Title: Don’t Look Away: Chapter Twenty-four, Always Come Back
Rating: NC-17 [language, alcohol, sex]

Summary: Pete and Cady deal with the Jimmy Page issue, kinda. Cady ventures out on the town again, with John, and finds a bit of direction.




 
Pete stared at her blankly, unable to believe she had said the very name that she had. She knew how he felt about Jimmy Page. The man was clearly just trying to get in her pants. And she had spent the day with him, because Pete was too busy to spend time with her. He had neglected her. He was a horrible boyfriend.

Cady watched the emotions flit across his face, from jealousy to disappointment. Without pause, she leaned forward and kissed him softly. When he did not relax, Cady scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Still Pete resisted.

“Let’s go home, Pete,” she muttered.

“I should be the one showing you around town,” he whispered.

Cady kissed him again, “There’s plenty left to show me. I’m certain of it, Pete. But right now, I want you to take me home so I can show you how much I love you.”

“But…”

“Come on, Pete. Pay the bill and let’s go home,” her lips brushed his once more.

“But…”

“Okay, I will,” she scooted away from him and motioned to their server.

Before Pete could protest, not that he was planning to, Cady fished money out of her purse and paid for their meal. She slid out of the booth fully and turned to Pete. With a sigh, he too vacated the booth, leaving his present on the table. Not saying anything, she quickly snatched the small box from the table, removed the necklace, and fastened it about his neck. Her lips brushed his once more before she folded his hand in hers and led him from the restaurant. If she had been able to drive, she would have stolen the keys from him and drove them home. Instead, she held his hand the entire drive back to their flat.

Returning to their building, Cady did not release his hand, forcing him to remain in the large Lincoln. His eyes went to hers in confusion, not understanding why she did not let him go. Her hand pivoted in his, her fingers wiggling between his. She lifted their clutched hands to her mouth and kissed his fingers gently. Her other hand cupped his face, her thumb rubbing his bottom lip.

“I love you, Pete. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. You are an artist. I understand that your work revolves around your art. And more than probably anyone else in your life, I completely understand how it captivates you. I understand that. Really. Please stop beating yourself up about it, Pete,” she stated evenly. “You have not let me down. I don’t need you to take care of me every minute of the day. I know you have things to do outside of this relationship with me. And part of my role is to figure out this world that I’m in now. So I will wander about while you’re being your genius self. And I may sometimes run into people you would rather I not be friends with. But you know what? I will always come home to you.”

“I just… Cady…”

“Let’s take this conversation upstairs, okay?” she suggested and kissed him again before pulling away and getting out of the car.

They silently headed up to the apartment. Pete opened the door, stepping aside to allow Cady in first. She reached in and flicked the light on before kissing him quickly. They set aside their things and settled on the sofa together. Cady cuddled close to Pete, her fingers gently stroking his arm.

“I love you, Pete. It is right here that I want to be.”

“I don’t want… I don’t want you to think that you need to find a replacement for me.”

Cady bit her bottom lip briefly and sighed, “I am not seeking a replacement for you, Pete. Not now, not ever. You’re my man. You’re the reason I’m here, the reason I’m staying. I am not interested in James. I want you. I love you.”

“But, Cady, he’s so smooth,” he complained.

“Don’t care. I’m with you. He’s not stealing me away.”

“But–”

“Kiss me, Pete,” she declared.

He hesitated for a minute before leaning forward and kissing her gently. Cady embraced him lovingly and showered his face with kisses a moment later. She continued to do as much until a small smile finally curved his lips. Muttering how much she loved him, her kisses deepened, but only briefly. Without a word, she crawled into his lap, placing her head on his shoulder.

“I love you, Pete. You you you,” she breathed. “You.”

They cuddled on the couch for awhile, he softly admitting to a number of his fears. One by one, Cady kissed them away. When she stood to head to bed, Pete once more was certain she was his woman and his alone. It did not matter how magical Jimmy Page seemed to be, she would always come home to him. They belonged together.

He only wished that her kisses could chase away his fears about his musical abilities. There was no way he was going to be able to finish writing the album. None at all. Even his new idea for it was not going to actually be enough. He was a failure – at age twenty-two.

Noticing that his demeanor once again had changed as they entered their bedroom, Cady quickly kissed him. Her arms held him tight as her lips plundered his. He frowned as she pulled away.

“As much as I love you… I’m a failure.”

“What?”

“I’m a failure. I’m never going to get this album done. I can’t… I can’t do it.”

Cady kissed him again, “Forget about the album for tonight, Pete. Please. Put it out of your mind. Lay here and love me and that will be enough.”

“But–”

She pressed her fingers to his mouth, “No more. Let’s get undressed and get in bed. No more work talk.”

Obeying, Pete quickly stripped down to his shorts and pulled back the bedcovers, paying no attention to Cady’s disrobing. He lay upon his side of the bed and reached to turn off the bedside lamp. His fingers froze inches away from the switch as his eyes finally landed upon his girlfriend. Wearing only a pair of sexy lace panties, she pulled her long hair free of the ribbon holding it back and shook it out. As her long hair curled around her bare breasts, Pete finally reacted to her sexually. His fingers hesitated in turning off the light, not sure if he wanted to see her in all her beauty or just feel her. He decided on both and his hand dropped away from the lamp.

With a smile, Cady rolled her hips and slinked towards him. Reaching the end of the bed, she slowly crawled up the bed and up his body, her lips randomly dipping down to kiss his flesh. He moaned as she sucked his nipples and her hand fondled his growing cock. As her mouth met his, Cady straddled him and began to grind against him. Her hands reached for his, guiding them to her breasts as she continued to gyrate.

“Oh, Cady, baby,” he moaned as her lips left his to suckle on his ear.

“I want you,” she whispered before kissing his ear again. “Deep inside me.”

Her muttered request was the final blow. Pete sat up quickly, forcing her onto her back. As Cady giggled seductively, he wiggled out of his shorts. Her fingers reached for the waistband of her panties, her eyes going to Pete’s. She watched as he weighed his response to her unspoken question as to whether or not she should remove her panties. He nodded once. With a smile, she arched her hips off the bed and pushed the garment down. Pete quickly kissed her newly exposed pubic mound as his fingers helped remove the lacy lingerie. Tossing it aside, he kissed her breasts before meeting her mouth briefly. Gazing into her eyes, he guided her legs around his waist and pushed deeply into her body.

“Ohhhhhhh, Peeeeete,” Cady moaned, her fingernails digging into his shoulders gently.

Remaining deeply in her, but not moving, he kissed her again, “I love you so very much, Cady.”

“I love you too, Pete,” she breathed, caressing his face gently. “I love you too.”

They loved all night, switching positions regularly, until the sun rose the next morning. Too exhausted to care, they dozed on the bare mattress, the sheets torn off in ecstasy. Cady did not rest long before she kissed him awake.

“Pete.”

“Wha’?” he mumbled.

“We can’t sleep on the mattress like this.”

“Why not?”

She rolled her eyes and shoved him slightly, “Get up and help me put the sheets back on.”

“But why?” he grumbled but rolled out of bed.

With the sheets righted, Cady pulled him back into bed. Her lips touched his before she snuggled against him. Smiling, Pete played with her hair, chasing it in lazy circles around her back. Slowly they fell asleep – on top of the sheets.



Seated on the sofa, her eyes focused on the rain on the windowpane instead of the book in her lap, Cady sighed. Pete had once more sequestered himself in his studio. While she fully supported it, she was getting antsy again. It had been four days since she wandered the streets with James and she was itching for more. She could just set aside the book she was not reading and venture out into the city herself, but… she did not want to worry Pete. He had taken her absence hard the last time. She did not need to place undue hardship on him, especially while he was working on album.

But she really did need to get out before she went crazy.

Seemingly reading her mind, a knock sounded at the door. Not caring if it was a solicitor, Cady jumped to her feet, causing the book to tumble onto the carpet, and hurried to answer it. Though she knew Pete would never hear it, she felt slightly accomplished to answer it so quickly – and a bit ashamed to not have anything to do but run to a knock at the door. Shrugging it off, she unlocked the door and pulled it open without even looking through the peephole.

“John!” she exclaimed happily and quickly embraced him.

He awkwardly embraced her back, “Hi.”

Cady stepped back and motioned to the apartment, “Please come in.”

Entering the flat, his blue eyes looked around for any trace of Pete. His gaze settled on a closed door and he nodded, understanding the musician was likely locked behind the door working on music. While he had intended to talk business with Pete, he could see that was not going to happen. As his eyes returned to Cady’s, he could clearly see she was craving attention.

Smiling crookedly, he offered, “You want to come… out with me?”

“YES,” she instantly responded. “Where are we going?”

“Um,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “to the pub for a drink?”

“Okay,” Cady turned towards the bedroom. “Give me a moment to change.”

Not about to tell her that her shirt and jeans was fine, John sat on the couch. Absently kicking a book on the floor, he picked it up, closed it, and glanced at the spine. Smirking as he figured a book on Indian transcendentalism was likely Pete’s interest, not Cady’s, he set it on the coffee table and looked around the living room. They were clearly settled and he could see Pete’s personality throughout the flat. Try as he might, he could not really see Cady in the apartment, other than the furniture choices. It was her home too, so why did he not feel like she lived there too?

Stepping out of the bedroom in a very short, blue knit mini-dress with tall black boots with a minimal heel on, Cady completely arrested John’s thoughts. His eyes focused on the bold black and blue print of the tights enclosing her thighs and peeking between her hem and boots. However, he maintained composure and got to his feet. Stepping towards the door, he said nothing.

“I look alright, right?” she asked softly.

He opened the door, “You look nice.”

“Just nice?”

“It would be improper for me to say more,” John responded.

“Oh come on,” she stepped into the hall after slinging her small purse over her shoulder. “Tell me what you really think, John. We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes,” he responded cautiously, closing the door. “But you are my best friend’s girl.”

“So that means you can’t tell me what you really think?” she asked, following him down the hallway.

John stopped and turned to her, his eyes meeting hers, “Cady, I respect you and your relationship with Pete. I will not be putting that in jeopardy.”

Cady smiled slightly, “So I must look more than nice to get that kind of a response.”

He continued to hold her eyes for a long moment, before turning away with a smile, “You women will be the death of me.”

“Wouldn’t be that bad of a death, would it?” she teased, continuing with him.

With her attire, John no longer believed it right to take her to just any dank pub. Instead, once behind the wheel of his car, he quickly decided on a more popular bar not far from the apartment. Part of him hoped to find friends there to dissipate some of the tension between him and Cady, but part of him did not want to share her with anyone. What the hell was he thinking? He was married and she was his best mate’s girl. And she needed to know more people so she was not cooped up all the time.

Parking two blocks from the bar, John quickly jumped out of his car and moved around to let her out. She smiled at him and silently waited as he closed up the car. Wordlessly, he turned and headed towards the bar. Cady happily walked beside him, her eyes taking in their surroundings.

“Isn’t four early to be going to a bar?” she asked as they reached a street corner.

“Nah, not really,” he responded, waiting for the light to change. “I’m sure there will be people there who have been there all day.”

“Friends of yours?”

“And of Pete,” he nodded, before stepping off the curb to cross the street.

“Oh good, I’d like to be more a part of Pete’s life.”

John stopped at that statement, connecting it back to the state of the apartment, “Can I ask you something, Cade?”

“You can ask me anything.”

He turned to fully face her before declaring, “This may not be the best place for this conversation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s go back to the car,” he stated, heading back towards it.

“Why? We’re not going to the bar?”

“No. I don’t want to deal with Keith right now.”

Cady glanced over her shoulder, “Keith’s there?”

“Quite probable,” he hurried her back across the street. “So we’ll go find some place… quieter.”

His declaration concerned her, but she said nothing. Instead, she got back into John’s car, waiting patiently for him to crawl back behind the wheel. Not knowing London well enough to have any clue where he was headed, she remained silent, waiting for some explanation. Within thirty minutes, they pulled up and parked in front of a line of row houses.

As John opened her door again, Cady asked, “Is this where you live?”

“Me? No,” he scoffed. “This is my mum’s house.”

“So this is where you grew up?” she questioned.

John smiled crookedly, heading up the front steps, “Yeah. My mum’s real nice. You’ll like her. I’m sure of it.”

Cady nodded and bit her bottom lip. Having not met Pete’s family yet, she was suddenly very nervous to be meeting John’s mother. She had never been taken to meet anyone’sfamily. It was a strange idea. She had been part of people’s lives, but never to this extent. Why was John taking her to meet his mother? And what did this have to do with whatever it was he wanted to ask her thirty minutes before? Before she could attempt to sort it out in her mind, the front door opened and an older woman ushered John and Cady into the house. Initial introductions were made before John excused himself and Cady from interrupting Queenie’s tea with her friends. Instead, he led her to another room, away from the chattering women.

“John… what’s this about?” she asked warily as she sat on a sofa.

“I just… think it might be a sensitive question,” he stated.

“So you couldn’t ask me it at the bar?”

“No. Keith would interrupt or something like that and you wouldn’t answer then,” John sat next to her. “When I was in your flat earlier, I noticed… a lot of Pete but nothing of you.”

“Okay…”

“I don’t mean to be presumptuous as I haven’t known you long, but I do consider us friends. And I think touring with the band the past few weeks has enabled me to get to know you more…”

“Just spit it out, John.”

He sighed, “Do you only define yourself as who you’re with?”

She blinked, staring at him, “Well… no.”

“Before you were with Pete, what was your life like?”

“I traveled with Jimi.”

“And? What did you do?”

“Whatever… he wanted me to,” she breathed.

“And before him?”

“I was a student,” she quickly declared. “But… dammit, John, this isn’t fair.”

He reached over and grasped her hand, “Cade, what did you dream about when you were younger?”

“Getting as far away from my family as possible. And being loved.”

John squeezed her hand gently, “Now that both of those are reality, it’s time for you to find yourself a new dream, Cade.”



Bursting into the flat she shared with Pete after spending time with John, Cady let the door slam behind her and hurried towards Pete’s studio. Not caring if she was interrupting his greatest masterpiece, she pushed the door open and entered. His eyes snapped up from his tiny keyboard and he quickly removed the headphones from his head.

“Cady? Is something wrong?”

She crossed over to him and leaned down, kissing him deeply, “You need to pack.”

“Pack? Why? Where are we going?”

“Paris.”

Pete stared up at her, “Why?”

“Because I say so.”

“But I’m working.”

“I don’t care.”

“But–”

“If you won’t do something for me, go somewhere for me, then I’ll ask someone else to go with me.”

“Cady, I don’t understand where this is coming from…”

“Ugh, fine,” she turned to leave the room. “Stay here and work. I’m going to France.”

Pete watched her leave the room. He had no idea where her sudden desire to go to France had come from. It was… unnerving to say the least. Slowly getting to his feet, he set everything aside and headed out of the small room. Approaching Cady, she waved him off as she waited for whomever to answer her call.

“Just as you thought, he’d rather work. Can you take me to the train station?” she asked the other person over the phone.

Pete reached for her, touching her elbow, “Cady, let’s talk about this.”

“Great. I’ll see you in an hour,” she declared before hanging up the phone and turning to Pete. “No time. I have to pack.”

“Cady, what has gotten into you?” he questioned, following her into the bedroom. “I thought we were… okay.”

She stopped in front of the dresser, pulling open a drawer, “We are. But I’m not.”

Pete watched her silently for a moment, “Baby, what’s wrong? What is this all about?”

“Me.”

“…okay. Can you explain that to me more?”

She paused after shoving clothing into her suitcase, “I need to define myself outside of you, outside of being in a relationship. So I’m going to Paris.”

“You can’t do it here?”

“No. Because being here is all about you.”

He stared at her silently.

“And I need something to be about me. I have been living by Jimi’s wishes before this relationship with you. Even the few weeks I was in art school, it wasn’t really about me. I don’t know who I am without being with you,” she explained. “So I need to go somewhere that isn’t all about you.”

“Okay,” Pete said cautiously. “I don’t disagree with you, but… where is this coming from? Where have you been all day?”

“With John,” she answered, turning back to her hurried packing.

“…and he convinced you that you need to find yourself?”

Her blue eyes flicked to him, “In a word, yes.”

“And you think that you’ll do that in France?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

Pete paused to think it over for a few minutes. He did not want to tell her no, because he wanted her to know he valued her individuality. However, he did not want her to think that he wanted her to go. It was a delicate line to tow. If she were gone, he could work without feeling as if he was letting her down. If she were gone, would he even be able to work or would he miss her too much? Maybe he should just go with her. On the other hand, if he did, Pete knew he would get no work done.

“How long will you be gone?”

She tilted her head to the side slightly, almost as if she could not believe his change of heart, “A few days, a week, I don’t know.”

“Will you call?”

Cady nodded, “I will. And once I get settled, I’ll let you know where to ring me.”

He smirked, “You just said ‘ring’.”

“So?”

“How very British of you,” he teased.

“See!? How very you,” she corrected.

“Cady…”

She picked up her suitcase, “I’ll call you soon, Pete. I promise.”

“I know. I trust you. I just hope… you come back to me when you find yourself.”

Cady set the suitcase back down and quickly threw her arms around his neck, kissing his mouth quickly, “I will most definitely come back to you. You hold my heart. I love you.”

“I love you too, Cady,” he kissed her softly. “Find yourself. I’ll be here for when you come back.”