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Clay and Jodi - WAYDNYE - part 2 of 2

January 1, 2005
Los Angeles, CA
1:30pm

Jodi laid on the couch in her living room, but as usual, she couldn't nap. And why should she be able to when Clay was probably dead tired. They had all only gotten a few hours of sleep, and the waking up scenario had been nothing short of a nightmare.

Jodi had followed Nick up the stairs, and watched the two men collide as Clay opened his door and Nick had been about ready to pound on it. If she was ever going to see Clay curse, it probably would have been then, but he didn't. But the look on his face was pure frustration, as he ran to the bathroom pulling off his shirt and slamming the door. One might have thought that Clay would take a short shower, but Nick had to interrupt it as he heard the doorbell ring, and Jodi knew the car had arrived to take them to the parade. Jodi didn't understand why Nick didn't take a shower downstairs in the bathroom that had a stand up shower. He seemed to feel more productive pounding on the door and telling Clay to hurry up.

Quiana had come to her doorway and was rubbing her eyes as Clay dashed past her with a towel wrapped around his waist. Quiana shook her head and closed her door, and Nick slammed the bathroom door behind himself now.

Clay had shut his bedroom door, so Jodi tentatively went up to the door and knocked. The door flew open and Clay stood there with wet hair, no shirt, and pulling on jeans over his boxers with one hand.

What???? he asked impatiently, holding a flat iron in his other hand.

Jodi gulped. Can I help you with anything?

The expression on Clays face had been a little strange. He first looked surprised. Then suddenly, he looked extremely relaxed and he smiled. He had actually taken the time to lean against the doorframe and smile. It only took Jodi a second to see the pure sarcasm and annoyance in the smile.

Sure hon, how about helping me get dressed? he motioned to his unzipped jeans.

Jodi blushed at his remark, and became irritated as well. After all, she was only offering to help in any way she could. She was momentarily distracted as she saw how he looked with no shirt on and the jeans that seemed to fit him so well this morning. But then seeing his eyes open a little wider as she was almost gawking, she got a hold of herself.

Forget it, forget I offered to help she said with hurt in her voice and as she turned down the hallway, he called after her.

Hello, do you understand I'm on a little bit of a time constraint here? The door was slammed shut again.

Jodi had a mind to get dressed and leave his house now, but instead she sat on the couch waiting for Nick and Clay to come down. She knew that Clay was under extreme pressure with being late. She had decided she would never knowingly hurt him, and she was determined to be supportive, even though she felt his sarcasm was undeserved.

As the two men came down the stairs quickly together, and Nick grabbed their coats, Clay walked up to Jodi, and quickly knelt down.

I'm sorry he said, his green eyes looking into hers now, with a somewhat frantic, but still pleading look.

Jodi put her hands on his cheeks.

Go, its okay.

With that, he ran out the door after Nick.

When Jodi got home and later saw him on his float, you would have thought that everything was perfect. As usual, Clay looked happy and talkative, and Jodi could tell he was enjoying himself. She was glad to see that he had made it okay, and somehow everything always seemed to work out. The man surely had extra guardian angels. Jodi laughed thinking about poor Nick and how he must be feeling right now.

Jodi had left a note at Clays house that she was going home. She had said for him to either call her or stop over. When her cell phone finally rang, she saw it was him. He wasn't home yet, he had gotten caught up with media, and was now caught in traffic. He had been on the road for about an hour, and they had only moved a few miles. Jodi could tell he was more frustrated than ever with the LA traffic. He continued to vent, spouting off that there was never, not nearly this kind of traffic in Raleigh.

Jodi told him she had come home. He seemed frustrated to learn that as well, even though they had planned on being there today, as he and Nick were now headed toward his house. He needed to drop Nick off anyway, and he said that he would drive over after he got home. Jodi knew that the macaroni and cheese she had made would probably be a little dried out by that time, but she knew Clay wouldn't care either.

It was almost 4pm by the time she heard his car pull into her driveway. He was holding Raleigh as he walked up the driveway, and she could see the stress in his face. And the fatigue as well. It had been a long ten hours.

Clays smile was crooked as he walked into her house. He immediately set Raleigh down and took Jodi into his arms and apologized for the morning. Wasn't that just like him, Jodi thought. He had probably apologized his whole life, even when he wasn't the one who had done anything wrong.

You really could have helped me get dressed he teased her. Maybe tomorrow morning? Apparently he had decided he was spending the night, she realized.

Jodi told him that she had been thinking about it, and she should have been a little better about trying to help him. Leaving him alone to get ready might have been the smarter thing on her part, she admitted.

Clay told her he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He just wanted to relax. He was hungry also, and he wanted to order pizza. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone. Jodi told him that she had made macaroni and cheese, but that it was probably somewhat dried out, and that pizza sounded like a better idea. He stopped dialing and then sighed. He told her he was extremely hungry and that he would love to eat some macaroni and cheese, and if she didn't mind, he would love some now. He admitted to her that he had not eaten one bite all day.

Jodi almost felt as though she should leave him alone with the mac and cheese based on the sounds he was making eating it. It was almost intimate. Raleigh was very interested in what he was eating as well. You would have thought he hadn't eaten for days. And in a way, he hadn't really eaten for weeks, Jodi thought, as he tended to catch food on the fly on the tour. If she could do anything for him this month, perhaps she could cook for him. Jodi had never been a terrific cook, but her mom had gotten her a southern cooking cookbook for Christmas. Jodi had been thrilled, and told her mother she would put it to good use very soon. She hadn't told Clay about it, but as she watched him enjoying the casserole that was indeed dried out, she knew he would make an excellent guinea pig for her cooking endeavors.

That is, unless her hours at her job were too demanding for her to have time to cook. That was still up in the air, she knew. But she didn't want to bring it up to Clay tonight. She wanted him to rest. And now, she knew, he had the better part of a month to do so.

When he was done eating, he held his hand on his stomach and said that he had eaten too much, too quickly. He was laying back on the couch, circling his hand on his stomach with his eyes closed.

Jodi took a few minutes to clear the dishes, then she walked back out to the living room. His hand was still on his stomach, but it was still. Just as she wondered if he was sleeping, he opened his eyes and motioned her over with one finger. He moved over against the couch and Jodi sat down next to him.

His eyes looked sad to her, and before she could ask he volunteered why. It had been hard saying goodbye to Jerome, he said. He smiled as he told her he had probably surprised the big man by giving him quite the hug before they got into their separate cars. Clay with Nick, and Jerome in a taxi, heading for the airport. Clay was glad Jerome would get some time with his family as well. But Clay took a quick deep breath as he said he would miss seeing the man every day.

Jodi didn't say anything, but she just looked at Clay and she saw him begin to get emotional. He had just been on national TV, yet Jodi knew his fans well enough to know that they were practically in mourning right this minute. And in a strange way, Clay seemed really sad as well. He needed to rest. But he also needed to perform for his fans, Jodi knew that.

Jodi told him that she had checked out the message boards and that there was a rumor that he wouldn't be back, but some of the more level-headed fans had insisted he would be soon. Clay sat up when he heard that, and said that it was absolutely ridiculous that there was anyone who thought he wouldn't be back. A look of worry came across his face, and he began to talk about his plans to record a new album and his next tour. He had been listening to demos nonstop. He insisted that he would do a Christmas tour this year as well, and Jodi assured him that most of his fans knew that.

Jodi knew that for some pop stars, this conversation would be a joke. Many celebrities would be making fun of their fans if they were so devoted. And as much as Clay didn't always have a good understanding of them, and the things that they did, and periodically he would laugh at a fan who was pretty outrageous, Clay was serious about how much he appreciated them.

And Jodi knew that he still wasn't sure about their long-term support for him. She had realized that on tour when Clay had talked about a fan at the book signing. This fan had asked him to please not be away for too long. Jodi had remembered Clay smiling about it that night when he told her about it. And he had kidded the fan, asking her if she wasn't going to let him take a break. But that night, he had also been worried that the woman might represent other fans who thought his break would be too long. He was a little worried that they would forget him, he told Jodi.

Jodi had not always been sure of a lot of things in her life, but she was sure when she told Clay that his fans would refuel as well, and that they would be there stronger than ever when he returned.

Clay sighed and laid back against the couch. Jodi knew in that moment that it was going to be hard for him to relax for a month. She wondered what she could do to help him with that. And in the meantime, she actually had to decide what she was doing next. But for right this second, she was concerned about him.

He sat up again and began talking about his next album, and he started telling Jodi about some of the songs that had been sent to him. He began to ramble about whether or not he should include any of the covers from the summer tour. He said that Clive had wanted to meet with him to talk about an overview of the next album, before he began his Unicef duties in February. He began to talk about the next tour again, then he lost his train of thought and asked her where he had been going with that. Then suddenly remembering, he said that he had been insisting to Clive that he would have more upbeat material on this album. He was almost talking in circles, and Jodi knew it was a combination of fatigue and now concern.

Jodi put both one of her hands on his chest, and she covered his mouth with the other hand. She gently pushed him down against the couch, and he opened his eyes wide as she did. He struggled a little, and she removed her hand from his mouth, but put it on his chest with her other hand.

You need to relax she said to him gently. In a way, this would be a long month, Jodi realized. The man needed to unwind. He had not had a chance to truly unwind in two years.

But he began to say.

Jodi didn't know what else to do but to lean down and cover his mouth with hers. He was almost struggling to talk as she did, but then realizing what was happening, Clays mouth softened against her lips, and he opened her mouth to welcome her in.

Clay pulled her against his chest, and Jodi scrunched up next to him on the couch. His hand was on the back of her head, and he held her mouth firmly against his. As tired as she knew he was, he suddenly seemed energized, and his hands were moving across her body, as usual, searching for her skin.

Clay shifted his position and was over her now, and his lips frantically moved across her skin as well. Jodi closed her eyes and sighed, and that seemed to energize Clay more. He pulled the brown shirt he was wearing over his head and Jodi could feel the softness of his undershirt. She put her hand underneath it, and caressed the smoothness of his back.

He had not stopped moving his lips against her skin, and her mouth, until he broke away and looked down at her. His cheeks were flushed and his green eyes looked dark. The stubble on his face was so apparent when she was this close, and Jodi couldn't help but to reach up and run her fingers across his chin. He closed his eyes as she did. Then he opened them.

I want you so much.. he whispered.

Jodi closed her eyes. If she opened them, he would see her response to his statement.

He leaned down and ran his lips across the hollow of her neck. It was just heavenly having him so close. It was heavenly feeling his soft lips and gentle fingers caress her. It was heavenly to have him just concentrating on her, and vice versa, without any time pressure. She put her hands in his hair, feeling the thick strands, and he spoke softly against her neck. She couldn't help but put move one hand from his back to underneath the shirt on his chest. Her other hand trailed down over his hip to the side of his thigh. She could feel his thigh tense underneath his jeans. As if he was following her cue, Clays hand moved down across her hip and he began to caress her leg. She wasn't sure exactly what he said, and in the next little while, she didn't care. In the midst of his murmurings, though, she thought she heard him say what he had said to her last night.

She would have to ask him what he meant by that. He had agreed to relax tomorrow, and spend the day doing nothing, if necessary. Jodi would make sure he got some rest. And she needed some as well.

After awhile, Jodi got up and got the three of them vanilla ice cream. Clay held Jodi in his arms for awhile as they watched TV in the dark, and eventually they both dozed off in front of it.

When Jodi woke up and realized the time, she carefully covered him with a blanket before she crept silently into her bedroom. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and that had not happened often in her lifetime.

She was sleeping so soundly that she didn't hear him come into her room and exhale slowly. She didn't sense him standing there in the dark for some time. She didn't feel Raleigh jump up on the bed next to her.

When he reached for the sheet and blanket, and pulled it up over her, she continued to sleep. She didn't wake up when he laughed quietly at the dreamy look on her face, and reached for the pillow next to her, and took the blanket that was folded on the bottom of her bed.

When pulled off his jeans and settled in on the floor next to her, and laid on his side, looking at her face in the shadows of the night, Jodi continued to dream about him.

Clay was awake for awhile looking at her.

Soon he whispered to her in the dark before he finally joined her in sleep.


To be continued...............real soon.