Ch 35 ~ I Found Someone

The VIP lounge was pretty quiet tonight, Jon thought as he got Rachel a tequila and himself a glass of wine.  There were a couple of people he vaguely recognized, but no one he felt compelled to talk to.  Considering that he had his hands full with Rachel, it was a plus. 

“Now where the hell did she go?” he mumbled to himself, looking around the room that wasn’t much bigger than a basketball court.  Could he have seriously lost her in the time it took him to get a drink?  Had she had enough of the press bullshit and made a break for it?

She probably went to powder her nose or something, dumbass.

It took another couple of seconds, but he finally spotted the beautiful blonde in the sexy black dress.  He also discovered why he didn’t see her in the first place.  She was being blocked by a woman with a towering head dress.

“Well, hello, Jonny Boy,” Cher greeted him in her famously husky rasp, offering her cheek for a kiss. 

Jon passed Rachel her tequila, noting that she looked a bit starstruck.  He grinned to himself, wondering when the celebrity thing would get old for her.  Right now, it was pretty cute to watch her try and reconcile an album cover photo to the real live person standing in front of her. 

“Cher,” he returned the greeting and delivered the expected Hollywood-style kiss.  “How are ya, baby?”

“Oh, you know… Same shit different decade.”

“Oh how well I know,” he agreed with a laugh.  “I see you met my girlfriend, Rachel.”

Rachel swallowed her sip of tequila and stuck her hand out.  “We hadn’t exactly gotten around to exchanging names, yet.  I’m Rachel Braden.  It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms….?”

“Oh, it’s just Cher, honey.”  The diva waved away the proffered hand and gave her a light hug, air kissing near her cheek.  “Jonny Boy and I go way back, so anybody who can put up with his shit enough to be called a girlfriend…  Well, we should definitely be on a first name basis.”

“Now, you…”  Jon waggled his finger at her.  “Don’t you start bad-mouthing me already. This is why I made you quit hanging out with my guitar player.”

The woman’s snort was just short of being delicate.  “What’s this ‘made me’ shit, Kemosabe?  And speaking of which, where is your infamous Tonto?”

“He had other plans tonight.”  Jon turned to Rachel, mentioning, “I don’t know if you know it or not, but Richie and Cher had a thing back in the late eighties, early nineties.”

“I believe I do recall something like that,” Rachel murmured politely.  Whether she actually did or not, Jon had no idea. 

“Yes, I was his sexual muse.”  She gave a quiet, throaty chuckle.  “And he was my boy toy.  And lemme, tell ya, honey…  he was one helluva toy.”

“Hey now,” Jon interceded.  “My lady has no need to know anything about Sambora’s toys.”

Rachel’s eyes glittered with wickedness.  “Oh, I don’t know.  That might be fun information to have.”

“I will spare Jonny Boy from knowing any more gory details than he already knows.  Besides, I think it’s your toys making the headlines lately.  Got caught with your pants around your ankles, did ya, Bongiovi?”

He couldn’t exactly give one of the biggest divas in history the Jersey salute, even if it was his first reaction.  Quelling the desire, he ducked his head with what could be construed as embarrassment, but Jon wasn’t that easily embarrassed.  Especially by Cher.  He’d outgrown his embarrassment around her while she was bopping his buddy.  The woman had zero modesty.

No, the evasive maneuver was more to buy himself a moment.  Too bad a moment was longer than it took Cher to carry on.

“No answer necessary, but Jesus, son.  When are you gonna get tired of that shit?”  She tapped Rachel’s arm with the backs of her fingers.  “Am I right?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Rachel agreed with a wide grin.  “My sentiments exactly!”

“Okay, okay…  Cut it out.  I get it, already.”

Cher’s inky arched eyebrows lifted cattily.  “If I were her, you sure as hell wouldn’t be gettin’ it.  If you aren’t careful, that thing’s gonna shrivel up and fall off one of these days.”

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered.  “Retract your claws already, would ya?”

An elegantly bare shoulder slid up in a careless shrug.  “You’re using me and my show to pimp your image.  I feel like I’m entitled.”

Rachel’s eyes went big and she immediately brought her glass up for a drink.  She was obviously afraid they’d been busted for a tacky impropriety, but Jon wasn’t concerned.

For good reason.

“Rachel,” Cher said with a nonchalant flip of her wrist.  “Don’t be mortified on my account.  He’d be a dumbass if he didn’t take advantage of every good bit of press he can get.  It would be nice if were at least a little embarrassed that he needed it, but eh…”  She shrugged again.  “You can take the boy outta Jersey, but you can’t take the Jersey outta the boy.”

“I can’t say that I’m too upset about that,” Rachel inserted.  “There’s something about that Jersey-esque-ness that kinda appeals to me.”

The woman of the hour threw her head back in a wide, open laugh.  “You and half the free world, honey.  You and half the free world.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the third song, Rachel recognized the difference between Jon’s “show” and what she would call a true show – such as Cher’s.  The two performers were electric and you couldn’t take your eyes off either one, but the experience was completely different.

With Jon, it was an actual concert.  They way he performed on the stage garnered the atmosphere of an intimate – albeit very large – party.  Cher, on the other hand, took her role as a “performer” to heart.  There were enough set, costume and cast changes to rival any Broadway production and she was the leading lady in all her grandeur.  Both were incredibly engaging – just in two completely different ways. 

“She needs all that shit because she can’t run all over the stage and jump up and down in those goddamn heels,” Jon revealed in Rachel’s ear with a sage nod.

“Oh, hush,” she chastised him with a light tap on the arm.  “You’re just jealous that your posture isn’t good enough to support a Las Vegas headpiece like that.”

There was one notable likeness between the two concerts, though.  Like Jon’s show, Rachel found she was familiar with most of Cher’s setlist and recognized the songs after only a few notes.  As soon as the piano started playing the fourth song and Cher made her entrance dressed as a pirate, Rachel excitedly gripped Jon’s thigh and squealed, “Ooh!  I love this one!”

Somebody, somewhere

Turns out the lights…

Somebody, all alone

Faces the night….

And you’ve got to be strong

When you’re out on your own

‘Cause sooner or later … we all sleep alone.

Jon grinned and tried to smother a cocky smile, but he didn’t do a very good job of it.  His tone carried more than a bit of pride when he leaned over to put his mouth at her ear and revealed, “I wrote that song.”

Rolling her eyes, Rachel slapped his leg. “You did not.”

“I did.”  He laughed and held up his right hand as though he were taking an oath.  “Swear to God.  Produced a couple songs for her and wrote one for another album of hers.”

“Well aren’t you just the talented one?” 

Rachel was undeniably impressed.  To know he wrote songs to perform for his shows was one thing, but to write songs for a superstar like Cher.  Not that Jon wasn’t a superstar…  Crap!  She had just dug herself a hole, making her glad she hadn’t spoken the thoughts aloud. 

She rubbed her hand guiltily over the spot she had just slapped.  “Let me listen to this song and I’ll see if it’s good enough to give you the benefit of my talents….”

He folded his hand over hers with a grin.  “Oh it’s good enough.”

Nobody, nowhere

Holds the key to your heart…

When love’s a possession

It’ll tear you apart

You may have lovers, wherever you roam

But sooner or later, we all sleep alone, 

Don’t make no promises that I can’t keep

I won’t be no prisoner of somebody’s needs

And you may have lovers wherever you roam

Well, but sooner or later… Ooh, we all sleep alone.

That selection ended and another recognizable hit began, tugging at Rachel’s curiosity.  She put a gentle elbow into his side and leaned close.   “Did you write this, too??

“Nah.  Michael Bolton, I think.”

But he was pleased that she’d asked.  She could tell because his chest actually puffed out a bit.  It made her giggle inside.

“Well, I’ve always loved this one, too.”  Rachel was captivated by the whole experience.  The glitz, the glamour, getting to meet one of the greatest divas of all time and now knowing that Jon had at least a small hand in it.  “I’m glad we came tonight – even if it WAS supposed to just be for press.”

“See?  You’re GLAD I created this mess, aren’t you?” he gloated with a teasing wink.

“No comment,” she replied dryly, bumping him with her shoulder and smiling.  “Did you see what I did there?  ‘No comment’.  It came out just like second nature.  I’ve learned how to swim in shark infested waters.”

His chuckle warmed her as she settled into his side and turned her attention back to the elaborate stage presentation and became so engrossed that, mid-way through the show, she’d completely why they were there in the first place.  It was good for them to just relax together, with no thought of the recent chaos or the ominous tick-tock of their time together.

She wasn’t used to that.  Things were different when she’d been staying in New Jersey and he didn’t have so many work commitments.  They had spent virtually every night together and Rachel was missing that freedom a bit.  Tomorrow night she would be sleeping alone, just like the Cher song, because he was continuing on with his tour while she went home to work and family obligations.

Worry about tomorrow only robs you of today’s joy.

And – despite the drama that unfolded while she was here – it was a joy being with him again, she thought as the enormous screens filled with images of Cher in her various film roles.  The melodious tinkling of piano and flute filled the room and immediately enchanted Rachel with its delicate lilt.  The very first lyrics held her entranced. 

Well, here we are again

I guess it must be fate

We've tried it on our own

But deep inside we've known

We'd be back to set things straight

Rachel’s heart soared as goosebumps danced along her skin.  The lyrics were nothing short of…  prophetic?  No, not prophetic, but if ever there was a song that was “theirs” – one that told of their journey together – it would surely be this one. 

She had just begun to chastise herself for the silly romanticism, feeling certain that she must just be caught up in the bigger-than-life moment that had been created on stage, when Jon’s hand reached for hers.  He squeezed lightly and leaned just a bit closer into her. 

Apparently she wasn’t the only one who was making the connection between life and lyrics.   

I still remember when

Your kiss was so brand new

Every memory repeats

Every step I take retreats

Every journey always brings me back to you

After all the stops and starts

We keep coming back to these two hearts

Two angels who've been rescued from the fall

And after all that we've been through

It all comes down to me and you

I guess it's meant to be

Forever you and me

After all

When love is truly right (this time it's truly right)

It lives from year to year

It changes as it goes

Oh, and on the way it grows

But it never disappears

Rachel’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears and her soul overflowed with love as she tore her eyes from the stage to Jon.  There were no words exchanged, but when Jon turned his face to hers… their eyes spoke volumes.   

I fell in love with a man, not a fairytale prince.  A man who makes mistakes like any other, but who has goodness in his heart.  A man who loves me enough to wade through hell and high water to get me back.  No matter what the tabloids bring, I am grateful beyond belief to have him at my side.

He grinned at her tears and swiped at an errant one that tried to trek down her cheek.  There were no ministers, rings or flowers, but there were thousands of witnesses to a moment in Rachel’s life that was as solemn and meaningful as the day she had actually gotten married or given birth to her children. 

With a simple, “I love you, Rach,” Jon puckered his lips and leaned into her for a kiss that sealed their future.

After all the stops and starts

We keep coming back to these two hearts

Two angels who've been rescued from the fall

And after all that we've been through

It all comes down to me and you

I guess it's meant to be

Forever you and me…

After all