Amanda woke up around five that afternoon, feeling a strange vibration. It took her a few moments to remember where she was and she sat up sleepily. Yawning hugely, she went to one of the bathrooms to freshen up. She brushed her hair and lightly touched up her make up, but realized the sleep probably did her some good. She felt better and went out to see where they were and what was happening with Jon and the rest of the guys.
Jon saw her coming back to her chair and smiled at her.
“Well, hello sleeping beauty! Good nap?”
“Oh yeah, I feel wonderful! Where are we?”
He motioned to one of the windows and she saw blue, as in water.
“How far out are we?”
“We’ll be landing in about an hour give or take a few minutes. There will be a limo to take us to the hotel and then we find a place open at that time of night to eat or get room service.”
At her puzzled expression he reminded her of the time difference. “Our watches will say 6 PM but it will be 11 PM in London. That means you still have to try to get to sleep by at least three their time or you will be really tired tomorrow.”
“When is the concert?”
He smiled at her then and grabbed her phone. He showed her that his assistant, Sharon, had uploaded the schedule to her phone.
“Now you know and you’ll get all the updates I do.”
“So, the concert is Saturday at eight that night?”
“Yeah, we have some publicity shoots to do, but we all wanted a few days to decompress before having to do a concert.”
“Sounds smart. I betting the time change is tough.”
“It is, especially when we have a concert scheduled for the night we arrive somewhere or the very next day. This trip is a bit more laid back and that works for us right now.”
One of the pilots came over the speaker then, informing the band of their arrival at Heathrow in approximately 30 minutes. The guys stirred from their various positions and started packing away magazines and iPods and the like. She took the time to look at the schedule she had been provided with. The band had a photo shoot the next day at three in the afternoon and a press meeting at five. The seatbelt light came on and everyone belted in. The plane landed smoothly and they all gathered their carry-ons.
It was cold and Jon warned Amanda to put her coat on. She saw the other men doing the same. They exited the plane, Jon’s hand in hers, and he led them to a huge limo that seemed it could hold an entire football team. She was genuinely pleased to see Chris again, the security guard who had been by her side at the first concert. She walked up to him and smiled and said hello. He seemed a little surprised that she remembered him, let alone remembered his name.
“Hi Amanda. It’s really nice to see you again.”
“You too, Chris. Nice to come to a new country and see a friendly face right away!”
A second car was there to take the luggage and band equipment to the hotel and within a relatively short time they were all in the limo and on their way. Amanda was getting whiplash from trying to see out both sides of the limo at the same time. She didn’t want to miss a thing.
David grinned at her and told her she could stick her head out the window in the roof if she wanted and then grinned wider when she seemed to be considering it for a second. She finally settled back against Jon and just looked at what was easy to see. They arrived at a Marriott that was like nothing Amanda had ever seen in the United States. Liveried doorman were waiting to open doors and as the guys exited the limo, Jon took Amanda’s hand and helped her out. Her eyes were wide, taking in everything she could.
The men quickly moved into the hotel lobby, where they were met by Obie. He had checked them in and handed out the room keys. They were all on the same floor, but not directly next door to each other. Obie smiled at seeing Amanda again, but having had multiple talks with Jon, he knew she would be there. He handed a key to Jon and another to Amanda. Jon had made it clear that Amanda was to not be denied access in any manner if at all possible. The car with their luggage was a few minutes behind and each directed bellhops as to which bags went to which rooms and where the other equipment was to be stored. There was actually a room just for instrument storage.
They all started taking elevators to the 10th floor where their rooms were and Jon led the way to theirs, followed by two bellhops with their five bags. Entering the room, it was obvious the hotel knew VIPs were staying there as there was champagne, fresh fruit, and flowers. After Jon tipped the help, Amanda began to move to hang up some of their clothes and get things more settled. She only did minimal unpacking though as she could see from Jon’s manner that he was antsy after the long flight. His phone was soon ringing.
“Yeah? Ok, 30 minutes.” He hung up and turned to her. “We’re gonna head out for food in half an hour.”
“Sounds great, I’m hungry too.”
He walked over to her and pulled her to him. “Come here.” He then kissed her soundly. “I’ve been wanting to do that for hours!” They moved to the shower where they got cleaned up in record time. When the knock came on their door at the appointed time, they were dressed and ready.
Richie was the one knocking. He grinned at them, seeing the slight frustration in Jon’s eyes and knew he had to try to figure out how to rib Jon without embarrassing Amanda. They met the other men in the lobby and took the limo to a late night café. There was no way to disguise who was walking into the café and Amanda heard a rumble of voices as the men were recognized. They were used to it though and signed a few items and posed for a few pictures on their way to a table.
They placed their drink orders and Jon excused himself. The men were used to watching each others backs in public places and Richie saw two women who had their eyes glued to Jon follow him. The women, or rather girls, looked to be barely out of their teens. He waited a few minutes then excused himself also. He walked back to the bathroom area and found Jon in the hallway trying to extricate himself from the grip of the two women.
“Hey man, your girlfriend’s waiting for you.” Richie called out a bit loudly. Turning fake pouts towards Richie, one of the bolder women answered back.
“You mean that older woman is his girlfriend?” She turned back to Jon. “You are too fine for that, lover, you need someone young and hot.”
Jon had his icy smile going as he spoke to the brazen young woman. “I’ve already asked you nicely to take your hands off me. Now I’m going to be blunt. I’m not interested in either of you.” He turned to look at his friend. “Rich, you still have the London police on speed dial?”
Richie played along. “Oh yeah, bro’, just say the word.”
Turning back to the women, Jon said, “Your choice. Leave now or get thrown out.”
Not quite able to believe that they were being turned down, both women had shocked looks on their faces. They had backed off though and Jon nodded at them.
“Good choice.” He turned, dismissing them entirely, and returned with Richie to the table. The women passed by on their way back to their own table, shooting daggers at Amanda. She caught their looks and didn’t quite understand until Jon drove his hands into her hair and pulled her to his lips. He kissed her hard, not looking at the women, and then put his arm around her.
She smiled at him then. “Got it…” Her grin was wide. “Needed to make a point, right?”
“Well, that was only my second objective. The first was I wanted to kiss you.”
David piped up with, “Can we send them back to their room so the rest of us can eat?”
Jon growled at him. “Fuck you, Joker!”
Jon saw her coming back to her chair and smiled at her.
“Well, hello sleeping beauty! Good nap?”
“Oh yeah, I feel wonderful! Where are we?”
He motioned to one of the windows and she saw blue, as in water.
“How far out are we?”
“We’ll be landing in about an hour give or take a few minutes. There will be a limo to take us to the hotel and then we find a place open at that time of night to eat or get room service.”
At her puzzled expression he reminded her of the time difference. “Our watches will say 6 PM but it will be 11 PM in London. That means you still have to try to get to sleep by at least three their time or you will be really tired tomorrow.”
“When is the concert?”
He smiled at her then and grabbed her phone. He showed her that his assistant, Sharon, had uploaded the schedule to her phone.
“Now you know and you’ll get all the updates I do.”
“So, the concert is Saturday at eight that night?”
“Yeah, we have some publicity shoots to do, but we all wanted a few days to decompress before having to do a concert.”
“Sounds smart. I betting the time change is tough.”
“It is, especially when we have a concert scheduled for the night we arrive somewhere or the very next day. This trip is a bit more laid back and that works for us right now.”
One of the pilots came over the speaker then, informing the band of their arrival at Heathrow in approximately 30 minutes. The guys stirred from their various positions and started packing away magazines and iPods and the like. She took the time to look at the schedule she had been provided with. The band had a photo shoot the next day at three in the afternoon and a press meeting at five. The seatbelt light came on and everyone belted in. The plane landed smoothly and they all gathered their carry-ons.
It was cold and Jon warned Amanda to put her coat on. She saw the other men doing the same. They exited the plane, Jon’s hand in hers, and he led them to a huge limo that seemed it could hold an entire football team. She was genuinely pleased to see Chris again, the security guard who had been by her side at the first concert. She walked up to him and smiled and said hello. He seemed a little surprised that she remembered him, let alone remembered his name.
“Hi Amanda. It’s really nice to see you again.”
“You too, Chris. Nice to come to a new country and see a friendly face right away!”
A second car was there to take the luggage and band equipment to the hotel and within a relatively short time they were all in the limo and on their way. Amanda was getting whiplash from trying to see out both sides of the limo at the same time. She didn’t want to miss a thing.
David grinned at her and told her she could stick her head out the window in the roof if she wanted and then grinned wider when she seemed to be considering it for a second. She finally settled back against Jon and just looked at what was easy to see. They arrived at a Marriott that was like nothing Amanda had ever seen in the United States. Liveried doorman were waiting to open doors and as the guys exited the limo, Jon took Amanda’s hand and helped her out. Her eyes were wide, taking in everything she could.
The men quickly moved into the hotel lobby, where they were met by Obie. He had checked them in and handed out the room keys. They were all on the same floor, but not directly next door to each other. Obie smiled at seeing Amanda again, but having had multiple talks with Jon, he knew she would be there. He handed a key to Jon and another to Amanda. Jon had made it clear that Amanda was to not be denied access in any manner if at all possible. The car with their luggage was a few minutes behind and each directed bellhops as to which bags went to which rooms and where the other equipment was to be stored. There was actually a room just for instrument storage.
They all started taking elevators to the 10th floor where their rooms were and Jon led the way to theirs, followed by two bellhops with their five bags. Entering the room, it was obvious the hotel knew VIPs were staying there as there was champagne, fresh fruit, and flowers. After Jon tipped the help, Amanda began to move to hang up some of their clothes and get things more settled. She only did minimal unpacking though as she could see from Jon’s manner that he was antsy after the long flight. His phone was soon ringing.
“Yeah? Ok, 30 minutes.” He hung up and turned to her. “We’re gonna head out for food in half an hour.”
“Sounds great, I’m hungry too.”
He walked over to her and pulled her to him. “Come here.” He then kissed her soundly. “I’ve been wanting to do that for hours!” They moved to the shower where they got cleaned up in record time. When the knock came on their door at the appointed time, they were dressed and ready.
Richie was the one knocking. He grinned at them, seeing the slight frustration in Jon’s eyes and knew he had to try to figure out how to rib Jon without embarrassing Amanda. They met the other men in the lobby and took the limo to a late night café. There was no way to disguise who was walking into the café and Amanda heard a rumble of voices as the men were recognized. They were used to it though and signed a few items and posed for a few pictures on their way to a table.
They placed their drink orders and Jon excused himself. The men were used to watching each others backs in public places and Richie saw two women who had their eyes glued to Jon follow him. The women, or rather girls, looked to be barely out of their teens. He waited a few minutes then excused himself also. He walked back to the bathroom area and found Jon in the hallway trying to extricate himself from the grip of the two women.
“Hey man, your girlfriend’s waiting for you.” Richie called out a bit loudly. Turning fake pouts towards Richie, one of the bolder women answered back.
“You mean that older woman is his girlfriend?” She turned back to Jon. “You are too fine for that, lover, you need someone young and hot.”
Jon had his icy smile going as he spoke to the brazen young woman. “I’ve already asked you nicely to take your hands off me. Now I’m going to be blunt. I’m not interested in either of you.” He turned to look at his friend. “Rich, you still have the London police on speed dial?”
Richie played along. “Oh yeah, bro’, just say the word.”
Turning back to the women, Jon said, “Your choice. Leave now or get thrown out.”
Not quite able to believe that they were being turned down, both women had shocked looks on their faces. They had backed off though and Jon nodded at them.
“Good choice.” He turned, dismissing them entirely, and returned with Richie to the table. The women passed by on their way back to their own table, shooting daggers at Amanda. She caught their looks and didn’t quite understand until Jon drove his hands into her hair and pulled her to his lips. He kissed her hard, not looking at the women, and then put his arm around her.
She smiled at him then. “Got it…” Her grin was wide. “Needed to make a point, right?”
“Well, that was only my second objective. The first was I wanted to kiss you.”
David piped up with, “Can we send them back to their room so the rest of us can eat?”
Jon growled at him. “Fuck you, Joker!”
David grinned.
Glad to see how Jon told off those two "girls" (they were probably wearing thongs too-ggrrrr!) and that he prefers someone mature and seasoned, LOL!
I also like how you portay the "no nonsense" side of him as in the simple "good choice". I could picture him being that way and I believe he wouldn't suffer fools lightly!
I am so loving this story. I love the way Jon is sensitive towards Amanda. Can't wait to read the next chapter.
That situation was handled like a girl would. Yeah I can see how he may be pissed but for Richie to walk up behind him and say "your girlfriend is waiting". A guy would not talk like that. Richie is a bit to preoccupied with them, he needs to get a hobby. Just saying. Story is still great though.
Well, for the anonymous who said that situation was handled like a girl - very possible, I am a girl so...LOL! I do picture these guys as being very tight knit though and watching out for each other, having signals that they know from years of work/travel/play together, so it didn't seem farfetched to me, but I am glad you pointed it out. Heck, I have signals with my girlfriends! But I'll have to run some parts past a guy and ask him if this is how men would respond, etc.
As for you lovely other comment-leavers - - Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to say something about the story. You all are great!
No matter what the situation is Richie always has Jons back. Girls like that irritate me to no end, seems they have no self respect.