The Prince of Punk Rock (29 page)

Jessi waited until she knew both
Tommy and Angel were asleep, and then she waited a little longer.
 
She rolled over to the edge of the bed, and
out of Tommy’s embrace.
 
She stayed
there, pretending to be asleep, making sure her breaths were deep and long, for
at least another five minutes.
 
She slowly
sat up and let her legs dangle off the side of the bed.

“I’m getting something to drink,”
she whispered.
 
“Do you want anything?”

No one responded.

She tiptoed down the stairs and
poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen. She leaned against the counter,
in the dark, and stared at the wall.
 
She
concentrated on the small shadow that flickered in through the window.
 
She wouldn’t think of anything else, only the
shadow.
 
She put her glass down on the
table and went into the bathroom.
 
She
locked the door behind her and let the water run.
 
She stared at her face in the mirror for a
long time.
 
She heard the “I love yous”
that Tommy and Angel exchanged, replay in her head.
 
Slowly, her mouth bowed into a deep quivering
frown, and she burst into tears.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It was the first Sunday Angel had
off from the restaurant in a month, and Tommy wasn’t around.
 
He was with Jessi and her sister’s
house.
 
Angel took advantage of the time
off by sleeping late, and running errands.
 
He hurried back into his apartment and out of the blistering cold
February wind.
 
Winter in the suburbs of
New York City
could be
brutal and today it was dipping into the teens.
 
He dropped his CVS bag on the table and draped his pea coat over the
back of the chair.
 
He rubbed his hands
together for warmth and put on a pot of coffee to chase away the chill.
 
While the coffee was brewing, he checked the
time.
 
It was only 2:00 in the afternoon,
but his duffle bag was parked and waiting by the door until it was time to head
over to Tommy and Jessi’s house.
 
His
overnight bag was getting smaller by the day.
 
His toiletries were already at the house, in addition to a change of
clothes.
 
He was anticipating the day
when he wouldn’t need to travel between
Williamsburg
and Bensonhurst.
 
The day that all his
belongs would be at Tommy and Jessi’s house.
 
He laughed under his breath.
 
It
was on a few weeks and he was already moving himself in.
 
He poured himself a cup of coffee and took it
into the living room with his laptop.
 
He
killed another hour by scrolling through his emails, visiting the band’s fan
page and posting a few promos about this week’s upcoming shows.

He got up to get another cup of
coffee and someone knocked at the door.
 
A surprised smile lit up his face when he saw Tommy standing there,
bouncing from foot to foot from the cold.
 
A black ski hat covered his head and isolated his bright eyes.
  
His shoulders were dusted with lingering
deposits of snow.
 
“Come inside.
 
I didn’t know it was snowing out.”

“It just started.
 
I only walked a block a half from the car and
look at me.
 
I’m covered.”
 
Tommy spread his arms.
 
Most of the snow melted by now and left
dotted spots of water on the sleeves of his jacket.
 
Angel gave Tommy a small kiss on his very
cold lips and helped him off with his jacket.
 
He was only wearing a thin long-sleeve T-shirt with a flaming number 13
on it.
 
Angel put his arms around Tommy
and rubbed his back and shoulders to offer protection from the cold.
 
“Are you warmer now?”

“I’m still a little cold.”
 
The coy smile on Tommy’s face was
delectable.
 
Angel tasted it with a kiss.
 
“I’m so glad you came by, mi amor, but I
wasn’t expecting you home this early.
 
Where’s Jessi?”

“She got called into work, so I
came by.”

“Work, on a Sunday?”

“Yep.” Tommy blew on his ice-cold
hands and stuck them in the front pockets of his jeans.
 
“Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week keeps the entire
industry working nonstop this time of year.”
 
The coy smile was back.
 
“She’ll
be gone all night.”

It was perfect.
 
Angel didn’t know how to schedule alone time
with Tommy and he was waiting for a situation just like this one.
 
Thank you, Mercedes-Benz.
 
Fashion Week would forever mark this vital
moment in his life. It’s a date that would never be forgotten.
 
Every year when the calendar turned over to
the month of February, a month that exemplified romance, when heart shaped
boxes of chocolates lined the shelves and cupid shot his golden arrow through
someone’s heart, he would be reminded of this day.

Angel took Tommy’s chilled hands
from his pockets and brought their palms together.
 
Angel heated them with his warm breath.
 
“Is that better, mi amor?
 
Would you like a blanket, or perhaps a drink
to warm you?”

Tommy answered with a playful
smile.
 
“Are those my only choices?”

Angel sighed.
 
He took Tommy’s hands and placed them, one at
a time around his waist.
 
He brushed the
back of his hand across Tommy’s rosy wind stained cheek.
 
“Your cheeks are so cold, my prince.”
 
Angel ignited them with his lips, chasing
away the mid-winter frost.
 
“Let’s sit in
front of the fire and pretend we’re snowed in, miles from civilization.”

The fireplace came alive with the
flip of a switch, immediately sending a wave of heat into the living room.
 
With Tommy’s help, he moved the coffee table
so they could sit on the floor directly in front of the fire.
 
He tossed the plush red blanket that was
draped over the back of the couch onto the zebra-striped rug in the center of
the living room.
 
“Let’s get you out of
those wet clothes before you catch cold.”

Tommy looked down and turned his
head from side to side as he inspected his chest and arms.
 
“My clothes aren’t wet. They’re perfectly
dry.”

“Don’t you play hard to get with
me, Tommy Blade!
 
Take off those clothes
before I rip them off you!”

“I would normally opt for you
tearing my clothes off, but since this is my favorite Black Sabbath shirt, I’ll
do it myself.”

Tommy pulled the shirt over his
head and tossed it on the couch. He stepped out of his jeans and stood, naked,
with the glow of the fire behind him.
 
It
illuminated his body with an aura of deep orange and red, casting golden shadows
in the curves of his upper arms.
 
He was
breathtakingly beautiful in the otherwise unlit room.

“Bonito,” Angel whispered.
 
“Beautiful.”

Tommy pulled at Angel’s shirt and
at the button of his jeans, removing his clothing, slowly.
 
They stood undressed with their feet in the
rumpled velvet throw.
 
They shared a long
embrace while their cocks tousled between them.
 
Angel’s lips met the soft flesh of Tommy’s
neck and he sunk his teeth into it.
 
Tommy moaned and went limp in his arms.

“Let’s sit and watch the fire, mi
amor.”

Tommy gave him a mischievous
smile.
 
“I’m standing here naked and you
want to watch the fire?”

“Why rush?
 
I have a beautiful afternoon envisioned for
us, right here, in front of this romantic fire.
 
Sit.
 
I’ll be right back.” He
graced Tommy’s moist lips with a kiss and trotted off to the kitchen.
 
He retrieved a bottle of wine and some
glasses and returned to his waiting prince.

Angel stopped as soon as Tommy was
within sight.
 
He was a vision, sprawled
lengthwise facing the fire, propped up on his elbow, while his golden tresses
fell over one shoulder.
 
Angel needed to
take a deep breath before he could move.

He set the bottle of Sauvignon
Blanc down on the hardwood floor next to the rug and poured two glasses.

Tommy reached for one.

“Wait, not yet.
 
We need something else.”
 
He revisited the kitchen and searched the
fridge.
 
Strawberries would have been
nice, but a bowl of small fruit was the next best thing.

Tommy watched him as he returned to
the living room and let out a small laugh.
 
“You look cute walking around the apartment with no pants on.”

“Clothing isn’t an option
today.”
 
He sat next to Tommy and handed
him a glass of wine.
 
Let’s drink and
relax in each other’s arms.
 
As they
sipped their wine, their eyes stayed mesmerized on each other.

Angel kissed a trail up Tommy’s
arm, starting with the back of his hand, letting his lips settle between kisses
until he reached his shoulder.
 
His lips
jumped to Tommy’s waiting mouth and their tongues spoke in a language only
they
understood.

Angel plucked a ripe green grape
from a cluster in the fruit bowl.
 
He
placed it between Tommy’s lips.
 
Tommy’s
teeth cut into the succulent globe splashing a tiny spray of juice onto Angel’s
fingertips.
 
Tommy licked it off and
reached for the other half of the grape with his tongue, but Angel gobbled it
up.

No words were spoken.
 
Communication was strictly through eye
contact and subtle smiles.
 
Romance was
for dinner.
 
Tommy Blade was for dessert.

It was Tommy’s turn to feed
Angel.
 
He chose a small purple plum and
offered it to Angel’s waiting mouth.
 
Angel parted his lips ready to sink his teeth into its smooth, leathery
flesh, but Tommy pulled it away.
 
He took
a bite of the juicy plum, with a teasing smile.
 
He offered it back to Angel, but again, pulled it away before Angel
could taste it.
 
Frustrated and
impatient, Angel grabbed Tommy’s arm in both his hands and steadied the fruit
so they could both feed off it.
 
They each
nibbled at the dripping fruit until their mouths met in a juicy kiss.

Angel twirled a banana,
suggestively, through his fingers, while Tommy eyed it with provocation.
 
Angel slowly peeled its rubbery outer shell,
exposing the soft inner surprise.
 
He put
his lips over it and pushed in the back of his mouth before taking a deep bite.
 
He removed the other half from its casing and
presented Tommy with the rounded uncut tip.
 
Tommy stared down at it for several seconds, before devouring it and
leaving Angel nothing but a gooey mess between his fingers.

Wine cleansed their pallets.
 
Another glass waited for consumption.