John Francis

Jon found Amanda already up and in the shower when he brought the coffee to her. He knocked on the door and entered at her ‘come in’. He handed her the coffee, enjoying her soapy wetness and she grinned at him, taking the cup gratefully.

“Why thank you, kind sir.” Her voice was warm.

“You’re welcome, my lady. Damn girl! You look good in there!” He just sat on the edge of the sink as she finished her shower and they talked a bit about going into the city.

“So, who’s up besides you and me?” She asked.

“Richie’s back from the airport and Susan’s having coffee with him in the kitchen.”

“Uh oh, that means I was last up again! You are wearing me out, Bongiovi!” Her grin was wicked, as was his as he asked, “You complaining?”

“Hell no!” She stated forcefully, flipping her wet hair at him as she did so. He ended up more splashed than she intended as her hair was still really wet. “Oh crap! Sorry Jon!” She laughed as he looked like he had been hit with the spray from a hose.

Looking at his t-shirt and jeans, he grinned devilishly at her. “Just remember about paybacks!”

She got a twinkle in her eyes at that and her smile matched his. “Okay, let me get dressed. Hey! What’s the weather like?”

“Dress warm, Florida girl, it’s gonna be a cold one today.” He left her with a slap on her bare ass, laughing as he did so.

~~~

Entering the kitchen again, Jon saw that Susan had left and Richie was now by himself.

“Where’d she go?”

“To get dressed, told her to dress warm as I figured we’d be in and out all day today.” Richie joined Jon in getting another coffee.

The women joined the two in the kitchen a short time later, Susan wearing jeans and a light green sweater and Amanda in jeans and her favorite rose sweater. Both had done a little makeup and Jon and Richie were struck by how alike, yet how different, the two women were. It was easy to see they had been friends for ages, growing up together to the women they had become.

Linda had breakfast ready and they all sat down over eggs, waffles, bacon, and fruit. The ladies ate a little more delicately than the men, but not much as Linda was a great cook. Finishing their meal, they all gathered coats and scarves and gloves for Amanda and Susan and they exited Jon’s home to his parked SUV.

Jon had a bit of a surprise planned for the two women and instead of heading towards the city, he drove to a private airfield in Jersey. The guard at the gate waved Jon in and he drove to the parking area. Richie knew what they were doing as soon as Jon headed in this direction and tried to contain his grin. They all got out of the car, with Amanda throwing a questioning look in Jon’s direction. He smiled at her and led them all over to a waiting helicopter. The two women stopped dead in their tracks. The men had continued on for another few steps until they realized they were walking alone. Turning back, Jon put his hand on Amanda’s back and Richie did the same to Susan, gently propelling them to the waiting chopper. With wide eyes the women boarded and put on headsets as indicated.

Within a few minutes the chopper was airborne and gasps could be heard loud and clear through the headsets as the women saw this area of the country from a viewpoint they couldn’t have imagined. Susan was mesmerized, while Amanda, still in awe, couldn’t help but turn and smile at Jon. She mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to him and he smiled at the brightness in her eyes. The helicopter first took them on a trip around New York City giving them a look at the city from this angle and then returned to a local helipad where there was a waiting limo.

Their first stop was Central Park where they all got out after Jon and Richie had donned their ‘rock star’ disguises. Jon took Amanda’s hand as they walked and Richie stuck close to Susan. The women were astonished at the size of the park, so much green in the middle of so much city. They saw some of the more recognizable areas, but didn’t wander too far from the limo that was following them.

Motioning for the car, Jon then directed the driver to take them by Rockefeller Plaza and Radio City. They stopped to explore St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then enjoyed a walk on Fifth Avenue. By this time it was almost one in the afternoon and they were all starving. Richie directed them to a restaurant he knew and soon they were having beers, fish and fries, wings, mini pizzas, and other finger foods. They were all laughing and having a great time, enjoying the day as ‘tourists’.

After filling up on food and beers, they caught the limo to the Empire State Building where they went to the top and both women anxiously peered down and over the edge. Next was Greenwich Village, then SoHo, then the South Street Seaport. Their next to last stop for the day was Chinatown and Amanda and Susan could hold out no longer. They had to do some shopping. They bought flirty skirts, sequined tops, scarves, sarongs, costume jewelry, hair clips, perfumes, and a few other items they couldn’t resist. Both protested mightily at Jon and Richie’s insistence on paying, but both men scowled at them so fiercely they were reduced to giggles and rolled eyes. Both women were frugal shoppers though and knowing the men were paying made them even more so.

Jon caught Richie’s eye and whenever one of the women showed an interest in something and then glanced at the price tag and put it back, one or the other of the two men made sure to get that item while the other provided a distraction. Soon Richie and Jon were as loaded down with packages as Amanda and Susan and Jon called for the limo to make a baggage offload. They did so and then continued walking through the area, enjoying the sights. They had actually saved their very last stop for Times Square as it was getting darker now and the lights would make this more special. The limo dropped them off at the middle of the area and they started walking.

The streets were extremely crowded and Susan found herself getting bumped a bit from the rushing New Yorkers and the gawking tourists. Richie saw this and asked if he could take her hand as he was taller than her and he could ‘break trail’ as he put it, with a grin. She smiled her thanks at him and followed along. Amanda and Jon were a little bit ahead of them and as it was getting darker and darker, Jon had removed his glasses, but not his cap. In New York he had always had the freedom to move around without attracting too much attention, but what neither man realized was that there were several tours going on that day, at least two from the “Sex and the City” diehard fans who were there taking in the sites from that show.

So many non-native New Yorkers were probably what caused what happened next. Catching Jon completely by surprise there was a scream from someone in the crowd of “Jon Bon Jovi!!!” and a ripple passed through everyone with hearing distance. Jon and Amanda were suddenly in the middle of a huge crowd of people, all jostling and trying to move closer to Jon. While the native New Yorkers cultivated a blasé air of “been there, done that, not impressed”, the many tourists in the area were not so unaffected.

Richie was already on the cell calling the limo and giving the driver their exact location. Susan watched in amazement as Jon held tight to Amanda’s hand as the crowd reached out to touch him. Keeping a close eye on his friend, Richie didn’t see when the attention started in his direction. Faster than he could react, although he did grip Susan’s hand tighter so he didn’t lose her in the crowd, there were yelling women surrounding him also.

The names of the men were being shouted out and the crowd was swelling when Richie saw the driver’s head pop up from his open door and he moved Susan to the waiting limo. Jon was scanning the area and saw Richie heading toward the street and realized he had called the car. Seeing it through a small gap in the crowd, he headed that way with Amanda firmly in tow. The driver popped the door locks as the men rapidly helped the two women inside and then got in quickly themselves. Hands were pulled back out of the way of closing doors and the sound of the doors being locked was heard inside the car.

The driver started blowing on his horn to clear the roadway, but the car was pretty much surrounded by this point. No stranger to these situations, the driver called the non-emergency police number for their location and soon sirens could be heard. Police got as close as they could in their vehicles and then on foot began to clear out the area in front of the limo so they could leave. Two waiting patrol cars provided an escort out of the area as the limo shot forward, leaving the surging crowd behind.

Susan was a bit shaken with how quickly the crowd had formed and was quiet as they started moving. Amanda gave a laugh, complementing Jon on the strength of his grip, but telling him she would probably have bruises tomorrow. Richie also seemed rather nonchalant about the whole situation. Jon noticed how quiet Susan was.

“You okay, Susan?” He asked her.

She nodded her head, but didn’t answer.

“Suze?” Amanda called her name. “Susan, it’s okay, really.”

Giving her friend wide eyes, Susan looked at Amanda. “THAT was okay?”

“Well, usually I get left behind, so yeah, for me that was okay.” Three out of the four laughed at that, but Susan only gave a small smile. She gave herself a little shake then and smiled more broadly.

“Alright, if you say it was okay, but geez! Does that happen a lot?” She looked at Jon and Richie as she asked that.

“Not always…” Jon answered, “…but enough so that we’re pretty used to it.”

“I’ve never see anything like that before. It happened so fast!” Susan was still a little dazed, but at least she was smiling now.

“That’s why the limo driver is on speed dial!” Richie grinned, holding up his cell phone. Jon used the intercom then, instructing the driver to take them to his apartment. They were soon pulling into the parking garage and grabbing all their bags out of the trunk. Jon and Richie talked with the driver for a moment, but they were dismissing him for the night, both thinking that eating in sounded better than taking another chance on getting recognized with Susan with them. They got off the elevator on Jon’s floor and were soon inside. Showing Susan what bedroom she could use took only a moment. Richie already knew where his room was.

Meeting back in the main room a few minutes later, they started talking about when they all wanted for dinner. After spending the afternoon in Chinatown they all admitted that the wonderful smells had gotten to them and that Chinese for dinner that night sounded great. Richie and Jon went off to get some menus and order and Amanda poured Susan a glass of wine. Speaking quietly, Susan turned to her friend.

“Mands, how do you deal with this?” Susan was genuinely puzzled.

“Suze, it’s just what happens sometimes. The guys are very approachable and sometimes people just get a little carried away.”

“I gotta admit, it scared me.” Susan gave a small shudder.

Amanda looked at her friend gently. “Don’t you think that’s partly because you don’t like crowds like that?”

Susan nodded, “Yeah, that probably had a good bit to do with it. Okay, enough, it’s over.”

The men came back into the living room then told her the food would be there in about forty-five minutes. Taking off their shoes, the women got comfortable on the couches as the men grabbed their own wines and relaxed.

Turning to look at Jon, Richie asked, “Well, bro’, we gonna show ‘em now or later?”

Jon winked, wanting to see their surprised faces. “Oh, now, definitely!”

Exchanging looks, the woman crinkled eyes at the two men, who jumped up and returned with bags and bags of items from Chinatown. Clearing the big coffee table in-between the couches, they both upended bag after bag of items, the ones the women had looked at, then put back.

Gasps and squeals met their ears as the two women realized what they had both done. Hands on her hips, Amanda turned to Jon.

“Oh no, you did not!”

Grinning widely and then giving her ‘duck lips’ he smirked, “I most certainly did!” Amanda nearly jumped into his lap as she gave him a huge kiss of thanks. He enthusiastically returned her kiss and winked at Richie.

Susan’s mouth fell open as the amazing assortment of items she had looked at were sitting on the table. She turned to Richie. “Did you do this?” He nodded at her. “Why?”

Grinning himself now, he answered her. “Because it’s your very first trip to New York City and I wanted to.” She smiled at him, touched by his kindness. Moving to his side, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“You’re welcome, sweetie,” Richie’s voice was also soft.