Between a Rock and a Hard Place (5 page)

They delved into the second song without pause and the sex-charged lyrics of
Dirty Love
were directed at Tommy.  Angel inched closer with each provocative word he sang.  Tommy fell to his knees in front of Angel and offered him a searing melody.  Screams from the audience reminded Angel of the freedom that The Quadrangle offered.  He grabbed a chunk of Tommy’s hair and shoved Tommy’s face into his crotch.  Tommy bit down on the tough leather between Angel’s legs.  The surprise jolt of pressure made Angel gasp and he almost missed a lyric.  The boisterous crowd pumped their fists in the air and hollered for more.

The next song,
Without You
, was
the band’s first hit single.  Tommy pulled Jessi forward from the side of the stage so he could dedicate the guitar solo to her.  The crowd shouted her name as soon as she came into view and an enamored smile lit up her face.  Tommy never averted his eyes from Jessi as he played the guitar solo.  Their eyes were locked on each other, as if no one else was in the room.

The overhead lights swirled around Tommy in shades of deep purple.  It showered him in a spray of amethyst.  The Quadrangle welcomed home its prince with the color of royalty.

As Angel watched Tommy send extraordinary guitar riffs through the air, he was reminded of the first time Tommy had played with the band and the first time they had shared the stage.  It was a humbling experience.

Tommy’s hair was bathed in the glow of the stage lights which created an aura of soft lavender.  At last, the blue of Tommy’s sinfully gorgeous eyes pierced the purple veil that shrouded him.  A small smile formed on his lips as he noticed that Angel had been watching him.

Angel strutted toward Tommy, and Tommy stalked him back.  They met in the middle of the stage and stopped inches from one another.  The control of Falcon Records limited the homoerotic show that they were most known for in their hometown of Brooklyn.  On the road it was almost forbidden, but here at The Quadrangle it was expected.  Angel grabbed Tommy by the back of the neck and gave him a hard, rough kiss on the mouth.  The crowd screamed their approval and cheered them on, just like they always did, and it felt like they had never left.  No matter how famous Immortal Angel became in the future, they would always return home to The Quadrangle.

Chapter Four

It was a cold, cloudy day the morning that Tommy and Angel were scheduled to leave for China.  May was supposed to be springtime in New York.  The leaves were supposed to be making an appearance on the dry, dormant winter branches.  Color was supposed to be peeking through the drab brown landscape.  The sun was supposed to fill the air with its warmth.  But all the budding joy stood still on the day Tommy and Angel were set to board an aircraft that would send them halfway around the world.  The gloom in the air mirrored the sadness in Jessi’s heart.  She stowed her anguish away, determined to get through the next few hours without shedding any tears, and presented Tommy and Angel with an excited and happy smile as she set two plates on the table.  She gave it her best effort to prepare breakfast this morning.  “I hope it’s half as good as you make, Angel.”

He sat at the table and looked into his dish of eggs and salsa with surprise.  “You made huevos rancheros?”

She replied with a modest nod.  She never cooked anymore and she knew she couldn’t compare to his skills as a chef in the kitchen, but she wanted to do something nice for them on the day of their departure.

Tommy kissed her cheek.  “You’re amazing, hon. It looks delicious.”

Her eyes hazed over and she blinked away the moisture.  It was just past 8:00 o’clock in the morning and they still had two hours before they needed to leave for the airport.  She knew she wasn’t going to keep it together for long, and by the way Angel and Tommy’s cheeks kept twitching, she knew they were dealing with the same dilemma.

Jessi pulled her chair closer to the table and sipped her coffee.  Huevos rancheros was her favorite morning meal.  It didn’t taste nearly as good as when Angel prepared it, but she still dug into her plate with gusto.  It was the last meal they would share together for a long time.  The sudden hollowed out hole in her stomach hampered her appetite and she forced the eggs into her mouth and swallowed them without chewing.  They landed in her stomach with a thud.

Tommy reached over the table and touched her hand.  “Don’t be sad.  Let’s talk about all the things we’re going to do when we get to London.”

“And Paris.”  Angel held up his glass and uttered something in French.  “It’s the City of Love.”

She was impressed with his knowledge of the language.  “You speak French?”

“Just a little.  Enough to order a meal, at least.  I’ve always wanted to visit Paris and taste the local cuisine.  It’s such a romantic city.  We can take a stroll at night and kiss under the brilliant lights of the Eiffel Tower.  We can visit the wall of I Love You and see monumental works of art at The Louvre.  And let’s not forget about visiting Jim Morrison’s grave.  It’s a must see on my list.”

Angel’s rock and roll trivia was endless.

Tommy wrinkled his brow.  “The wall of I Love You?”

“It’s a monument in a famous park in Paris.  It’s a wall engraved with the words ‘I Love You’ written in different languages.”  Angel was quiet for a few moments while his eyes rested on his plate.  When he looked up, his olive complexion had a rosy hue and his voice was softer than usual.  “I never thought I’d visit Paris with two people I care for so deeply.  We’re going to have such a wonderful trip.”

It sounded like a romantic rendezvous for the three of them to share, but it was still months away.  First, Jessi would have to endure the separation from Tommy and Angel.  The eggs and salsa rebelled in her stomach.  She pushed her plate aside and questioned her decision to stay behind.  Part of her regretted it, but she knew she had no choice in the matter.  She waited too long to get her degree, and she was in the middle of opening a boutique.  She wasn’t abandoning either one of them.  Nothing was going to stand in her way this time.

The small window of time they had before they needed to leave for the airport disappeared with ridiculous speed.  Tommy called a taxi to take them to JFK.  He wasn’t going to say goodbye to Jessi at the curb, and he wasn’t going to waste the precious seconds they had left together finding a parking spot at the airport.

They snuggled together in the back seat of the Lincoln Town Car without saying much.  Headlining an international tour without Jessi was bittersweet.  It actually took most of the excitement out of the journey and part of Tommy didn’t want to go anymore.

Jessi tried to lighten the somber mood by listing the places she wanted them to visit in China when they had free time.  “I want a firsthand account of everything,” she said.  “Email me when you’re at Tiananmen Square, message me when you’re at The Great Wall of China, and Angel, you’d better get me a direct video feed when you’re at all the fashion boutiques in Hong Kong and Tokyo.  It’s going to be like I’m right there with you, instead of thousands of miles away.”

Tommy wished she would have left out that last part.  It solidified the distance that would be between them, and they spent the rest of the ride in a melancholy silence.  He caught the driver studying them in the rear view mirror with a disturbed frown.  If Jessi were the one seated in the middle, holding hands with him and Angel, the driver probably would have worn a lecherous grin on his face, instead of a disapproving scowl.

The traffic was heavy and took more time than planned, which meant they had to rush to catch their plane.  When they entered the airport there was a large group of fans waiting behind a barricade.  Normally Jessi needed to be pulled away from talking to the fans, but she only waved at them and kept walking.

When they approached the security check-in point, Jessi lost it.  The sight of the other passengers, taking their shoes off and dropping their change and personal belongings into the white plastic bins that glided through the x-ray machine, cemented the separation that was about to transpire.  All of her strength and composure vanished without warning.  There was no twitch of her lip or quiver in her chin.  The tears flowed freely from her eyes like the rain from the sky.

Tommy wrapped his arms around her shoulders and Angel came from behind her and circled his arms around the both of them.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  “I didn’t want you to remember me with tears streaming down my face as you left.”

“Yeah,” Tommy said.  “Like any of us was going to get through this without crying.”  His chest burned and his head was foggy.  The background noise of the other passengers vibrated in his ears and blocked out any other sound.  He squeezed her so tight that it was hard to breathe, but he would gladly suffocate than allow a breath of air to separate them.

The three of them stayed in a tight embrace, while the flash of the paparazzi lit up the terminal and documented their goodbye.  None of them said anything.  They just held one another, oblivious to the crowd around them, until the attendant told Tommy and Angel that they needed to board or they would miss their flight.

Reluctantly, Tommy released his hold on Jessi.  Her watery blue-gray eyes held so much love that it broke his heart.  She forced a weak smile and kissed him.

Angel blinked back his tears.  “Are you sure you can’t come with us and finish your studies online, sweetheart?”

Tommy’s insides deflated.  It was the same question he begged to ask but wouldn’t dare suggest.  He sighed.  “Angel . . .”

“I’m sorry.”  Angel fidgeted.  “I know it’s unfair to ask.  I was just grasping at straws.”

Jessi stroked Tommy’s cheek.  He knew he looked the saddest of the three of them, although Angel was the most choked up.  It was their grief that fueled Jessi’s strength, and she gave them each a reassuring smile.  “We’re going to call each other every day and we’ll be together before you know it.  I want you both to enjoy this trip.”

Tommy cupped her face in his hands and kissed her long and deep, while Angel rubbed her back with a subtle intimacy.  Tommy savored the flavor of Jessi’s mouth as if it were the first time he tasted it.

Jessi and Angel shared a long embrace and a kiss, and the three each whispered, “I love you.”

Tommy and Angel were hustled through the metal detector and lost in a cluster of other passengers.  Tommy kept looking back for Jessi, even though she was well out of view.  Angel had his arm around Tommy’s shoulder as they walked down the corridor that led to their gate.  He leaned his head on Angel’s shoulder, draped his arm around Angel’s waist and held on tightly.  It was the first time that Tommy and Jessi would be apart for any length of time.  Tommy had the urge to run back, grab Jessi by the hand and bring her on the plane, or abandon the tour and wait for her.  But he knew he couldn’t do either.  As he stepped onto the plane that would carry him halfway around the world and away from the woman he loved, half of his heart stayed behind in New York.