Chapter 24 - Peace Offering

THURSDAY

Cate arrived at the office a little later than usual. She had smacked the snooze button on her alarm clock at least five times, not able to coax herself from the warmth of her bed. But she had responsibilities, so she had dragged her ass up and out, though 45 minutes behind schedule.

After refilling her travel mug, Cate closed the door to her office and settled in at her desk. She just needed a little peace and quiet to get her day rolling. She set her iPod to a piano music playlist and opened her e-mail.

It never ceased to amaze her how quickly her inbox filled up; now that everybody had “Crackberries” e-mails arrived at all hours. She worked her way down the list, sipping her coffee as she read, responded, forwarded, and deleted. E-mail number 17 was from Danny.

“Slick – check out the new pics on the H-drive.”

Cate cocked her head slightly to the side, wondering what new photos were on the office’s public drive. Every couple days somebody posted pictures of students in various exercises or activities. It was impossible to keep up with them all, but Cate tried to take a look every week or two.

She clicked on the icon on her computer desktop, and watched the file list appear on her screen. The newest folder was marked “BonJoviRange.” Oh. Cate had forgotten George was taking pics last night. Oh Hell.

She clicked on the folder icon and watched as the thumbnails filled her screen in neat rows. George had taken over two hundred photos, most of them of Jon and her interacting at the range. She clicked on the first one and started to scroll through the slideshow viewer.

Well, they aren’t too bad… she thought. She had been worried that the camera had captured her lusting after Jon. She certainly didn’t need the whole office to see that.

As she flipped through the sequential shots, Cate began to notice an intensity in Jon’s expression. Then she came upon the pic Jon had viewed the night before, of him standing behind her, smelling her hair. Cate’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.

Sweet Jesus… If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this one’s worth a whole damned book! She hadn’t been able to see him in the moment, of course, and now she was glad. If she had seen that raptured expression on his face last night when she was trying to rein herself in, it would have been all over. She would have jumped into his arms and let him have his way with her, George and Danny be damned.

Cate stared at the photo for a long time, then finally clicked the mouse to move the slideshow ahead. She paused again at the series of frames of herself pressed against Jon’s side, steadying his aim. The closeup of their faces, side by side, was exquisite.

Cate let out an involuntary sigh. Moving on with the show, Cate watched the progression of the training through the M-16 course, and noted Jon’s clenched jaw and rigid posture. Cate clicked again and gasped.

George was no novice photographer, and he had apparently gone to the ground to get eye-level photos of Jon firing prone. He hadn’t anticipated Cate dropping over top of Jon as she had. The shot he captured at that moment was priceless.

The frame was filled with Cate and Jon’s bodies from the waist up, hers hovering closely over his. Cate’s face was in profile as she stared downrange, her lips parted as she spoke into his ear. Jon’s face was turned toward the camera’s lens.

His expression was fierce and beautiful, his eyes ablaze through the shield of his safety glasses. The extension of the sleek black rifle forward from Jon’s shoulder balanced the composition and gave the photo an almost menacing, sexual quality.

Cate leaned back hard in her chair and took a long drink of coffee. Christ, talk about unbridled lust. It’s all right there, on his face. Danny was right. Cate couldn’t help herself – a small smile crept to her lips at the photographic evidence, the proof of everything she was trying to deny. Jon Bon Jovi wanted her. It was real.

Cate scrolled through the rest of the photos, then returned to the shot that had taken her breath away. She stared at it for a long time, memorizing every detail. Finally, she sighed and copied the folder to her hard drive. She definitely wanted to keep these for herself.

*****

Jon smiled tiredly as he pulled into the lot at FTB and spotted Cate’s Mustang in its space. He had spent a restless night, needing to see her.

He had awoken to a dry mouth and pounding headache, courtesy the whiskey and cigarettes. Despite his hangover, Jon had forced himself to do a short workout on the elliptical trainer, to sweat some of the toxin out of his body. After a long shower, a light breakfast, lots of coffee, and four Tylenol, he felt better.

Jon parked his rental SUV then reached over to the passenger seat to grab his bags. It seems like every day I have more crap to haul around in more bags. Man, cops have a lot of shit! He was careful not to crush the one paper bag, a silver gift bag adorned with a black bow.

Jon entered the building and made his way down the hall to the locker room. He walked into the room and dropped the gift bag on the bench in front of his locker. Then he opened his locker and shoved his bags of gear and clothes into the bottom.

Shutting the locker door with a metallic clang, Jon picked up the gift bag and made to leave the room. As he pushed through the door, he found himself face-to-face with Danny. “Hey, Morning,” Jon said, his voice gravelly.

“Hey Man.” Danny responded. His eyes swept over Jon’s tired face. “You look like you didn’t sleep much.”

Jon shook his head. “Couldn’t get a certain redhead off my mind,” he confided. “Despite the whiskey.”

Danny nodded. He had been there before. He raised an eyebrow. “Everything alright?”

Jon sighed. “Yeah. At least I think so. She texted me last night.”

Danny nodded silently again, regarding Jon’s hopeful expression. “Give her time. She’ll come around.”

“With a little help from her friends.” Jon responded. He knew Danny had to have said something to Cate after their blowup on the range. “Thanks, Man.”

“No problem. I got your back.” Danny nodded toward Cate’s office. “She’s in there. Go.”

Jon smiled and started down the hall. He reached Cate’s door in a few short seconds. It was closed. He took a breath and knocked.

“Come,” he heard Cate command.

Jon opened the door slightly and extended his arm through the crack, the gift bag in his hand. Then he peeked around the door at Cate, giving her a little grin. “Peace offering,” he explained, shaking the bag slightly.

Cate couldn’t help but return his smile. At her response, Jon pushed the door open further and walked into Cate’s office, setting the bag on the desk in front of her. “Go ahead, open it,” he urged. He settled into the chair across the desk from her.

“Jon, you didn’t have to…I mean, no peace offering is necessary.” Cate said softly. Her eyes found his. “I’m really sorry for being such a bitch yesterday.”

Jon shook his head. “No, it was my fault. I hate to lose, to fail, to be bad at anything… though I’m bad at plenty of stuff. I was frustrated and I took it out on you.”

His voice gentled. “And I put you in a really difficult position yesterday at the gym. I’m sorry. I should be able to better control my… urges.”

Cate blushed and looked down. She was quiet for a moment, then brought her eyes back up to his. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t be such a ball-breaker.” She paused. “And actually, it didn’t completely suck, when you, I mean…” she trailed off, not quite able to say “kissed me.”

She took a breath, then continued, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “But you can’t keep strutting around, oozing that Rock Star charm. At least not when I’m trying to teach you things. It’s… distracting.”

“Fair enough. I promise I’ll behave myself from now on.” Jon vowed, grinning. He drew an “X” over his chest. “Cross my heart.” Unless you don’t want me to…

“Me too.” Cate replied, smiling at his gesture.

“Good. Now that that’s settled, open your present.” Jon reached forward and nudged the bag toward her.

“You didn’t have to…” Cate started to protest again, but stopped when she saw Jon’s raised eyebrow. “Thank You,” she said simply.

She reached for the bag and pulled it to her lap. Removing the tissue paper at the top, she put her hand into the bag and touched soft, shiny blue fabric. She gasped slightly and pulled out the garment.

Unfolding the shirt, she saw that she was holding an authentic Philadelphia Soul jersey, emblazoned with the number 2 and “D’ORAZIO” across the back. The slick fabric and the rubbery numbers were slightly worn; obviously the jersey wasn’t new.

As Cate held the garment up to inspect it, she moved it closer to her face. Her heart jumped as she caught the faint scent of his cologne on the fabric. Holy Shit! This was JON’s jersey. He had worn it, carried it on his body, next to his skin. And he was giving it to her.

Jon grinned when he heard the catch in Cate’s breath as she held up the shirt, blocking his view of her face with it. He could tell she had figured out he had given her one of his own jerseys.

Jon had brought an assortment of new Soul gear with him, intending to give it to various instructors and Center employees who helped him with his training. He had a new number 3 Bon Jovi jersey ready to give his instructor, but when he learned from Danny of Cate’s extensive Soul wardrobe he figured (correctly) she already had one. And he wanted to give her something personal, something that would symbolize the connection he felt to her.

When Cate dropped the shirt slightly to look over it at Jon, he could see in her shining eyes that she understood. She gave him a tender, almost heartbreaking smile. “Jon… Thank You,” she whispered. The sound of his name on her breath warmed his heart.

“You’re welcome,” he answered gently. Seeing that she was a bit overwhelmed, Jon decided to give her a moment. He stood. “I’m gonna get a cup of coffee. You need a refill?” he asked, gesturing toward her mug.

Cate shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. Jon smiled and moved to the door. As he turned to head down the hall he glanced back at Cate.

He paused when he saw her move her hands to bring his jersey to her face. The sweet smile still on her lips and her eyes closed, she brushed the soft material lightly against her cheek then buried her nose in the bunched fabric and inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent. She exhaled slowly and brought the garment to her chest, holding it against her heart as she dropped her chin to rest on it.

Enthralled by the tenderness of the moment, Jon stood there, watching her. Then he felt tears come to his eyes. Cate’s simple gesture touched his heart in a way he didn’t expect. Jon quickly blinked the moisture from his eyes and walked away from Cate’s door, leaving her to her moment.