Chapter 66
The music started and Jesse danced her way to where Jon was singing. When he saw her, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to him.
“Shake your money maker…smoke it if you’ve got it,” he sang and together, they shook their ‘money makers’ getting a deafening cheer from the audience. Richie looked over as he played shaking his head with a smirk on his face.
Jesse moved to him quickly and rubbed against him as the song continued making him smile bigger.
Richie echoed Jon, “You’ve got the right to let your hair down” looking into her eyes and she took her hair out of the pony tail shaking it free. He gave her a wink and she moved to put her hands on his sides.
A minute later, Jon was there grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the risers that were behind Tico. They danced together for the people behind the stage giving the fans a thrill as Richie watched on the monitor.
“And now a public service announcement from a beautiful outlaw!”
“Brothers and sisters, we are going to come together in June to celebrate the love of two people! Can I get an AMEN?”
The crowd screamed AMEN as a picture of Richie proposing to Jesse appeared on the screen behind her. Jon led Jesse back down off the risers to the main stage where they stood on either side of Richie as he played the talk box. They both messed with him as they finished the song and the fans were thrilled by the interaction.
With the song over, Jon gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek and said, “Hey, Richie…she dances better than you.”
Richie laughed as he wrapped his arm around Jesse, “She dances better than you too.”
“Ladies and gentleman, I’d like you to meet the newest member of the Bon Jovi family – Outlaw Extraordinaire, Jesse James!”
“My VERY beautiful fiancée,” added Richie.
“He ALWAYS gets the HOT women!” smiled Jon as the crowd cheered their agreement with him. Richie smiled his infamous smirk as he nodded his head. “Must be that talk box. You’re going to have to teach me how to play that thing.”
“Gotta keep SOME trade secrets!” shot Richie earning him a playful slap from Jesse.
“Before I turn the stage over to Richie, we want to tell you about a new website that’s going to give you an exclusive first look at the event Jesse mentioned during our song,” said Jon.
“It’s called ‘Jesse’s Gang’,’ said Jesse.
“And the link to
it is on our official site along with a cool new video from Richie and me
telling you a little more about this exciting news.”
“All the proceeds from joining ‘Jesse’s Gang’ will be going to the Care for
Kelly Foundation that I set up to help Kelly Mahon, the young lady from my
hometown who had a cyst on her brain.”
“For the first two hundred to join, there are two special surprises so be sure to check it out when you get home tonight,” urged Jesse. “Now, who’s ready to hear Richie sing?”
The crowd screamed and Jon said, “Maybe we can convince someone to lay their hands on Richie.”
Jesse gave Richie a kiss and as he began to play, she headed off-stage.
Jon was waiting for her with a bottle of water. “You aren’t going to go back out to lay your hands on Richie?”
“Not tonight,” answered Jesse.
Jon looked at her
to see that she wasn’t okay. Even in the dim light, he could tell that she was
pale and appeared to be in pain. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he asked,
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t you need to get ready for your next song?”
Jon pulled his T-shirt off as he asked, “Hand me that towel please.” When he didn’t get a response, he looked to see Jesse was leaning against a trunk holding her side, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Jess?”
“I….I’m okay,” she whispered.
“You’re not okay. Sit down,” instructed Jon as he guided her by the arm to a place to sit. “You need to go back to the hotel and go to bed, Jesse.”
“We’ve got plans for after the show.”
“Jess, you’re in pain. Tell Richie when he comes off in a few minutes and get Billy to take you back to the hotel. Your health isn’t something you need to play around with.”
“I’ll go take a nap in the dressing room. Please, don’t tell Richie.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
Jesse didn’t answer as she looked out at Richie as he was finishing the song.
Jon grabbed the towel, wiped down, and pulled on the shirt that was handed to him. “Tell him, Jesse,” he urged as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.
The lights went down and Richie came off as Jon went back out. Jesse could see him through the boxes and knew he’d be wondering where she was. She took a deep breath, wiped her face, and made her way through the equipment to where he was.
Richie looked up as he wiped some of the sweat off his arms and face. “Hey sweetheart!”
Trying not to let on that there was anything wrong, she put her hands on his sides. “Hey you!”
“I was hoping you’d come back out and lay your hands on me,” he said taking her in his arms.
“I was talking to Jon.”
Richie reached up and pushed the strands of hair that were stuck to her face back. As he placed a kiss on her forehead, he realized she was running a fever. “Jesse, you’re burning up!” he said as he set her back from him.
“Of course I am. I just came off the stage from dancing with Jon,” she replied trying to blow it off.
“No, you have a fever. Jesse, don’t lie to me."
“I’m not, Richie,” she answered tearfully. She leaned her forehead against his chest to hide the tears she felt sliding down her cheeks.
“Get Billy to take you back to the hotel and go to bed. I’ll skip the party and come back to check on you.”
“No, the fans want to see you and I’m NOT going to be the one to keep you from them,” she said as she looked up at him. “I’ll be okay after I’ve had a nap. I’ll go to the dressing room and stretch out on one of the couches.”
“Fine, but if you’re still running a fever after the nap, I’m taking you back to the hotel,” warned Richie as he wiped her tears.
“Yes dear,” she simpered, batting her eyes at him.
Shaking his head, “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“But you love me.”
“Yeah, I do,” he smiled pulling her into a hug. Getting serious, “Jesse, if you aren’t better after a nap, we’re NOT going to the party. I’m not going to let you jeopardize your health. You’ve been through a traumatic experience and now you’re going full tilt. That’s NOT what the doctor wanted you to do.”
“I’ll be fine, Richie,” she promised as she ran her hands along his sides. “I love you.”
Placing a kiss on her forehead, Richie replied, “I love you too, Jess.”
“Jon’s almost done. You need to get ready.”
Jesse watched as he grabbed his next guitar, put his ear pieces back in, and head back out on the stage. She smiled as she heard the first notes of the next song before making her way to the dressing room. Before settling down to take the promised nap, she took two Tylenol and grabbed one of Richie’s long coats to use as a blanket. Curling up on the couch, she drifted off to sleep, Richie’s coat a substitute for his arms holding her.
