Chapter 5

The concert was sold out and the stadium was jam packed. Molly and Keira squeezed their way through the throngs of people, stopping briefly at the concession stand to buy some bottled water before heading to their seats. A young kid wearing a yellow t-shirt with the words "STAFF" printed on the back took a look at their tickets and began to lead them toward the stage. Molly exchanged an incredulous look with Keira as they continued to pass row upon row of seats, until finally the teenager stopped and gestured down the sixth row from the stage. Molly flashed a smile that made the boy blush as he walked away, and the two women took their seats. "I had NO idea the seats would be this close to the stage!" Molly said excitedly. "I wonder what the chances are of me jumping up there with the boys?"

Keira laughed. "Molly, you do realize that you're 31 years old, right?" she teased.

Molly waved her hand dismissively. "Age is just a number," she retorted. "Tell me, how is it that you're so reasonable and -- and boring, yet we're still best friends?"

Keira wasn't offended, because she knew that Molly was only teasing. "I guess we just balance each other out," she replied, thinking, if you only knew my little secret, you wouldn't be teasing me about being boring.

Glancing around the stadium, she wasn't suprised to see that the vast majority of fans were women. She'd never been to a Bon Jovi concert before, and she was amazed by the electricity in the atmosphere. People were on the edge of their seats waiting to see the band. Keira was also fascinated to see that there was such a wide range in the ages of the fans. There were just as many teenagers as there were 40- and 50-year olds. Suddenly struck by the enormity of just how big Jon and the guys had become, Keira was overcome by an odd mix of pride and sadness. There was so much that she'd missed.

After the opening act left the stage and the lights dimmed to herald Bon Jovi's arrival, Keira was hit with a wave of anxiety. She wasn't ready to see him, and she considered hightailing it out of there. The only thing stopping her was Molly, who was already standing in the aisle, getting ready to dance as soon as the first notes hit the air. Keira took a deep breath and waited.

The crowd erupted as Richie, Dave, Tico, and Hugh took the stage and started playing the opening notes of Lost Highway. Molly was screaming and jumping around like a teenager. She reached down and tugged on Keira's arm. "Dance with me!!" she shouted over the music. Keira stood up, wishing fervently that she'd had more alcohol to drink.

When Jon took the stage, Keira felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. He looked gorgeous. Wearing faded black jeans, black boots, and a tight gray t-shirt, he looked better than ever. His sandy, tousled hair was still fairly long, and even from the sixth row Keira could see the sparkle in his blue eyes. There was no question why he made the perfect frontman: not only did he have the voice and the look, but he also had the energy of a man half his age. When he grinned out at the crowd, it was easy to see that he loved what he did and he was glad the fans were still there with him after all this time. The ladies screamed and Keira thought, everyone wants a piece of him.

Before long Keira found herself bouncing around with Molly, singing along with nearly every song. She hadn't realized that she knew so many of the lyrics. It wasn't as though she sat around every night listening to Jon's CDs. When he turned his back on the crowd and raised his guitar into the air at the end of a song, Molly shrieked, "Look at that ASS!!!"

Keira elbowed her playfully and shouted, "I thought you were here for Richie!"

Nodding emphatically, Molly said, "Oh, I am, I am -- but Jon is not an easy man to ignore."

I know, said the voice in Keira's head. The voice that hadn't shut up all day.

The band launched into the next song, and it was a ballad that Keira wasn't familiar with. Hot from all the dancing, she sank into her seat, grateful for the break. Within seconds, though, she was leaning forward, hanging on every word coming out of Jon's mouth.

It might be hard to be lovers
But it's harder to be friends
Baby, pull down the covers
It's time you let me in
Maybe light a couple candles
I'll just go ahead and lock the door
If you just talk to me baby
Till we ain't strangers anymore

Lay your head on my pillow
I sit beside you on the bed
Don't you think its time we say
Some things we haven't said
It ain't too late to get back to that place
Back to where we thought it was before
Why don't you look at me
Till we ain't strangers anymore

Sometimes it's hard to love me
Sometimes it's hard to love you too
I know it's hard believing
That love can pull us through
It would be so easy
To live your life
With one foot out the door
Just hold me baby
Till we ain't strangers anymore

It's hard to find forgiveness
When we just turn out the light
It's hard to say you're sorry
When you can't tell wrong from right
It would be so easy
To spend your whole damn life
Just keeping score

So let's get down to it baby
There ain't no need to lie
Tell me who you think you see
When you look into my eyes
Lets put our two hearts back together
And we'll leave the broken pieces on the floor
Make love with me baby
Till we ain't strangers anymore

We're not strangers anymore...

The song could have been written for her, but she wasn't foolish enough to think that it was. As the song faded, Molly reached over and patted Keira's hand. "Beautiful song, isn't it?" she said with a sympathetic smile, and it was only then that Keira realized that her cheeks were wet with tears. Quickly wiping them away, she smiled weakly and nodded. Good Lord, she thought, first I spend hours picking out a damn outfit and now I'm crying at a concert. I'm in girly girl hell!

After a few more songs, the band thanked the crowd and ran off the stage, coming back a few minutes later for an encore of Wanted Dead or Alive. Molly didn't take her eyes off of Richie the entire time he played the song. "It's like he's fucking that guitar," she said dreamily, and then, a few minutes later, "I want to be that guitar!"

Within minutes the show was over and the crowd reluctantly began to stream out of the stadium. Molly turned to Keira and said, "Are you ready for this?" Keira nodded, thinking, it's now or never. Molly took the VIP passes out of her purse and they headed toward the nearest security guard. He took the passes and looked them over, then handed them back and gestured for the women to follow his lead to the backstage area.