U-N-I

As soon as we stepped on stage, the whole show was a real rollercoaster ride of emotions. It was brilliant. We knew we had something to prove. People in the audience knew it too. We were so full of adrenaline, so supercharged that I think people could instantly feel it and from the first note, they were totally into it and already dancing and singing along, which to us, was the key to a successful gig. To have people connect with us and to sing along to our songs. We loved involving them the whole time. We hadn't been on stage in so long, and yet, we immediately felt so at ease. To the point that when we came to the end, we didn't even want to come off knowing we had to go back to the real world.

We first played "Hurts like Heaven", followed by "Yellow". When the song neared the end, Rob talked to the crowd as he kept playing,

"Well, good evening everybody." he told them, "Thank you so much for being here tonight; that means the world to us. We came out here a bit scared, but to feel the vibe in this place tonight makes me feel like - you guys are great, and together we can do wonderful, wonderful things. We're gonna give everything we have, tonight, for you, and we hope you have a great time!" he strummed his guitar and added, "Now show me what you've got! Let me know you're out there! Show me what you've got!" he said, encouraging them to be louder and louder as we strummed the guitars and Damon loudly hit the drums.

'Turn it up, turn it up!" he said to us. The crowd went wild and we knew the gig was going to be absolutely awesome.

We then played three new songs live for the very first time, “Lost,” “Talk,” and, of course, “The Scientist,” which quickly turned into a massive singalong. The crowd was so loud they left Rob no choice but to stop singing altogether. He burst out laughing, then had to really push his voice in the next chorus just to sing over them. When the song ended, he said,

"Alright, seems like you really want to sing tonight, let's sing this one together." and we played the chorus again, letting them sing it as loud as they wanted to.

The album had only been out for a couple of months, yet they were singing along as if we’d been playing that song for years. It already felt like a classic. We looked at each other and smiled, amazed at how deeply people had connected with it so quickly.

Nobody said it was easy

Oh, it's such a shame for us to part

Nobody said it was easy

No one ever said it would be so hard

I'm going back to the start

When the song ended, Jordan said into his mic, "Stop crying, Rach!" I looked at him with a slight grin, knowing she would probably kill him for that later.

We then launched into “Politik,” and, as expected, Rob couldn’t resist getting his revenge. He stood right behind Jordan, turning on the flirt as he sang the chorus “Open up your eyes” four times in a row. There wasn’t much Jordan could do about it; he just smiled and waited for Rob to move on, doing his best to stay focused on playing. Dylan and I watched the whole thing unfold and exchanged a knowing look.

A few smiles and quiet giggles passed between us, but nothing obvious enough for the audience to catch on. We had just enough professional pride to keep it in check and not let the moment - or the joke - get in the way of the song for the fans.

We carried on with songs from her first two albums, moving through “Low,” “Clocks,” “Shiver,” “Trouble,” “Sparks,” “In My Place,” and “A Message.” Throughout those songs, there was plenty of interaction between Rob and me. He’d often glance over, or wander across the stage and slip an arm around my shoulders while he sang, whenever he wasn’t playing guitar.

After those songs, we moved down the runway to a small cross-stage at the end, where we were set to play a few more in an intimate set among the audience.

We weren’t quite ready to start the first acoustic song when Rob suddenly grinned and said, “Check this out, it’s fucking good!” He played a few notes and sang the opening of a new song called “What If.”

Then he stopped and laughed,

“I’m joking. I should probably wait for the rest of the band… So, we’re gonna play a new song again. I’d like to say we’re quite proud of this one. It’s personal, inspired by some recent changes in our lives. But if you don’t like it - fuck it - just listen to the old stuff.”

The crowd cheered, and he smiled. “Here we go! This is ‘What If.’ Hope you like it.”

What if there was no lie
Nothing wrong, nothing right
What if there was no time
And no reason, or rhyme
What if you should decide
That you don't want me there by your side
That you don't want me there in your life

When the song ended, Rob addressed the crowd again. He always loved these moments, and the audience did too.

“So, this is something new we’ve been trying as a band. I know you probably think all we do is have sex, drink a lot, and count money, but honestly, the truth is, we just have a laugh and play music. Lately, we’ve been learning new instruments. Damon’s even picked up the harmonica for this one. This is ‘Don’t Panic!’”

We played it acoustically, and when it finished, Rob spoke again. Being on the small stage in the middle of the crowd made it so much easier to interact with everyone, to really feel their energy and share the moment.

“We’re gonna play ‘Green Eyes,’ and we’re gonna play it for Leighann on Instagram. But first - if that’s okay with you - I feel like we should introduce the whole band. We don’t often… we never used to do it before, but maybe it would be nice to do that tonight!”

The audience erupted with cheers and applause.

“Yeah! So let me introduce my awesome bandmates to you! First, I’m Robbie. I used to be married to George Michael, as most of you know. He was sweet, but… things didn’t go so well!”

The crowd laughed, catching his joke, as Rob winked, his playful way of letting everyone know he was gay without making it awkward.

“I’m one fifth of our band. I don’t know why the media always seems to forget this, but everyone here is equally important. I think it’s time to start acknowledging that there are five of us, not one or two. We’ve been gigging together for, I’d say, ten years now!”

The crowd screamed in response, and Rob added with a grin,

“Yeah, ten years. And if you had to hang out with me and Jordan for that long, you’d realize what an achievement that is for the rest of these guys!”

He gestured playfully at me and Dylan.

“You know, the plan was to become famous actors, or firemen, or doctors… or dentists, I don’t even remember. But none of us were really good enough. So we just said, ‘Oh fuck this, let’s just make a band!’ And that’s what we did. Between crunching our abs and polishing our teeth, we’ve made some songs!”

Then, turning with a wicked smile to Jordan, he said,

“Now, to my left… first of all, he’s the sexiest bass player you could ever dream of. He’s like a cross between Justin Bieber and Justin Timberlake, he’s like, Jordan Bieberlake! You’ll never see his abs, but… trust me, they’re delightful!”

The crowd laughed, and Rob joined in, clearly enjoying the playful chaos of introducing us.

Jordan feigned a laugh, wiggled his eyebrows, and lifted his t-shirt just a little.

“Oh, there you go! Look at that!” Rob exclaimed. “See? Delightful! Yeah, he’s just pure gorgeousness. Plus, he’s the best bass player I’ve ever met. There are probably better ones out there, but he’s my favorite. He’s crazy but amazing, a bit mad but sweet, generous, and kind. This is Jordan, our beautiful bass player!”

The audience erupted in loud cheers, and I think Jordan was almost embarrassed.

“On the piano, we’ve got Dylan! Now, you may have noticed that we don’t need Dylan on all our songs. So sometimes he just… wanders off. He’s like the ghost member of our band! Goes off stage, maybe has a cup of tea… or goes and has sex with his many girlfriends, who knows? And then, he forgets to come back when we actually need him!”

Dylan laughed and gave him the finger.

“Don’t pretend that’s never happened!” Rob laughed.

“Not tonight,” Dylan replied, laughing along.

“But he’s an awesome piano player, and most of all, he’s probably the most centered and serious member of the band. He really keeps us together, I don’t know what we’d do without him!”

“On the drums, we’ve got Damon… He doesn’t look like he does, but I’m telling you, he’s got the strength, the muscles, and the power to hit those drums! He’s the most awesome drummer in our band, and probably in the world, and he’s great!”

The crowd screamed in agreement.

“Yeah, we often make bad jokes, but really, he’s against the grain. He’s a technically brilliant drummer and can play plenty of other instruments too. Seriously, he’s brilliant!”

Damon just winked at him.

“And on my right,” he said slowly, pointing at me, and the crowd went wild. “Yeah, yeah, you should scream! I know. I would totally do that too if I were you!” He encouraged them to get even louder.

Now that was embarrassing.

“So, he used to be my secret gay lover,” he laughed, and the audience cheered. “Not so secret anymore, I’m afraid!”

“It was fun while it lasted,” I said.

“Sure was! Being in the closet isn’t so bad - you don’t get any shit,” he added, and the crowd laughed.

“So that’s Mark Emery for you - my perfect, perfect boyfriend. First of all, he really is an amazing songwriter. Like, he won’t admit it, but he pretty much does all the work. We just pretend to help him!”

A guy in the front row shouted,

“I LOVE YOU, MARK!”

“Yeah, I know, he’s gorgeous,” Rob said. “He’s my best friend, the best friend I could possibly ask for! He keeps me sane, let me tell you! He’s my soulmate, and he’s got a smile brighter than a thousand candles.”

We laughed at the cheesiness of that sentence, and the crowd cheered.

“Yes, he’s beautiful, and I love him!”

The audience cheered even louder and longer, and Rob added with a mischievous grin,

“That’s right! I get to see him in his underwear… and without ‘em!”

I shook my head, laughing.

“Yep!” he said, looking at me. “I’m allowed to say that now. Told you - gonna get embarrassed a lot tonight!”

The crowd started chanting and clapping, “Ink! Ink! Ink!” over and over.

“Oh nooo!” I laughed into the microphone.

“Oh, you want us to play ‘Ink,’ do you?” Rob said sexily.

I played the first few notes, and the crowd went wild. Rob gasped,

“Oh, come on, do it! Don’t chicken out!”

I smiled at him.

“I never said I’d do it!”

The chants kept going, louder than ever.

“Oh no, I’m not getting out of this,” I muttered, a nervous laugh slipping out.

“Well, just so you know, I will not sing that song! So if you want us to play it, you’ll have to encourage him to sing it!”

And encourage me they did.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it!” I finally caved, and the crowd cheered wildly.

“Really?” Rob asked, surprised, then turned to the audience. “Well done! It takes me five years to get him to sing a song in public, and you just have to cheer for one minute to convince him. I’m jealous.”

“Now it’s my turn to embarrass you,” I said to him.

“Are you kidding? I’m gonna enjoy this!” he laughed. “So, you know, this is a song that was never supposed to be released. We hid it as a B-side on a single, thinking you guys wouldn’t notice. It’s just a song that was quickly written in our bedroom.”

The crowd whistled, mostly the girls, making the playful energy on stage even stronger.

“Yeah, yeah, it was as sexy as it sounds!” he said, leaning into it with that mischievous grin. “This is probably the first - and only - time this will happen, so enjoy it… I know I will!”

I laughed. He was on fire.

“Okay, I’m gonna shut up now! I really have to stop talking. We may seem pretty relaxed tonight, not very professional, but it’s a special night. There are so many special people here, you know it! From our families to our friends, and a few curious celebrities up there! Not to mention you guys, the best audience in the world, who have always stuck with us! Everybody here is pretty fucking special to us, so we hope you have as good an evening as we’re having, and thank you for coming and being here with us tonight!”

The audience clapped and cheered loudly. Rob smiled and continued,

“Okay, let’s do this. I’m really sorry for all the talking, please don’t put it on YouTube, it’s terrible! But if you do, please add a little disclaimer that we haven’t been on stage for over a year, that we spent hours and hours rehearsing those songs, and then you just decide to make us play whatever you want, with no rehearsals at all. Alright, switch guitars?”

He nodded at me, signalling it was my turn to pick up the acoustic guitar for the next song.

His guitar wasn’t in the right tuning, so I started adjusting it. Normally, we had someone to do that for us, and I always kept several guitars in different tunings ready for the songs we needed to play, but Ink wasn’t planned. And, as it turned out, tuning a guitar in front of twenty thousand people, with the arena buzzing around me, was a lot harder than I’d expected.

“Sorry,” I laughed, plucking a string that was completely out of key. “I’ve never tuned a guitar in front of twenty thousand people. This is why!”

I tried again, still talking to them as I worked the pegs.

“But hey, you can say you were there! You were there when U-N-I’s guitarist took twenty minutes to tune his guitar. Bear with me!”

A girl shouted from the crowd,

“WE BELIEVE IN YOU!”

“Thank you so much,” I said into the mic. “The power of belief is what’s gonna get me through,” I laughed along with them. “’Cause I’ve got no fucking idea what I’m doing!”

I smiled at Rob, shaking my head.

“You know, I did write this song. Which is weird, because now I can’t even play it in front of you!”

“Hon, you can try all you want, but they’re not gonna let you get away with this!” Rob joked. I smirked at him.

“Can I have another guitar, please? In the right tuning,” I asked. “’Cause I’ve just pretty much screwed this one up!”

The roadie handed me another guitar, and I eyed it sceptically.

“Is this one in the other tuning?” I asked, pretty sure it wasn’t. He nodded confidently.

I played a few notes, but, unsurprisingly, it still wasn’t in the right tuning.

“Shit!” I laughed, starting to tune it again.

A guy in the front row shouted loudly,

“FUCK IT!!”

I couldn’t help but grin. “No, I can’t fuck it, man!” I called back. The entire venue erupted with laughter. “I could, but then I’d end up going viral.”

And then someone else yelled even louder,

“FUCK ME, ROBBIE! I LOVE YOU!”

I laughed, shaking my head, the absurdity of it all only adding to the energy on stage. Rob just grinned at me, clearly enjoying the chaos.

“Oh man, this is getting out of control,” I said, still trying to tune the guitar. “He would, but then that’d be the end of the band… just because some horny guy said ‘fuck me’! …and then everybody here’s gonna hate you.”

The crowd laughed and booed.

“Yeah, boo him for me!” I encouraged, grinning.

Rob leaned into the mic, keeping a perfectly straight face.

“We’re staying at the Ritz.”

I raised my eyebrows at him.

“Are we?”

Jordan glanced at Damon, who was laughing his ass off.

“I feel this is already going viral,” Jordan said.

“You gotta love those guys,” Damon added, still chuckling.

Somewhere in the crowd, someone shouted,

“YOU’RE THE BEST!”

“Yeah, right!” Jordan exclaimed. “I think we all need to hear this right now!” he laughed.

Rob lifted his electric guitar.

“Wait, I think my guitar needs tuning!”

I pointed at him dramatically.

“No, you’re fine! Maybe I should play ‘The Scientist’ instead,” I joked, glancing at the guitar. The High E string wasn’t in standard tuning, it was tuned to F, and changing it from E to F by ear was tricky. Of course, the guys knew this.

The crowd cheered, thinking I was serious, not quite understanding the joke.

“He’s kidding!” Jordan laughed. “It’s a different tuning, not standard. That’s another half hour of waiting for him to get it right!”

I mouthed a quick, joking “fuck you” at him, and he grinned.

Then, I leaned into the mic, starting to sing playfully,

“Nobody said it was easy, nobody said tuning a guitar was easy.”

The audience clapped along, laughing with me, and finally, the roadie handed me the first guitar, now perfectly tuned.

“Alright, great! Thank you so much. Let’s play ‘Ink’. Another embarrassing moment,” I laughed, pointing a finger at Rob.

He wore that mischievous grin that promised trouble, so I whispered under my breath,

“Don’t!”

He just raised his hands and gave me an innocent smile, promising he wasn't planning on doing anything.

"Hit it!" I told Damon and we started the song.

I tried to block the whole venue and to concentrate on Rob and on my guitar. I looked into his eyes for most of the song and my eyes would only leave his when I needed to check the chords, just as he sometimes was. I think for a brief moment, when I sang these lyrics and gazed into his eyes, it was only the two of us on the stage.

" I see you road begin to climb,

I see you stars begin to shine,

I see your colours and I'm dying of thirst,

All I know, is that I love you so,

So much that it hurts."

I’m not sure how we managed to keep playing without a single note wrong. I knew I was relying entirely on muscle memory, letting my fingers automatically find the chords, and he obviously was doing the same. When the song ended, Jordan and Damon left the small cross-shaped stage to return to the main stage, leaving just the two of us to play “Green Eyes” and then “A Rush of Blood.”

I began “Green Eyes” on acoustic guitar, and this time, he was the one singing to me. I barely needed to think about what I was playing, the chords were so ingrained that my fingers moved on autopilot. But when it came time for Rob to pick up the electric guitar in the second part of the song, he messed up the first note.

He just laughed at how distracted he was, and the audience laughed along with him. I paused, picked up from where we’d left off, and when he finally nailed the note, the whole venue erupted in cheers.

Throughout the song, he kept looking at me, mischievous as ever. At one point, he altered the original lyrics, “I came here with a load and it feels so much lighter since I met you” - to “since I told you.”

As he sang that line the second time, I couldn’t help but worry that he might push it further and sing “since I’ve done you”, something he would definitely be cheeky enough to attempt. I shot him a pointed smirk, and I think he got the message. Instead, he softened the line with a grin and sang, “now I’m with you.”

It was intimate and playful, one of those moments that made the entire arena feel like they were sharing something personal with us.

Before we started playing “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” I picked up the electric guitar again, since this song was a bit harder for Rob to play and sing at the same time. As I adjusted my stance, Rob leaned into the mic, his voice carrying a sharp edge of playful resentment,

“Got a special message for someone in the audience tonight. Thomas… just so you know, as far as I’m concerned, sorry doesn’t cut it! You can just fuck off home! This is A Rush of Blood to the Head!”

I smiled at him as the first notes hit. We locked eyes and launched into the song, tension running through our bodies.

‘Oh, I'm gonna buy this place and start a fire
Stand here until I fill all your heart's desires
Because I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn
Do back the things it did to you in return’

I would often look at him, seeing how his gaze carried the emotion of the song.

Again, he surprised me by changing some lyrics mid-song, looking at me as he sang,

“I said I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war,
If you can tell me that we’re worth fighting for”

instead of the original,

“If you can tell me something worth fighting for.”

I had no idea he was going to do that. The entire crowd screamed and when he repeated it in the second chorus, the reaction was just as intense.

As soon as the song ended, he ran back to the main stage to kick off “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” a song that was like our coming-out anthem. I followed as I started playing the song on my guitar. Rob mostly stayed on the runway, leaning toward the crowd with an energy that pulled everyone’s attention to him.

Halfway through the song, he dove into the pit between the stage and the barriers, reaching for a rainbow flag someone was waving. Climbing back onto the runway, he held it high and sang the line,

Every tear
Is a waterfall
So you can hurt, hurt me bad
But still I'll raise the flag

He ran up the runway toward the stage and tried to throw the flag back into the crowd, but it didn’t quite work. So, he picked it up again, ran over to me, and tied it to my guitar strap.

Then, without warning, he planted a kiss on my lips.

If anyone still had any doubt - or needed confirmation - that we were a couple, there was no question left.

I finished the song in a haze, heart still racing, and immediately moved into “Princess of China,”

Rihanna appeared, calm and confident, her presence commanding the stage. She began singing, pouring so much emotion and sensuality into the performance that it was both beautiful and undeniably hot.

She was such a badass.

The way she sang, I could see she was effortlessly transporting the audience into the story of the song. When she hit the line “’cause you really hurt me” several times, her gaze locked on Rob, and I swear the hurt in her voice was real. Near the end, they pressed their foreheads together while singing, making it look so passionate.

We finished the song and Rob thanked Rihanna for being here, talking to the crowd.

Then, we walked off stage and Rob immediately dropped to the floor, lying on his back as if he needed to recover from the sheer intensity of the performance.

“Oh my god, that was insane!!” he shouted.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.

“You’re not done!” I laughed.

“Fucking hell, that was… fucking insane! Seriously!” he said, still catching his breath. Then he looked at Rihanna, teasing, “You almost kissed me on stage!”

“I almost did,” she giggled. “I would’ve if you hadn’t pulled away. That’s why I pulled you back.”

“Really?” they both laughed. “Shit, I should’ve let you!”

“No, no,” she said, acting shy. “It was more sensual that way. We were being watched.”

“You totally pulled it off,” Rob laughed. “I think you actually convinced them there was something going on!”

“Totally, I almost got jealous!” I joked.

“I was so into it,” she admitted, with a genuine grin. “I felt genuinely heartbroken at the end!”

Jordan added in with a bright smile,

“This is going to become an iconic duet, let me tell you! The chemistry and passion between you two at the end were incredible. People are gonna be talking about this tomorrow!”

We tried to calm ourselves. The break had been short, and we still had “Fix You” and “Up and Up”, the song we’d written with Bono, to play.

The crowd was calling us back onto the stage, louder and louder with every passing second.

When we stepped back on, the roar of the audience hit us like a wave, the longest and loudest cheer we had ever heard. This concert was exceptional in every sense of the word.

Rob walked down the runway and flopped onto his back in the middle of it as we launched into “Fix You.” The moment he sang the first words, the crowd sang them back, almost louder than he was. It wasn’t just a singalong, it felt like he was singing with them, their voices lifting the song in a way that was completely magical. “Fix You” was having the same profound effect on the fans as “The Scientist” had, something I had hoped for, but never expected to feel so intensely.

After the first chorus, he sat up, a slight giggle escaping him.

“First time ever singing that song live, and that’s what it sounds like! Unbelievable! You sound incredible!”

During the interlude, Rob didn’t have to sing, so he ran over to a thick white drape we’d hung on the side of the stage and began spray-painting “Love is Love.” The crowd went wild.

As the last line of “Fix You” approached,

“Lights will guide you home,
And ignite your bone,
And I will try to fix you.”

He let the audience sing it out, their voices filling the arena with pure, collective energy. When they finished, he turned to them, smiling.

“Thank you so much, everybody!”

Then he faced us, eyes bright with emotion,

“This is why this is our favourite place on earth, guys!”

We closed with the icing on the cake: “Up and Up.” Just as Rob began singing, the impossible happened, Bono walked on stage. The four of us froze, utterly shocked. Rob stopped mid-line, staring as Bono approached, a hand lightly rubbing his shoulder. It took a moment for him to process what was happening: Bono was actually on stage, singing with him.

We were all stunned, almost forgetting our parts, but somehow we pulled through. Rob started singing again, this time alongside Bono, their voices fitting together perfectly. The song passed by in a blur - it was surreal, and unforgettable, the kind of performance that would live in our memories forever.

When we finished “Up and Up,” Rob turned to Bono, a mix of disbelief and exhilaration on his face. “Shit, we’ve come to the end!”

Bono shook his head with a grin. “In fact… you know what? I don’t want this to be the last song. Can we do one more song?”

He looked at us, and the crowd lost it. We nodded in agreement, our hearts racing.

“Alright, we’ll do one more song!” Bono said, turning to the audience. “What would you like to hear?”

Of course, we couldn’t just pick any U2 song on the spot with no rehearsal. Jordan and I moved close to Damon’s drums and quickly huddled, whispering. We all agreed on “One.” I knew it by heart, Rob knew the lyrics perfectly, Jordan was confident he could remember it, and Damon just nodded, though a flicker of worry crossed his face. It was the safest and most powerful choice.

While we got ready, Rob and Bono addressed the crowd. Rob thanked all the crew who had worked tirelessly to make the concert flawless, and Bono thanked everyone for their unwavering support.

“These boys are going to have an amazing career!” Bono said. “One of those careers you just don’t deserve, you know? No one deserves it like this… but you’re taking it alright?”

Rob nodded, smiling.

“That boy reminds me a lot of me at his age,” Bono continued, looking at the audience. “It’s like I’m his dad. That fire, that energy… it’s rare, and you need to hold onto it,” he said to Rob, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a gentle shake.

“I’ll try,” Rob grinned.

“No,” Bono replied with a wink, “you don’t try, you live it. That’s what will take you far.”

The crowd erupted, but it felt like it was just the two of them, passing the torch in a single glance.

Then Bono turned toward us, waiting for confirmation. We gestured: “One.” He nodded immediately.

“One? Alright! Let’s sing One! Is that alright with you?”

The crowd screamed in approval.

I couldn’t believe this was happening. We were about to play “One”, my absolute favourite song, and Rob was going to sing it alongside Bono. I could see the nerves flickering across his face, but I also knew he could do it and hold his own next to one of the greatest voices in the world.

Once we started, it was pure magic. We didn’t miss a single note. Rob seemed to love it, enjoying every word, even though I could hardly focus on him. I was amazed by the energy, the sound, and the electricity on stage. His voice was strong, confident, and almost as good as Bono’s. I knew I’d need to watch the footage later to really take it all in.

When the song ended, Bono left the stage to a thunderous roar. The crowd was ecstatic, probably just as stunned as we were that the duet had actually happened.

But we weren’t finished yet. Dylan started the opening notes of “Up and Up” once more, the soaring melody filling the arena. Rob stepped forward to sing the final verse, his voice brimming with emotion, eyes sparkling as he took in the crowd.

“Thank you again, everybody! Seriously… you are incredible!”

Cheers and applause swept through the arena, washing over us. It was the perfect ending to an unforgettable, maybe once-in-a-lifetime concert.

Fixing up a car to drive in it again

When you're in pain

When you think you've had enough

Don't ever give up

Don't ever give up

When it was finally time to leave, we stayed on stage longer than usual. The crowd simply wouldn’t let us go. We took our bows together, waving and thanking them, the applause rolling over us like thunder.

Just before walking off, I went over to Rob, and we hugged tightly.

“That was sensational,” he said.

“You were amazing,” I replied.

I cupped his face and kissed him, not caring at all that we were still in full view of twenty thousand people. Then, with my arm around his shoulders, I squeezed him close and kissed the side of his head as we finally made our way off the stage.

Backstage, everyone we passed was chatting and congratulating us on the show. The hallways were already packed, handshakes, hugs, laughter, and smiles all around. We worked our way through the crowd, making a path toward our dressing room, knowing we had just enough time to shower, change, and get ready for food and drinks with the people waiting for us.

As we finally entered the dressing room, Jordan was laughing, a wide grin on his face.

" “This gig was something else!!” he shouted, plopping down onto one of the dark red sofas. “I never wanted it to end.”

“Tell me about it!” Rob replied as we all sank onto the couches, exhilarated but drained at the same time.

It was just the five of us. I think we needed a few minutes alone together, just to give ourselves time to realize the concert was over. The difference between the silence in the dressing room and what we’d just come from, the noise, the energy, the cheering, was always pretty strange. Going from total exhilaration to being alone in a room felt weird. This time it was worse. That drop was such a surreal feeling… and kind of dangerous for our sanity, if I’m honest, especially Rob’s. We were all slightly giggling and smiling, not knowing what to say. There was no need to talk. We knew exactly how each of us was feeling. We just needed a very quick decompression. Dylan finally spoke.

“We’re never gonna top this. Like, never! This will always be the best gig of our lives, let me tell you.”

“Fucking amazing, guys! How did we even get here?” I asked, taking a deep breath.

“Damn, that was ace! Really, really ace!” Rob said, grinning as he recalled the night. “I was so at ease on stage. I had such a great time! I can’t wait to go on tour now.”

“Yeah, all down to the audience!” Dylan said.

“So much to look forward to!” I added.

“Fucking ace being a rock star! No better job!” Rob declared. Then, with a smile, he added, “And you know what? If a few paparazzi take your picture…”

“Yeah, so what?!” Jordan exclaimed.

“So fucking what!” Rob laughed. “You know what I mean! What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing’s wrong with that,” Jordan agreed, laughing.

We often complained about them, and yes, they could drive us crazy, but right now, it didn’t matter.

"If you get onstage and enjoy something like that!" Rob added, slowly shaking his head. "Fucking hell, it was amazing, fucking amazing! It's gonna take me a while to come down. I'm first to grab a shower, I really need this the most."

"Yeah, I'm going with you," I said.

"Hey, no sex! We need to shower too!" Jordan exclaimed.

We chuckled as we entered the bathroom. We quickly showered and changed before going back out into the craziness. We emerged from our dressing room and started talking with a number of reporters.

Then we had a drink, grabbed some food from yet another buffet, and mingled with the many celebrities, friends, and family backstage. We were still a little in shock - so many people coming up just to tell us how much they’d loved the show, how incredible they thought we were.

In that moment, I felt it deep down, we had done something truly special. There was this overwhelming sense that we had arrived. As a band, we had won the awards we were meant to win, sold the records we were meant to sell, and I could honestly say we were doing it for the music, not for the fame or the money.

I knew the next tour would bring us the worldwide recognition we had always dreamed of. It was exciting, but I also felt a flicker of worry, wondering if we’d find it hard to adjust to an even bigger level of success. The one thing that reassured me, though, was that we weren’t facing it alone. We had each other.

I gave Rachel a warm hug.

“You guys were terrific.”

We laughed and chatted about all the little funny moments from the gig when a guy approached us.

“Rach, would you like a drink? I’m gonna grab a Coke for myself.”

“No thanks, I’m good,” she replied, turning her attention back to me.

He smiled at me, admitting he was a huge fan of our music and songwriting. Like everyone else, he congratulated me, and I thanked him politely before he excused himself to get a drink.

After he walked away, I turned to Rachel.

“Who is he?”

“Just a guy I worked with at an art gallery last month,” she said, smiling.

I gave her a suspicious look.

“What? He’s really sweet. And handsome,” she added.

“Yeah, he is… how long do you think he’s gonna last?” I teased.

“Don’t know. Depends on how well he treats me!”

She was often dating guys, but for some reason, it never seemed to last very long. She didn’t seem to want a serious relationship, and I worried I might have completely robbed her of her ability to trust someone. I was fairly sure she didn’t allow herself to fall in love, just to avoid getting hurt. I hoped I was wrong, but I knew a serious conversation was coming.

I was about to say something to her when I heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, amazing gig!”

I turned, and there he was - Damien.

“Hey,” I said, then glanced back at Rachel. “I fuckin’ knew it!” I whispered.

She tried not to giggle.

“I think I’m gonna get myself that drink I didn’t want after all,” she murmured with a sly smile.

Damien looked at me, a small, happy smile on his face. I couldn’t deny he was handsome as hell, but I kept my expression neutral. I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. I liked the guy, but he was way too into me.

“Why are you here?” I asked, curious but cautious.

Considering how we’d left things before, he didn’t seem fazed by my question.

“I came to congratulate you guys!” he said. “It was an incredible concert! Honestly, one of the best I’ve ever been to - if not the best.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Damn, I knew you were good, but that… that was beyond good. I was staggered! And man, One with Bono - fucking amazing. You must’ve been thrilled!”

“Yeah, it was unexpected,” I nodded. “Glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did. And I’m so glad Rewind got to be your support band, they really killed it!”

“I couldn’t watch them, but Damon did. He really liked them.”

“Yeah, they surprised me. I was worried they wouldn’t be ready, but they absolutely rocked!”

I agreed, and for some reason, I held his gaze a little longer than normal. There was something about him, this self-assured energy, that made me want to flirt, even though I had zero intention of letting anything happen. I sighed and looked away.

“Damien, you shouldn’t have come. It’d be better if you left now.”

He looked puzzled.

“You gave me backstage passes, didn’t you? What else was I supposed to do with them?”

I didn’t respond, and he seemed to sense I didn’t want to linger.

“Mark, I’m sorry if you’re mad about last time, but… I just had to try. I just want to be your friend. You know that.” He hesitated, then added softly, “I kinda miss you.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“You kinda miss me?” I said, holding his gaze. “Stop pretending you just want to be my friend.”

He froze, then quickly regained his usual confident edge.

“Fine!” he said, stepping closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You were fucking hot on stage! I couldn’t take my eyes off you… and I had to see you. There. I’m not pretending now.”

“That’s better,” I said dryly.

“Why can’t you just admit you like me too?” he demanded.

“I do like you,” I shot back, staring him down, “I just don’t want to fuck you.”

“Bullshit. You would if you weren’t with him,” he whispered.

“Well, I am very much with him,” I said firmly.

“Doesn’t stop the way you look at me,” he persisted.

“It’s not happening, so just stop hitting on me!” I said, though a part of me couldn’t deny I liked his boldness.

“I can’t help it,” he said, a little desperate, “I’m too into you. You’ll get tired of him sooner or later.”

He glanced over at Rob, who was in the middle of a conversation with fans but had caught sight of me talking to Damien. As I turned, I saw Rob’s eyes briefly meet mine, then flick to Damien, and in that instant, I tried to make my gaze tell him everything, I needed a little help.

I met Damien’s gaze again and let out a small chuckle.

“You should really get yourself a significant other of your own, you know. Have you seen him tonight? You can’t compete.”

He gave a slight shrug, flashing a flirtatious grin.

“I was only looking at you!”

I turned my eyes away, and he smiled, raising the guitar case he was holding.

“I’ve still got this to give you! Please, accept it this time,” he said, his tone almost pleading.

I didn’t move a finger. Rob was already stepping toward us.

“Thank you,” Rob said, grabbing the guitar case and placing it on the floor next to us. Then he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “You can leave now,” he added, his voice sharp.

“Was I talking to you?” Damien spat back.

Rob chuckled, his tone cold but amused.

“If you think you’re getting another shot at him and I’m going to stand back, you’re out of your mind. Leave. He’s being polite. He doesn't want you here. And neither do I. I can't believe you even had the nerve to show your face here tonight.”

Damien didn't even blink and looked at me, deliberately ignoring Rob. “Why do you let him talk for you?”

“He does it better than me!” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“He’s not the boss of you,” Damien said, looking straight at me.

Rob laughed, and I shot him a look.

“No, he’s not! See? I never listen to him, and he always listens to me. You don’t know shit about us, Damien!” I snapped, trying to make him understand he really didn’t have a shot.

“Yeah, so do us both a favour and get the hell out of our lives!” Rob snapped, clearly angry.

Damien glanced at me again, clearly hoping I might contradict him.

“You heard him!” I said, my voice firm.

Damien seemed to accept that I was firmly on Rob’s side. He looked away, disappointment flashing across his face, but then quickly turned his gaze to Rob. Leaning in slightly, he whispered,

“I can’t wait for you to fuck up.”

“You bastard, get the fuck out of here!” Rob spat, taking his arm off my shoulders and shoving Damien back.

For the first time, Damien seemed to realize Rob might actually start a fight. Surrounded by so many people, and with some already starting to watch the scene, he gave up easily.

“Fine, fine, I’m leaving,” he said, taking a few steps back. “Call me when he does,” he added, his voice low and seductive.

I fought back a smile. I had to admit, the woman in me was enjoying the idea of two hot guys fighting over me.

Rob turned to me, shaking his head.

“If I do fuck up and you feel like getting back at me with some guy… please, don’t choose him!” he said, laughing.

I chuckled slightly.

Damien had barely moved backwards so he heard him.

"Lucky for me, he never listens to you," he muttered under his breath.

"Alright, that's it!" Rob growled.

He stepped forward, shoving Damien back with force.

“Get out now!” he snapped, his voice low and threatening.

Damien stumbled, trying to regain his balance, but didn’t shove back. Rob grabbed his shoulder firmly and pushed him again, his glare sharp enough to make Damien flinch. Jordan quickly stepped in, probably because Rachel had hinted that something might go down, and he was the only one fully clued in. Together, Rob and Jordan forced Damien toward the exit, calling in a security guard to make sure he left.

"Jeez, Mark, you're quite the heartbreaker," Jordan joked as they both came back over to me.

"Apparently. Damn, he’s way more into me than I realized!" I said, giving him a playful push, secretly amused at the chaos of it all.

"I told you he was trouble!" Rob exclaimed. "Why do you have to be so cute?" he added softly, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

Rachel was close by. "I can’t believe how bold that guy is," she said. "Damn, he’s not scared of going after what he wants."

Rob chuckled. "Yeah, he’s bold… but he’s got nothing on me."

Rachel laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe I should’ve been nastier to you too, back when you stole Mark from me."

I groaned, laughing. "Oh my God, here we go…"

Rob grinned. "Hey, no regrets, right?"

Rachel tutted. "I can’t even be mad, look at you two."

We kept chatting with everyone for a while - probably another hour - before people slowly began to leave.

When we finally stepped out of the venue, we were surprised to see a few fans still waiting at the stage door, despite the freezing weather. They had been patient enough to wait in the cold, so we made the effort to give them a little of our time.

Much to their delight, we signed autographs, posed for pictures, and chatted briefly, thanking everyone for their kind words. The fans were polite but buzzing with excitement, repeating things like, “We love you guys! Amazing concert! Incredible duet with Rihanna! Bono was incredible!”

We talked about the show and the upcoming tour, sharing a few behind-the-scenes moments. At one point, a few fans asked about Rob and me as a couple, curious about some of the onstage moments. They were especially intrigued by A Rush of Blood and wanted to know what the lyrics meant. We could only smile and tell them it was personal.

"I'm sorry about the inappropriate screaming," one of the guys said as I signed an autograph for him.

It took me a second to process, and then I exclaimed,

"Wait… are you the guy who yelled, 'Fuck me, Robbie'?!"

"Yeah… sorry about that!" he admitted, sheepishly.

Rob just laughed. "That was gutsy!" he said, grinning at the guy.

“No, actually, dude - I’m not sorry. But these girls wanted me to apologize,” he said with a sly grin. “Offer still stands, though.” His eyes flicked toward Rob, flirtatious and teasing.

Rob laughed and turned to me. “I like him,” he said, shaking his head.

I rolled my eyes. “My god. Thanks for making it even harder for me to tune that damn guitar.”

"Sorry… really sorry," he said again, though I could tell he didn’t really mean it.

After a few more minutes, we told them we had to leave and thanked them again for coming to the concert and braving the cold.

As we walked away, I leaned toward Rob and whispered, "You’re thinking what I’m thinking?"

"I dunno. What are you thinking?" he asked, lips twitching into a devilish grin.

"He is… pretty attractive," I admitted, raising an eyebrow with a sly smile.

"Yeah, right… you think so too!" he whispered back.

"It's a bad idea, though," I said more seriously, shaking my head.

"Yeah… it’s a really bad idea," he agreed.

We just stared at each other, grinning slyly, and I could feel myself reacting, even in the cold.

"I could get hard just thinking about it if it wasn’t so freaking cold," I said with a laugh.

"It’s a really bad idea," he repeated, shaking his head but clearly amused.

"Yeah… but we’re gonna do this, aren’t we?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in mock shock at my own boldness.

He laughed, eyes sparkling. "Yeah… I think we are."

I felt a shiver run down my spine, not from the cold, but from the thrill of just thinking about what could happen, and the way Rob was looking at me like he already knew.Haut du formulaireBas du formulaire

"How? We're not gonna take him back to our place, are we?" I asked.

"I don’t know… why not?" he said with a slight shrug.

"Now, that’d be an even dumber thing to do!" I exclaimed, though part of me was seriously considering it.

"Well… we’re not exactly thinking straight right now anyway," he countered.

"Yeah… guess it was a good idea not to have anyone staying at our place," I added.

"Told you!" he replied with a grin.

We’d booked hotel rooms for friends and family, so they’d enjoy a luxury weekend, except Amy, who wasn’t sure if she’d make it.

"He looks alright," Rob continued. "What’s the worst that could happen?"

I didn’t get a chance to answer before Damon approached us.

"Let’s go? What d’you wanna do?" he asked, holding a bunch of car keys. Then, he added, "Are the girls coming with us, and you two are driving the Audi back?"

It was our car, and we’d driven it to the venue the previous day for rehearsals. Clearly, we couldn’t all fit in one car. Rachel was going home with her guy, and the others had their girlfriends. Only Jordan and Taylor had apparently already left.

Rob answered, seizing the opportunity.

"Yeah, that’s fine. You can all take the SUV, we’ll take the Audi."

We loved driving, especially me, and found it boring to have a chauffeur whenever we could drive ourselves.

"Ok, cool. Let’s do that! See you tomorrow, then. I know I’ll be sleeping all day," he joked.

"See ya, good night!" I called after him and grinned slyly at Rob, who returned my grin.

We watched them get into the car and walked over to where we’d parked the Audi, making sure the others had left before driving out of the venue. The fans were still lingering, probably hoping to catch one last glimpse of us. They always stayed as long as we did.

I drove past them and slowed the car to a stop. Winding down the tinted window, I called out,
"Hey! 'Fuck me Robbie' guy!"

He turned, startled, and then smiled uncertainly.

"Get in!" I said, winding the window back up.

It took him a few seconds to register. He glanced at his friends, clearly baffled and probably wondering if I was serious. The group stared at him in shock, one guy even motioning him to go. He took a few tentative steps toward the car, then paused to look back at his friends again, silently asking for their approval.

Their reactions were priceless. The girls covered their mouths, trying to hide their giggles, and discreetly nudged him forward.

“Is he gonna get in or what?” Rob asked.

“I think he’s still processing the fact that his mouth got him this far,” I said, smirking.

Rob laughed, and finally, he opened the door and slid into the back seat. I pulled away from the curb immediately.

“Holy shit,” he laughed, breathless. “What is happening right now?”

“You should really watch what you say,” Rob teased. “Careful what you shout into the universe.”

“I regret nothing,” he said quickly, grinning.

Rob turned the music on, and the guy stared at us in disbelief.

“Is this seriously happening? Where are you taking me?”

“We’re undecided,” Rob said smoothly.

“Not a hotel,” I added. “Too obvious. And here’s no traffic - tthirty minutes, tops.”

He swallowed hard. “Wait -,  so… you actually wanna fuck? Like, properly?” His laugh was nervous. “That’s… wow. This isn’t a joke? You actually mean this?”

Rob twisted slightly in his seat, deadpan.

“No, we picked you up for your personality.”

 Then he grinned. “What do you think’s gonna happen? Though, maybe we’ll have to kill you if you talk too much,” he joked.

“Fuck,” he breathed, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe this. I was joking. I mean, not joking, but shit. I never thought this would happen! So…” He hesitated. “Do I need to mentally prepare myself, or is it already too late?”

Rob grinned. “Oh, mate. That ship sailed the moment you got in the car.” He paused, looking him over. “D’you wanna back out, though? No pressure. You still can.”

“HELL no,” he said immediately, laughing. “Absolutely not.”

“Well, that answers that,” Rob said with a smirk.

There was a beat. Then the guy glanced between us.

“So… do you do this often?” he asked, half-smiling. “Or am I special?”

“Tonight, you’re special,” I said. “And you should know - you’re a risk. We don’t pick up fans. They can’t always be trusted.”

I caught his eyes in the rearview mirror and let the silence sit for a beat.

“So you don’t ask a hundred questions. This stays strictly between us. No texts, no stories, no bragging.”
I added, lighter but no less serious, “If you can handle that… then maybe we won’t kill you.”

He laughed, a little breathless. “Deal,” he said quickly. “Got it.”

He looked out the window, then back at us, shaking his head in disbelief. “Best decision I’ve ever made, shouting that, by the way. I mean, sorry, just… I yelled something stupid, and now I’m in your car. With you. This is insane.”

Rob chuckled and turned the music down just as my phone started ringing. I’d left it wedged between the seats when we got in, already overwhelmed by the dozens of messages pouring in.

“You gonna get that?” he asked.

“I don’t know… who is it?”

He snatched the phone and glanced at the screen, then groaned.

“Is he seriously still not giving up?!” The tone alone gave it away, I already knew who it was.

“Shit. Damien?”

He held the phone up for me, and I just let out a sigh.

“Don’t answer.”

“Maybe I should… scare him off,” he joked. “I can’t believe he’s calling now. What does he even want?”

I shrugged. “Apologize maybe. Just ignore it.”

“Yeah…” He said, still looking annoyed, before turning back to the guy in the back seat. His eyes lingered a beat too long, scanning him up and down. “So… tell me. What made you think it was a good idea to ask me to fuck you in front of twenty thousand people? You always this bold?”

The guy swallowed, caught off-guard by the directness, and Rob’s smirk widened. “That was… extremely forward of you.”

"Not to mention totally out of line!" I said.

Rob looked at me with a smile and gave a slight shrug before staring at him again,

"I mean, come on, your parents were in the audience!"

Rob laughed.

“So, tell us more about you!" he said as he shifted his eyes to my phone to read all the messages I'd received, as well as his.

"Uh, yeah, sure. I'm Nathan, twenty-three. I'm from Croydon, not far from here. Uhh, I've been a fan, pretty much since I heard 'Shiver' on the radio…"

"Oh-My-God!" Rob exclaimed, still going through my messages.

"What?" I asked. "What is it now?"

"Fucking hell! He's sent you a fucking declaration of love here!" he said as he read a message on my phone in disbelief.

"Seriously?" I asked a bit puzzled, not really believing that Damien was so into me that he would actually tell me that he was in love with me.

"Let me see!" I asked and tried to grab the phone to read the message myself but he wouldn't let me as long as I was driving.

"I should've punched his pretty little face when I still had the opportunity!" he grumbled, irritated, "Nothing against me, yeah right!" he exclaimed.

I let out a laugh,

"What's he saying?" I asked, wondering why he was saying that. " Come on, lemme see!" I said, getting more and more intrigued.

"No, you're driving."

A few seconds later, I had to stop at a red light so I grabbed the phone from his hand and started reading the message,

"I want to apologize for earlier. I didn’t mean to make things difficult. I don’t have anything against Rob, except that he’s the one who has you. I wish it were me. I wish I were the one loving you, and that you felt something back. You’re everything I look for in a guy. I don’t expect you to feel the same, I don’t expect anything at all. I just want you to know I love you. And if one day things ever change… I’ll be here."

"Jesus." I sighed deeply, "How am I gonna get rid of him?" I asked, thinking that this guy really didn't play by the rules and wondering how I was supposed to answer, although ignoring him seemed like the smartest choice.

Rob took the phone back and just looked at me with a tight-lipped smile. He shook his head, without saying a word.

"Fine, you were right! What am I supposed to do now? I shot him down tonight. There's not much more I can do."

He chuckled,

"I don't know. Maybe you should change your number, fucking blacklist him!"

"Yeah, but he can easily find me if he wants to find me."

"Then tell him to leave you the fuck alone! That you’re not interested and never will be! I’m answering," he said, dead serious.

"No, no, don’t answer, ignoring him is the best choice… Plus, he’ll know it’s you. You don’t talk like me."

“Fine, I’ll talk like you then,” he said, smirking as he started typing.

“Rob, come on, just leave it,” I groaned, exasperated.

“Wait… I’m inspired!” he shot back, stopping me mid-intervention with a mischievous grin.

"Vas-y, t'es chiant, tu saoules," I muttered in French.

"I understood that," he said.

"I know," I smirked.

Later, back at our place, I read Rob’s message.

Mate, quick heads-up: the feelings are one-sided, the hope is misplaced, and the answer is no. Like… permanently no. Wishing you strength and a hobby. Cheers, Rob

I shook my head, smiling. Classic Rob - brutal, blunt, and somehow ridiculously funny all at once.

"I really can't believe that guy. Even I wouldn’t do this. Fuck, what does he think? That I'm not gonna see this? That you’re not gonna tell me?" Rob muttered, clearly irritated as he watched the message go through.

"I don't think he cares," I answered. "He doesn’t exactly play by the rules."

Rob let out a short, exasperated laugh. He sighed and looked out the window for a moment.

"Don't let him ruin the night ahead, he's not worth it," I said in a whisper.

"No, he's definitely not," he whispered back and then turned around again,

"Anyway… Nathan from Croydon!" he said, looking back at him. He clearly hadn’t missed a beat of our conversation. "Anything else we should know about you?"

After a few seconds of silence, probably spent staring at Rob, he said with a grin,

"I'm really good in bed!"

Rob’s smile curved into something wicked. "Now we’re talking. How good?"

"I guess I’m just gonna have to show you," Nathan said, eyes glinting.

Rob and I exchanged a sly look.

Nathan laughed, slightly nervous but clearly thrilled. "Is it okay that I totally dig him too?"

Rob laughed. "As long as you don’t fall in love with him, we’re good."

We talked about the concert for a while, with Nathan sharing his impressions and his friends’ reactions. When the conversation came to the amazing crowd's reaction to "Fix You", Rob slapped my shoulder and leaned in, whispering,

"You know what I was thinking about during the interlude and the bridge?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You could totally find him with those pictures… I mean, the magic of the Internet. Anything’s possible."

I let out a chuckle. "That’d be… fucking weird."

"Come on! He must’ve been around our age in those pictures, not over thirty, for sure. If he had kids, they’d be… what, fifteen, twenty? And they’d have friends, cousins, all sorts of people who use the internet… and who might recognize him."

I blinked at him, incredulous. "You thought about all that during 'Fix You'??"

He grinned. "Totally did!"

I shook my head. "Alright! So let’s say I actually find him. What am I gonna say to the guy?"

Rob smirked. "I dunno. Something like… 'Hey, remember that Irish chick you slept with twenty-four years ago? Well, hello, I’m the illegitimate child you didn’t know you had. And I’m famous and loaded!'”

I burst out laughing. "Oh, great! So now he might just try to take advantage of me. That’s not cool. He doesn’t even know I exist. He might not even remember her… Come on, twenty-four years ago!"

"You don’t know how he’ll react," Rob countered. "He might think it’s pretty cool."

"I don’t know… I for sure wouldn’t like that happening to me."

"Well, he might have kids who’d think it’s awesome if they listen to us! Who knows? Totally worth a try."

Nathan piped up, intrigued. "Uh, what’s 'Fix You' about exactly?"

Rob waved hand. "Damn, forgot you were here. Long story, dude. Don’t bother trying to understand."

I smirked. "Didn't we tell you not to ask a hundred questions?"

“Sorry… won’t happen again,” he said, throwing his hands up.

When we finally arrived at our place, we were relieved to see the SUV wasn’t in the garage. We didn’t want them knowing we were bringing a fan home, especially this one.

"How come they’re not here yet?" I asked Rob, noticing they had left the venue first.

"Well, Dylan was driving," he said jokingly, "so it’s probably taking them twice as long to get home."

We laughed and hurried out of the garage, just in case they showed up at the same time.

"Can I use the bathroom?" Nathan asked once we were inside the apartment.

"Sure, right there," I said, pointing toward the downstairs bathroom.

He was in the bathroom for a few minutes while Rob and I got more comfortable, shrugging off our jackets.

"Damn, I can't believe tonight actually happened!" he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I know. We totally pulled it off. The whole gig was … insane," I replied.

"It really was," he agreed. "But I’m so glad it’s over! The pressure tonight was - intense." He let out a long, relieved sigh.

I walked over and wrapped my arms around his waist, smiling. We just stood there for a moment, soaking it in, talking about how the gig had somehow been even better than we’d imagined. After nights like this, it was honestly hard to believe this was really our life.

I leaned closer, feeling his breath brush against my lips. Our eyes locked, only inches apart. I closed mine as his lips met mine. I wrapped my arms around him tighter, and his hands moved to the sides of my head, deepening the kiss.

I wasn’t thinking about the guy in the bathroom. All I could focus on was him, how flawlessly he had performed, how he reached the audience, how his talent, his powerful, emotional voice, and his charisma had shone through. Pride welled up inside me like nothing else.

I pulled back slightly, resting my forehead against his, and whispered, "You were amazing tonight… absolutely incredible."

He smiled and I asked with disbelief,

"Are you really my boyfriend? Like, really?"

He let out a laugh and frowned lightly,

"Oh, oh! You're starting to look at me with -their- eyes, don't do that!"

I grinned,

"I just get such a kick of watching people watching you! It was mental!"

He nodded proudly.

"Bono called me an extraverted introvert in the green room!"

"He really does get you," I exclaimed and we both laughed.

"Sooo…?" he asked, his eyes shifting toward the bathroom. "What shall we do with him?"

I shrugged,

"Just take him to bed and fuck him senseless, you know, relieve the pressure!"

"You big slut," he stated, staring at me wide-eyed. "I'm not taking him up to our bedroom," he said with a chuckle, "It's bad enough that he's here."

I laughed lightly and suggested,

"So, one of the guest rooms? It’s about time they got christened."

He agreed, and we kissed again, slower this time, the kind of kiss that promised trouble. The idea of something spontaneous, reckless, made my pulse race. I was already half-hard, and from the way Rob pressed closer, I knew he was too.

Nathan emerged from the bathroom a moment later, drying his hands, and stopped short when he caught the look on our faces. We didn’t say a word - just shared the same devilish grin that instantly made him swallow.

“Upstairs,” Rob said simply, already turning.

We led him to the spare room, the one Amy was supposed to have used. For the first time that night, I was genuinely glad she’d ended up leaving with Thomas instead. Some moments were never meant to be planned - and this one felt like it had been waiting all along.

As soon as we entered the room, I pushed him down hard onto the bed and grabbed his jeans, eager to see him naked. He looked like he had a great body. I pulled them off in one swift motion, along with his underwear and lowered my mouth to his already hard member, not disappointed one bit by its girth and length. I quickly had a full-blown erection when I saw his dick.

"Ohhhh, oh god!" he moaned as I took the first couple of inches of his cock in my mouth and swirled my tongue around to get it good and wet before I began sucking him off.

 "Oh you're fucking…. Oh yeah! You like to get right to the point, don't you! Ohh ohhh god, yes," he moaned again as I worked my tongue up and down his growing erection and teased the super sensitive underside below the head.

"Ugh! Fuck yeak, get me rock solid hard!" he said. "How does that taste?" he asked me.

I didn’t answer. He wasn’t supposed to ask questions, but he truly had a beautiful cock, his balls drawn tight against his body, his pubes perfectly trimmed. He was exactly my type.

"Ohhh!" he moaned when my lips brushed his trimmed pubes, "Yeah, take that whole cock!"

I wasn’t paying much attention to Rob, too busy with this gorgeous dick, but when I glanced up, I saw him unbutton Rob’s trousers and slip a hand inside, pulling out his hard-on. He studied it for a moment, then gave it a few slow strokes.

"Damn, I've been dying to see you rock hard since I got into your car!"

Then he scooped his balls in his hand and took him in his mouth. It looked like he was savouring it like he would have a lollipop. My lips formed a small smile at the sight of that and I went back to blowing him.

"I love the way you taste," he told Rob after a moment.

Rob responded by asking him if he liked to suck on his cock and if he still wanted it up his ass,

"Oh yeah, your cock tastes so good, I want it to pound my tight ass," he replied with a moan and began licking his cock up and down, like he was rolling a cigarette.

He blew Rob again but soon released his cock from his mouth and replaced it with his hand. He looked down at me as I closed my mouth again just over the head and applied pressure with my lips and tongue. I began a slow up and down motion and he watched me intently again,

"Oh, yeah, suck that cock," he moaned. "I love watching you suck me off. Ohhh, yes damn, fuck, I love the way you suck me off," he sighed as I went deep on his cock.

He seemed to be a very dirty talker. Like he wouldn't shut up. He was talking and moaning all the time, and it worked. He had us both completely turned on. I pulled my mouth off his cock to free my own erection. My cock was so hard that it was painful to leave it in my jeans. I had to stroke myself.

"Oh yeah, pull those things down,” he said and I turned him around as I pulled my jeans and underwear down. I softly slapped his ass cheek.

“Look at that ass!” I told Rob and Nathan moaned.

Then he looked at me, letting go of Rob’s dick, his gaze fixed on mine.

I immediately turned my attention to Rob. As he sat on the bed, I placed one hand on his hip, holding him firmly while I pumped his shaft in my fist. Then my other hand moved to his other hip as I wrapped my lips around his cock, sinking my mouth down and sucking hard. I bent over, and Nathan started paying attention to my ass.

He kept talking as he caressed it firmly,

"Damn, I love looking at your ass. Look at that perfect hole! Can I stick my cock in there?"

"No, no, only for me, man!" Rob said immediately.

"Oh that's too bad. Can I taste it though. I wanna taste it so bad. Oh god, look at that," he said as he spread my cheeks.

I felt his tongue on my hole as he began rimming me. His tongue licked up and down and pushed its way in,

"Oh god, I love your smooth hole, you taste so fucking good."

He pushed a finger inside me back and forth and then resumed rimming me wildly as he reached for my cock and kept talking,

"Oh yeah, you're so hard," he said as he grabbed my rock hard erection in his hand, "Must be so good to suck that dick all the time, you’re so lucky," he moaned, talking about Rob’s shaft, still in my mouth, "You like when I stroke you off and eat your hole, man?" he asked with a moan, still jerking and licking.

"Uhh, fuck, push your tongue in there," I moaned, wanting a good rim job.

This guy was driving me nuts. He did just what I asked for. I enjoyed the feeling of his tongue pushing in and out and opening me up.  

"Oh god, I love licking that hole," he moaned as he squeezed my ass cheek in his hand, "You're so lucky, dude," he said to Rob, "Look at that sexy ass. I wish I could have my cock in there. Knowing I can't have it makes me want my cock in this hole so bad."

His dirty talking made me want to get fucked so bad, I began to lick my way up Rob's chest and caressed him all over. When I reached his mouth, I whispered,

"Fuck, I want your cock up my ass," I moaned as my lips came in contact with his.

Yeah? You want me to fuck you?"

"Yeah, I want you to fuck me while I fuck him," I said and slid my lips over his.

"Oh yeah, you're gonna love that!" he moaned and shoved his tongue in my mouth. I met his tongue with my own and we started making out with the same urgency we had felt in the morning.

Then Rob grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him towards himself. He lay him down on the bed so he was lying on his stomach and spread his cheeks. His hands kneaded his thighs and twisted his balls around in their smooth sack before running a finger along the crease of his ass.

Rob immediately licked his crack up and down and he moaned loudly,

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna get rimmed by Robbie Myers, oh, that's just too hot."

Rob rimmed him and the boy went wild.

"Fuck, I could blow my load just feeling you tongue on my hole," he sighed. I sat in front of him and he started blowing me.

After a moment, Rob handed me a condom.

"You want this cock in your ass?" I asked Nathan.

"Uggh yes!"

"How bad do you want it?"

"So fucking bad," he answered, "I wanna do what you said. Fuck me while he fucks you, that's gonna be fucking hot!"

He wrapped his hand around my pole again and rubbed his thumb against the head as he sighed,

"Oh yeah, look at that pre-cum," he spread it and brought his finger to my mouth for me to lick it off. I did as I began rolling the condom down my hard-on.

Then, I moved behind him and wrapped my arm around his stomach. I pulled him up a little so he was on all fours. I squirted a glob of lube onto my hand and started sliding it up and down my dick, getting it slick. As I stood behind him, I slid my lubed hand into the cleft of his ass. My index finger found his hole and it slid slowly, causing him to sigh. I pushed it in until I could feel the inner muscles of his ass relaxing.

"Oh, don't tease me with the small stuff," he said, looking behind him, he smiled at me, "You've got more than that."

I withdrew my finger and brought my cock up to his hole. I slowly pushed the head in and then stopped again.

"Fuckin' tease," he moaned and Rob laughed as he began to lube up his cock.

I laughed too for a second and then decided it was time to give him what he wanted. I pushed the rest of my length in until my pubes were rubbing against his ass.

"Ughhh!" he moaned, "That's more like it."

I began pushing in and out of him, almost completely withdrawing before entering again. His hands tightened against the mattress and I placed my hands on either side of him. I leaned down and kissed his shoulders. I looked behind me, as I began to feel Rob's dick rubbing against my ass cheeks and his finger teasing me. I smiled, eager to feel him entering me.

I stopped for a second, spread my legs wider to let him access my hole easily and he began to push his cock into me,

"Ohh yeah, that feels so good," I moaned. I felt that familiar pleasure as his cock slowly opened me up.

When he was all the way in, he stopped moving and it was my turn to start rocking back and forth and to fuck Nathan again.

We quickly found a nice rhythm and kept up with it for a while. It felt so good to fuck a stranger while being fucked by my man.

"Oh, it's so deep in there!" Nathan moaned, "Fuck you're so deep inside me. It feels so fucking good. Tell me your fucking love my ass."

"I fucking love your ass, come on squeeze it for me!"

I picked up the pace and fucked him harder and Rob tried to match my own pace.

"Shit, yeah, ohh, that's it right there, fuck me deep! Oh jeez, yeah, fuck me harder," Nathan moaned again and I felt Rob push himself deeper and harder into me as well, shaking up my innards, his dick hitting my prostate.

For a moment all I could hear was our moans and our balls slapping back and forth. I was not gonna last much longer if we kept this up.

But we did keep it up and when Rob began to nibble at my neck and to caress my chest, I felt my balls tighten.

"Oh god, I'm getting close…"

"Fucking cum inside him," Rob groaned, kissing my shoulders. His nibbling, fucking and the tightness of Nathan's ass pushed me over the edge. This was just too much stimulation.

Rob moved with me and I slammed into Nathan one last time, shuddering a little and shooting into the condom as Rob's dick continued to bounce against my prostate, making me feel like I might cum again.

"How good was that?" Rob asked me in a whisper once my orgasm had subsided.

"Ohh fuck, so good," I answered as I moved backward and let my cock slip out of Nathan's hole, keeping Rob inside me, one of my hands reaching behind me to grab his buttcheek.

Rob giggled and Nathan flipped his body around as Rob began caressing my chest sensually, I turned my head to kiss him and when our lips met and we began kissing, Nathan let out a horny sigh.

"If only I could take a picture right now!"

"Oh yeah?" Rob said. "And what would you do with it?"

"I'd jerk off to it every day!" he laughed.

"Well, as long as you're not selling it!" Rob laughed back.

"Don't give the boy any ideas," I said.

Rob kissed me and stroke my chest a little more, then slowly pulled himself out of me.

Then we both looked at Nathan who still looked horny as hell.

"Go on," I told Rob. "Have your way with him. I wanna watch this."

"I bet you do!" he smiled.

I moved so that Rob could grab Nathan's thighs. He pulled him closer to the edge of the bed and raised his legs.

"Aww, yeah, fuck man," he said, understanding that Rob was now going to fuck him, "I've fantasized about that so many times. I want it missionary. I wanna watch you fuck me!"

"So did I," I thought to myself. It was our fourth threesome, but for the first time, it was happening with a fan of ours and this time, the idea of sharing Rob to satisfy a fan's fantasy was even more exciting to me. For some reason, I just loved watching him fuck other guys, knowing how much they fancied him - knowing they could only have him once - knowing that I got to decide how much of him they could have and that once it was over, I was the only one he wanted next to him in bed and he was the only one I wanted next to me.

Rob handed me a condom and I looked up at him with a smile, ready to play. I unwrapped it and began to roll it onto his cock myself.

"Fuck," Nathan huffed, watching us.

Once Rob was ready, he wasted no time pushing his cockhead against Nathan's hole.

"Ughh yeah, that feels so good! Shove that cock in my hole!"

Rob did and immediately started pounding away.

"You wanted that so bad, didn't you?"

"Fuck, can't believe you're fucking me. This is so fucking surreal! Oh my god, yeah!"

I looked at Nathan's cock, which was hard as a rock. I grasped it, by placing my arm over his leg, which he had pulled up. His knees were almost touching his chest. I started stroking him and lowered my head to kiss and nip at his torso. I pulled with my teeth at the short hair on his chest and he yelped in excitement as Rob began to really pound into him. He kept telling him how good it felt to have his cock inside him, and Rob kept telling him how good he was.

After a short while, he stopped and Nathan turned around again and asked Rob to fuck him doggy. Rob climbed up on the bed and rapidly entered him again. He propped himself up by the arms and started pushing back against Rob. Soon, he was going faster than Rob was, so he had to stop to meet his pace. I'm sure his cock was starting to feel like a stick being used to start a fire.

"Oh fuck, give it to me. ohhhh yeah, push it deep inside me," he whimpered and quivered.

Rob was giving him all he had but I had a feeling I might have to help him finish the job.

Rob slapped his ass and said, "I love fucking you deep. You wanna cum? I'm gonna fuck you 'til you cum!

"Uggh, fuck, Robbie, yeah,"

Nathan raised himself up and supported himself on my shoulder. I grasped his cock again and jerked him off fast.

Rob's cock must have slipped out of his hole because he said, with a note of desperation,

"Oh put that back in!"

I smiled at Rob, knowing he was just trying to get him more excited to make him cum.

"You want this cock back in your hole?

"Oh yeah!"

"Come on, sit on it," he said to him.

He immediately lay on his back on the bed and raised himself up on his elbows a little as Nathan lowered himself onto his cock, his back to Rob's chest.

"Oh yeah, come on," Rob moaned.

Nathan started moving up and down but soon he stopped as Rob started fucking him again, hard and fast, slamming into him. I grasped his cock and jerked him off.

Soon, he was losing control of himself

"Ohhh yeessssss, ahhh ahhh ohhh yesss, fuck me, ohhh

Then a sound escaped his lips. It was high-pitched

"Oh God, I'm, I'm…" he didn't finish but what he wanted to say was pretty clear

I pumped his cock as vigorously as Rob was fucking his ass and he made the sound again. Then he went rigid and I looked at his cock to see cum start spurting out in long, white streams. He kept whimpering as he shot more and more

"Damn, look at that!" I said to Rob, although too bad for him he couldn't see all the jizz that was spurting out of his gorgeous veiny dick as well as I could

A rush shot through me as I watched and my cock, which was now semi hard started to stiffen again. I could tell this recent event was going to make Rob cum too. I watched him with a smile as he pulled out of Nathan and removed the condom

"Ohhh fuck, you're gonna make me explode," he moaned.

He stroked himself hard and fast to rapidly reach his climax.

"Oh yeah, I want your load in my mouth," Nathan moaned and turned around urgently.

"I want that cum, I wanna swallow it," he said.

I didn't take Rob very long to start busting his nut in Nathan's mouth. I smiled and stroked my cock slowly as I watched Nathan drink every drop of Rob's juices.

"Oh fuck!" Rob whimpered as he came, his body shuddering in pleasure.

After Rob's orgasm had subsided, he grinned playfully at me and turned his attention to my growing erection. He took it his hand and played with it a little before taking it briefly inside his mouth. I smiled. I knew he wasn't trying to make me cum, he was only teasing me. Then he licked his way up my body and I grasped his face to kiss him. I heard Nathan let out a giggle and I looked at him.

"You wanna crash here?" I asked him. "Seems kinda harsh to throw you out at four o'clock in the morning."

"You don't mind? I'd love to,” he said, relief obvious in his voice.

Rob shot him a look. “You’d better behave.”

“Seriously,” I added. “Don’t do anything weird.”

He promised he wouldn’t, and honestly, we were too exhausted to worry much anyway. A few moments later, we left him settled in the guest room and headed down the hall ourselves.

“Damn,” I said as we stepped into our bedroom, laughing. “That threesome was fun.”

"He fucking exhausted me though," Rob said with a laugh "That's it, I'm dead beat. I could sleep for three days straight after tonight."

“Same,” I laughed, collapsing onto the bed. “I really hope he doesn’t do anything while we’re asleep.”

Rob snorted. “I took his phone.”

“You did?” I laughed, genuinely surprised. I hadn’t even thought of that, but the idea immediately put me at ease. At least he wouldn’t be able to take pictures of our place or God knew what else while we were out.

We went to the bathroom to wash up, moving on autopilot from sheer exhaustion, and then crawled back into bed. Rob spooned up against me, and I wrapped my arms and legs around him, pulling him close. Warmth settled over me, familiar and comforting. As good as the sex had been, it felt even better to finally be alone like this, just the two of us.

I traced slow, lazy patterns over his arm and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I love you,” I murmured.

“I love you too,” he said softly. “Good night.”

I meant to say it back, but sleep claimed me before I could.

---

We woke up around two in the afternoon. I felt surprisingly well-rested, and judging by the way Rob was snuggled against me, he seemed relaxed and peaceful too. My thoughts immediately went to Nathan, and I wondered what he was up to. After cuddling with Rob a little longer, I grabbed his phone from the drawer and slipped out of bed to check. Rob rolled onto his back, still half-asleep, and muttered something before settling again.

In the corridor, I noticed the guest room door was open. I crept in, but he wasn’t there. Heading downstairs, I spotted him sitting on the living room couch. When he looked up and saw me, a smile spread across his face.

“Hey! So you’re still here,” I said.

“Hell yeah,” he replied with a grin. “I’m not leaving until you kick me out.”

I laughed. “I believe this belongs to you,” I added, handing him his phone.

“Oh, nice! I was wondering where that went. I thought I’d lost it.” He looked at it, then back at me. “When did you take it?”

“I didn’t. Rob did. You’ll have to ask him.”

He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I wouldn’t have used it, I swear. I’m, like, a normal fan. Actually… probably one of your oldest and biggest fans.” He smiled, a little sheepish. “Please don’t kick me out just yet.”

I chuckled. “How long have you been up?”

“Well, I was up a couple of hours ago,” he said, then added quickly with a laugh, “but I took care of it.”

I shook my head, amused.

“I love your place,” he continued, glancing around. “Especially that room over there.” He pointed toward the room with our instruments.

“Yeah,” I said. “That’s where most of the magic happens.”

“Seriously? That’s where you write?” he asked, eyes lighting up.

“Not always,” I replied. “But when we’re home, yeah. We also have a recording studio in the building, so it depends.”

“That’s so cool, man,” he said slowly, clearly impressed.

“Yeah, it is!” I said with a smile and a slight nod.

We chatted for a bit, and I asked Nathan if we could trust him not to talk to the press, or anyone, about the previous night, and not to reveal where we lived. He promised he wouldn’t, though I knew there was no way to be completely sure. It was a risk we had been willing to take, and by now, it was too late to turn back.

Just then, Rob came down the stairs and, seeing us talking, he said,

“so, can he be trusted, or do we have to kill him?”

Nathan laughed. “Hey, don’t worry. I won’t brag to anyone about this. Although… I’d love to!” He grinned. “But I won’t. No one would believe me anyway!”

We asked if he was hungry, and we grabbed something to eat in the living room while continuing to talk about the concert. He was part of the fans’ official board and logged in on his phone to show us their reactions. I couldn’t resist grabbing our laptop to check it out for myself. Normally, we wouldn’t bother, but this time, it was too tempting.

We all laughed as we scrolled through threads and watched videos the fans had posted.

“I cannot watch this. I literally cannot watch this,” I laughed as Nathan found a freshly uploaded video of “Ink.”

Rob smiled as I stood to get some orange juice from the kitchen. He leaned back and started watching it himself.

“It’s as awesome as I remember it,” he said loudly enough for me to hear.

When I returned to the living room, I glanced at the page they were reading and exclaimed, “I can’t believe there’s a whole thread just about me singing that song! For crying out loud!”

I started reading anyway. It was kind of sweet, and I couldn’t stop myself from going through the entire thread.

 Ahaha!! Mark was fucking awesome last night singing 'Ink'. He should sing more often, he's got a great voice too, so clear and smooth. I'm so glad Robbie made him sing. Loved it! it was so hot and sweet at the same time how he was gazing lovingly at Rob the whole time. How can you not love those two together! You could tell their relationship is real. And that tuning mess was so funny. Nobody said it was easy - nobody said tuning a guitar was easy!"

Aww Mark's just so adorable. He's such a real honest humble genuine human being. He's truly the coolest, most easy going guy. He's a celebrity but that doesn't get to him. He is good. He is just good. I love him! I wanna hug him and kiss him and tell him I love him. You could tell how much Robbie was enjoying the declaration of love in front of the whole audience. He was totally digging it! And is it wrong that I couldn't stop staring at his biceps as he strummed that guitar lol A gorgeous guy he is! One word: Respect! He's sung the song in a classy cool way!

He's such a good person, most of the celebrities get impatient and leave the stage sometimes but he was making the fans laugh instead. From what I've seen in all their interviews and shows he seems like a great person. Always humble and sweet. And he sang 'Ink' just for us. Or maybe just for Robbie. He was loving it, you could totally see how much he loves him! Awww!

The beginning was hilarious! He totally managed to make it funny and all, but… wow, that was a complete mess. A musician’s supposed to know how to tune their own guitar, right? Still, he sounded just like the artist who wrote the song. Jokes…

Come on, cut him some slack, it is a well known fact that Mark writes most of the melodies and chords of U-N-I songs. I'm not undermining the rest of the band, just that he is the main songwriter. He's awesome. Every single guitar is in a different tuning, thus he relies on his roadies to hand him the properly tuned guitar. He uses alternate tunings in his songs, one of which every string being tuned to F. Their tunings are one of the reasons that their songs sound so unique, even with simple chord patterns. So instead of being a dick, take some time to do some research and actually know musically what you're talking about. This was just fucking awesome and funny!

I'm in love with this guy, he's so damn nice and cute! U gotta love him!! Which musician is so unassuming to crack jokes about himself coz he couldn't tune the guitar. He wins my heart every time. And who knew he was such a good singer, I loved it, he was hot, just hot! Seeing him perform gave me a sense of who he really is, he has a great voice too. I'm glad he took on the challenge, even if it wasn't easy for him to sing in front of so many people. He is just sincere and he knows who he is. He's not trying to be anything other than himself.

“That is so funny to read,” I said. “I haven’t done this in so long.”

“Really?” Nathan asked, genuinely curious. “You don’t want to know what people think of you? I’d be dying to find out.”

“Well, we used to be curious,” I replied. “It’s nice to hear what they think about the music, but personal stuff? No. That’s weird. Those comments are nice, but you don’t want to see the negative stuff, it just brings you down.”

“Let me tell you,” he said, scrolling down the page, “on this board, everyone loves you. Oh—there you go! Found one.” He paused as Rob asked if anyone had uploaded a video of Princess of China with Rihanna yet.

“Now this! I want to watch!” I exclaimed.

I sat down behind Rob and watched it with him, and then we scrolled through a few of the comments together, laughing and pointing out our favorites.

What an incredible performance! And I'm sure everyone noticed their onstage chemistry, but did anyone notice how Rihanna owned that moment?? Their hands were intertwined and then Robbie goes to pull away and it's as if she says, "I didn't give you permission to leave.." and pulls him back. Then she slides her hand across his neck in what I can only describe as one of the most intimate-looking moments I've ever seen on stage. They're obviously not a couple, yet it somehow comes off so natural and effortless that you can't help but think that it might be real. I wouldn't be surprised if even HE thought that there was something going on. That's the real tension, the real genius of it... I'm always fascinated by the magnetism of true entertainers. Great song and chemistry from both of them! He actually made me believe that he wasn't gay and into her! :)

Rob laughed. “Oh, please. It wasn’t that hot! She didn’t kiss me… though she should have!” He turned to me, remembering our conversation backstage after the song.

“It was fucking hot even if you didn’t kiss!” Nathan said. “Listen to this!” He grabbed his phone and started reading another comment out loud.

That duet with Rihanna was out of this world, it was like sex on stage! FUCKING PHENOMENAL! Ho...ly...shit.....THE PURE PERFECTION!!!!! Their chemistry fucked me up. It was on point! They were so into it DAMN! The amount of emotion at the end was just killer! Fuck me if the Robbie Myers and Rihanna's stare down is not the sexiest thing you've ever seen! The way she pulled him back gave me chills. I know they were only acting but if he can be this sexual with a woman, can you imagine what it must be like when he has sex with a guy!"

Nathan laughed and told Rob that he'd love to write an answer to that last comment.

"Don't you dare!" Rob exclaimed, making him promise.

We soon found videos of Up and Up and One. Watching them was amazing for me, but Rob felt self-conscious this time. He couldn’t watch without cringing. I didn’t know why, he’d been great, but I knew he, like me, expected a lot from himself. Since it hadn’t been planned, it probably felt too improvised for him.

Then we started reading the comments together, and I had to admit, it was something I was actually starting to enjoy.

It was so obvious that Robbie and the rest of the band were not expecting this at all. I can't imagine how he felt doing this with Bono but, my God, I was excited and nervous for him. The Boss was 100% charisma, but Robbie held his own, you could tell he was nervous as hell but he did great! Seriously he sounded so freaking amazing. This was legendary. Multiple orgasms, the father and the son. Amazing show guys <3

Robbie Myers grew up as an artist having every U2 song on his lips. You could not see anyone more humble than this guy! And he is huuuge!! If you ever have the chance to see a U-N-I concert like the one I saw last night, you should not miss it for the love of God. Robbie is giving his soul on the stage. This, and the fact that he is monstrously talented, add to the fame U-N-I already built by selling record numbers of albums. U-N-I is simply younger than U2, and all I can hope is for them to have plenty of years ahead. If that is so, with U2 and U-N-I, we should be FINE. Thank you Bono for coming on stage and sing with Robbie! What a feast for us!  

That must have been a dream come true for Robbie. This was the greatest thing ever. I loved the nervousness he showed. It indicates just how much he respects getting to do this with Bono. There's famous and then there is U2's level of fame, he respects him so much.

“Shit,” Rob laughed. “You could totally tell I was dead nervous, huh? Tried to play it cool, but yeah… that was too much.”

“You killed it,” I said, grinning. “Seriously. From where I was standing, you both sounded insane. And the end, you harmonized perfectly. Everyone’s loving it.”

“Yeah,” he said with a small shrug, a little awed. “I’ll probably remember this forever. Somehow… it just worked.”

“It was fucking perfect,” Nathan said, eyes glued to Rob. “Seriously. Props, man.”

“Can you believe he said, ‘It’s like I’m his dad!’? My head nearly exploded.”

“And your dad heard it,” I laughed.

“Yeah,” Rob laughed back. “And then I remembered what he’d told me at Christmas!”

We both smiled - Rob’s dad was beginning to feel like Bono was edging in on his territory.

“I wish ‘The Edge’ would say that to me,” I sighed.

“Oh yeah, he could totally be your dad,” Rob responded.

“I know, right! And I need one more than you do!”

“Aw, babe,” he smiled and gave me a kiss.

Nathan hung out with us a bit longer, but eventually, we nudged him toward the door. He left in the late afternoon, still grinning from ear to ear.

The next three months were a whirlwind of promoting the album and preparing for the tour. We woke up every morning eager to see what the day would bring. It was an exciting time, but also a bit frightening. Life still had so many twists and turns ahead, and all I could do was hope we were ready to face them together.

We were twenty-four, out in the world, and part of one of the biggest bands in the business. We had the best job in the world. We were rich, beautiful, admired, talented. It was awesome, but it came with immense pressure and responsibility. We would have to learn how to handle it, and fast.

 

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