Page 35 of Rush
‘I knew as soon as he mentioned red cowboy boots.’
‘Sorry, I don’t mean to get all emotional on you.’
‘No, it’s sweet.’ He squeezed her arm and pulled her in closer.
It had become very clear even this early on that this sort-of contract she and Marco were involved in was going to result in a lifelong companionship. People just didn’t dothis for each other, it wasn’t your run-of-the-mill friendship, and he had already seen some of the deepest, most hidden parts of her over the last few weeks. It was special. He was special, and he made her feel a little less alone amidst all the chaos. Marco De Luca was the very definition of a teammate.
‘How do you feel?’ Savi looked up at him as the lights came up and Jesse departed the stage for the final time, leaving everyone in a post-concert daze as they began to trail out of the arena like zombies.
‘You know, I am not a fan of your boyfriend as a man but my god, he can put on a show. Don’t tell him I enjoyed it as much as I did though, I don’t want to feed his ego. I’ll tell him it was just alright.’
‘You’re literally wearing his merchandise, Monaco.’
‘Shit.’
Savi laughed and tugged him back to where they needed to be to get backstage, VIP passes around their necks. They’d been standing amongst other VIP guests, mostly other musicians she recognised and a few influencer types, none of them in the same circles as her and Marco, so there hadn’t been much attention on them. A few fans around them had recognised them, and they’d been tagged in videos from people zooming in on them through the crowd, but for the most part they had been left alone to enjoy their evening.
‘Guys! Follow me.’ Sapphire met them at the door and led them back through the tunnels, towards Jesse’s dressing room. ‘How did you like it?’
‘It was amazing!’ Savi exclaimed. ‘I can’t believe it’s taken me four years to see him live.’
‘You’ll have to come to more shows on the tour when you can, don’t forget the European leg starts next spring. That’ll probably work better for your schedule since you race out there most of the time,’ she said. ‘Marco, what did you think? You a country fan now?’
‘Yeah, it was alright,’ he mumbled, earning a quick glance from Savi. ‘Oh, who am I kidding? The man’s unreal. Don’t you dare tell him I said that.’ He pointed at Sapphire.
‘Your secret is safe with me,’ she laughed. ‘Right, don’t freak out when you see the amount of people surrounding him. He has to cater to the VIP fans after the show, we always select some to come backstage and hang out for half an hour or so. He’ll be all yours soon, no doubt he’ll kick them out early tonight.’
They rounded the corner where Jesse was being swarmed by more than ten young women, all of whom looked to be in their early to mid-twenties and all in mini dresses, long legs on display. Swarmed might to be too much of an understatement. Mauled was more like it. They were practically hanging off him, two women in particular all but fighting over him, hands on his chest as he pretended they didn’t exist and spoke to the others. Savi felt sick. She hadn’t been warned about this, and she’d stupidly thought she would get a few minutes by herself with him. Instead, she was watching him provide random fans with access to him like his girlfriend wasn’t stood metres away.
And then, in a move that almost made her keel over with shock, Jesse took his cowboy hat off his head and placedit on the blonde woman clinging to his left bicep.Wear the hat, ride the cowboy. That was his and Savi’s thing. She was the only woman who had ever worn one of his cowboy hats, or so he had told her.
‘Hey, this happens every night,’ Sapphire tried to reassure her. ‘It’s part of his brand. He entertains them backstage for a bit, plays a couple of songs for them in his dressing room, and then they leave. That’s all it is. Oh, look, he’s spotted us!’
Jesse waved at them and subtly detached the girls from his body before signing a few autographs, snapping some selfies and sending them on their way. He beckoned Savi and Marco over, and Savi hoped her face showed how disgusted she felt.
‘Hey, guys. What did you think?’
‘It was great, man. I’m impressed. Told Savi I might have to get some boots.’
‘You definitely should,’ Jesse chuckled. ‘You mind if I have a second with my girl?’
‘Oh, sure. I’ll wait out here,’ Marco agreed, and Sapphire herded him down the corridor to a spare room where the crew hung out.
‘Hi, baby.’ He kissed her on the cheek and led her into the dressing room, shutting the door behind them to give them some privacy. He poured himself another whiskey and got her a beer from the mini fridge. It was her favourite brand, and it was hard to find. Evidently he had given hersomethought. ‘You okay?’
‘Feel a bit weird about whatever that was I just witnessed.’
‘Oh, those girls? That’s just part of the contract. Nodifferent to how you have to kiss Marco in public, it’s all fake. A necessary evil.’ Jesse crossed the room to her. ‘It doesn’t mean anything, baby;theydon’t mean anything. You’re the only girl I want and the only one who gets to wear my cowboy hats. That one I just gave away was a prop, purchased specifically for that reason.’
‘Hmm,’ she frowned, refusing to meet his gaze.
‘Hey…’ He tipped her chin up and forced her to look at him. ‘I love you, Sav.’
‘I love you, too.’
‘What did you think of the show?’
‘Hated it.’ She broke out into a smile, annoyed with herself over how easy it was for him to win her over when she was supposed to be mad at him.
