Punk Rock-A-Bye Baby(39)

Tommy followed. His fingers worked the strings of his Les Paul. They weaved through the complicated arrangement of chords with ease and familiarity. He circled Angel, fell to his knees and smiled up at the man he loved. The growing bulge at Angel’s crotch was now at direct eye level and tempting Tommy with its mountainous projection toward his mouth. Oh, if only this were the old days at The Quadrangle. A nip or a chomp on the tough leather at the center of Angel’s legs would have sent the audience into a passionate uproar, but Tommy was exercising restraint. Their overzealous behavior on stage had landed them in hot water with the label too many times, and they vowed to be on their best behavior this time around.

The mischievous twinkle in Angel’s dark eyes indicated that he was harboring the same erotic thoughts. His hips started a slow gyration directly in front of Tommy’s face, taunting Tommy to take action. Willpower was never exercised to such an extreme.

Tommy’s cock hardened behind his Les Paul, while his eyes were fixated on Angel’s swollen crotch. The stage lights accentuated the bulge in Angel’s pants every time he thrust his hips forward. Tommy bit his lip instead of Angel’s teasing cock and responded with a long twang on his guitar. He needed out of there before he lost all control and ripped open the slit in the top half of Angel’s outfit and exposed the rest of his body.

Tommy jumped to his feet and bounded to the other end of the stage. A stagehand carrying one of Damien’s bass guitars was suddenly in front of him. He ducked to avoid a collision, but the head of Damien’s Ibanez hit him squarely in the temple. White light blinded Tommy for several seconds, and he stumbled before a firm hand caught him under his upper arm. When his vision cleared, Damien was next to him, still holding him by the arm.

“Dude. You okay?”

It took another second for Tommy to focus. He shook it off with a laugh, and his hands caught up with the next measure of Sex and Greed. He bounced away from Damien and back to the front of the stage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jessi step forward at the side curtain. He turned in her direction and gave her a comforting smile and nodded, but it didn’t ease the worried expression across her face. One hand was on her swollen belly, and her brow was crinkled with concern, while her mouth held a slight frown. He went to her with his Les Paul still howling from the assault of his fingertips. It took more than a bump on his noggin to inhibit the melee of his music.

Jessi immediately brushed his hair off his face to look at his head. “Are you all right?”

He gave her a quick kiss and nuzzled her cheek. “I’m fine, hon.”

“Maybe you should sit down.”

“Got a show to do. Stop worrying.” He hoped his smile eased her tension. It really wasn’t a hard hit, even though it sounded like a thunderclap inside his head. He left her with another kiss and sprang back to the front of the stage. Angel was on the amp next to him, engrossed in delivering a full body roll that matched the lusty lyrics, unaware of the crash between guitarist and bass. It was a good thing, because Angel would have probably stopped the show to make sure he was okay.

The amp was turned up too high. Standing next to it, with the onslaught of Angel’s powerful vocals, was too much. Tommy needed to step back and out of its path, but it didn’t offer much relief from the ringing in his ears. Loud music had never bothered him before, and he chuckled under his breath. Maybe he was turning into an old man.

Not a chance. He lived for the excitement of the crowd. He paraded across the front row with his head back and let his long hair blow in the wind machine. Girls screamed and guys shouted. He stopped at the edge of the stage and rocked his head back and forth so all that he saw was a mass of his blond hair across his eyes. He loved the blur of the audience through the strands of his hair which offered glimpses of rock and roll horns. It was dizzying. He sunk to his knees to keep his balance, but the room was still spinning. Nausea twisted his gut. He tried to get to his feet but almost lost his balance, when a sharp pain stabbed him in the side of the head. Still on his knees, his hand went to his temple and encountered a warm wet spot. He rolled the dark red substance between his fingers for a few seconds before he realized it was blood.

Maybe the clunk on his head was harder than he thought. His heart started to race and pressure inside his head made it feel like it was about to explode. The pain was excruciating, and he clutched his head in his hands. He no longer heard the music or Angel’s voice projected through the amps. The crowd was silent. Everything was blocked by the loud ringing that filled his ears. Then, the colorful lights that had been swirling over the stage suddenly went black.