John Francis

Jon entered the room to the loud laughter of the assembled crowd. He could see people from the band, the roadies and other crew, and members of the press. He was glad Richie had given them the info that the press was there. England’s papers printed whatever rumors they could get and he didn’t need any more of that kind of shit in his life. He had immediately seen Amanda sitting next to Richie. He saw that she was holding his hand and noted their laughter. He was glad Richie was watching out for her and went over to them.

“Hey, looks like a full house back here.” He had a tight smile on his face as this was often his least favorite part of performing.

“Hi honey,” Amanda’s voice was soft.

He smiled broadly at her. “You two okay? The press is already circling?”

Richie shook his head. “Nah, just didn’t feel like mingling yet. Keeping your girl company.”

Nodding at his friend, Jon said, “Thanks, man” and then moved to sit on the other side of Amanda.

His voice low, he whispered so only they could hear. “Shit! I hate this part! Gotta watch every word that comes outta my mouth!”

Richie concurred, “Fuckin’ vultures here.”

Looking between the two, Amanda said, “That bad?”

“Oh yeah, no carrying you out of here in England, babe!” Jon’s grin suddenly turned wicked. “But later…” She blushed a little then. “Jon!” And she rolled her eyes at him.

They both heard Richie mumble, “Here they come” as several reporters approached the three sitting on the couch.

“Great show, guys! Even better than the last time you were here!”

“Thanks,” Jon said, “we always try to do our best.”

Another reporter called out, “So who’s this lady? She with you or with Richie?”

Jon answered him. “She’s with me.”

“Did you meet her here?”

“No, we’ve been seeing each other for some time now.”

“So, it must be pretty serious, Jon, if she’s traveling with you.”

“She had the time off and agreed to visit your lovely country,” Jon replied, turning the tables on that line of questioning.

“What do you think of England, Miss…?” Another called out to her.

“Matthews, and from what I’ve seen so far your country is beautiful. It’s a pleasure to be here.”

“Jon, we’ve heard that your ex-wife is getting married soon. How do you feel about that?”

What a fucking stupid question, Jon thought, gritting his teeth a little. “I’m very happy for her. Her fiancé is a really good guy and I wish her much happiness.”

“Richie, are you dating anyone? I mean you and Ms. Matthews seemed quite cozy a few minutes ago before Jon walked in.”

Amanda’s eyes widened slightly at the rudeness of that question, but Richie had done this too many times before. “Ms. Matthews is a good friend of mine, but no, I’m not seeing anyone at this time.”

Another reporter spoke then. “Wait, Matthews…you’re Amanda Matthews, right? The woman who’s been seen with Jon from New Jersey to Tahoe? The one he carried out of Giants stadium the night of that concert”

“Yes, as Jon already explained, we’ve been seeing each other for a while now.” She realized she was also gritting her teeth as she answered.

“Jon, the last time you were here you were spotted out with several different women, so is Amanda the only person you’re with?”

“Yes, as I stated earlier, we’ve been seeing each other for a while now and it’s an exclusive relationship.”

“But…” another started, however, didn’t finish when Richie interrupted to invite the reporters over to the food and alcohol tables. He pretty much ushered them away from the other two and they went willingly as Richie started talking to them about the show.

Making sure she was not overheard, Amanda whispered, “You sure were right about them. They were really digging and didn’t care in the least if they were rude.”

“You handled yourself really well, babe. Just remember, no matter what they say, try not to let them get a reaction out of you. They can make ‘surprised’ turn into ‘shocked’ in a split second.”

“I’ll remember that. Now, you, go mingle, do your job!” He looked at her with love in his eyes and mouthed “I love you”. She returned it and with a grin he was off.

~~~

Jon and the rest of the guys moved throughout the room, talking to the press, flirting with the fans who had been invited back stage, and generally spreading the magic they were so good at. At different times one or another of the guys would stop by and sit with her for a few minutes. They needed to relax and knew she was one of them, so they could just be themselves. After recharging, they were off again, mixing and mingling. She saw Chris and walked over to him.

“I don’t want to just disappear, but I need to be excused for a few minutes.” He nodded at her.

“I’ll go with you if you don’t mind.” She nodded her thanks.

Walking out of the room and into the relative quiet of a hallway, she took a deep breath.

“I don’t know how they do this all the time, Chris, they always have to be on their guard, don’t they?”

“Yeah, every country is different and there are always problems, but they do try to do their best.”

“Now you sound like you’re answering a press question!” She grinned at him and left him at the door of the ladies’ room. She entered and found no one there at that moment which suited her. She was riding a fine edge tonight, desperate to be alone with Jon, but knowing that there was still more to come after this. The after-after party to be exact. She figured she’d be lucky to get him alone by two the next morning. She pulled out her cell to check the schedule she had been given. Nope, no commitments until five and that was another photo shoot. Freshening up, she left the room.

Smiling at Chris, she apologized for taking a few extra minutes. “It just felt good to get out of the noise and the crowd for a few minutes. Thanks for waiting.”

“No problem, Amanda. You ready to go back in?”

Squaring her shoulders, she agreed. As they entered the room, Chris mentally cursed Oh fuck! Carrie was here, he should have known. Unfortunately, this was not a one night stand for Jon, they had actually carried on an ‘affair’ for many years, if that was the right word, with Jon seeing her whenever he was in London and a few other locations in the UK. This was a very well kept secret and had never made it into the press as even a whisper. She has always acted very discreetly around the band and the press, knowing she would see Jon later that evening if he asked her to.

Jon had seen Carrie enter during the time Amanda was out of the room and swore under his breath. Although he hadn’t really thought about it, he should have realized that Carrie would be here. He didn’t expect anything like the Britney incident and if all went well Amanda would never even realize there was anything to notice. His mind was racing furiously though because he knew that this time he would be breaking things off with Carrie permanently and with everyone here he couldn’t speak to her right now. He didn’t want it to go on any longer, but it wasn’t fair to just dump her either after the years they had been seeing each other.

Jon caught Richie’s raised eyebrows and the look he threw him. He could read his friends’ eyes as clearly as if he was speaking in his mind. Don’t do it, Jon, don’t fuckin’ do it! He gave the slightest negative shake of his head and Richie’s eyes showed his relief. Thinking now himself, Jon was wondering what the hell to do. I need to let her know I won’t be seeing her tonight and then call her. He gave her a brief shake ‘no’ of his head that let her know she wouldn’t be traveling with him in the limo tonight and she smiled, knowing she would see him at the after party as she always did. He realized then that his message didn’t come across as he meant it and he moved to speak with her, but she had gone on to be with other people and he couldn’t go after her without drawing attention.

No one had noticed anything out of the ordinary, especially not Amanda who was not looking in that direction during the very brief exchange. Carrie visited with a few of the people she knew, although they did not know of her relationship with Jon. Richie was the only one who did as he had covered for his friend numerous times in the past. Chris also knew as Jon’s head of security. Carrie soon moved out of the room, taking her car to the after party where she would meet again with Jon.