See You at the Show

by Michelle Betham

  Because that’s what Daniel was now. He’d won the Leadership Election by a landslide and now, with a General Election just months away, his party was more than confident he could take them forward into Government. She’d never usually paid that much attention to politics before, but being with Daniel had made her sit up and take notice because she cared about what he did. She cared about him.

  Their affair – because that’s what it was – had started up a few months ago, just before Stevie had left with the band for their European Tour dates. It hadn’t happened straightaway, Stevie hadn’t been sure she’d wanted to get involved when things were still such a mess with Mark, but Daniel had been very persistent.

  He was a romantic, the total opposite of Mark, and despite the fact he was so not the type of man she usually went for he’d won her round with his persistence. He was like an antidote to the crazy life she lived, an escape she could run to when she felt like it, but she didn’t always feel like it. She was still very much involved with Mark. She couldn’t let him go, he was like a habit she couldn’t break but she had started to keep her distance more than she’d used to. Because Daniel was taking up more of her head space than she’d ever thought he could. She found herself thinking about him more and more, wondering what he was doing, where he was when he wasn’t with her and she tried to stop it by sleeping with Mark or throwing herself into her work but he wouldn’t go away. He kept on creeping back into her thoughts and she couldn’t stop that. As time wore on she found herself not even wanting to.

  She’d been away for a while now, working with Black Rock Diamond on their North American and Canadian Tour so her affair with Daniel had hardly had time to get off the ground in reality, but she was missing him. She’d missed him frequently over the time she’d been away, despite the distraction of Mark. This seemingly mild-mannered and polite gentleman who’d walked into her life and made her change the way she thought about things - she’d missed him.

  But they were all back in Britain now. The band was in the studio to record the new album and Stevie had some time off, a chance to relax, yet all she wanted to do was see Daniel. She wanted to call him, she wanted to hear his voice but she couldn’t just call him any time she wanted to, could she? It wasn’t that simple where Daniel Madison was concerned. So she punched out a quick text and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She felt at a bit of a loose end. She’d just spent weeks on the road hanging out with rock stars and partying most nights with little or no sleep and it felt strange having nothing to do. She wasn’t even tired, even though she should be. It had been a long flight back from Vancouver but she just couldn’t settle.

  She closed her eyes for a second, thinking back to the tour. She got such a buzz from being on the road with the band and it was always hard coming down from that, which is why she needed to do something. She just didn’t know what. Not if Daniel wasn’t here.

  Her ‘phone suddenly rang and she reached out for it, picking it up and answering it straightaway without even checking to see who it was. “Yeah?”

  “Where are you?”

  She smiled as Daniel’s perfect English voice came down the line. “I’m at home. Where are you?”

  “I’m at The House of Commons. It was Prime Minister’s question’s today…I need to see you, Stevie. I’ve bloody missed you.”

  “Yeah, I’ve kinda missed you too, politician guy. What you doing later? I’ve got nothing on this evening.”

  He laughed quietly. “I really hope you haven’t.”

  She pulled her knees up slightly and smiled to herself. “Hey, Mr. Party Leader. Are those thoughts befitting a man of your stature? I’m not leading you astray, am I?”

  “I hope so, Stevie, I really hope so. Come over to my place. An hour?”

  “I’m there, baby.”

  She threw the ‘phone back onto the bed and turned onto her side, hugging a pillow tight. Things were changing in Stevie Stone’s head, and that was all because of Daniel Madison. The man she was falling in love with.

  ***

  Daniel put the ‘phone down and smiled. She’d been out of the country for a few months now and it had felt like too long. When she wasn’t around it gave him too much time to think and if he thought about what he was doing it scared him. It was wrong, it was dangerous but he couldn’t leave her alone. She was like some kind of drug he needed in order to function now, just knowing she was in his life made everything seem easier to handle. She gave him a kind of energy he’d never felt before and now he didn’t know if he could do without it. Sure, he felt guilty, but less so as time went on and he wasn’t sure whether that was an altogether good sign. Not when this General Election was just around the corner. He couldn’t afford anything to leak out into the press, he couldn’t afford a scandal because that’s what it would be. A married party leader and a rock roadie – it had tabloid headline written all over it and it could destroy everything he’d worked so hard to achieve. But on the other hand, Stevie was a woman he wasn’t willing to give up. Whatever the consequences. He’d never lived his life quite so close to the edge before but he was finding it more than just a little exhilarating. She was an incredible woman, Stevie Stone. And she was a woman he wanted more than he dared to admit.

  ***

  Mark was losing her and it hurt. She still slept with him, she still hung out with him, she was still in his life, but she was moving farther away from him and he felt helpless.

  He didn’t know who she was seeing, but he knew it wasn’t Johnny. If it was it might be easier to take, easier to fight for her but the fact he had no idea who this man was made it both frustrating and painful. She was doing a fantastic job of keeping it a secret and there was nothing he could do.

  He still loved her, and he was still finding it hard to cope with the rush of feelings he was experiencing but if he acted on those feelings he’d lose her, she’d told him as much. And he didn’t want to lose her. He just wanted to know who she was with, he wanted to see what he was up against. And then he could work out just what kind of fight he had on his hands.

  ***

  Samantha wasn’t stupid. Daniel may think she was but she was a lot more observant than he was giving her credit for. All this time she’d known how distracted he’d been and she’d thought, at first, that it was all down to work and everything he’d had on his mind. That hadn’t been an entirely wrong assumption, of course. He did have a lot on his mind. It just wasn’t all to do with work; she was convinced of that now.

  She’d suspected something for a while. The way he’d been acting, the more time he’d taken to spending away from home and the fact he was making love to her less and less when he was home. It was, at times, as though he didn’t want to be near her anymore. He’d changed. Maybe in front of his colleagues, and certainly when it came to interviews and TV appearances, he was the same old Daniel. But nobody else knew him like she did. So he should have realised she’d sense even the smallest change in his behaviour.

  He was having an affair. She was certain, more than certain. She didn’t know who with, he was very good at leaving no clues, but she hated the way he’d made her so suspicious. She’d started going through his pockets, looking through his things for the slightest give-away but so far she’d found nothing. Sometimes she hoped that was because she was getting everything out of proportion and he wasn’t really having an affair at all, but she had a feeling she wasn’t wrong. Someone was slowly taking her husband away from her. And she wanted to know who.

  ***

  Daniel opened the door and she pushed him inside, grabbing his jacket collar, kicking the door shut behind her.

  “Did anyone see you?” he asked. She shook her head. “You look incredible.” He slid an arm round her waist, pulling her close.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself, mister. I’m beginning to find this whole suit and tie thing really sexy.” She started to loosen his tie, sliding it off his neck and throwing it aside, pushing his jacket back off his shoulders. �
�However, I’d much rather you took it all off and showed me that bad side of yours. All politician’s have a bad side, don’t they?”

  He wanted her so much it was crazy. More often than not he could take or leave sex - he and Samantha had never been the kind of couple that spent a lot of time in the bedroom anyway, but since meeting Stevie he couldn’t get enough. But only with her. Only with this incredible, Swedish fantasy. Only with her. He couldn’t even think of making love to Samantha anymore, he couldn’t think of being with anyone other than this new and exciting woman and that worried the hell out of him. He didn’t recognise himself sometimes, and he didn’t know what he was really feeling now, or maybe he did. And he just didn’t want to admit it.

  “I can have a bad side. If you want me to.”

  “Oh yeah. I want you to.”

  That accent of his was becoming something of a turn on for Stevie. So perfect and proper. But the things he could do with that mouth weren’t proper at all, and she needed him like crazy today. She just wanted to play with him for a bit first, though

  He leaned forward to kiss her but she put her fingers to his mouth, smiling, shaking her head. “In a minute. Have some patience, ok?”

  “Patience? It’s been months, Stevie. Months since I’ve touched you, and all I’ve done is dream about this, about being with you.”

  “I know that. I know.” She took his hand, leading him into the living room. “Ok, Mr. Party Leader. You can kiss me now.”

  He laughed. He was fast getting used to her straight talking ways and her forthright manner. You never knew what you were going to get next with her and that’s what he found so fascinating, so exciting. Predictability used to be something he’d needed, but not with Stevie. Predictable wasn’t something she was ever going to be.

  He pulled her against him, his hand gently touching the side of her face as he lowered his mouth down onto hers in a kiss he’d waited months for. Just touching her lips again, holding her close, it was a feeling he’d craved ever since she’d left on the tour, and she held onto him, wishing her stomach wasn’t doing the millions of somersaults it seemed to be performing right now, wishing she felt strong enough to deal with this but all she wanted to do was stay in his arms. She didn’t want to be anywhere else. Not even with Mark. Maybe she was using Daniel as someone to run to, to escape the increasingly complicated situation with Mark but, Jesus, if she thought that was complicated then what the hell was this?

  “I have missed you so much,” he whispered. “You have no idea.”

  “I’m sure you’ve had a lot to keep you occupied. The General Election, hiding this from your wife...”

  “Stevie...”

  “It’s no use pretending it isn’t there, Daniel. You’re married, and if anyone found out about us...”

  She didn’t know why she’d mentioned this now, when he was only five minutes through the door. It wasn’t like her to feel this way. She’d never done needy, she’d told him as much just a few months ago, but now she found herself feeling something she’d never felt before – jealousy. She was jealous of Samantha Madison, because she had Daniel totally. Stevie only had him on loan.

  “I’m sorry, Daniel.” She looked at him, pulling herself together in a second. She didn’t do this, she never did this. “Let’s not talk about all that, ok? Right now it’s just me and you and I want it to stay that way. Just me and you.”

  Daniel pulled her closer, kissing her again, pushing all thoughts of Samantha aside. He had to. But it was getting easier. Every time he saw Stevie, every second he was with her it became easier to forget his real life.

  “Just me and you,” he whispered, losing himself in her as he always did. Escaping to that world she always took him to.

  “You ready for the reunion then, Mr. Politician?”

  He watched as she took a step back, pulling off her t-shirt, and once again he felt that head-spinning dizziness as everything else faded into the background and nothing else seemed to matter. He was about to make love to everything that was bad for him. With consequences he hadn’t even begun to consider.

  ***

  Dave sat down beside Johnny, putting a pint in front of him. They’d spent the whole day, and the majority of the evening, in the recording studio and now most of the guys were just winding down in the pub next door with a few drinks before it all started up again tomorrow.

  “Thought you’d have headed home by now,” Johnny said, swinging his feet up onto the table.

  “I wanted a word.”

  Johnny looked at him. “What about?”

  “Is Mark around?”

  “No, he’s gone home, surprisingly.” He turned his attention back to the magazine he’d been reading. “You’ve probably gathered he’s not in the best of moods and socialising doesn’t appear to be high on his list of priorities right now. What do you want, Dave?”

  “Him and Stevie...what’s going on there?”

  Johnny shrugged. “The usual. They just go round in fucking circles, you know that as well as anyone. Look, do you have a point here?”

  “Does he know who she’s seeing? Behind his back?”

  “She’s not doing anything behind his back, Dave. And is this going anywhere?”

  “It’s Daniel Madison.”

  Johnny looked at him again, narrowing his eyes. “Who?”

  “The man Stevie’s seeing. It’s Daniel Madison. He’s the Leader of the Opposition, a very prominent businessman. Possibly the next Prime Minister of this country. And someone who shouldn’t be going anywhere near Stevie Stone.”

  Johnny tried to take it all in. Stevie was involved with a politician? But not just any old politician by the sounds of it. No wonder she’d been keeping it to herself.

  Dave threw a newspaper in front of him and Johnny picked it up, looking at the picture on the front page. A picture of a man he recognised from somewhere.

  “That’s him,” Dave said. “That’s Daniel Madison. Not really her type you’d have thought.”

  The guy from the private birthday party. That’s where Johnny had seen him before. He was also positive he’d seen him backstage at one of their Wembley Stadium gigs last year too, talking to Stevie. When the hell had all this started? And why would she go for someone like him? He was the complete opposite of everything she stood for. He was so far away from Mark.

  “What’s this got to do with you anyway?” Johnny asked, throwing the paper back down on the table.

  “Because what she’s doing is affecting this band. She’s got Mark’s head in a fucking mess, he’s off his game and that’s not good.”

  “I still don’t see what this has to do with you.” Johnny didn’t really feel much like talking about Stevie.

  “She has to make a choice, Johnny.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Dave?”

  “She’s messing with this band.”

  “She’s pissing off Mark, that’s all.”

  “Mark is this band.”

  Johnny took a swig of beer, looking straight ahead. “That’s good to hear, Dave. That’s really good to hear.”

  “Quit with the hurt feelings routine, you know what I mean. Without Mark Cassidy this band’s nothing and you know that and I want him at his best, Johnny. I want him firing on all cylinders and right now he’s nowhere near that because his head’s in a mess.”

  “And this is my problem because?”

  “Talk to Stevie. Like I said, she has to make a choice. Either she quits whatever’s going down with Daniel Madison and gets Cassidy back on track, or she’s out.”

  Johnny looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Out?”

  “If she isn’t around anymore maybe Mark can move on. Because, right now, she isn’t even giving him the chance to try.”

  “I’ll ask you again. What the fuck has any of this got to do with you?”

  “You’re her friend, Johnny. I’m sure she’d rather hear it from you.”

  Johnny laughed, he couldn’t help it. This whole
situation was beyond crazy.

  “I’m telling her nothing, Dave. You’re out of your mind! It’s none of your fucking business.”

  “It’s my business when what she’s doing starts to affect this band so talk to her, Johnny.” He stood up, picking up the newspaper and sliding it under his arm. “Or I will. It’s your choice.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Stevie found Johnny outside the recording studio, sitting on the step smoking a cigarette, staring straight ahead of him. It had felt a bit like he’d been avoiding her lately, he’d certainly been quieter than usual and it bothered her. Usually he told her everything so if something was up she wanted to know what was on his mind.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong with your face?” she asked, sitting down beside him.

  “I didn’t know you were coming down here today.” He didn’t look at her when he spoke.

  “Yeah, well, they wanted me to help out on something. I’m a freelance sound engineer as well as your roadie, remember? And probably cheaper than hiring someone else in.” She took the cigarette from him, stealing a quick drag. “And I wanted to see Mark.”

  “Really.” It wasn’t a question, and Stevie didn’t miss the hint of sarcasm.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He took the cigarette back and looked at her. “Daniel Madison.”

  She looked away, her stomach suddenly turning over as a wave of nausea washed over her. “How do you know about Daniel?”