The Prince of Punk Rock (16 page)

Jessi tried to snatch the top out
of
Kendall
’s hands but she wouldn’t let
go.
  
They ended up in a game of tug of
war.

People started to stare.

Jessi tugged the top toward
her.
 
“I made this garment.
 
You’re not taking it without paying for it.”

Kendall
pulled it back in her direction.
 
“You
didn’t make this.”

Jessi yanked on it.
 
“Yes I did.
 
I’m schooled in fashion design.
 
I’m an associate designer.”

“Liar!”

A stitch threatened to pop and
Jessi’s anger soared.
 
Stealing was one
thing, if
Kendall
mutilated one her garments,
she would have a war on her hands.

The fabric puckered as they each
pulled the top in opposite directions.
 
Another tug from
Kendall
and a seam
stretched beyond its limitations.
 
It
ripped open with a screeching tear.

“You fuckin’ bitch!”

A bouncer stepped between them.
“Knock it off ladies before you both get thrown out.”

Jessi held up the mangled corset
top.
 
One side flapped open like a broken
wing on a young sparrow. “She tried to steal one of my designs and then she
destroyed it.
 
Look at it!”

The bouncer smirked at
Kendall
.
 
“I’m
getting damn sick of this shit.”
 
He took
her by the forearm and led her away.

It was the beginning of the band’s
second set.
 
Now was the time Angel
planned to premier the new song he wrote for Tommy.
 
He brought two stools on the stage, and sat
down by himself.
 
The crowd quieted down,
curious about what was about to happen.

“Do you guys want to hear some new
music?”

They replied with a resounding,
“Hell yeah!”

“This is a little different than
you’re used to, so I hope you like it.
 
It’s a softer side of me that I don’t let a lot of people see.
 
It’s my vulnerable side.”

Most of the girls in the audience
responded with a collective, “Aww.”

“But, don’t worry, I’m still a
hardcore, bad ass, punk rocker and I’m gonna have something new and raunchy for
you a little later tonight.”

The crowd cheered and hollered.

“This next song is a beautiful,
tender ballad.
 
Try to really listen to
the lyrics.
 
They’re powerful.”
 
He touched the center of his chest. “And feel
it, inside.”

Angel sat on one of the stools and
called Tommy to join him.
 
“We’re going
to take it down a little, acoustic style.”
 
Angel was uncharacteristically nervous as they sat alone, center
stage.
 
Not only because it was the total
opposite of the fast paced beat his fans loved, but because he was going to be
singing it directly to Tommy.
 
If all
went as planned, everyone would be blown away.

 The room was quiet.  The
only sound was Angel’s clear, unblemished voice and Tommy’s soft strum on the
guitar.  Angel looked deeper into Tommy’s eyes with each verse
of the song and never looked away.  Tommy was captivated and gazed back at
him.

Every word of the overwhelming
lyrics were meant for Tommy.  With each heartfelt word, Angel realized how
much Tommy meant to him and how deep his feelings for Tommy had become. 
Angel let the raw emotion and vulnerability that the song stirred inside him
surface, and tears welled up in his eyes.

With the last note of the song approaching,
Angel slowly leaned closer to Tommy.

Tommy never averted his eyes.

When the song was over, they stared
at each other.
 
Angel heard the fans
cheering in the background, but he blocked them out.
 
He forgot anyone else was in the room.
 
The connection he and Tommy shared was so
thick in the air, he could practically taste it. 
 
He wanted to kiss the teasing lips that
beckoned to him with hunger and desire, but he was afraid it would be awkward
on stage.
 
The yearning and lust in
Tommy’s eyes said he didn’t care.

Angel’s tongue moistened his lips,
and Tommy’s eyes went to it.  He leaned in closer, but Tommy turned his
face a quarter of a degree at the last second and the kiss that Angel dreamed
about, landed on Tommy’s cheek. He let his lips linger to taste the flesh he
longed to consume.

Tommy put his hand on the back of
Angel’s neck and stroked it softly with his fingertips.

 When they parted, Angel
smiled tenderly. Longing stared back at him behind Tommy’s eyes, but there
was also hesitation and a tiny bit of fear.  He was so beautiful
under the shadowed lights of the stage. “Eres guapo.
 
Bonito.
 
Deseo besarte.”

Tommy’s eyes glazed over.
 
“What does that mean?”

He was afraid to tell Tommy that he
was beautiful and that he wanted to kiss him, in English.
 
He couldn’t be sure of Tommy’s reaction, so he
said it in Spanish instead.

“One day, mi amor, soon, I hope to
say everything in English so you can understand how I feel.”
 
Before he turned back to the audience, he put
his lips to Tommy’s ear. “Quiero ser el amor contigo.”
 
One day he would also be able to tell Tommy,
in English, that he wanted to make love to him.

Chapter Sixteen

Time
alone with Angel, were moments that Tommy treasured.
 
Free from the distraction of the band, they
were able to communicate on a personal level.
 
Sometimes, Tommy fantasized that they were a couple, like earlier, when
they were having lunch at the Shake Shack at the Fulton Mall, surrounded by
strangers who were unconcerned with the dynamic of their relationship.

Now, on
the drive back to Angel’s apartment, Tommy grew uncomfortably quiet.
 
He couldn’t concentrate on anything except
the fact that Angel was inches away from him, without anyone else watching.

Tommy’s
imagination ran wild.
 
He stared at
Angel’s hand on the stick shift and envisioned it reaching over and taking
possession of his inner thigh.
 
He saw
himself opening Angel’s pants and going down on him, among the busy traffic on
Meeker Avenue
.
 
He imagined the taste of Angel’s flesh on his
tongue and the feel of Angel in his mouth.

The bulge
in his jeans alerted him that his growing erection was about to expose his
daydream.
  
He took his shopping bag off
the floor of the car, put it on his lap and pretended to inspect his purchases.
 
He glanced over at Angel, and Angel winked
back at him.
 
Angel returned his eyes to
the road in front of him, and Tommy resumed watching Angel’s hand on the stick
shift again.

“Thanks
for taking me shopping.”
 
Tommy rested
his shopping bags on the empty stool at the breakfast bar in Angel’s kitchen.

“Thank
you
.
I need someone to edit me sometimes, or there’s a good chance I’m coming home
covered in leopard from head to toe.”
 
Angel smiled at him for several seconds without saying anything.
 
“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Sure.
 
I’m easy.
 
I’ll take whatever you got.”
 
Tommy pursed his lips together.
 
Why did everything out of his mouth sound suggestive whenever he was
alone in Angel’s apartment?

They sat
across from one another, quietly sipping a glass of iced tea.
 
They did a lot of staring and smiling, but
neither one said much.
 
There were times
when they couldn’t stop talking, but when they were alone together they always
shared moments like this, when conversation stopped and their powerful gaze
portrayed their true feelings.

It was
always Tommy who broke the silence.
 
But,
he didn’t know how long he could evade the inevitable.
 
He didn’t know how long Angel was going to
wait.
 
And he didn’t know how long he
could resist, when their unspoken feelings were screaming out to one another
and lust was pulling them together.
 
Nerves and fear made his heart race.
 
He wanted to get up and bolt out the door, before he threw himself into
Angel’s arms.
 
But his feet weren’t
moving.
 
All he could do was stare back
into Angel’s intense dark eyes, peeking out and smiling back at him, through
his thick black hair.

Tommy’s
hands began to sweat, and it suddenly got hot in the room. The ice crackled in
his glass, like his willpower slowly breaking down and falling to pieces.
 
He needed to do something to change the mood
– fast.
 
“You have the prettiest eyes
I’ve ever seen.
 
They’re so dark and
striking.
 
It’s hard to look away sometimes.”
 
His heart pounded against his chest.
 
He didn’t know what the fuck he was he
saying.

Angel’s
smile blossomed.
 
He walked around the
breakfast bar and stood in front of Tommy.
 
He cautiously moved closer, slowly eradicating the distance between
them, until they shared the same space.