Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Jenna Galicki

  Jessi swore she wasn’t going to look at that damn scrapbook. She avoided it all day, but now that she had free time before Tommy and Angel returned from the studio, curiosity got the better of her. It was tucked in her suitcase and she had added newspaper clippings from every city they visited. She just wanted to see if the progression of photos changed from the early ones of Tommy and Angel in Asia. She wanted to see if there was a pattern.

  She threw the suitcase on the bed and found the scrapbook. She took it into the living area and sat and stared at its cover, knowing that she was going to regret opening it.

  She started backwards from the latest photo she placed in the album. It was a concert photo of the band in Denmark and cited the date they played at the Forum Copenhagen. She flipped back through a few pages. Most of the photos were the same, and only cited Immortal Angel’s tour dates in the various cities. There was a photo of her with Tommy and Angel at a restaurant in Finland. There was a photo of her and Alyssa in Manchester. She read the caption. Budding Fashion Designer And Immortal Angel Wife, Jessi Blade, Takes To The Shops In Trafford Centre. The mention of her career as a fashion designer made her smile.

  She flipped through some more pages and found herself at the start of the book. The photo at the airport on the day of their departure brought back a sad memory. The next few pages contained the photos she was looking for. She braced herself before she looked at them.

  There was a snapshot of Tommy and Angel laughing in Hong Kong with the caption, While The Mrs. Is Away, The Boys Will Play. She took a deep breath and turned the page. Tommy and Angel were sharing an intimate meal in Shanghai in the next photo. The caption under it read, Immortal Angel Front Man, Lead Guitarist Bond In Shanghai, While Wife Stays Behind. The next caption made her want to vomit. No Wife, Happy Life. She should have closed the book. Threw it on the floor. Ripped out those photos. Instead, she re-read them.

  There was rustling at the door. She heard a beep, and Angel walked in. He was alone.

  “Where’s Tommy?”

  “He stopped off at the newsstand.” Angel glared at her when he saw the disturbed look on her face. “What’s your problem, Jessi?”

  She closed the scrapbook and tossed it on the couch. “We need to talk.”

  Angel met her gaze. “I think that’s a good idea.”

  There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn’t know where to begin and stared at him for several seconds in silence. “I’m not going to take a back seat to you, Angel.” She blurted it out. She knew it caught him by surprise. It caught her by surprise. She expected him to cower or at least act submissive, but he was defensive and defiant.

  “I’m not taking a back seat to you, either.”

  “We were supposed to be equals, and I’m no longer a third in this relationship. I don’t know what the hell happened when you two went off to Asia without me, but – ”

  “We didn’t go off to Asia without you. You stayed behind to finish your classes. That was your decision. I had nothing to do with it.”

  Jessi knew that their conversation was about to escalate out of control, but she couldn’t stop it or hold back. “I know I’m the one who decided to miss the first leg of the tour, but it doesn’t change the fact that you two are together all the time. I feel like you’re pushing me out.”

  “You’re the one who’s been snippy with me. It’s not my fault me and Tommy are together more often right now. It’ll change after the album’s done and we’re back home. Right now, me and Tommy need to discuss issues that involve the band and the music. I’m sorry if that makes you feel left out, but you’re not part of the music composition process, and it requires me and Tommy to spend long hours together.”

  “What if it doesn’t change after the album’s done? What if we go home and you’re the one he turns to? There’s already a strain on our relationship because of the amount of time we spend apart.” She stopped to assess Angel and Tommy’s relationship. “I don’t see any strain on your relationship. Your relationship is reaping from my absence.”

  He pursed his lips to the side. “That’s not true.”

  “Yes it is. I can’t believe you don’t see it. What if we get back home and nothing changes. What then, Angel?”

  “What are you saying? What are you insinuating? That I should walk away? Leave Tommy?”

  “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I don’t want that at all.”

  “Really?” His eyes took on a fiery blaze. “Because that’s exactly what it sounds like to me. I don’t appreciate that, Jessi. I never once suggested that Tommy leave you for me. I made it perfectly clear in the beginning that I never wanted to come between your relationship. I pined away for Tommy and put my personal life on hold until I figured out where I stood in his life, and in your life. I think you resent that I can offer Tommy something you can’t.”

  Now she was the defensive one. “And what’s that?”

  “Music. The Stage. Composition. I share a sexuality with him and the challenges it presents. You don’t share that with him. I do.”

  He touched on everything that needled away at her. Every word was like a bullet to her gut. “I share a history with him. I know things about him that you don’t. I helped him through the toughest times of his life. I was the only person he confided in. I kept his secret safe. He knows how much he can trust me.”

  “He knows he can trust me too. I never told anyone about us. I kept that all to myself. When people asked why I wasn’t dating or interested, I couldn’t tell them what was going on. Damien knew because he was around us all the time, and he knows me better than anyone, but I didn’t even tell my mother.”

  Every point she brought up, he countered. There was one thing he could never gain over her. “There’s still something I can offer him that you can’t. I can offer him parts of my body that you can’t. He’s not interested in topping you, because he makes love to me.”

  “I offer Tommy things you don’t have either. I don’t see a dick between your legs.”

  She was steaming. She wasn’t winning this argument, but she wasn’t sure if Angel was either.

  They glared at each other, and Angel turned his nose up at her. “If you think that I’m going to back off or leave Tommy, you’re delusional. If you plan on giving him an ultimatum, it’ll backfire and blow up in your face. Tommy will never leave me. I might have had my doubts in the beginning. I might have felt like I was lacking somehow in this relationship, but I’m not anymore. I’ve secured my spot in Tommy’s heart and his life. If you think I’m leaving, forget it. It’ll never happen.”

  “I’m never leaving Tommy either.” She was indignant, but she hated that their conversation turned ugly. “You’re twisting my words, Angel. I never said that – ”

  Tommy trotted into the room with his usual carefree step, unaware of the argument taking place, and silenced her with his presence. He dropped his room key on the table, and didn’t notice the hostility in the room until he turned around. His eyes darted between Angel and Jessi. “What’s going on?”

  They stared at each other, both with narrowed eyes. Angel turned away first. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

  “No it’s not,” Tommy said. “What were you arguing about?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Angel shot a steely glare over his shoulder at Jessi as he ventured toward the bedroom.

  Their conversation wasn’t over. Jessi never realized there was an undercurrent of hostility between her and Angel. She didn’t know there was a part of her that was threatened by him, and she wondered if he felt the same way about her. They needed to finish this baring of the souls, but she wasn’t doing it in front of Tommy.

  Tommy’s deep, creased brow questioned the content of what just transpired between her and Angel. “Are you going to tell me what that was about?”

  She stared him square in the eye. “No.” She gave no other explanation. She didn’t want to ruin their night together. She wanted to go to dinner and then come home and make lov
e. How the hell that scenario was supposed to come to play after the argument she just had with Angel would remain to be seen.

  She expected Angel to sulk in the room for a while, then lay on the sarcasm as he told her to go to dinner and spend the evening alone with Tommy. To her surprise, Angel appeared a few minutes later, wearing a smile and looking hotter than hell in jeans so tight she thought they would burst at the crotch.

  “Ready to go?” His crooked smile and raised eyebrow mocked her with subtle irritation, but she refused to let him get under her skin.

  Angel waited for a nip slip as he eyed Jessi’s cleavage from across the table. The neckline was so low that she probably cut it down and stitched it before they left for the restaurant. There was no doubt in his mind that the low cut top was meant to challenge the too tight jeans that sliced into his abdomen and threatened to cut off the circulation in his lower half.

  Tommy couldn’t keep his eyes off her breasts long enough to read the menu.

  “Have you decided on an entry, mi amor? You should try the sauerbraten or the herring.” Angel’s voice was smooth and unperturbed. No one would have known that underneath his cool, light-hearted exterior, his heart was shattered. He never expected Jessi to harbor resentment toward him. It was a knife in his chest, an open wound that needed to be stitched closed.

  His feeling for Jessi had deepened when they spent time apart. She wove her way into his life and into his heart and when she wasn’t there, he genuinely felt a loss. He relished having her back in his life, but she seemed agitated that he was back in hers.

  He had dreamed that they had a child together. He was waiting for the right time to tell her about it, because he wanted to have a serious conversation about the possibility of starting a family together . . . some day. Right now it seemed like it would never come to be. He was devastated that she treated him with such envy, and he was offended by her bitter words.

  Everyone was stressed on this tour, and it was taking its toll, but he wasn’t prepared for Jessi to lash out at him. He tried to keep the argument with Jessi out of his mind and refused to let it dampen the evening, but it was simmering on every thought in his head.

  He rallied the best smile he could and looked to Tommy for an answer about his order.

  Tommy shrugged. “You’re the chef. If you recommend the sauerbraten and the herring, that’s what I’ll have.”

  Angel’s half-hearted smile turned into a genuine grin. “When we get back home, I’m going to make you the grandest meal you ever had. I’ll make anything you wish. I miss cooking for you.”

  Jessi rolled her eyes.

  After the waiter took their order, Tommy went to the restroom and left Angel alone with Jessi. She put her elbows on the table, glanced around the restaurant to see if anyone was watching, and leaned closer so he could hear her. “Are you going to keep this up all night?”

  “I was just suggesting an entree for him to order. He was too busy looking down your shirt to pick something. I only wanted him to enjoy his meal. Stop reading into everything I do.”

  She glared back at him, and it provoked him.

  “I didn’t know you had so much hostility toward me. I thought you loved me. Thank you for enlightening me on how you really feel about me, Jessi.”

  “Oh, stop being so dramatic.”

  “You basically told me you want me to leave. How would you feel?”

  “I did no such thing. You fabricated that. I merely stated the obvious.” She looked around again before she sat back in her chair. “I’m not having this conversation here. Let’s try to have a decent night together.”

  They had made it through dinner and pretended nothing was wrong, but Angel knew that they didn’t fool anyone. Tommy had played it cool and acted like he didn’t notice the lack of communication between Angel and Jessi, but it was so obvious that everyone in the restaurant probably noticed it.

  Now that they were back at the hotel and moved the party to the bedroom, Angel was interested to see how the evening would play out. It started out the same way it always did, with Tommy in the middle of the bed lying on his back. Jessi stripped off her clothes in record time and slid under the sheet next to Tommy. She didn't wait for Angel. While he was still removing his clothes, she went to work on Tommy’s neck.

  Angel undressed as fast as he could and jumped in bed with them. He still wasn’t quite sure if she was playing the game, or if she was seriously trying to show him up in the bedroom. Either way, it was going to be fun, especially for Tommy, and Angel was anxious to participate. He took Tommy’s mouth and lapped at it with his tongue. Tommy moaned under Angel’s kiss and leaned into him, but Angel wasn’t sure if the moan was for him, or as a result of the nibbling Jessi was bestowing upon his neck. Tommy moaned again and this time, Angel moaned back. The kiss sealed their lips together. The only thing allowed to pass through them was the soft noises they exchanged.

  Jessi took Tommy by the chin and broke the kiss that Angel was enjoying. His tongue sliced across Tommy’s cheek from the unexpected departure of Tommy’s mouth. Jessi replaced Angel’s lips with her own and caused another string of long sighs from Tommy. Angel had a feeling that before it was all over, the other guests in the hotel were going to get an erotic audio play by play of events through the flimsy walls.

  Angel nibbled on the tender flesh of Tommy’s neck. Biting wasn’t something Jessi was familiar with, or very fond of, but it was Angel’s favorite game. He bit into Tommy’s waiting neck and crushed the flesh between his teeth. Tommy sucked in his breath and stiffened for a few seconds, then he relaxed and let out a small sigh. Angel nursed the soft flesh, careful not to leave too big of a mark so it could be camouflaged by Tommy’s hair. He paused to inspect his masterpiece of reddish purple dots. He ran his finger over it, mindful to be gentle over the broken blood vessels that colored Tommy’s neck, but Tommy still flinched. He pulled Angel closer by the back of the neck and sucked Angel’s tongue into his mouth.

  Jessi stared at the purplish bruise with her lips pursed to the side, unhappy about the damage done to Tommy’s neck.

  Angel smiled at her, proud of his handiwork.

  She stared down at the mark, then dove into Tommy’s chest with her teeth. Tommy jolted, either from surprise, from pain or both. He grunted continually while her mouth remained firmly attached to his right pectoral muscle. Angel watched with a mixture of disbelief and erotic voyeurism at Jessi’s anxious participation in a ritual she previously frowned upon, and at the rapture that spread across Tommy’s face.

  Jessi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and inspected her first love bite. It was a large ruby egg just above Tommy’s nipple. She compared it to the smaller, lighter colored mark Angel left on Tommy’s neck and shot Angel a smug, victorious smile. Angel’s mouth hung open with shocked defeat.

  Tommy peered down at his prize and pulled at his flesh so he could see it better. He smiled at Jessi with hazy eyes. “You’re an animal. I love this side of you.” He pulled her in for a kiss, but not before she caught Angel’s eye.

  If Jessi wanted to challenge him, Angel was more than happy to take it to the next level. He crawled toward the nightstand and opened the top drawer. He found the lube, the handcuffs and the purple sashes and tossed them on the bed. Tommy and Jessi looked at the supplies with very different reactions. Tommy’s face lit up with anticipation about what was to come, but Jessi showed a bit of apprehension, which quickly transformed into something that resembled determination. She wasn’t as easy to outmaneuver in bed as Angel thought.

  Angel took the sash and tied it around Tommy’s eyes. He clasped both of Tommy’s wrists together with the handcuffs and pushed his arms above his head. Tommy had a smile on his face that broadened when Angel kissed him. Tommy, no doubt, knew the sexual rivalry that was transpiring between Angel and Jessi and he was enjoying the game. So was Angel, but he was unsure how much of it was real and how much of it was for fun.

  He tried to read Jessi’s face for clarific
ation. She was staring down at Tommy with her hands on her hips, contemplating her next move. Angel waited to see what hand she would play. She licked her way down the center of Tommy’s chest, bypassed his cock, and glided her tongue down the crack of his ass. She slurped her way around, spread his cheeks apart and pulled his hips up from the bed to grant her greater access.

  Tommy ass was Angel’s playground. He was happy to share, but Jessi was being greedy. She hogged Tommy’s butt and wouldn’t let Angel anywhere near it. Her hands guarded the area from his sac to the top curve of his buttocks, and her mouth covered the area in between. At least she left Tommy’s cock free, but she knew that he preferred Tommy’s ass, and that’s why she was claiming it.

  He would give Tommy the best blow job of his life and beat her at her own game. Angel stroked Tommy’s cock, then put his mouth to it. He continued to stroke it while he licked the delicate skin underneath the tip and flicked his tongue around the head. Tommy’s cuffed hands found their way into Angel’s hair, but Angel pushed them away. “You know the rules,” he scolded. “Keep your hands to yourself. I would paddle that hot little butt of yours for breaking them, if I thought Jessi would let go of it.”

  Jessi was nose deep in Tommy’s bottom and oblivious to anything else, but she answered with an exaggerated moan and a long swipe of her tongue across Tommy’s lower region.

  Despite his mild annoyance, Angel enjoyed watching Jessi rim Tommy. Angel’s erection grew and his cock twitched. He needed to touch himself. He rubbed his cock against Tommy’s side and lapped at his chest. When Angel looked back down at Jessi, she had her fingers inside Tommy’s bottom. The erotic show, accompanied by the moaning and heavy breathing, were all too much for Angel to witness. He needed release and he straddled Tommy’s face. “Open wide, my prince, because I’m coming home.”

  Tommy blindly reached for Angel’s cock, but Angel pushed Tommy’s hands away again. “You’re being very defiant today.” The sash moved and one blue eye peeked out at Angel. He repositioned the sash over Tommy’s eyes, took hold of the short chain that was between Tommy’s wrists and yanked them up over his head. Angel held them in place against the headboard with one hand and guided his cock into Tommy’s open mouth with the other. Tommy sucked it in and devoured it. Tommy’s lips were forceful and the suction was strong. It drew Angel deeper into Tommy’s mouth. Tommy sucked him so hard he could feel the skin pulling away from the head of his cock. It was throbbing from the concentration of blood flow to the tip. The game had taken a turn once again. It was Angel, not Tommy, who was getting the blow job of his life.