Chapter 26

After stopping at Cilla's apartment for fresh clothes, Jon and Cilla spent the day together. Strolling around the streets of Soho with Jon was an interesting experience for Cilla.

Cilla watched in amusement at all the different reactions people had when they saw Jon trying to blend into the crowd. His sunglasses weren’t doing much to defray the gapers and gawkers. When they stopped to peruse a table of books Cilla sneaked a sidelong glance at Jon. “How do you stand it?” He kept up the pretense of thumbing through the books, “for the most part, I’ve learned to ignore it.”

Cilla picked up a book, “how can you ignore it? I can feel eyes everywhere.” Jon side-stepped her, “if I don’t ignore it, I’d never be able to leave the house.” She set the book down, “come on,” she took his hand, “let’s keep walking.”

When they got around the corner Jon hailed a cab. Cilla looked at him questioningly, “why do we need a cab?” He smiled as one stopped, “you want to buy a computer today, right?” She nodded as she climbed in, “well, I don’t know about buy, but I was going to look. So?” Jon climbed in and shut the door. “Best place to do that is Best Buy.” She slid closer to him as the cab pulled away from the curb. “Fifth Avenue?” Jon nodded his head and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry about today.” Cilla looked up at him, “don’t be sorry. I just wasn’t prepared. Now I know what to expect.” She kissed his cheek, “it’s okay, just a little unnerving when you’re not used to it.”

They wandered Best Buy for a bit, Jon caught Cilla looking through the Bon Jovi CDs and she caught him in the video game department trying out the newest Guitar Hero. She had to laugh when he couldn’t even get through one of his own songs. “Are you serious? You can’t play your own song?” He sheepishly set the guitar down and grabbed her hand, dragging her toward the computers, “that game is not as easy as it looks. Come on, you want to look at computers, let’s look.”

Cilla walked down the aisle where the laptops were and was studying the Vaio CS when a sales associate finally came by and asked how she was doing. “Anything I can help you with today ma’am?” Cilla nearly frowned at the girl’s use of the word “ma’am”. Cilla glanced at the girls’ name tag, “Chris, I’m looking for a laptop.” She explained to the girl about her business and what she was looking to use it for.

“Well” Chris said, “the one you’re looking at right now would probably suit your needs just fine. It has a great graphics program for your designs and a large amount of memory, and the Intel 2 Processor offers the fastest performance. Plus, it comes in several great colors.” She moved down the aisle a little further, “but let’s look at all your options before you decide.”

Jon watched from the end of the aisle, trying to be as innocuous as possible. He watched and listened and was impressed. Cilla was a very smart woman who wasn’t easily swayed by the pushy sales associate. She let the girl show her other models with more options than she needed; all the while circling the girl back to the one she knew was best for her.

“Okay Chris” Cilla said as Jon came up behind her “this is the one I want.” She pointed to the Vaio CS. “I’m sure this will be fine.” Chris’ eyes widened as she noticed the man standing behind Cilla. “Well, if you’re sure. Do you want any particular color?” Cilla thought for a minute, “pink if you have it. It matches my logo.” She scuttled off to find what Cilla wanted and Cilla turned to Jon, “thank you.” His eyebrow rose in question, “for what? I didn’t do anything.” Cilla smiled at him, “exactly.”

Climbing into another cab Cilla laid her head back on the seat. “I’m glad that’s over. I hate shopping for things like that.” Jon was surprised, “but you’re good at it. You didn’t let that girl talk you into something you didn’t need and you ended up with what you wanted in the first place.” Cilla shrugged, “there wasn’t any reason to be rude to the girl. I let her give her spiel and then I bought what I wanted. No big deal, I just wish they weren’t so pushy.”

Jon wrapped an arm around her and dragged her closer to him, “they’re just doing their job.” Cilla sighed, “I know.” He kissed her head, “we have a reservation for dinner at 8, is that okay?” She nodded her head against him, it was five now that would give her time to primp a little. “That’s fine. Where?” She wondered if he was actually going to take her out or if they were going to eat on his terrace again.

“Waverly’s Inn. Why?” Cilla chuckled, “your terrace trattoria booked up for the night?” Jon laughed, “something like that. Tonight I want to take you out, show you off. You think you can handle being ogled a bit more today?” The cab stopped by her apartment. She waited as Jon paid and they climbed the stairs, “If you can, I can.”

When they got inside and the door was shut behind them Jon waited for her to set her things down, “come here.” Cilla stepped into the circle of his embrace and tilted her head up so she could see his face, “what can I do for you?” He dropped a kiss on her lips, “kiss me. I’ve missed your lips today.” She kissed him back, “good thing I like kissing you.” Jon traced her lower lip with the tip of his tongue, “lucky me.”