Chapter thirty-two

Richie arrived in New York about five hours later. As soon as he got off the plane and had found phone reception, he phoned Sarah’s home number, he told himself to buy her a cell phone so he could text her easily.

Sarah sat by the phone for the last thirty minutes, waiting for Richie to phone. She knew his flight information by now he should have landed 10 minutes ago. She knew it was silly to be waiting for his call but she was worried and needed to know if he was alright.

When the phone finally rang, she immediately reached for it and pressed the button to answer the call.

“Richie?” She immediately asked, hopeful.
“Yeah darling, you alright?”
“Yeah, I was waiting for you to call. Are you in New York?” She asked back, the background noise was almost louder than his voice was, he was obviously in a very busy place.
“Getting my bags, then off to meet the guys.” He explained.

A few minutes later he had his bags together and made his way to where he was meeting everyone before checking in. Since Jon was in Iceland recovering from his operation, the rest of them had to fly commercial.

He caught sight of David and ended his phone call with Sarah, promising to phone back when he was in Turkey, warning her that it would be a long flight.

Sarah didn’t mind, today she would just wait for his phone calls, tomorrow she would do the things she needed to do, she didn’t feel like looking for a job or going places right now anyway.

The hours of flying always tended to get exhausting, only a few more hours now.

For Sarah it turned into afternoon while for Richie it turned into a big blur of what time it was and where.



After watching half of a boring movie and listening to a cd, Richie took out his blanket and turned around in his seat to go to sleep. The seats weren’t as comfortable as on Jon’s plane but he still fell asleep easily.

Only a few hours later he woke up, only to find out they weren’t even close, by now David had fallen asleep too and Tico was sitting too far away to talk. He didn’t expect to already feel lonely; he wasn’t even entirely gone yet.

He tried to watch some other tv shows, some movies, nothing was actually interesting enough to keep him occupied, every time his mind wandered off, back to Sarah, what was she doing right now? Was she bored too or was she enjoying time with her boys? Would she keep a calm day or was she already looking for some sort of job? He didn’t know and wanted to know, just to know.

He hadn’t even been gone for a full day and he already missed her.



When he got off the plane there weren’t much fans, they probably thought they were all coming in with Jon but still he smiled and waved at them all.

At the hotel, Jon was standing in the hallway when they all walked to their room.

“Where’s Sarah?” Was the first thing Jon asked when Richie walked up to his room.

Richie sighed; he had just stopped thinking about her. “She wanted to stay home.” He said somber. He couldn’t manage to count out how many hours he had been gone by now, all he knew was that he missed her already.

“Why?” Jon asked confused. Suspicious, Jon profusely hoped that nothing had happened to their relationship while they were home.
“She wanted to time on her own and find a job.” Richie explained with another sigh.
Jon ignored the first and said, “A job? Why does she need a job? She’s got you, that won’t change, will it?” He continued to ask, hoping to find the answer to his worry.
“No, I’m not letting her go.” Richie said honestly.
“Then why does she need a job?”
“Because,” Richie started but remembered he hadn’t phoned her yet, “You don’t know the whole story. I need to phone her.”

Without another word he left Jon alone in the hallway and went into his room, going straight for the phone, his iPhone’s battery had died while playing games on the plane.

He wasn’t sure if he could even tell Jon about Sarah’s past, he wouldn’t tell him the details but he could tell him something. Just a little bit, so he would understand what was going on.

He quickly dialed Sarah’s number, glad he had already memorized it or he would be stuck without his phone.

Just like last time Sarah answered on the first ring. “Richie?” She asked again, just as hopeful as before.
“Yes honey, it’s me. Sorry took so long, I’m at the hotel.”

He looked over at the bed and couldn’t wait to plop down on it and sleep till the next day, flying might seem like nothing but all those hours were exhausting. Then he remembered his bed was empty and just as lonely as he had felt a few minutes ago. Talking to Sarah he felt a little less lonely.

They talked about the coming show and what Sarah would do at home and before they knew it they had been talking for half an hour. Just talking already made him feel better.

Sarah felt the same way, even though she had a nice day with her family, just like they always had, it felt good to talk to Richie, to know he was safe, on the other side of the world, so far away from her but at least he was alright.

Richie promised to phone her back when he was going to bed and recharge his phone so he could phone her if she wanted to. He had to make sure his phone was always charged from now on, just in case, no playing games on it.



After he hung up with Sarah he plopped down on his bed, hoping for a bit of quiet before he had to go to sound check later.



But he didn’t get long, a few minutes later Jon walked in without waiting for an answer after knocking. “So tell me the story.” He said as he walked over to where Richie was laying.
“What are you talking about?” Richie asked confused.
“You said I don’t know the whole story about Sarah.” Jon explained in a few words.
Richie sighed and sat up. “Why she needs a job?” He asked.
“Yeah.” Jon hoped he’d get an explanation this time.

Richie thought for a few minutes of how he would tell Jon about Sarah’s past without telling him too many personal details.

“You know I met her in rehab.” He started.

Jon remembered and wondered if Sarah had been addicted to something too. Was it worse than alcohol or was it worse than Richie’s own addiction had been?

“She wasn’t there for any kind of addiction.” Richie said as if he was reading Jon’s mind. “She needed to socialize and get back into society.” Richie started his explanation.

Jon frowned confused at what Richie said, he didn’t understand, yet. He kept quiet and let Richie explain.

Richie noticed his confusion and continued explaining.

“Sarah had a really bad marriage and left the guy about 10 years ago. When she moved in with her mom she got depressed and started avoiding people. That’s why she wants a job, to prove she can be around people now without being scared.” He hoped he hadn’t said too many details and ran over the words he had said in his mind again, thinking he hadn’t really said anything that would be wrong.

“That makes sense,” Jon concluded, “but you said she wanted to be a doctor.” He remembered.
“Yeah, she wanted to but she says she doesn’t want to go to school anymore. Maybe she can do something else in health care.”

Jon agreed that was a good idea, hospitals always needed more staff.

“Was that why she was so quiet the first week?” Jon asked.

Richie smiled, he knew Sarah had made progress and no one would have guessed her past, other than that she might be a shy or quiet person.

“Yeah, she was scared of people just two months ago, you know, she was even scared of me.”
“I thought she was just shy.” Jon confessed.
“I know, she made so much progress.” Richie smiled again, feeling proud of her again.

“You saved her from her marriage, man, you know.” Richie said absentmindedly after a few minutes.

Jon looked even more confused than he had before.

“She watched your movie, Pay It Forward, and knew she had to leave that guy.” Richie explained.
Jon smiled softly. “Paying it forward. She’s lucky to have you to protect her now."
Richie shrugged. “I guess.”
Jon patted his shoulder. “She is, you’re good for her.” He said.
Richie nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, I think so.”
“You miss her already?” Jon asked knowingly. He hadn’t seen his wife in five weeks now.
“About five minutes after we said goodbye.” Richie gave a small smile, he’d phone her again later.
“Maybe she won’t take so long.” Jon said hopeful, a little encouraging, he didn’t want to see his friend down. He could imagine Richie would miss her on his birthday in a few days.
“Hopefully.” Richie agreed again, then remembered something. “Oh, I gave her your number, just in case. Do you want hers?” He asked, already reciting the numbers in his head.
Jon smiled and nodded, at the same time he started thinking of a plan. “Yeah, it might come in handy.” He said.

Chapter thirty-one

Thursday morning they were up way too early, it was still dark outside and with that, dark in their room.

Richie’s house was peacefully quiet and neither wanted to get up but Richie needed to get to New York first, and then join the rest of the band to Turkey.

He had arranged plane tickets for Sarah’s family and would buy her a ticket as soon as she asked him for it. He hoped it would be soon, he wasn’t even gone but didn’t want to think of leaving her alone.

In his mind he knew she’d be alright on her own, he just didn’t want to miss her. He had given her his phone number, on a piece of paper because she didn’t own a cell phone which he found very strange but Sarah explained she never went anywhere or knew anybody. So he had given her a piece of paper with his number on, Jon’s and their road manager, in case she couldn’t reach him.



Finally they got out of bed and dressed, both reluctant to go to the airport and putting it off as long as they could.

They shared a slow and easy breakfast in the kitchen.

“Any plans today?” Richie decided to break their silence.
“Not really but I really need to figure out a job or something. I can’t keep living with my mom and I think it would be good for me to get a job.” She explained.
Richie nodded, it probably would be. “Do you still want to be a doctor?” He knew she wanted to before she dropped out of college and her life changed.
“No, I can’t go to school that long.” She answered.

She still wanted to help people but couldn’t possibly go back to school for all those years, she still wouldn’t have any money to support herself and her boys.

“What about being a nurse then?” He suggested, that way she’d still help people.
“That’s four years of college. I can’t even pay for it.” She put down his suggestion.
“I could.” He said without thinking it through.
“No.” Sarah said immediately. “I can’t possibly ask you to do that, that’s way too much.” She couldn’t accept his offer, it was too much and she couldn’t spend four years at college.
“You’ll find something.” Richie decided, even though his mind was thinking other things.

If she moved in with him, she didn’t need to have a job; she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Her sons would have to transfer schools but then he would have Sarah with him every day and he wouldn’t have to miss her.

For now he just had to phone her every day and hope she would be alright on her own.



They finished breakfast and cleaned up together, and then went back up to Richie’s room to get dressed; he’d have to leave soon. This time Sarah had brought clothes for her overnight stay and could dress in clean clothes.

They dressed alike, jeans and a t-shirt and sadly, were ready to go. Ready, as in dressed, not emotionally ready to say goodbye.

Sarah walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his solid body, she already knew now that she was going to cry her eyes out at the airport. She needed some tissues before they left.

They hugged for a few minutes before Richie let go of her. He looked down at her while Sarah looked up.

“Are you alright?” He asked worried and knowing they both felt the same.
“I’m going to miss you.” She said somber.
“We’re not saying goodbye yet.” Richie told her, it wasn’t time yet. As long as they could avoid it, he would, he wasn’t ready yet.

Richie carried his packed bag down the stairs and dropped it by the front door. He turned around to Sarah. “Ready to go?” He asked.
Sarah nodded even though she wasn’t.
“Got everything you need?” He asked next, if he was gone and Sarah had forgotten something, there was no way for her to get it back.
Again Sarah nodded. “Do you have everything you need?” She asked back.
Unlike Sarah, he shook his head. “No.”
“What? Richie, you have to go. What did you forget? You don’t have time to repack anymore.” She got slightly panicked.
Richie chuckled and Sarah wondered what was so funny.

He took her hands and pulled her close to smile at her.

“Sarah, calm down, I meant you.” He was still chuckling.
“Oh.” She said surprised and a little unintelligent.
“I’m going to miss you.” He pulled her even closer and hugged her.
“Thought we weren’t saying goodbye yet?” She asked him.
“We’re not,” he picked up his bag again, “but we should go.”
Sarah simply nodded again and followed him out the door to the waiting car that Richie had hired to drive them and Sarah back home.



Half an hour later they were getting out of the car at the airport.

This is it, Sarah thought to herself, she had to say goodbye to him even though it was much to her dislike. She knew she had to but that didn’t mean she wanted to.



After Richie checked in, they walked to the gate together. Sarah wasn’t allowed further than that.

Once again they hugged, knowing now they really were going to say goodbye.

They hugged quietly, then broke apart and Richie could see tears in Sarah’s eyes. He raised his hands to wipe them away but it was useless as they were replaced with new tears.

“I love you.” He said instead of trying to wipe away her tears again.
Sarah nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I love you too.” She said.

Richie hugged her again and Sarah buried her face in his chest, hiding the tears that followed.

He held her until she calmed down and then bent to kiss her.

“I’m gonna miss you so much.” Sarah said before kissing him again.
“I’m gonna miss you too. I’ll phone you when I’m in New York.” He promised.
Again Sarah nodded, it was easier than talking.

They hugged and kissed again, then it was time for Richie to go.

“I have to go.” Richie said sad and quiet, reluctant for leaving at all. Men don’t cry, he reminded himself.
“Yeah.” Sarah agreed, or she’d never let him leave.

After a last hug and kiss, Richie wiped away Sarah’s tears and said goodbye.

He walked through the gate and waved at Sarah from the other side.

Sarah waved back and watched him turn around and walk away. Soon she couldn’t see him anymore, the tears in her eyes were obscuring her view and he simply blended into the crowd of people. She kept trying to wipe her tears away but it was pointless, even her forgotten tissues wouldn’t have helped for that.

Chapter thirty

A/N 3 votes for Sarah forgetting birth control, really? I'll have to remember that.

Relieved that she finally said something, he asked, “What do you need to tell me?” He was glad she finally started and wondered what could possibly have made her so nervous.

Sarah took a deep breath, she needed to tell him. “I don’t want to go back to Europe.” She finally said it and felt relieved too.

Confused, he shook his head, he thought she had liked Europe, was he wrong? “Why not?” He asked calmly although his mind was going crazy with ideas why she didn’t want to go.

Sarah sighed; she knew she would have to explain it. “I need to know if I can do this on my own.” She looked up at him, searching his eyes for understanding but only found confusion and decided to go on. “I think going to Europe has really helped me but it helped out relationship more than personally just for me.” She tried to explain but the confusion she was in him turned even more confused.

“What do you mean?” Europe had been good for her; he knew she had made progress but not personally?

Again she thought of words to say what she wanted to say and explain it better. She had known it wouldn’t be easy. “I need some time on my own to find out if I can do these things alone.”

He could understand she needed some time on her own; maybe it had been overwhelming her again. “What things?” He asked instead.

“Going out, shopping, and looking for that job.” She listed.
“Oh.” Now he understood.
“I need to know if I can do it without you.” Sarah repeated.

Richie nodded; she hadn’t really been on her own long enough to try.

“I love your constant support but I have to do it on my own too.” She decided to speak when he didn’t.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “I understand. I’m really going to miss you.” He hugged her tight.
“I’m going to miss you too.” She hugged back, now uncertain if she could do it on her own.

“You have no idea how hard it was to tell you that.” Sarah said with another sigh of relief.

“You’ll miss my birthday.” Richie said after a minute of hugging.
Sarah pulled back with surprise, then realized she didn’t even know his birthday. “When’s your birthday?”
“Monday.”
“Oh Richie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to miss your birthday.”
Richie chuckled. “It’s been a while since you used song lyrics.”



They had lunch together with Sarah’s family at their kitchen table.

Richie wanted to invite them to come to Portugal at the end of the month but now he wanted to talk to Sarah about how long she wanted to stay home, maybe she wanted come over after a few days or a week or maybe not at all.

It was understandable she needed to do her own thing but he wanted to have her with him. Perhaps he was just being selfish; he didn’t want to miss her. He wanted to hold her, hug her, kiss her, he didn’t want to lose her. What if he wasn’t strong enough without her?

Sarah’s uncertainty had grown since their conversation. It was scary that she now had to try things on her own but she couldn’t let fear stop her. She had done that long enough, now she needed to go forward in life. She could do this on her own, as little as she wanted to, she could it.



After lunch Sarah suggested for them to go for a walk, she thought it was funny when her mother handed her a shopping list.

A few streets down was a little convenience store that she hadn’t been to in years but she remembered the boys buying candy there after school when they were younger.

She took the list and walked out with Richie. He took her hand once they reached the sidewalk and Sarah turned to the right direction, she was sure she still knew where it was.

“So,” Richie started when they reached the corner of her street and needed to cross, “would you like come over later on?”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t know how much time she needed.
“Maybe you’d like to come over after a week or two.” He continued.
“I really don’t know.” She repeated.
“You know, I can buy you a ticket any time.” He didn’t want to be without her and wanted her to come over as soon as possible.
“I know, and I will let you know when I want to come over.” She squeezed his hand; it was strange that she needed to assure him for a change.

Richie stayed quiet but when they turned the corner after a few minutes, he continued. “You have to be there at the end of the month, when we do our last shown everyone’s wife and kids are coming over and I’d love it if my girlfriend would be there.”
Sarah smiled. “I’ll be there, I wouldn’t miss it.”

A minute later he added, “I’d like your kids and your mom there too.”
“I’m sure they’d love that.” Sarah said certain.

They crossed the street another time and walked into the little store. Richie helped Sarah get everything that she needed together and in just a few minutes they were on their way back, each carrying a bag, holding hands.

“I like doing these simple things with you.” Richie said, Sarah livened in a calm place, he really didn’t think he’d run into any paparazzi here, he liked that.
“I just like doing things with you.” Sarah said back. Anything with him was nice to do. It was nice to be able to do something simple as grocery shopping.



Back at home Noah was stretched long out on the couch watching tv when they walked back in, carrying the groceries.

In the kitchen they found Abbey with a bowl of cookie dough.

Sarah put her bag on the table and Richie followed her example.

“More cookies?” Sarah asked her mom.
“These are Richie’s favorite.” She said, putting a smile on Richie’s face. “See, I knew you’d like it.” She smiled back at him.

When the oven timer dinged, Abbey slowly got up from her chair and moved to the over, carefully bending to take an oven plate of cookies out.

Just then Noah walked in, having heard the oven timer into the living room.

Abbey shook her head, so did Sarah, boys and food.

Abbey continues baking cookies while Richie helped Sarah with putting everything away. Noah had gone again when he was told the cookies needed to cool down first. Richie completely understood his disappointment, he wouldn’t wait to try one either.

Once everything was put away, they sat down at the table and could hear guitar playing coming from upstairs.

Richie looked up at a corner of the ceiling.

“That’s Caleb.” Sarah said at his wondering expression.

He remembered Sarah had told him Caleb started to play guitar to impress girls. He knew all about impressing girls at that age.

“I’m sure he’d like your opinion or help.” Sarah said, she could see he wanted to listen to him play.
“You think?” He asked unsure.
“Yeah.”

So Richie got up, put his chair back and left the kitchen.

Chapter twenty-nine

Soon enough Sarah could hear Richie’s snoring above her. She liked the fact that he snored, even though it was softly, if he didn’t, he’d be too perfect. The more she thought of it, it was just right that he snored, it was manly, and so he should.

It wasn’t his snoring that was keeping her up but that she had to tell him her plans. She knew he’d probably be okay with it but what if he wasn’t? He worries kept her up half through the night.



When Richie woke her up a little past 9 am she was still sleepy, last time she had seen a clock it was 4:15 am.

“Did I wear you out that much last night?” He chuckled.
“I couldn’t sleep.” She mumbled against him.
“Something wrong?” He asked concerned, maybe last night’s talk hadn’t been so good for her.
“No, can I sleep another hour?” She asked sleepily, with no intention of moving.
“Sure you can.” He pulled her tighter against his side.
“You’re not getting up?”
“You know I like watching you sleep.” He smiled; glad he got to watch her.

She did know that, another thing she didn’t find weird anymore. It bothered her at first, to be watched but not now, now it also was a sense of protection.

Sarah got comfortable again and closed her eyes.

Richie watched her the entire time, thinking of what to do. It was Tuesday and Thursday they had to leave, which meant they’d have to pack tomorrow. What would Sarah still want to do before they left?

He could take her out again, if she wanted to. Or go to back to the beach. They could watch a movie in his theatre room; take a dip in the pool. He’d just have to wait for Sarah to wake up so he could ask her.

He looked forward to Europe again, spend his entire day with Sarah, although he had done that this week too. In Europe he could take her to the places she wanted to visit and see that happy smile because of it. He liked putting that smile on her face, every single day, for him it was satisfactory. All he wanted was for her to be happy and he’d do whatever he could to keep her happy.

Also, he needed to invite her family to come to Europe too. Everyone was going to be there for the last concert and he’d like Sarah’s family there too. Surely her boys would enjoy it and so would her mom.

A week after that they’d go to Hawaii, just them and their children. He still needed to tell Sarah that, also when she woke up.



Half past 10, Richie hoped she had slept enough by now and gently tried to wake her up again.

Sarah moaned and opened her eyes, she still felt sleepy but not as much and was ready to wake up. Raising her arms, she stretched next to him.

He smiled at how comfortable she was with him.

“What are we doing today?” She looked up at him expecting a suggestion.
“No idea, it’s up to you. Is there anything you’d like to do?”
Sarah shook her head. “Breakfast maybe.”
Richie chuckled. “I can agree on that, anything you’d like for that then?”
“No, just simple.”



Half an hour later they sat in the kitchen, opposite of each other at the table.

They found the morning already too warm and had decided to dress in minimal clothing for breakfast, it promised to be a hot day.

Although dressing minimal was probably not such a good idea.

Richie loved the sight in front of him, Sarah was wearing his shirt from the night before and had claimed the pair of boxers she had worn last time they had breakfast together. It was always hot to see a girl wear his clothes but with Sarah wearing them it seemed even hotter.

Unlike Sarah, Richie was only wearing boxers, a different kind than Sarah’s, his were tight. Which also probably wasn’t such a good idea with how Sarah looked, he’d have to get dressed after breakfast.

He noticed Sarah being nervous and wondered what was bothering her. Once more he thought of the night before, were her memories still troubling her or was this something else?

Should he ask or wait for her to say it? Did she still not trust him enough to tell him something? What if she was overthinking something small and what if with doing so she made it a huge deal?

Great, now he was overthinking what she was overthinking.



All throughout breakfast Sarah didn’t say what was bothering her, not even while they cleaned up and went back upstairs to get dressed.

“Can we go to my house?” Sarah asked when she was dressed in her lovely summer dress again. “I’d like some clean clothes.”
“You can wear mine.” Richie suggested but only meant it as a joke.
“They don’t actually fit.” Sarah pointed out.
“True, but you look better in them than I do.”
“I don’t know,” she chuckled, “you looked very good in them last night.”

By now Richie had dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and walked over to her.

“Yeah? How good?” He wrapped his arms around her.
“Very good.” She looked up at him.
“How very good?”
Sarah was quiet for a minute, choosing a way to answer. “You looked sexy.” She smiled up at him.
He smiled back at her. “You always look sexy.”

She still wasn’t sure of that although she did feel pretty in her dress.

“You do.” He insisted.
“So, are we going to my house?” She asked again.



Past noon but before they had lunch Richie sat on Sarah’s bed, looking at her back as she stood in front of her closet to pick out clean clothes.

It was way too warm and she couldn’t be bothered to make an effort. She finally picked out a comfy pair of jeans and a v-neck t-shirt that she hardly wore and threw them on the bed next to Richie.

Richie could see she was still nervous and kept wondering what was wrong and why she hadn’t told him yet.

It was the first time Sarah didn’t excuse herself from the room to get changed.

Richie certainly didn’t mind it.

After she had dressed, she sat down next to him. She couldn’t put it off anymore, she needed to tell him. It wasn’t fair on him if she didn’t.

“Richie, I need to tell you something.”

Chapter twenty-eight

Sarah sat up and rested against him.
“Tell me how it happened.” He repeated gently.
Nodding gently, she took a hopeful breath. “All of it?”
“As much as you want to tell me.” He answered, not wanting to push her for more either, he just couldn’t let her hold it in and make herself feel bad.

She nodded again; she didn’t know where to start but wanted to share. He was right, she shouldn’t keep it all inside, it needed to get out, maybe that would help.

A little helpless she looked up at him, searching for some help on how to start talking.

Richie wanted to comfort her first and pulled the blanket from behind him and wrapped it around them, holding Sarah in his arms.

Once the sheet was all snugly around them, he asked, “When did it happen?”

At least now she had somewhere to start from, it helped.

“It was around when Noah was two, so things weren’t so bad yet.” She sighed, better to be straight forward and say it. “It was the first time he raped me.” She confessed.

His arm holding her tighter, gave her the courage and comfort to keep going.

“Before that it was only beating-”
“Don’t say only, don’t make it like it was acceptable.” He said a little strict.
“I know it’s not but it was, before that he only beat me, nothing more.” She explained and Richie nodded his understanding.
“What happened then?”
“I’d been denying him sex for almost three months. Every time he came home, he stank of beer, it was just so repulsive, I couldn’t.” She continued to explain. “Luckily the boys were always in bed before he got home. I’d gone to bed too but he woke me up and started to pull at my clothes. He ripped my pajama pants.” Her voice cracked before she could go on.

Uncomfortable, she wanted to move but Richie held her. Instead, she moved in his arms and rested her head against his solid chest.

He understood it wasn’t easy for her to tell him but she had to, it was the only way to process it.

“What did he do then?” He asked so she would go on.
“He smelled so bad.” She remembered the smell well; he had always smelled of beer. After rehab and during her marriage she found it the most repulsive smell. “I noticed where the smell was coming from; he was holding a beer bottle.”

She took another deep breath as she remembered.

“I kept telling him to stop but he told me to shut up and kept trying to hold me still but I wouldn’t.” She smiled a little; proud she didn’t undergo it without fighting back. “He got mad and smashed the bottle against the headboard.”
“Wow.” He said amazed.
“Yeah, there was one big piece, he held it right here,” her hand moved to the side of her face where the scar was, “and told me to stop moving.”

Richie pulled her hand down and held it.

“He tore my underwear off.”

He could feel a wet tear on his chest and squeezed her hand.

“I got cut on the glass when I flinched as he… you know…” She ended.
“I know.” He confirmed and wrapped his arms around her to hold her, feeling more tears falling down.

Sarah buried her face in his chest, letting the tears falls now that she didn’t have to talk anymore.

He let her cry and just like last time, he stroked her hair and held her until she could calm down again.

It didn’t take her as long as last time she had told him something about her marriage, last time at the rehab center. Her telling him back then had changed so many things.



A few minutes later she calmed down and wiped away the remaining tears.

“How do you feel now?” He asked gently.
Sarah looked up at him; she did feel better now that she had told him. “Relieved, better.”
“That’s good. I love you, thanks for telling me.” He gave a small smile before bending to kiss her.

He was glad that she had told him, that she didn’t hold it all in. The one thing he didn’t understand was how someone could do that to the person they loved or any person for that matter. It was something he’d never understand, instead of understanding he wished Jonathan would someday be punished for what he had done to her. If it wasn’t a federal law that would, he wouldn’t mind beating some pain into him, the pain he had caused her.



After their kiss Sarah let go of his hand and raised her hand back to the side of her face where she knew the thin line was.

Richie could see the worried look on her face and knew what she was thinking. He raised his own hand and covered it over hers.

“It’s why I hardly ever put my hair up.” She said when she felt his warm hand on hers.
“It’s not noticeable. I’ve known you two months and didn’t see it ‘till I got a really close look.”

He turned her head towards his and tilted it to reach her lips for a sweet kiss.

Sarah’s hand moved away from under his to rest on his chest. The hardness of his muscles there was always a good support.

His kiss didn’t fade but continued to start over, his hand still curled around the side of her face. So he wouldn’t lose claim over those sweet lips of her.

Sarah enjoyed their kissing but most of all wanted to just be held now, some comfort. His comfort and a sense of protection.

She kissed him one more time before she pulled back. “I’m so thankful to have you. I still don’t know how I deserve you.” She smiled at him, truly amazed at how she could be so lucky to find a man like him.

He hugged her then. “I told you before sweetheart, it was long overdue. Sunshine after the rain, right?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She agreed.

She’d been through enough bad events in her life, it was only fair to finally have something good that she never wanted let go of again. She had him and wasn’t willing to give him up ever again.

“I love you so much.” She looked him in the eyes so she was sure he truly understood how she felt.

Richie saw so much love, trust and hope in her eyes. He hadn’t thought something like this would ever happen to him again, especially after the last few years but here she was. Like she was the one. The one for him. Could she be?

Right now he knew he wasn’t letting go of her, maybe she could be the one.

“I know, I love you just as much.” He hugged her again instead of kissing.

Carefully he began to move so Sarah got off his lap and followed him to lie down on the bed again, where they were before.

Just like always Richie wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to his side. He stared up at the ceiling as Sarah rested her head on his shoulder, her hand in the middle of his chest.

He pulled the cotton sheet back over them. Secretly he didn’t want to, he loved seeing her naked and so far she hadn’t covered herself up, he dropped the sheet just below their chests even though he couldn’t see her breasts from the position they were in, but he could feel them.



“Can I tell you something?” Sarah hoped he hadn’t fallen asleep yet.
“That’s what you should, isn’t it?” He asked back, teasingly.

She smiled to herself, he was right, why did she even ask? She didn’t need his permission to say something.

“This feels weird and right at the same time.”
“Why does it feel weird?”
“Because,” she twisted her fingers in his chest hair, “I never thought I could trust someone again and here I am with you and it’s just so right. To be here, it feels like I shouldn’t be anywhere else.”

It wasn’t easy to tell him her feelings but it felt good once she had, she knew she could trust him.

With telling him she knew she could tell him what she wanted to do. She had a feeling that he would be disappointed but proud at the same moment.

With knowing that, she knew she had to tell him her plans, he’d be leaving in three days, maybe two by now, depending on what time it was.

“So, it’s a good kind of weird?”
Sarah smiled brightly and snuggled into him. “Definitely.”

Chapter twenty-seven

"Oh." Sarah said in time with the next piece of fireworks.

"Yeah, I'm sorry." He said.
"Why Richie? Why are you sorry?" She didn't move from his arms and stayed comfortable reclining against him.
"I don't know. I don't even know if you want to get married again. Do you?" He asked unsure of wanting to know the answer.
"I do." Was Sarah's immediate response.
Again fireworks popped in the air, this time a rainbow of colors rained down on them, making them

both admire it for a minute.

“Do you?” She asked back.
“I do. I like knowing my girl is there for me and to share that bond.” He said honestly.

After their conversation fireworks started popping more rapidly, they both didn’t know if they should say more and stayed in conversational silence but comfortable in their embrace as they watched the fireworks.



Finally, the fireworks quieted down and they sat in silence.

“Want to go inside?” Richie asked, rubbing his hands over her arms.
“Yeah. Do you want to go to bed? I know it’s early but we can cuddle.” Sarah sat up and looked over her shoulder at him with a smile.

Richie was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked just then, her eyes bright green, smiling at him. He smiled back at her beauty.

“I’d love to do that.” As he said it, Sarah stood up for Richie to get up too.

Sarah walked over to the bed with Richie following her. She sat down on her side of the bed while Richie lied down on his side, padding the bed. Sarah obliged and lied down to face him. Then she slowly reached in to kiss him.

He loved that she was taking initiative even though he knew it was still difficult for her to do so.

“I love you.” She said when their kiss broke apart.

He also understood she needed to hear it from him and he told her he loved her as he slid a little closer to her and put his arm around her to pull her closer against him.

Sarah lifted her leg over his hips to be even closer, as she did, her dress rose on her legs.

His hand traveled from her back to the back of her knee to stroke gently up her tight under her dress, perplexed by how soft her skin felt. He reached in for another kiss, softly prying apart her lips to taste her. As his hand played on her leg, he pushed he dress higher up until he could let his fingers slide under the fabric of her underwear on her hip.

Sarah’s own hand went under his shirt to feel the warm skin of his back.

Just her slightest touch turned him on, he was sure Sarah could feel it too, being so close to him.

Gotten used to it now, it didn’t scare her anymore; she still thought it unbelievable she could turn him on.

In an instant Richie sat up and took off his shirt, wanting more of her touch. As he had hoped, Sarah’s hand moved from his back to his chest, twining her fingers in his chest hair.

He started to feel left out, not being able to touch more of her skin. He could touch her legs but he wanted more, he always wanted more, he couldn’t get enough of her. Carefully he reached behind her, finding the zipper on her back, slowly pulling it down.

Sarah pulled away from his chest for Richie to pull down her dress. Helping to pull it over her shoulder, he noticed the white cotton bra she was wearing, a little disappointed it wasn’t lace but wondering if the panties were matching.

Sarah let him take off her dress, leaving her in her underwear.

Even in her underwear she looked beautiful, she always looked beautiful, whatever she wore or didn’t.

Her leg tightened around his hip, holding him firmer in place.

He kissed her lips again, then slowly moved to her neck and shoulders, nipping at her obstructive bra strap, causing Sarah to gasp with surprise and excitement. His hand roamed over her back again before opening the clasp between her shoulder blades.

He helped her out of the garment and cupped her breast with the same hand he had used to open her bra.

His soft and gentle touches had her breathing heavy in minutes. It turned her on and wanting more. She spread her hand on his chest, feeling the hairs against the palm of her hand.

Richie’s own hand travelled over belly to where he could feel the cotton of her panties. It didn’t stop him and he slipped his hand inside, playing through the coarse hair he found, making Sarah wait in anticipation for more but he didn’t.

She wondered why he didn’t, he must know what she wanted, he usually knew better than she did herself.

Every touch he made, every kiss made her want him more and now that he was delaying it, it made her go crazy.

She pushed her hips closer to him, her chest to his, kissed him but nothing made him go on.

“Richie.” She finally sighed in anticipation and frustration.

He kissed her again then and sat up to take his jeans off. Usually he liked help with it but for now he was happy with her suggesting going to bed. Grabbing the sides of her underwear, he pulled the fabric down and over her legs too.

He lay back down next to her, pulling her leg over his hip again, wrapping his arm around her to push her against him feeling her tight nipples against him, made him want her even more. He kissed her softly, pulling her face close to his, kissing her again.

“I love you.” He whispered against her lips before claiming them again.

When he let go Sarah could say the words back.

His hand stroking her leg again made her feel like her skin was on fire, wanting all of his touches and more. She lifted her leg higher over his, pulling him closer.

Unlike weeks ago, feeling his erection against her turned her on, hastening her breathing, she reached in for another soft kiss, even his soft lips were turning her on.

Richie knew she was getting closer and ready, his grip on her leg tightened as he lifted it so he could fit between.

His hard dick easily found accommodation in her warmth.

She gasped and sighed when he was fully inside her.

“Still okay?” Was his reaction to her gasp.

She nodded again him, then reached up to kiss him.

With utmost care he thrusted in and out of her, she was still very tight around him, which made it hard for him to hold back.

His moving in and out of her made her walls contract around him, holding him inside her for a second before releasing.

He’d known she was close. Due to his position he couldn’t move faster and kept a steady pace.

Richie’s hand stroked from her leg up to her back and cupper her breast again, playing with her nipple. He kissed her, there was no need to pry her lips open as her tongue was inside his mouth as soon as the opportunity was there. It was a simple thing but her action set his balls on fire.

His slow thrusts made Sarah feel every inch of him. The exquisite feeling, made her throw back her head in delight, exposing her neck.

Losing her lips to kiss, he moved on to her neck.

The tingling feeling spread all over her body until she couldn’t stand it anymore and exploded with a scream of his name.

Her screaming his name was his ultimate delight, the tightening feeling around him, made the fire in his balls go up, shooting inside her, the feeling spreading all over his body.

He pulled her against him as they both found their release, then just held her.

He could feel her breathing slow down against his chest.

After a minute he reached for one of the small cotton towels he kept by his bed, wrapping it around his dick before pulling out of her, avoiding making a mess, then threw it to the floor.

Sarah could feel his dick now softer in between them, mesmerized how hard it had been only a few minutes ago.

“Hun?” He snapped her back to reality. “Relax.” He said.

Confused, Sarah frowned, how could she relax even more?

Richie tightened his grip on her and rolled her to her back, moving on top of her. He didn’t want her to freak out again, he hadn’t planned it but there was only one way she’d get over it.

“Look at me.” He said gently.

She hadn’t closed her eyes but avoided eye contact. With another gentle prod, she looked him in the eyes. His chocolate brown eyes were so different from Jonathan’s, these were full of love.

“It was mean to tell you to work on it, we should do it together. Focus on me, okay?”

Sarah nodded and kept her eyes on his. She thought of how beautiful his eyes were, of all the nice things he did for her, how amazing he was but Richie was the one to break their contact and looked at her lips.

They looked so gorgeous red, full and so beautifully kiss swollen, he had to bend down and kiss them again.

Sarah was let down by the break of their contact but his kiss did make it a little better. She didn’t want to stop him until she had to, she wanted to get over this too and start over with him, so she let him move down to her neck as he did.

He loved the soft sensitive skin of her neck and how it made her twitch when he licked it. He moved on to her left shoulder and looked up to her cheek.

What he saw made him frown a little confused and he tried to look closer despite the lack of light in the room. He couldn't see it clearly but he was sure it was there, it seemed almost hidden by her hair.

“Sarah?” He asked unsure to even ask her about it. “You got a big scar here.” He said, eventhough it was hardly noticable.

Instead of looking at the long, thin line from between her hairline and ear almost down to her jaw, he looked up at her.

He could hear her swallow and watched her press her eyes closed.

He knew what she was doing but couldn’t let her do it.

“No, no, no.” He sat up and Sarah’s eyes shot open.

Gently, he pulled her up to sit in front of him.

“Don’t do it on your own, tell me what happened, don’t keep it in there.” He playfully tapped a finger against her head.

Chapter twenty-six

Monday Richie spent his day with his daughter, he couldn’t resist talking about their weekend and was relieved and happy to find out that she  had enjoyed it too. Sarah was his girlfriend; she’d spend a lot of time with him once they got back from Europe again.  After that, all five of them were off to Hawaii for summer vacation and he was glad to know Ava was okay with that.
He drove Ava home in the late afternoon, ready for his date with Sarah.

A little before 6pm he arrived at Sarah’s house.

 He was a little surprised when Caleb opened the door after he had ringed the doorbell.

“Oh, mum’s still getting ready.” He held the door open to let Richie into the living room where Noah and their grandmother were sitting.

Abbey looked up at him from the couch. “Come sit with us.” She patted the couch next to her. “Sarah’s been getting ready for nearly an hour now. It’s like she’s seventeen again.” She smiled as he walked over.
“Really?” He took the seat next to Abbey. “Did she go out a lot back then?”
“No, mostly with her girlfriends.” She answered him.

He started wondering if she had boyfriends back then or was Jonathan the only one?

“Would you like a cup of coffee or something?” Abbey asked gently
“No, I’m fine.” Richie politely declined.
“Nonsense.”  Abbey slowly got up from her seat. “You should have some coffee.”  She said as she walked into the kitchen.

Richie simply watched her go, he  couldn’t protest.



Instead he settled in the couch and watched tv with the boys.

Only a few minutes later Abbey walked back in with a cup of coffee and a plate of cookies. Both teenage boys jumped at the sight of cookies. She put the cup down on the coffee table in front of Richie and held the plate.
“Guests go first.” She extended her arm to hold out the cookies for Richie.

He regarded the cookies, picking the best looking one out. “My favorite.” He said before finally picking one.
“Are they? I baked these this morning.” Abbey told him as she now put the plate down too.
“Nothing better than freshly baked cookies.”  He took a bite from his cookie.  “Oooh, really good.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Abbey scolded him, making Noah and Caleb chuckle as they got their  own cookies.
Richie swallowed his bite and apologized. “Sorry.”



Several long minutes and half a cup of coffee later Sarah finally came down the stairs, Richie looked up when the steps creaked.

She looked beautiful and in a dress, to his surprise. He got up and walked over to the stairs, his jaw dropped as Sarah got to the bottom of  the stairs and slowly walked over to him.

“It’s rude to stare.”She said gently.
Richie closed his mouth and smiled. “You look beautiful.” He took her hand an made her turn so he could have a full view of her.  Her summer dress was white and fitting, the top tight and the skirt loose with beautiful red flowers.

Sarah looked him up and down, his black jeans and red dress shirt with rolled up sleeves and a few open buttons made him look very stylish. “You look beautiful too.”  She said, and then blushed. “Handsome, I mean.” She quickly corrected herself, making Richie chuckle.

He reached in for a kiss, and then whispered, “You’re still staying at my house tonight, right?”
Sarah nodded, she wanted to see the fireworks from the balcony with him.
“Ready to go?”  He took her hand again as he asked her.
“Yes, all ready.” She smiled up at him.
“You two have fun now.” Abbey said from her spot on the couch.
“We will.”  Richie assured her before opening the door for Sarah.

He walked her down the driveway, to the car where he opened the door of the Aston Martin and helped Sarah to sit. Carefully he closed the door and got in on his own side.

“Noah would be so jealous of me now.” Sarah said as they backed out of the driveway.
Richie chuckled.  “He probably would be, maybe I should  take  him  for a drive, show him how fast it goes.”
“No!” She said shocked.
He chuckled again. “Why not?”
“I don’t want anything to happen to either of you.”
“It’s just driving.” He said matter of factly.
“It’s dangerous.”  Sarah pointed out.
“Not if you know how to drive but okay, I won’t.” He promised.



Shortly afterwards they arrived at the restaurant.

Sarah reached to open her door but Richie stopped her. “Let me do that.”  He said, and then turned to get out himself.

He walked around the car and opened the door for her, holding out  a hand for her. 

“Thank you.” She said once she stood up.

They turned to walk to the restaurant when Sarah gasped.  “Wow, this is really fancy.”
“I know.” Richie looped his arm through hers and pulled her close. “Only fancy things for my girl.”

He walked her inside where they were greeted by a host and were led to their table.

As they walked through the restaurant Sarah looked around, every table had perfectly white table cloths and two tall white candles in the middle, every waiter was dressed classy and so was everyone else at the tables.

They were handed their menus and before Sarah even opened hers, Richie told her not to look at the prices. He knew she would, she always worried about everything’s price. Sarah nodded and tried to ignore the numbers.

After they ordered, they talked about their day. Finally Richie couldn’t help himself anymore and needed to know where she got  that pretty dress from. He was amazed to hear her mom had given it to her when she asked for something  pretty.

The white color of her dress, made her blond locks look lighter and her green eyes sparkle even brighter.

Sarah was thinking the same about him, the red shirt made his skin look tan and made his dark features even more handsome. The bit of his chest that she could see through his open buttons made her want to reach in and touch him.  Surprised with that idea, she blushed, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

Richie did notice and wondered what she was thinking, hoping she was thinking the same as he was thinking about her in her pretty dress. How much more perfect could she look right now?

Dinner was shared with a few laughs, smiles and easy talks.

For dessert Richie suggested something else, telling Sarah it was a surprise and to wait and find out.



Once they got out of the car, Sarah could smell where they were. “The beach?” There weren’t many other places where the air had that salty smell.
“Yeah, thought we’d go for a walk on the beach.”  He smiled gently.
“That sounds perfect.” Sarah smiled back and looped her arm through his like he had done earlier and let Richie lead the way.

For once in the last few weeks Sarah was glad she didn’t own anything fancy, even though Richie had bought her high heels, she didn’t feel sure enough yet to wear them, instead she had worn her red ballerina flats.

Richie led them through the dunes to the beach.

When Sarah saw the water, she stopped, watched and listened to the waves, taking it all in.

“What’s wrong?” Richie asked, confused at why she had stopped, he studied her face.
“I haven’t been to the beach in such a long time.” Sarah said, thankful he had taken her there.

It was nice to hear the waves crashing on the sandy beach and smelling the cooler ocean salty air again.

Unknowingly Richie had brought her to a place she longed to be again.

“Thank you so much for taking me here.” She said.

Richie could see how much she appreciated it and how happy she was to be there. In turn, it gave him the happy feeling of doing something for someone else.

“My pleasure.”  He took a step, pulling Sarah with him.  “Let’s go for a walk.”



They walked the sandy beach, arm in arm, leaving foot prints behind them, until Sarah broke the silence.

“Can I tell you something silly?”  She asked unsure of breaking the peaceful silence and of telling him.
“The sillier, the better.” He joked, turning to smile at here.
Sarah smiled back, it was impossible not to smile when he did. “I always wanted  a beach wedding.”

Richie stopped, momentarily surprised by the word wedding but more by what popped into his mind.

“That’s not silly.” He finally said.  A beach wedding would be romantic according to him.
“Why are you surprised then?”  She asked confused at why he had stopped and turned to her. He had told her she could tell him everything…

He looked over her shoulder, seeing their foot prints in the dark. “We should go back before the fireworks start.” He avoided her question.

Sarah assumed he was right, it was getting dark, she didn’t ask him again and walked back with him, noticing they had gone quite a long way.



Not much later after getting in the car they drove through the gate of the community Richie lived in. Sarah watched the houses until Richie parked in his driveway.

Sarah thought he had one of the most beautiful houses she had ever seen. The entrance was bright and big, she loved the hallway with the double staircase it lead to, opposite of the living room but Richie took her to the kitchen.

“Ready for dessert?”  He asked, pulling open the freezer.
“Are you making dessert?”
“Kinda.” He got a box of ice cream out, along with a bag of frozen fruits, then opened a cupboard for bowls.

He made them both a bowl of ice cream with fruit before taking Sarah  up to his bedroom and out to the terrace. From here they would have a perfect view of all the fireworks, he knew from experience. It had gotten darker and he couldn’t point out the ocean in the distance for Sarah anymore.


When they finished their ice cream Richie sat down in one of the lounge chairs, sitting with his legs open so Sarah could sit in front of him.

Once she sat, he wrapped his arms around her and lay back, pulling her with him.

Sarah rested back on his solid, hard chest as she put her legs up; making Richie put his up too. He held her firmly and once again they were in silence, waiting for the fireworks to start.

The starry sky made Sarah feel at ease and she remembered what she had said at the beach.

“Sweetie?” She turned a bit to able to look at him.
“Yes honey?”  He asked back.
“You didn’t answer my question earlier.”
“Which question?” He asked honestly unknowing.
“Why what I said at the beach surprised you.” She reminded him.
“It wasn’t really that it surprised me.”  He hesitated to continue, unsure of telling her.
“Then what was it?” Sarah pressed on, she needed to know if she was wrong by  telling him.
“It was that the first thing to pop in my mind was to give you that wedding.” He said as the first piece of firework loudly popped in the air, making bright green sparks rain down in the dark night’s sky.

Chapter twenty-five

The next morning they both woke up in their own beds, missing the other’s presence. Yet, they knew they would send the day together.

Richie decided to have a talk with Ava during breakfast to find out her opinion and how she felt about everything.

He prepared a simple breakfast for them and sat down with Ava at the kitchen table.

“So,” he finally started a little unsure after a few minutes, “eumh… You know me and Sarah…” Ava staring at him made him even more hesitant, what if she didn’t agree? “Sarah and me, we...”
“Dad! You didn’t marry her did you?” Ava asked in disbelief.
“What? No, I was trying to tell you she’s my girlfriend.” He finally said the words he had struggled with.
Ava chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah dad, I kinda figured.”
“You did?”
“She’s been here before; she went to Europe to see you… I still like her better than Denise.” She smiled, making Richie smile too.

He was glad to know Ava was okay with Sarah and liked her, he was certain she’d be around for a very long while.



Sarah had breakfast alone with her mom in their small kitchen, the boys were still sleeping.

“So how was Europe?” Her mom sat down at the table, putting down a cup of coffee for Sarah and picked up her own.
“It was great, lots of things to see and just great to be there.” Sarah answered before carefully sipping her coffee.
Abbey set her cup down and wrapped her hands around it. “What did you get to see?” She asked, interested in one of her daughter’s dreams of travelling finally coming true.
“In Germany we saw the hospital, in London the palace and Ireland really is that green.” She couldn’t help but smile at her memories.
“Hospital? What did you do at a hospital?” Abbey asked confused about why they would even visit a hospital.

Sarah sighed before she continued to tell what had happened. “I just got there and slipped in the shower and sprained my ankle pretty badly, Richie was convinced it was broken.”
“Again?” Her mother sighed too.
Sarah nodded and continued. “But it led to him saying he loves me.” She smiled at the memory of them at the pool.
Abbey gasped. “What did you say? Do you love him?”
“Of course I love him, he’s so sweet, gentle, caring and… loving.” She hesitated to add the last.
“Did you have…?” Abbey left her question open.

Embarrassed Sarah looked down at her cup of coffee, she still felt uncomfortable talking about sex.

“We did.”
“Good,” Abbey nodded graciously, “’cause a woman has needs.” She added.
“Yeah mom, I know.”
“We all need that.” Abbey shrugged like she didn’t notice Sarah’s discomfort.
“Mom! I don’t need to know that!” Sarah said shocked, too much information.
“We can’t talk about sex?”
“I prefer not to.”

It was still embarrassing, she hadn’t talked to her mom about sex since she was sixteen and it was just as uncomfortable as it had been then.



Around noon Richie showed up at Sarah’s front door to pick her and her sons up to go out for lunch.

They all got into Richie’s hummer together, the only car that would fit them all. Noah and Caleb were impressed.

“It doesn’t have shift gear?” Noah asked surprised.
Richie looked over his shoulder, a little surprised when he had just started driving. “No, it doesn’t.”
“That sucks.” Noah stated. “What’s the maximum speed?”
“About a hundred twenty miles an hour.” Richie shrugged.
“That’s not very fast. Do you have more cars?”
“An Aston Martin, a Ferrari--” Richie told him.
“Cool! Can you show me?” Noah asked excited, too excited to let Richie finish.
“Yeah, tomorrow.”



They kept it simple with lunch at the mall’s food court so everyone could pick their favorite.

Soon enough they sat down at big enough table to fit them all with five different kinds of food. Sarah started to suspect Richie liked sushi, it being the third time he picked it out.

Looking around her, she noticed the mall didn’t look much different since all the years ago she last went to one; all the same kinds of food were still there.

“Mom, you alright?”
“Huh?” She looked over at Caleb who had a worried look on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled as she felt Richie’s hand cover her knee.

He was proud for making yet another step forward, nobody would guess she had difficult past.

For Noah and Caleb it was the first time to see their mom out and to top that, with a man. They both knew he had made the change in their mom. As her sons, they were proud of her too.



During lunch they talked about their trip to Europe, telling the kids what they had seen, while the children told them about their own vacation.

In the middle of a conversation, Ava nudged her dad. “Dad.” She nodded her head in the direction of the Burger King restaurant.

Richie looked up in the same directed and immediately understood what she meant. “Fuck.” He swore when he noticed the camera with a big lens directed at them.

He meant to talk to Sarah before something like this happened.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah looked up at him.
“Nothing,” he grabbed his drink, “I’m out of coke.” He shook it to prove there were only ice cubes in it.
“You don’t need to swear for that, let’s get another one.”
He nodded, that would at least give him a few seconds to quickly tell her.

Together they walked back to one of the restaurant to get a new drink.

“Sarah, I got to tell you something quick, we’ll talk more later.” He said.
“What’s wrong?” She asked worried.
“Nothing’s wrong, just, you know I’m a rock star.” He started but paused to realize how dumb that was.
“I’ve noticed.”
He didn’t like telling her like this. “There’s a paparazzo over at Burger King.” He finally said it, adding a sigh.
“Oh.” There wasn’t anything she could think of to say.

She thought of Richie and Jon joking around about paparazzi but this was different, it was their private time, with their children, it was such an invasion of their privacy.

“I’m sorry; I meant to talk to you about it earlier. We can leave if you want to.” He offered; it must be uncomfortable for her.

He was the next person in line and quickly ordered his drink, then looked back at Sarah.

“We can stay. I’m your girlfriend, right? They’d find out anyway, wouldn’t they?” She asked him.
“You are my girlfriend,” he confirmed first, “and they would eventually.” His words were gloomy.

After picking up his drink they walked back to their table.

“We can talk more about it later.” He repeated. He needed to know if she really was okay with it.

Sarah simply nodded, she absolutely didn’t like her picture being taken but she didn’t want to show it.

Before they got to their table, Richie stopped her and reached in for a kiss. “I love you.” He reminded her gently.
“I love you too.”



They once again had dinner at Sarah’s house after spending the whole afternoon cruising around the mall.



After dinner Richie wanted to talk and asked Sarah for a quiet place to talk, just the two of them.

Sarah lead him up to her room, both realizing it was the first time he’d see her bedroom.

Sarah sat down on her bed while Richie looked around for a second as she padded the bed for him to sit down with her.

“It’s really fine Richie, the paparazzi stuff.”Sarah said before he could even start.
“I really wanted to tell you before and I’m sorry it was today.” He apologized again. “I know it’s not fun.” He added.
“It’s not.” Sarah agreed.
“Ignoring them is easiest.” He advised her. If they got their pictures without a scene, they’d leave faster.
“I guess so.” Sarah shrugged. “Will they keep following you now?”
“They’ll probably want to find out who you are. If you want I can tell my agent since that’s the person they’ll contact to find out.” Richie suggested.
“So we don’t have to deal with it?” She asked.
“Yeah.”

Sarah thought it over, it would be easier to let everyone know that way, everyone would know.

“I like that.” Sarah nodded, it was easier than dealing with it themselves.
“Everyone will know you’re my girlfriend.” He tried to make everything clear.
“Then they all know you’re taken, that’s good.”She stated.

Richie smiled, he was definitely taken and glad with it.

Sarah wrapped her arms around him in a possessive grip and rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re mine.”

He chuckled, he was.



The next day Richie went to pick up Sarah and her sons, considering she didn’t have a car, it was the only way, could she even drive?



Back at his house they spend the afternoon by the pool. He was glad to see Sarah in her purple bikini again. With her wearing less clothes he had a much better view of her breasts.

Tomorrow he’d spend alone with her, their first holiday together.

Ava would leave in the afternoon and after that he was picking up Sarah for their date and watching the fireworks. He loved watching them in the dark night’s sky but was sure to create their own fireworks afterwards.

For now he just hoped he could hide his excitement.

Chapter twenty-four

Sarah woke the next morning with Richie’s solid form behind her, not wrapped around her like usual. She missed his chest pressed against her back, but he was there.

Slowly she turned to her belly to see him on his back, him arm lazily draped over his abdomen like he had only fallen away  from her, his other arm was above his pillow.

Carefully she reached up and rested her head on his shoulder, her face in his neck. She could smell his masculine fragrance; again it went straight to the pit of her belly as she closed her eyes.

A few comfortable minutes later, Sarah started craving some breakfast. Richie was still fast asleep, it was his week off, she didn’t want to disturb him and let him rest. Carefully she pushed herself up, careful not to arouse him, she sat up in bed. She pulled up the sheets to snuggly cover him up and got up.

Even though it was much warmer than it had been in Europe, Sarah quietly pulled open the top drawer of his dresser. Although she knew it was rude to do so, she started looking for boxers to wear, this time she didn’t mind if they weren’t new.

At the back of the drawer, she surprisingly found a few silk ones, unlike the plain cottons ones, these had prints. She picked one out to see and laughed at the print, reading “the man” with an arrow up and “the legend” with another arrow pointing to the crotch. With a chuckle she put it away again. There were a few more that made her chuckle until she finally decided what to wear.



In the kitchen she rummaged through the fridge, she was again surprised when she found it was fully stocked with every possible thing. She found bacon, eggs, garlic and some vegetables.

On the top shelf she found yogurts, picking out a strawberry one, she closed the fridge again and looked in almost every cupboard and shelf to find everything she needed to prepare breakfast. She peeled of the lid off her yogurt’s container to eat while she cooked, before she starved.



Richie woke up to the smell of coffee, he loved a good cup of coffee in the morning and the aroma had him craving it.

Noticing Sarah wasn’t next to him, he assumed she was making the coffee and, did he smell bacon? He got up, ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head and made his way downstairs to the kitchen where he found Sarah in front of the stove.

She hadn’t heard him come in yet so he took his time to check out the figure of her backside, her long blonde hair between her shoulder blades, her back and her perfect waist. When he looked down at her ass, he recognized the boxers she was wearing, full of yellow smiley faces wearing headphones. He couldn’t remember how he got them but she looked gorgeous in them.

“Good morning.” He finally decided to announce his presence.
Sarah looked back over her shoulder. “Morning.” She smiled back at him.

He liked her in his kitchen, he wouldn’t mind having her there every day, more accurately, he wanted her in his house every day, just to be with him. His face cleared up like he had a brilliant idea. Was that what he wanted? Have her with him, his house, every day? That would mean living together. He shook his head, that’s not slow.

“Need any help?” He asked instead.
“No, almost done, just sit down.” She answered him as she emptied her pan.

Richie sat down at the table, already finding that cup of coffee he wanted waiting for him. Sarah brought plates over to the table and sat down across of him.

“I hope you like omelets like that.” The last few weeks she had learned what he liked for breakfast but she hadn’t seen him have omelets like hers.

Looking down at his place, he couldn’t wait to dig in, it looked mouthwatering. The eggs had cut up pieces of tomatoes and peppers looking so crisp, along with the bacon, he picked up his knife and fork.

“I’m sure I’ll love this.” He said before he took his first bite. He was right, he loved this, why didn’t he know she could cook like this? “This is amazing.” He said as he filled his fork again, the vegetables tasted as good as they looked and he definitely tasted garlic too.

“Thanks, I’m glad you like it.” She smiled at him, relieved that he really liked it. She picked up one of her pieces of bacon and thought for a second.

“Actually, this is the first time I’m not having maple bacon on the first of July.” She said.
Richie looked up. “First of July?” He was a little confused.
“It’s Canada day today.” Sarah explained. “My mum is Canadian.” She added when his confused expression didn’t change, now it lit up.
“So you do Canadian things today?” He wondered if her family had traditions.
Sarah shrugged. “Maple bacon for breakfast and poutine for supper.”
“What’s poutine?”
Sarah shook her head, he had been to Canada more times than she had and he didn’t know it. “I’ll have to make it tonight.” Sarah told him, knowing he’d like it.



“Is Ava staying with you this week?” Sarah asked when they finished cleaning up the kitchen.
“Just the weekend, still hours before I go pick her up.”

Sarah chuckled, the way he said hours, seemed like he thought it was still morning.

“Have you looked at a clock today?” She asked him.

Confused Richie looked around for a clock, noticing it was almost noon. “Oh.” He said. “We slept long.”
“You were tired so I let you sleep.” Sarah smiled at him as Richie wrapped his arms around her.

“So do you think you can drive me home later?”
The words were like a punch to his stomach, he didn’t want her to leave. “When I pick Ava up, does that work?” He still wanted to spend the afternoon with her before saying goodbye, he just didn’t want to, he wanted her with him, it felt nicer.
“That’s fine. My mum makes the best poutine, maybe Ava likes it too.” She suggested.
Richie looked down at her, waiting for the undisguised invitation.
Sarah looked up at him. “Would you and Ava like to come over for dinner?” She asked.
“We’d love that.” Richie bent down for a quick kiss.



They unpacked Richie’s bag in his room, not bothering to put the bag away again and clothes went to the laundry room to be washed.

Sarah’s bag got picked up when they were on their way out to Richie’s car. He put the bag in the trunk while Sarah got in.



A few minutes later, they parked  in a street. On each side there stood tall trees with behind them, houses with huge front lawns. There were a few children playing on the side walk but much too young for Ava.

“Where is Ava?” She turned to Richie as he got his phone out.
“She's with her friend.” He pointed to the house they  were parked in front.
“Don't you have to go knock?” She asked confused.
Richie chuckled. “Can’t do that now that she’s in high school, it embarrasses her.”
“Oh. I’ve never picked up Caleb and Noah, anywhere for that matter.” She said a little somber.

He felt bad for her; he loved picking up Ava even though he had to wait in his car for her.

“They  might like it if you do it now.” He was sure the boys would see it as a step forward too.
“I can’t.”
It disappointed him a little when she said it, he was convinced she could. “Why not?”
“I don’t have a car.”
“Oh.” It was his turn to be surprised.

Then he realized she hadn’t driven anywhere and he didn’t remember seeing a car parked outside her house.

“I can go with you.” He suggested.
“Yeah, maybe.” She agreed.
“Maybe you  can pick them up from school when school starts again. Where do they go?” Maybe he even knew where it was.
“Can I say I’ve never been there without being a bad mother?”
“You’re not a bad mother.” He looked down at his phone when it vibrated, Ava was on her way.



A few minutes later Ava walked out of the big house, she said goodbye to her friends and walked to the car alone.

“Missed you daddy.”  She said as she dropped her bag in the backseat and got in.
“I missed you too Princess.” He looked over his shoulder, still making sure she wore her seatbelt.
“Hey Sarah, how are you?” Ava asked just as happily.
“I’m good, how are you?” She liked Ava’s friendliness and politeness.
“Oh I’m great.” She smiled.



He parked the car and got Sarah’s bag from the trunk, together they walked up to the front door where they waited for Sarah to open the door.

Sarah’s front door opened right into the living room. Opposite of the door was the staircase and the rest of the room was the living room with the kitchen behind it.

As soon as she pushed the door open, surprised faces turned toward the door, not expecting anyone. Before Sarah was fully in the room, she was already being hugged.

“I missed you mum.”
She hugged him back. “I missed you too boy.”



Richie and Ava were invited in and after a quick, “you remember…”  Ava went to watch tv with Sarah’s sons while Sarah and Richie continued to the kitchen.

“Honey,” her mum said when she walked in, “you’re home.” She noticed Richie behind her. “And you brought that handsome man with you.” She smiled at Richie.
“I invited Richie and Ava for dinner. He doesn’t know what poutine is.”
Her mother started chuckling. “I’ll be sure to make plenty of extra.”
“Thanks Abbey” Richie smiled.



Sarah and her mother brought dinner to the table.

When Richie looked at the food on his plate, he thought it looked like a big mess.

“So what exactly is this?” He asked unsure of eating it.
“It’s fries, gravy and cheese.” Caleb pitched in, popping a few fries into his mouth. “It’s the best.”

Richie chuckled and tried it.



He loved spending time at Sarah’s house, her sons were fun but polite too and they got along well with Ava too. They had a weekend; maybe they could spend some more time together. He knew Sarah would like that. He should take them all out, now that Sarah had made so much progress, a whole new world opened up for her.

Chapter twenty-three

Monday morning Richie was off to the gym again, leaving Sarah alone in their room. She had asked if she could use his laptop and was currently browsing on YouTube.

She had typed in his name, curious at what she’d find. There were quite a few videos from the past concerts, watching from the crowd brought on a complete different point of view, wanting her to be in the crowd to experience how it was meant to be experienced.

Other videos showed him in the studio, goofing off a lot and she couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. He was cute and funny and she spent more time watching videos labeled BJTV.

She was still laughing when Richie walked in, unnoticed by her.

“What’s so funny?” He asked.
A little startled Sarah looked up at him. “You.”

He looked at her confused, wondering what she was talking about while he walked over to her.

“I’m watching videos of you in the studio; I think it’s from a while ago.” She explained as Richie looked over her shoulder.
“Yeah, that’s about ten years ago.” He agreed with her.
“Do you always have that much fun in the studio?" Sarah continued to ask.
“Pretty much.” He smiled, remembering the moments. “You have to come hang out when we’re recording.” He suggested.



After Richie’s shower they had to get ready to leave again. Tomorrow was another concert in yet another city.

So far Sarah had enjoyed it, mostly because she could be with Richie, everything still seemed better with him around but she should go back to her own life, she still had her own things she needed to do, figure out a job or something else to do. Her family, her sons, she needed to see them too. Her time with Richie was amazing and all she wanted but in a few days they’d be home and what would happen then?

They joined the rest of the band on the plane to Bristol; inside the United Kingdom the flights weren’t very long.



Their last plane ride with the whole band brought them to Dublin. Even though Ireland was one of the countries Sarah wanted to visit, the two of them were at the airport an hour after the concert was over.

With Richie around Sarah was much more comfortable at a busy airport. Checking in went much easier than when she was alone and afterwards they got to wait in a private lounge. There were only three other people with them in the room.

The couch they sat on was very comfortable. Sarah was touched when Richie took her hand and held it in his lap. Soon it would be the two of them, with much less people to worry about. Worry, should she tell him about what she wanted to know, how would he react? No, he would agree, he’d like the idea. It wouldn’t be her original plan but it would still be close and just as good for her, she knew that and he would agree.

“What are you thinking about?”

She turned her head towards the left and saw Richie with a wondering look on his beautiful face. “Nothing.” She quickly said.
“Seemed like you were doing some deep thinking.” He tried again, hoping she would tell him anyway, instead of worrying herself.
“Really, nothing.” She tried to assure him that nothing was wrong.
“Okay, but tell me if it’s something bad.” His worrying made her smile.
“I promise it’s nothing bad.”

It didn’t really convince him but he decided not to worry more about it. If she needed to tell him, she would, at least he hoped so.

Not much longer they were called to start boarding the plane. It was well past midnight and the flight wasn’t very busy.

They easily found their seats and as usual Richie sat by the window, which was still fine by Sarah. She followed him and sat down with an appreciative sigh, the seats in business class were definitely worth the money.

“I’m gonna fall asleep as soon as we are in the air.” Richie said as he relaxed into his comfortable seat.
“I couldn’t sleep when I flow over.” She didn’t think she’d be able to sleep this time either.
“You slept on the Jovi jet.” He pointed out.
“It’s not as noisy there.” Sarah told him.

The engines were always noisy enough to be heard but on their private jet it seemed quieter and easier to relax.

“We’ll see, maybe I can get your to relax enough. I learned some thing during all my years of flying.” He smiled comforting at her, he’d feel bad if he slept and she wouldn’t be able.
“You learned some things? Like what?” She asked a little confused about he possibly could have learned.
“I love flying but Jon’s chicken shit.” He smiled again before continuing. “Our flight attendants used to help him relax. I’m sure I still know some things.”
“Really? You can just sleep ‘till we get there.” She suggested

Richie just shook his head and held her hand as they watched the safety instruction video.



An hour later he was still holding her hand while they watched a movie on their tiny screens. He stuck to his decision, if she wasn’t going to sleep, he wasn’t going to either, even though he was tired, at home he could sleep with her.

The plane was dark except for the essential lighting that illuminated the path. Almost everyone in the cabin was asleep, snoring rather than talking.

“What are you doing on the fourth?” Sarah asked after a while, their movie had brought her an idea.
Other than going out with you, he thought, but decided to see where she’d go. “I don’t really have plans, why?”
“Maybe we can go out, watch the fireworks or something.” She suggested a little unsure.
“Are you asking me out on a date?” He teased and watched Sarah blush, then smile a little.
“I just want to watch the fireworks with you.” She still sounded a little uneasy about asking him.
“Of course we can watch the fireworks together.” He finally answered and a feeling of relief washed over Sarah, making all uncertain feelings disappear.
She knew he didn’t avoid the question to be difficult but to help her.



Sarah was watching the little plane that represented them on the little screen in front of her, next to her, Richie was listening to some music. The animated little plane was moving so slowly but at least they were above the United States now, just a few more hours until they would land.

Richie was almost asleep while listening to the music, according to the time on Sarah’s screen it was almost 6 in the morning in the UK, at home on the other hand it would be 10 at night. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep, it was only three more hours now.

He turned the music off and put his headphones away, then twisted in his seat so he could face Sarah and took her hand so she was turned to him too.

She could see how tired he was and wondered why he wouldn’t just go to sleep.

“You have to sleep.” She told him.
“So should you.” He still insisted.
“I can’t, it’s too noisy.” The passengers might be quiet but the engines definitely weren’t.
“Try?” He asked gently, almost pleading.

Sarah sighed and reached for her blanket, got it out it’s plastic wrap, it was big enough so she could tuck it around him and it still had space for her.

She pulled the blanket over her own shoulder after she had tucked him in. Under the blanket she found his hand to hold again, his eyes looked so tired.

“Close your eyes.” Richie told her.
“You’re the one that needs sleep, close your eyes.” Sarah said back.
“Just close your eyes.” He insisted. “Try to relax, think of a relaxing place and concentrate on deep slow breaths.” He instructed.
“Richie, just go to sleep.”
“No, I want to sleep with you. Try it.”

Sarah sighed again and finally closed her eyes and did as he had instructed. She imagined them being in his comfortable bad, with his solid form behind her, his arms around her in a tight embrace. It was the most perfect place she could imagine. Soon, she could feel his grip on her hand loosen, assuring her he was asleep.



She woke up to a soft tap on her shoulder, followed by, “We’ll be landing shortly.”
Sarah nodded and woke up fully.

Richie’s hand had slipped away while they slept and carefully she moved to sit up so she wouldn’t disturb him yet.

He looked peaceful and relaxed, making her regret she had to wake him.

How was she even going to do that? Softly, of course, gently.

Carefully she reached out her hand and caressed his cheek, already she could feel a light scruff; making her finger tips tingle just like the pit inside her belly.

He stirred at her touch but didn’t wake up.

“Sweetie, we’re landing, you need to wake up.” She whispered close to his lips as she leaned into him and continued stroking his jaw, enjoying the feel of the scruff against her fingers. “Honey?” She tried again, he must have been really tired to sleep this deep.

Finally she could feel a rumble against her hand as he moaned and at last opened his eyes.

Seeing how close she was, he leaned in for a short kiss. “We there yet?” He asked a little disorientated.
“We’ll be landing in a few minutes.” She answered his question.



Not much later they were sitting in a taxi, Richie gave the address to the driver and sat back. He pulled Sarah close next to him.
“Can you just stay over at my house? I’ll drive you home in the morning.” He was too tired to drive her home and this time he wanted to sleep with her in his arms.



The drive wasn’t very long in the middle of the night.

Richie left their bags by the front door and lead Sarah up to his bedroom.

He undressed to his boxers and watched Sarah take off her jeans and was a little disappointed when she pulled her bra from under her t-shirt.

He pulled away the sheets for Sarah and got in on his side of the bed. As soon as he laid down he pulled the sheets over them both and wrapped his arms around her. “Good night.” He whispered, ready to go back to sleep.