Chapter 11

The next two months seemed to fly in. Everyone was so busy with work, the guys doing shows and having to appear on TV and do countless other interviews. Dot and Leah felt as though they had spent the whole two months in a cupboard as it was tiny rooms they were using for the project. It had a come a long way since they first started and things were now starting to take shape. Throughout the time Dot had had her ups and downs, some days she was great while other days she spent in tears. This still bothered Leah as she still hadn’t told her what was wrong. At first she thought it was Jon that was the problem as they seemed to both be in strange moods at the same time then she began to notice that some days Jon would be fine and it would just be Dot who seemed to be fragile. Keeping with her decision not to push Dot into telling her, Leah backed off and just let her be. Since Leah’s encounter with Richie she spent most of the time avoiding being near him which wasn‘t hard considering both of their schedules. She couldn’t understand why this man made her feel the way she did when he was near, it scared her.


Arriving at the airport, Leah immediately felt the atmosphere different from previous flights. The guys were all excited at the thought of having a week off and getting to spend it on a beach in Australia. David had invited Katie along for the week and Tico’s wife was meeting them in Australia along with Richie’s daughter Ava. Dot and Leah decided they wouldn’t keep any strict plans for work during the week so they could enjoy the time too. The flight went quickly since most of them were catching up on sleep while they could. When the time came to get off the plane Leah watched Richie run to his daughter and pick her up giving her a big cuddle, she couldn’t help but give a big smile at the scene in front of her. He spoke to her every day on the phone but seeing him now it was clear he missed her while on the road. Tico took a much less noticeable approach to welcome his wife, he just kissed her then put his arm around her and started walking as though he had just picked up his luggage which made Leah laugh, they were clearly used to being apart during the tour. They all made their way to the cars waiting outside to take them to where they would be staying for the week. To Leah’s surprise they pulled up outside two big houses on a beach, she had been expecting another hotel. Tico’s wife then directed everyone to which house they would be staying in as she had already been here for two days. Each house had three rooms and in the first house was Jon and Dot, David and Katie and Leah, while Tico, his wife, Richie and Ava would be sharing the other house. Making their way inside they each found their room and began to unpack.


The house was beautiful, infact in Leah’s eyes it was perfect considering it was so close to the beach, her favourite place. She felt relieved that she hadn’t been put under the same roof as Richie but knew she couldn’t spend the whole week avoiding him like she had been doing previously. Deciding to push the thoughts away and deal with it later, Leah finished her unpacking and made her way downstairs. Taking some time to find her way around the house and get to know where things belonged she found they had been left with a supply of surfing equipment. Ecstatic at the thought of going surfing again she sprang to her feet running back to her room to get some things together passing Jon and Dot on the way, “There’s surfing stuff in the cupboard, I’ll see you later!” Laughing at her excitement both of them mentioned something about “fun” that she couldn’t make out due to her dash to get to the sea before it disappeared.


Leah spent a long time in the sea, she wasn’t sure exactly how long but could have stayed longer if it wasn’t so dark. On her way back to the house she met Jon coming back from a walk. As they entered the garden a strong smell of food wafted towards them. “Where the hell were you two? We tried to call but no-one answered. Just missed a great meal that Richie cooked up for us!” David yelled from the other garden. Jon and Leah both apologised, they hadn’t realised how late it was. “Looks like its just you and me for dinner then, Dot and Katie went into town earlier and their getting something while their out,” Jon informed Leah before they made their way back to the house. Leah excused herself to go get showered and changed while Jon decided to make a start on dinner.


On Leah’s return to the kitchen, she found Jon still where she had left him staring into a cupboard. “So does it magic itself out of there when its ready then?” Leah asked which made Jon jump. “We have a problem. We’ve got all the ingredients for Spaghetti Bolognese except the pasta,” he said scratching his head. Leah laughed at his expression before looking in the cupboards, “Well how about Tagliatelle Bolognese, not sure if it’s a real thing but I think it will still taste the same.” Without a reply Leah whipped out a bowl and began throwing in flour, eggs and water to make some pasta. Jon watched her for a while as though he had never seen anyone in the kitchen before. Leah was hoping for some help when she asked him to chop some tomatoes only to see a tomato fly across the room in his attempt to cut it. The look on Jon’s face as the tomato flew was enough to send Leah into hysterics every time she looked at him while they were cooking.


After what seemed like hours, dinner was finally served. Jon had set the table for them and picked out a nice wine. Leah couldn’t help notice how flirty he was with her, during the cooking he had been very touchy feely but Leah just brushed the thought away deciding he must be like that with everyone. During their meal she got to know a different side to him, from the way he spoke about his music and things he loved she could tell a lot about him. At times she even thought she could see the same sadness in his eyes as she had seen before in Dot’s. “Well I must say that is one of the best meals I’ve ever had and I had a lot of fun making it too,” Jon said after finishing his meal. Leah had begun washing up when she got splashed in the face. Shocked she looked round finding Jon doubled over in laughter, he had tried to rinse a glass but the water fired back out the top and all over Leah leaving her soaked. “Well I thought you liked the water? Surfing and all,” Jon said with a grin. “You must be thirsty after all that cooking, here’s something to help,” Leah replied before throwing a glass of water back at him. Both of them soaking, went back to washing up and cleaning up the floor discussing how they would like to take a boat trip during the week. They heard the front door open and Dot and Katie return from their visit to the town loaded with shopping bags. “I’m not even going to ask,” Dot said looking at both Leah and Jon before kissing Jon hello. “Just testing the water! What do you think about taking a boat trip tomorrow?” Jon asked Dot and Katie who both agreed to it. They arranged the leaving time for the next day before they all headed to bed.