than a one nighter. He couldn’t afford to have Richie flying off the handle every night. And if finding a pint-sized Elena and dragging her on the road was what Richie needed to get his shit together, then that’s what they’d do.

God help him.

~~~~


Richie shucked his clothes and turned the shower on full blast, cranking the heat as high as he could stand. As the cobwebs dissolved under the pulsing water he felt the tension in his shoulders ease for the first time in what felt like forever. It was stupid to put the weight of his world on a woman, but at the same time, she’d made such an impression on him, that it required at least a try.

He wasn’t going to forget her. There wasn’t a single part of him that didn’t ache for the smooth, silky skin of her body or the quirky humor that slid from that equally sassy mouth. He was toast and he should just admit it and either get her out of his system or…

He dunked his head under the water. He couldn’t think about the or right now. He just needed to win her back. Soaping up he pictured her again and his fingers drifted lower to his cock that was always so maddeningly hard.

He’d tried to fuck her memory out of his mind, but the drunken snatches of memory did nothing to ease the pain. He couldn’t even seem to get himself to enjoy another female. No woman could touch him like she did. He had a sinking feeling that no woman ever would. He rinsed and slammed the flat of his hand on the faucet, stepping out of the shower. Nothing but Elena was going to do at this point.

He padded back into his room and sighed at the drops of alcohol still on the wall. Taking the damp towel from his waist he swiped at the wall until most of it came up, then dropped it in the corner where the rest of his laundry was. Stretching he grabbed a t-shirt and caught himself on the turn as his foot skidded out from under him. "What the fuck?" He leaned down at the soft card under his foot and peeled it off the still damp sole of his foot. "Well no shit," he said as he turned it over and Elena's face stared back at him with that sassy smile. He took a quick look up at the ceiling and kissed the ring on his pinkie. "Looks like the guy upstairs wants me to find you too, Elena."

The drivers license gave an address a few hours outside of Asbury Park. He quickly dressed and opened the door. "Jonny!"

Jon's head snapped up at the yell, "Dare I ask why you’re yelling?”

Richie grinned. "Feel like a road trip?"

Jon groaned. "We're heading out tomorrow for London, isn’t that enough of a ROAD trip for you man?"

He held up the license like an Olympic medal. "Well, I can find my way there if you're not interested, but I'm going to find Elena tonight."

Jon was out of the chair before he finished speaking, "Got the head screwed on right finally then? Let’s go!" He grinned at his brother, if he was off to find Elena, that meant finding Kate, and maybe just maybe that niggling spark of hunger that came when he thought of her would ease a bit.

Jon grabbed the keys and Richie plucked them out of his hands. "I'm driving, psycho. You're not getting near my baby now that I'm sober."

"Yeah, like you drive any better. I only got the one ticket, unlike you, King." Jon waggled his brows and laughed. It was damn good to see Richie back to his old self. He had to admit, that where Elena was, Kate generally followed. It made the trip worth it, no matter what.

"Well speed is exactly what we need right now. We've only got tonight to convince her that I'm a grade A asshole that deserves another shot."

"Don’t think you'll have ANY problems convincing her or Kate that your a grade A Asshole my brotha." Jon grinned and sidestepped the fist coming his way.

Richie gripped the back of his neck and firmly pushed him down the stairs. "Watch it, Jonny. I can leave you here, then you don't get to bug the hot little doctor."

Jon snorted, "You need me as a damned shield and you know it."

Richie winced and popped a stick of gum. "I wish I had a good comeback for that, but it's true. Maybe I should go grab my old baseball cup from college."

Jon grinned, "I’d suggest the black cowboy hat myself, Elena did seem partial to it that night."

He smirked and snapped his gum. "She did, didn't she? I should keep that one for the first day back after London. Maybe she'll take pity on me."

"You wanna live to GET to London man? Wear the black." Jon grinned as he slipped into the passenger seat.

Richie dropped into his seat and turned around. Sure enough, the Stetson lay on the back seat with the shiny silver medallions glinting in the sun. "True, dat." He gunned the engine and headed for the highway.