Tom DeLonge's Intern

Chapter 29: Looking to the Sky

The following Friday of that week after work, I had rushed home to find some nice dressy clothes to wear for the album launch party. I tried not to put on anything too fancy, since it was pretty much just Tom and his friends, but I also wanted to look nice. I settled for a nice blue shirt and some dress pants, leaving my hair as it was. I checked the watch that I had pulled out of a jewelry box for this occasion, reading just past 6:30. Tom was supposed to pick me up a few minutes ago; the party started at 7.

As if almost on cue, there were a few heavy knocks on my door. Tom stood outside my door with 2 coffees in his hand, smiling nervously at me once I had the door opened. He was wearing what I expected him to; a Macbeth shirt and tight-fitting black jeans with two belts.

"Got you some coffee so you'd stay awake tonight," he smiled as he held out the cup to me. I smiled, standing up on my tip toes to kiss his cheek.

"Still so sweet after all these months. Please, come in."

Tom followed me into the small apartment and leaned against the door once it had shut behind him, tracking me as I rushed around the small space getting things ready to go to this party. I heard him let out a small chuckle and turned around, throwing him a questioning look.

"Girls are so funny," Tom remarked as he took a sip of his coffee, pulling his mouth away and grimacing immediately after tasting it. "Ouch."

"That's what you get for talking bad about women." I pushed his chest playfully, making him smile a little bit. "You ready?"

He nodded, "just waiting on my date."

I rolled my eyes before shutting the lights in my apartment off and leading Tom out the door. He even held open his car door for me.

"Why are you being such a gentleman?" I asked once he got in the car and clicked his seatbelt in place.

"Because you're my date and also because I want to do something after the party," Tom said, putting the car into reverse.

"What's that?"

"I can't tell you. In part because I'm scared you'll say no and in part because it's a surprise."

I sighed. I hated when he did shit like this, but he seemed excited about it and I hated telling him no. "As long as we can get food or something."

"There will be food at the party, silly."

That kept me silent as I watched the buildings go by on our way to the club in downtown San Diego. The sun had started to set in the sky, distracting me from the surprise Tom had mentioned and making the ride somewhat peaceful until Tom startled me.

"Oh SHIT! I totally forgot I had this in my car," Tom yelled, turning the knob on the radio up. Music had started playing but I didn't recognize what it was. I looked over at him, but Tom kept his eyes on the road from what I could tell because he was wearing sunglasses. His left tattooed arm rested on the steering wheel lazily, and his right hand gripped the gearshift.

"What is this?" I asked.

He smiled and looked at me briefly through his shades, then reached over to rest his hand on my thigh before squeezing it, "our new record."

I suppose I would have figured that out because the intro kept building until Tom's recognizable voice began talking over what sounded like a walkie-talkie as part of the song. There was a long crescendo and spacey music until a guitar intro led into the song. Tom tapped his fingers against my thigh to the beat. I smiled to myself because of how pumped he was for the new music. It sounded nothing like blink-182 did; it sounded like something spiritual and spacey. I was happy for him.