015

After spending barely over two hours in the air, roughly five minutes to noon, June's flight finally landed at Bangkok International Airport. It was a scorching hot day in Thailand's capital city and the traffic was beyond insane. It had been an agitated week and June was tired, but she was so excited to see her brother again and the events of the following couple of days that her mind decided to ignore her physical demands. The band and crew had arrived earlier in the morning, and John had stayed in the airport a couple more hours to wait for June. About an hour after leaving the airport, she took a look through the window and noticed something wasn't quite right.

"My hotel is not this way", she spoke carelessly and frowning, turned her face to look back at her brother.

"I know", he nodded deeply and spoke reassuringly, "I did some arrangements and you'll be staying with us so...we're going to the same hotel". He finished with a wide grin.

June shook her head and stifled a smirk, in a way she already knew that was going to happen, so she admitted her defeat. "End of the discussion, right?", she lifted an eyebrow and continued, "Well, after a week of crappy hostels I could use a little TLC...", she circled her brother's waist and he in turn, surrounded her shoulders with his arm. "I miss you spoiling me".

John kissed her crown and tightened his embrace. "I miss spoiling you, sis".

"Then let's have lunch, I've been fed mantou and rice for days", she looked up at him sheepishly and battered her eyelashes, "I'm starving and craving Italian". 

John rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Gawd, bad move from my part, now I'm not gonna be able to get you off my back, am I?" June grinned and shook her head silently, then John continued "In fact it's your lucky day: there's a magnificent Italian restaurant at the hotel. We can order room service and catch up, whadda ya say?"

"Sounds wonderful"

...

After a mushroom pizza, spaghetti carbonara and parma prosciutto lunch, June and John shared a rich tiramisu for dessert. After licking the last trace of cream in her spoon and sipping the last gulp of espresso con panna from her cup, June briskly rose from the sofa and spoke with equal rush.

"OK, that's it, gotta run"

"What?", John replied automatically but it actually didn't surprise him that his sister allowed herself only a couple hours of relaxation before turning hyperactive mode on again. 

"Nah, just gotta take some film to develop, have a shower, have some rest before the show. We meet at the lobby at 4 right?"

"Uh-huh" John lazily replied and wiped his face with his hands. He glanced at his watch, his eyes felts sandy so he closed them. Maybe he could snatch a 45 minute nap before the press conference. He felt June's kiss on his forehead and when he opened his eyes back up and before he could utter a word she was already opening the door and on her way out.

...

Jon's mind usually played tricks on him when it came to recalling memories from the tours. Dates, places, names, shows inside his brain blended into a scientifically impossible time and space configuration. Oddly enough, however, every once in a while he could extract specific images that appeared in his mind with perfect detail. Seeing June walking towards him in that colorful long cotton skirt, flat golden sandals and white spaghetti strap tank top was one of them. Her hair was wrapped up with a beaded strap in a messy but loose fashion whose only apparent purpose was to keep any annoying strand of hair from falling down. Her glowing, rosy cheeks. And her ever present glowing, heart-warming smile.

"Well Jesus, Mary and Joseph" Jon stopped his swagger down the corridor of the hotel to stand with one hand on his crooked hip. "I can't believe my eyes...isn’t that my favorite month of the year?" Jon turned to David and pocked his sides with his elbow, as he spoke with the thickest jersey accent he could pull off, hopeful that his playful tone would disguise the actual impression June had caused in him. He tipped his chin towards the woman that was exciting a room at the other end of the deserted corridor and spoke in a high voice to make sure he was clearly heard.

As soon as she heard the familiar voice, June's head snapped to her right. She didn't know exactly how long her gape had lasted, but she secretly prayed it hadn't been too long for any of the two men to notice. She was sure she'd laid eyes on many an Adonis statue in her life, but they had nothing on what was standing in front of her right now,  wearing a pair of deep blue swimming shorts and black flip flops, a white towel hanging over his bare shoulder, an overwhelming aura of masculinity and power that seemed to have increased exponentially since the last time she'd seen him. And she didn't blame him: by all accounts he was at the top of his game. 

"Since we're being religious...", she started cheekily and moved towards them. "Has Heaven run out of space that they're kicking angels out?".

"Hey that was MY line", David finally spoke and took a step forward to come meet her.

"Get outta my way, Lemma", Jon stood with a frown in his brow and a hand on his waist, a tone of faux-sternness in his voice as he waited for David and June to greet each other. 

"I saw her first, dude" David teased with a grin once he was done hugging the visitor.  

"Wow, it's so good to see you guys", June spoke against Jon's shoulder as they met for a tight, lingering hug.

Before pulling apart, Jon planted a sound smooch on her cheek and gave her a charming smile. "Nice to see you again, too sweetheart" 

"When did you arrive?" David asked as the three started moving down the corridor in the direction of the elevator.

"Just a couple hours ago, actually. Got caught up catching up with John"

"That's a nice color on your cheeks" Jon couldn't help but comment on the spectacular shape June was in. "Asia's agreeing with you". But besides that, even when she'd always been a lively, good spirited and energetic person now her light seemed to shine so bright Jon could feel it penetrate through every pore in his skin. He couldn't take his eyes from her as he adjusted to the way his body was responding to the visual stimulation. He pushed the call button, "UP".

June chortled and pointed at her cheeks with her index finger "This is called not taking enough sunscreen with you when you go hiking in the mountains. 'The City of the eternal spring'", she quoted in the air, "I'd rather call it 'the City of the toughest sun ever'". She pushed the "DOWN" button.

"And where is that?" inquired David as he leaned against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his legs at the ankles.

"Kunming, Yunnan Province. Took a couple weeks off to travel around. Actually I'm on my way to Singapore, but I couldn't resist dropping by to say hi", she smiled widely. 

A soft ding from one of the 6 elevators announced that it had stopped in that floor. "UP".

“Thai massage time”, Jon grinned and took a step forward before entering the elevator with what seemed a nimble dance move, then turned around. "See ya in a few hours, right?". He was proud of the fact that he always managed to make his suggestions an order. 

"Course! Can't wait to see the rest of-", the elevator door closed before June could finish her sentence. 

...

At the agreed time, June joined the band and the crew back at the lobby some hours later. No matter how many years her brother had been working with the band, this the first time she actually shared the whole process of a show with him, so in order to avoid any faux-pas she thought it was better to stick to the professional. As she watched John go about his business she also took the time to greet the members of the crew she was more acquainted with from seeing them mostly at John's house. She realized that whoever she was speaking to, she couldn't help to unconsciously keep an eye on Jon, though she also admitted to herself that he was quite difficult to miss. 

She remembered the dinner they had had at his house, other moments here and there. Behind his rock n' roll star, sexiest man alive, king of the world (for that matter) title, Jon was a warm, gentle and charming person, and she felt the need to have the time to share more of those moments with him, she regretted that they hadn't seen each other for so long. She also saw how everyone seemed to orbit around him, his charisma was unavoidable. And so was his physical appearance, but June was wise enough to know how far she could let his physical appeal get to her: he was her brothers' boss, friend and most of all, married to the love of his life, the woman that had already given him two children. June congratulated herself for being able to draw a clear line as to what her intentions where when approaching Jon, if she was careful enough, if she kept the limits clear, then everything would be alright. 

She hadn't put much thought into what she was wearing, it was so hot that she damned modesty for having to wear any clothes at all, so she put on a lose white top with broad neckline that let one of her recently tan shoulders bare, simple jean shorts and flat leather sandals. As sole accessory she had tied a colorful fine silk scarf loosely around her neck. She tied her hair up in a messy bun on her crown. Her forehead was rather narrow, but the proportions of her face were kept harmonious by her perfectly curved dark brown eyebrows. In order to subtly highlight her deep green eyes, she put on just a little deep lilac eyeliner.

After a brief moment of chaos when the entire entourage moved towards the row of vans awaiting outside, June first lost her brother and then found herself squeezed in the middle seat of the van between Jon and Tico. In spite of the fact that it was past 4 in the afternoon and that it was scorching hot and unbearably damp, Jon wore a jean jacket over his black tank top and covered his neck with a blue bandana. Richie and his wife had apparently got on another van. 

"What?" Tico stopped his tapping on his thighs when he saw June leaning over Jon to look through the window, turning her head to left and right.

"I lost John...oh, there he is", she saw her brother running towards the van with an envelope in his hands.

Panting softly, John sat on the front next to the driver. "The receptionist just gave this to me, she saw the name and thought it was me, but I guess it's yours...ain't it?"

"Oh, yeah", June recognized the brand on the envelope. "It's my pictures I had developed, I asked them to leave them at the reception. That was quick, actually. Thanks". She leaned over and snatched the envelope from John's hands. The van suddenly started moving and she lost her balance, but was quickly assisted by a couple of strong hands that held her waist. She then dropped herself back on the seat, thanked Jon for the help and was about to put the envelope inside her handbag when another pair of more mischievous of hands that sprung from the backseat snatched it from her grip. Almost simultaneously David's strong laughter could be heard. June lolled her head and shook it with a smile of defeat on her lips. 

"Let's see what we got here", David frowned and bit his tongue.

"Jesus Christ, Lemma, will ya leave the lady alone?" Jon looked over his shoulder and spoke with a faux-stern voice. "Give' em to me" he twisted his torso to extend an open hand to David, who was already avidly browsing one photo after the other. He reluctantly handed the deck of pictures to Jon , but kept one and, pinning it between his index and thumb, waved it in the air triumphantly. With a clownish smile, he spoke in a loud voice. "Haha, look what I got here!". 

June chortled and shook her head, smiling at her defeat, "What are you, twelve?". In the meantime, Jon had silently started to look at the rest of the pictures.

"Who's the lucky guy Junie?", David insisted, but John answered instead.

"Ha, lucky is not the word I would use, Lemma… poor bastard is more appropriate if you ask me...OW!", he complained when June smacked his head from behind. 

"Don't listen to him", June replied, if she didn't love him that much she would have strangled him for bringing her personal issues up, but apparently the pre-show euphoria was getting the best of him. 

"May there be peace between brothers" Tico spoke solemnly but couldn't control his laughter.

"This is a nice picture”, Jon tilted his head to one side and frowned. “Where is this?"

"That's Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Amazing, isn’t it?..." she squeezed his forearm and whispered, giving him a wink "Thanks for changing the subject, by the way". During the rest of the journey to the stadium she narrated her journey across the south of china. Her accounts were befitting of a writer, full of details and so vivid that Jon felt he had traveled there himself.

"Wow”, he spoke mindfully, “there was a time when I had the freedom to have that kind of adventures, but I didn't have the money, now that I have the money, I don't have the freedom".

"Well, you know...you can't al-ways get what you want, can you?", June’s emulation of Mick Jagger elicited simultaneous giggles from John and David. 

Jon smirked mischievously. We'll see to that. Then he laughed as he did his waggled his eyebrows "But if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need, ow".

Jon gave June a wink and a smile and handed her the bunch of pictures in his hand, David followed by returning the one he has holding hostage. June put them back in the envelope and stuck them in her handbag. 

"Oh Johnny I love youuuu", David broke the silence by delivering another one of his recurring acts, emulating a high-pitch-voiced fan, throwing his hands in the air. A group laughter followed, but was suddenly silenced when the van turned around the corner to enter the road that led to the stadium: a sea of people covered every inch of the surroundings of the stadium, a sound similar to that of a swarm of bees filled the air. In a flash, hands, pictures, faces and magazines were stamped to the van’s windows. June looked at Jon’s calm face, he was staring sideways through the window. He belonged to them now, and his mind was already set on the stage that was awaiting him.

"We should have done the second show" he whispered almost to himself and splayed his hand on the tainted glass, even when he knew that the people on the other side weren't able to see him, but he did it nonetheless. The matter had been exhaustively discussed: there was simply no time in the schedule,  therefore nobody made any further comment, and limited themselves to concentrating in the show to come. 

June noticed how Tico resumed his tapping on his thighs to some beat that was playing in his mind. David was already doing some breathing exercises, and Jon was just giving himself body and soul, soaking himself in the energy of the crowd that permeated the casing of the van.

June gasped when the van moved sideways under the effect of the group pressure and leaning slightly forward, she grasped her brother’s shoulders. John silently and calmly squeezed her hand. The van navigated slowly through the crowd until it passed through the gate. June looked back over her shoulder and saw the other three vans on the back and how the gate was closed after the last one had passed. Only then did she slouch back on the seat. 

"Here we go, then", Jon looked sideways at June and slapped her thigh, then gave it a reassuring squeeze when she saw her speechless wide-eyed look as a guard opened the van door.

...

Nothing could have prepared June for what she witnessed that night at the Bangkok Stadium. The screaming, the heat, the night, the music, the people inside and outside the stadium enjoying the event in equal proportions. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen them, but she admitted that they were in better shape than ever. They weren’t “just a” rock n’ roll band anymore, they had become legends. A rush of admiration and respect charged the air inside her lungs.

After the show was over, a still dripping sweat and wrapped in a giant towel lead singer was shoved into a van hotel bound while the rest of the band members followed in another van. 

"Comin'?" shouted John at Obie who was standing at the other end of the corridor, around twenty minutes after the band had left the venue.

"You guys go first" a sweaty T-shirted Obie waved a hand at the brother and sister pair. "I still got to check up on the crew back here".

"Alright, see ya in a while, then", John  waved goodbye and after replying, Obie swiftly lost himself in the dark labyrinth backstage.