Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Jenna Galicki

  Jessi slid her hands between Tommy’s legs, gently cupped his balls and covered them with the slick, soapy paste.

  Angel watched her from over Tommy’s shoulder and swiped the bar of soap across Tommy’s chest.

  More sighs from Tommy echoed in the acoustics of the tiled bathroom.

  Jessi stripped the wet T-shirt from her body and tossed it over the shower rod and onto the bathroom floor. She pressed her body against Tommy’s and stole some of the soap suds. She rubbed them into her breasts and fingered her nipples, all the while breathing in deep, gusty breaths.

  Tommy leaned forward to watch, with his mouth slightly open, ready for a taste. But she didn’t offer one. She continued to work the soap into a wet and gooey salve that covered her breasts.

  As she was fondling her own breasts, Angel was fondling Tommy’s nipples. He was squeezing and pinching them, tugging on them forcefully and making Tommy moan. Every few seconds Angel made another swipe with the soap, accelerating the thick lather building on Tommy’s upper body, but the spray from the shower was quickly diminishing the layer of foam Jessi had around her breasts. She inched her hand up Tommy’s chest and captured some of the lather in her hand, but Angel snatched it back with an evil chortle.

  Jessi gasped from surprise and irritation. Both men thought it was for entertainment purposes and laughed. It seemed like a normal progression of the game she and Angel often played, where they both competed for Tommy’s attention and possession of his body, but it didn’t feel like a game anymore. Angel spent almost the entire day with Tommy and she wanted her turn with him.

  She was ready to play dirty, but still play by the rules.

  She licked her middle finger, slowly, then circled it around her nipple. She maintained eye contact with Tommy and sighed like a porn star. She knelt down and used the water to wash away the soap that covered his legs. Her tongue traveled up his inner thigh, but as soon as she hit the groove between his leg and his hip, she stood up. She took his hand and placed it between her legs so he could feel the wetness that seeped from her body.

  He sighed and leaned his head back, right into Angel’s waiting hands.

  Angel no longer controlled the soap. He had something much more valuable in his cupped fingers. It was a sensual offering of pearlescent cleanser to bathe Tommy’s precious locks.

  Angel gathered Tommy’s hair between his hands and allowed the spray of the shower to drench it. Bliss settled into Tommy’s eyes, and a smile spread across his face, as Angel gently massaged his scalp and worked his hair into a thick fluff of shampoo. Tommy’s eyes were barely open as he looked over his shoulder at Angel. “I love it when you wash my hair.”

  Wash his hair? She’d never seen Angel wash Tommy’s hair before. In all the years she and Tommy were together, she had brushed his hair and braided it, trimmed it and flat ironed it, but she had never washed it. Apparently this was something else they shared during their time together in Asia. The simple act of washing Tommy’s hair was a tender act of intimacy. The well-played game suddenly lost its humor and became a serious competition – at least for her it did. Angel and Tommy still both thought it was an amusing recreational match.

  She didn’t want to play the game anymore, but if Angel did, she was prepared to bring out her best moves.

  She found the soap and lathered it between her hands until it was thick and bubbly. She ran her hands over her breasts and down across her stomach. While Tommy leaned his head back into Angel’s massaging fingertips, he watched her. They both did. She was putting on a show, not just for Tommy but for Angel, as well. It excited her and she temporarily forgot that he was her rival right now. She took a lathered hand and brought it between her legs, surprised by the tingling sensation the sleek soap offered and the readiness of her body.

  Tommy’s head jerked up and his mouth hung open as he watched, never averting his eyes.

  She smiled with satisfaction.

  She stuck one finger deep inside her body and let out another sigh. She lifted her foot to the edge of the tub and pulled back on her opening so Tommy could get a better view of her fondling herself. She needed more soap to insert another finger. The pressure made her body tingle and she shuddered as it made an entrance. She let her head fall back and she looked into Tommy’s eyes. Angel was still working the sudsy shampoo through Tommy’s hair but his hands took on an erotic momentum, slowly stroking Tommy’s scalp from front to back. The exhibition was an erotic surge of energy, not just for them, but for her, too.

  She had been eyeing the back brush with its sleek plastic handle since they first entered the shower. Her intention was to use it on Tommy, but now she had a better use for it. It was Angel’s brush, and there wasn’t a better way to beat him at his own game than with one of his personal possessions.

  She took the brush by the handle and applied a liberal amount of soapy lather. With her foot still propped up on the tub, she looked Tommy in the eye and she inserted it into her body. She shuddered from the penetration.

  Angel’s hands stilled in Tommy’s hair and he watched.

  She moved the handle in and out of her body. She didn’t expect to achieve an orgasm. She only wanted to entertain and entice Tommy, but the pulsating bolt of pressure inside her kept escalating. She never broke eye contact with Tommy, even though her eyes kept rolling into the back of her head. Bath steam filled her lungs and deprived her of oxygen, but she couldn’t slow down or stop. Her hand moved of its own accord and gave her an unexpected orgasm that left her dizzy and gasping for air. She hung onto the tiled shower wall for support and the brush fell to the floor.

  She had hoped Tommy would jerk off while he watched her, but he never touched himself. He only watched with great intent, while his jaw hung open and his cock got fatter.

  Angel’s hands were still buried deep in Tommy’s lathered hair. “Bravo,” he said in a serious tone.

  Tommy lunged and kissed her and his hands grabbed at her body. She turned to place the palms of her hands against the shower wall, but he pulled her back and guided her downward by the shoulders. He grunted and lurched forward as soon as she took his cock in her mouth.

  She sucked him hard, draining her mouth of all fluids, and flicked her tongue stud over and around his cock.

  Angel’s soapy fingers prodded Tommy’s bottom. Tommy leaned over and braced himself against the wall as Angel entered him. She knew he wouldn’t be able to hold out for very long once Angel was inside him, so she increased the power of her mouth and used her tongue stud to its full advantage.

  Angel started pumping Tommy from behind with force, which meant he was about to come. Jessi hung onto Tommy’s thighs and didn’t let Angel sway her balance or her intensity. She was determined to give Tommy an orgasm. She wanted to be the one to make him come. She wanted him to come for her. The harder Angel plunged his hips into Tommy, the more vigorous and potent her mouth became.

  The water pelted off Angel and sprayed over Tommy’s shoulders, sending ribbons of soap down his chest. They traveled over Jessi’s hands and down her arms like billowy tentacles.

  Tommy was writhing and convulsing, moaning and grunting with each jerk of his body. He grabbed at the tile shower wall to support him, but his hand slipped. He grabbed the shower curtain and the rod dislodged from the wall. It crashed to the floor with a loud metallic clang.

  As Tommy let out one last guttural moan, her mouth filled with fluid. Tommy stayed with his hands pressed against the wall, panting, as she got to her feet. She was pleased with the outcome of their encounter and accepted her victory.

  She picked up the back brush that was the tool she used to awaken Tommy’s arousal and presented it to Angel, handle first. “I think this is yours.”

  He made no attempt to accept it, but retracted from it. “You keep it.”

  Tommy snatched it from her hand. “I’ll take that if you don’t mind.” He stepped over the mangled shower curtain and left with his memento.

  Jessi smiled sarcastically at An
gel. “You may have him all to yourself during the day, but I still have more tricks than you do in the bedroom.”

  Angel took her by the waist and pulled her into him, still under the pelting water of the shower. His still-hard dick hit her in the clit and she gasped. Any hostility that may have been hovering inside her was driven out by the itch that settled between her legs.

  Angel leaned close enough to kiss her. “Diabla. She-devil. I have a good mind to bend you over my knee and spank that naked ass of yours bright red for showing me up like that.”

  He let go of her and left the shower. He turned to wink at her and then walked out of the bathroom.

  There wasn’t a person in this world who conjured up such a vast contradiction of emotions inside Jessi as Angel did. He was love and desire, frustration and adversary, all balled into one. And she still couldn’t figure out how to deal with it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The tour bus brought them from Sweden to Finland and now they just rolled into Denmark. The band already checked into the hotel, but Jessi stayed in the lobby to discuss the details of the upcoming Save A Youth Gala in Germany. It was an extravagant charitable event and Immortal Angel was one of the bands scheduled to perform.

  Marissa handed Jessi a list of promotional items. “I need you to order an assortment from this list to fill 250 gift bags. Don’t skimp. Order high end items with just enough fluff to make an attractive promo package to give to the guests. And make sure you coordinate with the vendor so they deliver to the right hotel. I don’t want them to send the stuff to Hamburg when we’re in Munich.

  “That would be a disaster.” Jessi briefly scanned the list. “Did Angus tell you how long their set is going to be? Angel wants to go over a set list with the band.”

  “Immortal Angel is headlining. They get the full hour.”

  It surprised Jessi. There were several big name European bands scheduled to perform, and she thought they would take precedence over an American newcomer like Immortal Angel.

  She folded the list, stuffed it in her bag and took the elevator up to the room. She was looking forward to spending the day with Tommy and Angel. It was one of the few full days they had free since they arrived in Europe and she was getting tired of the grueling schedule that kept them apart.

  When Jessi got to the room, Tommy and Angel were waiting for her.

  “I’m sorry, hon, but we’re going to use the day to work on the album.”

  “You’re going back to the studio again today?” She didn’t try to hide the disappointment in her voice.

  “Yeah.” Tommy sighed. Angus is riding our ass hard. He comes by and checks on us to see how much progress we’re making and, according to him,” Tommy’s voice took on a sarcastic tone, “we’re behind schedule.”

  “I didn’t even know we had a schedule,” Angel said.

  Jessi flipped through the calendar on her Blackberry. “But you’re not booked for studio time today. It’s your day off, Tommy. We were supposed to go to Tivoli Gardens and shopping at the Strøget.”

  “I know, but we decided to use the day to work on a new song. We’re finally starting to make some progress on the album, and we don’t want to waste a free day.”

  “Waste?” She was hurt and insulted that he chose to dismiss their plans so easily. “It was our day to spend together. I hardly call that a waste.”

  His shoulders deflated. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

  She knew he was working hard and she didn’t want to sound like a nagging wife, so she relented a little. “I was just looking forward to today and spending time with my husband, who I rarely get to see on a personal level these days.”

  “I know, sweetheart.” Angel circled Tommy, so he was standing in front of her. “We don’t have any quality time together. I know exactly how you feel.”

  “Do you?” She snapped at Angel. “How could you possible know how I feel? You and Tommy are together all the time. You work together. You perform together. And now you’re spending your day off together.”

  Angel flinched and his face twisted from the sting of her harsh tone.

  She probably should have felt worse that she lashed out at him.

  “It’s not like that,” Tommy said. “Don’t blame Angel. Writing and composing is hard work and it’s stressful. I don’t want you to think we’re goofing off.” He leaned closer and looked into her eyes. “We’re working our butts off.”

  “And then we have to perform the next day,” Angel added. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’m mentally exhausted after a writing session. It’s more draining than performing.”

  Guilt started to kick in and she slowly nodded, but the scowl stayed glued on her lips.

  Tommy put his hands around her waist and leaned his forehead against hers. He was quiet except for the low breaths that warmed her cheeks. She hesitated before she returned the hug and then clung to him, valuing the moments they had left before he had to leave again.

  Tommy’s cell phone bleeped from the table, ending their embrace. He sighed when he read the text message. “It’s Damien. He’s downstairs with Jimmy, waiting for us.”

  “You’re leaving already? I thought we would at least have the morning together.”

  “I was hoping to leave later too, but Jimmy wants to get a jump on the day so we can at least salvage tonight.” His sad eyes depicted remorse, and it softened her frustration. He put his arms around her and kissed her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you, hon.”

  “I love you too, baby.”

  Angel looked at her with a cautious squint in his eye. “Don’t I get a hug and kiss too?”

  She returned a sad smile, opened her arms and offered him a hug.

  She watched Tommy and Angel walk toward the elevator bank, which was at the far end of the hallway.

  Angel put his arm around Tommy’s shoulder and his lips to Tommy’s ear. Tommy briefly put his head on Angel’s shoulder as they walked the remainder of the hallway in a tight embrace, smiling and whispering in an intimate conversation.

  They disappeared into the elevator, unaware that she had been watching them. She was left standing in the open hotel room doorway, alone. Resentment at the time Angel and Tommy spent together, without her, tainted her heart. Jealousy wasn’t a familiar emotion. It contaminated her head and her body with its poison, and she hated it.

  Tommy gazed out the window of the chauffeured car service that took the band to the studio. Everything was starting to look the same and he forgot what city they were in. It didn’t matter. His thoughts were back at the hotel with Jessi. “I feel bad. Maybe we should have skipped the studio today and spent the day with Jessi like we had planned.”

  Angel put his shoulders back and turned halfway to face Tommy. “Did you notice that she was kind of snippy with me?”

  “She didn’t mean anything by it, A. Don’t take it personally.”

  Angel was insulted. “It’s kind of hard not to take it personally.”

  “She’s just upset because we’re not spending any time with her.”

  “I don’t appreciate the tone of her voice and what she was insinuating.”

  Tommy clenched his teeth from the added stress of Angel and Jessi’s less than friendly exchange of words. Before he was able to think of something to say in order to smooth it over, the car pulled up in front of the studio.

  Jimmy was on an adrenaline high. He jumped out of the car and raced through the building.

  By the time the rest of them entered the studio, Jimmy was already behind the house set, knocking out a series of beats. There seemed to be an endless supply of new arrangements dividing and multiplying inside Jimmy’s head on a daily basis. No one ever had to ask him to come up with a new beat. All he needed to do was pause for a few seconds and his hands and feet tapped out a new rhythm.

  Tommy and Damien quickly hooked up their equipment to catch up to Jimmy.

  Damien bobbed his head and added a bassline. Tommy joined in with
the melody and the beginning of new song was underway. Angel listened intently, tapping his foot and rocking to the new sound. He threw out some half-jumbled lyrics and it didn’t take long before he penned the first verse of the song. He added a bridge on the second go around. A few more takes and they got through the ending and a first draft of a complete song.

  They did another run through and Tommy needed to add a guitar solo, but he couldn’t concentrate. He wasn’t thinking about phrasing or note choices. His head kept drifting back to Jessi at the hotel room, alone. An unhappy wife left his heart in a state of remorse. And Angel was annoyed that she snapped at him. It all clouded his head and blurred his thoughts, and his guitar solo suffered. It wasn’t up to par and didn’t reflect his talent. It was mediocre at best.

  Jimmy continued without missing a beat on the drums, but Damien stopped playing. “Dude, how about giving us a Tommy Blade guitar solo?”

  “Let’s take a short break.” Angel placed a protective arm around Tommy’s shoulder and led him several feet away. “Don’t over think the music. Let it come naturally.”

  Tommy nodded. “I know I can do better. A lot better. I’ll get it together.”

  “Enough fucking off.” Angus was standing in the open doorway. “Let’s have it, now.” He rolled his hand in the air. “Let’s hear what you got.”

  They regrouped behind their instruments, annoyed at Angus’ curt and demanding attitude.

  Angel took the microphone from its stand and turned to face the band. “Hit & Run, Jump Start and then Toxic.” He nodded at Jimmy, signaling the count off. Four clacks of the drumsticks and they burst into the rowdy beat of Hit & Run. Angel watched Angus for any kind of reaction, but he stood poised with his back against the wall smoking a cigarette. There wasn’t the slightest bob of his head or tap of his foot.

  Jump Start brought the same lackluster indifference from Angus. The man was a hard read.

  The band transitioned into the wild, hard melody of Toxic. It was the best of the three songs and Tommy knew that Angel purposely chose to play it last. It had the potential to be a number one hit, once it was polished. Angel didn’t just sing, he performed. He discharged the same passion he gave to a live audience, jutting his hips forward and spiraling them at an imaginary crowd of fans. He strutted up to Angus, leaned forward so their faces were inches apart and let loose with a barrage of innovative lyrics, all at a decibel that few singers were able to achieve without distorting pitch. It showcased his live voice, sharp and clear without the need of a vocal processor.