Silent Cries, Mighty Echoes - Chapter Two
Sep. 16th, 2011 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
something_rareTitle: Silent Cries, Mighty Echoes - Chapter Two
Pairing: Adam/Tommy
Word Count: 6,397
Rating: R
Warning: Slash Connotation
Summary: Tommy is second guessing his choices, and he is not the only one.
Note: Story title taken from Eloy's eight album.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. The characters and events are fictious.
Special Thanks: To my fabulous beta reader,![[info]](../../img/userinfo.gif?v=3)
bigj52. You are gold!
Chapter Two
When Adam pulled away, Tommy sat up quickly and slid his arms through the appropriate spots on his robe. Tying it tightly, he crossed his legs Indian-style and leaned back against the couch.
Adam never moved.
Neither did his gaze.
“What the hell was that?”
Adam shrugged, but still never moved. He was still lying down on the floor with his head slightly turned Tommy’s way. “Okay…I’m an asshole…what can I say?” His hand went to his face, rubbing his eyes. “You’re one of my best friends, my friend’s fiancé and I made a move on you…what the hell was that?”
“I don’t know…that’s what I just asked you.”
Adam rubbed his eyes some more. “Shit…I’m not sure.”
Tommy frowned and dropped his head back on the couch. What the hell was going on with him? With him? He could only describe it as a force of nature…or maybe it was a temptation from the devil.
He could hear Adam moaning…he was obviously upset about what happened too. Opening his eyes and raising his head, he looked down at Adam.
Damn…he was still moaning…like he was in pain of some sort.
“Are you okay?”
Adam opened his eyes and shook his head.
“You’re scaring me…what the hell is wrong?”
Adam extended his arm until his hand was resting on Tommy’s neck. “C’mere.”
Not really having much choice due to the fact that Adam was practically forcing Tommy towards him, he obliged. Tommy scooted down, lying down completely and plopped his head in the crook of Adam’s armpit. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He probably shouldn’t be this close to him…
Adam leaned over and placed a kiss on his head. “I’m sorry.”
Tommy acknowledged his apology with a slight nod.
He kissed Tommy’s head again. “Will you forgive me?”
Tommy answered with another slight nod.
Again, Adam kissed his head. “Are you sure?”
Tommy whispered, “Yes.”
When Adam leaned over to kiss his head again, Tommy turned slightly towards him which caused Adam’s lips to land on his forehead.
“Can I do anything to make it up to you?”
Tommy turned slightly so that he was on his side now and draped his leg over Adam’s. “You can promise me that you’ll always be my friend…no matter what.”
Adam kissed him again on the forehead. “Promise.”
“Adam?”
His response was throaty, “Yeah?”
“Why do you keep kissing me on the forehead?”
He laughed a little and kissed Tommy again. “I don’t know…you want me to stop?”
When Adam looked into his eyes, Tommy felt his entire body go limp. Instead of giving him the answer he should though, he merely whispered, “Not really.”
When Adam leaned in to kiss Tommy again, he completely abandoned his forehead and went straight for his lips.
Tommy responded exactly the way he’d hoped he wouldn’t, but knew he would.
Opening his mouth slightly, Adam pressed his lips harder and his tongue found its way to inside Tommy’s mouth. He swung his free arm over and with both arms now wrapped tightly around Tommy, he used his strength to slide Tommy on top of him.
Tommy hesitated only momentarily, but it was enough for Adam to notice. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes,” Tommy said while shifting his body to fit snuggly against Adam. “I mean, no,” he whispered, shaking his head.
Adam laughed and then grew serious. “You need to make up your mind now before it’s too late to stop.”
Tommy answered him by lowering his lips onto Adam’s.
It felt right to be kissing Adam.
It felt wrong to be kissing Adam.
It felt right to be kissing Adam.
It felt…dangerous to be kissing Adam.
Suddenly and without much warning, Tommy’s need took over. He’d been putting much of his weight on his arms, which were placed against the floor next to Adam’s head but after deciding to give in to his passion, he dropped his weight against Adam’s and brought his hands up to Adam’s hair.
Balling his hair into a fist, he yanked Adam’s head to the side and started to kiss his neck.
“Obviously someone here has decided what he wants now,” Adam breathlessly mumbled.
Tommy bit down on his neck playfully and Adam winced in pain. “Oh…sorry.”
“Yeah…sure you are.”
Using his upper body strength, Adam rolled them over. Tommy knew why – Adam wanted control. He had to be in control of everything in his life. Anyone who knew Adam knew that.
And right now…he was willing to give it to Adam.
Placing himself slightly to the side, so that most of his weight was on the floor, Adam’s hand started to untie Tommy’s robe.
Tommy’s eyes were fixed on Adam.
Adam’s eyes were fixed on Tommy.
It took Adam a while to finally get the robe undone. Using only one hand and not looking at what he was doing slowed him down a bit. Once he pushed the robe open, his eyes left Tommy’s and traveled down the length of Tommy’s now half-naked body.
Adam’s moan took Tommy by surprise. “Something wrong?”
“Not at all…just enjoying the view in front of me.” He looked into Tommy’s eyes again and smiled. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on Tommy’s cheek and whispered in his ear, “You suddenly look nervous…is something wrong?”
Tommy shook his head. “I am nervous…”
Adam continued whispering in his ear, “You have nothing to be nervous about…it’s just me, glitter baby.”
“I know…that’s why I’m so nervous.”
Adam let out a laugh and placed his hand on Tommy’s head, running it through his hair. Lowering his head, he placed his mouth on Tommy’s ear and slowly started sucking on his earlobe. “For the record…I’m a little nervous too.”
Tommy pulled back. “No way…you?”
Adam moved his head over so that their noses were touching. “Yeah me…I’m only human too.”
Without thought, Tommy reached up and crashed his lips to Adam’s…
Slowly, quickly, cautiously, feverishly, and selfishly…they began a dance as old as time. And all the while…Amanda lay passed out in the room next to them.
“Oh God…you don’t know how bad I want you right now.”
“Not half as bad as I want you,” Adam whispered, standing to his feet and pulling Tommy up with him. Eyeing Tommy up and down, Adam pushed the robe off him and crouched down to get it. Once he had it in his hands, he threw it to the other side of the room.
Tommy could barely contain himself, standing there, staring at Adam. He wanted Adam and he wanted Adam right then and there. Taking his hands, he pulled Adam close and let them roam along the backside of Adam’s pants. What he really wanted Adam to do was lose the pants. But Tommy wasn’t going to say it, he was going to do it himself if Adam didn’t get the hint.
When Adam’s hands finally made their way up to Tommy’s nipples, he completely forgot about Adam’s pants. He couldn’t think about anything else except what he was feeling and at that exact moment, it was a feeling he could honestly say he’d never felt.
Slowly, one of Adam’s hands started to travel down the front of Tommy’s body, landing on the exact spot where the pleasure was settling.
“Someone’s not having second thoughts, are they?” he asked when he heard Tommy groan.
After Tommy shook his head, Adam swooped down and picked him up. Tommy let out a little yell as he straddled his legs around Adam and buried his head in Adam’s shoulder. Adam walked towards a bare wall – not easy to come by in a hotel room. Once he reached his destination, he pressed Tommy’s body up against the expensive wallpaper.
Tommy grabbed hold of Adam’s hair in his fist and pulled Adam’s mouth to his. He had his mouth open before their lips even met, allowing Adam easy access. The kiss was hot and steamy, and sloppy as all hell.
“This is so wrong,” Tommy moaned into Adam’s mouth.
“I know,” he moaned back.
“I’m getting married.”
“I know.”
“To one of your friends.”
“I know that too,” he mumbled before running his tongue along Tommy’s cheek and back to his mouth again.
“We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know.”
“We should probably stop,” Tommy moaned into Adam’s mouth again, pressing himself even closer.
“I know.”
“Are you gonna stop?”
“I don’t know,” Adam moaned, pulling back slightly. “Do you want me to?”
“Fuck, no,” Tommy groaned, pulling him in again. “Do you want to?”
“Hell, no.”
Their kisses were wet and passionate, and remained as sloppy as before. Tommy felt like he could kiss Adam for hours and if they had hours, he’d do just that. There wasn’t a spot on his entire face that went untouched. It was almost as if Adam were feasting on him rather than kissing him and he loved every damn hot minute of it.
They stayed in that position for quite some time before Adam finally let Tommy down. With both his hands on Tommy’s arms, he slowly started to back Tommy up to the bar. Kicking the stools out of the way, one crashed to the floor.
Tommy started giggling, “Shhhhh…you’re gonna wake up Amanda.”
Adam looked at him and shrugged. “That wouldn’t be a good thing…unless you’re into threesomes.”
Tommy frowned.
“Didn’t think so,” Adam said with a smile as he lifted Tommy up and sat him down, right on top of the bar.
Instantly, Tommy wrapped his legs around Adam, drawing him in closer.
“You need to lose these,” Adam mumbled, fingering the top of his underwear.
Quickly, Tommy shifted from one side to the other while Adam worked his underwear down and off him. “Oh shit…we really shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know,” Adam said, bringing his underwear up and smiling. “But we’re gonna do it anyway.”
“It’s not right,” Tommy mouthed quietly, wrapping his legs around Adam again.
“It feels right,” Adam said before finally silencing Tommy with his lips.
If Tommy had to guess, it had to have been another ten minutes of sloppy, passionate kisses before Adam finally made his move. It was obvious that the man liked to kiss and it was damn obvious that he knew exactly how to kiss.
Tommy didn't remember him kissing this good while anything happened between them.
Of course, having two years to perfect his technique might have helped.
Tommy could only imagine what other skills Adam possessed and when exactly he planned on showing him.
When Adam’s lips finally left Tommy’s face, he made his way to Tommy’s ear and his hands made their way to Tommy’s more than ready nipples. It surprised Tommy when Adam didn’t make any attempt at using his mouth on his ear though and quickly, he started moving his head closer to Adam.
“What’d you want Tommy?” he asked.
Tommy’s only answer was a moan.
That was good enough for him. “I want to taste every inch…”
“I want to hear you…”
Adam slowly parted Tommy’s legs with his hand and wrapped his fingers around Tommy. He never stopped telling Tommy exactly what he had planned on doing to him and during the entire one-sided conversation, Tommy never stopped moaning.
His plan sounded satisfying.
His fingers felt wonderful.
“Don’t stop…please…don’t stop…don’t stop…”
Tommy’s chanting the words ‘don’t stop’ over and over again eventually brought Adam to a halt. He turned Tommy’s head towards him. “I’m not stopping, gorgeous…why would I stop?”
“Just…don’t stop…” Tommy said, placing his hand on top of Adam’s and making him move faster.
Only a few seconds passed before Tommy shattered. His voice cried out Adam’s name over and over…and louder and louder. For a few brief moments, he wasn’t even sure if it was his voice at all. He never cried out…ever. There was never really a reason to. In all their years of lovemaking, Tommy never once called out Amanda’s name.
When he finally came crashing back down to earth, he opened his eyes to see Adam’s face only inches from his. Adam smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him.
When the kiss was finished, Adam looked at him. “You’re incredible.”
“Me?” He was embarrassed. Did he really cry out Adam’s name like someone who couldn’t control himself?
“Yeah…you.”
Without any warning, they heard Amanda fumbling with the bedroom doorknob. They both looked at each other before Tommy quickly jumped down from the bar, landing on Adam’s toe.
“Shit!” Adam’s knee bent up quickly as he grabbed his foot.
“Sorry,” Tommy mouthed, running behind the bar with Adam quickly following him.
Amanda stumbled out of the bedroom and into the darkness. “What’s going on out here?”
She searched through the darkness in her drunken state and couldn’t see a damn thing. Rubbing her head, she headed back towards the bedroom and slammed the door.
Adam was the first one to make a move. “She’s gone.”
Tommy half-smiled and looked at Adam. The guilt was starting to rattle him a little. What they had done and what they were about to do settled quickly into his mind. It was wrong…plain and simple. But at the same time, it felt so right.
Now what?
“Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“I think maybe I should just head to bed…”
Adam nodded. “I understand.” Disappointment was written all over his face. Even Tommy could read it loud and clear.
“I’m sorry…we shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered quietly. “Fuck…we really shouldn’t have done what we did.”
“You’re right.” Adam stood up and pulled Tommy up with him. “We shouldn’t,” he agreed, shaking his head.
In a way, Tommy was hoping that Adam would disagree with him and try to convince him to stay. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t have taken much to convince him. But when Adam didn’t do more than merely agree with him, Tommy felt relieved. Or was it disappointed? What was wrong with him?
When he started to head towards the bedroom, he turned around and stopped. “Let’s not talk about tonight…if you know what I mean. I think we both had too much to drink and got a little carried away.”
Adam walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “Sadly…I do know what you mean and consider it already forgotten about. Goodnight, Tommy Joe.”
“Goodnight.”
**********
When morning came, Amanda stumbled out of bed. Looking back, she saw Tommy curled up tightly in a ball next to her…naked.
It wasn’t what she was used to.
They usually didn’t spend the whole night together for fear of being caught by her mother. It didn’t matter that they were both in their thirties or that they were getting married in a couple of months. The fact remained – they weren’t married yet.
Mrs. Barlow was old-fashioned and a real stickler when it came to her daughter’s living arrangements. No daughter of hers was going to “live in sin” - period.
Amanda’s two older siblings, Olivia and Alex, had both followed her rules and Amanda was expected to do the same. And since her mother held the key to her inheritance, Amanda did as she was instructed – no questions asked.
Tommy didn’t like it. Amanda didn’t like it. But it wasn’t discussed.
So, for over two years now, they lived in separate apartments. Apartments that were merely separated by less than twenty yards, but separated nonetheless.
And in those two years, Amanda could count on one hand how many times they’d actually spent all night together in one bed…three. No, make that four if last night was to be counted.
Amanda looked around the room for quite some time before she figured out that they weren’t in either one of their apartments.
Getting out of bed suddenly caused her head to hurt. She winced in pain and sat back down on the edge of the bed. “Damn…how much did I drink anyway?”
Tommy rolled over and moaned. “Too much.”
Amanda turned back when she heard his voice. “Are you in as much pain as me?”
“I don’t know…How much pain are you in?”
She grabbed her head to hold it still and cringed. “Oh God…a lot.” She slowly got up and looked around. “Where are we?”
“Adam’s hotel room.”
She kept walking towards the door of the bedroom. “Where is he?”
Tommy shrugged. “Probably on the couch nursing his hangover too.”
Amanda opened the door and instantly noticed Adam sitting on the couch watching TV. Taking baby steps, she headed towards the couch and sat down.
Adam looked over at her, turning down the volume on the TV with the remote. “You gonna be okay?”
Amanda sighed. “Maybe later…much, much later.”
“You want me to order room service?”
She moaned loudly, “Shit…I’ll probably puke just looking at it.” Amanda searched the room for the time. “What time is it anyway?”
“Almost four.”
Amanda gasped, “In the afternoon?”
Adam laughed. “Yeah…why?”
“No reason…I just can’t believe it’s so late. I never sleep that late.”
“At least you slept…I haven’t been able to sleep all night.”
Fully dressed in his clothes from the previous night, Tommy stood near the door of the bedroom. He heard Adam’s comments about not being able to sleep. He felt the same way – he didn’t think he’d slept either. Was Adam replaying their little tryst over and over in his mind the way he was? Or was it all just a dream?
He cleared his throat. “You never sleep this late, dear, because you never drink as much as you did last night.” Tommy sat down on the chair directly across from the couch and purposely kept his gaze off Adam. “Me neither…for that matter.”
“I think we all had a little too much to drink last night,” Adam said.
Tommy moaned quietly. Shit…I didn’t do what I think I did last night, did I? When he finally let himself look Adam’s way, he just about died when he saw the look on Adam’s face. Yep…I sure did.
He immediately jumped up and walked over to the phone.
“Where are you going, sweetheart?”
He looked at Amanda and then over at Adam…who was still looking right back at him. I need to get the hell out of here. “Calling a cab, I’m supposed to be meeting your mother at six to go over the guest list.”
Amanda shook her head. “Can’t you guys do that next week when I’m in London?”
Tommy let a loud, “HA!” followed by a loud sigh. “You know your mother.”
She rubbed her temples. “God, I can’t deal with her today.”
“Yes…at five-thirty…thank you.” Tommy hung up the phone and threw Amanda an aggravated look. “You don’t have to. She told me that it was going to just be us going over the list.”
Amanda got up from the couch and walked over to him. “Well…does it have to be today?”
Tommy embraced her. “Yes…it has to be today. Besides, it’s too late for me to cancel. Your mother’s probably already at the salon getting her hair done.” He winked and then turned towards Adam. “Adam, do you mind if I take a quick shower?”
Adam looked back. “Not at all…help yourself.”
He made his way towards the bedroom. “You know, Amanda…this really was the only time to do this anyway. I leave next week for the resort and I’ll be there until the wedding.” His voice grew resentful, “Remember, dear…you’re the one who insisted on that.”
He slammed the door, causing the picture on the wall to rattle.
Adam took notice of the tension. “Apparently he isn’t too happy about that.”
Amanda frowned and sat back down. “He’s not real happy about a lot of shit…me making him go to the resort just happens to be on top of his list.”
“Then why are you forcing him to go?”
“What else is he gonna do? I have to be in London for the next six weeks.”
Adam’s eyes grew large. “Jesus, Amanda, your wedding is in like what? Eight/nine weeks?”
“Something like that.” Amanda shrugged and then continued on, “I think my mom planned it that way on purpose. I don’t think she wanted me around during the final stages of the wedding plans. With me not being around, that leaves Tommy to fend for himself.” He shook his head. “And Tommy will give in to her…she knows that.”
“That’s not the Tommy I remember.”
“Well…a lot of things have changed over the last year. My mother has really become quite the bitch if you know what I mean.”
Adam cleared his throat and held back his laughter. Amanda was right…but still… “That’s not a very nice thing to say about your mother.”
“It’s the truth though,” Amanda replied dryly, shaking her head. “If we don’t follow her rules to the tee, she throws my inheritance in my face. What other choice do we have?”
Adam listened to Amanda carefully and pondered whether he should say what he was really thinking. “Fuck your inheritance.”
Amanda shot Adam a look. “Easy for you to say…you’ve got a shit load of money.”
“You got a decent job on Broadway.” Adam paused for a moment, “Besides…money isn’t everything.”
Adam could tell Amanda was starting to get aggravated by his flippant attitude. They’d been friends for a long time. “Like hell it isn’t…and heeellllloooo…I could lose my job any moment. You know how it is with theater, one day you’re hot stuff, the next you’re a nobody.”
Adam looked at her questionably. “What about Tommy’s job? Between your job and him being a bassist…you’d be okay. Have you ever thought of that?”
Amanda got up and walked over to the bar. “Yeah, for half a second. But I’m not going to work for much longer…it isn’t gonna happen anytime soon, but it will happen eventually. Besides, I’m entitled to that Goddamn money anyway.”
Adam was floored by what Amanda just said. “Are you telling me that your inheritance is more important than your marriage?” He stood up, walking towards the bar. “Because if you are…I feel sorry for Tommy.”
Amanda’s voice was getting louder and her headache was pounding ten times harder. She needed aspirin and she needed them bad. “No, the inheritance money is not more important than my marriage.” Her tone was sarcastic now as she scrunched up her face. “So…don’t worry your pretty little blue eyes about your precious Tommy.”
“What the fuck is that all about?”
Amanda shrugged and walked away. “I don’t know…just leave me alone.”
Adam grabbed her arm and swung her around. “No, I won’t leave you alone. And what did you mean by you not working anymore?”
“I’m going to quit,” Amanda replied casually.
“What?”
“You heard me, Adam…I’m going to quit. I don’t need a job, what I need is to stay at home.”
Adam shook his head at hearing what he’d just heard. “Don’t you think you’re pushing it just a little?”
“Ah, come on, Adam…you really think I’m going to be a wife and work too?” She snapped her arm out of Adam’s hold and threw it up in the air. “Would you let your spouse work?”
“Why wouldn’t I have a partner that works?”
“For Christ’s sake, Adam…you’re a fucking rockstar…your hubby won’t work!”
Adam took a step back to lengthen the distance between. He knew if he didn’t, he might just do something he’d regret. “Well, that would definitely be his choice, but everyone should carry their own weight, don’t you think? If you want equal rights, you need to take responsibility for yourself as well, woman.”
Amanda headed towards the door, waving her hands in the air. “I don’t need this shit now…not from my mother, not from Tommy and sure as hell not from you.”
“Obviously you do need this shit now,” Adam shot back, taking a seat on the couch. “Before you totally fuck things up.”
Amanda stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. “What do you mean before I totally fuck things up? What have I fucked up already?”
“I just meant that you don’t want to be acting like some spoilt little girl…that isn’t Tommy’s style.”
“Oh…and just what is his style then, Adam?” She cocked her head to the side. “I forgot…you know my fiancé better than me…don’t you?”
Adam shook his head and turned up the volume on the TV. “You know what I mean, Amanda.”
Amanda walked out the door and slammed it shut.
**********
After fifteen minutes of flipping through the channels and not being able to find anything worth watching, Adam made his way to the bathroom. Not thinking, he threw open the bathroom door and abruptly came to a screeching halt when he heard Tommy shout in surprise.
“Oh shit…I’m sorry, Tommy.”
Both of them just stood there, startled and staring at each other. Only when Adam’s gaze dropped down, did Tommy make an attempt to cover up. Bending over, Tommy grabbed his towel and wrapped it around himself as best he could. It didn’t cover him completely; after all…it was only a hotel towel.
“Sorry…I forgot you were in here,” he said quietly.
Tommy was embarrassed. Don’t ask him why though, because he didn’t know. Last night, Adam had seen him more than just naked; he’d seen him up close and very personal.
Both of them stumbled for words.
“Is everything okay with you and Amanda? It sounded like you two were arguing.”
Adam’s gaze didn’t shift, “We were.”
He watched as Tommy fumbled with his towel. He was having a hard time tying it around his waist. When he tried for the third time, the towel slipped from his grasp and dropped to the floor. Quickly, his arms shot down as he tried to cover himself with his hands.
Adam bent down quickly and grabbed his towel. He smiled as he handed it to Tommy. “You’re not doing a very good job of covering yourself.”
Tommy grabbed it hastily and walked past him. “Very funny, Adam.”
He walked into the bedroom and searched the room. Where the hell was that robe? He threw apart the bed and swore under his breath numerous times before finally giving up. “Where the hell is it?” Taking a sheet from the pile he’d just created, he wrapped it around himself.
Unbeknownst to him, Adam watched the whole thing and when he finally couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore, Tommy swung around.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” He held up the robe and swung it in the air.
“Yes, where was it?”
“Where we left it last night…on the floor near the bar.”
Tommy threw his hand up in the air and pressed his finger to his lips. “Shh…”
“She isn’t here.”
Tommy’s face turned a shade of red. He was sure of it. His cheeks felt like they were on fire now. “Can I have it please?”
It looked like Adam was thinking about toying with him a bit by the way he was swinging the robe around. He must have decided against it when he saw Tommy’s expression though, because he ended up throwing it at Tommy. When he caught it, he ordered Adam to turn around.
He hesitated, but obliged. When Tommy gave him the okay, he turned back around and made his way towards Tommy.
“Don’t.” His voice was barely audible.
“Don’t what?” Adam asked while coming closer.
“Don’t do whatever it is that you’re going to do. We agreed that we would never speak of last night again, remember?”
He stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah…I remember. What I actually was going to do though was make the bed…seeing as how you destroyed it.”
Tommy’s face now turned a darker shade of red. He wasn’t going to make any moves on him at all… “Oh, okay.” He bent down and brought the sheets up to help Adam make the bed. “Where’d Amanda go?”
Adam grabbed one end of the sheet and walked over to the opposite side of the bed. “Don’t know…she just up and left.”
“Why?”
He let out a long sigh. “She’s pissed at me. I got a little bent out of shape when I heard that she’d decided to quit her job.”
Tommy dropped the sheet and made a beeline for the door. He was having mixed emotions about being alone in the same room as Adam now.
Adam made him nervous.
Hell, he made himself nervous.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Adam,” he said abruptly.
Adam dropped his sheet. “Where are you going?” When Tommy didn’t answer him, he picked up his pace. “There was a time when we used to talk about everything, Tommy.”
He stopped at the door leading out of the hotel room and turned around. “Used to be, Adam. This is between my fiancée and me – not you, so butt out.” He opened the door and took a step out.
“Tommy! You can’t go roaming the hotel like that. Get back in here, I’ll go look for her.”
Adam grabbed his arm and pulled him back inside the room. “I’ll take care of it. You’d better go get dressed; you wouldn’t want to keep your mother-in-law waiting.”
**********
Over an hour passed and Tommy was starting to get nervous. It wasn’t like Amanda and Adam to fight. They’d been friends forever…meeting at the local theater in 1999. Even when they were working together, they never fought. At least, not that Tommy was aware of.
Adam spoke highly of Amanda…all of the time. And the same was true of Amanda. As far as Tommy knew, even when Amanda thought Adam was out of his mind, auditioning for American Idol, she never talked bad about him. She might have laughed at him, but never behind his back.
Amanda may have been the one laughing then…but Adam was the one who had the last laugh in the end. But never once did he rub it in Amanda’s face…never once.
That’s what made Adam so special. He was a down-to-earth, sweet guy and despite his fame and millions, he was still that same person. That’s what attracted Tommy to Adam in the first place and still did to this day.
He sighed…thinking back to their early days.
Adam and Tommy met when Tommy auditioned for Adam’s band and a friendship between them blossomed almost immediately.
Together, they shared a lot, including Tommy’s “first time” with men.
Together, they shared their dreams with each other.
Adam’s was to become a pop star and Tommy’s was to become the best guitar player out there one day and play and write for the biggest bands out there, maybe even Marilyn Manson one day. Adam’s dream came true…Tommy’s was still in the process.
Of course, no one knew that – especially Amanda. She’d have a fit if she knew Tommy still wanted to be an entertainer, living from gig to gig.
No husband of hers was going to become a cheap entertainer. Her parents would absolutely disown her for sure…at least that’s what she told Tommy. Her parents, Kevin and Anne Barlow, were part of the elite group in L.A. They were wealthy and flaunted it no end. When they had actually bought the resort on Bay Island years ago, they flew in over three hundred people to attend the grand opening.
Bay Resort was known for their elite clientele…all of which had money and lots of it. Tommy couldn’t stand the type of people that visited the island but in time he grew to love the solitude of staying there. It gave him ample time to write his own songs and be out from under Amanda’s watchful eye.
He visited there often, staying for weeks at a time. With Amanda working on Broadway, she was often away on tour. In one aspect, he hated it but in the other aspect, he loved it. The best part being that when Adam was on tour, he would take him on her parent’s private jet to many of the remote locations where he was performing.
Even her parents attended some of the concerts with them. Of course, now that Adam was famous, Anne Barlow was very fond of him.
Tommy shook his head in disgust, thinking about how two-faced his soon to be mother-in-law actually was.
Anne Barlow wasn’t always fond of Adam. In fact, in the early days of the Zodiac Show, she couldn’t be bothered with Adam. He was riff-raff in her opinion. Even when he had made it big, she didn’t acknowledge that her daughter was a friend of Adam’s. It wasn’t until Adam won his first Grammy that she openly admitted that her daughter was tight with Adam Lambert.
It was never just Adam Lambert...
It was always rockstar Adam Lambert...
Anne was two-faced and that was something Tommy always had to keep in mind. As much as he wanted to love her, he couldn’t. Luckily, he was close enough to his own mother so he didn’t feel the need to try and be close with Anne.
Once Amanda and Tommy became engaged, she explained to him what was expected of him from day one. No music…period.
He accepted it...up to a point. Secretly and silently, he continued playing music and writing songs and one day…he was determined to send his songs to the music companies….
Tommy sat down on the couch and began fidgeting. What was taking them so long?
When Adam and Amanda finally walked back through the door, he was relieved to see them laughing. “Is everything okay now?”
They looked at each other and then back to Tommy. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He got up from the couch. “Now that I’m totally late and in desperate need of some clean clothes, I’ll see you guys later.” Tommy glanced at the clock and swore. “Shit…Amanda, call your mom and tell her I’m running late…I still gotta head back to the apartment to change clothes, okay, honey?” He walked over to her and smiled sweetly.
Amanda nodded. “Adam and I are gonna go out tonight. He’s flying out in the morning, so we wanted to hit the town…so to speak.”
“Try not to drink so much tonight.” He leaned and kissed her. “Have a good time and don’t forget to call so I don’t worry.”
Adam cleared his throat. “What about me?”
Tommy turned to Adam and slowly walked towards him. When Adam leaned in to kiss him, Tommy turned his head and Adam’s lips landed on his cheek. “You’re more than welcome to join us, right, Amanda?”
He looked back at Amanda and noticed the disappointment on her face. “Nah, thanks anyway.” Tommy turned to leave and then stopped. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple months, Adam, right?”
**********
Exhausted, Tommy dropped back on his bed. Anne drove him to exhaustion every time. It didn’t help that he was up until about six in the morning the night before either.
Closing his eyes, he rubbed them. He couldn’t think straight tonight at dinner. Anne was going over the list and Tommy was going over the events of the previous night. Time and time again, Anne would have to repeat the questions to him. And time and time again, Tommy would try to answer them just right.
When Tommy finally opened his eyes, he rolled over to see the alarm clock. “Shit!” It was three o’clock in the morning. He must’ve fallen asleep thinking about his guest list of over five hundred guests.
Only seventy-five of them were his guests, the other four hundred and twent-five were all the Barlow’s closest family and friends. How could they actually have that many close friends? They weren’t even Italian for fuck’s sake.
Making his way to the kitchen, he hit his answering machine. “You have one new message.”
He sat down on the stool. “Hey honey…it’s me…listen I’m gonna be late so don’t wait up for me. I’m not gonna be home tonight…I’ll be at the hotel with Adam. I’ll call you in the morning. Gotta go…bye.”
Picking up the phone, he contemplated whether or not to call her. She said she would call in the morning. Tommy looked back at the answering machine. “What time did you call, Amanda?” He swore when he realized that he’d already erased the message.
Dialing her cell phone, he waited for her to answer. She didn’t. Deciding not to leave a message, he grabbed the phone book and called Adam’s hotel.
“Yes…please transfer me to Dusty Madrid’s room please.” He knew his alias – something he was privy to due to their friendship.
After six rings, it was transferred back down to the front desk. “I’m sorry, sir, but no one’s answering. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No – try it again please.”
It only rang four times this time around when Adam finally picked it up. “Yeah?”
“Adam? Is that you?”
He had that dry, groggy, just- woke-up voice going on. “Yeah.”
Tommy lowered his voice, “Is Amanda with you?”
“Tommy?” He sat up in bed. “Is everything all right? It’s…” He paused briefly. “Shit…it’s three o’clock in the morning.”
“Yeah…I’m just looking for Amanda.”
“She’s not with you?”
“No…she left a message and said that she’d be staying with you tonight.”
He heard Adam swallow hard, almost like he was trying to catch his breath.
“Oh…I left a little before her so I probably just didn’t hear her come in.”
Tommy could tell he hesitated when answering him. Was he just tired or was he lying? “Will you just check and make sure?”
“Yeah…just a second.” He heard the phone drop to the floor and then heard a door open and shut.
A minute or so passed before Adam returned. “Yeah, Tommy…she’s asleep on the couch.”
Tommy let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, thank fuck…I was worried. She left me a message…but I wanted to make sure that she got in all right. Thanks.”
Adam lowered his voice to a point where it was barely audible. “No problem, Tommy.”
There was silence on the phone. Awkward silence.
“Is there something else?”
Tommy shook his head. “No…that’s it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Have a safe trip back to LA tomorrow,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Goodnight, Adam.”
“’Night, Tommy.”
Pairing: Adam/Tommy
Word Count: 6,397
Rating: R
Warning: Slash Connotation
Summary: Tommy is second guessing his choices, and he is not the only one.
Note: Story title taken from Eloy's eight album.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. The characters and events are fictious.
Special Thanks: To my fabulous beta reader,
bigj52. You are gold!Chapter Two
When Adam pulled away, Tommy sat up quickly and slid his arms through the appropriate spots on his robe. Tying it tightly, he crossed his legs Indian-style and leaned back against the couch.
Adam never moved.
Neither did his gaze.
“What the hell was that?”
Adam shrugged, but still never moved. He was still lying down on the floor with his head slightly turned Tommy’s way. “Okay…I’m an asshole…what can I say?” His hand went to his face, rubbing his eyes. “You’re one of my best friends, my friend’s fiancé and I made a move on you…what the hell was that?”
“I don’t know…that’s what I just asked you.”
Adam rubbed his eyes some more. “Shit…I’m not sure.”
Tommy frowned and dropped his head back on the couch. What the hell was going on with him? With him? He could only describe it as a force of nature…or maybe it was a temptation from the devil.
He could hear Adam moaning…he was obviously upset about what happened too. Opening his eyes and raising his head, he looked down at Adam.
Damn…he was still moaning…like he was in pain of some sort.
“Are you okay?”
Adam opened his eyes and shook his head.
“You’re scaring me…what the hell is wrong?”
Adam extended his arm until his hand was resting on Tommy’s neck. “C’mere.”
Not really having much choice due to the fact that Adam was practically forcing Tommy towards him, he obliged. Tommy scooted down, lying down completely and plopped his head in the crook of Adam’s armpit. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He probably shouldn’t be this close to him…
Adam leaned over and placed a kiss on his head. “I’m sorry.”
Tommy acknowledged his apology with a slight nod.
He kissed Tommy’s head again. “Will you forgive me?”
Tommy answered with another slight nod.
Again, Adam kissed his head. “Are you sure?”
Tommy whispered, “Yes.”
When Adam leaned over to kiss his head again, Tommy turned slightly towards him which caused Adam’s lips to land on his forehead.
“Can I do anything to make it up to you?”
Tommy turned slightly so that he was on his side now and draped his leg over Adam’s. “You can promise me that you’ll always be my friend…no matter what.”
Adam kissed him again on the forehead. “Promise.”
“Adam?”
His response was throaty, “Yeah?”
“Why do you keep kissing me on the forehead?”
He laughed a little and kissed Tommy again. “I don’t know…you want me to stop?”
When Adam looked into his eyes, Tommy felt his entire body go limp. Instead of giving him the answer he should though, he merely whispered, “Not really.”
When Adam leaned in to kiss Tommy again, he completely abandoned his forehead and went straight for his lips.
Tommy responded exactly the way he’d hoped he wouldn’t, but knew he would.
Opening his mouth slightly, Adam pressed his lips harder and his tongue found its way to inside Tommy’s mouth. He swung his free arm over and with both arms now wrapped tightly around Tommy, he used his strength to slide Tommy on top of him.
Tommy hesitated only momentarily, but it was enough for Adam to notice. “Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes,” Tommy said while shifting his body to fit snuggly against Adam. “I mean, no,” he whispered, shaking his head.
Adam laughed and then grew serious. “You need to make up your mind now before it’s too late to stop.”
Tommy answered him by lowering his lips onto Adam’s.
It felt right to be kissing Adam.
It felt wrong to be kissing Adam.
It felt right to be kissing Adam.
It felt…dangerous to be kissing Adam.
Suddenly and without much warning, Tommy’s need took over. He’d been putting much of his weight on his arms, which were placed against the floor next to Adam’s head but after deciding to give in to his passion, he dropped his weight against Adam’s and brought his hands up to Adam’s hair.
Balling his hair into a fist, he yanked Adam’s head to the side and started to kiss his neck.
“Obviously someone here has decided what he wants now,” Adam breathlessly mumbled.
Tommy bit down on his neck playfully and Adam winced in pain. “Oh…sorry.”
“Yeah…sure you are.”
Using his upper body strength, Adam rolled them over. Tommy knew why – Adam wanted control. He had to be in control of everything in his life. Anyone who knew Adam knew that.
And right now…he was willing to give it to Adam.
Placing himself slightly to the side, so that most of his weight was on the floor, Adam’s hand started to untie Tommy’s robe.
Tommy’s eyes were fixed on Adam.
Adam’s eyes were fixed on Tommy.
It took Adam a while to finally get the robe undone. Using only one hand and not looking at what he was doing slowed him down a bit. Once he pushed the robe open, his eyes left Tommy’s and traveled down the length of Tommy’s now half-naked body.
Adam’s moan took Tommy by surprise. “Something wrong?”
“Not at all…just enjoying the view in front of me.” He looked into Tommy’s eyes again and smiled. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on Tommy’s cheek and whispered in his ear, “You suddenly look nervous…is something wrong?”
Tommy shook his head. “I am nervous…”
Adam continued whispering in his ear, “You have nothing to be nervous about…it’s just me, glitter baby.”
“I know…that’s why I’m so nervous.”
Adam let out a laugh and placed his hand on Tommy’s head, running it through his hair. Lowering his head, he placed his mouth on Tommy’s ear and slowly started sucking on his earlobe. “For the record…I’m a little nervous too.”
Tommy pulled back. “No way…you?”
Adam moved his head over so that their noses were touching. “Yeah me…I’m only human too.”
Without thought, Tommy reached up and crashed his lips to Adam’s…
Slowly, quickly, cautiously, feverishly, and selfishly…they began a dance as old as time. And all the while…Amanda lay passed out in the room next to them.
“Oh God…you don’t know how bad I want you right now.”
“Not half as bad as I want you,” Adam whispered, standing to his feet and pulling Tommy up with him. Eyeing Tommy up and down, Adam pushed the robe off him and crouched down to get it. Once he had it in his hands, he threw it to the other side of the room.
Tommy could barely contain himself, standing there, staring at Adam. He wanted Adam and he wanted Adam right then and there. Taking his hands, he pulled Adam close and let them roam along the backside of Adam’s pants. What he really wanted Adam to do was lose the pants. But Tommy wasn’t going to say it, he was going to do it himself if Adam didn’t get the hint.
When Adam’s hands finally made their way up to Tommy’s nipples, he completely forgot about Adam’s pants. He couldn’t think about anything else except what he was feeling and at that exact moment, it was a feeling he could honestly say he’d never felt.
Slowly, one of Adam’s hands started to travel down the front of Tommy’s body, landing on the exact spot where the pleasure was settling.
“Someone’s not having second thoughts, are they?” he asked when he heard Tommy groan.
After Tommy shook his head, Adam swooped down and picked him up. Tommy let out a little yell as he straddled his legs around Adam and buried his head in Adam’s shoulder. Adam walked towards a bare wall – not easy to come by in a hotel room. Once he reached his destination, he pressed Tommy’s body up against the expensive wallpaper.
Tommy grabbed hold of Adam’s hair in his fist and pulled Adam’s mouth to his. He had his mouth open before their lips even met, allowing Adam easy access. The kiss was hot and steamy, and sloppy as all hell.
“This is so wrong,” Tommy moaned into Adam’s mouth.
“I know,” he moaned back.
“I’m getting married.”
“I know.”
“To one of your friends.”
“I know that too,” he mumbled before running his tongue along Tommy’s cheek and back to his mouth again.
“We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know.”
“We should probably stop,” Tommy moaned into Adam’s mouth again, pressing himself even closer.
“I know.”
“Are you gonna stop?”
“I don’t know,” Adam moaned, pulling back slightly. “Do you want me to?”
“Fuck, no,” Tommy groaned, pulling him in again. “Do you want to?”
“Hell, no.”
Their kisses were wet and passionate, and remained as sloppy as before. Tommy felt like he could kiss Adam for hours and if they had hours, he’d do just that. There wasn’t a spot on his entire face that went untouched. It was almost as if Adam were feasting on him rather than kissing him and he loved every damn hot minute of it.
They stayed in that position for quite some time before Adam finally let Tommy down. With both his hands on Tommy’s arms, he slowly started to back Tommy up to the bar. Kicking the stools out of the way, one crashed to the floor.
Tommy started giggling, “Shhhhh…you’re gonna wake up Amanda.”
Adam looked at him and shrugged. “That wouldn’t be a good thing…unless you’re into threesomes.”
Tommy frowned.
“Didn’t think so,” Adam said with a smile as he lifted Tommy up and sat him down, right on top of the bar.
Instantly, Tommy wrapped his legs around Adam, drawing him in closer.
“You need to lose these,” Adam mumbled, fingering the top of his underwear.
Quickly, Tommy shifted from one side to the other while Adam worked his underwear down and off him. “Oh shit…we really shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I know,” Adam said, bringing his underwear up and smiling. “But we’re gonna do it anyway.”
“It’s not right,” Tommy mouthed quietly, wrapping his legs around Adam again.
“It feels right,” Adam said before finally silencing Tommy with his lips.
If Tommy had to guess, it had to have been another ten minutes of sloppy, passionate kisses before Adam finally made his move. It was obvious that the man liked to kiss and it was damn obvious that he knew exactly how to kiss.
Tommy didn't remember him kissing this good while anything happened between them.
Of course, having two years to perfect his technique might have helped.
Tommy could only imagine what other skills Adam possessed and when exactly he planned on showing him.
When Adam’s lips finally left Tommy’s face, he made his way to Tommy’s ear and his hands made their way to Tommy’s more than ready nipples. It surprised Tommy when Adam didn’t make any attempt at using his mouth on his ear though and quickly, he started moving his head closer to Adam.
“What’d you want Tommy?” he asked.
Tommy’s only answer was a moan.
That was good enough for him. “I want to taste every inch…”
“I want to hear you…”
Adam slowly parted Tommy’s legs with his hand and wrapped his fingers around Tommy. He never stopped telling Tommy exactly what he had planned on doing to him and during the entire one-sided conversation, Tommy never stopped moaning.
His plan sounded satisfying.
His fingers felt wonderful.
“Don’t stop…please…don’t stop…don’t stop…”
Tommy’s chanting the words ‘don’t stop’ over and over again eventually brought Adam to a halt. He turned Tommy’s head towards him. “I’m not stopping, gorgeous…why would I stop?”
“Just…don’t stop…” Tommy said, placing his hand on top of Adam’s and making him move faster.
Only a few seconds passed before Tommy shattered. His voice cried out Adam’s name over and over…and louder and louder. For a few brief moments, he wasn’t even sure if it was his voice at all. He never cried out…ever. There was never really a reason to. In all their years of lovemaking, Tommy never once called out Amanda’s name.
When he finally came crashing back down to earth, he opened his eyes to see Adam’s face only inches from his. Adam smiled at him and leaned in to kiss him.
When the kiss was finished, Adam looked at him. “You’re incredible.”
“Me?” He was embarrassed. Did he really cry out Adam’s name like someone who couldn’t control himself?
“Yeah…you.”
Without any warning, they heard Amanda fumbling with the bedroom doorknob. They both looked at each other before Tommy quickly jumped down from the bar, landing on Adam’s toe.
“Shit!” Adam’s knee bent up quickly as he grabbed his foot.
“Sorry,” Tommy mouthed, running behind the bar with Adam quickly following him.
Amanda stumbled out of the bedroom and into the darkness. “What’s going on out here?”
She searched through the darkness in her drunken state and couldn’t see a damn thing. Rubbing her head, she headed back towards the bedroom and slammed the door.
Adam was the first one to make a move. “She’s gone.”
Tommy half-smiled and looked at Adam. The guilt was starting to rattle him a little. What they had done and what they were about to do settled quickly into his mind. It was wrong…plain and simple. But at the same time, it felt so right.
Now what?
“Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“I think maybe I should just head to bed…”
Adam nodded. “I understand.” Disappointment was written all over his face. Even Tommy could read it loud and clear.
“I’m sorry…we shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered quietly. “Fuck…we really shouldn’t have done what we did.”
“You’re right.” Adam stood up and pulled Tommy up with him. “We shouldn’t,” he agreed, shaking his head.
In a way, Tommy was hoping that Adam would disagree with him and try to convince him to stay. Quite honestly, it wouldn’t have taken much to convince him. But when Adam didn’t do more than merely agree with him, Tommy felt relieved. Or was it disappointed? What was wrong with him?
When he started to head towards the bedroom, he turned around and stopped. “Let’s not talk about tonight…if you know what I mean. I think we both had too much to drink and got a little carried away.”
Adam walked over to him and kissed him on the forehead. “Sadly…I do know what you mean and consider it already forgotten about. Goodnight, Tommy Joe.”
“Goodnight.”
**********
When morning came, Amanda stumbled out of bed. Looking back, she saw Tommy curled up tightly in a ball next to her…naked.
It wasn’t what she was used to.
They usually didn’t spend the whole night together for fear of being caught by her mother. It didn’t matter that they were both in their thirties or that they were getting married in a couple of months. The fact remained – they weren’t married yet.
Mrs. Barlow was old-fashioned and a real stickler when it came to her daughter’s living arrangements. No daughter of hers was going to “live in sin” - period.
Amanda’s two older siblings, Olivia and Alex, had both followed her rules and Amanda was expected to do the same. And since her mother held the key to her inheritance, Amanda did as she was instructed – no questions asked.
Tommy didn’t like it. Amanda didn’t like it. But it wasn’t discussed.
So, for over two years now, they lived in separate apartments. Apartments that were merely separated by less than twenty yards, but separated nonetheless.
And in those two years, Amanda could count on one hand how many times they’d actually spent all night together in one bed…three. No, make that four if last night was to be counted.
Amanda looked around the room for quite some time before she figured out that they weren’t in either one of their apartments.
Getting out of bed suddenly caused her head to hurt. She winced in pain and sat back down on the edge of the bed. “Damn…how much did I drink anyway?”
Tommy rolled over and moaned. “Too much.”
Amanda turned back when she heard his voice. “Are you in as much pain as me?”
“I don’t know…How much pain are you in?”
She grabbed her head to hold it still and cringed. “Oh God…a lot.” She slowly got up and looked around. “Where are we?”
“Adam’s hotel room.”
She kept walking towards the door of the bedroom. “Where is he?”
Tommy shrugged. “Probably on the couch nursing his hangover too.”
Amanda opened the door and instantly noticed Adam sitting on the couch watching TV. Taking baby steps, she headed towards the couch and sat down.
Adam looked over at her, turning down the volume on the TV with the remote. “You gonna be okay?”
Amanda sighed. “Maybe later…much, much later.”
“You want me to order room service?”
She moaned loudly, “Shit…I’ll probably puke just looking at it.” Amanda searched the room for the time. “What time is it anyway?”
“Almost four.”
Amanda gasped, “In the afternoon?”
Adam laughed. “Yeah…why?”
“No reason…I just can’t believe it’s so late. I never sleep that late.”
“At least you slept…I haven’t been able to sleep all night.”
Fully dressed in his clothes from the previous night, Tommy stood near the door of the bedroom. He heard Adam’s comments about not being able to sleep. He felt the same way – he didn’t think he’d slept either. Was Adam replaying their little tryst over and over in his mind the way he was? Or was it all just a dream?
He cleared his throat. “You never sleep this late, dear, because you never drink as much as you did last night.” Tommy sat down on the chair directly across from the couch and purposely kept his gaze off Adam. “Me neither…for that matter.”
“I think we all had a little too much to drink last night,” Adam said.
Tommy moaned quietly. Shit…I didn’t do what I think I did last night, did I? When he finally let himself look Adam’s way, he just about died when he saw the look on Adam’s face. Yep…I sure did.
He immediately jumped up and walked over to the phone.
“Where are you going, sweetheart?”
He looked at Amanda and then over at Adam…who was still looking right back at him. I need to get the hell out of here. “Calling a cab, I’m supposed to be meeting your mother at six to go over the guest list.”
Amanda shook her head. “Can’t you guys do that next week when I’m in London?”
Tommy let a loud, “HA!” followed by a loud sigh. “You know your mother.”
She rubbed her temples. “God, I can’t deal with her today.”
“Yes…at five-thirty…thank you.” Tommy hung up the phone and threw Amanda an aggravated look. “You don’t have to. She told me that it was going to just be us going over the list.”
Amanda got up from the couch and walked over to him. “Well…does it have to be today?”
Tommy embraced her. “Yes…it has to be today. Besides, it’s too late for me to cancel. Your mother’s probably already at the salon getting her hair done.” He winked and then turned towards Adam. “Adam, do you mind if I take a quick shower?”
Adam looked back. “Not at all…help yourself.”
He made his way towards the bedroom. “You know, Amanda…this really was the only time to do this anyway. I leave next week for the resort and I’ll be there until the wedding.” His voice grew resentful, “Remember, dear…you’re the one who insisted on that.”
He slammed the door, causing the picture on the wall to rattle.
Adam took notice of the tension. “Apparently he isn’t too happy about that.”
Amanda frowned and sat back down. “He’s not real happy about a lot of shit…me making him go to the resort just happens to be on top of his list.”
“Then why are you forcing him to go?”
“What else is he gonna do? I have to be in London for the next six weeks.”
Adam’s eyes grew large. “Jesus, Amanda, your wedding is in like what? Eight/nine weeks?”
“Something like that.” Amanda shrugged and then continued on, “I think my mom planned it that way on purpose. I don’t think she wanted me around during the final stages of the wedding plans. With me not being around, that leaves Tommy to fend for himself.” He shook his head. “And Tommy will give in to her…she knows that.”
“That’s not the Tommy I remember.”
“Well…a lot of things have changed over the last year. My mother has really become quite the bitch if you know what I mean.”
Adam cleared his throat and held back his laughter. Amanda was right…but still… “That’s not a very nice thing to say about your mother.”
“It’s the truth though,” Amanda replied dryly, shaking her head. “If we don’t follow her rules to the tee, she throws my inheritance in my face. What other choice do we have?”
Adam listened to Amanda carefully and pondered whether he should say what he was really thinking. “Fuck your inheritance.”
Amanda shot Adam a look. “Easy for you to say…you’ve got a shit load of money.”
“You got a decent job on Broadway.” Adam paused for a moment, “Besides…money isn’t everything.”
Adam could tell Amanda was starting to get aggravated by his flippant attitude. They’d been friends for a long time. “Like hell it isn’t…and heeellllloooo…I could lose my job any moment. You know how it is with theater, one day you’re hot stuff, the next you’re a nobody.”
Adam looked at her questionably. “What about Tommy’s job? Between your job and him being a bassist…you’d be okay. Have you ever thought of that?”
Amanda got up and walked over to the bar. “Yeah, for half a second. But I’m not going to work for much longer…it isn’t gonna happen anytime soon, but it will happen eventually. Besides, I’m entitled to that Goddamn money anyway.”
Adam was floored by what Amanda just said. “Are you telling me that your inheritance is more important than your marriage?” He stood up, walking towards the bar. “Because if you are…I feel sorry for Tommy.”
Amanda’s voice was getting louder and her headache was pounding ten times harder. She needed aspirin and she needed them bad. “No, the inheritance money is not more important than my marriage.” Her tone was sarcastic now as she scrunched up her face. “So…don’t worry your pretty little blue eyes about your precious Tommy.”
“What the fuck is that all about?”
Amanda shrugged and walked away. “I don’t know…just leave me alone.”
Adam grabbed her arm and swung her around. “No, I won’t leave you alone. And what did you mean by you not working anymore?”
“I’m going to quit,” Amanda replied casually.
“What?”
“You heard me, Adam…I’m going to quit. I don’t need a job, what I need is to stay at home.”
Adam shook his head at hearing what he’d just heard. “Don’t you think you’re pushing it just a little?”
“Ah, come on, Adam…you really think I’m going to be a wife and work too?” She snapped her arm out of Adam’s hold and threw it up in the air. “Would you let your spouse work?”
“Why wouldn’t I have a partner that works?”
“For Christ’s sake, Adam…you’re a fucking rockstar…your hubby won’t work!”
Adam took a step back to lengthen the distance between. He knew if he didn’t, he might just do something he’d regret. “Well, that would definitely be his choice, but everyone should carry their own weight, don’t you think? If you want equal rights, you need to take responsibility for yourself as well, woman.”
Amanda headed towards the door, waving her hands in the air. “I don’t need this shit now…not from my mother, not from Tommy and sure as hell not from you.”
“Obviously you do need this shit now,” Adam shot back, taking a seat on the couch. “Before you totally fuck things up.”
Amanda stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. “What do you mean before I totally fuck things up? What have I fucked up already?”
“I just meant that you don’t want to be acting like some spoilt little girl…that isn’t Tommy’s style.”
“Oh…and just what is his style then, Adam?” She cocked her head to the side. “I forgot…you know my fiancé better than me…don’t you?”
Adam shook his head and turned up the volume on the TV. “You know what I mean, Amanda.”
Amanda walked out the door and slammed it shut.
**********
After fifteen minutes of flipping through the channels and not being able to find anything worth watching, Adam made his way to the bathroom. Not thinking, he threw open the bathroom door and abruptly came to a screeching halt when he heard Tommy shout in surprise.
“Oh shit…I’m sorry, Tommy.”
Both of them just stood there, startled and staring at each other. Only when Adam’s gaze dropped down, did Tommy make an attempt to cover up. Bending over, Tommy grabbed his towel and wrapped it around himself as best he could. It didn’t cover him completely; after all…it was only a hotel towel.
“Sorry…I forgot you were in here,” he said quietly.
Tommy was embarrassed. Don’t ask him why though, because he didn’t know. Last night, Adam had seen him more than just naked; he’d seen him up close and very personal.
Both of them stumbled for words.
“Is everything okay with you and Amanda? It sounded like you two were arguing.”
Adam’s gaze didn’t shift, “We were.”
He watched as Tommy fumbled with his towel. He was having a hard time tying it around his waist. When he tried for the third time, the towel slipped from his grasp and dropped to the floor. Quickly, his arms shot down as he tried to cover himself with his hands.
Adam bent down quickly and grabbed his towel. He smiled as he handed it to Tommy. “You’re not doing a very good job of covering yourself.”
Tommy grabbed it hastily and walked past him. “Very funny, Adam.”
He walked into the bedroom and searched the room. Where the hell was that robe? He threw apart the bed and swore under his breath numerous times before finally giving up. “Where the hell is it?” Taking a sheet from the pile he’d just created, he wrapped it around himself.
Unbeknownst to him, Adam watched the whole thing and when he finally couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore, Tommy swung around.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” He held up the robe and swung it in the air.
“Yes, where was it?”
“Where we left it last night…on the floor near the bar.”
Tommy threw his hand up in the air and pressed his finger to his lips. “Shh…”
“She isn’t here.”
Tommy’s face turned a shade of red. He was sure of it. His cheeks felt like they were on fire now. “Can I have it please?”
It looked like Adam was thinking about toying with him a bit by the way he was swinging the robe around. He must have decided against it when he saw Tommy’s expression though, because he ended up throwing it at Tommy. When he caught it, he ordered Adam to turn around.
He hesitated, but obliged. When Tommy gave him the okay, he turned back around and made his way towards Tommy.
“Don’t.” His voice was barely audible.
“Don’t what?” Adam asked while coming closer.
“Don’t do whatever it is that you’re going to do. We agreed that we would never speak of last night again, remember?”
He stopped for a moment and cocked his head to the side. “Yeah…I remember. What I actually was going to do though was make the bed…seeing as how you destroyed it.”
Tommy’s face now turned a darker shade of red. He wasn’t going to make any moves on him at all… “Oh, okay.” He bent down and brought the sheets up to help Adam make the bed. “Where’d Amanda go?”
Adam grabbed one end of the sheet and walked over to the opposite side of the bed. “Don’t know…she just up and left.”
“Why?”
He let out a long sigh. “She’s pissed at me. I got a little bent out of shape when I heard that she’d decided to quit her job.”
Tommy dropped the sheet and made a beeline for the door. He was having mixed emotions about being alone in the same room as Adam now.
Adam made him nervous.
Hell, he made himself nervous.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Adam,” he said abruptly.
Adam dropped his sheet. “Where are you going?” When Tommy didn’t answer him, he picked up his pace. “There was a time when we used to talk about everything, Tommy.”
He stopped at the door leading out of the hotel room and turned around. “Used to be, Adam. This is between my fiancée and me – not you, so butt out.” He opened the door and took a step out.
“Tommy! You can’t go roaming the hotel like that. Get back in here, I’ll go look for her.”
Adam grabbed his arm and pulled him back inside the room. “I’ll take care of it. You’d better go get dressed; you wouldn’t want to keep your mother-in-law waiting.”
**********
Over an hour passed and Tommy was starting to get nervous. It wasn’t like Amanda and Adam to fight. They’d been friends forever…meeting at the local theater in 1999. Even when they were working together, they never fought. At least, not that Tommy was aware of.
Adam spoke highly of Amanda…all of the time. And the same was true of Amanda. As far as Tommy knew, even when Amanda thought Adam was out of his mind, auditioning for American Idol, she never talked bad about him. She might have laughed at him, but never behind his back.
Amanda may have been the one laughing then…but Adam was the one who had the last laugh in the end. But never once did he rub it in Amanda’s face…never once.
That’s what made Adam so special. He was a down-to-earth, sweet guy and despite his fame and millions, he was still that same person. That’s what attracted Tommy to Adam in the first place and still did to this day.
He sighed…thinking back to their early days.
Adam and Tommy met when Tommy auditioned for Adam’s band and a friendship between them blossomed almost immediately.
Together, they shared a lot, including Tommy’s “first time” with men.
Together, they shared their dreams with each other.
Adam’s was to become a pop star and Tommy’s was to become the best guitar player out there one day and play and write for the biggest bands out there, maybe even Marilyn Manson one day. Adam’s dream came true…Tommy’s was still in the process.
Of course, no one knew that – especially Amanda. She’d have a fit if she knew Tommy still wanted to be an entertainer, living from gig to gig.
No husband of hers was going to become a cheap entertainer. Her parents would absolutely disown her for sure…at least that’s what she told Tommy. Her parents, Kevin and Anne Barlow, were part of the elite group in L.A. They were wealthy and flaunted it no end. When they had actually bought the resort on Bay Island years ago, they flew in over three hundred people to attend the grand opening.
Bay Resort was known for their elite clientele…all of which had money and lots of it. Tommy couldn’t stand the type of people that visited the island but in time he grew to love the solitude of staying there. It gave him ample time to write his own songs and be out from under Amanda’s watchful eye.
He visited there often, staying for weeks at a time. With Amanda working on Broadway, she was often away on tour. In one aspect, he hated it but in the other aspect, he loved it. The best part being that when Adam was on tour, he would take him on her parent’s private jet to many of the remote locations where he was performing.
Even her parents attended some of the concerts with them. Of course, now that Adam was famous, Anne Barlow was very fond of him.
Tommy shook his head in disgust, thinking about how two-faced his soon to be mother-in-law actually was.
Anne Barlow wasn’t always fond of Adam. In fact, in the early days of the Zodiac Show, she couldn’t be bothered with Adam. He was riff-raff in her opinion. Even when he had made it big, she didn’t acknowledge that her daughter was a friend of Adam’s. It wasn’t until Adam won his first Grammy that she openly admitted that her daughter was tight with Adam Lambert.
It was never just Adam Lambert...
It was always rockstar Adam Lambert...
Anne was two-faced and that was something Tommy always had to keep in mind. As much as he wanted to love her, he couldn’t. Luckily, he was close enough to his own mother so he didn’t feel the need to try and be close with Anne.
Once Amanda and Tommy became engaged, she explained to him what was expected of him from day one. No music…period.
He accepted it...up to a point. Secretly and silently, he continued playing music and writing songs and one day…he was determined to send his songs to the music companies….
Tommy sat down on the couch and began fidgeting. What was taking them so long?
When Adam and Amanda finally walked back through the door, he was relieved to see them laughing. “Is everything okay now?”
They looked at each other and then back to Tommy. “Yeah.”
“Good.” He got up from the couch. “Now that I’m totally late and in desperate need of some clean clothes, I’ll see you guys later.” Tommy glanced at the clock and swore. “Shit…Amanda, call your mom and tell her I’m running late…I still gotta head back to the apartment to change clothes, okay, honey?” He walked over to her and smiled sweetly.
Amanda nodded. “Adam and I are gonna go out tonight. He’s flying out in the morning, so we wanted to hit the town…so to speak.”
“Try not to drink so much tonight.” He leaned and kissed her. “Have a good time and don’t forget to call so I don’t worry.”
Adam cleared his throat. “What about me?”
Tommy turned to Adam and slowly walked towards him. When Adam leaned in to kiss him, Tommy turned his head and Adam’s lips landed on his cheek. “You’re more than welcome to join us, right, Amanda?”
He looked back at Amanda and noticed the disappointment on her face. “Nah, thanks anyway.” Tommy turned to leave and then stopped. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple months, Adam, right?”
**********
Exhausted, Tommy dropped back on his bed. Anne drove him to exhaustion every time. It didn’t help that he was up until about six in the morning the night before either.
Closing his eyes, he rubbed them. He couldn’t think straight tonight at dinner. Anne was going over the list and Tommy was going over the events of the previous night. Time and time again, Anne would have to repeat the questions to him. And time and time again, Tommy would try to answer them just right.
When Tommy finally opened his eyes, he rolled over to see the alarm clock. “Shit!” It was three o’clock in the morning. He must’ve fallen asleep thinking about his guest list of over five hundred guests.
Only seventy-five of them were his guests, the other four hundred and twent-five were all the Barlow’s closest family and friends. How could they actually have that many close friends? They weren’t even Italian for fuck’s sake.
Making his way to the kitchen, he hit his answering machine. “You have one new message.”
He sat down on the stool. “Hey honey…it’s me…listen I’m gonna be late so don’t wait up for me. I’m not gonna be home tonight…I’ll be at the hotel with Adam. I’ll call you in the morning. Gotta go…bye.”
Picking up the phone, he contemplated whether or not to call her. She said she would call in the morning. Tommy looked back at the answering machine. “What time did you call, Amanda?” He swore when he realized that he’d already erased the message.
Dialing her cell phone, he waited for her to answer. She didn’t. Deciding not to leave a message, he grabbed the phone book and called Adam’s hotel.
“Yes…please transfer me to Dusty Madrid’s room please.” He knew his alias – something he was privy to due to their friendship.
After six rings, it was transferred back down to the front desk. “I’m sorry, sir, but no one’s answering. Would you like to leave a message?”
“No – try it again please.”
It only rang four times this time around when Adam finally picked it up. “Yeah?”
“Adam? Is that you?”
He had that dry, groggy, just- woke-up voice going on. “Yeah.”
Tommy lowered his voice, “Is Amanda with you?”
“Tommy?” He sat up in bed. “Is everything all right? It’s…” He paused briefly. “Shit…it’s three o’clock in the morning.”
“Yeah…I’m just looking for Amanda.”
“She’s not with you?”
“No…she left a message and said that she’d be staying with you tonight.”
He heard Adam swallow hard, almost like he was trying to catch his breath.
“Oh…I left a little before her so I probably just didn’t hear her come in.”
Tommy could tell he hesitated when answering him. Was he just tired or was he lying? “Will you just check and make sure?”
“Yeah…just a second.” He heard the phone drop to the floor and then heard a door open and shut.
A minute or so passed before Adam returned. “Yeah, Tommy…she’s asleep on the couch.”
Tommy let out a huge sigh of relief. “Oh, thank fuck…I was worried. She left me a message…but I wanted to make sure that she got in all right. Thanks.”
Adam lowered his voice to a point where it was barely audible. “No problem, Tommy.”
There was silence on the phone. Awkward silence.
“Is there something else?”
Tommy shook his head. “No…that’s it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Have a safe trip back to LA tomorrow,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Goodnight, Adam.”
“’Night, Tommy.”
