by S. Tamanaha
He pulled her to him and held her tightly and then he kissed her again, tenderly, yet passionately. “How about now?” he asked softly. “Do you have time for me now?”
She smiled and whispered in his ear, “Undress me and you’ll see.”
He did—slowly, lovingly, seductively. Soon they were entwined, passionately expressing their love for each other. Whenever they made love, a large part of his own satisfaction came from knowing that he gave her pleasure. He loved how she was during these times. Even in passion she was never loud or demanding or crude in any way. Her soft gasps, her quiet moans, the words of love that she whispered, and her tears of emotion told him all that he needed to know about what to do and how close she was to her peak. He marveled at this treasure that was his. She had given up what she loved to come to a city that she hated and in just a few months had charmed and gained the respect and friendship of some of the top people in the business and raised their opinion of him as well. She didn’t need him—not in any material sense of the word. She was with him because she wanted to be, because she loved him. He knew it in his mind every day and yet, sometimes, his heart still needed to be reminded that she loved him and how much she loved him. Perhaps he was worried that nothing so good could really remain his forever.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
One evening in mid-September, Johnny came up behind Susan while she was washing the dinner dishes and gave her a gentle bear hug.
“Hey, let’s go out this Friday. Just you and me. Whenever we get dressed up to go out, it’s always to go to some business related thing. Why don’t we get dressed up and go out on a date, a real date. It’s been a while.”
She rinsed the last dish, placed it into the dish rack, and turned to face him, smiling. “I hate to break it to you, Johnny, but if that’s your definition of a date, we’ve never gone on one, not unless you count that night that I took you to that Waikiki show, which really wasn’t a date.”
He frowned. “Really?”
She nodded, still smiling. “Really.”
“Well, all the more reason to go then.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m going to make all the arrangements and it’ll be a surprise. You just get all fixed up—nice dress and stuff—and we’ll go, okay?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Is this really going to be a night out just for us?”
“Yes, and quit being so suspicious. This is our night, all right?”
She smiled then and nodded.
When Friday arrived, she took care of Angel early and then took her time getting ready. She wore the new dress that she had just finished—a long shimmering black dress with a side slit that went slightly past the knee. Over it she wore a matching jacket trimmed with sequins. It would be a while before she could wear a sleeveless gown again since her scars were still noticeable. He had said that he would get dressed at the studio since he was borrowing one of their suits. When he picked her up, he was wearing a tuxedo.
“You look beautiful,” he said as she climbed into the car.
“You do too,” she said smiling. “I never expected that you’d be wearing a tux. I guess we really are going somewhere special.”
“Very special,” he said.
He drove to the Hyatt Hotel, turned his keys over to the valet, and then took her hand and led the way into the hotel. They were met in the lobby by a well-dressed and distinguished looking gentlemen.
“Good evening, Mr. Hellstrom,” the man greeted him.
“Good evening, Thomas,” Johnny said. “This is my wife, Susan. Susan, this is Thomas Bellinger, the manager of the hotel.”
Susan smiled. “Nice to meet you,” she said, offering him her hand which he kissed gently instead of shook.
“The pleasure is mine,” Thomas smiled. “You’re very lovely.”
“Thank you,” she said, wondering how Johnny knew the manager of the hotel and why the manager was being so attentive to them.
“Everything is ready for you,” he said to Johnny. “Have a wonderful evening.”
Johnny thanked him and then began escorting her down a hallway towards the banquet rooms. She was getting apprehensive.
“Johnny, I thought that this would be just a nice dinner or something. Where are we going?”
“Just come with me,” he said, “and trust me. It’s through here.”
He led her to the last door at the end of the hallway. He knocked loudly and then opened it. There were about fifty people in the room, all of whom yelled “Surprise!” in unison when she walked in. She didn’t understand at first and then she saw them—her two sisters, Vanessa and Nicole, and their families, Gail and Ray and some of her other friends from the karaoke bar, and several of her closest friends from work.
“Oh my God,” she said. It’s difficult to catch a Scorpio by surprise but he had done it. She looked up at him wide-eyed.
“I flew them all in,” he said, smiling, “to give you the kind of reception that you wanted in the first place.” He kissed her. “Go and say hello. What are you waiting for?”
She was overwhelmed. She walked and then ran over and kissed and hugged everyone. Many of them presented her with a flower lei as they greeted her. Isabel and several of their L.A. friends were also there, including Damien and Richard, Daniel Stevens, Johnny’s agent Roy Avery and his wife, and Sammy Taylor, the producer, who had brought a guest with him.
“I can’t believe he did this,” she said emotionally. “How are you guys? I missed you.”
Johnny was on the stage now at the microphone. “Okay, can someone bring my completely surprised wife and sit her down at this table here in front and then take your seats?”
Her sisters escorted her to the front table and then helped her to remove most of the leis that she was wearing since they were piled so high on her shoulders that she could barely breathe. She laid them out carefully on the table before she sat down. Her sisters and their families sat at her table. Gail and Ray and most of her karaoke friends sat at the table next to hers while her other friends occupied the remaining tables nearby. He waited until she was seated and everyone else was in their seats as well before he began speaking.
“You know, when I asked Susan to move to L.A. and she said ‘yes’, I knew that she was giving up a lot. She had to give up her home, her family, her friends in beautiful Hawaii and move to a place that doesn’t even come close to resembling Hawaii and where she knew no one. She never complained and in just a few short months, she’s made friends with and gained the respect of many people in my business simply because she is the person that she is. When I asked her to marry me, the first thing she said after saying ‘yes’ was that she wanted to sign a pre-nuptial agreement. In fact, she said she didn’t want to get married unless I agreed to that condition because she didn’t want anyone thinking that she married me for any other reason but love.”
There were “awws” from the audience.
“The next thing she said was that she didn’t want a big wedding or an expensive ring or anything like that. All she was hoping for was a nice honeymoon, maybe back in Hawaii so that she could once again see the people and the place that she loves. As it turned out, my schedule forced us to postpone that honeymoon. Once again, she never complained. It might be a few more months before we can travel back to Hawaii for an extended stay but I didn’t want her to have to wait any longer to see the people that she cares about so I did the next best thing. I brought you—her family and special friends—here to be with her.”
There was thunderous applause and whistles. “I want you all to know that she’s done so much for me. My career would not be as successful without her and my life ... well, I wouldn’t have much of a life. And I wanted to do this for her because I wanted her to know how much I love her and how much she means to me.”
Everyone applauded again and he could see that she was on the verge of crying, something that she hated to do in public. “Also, when I first met her, she was the one who encouraged me to
sing. She even gave me the song to learn. I want to do it for her tonight so I’m going to bring out the band and do it live.”
As the audience applauded, the band members came up from behind the stage.
“Baby,” Johnny said, “do any of these guys look familiar to you?”
She caught her breath. It was her band—Trevor and Alex and David and, of course, Jesse. They jumped off the stage and went over to give her hugs and kisses.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe it. You guys flew all the way over here to play?”
“Hey, free weekend in L.A. where all the good musicians are and see you again? How could we say no?” Trevor grinned.
“Not to mention the hot babes,” Jesse added.
“Jess ... ”
He grinned. “I’m kidding. I have a girl now and you were right—about everything.”
“Oh Jesse, I’m so happy for you.”
He led her back to her seat. “Sit down here, okay? We want you to hear this.”
They got back on the stage and Johnny smiled. “For those of you who don’t know, this is the band, Solace, that Susan was helping while she was in Hawaii. Baby, we didn’t exactly have a chance to rehearse this together. We had to do the arrangement over the phone and by email so I hope that this is going to turn out okay.”
The band started playing and Johnny began to sing the Ronnie Milsap song that she loved so much and the audience applauded his rich, beautiful voice.
Gail, who had pulled her chair next to Susan, put a hand on her shoulder. “Girl, this man loves you so much,” she said. “You can see it in his eyes.”
Susan squeezed Gail’s hand. She really could see it too—the love in those beautiful Scorpio eyes as he sang the song to her. Then he stepped off the stage and walked over to her as he sang the ending of the song. As the band continued singing “There’s no getting over me” repeatedly, he knelt and kissed her tenderly.
“Did I make you happy?” he asked.
“I’ll never be able to tell you how happy,” she said, unable to hold back her tears any longer. She reached out and caressed his face gently. “I’ll never forget this, Johnny, never. Thank you.”
In spite of how much they loved each other, they never engaged in public displays of affection. They would hold hands. Sometimes he would kiss her hand gently. Passion was always reserved for their private times together. Tonight, though, at that moment, they were oblivious to the crowd. He caressed her beautiful face, wiped away her tears gently, and then pulled her to him, kissing her deeply, lovingly.
“I love you,” he said.
If anyone in the audience had ever doubted whether this man—America’s sex symbol who was often seen on magazine covers with some of the world’s most beautiful models and actresses—could ever deeply love this woman, they no longer harbored such doubts. Even for those who could not hear his words to her, his love and devotion and appreciation of her was clear in the way that he touched her and kissed her and looked at her.
It was a wonderful evening. She visited and talked with everyone and found out that Johnny had been in contact with them by telephone and e-mail constantly over the last few weeks making arrangements and travel plans with them. He had given forty of her friends and family from Hawaii airfare and a weekend at that hotel, which explained Mr. Bellinger’s attentiveness. She estimated in her head what it must have cost him and it overwhelmed her.
Johnny had never met her family in person before that night so she made the formal introductions. Her teenage nieces were obviously in awe of the man that they had only seen on television and in magazines. It was also the first time that any of her friends, other than those he had met at the karaoke bar, had met Johnny in person.
“When he first telephoned, I thought that someone was pulling my leg,” Robert, one of her former managers, said. Most of her other friends laughed and agreed.
Susan looked at Johnny, perplexed. “How’d you get their phone numbers?” she asked.
Johnny smiled. “I sneaked into your phone while you were taking a bath one night,” he confessed. “I knew where you kept the list of the people who had sent us wedding presents and cards. I just had to find them on the phone. The hardest part was trying to pronounce some of their last names when I called them.”
Everyone laughed.
Susan had Johnny introduce the L.A. crowd to her family and friends, including the members of the band. While everyone was enjoying the appetizers and drinks that were available, the band got back on stage and Johnny grabbed a microphone and went over to where Susan was sitting with her family and some of her friends.
“I don’t think that all of you know this,” he said, speaking into the microphone, “but Susan happens to be a very good singer so I want her to get on the stage and do a song for you.”
“Johnny, I can’t,” she protested. “I’ve cried and talked so much that I’m hoarse.”
“She says that she’s hoarse from crying and talking,” he said into the microphone and everyone laughed. “We’ll take that into consideration,” he said to her. “Come on.”
He led her to the stage and handed her the microphone. Alex and David, on drum and base, began playing “Fever”. Once again, forced into a situation, Susan came through and impressed everyone who had never heard her sing before. She sang the song directly to Johnny, and the fabulous sound system made her sound better and sexier than ever. During the last verse, she started walking slowly down the steps of the stage and towards Johnny. Her movement, her look, her voice—she was even sexier than he remembered.
“Fever! Don’t fight it you’ll regret it because it’s such a lovely way to burn. Such a lovely way to burn. Boy you have to live and learn. I’ll give you fever and together we’ll burn.” She leaned over then and kissed a very mesmerized Johnny and the audience erupted in thunderous applause.
“I love you,” she said to him. Then she smiled and blew a kiss to the audience as she always did.
“Oh my God,” Damien said later, “that was sexier than Madonna or Beyonce or anyone else that I’ve ever heard perform that song. It was enough to make a gay guy wish he were straight.”
“That really was terrific,” Richard said.
She laughed and hugged Johnny. “Well, it helps when you’re looking at a man who makes you feel what you’re singing.”
“By the way, did I show you what Richard gave me?” Damien held out his left hand and on his ring finger was a beautifully etched gold band.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, smiling. She noticed that Richard was wearing a matching band. “I’m so happy for the both of you.” She kissed Damien on the cheek and then Richard who squeezed her hand and thanked her silently with a smile.
Halfway through the evening, while she and Johnny were seated at a table surrounded by her Hawaii friends and family and some of the L.A. crowd, the band members approached her.
“Hey, Susan,” Jesse ventured, “we know that this is your special evening, but since we’re probably never going to play with you again, do you want to come up and do a few songs with us?”
She laughed. “Jess, I haven’t played since I left Hawaii. I don’t even have any music.”
“We brought your music, just in case. And we can’t do the dueling keyboards thing without you.”
“What is that—dueling keyboards?” Johnny asked.
“It’s a thing we used to do when we played blues music,” Jesse explained. “Because the band has no horn section, the keyboard players would make their keyboards sound like horns. We could only do it if we had two keyboards on stage. We have two keyboards on this stage.”
“Go on,” Johnny encouraged her. “I’d like to hear this.”
“It’s been so long, Johnny,” she protested.
“It’s okay. It’s all your friends and family here.”
She gave in. “Okay, but Jess, if I freeze up or forget, you’ll need to cover. And I’ll take the initial horns because it’s easier. You play the piano part.”
As Susan and Jesse adjusted the keyboard settings, David made the announcement to the audience. “We want to play a song for you now that’s going to feature both of the band’s keyboard players—Susan, who would always fill in as a keyboard player when Jesse, our regular keyboard player, wasn’t available. Wherever you hear horns in this song, just know that the keyboards are doing it. They’re going to switch back and forth between keyboards and horns a little later on so try to see if you can tell who’s doing what. This is an old Blues Brothers song called ‘Sweet Home Chicago’.”
Susan was tentative at first but about ten seconds into the song, it all seemed to come back to her. During the instrumental portion of the song, she and Jesse, who were facing each other at opposite ends of the stage, alternated smoothly between piano and different sounding horns. The audience whistled and applauded as they played. Johnny was amazed. He realized that there was still so much that he didn’t know about her because she never tried to showcase her talent; she always concentrated on putting the spotlight on him. As he watched her on stage exchanging solos with Jesse and smiling, he became even more aware of how much she had given up just for him.
At the end of the song, Susan kissed Jesse on the cheek and waved to the applauding crowd.
“While we have her up here,” Trevor said on the microphone, “we want to play a Hawaiian song and dedicate it to Johnny. It’s about an island girl who was whisked off to Hollywood. It’s called ‘Coconut Girl’, and all you Hawaii people, you know this song so come up here by the stage and sing it with us. And all the L.A. people, come on up and dance. This is how we party in Hawaii.”
He waited until a group of Hawaii people—mostly Susan’s karaoke friends—came up by the stage. Several members of the L.A. crowd joined them. Susan motioned to Gail and Ray to come up on the stage and sing the backup on the microphone with her since she knew that they loved being on stage.