Chapter 5 - Plans and Confessions

Jon looked up from his Blackberry as Cate walked back to the table, a smile still playing on his lips. He stood as she approached and sat after she had returned to her seat. Somehow she looked… relieved. “Everything okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, it’s fine. That was just Danny calling to tell me he reserved a range for us for Wednesday night so we can start working on your firearms training. We can start at 1900…I mean seven o’clock… if that works for you.” Cate gave Jon a sheepish smile. “So, I guess I outed myself, huh?”

Jon chuckled. “ ‘Bad Name’, huh? You strike me as more of a ‘Blaze of Glory’ kinda girl.” He winked and leaned toward Cate, dropping his voice to a mock whisper. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Cate felt her cheeks flush. Jon couldn’t know she had a “Blaze” ringtone assigned to her friend Mandy, but close enough. “Yeah well, it’s Danny’s ringtone… it just fits him. He’s a bit of a man-whore.”

Jon arched an eyebrow at Cate. “Personal experience?” he asked teasingly. “Looks like you two have known each other a long time, judging from the photo on your wall.”

Cate had to smile at that one. “Yeah, well… we did go to college together, eons ago. And yes, we did have a… fling, back then. It burned hot and fast, but in the end we work best as friends.” She looked down at the notes she was working on before the call, then back up at Jon. He was still smiling at her. “A story for another time.”

“I hope so.” Jon said.

They finished their lunch, talking a little more about Jon’s role and their plans for the week, then paid the check and headed back to Cate’s office. Once there, Cate told Jon she had some work to take care of, so he could take the afternoon to do whatever he needed to do to settle in for his stay. She and Jon agreed to meet at the office before lunch the next day. Jon waited in the guest chair in Cate’s office while she checked a couple schedules on her computer.

As Cate worked, Jon wrote down his contact information on the back of one of Cate’s business cards and slid it across the desk to her. She glanced at it and saw that he was staying at the most luxurious resort hotel on neighboring St. Simon’s Island. And that he had given her his personal Blackberry number. For just a second, her heart skipped a beat. I have Jon Bon Jovi’s cell phone number! She shook her head slightly and continued checking schedules.

When Cate asked Jon if he would be okay with working mainly at night, he chuckled. “Darlin’, what do you think we do when we tour? I’m used to eating breakfast at noon!” He gave her a little grin.

“Oh yeah, I guess that’s true.” Duh. Cate hadn’t thought about that obvious point. She gave Jon an embarrassed little smile. “Well, I guess we’ll kinda be on that schedule for most of the days. Just plan to sleep in, go to the gym, whatever it is you want to do in the mornings, and we can meet at lunch and go from there. We should finish up between nine and ten in the evenings.”

“Okay. How about you? Are you going to come in at noon, too?” Jon suspected Cate was most likely going to work her full day as well as an evening shift with him, but he wanted to see if she would admit it.

“No, I have far too much to do….I can get my own stuff done in the morning, then you and I can train after lunch and after dinner.” Cate smiled ruefully. “It’s not like I have a social life, you know.”

"Well, I do know you do beer and wings on Fridays!” Jon chuckled. “But other than that…..” he paused. “No social life? No family? No significant other?” He raised his eyebrows.

“God, that's very P.C. of you… 'significant other'?” Cate was a little surprised to find herself teasing Jon back. Then her smile turned wistful. “No. No family nearby, no boyfriend. Just me and my dog. And Danny, when he’s not being a man-whore.”

“Well, all the same, you shouldn’t work so much. Take some time to stop and smell the roses.” Jon chided her gently. “Believe me, I know it’s the pot calling the kettle black for me to say that, but I know of what I speak.”

He smiled again and rose from his chair. Cate stood as well, and they faced each other across her desk. Jon extended his hand once again to Cate, as he had that morning. “Thanks for agreeing to take me on. I think we’re gonna make one hell of a team.”

Cate took Jon’s hand, this time more gently than she had earlier. She looked into Jon’s warm blue eyes, and felt her heart flutter a little bit. She gave him a small smile in return. “I think you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Jon gazed into her eyes he saw them change, ever so slightly, from gray to blue. He held Cate’s hand for one more beat, then turned and left her office.

*****

Cate spent the rest of the day planning the next two weeks, scheduling range and gym time, getting together study materials to give to Jon, and finding other instructors to cover classes and meetings she already had on her calendar. She took a break toward the end of the day to call her best Gal Pal, Mandy. Mandy was a real live “CSI” and one of the best Forensic Science instructors on the Center. Aside from Danny she was Cate’s main confidant.

Mandy invited Cate for a Diet Coke break at her office, and once there Cate broke the news that she was training Jon Bon Jovi for a movie role. Mandy was also a long-time Jovi fan, and she was ecstatic to hear he was in town. Cate promised to set up a time when Mandy could “casually stop by” when Jon was at her office, so she could meet him in person.

Mandy also told Cate that now was Cate’s chance to have her way with Jon, only partly teasing. Ever since her friend’s divorce, Mandy had wished Cate would move on with her life and meet a new man. But, aside from few short-term flings, Cate remained steadfastly alone. Who better to bring her back to the Land of the Living than a bona-fide Rock Star-slash-Sex God? Cate smiled at her friend’s pitch, but reminded her that that kind of stuff only happens in fairy tales and pornos.

At the end of the work day Cate hit the gym, then went home to dine on frozen pizza and spend some quality time with her collie, Jovi. Snuggled on the couch with her 85-pound fuzzball, Cate felt silly that she had been too embarrassed to tell Jon her dog was named after him. But then again, she didn’t want him to think she was some goofy, starry-eyed groupie. Some things are better kept to yourself, she thought.

After watching Jack Bauer run up the body count in another hour of 24, Cate fell into bed, exhausted from the emotion of the day and lack of sleep from the night before. The last image in her mind as her head hit the pillow was of warm blue eyes and a dazzling smile; the last sound echoing in her memory was her name on Jon’s lips. This time she drifted off, her mind and dreams turned toward the future rather than the past.