The Prince of Punk Rock (50 page)

The first
New
York
show was at the Best Buy Theater in the heart of
Times Square
.
 
Jessi remembered when the venue first opened in 2005, under the Nokia
trademark.
 
She waited in line for hours
to see a band called Bad Religion.
 
Now
fans were lined up down the block to see Immortal Angel.
 
She wanted Angel to accompany her outside so
he could personally express his gratitude to them for their support, but he
said he had to warm up his voice before his performance.
 
She was unsuccessful at suppressing her
laughter.
 
He was turning into quite the
diva.

The fans cheered as soon as they
saw Jessi peering through the glass doors at the front entrance that opened up
onto
45
^th
Street
.
 
She stepped out onto the sidewalk, amazed at
the amount of people already on line. Every time they called her name, a surge
of adrenaline raced through her veins.
 
This was the recognition she longed for.

She adored the fans and she wanted
to spend as much time with them as possible, but she knew she was needed
backstage, so she waited until the absolute last second before she thanked them
all for coming to the show and headed back inside.

The security guard at the door
stopped her and blocked her path.
 
“Where
do you think you’re going, miss?”

Jessi reached for her all access
pass, but it wasn’t in her back pocket.
 
She must have left it inside.
 
“I
work for Falcon Records.
 
I’m with
Immortal Angel.”

The stone-faced security guard
nodded sarcastically.
 
“Sure you are.”

“I’m not kidding.
 
I just came out through this door a little
while ago.
 
Don’t you remember me?”

“No one came through this door
since I’ve been here.”

She looked closer at him.
 
He wasn’t the same security guard that was at
the door earlier.
 
She didn’t have her
pass.
 
She didn’t have her phone.
 
She had to get back inside.
 
“I’m Tommy Blade’s wife.
 
Can you please send someone back to get him?”

“Who?”

“Tommy Blade.
 
The guitar player.”

“Look, lady, I’ve been doing this
for 20 years.
 
Everyone is a close
personal friend of the band.
 
No pass, no
entry.”

“But, I’m really his wife.
 
I work for Falcon Records.
 
I’m the band’s personal assistant.
 
I need to get back inside.”

He ignored her.
 
He wasn’t even looking at her anymore.

She searched for anyone who might
have a pass and could let her inside, but the only other people outside,
besides fans, were a few other security guards.
 
She began asking them if they remembered her and could let her inside,
but none of them did.
 
Some fans overheard
and tried to help her.

“That’s Jessi Blade,” a few of them
shouted out. “She’s married to Tommy Blade.”

“See?” Jessi told the security
guard.
 
“They know who I am.
 
I’m not lying.”

He shook his head.
 
“I can’t let you in without a pass.”

“Jessi?”

She didn’t recognize the man
walking toward her.

“It’s me, Brian.”

It was the singer from Tommy’s old
band, Psychobabble.
 
She didn’t recognize
him because his waist-length hair was now cut above his collar.
 
She hadn’t seen or heard from him since
shortly after Tommy left Psychobabble to join Immortal Angel.
 
She ran to Brian and hugged him.
 
“Look at your hair!
 
What made you cut it?”

“I just got tired of it.
 
How’s everything?”

“Wonderful.
 
How’s Diana?”

He shrugged.
 
“We split up a few months ago.
 
I haven’t seen her since then.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.
 
I liked her a lot.
 
Did you come to see Tommy?”

“Tommy? No.
 
I’m a bartender here.
 
I heard your name, and then saw your
hair.
 
How do these people know who you
are?
 
How do they know you’re Tommy’s
wife?”

“Haven’t you heard of Immortal
Angel?”

“Yeah.”
 
Confusion clouded his face.
 
“But only because they’re playing here
tonight.
 
I think I heard one of their
songs on the radio the other day.
 
They’re a punk rock band, right?
 
What does that have to do with Tommy?”

“Tommy’s the guitar player.
 
It’s the band Tommy joined when he left
Psychobabble.
 
Remember?”

“Really?”
 
His eyes widened with realization.
 
“Wait a minute.
 
You mean Tommy’s in a signed band?
 
And he’s playing here tonight?”

“Yes.
 
They got signed after they played America
Rocks.
 
I work for the label as the
band’s assistant now.”

Brian put his hand on his forehead
in disbelief.
 
He turned to look at the
line of people waiting to get into the venue. It grew since Jessi first came
outside, and now circled around the corner.

“I had no fuckin’ idea.
 
I’m really happy for Tommy.
 
I can’t wait to see the show.
 
I can’t wait to see Tommy again.
 
Let’s go inside.”

“I can’t.
 
I forgot my pass.
 
That’s why the fans were telling the security
guard who I am.
 
Can you send someone out
with my pass?”

“I can let you inside. C’mon.”

As soon as they got inside the
venue, Jessi found her pass.
 
It was on a
small table near the door with her phone.
 
No messages. Good.
 
She would’ve
gotten into a lot of trouble for leaving her pass haphazardly lying around and
she needed to be on call at all times during an event.
 
It wouldn’t have been a good way to start off
her new job.

“Can you bring me backstage to see
Tommy?” Brian asked.

“Sure. He’s going to be happy and
surprised to see you.”

“Has fame changed him at all?”

It was a joke, but it still made
Jessi stop short.
 
“You mean you haven’t
heard anything about Tommy and Angel?”

“No.
 
Who’s Angel?
 
The singer?”

Jessi chuckled.
 
Brian had no idea about Tommy’s coming
out.
 
He was in for a big shock.
 
She laughed again.
 
“Tommy looks pretty much the same, but . . .
you’ll see.”

Jessi escorted Brian backstage,
past the production crew and past the general bustle of activity that went on
behind the scenes.
 
By the way he was
staring at everything and everyone, she had the feeling it was Brian’s first
time backstage.

The dressing room was busy with
people, but she spotted Tommy talking to Damien and called him over.
 
“You’re never going to believe who’s here.”

“Brian?”
 
Tommy gave him a big bear hug.
 
“I’m so glad you came to the show.”

“Look at you, a genuine rock
star.
 
I’m working tonight.
 
I bartend here.
 
I had no idea you made it big.
 
Congratulations.
 
I’m really happy for you.”

Jessi flagged Angel from the across
the room.
 
Maybe it wasn’t her place, but
she was curious how Brian would react to the news of Tommy’s sexuality, and she
was curious about how Tommy would handle breaking the news to Brian.

Tommy put his arm around Angel
without inhibition.
 
“This is Angel
Garcia, my boyfriend.”

Angel shook Brian’s hand.
 
“It very nice to meet you.
 
Are you an old friend of Tommy’s?”

“Yeah. Wait.
What
?” Brian’s head snapped in Tommy’s direction.
 
“Your
what
?”

Tommy smiled at Angel, the love
showed brightly in his adoring gaze.
 
“Angel’s my boyfriend.”

Brian shook his head slightly, like
he didn’t hear correctly.
 
“Did you just
say he was your
boyfriend
?”

“Uh huh.”

Jessi never thought she would see
the day when Tommy would casually tell someone like Brian, that he was
bisexual.

“Wait a minute,” Brian rubbed his
temple.
 
“I have to grasp my head around
this.
 
Tommy Blade’s a rock star, and
he’s gay?”

Tommy nodded. “Bisexual, but yeah.”

“Holy fuck.
 
When did this happen?”

Angel chuckled.
 
“I’d love to stick around and see the
expression on your face when Tommy explains it to you, but I gotta warm up.
 
It was very nice meeting you, Brian.
 
Enjoy the show.
 
I hope to see you afterwards.”

“I got to run too,” Tommy said,
with disappointment, “but you’re going to be around all night, right?
 
There’s a meet and greet after the show and
some kind of private party.”

“Yeah.
 
I’m bartending in the VIP area.”

Tommy gave Brian another bear hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”

As soon as Tommy was out of
earshot, Brain turned to Jessi for an explanation.
 
“What the fuck is that all that about?”

“He never wanted anyone to
know.
 
It took Angel to finally make him
come to terms with telling people.”

“Where do you fit in?
  
Were you a cover to hide he’s gay?”

“Tommy’s bisexual.
 
He’s not gay.
 
We have a very sexual relationship.”

“And he has a boyfriend?”

“Yeah.
 
Angel.”

“Is he bi too?”

“I wish.”
 
She laughed.
 
“No, Angel’s definitely gay.
 
We’re really close.
 
I call him my
gay husband, but he’s only interested in Tommy.”
  
But she was still determined to change that.

“And you’re OK with Tommy having a
boyfriend?”

“I love Angel.
 
He’s sweet and funny.
 
He’s a great cook, a chef, actually, and he
has a voice that can blow the roof off this place.
 
He’s a great guy.
 
And he makes Tommy really happy.
 
He makes me happy too.”

“You share Tommy.
 
How is that fair to you?”

Brian didn’t understand.
 
It was the typical reaction, so she shouldn’t
have been upset by his judgmental question, but she was.
 
“I know it sounds absurd, but our
relationship works.
 
We share everything,
including a bed.
 
You’ll see.
 
After the show.”

The meet and greet was quick.
 
Tommy expected to be able to spend more time
with the fans, but the production assistants handling the event hustled them
along like cattle.
 
It wasn’t fair.
 
He needed to talk to someone about having
more personal meet and greets.
 
He was
looking forward to the after party, though.
 
He wanted to show off his boyfriend to Brian.
 
He pondered the thought in his head, and it
made him smile.
 
Gone were the days when
the risk of exposure immobilized him.

Initially, there was a flurry of
commotion as soon as they were escorted to the after party, but it died down
after a few minutes.
 
There were a lot of
people in the roped off VIP area.
 
Audra
and Kira were there, but the rest of the fans who purchased the upgrade were
relegated to the main floor of the theater.

“Did you enjoy the show?” Angel
asked Brian as he set up a round of drinks.