Slow Love

Chapter 13-Dakota Nite 2 Sound Check and Show

So we arrive at the club and go in. He takes me around and introduces me to some of the staff. It was kind of interesting how he introduced me to the staff of the Dakota. He would say, I am excited to have you meet my best friend for almost 30 years, this is Gigi. We would exchange pleasantries and move on thru the club. He introduced me to his front house sound guy and that was a little different. He introduced me to him, This lady has been in my life for almost 30 years. I'm sure you've heard about her from some of the band, and her name is Gigi. He shook my hand and leaned in to me and said, glad to finally meet you and winked at me while also flicking the palm of my had with one of his fingers. Now that was interesting. Don't know what that's about but I'm sure I will find out. P finally got all that done and hopped up on stage and started giving orders to the band. They sailed thru the soundcheck and I was just grooving and dancing with myself there in front of the stage. He dismissed the band. He went wandering like he was looking for someone and several came over to me and just said, "we love what you are doing for the boss, keep him happy like this." A couple others just thanked me. The girls on the other hand, said,let's go sit. We need to talk. We sat at a table and Shelby was first. She asked, what's going on with you two? I just smiled and said, you are a southern girl, you know we don't kiss and tell. The other girls just roared with laughter. She said, no, no. I did not mean it that way. We are just so happy the boss is happy and was wondering how you did it? I just smiled and said, you know we have been best friends for almost 30 years, I guess he just needed a friend right now. She said, huh uh, there is more to this. I just know there is. I said, Shelby, I am just making my friend happy right now, you figure out what that means. One of the other girls pipes in and says, "she is just as mysterious as he is so it looks like he has someone like him to talk to." They all just laughed along with me. If it could only be that simple. Just then, he popped out of nowhere. The girls excused themselves and said they would see me later. Shelby did mouth to me "We need to talk." I said goodbye and he sat down next to me. He asked, "did you enjoy yourself babe?" I said I really liked this group and was looking forward to tonight. He pointed over to a table up front and said that was where I'd be tonight. This is a bigger band and a small venue so I had to be out front tonight. Was I OK with that?" I said 'heck yeah. I love watching you preform. Eventho I won't get a private concert like last night, I think this is going to be a lot of FUN!" I'm so excited.He told me I'd be sitting with Kirk. I said OK that's fine. He said if I was uncomfortable with that, he could put me upstairs in the VIP section we had last night. I said, no, no. I'd like it up front. He told me that before it ended, Kirk would take me upstairs to wait on him. I said, awww, you mean I can't meet you in your dressing room? He said, 'now baby we need to slow down a little and save it for the aftershow.'  I had to laugh. Alrighty then. He said 'let's get going and get back. The hair/make up girls are waiting for you.'  I said, that'snot necessary and he said Nope, do it. You know I want you to look as pretty as you did last night. Ok,then. We headed out for home. Sure enough, the girls were waiting for me. I got coiffed/makeup done. The girls were a buzz asking me 50 questions. Like, what are you two up to? I just said, 'I don't know what you mean?' Then Kim said, 'when are you two getting married?' I said, 'Whoa! Now that is inappropriate'. Kim quickly apologized and said she was just getting carried away. I said, 'we have been friends for almost 30 years and I just don't how to answer some of these questions.' Kim then said, "Girl, we know something is up and we are just happy to see the boss happy. He makes life easier when he is like that and we just don't want it to change when you leave'. I think I get where they are coming from. So I spilled a little. I said 'girls, I don't know where all this is leading but when I do, you will know. I promise.' That made them happy. Then they said, 'scoot you need to get ready to go see your man. Talk to you later'. So I headed out to the apartment and just as I opened the doors, it hit me. How am I going to get dressed if he's there? Well that talk may come earlier than I anticipated. He's there waiting for me. He said, 'come here babe, let's eat this before we get ready'.He embraced me and told me how pretty the girls made me up. I thanked him and we sat down for dinner. He said, 'it was just soup and salad',  but when I started looking, it was shrimp gumbo! Love that along with a salad was great. So we just quietly ate dinner. He then said, 'let's get showered and dressed for the club'. I said, 'is this a group sport?' He just died laughing and said, 'no, no, I'll get showered and dress in the guest room. You have the master suite to yourself. I'll meet you back here'. He then said, "Even though I want to, I can't shower with you tonite babe, I'd never make it to the club. Besides it would mess up your pretty hair and makeup." Good point. We get to the master suite and he takes me over to a door and opens it up. It is a giant walk in closet complete with a makeup table fully outfitted for hair and make up. I asked, is this yours? He said, 'no it is all for you'. He then showed me several outfits hanging along with the one from today and said,  'these are yours, I hope you like them." He proceed to show me purses and handbags and shoes. He was just so excited to have shopped for me. I wonder what's up with all this. I saw my clothes from the guest room had been moved in here. OK, keep it together. He's just being nice and trying hard to not do anything wrong. He then says, "I think this will make it easier for you while you are staying with me."  He's got a point there. I won't have to sneak thru the halls hoping to not get caught by the staff. WHOA! Wait a min, now they are going to know I'm staying with him. Oh no! He quickly grabs me in a hug and says, "Babe don't say anything. We can discuss this later, OK?" I shake my head yes, and say reluctantly, OK. He then slaps my butt and says, get ready, I'll meet you in the living room and he kisses me as he turns to leave. He hesitates and turns back and says, "Babe, I just want you to be happy and comfortable." I said, I'll see you out there. So I head to the bathroom. My head is swimming with all this. I have to just let this go for now. I think he is trying to slow down but this is a major step for me. I don't think he's trying to pull a fast one. I think he is just trying to be a good thoughtful Girlfriend, as always. I am all dressed up and ready to go meet him.This is going to be hard, but I think I can do better than last night. I take a deep breath and head out. I get to the living room and there he is waiting patiently for me. When he sees me, he just puts his hands to his face and remarks, "uhh, uhh, uhh. You look absolutely stunning tonite, my love." Now that is how I like you to look. I just stood there unable to answer or move. I was just taken by his reaction to me again tonite. I do not think I would ever tire of this. To have a man so taken with your presence in a pretty outfit, amazing just amazing. I walk over to him and put my arms around him. I whispered in his ear, 'thank you, thank you for loving me so much', my voice quivered. Holding back the tears of joy to have a man think and do all this just because he loves you. I am awestruck. He pulls me back to look at me and a few tears are leaking down my face. He says, "Baby, don't cry. It will mess up your pretty face. I love you and I just wanted you to look pretty for me tonight." I said,"Thank you for loving me so much to do this for me. I love you too." I passionately kissed him like I've never kissed him before. I felt the heat rush to my core. He stopped and said, "Baby, we have to slow down or I'll never make it the show." He then leads me back to the master suite. I'm thinking this is going to be over and he's going to be late, real late. To my surprise, we go into the walk-in closet and he sits me down to fix my make up. He proceeds to tell me how much he loves me and that we need to slow down and enjoy each other more and not just the mad sex. Wow! That is a revelation. I said to him, 'that sounded good to me, too'. So he took my hand and pulled me up to a kiss that could light fireworks. He broke away and walked over and pulled a new cape off the rack for me. It was just beautiful and went with my outfit perfectly. He said 'it was colder than last night and he wanted me to be warm'. He said, 'get your handbag and let's go. I want to show off my pretty lady tonite'.  So we headed out. Kirk was driving, so we got in and headed out to the club. Kirk started to put on his headphones and P tapped him and said that was not necessary tonight. He started to tell me how the first set was going to go and when he got to a certain song, he's going to ask for people to come up on stage. He said 'Kirk will get you staged prior to that call so just go with Kirk. He will make sure you get up there quick and back down quick.' I am going to dance with you and only you with this song. OK? I said, 'are you sure, some rumors might fly if the press figures it out'.  He said, don't worry, 'if they do they do. There will be others on stage so it will look OK. Are you OK doing this?" I said, 'yes!' Kirk announces we have arrived. We get out and into the back door. Again, band members are lining the hall waiting to go on stage. We duck into the dressing room. He turns to me and says, 'no hankie pankie tonite mama'. Tonite we are going to have some fun and party. That's what I do! I said, 'Aww sweetheart,  just hold me a minuet'. He said OK, but play nice mama! I embraced him and it just felt so good to feel him and his excitement for the show. I could feel Mr Happy tho and he was excited too. I acted like a lady he took me over to the door where Kirk was waiting and handed me off to him. Kirk took me around and out to the audience and our table was there. We sat down. Kirk leaned over to  said 'it is a pleasure to have you as my fake date tonite'. I just laughed and laughed. He said, 'you were always a fun girl. Let's have fun tonight'. I said, 'game on!'  He also told me that the boss was so happy right now he would do anything for him to stay that way. I said, 'I know, I know'. He said, "Gigi, he is not only my boss but my best friend and like a brother to me, please don't hurt him. He loves you like no other I have seen before. Be happy with him." I said, 'I will have to see what happens'. Just then the band picked up and out he comes dancing to the front. I was so elated to see him from this side. He was just beaming with joy and happiness. They start to play and we are enjoying the music. A couple songs Kirk and I got up and danced to it at the table. All the while, Prince kept looking at me and hardly took his eyes off of me no matter what he was singing or playing. I could see how happy he was and that made me happy too. Time to cue up for the dance number, so Kirk motions for me to get up and we head over to our places. Then he starts the song and Kirk says, 'GO! Dance dirty with him'. As I go up, others quickly followed.I got to him and he reached out and grabbed me and swing me around and proceeded to dance and sing to me. He pulled me in and I rubbed on him and he just looked deeper into my eyes. I knew what he was thinking. The number ended as quick as it started it seemed. The time having fun just flew by. I got down off stage and Kirk took me upstairs right after that. There was one song left and then he jetted my way. I was hot and out of breath. Did he sweep me off my feet?  Probably but it all happened so fast, I don't know for sure. I needed a drink to cool down. There was a carafe on the table waiting. P got there and I poured us both a drink. He was so happy and full of himself. I could tell he was at ease with his performance and the little ditty we had on stage. He said, "Mama that was so HOT. I could have had you up there with me all night!" He was on fire! I told him, "I had a great time and that was the kind of fun I remember from our past." He said, 'I love it'. We continued to talk and talk like we used to. It was a great time. Then he told me we had to get ready for the next show. We went back to his dressing room. He looked at me before we entered and said, now behave yourself.  I said that I would. He was changing his clothes and just gushing about the next set. I told him I was excited as well to see it. He gave me instructions on what to do this time. He said Kirk will take care of me and just do what Kirk told me. Then came the 2 minuet warning. He whisked me out the door to Kirk and I gave him a kiss on his cheek and said I'd see him soon. Kirk lead me to our table and gave me quick rundown. He then leaned over and said, "he is so happy tonite Gigi, please keep him like this." I said I would try. Then the music cued him onstage and the party began. He zipped off his set and one by one the songs lead from one to another. Kirk tapped me and said, let's go it's time. So we repeated the same as the last show. When he came to the song, Kirk said "GO! Make him remember it" I got up there and danced over to him and he just grabbed me close and tight, singing all the time. It felt so good and I could hear wolf whistles from the audience. I think they are catching on that I'm someone special to him. Then it comes, he is singing and he drops that voice and says to the Audience, SING! I just about lost it right then and there. He held me tighter and I got quivers up and down my spine and the heat went to my core. I creamed my panties right then and there. I leaned in and just softly kissed him. The crowed roared. Well, I know this is going to hit the Star Tribune tomorrow. The song was over and the stage cleared and he walked me off the stage and handed me off to Kirk. Kirk took be directly to the car. He had my handbag and cape in his arms. There was one more song left. When we go to the car, Kirk tuned around and said, "Gigi, that was one of his best performances, bar none. He did that with you by his side. I hope you know what you mean to him?" I said, 'Yes I do, I do'. Then he gets to the car and got in. He told Kirk to get us outta there! He was so elated. I could see it all over him. I grabbed him and gave him a very passionate kiss. I could feel his rise coming in his pants. He leans over and tap on Kirk's shoulder and he responds, I know boss, I have them ready. He leans back to me and says, "So what did you think about tonite mama? I said  'you little sneak. You put that SING in that last set because you know what it does to me. I love you'. He just smiled ear to ear. We just sat there holding hands like a pair of teenagers. I looked him in the eye and said, 'this is what dreams are made of and I want to thank you for this unforgettable night.' I love you for doing this for me'. He embraced me and whispered in my ear, 'I love you Gigi, this is the kind of fun I remember. I am over joyed you liked it.' Just then, Kirk announces we are here. We get out of the car and head into Paisley. We walked with his arm around my waist and holding my other hand to keep it from getting cold. We get inside and I say, what's next?  He says let me show you something. We head down the hall to the smaller stage area. He brings me up to the stage and sits me down on the piano bench. My heart is going 90mph and I am welling up with emotion. He leans over and kisses me softly. He says, 'I want to play something just for you.' He sits down at his piano with me by his side and proceeds to sing to me the most beautiful love song I have ever heard. It was so hard not to cry. He finishes and then tells me, this song is about you and me and this is how I feel about you. I just gushed. He then told me that this song is just for me and that he will never play that song other than for just me. I lost it, I was gone. He puts his arm around me and pulls me over to his shoulder.He takes my chin in his fingers and says, "I love you and I want you to be forever in my life". Please know I want to take this slow love with you, so be certain of that. I want to prove that to you, I will never leave you or hurt you. I have known this for a very longtime. I was just to blind to see. We are both now at the last chapter of our life, 20, 30 plus years. I want to share this journey with you, only you.  I want you with me, and I want to love you until the end of  time. I will give you all the time you need." I crossed my arm over his chest and rested my hand on his shoulder. I was completely without words and could not speak. He closed his arms around me and just held me close. I could feel his love pulsate thru me and did not want it to end. That feeling felt oh so good. I have no idea how long we just sat there enter-twined in each others' love. It was so right and good. Finally, I drifted off until I heard him say softly to me, let's go upstairs. I said, 'OK, Take me with you.' So we slowly got up and headed up to the apartment. I was emotionally drained and still felt the love. He took me over to the sofa and sat me down. He asked if I needed anything and I said, 'no, just you'. He sat down with me and said. "Do you want to talk to me?" I shook my head no and said,"not now. I think I have my answers." He just held me again until started to nod off to sleep. He woke me and said, 'let's go to bed'. I said, 'OK'. So he leaded me off to the suite. He asked if I needed help getting undressed. I told him yes. He slowly helped me get out of my clothes, softly kissing me in spots here and there. Not overly doing it, just tenderly. When I was undressed, he picked me up and put me in bed. He undressed and slid in beside me. His soft skin and warm body engulfed me as he wrapped his arms around me and whispered in my ear, 'Let's go to sleep' and started to hum in my ear a familiar tune that was playing over the sound system. All I could feel was warm love pulsate thru each other and arcing as we lay there. I was filled up with all his love. I then fell fast asleep in his arms.