Chapter 1

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Natalie was not the type of girl you would call 'exotic'...unique maybe but not exotic. She was a short with an average frame from southern Florida with emerald eyes that changed with her mood from bright green to the color of dark moss.

A few tattoos including a Celtic cross and dragon decorated her body, mostly to cover the scars from years of abuse. The only child of a single mother, she had daddy issues since childhood. These issues reared up in the romance department in some way: sexual, emotional, physical, verbal and spiritual.

She had set about to find the perfect man and ended up being a punching bag. It became a way of life, a never-ending circle. Because of her plummeting self-esteem, she turned to the only thing that never betrayed her. Writing. Mostly fanfiction.

It was a way of escaping reality and into a world where she couldn't be harmed or violated. It was a world of fantasy, love and lustful situations with a piano player and songwriter that she looked up to as a creative role model. David Bryan, keyboardist for Bon Jovi, songwriter, singer, and classically trained pianist.

She had no idea what this man was like in real life. Writing gave her the opportunity to mold his persona to the perfect male character in her stories. When life kicked her down, she'd turn to her world and lose herself with David. Around this time, Natalie had started a fan site as a further escape.

Maybe three years after starting her online journey, she got a private message on the fan page she ran. Her heart jumped at David's name. But the other side of her screamed that it was a fake. Those tend to run rampant on the internet.

"Great work on the page!" That's all it said. After Natalie freaked out a little and composed herself, she hit reply but didn't expect any type of response, especially if it was a fake, so she decided to tread lightly.

"Thank you, David :) --" Then she paused. How was she supposed to convey her admiration for this man and not sound like every other fan out there? "Hope your day is going great whether you're working hard or hardly working--" Lamest thing she could have said looking back on it. "You've been a wonderful creative inspiration and musical influence."

She sent it but didn't hear back and figured it was a fake. Part of her was crushed and cried over her laptop like a baby.

However, a month later while proofreading a new story with her co-writer, her phone dinged with a notification. She squealed in delight at the now verified account and clicked open David's message.

"Sorry for the delay. Just back from Japan tour." She'd known about the tour since it had been posted on the official site. "Thank you for that. It's humbling when someone calls me a musical influence. As a musician and songwriter, it's one of the highest compliments...you got me blushing."

She quickly hit reply. "Congrats on finishing the tour. Sorry not sorry for making you blush ;-)"

It would take David a few hours to respond sometimes but he always did. He followed the page and would subtly leave a like or comment on photos, shoot a quick private message or watch her story timeline.

His interaction meant a lot to Natalie and more people followed her page. He even did a small interview with her, the highlight of her year.

Then those text messages turned into short videos to each other and they spoke on the phone several times. She found him to be the most unassuming and kind man for a global rockstar, plus she never posted or bragged about talking to him.

Those calls could only be when she was alone since her boyfriend would rage over the slightest mention of David's name or the site. David would ask a lot about her from education and hobbies to her friends and family. Some topics were touchy but he was very patient as she cried her answers out.

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