Chapter One

They had just about finished for the day. They had written a couple of songs and tweaked a couple more. It was very productive for them.

“Hey J, I feel like getting out of here. Maybe roam around and grab a bite and a beer?” Richie stated.

“Yeah, sounds like a plan. Let me just grab a shower and we’re outta here.”

The boys left Jon’s SoHo apartment and headed for midtown. They took a cab to Richie’s hotel on Central Park and he showered and changed. They were ready to go. The two meandered down the street and came upon a piano bar. Richie always stayed in the area when he was in New York City he knew their food was good, so they went in. 

It was late enough in the evening that the piano player was in full swing. There were a couple of girls at the piano and a few patrons scattered around the room at tables. The bar in the back was pretty quiet so they chose to go there. Once they ordered and had drinks in front of them the boys turned their attention to the room.

The room was pretty calm as the piano player took a break. A couple of more patrons showed up. The noise level grew a little. It looked like a good crowd and the boys sat back to talk and people-watch. It was refreshing to be on this side of things for a change.

After they finished their meal, they decided to have another drink. One of the girls at the piano was going to sing. She looked around the crowd. Jon knew the minute she spotted them. Her eyes scanned the room, saw them, moved on and darted right back when she recognized who they were.

“Okay, for this next song I need a male to sing with. If anyone here is willing to do Meatloaf’s ‘Paradise’ with me come on up.” 

Jon took a swallow of his drink as he rose from his seat.

“What the fuck are you doin’ man?” Richie asked.

“Feel like singing.”

Richie watched as his friend went to the piano. He shook hands with this girl and they discussed the song.  She doesn’t look star struck, Richie thought. She’s actually kinda cute. Too bad, she’s not a blonde. He sat back and waited to see what happened with their duet.

They played off each other great. Richie laughed as the girl got another patron to do the announcer part of the song. He enjoyed it.

“Hey, Rich, man, come on over. We’re gonna sit with the girls.” Jon stated as he came back to the table. He grabbed his drink and jacket and went back to the piano where the girls were.

Richie followed with his own drink and jacket. With a finger in Jon’s back as his only warning, Richie took the stool next to Teri. Jon sat on the other side of her friend.

“Great job with Paradise,” Richie said as he sat. “Richie,” he said as he extended his hand to shake hands with the singer.

“Thanks. I’m Teri and this is Gloria.”

Richie and Gloria said hello and he sat back.

“So, come here often?” he asked her.

She smiled at the line. It was an old corny line.

“First time. I’m from Connecticut, just here for a quick get-away for my birthday. We ended up here.”

“You came HERE from Connecticut for your birthday?” Richie asked. It was an unusual place to celebrate as far as he was concerned.

“Well, not HERE exactly. We came in for lunch at Tavern on the Green and are staying a few blocks from here. After scaring ourselves half to death watching a movie…”

“Because we missed the beginning, and didn’t have a clue that it was that film with Jon Travolta ‘Face Off.’ Not to mention the complimentary champagne we consumed, a drink with lunch AND the fact that we did a raid on the mini bar,” her friend Gloria interjected.

The boys laughed as Gloria told the story.

“Yeah, you should have seen this one,” she said with a nod to Teri. “She was so scared she went and hid in the bathroom.”

Teri who was first off mortified, then bewildered her friend would out her like that felt the need to chime in and… save face “I didn’t go there to hide,” she said as she gave her friend an icy glare. Then with a very prim and proper voice and posture, which included re-crossing her legs and placing the drink napkin in her lap, she looked up at Richie and stated, “I went to admire the decor.”

The four erupted in laughter. Teri took a sip of her drink, raised the glass in a silent toast, and turned a few shades of red.

She quickly changed the subject and grabbed the song book off the piano to look for a song.

As she perused the pages she stopped. A smile formed on her face. She turned to Richie with a challenge in her eyes.

“Can you do back up to Bonnie Taylor’s ‘Total Eclipse’?”

Richie snorted, “Easy. Let’s do it.”

They sang the song. It was good. It would have been great if it wasn’t for the fact that every time Richie looked at Teri as they sang he started thinking about how amazing she would feel under him, naked in his bed. The more he thought about it the harder he became. Damn, he thought. I am so going to give her a birthday present she’ll never forget.