56 - Glass Houses

“Hey, there’s Jon’s brother.”

“No way!”  The blonde woman nudged Lilah out of the way in the Diamond Circle and put a hand on her brunette friend’s shoulder, standing on tiptoe in an effort to see the back of the stage.  The pre-concert crowd was getting dense in Dusseldorf’s Esprit Arena at only thirty minutes until show time, and it was hard for the vertically challenged woman to get a good look.  “The really tall, cute one?”

When Tony had asked if she wanted watch the show from back stage tonight, Lilah had declined, preferring to hang on the rail this time around.  She had a gut feeling this was going to be a good set list and she loved experiencing Jon and Richie together in a live setting, particularly in one of those ‘good’ shows.  Now that Jon didn’t snarl at her every time she got near, she thought she might be able to appreciate his showmanship again.

So, with her decision made and her luggage on the bus, Tony had told her to stay put after the final encore.  One of the security guys would bring her back in the midst of the post-production frenzy and she would hang out until everything was stowed and the crew was ready to roll.

She was a little apprehensive about this bus thing, just because of the social aspect of it.  Walking into a ‘family’s’ home and being an outsider didn’t appeal to her, particularly if Mike Rew was going to be there.   He still made her uncomfortable with his knowing grin.  On the flip side of that, heading back to the Intercontinental all alone held even less appeal.  Being crammed into a sardine can with Tony was the better option.

The blonde’s brunette friend shook her head with what Lilah interpreted as a grimace of distaste.  “No, the other one.  The ugly duckling.  I don’t know what he inherited from Mom and Dad, but it sure wasn’t the same helping of sexy his brothers got.”

Lilah’s hackles raised.  It took quite a bit to make Lilah angry.  She was one of those live and let-live kind of people and, as a general rule, took a lot of guff before getting truly ticked off.  That is, unless you were messing with someone she cared about.  In that case, she flew mad faster than anybody.

How many times had something like that been said over the years, she wondered?  How many people considered Tony the ugly duckling of the genetically enhanced Bongiovi clan?  Yes, Jon and Matt were both handsome men, but she considered them pretty as opposed to sexy.  Tony was the one whose quiet assurance and dark good looks personified sexy – in her opinion.

The more she listened to the women pick apart his “ratty t-shirt”, “saggy shorts”, “ugly work boots” and “trashy looking tattoos”, the madder she got.  But Lilah wasn’t  a physical, or even a direct, confrontation kind of girl.  She preferred to use more indirect methods to assuage her anger – and hopefully she could give Tony an ego-boost in the process.

A determined gleam in her eye, she cupped her hands around her mouth and bounced up on her toes, loudly calling, “Jersey!”

Tony’s head snapped up from the camera he was adjusting on David’s keyboard setup and he lifted his chin to indicate he’d heard her.  A couple more twists of the stabilizing mount and he strolled across the stage, wearing a faint look of concern. 

Lilah wormed her way in front of the other two women, with an overly sweet, “Excuse me, ladies,” as he lithely dropped to the ground and ambled to the barrier separating the crowd from the stage.  She pressed herself against it at the same time he got close enough to speak without having to yell.

Wiping a hand across his slightly sweaty brow, he asked, “What’s up?”

“C’mere,” she beckoned with a curled index finger, leaning over the rail, hoping those two mean bitches would see her mouth angling close to his ear.  “I need to say something to you.”

“Okay.”

“In case you didn’t know,” she began in a low voice, her right hand coming to rest lightly atop the shoulder left mostly bare by his black tank.  “I think you’re sexier than both of your brothers combined.”

His chuckle went from muffled to distinct when he turned his lips into her ear.  “That’s convenient since it’s my bed you’ll be in tonight.”

“Bunk, but that’s beside the point,” she corrected with a matching chuckle before pulling back to look him directly in the eyes.  “I really do mean that.”

His smile faded slowly and the world around her – including the bitchy women – faded to background noise as he studied her with a heated intensity.  “I know.”

It was all Lilah could do to push a whisper out of her constricted lungs.  “Good.” 

Her lips longed to kiss the daylights out of him right now, but she was reluctant.  Lilah wasn’t interested in flaunting him or their… friendship in front of these women, some of which she already knew weren’t very nice.  She wouldn’t have made that brazen move in a million years, but Tony took the choice away from her.

He dipped his head, curling his fingers around the back of her head as he claimed her mouth for one quick, firm, possessive kiss – a kiss that was every bit as possessive as the claim he’d staked yesterday on the stage behind him.  It made her insides a little quivery that he didn’t care who knew she was his… and in her fairytale head, it didn’t feel temporary.

Don’t Lilah Jane.  You’ll only end up with your feelin’s hurt.

“I gotta go,” he said quietly against her mouth, while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Of course he did.  He had a show to run. 

“Mmk,” she submitted readily, stepping away from the rail.  “Have a good show.”

He winked as he turned and followed the curve of the stage that would lead to his video lair.  Lilah watched him go, feeling atypically arrogant and properly vindicated.  With a cool look, she turned to the two women that had prompted the exchange. 

“He got his fair share of sexy,” she informed them archly.  “And he knows how to use it.”

✧✧✧

“I’m pretty sure you hate that kinda thing…”  Tony turned his head when he faintly heard Lilah’s voice in the distance.  Squinting, he saw that she was talking to Jon, who had just reappeared from where he'd uncharacteristically ducked into his quick change room before he left the stadium.  “But your fans count what happened tonight as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  I know I do, and I wanted to thank you for it.”

Undoubtedly, she was talking about the “Mercy” fiasco on-stage, that the entire under stage had been laughing their asses off about.  Jon had to sing it three times at different intervals in the show before he got it right.  That was an anomaly for his anal-retentive brother, who didn’t do anything off-the-cuff or perform anything without lyrics – for this very reason.  Tony bet he’d like to forget the whole thing happened.

“Hundreds of perfect words and notes, and my fuck-up is what everyone’s taking away from this show.  Thanks, Lilah.  That’s what I needed to hear,” Jon snorted with a bark of self-deprecating laughter, swiping his sweaty head with a towel and then looping it around his neck.

He’s taking it better than I thought.

“It’s not the fuck-up they’ll remember, Jon, it’s the fun way you handled it.  They like knowing you’re real and love that added glimpse of personality you gave them.”

“Jon, let’s go.”  Matt swooped in to take Jon’s elbow and guide him in the direction of his waiting car, relieving him of the obligation to say anything further.  He simply gave her a single nod and allowed himself to be shepherded out of the arena.

Lilah came closer to Tony’s workstation, standing off to the side and out of the way.

“Told ya that you were sweet,” he commented over his shoulder as he stowed one of the laptops in its protective case.  “Why else would you try and pull the thorn from the lion’s paw?  The same lion who tried to cut you to ribbons with that paw up until a couple days ago.”

“We almost knocked each other down when he came out of his room.  I had to say somethin’ to him.”

He slid her a look of knowing skepticism.  “Most people would’ve gone with ‘excuse me’, or ‘get outta the way asshole’.”

She shrugged.  “I told you I lacked proper social skills, but thanks.  I’ll remember that asshole comment for next time.”

Grabbing the last laptop, he laughed while it slid into its neoprene covering  and then into the huge equipment case. 

She was unpredictably quirky.  It caught him off-guard from time to time and amused the hell out of him.  One second she was a shrinking-violet-wallflower, the next she was being all very Miss Southern Manners, and in the second after that she let her innate sarcasm run free.  Ms. Lilah Jane Bennett’s mind was an interesting place.

And her body ain’t so bad either.

He was kinda sad that he wouldn’t be partaking of that particular interesting place tonight.  The narrow bunk he was going to wedge his rotundness into with her didn’t allow for much maneuvering, and if it did, practically every noise could be heard by the adjoining bunk occupants. 

Wonder how quiet she could be?  Hell, I wonder how quiet I can be? 

“Is there anythin’ I can do to help?”

Dragging his mind from the horny, Lilah-filled gutter, he took a last look around and shook his head.  “Nah.  The guys will take care of everything else.  Let’s head toward the buses.  I need a smoke.”

He stood and dislodged the cigarettes and lighter from his pocket.  Smoke lit, Tony looped his fingers into hers and guided her through the post-production madness toward the back gate. 

“So…”  She was being quieter than usual and he slid his eyes her direction as they wove through the crates and flocks of local and tour crew.  “Wanna tell me what that thing before the show was all about?”

“Not really.”

“How about you tell me anyway?”

A fleeting frown wrinkled her nose and forehead.  “Women can be such unkind bitches.  There were a couple comparin’ you to Jon and Matt and it made me mad.  Is Mike Rew going to be travelin’ with us?”

She had answered the question, but just barely.  In a classic Lilah maneuver, she’d redirected the topic to a direction that she was willing to take.  Did she really think he didn’t notice when she did that?

“I’m not stupid, Bluegrass.”

Her head swiveled up to him, eyes wide with surprise.  “Of course you’re not, but why do you feel the need to point that out?”

Arriving at the bus, he lightly spun her around so that her back was against the side.  “Number one, I notice every time you don’t want to talk about something and conveniently change the subject.  Number two, I know that I’m not the Bongiovi lust magnet.”  When her eyebrows knit together and an argument formed on her lips, he continued with, “And I’m okay with that.  I don’t like the attention.  That’s why I’ve cultivated this beer gut of mine.”

Tropical eyes bore the lightning that heralded a storm and, sure enough, she reached up and bounced the heels of her palms off of his chest.  “Stop that!”

“Stop what?” he asked, backing out of her reach with a startled laugh and crushing the half-smoked cigarette under the ball of his foot. 

“Talking about yourself like that.  I realize I’m not much, but you are the ‘Bongiovi lust magnet’ for me, and I like your ‘beer gut’.  Why don’t you LIKE yourself?”

When she punctuated the question by launching another thump in his chest, he reached up and locked her wrists in his hands.

“I like myself fine, but I’m a realist.  Why don’t you like yourself, Ms. ‘Not Much’?”

“You’re more than you give yourself credit for, Jersey.  I don’t think you have any idea how attractive you are, not just physically but in your personality and the aura you carry.”

Lilah, in true Lilah fashion, had chosen the direction she wanted to take the conversation and this time it got under Tony’s skin. 

“Bluegrass, you ever heard that people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones?  I’ve never seen somebody short-change themselves as much as you do.  Sometime I look at you and wonder how in the hell you got up enough nerve to fly across the ocean, much less find your way to me.”

Her mouth snapped shut and puckered into an injured frown.  The wheels spun behind eyes that had gone glassy as she stared him down, and Tony almost felt bad.  Almost.  If it hadn’t been true, he would’ve felt bad, but the damn woman should be able to see herself with the same kind of insight that she was trying to use on him.

“I can do anything I have to do,” she informed him quietly with a proud tilt of her head.  “And I know it.  I want the people around me to be happy.  Sometimes that means I don’t put myself first, but don’t count me as some mealy-mouthed wallflower.”

Tony couldn’t contain his scoff of incredulity.  “Sometimes?  I can’t think of a single time since we met that you’ve put yourself first, other than when I MADE you.  Anybody that truly matters will be happy with your happiness.  And if they’re not, you don’t fucking need them in your life.”

He believed that.  Nobody should have to ‘buy’ the love of their closest friends and family.  It should be freely given, unconditional love, and he thought it was a damn shame that Lilah didn’t see that.