June 2nd 1987 / Illinois
Rosie's POV
"BABE!! CAN YOU COME HERE FOR A MINUTE!!" His husky voice echoes through the hotel room "Coming". I hesitantly shuffle out the bathroom, nervously fidgeting with my hands, wondering what on earth he could possibly want. He hasn't mentioned the fact that It's my birthday all day which does hurt but I'm certainly not going to bring it up, I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for it. "Yeah baby?" A delicate smile gracing my lips "Come here babe" Holding his hand out for me to take. I slide my hand into his and allow him to guide me around the room "Close your eyes" My brows ruffle together with confusion but I remain silent and close my eyes.
I hear a lot of rustling as if he's carrying some sort of bag "Keep em closed until I say". A couple of minutes later, the rustling has finally stopped but my curiosity is killing me, I want to know what's going on, why is he being so secretive "Okay open them". My eyes slowly creep open, widening with shock and surprise when I see a beautiful slinky black dress with gold detailing down the sides and of course It's deep plunge. There's also a pair of gold heels and a beautiful necklace. I inch closer to scan each item and everything looks really expensive, it must have cost him a bomb "oh my god.... so beautiful" My hand clutching my thumping heart. "You like it..... really?" He sounds so unsure, as if he thinks he's made a bad choice "Of course I do..... but.... I don't understand... what's it for?". I'm trying my best to make it sound like I have no idea what day it is. "Well.... I just wanted to get you somethin nice babe.... and we're all goin out tonight... gonna have fun" I can hardly contain my excitement, my eyes are so wide, they're nearly popping out "Ohh!! where are we going?". "Oh just the usual babe... go to a bar" I know he's lying because his eyes have a tell when he lies, but should I call him out on it or go along with it. "Oh right..... sounds..... fun" Trying my best to look a little disappointed. "I was hopin you'd wear this tonight" I bite down hard on my lip in an attempt to hide my excitement "Of course I will..... thankyou baby, I love it" Pulling him in for a sensual, loving kiss.
The hours tick by and It's now 5pm and he's asked me to start getting dressed, so I started off with my hair, curling it and winding it up into a messy bun. I slide the tight slinky mini dress up my body, pulling the thin straps onto my shoulders. Before putting my shoes and jewellery on, I quickly put my makeup on, brushing a layer of foundation on my face along with eyeliner, mascara and red lipstick.
"Babe... you ready?" His shouts muffle through the bathroom door, prompting me to inhale a deep breath of air as I give myself a once over in the mirror. My clammy hand tugs at the handle, slowly pushing the door open. My jaw unhinges and drops on the floor when I see him standing there with his favourite black jacket, his best tight fitting jeans, boots and a button down shirt, he looks very spruced up for just going to the bar I have to say. He scans me up and down a few times, his mouth agape "Beautiful.... so beautiful". My cheeks glow bright pink, feeling slightly embarrassed "You're very dapper". "There's one last thing I got you" My brows knit together yet again, wondering what it could be "What is it?". My heart flutters and stomach tumbles like a weed when he pulls out a lengthy black velvet shawl with a gold pattern on it "Jonny!!". I scurry over to him, gently grabbing hold of the soft shawl "oh my god.... you shouldn't have". A Cheshire cat grin stretches across my face as I drape it around my shoulders, letting it dangle over my arms. I burst into giggles and coo at the velvet material, leaping into his arms with excitement "I love it.... thankyou". "So I did good?" Raising his brows in anticipation "Oh yeah.... you are so getting boned tonight" He elicits a husky groan as he leans in for a soft kiss.
My eyes turn inward when I set my sighs on the long shiny black limo pull up outside the hotel "Jon this is all very snazzy just to go to the bar?". My head whips round when I hear Alec snicker as if he knows something I don't. Richie abruptly elbows him in the stomach and earns glares from the rest "What's going on?". Jon lets out a frustrated sigh, rolling his eyes at Alec's stupidity "Nothing babe... I promise.... just wanna treat my girl". A sweet giggle bursts from my lips, cooing and sighing under his warmth across my cheek "Hmm... alright baby".
We're all huddled inside the limo, sharing a bottle of champagne, this whole day has been so strange so far but I'm not complaining. "So what time we gettin to the bar Jonny?" Dave pipes up after taking another gulp of his bubbly drink. Jon lifts his wrist up, pulling his sleeve back to peek at the time "About 15 minutes". "Why is everyone saying we're goin to the bar? we're goin to the theatre" Alec shouts out with frustration, waving his arms around in the air.
Suddenly it's all plunged into chaos in the limo, Richie elbows Alec in the stomach again, Dave slaps him on the back of the head, Tico groans with frustration and anger and Jon just looks like he could launch across the limo and kill him "YOU FUCKIN ASSHOLE AL!!". I honestly have no idea why everyone is so angry, so we're going to the theatre, not the bar, what's the big deal that he said that?.
A sudden realisation hits me square in the face, this is why Jon has been so secretive all day, they're performing at the theatre "Oh Jonny why didn't you tell me?". His eyes widen and his complexion turns grey like he's seen a ghost "So you guys are performing at the theatre? that's why everyone is dressed up?". This all makes sense now, of course they're performing, what else could it be. Everyone lets out a deep breath of air "Yeah.... that's right... we're performin tonight... but I wanted it to be a surprise..... until Alec ruined it". He rolls his eyes and tuts his tongue but something still doesn't feel right, he's still hiding something.
The limo comes to a halt, causing everyone to jolt forward slightly in shock "We're here". "Okay... babe... when we get out... there's gonna be a lot of people... cameras and shit.... so just keep a hold of my hand and don't stop" His eyes and tone sound so serious so I simply nod in agreement. The limo door swings open and camera flashes light up the limo immediately. He slides out the limo first, holding his hand out to help me out. As soon as I'm out the limo, the flashes blind my sight for a moment, not allowing me to see anything. He leads me by the hand up a red carpet, the flashes still blinding me. I try my best to put on my best smile, not wanting to look like an idiot next to Jon. We come to a double glass door which is open, he leads me inside where just inside there is a poster for Phantom of the Opera "Wait.... you're not performing". I did mumble it out but he must have heard me because he turned his head to face me, slightly shaking it from side to side.
It all makes sense now, it's my birthday and he knows how much I love Phantom of the Opera. I clutch my heart when it begins to ache, the excitement growing uncontrollable with each step closer. We come to a stop in the lobby so I take the opportunity and swing my arms round him, pulling him in for a tight hug "I can't believe it.... thankyou so much baby". "Happy birthday Rosie" He whispers into my ear before planting a loving kiss on my lips. Just as his lips connect with mine, a blinding flash goes off in our direction. He ignores the flash and continues to grace my lips with the most loving kiss before slowly pulling away.
10 minutes later, we're all situated comfortably in our seats and I have to say we have the best view. My excitement by now is shooting through the roof, I still can't believe he did this for me. My hand is still entangled with his and won't let go until It's over "Oh It's starting!!".
It's a rather slow beginning, but before I know it, It's my favourite scene when the Phantom lures her into his darkness. My hand is grasping his hand so tight with excitement, I'm surprised it isn't hurting him. His thumb starts rubbing circles in my hand, simmering my nerves to a halt. I know this isn't his kind of music, he thinks they're good singers but It's certainly not his favourite kind of music.
My heart flutters when the sensual scene comes on, my hand grasping my chest for fear it may pop out. My breathing quickens, gradually getting louder as the music rolls over me like a wave. Every inch of my skin starts heating up and sizzling which Jon seems to notice.
A couple of scenes later, Jon leans into me, his lips grazing against my ear "Is this guy supposed to be a bad guy? or a good guy?". "Uhhmm... he's a dangerous man who was abused as a child.... but with a soft spot for music and a woman" He releases a deep sigh and slumps back into his seat "Kinda like me". "Don't be silly... you aren't dangerous" Quietly giggling as I slap his arm but the serious expression on his face tells me he's not joking "wait... what do you mean?". "Let's just say my childhood was just as fucked up as anybody else's..... I'll explain later" A gentle yet sad smile graces his lips before he turns his attention back to the show.
Before I know it, the show comes to a a beautiful end and now we're all making our way back to the limo, cramming ourselves inside. "That was so amazing" Exclaiming with excitement while I crack open another bottle of champagne "I'm glad you enjoyed it babe". As soon as I look at him, I can't help but wonder what he meant by 'Kinda like me' but I can't wait until he explains.
He leads me inside the hotel entrance followed closely by the band who are all laughing and shouting like a bunch of teenagers. Instead of leading me upstairs to our room like I thought, he leads me towards a set of double doors with the glass blacked out so you can't see inside. "Where are we going?" He glances over his shoulder at me, a spark of mystery in his eyes "Just wait and see". He knocks on the door 3 times before opening the door at an achingly slow pace, building the suspense.
"SURPRISE!!!!!"
My heartrate skyrockets with shock, leaving me gasping for breaths "Oh my god". I glance round the packed room to see the guys from Cinderella, his parents and brothers and lots of their friends who I don't know. There's lights and decorations dancing round the ceiling and walls and a table in the middle with a big cake with the number 25 on it.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU..."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR ROSIE..."
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU"
....
"HIP HIP"
"HOORAY"
"HIP HIP"
"HOORAY"
"Make a wish baby" Brushing his knuckles across my flushed cheek, turning them a brighter shade of pink. I lean in towards the candles, thinking deep and hard about what I have, what I want. I inhale a deep breath and close my eyes 'I wish that the rest of my life is full of love' I open my eyes up and blow out a last of air. When all the candles blow out, a roar of cheers and claps echo throughout the room.
"Kiss her Jonny!!!" , "YEAHH KISS HER!!" , "KISS HER" They all start chanting and shouting at Jon, urging him on which seems to be working. I gasp out in shock when he yanks me towards him, his lips smacking against mine in a passionate, loving kiss. His lips are so soft and luscious it's actually making me sigh and melt further into him.
He pulls away just as Gene Vincent-- Be bop a lula blares from the speakers, a devilish smirk curving his lips. He slides down my body, his hands caressing my curves, he gazes up at me, seducing me with his blues as he slides back up my body. I gasp out loud when he tugs me closer to him to the point our whole bodies are touching each other. He grasps my wrists and pulls them round the back of his neck then grips my waist. "I thought you couldn't dance" He starts guiding me round the room, swaying to the music in such a sexy way It's actually turning me on "I can't dance like Michael Jackson babe.... but I can dance like this". The song transitions into Elvis-- All shook up and he immediately pulls his lip up the way Elvis does and starts miming the lyrics which definitely gets me giggling. He pulls away from me and spins me round a few times before yanking me back towards him, prompting me to gasp, half out of shock, half out of pleasure "Oh.... Jonny".
We danced for one more song then went off to stuff our faces with some cake. He's busy chatting away with Tom from Cinderella while I'm just stuffing my face. A large majority of the songs is from the 50's because Jon knows just how much I love music from that era. "Hi... you must be the birthday girl" I spin round so fast when I hear an unfamiliar voice behind me. My eyes widen slightly when I see a rather attractive man who just so happens to be Bruce Springsteen. My heart flutters and my cheeks burn bright pink "Hi.... I'm Rosie". I mean he doesn't hold a candle to Jon but he's definitely attractive. "Would you like to dance Rosie?" Holding his hand out for me, his eyes luring me into a daze. "I'd love to" Sliding my hand into his, allowing him to lead me onto the floor. He rests one hand on my waist while the other is interlocked with mine. We start swaying to Frank Sinatra- I've got you under my skin.
"Everyone's staring at us" Whispering out my words as I side glance round the room to see every single person gawking at us "Nah honey... they're starin at you..... you're beautiful". My cheeks glow even brighter with embarrassment, the fact that Bruce complimented me is enough to turn me to mush "Thankyou". "Jonny's a good kid but he's a lucky bastard.... havin you" I bashfully turn away, eliciting a small giggle "How long have you known him". "Geez.... since he was 16 I think... his band used to open for me in New Jersey and we sang together a couple of times" We slowly come to a stop as the song ends. He leads me by the hand over to Jon and Richie "Jon... you've got quite a woman... treat her right kid" Patting him on the shoulder before walking off towards a group of people. "Do you fancy Bruce?.... you totally do.... look how red she is Jon" Richie snickers out his words while his finger points towards me. Jon joins in, snickering away at my blushing "He's always had a charm with the ladies". "I do not fancy him.... It's just warm" They both cock their brows at me, clearly not believing a word I'm saying "Actually.... he said your lucky to have me". He purses his lips while he thinks of what to say next, but just as he's about to speak, the doors burst open.
Deff Leppard-- Pour some sugar on me Blares out the speakers when a cop bounds into the room but something isn't right, he looks different. "What's going on?" I quickly glance up at Jon for answers but he looks just as baffled as me, shrugging his shoulders "No idea... but he's not a cop". I glance over at Richie who is desperately holding back a laugh "Me and the guys hired a male stripper for your birthday". I gasp so loudly everyone starts looking at me "No No No No.... Jonny please... I do not want this". I run behind Jon, cowering like a child and peeking out to see what's happening. The stripper walks over to Dave who points right at me with a grin on his face "I am going to kill him". "Please Jon... Just tell him to go away" He snickers at my words as if to say 'I am not helping' "Hmm... I'd rather not get involved babe".
The cop stops right in front of Jon, smirking up at him "Your under arrest sir". He spins Jon around and cuffs his wrists, which confuses me a lot. If he's a stripper then why would he be pretending to arrest Jon. "What the fuck am I gettin dragged into this for?" He drags Jon to the middle of the room and sits him down on a seat which is facing the side of another one. In an attempt to escape this embarrassment, I cower behind Richie but he just laughs it off "I'm not gonna save ya kid...".
The stripper grabs a hold of my wrists and drags me over to the other chair. I quickly glance over at Jon, widening my eyes in horror and embarrassment. George Thororgood - Bad to the Bone blares from the speakers, marking the start of the strip tease act. He starts thrusting and winding his hips to the music, caressing his body with his large hands. He grabs a hold of his shirt and rips it from his body, tossing it to the floor. My cheeks burn bright red when I gaze at his muscular oiled abs. His biceps flex and pulse as he thrusts towards me in tune to the music, making it all the more worse for me. I didn't understand why Jon was cuffed for but now I do, It's so he's forced to watch me being grinded on by another man, even though he's not a jealous guy, it will bother him a little bit. He grabs onto my hands and rubs them all over his chest and abs, causing my heartrate to skyrocket through the roof.
His hands slither down to his trousers, ripping them from his body and tossing them across the floor, landing at Jon's feet. I try my best not to look, but the more I resist, the more the urge grows. My eyes scan the strippers ripped oily body and sure enough he is attractive and his body is nice but all I can do is compare it to Jon's body and how I'd much prefer to look at that than this. My eyes widen when they are met with his tiny thong which barely covers his bits and pieces, I'm just hoping he doesn't take it off. I gasp out in shock when he straddles my lap, grinding and winding his body to the rock music. Seeing as the stripper is distracted, I take my opportunity to look over at Jon to see him biting his lip, a hint of something I've never seen before in his eyes.
I feel I'm holding together alright during this whole thing, considering I didn't want to go through with it. He hasn't done anything totally inappropriate or made me touch anything other than his abs or ass which isn't so bad. Suddenly he climbs up onto the chair, squatting over me, forcing the lumps to rise up in my throat. He spread his knees so his bulge is right in front of my face and that was all I needed to get me panicking. I can feel my heart beginning to race, the sweat rolling down my forehead. I want so badly to push him off and run away but I do my best to hold my panic attack at bay. My breaths are coming out as tiny whimpering gasps, my body starting to shiver and shake as he continues to thrust his bits closer to me. In a mad panic I glance over at Jon, everything is going by in slow motion, like I'm stuck in a daze. He takes note of my groggy state and starts fidgeting and struggling against the cuffs "ROSIE!!".
My eyes close over as the panic attack starts but that just made it worse. A wave of flashbacks plague my mind, replaying what my ex did to me in my mind. "BABE.... OPEN YOUR EYES!!" Jon's shouts pull me from my daze, prompting me to open my eyes. I glance over to Jon to see him shouting out to me but I can no longer hear what he's saying. The stripper is still dancing away, probably thinking I'm high or something. It's not his fault, nor is it anyone else's for that matter, the strip act just happened to trigger my flashbacks. I have had flashbacks around Jon before, so he knows exactly what they look like and what happens but they are far and few between, I don't get them that often. Carol, having seen her son's panicked state, goes to see what he's shouting about and I see him talking to her then looking over to me. My vision is so blurry now and my hearing feels like something is stuffed in my ears. My head feels light as a feather but I'm managing to keep it up.
Before I know it, the strip act is finished and by the looks of it, the stripper is long gone. "Babe... look at me.... look in my eyes" His voice once again pulls me out of my trance, forcing me to look into his eyes "Jon?". My vision is still blurry but It's slowly focusing in on Jon "Yeah babe... It's me... just keep lookin at me alright". "Where is everybody?" My voice is slurred and slow, as if I'm drunk but I'm actually not "We sent em all home baby... I jus told em you had too much to drink". "Did I ruin everything?" My heavy lids bat at him like a pair of butterflies, feeling myself getting more and more tired "No babe.... you didn't ruin a thing".
"How you feelin now?" Swiping his thumb across my cheek, instantly soothing me "I'm alright.... just embarrassed and... just wish none of that happened". "I'm sorry... I should have paid him off... It's my fault" His expression turns solemn and apologetic. "No!! It's not your fault.... It's nobodies fault" Pulling him in for a warm embrace. "From where I was sittin... it didn't look like you were enjoying it from the moment he started" A bashful smirk graces my lips, my thoughts turning my cheeks an unfortunate colour "I was actually wishing it was you". "Well ya never know babe" Suggestively wiggling his brows at me as he moves in for a delicate kiss.
"You up for one last birthday present?" I enthusiastically nod my head with excitement "Yeah!!". "Follow me" He interlocks his fingers with mine and leads me out onto the balcony. I can feel my heart warming when I see the pillows, blankets and a bottle of wine laid out on the balcony floor "Oh Jonny". "I know how much you like looking at the stars... so thought we could finish off the night out here" I lean into him, my hands snaking round the back of his neck "It's perfect.... I love it".
"So.... earlier.... what did you mean by 'Kinda like me' in the theatre" He looks down at his swirling wine, a deep sigh escaping his lips "Ya know how.. people always ask if I'm taking drugs or if I do crazy shit?". I unconsciously nod my head, eager to know where this is going "Well.... when I was 13... I tried weed and shit and I had a bad trip.... realised I couldn't handle it and decided never to do any of it again". "Uhhmm.... your mom mentioned something about older women..... last year but I've been so scared to bring it up" He elicits a nervous, breathy laugh, twisting his face while he thinks of what to say. "God... she swore she would never bring any of that up again...... Uhh alright.... so I was 13.... in eighth grade and I was the cute kid that all these older women were coming to and I was gettin all this attention and..... a whole lot of crazy shit happened.... my mom didn't like any of it...." He continued talking, telling about everything and I honestly couldn't have been more shocked by it, what he went through is so wrong in so many ways "Oh my god... Jonny that's awful". He nervously giggles at my reaction "Ahh.... I've gotten over it now.... never talk about it.... I'm just not the kinda person to live in the past... I'm a now person.... Look to the future... not 'let's talk about my problems'" Shrugging his shoulders as he trails off.
A little while later, I'm cuddled up on his chest, gazing up at the stars, feeling euphoric and blissful "Jonny this is so beautiful.... so romantic". "What can I say babe... I'm a romantic guy" I coo and sigh further into his warmth "This has been the best birthday I've had in 10 years". "You happy there baby?" He snickers out his words, as if he knows something I don't. "I'm so happy" I look deep into his eyes and I feel so much love reflected back at me, warming my heart. He cups my cheeks, rubbing circles in them as he moves in for a slow, mind altering kiss. A bright white light surrounds us but I shrug it off as a light off a street lamp or something. I open up my eyes to see the light still surrounding us but pay no attention to it and continue to look into his eyes. "God you're so beautiful" I giggle bashfully, the light gradually glowing brighter "I love you Jon", "I love you too Rosie".