Less talking | Maneskin |

Public

The day of their opening show came and I felt so excited. They took me to all the dress rehearsals and soundchecks, I helped Giuseppe with the outfits and found out I liked it a lot. Whenever Giuseppe was around I laughed so much, my face started hurting. I loved being in an empty venue, seeing it so different from what it's going to look like when the actual show starts. All the space that is going to be filled with screaming audience. I had this exciting feeling of being exclusive. Well duh, you're dating the lead singer, Sky! No, it's not only because of that, I loved getting to know all the little areas, rooms and corridors behind the stage. You can never imagine how many of those are in every arena.

— What is in that box? - I pointed to a big black plastic container in the changing room.
— We call it the stash, - Giuseppe smiled, - I keep spare outfit parts that can easily get destroyed during the concert there. 
— I bet there are a lot of pants! - I chuckled.
— You're not wrong! Your lover boy just can't hold it in, - Giuseppe flashed a playful look at Damiano, who was drinking water.
— Of course I can't, - he winked at me.
— Okay, guys, let's focus and hopefully run through the second part of the show smoothly, - Isla walked in, carrying lots of papers as usual, - Then you'll have four hours until the show. Should I order take out or do you want to go out for lunch?
— Out! - Thomas lifted his hand.
— Same, - Vic added, fixing her hair.
— Out it is, - Damiano looked at Ethan.
— Well, I would suggest to stay in, - Isla didn't look very happy with their choice, - But you decided. I'm going to look up some more private places then.
— I crave something british, - Giuseppe sighed.

I stayed behind the scenes while they rehearsed the second part. Giuseppe suggested it, to leave ourselves some mystery for the evening. He covered the monitor that live showed the stage and the walls were very soundproof to begin with, so nothing could spoil us what happened there. Time passed incredibly slowly and I started feeling impatient. Isla came to join us and it offered a distraction to me. It was interesting watching her work so much. I never understood what was there to do so much, that she was constantly on the phone or buried in a pile of papers. She let me take a closer look at everything. She always carried around contracts with record labels, even the ones that they didn't accept. There were a few empty NDA forms ready along with a bunch of signed ones. She had multiple planners, full of bookmarks, leaflets and business cards. That woman was ready for anything. I can't imagine how someone would take this job voluntarily. There was a lot of responsibility, not to mention that you basically had no personal life. 

My interest in her working, brought me and Isla a little closer. I remember how friendly and helpful she was to me when I first came to work for them in Milan. I really enjoyed her company back then, but all the drama and me quitting the job distanced us. Of course, with the tour coming, she also had a lot of work to do, so we barely saw each other. Still, I knew how important she was to the band and I wanted to restore our friendship. I could see on her face she didn't have a proper rest in a long time. I asked her why all the work is piled up on her when there is a second manager. She told me some interesting things about the other manager and why she wouldn't feel confident passing the tasks to her. 
— You know, it feels like I didn't have a "normal person" conversation for months, - she laughed and I could see she looked more lively.
— Happy to help, - I chuckled.

The dress rehearsal ended and we went to a restaurant to have lunch. Isla made sure the whole restaurant was booked for just us. I didn't understand why we had to be so secretive at first, but she told me it was best to keep out of the public eye as much as possible before the show. It made sense, because the band had no time and energy to get all dressed up in Giuseppe's fancy outfits and full makeup to simply get lunch before the big night. 

After eating, we quickly stopped by our hotel. Damiano seemed very excited and it was super cute. I loved the way they loved their fans. It was a genuine connection. That's why so many people support them. 
— What are you going to wear? - he wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me closer.
— I didn't think much about it, - I shrugged, fiddling with the fabrick of his collar.
— Put on something spectacular, - he smiled, his dark eyes piercing through me.
— Why? Nobody's going to see me anyway, - I chuckled.
— For me, - he kissed me softly, - I want to see my queen in full glory.
— Oh, aren't we sappy, - I teased him, smiling, - Okay, I can't say no, when you look at me like this.
I knew there's going to be a private booth for us in the front of the stage, like previous times, so I let him choose my outfit.