Righteous Obsession (17 page)

The band kept signing autographs, talking to the fans,
and accepting kisses from the female fans.  The line of fans kept coming and
seemed as if it were never ending.

Colin took off his glasses and looked down for a
moment, rubbing his eyes.  He put them back on and looked up to find one of the
most gorgeous females he’d seen so far on this tour.  She was about twenty with
deep red shoulder-length hair that showed golden highlights when the light hit
it, and hypnotic green eyes that could give Scarlett O’Hara a run for her
money.  It was also very obvious she wore no bra under her green silk camisole.

“Hello Colin,” Debbie said softly.

At the sound of her voice Colin felt a swelling in his
groin and his jeans suddenly became uncomfortably tight.  “Hi…”  He left the
sentence dangling.

“Deb,” She supplied.

“Hi Deb,” he repeated and smiled at her then scrawled
his name across her poster.

“Thanks, Colin!”  She leaned down and gave him a kiss
that quickly turned into a passionate French kiss.  She also made sure he had
an unobstructed view of her breasts.

Colin had to grab hold of the edge of the table to
keep his hands from straying under her camisole to stroke her very inviting
breasts.

Debbie broke off the kiss and without further regard,
moved out of his line of vision.  Colin sank back in his chair and sighed
inwardly not knowing whether he was sorry or relieved.  Suddenly Steve’s voice
intruded on his introspection.

“Listen up, people!  Unforgiven’s going to break for
lunch, but they’ll be back here at one until three.”

Colin breathed a sigh of relief.  He was definitely in
need of a break and was, for once, thankful for Steve’s timing.

Jake kicked Colin’s leg.  “Are you coming?  I’m
starved!”

“Me, too,” Colin replied but not sure if it was food
he wanted or something else.  He got up, stretched, and followed Jake out of
the store.  Their bodyguards followed.

As they walked down the Mall, Jake grabbed Colin arm
and said, “Jesus!  What did you think of those two babes?”

“You mean the one with the red hair, green camisole,
and no bra?”

“Yeah, she’s the one and her gorgeous dark-haired
friend.  I suppose you’re going to tell me that red-haired chick had no effect
on you at all because you certainly weren’t returning her kiss like it had no
effect!”

“I’m not a eunuch!”  Colin muttered, silently thankful
for having worn black jeans and for the length of his T-shirt.  Jake was unable
to see just how much of an effect Deb had had on him.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking about
straying?”  Jake scoffed.

Colin shook his head and said emphatically, “No!”

They went to the food court of the Mall and ate
lunch.  The fans were polite and considerate; they didn’t bother them while
they were eating.  Colin vaguely wondered where Mace and Liam had gone.  He
caught himself glancing around the food court for Deb and chided himself for
thinking about her, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself.  He and Jake still
had some time left before they had to be back at Sam Goody® so they hung out in
the middle of the Mall.  Jake noticed that Colin seemed kind of jumpy.  He kept
turning around and staring behind him.  “What’s wrong with you?”

Colin shrugged.  “Every since we left the food court
I’ve had this sensation of somebody staring at me. I swear I can feel their
eyes drilling holes in my back!” He turned around again and surveyed the crowd
behind him.  His eyes came to rest on a tall man with dark hair that quickly
turned away.  Colin made a face.  It was probably somebody who didn’t like his
hair, his music or hard rock in general.

“Maybe it’s that redhead,” Jake remarked.  “She
certainly made it plain she was yours if you wanted her!”

“Not interested!” Colin snapped.  “Come on, we’d
better get back.”  He managed to put Deb out of his mind for the rest of the
in-store but found himself thinking about her again during the ride to the
Target Center for their sound check.  His reverie was suddenly broken when he
heard Mace exclaim, “Shit!  Will you look at that?”

Colin glanced out the window and saw about thirty or
forty people carrying signs and picketing in front of the entrance to the
arena.  The signs carried such messages as: 
Target Center Supports
Pornography!
Satanists Not Welcome in Minneapolis!
  A third sign
read: 
No Lewd Lyrics!

“Satanists?  Pornography?  Who the hell are these
people anyway?”  Colin asked as their limousine pulled up in front of the stage
entrance.

The stage door opened and the manager of the Target
Center followed by the promoter hurried out to meet them.  Both were full of
apologies and explanations.

“I’m sorry about that display out front, Steve,
guys.”  The manager said.  “Those people have been harassing my staff and me
all week, trying to get us to cancel Unforgiven.  I told them I had a contract
with you, but I wouldn’t cancel it anyway!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve assured him.  “As long
as they don’t try to stop the fans from coming into the concert I have no
problem with them.”  He pointed his finger at the band members.  “And you don’t
either!”

“Who are they?”  Colin asked.

“A local chapter of Purity in Programming and a
chapter of Families for Moral Values from Brunsville; it’s about a half-hour’s
drive from here.”

“Why am I not surprised?”  Colin remarked.

After Unforgiven had finished their sound check, Colin
walked into the lobby and watched the advocacy groups setting up their booths
until Steve found him to tell him they were heading back to their hotel.  As
they drove away from the arena, he saw flashes of other signs the protesters
were carrying: 
Target Center = Profit on Obscenity!
Sex Education
Belongs at Home!

“What the hell does sex education have to do with our
concert?”  Colin wondered aloud.

Debbie and Diana sat in the food court of the Rosedale
Mall, talking and giggling as they ate.  They were both wound up and full of
plans for that evening.

“I think you definitely got Colin’s attention, Deb!”

“I know I did, Din!  He was definitely kissing me
back!”

“God!  He looked like he wanted to pull you down and
fuck you right there!”

“What about Jake?”

“I know he wants to fuck me!”

“We’ve got to get to the Target Center early so we can
get a spot right in front of the stage so we’ll be the only ones Colin and Jake
see.”

“What did she say when you left this morning?”  Diana
asked as they were in the bathroom putting on the wigs they had bought.

“Nothing.  Fortunately, she was on the phone talking
to Father Dork’s mother so I told Paul to tell her I was staying overnight with
you.  Since I stay over a lot she won’t give it a thought – not that she does
anyway.  Your mom will be worried if you don’t come home, won’t she?”

“No.  She told me this morning she didn’t want us
driving home that late so she gave me enough money for us to stay overnight.”

“That’s sure nice of her!”  Debbie remarked in
admiration then started to giggle.  “Of course she didn’t say which hotel we
should stay in!”

The band arrived at their hotel to an excited mob of
fans.  As they entered the lobby from the elevator, the hotel manager motioned
to Steve.

“You guys go on up and I’ll see what he wants,” Steve
instructed them.

“What do you suppose he wants?” Liam asked as they
rode the elevator up to their floor.

“He’s probably worried about us wrecking his hotel,”
Mace answered.

Steve returned and told them the hotel had rented the
empty room next to Colin. “Apparently, this person showed up with a confirmed
reservation they missed and this was the only room available.”

Colin shrugged.  “Well, as long as they stay out of my
face, I don’t care.”

“Probably the best place to put them since Colin isn’t
planning any post-concert activities,” Jake remarked and laughed when Colin
flipped him off.

The band members scattered, each to their own
activities.

Colin went into his room, sighed and sat down on the
bed.  He wished he could stop thinking about Deb.  He knew she wanted him and
he knew he was horny as hell. If she gave him an opportunity he’d fuck her
without a second thought.

“Shit!”  Colin muttered, going out on his balcony.  He
noticed it was starting to cloud over a bit.  He rested his chin on his palm
and frowned.  Why the hell was he behaving like somebody who hadn’t had sex for
six months?  He went back inside and picked up his picture of Alethea.  She
was, without a doubt, one of the sexiest women he’d ever been with and he was
always aware of her intense sensuality ready to explode.  Deb’s sexuality,
however, was the blatant, in-your-face variety and he was finding it hard to
resist!  Colin flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes.  His mind was going
around in circles.  Maybe a short nap would make him feel better.   He awoke
later, realizing he’d been asleep for a few hours.  He rolled over on his back
and pushed aside his sweat-soaked hair.  He didn’t feel better either; he felt
worse!  Dreams about a semi-naked woman with red-gold hair filled his sleep. 
He pulled himself to his feet and went into the bathroom to get ready.  He took
a shower, shaved, brushed his teeth then came back into the bedroom.  He picked
up his blow dryer and sat down on the bed.

His cell phone rang suddenly, startling him.  He dug
it out of the case he wore on his belt.  “Hello?”  There was no answer, but he
could clearly hear somebody was on the line.  “Hello,” he repeated then
shrugged and hung up.  He looked at the number, but didn’t recognize it, but at
least it wasn’t threatening.  That reminded him he hadn’t checked his voicemail
yet today.  He punched in his code and listened.  There were no new messages.  Colin
let out his breath in a gusty sigh of relief.   This was the first time, since
that night before he’d left for Atlanta, that he hadn’t found a threatening
message on his voicemail.  Maybe, that person had finally gotten tired of
playing his sick games.  Maybe, it took the fun out of his games when he saw it
wasn’t scaring him.  His mind returned to Deb.  He decided he was making a
mountain out of a mole hill since he probably wouldn’t see her again anyway.

There was a knock on his door and Russ called, “Colin,
are you ready?”

“Coming,” Colin called.  He noticed for the first time
that it was raining quite hard.  He could hear it hitting the balcony.  He
grabbed his denim jacket and left the room.

Jeff Michaels pulled into his garage, got out and hit
the switch that lowered the garage door.  Briefcase in hand he unlocked the
door leading from the garage to the family room.  As he came in he called,
“Anybody home?”

“Out here, Daddy,” Caitlin responded from the kitchen.

Jeff hung his topcoat in the hall closet, left his
briefcase in his study and picked up the mail.  He was glancing through it as
he walked into the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy,” Caitlin said.  She was standing in front
of the open refrigerator, perusing its contents.

“Hi, Cait,” Jeff replied and gave her a hug.  “Are you
looking for something special in there?”

She made a face.  “I’m trying to decide what to make
for our supper.  What sounds good to you?”

“Red Lobster® sounds really good to me,” Jeff
responded.  “Why don’t I shower, change my clothes, and we’ll go there for
supper.”

“That sounds terrific, Daddy!”  Caitlin answered,
giving him a hug.

While her father showered, Caitlin changed her
clothes, ran a comb through her hair then checked to make sure she had the
tickets.  She went downstairs and waited in the family room.

Jeff came downstairs dressed in his San Francisco
49ers’ sweatshirt and jeans.  “Do I look dressed down enough for a rock
concert?”  He teased Caitlin.

“You look great, Daddy.”

“You’d better take a light jacket with you.  It’s
raining right now and it might be pretty chilly out by the time the concert’s
over.”

“Good idea.”  She went to the hall closet, slipped on
her spring jacket and stowed the tickets safely inside an inner pocket.  When
she came back she was carrying another coat over her arm.  “Mom didn’t take her
coat with her.”

“We’ll stop by the Target Center before we eat and
drop it off although there’s a possibility that the rain may have disrupted
their demonstration.”

They drove into the city and pulled up in front of the
arena.  The demonstrators, looking a little worse for wear, were still
resolutely picketing in front of the main entrance.

“I guess neither rain nor snow.”  Caitlin muttered as
she hopped out of the car.  She quickly found her mother and gave her coat to
her then got back in the car.

Jeff sighed.  “I hope your mother doesn’t end up
getting sick.  No matter how much she might dislike this concert or band, it’s
not worth that.  Did you see Dave?”

“I saw him, but he was making a speech so I didn’t
talk to him.”

Jeff pulled into the parking lot of Red Lobster®. 
They got seated and ordered. Caitlin smiled mischievously.  “Jemma and I went
out to the mall today and saw Unforgiven at Sam Goody®.”

“Oh?  And how was that?”

“They were really nice.  Jemma was in seventh heaven
because she actually got to kiss Colin!”  She giggled suddenly.

Her father smiled and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Jemma thinks you must have looked like Colin when you
were younger.”  Caitlin tilted her head and studied her father.  “I told her
aside from the fact that you were both tall, dark and had high cheekbones, I
couldn’t see a resemblance.”

“Colin’s the one with the really long hair, isn’t he?”
He smiled at Caitlin’s surprise and joked, “I did a little bit of research on
the band and their music so I wouldn’t seem too out of it. If Jemma thinks the
poor guy looks like me, he’s definitely the loser!  So, they’re really nice?”

“I thought so.  They seemed really considerate of
their fans and they actually seemed to enjoy what they’re doing.  I can’t understand
why mom and Dave have so much antipathy towards them.”

“I don’t know either.  They’re entitled to their
opinion, of course, but I don’t believe they have the right to force their
opinion on others.  Everybody has the right to make their own decisions and I
can’t see how a person can make a rational decision without all the facts.”

“I agree, Daddy.  The last time Dave was home he was
so preachy and self-righteous that it really ticked me off,” Caitlin admitted.

“Your brother’s always been very strong in his beliefs
as far back as I can remember.  I’ve always rather envied him in that respect.”

“Strong is one thing, Daddy, but Dave’s being overly
zealous for my taste!  His take no prisoners attitude isn’t what I consider a
virtue for a priest.”

Jeff sighed.  “I think Dave’s angry at me because I
not only allowed you to go to this concert, but I decided to go with you.”

“Tough luck, Daddy!  I’m adult and he can’t tell me
what to do – not that he ever could.”

Jeff smiled.  He was very proud of Caitlin’s spirit.

Unforgiven’s limousine was heading for the stage
entrance when Jake suddenly exclaimed, “Fuck!  Look at that!”

Everybody looked out and saw two police cruisers,
lights flashing, in front of the main entrance.  As they watched, the police
came out with four adults in custody and put them into the patrol cars.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Colin said.  Suddenly he
and everyone else flew forward when the limousine suddenly stopped with a
screech.  He looked up to see what had happened and saw about ten of the
demonstrators standing in front of their limousine and making it impossible for
it to move forward.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flicker of movement
and turned to see about fifteen kids headed towards the demonstrators. 
“Shit!”  He yelled and dived out of the limousine before anybody could stop
him.

“Colin, get your ass back in here!”  Steve yelled at
him.

Colin ignored him and got between the oncoming kids
and the demonstrators.  The lead kid was unable to slow his momentum and plowed
into Colin, knocking him backwards into a female demonstrator.  “Sorry,” he
apologized to her.

She raised the sign she was holding and Colin was sure
she was going to hit him with it.  Suddenly her eyes widened, her mouth dropped
open and she hurriedly backed away from him, almost stepping on another
protester in her rush.

Colin felt a brief flare of anger at her behavior, but
ignored her and turned his attention back to the kids.  “You’d better get
inside.  The shows about to start and you’re going to be missing a great band
in Armageddon if you stay out here.”

Father Michaels stood at the fringe of the ten
demonstrators who were blocking the limousine’s path.  He watched Colin,
praying that God would provide him with a long, sharp knife he could thrust
between Colin’s shoulders.

“But, Colin,” The front kid spoke up, “They’re trying
to stop you guys from going inside!”

Colin shook his head and assured them, “They can’t
stop us, but if you stop them, you’ll be doing the same thing to them as
they’re trying to do to you.”

“You mean you agree with them?”  One of the kids
shouted.

“I don’t agree with what they’re doing or how they’re
doing it, but they have as much right to protest this concert as you do to
attend it.  Look at it this way – while you’re watching a great concert;
they’ll be out here, getting wet and cold.  Who’s got the better deal?”

“Colin’s right!”  The lead kid said while motioning to
the others with his arm.  “Let’s go!”

Colin exhaled in relief; thankful they’d been willing
to listen to reason.  The police got busy clearing the rest of the
demonstrators away from in front of the limousine.  He suddenly felt somebody’s
eyes boring into his back, turned and saw that same female demonstrator glaring
at him.

“Colin!”

Colin turned to find Steve.  He stuck his finger in
Colin’s face and yelled, “You ever pull a stunt like that again and I’ll kick
your ass into the next county!”  He ran his hand over his balding pate and
muttered, “Christ!  It’s no wonder I’m losing my hair!”

The limousine arrived at the stage door.  The first
thing they saw when entering the backstage area was Jazz being treated by a
paramedic for what appeared to be a bad cut on his head.

“Fuck! Jazz, what the hell happened to you?”  Mace
exclaimed.

Jazz shrugged.  “Four of those demonstrators rushed
the lobby and tried to wreck the advocacy booths.  I happened to be passing by
so I helped fight them off.”

“That must be what we saw when we first drove up,”
Liam concluded.

“Is he okay?”  Colin asked the paramedic.

He smiled and nodded.  “Sure.  It’s a minor cut. 
He’ll be fine.”  The paramedic finished with Jazz and, after giving him a list
of precautions, departed.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Jazz, but after this, you’d
better let security handle it,” Colin advised, patting his shoulder.  He went into
the dressing room to change.  He wore a bright red T-shirt and black jeans.  He
sat down, lost in his thoughts, while Jake, Mace and Liam got ready.  He found
himself wondering if Deb was going to be at the concert and if he’d be able to
see her in the audience.

Liam sat down beside him.  “Are you feeling okay,
Colin?”

His brother looked at him in surprise.  “Sure.  Why?”

Liam shrugged.  “No reason, really.  I just thought
you’ve seemed kind of preoccupied since we got back from the in-store.”

“I’ve just been missing Alethea, I guess.  I had a
call from her the other night.  She’s going to be stopping in Chicago on her
way to Milwaukee so I’ll get to see her.”

“That’s great, Colin!”

“Yeah, I can’t wait!  I sure miss her!  Thanks, Liam.”

“For what?”

“Just for caring,” Colin replied, giving him a hug.

There was a knock on the door of their dressing room
and Russ poked his head inside.  “Armageddon’s on their last song.”

“Okay, Russ.  Thanks,” Mace called in acknowledgment.

By the time Unforgiven hit the stage, Colin had
managed to push Deb completely from his mind, but the minute the stage lights
came back up he knew he was in trouble.  Pressed against the stage, right in
front of him, was Deb.  Throughout the concert he was acutely aware of her. 
Without even straining his eyes he could see the outline of her full breasts
with their erect nipples.  As the arena got hotter, perspiration soaked the
thin material of the camisole, causing it to cling to her like a second skin. 
Debbie never took her eyes off him; she followed his every move.  Colin shifted
uncomfortably. He was thankful she couldn’t see the effect she was having on
him.

After the last song the band left the stage.  
Standing in the wings they listened to the audience cheering, whistling,
stopping and clapping for them to return.

“I guess they liked us, huh?”  Colin joked.

The band went back out and did three more songs.  The
last one they did was
Because
the
Night©
.  Colin could
definitely identify with the line ‘the night was meant for lust.’  At the end
of the song, he made his usual announcement about registering to vote and
because sex was so much on his mind, he made an additional announcement.  “One
more thing and I’ll be blunt.  If you’re going to have sex or you’re just
thinking about it – be smart!  Protect yourself and your partner by using a
condom!  Goodnight!”  He left the stage without looking at Deb.

Colin wasted little time showering and changing his
clothes.  He picked up his denim jacket and called, “I’ll see you guys back at
the hotel.”  He found McGregor and said, “My head’s throbbing.  I think I’ll
walk back to the hotel.”  His head wasn’t the only part of his anatomy that was
throbbing!

McGregor nodded and followed Colin.  Before they left,
Colin flagged down Russ and told him that he and McGregor were walking back to
the hotel.

“Colin, I don’t think that’s a good idea…”

“Just tell Steve, Russ.”  Colin cut him off curtly.

When the arena lights came back on, one of
Unforgiven’s crew appeared and handed backstage passes to Debbie and Diana. 
They looked at each other, stunned at first, then hugged each other and started
to giggle.  They followed the crew member backstage.

Jake was coming out of the dressing room and saw
them.  He smiled broadly at Diana and put his arm around her.  He turned to
Debbie and said, “Sorry, when I invited you back here I didn’t know Colin was
planning to leave early.”

“When did he leave?”  Debbie demanded.

“Just a few minutes ago; he and his bodyguard left by
the stage entrance over there.”

“Thanks!  I’ll hurry and catch up with them.”

“Debbie, you can’t run around Minneapolis by yourself
this late at night,” Diana said worriedly.

“If I don’t catch up to them, I’ll wait for you in the
lobby of Unforgiven’s hotel.  Here’s my car key.”  She tossed her keys to
Diana.

Diana nodded reluctantly.  “Okay.  I’ll leave your car
in the hotel parking lot in case you need it.”

“Whatever,” Debbie replied and then hurried out the
stage entrance.

“I hope she does catch up with Colin,” Jake remarked. 
“He really needs to be laid!”