Feb 21, 2008

Chapter Four

Samantha walked casually, but inside her heart was crashing against her ribcage, and blood was pounding in her ears. Her hands felt cold and clammy, and she shook slightly as she stepped.

Ahead of her, Alex seemed purely excited and not the least bit nervous as she pranced down the hallway. When they reached the doors at the end of the hallway, Sam felt her heart jump as the security guard unlocked and opened one. As they stepped inside she saw it was filled with equipment, and crew members were busily carrying things from here to there, packing up cases and loading them onto trolleys.

The security guard led them through the maze of equipment and down a narrow hallway on the left, toward a brighter, more open room. As they entered, Sam saw it was a comfortable looking room with a plush carpet, a couch and a few armchairs. Wooden stools sat around with water bottles on them, there were a few jackets here and there, and several pairs of nice looking, but well-worn boots sat by the couch. Sam’s eyes drifted along the back wall and caught sight of a baby blue tank, damp with sweaty spots.

“Holy shit,” she said again, in a low whisper. She grabbed Alex and pointed at the tank. “That’s Jon’s shirt right there.”

Alex barely had time to respond though, for in that moment, a tall, dark man came into view from a doorway on the other side of the room, and Samantha’s jaw dropped as Richie Sambora walked in.

“Hey there, ladies,” he smiled at them.

“Oh my God,” Samantha breathed, staring at him.

“AHHH!” Alex instantly squealed with delight. “Richie!” she hesitated for a half-second before rushing toward him and throwing her arms around her neck.

Richie laughed. “I suppose I don’t need to introduce myself, then?” he hugged her back, but kept his eyes on Samantha.

Alex giggled, pulling away from him. “No, but we do. I’m Alex, and this,” she thumbed toward Sam, “is Samantha.”

“It’s great to meet you both,” Richie smiled. “Did you enjoy the show?”

Sam was speechless. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted, her feet rooted to the ground, and she simply stared.

“Dude, it was amazing!” Alex replied animatedly. “We love you guys!” She looked over at Sam, who finally found her voice.

“Yeah, it was great,” she smiled shyly.

Richie gave her a gentle smile and moved toward her. “I’m glad,” he said, looking directly into her eyes again.

Samantha blushed. She didn’t know what to say. Only ten minutes ago she had shared an electric visual interaction with this man, but when he was onstage and she was in the crowd, it was one thing. Now he was right in front of her, close enough to touch, and she was in complete shock.

Richie seemed to sense her discomfort, and he tore his eyes away from her.

“Well, make yourselves comfortable, ladies,” he said, gesturing toward the couch.

Alex jumped onto the couch, a broad smile on her face. Sam made her way over shakily, still in complete disbelief.

Richie pulled up a stool and sat down, facing them.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked Mac to bring you back here,” he smiled again, nodding toward the security guard.

“I – we noticed you both a lot during the show. You seemed to have a much better time than the rest of the women around you, and we…appreciate that.”

He realized his lie sounded pitiful, but he hoped they would buy it. He didn’t feel like telling them the real reason. What would he say anyway – “Well I saw you looking at me and I wanted to meet you even though I have no idea who you are”?

The women looked back at him curiously. Richie closed his eyes and chided himself for not thinking this through before he acted.

“Are you two members of the fan club?” he hoped he could build off of that.

They nodded. “Yup, for years!” Alex piped.

Richie smiled. “That’s great! We’re always happy to do favors for our fan club members, and since we stopped doing wristbands, we’re toying with this idea of little meet and greets.” Damn it, he thought. How many more lies can you tell them?

Luckily, they seemed to accept it. Samantha smiled.

“Wow, that’s pretty cool of you.”

Alex squealed again. “Totally! What a great perk for fan club members!”

Richie breathed a sigh of relief. “We thought so,” he winked. He glanced back and forth between the two women. “Listen, the guys and I are going to Tony’s in a minute – you know, the bar in Times Square?”

The women nodded simultaneously, and Sam felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. That was brief, she thought.

“Well, if you don’t have any plans, I was wondering if you’d care to join us.”

Samantha’s jaw dropped. “Join you?” she was in utter disbelief. Them? Richie Sambora was asking them to the after-party? They were being invited to hang out with Bon Jovi?

Alex jumped up with delight. “Oh my God, we’d LOVE to!” Samantha got up as well, staring again at the guitarist.

Richie looked at her. “Whaddya say, pretty lady?” Samantha felt her heart bang against her ribcage again, but she forced herself to speak.

“Sure, why not?” she let out a small laugh, surprised at her willingness to agree.

“All right!” Richie released his hold on her and rubbed his hands together. “Thanks, Mac, I can take it from here,” he nodded at the security guard, who smiled and left the room.

“This way, ladies,” Richie motioned toward the door from which he had arrived. “There are a few more people I’d like you to meet.”

He steered them out the door, which led outside to the back of the arena. A long black limo sat waiting, its doors open. As they approached, Jon Bon Jovi stepped out of the backseat, grinning and holding his hand out to the women.

“Evening, ladies. Thanks for coming tonight.”

Alex was over the moon with excitement, and she took his hand excitedly, showering him with compliments on the concert.

Jon laughed. “Thank you very much, darlin’.” He shot her a dazzling smile and looked over at Samantha.

She blushed again, but for some reason, found it easier to interact with him than she had with Richie. She took his warm hand and thanked him for a great night, and he gave her the same megawatt smile he had given Alex.

Tico, David, and Hugh all stepped out as well, offering their hands and polite greetings, and Samantha and Alex made their way among them.

Five minutes later, Jon clapped his hands together and insisted they all get out of the cold.

“Have you ladies ever been to Tony’s?” he asked.

Alex shook her head. “Nope, but we’ve heard it’s the place to be around here after a show.”

“Ahh, that it is, my lady, that it is. Boys, shall we show our special guests why it’s the place to be?” Jon smiled slyly, glancing around at the group.

The band members nodded and murmured in agreement. Tico came over and put an arm around each of their shoulders. “You’re going to love it, trust me,” he winked at them, and Samantha smiled in return, already loving the way they made her feel like an old shoe.

They began to climb into the back of the limo, and Richie caught Samantha off guard as he helped her in. He sat down next to her, and she caught his warm, spicy smell. For some reason, she found herself feeling like a teenager again with a crush on the cutest guy at school.

Alex sat across from her, talking animatedly with David, who was laughing. Jon, Tico, and Hugh sat at the opposite end of the seat, in a separate discussion. Samantha noticed she and Richie were the only silent ones in the limo, and she was self-conscious, but at the same time, felt surreal, hardly believing that she was in the back of a limousine, driving through New York City with Bon Jovi on the most magical night of the year.

________________

The two-story bar/restaurant was fully decked in Christmas décor, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting as Richie, Jon, Tico, David, Hugh, Alex, and Samantha sat around a large table, laughing and talking. It was nearing midnight, and Richie found himself dreading the moment he knew would come, when Samantha and Alex would have to leave.

He didn’t know if he should have done what he did, inviting two strangers backstage and lying to them about the reason. When he told Jon about it, the singer had laughed, brushing it off his shoulders as just another one of Richie’s attempts to get a date. He was the one who suggested they invite the women along to Tony’s, but did it good-naturedly, assuming it would all blow over the next morning.

But Richie knew this was different. Something in his very soul had stirred when he locked eyes with Samantha, and it was as if all the bad things in the world had disappeared, just for that moment. He couldn’t help but wonder about her, and wonder why she had seemed to convey the very same feelings in her eyes as he had with his.

He had watched her carefully all night, and was concerned when she had seemed to have major reservations about going out with them at first. He was grateful to the guys for making the ladies feel welcome and comfortable, and once they got to the restaurant, Samantha had warmed up considerably, and become nearly as talkative as her bubbly friend. Of course, the drinks helped a bit with that, too.

She was sitting next to him, and he looked over at her, watching her talk to Tico about his clothing line, Rock Star Baby. Her eyes danced as she talked, and he amused himself for a minute thinking about how unique they were: light brown flecked with gold, which caught the light when she moved. She had a melodic laugh, one that evoked joy and laughter to those around her, instead of something loud or obnoxious. And her smile radiated something warm and pleasurable, something he could not get enough of as he watched her that night.

On his other side, Jon ended his conversation with Samantha’s friend and turned to him.

“Rich, man, are you okay?” Richie shook himself out of his reverie and turned to his friend.

“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“You’re really quiet tonight, that’s all. And you keep staring off into space with this glazed look on your face.” A look of comprehension suddenly crossed Jon’s face, and he leaned in closer.

“Bro, are you high?”

Richie laughed out loud. “No, man, I’m not high. I swear,” he added as Jon raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Then what is it?”

Richie sighed. He knew he couldn’t lie to his friend, or keep secrets from him. They had been friends for too long, and shared too many things together to do that.

“Samantha’s a babe, don’t you think?”

Jon exhaled and leaned back in the booth. “Oy, Richie, I should have known it was the girl. Look, I know you get lonely this time of year, but you don’t even know this chick.”

Richie shook his head. “I know that, but this is not just some fling. She’s different.”

“Maybe so. But do yourself a favor and don’t do something you’ll regret, okay? We ain’t twenty anymore.”

Richie eyed him. “I know that. This isn’t a one-night stand, either.”

“Oh, really? Are you going to see Samantha again?” Jon said it almost challengingly.

“Maybe. I want to,” Richie replied, almost defensively.

Jon looked at him and paused for a second. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. I like her.”

Jon looked over at Samantha, now listening as David retold some apparently hilarious story, and watched the pretty brunette for a moment.

“Well, she is gorgeous.” Jon admitted. He returned his blue eyes to Richie. “Is she single?”

Richie felt his heart skip a beat. He hadn’t thought of that.

Jon read his friend’s face and rolled his eyes. “Like I said, Rich, don’t do something stupid.”

He turned back to Alex, and Richie felt a sudden urge to make a comment about the singer’s hypocrisy, but stopped himself. He knew Jon was intensely devoted to Dorothea; he had the innate ability to seduce women without even trying, but he never cheated on his wife and never intended to.

David finished his story, and Richie stole the opportunity to talk to Samantha.

“So, are you having fun?” he smiled at her.

Samantha’s face was flushed from the alcohol, and she grinned back at him.

“A blast!” she said, meaning it. “Honestly, this is the best Christmas Eve I’ve had in a long time.”

Richie smiled again. “Great!” He looked into her eyes again, admiring their faceted look.

Samantha held his gaze for a moment, before looking away and pulling out her cell phone.

“Midnight! Oh, shit!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. Alex looked across the table at her friend, her mouth open. “That late already?” she asked, disappointed.

Richie felt his heart rate speed up. “Is that a problem?”

Samantha ran her hand through her golden hair. “Yeah, actually, it is. I have Christmas breakfast at eight tomorrow morning at my mom’s house on Staten Island. I really should have been in bed already.” She looked like she didn’t want to leave, and Richie thought about convincing her to stay. But he knew she already had plans, and they weren’t about to change for someone she had just met.

Jon spoke up then, “You know, we really should get going ourselves. We have families of our own to be with tomorrow, and our plane leaves early.” He stood up, and everyone else followed suit.

As they walked out of the bar, Richie frantically searched for a way to see Samantha again, and was still scrambling when Alex hailed a cab.

“Hey, are you girls sure you don’t want us to drop you off?” Jon offered.

Samantha smiled. “Thanks, but that’s okay. You’ve already done so much for us tonight. We can’t thank you enough. This has been the most amazing night ever, and I really mean that.”

Alex nodded. “Seriously, thank you all so much for spending the evening with us. We appreciate it more than you realize.”

She gave each band member a hug, and Samantha followed suit. When she reached Richie, he smiled again at her and wrapped her in a warm hug. “I had a great time,” he said in her ear.

Samantha blushed, yet again, her cheeks turning hot against the bitter cold.

“I did too.”

They all exchanged farewells as Alex and Sam crawled into the cab. Jon came up to shut the door and waved at the girls.

“Take care now, ladies! See you on the road?” he winked.

Alex leaned over Samantha and squealed.

“We’ll see you on the road!”

Jon laughed and shut the door.

Samantha looked out the window and watched Richie, his hands in his pockets, until they were too far down the road for her to see him anymore.

When Samantha turned back around, she caught Alex staring at her with a smile on her face.

“Can you believe what happened tonight?” she asked, her eyes wide.

It was then that Samantha pulled a folded piece of paper out of her coat pocket. She unfolded it in surprise, wondering how it had gotten there.

Had a wonderful time tonight, Samantha.
Would love to hear from you again sometime, if you’re not too busy.
555-9870
Merry Christmas!
Richie



“No,” Samantha whispered, staring at the note. “I honestly can’t believe it.”

2 comments:

Alina said...

Oh, for luck Richie gave Sam his number - I already thought about how they'll meet again without having each others number :P

Great chapter by the way =)

Sambora_Wanted said...

Great chapter, I was getting worried she would never see Richie again! Loved the note in the pocket!