The Prince of Punk Rock (43 page)

Normally, Tommy announced the band’s entrance from the side of the
stage with a snippet of one of his elaborate guitar solos, but the venue where
Round One of the
Battle
of the Bands was taking place was an ordinary bar.
 
There was no stage.
 
No back room.
 
Only an area sectioned off where the bands were set to perform.

Angel stood poised, with both hands on the mic stand.
 
Jimmy took a seat behind his Tama kit and
tightened a skin.
 
Damien rested his hand
on the neck of his bass, proudly wearing a guitar strap that read “Immoral
Angel” in heavy metal studs.
 
Tommy was
missing and the audience mumbled amongst themselves, speculating the cause of
the hold up.

The sound of Tommy’s guitar sang through the air.
 
He made a dramatic entrance from the far end
of the bar, opposite the stage.
 
The
crowd opened into a giant V as he ran to the stage, holding his Les Paul up in
the air and strumming a riff that woke the audience.

Jimmy clacked his sticks together,
one, two, three, four,
and
the unrestrained composition of
Cyanide Sensation
rocked the small bar.

At the end of the night Immortal Angel aced through Round One of the
Battle
of the Bands.

When the five week long
Battle
of the Bands was over, Immortal Angel stood victorious.
 
The win guaranteed their place on the main
stage at America Rocks.
 
It was an
opportunity that came around once in a lifetime. The record label executives
were sure to notice Immortal Angel.

The night before American Rocks, Damien stopped by the house and said
he needed to talk to Angel.

“Whatever you do, keep your dick in your pants and your tongue in your
mouth,” he said.

“What the hell are you talking about, Damien?”

“Look, I’m happy for you and Tommy.
 
I have no problem with it, you know that. But suits and ties aren’t
going to be so open-minded.
 
Don’t blow
it by getting carried away on stage.
 
After it’s all over, you can fuck Tommy on stage for all I care, but
when we’re up there at America Rocks, keep your hands off him.”

A part of Angel felt offended and insulted that Damien thought he would
jeopardize their chance at getting signed by exhibiting lewd behavior on
stage.
  
He was a professional.  He
knew how to play the game.  He was surprised that Damien knew enough to
warn him about it, though.  Damien, the frigging goof off who never
stopped talking, was telling
him
to play it safe.
 
“Finally taking this thing seriously, huh?”

“Shit yeah.  When we play in bars and clubs, we’re having
fun.  America Rocks is a game changer.”  Damien leaned closer, his
rigid mohawk threatened to take out an eye.
 
He looked off into the distance and pointed.  “My dream is
right there and nothin’ is gonna get in my way.  Nothin’ is gonna stop me
from reaching out grabbing it.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

America Rocks was held in
Williamsburg
Park
, the premier
outdoor concert venue in
Brooklyn
.
 
It was only a few blocks from the waterfront
and an oasis in the middle of the bustling suburb.
  
It was a hot day and the sun was strong, but
the shady trees provided refuge.  It was the enormous crowd of people that
made the temperature seem higher than it really was, plus Jessi had been
walking the length of the park for over an hour.  Rumor had it that there
were a lot of big name record labels here today, probably sipping a nice cool
glass of lemonade in a VIP tent somewhere.

At a big festival like this, people usually only stuck around for the
bands they came to see.  The crowd often thinned out for lesser named
bands, and for a new-comer like Immortal Angel, there was a possibility that
the band could be playing to a very sparse audience.  Jessi wasn’t about
to let that happen.  She hired two people to hand out flyers and stickers
at the front gate, and she was canvassing as much area as she could with
Alyssa.  Plus, the two of them wore flashy outfits to attract attention.

Jessi constructed their outfits.
 
The black leather miniskirt was adorned with a row of metal spikes down
both sides. Hot pink leopard lettering announced Immortal Angel across the back
of the skirt.
 
The black leather bustier
that topped off the ensemble was embellished with riveted studs that spelled
out “Immortal Angel”. Yes, it made everyone’s eyes gravitate to their boobs and
their ass, but that was the point.
 
People were going to remember the name of the band.

Damien wasn’t happy.  He didn’t want Alyssa prancing around in the
skimpy clothing that Jessi made.

“Sex sells,” she explained.

“Yeah, but I don’t want my wife selling it,” was Damien’s response.

“We have to do something to get people to stop and take a flyer,
something to make them stop and talk to us.
 
We need to encourage people to be at the main stage at the start of the
show for Immortal Angel.  You want as many people there as possible when
you play, don’t you?”

Damien reluctantly agreed, but after roasting in the blaring sun for
the past two hours, Jessi was starting think that maybe black leather wasn’t
the best choice of fabric.
 
She was
tired. Her feet hurt. She shouldn’t have worn five inch heels, especially on
the uneven surface of the grassy park, but she loved her boots.

She sighed and flipped through the stack of flyers she still had left
in her hand.  “Maybe I made too many.  Maybe we should just leave
them on a table somewhere.”

“Since when does Jessi Blade get discouraged?”
 
Alyssa pulled her over to a nearby park
bench.
 
“Let’s sit down and take a break
for a few minutes.”

An ice cold iced tea was exactly what Jessi needed to revive.  She
pressed the cold glass bottle against her neck, and the wet condensation
trickled down her cleavage.
 
“That hit
the spot. I can’t wait until we hand out the rest of these flyers.  I want
to go backstage.”

“I wonder if they guys are getting nervous.”

“Angel was a wreck this morning.
 
You know what a perfectionist he is, but Tommy put him at ease.
 
Tommy has a way with him.
 
It’s something I’ve never seen before.”

Alyssa fingered her can of soda.  “Can I ask you a personal
question?”

When someone has to ask if they can ask you a question, it meant they
were about to ask you something that was none of their business.  Like
when people said, “don’t take this the wrong way”, which was basically a nice
way to insult you.  Alyssa wasn’t the type to pry.
 
She didn’t care what anyone did and never got
caught up in the whole gossip-scene at the bars.
 
It was one of the things she loved about
Alyssa, so when Alyssa asked if she could ask a personal question, Jessi knew
exactly what was on her mind. “Go ahead.”

“I just was wondering how this thing works with you and Tommy and
Angel?”

Jessi didn’t have much experience explaining their relationship. 
The only people she told were her sisters, Maggie and Ella.
 
They didn’t give her a hard time, at
all.
 
It was probably because they were
enamored with Angel.  They didn’t care that she wasn’t having sex with
him.  All they saw in their head was a threesome with Tommy and
Angel.

“Forget it. You don’t have to answer.
 
It’s none of my business.”

“No.
 
You’re my friend, Alyssa.
We can talk about personal things.” Jessi took a deep breath and laughed
as she exhaled.  “I don’t even know where to begin.  I never thought
I’d end up with two husbands, and that’s exactly what it’s like – except one of
them’s gay.
 
I love Tommy.
 
More than most people realize.
 
And I know Tommy loves me.
 
I think it’s obvious to everyone how much
Tommy loves me.
 
But, he’s bisexual.
 
I had to give him the freedom to explore that
side of himself and trust that he would still want to be with me, because I
knew he wasn’t completely happy.
 
I don’t
want to stand in the way of Tommy’s happiness.
 
I love him enough to share him.
 
I
was confident enough in our relationship to bring a third person into our
bed.
 
And then he met Angel.”

She gazed off into the distance and remembered the turmoil that twisted
her gut when she first saw their attraction with one another.
 
And then their love for each other.
 
It crippled her, but she stood steadfast in
her loyalty and determination to make the relationship work.
 
And it did.

“Angel completes our life.
 
Tommy
wasn’t entirely happy until he met Angel. 
 
I’m not jealous.
 
Not anymore.
 
I love Angel. I think the reason our
relationship works is because me and Angel care about each other, and we’re not
jealous.  The three of us love each other.
 
We’re a couple.   We sleep in the same bed.  We have sex
together
. 
Well, not me and Angel, but you get the picture.”

Alyssa was nodding.
 
“Whatever it
is, it obviously works.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen three people as
happy and well adjusted as you guys.  You may have an unconventional
relationship, but it’s a healthy one.”

 
“Thank you.
 
I really appreciate that.”
 
She paused.
 
“Can I tell you a secret?”

Alyssa nodded.

“But you can’t tell anyone.
 
Promise me.”

“You’re my best friend, Jessi.
 
You can trust me.”

“OK.”
 
Jessi leaned forward,
rested her elbows on her knees and looked around to make sure no one was
listening.
 
“I slept with Angel once.”