Chapter 4

Before they could continue their conversation, the waitress came back with the check. Faith reached for it, but Richie was quicker. "I got it." Faith shook her head, "that's not necessary." Richie reached for his wallet, "I know, but you let us tag along, it's the least I can do." She was about to thank him when Hannah tapped her arm. "Mom, can I have a pen?" Faith dug in her purse and handed her a pen. "What's it for?" "Ava and I are trading phone numbers so we can call each other." Faith looked over at Richie to make sure it was okay just as Ava spoke up, "is it all right dad?" Richie winked at Faith and told Ava to go ahead.

As Faith drove away from the restaurant she couldn't help but wonder about the day she had just had. She smiled to herself. Who would ever believe that she spent the day with Richie Sambora? Oh well, even if I never see him again, it was a great day.

Faith hustled Hannah off to the shower when they got home and called her neighbor to confirm that she was coming over. She then got in the shower herself to get ready to go to work. S he dressed in a faded pair of jeans with a rip at the knee and a well worn t-shirt. She braided her hair so it was out of her way and slipped into her sneakers. She got Hannah situated with a movie and when her neighbor, dubbed "Miss Betty" arrived Faith was off.

***************

Richie dropped Ava back to Heather and since it was still somewhat early, he decided to head down to the studio and see what Jon was up to. Jon was in town as they were working on some of the tracks for a new album. While driving to the studio he thought about his day and about the pretty woman he had spent it with. As he drove downtown he couldn't get Faith out of his head. I wonder which building she is working in he thought as he took note of all the skyscrapers.

He got to the studio and found Jon strumming on his guitar. "Sounds good man." Jon looked up and smiled, "hey man, didn't think I would see you until tomorrow." Richie shrugged his shoulders, "I dropped Ava off and wasn't quite ready to go home yet, so I thought I would stop down and see what you were up to." Jon looked at his friend, something was up with him. "What is it man?" Richie frowned, "what are you talking about?" "Just spill it, I know when something is eating at you, let's have it." "Shit man, how do you do that?" Jon smiled, "just one of my lesser known talents. So, what's up?"

Richie sighed, "I met someone today when I was at the beach with Ava." Jon didn't hesitate, "what does she look like and is she legal?" Richie laughed, "yes she's legal. She has a daughter Ava's age. As for her looks, she is about this tall" he put his hand under his chin, "she's curvy where she should be with dark hair and green eyes." Jon considered this, "so, what's wrong with her, is she a fan? Did she scare you?" "You know, I think she is a fan but she didn't come right out and say so. No, she didn't scare me you shit, she acted normal. We had a nice afternoon and the girls got on well."

"So, did you get her number?" Richie shook his head, "no, but Ava did." Jon laughed, "man you are losing it. Did you get her name at least?" "Yeah I got her name. It's Faith." Jon was about to say something else when a noise stopped him. "What was that?" Richie and Jon both listened for a minute. There was singing coming from somewhere. They walked down the hall, following the voice they heard, stopping in a doorway when they found the source.

Faith was emptying garbage and sweeping the floor. She had her headphones on and was singing and dancing while going about her business, not realizing she wasn't alone.

I'm always runnin'

Son of a gunnin'
I've had a good time it's true
But the way I've been goin'
It's time that I toned it
Down just a notch or two

Oh yeah ...

Well I'm living in fast forward
A hillbilly rock star out of control
I'm living in fast forward
Now I need to rewind real slow

Well I'm living in fast forward
A hillbilly rock star out of control
I'm living in fast forward
Now I need to rewind real slow

Yeah I need to rewind real slow
Yeah I still got some miles to go

When she stopped singing the guys applauded her efforts. Startled, Faith turned to find Jon and Richie standing in the doorway grinning at her. Oh my God!! Faith pulled the headphones off, "gotta love a little Kenney Chesney" she said sheepishly. Richie walked over to her, "Faith what are you doing here?" "Working and embarassing myself to no end apparently." He tried to put her at ease, "no need to be embarassed darlin'." She smiled at Richie, "well my day's not complete unless I embarass myself at least once. This should be good for about a whole week!" She looked past Richie to where Jon was standing and chuckling at the whole scene. She looked back at Richie "is your friend just going to stand over there laughing at me or is he going to come over here so I can say hello?"