by D. J. Manly
Angelo laughed. His father made a face at his youngest brother and then followed Mac out into the hallway.
Right away, Drake said, "You never needed my permission to be with Janet. What is all this?"
"I loved her even when you married her, did you know that?" Mac asked. He looked down at his shoes.
Drake went white. "No. I didn't. But there is no reason why..."
"Janet still thinks you wouldn't approve of..."
"Mac, I would be thrilled if you married Janet. I wouldn't have any hard feelings about that. I love you and I love her. I would never stand between you. You are my dearest friends. Janet is the mother of my child. I want only the greatest happiness for both of you. I'll talk to Janet, I promise."
Mac nodded in thanks. "But what about you, buddy? When can I expect to see you happy?"
Drake lifted his shoulders slightly. "That remains to be seen."
They walked down the hallway together, back toward the studio. Mac placed a hand on his shoulder.
On the wall hung several pictures of them, going back several years. They were all smiling. Johnny always stood to his right, Pepi to his left, Mac at his shoulder.
No one questioned what lay beyond the smiles.
The recording went well that day. Drake did little yelling, and everyone was in a pretty good humour.
They took a break at lunch and ordered in pizza. Tony came down from the sound booth and joined them.
Angelo left the room when Tony entered it and although few people noticed, Drake did. He narrowed his eyes as Tony came over to stand beside him.
His nephew smiled at him. "You guys were great. It's going to be a good CD."
"I think so. Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. What's with you and Angelo anyway?" Drake asked.
"Me and Angelo? Nothing, why? Are you jealous?"
Tony grinned flirtatiously and picked up a piece of pizza. He took a bite. "Um...this is good." He lifted it, insisting that Drake take a bite out of it.
Drake was feeling very uncomfortable. He tried to put him off, but he insisted. Pepi and Mac were looking at them, so Drake took a bite of the pizza anyway and muttered that it was good.
"You know," Tony said, "I think I'd like to come and spend the weekend with you, Uncle Drake. We haven't had much time together. We could take a swim in that indoor pool of yours. It's heated, isn't it? I didn't bring any trunks, but if it's only going to be the two of us..."
He trailed off, giving him a slow smile.
Drake cleared his throat. Wow. He was coming on heavy duty. Where in hell was this coming from? "Your grandmother is there at the house right now, Tony. We'll do it sometime later on, okay?"
"Grandmother does go to bed sometime, doesn't she?" Tony nudged him. "This weekend is good."
"Well...I...I'll have to let you know," Drake said, turning around to engage Pepi in conversation.
Tony finished the pizza, gave his uncle an appreciative look and then walked out into the hallway.
Angelo was sitting on a bench at the end of the corridor drinking a Coke.
Tony walked over to him, sliding his knees in between his open thighs.
Angelo gave him a shove backward. "What in hell is wrong with you? Someone could see us."
"I don't care who sees," Tony smiled down at him.
He went to caress his hair. "This is L.A."
Angelo pushed his hand away.
"You didn't have to get so angry this morning, and you didn't have to take off so early," Tony sat down beside him.
Angelo took another sip of his Coke. He said nothing.
"You were wonderful last night. I really mean that," Tony said softly, next to his ear. "What else do you want to hear?"
"Look," Angelo stood up. "You got what you wanted from me last night. You begged me to take your innocence, and I did. You're not a virgin anymore, so there's no more mystery. Now you can go ahead and screw the whole city of Los Angeles if that's what you want. Just leave me out of it, okay?"
"I can't believe it. You're jealous," Tony accused him.
"It was only supposed to be sex, that's all. I thought you were mature enough to handle it."
"Mature enough to handle it?" Angelo retorted.
"You're calling me immature? Do you remember what it was you asked me this morning?"
"Yes, I do. I remember quite clearly. I asked if you'd mind sleeping with me a few more times just to give me some experience. I thought you would jump at the chance. You had a good time last night, didn't you?"
Angelo sighed, ignoring his question. "You don't ask a guy to practise with you so that you can be good enough to sleep with someone else! It's damn insulting."
"What's insulting about it?" Tony demanded. "You happen to be a good teacher. That's not an insult, that's a compliment."
"Well, in that case, maybe you should practise with someone else until you become good enough to sleep with me."
"Don't be cocky!" Tony sneered.
"It's not my job to make you a pro so you can have sex with my father, for Christ's sake!"
"I never asked you to do that!" Tony protested.
"That's your intention."
"You don't know that, and what makes you think you could make me a pro anyway? I might have said you were a good teacher, I never said you were a pro."
"How the hell would you know? You have nothing to compare me to."
"I will soon," Tony jeered.
"Anyway, fuck you!" Angelo met his eyes. "We both know what you meant this morning. So get away from me before I watch you fly across this room." Angelo brushed by Tony and headed back into the studio.
Drake noticed how angry his son was when he came back in the room. Something had happened. Something had drastically changed. It frightened him.
Johnny's dream came to his mind, but he pushed that away. No. He was imagining things. But one thing he hadn't imagined; L.A. had certainly had an effect on his nephew, and he wasn't so sure that it was a positive one.
* * * * * *
A few weeks went by. Angelo had the house pretty well to himself. His mom spent a lot of her time at Mac's. Dad had been by last week to talk to her about everything. It looked like Mom and Mac were going to be an item. There was even talk of marriage.
Tony had spent some time at his father's. When he wasn't there, he was running around in bars. Angelo had said little to him since that night. He knew he was sleeping around, partying every night and with his Mom staying at Mac's, Tony was pretty much doing what he pleased. Well, why not? He was of age. It was his business.
The whole situation with Tony distressed him, but he was pleased about his mother's relationship with Mac. He raised a glass to them down at The Rock Mansion. His Uncle Pepi had come down to listen to him play that night and he had a drink with his nephew in between sets.
Angelo had quite a bit to drink that night.
"Hey, why don't you slow down, boy," his uncle said. "You have another set to do."
"Ah, come on, Uncle Pep. We have a lot to celebrate. The CD is done, the doctors say that Uncle Johnny will be able to go home maybe even in time for Christmas, which is only a week away. Mom and Mac are getting married in the summer maybe. Tony is fucking my father. Hey...eat, drink and be merry, tomorrow you die!" He laughed and threw the liquor to the back of his throat.
"Angelo, what in hell...Tony is not sleeping with Drake."
"Well, he wants to, and if he isn't, it's only just a matter of time. If he's not sleeping with Dad, then Dad's the only man in L.A. he's not sleeping with!"
"What's happening with Tony?" Pepi asked. "Do you want me to talk to him?"
Angelo laughed. "I happened to him. He asked me for something and I foolishly gave it to him. It's like a drug. I gave him a taste, and now he's an addict."
"Sex?" Pepi asked. He drained his glass now. "Did you have sex with Tony?"
"It doesn't matter. It was a mistake. I knew it at the time. I regret it now. I'm so stupid, and you know what's worse?"
Pepi shook his he
ad.
"He used me to prepare him to sleep with my dad. He didn't want Dad to take his innocence. He wanted to be some experienced young stud for Dad and an ignorant little piece of shit for me." He drained his glass and checked his watch. "Anyway, forget it. I got to go do the second set. Anything you want to hear?"
"Yeah," Pepi laughed, "Play 'Pissed off and Frustrated' by the Angelos."
"Very funny," Angelo replied dryly and disappeared backstage.
A few minutes later, the three guys that made up Company Angelo came out and started playing.
Angelo began with a song called 'Leader of the Band', which they did an excellent job of.
Before the song was over, Pepi felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned around.
It was Tony. "Hi, Uncle Pepi."
"Tony? Hello," Pepi said.
He wasn't alone. There were two guys with him.
"This is Frank and this is Luke, two friends of mine. Guys, this is THE Pepi Russo."
Frank and Luke were thrilled to meet him. Pepi invited them to sit down. What more could he do?
Angelo noticed the appearance of Tony and his two friends immediately, but he was too much of a professional to be thrown by it.
"We tried to get here for the second set. Did we miss much?" Tony asked his young uncle, ordering beer for everyone, including Pepi.
"No. They just started," Pepi replied, thanking Tony for the beer.
"That's my cousin up there," Tony told the two guys.
"He's Drake Russo's son, isn't he?" The one called Luke asked.
"Ya," Tony nodded.
"He looks just like him," Frank interjected. "What a babe!"
Tony leaned over and said something that Pepi couldn't hear in his ear. Frank laughed and then transferred it to Luke. They both looked at Angelo now with what Pepi interpreted as naked lust.
Pepi moved his chair closer to his nephew as Angelo began to do 'Satisfaction'. Frank and Luke insisted on getting up to dance. Tony was about to join them when Pepi placed a restraining hand on his nephew's arm.
"Can we talk a minute?"
"I'll be right along," Tony told his friends as they left the table.
"What is it?" Tony's eyes strayed to the stage as Angelo moved into the chorus of the popular Stones tune. "He's good tonight, isn't he?"
Pepi nodded. "Ya. He's good every night. He's got it, hasn't he?"
Tony raised an eyebrow. "What is this about?"
"What are you doing here with those guys?" Pepi asked.
"I came to see Angelo play, and my friends also wanted to see him. What's the problem?" Tony took a swig of his beer.
Pepi sighed. He had seen this all before. He felt like he was having déjà vú. This was something his father would have done. God, it could be Drake up there and Johnny sitting next to him instead.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? You came to see if you could piss him off. You want him to be jealous, is that it? You want to play games. Have you been sleeping with Drake?"
Tony shook his head. "Of course not."
"But you would, if he was willing? What are you trying to do, Tony, make up for the fact that you haven't led a wild life in the past? Are you using protection out there?"
"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Tony threw back.
"Look, Uncle Pepi, I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that coming here tonight was completely innocent. I had no ulterior motive, okay?" He stood up and went to join his friends.
He was dancing in the most suggestive of ways, and Pepi saw Tony look over at the stage to see if Angelo was watching him. When he thought he was, he would rub his body against one of the men he was dancing with.
The set ended, Angelo walked off the stage. Tony waited for him to appear at the table. He didn't.
"Isn't he going to say hello, at least?" Tony turned around in his seat and looked at the stage.
"Apparently not," Pepi murmured.
After a few minutes, Tony got up and walked backstage.
No one stopped him. It was dark back there. He felt his way down the hallway. He could hear voices; one of them was definitely his cousin's. He knocked and then walked in.
Angelo looked up at him. The other two guys nodded at Tony and then left the room.
"Hey, stranger. You were good tonight," Tony smiled at him. He was wearing a short brown leather jacket that he had just bought and a pair of faded jeans.
Angelo noticed that he had one of his ears pierced, and there was a small gold stud in it.
He thanked him and then stood up.
"My friends would like to meet you. Maybe the four of us could go for a drink somewhere?" Tony suggested.
"Which one do I get?" he asked sarcastically.
"Do you want to come or not? Pepi could come too."
"Ask him. He won't come."
"Will you?" Tony asked.
"Sure. Let's go."
Out in the parking lot, Pepi declined the invitation to go with them and went off in his own direction.
The one called Frank suggested Angelo leave his bike and they all go in his car. "We'll bring you back later," he said, looking him over, "to pick it up."
Angelo nodded nonchalantly as he followed them to Frank's 1997 blue Toyota. He climbed into the back seat beside the one called Luke. Tony sat in front with Frank.
Angelo settled back in the seat and surveyed the situation. He knew they were going back to someone's house. Both Luke and Frank were good-looking guys who were out for a good time; there was no question of that. Luke lit a joint and passed it around. They all took a few puffs from it.
Angelo was estimating how long it would take for the one called Luke to put his hand on his thigh. It took three and a half minutes. He had guessed five.
Frank finished off one joint and lit another. Angelo was getting high on the fumes. Tony turned around and smiled at him, then his gaze moved to Luke's hand and its position on Angelo's thigh. The smile faded.
"Something wrong, Tony?" Angelo asked. Tony was not hiding the fact that he didn't like Luke's hand on his thigh. Interesting.
"Luke, can't you wait until we get back to Frank's? It's not fair...getting a sneak preview," Tony teased, but there was anger in his voice.
The joint came around again to Angelo. He inhaled and then felt Luke's lips on his throat. Whoa. Here we go.
He handed it to Luke. Luke took a quick puff and pushed it toward the front.
"You have a beautiful mouth. In fact, baby, you have a beautiful everything. I bet you're dynamite in bed."
Luke's hands were all over the place now, and the pot had done its job. He wasn't protesting as Luke pulled Angelo's T-shirt out of his pants and placed his hands on his naked chest.
"He is dynamite in bed," Tony turned around and grabbed Luke's arm, pulling him forward. "My bed," he said.
"Greedy, aren't we? Thought you said we could share him?" Luke growled.
"Sharing him doesn't mean starting now. Wait!"
Tony commanded.
Angelo raised his head and looked at him. "You made this decision for me?"
"We're going to have a little fun, that's all. There's nothing sinister about it. You won't touch me anymore, I thought maybe you..."
"Oh right, get me stoned and in a crowd. Great, Tony, just great!" He wanted out of the car. He was about to say so when Frank pulled up into a driveway.
"Isn't everyone pissed off at everyone now?" He asked, turning around and looking at Angelo. "You are sensational looking, but you don't have to do anything you don't want to do...except with me," he laughed.
"Gee, thanks," Angelo sneered.
"Go in the house," Tony said, "you and Luke. We'll be in soon."
"Sure you will," Frank scoffed as he and Luke got out.
Angelo shook his head. "Oh, no, you don't. Forget it, Tony." He sat up straight, preparing to get out as Tony crawled over into the back seat.
"Just listen to me. I only want to talk," Tony moved closer to him.
"T
alk?" Angelo laughed. "Okay, talk, Tony. What is it? I'm tired, stoned and horny. I don't feel like talking, and neither do you."
"I can't get you out of my mind. I can't go to sleep at night and all these others...well, it's not working. There's something you did to me, sorcery, I don't know what, but no one else does it like that, and I do have something to compare it to now."
It didn't matter that in Angelo's mind, it was the pot that was talking, not Tony. Tony was kissing him now and he had no power at all to fight him. He was stoned and the kissing felt so good. He was so hot he swore they were going to fog up the windows. He didn't care.
He didn't care about anything.
Tony was ripping off his shirt, sucking his nipples and frantically trying to dig his cock out of his pants.
He struggled to get his own pants off, then straddled him. Roughly, he fondled Angelo's cock, causing him to moan with a combination of need and discomfort. Tony kissed him deeply while he positioned his cock at the entrance of his anus. No lube, and no condom.
Angelo tried to protest, but there was no time. Tony had brought himself down on his cock and was guiding it in and out of his ass, his head thrown back, tongue moving over his lips.
"Oh yes, oh God, yes, Angel, you got the cock of a goddamned Angel...so big...so... ahhhhhh...yes...yes...yes..." They must have fallen asleep out there in the car because when Angelo woke up in the morning, his clothes were in a heap on the floor of the back seat and Tony was in his arms. He was stiff and he felt like hell.
He nudged Tony and reached for his clothes.
Tony rubbed his head. "Oh, God, I got a headache," he moaned. "What time is it?"
"A little after eight," Angelo said, pulling on his jeans.
Tony looked over at him, his long black hair messy, his eyes still sleepy, and smiled. "You weren't very tender last night."
"I'm sorry," he managed, clearing his throat. "I guess I wasn't in a tender kind of mood. You didn't give me a chance to be tender. You were into rough trade...no condom on top of that. Not bright."
"Its okay, I liked it bareback like that. I promise I used a condom with all the others."
"That's comforting," Angelo sneered.
"In fact, I liked it a whole lot," Tony replied. "I could get used to making love to you every night of my life."