Day 2

The next morning Cynthia found herself in a strange bed. It wasn’t a dream last night was it? I mean that certainly couldn’t have been a dream, but was it really Richie Sambora? She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the unconscious man next to her and sure enough it was who she had hoped for. She smiled at herself but knew she couldn’t stay any longer, as the sun was already peeking through the curtains. She saw the clock next to her read 10:25 and convinced herself to leave the warmth of the bed and the man next to her for a quick shower before she left. She gently moved his arm from across her stomach and slid out of bed hoping not to wake him. She shut the door to the bathroom, and started the shower needing to get the feeling of cheap sex off of her, no matter how wonderful it was. When the shower was warm enough she got in letting the hot water flood over her body awakening her senses.

Though Cynthia was quiet getting out of bed, she did manage to wake Richie though he didn’t stir until he was sure she was in the bathroom and heard the water running. He checked the clock and saw it was still early, so that it was possible for him to pretend to still be asleep. If I’m sleeping, she won’t wake me. She’ll be none the wiser who she slept with and I can forget what I did, again. Richie was ready to put his plan in motion when he heard Jon’s words from two days earlier echo in his head. “Give it two weeks, two weeks isn’t gonna kill you in the big scheme of things.” Shit he’s right. Richie thought dragging himself out of bed.

He found his clothes from the night before on the floor, and threw them in the hamper. He grabbed some clean clothes from his dresser and pulled them on and then gathered her clothes and placed them on the bed for her. He heard the water stop and a minute later the bathroom opened and a very surprised Cynthia stood in a towel looking at him curiously.

“Good morning,” Richie said brightly.

“Morning,” she replied surprised to see him awake and dressed. “I thought you’d still be sleeping, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Not a problem at all. In fact I was hoping to beat you up this morning. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll go start some breakfast downstairs,” Richie offered.

“That’s ok, I’ll just be a minute and then I’ll be out of here,” Cynthia said grabbing her clothes from his bed.

“Don’t be silly. Breakfast is the least I could do after last night,” Richie said smiling. “Get dressed and I’ll meet you downstairs. If you don’t want to put that back on, help yourself to anything in the closet.” He walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss.

“Thanks,” Cynthia said still in shock. “I’ll be down in a couple minutes.”

“Perfect, I’ll be waiting,” Richie said giving her another kiss before leaving her to dress.

Over a slightly awkward breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast Richie tried to learn more about Cynthia, though she was hesitant to tell him much and seemed to deflect the questions back to him.

“So are you from around here,” he asked.

“Nope, I’m just in town for a little bit. You live here I see, so what made you come to a hotel bar last night,” she replied.

“I like the bar there, and its close to home. How long are you in town for?”

“Indefinitely, I guess. I’m kinda just going with the flow for now,” she answered.

“Where are you from,” he asked.

“I’m from a little town near Minneapolis, what about you? Have you always been a So Cal guy,” she responded.

“Oh no. I’ve only been out here about 10 years or so. I’m originally from Jersey, born and raised,” Richie said proudly. “But the question is if you’re from Minneapolis what brings you indefinitely to Malibu? Business or pleasure?”

“Neither really, I had some personal stuff to settle, but I wouldn’t call it pleasure,” she said. “What do you do that gives you this gorgeous house on the beach?”

“I’m a musician,” Richie started.

“Any good,” she asked not letting him off the hook that easy.

“I’m not bad,” Richie said and promptly deflected the topic. “What is it that you do?”

“I’m not working at the moment. I’ve been doing some traveling and I’ve been trying to figure out where to go next. Any suggestions?”

“I’ve done some traveling, what are you looking for,” he asked.

“I’m not sure, which is why I’m still in Malibu. I’ve been trying to decide where to go for almost a week now,” she said sighing.

“And what’s so bad about Malibu? You’ve got the beach, beautiful weather, what more could you want?”

“A change of scenery maybe,” she said.

“Well, if you’re just gonna be stuck in a hotel until you make up your mind, you’re more then welcome to stay here until you figure things out,” Richie offered, his caring and nurturing personality shining through.

“What,” Cynthia asked nearly choking on her coffee.

“I mean it was just a thought, if you wanted. A free home, even if it’s not your own, has got to beat a hotel. And I cook, and I think we had a pretty damn good time last night,” Richie said smiling.

“What the hell? A couple days couldn’t hurt, but just until I get back on my feet. Do you do this for all your one-night stands Mr. Rock Star,” she asked.

His mouth dropped open and his cheeks started to turn red beneath his scruff. “What?”

“You said you’re a musician right? You kinda ooze that whole rock thing. Did I guess wrong,” she asked amused by his reaction.

“Yeah rock is pretty right,” Richie said thinking he dodged a bullet.

“That didn’t answer my question, do you always have this kind of open invitation?”

“Not at all, you just struck me as intriguing. Complaining,” he asked.

“Not at all. I’ve been waiting for a bit of a sign of where to go, and I guess this is it,” Cynthia replied.

“Perfect, make yourself at home. The living room’s through there or help yourself to anything in the fridge. I’m gonna grab a quick shower and then I’ll drive you back to the hotel to get your stuff,” Richie offered.

“As long as you’re sure its not too much trouble,” she replied.

“Not a bit if I can have a beautiful woman in the house for a couple days. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Richie said and made his way upstairs to shower.

What the hell am I thinking? I basically asked a complete stranger to move in with me. I don’t think this is what Jon had in mind. Baby steps, Rich, baby steps. What do I even know about her, she could be a serial killer for all I know! No serial killers aren’t that good in bed, but I don’t know that as a fact. Shit, what if she is a serial killer? Take a breath man; she’s not a killer. And she did seem hesitant to stay at all right? And there is something about her; I just cant put my finger on it. God Richie you have two totally different sides, a girl a night, or taking in strays and taking care of them.

Richie was lost in his thoughts of this mysterious woman who had suddenly become his bedmate for the foreseeable future. He dressed quickly and was happy to see that Cynthia was looking a little more at ease as she was watching the news when he returned downstairs.

When they arrived at the hotel Cynthia threw her clothes, toiletries and personal items into their respective bags in less than 10 minutes. It was a routine that she had become used to with the amount of traveling she had been doing. Richie insisted on carrying her two suitcases for her and waited in the car as she checked out.

When they arrived back at his home, they made some quick sandwiches before spending most of the day on the beach. He thought she would want to spend most of the day sunbathing but was elated to see her join him in the surf. The stayed in the sand for hours and even stayed late enough to see the sun set.

They opted for takeout for dinner at Richie’s suggestion so he wouldn’t risk being hounded by paparazzi if he took her out. He liked that she didn’t know who he was; it was reassuring to him that people still looked at him as a person not just a persona. After dinner they spent the night watching a movie marathon both relieved that this was not another night that they would be forced to spend alone. Though they were still strangers it was still somehow comforting that they were together and turned into bed earlier than they probably would have on their own knowing that the morning no longer bore the constant reminder of their solitude.