Taking Amanda to the room, he kissed her and apologized.
“Honey, please, don’t apologize. I just got separated from you guys, that’s all.”
“That’s not all, dammit!” He was still angry at the treatment towards her and his necessary lie at the press conference.
“Jon? Are you mad at me?” She asked him straight out.
He gazed at her softly. “Not a chance, babe, just mad in general.”
“Okay, just needed to know.”
“I need to take care of some things. You mind if you have some time by yourself?”
“Of course not! Go do what you have to. I’m going to rest a little, maybe order some coffee.”
“Order whatever you want, but remember we’ll probably be doing dinner around nine tonight.”
“Got it. If I fall asleep, wake me in enough time to get ready, okay?”
“Sure, honey, love you.” He kissed her as she responded with her own words.
~~~
Jon called Obie as he was walking to Richie’s room, who agreed to meet them there in a few minutes. He knocked on the door and heard “come in”.
“Been expecting you.”
“Obie’s on his way up here too. What the fuck am I gonna do about this, Rich?”
“You mean having her get separated from us or the fact that you had to lie in front of her?”
“Damn! You know me way too well!” Jon was surprised that Richie picked up on that too.
“Well, I am the only one who knows for sure so far, even though the others assume it.”
“Yeah, you know why I did that too. Don’t want to overshadow Dot and Eric.”
“I know, but I’m sure that didn’t make it any easier.”
“Shit no! It felt like crap!”
There was a knock on the door then and Richie let Obie in. They had a long talk about what to do with regard to Amanda. Obie had some suggestions, but the truth was that unless she had Jovi security at all times in public, there was no sure way to assure it wouldn’t happen again.
“I want her taken care of back stage at all the concerts, Obie. No fuck ups, please?”
“I understand, Jon, I’ll make sure of it or have my assistant do it if that’s okay.”
“Don’t care who manages it, just want it done.” Obie knew this was the decisive, don’t-give-me-any-shit Jon he was dealing with and he was deadly serious about Amanda and how she was to be treated. He thanked Obie for meeting with them and then continued talking to Richie alone as Obie left.
“Will you help me with this, man?” Jon asked his friend.
“Do you really have to ask? Of course I will. So will the other guys. Didn’t you see how they got outta the limo here at the hotel?”
“You don’t think they’ll mind, I mean you and Manda, hell, even Teek, have grown close, but Dave and Hugh don’t know her that well yet.”
Richie gave Jon a look that said ‘stop being an ass’. “Jon, they like her, they’ll help.”
Jon nodded then at Richie, “Ok, thanks man, I owe ya again.”
“And I’m keeping score too!”
~~~
Jon returned to his room to find Amanda sleeping. He woke her and told her that they needed to get changed for dinner. She smiled at him sleepily and moved to the shower. He joined her but both were in a little bit of a hurry as they knew the other guys would be coming for them soon. Amanda chose a dark chocolate brown pair of pants that nearly matched her eyes and a cream off the shoulder sweater. Again, her jewelry and makeup were simple, but eye catching. She left her hair down at Jon’s request. John wore black pants and a white shirt that flowed when he moved. A leather jacket and boots completed his dressing.
Not long after they were dressed, there was a pounding at their door. Rolling her eyes, Amanda went to open the door. The men stopped in mid knock as she looked stunning in her dressy casual clothes, her hair wild around her.
“Come on in boys, but I think we’re ready.” She motioned toward Jon who was grabbing his jacket as she was speaking.
“Caro, you look beautiful.” Tico’s deep voice spoke for all the men.
“Thank you! You five always look so good a girl has to work at it to be in your company!” Her voice was teasing as she looked at “the boys”. They were all ‘rock star’ casual and as they were all good looking men, she wasn’t too far wrong in her assessment.
~~~
They moved in a new pattern. Walking down the hallway Amanda found herself in the center, Jon’s hand in hers, Richie on her other side. This continued once they reached the lobby. They saw a large crowd still outside. Around her the men exchanged looks and moved out into the crowd. They repeated what they had done when entering the building, posing for pictures, signing autographs, chatting with their fans, but one of the guys continued to have a hand on her at all times.
A few people called for Jon to pose with her and he pulled her over to him, holding her hand as they stood together. Suddenly there was a blizzard of flashbulbs as pictures were taken of the two together from almost every angle. Amanda kept a pleasant smile on her face and tried hard not to squint at the lights. After providing this picture moment, the six moved to the limo, Richie keeping his hand on her arm as Jon was waylaid for a moment by an overzealous fan. He glanced up quickly to see that Richie had her as Richie had raised his hand in the air as they were walking, making it look like a wave.
Jon disentangled himself from the female fans and made his way to the limo. There were police along the walkway and he made it to the car without further delay. The other five were already inside and he slipped in himself.
Amanda couldn’t help but comment on how nice they were to their fans. “I bet some of them have been waiting hours just for those few minutes. You’re all amazing with them. It’s really great to see.”
“Honey, please, don’t apologize. I just got separated from you guys, that’s all.”
“That’s not all, dammit!” He was still angry at the treatment towards her and his necessary lie at the press conference.
“Jon? Are you mad at me?” She asked him straight out.
He gazed at her softly. “Not a chance, babe, just mad in general.”
“Okay, just needed to know.”
“I need to take care of some things. You mind if you have some time by yourself?”
“Of course not! Go do what you have to. I’m going to rest a little, maybe order some coffee.”
“Order whatever you want, but remember we’ll probably be doing dinner around nine tonight.”
“Got it. If I fall asleep, wake me in enough time to get ready, okay?”
“Sure, honey, love you.” He kissed her as she responded with her own words.
~~~
Jon called Obie as he was walking to Richie’s room, who agreed to meet them there in a few minutes. He knocked on the door and heard “come in”.
“Been expecting you.”
“Obie’s on his way up here too. What the fuck am I gonna do about this, Rich?”
“You mean having her get separated from us or the fact that you had to lie in front of her?”
“Damn! You know me way too well!” Jon was surprised that Richie picked up on that too.
“Well, I am the only one who knows for sure so far, even though the others assume it.”
“Yeah, you know why I did that too. Don’t want to overshadow Dot and Eric.”
“I know, but I’m sure that didn’t make it any easier.”
“Shit no! It felt like crap!”
There was a knock on the door then and Richie let Obie in. They had a long talk about what to do with regard to Amanda. Obie had some suggestions, but the truth was that unless she had Jovi security at all times in public, there was no sure way to assure it wouldn’t happen again.
“I want her taken care of back stage at all the concerts, Obie. No fuck ups, please?”
“I understand, Jon, I’ll make sure of it or have my assistant do it if that’s okay.”
“Don’t care who manages it, just want it done.” Obie knew this was the decisive, don’t-give-me-any-shit Jon he was dealing with and he was deadly serious about Amanda and how she was to be treated. He thanked Obie for meeting with them and then continued talking to Richie alone as Obie left.
“Will you help me with this, man?” Jon asked his friend.
“Do you really have to ask? Of course I will. So will the other guys. Didn’t you see how they got outta the limo here at the hotel?”
“You don’t think they’ll mind, I mean you and Manda, hell, even Teek, have grown close, but Dave and Hugh don’t know her that well yet.”
Richie gave Jon a look that said ‘stop being an ass’. “Jon, they like her, they’ll help.”
Jon nodded then at Richie, “Ok, thanks man, I owe ya again.”
“And I’m keeping score too!”
~~~
Jon returned to his room to find Amanda sleeping. He woke her and told her that they needed to get changed for dinner. She smiled at him sleepily and moved to the shower. He joined her but both were in a little bit of a hurry as they knew the other guys would be coming for them soon. Amanda chose a dark chocolate brown pair of pants that nearly matched her eyes and a cream off the shoulder sweater. Again, her jewelry and makeup were simple, but eye catching. She left her hair down at Jon’s request. John wore black pants and a white shirt that flowed when he moved. A leather jacket and boots completed his dressing.
Not long after they were dressed, there was a pounding at their door. Rolling her eyes, Amanda went to open the door. The men stopped in mid knock as she looked stunning in her dressy casual clothes, her hair wild around her.
“Come on in boys, but I think we’re ready.” She motioned toward Jon who was grabbing his jacket as she was speaking.
“Caro, you look beautiful.” Tico’s deep voice spoke for all the men.
“Thank you! You five always look so good a girl has to work at it to be in your company!” Her voice was teasing as she looked at “the boys”. They were all ‘rock star’ casual and as they were all good looking men, she wasn’t too far wrong in her assessment.
~~~
They moved in a new pattern. Walking down the hallway Amanda found herself in the center, Jon’s hand in hers, Richie on her other side. This continued once they reached the lobby. They saw a large crowd still outside. Around her the men exchanged looks and moved out into the crowd. They repeated what they had done when entering the building, posing for pictures, signing autographs, chatting with their fans, but one of the guys continued to have a hand on her at all times.
A few people called for Jon to pose with her and he pulled her over to him, holding her hand as they stood together. Suddenly there was a blizzard of flashbulbs as pictures were taken of the two together from almost every angle. Amanda kept a pleasant smile on her face and tried hard not to squint at the lights. After providing this picture moment, the six moved to the limo, Richie keeping his hand on her arm as Jon was waylaid for a moment by an overzealous fan. He glanced up quickly to see that Richie had her as Richie had raised his hand in the air as they were walking, making it look like a wave.
Jon disentangled himself from the female fans and made his way to the limo. There were police along the walkway and he made it to the car without further delay. The other five were already inside and he slipped in himself.
Amanda couldn’t help but comment on how nice they were to their fans. “I bet some of them have been waiting hours just for those few minutes. You’re all amazing with them. It’s really great to see.”
The men of Bon Jovi again exchanged looks, finally settling on Jon. He nodded that he knew, dammit, he knew.
Two chapters in one day again! You're spoiling us, but thank you!
I hate when I have to miss a couple of days, but to come back and find 4 chapters was such a treat! Love this story!