The Prince of Punk Rock

by Jenna Galicki

  Tommy slid inside her with one quick push. She jerked upward and gasped. She was sore. But Tommy’s slow, gentle rhythm soothed her. She lay back down and let him make love to her, until her body responded to his tender rocking. A wave of stimulation made her insides tingle. She arched her back and grabbed a handful of his luxurious hair. She panted and gulped mouthfuls of air. As soon as Tommy put his lips to her neck, she came. She clasped her fingers around his hand and squeezed it as her body heaved through an orgasm. She was spent and had no energy left, but Tommy wasn’t finished. His breathing grew heavier and his rhythm intensified. She watched him and he gazed back at her. His eyes disappeared into their sockets for a second, and then he let out a long sigh.

  “I love you honey,” he whispered, and then he kissed her.

  “I love you too, baby.”

  “Can I get some of that?” Angel was lying next to them, with his head propped up on his hand.

  Tommy rolled into his arms and they shared a long kiss.

  Jessi stared up at the ceiling and put her hands through her wet, tangled hair. “You guys are going to kill me tonight.” And it would have been the perfect way to die. Out of all the different sexual encounters she and Tommy shared in the past, tonight was by far the best, and she knew it had everything to do with Angel.

  Jessi sat up on the bed. She was beaming. She always knew that one day she would sleep with Angel, but she never expected him to be the one to suggest it. She was on an erotic high. Her head was still up in the clouds and her endorphins were still running wild. “So? How was it?”

  Angel gave her half a smile and shrugged one shoulder. “It was OK.”

  OK? Just OK? The high that she thought she would never come down from disappeared into oblivion with the mere shrug of a shoulder. It was the second best sexual experiences of her life, surpassed only by the first time she slept with Tommy, and Angel thought it was just OK. She was crushed.

  “It was special, sweetheart, and I’m glad it was with you.” He winked at her. “I lost my gold star status. Thank you.”

  He thanked her for having sex with him. It wasn’t a pity fuck. She started to tear up, so she looked away. She was glad Tommy was already dozing off, so he missed the rejection she felt, and the sadness it brought. She snuggled up against him and hid her face into his shoulder.

  “Good night, sweetheart.” Angel was waiting for a goodnight kiss.

  She gave him a quick peck, but averted her watery eyes. She burrowed her head into the pillow, and regulated her breath to feign sleep. She was upset that he was indifferent to their intimacy. A small part of her wished that he would have enjoyed it and wanted to do it again. She was disappointed and disillusioned, and the hollowed-out hole inside her chest made her realize that she was a fool.

  She listened to the slow, deep breaths of Tommy sleeping. She smoothed his hair back and kissed his cheek. She touched the bruise on his chest again. It still disturbed her. She put her lips to it. “I love you, baby.” She sat up so she could see Angel. She watched him and listened to his breathing to make sure he was asleep. She caressed Angel’s cheek with the back of her hand, to see if he would respond, but he remained still. She waited another few seconds, just to make sure he was really asleep. She let out a distressed sighed. “I love you, Angel,” and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, before she put her head back down on the pillow and dozed off with thoughts of Angel in her head.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Tommy loved the rush of adrenaline that flowed through his veins in the minutes before he was about to go on stage. He waited on the side of the platform, Les Paul in hand, and slipped the studded Immortal Angel strap around his neck. The instant the lights dimmed, their cue that their set was about to start, he rattled off a quick riff on the guitar, and ran on stage.

  Without You was their opening song, and The Quadrangle was the perfect place for its debut. The slow ballad Tommy strummed for Angel in their living room a week ago, transformed into a full blown punk rock frenzy. He was proud of the work the band put into the song, musically, and he was proud of the lyrics he penned. It was sophisticated and complex, better than anything they played before.

  The audience wasn’t expecting new music and a small buzz of excited chatter traveled around the room as soon as they heard an unfamiliar melody. By the time they hit the chorus, a slew of loud cheers were shouted into the air. It was a hit.

  Angel’s provocative performance always enticed the boisterous crowd. He was at the front of the stage, leaning back and thrusting his hips way out into the crowd. The large bulge in his crotch was practically asking to be touched. Tommy saw Audra and Kira, Angel’s two groupies, elbow their way directly in front of him. There was no way they were going to miss a bird’s eye view of Angel’s crotch.

  The girls reached up and began to paw at Angel’s thighs. Normally, Angel backed up when people got that close to his privates, but he was so engrossed in the performance that he didn’t notice that Audra and Kira were only about an inch away from nirvana. It made Tommy wonder how many times Angel actually got molested on stage without being aware of it.

  It was the last verse of the song and Angel vamped all over the stage. He strutted his way over to Tommy and touched himself.

  Tommy faced Angel and waited. He was ready. The crowd was hollering, taunting them. They had waited for this moment almost as long as he did.

  Angel sang the last lyric of the song and threw the microphone down on the floor in a spectacular show of defiance. He grabbed Tommy by the face with both his hands and laid a savage kiss on his mouth.

  Tommy slung his guitar to the back and out of his way. He grabbed Angel by the buttocks and pulled him close. They grinded their bodies into each other in a display of homoerotic passion that almost drove the crowd into a giant orgy. Tommy could hear screams from the audience asking for explicit sex acts to be performed on stage. He began to think that maybe they went too far. Maybe they should stop, but Angel wasn’t letting him go. Angel was rubbing against him so hard, that Tommy thought he might actually climax on stage in front of everyone. That would have been one hell of a way to come out to the world, but sadly, it wasn’t the case. Angel released his hold and stepped back, several moments too soon.

  After the show, the three of them sat at the bar with a new found freedom. Even though Tommy was the one who had been liberated, Angel was finally free to be candid about their relationship. He took full advantage of it, and spent most of the night with his tongue in Tommy’s mouth, and sometimes Jessi’s. He wanted it clear that she was part of the relationship. He didn’t want any nasty rumors circulating that he was breaking up their marriage.

  Someone behind him yelled at the bartender for a drink, and Angel cringed. There was no mistaking Kendall’s drunken slur. He knew she was trying to get his attention, but he ignored her and refused to turn around. He made eye contact with Jessi. She recognized his plea for help and leaned over to talk to him, so it looked like he was engaged in conversation.

  When he continued to ignore Kendall, she let her fingers walk up his back and tickled his neck. He had no choice but to turn around. He smiled politely, even though he was annoyed by her presence, said hello, and pretended that he just noticed she was standing behind him.

  “Well hello . . . lover.” Kendall paused to glare at Jessi. “I don’t mean to interrupt your ménage à trois, but I hear we’re going to be up against each other at the Battle of the Bands.”

  Angel wondered who the hell she slept with in order to make it into the competition. Her band wasn’t half bad, but she could barely make it through a song in the right key. It was a shame, because when Kendall was younger, she had a decent voice. She could have become something better than the manipulative alcoholic she turned into. Still, he couldn’t be rude to her. “There’s a lot of tough competition out there. If you practice, I’m sure you’ll do well. Best of luck.”

  “Luck? I got a lot of things riding on this win, but luck isn’t one of th
em.”

  Angel felt like a brick just hit him in his stomach. She had a plan in place. Maybe she really was sleeping with someone for the win, or maybe she was bribing one of the managers in charge of the contest. The winner of the Battle of the Bands was granted a huge opportunity at the America Rocks Festival. It wasn’t fair. The win shouldn’t be bought. He remained calm on the outside, but on the inside he was fuming. He realized there was a lull in the conversation while he was putting his anger in check. When he snapped back to attention, Kendall was ogling Tommy with a perverse smile. Tommy met her stare with indifference, but Jessi looked like a lion ready to pounce. Her eyes were narrowed into thin slits and her lips were firmly pressed together.

  “I can see why you picked Tommy as your new lead guitar player.” Kendall took a step to the side so she could get a clearer view of Tommy. “I don’t usually get this close to him. He’s very handsome. That hair is gorgeous.”

  She looked like she was about to touch Tommy’s hair. That wouldn’t go down well with Jessi, and Angel quickly tried to distract her. “How many songs are you preparing to sing at the Battle of the Bands? I think we’re supposed to sing between three and five.”

  Kendall knew he was trying to divert her attention away from Tommy and she snarled her lip at him. “I haven’t decided yet.”

  Jessi got off her barstool and positioned herself between Angel and Kendall. Her stance was confrontational, with a balled fist on her hip and her chin jutting forward.

  “Where do you play, Kendall? I don’t think I’ve met anyone who knows your band. I would really like to check them out sometime.”

  “We play a lot of places. You probably don’t know any of them. The band’s probably not your style anyway.”

  “Who’s your manager?”

  “I don’t have a manager. I’m not as successful as Angel.” Kendall put her shoulders back and held her head up. “But one day, I will be.”

  “You’re not going to get anywhere without a manager. And if you want to be a star, dress like one. Ditch that shabby trash can look and wear something current. Something rock and roll. Fix your makeup and run a brush through your hair once in a while, for God’s sake.”

  Anxiety suffocated Angel. The last thing he needed was for Jessi to make enemies with Kendall. He had enough problems with her already.

  “We weren’t all born with a silver spoon in our mouth like you, Princess.” Kendall eyed Jessi with bitter resentment. “Some of us have to scrape the bottom of the barrel and claw our way out to get ahead in life.”

  “A silver spoon? Princess?” Jessi raised her voice. She was indignant, and her hands started flying all over the place. “I have a full time job. I work ten hours a day sometimes. I come home and design clothing for the band and pound fuckin’ studs into leather guitar straps. I bust my fuckin’ ass off promoting the band. I always did, even before Angel, when it was just me and Tommy struggling to get by. Nothing was ever handed to us. We both worked hard—”

  “That’s enough!” The situation was getting out of control, and Angel needed to put an end to it. He pulled Tommy and Jessi out of the bar. Luckily, a taxi was waiting out front. He jumped into it, and dragged Tommy and Jessi with him.

  “What are you doing?” Jessi pulled out of his grasp. “Why didn’t you let me finish telling her off?”

  “We got to go back. I gotta get my Les Paul. I’m not leaving it there all night. Why did we have to run out of there so fast?”

  “I didn’t want the situation with Kendall to explode. You know where it was going. I didn’t want a cat fight. The bouncers don’t take kindly to that and I didn’t want Jessi involved.”

  “We’re still going back. I need my Les Paul. Driver, turn around. Right now.”

  Jessi leaned forward so she could see Angel around Tommy. “Why do you act like you’re afraid of her? I’m not going to let her push you around. And I’m damn well not going to let her leer at Tommy like that or try to intimidate me.”

  “Please, Jessi, let it go. Didn’t you ever hear the expression, befriend the enemy? She’s got a bad reputation. I don’t’ need trouble from her, especially with the Battle of the Bands coming up. It’s too important.”

  “Don’t you know my wife by now? She doesn’t let anything go. Not when it comes to the people she loves. She’ll defend you, just as quick and just as hard as she’ll defend me.”

  “Damn fuckin’ straight.”

  That’s exactly what Angel was afraid of. He had a bad feeling in his gut about Kendall and he wondered if she didn’t have a hidden agenda. He wondered if her infatuation with him was a ploy to get close to him. Maybe she was trying to undermine him so she could steal the win at the Battle of the Bands. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had the feeling that Kendall was playing with him, seeing how far she could push him. But Kendall didn’t count on Jessi.

  Jessi was cute and fun and amicable on the outside, but she had a backbone of steel. No one could ever manipulate her or back her into a corner. She would fight to the death for him, for Tommy and for the band. If Kendall was planning something, she wouldn’t stand a chance.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Now that Tommy and Angel were no longer hiding their relationship, the three of them were under the glaring eye of the public. They walked arm in arm, or hand in hand, with Tommy being the main attraction. It was easy to see the joy that the simple act of slinging his arm over Tommy’s shoulder, or placing an affectionate kiss on his cheek, brought into Angel’s heart. Jessi loved to watch them together, freely showing their love for one another, even though Tommy was still a little self-conscious.

  Jessi was sure that the people they saw on a regular basis, like their steady waiter at their favorite restaurant, and the salesgirl at the local deli, speculated about the dynamic of their relationship in the past. Now that it was no longer an enigma, people’s initial reactions ranged from indifference to mild shock.

  Most of the time, Jessi found it amusing, but she was overprotective of Tommy’s feelings. He was still a little uncomfortable when people stared, so when the barista at the coffee house gawked at them like they were freaks in a sideshow, she told him to fuck off.

  Her outburst caused other patrons to look in their direction, and she apologized to Tommy for making a scene. Meanwhile, Angel grabbed their coffee cups and whisked them away to a table.

  A woman stepped in front of Angel and blocked his path. He paused for a second before recognition spread across his face. “Courtney! What are you doing here?”

  Angel put down their tray of coffee cups and kissed the woman on both cheeks. Jessi inspected her from head to toe. She was very tall, and had a gorgeous pair of legs that would make Tina Turner jealous. They went from the floor straight up to her chin. She had beautiful long blond hair, pulled back into a neat pony tail, and her short top showcased a set of washboard abs.

  Angel put his hand on the woman’s stomach and felt her abs. “You’re as gorgeous as ever. Still hard as a rock.”

  While Jessi waited for an introduction, she wondered how Angel knew this beautiful woman.

  “I want you to meet my boyfriend,” Angel put his arm around Tommy, “and this is his wife, Jessi.”

  Jessi waited for the usual negative reaction people had to their relationship, but Courtney never flinched. She was nice. She was polite and she was cordial, to both Jessi and Tommy.

  They talked for a few more minutes, before Courtney said she had to leave for the airport, to make the second leg of her layover. Angel was blatantly disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to spend more time together. He gave Courtney a long hug and kissed her on the lips.

  Jessi never saw Angel kiss a woman on the lips before. Even though it was a small, closed-mouth kiss, nothing more than a peck, really, she was surprised that it bothered her as much as it did. She wasn’t going to say anything, but when they got home, she asked Angel how he knew Courtney.

  “She’s a dancer. She’s on tour as a backup
dancer for Pink.”

  Jessi was so impressed that she momentarily forgot why she brought up Courtney’s name. She still contemplated brushing off the kiss that somehow made her feel disrespected, but when something bothered Jessi, she needed to get it out in the open.

  “Angel, don’t get mad. I’m not trying to blow this out of proportion, and you know I put my cards on the table, right?”

  He answered slowly, wearily. “Ye-ah.”

  She tried to sound as matter-of-fact as possible. “I really didn’t like that you kissed her on the lips.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes, I’m serious.” His irreverence hurt her feelings. “Tommy doesn’t kiss other women on the lips.”

  “Yeah, but he’s you’re husband. Not me.”

  They shared a bed. She thought they shared their life. “Is that all I am to you, Tommy’s wife? I thought we were a lot more to each other. I think of you as my other husband. I thought you at least felt some kind of obligation to me. Some kind of devotion.”

  “I do, but what does that have to do with Courtney? I’m not cheating on you, Jessi.”

  “It’s not about Courtney anymore.” She threw her hand down. He was clueless. He had no idea how much she cared about him. That’s why she was hurt by his indifference. She turned away from him, so he couldn’t see the tears that stung her eyes.

  Angel turned to Tommy for an explanation. “Why is she acting like this?”

  “You hurt her feelings. She cares about you. She wants to mean more to you than just my wife.”

  “You know I care about you, sweetheart.” Angel ran his hand down the length of her arm.

  “You care about me?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well,” she swallowed and wiped at her eyes. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “No. I love you, Angel. Somewhere, in the middle of this crazy, three-way relationship, I fell in love with you.”