Part 16
Howie jumped as the front door slammed and he heard Sarah mumbling under her breathe. He didn't have to look at his watch to realize she was home early. He had just gotten home himself from the attorney's office.
Sarah came into the living room where he was working on some songs and threw her purse on the chair causing Christopher to jump down in self-defense. Then she plopped down beside Howie.
"What's wrong, 'Angel'?"
"I'm about to lose my job."
"Why?"
"I don't know. The board came to me today and said the Center has been bought. The new owners are going to make some changes and they want to talk to me tomorrow."
"That doesn't mean you're going to lose your job, 'Angel'. It just probably means they want to meet you."
"Oh, give me a break! Whenever there's a change in management or ownership and they want to meet the staff, it's usually to fire them."
Howie put his arm around her and gave her a kiss. "Be positive, 'Angel'. You're REALLY good with the kids and I'm sure that the new owners have heard that."
Sarah nestled her head on his shoulder, placed her hand on his stomach, and looked at what he was doing. "How was your day?"
"Pretty good considering. We settled with Perlman in time for the release of the new CD."
"Out-of-court?"
"Yeah."
"Did you guys get what you wanted?"
"In the long run, yeah."
Sarah picked up the paper absent-mindedly and read what he'd been writing. "This is good, 'D'."
"Thank you. I have good inspiration," he said as he kissed her.
"Wanna sing some of it for me?"
"Not just yet. What do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know."
Howie set his stuff down and pulled her closer to him. "Baby, are you okay?"
"Not really. Howie, I had really hoped that the center would be able to work things out financially and this would be what I'd do since I didn't get that teaching job. Now I don't have this either," she said as she began to cry.
It nearly killed Howie when Sarah cried and this was no different. He held her tight and stroked her hair as he said, "It's all going to work out. You trust me, don't you?"
"You know I do."
He lifted her chin to look in her eyes. "Then trust me when I say, it's all going to work out."
As usual, Howie's voice, his touch, and the look in his eyes soothed Sarah and she rested her head on his chest again. "Will you go with me to work tomorrow?"
"I'll take you but the guys and I have some things to do. We've also go a press conference."
"Mmmmmmmm....Okay."
"Why don't we go to the club, have some dinner and do a little dancing?"
"I just want to stay here in your arms."
Howie squeezed her tight. "I know but I need to check in before we head out on tour."
"Okay, but promise me we won't stay late."
"I promise...dinner and a little dancing and home."
The couple spent the afternoon hanging out at the apartment. Howie was intent on finishing the song he had been working on earlier and with Sarah there, it was easy to do. She was his inspiration for this song.
At one point, he stopped writing completely just to watch her playing with Oscar. She was wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans and one of Kevin's old Kentucky shirts that brought out the blue in her eyes and they hid her figure completely but Howie was still extremely aroused. The way she moved, the way her hair fell across her shoulders, the intense blue of her eyes, and soft laughter as Oscar playfully nipped at her feet.
Sarah looked up when she realized Howie was staring at her and smiled. "What are you looking at, 'D'?" she asked as she crawled over to him and put her chin on his leg.
"How beautiful you are. I can't wait to see you with our children."
Sarah laughed, that soft laugh that he loved so much. "Why don't we take our baby down to the beach for a walk?"
Howie looked at his watch and as he brushed her hair back, he said, "It's going to have to be a short walk. We need to get ready."
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The two walked holding hands with Oscar running in front of them. Howie asked, "Are you going with us to New York?"
"It depends on the new owners."
Howie grinned, "That's a 'yes' then."
Sarah looked at him curiously. "You're up to something."
Howie shook his head innocently. "No I'm not."
"Then how can you be so sure?"
Howie pulled her to him and held both her hands behind her back as he looked into her eyes. He leaned to her and claimed her mouth in a long, deep passionate kiss. Sarah melted into his kiss and his embrace, wanting more, needing desperately to feel him. He pulled away from the kiss and whispered, "Because I love you."
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That night at 'Tabu', the rest of the guys were there with dates. Sarah had met all of the girls before and got along with them except for Willa, Nick's current girlfriend. She was always whining or complaining about one thing or another; from the amount of time Nick spent with the guys working or just hanging out to the way Howie treated Sarah with such love and tenderness and Nick treated her like crap. Sarah REALLY disliked her but when she tried to talk to Nick about her, he just tuned her out.
Tonight, Sarah wasn't in the mood to tolerate Willa so instead of joining in the conversation, she just sat back and listened. Howie respected her mood and steered the conversation away from her but yet, he was still very attentive to her. He held her hand in his, stoking the back of it with his thumb absent-mindedly as he talked to Kevin about the tour.
Kevin looked at Sarah, "You're mighty quiet tonight. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," said Sarah softly.
Howie kissed the back of her hand and whispered, "We'll leave soon, I promise."
"I'll be back in a minute, 'D'."
Howie watched as she excused herself and headed to the ladies' room.
Kevin leaned over, "What's up with Sarah?"
"She's worried about losing her job."
"You haven't told her?"
"No, I want to surprise her."
Kevin laughed, "You just like the way she thanks you when you do stuff like this."
Howie grinned remembering that morning and how she had felt against him body. "Can you blame me?"