“When he heard about Claudia and tonight, he phoned Tom and offered his support. His band has made a donation to the charity and have also agreed to perform tonight.”
Warmth fills me at the generosity. “That’s great.”
“Yeah,” he agrees as he waves at someone. I turn to see who it is and smile when I see Tom, and Jett’s parents heading our way. Over the last two weeks, I’ve spent a fair bit of time with his parents and have fallen in love with them.
The three of them join us and take their seats next to Jett. After we’ve all exchanged greetings, Hunter says, “We need to get ready, Jett.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, and I watch the four of them make their way to the stage.
“How is he?” Monica asks, concern etched on her face.
“Actually, I think he’s doing okay.” And I really do believe that.
I hear the relief in her voice when she says, “Thank goodness. We weren’t sure if he was ready for this.”
“I wasn’t, either, but it’s like he’s got this new sense of peace.” I shrug, feeling silly saying it. “I know it sounds weird, but I can’t explain it any other way.”
Steve smiles at me. “You gave him that, sweetheart.”
I find it sweet that Jett’s father calls me sweetheart, the same as Jett does. I’ve noticed that Steve only ever uses that term of endearment with his wife and me, and it makes me feel special. It makes me feel a part of their family.
Monica nods in agreement. “Yes, that’s all from you, Presley. He’s finally opened himself up to you fully and it almost makes me want to cry with happiness. I was beginning to think he’d never be open to love.”
Tears threaten when I think of who gave him the final push towards me.
Claudia’s last gift to her brother was the most amazing gift a person can give someone else.
The gift of love.
A guitar sounds from the stage and draws our attention.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to show your support to this amazing charity. All money raised tonight goes directly to cancer research so I’ll open by asking you to dig deep and help us fight this deadly disease. Some of you may know that my sister, Claudia, recently passed away due to her battle with cancer. I can’t even begin to tell you how devastating this disease is, not only to the people battling it, but also to the family who are by their side every step of the way. And then sometimes, the family are the ones left behind after the cancer rips their loved one away from them.” His voice wavers a little, but he carries on like the trooper he is. “Crave has supported cancer research for a while now because this disease has touched more than one of us. Tonight, I’m really fucking happy to tell you that we’ve got a new song to share with you, and to also let you know the song goes live tomorrow; all profits on it go to cancer research.”
The audience cheer him and some wolf whistle. He watches them for a beat and then the band kick in as he says, “This one’s for you, Princess.”
I’ve only heard this song once and I love it. He titled it ‘Dance’ and he sings about dancing in the rain. He gets lost in the song and my heart hurts a little to hear his pain as he sings. But this is his therapy, and I know it’s one of the things that are getting him through his grief.
The audience seem to love the song as much as I do and when the band finishes singing, they stand and cheer them with applause and more whistles. Jett’s eyes are still closed and I hope he’s okay. Van’s also watching him and he steps forward and places his hand on Jett’s shoulder while he says something into his ear.
Jett’s eyes open and I’m close enough to the stage to see the tears there. He seems to hesitate for a moment, but then he smiles and raises his arm in a fist pump. And then he pulls a rock star move if ever I’ve seen one. He’s at a charity dinner where good manners and good social etiquette are the norm. He’s already sworn once but I know he wouldn’t care about that even though he did tell me on the way here that he was going to try and behave. Obviously, he’s thrown all those ideas out the window and is completely in the moment because when he does his fist pump, he yells out, “Fuck cancer!” But in true Jett form, he’s managed to charm his way into the hearts of the people here tonight and they cheer even louder and many of them copy him.
His eyes come to mine and he smiles. I shake my head at him but give him a fist pump back and yell out, “Fuck cancer!”
West leads the band into their next song and they spend the next twenty minutes performing. I love watching my man on stage. I’ve got no idea where Crave will end up, but I know Jett was born for this, so, either way, he’ll spend the rest of his life performing. And I plan on being by his side.
When they finish, Jett looks at me and beckons me with his finger. Desire is written on his face and I’m more than turned on after watching him perform, so I go to him.
He jumps off the stage and pulls me to him. “Do you know how fucking sexy you look tonight in that dress?”
“Well, you did choose this dress, so I hope it’s doing it for you,” I tease him. He insisted on choosing my outfit and of course he chose a floor length dress. But I’ve got to give him credit; he chose a stunning black sleeveless dress that I won’t hesitate to wear again. And he also insisted I wear my hair the same way I had it styled for the red carpet event we attended in LA. He loved the way the hairdresser curled my hair and pinned it into an upstyle, particularly because it left my neck exposed to him.
“Do you know what’s turning me on the most?” he asks.
“Jett, your parents are just over there so I hope you’re not about to get your cock out and wave it around.”
He chuckles and moves
his hand to his belt. “I could if you want.”