The Prince of Punk Rock (56 page)

He
shrugged.

“Well, I
suggest you get yourself checked out, because the way I hear it, she’s fucked
three quarters of the neighborhood.”

“So have
I.
 
It was only a matter of time before
we hooked up.
 
It was bound to happen
sooner or later.”

He was
being a jackass.
 
They deserved each
other.
 
If she wasn’t so pissed off, she
would have laughed.

“Hasn’t
she been gone a long time?” Angel pointed out.

“I’ll
find her.
 
I want her the fuck out of
this house.”

The
bathroom was empty.
 
Jessi listened for
any telltale signs of where
Kendall
might
be.
 
Nothing.
 
She cautiously tiptoed down to the family
room.
 
Also empty. She was about to head
back to the kitchen, but saw the door to Angel’s office slightly open and she
knew he always kept it closed.
 
She found
Kendall
in Angel’s office staring up at the
bookshelf that contained his vintage record collection.

Jessi
pushed the door open.
 
“What the fuck are
you doing in here?”

“I was
just admiring the house.”
 
Kendall
wasn’t disturbed or flustered. She was causal in
her answer.

“This is
Angel’s private office.
 
Who the fuck do
you think you are coming into my home and intruding into Angel’s personal
space?
 
I
know
that door was
closed.
 
Get the fuck out of my house!”

“Relax.
 
I’m going.”
 
Kendall
snarled her lip at Jessi as she
walked passed.

Jessi was
following her right out the front door.
 
Angel, Tommy and Jimmy met her on the way.

Kendall
put
her arm through Jimmy’s and continued walking.
 
“I’m ready to go, now.”

Few
people unnerved Jessi as much as
Kendall
.
Luckily, she knew that after tonight, Kendall and Jimmy would be done with each
other.
 
Kendall was only using Jimmy to
get close to Angel and
Kendall
was nothing
more than another notch in Jimmy’s well-worn belt.

Chapter Forty-Six

The band’s first full-fledged
national tour was six months long and it would take them to 17 different
states.
 
Angel always knew this day would
come.
 
He had envisioned it in his head
since he was a little boy.
 
He wanted
dancers and creative control over the show, and the label gave it to him.
 
It was beyond surreal.

With the four band members, plus
Jessi and Alyssa, and the dancers, the bus was crowded, but they were
adjusting.
 
The tour bus was amazing and
beyond Angel’s expectations.
 
It was
nothing like the run down outdated bus they shared on the small local
tour.
 
This was a rock star’s tour
bus.
 
Once you walked through a curtain
that sectioned off the driver, the bus transformed into a three room luxury
apartment.
 
The first section contained
the main living area.
 
It had rounded
black leather couches along the walls, a large flat screen TV, a stereo and a
fully stocked bar. Adjacent was the kitchen/dining area. There were two booths
on one side and a small kitchenette on the opposite side.
  
There was laminate flooring, recessed
lighting and window treatments. A door led into the sleeping quarters where
bunks were stacked two high and two across.
 
They didn’t offer much privacy, or much room, but they had plump
mattresses as well their own personal TVs and stereos.
 
Beyond that, a door led to the back
bedroom.
 
That’s where Angel was staying
with Tommy and Jessi.
 
The large bed took
up the entire width of the bus. It was much smaller than the custom made bed
they shared at home, but at least they could fit in it fairly comfortably.
  
They had a mini fridge in their room and
their own private bathroom.
 
A plush
carpet added warmth and built in closets made it seem more spacious.
 
It was much different from where the rest of
the band and the dancers were staying.
 
He felt bad for Damien and Alyssa, staying in separate bunks with zero
privacy, but he didn’t ask for elaborate separate, sleeping quarters.
 
He didn’t ask for special treatment, but the
label always gave it to him.

He watched the road glide by
outside the window and wondered how long it would be before they hit
Ohio
.
 
The band already performed their first few
gigs in the tri-state area to sold out crowds.
 
They were booking larger venues now and he wondered if the other shows
across the country were sold out as well.
 
Stress and pressure always ate away at him when they performed outside
the comfort zone of the band’s east coast fan base.

Tommy joined him at the window and
studied his face.
 
Tommy always
recognized his anxiety and tension. There was no hiding it.
 
Tommy led him to the bed and began massaging
his shoulders.
 
Angel rolled his head
from side to side and the knots began to disappear under Tommy’s touch.

Angel pulled his shirt over his
head and lay face down on the bed so Tommy could straddle him.
 
The muscles in his back were hard and
taut.
 
The pressure from Tommy’s hands
hurt, but the tension was slowly disappearing.

Tommy’s hands were magic.
 
They were the medication he needed and he
started to relax.
 
He closed his eyes and
let the pressure of Tommy’s hands knead him into submission.
 
Even though he was drifting off to paradise,
he was still worried about the show.
 
“What do you think about the dancers? Are they in sync?”

Tommy dug his fingers deeper.
 
“Stop thinking.”

Angel took a deep breath.
 
He cleared his head, and concentrated only on
the warm pressure penetrating his muscles.
 
All thoughts slowly evaporated and were replaced by serenity.
 
Tommy always took away the burden that he
carried with him.
 
He surrendered to
Tommy’s touch and let Tommy take control.
 
He let out a deep, blissful breath and closed his eyes.
 
“What would I do without you, my sweet prince
?
”

He rolled
onto his side and supported his head with his hand.
 
“Sometimes I think it’s all a dream.
 
Can you believe we’re here, on this amazing
tour?
 
Can you believe we finally made
it?”

“I don’t
know why you’re surprised.
 
I knew you
were destined for stardom the minute I met you.
 
What I didn’t know was how you were going to change my life.
 
Remember how embarrassed I was about my
sexuality?
 
Now, I’d go on TV tomorrow
and say, I’m Tommy Blade and I’m in love with my gorgeous singer, Angel
Garcia.”

Angel
chuckled.
 
“I remember it well.
 
I cared about you so much, but you wouldn’t
let me in. You used to have these little lines in between your brow.”
 
He traced his finger across Tommy’s forehead,
brushing a few stray blond hairs out of the way.
 
“I wanted to kiss those lines and make them
go away. Now they’re gone.”

Tommy
lowered his eyes and kneaded the blanket between his fingers.
 
“I’m sorry.
 
I hated that person.”

“I fell
in love with that person.”

Tommy
took Angel’s hand and entwined his fingers through it.
 
“Why don’t you speak to me in Spanish
anymore?”

“Because
now I can tell you how much I love you in English.
 
My heart was bursting.
 
I wanted to tell the world how strong my love
for you was, but I couldn’t even tell
you
how I felt. I was afraid it
would send you running in the opposite direction.”

“Or right
into your arms.”

Angel
picked up Tommy’s hand and kissed it.
 
“Maybe I should have tried that.”

“You never
told me what those beautiful things you said to me in Spanish meant.
 
What were they?”

There
were so many things he said to Tommy in Spanish.
 
He strained to remember a few.

“You used
to say one thing to me a lot.
 
I looked
it up on the internet.”

“What was
that, mi amor?”

“Bes . .
. something. I forgot how to pronounce it, but I remember it meant I want to
kiss you.”

“Ah yes,
besar means kiss.
 
Deseo besarte
means I want to kiss you.
 
I must have
said that to you a hundred times.
 
You
know, the first time I told you that I loved you was in Spanish. It was in my
kitchen, in my old apartment in
Williamsburg
.
 
It was that day we went shopping and we
almost kissed.
 
Te amo.
 
I thought you knew what it meant and that’s
why you ran out of the there so fast you forgot your shopping bags.
 
Do you remember that day?”

“Of course I remember that
day.
 
I remember every minute of every
day we’ve spent together.
 
But I didn’t
know you told me you loved me.
 
Everything
sounded so beautiful and romantic. What else did you say?”

“I told you that you were my life.
 
Eres mi vida. And you are.”

“What about that night at The
Quadrangle?
 
The night I finally listened
to you and you told me you never slept with that guy.
 
You said a whole bunch of things I didn’t
understand, and then you just said it meant that you’d wait for me.”

“I said I needed you. You are the
love of my life and I wanted to be with you forever.
T
e necesito.
 
Eres el amor de mi vida. Quiero estar contigo para siempre.
 
That was the night before we first made
love.”
 
Angel’s heart was radiating in
his chest and he could feel the warmth spreading underneath his skin.
 
He brought Tommy’s hand to his lips and
offered a loving kiss. “Such memories you and I share and we’ve only been
together a short time.
 
Can you imagine
the memories we’re going to accumulate in 20 or 30 years?”

“I’m looking forward to them.
 
How do you say I love you, again?”

“That’s easy.
  
Te amo.”

“Te amo.”

Listening to Tommy speak Spanish
was the sexiest thing in the world.
 
“Te
amo, mi príncipe.
 
That means I love you,
my prince.
 
It may not be as romantic in
English, but at least now I can tell you how much joy you bring to my life.”
 
He smoothed back Tommy’s hair and glided his
hand down the perimeter of Tommy’s cheek.
 
“Now I can tell you that you’re golden hair glows under the stage
lights, as brilliant as the sun.
 
Your
eyes are the color of the ocean and every time you look at me, I’m in
paradise.” Angel touched Tommy’s cheek with the back of his hand.
 
“Your skin is as smooth as silk and as supple
as the petals of a freshly bloomed flower, kissed by the morning dew.
 
Everyday I wake up next to you, or in your
arms, it makes me wonder why I’ve been granted such good fortune and happiness
in life.”