Page 34 of Rush
‘Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m just happy to be here.’
‘So, you’re Italian, right? Early thirties, been racing since you were sixteen. Still living in Monaco when you’re not travelling the world with the team, although that’s slowed down since Julien and his wife had kids.’ Jesse reeled off the basics of Marco’s life story, his attitude thankfully shifting for the better.
Marco nodded. ‘Half Italian, half Monegasque, but you’re spot on with the rest. You’ve done your research.’
‘Well, yeah. I wanted to know who has their tongue shoved down my girlfriend’s throat.’
And he was back. Insecure, jealous Jesse who ideally needed to kick everyone out of his dressing room, have a strong drink and focus on tonight’s show. But it seemed he wanted to make poor Marco squirm, and all Marco was doing was smirking, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
‘Definitely not crossed that line,’ Marco assured.
‘Yeah, it’s all been totally PG, Jess.’ Savi put her hands in her back pockets, unable to reach for Jesse because he was stood too far away. She never knew if she should lay on the PDA when they were around Sapphire and Blake, because they were never actuallyinpublic together.
‘Better not cross it, either,’ he sulked.
A lot of women liked a man who behaved like this, who warned other men off their girl, but it was getting under Savi’s skin. Pretending to date Marco and kiss and hold hands and behave like a couple had been Jesse’s idea, he’d pushed for it, and now she and Marco had travelled halfway across the world for Mars to be treated like an outsider, someone who was doing something wrong by simply doing as he had been asked. Doing a favour. A favour which was getting in the way of his own dating life for the next six months.
‘How about we all give Jess some space and take a little trip to catering,’ Sapphire suggested, hurrying them out of the room before Jesse got carried away with himself and knocked Marco out. It had happened before and was another reason Savi’s brother hated him. He had anger issues, especially in bars. ‘I bet you guys are starving.’
Before they could shut the door behind them, Jesse pulled Savi back into the room with a sad and sorrowful look on his face. ‘I’m sorry. Apologise to him for me, this is just new, and I don’t know how to feel about it. He’s a handsome guy, and I’ve seen the reactions of your fans. Everyone’s obsessed with the idea of the two of you, and it makes me want to just steal you away from your world and take you back to the cabin.’
‘You don’t need to worry about him, Jess. You know I’ve only got eyes for you.’
‘I know.’ He gave a gruff nod.
‘I love you.’ She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.
‘Enjoy the show, Superstar.’ He walked away, her excitement for the show somewhat dulled down by the fact that once again he hadn’t said ‘I love you’ back.
14
Savi had forgotten how much she loved live music, even more so when it was her boyfriend performing. She really should take advantage of the free concerts provided at certain races, plus go to more shows back home in the US. She and Marco were in their element in their security-heavy VIP section, soaking up every moment.
The atmosphere was electric, thousands of people were screaming every lyric out of Jesse’s mouth, the bass was making Savi’s heart leap out of her chest with every beat, the lights almost blinding them but simultaneously transporting them to another world. She got it. She finally, truly understood why Jesse had chosen this career.
He was loving it; she could see it written all over his face. He was interacting with his fans in between songs, cracking jokes with his band and moving around the stage like he owned it. He was good, he deserved to be where he was. Savi had never doubted that. She’d seen him in the studio both at the label’s headquarters and at home in the cabin, watched him work into the night on melodies and verses, letting his creativity flow until he was confident he had a hit.
And this is what it got him; an arena full of people who were there just for him. To feel something. She had never held it against him when he had to leave Wyomingfor months at a time because she had been doing the same thing in her last championship, and being part of Revolution Racing came with more opportunities and more responsibilities. It took her away from home far more often. Except now when she was lying in bed at night, feeling the distance between them, she could remember this. Rememberhisreasons for not being by her side.
And she could also remember Marco yelling phrases like ‘I wanna be a cowboy, baby!’ at the top of his lungs without a care in the world, proudly showing off his Jesse Montalvo tour t-shirt despite previously claiming over a mouthful of vegan cauliflower wings that Savi’s boyfriend was an ‘arrogant son of a bitch’.
She had a t-shirt too, a freebie to add to her collection, but she’d let Marco have the one thatdidn’thave Jesse’s face on it. It simply said his name on the front above a rodeo graphic, and had the US tour dates on the back. It looked like something he’d picked up at a thrift shop, not something thousands of teenage girls were also wearing tonight. Savi already had that one in her dresser at the cabin.
‘Is LA a good place for cowboy boots?’ Marco asked while Jesse was between sets.
‘Absolutely not. If you’re going to invest in a pair, they’ve gotta come from Wyoming, Texas or Tennessee. A state where cowboys originate from.’
‘Cool, we’ll go to Wyoming after one of our upcoming races. I’ve got nowhere to be.’
‘Oh, I’m taking you back home, am I?’ She raised an eyebrow.
‘Fuck yeah, I want to ride horses and be a proper cowboy.I’ve been converted.’ He grinned, his curls plastered to his forehead. He’d exerted so much energy tonight, and they still had at least six songs left before the end. She dreaded to think how he’d behave during the encore, when everyone let out every last bit of emotion and the confetti rained down on them. She’d seen endless videos, and few artists did an encore quite like her boyfriend.
Their conversation ended abruptly as Jesse started singing again, silencing Savi as she took in the lyrics. This was her song. Nobody else knew that, but it was called ‘Wyoming Cowgirl’ and mentioned their first date-slash-meeting at the country fair. Jesse had written it for his debut album and it had been a hit single, but she had heard it months before the record label had. That was before he’d built the cabin, when they spent days at her family’s ranch and rode horses at sunset. It was during one of those sunset rides that he’d pulled out his guitar and sung it for her, and she’d fallen in love right there and then. No going back.
She was tearing up by the second verse and soon found Marco’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. ‘It’s about you, isn’t it?’ he asked.
‘Yeah. Gets me every time.’
