“You remember when I went to Matapouri before the audition? Well I met him up there although at that point I didn’t realise who he was.”
I filled him in on the rest of the story though I made our first meeting sound like a coincidence and was glad at the end when Cam gave me his approval. Not that I needed it but I didn’t want him to think I was jeopardising the tour by getting involved with Mack.
“I think Mack is a great guy. I can see why you have fallen for him. Just be careful that’s all, as I know how you jump in boots and all!” Cam was looking at me so seriously that I had to give him a friendly push to lighten up.
“Yeah I really like him but I haven’t fallen for him. We just have fun together. Anyway it wasn’t that long ago everyone was recommending I jump into bed with some random guy to get over Jay. I guess I’m just belatedly taking up everyone’s advice!”
I was lying to myself as much as anyone as I denied the seriousness of our relationship. I just wasn’t ready to give what we had a label yet. Let alone invoke the big L word!
“True! Well I’m just glad to see you happy and I guess that explains your rapid return to form. Knew there was something different about you on the Monday of our audition and now I know. It was the after euphoria of great sex!”
Cam couldn’t resist teasing and I laughed as he had pretty much hit the nail on the head. When Marvin Gaye sang about ‘Sexual Healing’ he wasn’t wrong!
“Hey did you hear Mack scored us a box to watch the All Blacks game in on Saturday after we perform at the opening ceremony?”
“Yeah I had and they also asked if I would sing the National Anthem!”
Cam’s mouth fell open before he pulled it together in whoop of joy, “Get out of here! Jess that is really something, I’m almost jealous, that is a huge accolade.”
I had known for a while that we were part of the pre-game entertainment at Eden Park before the All Blacks played Scotland’s national team. And last night Mack had asked me how I would feel performing the national anthem before the game. Apparently the singer they had lined up had pulled out due to her health and they had thought I would be a good fill in.
“You should have heard my Dad when I told him. I thought he was having a heart attack!” I smiled as I remembered his response as that had meant more even than being asked.
“He will be so proud. Gee Jessie I don’t think we are going to ever have problems finding work again after this tour. It has worked out better than my wildest dreams.”
I smiled and nodded, “Still owe it all to my biggest supporter!”
Cam’s face lit up into a bright smile, “Oh shucks; it was nothing sweetheart.” And he leant over and gave me a kiss.
The concert that night was our best yet thanks to all the extra lighting and special effects they had at Vector Arena. I had never performed there as it was still relatively new but I had known other performers who had and raved about it. And it had certainly lived up to its reputation.
Mack
Damn I was so over these crazy, fucked up letters that kept turning up. I had taken to sorting the mail in the morning as Jessie didn’t need to read any more of this crap he was spouting. They were getting angrier and more personal and I wasn’t any expert but it felt like things were escalating.
I had spoken to the police yesterday and they had beefed up their presence at the concert. Now I just needed to add extra security at the hotel as the thought of anything happening to Jessie was doing my head in.
After we had made love last night the need to tell her how I felt was overwhelming. I think I had been falling in love with her from the first moment I saw her face on the demo tape from Weka Recordings. And the feelings had been growing ever since. I was pretty sure she felt the same way but hell, we still lived on opposite sides of the world. I could never abandon Alina and the farm which left the ball in Jessie’s court. Did I have the right to ask her to leave all that was familiar and come with me to Scotland? The thought of living without her was unbearable though.
I put it out of my mind for now as going around in circles was driving me crazy. Today we were playing before the All Blacks rugby game and I had been looking forward to this since the start of the tour. Nothing was going to spoil today. Oh, except if Scotland lost!
I picked up the mail that was on the breakfast tray that had been sent up and was pissed off to see another letter from the stalker. I opened it and quickly read its contents before pushing it away in disgust. This guy was a fucking pervert. I quietly let security know that there was another letter and put it inside a bag to give to the police.
“Hey Mack is that the breakfast tray?”
“Sure is gorgeous, I’ll bring it through in a moment.”
I gave the letter to the security guy who had come up and picked up the tray and took it through to Jessie’s room.
“You all ready for tonight?”
“I will be after the beauty spa is done with me! Did you see they have booked me in for a total makeover before tonight? Today is going to be magical!”
Jessie looked so excited that I was glad she hadn’t seen the letter.
“Do you know what would make today even more magical?”
Jessie gave me a lascivious look as she suggestively ran the tip of her tongue over her lips. Wow if she was trying to make me forget about all the stress of late this was going to work just fine.
She ran the tip of her finger over my mouth and down my chest. I loved it when she played the wanton sex nymph and she knew it.
I went along with her. “Ah a new dress?”
She hopped up on her knees and let the sheet that had been covering her drop and shook her head just hard enough to make her tits sway deliciously from side to side.
“Nope.” And she undid my first button, “Try again.”
“An ice cream after the game?”
She slid her hands down my arms easing off my shirt in a way that had her bare breasts pushed up against my chest. I could feel the brush of her hard nipples and felt an answering jolt in my groin.
“You’re not very good at this game Mack. Do you want a hint?”
She looked up at me with eyes that were dark with desire and a smile that left me in doubt as to how much she was enjoying this. Usually I was in control when we made love and this change of pace was a huge turn on.
Jessie put her finger in my mouth before trailing her hand down to her nipple.
“Have you guessed yet?” And she covered her breast and started to roll her nipple between her finger and her thumb.
“Maybe I need another hint.” I was trying my best to act dumb but I was pretty darn sure the grin on my face left her in no doubt that I knew I was about to get lucky.
She gently shoved me back into the pillows before straddling her leg over me. She undid my belt and my trouser zip and stalled just long enough on my dick for me to feel the warmth of her hand. Hell she was a good tease.
She turned around to ease my trousers down and I had her creamy tush all but in my face. I could see the lips of her pussy peeking at me as she tipped over to pull the trousers off my feet. I snapped.
I slid out from underneath her and grabbed her ass and pulled her back hard on to my cock and let out a sigh of contentment as her tight, wet pussy welcomed me.
“I thought you would guess after that hint!” And Jessie looked over her shoulder naughtily. “Now I want you to fuck me hard Marcus O’Connor so that I come all over your cock.”
Where had this girl come from? But I didn’t need any second invite. I grabbed her ass tight, slamming into her in deep rhythmic strokes. Her moaning let me know that she too was close and I reached round and found her swollen clit and gave it a hard tweak. She bucked against me and I felt myself explode. Waves of pleasure overtook me as I kept moving until I was sure Jessie too had followed me to these heady heights.
I pulled her up on to my chest as we both tried to regain our breath and stroked her curls away from face. Her face had broken a sweat an
d the curls were sticking stubbornly to it.
“Wow that was quite a show Jessica May!”
She laughed heartily, “I even surprised myself with that performance!”
She rolled over so she could look up at me and I felt my heart tighten as I took in the face that had become so precious to me.
I gently smacked her ass, “If you want to make your beauty appointment you need to cover that sexy little body before I decide I need seconds!”
Her squeal of delight sent her tits bouncing and I nearly did grab her for seconds. Instead I settled for watching her nakedly romp round the room as she got ready for her shower.
By the time she got out I was showered and dressed and had the computer on catching up on emails.
Jess
Wow I couldn’t believe how daring I had been. I liked the person I was around Mack. He brought out parts of me that I didn’t even know were there; I felt sexy, vibrant and alive. Like I could achieve anything!
I couldn’t imagine waking up and him not being beside me or never being able to share a special thought with him again. In fact I couldn’t imagine a life without Mack at all. Christ what have I done? I felt my heart start to pound and my chest tighten and I knew I was having a panic attack. Was this all about not seeing Mack again?
It was like when Mum had told me to say goodbye to Joe. And that tight feeling of loss had remained for years afterwards. Is this what it will be like when Mack leaves? What a fool I had been. I thought I was so clever having this under control; being the modern lady with no need for commitment or strings. Life is all about fun right? Sure until the fat lady sings!
I put my hands to my temples to try and stop the thudding and took some long slow breaths. Right now I needed to focus on getting through tonight. Positive thoughts; pampering at the beauty spa, new dress!
By the time I had left the beauty spa I felt almost back to normal and very glamorous. They had put a few subtle highlights in my hair to accentuate the copper tones and had pinned it up in a messy up do. The finishing touch had been placing tiny flower clips around the bun which looked like tiny white sparkles from the distance.
They had also made a dress especially for me that had a detachable skirt. That way I could couple the top with something suitable for singing with High Land Boys and then attach the skirt for a more formal look when I sang the anthem.
It was a beautiful turquoise green, like the water near Kaikoura, and floated and sparkled just like it on a sunny day. I had never worn anything so beautiful and couldn’t wait to put it on again when I sang.
I went upstairs to see Mack as it was almost time to head to rehearsal and was so lost in my own thoughts that I walked head long into one of the security guards.
“You right miss?”
I looked up at the security guard who was looking back at me intently, “Oh sorry, I was a million miles away.”
I smiled and went to walk on but he still had hold of my arm.
I looked pointedly at my arm before he laughed awkwardly and released it, “Be careful.”
“Sure, bye.”
Man that was weird; he sure needed to work on his interpersonal skills. Maybe security was one of those occupations that required brawn more than the ability to partake in social niceties! But he was a tad creepy.
I forgot all about him though as when I got to my room Mack took one look at me and grabbed my hands and twirled me around.
“Wow you look fabulous Jess. And is this the dress?”
I nodded as he took in the skirt I was carrying.
“I’ll be thinking about ripping it off you all night!”
“There will be no ripping Marcus O’Connor. It will be hard enough giving it back. I didn’t have much faith in someone else picking out a dress for me but I don’t think I could have picked better. I love it!”
I laughed as I wasn’t usually this precious about clothes but I guess we all have a diva inside us somewhere! And mine had just come out!
The rehearsal was completed by mid-afternoon and we headed to the cafes in Kingsland to get a bite to eat. I was so excited that I didn’t think I would be able to eat but I surprised myself when the kumara chips and aioli arrived. They were divine and by the time I had ploughed through them and had a cup of coffee I felt ready for anything.
“Hope our boys do us proud tonight!”
Cam smiled confidently at Lance, “Wouldn’t get too excited mate!”
Mack laughed, “Inclined to agree with Cam, other than a draw in 1983 I don’t think we have beaten them in the last century!”
Lance looked doubtful at Mack, “Really? I thought we had a good rugby team!”
Cam slapped Lance on the back looking gleeful, “Don’t take it too hard, sure you Scottish boys have other skills!”
I listened to them talk with half an ear while my thoughts wandered idly around. I was trying to contain my half smile as I thought how different they were to what people perceived rock stars to be. It really wasn’t all sex, drugs and rock and roll with the good artists. Like any profession it required hard work and dedication and that didn’t mix well with getting blotto five days a week. So really other than being famous the same things made them tick as any other person. Well almost!
I looked over at the familiar faces and realised how attached I had become of them over the last six weeks. They were like family to me.
“Love your rendition of the anthem Jess. Are you folks coming down to the stadium tonight?”
“I couldn’t get tickets Cam as the game has been sold out for weeks.”
Mack, who had been listening, piped up at this point, “I can put their names on the door for our box. In fact we have room for about ten more if you guys want to invite anyone else. Just give me the names in the next hour so I can organise it.”
I couldn’t keep my delight from my face, “Thanks Mack, will ring them now. You’re the best.”
“Sorry I didn’t think of it earlier.”
I popped out the back to the courtyard where it was quieter and gave Mum a ring. I could hear Dads whoop when he heard the news and smiled, “I can probably get tickets for four or five so if anyone else in the family wants to come let me know so I can add their names to the door as well. Can’t wait to see you guys tonight.”
“See you tonight love, and break a leg eh!”
I walked back in and smiled at Mack, “Mum and Dad were over the moon. Will let you know if any more family is coming, and thanks Mack.”
“No problem Jess.”
We got back to the park about half an hour before we were due to perform. The stadium was filling up fast and was already two thirds full. We could see a makeshift stage that was in the middle of the field on a large trailer so it could be quickly removed after I had sung the national anthem. I felt a shiver of excitement and nerves and Cam squeezed my hand.
We had a new twist to our first number and I was looking forward to seeing how the crowd would receive it. Josh had been watching Stomp and had come up with this novel idea to start our first number off with us stomping out the base and then to bring in the banjo and the guitar. It had a fast melody so when the strumming dropped in on our stomping it sounded amazing. Then the rest of the instruments came in with the vocals. It was a lot of fun to do so I hoped the audience enjoyed it. We would soon find out anyway!
We were shepherded out to our stage on a small buggy and the noise was deafening. I looked around at the guys and could see a few cases of nerves, “All for one and one for all!”
That cracked the guys up, not that I had meant to be amusing.
“What are we the three musketeers with Tonto and Batgirl or something?”
I laughed, “Whatever gets you through the night!”
“Anyway I’m more like an Iron Man than Tonto,” said Cam grinning, “I’m witty, handsome and I always get the girl!”
The laugh did us good and by the time we got on stage and Lance had introduced us, we were ready.
We started stomping
into the silence and the crowd was mesmerised. Then Robbie and Lance brought in the guitar and the banjo, strumming the fast rift of the introduction, and by the time we started to sing the crowd was stomping and yahooing too. Could have helped that the beer had been flowing freely for the last few hours and they were ready to be entertained! But the reception we got managed to set us free from the last of our nerves and we had the time of our lives on stage. By the time we finished our second number we were sad to be at the end!
The buggy came back for the boys while someone helped me behind the stage to discreetly attach my skirt and fix up my makeup. I was sweating profusely after the stomping and needed the sheen removed from my face! I didn’t want to look all shiny on camera during the close ups.
Someone asked the crowd to rise for the National Anthem and I stepped up to the microphone. I breathed into the silence and focussed on the fact that this was a song to my fellow countrymen. Nothing to be scared about. I took another deep breath before I started off the first verse in Maori.
As I sung I could hear myself joined by fifty thousand other voices and for the two verses we were joined in our common love for our country. It was a moment I would never forget and by the time I finished, I had to blink hard to disperse the tears that were welling in the corner of my eyes.
The buggy came for me and Mack was waiting at the entrance to the grounds to escort me up to the box.
He swiped me up in a bear hug that left me in no doubt of my performance.
“You didn’t tell me about the stomping that was pure genius! And you brought tears to your folk’s eyes when you sung the anthem. Can’t get better praise than that!” He leant down and added for my ears only, “Except for mine tonight Jessie girl!” And he gave me his wickedest grin.
I felt myself grinning back and had a feeling it was going to be painted on all night. Don’t think I had ever felt this high on life and it felt incredible.
“So the stomping sounded good? What did Mum and Dad think of the High Land Boys performance?”
Sing a Song of Love Page 9
