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“It’s all right, take anything you want from me.”
That particular time when he sang the last sentence picked on his nerves, as it gave him the chills. He couldn’t explain or understand, but his chest boiled, indeed, his whole blood boiled. Son of a bitch. Damn rehearsal he’s been invited. Why was he there, indeed?
Took another sip from the scotch bottle he’d held before another drag from his cig and closed his eyes. Mid-November and he sweats like an old hag. From the anger, maybe. Or from the lines he’d made soon ago, but he felt like it’s been the anger.
And there he was, dancing, swaying with his hands in mic, almost mimicking the other, who used to dance the same way. Less inviting, surely.
‘Kay, maybe he’d had enough. Turned in his calves, his boots’ heels almost digging holes into the hardwood floor. He craved fresh air, as his head probably malfunctioned in the worst way possible. Was it his system overreacting to those lines?
“Nope.”
Said to himself, as storming out of the room, fast-pacing through the hallway, almost stumbling into the balcony with eyes darting through the metropolis skyline as his lungs filled. Even got dizzy with the hit of fresh air, which made his elbows find support in the rail. Now, with eyes shut briefly, took another sip ‘n drag, thoughts lost in his own misery, all of it at the same time. One thing was for sure… At sunset, the whole town was stained with pink shades. Pretty sight, though.
The muffled noise from inside had changed, with the guitars being extremely loud, with no voice singing.
“Damn fuckers…”
Scoffed, unaware of how long he stood there until the doors behind him burstened open, causing him to jolt.
“The heck?”
Eyes over the shoulder, he saw those long strands bathed in the sunset dim pink, as the younger smiled, soon joining him at the rail, taking the cigarette from his hand and dragging.
“Gotcha!”
Always so full of energy it picked his nerves.
“Can’t I have time by myself?”
Earned a scowl.
“Woah! Angry?”
“Tsc…”
Sipped the bottle again, as the other shrugged, discarding from the heights what was left of the remnants of nicotine. None talked for a long time, almost bringing unbearable weirdness to their friendship. Was it anything unsaid bad enough to cause any trouble?
“You should back inside. As you waste time here, the pennies drop in the owner’s pocket.”
Adverted, as yellowed-green orbs searched any reason for the unwillingness through his face.
“Damn, Axl, what’s with you today?”
“And here we go again…”
He said in his mind, as the younger started to rant. For sure, he blocked it all out, mesmerized by the angry façade, which made things even harder. Damn… If he could record that moment, surely he would.
“Do you hear me?”
“Nope.”
“Excuse me?”
Before evoking a storm, faster than he could realize, his hand held the other’s chin, both panting, and he swore, Baz was even prettier angry and confused. To justify himself, the younger invaded his personal space at first.
“Shut up. You talk too much.”
They stood there for quite some time. Maybe ‘cause their heads were trying to decide if it was worth the fight. Turned out it wasn’t.
From the moment Axl saw his friend’s closing eyes, he knew how damned they were. Both them.
So he did what screamed inside his head so loud through the last months, by impulse.
In the dim pink sunset light, over L.A., their lips met.
Shocking, at first. For what seemed like eternities, they just stood there. When long fingers held Rose’s nape, it sounded like allowance, followed by Baz’s lips parting, inviting.
Damn… Some things are better not to think of.
They tasted sweet and felt smooth. He could swear they forgot how to breathe, ‘cause his chest ached, and it was surely shared. Their bodies got closer as he took another step forward, pressing the younger against the railing, one hand buried in the gold locks, the other holding his right hip, almost clawing to the leather pants as he felt both of the other’s hands into his hair.
They kissed slowly, maybe making it last to gain time thinking about a proper way to react, maybe because they’d wanted it for so long. It wasn’t just a kiss. Seemed more like a kind of caress, bathed in intimacy, in which unspoken truths ended up revealed.
Well… Never felt so thrilled, hazed and confused at the same time. As they parted, their foreheads kept pressed, their eyes kept closed. His heartbeat was loud enough to make him feel deaf.
“What you doing?” Baz whispered, long fingers caressing the side of Axl’s face, soft and slow. “Did I…”
“No, Bach, you didn’t ruin anything.” He spoke before causing paranoia in the younger, as he already knew exactly what he was thinking. “Chill.”
“Why’d you…”
“Shut.”
Took his lips again. This time, even slower, savoring, fully reciprocated. Damn, they were fucked… For an instant, he prayed God wouldn’t allow it to wreck their relationship and, the way he was gifted with a hiss when pressing their bodies together, well, he might’ve made himself heard up there.
For sure, they could spend hours making out. Was the risk there worth enough? What would anybody talk if they got caught? Probably they would ruin their careers and drag all their friends and bandmates together.
Therefore, they parted. This time, Axl took a step back while Bach ran his fingers through his own hair, unwinding. He scrambled in his pockets to find his pack of cigarettes, could rely on it at this moment as he watched the older reaching for the bottle he didn’t even notice got left on the table beside them. Was unaware enough to realize until now that there’s a table and two armchairs!
He giggled as their eyes crossed.
“I think I can go back now.”
The older reciprocated his smile, eyes following as he left the balcony, soon disappearing into the long hallway, back to the room they were rehearsing.
“Damn boy…”
Seven damn years difference made him feel guilty, after all. Even this couldn’t wipe out his smile as he made his way out of the building. Gotta run home, rest his head a bit, ‘cause, for sure, he was overwhelmed.