Chapter Nine

He glanced at his watch and then took a long drag of his beer. It was eight-forty and she was no where to be seen. Snapping his cell phone closed, he huffed. It was only the fifth time he’d tried to call her.

“Dammit Colby, where the hell are you?” Maybe she’d come to meet him and something had happened to her, Christ she could be lying in a ditch somewhere for all he knew. The brief thought had his stomach churning in knots.

“Another one sir?” the barman asked him distracting him from this thoughts swinging the bar towel over his shoulder.

Jon shook his head. “No, I’ll get going. She’s been held up or something…” Did she stand him up? Who the hell stood him up?

The shrill of his phone made him jump, he fumbled with his phone like it was a hot potato flipping it open.

“Colby?”

A deep chuckle came from the other end of the line. “No, but you know I’m gonna ask who that is,”

Jon slumped back down on the bar. Dammit. “Rich, hey.”

“You sound disappointed, hot date?”

“Yeah something like that, just a girl I’ve been hanging out with.”

Richie coughed, “or sleeping with.”

Jon chuckled. “Shut up asshole, anyway what’s up?” He kept his eye on the door scanning people are they walked in. But no Colby.

“Just thought I’d give you a call, see how London’s treating you. So where did you meet her?”

“In a bar – “he grinned, “she’s a glass artist – blows glass.”

“Blows ass?” Richie snorted.

Jon shook his head. “No asshole, GLASS. Jesus Richie….” His friend always did have a one tracked mind.

“I was gonna say – that’s not usually your cup of tea…. So she’s hot then?”

“Yeah she is – she’s – different.” Yeah she was different for sure. Never like anyone else he’d met.

“Good for you buddy, you need something to do in-between filming. How’s all that going then?”

Jon fingered the rim of the beer bottle. “Good Rich, it’s pretty good. Hard fucking work.” He was exhausted already. Maybe it wasn’t the filming though, maybe it was the woman that seemed to be occupying his mind more than he would have liked. He probably should put a day’s distance between them.

Probably.

He talked to Richie for a little longer still distracted and still waiting for Colby to come breezing through the doors in the way only she could. As if nothing else mattered. He admired than in her, in more ways than one.

“Jonny? You still there?”

“Yeah, shit sorry Rich – just a little distracted.”

“Oh she’s there now huh? You should have said man if you wanna go get busy them let me leave you to it.”

Jon laughed. He wished. She wasn’t even fucking here. “Nah, I’m in a restaurant and she’s not here. She’s over forty minutes late and I don’t know where she is.”

Richie roared with laughter. “Stood up are we?”

“Fuck you, nah she’s a little ---“ Fuck how did he even begin to explain her to someone. He dug his fingers into his biceps, “Flaky?” That wasn’t the right word at all but he didn’t know what else to use.

“Flaky? Really? That’s not like you Jonny to stick around if you’ve been messed around. What’s different about her?”

Jon sighed, “She’s not ditzy --- fuck she’s….she is free.” That was it. She was free. “She’s exceptionally talented and it’s being wasted in my opinion. She could be doing so much more to get her work out there.”

“Why isn’t she?” Richie asked.

“I don’t know, I don’t know a lot about her.” God he didn’t really did he? But did he really need to? She was a quick tumble in the sheets and some light company while he was here. That was it.

“Well sounds like a real firecracker bro, anyway – I’ll let you go find her. Things back here are fine. We’ll catch up soon ok?”

“Thanks Rich – yeah see you soon.”

He tucked the phone back into the pocket of his coat and pulling it tight around him. Fuck this, if she couldn’t be bothered letting him know where she was… screw it. He was going home.

The cool night air hit him hard as he strolled back towards the cab stand. Jamming his hands into his pockets he fished for his cigarettes. Fumbling one into his lips he flicked the lighter and took a deep inhale.

“Fuck.” He mumbled. He wanted to go home, damn it he should of but something kept niggling inside of him to go to her place.

It hadn’t helped him that all day on set all he could think about was her making glass adult toys, god that shouldn’t be so hot. He’d seen her work, and the concentration and detail she paid to her work – no matter how many times he’d tried not to. The vision of her in her cute little battered overalls, hair all up in a messy ponytail delicately shaping a glass cock with her tools or worse – smoothing it down with her hands afterward. Good fuck.

That was not right.

He was going home, she obviously had better things to do than meet him for dinner. When he reached the cab stand he threw away the butt and pulled out his wallet before climbing into the taxi.

“Where to sir?”

Jon gave him the name of his hotel and leaned back. He rolled his head along the back of the seat and closed his eyes.

Fuck.

“Actually, sorry I remember I need to call in on a friend….” He was a fool. He gave him Colby’s address and sighed. God forbid he needed help.

~~

She’d just finished slicing a long cut into the sheet of glass she was working on. Inspiration always came at the weirdest times. She’d decided to get ready for dinner an hour earlier but as she was in the shower she had a thought she couldn’t shake, maybe it was the man she was spending so much time with in the last few days that inspired it. Blue twists of glass, different shades... she had to do it.

The idyllic sounds of Freddie Mercury blasted through her studio as she fired up the furnace. With a smile of her face she couldn’t help think about the way she planned to introduce Jon to her little side hobby. That would make him forget about whatever was ailing him in his real world. Men were always suckers for a good show.

Especially when it involved sex.

What seemed like minutes later she stood back and looked at her creation, smooth ropes of glass all different shades of blue twsiting up to a singular point.

“Not too shabby….” She said out loud grinning proudly. She dusted the equipment off and turned everything off, time to have a quick shower and head out to dinner. She flicked the lights onto the lobby only to be surprised at the shadowed figure standing at her front door.

“What the hell? Jon?” She asked as he knocked again. She unlocked the doors and smiled.

“I thought I was meeting you there? Come to give me the royal treatment huh?”

He stormed in past her and waited in the lobby. “You have no idea what the time is do you?” he snapped.

She grabbed his wrist and looked at the time. It was over an hour ago she was meant to meet him. Whoops.

“Oh shit, sorry Jon… I got sidetracked with an idea… I honestly didn’t realize the time.” He didn’t move. His eyes were flat as was his tone.

“Come look what I made-“she dragged him by the arm back into her studio and flipped on the lights.

He growled as she dragged him. “I tried to call – I had no idea what the hell happened to you Colby.”

“The stereo was probably on too loud…. C’mon check this little baby out – good huh?”

He stood behind her with his arms folded. She chuckled and picked up her sculpture.
“It’s for you – “ she said biting on her bottom lip holding it out to him..

His eyes feel to what she had in her hands as he dropped his arms. “Colby --- Aw hell you shouldn’t of.” He took it off her and held it up to the light.

“Not bad huh?”

“Christ Girl, this is gorgeous. Why did you make this?”

She smiled. “It reminds me of you, blue is your color kind of like your eyes. You’ve got great expression in them.”

He didn’t say anything still checking out her work.

“So you’re still angry?”

“No, damn it – this is beautiful Colby. Thank you.” He placed it down and drew her into his arms. She smiled as she leaned forward and met him in a sweet kiss.

“Your welcome, should we go and eat?” She brushed back the hair on his forehead and raised her eyebrow.

“I have no idea how you do it woman, no fucking idea…” he muttered tightening his grip around her waist.

“You’re still angry at me that I left you there – did you think I stood you up?” She bumped his nose with hers lifting her fingers into his hair as she drew him in for a longer kiss.

He groaned into her kiss and wrapped her further into his grasp, his hands spanning across her back tugging her in.

She pulled away and rubbed her finger across his lips. “When we get home from dinner how about I make it up to you by showing you what I make –“

His eyes popped open and his eyebrow zinged. “Show?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded still fingering his lip still enjoying his heat. “Uh huh – show…”

“Deal” they sealed in a kiss that she sighed into, he had no idea what he was in for.