Chapter 56

At two a.m. Jon sat alone in the bar of Ritz. An empty glass and a bottle of Jack sat before him, but he couldn't bring himself to pour it. He couldn't believe what he had done to Alex earlier. It was the height of cruelty and he knew it. Everything that had happened since had been totally deserved. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

He couldn't believe it when, shortly after Rick and Alex had left the reception, Dot had led him – in stony silence – to their room and it was, of all places, the room adjoining Alex's. Could it get any worse? He had thought at the time. The answer was a most definitive YES.

As he and Dot had climbed into bed together, the set of her shoulders and turned back telling him in no uncertain terms that he shouldn't be expecting to get amorous with her even if the inclination arose (which it hadn't), the noises from the next room began. Jon knew from experience that Alex was a very vocal lover. She proved to be no different with her husband.

"Oh god baby yes...." her muffled cries penetrated the wall. Damn it.

"Sounds like someone's having fun," Dot murmured and then drifted off onto a peaceful slumber.

An hour, and countless 'Oh god Rick please'....and 'yes Rick yes's later, it was all Jon could do not to scream. He covered his head with first one, then two pillows. All that accomplished, was preventing him from breathing.

"Harder baby...faster..."

That was it...He got out of bed and opened the French doors to let in the sounds of the night. They – apparently - liked the sounds of the night too. Their door was open. He heard her scream out her third... or was it fourth orgasm as he closed the doors behind him. Fuck it all to hell.

He threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed down to the bar. If he didn't know better he would have sworn she was doing it on purpose. But he did know better. And there was no way she could have been. He hadn't even known what room he was in, until Dot had led him to that God damned door.

So now here he sat drowning his sorrows. The bar was closed for the night, but Jon had discovered - - quite some time ago – that nothing was closed when you threw enough money at it. He heard footsteps approaching from behind him and without even turning said, "bars closed."

"So I see," said a much too familiar voice, "But I was hoping since you were in here I could grab a drink to take upstairs."

"Help yourself buddy." Jon replied and indicated to the bar he was leaning on. "It's all paid for."

"Shit. What has you so bummed you bought out the entire bar?" Rick asked as he settled into the seat beside Jon.

Jon stole a quick glance at the man. He was neatly dressed but his hair was rumpled and his lips were red and swollen. Worst of all...he smelled like her. Her perfume. Her sex.

"I had to get out of my room and this..." once again he indicated the bar, "....this was the only way. There is a couple up there fucking like god damned fucking rabbits. I couldn't sleep for the noise."

"OH shit. You're not on the second floor are you man?" Rick asked in jest.

"Yep."

"Not anywhere near room 215?" He asked a little more sheepishly.

"216"

Rick winced, "Fuck man, I'm sorry."

Jon waved his apology off, wishing the bastard would just grab his drink and leave. No such luck.

"It's just that well Al and I get to see each other so infrequently, when we do...well I'm sure you understand."

"Uh huh." For fucks sake shut up.

"And Al has always been a little on the vocal side in bed."

"I know," Jon mumbled.

"What?"

Something in Ricks tone had his head snapping up to look at the man. "Sorry?" Jon asked, trying to think what he had said. He had been so busy trying to block out thoughts of Alex he hadn't been concentrating on what was coming out of his mouth. Now Rick was sitting her looking at him expectantly with a look on his face that could only be described as cold.

"What did you mean by 'I know'?" Rick asked very succinctly.

"Did I say that?" Jon asked. Rick nodded. "Oh shit, sorry man. I didn't mean it like that," Jon bluffed, "I just meant I could tell...hell, I think half the hotel knows that Ali is vocal in bed."

"Oh yeah...right. Sorry." Rick said more evenly. "I just get a little...well hell, I'm away from her so much. You know how it goes man. I'm sure you're the same with Dot."

"No...not really," Jon said dismissively, "but I can understand how you could be like that about Ali."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before it became too much for Jon. "Look man I want to apologise for before. I should have told Dot about Alex. I know she's still hurting over this whole kid thing."

"Yeah...we both are." Rick studied his glass intently.

Jon studied him for a moment. The pain exuding from the man was palpable. "Yeah I guess you are. Sorry man. It must be tough."

"It is. But we'll get through it." Rick paused for several seconds as he considered his next words carefully. "You know you really did hurt her feelings back there. It took me ages to coax her out of the bathroom when we got back to our room. Seeing her walk out of there with those red puffy eyes...I swear man if I had have known you were in the room next door I would have come in and flattened you."

Jon nodded slowly. "And I would have deserved it."

"She wouldn't talk about it or even admit that it upset her but I know it did. She thinks a lot of you man and I think you just shattered the illusion a little." Rick said. It was now his turn to study Jon intently.

Jon couldn't meet the man's gaze. He swore softly under his breath and studied the glass in his hands instead. Finally the silence was too much for him. "Shit man, I don't know what to say. A simple apology doesn't seem good enough."

"It's not me that has to hear it." Rick said and let Jon ponder that for a while before he spoke again. "Alex said you were a big help when she first found out. Thanks for that."

"What did she say?" Jon asked a touch of panic bleeding into his voice.

"Just that she had run into you a little while later, that you had been a good friend and you were there to support her. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Why didn't you tell Dot though?"

"I'm not sure she would have been as understanding about the time I spent with Alex in that first couple of weeks." Fucking her brains out every chance I got, he added silently to himself.

"Surely she wouldn't have been that unreasonable?"

"Perhaps not...but I spend so little time with the family I could hardly tell her I was spending some of it supporting another woman through an emotional crisis, I just thought it better not to mention that I was seeing Alex at all. I'm sorry it came to what it did though. I told Dot tonight about Alex telling me...when she reamed me out over my insensitivity. She wasn't even talking to me by the time we got to our room." Jon explained.

"Man, I'm sorry."

"Hey it is what it is." Jon shrugged. "Now if you two animals are done for the night..." He offered a small smile to hide the twinge of pain he felt, "I think I'll try to get some sleep."

"Al was taking a bath when I headed down and then she was heading to bed...well back to bed..." he held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "...to sleep. I think I may have worn her out. She can never believe that I can go again so quickly..."

"TMI man," Jon interrupted, "just a little too much information there, my friend."

"Sorry. You heading up?" He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"Yep."

"Let me just grab a bottle of Perrier and I'll head up with you."

They took the stairs instead of waiting for the lift, making small talk all the way. Jon entered his room a few minutes later waving goodbye to Rick at the door. As he finally drifted off to sleep some time later, he pondered what a shame it was that the guy had married his woman, 'cause he really liked the son of a bitch too much to hate him with the vehemence he wanted to.

***

Jon woke the next morning to more moaning and giggling coming from the other side of the wall. Fuck! The guy was superman. His morning hard on already tented the sheet that was spread loosely across his hips, and each erotic noise from his neighbours had him growing harder. He reached across the bed and found the warm body of his wife. Ooooh yes!

"Ohhh no you don't," Dot slapped his hand away from her breast not two minutes later.

"C'mon Dottie," Jon nuzzled into the back of her neck. "I need you baby."

"You don't need me Jon." She said as she scooted out the other side of the bed, "You just need someone to take care of that." She nodded towards is very obvious erection. "Obviously the couple next door have given your libido a rise."

"I don't give a fuck what Alex is doing." He snarled.

"What? That's Alex and Rick in there?"

"Yep."

"How do you know?"

"I ran into Rick in the bar last night...he confessed."

Dot raised an eyebrow as a high female squeal, breeched the wall, followed by a 'Ohhhh Rick...'

"Well, well, well...I honestly didn't think Alex had it in her."

"Oh, she has it in her alright," Jon muttered. I just wish it was mine.