Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

Chapter 12

After we'd finally regained control of ourselves and our breathing, we slipped back into our clothes, and deemed it safe to leave John's room and join the others, pretending nothing had happened. Though, the simple act of him intertwining our hands was bound to give something away. He and I couldn't help but exchange a grin when we entered the kitchen to see Andy leaning nonchalantly against the wall where we'd just been. If only he knew! Andy noticed us, too, and sniggered.

"Oh, so that's where you two buggered off to, then,"

"Sorry about ditching you, we just had to take advantage of-" I began, but was cut off by John, who gave me a pleading look.

Looks like I'd said too much.

"I had enough of the crowd, Andy."

"That's not usually a problem for you. Plus, you missed the last round of drinks! Not like an extra few glasses was a problem, but-"

This time, it was Andy's turn to get cut off, which made me smile. At least, until Simon spoke.

"Finish shagging just in time, then?" he said, with a shit-eating grin plastered all over his face. I'd have given him a good sock in the jaw, but I didn't quite have the heart to do that to Simon. Instead, I shot him a look.

"As it goes, we did, actually. Thanks for asking."

John breezed out, leaving me behind with the others. They seemed to be far more forgiving now one of the lads was gone - Nick even offered me a drink - though they still gave me flirtatious little looks. Bloody hell, did these men ever stop? Or was this normal in 1981? With an effort, I pretended not to notice, and chatted faux innocently with them.

Later, with the little incident in the kitchen largely forgotten, John and I lay quietly beside each other; tonight, there was none of the horrible tension that hung heavy in the air, weighing down on both of us. In fact, I hadn't felt so calm in a long while. His arm pulled me in close and I felt the effects of it strongly.

"Were you bored today, Jasmine?" he asked quietly, voice muffled as he buried his face in my hair.

"Not really, I loved seeing the city like this, John..."

"Like what? It hasn't changed!" he laughed off his confusion.

SHIT, I thought, How can I possibly play that one off? He'll think I'm completely insane. He's not some illusion in my head, it really matters if I fuck this one up.

"Oh, you know..." I fumbled about for words, "Seeing it on your own properly for the first time. You know what I mean, right?"

"Mhhmmm," he murmured into my skin, hot breath warming it momentarily, causing me to fall apart entirely.

So much for keeping my composure.

Even though we'd done it barely half an hour before, I needed him again. He seemed to have this intoxicating effect that drew me back in over and over again. Like magnets, we had to be constantly contacting each other. Gently, he bent his head to kiss the crook of my neck, gradually moving soft kisses to my lips, where I groaned quietly into his mouth and slid a hand into his hair. Clearly this was going nowhere further, but the kiss was more than wonderful and I didn't want to pull away, even less when tongues were added to the mix. Eventually, however, both of us had to breathe.

In that same breath, his lips drew level with my ear,

"I know one way you won't be bored tomorrow..."

"Oh? Care to share it?" I choked out, glad of the darkness that hid my reddening cheeks well.

Clearly, it didn't manage to hide the little tremor the words sent through me, though.

"God, and you say all men think about is sex!" he laughed quietly, "Actually, I wondered if you'd like to help us in the studio tomorrow. There's a lot of jobs, and you'd be so helpful... plus, I'd love to spend all day with you."

Is he serious? I thought, baffled, he's really inviting me to help with such an important album?

At that moment, the book that I'd managed to forget by some miracle, came rushing back into my mind, demanding to be heard. Sure, sleeping with John was risky, but so far we'd been careful, and I wasn't about to change him for life, but interfering with music that was so widely loved and recognised? That was a different kettle of fish. That was something every other story had warned against - it was changing history.

But how on earth could I refuse such an offer? Any time we spent together was worth it while I was here, this was my only opportunity.

"I'd love that, John,"

We kissed a little more after that, but after a while they became softer, less demanding and accompanied by slower breathing. When I turned to face him, he looked exhausted. John was practically falling asleep with his lips still against my neck. I wasn't sure if that was hot or cute.

"Goodnight," I whispered, and he gave me a tiny hum in reply. God, I'd missed being this close to someone, and I wasn't sure I could handle being away from it at the end of the month.

It sort of annoyed me how quickly he could fall asleep; he seemed to be gone in seconds, but for the life of me, I couldn't stop thinking. And it was mostly about the book. How the hell had I forgotten about it? Was the allure of life here with John just too great? Somehow, I knew I'd let down every person who'd shared their story in there, because the advice had been so clear, and I'd blatantly ignored it. Just by staying in this flat, even without the shagging, I'd screwed a lot of things up. What if they never made it big because of me? Never met that crucial person by chance? What if I'd ruined it all for them?

I needed to calm down.

Breathe.

I used the gentle rise and fall of John's chest to slow my own breathing gradually, until we were perfectly in sync with one another. It worked wonders. Slowly, I felt calmness returning, and I could finally drift off myself, too.