The Prince of Punk Rock (28 page)

“Sorry I didn’t warn you about Tommy’s
dad,” Jessi whispered in his ear.
 
“He
can be a little direct.”

“Ya think?”

Jessi nodded her chin toward the
patio doors.
 
“Were you trying to pick
out my handsome brother-in-law?”

“Handsome?” Angel raised a
quizzical brow.

“Very.”

“Is he as cute as Tommy?”

“
No one
is as cute as Tommy,
but Robert’s a close second.”

“Really?
 
Now I’m intrigued.”

Another upheaval of noise outside
caused Tommy’s father to snort and grit his teeth.
 
“Those hooligans are going to wreck my
house,” he complained, as he stomped outside.

“Don’t mind my husband.”
 
Tommy’s mother took Angel’s hand in a gentle
embrace and patted it.
 
“He sometimes
speaks too freely. It’s nice of you to celebrate my younger son’s birthday with
us.
 
Tommy speaks very highly of
you.
 
So does Jessi.”
 
She was a petite woman and as sweet as could
be.
 
It was a welcomed contrast to the
curt and tense conversation he just had with Tommy’s father.
 
He didn’t get a chance to speak to her very
long before she got pulled away to deal with an issue in the kitchen.

Jessi touched his arm and pointed
toward the stairs.
 
“Here’s the guest of
honor now.”

Robert could have been Tommy’s
twin, only with a few years shaved off.
 
He had the signature Blade flaxen hair and fair complexion, but his eyes
were a dark sapphire instead of Tommy’s bright blue, and the gorgeous length of
Tommy’s hair was missing.
  
Robert also
had about two inch in height and twenty pounds of muscle on Tommy.
 
There was no mistaking Robert was a football
player, and by the trophies that adorned a shelf on the wall, he was a star.

Robert galloped down the last few steps
as soon as he saw Tommy.
  
They enjoyed a
bear hug that revealed the closeness that most brothers shared.
 
Angel watched them together, laughing, arms
slung over the other’s shoulder, and the erotic thoughts just burst into his
head.
 
He tried to contain his smile by
wiping it away with his hand, but it wouldn’t subside.
 
Jessi nudged him with her elbow.

“Stop it.” She was brandishing the
same wicked smile that he was trying to disguise.
 
“Do you know how many years it took me to
stop that fantasy from playing out in my head?”

“You are just as bad as I am.”

“Worse.”

“Am I interrupting anything or can
I kiss my favorite sister-in-law?”

Jessi threw her arms around
Robert.
 
“Happy birthday!”

Robert gave Angel the same
questioning look that Mr. Blade had on his face, but quickly dismissed it.
 
He didn’t wait for an introduction.
 
He stuck his hand out. “I’m Robert.”

It was a warm friendly handshake.

“It’s very nice to meet you.
 
I’m Angel.”

“Oh, you’re the singer!
 
I should’ve known.
 
Tommy told me what close friends you
are.”
 
He rolled his eyes toward Jessi.
 
“And sis over here never stops talking about
you.”

The resemblance was almost
unnerving, and Angel couldn’t stop grinning.
 
“You should come to one of our shows.
 
How long are you home for?”

“Just the weekend.”
 
He sounded disappointed.
 
“I really want to catch a show.
 
I can’t believe I haven’t seen Tommy’s new
band.
 
I feel like such a bad brother.”

“Not at all.” Tommy slugged Robert
in the arm.
 
“You got school.
 
That’s more important.
 
New
Jersey
’s only an hour and a half away.
 
You can come see us after finals.”

“I will.
 
I promise.
 
Look, I gotta run.
 
I’m supposed
to be making a beer run, but as soon as I get back, we’ll catch up.”

“Go.
 
We got all night.”

Angel watched Robert spring out the
door. He didn’t realize he was staring until he heard Tommy laughing.

“Would you please stop looking at
my brother like you want to eat him up?”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that you two
look so much alike.
 
I wasn’t expecting
the resemblance to be so strong.”
 
That
wicked smile was back on his face.
 
“It’s
giving me very naughty thoughts
  
Very,
very
naughty thoughts.”

“I don’t know who’s worse, you or
my wife.”

“I think we already determined that
she’s worse, but just by a hair.”

It was late, and Angel wasn’t
looking forward to the drive home, but Robert and his college buddies easily
coerced Tommy and Jessi into more than a few drinking games.
 
They were in good spirits but neither of them
were in any condition to drive.
 
Angel
liked Robert, and Mrs. Blade was a kind woman, but he wasn’t so sure he liked
Tommy’s father.

“Why so quiet?” Tommy asked.
 
“Didn’t you have a good time?”

“I did, but . . . ”

“My dad?”

“I got the feeling that he thought
I shouldn’t be there.
 
Like I was
intruding.”

Jessi stuck her head in from the
back seat.
 
“That’s because he’s a
fuckin’ homophobe.”

“Jessi, my father isn’t
homophobic.”

“Really?
 
Coulda fooled me.”

The alcohol made her more
straight-forward than usual, but Angel appreciated her outspoken honesty.
 
Mainly because he thought she was right.

Angel sat down on the side of the
bed –
his
side of the bed – and spread his hands out across the crisp
sheets.
 
He turned to look at Tommy and
Jessi, already cuddling together.
 
They
were looking back at him.
 
They were
waiting for him.
 
He smiled softly and
snuggled next to Tommy, burrowing his face into the crook of Tommy’s neck.
 
This was the way they fell asleep every night
– Tommy in the middle, on his back, with Angel and Jessi on either side
snuggling up next to him.

Angel peeked at Tommy.
 
His eyes were closed and the corners of his
mouth were pulled into a tiny smile.
 
It
must be nice to have two people love you as much and he and Jessi did.

Angel was sure Tommy knew that he
was in love with him.
 
The only problem
was finding the right time to say it – in English.
 
He must have told Tommy a half dozen times in
Spanish, te amo, but he didn’t know if those two words transcended the language
barrier.
 
He was unsure if the emotion in
his eyes, when he said them, translated their meaning.

Angel’s hesitation wasn’t because
he was unsure about Tommy’s feelings.
 
Angel always fell hard.
 
He was
always the first one in a relationship to blurt out those three words that left
you awkwardly waiting for the return sentiment.
  
He wasn’t afraid of an ‘I love you’ hanging
in the air.
 
That wasn’t the issue at
all.
 
He knew Tommy loved him back.
 
His hesitation was because he didn’t know how
Jessi would take it.
 
She acted like she
was secure and confident in her relationship with Tommy.
 
She portrayed self-confidence and relentless
self-assurance, but Angel was afraid that deep down, she was scared of losing
Tommy.
 
It was too soon.
 
It would have to wait.

He snuggled closer to Tommy, pulled
the sheet up and pressed his lips to Tommy’s shoulder.
 
The soft pillow top mattress on the king size
bed, with its plump down comforter and fluffy pillow, felt like paradise.
 
It was made for him.
 
It was peaceful and serene and sleep made
Angel float away.
 
The bed shook, and it
brought him back to consciousness.

“Goodnight, baby,” Jessi kissed
Tommy.
 
“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tommy replied.

Jessi pulled at Angel’s shirt for a
goodnight kiss.

After he kissed her, he looked at
Tommy.
 
He still couldn’t believe he was
sleeping in bed next to Tommy almost every night.
 
He put his mouth to Tommy’s buttery soft
lips.
 
His tongue was moist and warm and
still made him tingle.
 
“I love you, my
prince.”
 
The words were unexpected, and just
slipped out of his mouth.

“I love you, too.”
  
Tommy pulled him in for another kiss.
 
It was more intense than the previous one,
but just as long and just as tender.
 
When their lips parted, Jessi was propped up on her elbow, staring at
them with her eyes wide open.

“You know this doesn’t mean I love
you any less, honey,” Tommy said.
 
“I
thought we talked about this.
 
I still
love you, more than ever.”

She nodded.
 
“I know, baby.
 
It was beautiful.”
  
Her voice cracked a little.
 
“Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“I didn’t plan on saying it.” Angel
tried to read her face.
 
“It just came
out, but I would never say it behind your back.”
  
She had a small tear in her eye.
 
The last thing he wanted to do was hurt
Jessi.
 
“Are you sure you’re OK,
sweetheart?”

“Of course, I’m OK. It was just a
very touching moment.”
 
She laughed it
off.
 
“I’m such a sap!”
 
She lay back down and cuddled up to Tommy.
 
He put his arm around her and pulled her
closer to him.
 
Tommy watched her for few
seconds, and then he kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.

Angel loved watching Tommy with
Jessi.
 
He loved seeing the love and care
Tommy displayed for her.
  
It was
heartwarming.
 
It’s one of the things
that made him fall in love with Tommy in the first place.
 
It sounded strange – watching how much the
person you loved, loved someone else, made you love them even more, but it was
the truth.

Angel settled down, nestled against
Tommy and slung his arm across Tommy’s chest.
 
Hearing Tommy say those three magical words, sounded like heaven.
 
He rewound the moment in his head over and
over, until he drifted off to sleep, with Tommy’s ‘I love you’ echoing in his
head.