Saturday, July 31, 2021

75 - King Of The Mountain

Ariana woke to a quiet, empty house which was okay with her, seeing as she could use the time to process the past day and a half. She met all three Bongiovi women who are or were once near and dear to Jon’s heart. All strong, beautiful, woman who love or have loved him and at one point wanted what was best for him. 

Looking out the window at the grey sky, she decided not to go for a run and on a shower instead.  

 

Peeling off her clothes, she stepped into the shower. Turning the dial, the cool water caused her to curse and jump back out of its stream and into the corner. She waited for the water to warm before ducking her head under the water.

 

Ariana stood there while the water soaked her thick long mane of hair and when she was sure it was saturated, she pumped a few drops of her shampoo in her palms and worked a lather in her hair, massaging her scalp and the nape of neck with her fingernails.

 

"Ari, I'm home!" Jon called as he walked into the bathroom.

 

Wiping the steam off the glass door, she grinned, "I see that. Now, why don't you take that silly hat off and come wash my back for me?"  

 

She didn't need to ask him twice. Jon quickly tossed his hat on the vanity and shrugged out of the rest of his clothes.

 

Opening the glass door, Jon watched as the water cascaded down her hair and over her body. The slight breeze from him opening the door caused her nipples to harden and pebble immediately. He didn’t say a word, he just stepped in.

 

Ari stepped backwards, causing the shower head to spray him with droplets that did nothing but accentuate his strong shoulders, glisten off of his arms and trickle down his chest. Combing her fingers through his flattened hair until she reached the ends that stopped mid neck, she rested her forearms against his broad shoulders.  

 

"Much better." She smiled.

 

"Well, that's what happens when I'm asked to sleep on the couch."  

 

He stood with his arms at his sides, not touching her.

 

"No, you had hat head." She repeated her motions, wetting his locks even more.

 

"I like that hat, thank you very much."  

 

"Well, no one’s brave enough to tell you, you need a new one."

 

"Not true. Steph made fun of it to this morning too." His fingers lightly touched her wet skin as they skimmed along the sides of her legs.

 

"Stephanie is a very smart girl.” She lifted her emerald orbs to his and moved a fraction closer, pressing her entire body against his, making them both moan at the contact.

 

Ari leaned into him, her mouth reaching his ear and blew hot air into it before catching his earlobe between her teeth and sucking on it. Jon let out a series of incomprehensible moans as she purred desperately into his ear. “I have this problem that needs fixing, and I think you can help.”

 

“Fuck,” He moaned loudly, turning and slamming her body into the wet tiles. His lips crashed onto hers, in a tortuously hot battle between their tongues while their hands glided over every inch of each other’s naked body.

 

Knotting her fingers into his wet golden locks, Ariana moaned as he attacked her neck, sucking the water off her skin and leaving red hot bite marks along the way. Desperately trying to create more friction, she bucked her hips, but he dug his fingers deep into her skin, pushing her away.

 

“Hey!”

 

“This is my show.” He pulled her bottom lip between his.

 

“Who died and left you king?” She tried to push herself closer to him, but his grip was stronger than she was.

 

Jon slid his knee between her legs, widening her stance. Slipping one hand over the wet patch of hair, he cupped her heated core.  

 

“I’m the king, and this” he squeezed harder, “is my kingdom.”

 

“Do you hold the keys to the kingdom?”

 

“I hold all the keys.” He pushed his index finger into her slick heat.

 

Ari pulled his hand away and put his finger in her mouth and sucked, “But do they open all the doors?”

 

Growling, Jon lifted her off the floor as his fingers grazed her ass. “Any door I want.”

 

Ari panted loudly as she wrapped her legs completely around his waist, “Damn you’re good.”

 

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” He replied huskily with a wink and captured her right nipple between his teeth while he massaged the left one.

 

“Then what are you waiting for?” Ari whispered.

 

Jon slid into her as far as he could go as she tightened her legs around his waist. Sinking her teeth into his shoulder, Jon gave a grunt of pleasure and pulled out before thrusting into her again.

 

“Faster,” She pulled on his hair, moving his neck to better run her tongue along his protruding Adam’s apple.

 

Their eyes connected as Jon’s speed increased. Their moans mirrored each other’s until Ari couldn’t hold back any longer and she shouted out his name. His own throaty moan and shudder followed.

 

Panting, Jon collapsed against her, “Ari.”

 

“Yeah,” Running her fingers down his back, she slipped her legs from around his waist, feeling the emptiness as he pulled himself out of her.

 

“Um ....”

 

She placed her palm on his heaving chest and pinched a lock of hair, “If you apologize, I will hurt you.”

 

“Do you know what the punishment is for hurting the king?”

 

“Do tell.”

 

Reaching for her loofa, Ari nudged him away from the stream handing him the bar of soap and spread a lather over her body.

 

“Ten strikes.”

 

“Only ten?” She grinned devilishly as she stepped out of the shower, leaving him standing there.

 

Jon quickly shut off the water and chased after her, leaving a trail of water and suds along the way. Catching her as she was about to enter the closet, he pulled her into him, loosening her towel that was tucked between her breasts.

 

“Let’s stay in bed all day?”

 

“We can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

He asked as he dried the puddle he created with her towel she had dropped to the floor. She thought about his invitation. Why couldn’t they spend the day doing nothing? They had nowhere to go, nothing to do.

 

“Don’t know really, thought you might have stuff to do.”

 

“Not today. We have a ton of promotional shit and appearances coming up, which means hectic schedule. Not to mention Richie will be here. Who knows when we will have a chance like this.” He pulled on a pair of his ratty old sweats. “So whaddya say? Me, you, that big ole bed. We can order takeout and watch television.”

 

Smiling, Ari licked her lips and slowly inched her way closer to the door. Jon watched trying to figure out what she was up to and in a blink of an eye, she sprinted out of the closet and into the bedroom, yelling that ‘first one to the remote control, controls the television’  

 

Ariana yelped and squirmed trying to get away, but Jon was fast, she had made it halfway up the mattress before his thick hand clench around her ankle dragging her down. Pulling his free hand back, he brought it forward, landing a slap on Ari’s right ass cheek.

 

“Ouch. What’s that for?” She cried out at the unexpected slap.

 

“Hands off that remote.”

 

“Uh-huh. I’m not watching CNN all day.” She wriggled her way up the mattress.

 

“And I’m not watching ‘Gone With The Wind’”

 

Jon climbed onto the bed and straddled her bottom. Reaching over her head, he took the remote from her hand resulting in Ari trying to kick him in the back with her folded legs.

 

“Me neither. It’s a hot guy, action flicks kinda day.” She looked over her shoulder up at him.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yup. I was thinking maybe we’d start with a little Robert Downey Jr., who in my book is the real man of steel. Then we’ll see just how ‘Fast and Furious’ Vin really is, which will lead into another kind of ‘Italian Job’ Mark Wahlberg and Jason Statham style. And to finish our hunky hot guy marathon, we have my favorite captain, Captain Jack.”

 

Jon tugged on a fistful of brown locks, “Really? Your favorite Captain!” He sunk his teeth into her neck.

 

“Yessss…” Ari hissed.

 

She didn’t know what had gotten into him; she had teased him before, but the way he was reacting caused a shiver to slide through her body. Releasing the hold on her hair, Jon trailed his hand down the expanse of her back, over her ass and in between her thighs. She dug her nails into the bed at his soft caresses, though they were not touching where she wanted them, he was slowly driving her insane.  

 

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

Jon placed both hands on Ariana's plump ass, squeezing firmly, and smirked as she growled out a mix of a groan and a moan. “Turn over.”

 

Doing as she was told, she rolled onto her back, and into his desired position. She bit at her lip nervously and waited for him to make his next move. Covering her body with his, he cupped one breast firmly before tweaking the rapidly hardening nipple between his forefinger and thumb.

 

“Jon... please...” Ariana begged.

 

“What?”

 

His left hand skimmed over her navel and through her neatly trimmed dark curls, bringing two fingers lower.  He plunged the digits knuckle deep and with his thumb rubbed a few lazy circles over her clit.

 

“Jesus Christ.” She breathed, eyes fluttering open. She was in sensory overload, yet she wanted... needed more.

 

Pressing his erection at her entrance, lowering his lips to hers and in a husky voice he whispered, “And now, I’ll show you a man of steel.”

 

His lips seized hers in fiery kisses that cause a heat to travel through her body while his mouth captured every noise she made; the quiet whimpers, the throaty groans and the soft mews as she thrusted her hips up to meet each thrust of his own.

 

The sound of wet skin slapping against skin reverberated off the walls, his body convulsing when he felt her body tighten beneath him, allowing them to tumble together over the edge.

 

His body slackened, and he collapsed to the side of her, their sticky with sweat bodies still shaking as they fought to control their breathing. Their heavy lids couldn’t fight the sleep that suddenly overcame them. They didn’t even try and pull the comforter up over their rapidly cooling bodies. 

Thursday, July 29, 2021

74 - Women

Ariana was sitting on the bed propped up on the pillows reading a book. She was wearing a superman tee and a pair of his sweats. Her eyes peered over her reading glasses that sat on the tip of her nose and followed him as he vanished into the walk-in closet.

 

“Everything okay?”

 

“I think so. Give me a sec.” He called out.

 

Emerging moments later, he climbed into the bed beside her.

 

“Excuse me? What are you doing?”

 

Shooting her a puzzled glance, Jon looked up “Uh, getting into bed?”

 

“Not in here, you’re not. Not with Stephanie in the house.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Jon, don’t you think she has enough to deal with. Go...” She shooed him away.

 

“Where do you expect me to sleep?”

 

“The couch.”

 

“What about my back?” He gave her his pouty face.

 

“Then go up to the main house. Cause you ain’t sleeping here.”  

 

Jon took the book from her hand and tossed it to the foot of the bed. Lifting her arm he moved in closer and wrapped it around his neck, then he rested his head on her bosom.

 

“Can I at least snuggle a little. You’re lookin all cutesy and sexy with those glasses on.”

 

She grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged, “Nice try. You’ve seen me in these before. You can stay long enough for you to tell me how it went. Then you're gone.”

 

He settled closer. This time he laid his arm across her waist and told her all about his conversation with Stephanie. How he was sorta surprised she had all those questions for her age. When he was that age, all he cared about was getting drunk, laid and playing with his band and what went on between his parents was none of his and his brother’s business. His Nana would always say ‘children should be seen, not heard’. Even if his parents were having problems or fighting they never knew about it.

 

They talked about the importance of being honest now rather than later; they didn’t want the kids finding out from gossip or some rag magazine. Ariana asked just how far he was going to go with information. She was all for telling the truth, she just wasn’t sure if they would understand it fully. She suggested that he go slowly at first, to let it sink in a bit at a time.

 

Jon agreed. He would wait and see if she asked first. They talked a little about what she and Stephanie had talked about, as well as her feelings about meeting his daughter under such a strange encounter.

 

“It wasn’t strange. Just unexpected.” Ari answered.

 

“Yeah, well, I promise she isn’t always like this.” His hand slipped under her tee and caressed her belly.

 

“She’s sixteen, Jon. I was sixteen once.”

 

“And were you like that? Did you just do things without thinking?”

 

“Do you mean, was I strong willed, and determined?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Very much so. I wasn’t much different from when we met. Growing up, the way I did, I guess I needed to be.”

 

“You were a spitfire.” His fingers walked up her torso till it scraped the underside of her right breast. “Still are.”  He wagged his eyebrows.

 

Ari pushed his hand from out under her shirt, “I think it’s time for you to go. Stephanie has enough on her plate, we don’t need to add more to it.”

 

Sitting up, Jon slid his palm along her cheek and into her hair. Pulling her close, he smiled before he placed a soft kiss to her lips.

 

“I know. Get some rest. Love you.”

 

“Love you too. You staying or going?”

 

“Staying. We need to be up early, I have few things I can work on, then I’ll catch a few ZZZ’s on the couch.”

 

“I’m sorry, baby.”

 

“S’okay. I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

Jon rolled off the bed and reached for his shirt on the floor. Tugging it over his head, he walked over to Ari’s side of the bed and bent down to give her a kiss.

 

“Night.”  

 

“Night. Sweet dreams.” She mussed his hair.

 

“Gee, thanks. See ya in the mornin’.”

 

“Uh-huh.” Was her muffled answer as she sunk into the pillows.

 

         

 

Stephanie walked into the living room to find her dad asleep on the couch. He was stretched out on his back, one leg out in front of him, the other bent with his foot planted on the floor. His neck was on the armrest, hair mussed, an arm in his lap, the other dangling with his knuckles touching the carpet.  If she wasn’t mistaken, there was a small drop of drool in the corner of his mouth.

 

Shaking her head, Stephanie laughed as she stood over him, ‘not your everyday rockstar look’ if only his fans could see him now.

 

“Dad! Wake up. We’re gonna be late.” She nudged his shoulder with her knee.

 

“Huh. What time is it?” He jolted up.

 

“It’s six. I have a principal’s club meeting before school starts. We should leave now so we don’t hit traffic.”

 

“Do I have time for a quick shower?”

 

“No. Go throw some water on your face and put on that silly hat of yours and let’s go.”

 

“Kay.... kay. And don’t make fun of my hat, I like it.”

 

She rolled her eyes, “We know.”

 

Once again, he was being ordered around by another woman in his life. He was in the need of some boy time, he thought as he padded off to his bedroom. Quietly, he opened the door. He knew there was no chance in hell Ari was up. He’d be lucky if she was up when he got back. His girl could sleep.

 

Ten minutes later he emerged from his room.  “Ready?”

 

“Yeah. I was joking about the hat, Dad.” She held the front door open for him.

 

“Shuddup.” He poked a finger into her side.

 

Squirming away from him, she rounded the car and climbed in, but not before telling him,

 

“That’s what happens when you have to sleep on the couch and not in your own bed.”

 

“For your information, I was working and fell asleep. Now put your seatbelt on we’re late.”

 

“Uh-huh.” Stephanie giggled as she buckled up.

 

Traffic on the parkway was light for a Tuesday morning and they were making good time. Stephanie monopolized most of the conversation, talking about the bazillion things that a teenage girl talks about. From the latest fashions she just needed to have, what was going on at school. They talked about the holidays and what she wanted to get her siblings for Christmas. It wasn’t long before they were pulling into the parking lot of her school. Jon threw the car in park and turned to face her.

 

“Okay, baby girl, that’ll be twenty bucks.” Jon held out his hand.

 

“Seriously, Dad?” Leaning over, she placed a peck on his cheek.

 

“Someone’s gotta pay for gas.”

 

“Yeah, right. Whatever.”

 

Unbuckling, she gathered her things and opened the door. As she stepped out of the car, Jon called to her.

 

“Steph, we’re good?”

 

“We’re good.” She closed the car door and walked up the steps.

 

Jon waited, making sure she was inside before pulling away.  Sighing to himself, he thought, I still have four more kids to survive.... Christ. 

 

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

73 - Honesty

The black sedan rolled to a stop one last time. They were finally home. Ariana stirred as she felt Jon’s knuckle brush away a strand of hair that had fallen over her face.

 

“Wake up, Crash.” Jon whispered.

 

“Mmm... Did I sleep the whole way home?” Ari asked as she opened her eyes.

 

“Yeah, pretty much.”

 

Ariana opened her eyes wider as Jon got out of the car and made his way around to the passenger side. Offering her his hand, Ari intertwined their fingers and slipped from the car. Bracing herself against him to shield off the cold air, they walked hand in hand up the stairs into the house.

 

They stood in the hallway and Jon helped slip her coat off her shoulders and hung it on the hook. She felt the warmth of his breath through her hair as he nuzzled against her.

 

“In case I forgot to tell you tonight, you looked amazingly delicious.” He nosed away her hair and nipped at the base of her neck.

 

“Mmm. You might have mentioned it a few times.” Ariana titled her head to the side giving him better access.

 

With his hand, Jon moved her hair aside and peppered her neck with soft butterfly kisses, his hands rested at either side of her hips. Ariana moaned as her eyes filled with desire.

 

“You should wear your hair like this more often.” He combed his fingers through the silky, chestnut locks that reached just above her waist.

 

She pressed against him, slowly rolling her hips, “Maybe we could move this out of the hallway and into someplace more comfortable.”

 

His hands travelled up and down her sides until they found her ass, squeezing, he whispered huskily into her ear, “Not tonight, I’m beat.”

 

“What?” Ariana turned, pushed her hands into his chest, causing him to fall back, giving him enough space between them to scoot past her and make his way down the hall. She caught up with him just before he entered the living room.

 

“You! Little! Tease!” She punctuated each word with a finger poke into his chest.

 

“Ahem.” Awkwardly, Stephanie cleared her throat, hoping to get their attention.  

 

Thankfully, it worked and both their eyes turned her way. Stunned, Jon looked at his daughter who was sitting in the living room.

 

“Steph, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?”  

 

“I had a fight with mom.”

 

“Does she know where you are?” He asked sternly.

 

“Sorta. She thinks I’m at Sam’s house.”

 

“Stephanie Rose. You need to call and tell her where you really are. I will not be caught in the middle of this.”

 

“But, dad....”

 

“No buts. Call her, now. Then we will sit down and talk.”

 

With a grumble and huff, Stephanie stomped past her father and Ariana and went into the kitchen. Running a hand through his hair, Jon shook his head in disbelief. What could have possibly had happened that his daughter felt the need to run to him? How did she get out here in the first place? From the worried look on his face, Ari lead him to the couch and directed him to sit. Curling her leg under her, she sat down next to him, smoothing her hand across his tensed shoulders.

 

“Hey, don’t jump to conclusions. Hear what happened first.”

 

“She’s never done anything like this before.”

 

“I’m sure she will explain it all. I’m going to go to bed and let you two talk.”

 

“Not yet. You might as well meet my daughter first.”

 

“Okay! Fine! I got it. Here’s dad.” Stephanie emerged from the other room, her worrisome blue eyes identical to her father's told Ariana that, that phone call didn’t go so well.

 

Jon rose and accepted the phone. Shifting his weight impatiently from one foot to another, he listened as Dorothea rattled on. He thought it is best not to say anything, so he just listened except for a few yesses, I will’s, and an, I knowor two, but, it was the I’m not doing this right now! That finally ended the conversation.

 

Rubbing the palms of his hands against his face in frustration, Jon tossed the phone onto the end table. Stephanie sat in the oversized loveseat with her arms wrapped around her knees, and Ari was in the same spot he left her. The two were discussing Ari’s outfit and the store in town where she bought it.

 

The conversation halted when Jon plopped down on the cushion next to Ariana. Lazily laying his arm on her bended knee, he smiled a little smile at her.

 

“I see, you two have met.”

 

“We have. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will let you two talk.” Ariana tapped Jon's arm as she stood, “It was nice to meet you Stephanie.”

 

“You too.”

 

His eyes followed her as she disappeared around the corner. He returned his glance back to his little girl.

 

“Stephanie...”

 

“Dad, wait. Before you say anything, I know what I did was wrong on so many levels and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied, or even come here, I was just so angry. I was gonna go to Sam’s, but when I called her, she wasn’t home.”

 

“So, you came here. Did you even consider if I’d be here?”

 

She opened her mouth to answer.

 

“I’m not done.” Jon stopped her.

 

“Your mother and I may not agree on things lately, but this, this is not one of them. What you did was wrong and we will ground you. I leave that up to your mother. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes”

 

“Now, why don’t you tell me what happened?”

 

Pushing herself up off the chair, Stephanie straddled over the ottoman and walked over to the couch. Kneeling on the cushion, she sat back on her heels, rested her elbow on the back of the couch and propped her head in her hand.

 

“We had a fight.”

 

“I gathered that much. What about?”

 

“You.”

 

“What about me?”

 

“We could see something already upset her when she came home, so after dinner, the boys went upstairs and I went to talk with her. As usual, I got the ‘I’ve had a rough day’ answer. That’s when I asked if it had to do with you or us meeting Ariana.”

 

Jon’s eyes widened, “I hadn’t mentioned it to her yet.”

 

“Yeah, well, I know that now.”

 

“I’m Sorry. Was that what you argued about?”

 

She adjusted her position and was now sitting crossed legged facing him.

 

“Sorta. Basically, we fought about her never being honest when I ask her something. This situation is new to us too, it’s only normal we have questions. Every time I ask her something, she won’t answer. She gets so defensive that Jesse is afraid to ask her anything.”

 

“I didn’t know he felt like that.”

 

“Yeah, he says he’ll just wait for you or mom to tell us something. But you know that’s not me, I need answers.” She shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Don’t I know. I need a drink; do you want something?” He asked as he stood.

 

“Yeah, water, please.”

 

Jon slipped into the kitchen, laughing at what she just said. Of all his children she seemed to be the one to inherit his determination, persistence, his need to get it done no matter what. He opened the refrigerator, a bottle of wine stared up at him, and though he’d prefer the wine, he pulled out two bottles of water instead.

 

He toed off his shoes before sitting back down while handing her a bottle of water.

 

“I’ve told you before, if you have questions you can ask me.”

 

“That’s exactly what I told mom. And you’re always honest.”

 

“Steph, I’m sure your mother is honest.”

 

“No, dad. She’ll either change the subject or tell me I’m too young and wouldn’t understand.”

 

“What exactly did you ask her?”

 

“I asked if Ariana was the reason you are splitting up.” Jon’s astonished expression made her sit up, look him in his eyes and bluntly ask, “Well, is she?”

 

Jon knew he had to answer her, he had promised he wouldn’t lie, but there were some things that they didn’t need to know, not now anyway. He placed the bottle on the floor and reached for her hands.

 

“Yes, and no. Your mom and I already had problems, we’ve been growing apart for some time. We should have been honest with ourselves a long time ago. Ariana and I happened to cross paths again recently.”

 

“What do you mean by again?”

 

“Ariana and I have been friends for a long time. We first met when her father started working for me.”

 

“When was that?”

 

“1984.”

 

Stephanie hesitated for a moment. Trying to process what she heard, at the same time not sure she wanted to hear anymore but having more questions. She did the math. That was a very long time ago. Did her mother know? Did she have someone too? Twisting the cap off, she took a long sip.

 

“Have you been in love since then?”

 

“Love comes in many different forms. You will learn this as you get older. But to answer your question, no, we have not been in love since then. We were friends, for a long time.”

 

“Was she the only one?”

 

Jon could see the confusion in her eyes. The last thing he wanted was to confuse her more.  

 

“Baby girl, listen to me, this is a lot for you to take in at once, not to mention a little much for you to understand completely. I told you I would never lie to any of you and I won’t, but I think we should stop for now."

 

“But...”

 

“No buts, its late and you have school tomorrow. I promise we will finish this conversation.”

 

“Okay, but daddy...one more thing.”

 

“What?”

 

“I can’t say that I understand why you did what you did, but it never affected me, so I’m not mad. I don’t really understand why you and mom stayed together for so long though either but, this explains why mom has been so mad lately. No matter what, I want you and mom to be happy. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen either of you actually were. Right now, I just want my Daddy back.”

 

By this time, Jon’s eyes were shining and Stephanie was outright crying. Launching herself forward into her father’s arms, she squeezed him tightly.

 

Sniffling into his shoulder, she whispered, “I love you Daddy, more than anything.”

 

Swallowing thickly, Jon stroked a hand over his daughters’ hair and choked out, “I love you too, baby girl. Always.”  

 

They walked hand in hand wearily down the hall to the spare room, stopping at the door Jon placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

 

“Good night, princess.”

 

“Good night, daddy.”