Chapter52

Arriving at the arena, Jack dropped Lindsay off at the back entrance. There was a security guard posted there. “I’ll go park the car. Fred there can show you the way.”

“Thanks Jack.” Blowing out an excited breath, she headed for the door. It had been four weeks since she’d seen Jon – since Valentine’s Day. Smiling at the memory she checked her ears to make sure that the sapphire and diamond studs were still there. She’d worn them everyday since Jon had finally gotten around to giving them to her – the next morning.

Reaching the door she found her way blocked by the security guard. “Sorry this isn’t a public entrance.”

She smiled. “I know. I’m Lindsay Chandler. Jack told me use this door.”

The bruiser didn’t look impressed. “I don’t care what Jack told you. No one gets in this door except the band and the crew.”

Sighing in frustration she searched for some way to get through to him. Obviously he either hadn’t heard of her or didn’t believe her. Hearing his walkie-talkie squawk provided a solution.

“Look, if you just call Obie or Rew, or Paul they’ll tell you it’s okay to let me in.” She urged him.

“Yeah, right.” He all but sneered at her.

She was ready scream and let her temper fly – or call Jon, when the door opened and Rew stuck his head out.

“Hey Fred, any sign of Jack? Jon’s on the warpath, and….Lindsay! There you are!” Rew exclaimed in relief.

“Hi Rew. I’ve been trying to get in for the last 5 minutes, but Fred here wouldn’t believe me.” She threw him an aggravated look.

“I’m sorry Lindsay, I guess we didn’t make sure that everyone knew you were coming.” Rew apologized. “Here, this will help.” He handed her a VIP pass on a chain.

Slipping it over her head she followed him inside and down the hallway, smiling and nodding at the people they passed. One in particular had her turning to watch him as they stopped in front of a closed door. Rew knocked.

“Hey! Was that…” She was interrupted when Richie opened the door and saw her.

“Thank God!” He said with feeling, opening the door wide for her to enter. “Thanks Rew.”

Lindsay swept a glance around the room. David, Tico and Hugh were sprawled on various pieces of furniture, looking towards the door with hopeful looks that changed to relief when they saw her. Jon was obviously pacing.

“Hi guys!” She began, but was cut off.

“You’re late.” Jon interrupted. His eyes were devouring her as he walked towards her.

“I’m sorry the plane was late.” Was all she got out before she found her arm grasped in a gentle, but unbreakable grip and was hustled through a door at the back of the room.

Turning to face him as he closed the door, she barely registered that she was in a bathroom. “Jon, what the…..” Once again she was cut off. This time by his mouth coming down hard on hers as he pushed her up against the wall.

Pinned between the hard wall and his equally hard body it was impossible for her to miss his physical state. His heart was pounding, his breathing was laboured and his erection was already hard and pressing into her soft belly.

Overwhelmed at first by the speed and intensity of his assault, the feel of his hands caressing her almost roughly and his tongue stabbing her mouth, added to her four weeks deprivation quickly had her in the same state. Kissing him back with equal abandon she pushed her hands in between to reach the buttons on his shirt. Frustrated at her inability to undo them with the limited space available, she gripped two handfuls of shirt and jerked, sending buttons flying in all directions. Satisfied, she set her hands to his chest, raking her nails lightly down until she was stopped by the waistband of his jeans. He groaned in response. Ripping open the button and carefully pulling down the zipper, she pushed the offending denim over his hips and closed her hand around him, stroking and squeezing rhythmically.

Hips moving in sync with her hand, he quickly opened her jeans and peeled them off, her panties with them, lifting her to free her feet. Grasping her teasing hand he pulled it away and lifted her again. Wrapping her legs around his waist he reached down to check that she was ready for him. Feeling her hot moistness he quickly penetrated her, driving in until he was buried to the hilt, her moans vibrating in her throat.

Bracing her against the wall, he reached up with one hand to undo her halter top and pulled it down to her waist. Tearing his mouth from hers, he bent and drew one hard peak into his mouth, gently biting the tip before suckling hard. He raised his head only to move to her other breast to repeat the torture, all while his hips thrust hard against hers.

When her cries rose in volume he recaptured her mouth, not wanting everyone in the other room to hear. They all knew what was happening, but he didn’t want Lindsay any more embarrassed than she already would be.

Tightening her legs around his waist Lindsay just held on and absorbed his thrusts, each one driving her higher and higher. She tried to free her mouth to take a deep breath, but he wouldn’t release her. Suddenly she was there and she went rigid and spasmed tightly around him. He swallowed her scream. Thrusting even deeper inside her, he groaned and went still as he found his own release.

Finally lifting his lips from hers he rested his forehead against the wall as they panted and waited for the world to stop spinning.

Hugging him, she tangled her fingers in his hair. “Nice to see you too honey.” She panted.

He chuckled breathlessly. Inhaling deeply he straightened and let her slide down until her feet touched the floor. Steadying her, making sure she could stand before he let her go, he reached down to pull up his pants.

“Sorry for attacking you as soon as you walked through the door.” He grinned a little sheepishly. “I guess I missed you even more than I thought. Plus, you look good enough to eat.” He leered at her as she retied her top, cleaned herself up and slid back into her jeans.

Looking in the mirror she shook her head. “When does your makeup crew get here?” Her hair actually looked fine – it hadn’t been touched – but her makeup was a mess.

He laughed. “They’re probably waiting for me now.” Pulling her back into his arms he kissed her lightly. “You look beautiful.”

“That’s just the afterglow talking. I look a mess.” She grimaced.

Linking their hands he headed for the door. Suddenly she stopped, remembering who was on the other side of it.

She slanted a look at Jon. “You know we’re never going to hear the end of this.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, I know. The best way to deal with them is to just ignore them. If you don’t react, they’ll give up.” Eventually.

Taking a deep breath she nodded and followed him into line of fire.



Chapter 53

Sitting on Jon’s lap, her head resting on his shoulder, his arms holding her loosely, she let the conversation flow around her not really paying any attention. She was still recovering from their intense interlude in the bathroom. Aside from a few knowing grins and winks as they took in her flushed face and swollen lips, the guys had been surprisingly restrained. The only comment came from Richie who looked at Jon and murmured. “Feel better now?” She wasn’t fooled though. She figured they were just saving it up for later.

She was brought back to awareness when Obie came in to talk to Jon. Their technical discussion meant nothing to her and she really wasn’t paying attention until she heard Jon’s comment.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Chad about it.”

Remembering who she thought she saw in the hallway she sat up and looked at Jon. “Was that Chad Kroeger I saw earlier?” He nodded. “You didn’t tell me Nickelback was playing with you!”

“You like them?” Tico asked.

She nodded enthusiastically. “I love them! I always thought they’d be great in concert, but I never had the opportunity to see them. This is going to be great!”

She started to sing.


I’m gonna trade this life
For fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair
And change my name

‘Cause we all just wanna be big rockstars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ‘cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out at the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s
Gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny
With her bleach blond hair
Hey hey I wanna be a rockstar

“Anything in that sound familiar?” She teased.

“And I suppose you think that Chad is ‘cute’” David smirked.

“Cute? No…he’s HOT!” They all stared at her. “What? Can I help it if I have a thing for frontmen?” They guys laughed. She felt Jon stiffen and turned to him and smiled. “Just because I’m in love with you doesn’t mean I’m blind – anymore than you are.”

She kissed him lightly and he smiled. Turning back to the others she didn’t notice that the smile didn’t reach his eyes – but Richie did.


When it came time for the guys to dress, Lindsay, as usual when she was with them, played fashion consultant, pleasantly surprised with the additions that David had made to his wardrobe. “Yay David! That’s it! You’re finally getting it!” She teased him. She should have known better.

“Well, I guess that means both of us ‘got’ some today.” He commented with a straight face. Hers went up in flames.


While the guys were in makeup, after fixing her own, Lindsay wandered around checking out the stage, scoping for a good spot to watch the show from. Al, Richie’s guitar tech offered her a spot on the side of the stage, but she wanted to be out front where she could see everything. She finally found a spot between the ego ramp and the barricade on Hugh’s side of the stage. The crew assured her she wouldn’t be in anyone’s way and actually found a fold up stool for her to sit on. All set she head back to the dressing room to wait for the show to start.

“Where ya been honey?” Jon asked when she came through the door.

“Checking out the stage, finding a spot to watch the show from.” She answered. She looked at him and had to smile.

“What?” He asked

“I’ve never seen you up close in makeup before.” She chuckled. “You really are a pretty boy.”

He grimaced. “Not one of my favorite aspects of the business.”

The others came filing in.

“Hey Lindsay, where’d you disappear to?” Richie asked.

“Oh I went to check out the stage and scope a spot to watch from.” She replied.

He frowned. “I told Al to find you a spot on the side of the stage.”

“Oh he offered.” She assured him. “But I want to be out front where I can see everything.”

“So where are you going to be?” David asked.

“Security and the crew have set up a stool for me between the stage and the barricade by the ego ramp on Hugh’s side.” She answered. They snickered.

Hugh smiled. “Ok, now I know you’re a fan.”

“Why?” She was confused.

“Because someone in the business would refer to it as bass side or lead side or stage left or stage right. Only the fans refer to it as my side or Richie’s side.” He explained.

“Yeah, I keep thinking we should really mess them up by changing sides one night.” Richie mused. “And why aren’t you sitting on my side?”

“And get between you and the Richie girls? No thanks, I’d like to survive the night.” She shuddered. “And as for changing sides…you’d have quite a few of upset fans if you did that. You do know that there are some who purposely pick seats there, even if there are better ones on the other side, right?”

“Yeah. That’s why I’d like to do it once and see what they’d do.” He laughed.

Suddenly she heard a roar and a guitar scream into an intro. “Nickelback starting?” She asked looking at the clock. Jon nodded.

They sat just talking and goofing around until they heard the other band in the hallway on their way to their dressing rooms. Then she could feel the energy level of the room kick up a few notches. Sitting back she watched in fascination as they each went through their own little rituals to pump themselves up.

Walking down the hallway towards the stage Lindsay made sure she stayed behind Jon.

“What’s the matter Lindsay?” Tico asked noticing she was hanging back.

“I’m staying out of range.” She answered. At his confused look she motioned towards Jon. “From all the footage I’ve seen, this is the point where he likes to start hitting walls and stuff. I’m staying out of the way.” He laughed.

“Break a leg guys. I’ll see you after.” Giving Jon a quick kiss she all but ran to her seat out front. She wasn’t about to miss a minute of this. She’d been waiting a long time for this.



Chapter 54

She was having the time of her life. The guys were on fire and Jon’s voice was as strong as she’d ever heard it. The energy flowing back and forth between the stage and the crowd was palpable. Periodically Jon would come out on the ramp on her side or up to the front of the stage, look at her and wink. When he sang In These Arms – one off her favorites list – and crawled out onto the ramp towards her, she actually had to fight the urge to grab him and pull him off into her arms. By the end she was exhausted, she was sure that her voice was shot and that she’d never been more attracted to him. When they came out to take their bows, she headed back stage to meet them when they came off.

Yelling and high-fiveing each other, when they saw her they each in turn, picked her up and spun her around. By the time she got to Jon, who was last, she was laughing hard and a little dizzy. When Jon picked her up she wrapped her arms around his neck and captured his mouth with hers. Inhaling his musky, sweaty male scent she sighed in appreciation.

Chuckling he set her down and released her. “I’m all sweaty.”

“Mmmm hmm.” She agreed and licked his upper lip.

Sliding his arm around her shoulders he urged her down the hallway. “Why don’t we skip the after party and head straight back to the room?” He suggested with a grin.

She laughed. “You know you have to put in an appearance. Tell you what though. Why don’t we go, have one drink, you see who you have to see, and we’ll duck out early?”

“It’s a deal.” He agreed.

Reaching the dressing room she stopped. “I’ll wait out here. Let me know when everyone’s covered enough for me to come in.”

He frowned and looked up and down the hallway. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay out here?”

“I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine. Besides your security is roaming up and down the hall. If I need help I can just yell.” She pushed him into the room.

She was standing there leaning against the door frame when a man approached her. She recognized him as the lead guitarist of Nickelback, but, to be honest, she didn’t know his name.

“Hi there babe, I’m Ryan Peake.” He introduced himself.

Gritting her teeth at the “babe” comment, she forced a small smile. “Hi, I’m Lindsay.”

“You with them?” He gestured towards the door behind her.

“Yes.” She answered.

“How come I haven’t seen you around her before tonight?” He asked.

“Because I’ve been working. I’m on vacation this week.” She replied.

He frowned slightly. “You don’t sound like you’re from Jersey. You actually sound like you’re Canadian.”

She smiled a real smile. “That’s because I am. I’m originally from Ontario. I moved to Jersey almost a year ago.”

“Hey, a fellow Canuck!” He exclaimed.

They stood chatting for the next while, discussing where she’d visited in Alberta, which of their songs she liked, things they missed from home…that sort of thing. Lindsay didn’t realize she’d shifted and was actually leaning against the door until it opened suddenly behind her. Only Richie’s quick reflexes prevented her from ending up on the floor.

“Jesus Linds, are you okay?” He asked concerned as he helped her stand up again, nodding a greeting to Ryan.

“Yeah, thanks Rich, I didn’t realize I was leaning on the door.” She shook her head at her own foolishness.

“Well for all of our sakes, be more careful. If anything happened to you we’d both be on Jon’s shit list.” His words and tone were teasing, but the message in his eyes when he looked at Ryan was not. Ryan nodded. Message received.

“Are you guys ready?” Lindsay asked, missing the byplay between the two men.

Richie shook his head. “The rest of us are mostly dressed, but Jon’s still in the shower. But since that’s something you see on a regular basis, I figured you might as well come in and sit down while we wait.”

“Thanks.” She turned back to Ryan. “Nice talking to you Ryan. I’ll see you later I guess. I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the band.”

“See you Lindsay.” Ryan replied and headed down the hallway.

Lindsay turned and entered the room, not noticing Richie frowning slightly.