Chapter 118

Elena watched as Jon did his nightly spritz routine while Richie mesmerized the crowd into not seeing. Glancing over at Kate she saw her eyes narrow and that doctor look fade into the overwhelming toastiness of the night. Good. Jon needed someone to talk a little sense to him. He certainly wasn't listening to her or the guys about his throat.

She again leaned into Kate and placed her lips close enough to her ear she could talk at a bare yell. "You saw it right?"

"Damn right I did!" she shouted. Her tongue wasn't going to be the only thing inspecting that mouth tonight. Dammit, Jonny. The lights went low as Jon sprinted to the back of the stage.

The spots focused on Tico as Richie made a quick exit off the side. Slamming against the skins, Tico's tribal beat was merciless. His arms strained and muscles bulged as he played show off around the kit raking in the screams with a lit cig clamped between his lips the entire time. Puffing away he laughed and begged for more from the crowd.

The slow undertone of the synthesizer hummed as Richie came into view. The purple fringe was gone leaving lean ropey arms and a swelling chest under the scrap of tank he wore. A wide, glittering SAMBORA strap lay across his pecs and his fingers flew across the strings. The only thing glinting in the light was his wedding ring. It flashed and teased as he leaned back, his hips pushing against the back of the guitar as his face contorted with each roaring lick.

Elena grabbed onto her, "Oh fuck." Elena whimpered, her hand clasping onto Kate to stay standing. She was proud of actually not moaning aloud. "Jesus Christ, he left the coat off."

She looked down at Elena then back up to the stage as Richie slowly stepped closer. He was absolutely lost in the music. The world, the arena was gone and he was one with his shiny black guitar. The stars that shimmied up the arm were beautiful, but the man, the love and the passion were extraordinary.

Leaning back at impossible angles she saw the muscles in his legs bulge and burn as he rocked. Elena made similar gestures to her left. "Now I get to ask, you ok?"

Elena blinked back the haze in her brain and turned, "huh?"

"Thought so," she laughed and took a quick look to see how the crowd reacted. Rapture, screams, mad picture taking, and the roaring, punching gestures of men in the midst of a testosterone blaze screamed back from the crowd. Impressed that the crowd was enjoying a guitar solo, she turned back to see Richie's face contort into a mask of sweet surrender. "Hell," she said and nearly blushed. It was as if she'd caught him mid---er...moment.

Elena's dark gaze flicked to Kate and nodded, understanding her thought totally. "Yea Kate, exactly like that." She spoke loud enough to be heard, her gaze for a moment flicking backwards at the groupies. "Exactly like that."

Fighting the overwhelming blush, she focused on the stage again as David and Richie dueled it out musically. She felt her heart drop right into her toes when Jon brought his half naked self back to the stage via a swinging pulley system from the back of the arena. "Holy fuck!"

Elena's laugh whooshed from her. "Gets ya right there don’t it?"

No, rigging, no safety harness...nothing but him and the open air of the arena and the stretching fingers of women. A pair of burly stagehands caught him and Kate watched in horror as he stepped off of a simple strap and into their waiting arms. Not even a skip in the song as he had the entire place roaring in response and begging to let it rock.

He ran the length of the catwalk and rousted the crowd to an even higher level, pouring his very essence into the air and damn if they didn't breathe it in and experience the high with him.

And then, Richie was winding his way up the stairs on the other side, and the two of them ruled the air as they'd ruled the stage. Jon leaned over the scaffolding and her heart clawed its way up her throat. The screams around her drowned out her quick flash of panic. The sing-a-long began in earnest as he demanded response.

The music lowered and the beat remained. "Now Richie, you think that was a decent response?"

Richie laughed and lifted an arm, punching at the air. The crowd went nuts and Richie shook his head. "Nah. They're dead out there."

The crowd swelled and reached as if they could get to them and their screams were deafening. Jon ran to the other end. "Are you dead out there too?"

The reply was undeniable and unquestionable. He ran back to Richie's side. "Still dead?"

Richie leaned over, his guitar around the back. "Louder!"

Kate grabbed onto Elena. "He does this every night?!"

She held tight to Kate, her grin wild and unfettered in its glee. Her dark brown eyes were glowing with the excitement standing front row could bring. Even though she’d seen this spectacle every single night for weeks, it was like seeing it for the first time tonight. From fireworks to intro and through every song and solo in between the fire built higher within her soul and belly. She nodded at Kate and laughed out, "Every fuckin' night."

Heart failure...that's all there was to it. She was going to pass out. They dueled and taunted the crowd into a fight. A stylized, "Oooh oh, ooooh uh oh!" hurtled into the air as the lightshow went mad.

Finally proclaiming Richie's side the winner they both split off and went to the opposite ramps. Kate's heart-rate started returning to normal as he landed on the stage and punched, jumped and kicked his way to the center stage. "Jesus, just...holy friggin' Jesus," she panted.

Elena's sparkling eyes met Kate’s as she smiled that told ya so smile. "Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Kate held on and looked up. Jon's grinning; sweating elated face was directly in front of hers. She reached up and the tips of their fingers brushed and held.