Chapter Twenty-Two

“Hey asshole-you’re in my seat.” Jon pushed his sunglasses further up his face to see Richie’s towering figure looming over him.

“I was here first Rich, sit over there.” He nudged with his elbow at the opposite side.

“I want the left side.” Richie dumped his bags onto the seat in front of Jon.

His head was screaming with a hangover, his eyes sensitive to light and his ears sensitive to stupid ass remarks from his best friend. “Look man, I’m not moving so fucking sit down there.”

“What’s with you anyway?” Not get laid last night?” Richie grunted as he moved into the seat across from Jon.

Jon looked out the window to where Doc was talking to a group of girls who crowded around him like he was the fucking messiah. “No I didn’t get laid, I was too fucking loaded for a start.” He rubbed his head. He couldn’t even remember stumbling back to his room after the gig. He woke up alone, with his pants still on so that was a good indication, he hadn’t got laid.

“Too bad dude, there were some primo chicks about. What was up with you? You were quiet last night.”

Jon looked over at Richie who was strewn back across the seats, had his legs hanging over the edge into the isle and shook his head. “Just tired, so what or who did you get into then you dirty fuck.”

Richie’s Cheshire cat grin spread wide across his face. “Two lovely ladies, one was tall big tits and the other a little shorter but she made up for that in other ways.”

“I just bet.” He tried to deny last night that the call with Callie played on his mind. She sounded so sad and not her usual self – even if half the time it was her snapping at him. He just had this feeling she was holding back something. His first thought was she had someone at the apartment and just lied about her father being there.

“Jon!” he looked back over at Richie.

“What?” he snapped.

“That’s the third time you’ve done that to me since yesterday.”

“Did what?” he cracked his knuckles and rolled his eyes. Jesus Richie could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

“You’ve been on off tra-la-fucking land. Ever since you rang Callie.” Jon’s head shot up.

“What’s that got to do with things?”

Richie folded his arms. “You tell me son – missing the old wifey huh? I didn’t think you two were together like that.”

He frowned, “we’re not. And no I’m not missing her. She just sounded off when I spoke to her that’s all.”

“Off as in pissed at you off?”

“Nah, well maybe. I don’t know honestly. She just wasn’t herself. We’re not together but I dunno, she’s still my wife.”

Richie swung his legs around and sat up. “Well what happened before you left on tour?”

Jon snorted and gripped the seat head in front of him. “I slept with her –and then left on tour. She can’t be mad at that can she? She doesn’t even like me.”

Richie chuckled. “Oh Jonny, so young and so naïve. Of course she’s angry at you. She probably thought this was the whole lets really act like husband and wife.”

“You really think so? That’s not Callie though… it’s just not her nature to get like that.” Was it? As far as he was concerned, he teased her relentless that she was attracted to him. In a way, he honestly thought she was. But most of the time it was just jokes.

“Dude, she sounds like she’s pissed at you. Trust me. I know women,” he winked and reclined back in his seat again.

He turned his attention back to Doc and the gaggle of women outside the bus. He took a double take when one of the taller one leaned forward and slipped what was undeniably money in his shirt pocket.

“What the hell?” Suddenly he had bigger things to worry about that Callie and the five women stepped onto the bus.

“Hi Jonnnnnnny!” the buxom brunette squeezed into the seat next to him.

“Uh hi – what’s going on?”

“These girls needed a ride to Missouri, so we’ve giving them one. I’m sure they’ll more than pay their own way.” He winked at the girls before walking back down to the front of the bus.

Richie had already squeezed two of the woman into the seat he was in, and Alec and David had the attention of the other two.

“Uh baby, I’m a little tired today – I don’t know if I’m going to be much –“ Jon groaned when her red painted nail hand clutched at his groin.

“Just relax then, and let me do the work.” She purred sliding off the chair and onto the floor below.

“Oh god,” his head tipped back hitting the seat as she found his fly and in seconds she had him hard in her hot little mouth. His eyes crossed as he stretched back, forgetting about what he was worried about just a minute ago.

His hands caught fistfuls of her hair as she bobbed up and down on him.
Jesus… in the back of the bus, with Richie --- he briefly looked over but Richie was too busy with his mouth on a pair of D-cup sized breasts to even care.

He hissed as his dick hit the back of her throat, over and over. There were so many things wrong with this, but he couldn’t seem to stop her. Gripping the armrests he bucked into her, stifling a groan.

“Oh fuck,” he slammed his eyes shut as he rode it out, exploding into her mouth spilling deep.

He slumped back into his chair and mopped away the sweat from his brow. Holy shit. As she resurfaced with a playful grin on her lips he smiled awkwardly.

“Uh thanks.” God please don’t want anything else. Not now.

“No problems Sugar, you looked a little tense so this will help you loosen up.” She retook her seat and tucked herself in under his arm. He closed eyes, as his eye lids finally grew heavy and wished just this once that the woman next to him was someone else.

Someone he was going to call when he got to Missouri.

~

Once they were there, Jon was just about first on the bus ready to check into the hotel that they’d arranged.

“Jonny!” Doc called as he hoisted his bag over his shoulder and bounced off the bus.

“What?” he snapped, he just wanted to get into the damn hotel room.

“Aren’t you going to thank our guest? They’re very big fans.” Doc said with a grin. Knowing that Jon would never turn away an opportunity to thank or address a fan – even if they’d just blown his load a few hours ago.

He turned to the ladies, and plastered a smile across his face until it hurt.
“Thank you girls for your most pleasurable company. I hope we see you at the show.” He threw a wink at the one that’d been with him and turned away again.

Christ he needed his hotel room.

“Jonny, you’re sharing with Richie.”

He groaned, damn it. He needed some privacy before ringing Callie. He stopped again and turned back towards the ladies that moments ago Richie was enjoying.

“Ladies, do you think you could keep my friend entertained for a few minutes more? There’s just something I really need to do in the hotel room – alone.”

He winked grabbing the arm of the woman that had given him the blow job.
“Sure sweetheart.” They climbed onto the bus. Doc gave him a grin and turned away.

He made his way to his hotel room, with the woman in tow.

“Sorry baby, there is something I do really need to do by myself – but thanks.” He unlocked the door and closed the door hard behind him leaving her in the hallway.

He threw his bag across the bed and dug out his wallet where he’d stashed her card in there. When he’d left that night he’d found one of her business cards on the bench and kept it, just in case.

Looked like just in case, was right now. He flopped back on the small single bed, sinking into the weak mattress. He swore to god one day he’d be laying on a king sized bed in the plaza suite. Not some battered old motel that looked freshly decorated out of the seventies.

Propping the phone on his chest he fingered the dial and called her firm.

“Jefferson and Callaghan law, Sarah speaking... How can I help?”

Ah Sarah, the cute little receptionist.

“Sarah babe, its Jon... Callie’s husband, is my gorgeous wife around?”

“Oh hi Jon – no she’s not. She’s off sick today.” His brow creased, off sick? That didn’t really sound like Callie. He didn’t think she would know HOW to be sick.

“Sick? Oh right – I’ll try her at home. I’m on tour so I haven’t spoken to her today yet.”

She giggled, “That’s ok – so how is the tour? Must be so glamorous.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed to the cockroach that scuttled across the kitchenette lino.

Yeah just fucking Glamorous.

“Oh it’s pretty good baby a lot of hard work but we’re getting there.” Damn he couldn’t even be bothered to flirt with her. Well, he did just blow his load in some chick’s mouth a few minutes ago.

“Ok – I’m going to go and give her a call. See you later Sarah.”

He disconnected the call and dialed her home number. It rang for what seemed like eternity. Crap, maybe she was sick and she was gonna be mad if he woke her up.

Finally the line clicked, “hello?”

“Callie – it’s me,” he quickly said. “I just called your work and they said you were off sick, are you alright?

“Yeah I’m just not feeling that great Jon.” The voice came flat and lifeless, and not like Callie at all.

“What’s wrong?” There was a long pause of silence before she took a deep breath.

“I’m just not feeling well, do I need to give you the medical run down?” she snapped.

He chuckled, “you can if you want to. It would be good practice when you finally go to med school and become a doctor.” There was stony silence again, was someone there with her? Maybe that’s why she’d blown off work, to have a tete a la tete with some guy.

He rolled his eyes, come on that is so not Callie.

“Callie? Talk to me.” The silence didn’t last as long this time before the sob hiccuped down the phone. He sat upright. Something was very wrong.

His face drained of all color – was she was pregnant? Oh Jesus – but they’d been safe. Oh god not now, a fake marriage and a real baby. Just what he needed.

“You’re pregnant aren’t you?”

“God, no... I’m not pregnant. Jesus Jon.” She sniffled a little and sighed.

For the first time in a long time Jon felt helpless. She sounded so damn sad. “Well tell me what’s going on, come on talk to me Callie.”

“I’m not sick – I called in sick because I didn’t feel like facing the world today.”

His finger twisted around the cord, “why? What’s happened?” Maybe this whole fake marriage thing was taking its toll on her more than he realized.

“I just don’t want to be a lawyer today.”

Finally she was starting to admit this, he had to wonder what the hell caused her to change her mind, then he remembered.

“Is this about your father the other day when I rang, you said he’d been around. What did he say to you?”

The line fell dead, again. Jesus this call was already going to cost Doc a pretty penny. No doubt he’d be yelled at when they checked out. “Come on Callie – you gotta talk to me.” From Jon’s brief dealing with her father he knew he probably had the power to cut down Callie in half if he needed to, or anyone for that matter.

“He told me he got me the job at the law firm, he set it up. Even though I went for independent interviews and they hired me for me, well so I thought.”

He closed his eyes. God, this just kept getting worse for her. “You didn’t know any of that? Aren’t they friends though?”

“No I didn’t Jon, ok? I didn’t freaking know.” Her voice wavered and he felt like a royal asshole.

Damn.

“I’m sorry babe. That’s pretty shitty.”

“How would you feel if you kept getting told you’re where you are because of your hard work and your initiative to get you there? And then be told it was Doc that did it all, it wasn’t your talent that got you there?”

Jon sat up and swung his legs over the bed, resting the phone on his knees he leaned in closer to the mouthpiece.

“Hey now. That may have been how you got the job – but if you were crap they would have kicked you out by now right?”

“I guess so, I’m just so angry --- so fucking angry Jon,” she started to sob down the line and Jon felt his heart break a little inside. No one should have had to feel like she did right now. Her father was a bastard, she was one of the most intelligent girls he knew and she didn’t deserve this crap.

“Callie, listen to me. Don’t listen to what he’s telling you. You know you do your job and you do it well. Everyone in that law firm respects you for you. I could see that when I came in that day. He’s trying to undermine you so he can keep you exactly where he wants you…always trying to please him. Well it’s time to stop that shit, ok?”

“I can’t – you don’t understand Jon. It’s easy for you to say that to me. But you have no idea what my family is like.”

He snorted, “Yeah well I do. I was there remember and got looked at like I was second rate garbage. I know exactly what your family is like. Let me tell you this. You’re too good for them Callie. You have dreams and goals much bigger than they can give you, so tell me why the hell are you giving in to them?”

Maybe she had to learn a bit of tough love, in the right way. Not the way that kicked you in the teeth when you were down. How could she not see it right in front of her when it was so damn obvious how she was being manipulated?

“I can’t stand up to him.”

“Yes you damn can. This is your life Callie, not his. You’ve served his purpose – you’ve tried, so damn grow a pair and move on. You have to. Or you will be miserable, forever.”

She sighed and sniffed.

“If I was there, I‘d damn shake that into you girl. You’ve got far too much talent to waste on something you don’t want to be doing. What the fuck is the point of that?”

He fished for his cigarettes out of his pocket and fumbled one into his mouth. Flicking his lighter till it glowed cherry red, he took a deep inhale and continued. “Well?”

“Christ Jon. I didn’t know you cared so much.”

Cared? Crap, maybe he did. Well she was a nice girl and she had it in her heart to let him stay with her and use her money. If he could do something in return for her, so be it.

He took a deep suck of the tip. “Well I hate to see something go to waste Callie. You need to do what you wanna do – no one else. What’s stopping you? He wouldn’t cast you out of the family would he?”

“Well no, probably not. But it’s complicated… I just would have no support…years of training all over again and then doing internship? It’d be years before I’d get there.”

“You’d have me” It came out before he could stop it. Sure he’d support her somehow…even if they didn’t last. He’d be able to help her start the process. From what he knew about Callie, once she got familiar with something, she’d be fine.

“You would?” she asked like a small child.

God, it killed him that her father could make her this wallowing girl. She was tougher than this. She deserved more than this. “Of course, but you have to do this for you. No more doing it for anyone else now, ok?”

He frowned when the banging on his door broke the conversation.

“Hey asshole, Doc needs to see us.” Richie’s voice boomed through the door.

Fuck. “Callie, I’ve got to go. Doc wants to see us about god knows what.”

“Jon!” the voice shouted through the door.

He cupped his hand over the mouthpiece. “I’m coming ass munch. Give me a second.”

“Callie?”

“It’s ok Jon, you go… you need to do what you do. But thanks for calling.”

“That’s ok baby. Just don’t let it get you down. And make a decision with what you want to do – or suck it up and be miserable... the choice is yours.”

“Ok, I’ll talk to you again, soon?”

He grinned tucking the receiver into his shoulder as he stood, “Absolutely. Next time I ring you better be back to feisty wife.”

She laughed, “I will try. See you later Jon.”

He finally hung up and jammed his cigarette into the glass ashtray. He cringed when he looked down to his fly still half open. He tugged the zip up and grabbed his wallet and headed out. Hopefully somehow he’d got across to her. She deserved more than that, way more.