When the last song of the night rolled around, the fans wouldn’t let the band leave the stage. Their deafening screams demanded an encore. Four extra songs that the band didn’t plan on performing, unleashed uncensored talent. It was one of the best shows they played.
They all ran to the room backstage, but somehow, Tommy found himself alone with Angel. They looked into each other’s eyes without saying anything for several seconds. Their newly rekindled friendship was quickly forgotten and their strained romance hung between them. It was the first time they were alone since the fight, and Tommy wanted to leave the hostility and bitterness behind. He was ready to talk about it.
Angel’s eyes held so much pain and sadness that it made Tommy want to cry, but he still had his own broken heart to deal with. He wanted Angel more than ever, even though he vowed to forget about anything more than friendship. He swallowed hard and spoke softly. “I’m sorry I was mean to you these last few weeks. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that.”
A glint of a tear appeared on Angel’s lower lids.
Tommy steadied his voice, but it was barely a whisper. “I was jealous. I’m sorry. I know I don’t have any right to expect you to—”
“I’ve been trying to tell you something, mi amor, but you wouldn’t listen.” Angel placed his hand on Tommy’s shoulder.
Tommy grew weak under the warmth of Angel’s touch. He rested his cheek on Angel’s hand and gently nuzzled it with his chin. He exhaled a shaky breath and barely had enough strength left to speak. “I missed you so much,” he whispered. “I can’t bear the thought of you with someone else.” When Tommy opened his eyes, Angel’s mouth was curled into a tiny smile.
“I never slept with that guy. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. Do you think I could do that to you? I care about you too much. I could never be that spiteful. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
Tommy collapsed into Angel’s arms.
Angel held him tight and pressed a kiss into his hair. “I was so mad. I wanted to do something to force you to tell me how you felt. I care about you so much. Do you know how much it hurts when you constantly push me away?”
Tommy couldn’t answer. His throat was closed off with emotion. He squeezed Angel tighter and kept his cheek pressed against Angel’s chest.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Tommy.” He stroked Tommy’s hair. “I can’t go on living my life in limbo like this, and I can’t imagine living it without you. But, if I don’t stand a chance, let me know, because it not fair. You’re playing with my heart.”
Tommy had been beating himself up for months. He put himself through hell, and dragged Angel and Jessi with him. The second he heard that Angel was faithful and loyal, clarity filled his mind. The answer was there all along. He just needed to listen to his heart. He couldn’t deny his feelings any longer. He would find a way to love both Jessi and Angel. He would find the medium. They’d work it out. He looked up into the most beautiful dark eyes on the planet. “I’ll be there for you, A. I just need a little bit more time. I promise.”
Angel held Tommy’s face in his hands and looked deeply into his eyes. “Te necesito. Te amo. Quiero estar contigo para siempre. Eres el amor de mi vida.”
Those romantic Spanish words, again. They were a mystery, filled with sentiment and passion. “That’s so beautiful, but what does it mean?”
Angel slowly shook his head, still withholding their translation. “One day I’ll explain, mi amor, but, right now, just know that it means, I’ll wait.”
Tommy didn’t get any sleep last night, and he spent the day in a haze. He wasn’t going to risk losing Angel again. He didn’t have a clear cut plan, but he knew something was going to happen after tomorrow night’s show.
He was exhausted and it was late, but he waited for Jessi to come to bed. He had a surprise for her. It was a new song that he wrote for her. It was the most romantic thing he could ever do for her and, right now, with all the attention he’s been paying to Angel, she needed a little romancing. Over the years he wrote dozens of songs for Jessi, but they were just for her. No one else ever heard them. He kept them tucked away in a special folder on his computer, with her name on it.
When he still heard the purr of her sewing machine some twenty minutes later, he padded down the hallway to her sewing room.
“What are you doing, hon? It’s late. Can’t that wait ‘til tomorrow?”
“No. It’s for you to wear at the show tomorrow night.” She pulled a piece of black material out from the sewing machine, cut the thread and held it up to show him. It was an Immortal Angel T-shirt, the original design with the plain white graphic on the front, but on the back she embroidered “Tommy Blade” in a slanted, edgy front. The “L” in Blade was silver and shaped like a dagger. Red thread created the illusion that the tip was covered in blood with a few droplets splattered beneath.
He took the shirt from her and examined it closely, running his fingers over the intricate embroidery. “How the hell did you do this? It’s unbelievable, Jessi.”
“I just sewed it. It was no big deal. Blade was an easy name to work with. I have ideas for the other guys too. A diamond instead of an “O” in Damien Diamond, drum sticks for Jimmy and angel wings, obviously, for Angel. It would be easier and more cost effective to have the names silk screen for retail, but the embroidery is a nice touch for you guys to wear. What do you think?”
He was flabbergasted at her talent and ingenuity. “I love it, honey. So will everyone else. These are going to sell like crazy. Just wait until you make them for the rest of the band.” He pulled the shirt over his head and turned around so she could see her work. “How does it look?”
She ran her hand over the wording but didn’t answer.
He looked over his shoulder and saw she was gazing at the back of the shirt with a smile. “Does that mean it looks good?”
She caressed his shoulders and pressed her breasts against his back. “Anything would look great on you, baby. You still have the shoulders of a football player.” She kissed the back of his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist.
It was his body she was admiring, not her design. She still made him feel like they were dating. Time never dampened the attraction or the desire she showed for him. It was always apparent in the simplest things, like the way she watched him shave or the way she stared up at him with adoration when he was on stage. And he felt the same way. Each day that went by strengthened the bond they shared, and he loved her more today than the day they were married.
“I haven’t told you how proud I am of you lately.” He traced his fingers down the profile of her cheek. “I am, you know. Very proud. You’re an amazing woman. You take on the responsibility of three people. Willingly. You do everything for everyone else. Especially for me.” He picked up her hand, kissed her fingertips and held them to his lips. He gazed into her light blue-grey eyes. They were always filled with warmth and understanding, and love for him. He could get lost in their beauty all day. He kissed her rosy lips. “Come to bed. I want to make sure you know how much I love you. I wrote you a song.”
He took her hand and led her across the hall to the bedroom.
“Another song? I'm the luckiest girl in the world. What inspired you to write this one for me?”
“The same thing that always inspires me – my love for you. I could make love to you for three days straight. I could make you explode from multiple orgasms, but a song tells you how much I love you.”
“Do I have to choose? Can't I have both?”
He smiled at her. “I’ll see what I can do after I play the song.” He took his Fender off its stand, sat next to her on the bed and put the guitar across his knee.
His fingers strummed a delicate melody and he sang about love, acceptance and sacrifice. Strands of hair fell across his face as he bent his head to watch his hand. Jessi tucked them behind his ear and rested her palm against his cheek. He nuzzled her hand with his chin and flashed her a
small smile before he returned his attention back to the neck of the guitar. This song needed to be the most beautiful and tender of the lot. His singing voice was low and soft, but the emotion and passion in his voice left him gutted and it made Jessi melt.
When the song was over, her eyes were blurred with a watery haze. “That was beautiful. You should let Angel hear it.”
“No. It’s for you.”
“But it could be a hit.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it.”
“Then it’s already a hit. I’m going to file it away in my private collection.”
“That private collection is going to be worth a lot of money one day. I love that you write songs for me, baby. I love that you play them for me and sing them to me.”
“I'm not a good singer.”
“To me, you're the best singer in the world. Do you know how many girls would love to change places with me right now? Do you see the way they look at us when you play a guitar solo for me? I'm the envy of everyone in the room. Do you know how proud and special you make me feel?”
“Then my message is getting through. I'm trying to tell you how much I love you through music. You're the only girl I ever played a solo for. The only girl I ever wrote a song for. You’re the only girl I ever loved.”
I tear seeped out of the corner of her eye and he brushed it away with his lips.
“I love you, Jessi. Whatever happens from here on in, don’t you ever forget that.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tommy was counting the seconds until the show was over. The last 45 minute set felt like it was three hours long. He was so anxious to finish the last song that he played it too fast and screwed up a few chords. After he strummed the last awkward note, he darted to the men’s room. He was so worked up that he needed a minute alone to calm down. The last few weeks made him realize that life without Angel wouldn’t be the same. There would be a void, an emptiness in his heart that only Angel could fill. They were meant to be together.
He caught up with Jessi at the far end of the bar and gulped down a double shot of Jäger. He wasn’t doing this alone. Jessi was an integral part of the relationship. They navigated through The Quadrangle, together, until they found Angel. He was sitting at the back bar and they squeezed in on either side of him.
Tommy put his arm around Angel and gave him a long kiss on the cheek and slowly stroked his shoulder.
“You’re in a good mood.” Angel’s face perked up with a smile.
Tommy didn’t need to tell Jessi what was going on. She knew the routine. She stood on the opposite side of Angel, ran her hand up his arm and let her lips linger on his cheek. She played the game well.
Angel shifted his gaze back and forth between them, one eyebrow questioning his perception of what was about to take place. They both smiled at him and nodded.
Angel flustered a little and seemed at a loss for words. “Um. OK. I can see what’s going on here. It’s cool. But, Jessi, I think you’re gorgeous and all, but I don’t go there,” he glanced at her crotch, “at all.”
“Tooooo bad.”
Tommy laughed. “I wasn’t going to let you fuck my wife, A.”
Jessi leaned closer to Angel and lowered her voice to a seductive whisper. “But I’m going to let you fuck my husband. And I’m going to watch.”
Angel grabbed Tommy by the belt buckle and pulled him in for a kiss. All of a sudden, Tommy felt like everyone was staring at him. He got paranoid and self-conscious. He braced his hand against Angel’s chest and stopped him from getting any closer.
Angel grunted. “Are you kidding me? Tommy Blade, you are one big fuckin’ cock tease!”
“Well, I hear you got one big fuckin’ cock.”
Angel threw his head back and laughed. It wasn’t his usual lovable giggle. It was hearty, joy-filled, boisterous laughter. He put the palms of his hands on either side of Tommy’s face and looked at him – just looked at him – with the corners of his eyes crinkling from the smile plastered across his face. Angel never looked happier than he did at that moment.
Tommy touched Angel’s cheek with the back of his hand and returned the smile. “Not here. Let’s go someplace where we can have a little privacy.” He led Angel and Jessi to the room backstage. As soon as they got there, Angel moved in for another kiss, but Tommy scurried away.
Angel put his hands on his hips and displayed a mischievous grin, “Tommy Blade, do not make me come get you!”
He loved when Angel addressed him by his full name. It was pointed affection mixed with the right amount of wickedness. “I just want to kiss my wife first. OK?”
“Go ahead, my prince.” Angel extended his hand toward Jessi. “But you better hurry up, because I don’t know how much longer I can wait before I taste those precious lips of yours.”
Tommy cupped Jessi’s face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. He gave her a long, slow kiss. “Are you sure you’re OK with this?”
She tilted her head to one side and gave him a reassuring smile. “Yes. I am. I’m actually looking forward to it.”
He kissed her again, tasting the warmth of her mouth, knowing that their lives were about to change. There were no assurances, no certainties about the future, but Jessi made him believe that the three of them could live harmoniously.
Angel put his arms around the both of them. “Can I get in on this? Or are you two gonna tease me all night?”
Tommy let out a breathy sigh. He inched his hands up Angel’s chest and over the curve of his tight pectoral muscles against the loosely fitted tank top. His fingers brushed honeyed skin, warm like the sun. Angel pulled him closer, by the waist, so their bodies were touching. His erection greeted Angel’s like estranged lovers finally reunited, and he moaned.
Tommy’s eyes dropped to Angel’s mouth, just in time to see his pink tongue dart out and lick the lips he longed to meet. It was the sign, the giveaway, that Angel was about to kiss him, but this time Tommy wouldn’t resist. He wouldn’t take a step back, or turn away. He would savor the taste of Angel’s mouth and plunder into it.
Tommy stood perfectly still as Angel’s lips grew closer until they were finally upon him. Once they met, he collapsed into Angel’s body, while a surge of adrenaline raced up his chest.
Angel’s fiery tongue was warm, like his lush skin. It consumed his mouth, staked its claim and made him surrender into total submission. It was the master. Tommy was its slave.
When their mouths parted, they stared at each other for a long time without saying anything. Light flickered into Angel’s dark eyes, casting a golden hue around the sable irises. Before, they were always filled with yearning and longing. Now they portrayed adoration and a deep feeling of want.
“I can’t tell how long I waited to kiss you, my sweet prince. I wanted you the second I first saw you. You came into my life and stole my heart. Waiting was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but it was worth every second. I would have waited forever if I had to. That’s how much I care about you.”
The overpowering sentiment sent a surge of warmth through Tommy’s chest. “You always say the most beautiful things to me.”
Angel’s gaze deepened and his mouth came down, harder than the first time. It was forceful and passionate, and it made goosebumps rise on the surface of Tommy’s skin. Their tongues tangled together in a wild, erotic wrestling match within the holds of their mouths. Their hands were on each other, caressing and touching parts of their bodies that were off limits, up until now.
They would have ended up on the floor, in the back room of The Quadrangle, if Jessi didn’t pull them out of the room.
Angel’s naked body was a sculpted masterpiece. His skin was kissed by the sun. It was smooth and warm to the touch. Tommy fantasized about this moment so many times that he thought he was dreaming. Angel lay to his right, kissing his mouth and tickling his inner thigh, while Jessi lay to his left, kissing his neck and fondling his chest.
No man ever made Tommy’s entire
body shudder and tingle the way Angel did. Angel’s hands on his skin were a jolt of electricity awakening all of his senses at once. It was a rebirth. A metamorphosis. It was the brightest dawn after the blackest night. Everything around him was suddenly more vivid. The music from the stereo was clearer. The color of Jessi’s hair was more vibrant, and the depth of Angel’s eyes were more intense than before.
Tommy nuzzled Angel’s neck and kissed the hard, round muscles of his chest. As his mouth traveled lower, Angel’s skin grew warmer. At last he tasted Angel in the back of his throat, thick and lengthy. The heat radiating from Angel’s cock warmed his mouth. He ran his tongue up and down, over the tip and around the head, covering every inch of it with sweet little kisses. It sent Angel into a bout of heavy breathing and long drawn out moans. Moans that told Tommy he was hitting all the right places.
Meanwhile, Jessi’s mouth found its was onto Tommy’s bottom. Her tongue was a whirlwind, licking its way deep between his cheeks and concentrating on that road to paradise just beyond his sac. While her mouth made his bottom pulsate with delightful sensations, her hands stroked him with precision.
Angel was panting and sighing. He was grabbing at the sheets with one hand and grabbing at Tommy’s hair with the other. Angel’s body was shuddering and his chin was jutted up toward the ceiling. Tommy licked his way over Angel’s chest, leaving a wet trail over the chiseled curves with his tongue. He rolled onto the bed and stared into Angel’s dark, penetrating eyes. They stared back at him, hooded, dreamy and placid. His hair was tousled around his face in a windswept silhouette. Tommy moved a strand from Angel’s face and traced a finger across his plump lips.
Angel placed a kiss on the tip of Tommy’s finger. “I’m ready for you. How do you like it, mi amor?”
Tommy gave him a crooked smile. “I like the bottom, so I hope you’re used to the top.”
The Prince of Punk Rock Page 11
