10 - Uphill Battle

“So you’re going out with him?”  Joanna wasn’t nearly as excited about the prospect as Lilah was. 

She hated displeasing her friend, but fought through the knot of dread in her stomach to say, “Yes.”

“This is why you really went, isn’t it?  That whole stupid backstage video thing was just a lame excuse.  I knew it!”

Lilah swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to say, “No, this isn’t why I came.”  Not really. “I ran into him in the hotel lobby, we spent the afternoon together and he invited me to dinner.  An impersonal dinner.”

It would be impersonal.  At the very most, it would be friendly.  That one reassuring pat on the leg was the only thing that could be construed as more than that.  True, they had a great afternoon.  Once she realized that he appreciated her sense of humor, she  took it out at every available turn.   She loved making him smile it had become almost an obsession to see that near-perfect grin cut across his face.

“You want to fuck him.  If it’s that important to you, I don’t know why you couldn’t fuck somebody here.  For all the money you’ve wasted so far, you should be fucking  Richie.  At least he could be your sugar daddy.”

Jo could be mean when her feelings got hurt, and it didn’t matter that Lilah knew that.  The words were still painful and they made her defensive.

“Everything doesn’t come down to fucking and sugar daddies!”

“What does it come down to Lilah?  You’ve been hiding something from me ever since you first decided to go.  Why are you there?  Why the hell is Jon Bon Jovi’s brother so fascinating?”

“His name is Anthony.  Or Tony.” 

That burned her ass more than anything.  Tony Bongiovi was a successful man in his own right, and he was damn well more than Jon Bon Jovi’s brother.  The fact that everyone referred to him that way is part of what had made her not like Jon.  Completely irrational, she knew.  It wasn’t as though it were his fault that his career had fed Tony’s. 

“I know his name.  What I don’t know is why he’s so freakin’ special!”

Neither do I, but he is.

Lilah took a silent breath, trying to de-agitate herself, then explained patiently for the hundredth time,  “I came over here hoping for a chance to watch him work.  He’s a nice guy and invited me to join him for a motorcycle ride and dinner.  I’m all by myself over here for the next week and appreciate the company.  So sue me.”

“That’s crap, Lilah, and you know it.”

“No it’s not!”  She scrunched up her face in utter frustration and shook her head, mad that she’d let herself be prodded into anger.  Dammit, Jo could be so hard-headed sometimes.  Lilah felt like she was beating her head into a wall, and it just wasn’t worth it. There was no way she could go and be happy while Joanna was mad at her.  It was easier to just buckle under.

“If it bothers you that much, I won’t go out with him.  It’s not that big of a deal,” she relented on a defeated sigh.

“No.  Go.”  Jo was pouting now, too.  

Reverse psychology sucked. Even though they were the words Lilah wanted to hear, there was no sincerity behind them.  All the 'encouragement' did was make her feel damned if she did, damned if she didn't.  It sure as hell wasn't making her feel any better, and the rest of Jo's little speech made her feel even worse.

“I don’t want you coming back here thinking you’ve missed out on something and trying to blame me for it. Screw his brains out if that will make you feel better.  Then come home, stop being irresponsible and grow up.”

Her blood pressure shot through the roof and Lilah ground her back teeth together to keep from screaming.  After counting to ten, she was able to say, somewhat calmly, “Jo, I’m gonna hang up now.  I need to check in with Andrew.  Don’t be mad at me.”

“How can I not be mad knowing that you’re hiding something from me?”

You would be even madder if you knew what I was hiding.

“Listen.  I love you.  I’ll talk to you in a couple of days, okay?”

“Whatever.  If it's not too much of a burden.”

Lilah disconnected the call and tossed the phone on her hotel bed, falling back into the pillows with a smothered scream of frustration.  Why did she feel so judged for everything?  Why was it irresponsible to do what she wanted to do?  

You’re in friggin’ Europe.  Don’t you dare throw away the chance you’ve been literally longing for!

Afterward, there would be another upsetting conversation with Joanna.  She hated those conversations with a passion and would do almost anything to avoid having one.  It really would be easier not to go...

✧ ✧ ✧

Tony leaned into the lobby chair, draping one arm over its back and crossed his legs.  Another glance at his watch confirmed that she was five minutes late.

When they had arrived back at the hotel, he suggested a casual dinner at a nearby pub and she agreed willingly enough.  Tony hadn’t been ready to give her his cell phone or room number – she was still a virtual stranger who supposedly followed him to Europe – so, before he went back to the hospital to check on Jon, they made plans to meet in the hotel lobby at eight.

It was now seven after eight.

She had no reason to stand him up, that he knew of.  Then again, what did he really know about her?  Moving on to other possible reasons for her tardiness, Tony had a passing concern that something was wrong.  That maybe she was sick or something.

Crossing his arms over the tan button-down shirt, he told himself to be patient.  Women were always late.  It was one of the relationship things he didn’t miss at all.  If she didn’t show in another ten minutes he would have the front desk ring her room.

To keep from dwelling on the time, he dwelled on Jon.  Tony didn’t often see his brother in such excruciating pain.  Even if he was hurt, Jon didn’t allow anyone to see him suffer.  He sucked it up and went on.

The ‘simple’ surgery had gone well, but Jon’s knee was hurting like a bitch.  They were already putting him through mobility exercises that would get him back where he needed to be, and it was a strain.  He hated to take the painkillers, so he was trudging through, cussing through gritted teeth while Dorothea coaxed him into thinking about something else. 

Much to Tony’s chagrin, that something else turned out to be Lilah. 

“Jon said you have a woman chasing you.  What was her name again, Jon?”  Dot engaged her husband’s mind away from his iced knee.

Not far enough away, because he still looked both pained and pissed when he gritted out, “Lilah.”

“Lilah.  What does she want with you?”

His sister-in-law had been there for him, along with the rest of the family, during the break-up of his marriage.  The difference between Dot and the rest of the family was that she hadn’t been afraid to have words with his ex over what she perceived as ‘unacceptable behavior’.  Since then, she’d become a bit protective of Tony when it came to women, regarding anyone he dated with a healthy dose of skepticism – and attitude.

Knowing that, Tony just grinned and dropped a casual arm around Dot’s shoulder.  “To have her wicked way with me, what else?  It’s the Bongiovi curse.”

“Smartass,” she half-heartedly complained, shrugging off his arm.  “What does she want?”

He leaned against the wide windowsill of the hospital room and folded his arms with a shrug.  “I haven’t really figured it out yet.”

“She wants backstage at my fucking show,” a cranky Jon interjected, causing Dot to raise a distrustful eyebrow.   Her eyes flicked from one brother to the other as though they may have become victims of mad cow disease.

“And you’re going to let her?”

Tony lifted his hands in self-defense.  “It’s above my pay grade.  Jon told me to let her.”

“She cornered me at the damn Q&A yesterday.  All I said was that Tony was in charge of who was backstage for video.”

“And you told me I had to let her back there so you didn’t look like a douche.”

“Enough, boys.”  Dot planted her hands on her hips, shaking her head with disbelief and speaking directly to her husband.  “I never thought I would see the day somebody back you into a corner.  Especially a pushy woman.”

Lilah was getting painted in a bad light here, and Dot's bad side was not a good place to be.  Tony felt obligated to blandly protest, “She’s not really that pushy.”

Dorothea’s chastising look slid from one brother to the other.  “You’ve already met her?”

“Yeah.”  Keeping that to himself wasn’t an option.  He could keep the details sparse, though.  “I’m actually having dinner with her tonight.”

“What?” his brother and sister-in-law chorused in unison.  Dot took it a step further with, “Are you sure that’s smart?  God only knows what she’s after.  She’s probably some anti-Bon Jovi fruitcake set to destroy the band from the inside.”

It was Tony’s turn to give her a chastising look.  “What the fuck?  Are you taking Jon’s pain meds?”

“Stranger things have happened with crazed fans, and you know it.  What do you even know about her?”

He allowed his chin to hit his chest with a deep sigh, knowing his gut wasn’t wrong about Lilah.  She might be a little unconventional, but she wasn’t some rock band terrorist, for God’s sake. 

Tony turned his head to the side, peering at Dot through one squinted eye.  “I know that she’s shy and ballsy.  She’s smart and has a wicked sense of humor.  I also know that if she’s coming backstage I need to know more than that, so I spent some time with her this afternoon and invited her to dinner.  That’s what I know.”

“Whoa.  You didn’t say anything about this afternoon.”  Dorothea’s head popped up as her back went rigid.  "She went with you to that tree tunnel?”

You stuck your foot in your mouth that time.

“Yeah, I took her with me.”

“Did you take a picture of her?  I want to see what she looks like.”

When he first arrived at the hospital this afternoon, Tony had been eager to share the photos on his camera.   He had mentioned his enchanted forest enough times over the past couple of years, that it was nice to be able to finally offer them a visual.  When Dorothea made the appropriate sounds of awe, he was glad he'd done so.

Only now he wondered just how smart that had been.  The family all knew how obsessive he was about photographing the people and places around him, so it was only logical that he had a photo of Lilah tucked away on the camera's memory card.

Ignore the question.  This will get all blown out of whack if you give Dorothea half a chance.  Just don’t answer her.   

Deciding that it was the best plan he could come up with at the moment, he strolled over to his sister-in-law and bent to plop a kiss over her cheek.  “Dot, I love the whole mama bear thing you’ve got going on, but you’re not my mama bear.  And don’t think about dragging Mom into this,” he hurriedly tacked on.  “Lilah Bennett is harmless.  I’m going to have dinner with her…”  Tony gave his brother a tepid glare, since this was his ‘fault’.  “…let her sit at my desk for a show, and that’s it.”

“Just remember what I said,” Jon warned, forehead furrowed with discomfort.  “You better keep a tight leash on her.  Something happens back there and yours is the ass I’m holding accountable.”

There was no doubt in his mind that Jon meant it. 

A light hand coming to rest on his shoulder drew Tony from his thoughts, and he looked up into Lilah’s contrite face.  “I’m sorry I kept you waiting,” she apologized, walking around the side of his chair.  “I hate being late.  I was on my way out the door when I got something in my eye and had to pull my contacts out and mess with them.”

Her bloodshot left eye easily confirmed her story, and he relaxed, letting go of any lingering tension when he rose to his feet. 

“I thought you were going to stand me up,” he told her dryly, only half joking.

Shiny hair whispered over the shoulders of her leather jacket as Lilah shook her head in denial,  and Tony’s eyes quickly raked over her from head to toe. 

Under the jacket was a black t-shirt with some of those sparkly things on it.  Not diamonds, but the things that looked like them.  Rhinestones?  The rest of her outfit wasn’t nearly that fancy.  Jeans, low-heeled boots and a coat of makeup had her perfectly prepared for casual evening out.

Tony admitted to himself that she looked good.  Too damn good for his comfort, if he were being honest. 

You may say you aren't here to cause me trouble, but you're gonna do it anyway, aren't you?

Next post:  Sunday, October 28