Chapter 102

“Fuck, dammit!” Jon threw his towel on the couch in his suite in London as soon as he was back from the gym.

“And here are the latest pictures of Jon Bon Jovi’s girlfriend. I have to say she looks pretty damn good for just grocery shopping, don’t you think?!? I certainly wouldn’t leave her alone and stay at a different continent for months….”

Jon followed the voice and entered the living room where Richie was sitting in front of the TV. He stared at pictures of his girlfriend, dressing in lose fitting trousers and a light long sleeved shirt. Kim was trying to leave a store and Jon could tell just from her body language how uncomfortable she felt with the photographers around.

“…and here we have her bodyguard that apparently saved her from the attack a couple weeks ago. He sure looks pissed, doesn’t he…sorry man…that’s our job.”

“Can’t you turn that shit off?” Jon asked frustrated when the pictures showed a mad Lloyd.

“Sorry, man. I was just sapping, when her pic came up. They ain’t really leaving her alone, right?”

“Nope.”

“The comments and hints are just stupid.” Richie continued, but only got a slow nod from his friend.

“What’s wrong man?” Richie asked a little worried. They wanted to have lunch together, before an interview marathon would start, but with Jon in this kinda mood it would turn into a really difficult day.

“The plane with Dot and the kids is delayed, she just texted me, I wanted to pick them up at the fucking airport.” His best friend grumbled.

“Ah, sorry man. But it’s not the end of the world. Just send them a car or two.”

“It’s not the same. I’m already missing enough. And it will take four more days until Kim will arrive.

“So, I take that’s the real problem.” Rich said calmly. Jon only gave him the finger. Rich chuckled.

Jon was in a terrible mood ever since they arrived in London. Actually Kim wanted to come with him, but she had to take care of one last thing for the hospital before she would finally drop out. Rich thought his friend was only worried about leaving her alone after the incident in the parking lot and the pap-rats following her around, but he got the feeling something else was playing a role. He just couldn’t put his finger on it yet.

“So, will you pick Kim up at the airport?” Rich tried to keep the conversation going. Maybe that would help.

“Dunno. Not sure she wants me there.”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?” Richie asked irritated.

“Oh, I don’t know.” Jon sighed and started pacing around in the suite.

“Do you…Ah, forget it…” Jon rubbed his eyes.

“No, I won’t!....Come on, tell me what’s going through your crazy mind?” Rich said sternly.

“Do you ever wonder what our girls are doing at home when we are gone?” he asked.

“No, I do not wonder what my WIFE is doing. I talk to her on the phone and know very well what she did during her day. What are you implying?”

“Nothing…I shouldn’t have started…” Jon stopped at the bar and poured himself a whiskey. Richie looked at him sceptical. It was shortly after noon.

“I just wonder….she knows so many people in New York….you know…” he sighed. Rich frowned.

“Ok, listen man, I have no idea what got you doubting about your relationship, but let me make one thing very clear for you…MY WIFE isn’t cheating on me and her best friend isn’t cheating on you. She has bigger problems to deal with right now. Clear?”

“Yeah, you are right.” Jon sat down on the couch and closed his eyes for a minute.

“You didn’t sleep very well.” Rich observed.

“No, I didn’t. My mind wouldn’t shut up.”

“Ah, that’s were those crazy thoughts come from.”

“Maybe.” Jon admitted. Richie frowned. He didn’t like the sound in his voice. Jon was still thinking about this stupid stuff.

“Jon, you miss her. You wanna be there for her. That’s totally understandable, especially after what she went through. You are worried. That’s normal.”

His best friend only nodded.

“But you gotta wrapped your head around. We have tons of interviews in two hours. And those vultures are only waiting that you lose your composure. You need to get it together. Call her. I meet you downstairs later. Ok?”

“Ok, thanks bro.”

“No, problem.” Richie said when he left the suite. But there was a huge problem. He could feel it. And they needed to join forces to deal with it. He knocked at Tico’s and David’s doors. Ten minutes later they were sitting in his suite with a light lunch.

“What the hell is causing this?” David wondered after Richie told them about his conversation with Jon earlier.

“Did they have a fight before we left the States?” Tico asked.

“Nah, everyone was focused on Kim after the attempted rape. They didn’t fight.” Richie shook his head.

“But their life wasn’t really ‘normal’ anymore. I’m pretty sure she is scared again about intimacy. And we all know that Jon is the best to deal with when he gets laid on a regular basis.” David pointed out. Tico and Rich only nodded agreeing.

“I think there is more to it…he nearly said that Kim would cheat on him. That’s complete bullshit.” Rich stated between bites of his lunch.

“Maybe he has a mid-life crisis?” David suggested.

“Maybe…No idea. All I know is, if he implies one more time that my wife is cheating, I’m gonna knock him out.” Rich grumbled.

Chapter 101

“Kim…. look!” Romeo yelled just seconds before he cannonballed into the pool.

“That was great Romeo.” Kim smiled at him from her place at the lounge chair when he emerged from the water.

“Dad, I wanna go to the beach!” Jake whined and pulled at his dad’s shirt.

“Jake, we have been at the beach all morning. Now we are having a BBQ to celebrate your sister’s birthday. Maybe we can go back to the beach after lunch, but you gotto stop whining and getting on my nerves, buddy.” His voice carried a hint of annoyance when he flipped the burgers.

Kim heard a little chuckle behind her and turned around to find a grinning Dorothea. Her second son was in this unnerving phase right now and was driving Jon crazy all morning.

“You know, you could help him, right?” Kim said softly and helped her set the heavy tray with the last ingredients for the BBQ on the huge table on the terrace at the Hampton Beach House.

“Me? Help him?...uh, uh…this is his weekend…that kid was giving me a hard time all week long. It’s my time off!” Dorothea answered way too happy. Kim laughed when Jon shot both of them a pissed look.

“Daaaaadddd!” Jake tried to squeeze in between his father and the hot BBQ.

“JACOB!” Jon’s voice echoed over the terrace while he pulled his son back from the red-hot metal.

“God dammit, that’s dangerous. You could have hurt yourself really bad!” He yelled at his son still having a tied grip on his son’s upper arm.

Kim watched Dorothea from the corner of her eye. You could see it took all her strength not to rush forward and check on her baby. But all their worries were wiped aside when her son started to grouch again. He didn’t seem to get the danger he was in just seconds ago. Jon finally had enough.

“Ok, that’s it. You go up to your room until we have lunch and after that you can return there right away. No beach. No ice cream. No TV. Forget it!”

Jake looked at his father stunned. You could see the wheels in his little head turning eagerly. And just a minute later he turned to his mother.

“Mooooommm….” He begged. His mother turned to him totally composed. Nothing showed her emotions.

“Your dad is right, Jake. Go to your room.” She stated calmly. Jon’s mouth twitched lightly, but he hurried to get his stern expression back before his son would see it. He could always count on Dorothea to back him up, even after all they had been through. The next move of his son surprised him though.

“Kiiiiiimmmmm!”

She looked at him surprised. Never in a million years did she expect him to beg her for help. Dot turned to her with an expecting smile on her face.

“I think your parents are right, Jake. You crossed the line.” She hoped her voice didn’t show her emotions. The boy bristled with anger and stomped into the house.

“You ok, honey?” Jon asked after his son left and Kim only stared at the spot where he had just been seconds ago. She swallowed hard.

“Yeah…I just didn’t see that coming.” She whispered a little overwhelmed. Jon grinned and pulled her close for a short kiss.

“Welcome to the family.” He told her before hurrying back to the burgers and the BBQ.

“He’s right. Jake really thought you could help him out.” Dot said and sat down with a glass of ice tea.

“Do you mind?” Kim asked unsure. Dot nearly chocked at her drink.

“Mind? Me?...Oh, Kim…I thought we were past that part…” Kim blushed lightly.

“Yeah, you right. Sorry. Everything is a little messed up in my head…you know.” Kim sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“It’s ok. Don’t worry.” Dot said softly and didn’t press to get to know how Kim was feeling now nearly two weeks after the incident with Nigel.

“What’s with Mr.-Our-three-parents-are-unfair?” Steph asked entering the terrace together with Jesse, who immediately walked over to his father to check on the burgers. Kim blinked confused.

“What? Who?” her mother asked irritated.

“Jake. He was all mad when he came upstairs.” Steph said and sank down into one of the chairs only to lift her left leg up to another chair.

“He crossed the line.” Her father told her and leaned forward to kiss her head. She smiled softly.

“How is your ankle baby-girl?” He looked at her bandaged foot worried.

“It’s fine dad.” Steph nearly rolled her eyes.

“You sure? Maybe you shouldn’t go dancing tonight.” The words had just left his mouth when three women stared at him with anger.

“I just mean…” he stuttered.

“We all know what you mean, Jon.” Dorothea said calmly. It was no secret that Jon didn’t like the idea that his daughter would celebrate her 17^th birthday with her friends in a club in New York tonight.

“I just thought when it still hurts and is swollen she shouldn’t dance in heels all night, right?” he looked at Kim for reassurance. She smiled.

“Yes, Jon ….if her ankle would be still swollen and would hurt, I wouldn’t recommend to dance all night…”

His face lit up with a smile.

“…but it doesn’t. I checked her this morning. It’s fine. She overstretched it six days ago. Dancing won’t be a problem.” She could see the hope of keeping his little girl here tonight vanish from his face.

“Fine!” he grumbled and stomped back to the BBQ.

“Where is his problem? Mom is coming with us...she’ll make sure no boy will come close to me.” Steph said pissed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Don’t give me that attitude Missy. I told you, I’ll not let you lose in a New York City night club. You are 17…not 30. So, deal with it or we stay home.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Steph hurried to answer. She knew her mother. She wouldn’t have a problem with keeping her home. Birthday or not.

“You are sure…you really want this?” Dot asked Kim with a conspiratorial smile. Her daughter watched her confused. Kim grinned.

“Yep. I love it.” Dot nodded.

“I know what you mean. But it can be tiring.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“You two are crazy.” Steph told them and got up to get back into the house. Kim and Dot erupted in laughter.

Chapter 100

“Gimme the keys!” Kim told him outside in the parking lot. Grudgingly he handed over the car keys for the black SUV.

“Get in the car, Jon!” she said sternly when he hesitated and turned back to the Stadium. He sighed, but got in.

“Tell me where to go, ok?” her voice got softer when they were leaving the parking lot and joined the light traffic. He only nodded and stared out of the window.

For the next 20 minutes he didn’t say a word with the exception of the direction to the beach. Kim kept her thoughts to herself and gave him the time to calm down from his outburst.

When she pulled into a small parking space right at a deserted beach, she looked at him and saw him rubbing his tired eyes. He didn’t sleep very well last night. He couldn’t stop thinking and worrying about the show.

“Walk with me…” she gently tugged at his hand.

“Yeah.” She could barely hear his mumbled answer.

Silently they walked bare-feet through the warm sand for a while. Kim wondered why nobody else was at this calm and peaceful section of the beach.

“I was too harsh, right?” Jon suddenly asked and stopped. Kim looked at him and nodded.

“A little … yes.” He sighed and sank down on the sand.

“Dammit!”

“Hey, Obie knows you…he knows how important it is for you. I’m pretty sure when you talk to him tonight everything will be fine again.” Kim said and sat down next to him.

“You think so?” Jon asked a little unsure.

“Yeah, you should have seen Obie last night. When the sound went out he barked orders and introduction. He really tried to get everyone working together to make the sound come back. He was probably even more frustrated than you.”

“Why?” Jon turned to her surprised.

“Why?” Kim chuckled. “Because the sound system is his baby…and it wasn’t working. I don’t know a lot about those technical things, but I do know that men take it very personal when things ain’t working they feel responsible for.”

“Yeah, we are like that.” He agreed and looked at her with a soft smile.

“I’m sorry that I freaked…” carefully he put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close.

“I know…I just need some time to get used to it. I haven’t really seen you like this before.” She admitted and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“I didn’t scare you, did I?” he asked worried. Kim chuckled lightly.

“Fran maybe a little, you know she has her problems with it…me, well… as I said I don’t know you like that. I wasn’t sure what would happen when I stopped you.” Jon stared at her for a full minute.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered.

“It’s ok,…really Jon, …”

“No, it’s not. You shouldn’t worry about shit like this…not right now.” He said rather forceful. Kim pulled away from him.

“Ok, look…just to get one thing straight,…yes, I nearly got raped, …yes, I do have problems right now getting close or intimate with you, but that doesn’t mean you have to treat me with kid gloves in every situation that might come up during the day.”

“Kim, I just…”

“You don’t help me with that…someday I have to be able to walk through the streets alone again, Jon. I know you wanna protect me, but I need to get my independence back…and that has to happen rather fast, because you’ll be leaving in a couple weeks for Europe.”

“I just don’t want you get hurt again, Kimi.” He told her in a choked up voice. She blinked away the tears that forming in her eyes.

“I know honey, but we have to go on with our life. We can’t let this ruin everything.” He sighed deeply at her words.

“You’re right. But I have to admit…it’s tough for me. I’ve never been through anything like this before.”

“I know…but I hope everything will be fine. I was able to get through this once…all alone. This time I have you…that makes it easier for me.” Kim told him softly while staring out onto the calmly blue waves.

Jon watched her smiling. He hadn’t seen her thins relaxed in days. Maybe they were doing the right thing to get through this nightmare.

“So, tell me…why is no one else here?” Kim looked at him curious. Jon blinked about the abrupt change of topic.

“Uhm….Apartment…I have an apartment over there.” He pointed at a rather small two story building across the street.

“You have an apartment here?” she asked surprised. He never mentioned it before.

“Yeah, already for years. It was one of the first places Dot and I got after the huge Tour in the `80s ended. I only keep it, because of the portion of this private beach.”

“Wow.” Kim mumbled.

“And the places comes in handy when you have small children with you, that need to go to the bathroom every five minutes while you are at the beach.” Jon grinned when Kim chuckled softly.

“So Dot is using the places too?” she asked.

“Nah, she said it reminds her too much of the being of my career. Screaming fans and groupies that were crawling over her to get to me. She never set a foot back into that apartment after we bought our first house together.” Jon said with a sparkle in his eyes. It seemed he had very fond memories of those first years of his career.

“So, we could stay there for a while?” Kim asked hesitant.

“Uhm…yeah, sure…but it’s not really big.” Jon was truly surprised by her request.

“I don’t mind. I like the peace and quiet here. There is something special about this places.” She  said and stared into the waves again.

“Well, let me make some calls and get our stuff  and we are ready to crash here tonight.” Jon promised.