John Francis

They went to the lobby then and saw the rest of the men ready to leave for the airport. The ride was swift and soon they were all aboard the Jovi jet. Amanda greeted the personnel she had met before, grimacing a little at their reactions to her face. They had heard what had happened, so at least she didn’t need to provide any explanations.

The guys all settled in for the relatively short flight and Amanda and Jon had a glass of wine as they continued to talk softly about their families and the need to keep them up to date. As Jon pulled out his laptop to get his business updates, Amanda took a book she had bought out of her carryall and started to read.

After his earlier conversation with Amanda, Jon brought up the account information for the credit card he had given Amanda. As he suspected, there were no charges. He also brought up the ATM bank account she had access to; again no charges that weren’t his. He believed her about the money, having only spent about $50, but he was still shaking his head subtly at the information. He finished by answering a few emails and then closed his laptop as they would be arriving in Glasgow shortly.

Shortly came the announcement over the loudspeaker about their arrival in twenty minutes. The sleeping men stirred and the ones awake started packing away their gear. Amanda closed her book and made a quick trip to the restroom. Her face was still vividly bruised, but even she could see it was starting to heal. She heard the chime to return to her seat as the jet was about to land as Glasgow Airport.

The guys were scheduled to perform the next night and as they were deplaning she could see that someone had let it out that the band was coming in today.

Walking down the steps, Amanda could see many hundreds, maybe even thousands of fans who seemed to have managed to fill every possible nook and cranny behind the fences in front of the limos.

She could hear the screams of the women in the crowd as the men exited the plane and as Jon was last off behind her, the screams grew in intensity. There was a strong police presence and in what she had seen happen with the guys and their fans, they took a few minutes to walk over to the fences and sign what they could, shaking hands thrust through the links, and talk to the people there. She stayed back at the limo, but watched as they spent some ‘fan time’.

Within a relatively short period, the guys had all returned to the limos and they were off to their hotel. They drove through winding streets with buildings of every description. The men were telling her that Glasgow was the largest city in Scotland and she could see the modern mixed in with buildings that were centuries old.

They soon pulled up in front of One Devonshire Gardens, built in 1880, renovated to include all the most modern amenities, including a spa in the suite where Jon had arranged for them to stay. This suite, #29, called a luxury town house, included a sitting room and a bathroom with a shower with computerized controls.

As they entered the room, Amanda tried very hard to keep her jaw from dropping. She was sure that next to Mar-A-Lago this was one of the most amazing places she had ever seen. Turning to Jon, having to almost use her hand to keep her mouth from hanging open, she gave him wide eyes.

“How did you know about this place? My god! It’s amazing! Have you stayed here before?”

“Yeah, it’s one of the few places we stay when playing here. Pretty cool, isn’t it?”

“Cool? Cool? Not sure that’s the right word. Actually ‘holy shit’ comes to mind first!”

He laughed at her obvious enjoyment of the suite and grinned when she started putting a few items away, but kept stopping to stare at something or the other. It was close to seven by the time everyone was ready for dinner and they decided to keep it casual that evening. Tico had remembered a great tavern from one of their last visits and they decided to head over there. Jon dressed in jeans and a soft blue long-sleeved shirt that made his eyes seem other worldly. Amanda also chose jeans and a long button down green shirt that hugged her curves in all the right places. She had started to put her hair up, when Jon stopped her with a finger wag.

“I like it down, baby…please?”

He smiled at her as he asked, giving her that grin that started a chain reaction from his lips to her female center. She gave a light head shake at herself. It’s just not right that he can do this to me with just a damn smile! She complied with his wishes and finished her makeup. She was able to cover most of the bruising and as the swelling was mostly gone, she felt she looked better than she had in quite a few days. They met the other men at the main entrance and she joked with them by letting out a wolf whistle of her own. They all grinned at her.

“Do y’all ever have a bad day?” She asked, looking at them in mild amazement.

They were some of the best looking men she had ever seen and she was finding that being surrounded by five handsome men was something she was very willing to get used to.

Richie looked at her from head to toe, then gave Jon a smirk. “Better watch out for her tonight. She looks good in green.”

Jon nodded, he had noticed. “Don’t worry, the lady is definitely taken!”

Amanda blushed lightly at that and gave her own silly grin.

“Yeah, right, reassure me. It’s not fair when your boyfriend is better looking than you are!” Her grin was teasing as she looked at Jon.

“Don’t even bother, Bongiovi, it’s not MY ass they’re trying to grab all the time!”

He flushed a little at that remark as it seemed to set off a chain reaction of teasing from the other guys. They moved outside to the waiting car and set off for dinner.

~~~

Once again Amanda watched as the men ate and drank with relish, enjoying the evening and preparing for the concert the next night. Apparently they enjoyed Scotland and she was treated to several stories about places to see when they would come back another time for a longer period. She knew this was a short visit, with the concert tomorrow night and then flying out early the following day. Turning to Jon, she asked him quietly if he thought she could skip the sound check tomorrow and see some of the city.

Dave overheard their conversation and grinned at Jon. “So, she’s bored with us already, huh?”

That earned the full attention of the other men at the table and they turned to get in on the talk. Amanda stuttered a little in her explanation as that wasn’t what she meant and Tico finally let her off the hook.

“You should look around, the venue tomorrow is a bit tough to get arranged right and we’ll probably be fussing with stuff for hours.”

Jon nodded at his friend. “Yeah, dammit, that’s true. Always takes so long.” He gave Amanda a smile. “You should go…” He hesitated, knowing he was about to insist on something she probably wouldn’t like.

“I want Jeff to go with you.”

She turned to him, her eyes wide. “What?”

“I don’t want you to go alone…” he started, as the others started to chime in.

“He’s right, Manda…” Richie threw in, nodding at Jon.

She looked around at the five men, four of whom were nodding at her, the other watching, gauging her reaction.

“But…” She tried to protest, however, the five answering frowns that met her stopped her words.

Jon wanted to insist that she have Jeff with her, but he waited, trying not to force her, to let her realize that he just wanted her to be safe.

Amanda shook her head in mild disbelief.

“Ooh-kay…” she breathed out. “I don’t think I need a baby-sitter, but…”

“It’s not a baby-sitter, Caro…” Tico spoke in his deep voice, causing Amanda to turn to him. “You’ve been hurt already and your picture has been in the paper. People are starting to know who you are. Take Jeff with you so all of us can relax a little.”

Feeling as if she had gained four brothers along with a lover, she smiled at them.

“Alright, I go with Jeff.” She grinned at them. “Better tell him to put on good walking shoes!”

Jon folded her hand in his as he smiled, dazzling her and making her feel as if she would agree to anything just to get that smile. They finished their meals and left as everyone felt like having an early night.

~~~

Entering their suite Amanda continued to explore as Jon returned phone calls and got to talk to his kids. It was the weekend and he spent a good deal of time catching up on what was happening in all their lives. He was glad this little three concert set was almost over as he missed his kids and wanted to see them soon. He had been a bit neglectful in his own mind since the divorce and felt he some lost time to make up for.

He finished both his business and family calls and when he sat there quietly drinking some wine afterwards she could see the weariness on his face. She thought the best thing for him would be to get some sleep and she moved to the bathroom to complete her night time routine. Jon was still sitting there when she returned and she moved behind him, lightly touching the tops of his shoulders.

“Honey, I hope you don’t mind, but I am really beat tonight. Think we could just do a cuddle?” Her voice was soft and cajoling as she thought to move him to the bed and toward getting some sleep.

“Yeah, babe, that sounds great. I was just sitting here thinking about all the shit to do in the next day or so and getting more tired by the minute.”

He reached to pat her hand and then stood, kissed her, and moved to the bathroom. He was back in a few minutes and after leaving an 8:00 am wakeup call, he got into bed with her. She spooned him then, letting him relax against her warmth and faster than she had hoped, he was sleeping deeply.

~~~

Morning found Jon and Amanda moving at warp speed as first the wakeup call, then the coffee, then the guys started calling about breakfast. Jon appeared well rested this morning and in truth was glad she had only wanted to go to sleep last night. As it was a Sunday, the concert would have an earlier start time and the guys had to start the show by seven that night. By ten that morning they were ready to head out for the sound check and after saying goodbye to them all and being thoroughly kissed by Jon, she headed out to do some exploring.

Before leaving, Amanda and Jeff got some general directions from the front desk staff, more specifically if there were some areas they should avoid, and they were kind enough to make her a small map to get her back to the hotel when she needed to. They spent a great day, wandering, doing a small amount of shopping, sightseeing, and stopping for a drink when her feet got tired. She tried one of the local ales and was impressed. She also decided that while whiskey wasn’t really her drink, she was in Scotland and she had to try at least one brand.

The tavern they were in was the genuine article and she and Jeff found themselves talking to several of the local men and a few women. The barkeep was impressed with the American woman’s interest in the local history of his establishment and the surrounding area and when she asked to try a whiskey, he told her that no one could come to Scotland and try just one. She therefore found herself trying four different kinds and then ordering a small amount of food to soak up the whiskey she had been cajoled into trying.

She knew from her map that they was very close to the hotel, not more than five minutes away, and at two that afternoon they decided to head back and get cleaned up, and perhaps order some coffee to offset the effects of her mildly whiskey-aided afternoon. She had not yet heard from Jon, but hadn’t expected to. She had seen him at a few sound checks now and knew he was totally engrossed in getting everything as right as possible for the show.

Making their way back easily to the hotel thanks to the map, she smiled at Jeff as he left her to go back to her room. Amanda expressed her thanks for his “baby-sitting” and he laughed and said he didn’t mind the day off. They said their good-byes and Amanda left the front area to return to room #29.

Although the hotel was modern, they still used an old-fashioned key instead of a card to enter a room and Amanda reached the suite and opened the door. The rooms were large and spread out and she was in and starting to close the door when she heard the murmur of voices. Thinking that Jon had returned and was talking to Richie, she started to call out when it became clear that one of the voices was Jon, but the other was a woman. Leaving the door cracked, she moved closer to where she heard the voices, curiosity making her moves quieter than usual.

“Carrie! How the hell did you get in here?” Jon’s voice was angry. He had come back early from the sound check, showered, and thrown on loose sweats. He was walking back out toweling dry his hair when he realized that Carrie was in the main room portion of the suite.

“I’ve stayed here with you before, honey, they remembered me and gave me a key to wait for you. Besides, you’ve been ignoring my calls and I wanted to see you.”

“I’ve been ignoring your calls because I told you that night that we had to stop this.”

“Jonny, you still saw me when you were with your wife. Why does this new girlfriend of yours change things?”

“Dammit! I told you I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes I did before!” His voice softened then. “Carrie, I’m sorry it was so abrupt in London, but I can’t see you anymore.”

Amanda was hidden from the room by a large plant, but it allowed her to see into the main room around a corner. She was able to observe as well as listen.

Carrie moved in close to Jon, trailing a hand down his chest and stopping at the waistband of his sweats, where her fingers lightly curled around the edge of the pants.

“I know you’ve missed me, Jon, we were so good together. I never asked you to leave your wife and I won’t ask you to leave your girlfriend.”

Amanda saw Carrie suddenly drop to her knees in front of Jon, his pants slipping down with her as she had them gripped in her hand. Carrie was quick and before a stunned Jon could react, she had encircled him with her mouth. Instinctively his hands moved to her hair. He hissed out, “Jesus, Carrie!” as his natural male reaction to her mouth could not be stopped.

Staggered by what she had just seen, Amanda backed up and rushed from the suite, the door softly closing behind her.

Jon’s hands tightened in Carrie’s hair as he forcibly drew her back from his shaft. Turning away from her as she sat back on her heels, stunned that he had stopped her, Jon pulled up his sweats. Taking a deep ragged breath, he turned around to her again.

“I’m not doing this. We are not doing this.” His look was glacial as he met her eyes, his voice getting harsher with every word.

“Go home, Carrie, and don’t call me again. This is over.”

He waited until she had risen from her position on the floor and then walked her to the door of his suite. She gave him a glance that was still full of surprise as she had expected to get him back in her life. It was why she had not made a scene at the hotel in London as she knew he hated scenes. She had bided her time and then made her move. She had not expected to fail, but she had been with Jon enough years to realize that his mind was made up and he was not going to change it. She left without a further word.