Is It Harder?, chapter 9
"Tre. I am really horny," I said to Tre as we ate a snack at the kitchen table. He chuckled.
"Tre. Seriously. I really am," I said. Tre looked at me.
"The kids, though," he said.
"MADISON!" I yelled. She came running down the stairs.
"WHAT?!" she asked worriedly.
"Can you watch Frankie and Mona?" I asked with puppy dog eyes. She sighed.
"Fine. Fine, Brooke. I was always the better baby sitter than you anyways."
I laughed. "Thanks! They're watching TV!" I said to her. I grabbed Tre's soft warm hands and entwined his fingers with mine. We raced upstairs and he flung me on the bed. We started to make out passionately and soon things began getting steamier and steamier.
I am such a loser. I am living in Brooke's house watching over Tre's kids who are now watching porn. Great.
"Hey, you guys! Turn that off! Let's watch a movie instead!" I said to them. Mona laughed as Frankie sat there with the remote in his hand staring at the screen. I took it out of his hands and put in Elf.
"I'm going to make popcorn and get sodas," I said to them. I wandered into the big kitchen and micro waved the popcorn while getting three cans of Root Beer out of the fridge. I put the delicious smelling snack in a big bowl and went back to the room.
"Where are dad and Brooke?" asked Mona.
"Oh, they're um, they went over to Billie's to talk about um, stuff," I stuttered out a pathetic lie. It would be so embarrassing if Mona knew what they were really doing. I knew what they were doing. Brooke never really keeps things like that a secret. I remember the first time she uh, you know. She came to school the next day and yelled what she did the night before to me across the whole classroom. So everyone heard. Some people had snickered but most had given her high fives. I snapped back to reality as Frankie and Mona started laughing uncontrolled at a funny scene in the movie. After the movie was finished at about midnight I tucked the kids in bed after saying Brooke and Tre would be home soon. I got into my bed and drifted off to sleep thinking about what a loser I was. Gosh. Making out with Cass's boyfriend, actually, we had gotten further than that one time. None of us had the guts to mention it though. I have to do something. I can't live like this forever.
I woke up with my head on Tre's sweet smelling chest. I looked up to be met with icy blue eyes.
Hey baby," he murmured as if was tired. He kissed the top of my head.
"Hey," I said back lovingly. He took my hand and kissed it. He then put it against his cheek.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I said meaningfully. I wanted to stay in this position forever. I wanted to die a peaceful death like this. Tre got up and went into the bathroom. He emerged thirty minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Your turn," he said and nodded to the bathroom. I walked in there and into the shower. I let the steamy hot water run all over my body and washed my hair to make it smell like tangerines. I wrapped a towel around my body and applied makeup in the mirror. I came out of the bathroom and put on my clothes. I felt really girly that day so I put on a flowing white skirt and a white lacy tank top.
Tre wasn't in the room. I went down to the studio. Nobody. I walked all around the house and came into the kitchen where Madison was drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"The kids are in their rooms and Tre wants you to go out to your car for some reason," she said without looking up. I raised an eyebrow and walked out to my Mustang that Tre had bought for me. I went inside and there was a note on the wheel. It was directions. Back out. Go right. Turn left at 12th street. Keep going until the end of the road. Turn right. Go to the end. I started up the car and followed the directions. When I finished I was at a rocky cliff. I looked around. Nobody was there. I decided to wander. There was a forest to my right so I went into it. I finally came to a wide clearing of flowing, lush green grass. In the middle of the field I saw Billie there playing "She" on an acoustic guitar. I walked up to Billie and watched him play. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around. Nobody was there. I looked down and Tre was there on one knee looking up at me. He was holding a black box that was opened to reveal a beautiful ring. It had three diamonds on a gold band. Two small ones and one big one in the middle. Tre looked at me.
"Brooke. I love you so much. I've loved ever since I've laid my eyes on you. You are the most beautiful thing in my life. Brooke. Will you marry me?" Oh my gosh.
"Tre! Fuck yes! Of course I will marry you!" I screamed. He stood up and slid the ring on my finger. We shared the most passionate kiss we've ever had. When it ended Billie had just finished the song. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. I whispered in his ear.
"Billie. Thank you so much. I love that song. I have wished since I was a little girl that song would be playing when my husband asked me to marry him. I love you Billie Joe. Like a brother and a friend." I broke free of his grip. We smiled at each other. I then turned around to Tre.
"Tre. You are the best person I know. You made my dreams come true. I love you and I can't wait to be your wife until we die," I said. Well, cried more like it.
"I love you too Brooke. With all my heart," he said. We gazed into each others eyes and it got broken by Billie Joe.
"Hey guys. Yeah, well, I hate to ruin your special moment, but can we go now? My kids are coming on like thirty minutes."
"Oh yeah. Sorry BJ. C'mon Tre, let's go," I said and we walked back to my car holding hands. And Billie was holding his guitar. Billie drove us home while Tre and I were in the back making out.
"Bye guys," he said as he dropped us and my car off. We waved our goodbyes and went inside.
"Does anyone else know?" I asked Tre. He shook his head.
"Nope, just Billie Joe," he said. We walked into the kitchen still holding hands where Madison and the kids were eating and talking. "Hey. Uhh, Tre and I have something to say," I said to them. They all stopped and looked at us expectantly.
"We're getting married!" said Tre enthusiastically. Madison stared, shocked. Ramona stared then broke into a grin. Frankie ate more cheese and started clapping.
"Fuck!" said Madison! Tre glared at her as Frankie started chanting "fuck, fuck, fuck" and Mona rolling on the ground laughing. Madison jumped up and hugged me tight.
"Wow. I feel so loved today." I laughed and patted her back. Tre went over to Frankie to try and stop him from saying fuck by saying other things into his ear like "bunny" and "food." It wasn't working though. Tre sighed and shrugged and gave up. He came by my side. Mona had finally regained her position from the floor and was hugging her dad. She moved onto me.
"Congrats Brooke. I always thought when my dad and my mom divorced, I'd want a step mom like you," she said as she hugged me. This brought tears to my eyes. That was really sweet and touching to me no matter how cheesy it sounded.
"Thanks Mona," I said and smiled down at her.
"Let's phone the other couples," suggested Tre. I nodded and he went off to phone them. In a matter of minutes Mike, Billie Joe, Cass, Jess and Joey and Jakob walked through the door.
"Hey. So what's up?" asked Jess. Tre and I smiled at each other and nodded.
"Brooke and I are getting married!" said Tre.
"AHHHHH!" screamed Cass and Jess. They ran over to me and knocked me down they jumped on me and hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe.
"Yes guys. Thank you very much, but I can hardly breathe so get the fuck off me!" I said to them. They laughed and got up and helped me to my feet.
"Congratulations," said Mike as he embraced me in a warm hug. Billie Joe did the same.
"We're going to go play downstairs," said Mona to us. We nodded and they ran down.
The whole time we talked about Tre and Brooke's wedding, I was holding Cass's hand. But I was thinking of Madison. That's it. I'm choosing Madison. I have to tell Cass that I can't be with her. And Madison that I want to be with her. I will tell Madison tonight.
"Hey, Tre. Can we stay over tonight? I'm sure the kids would love that idea," I asked.
"Yeah sure buddy, I'll ask Brooke," he answered, taking a sip of his beer.
"Brooke, can everyone stay over tonight?" I asked her.
"Yeah sure Tre. If they want," she said back. I smiled thanks and told Mike.
"Where'd Madison go?" I asked the girls.
"I don't know," they all said. I shrugged it off. She was probably writing in her diary. I chuckled. She had the same diary since high school. Hours passed and soon Tre was drunk. Everyone else was sober. Well Jess was tipsy.
"Madison still isn't here," I said to Cass. She shrugged.
"Whatever. Let's go watch Tre make an ass of himself," she said. I laughed and followed into the kitchen where Tre was dancing like a stripper with a lamp shade on his head.
I watched Tre dance on the table. My eyes were on him, but my thoughts were of Madison. I'm going to tell her now. Nobody's paying attention to me. Cass is talking with Brooke. I went upstairs and opened the door to Madison's room. Fuck. Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I'm going to puke.
"Tre. Seriously. I really am," I said. Tre looked at me.
"The kids, though," he said.
"MADISON!" I yelled. She came running down the stairs.
"WHAT?!" she asked worriedly.
"Can you watch Frankie and Mona?" I asked with puppy dog eyes. She sighed.
"Fine. Fine, Brooke. I was always the better baby sitter than you anyways."
I laughed. "Thanks! They're watching TV!" I said to her. I grabbed Tre's soft warm hands and entwined his fingers with mine. We raced upstairs and he flung me on the bed. We started to make out passionately and soon things began getting steamier and steamier.
I am such a loser. I am living in Brooke's house watching over Tre's kids who are now watching porn. Great.
"Hey, you guys! Turn that off! Let's watch a movie instead!" I said to them. Mona laughed as Frankie sat there with the remote in his hand staring at the screen. I took it out of his hands and put in Elf.
"I'm going to make popcorn and get sodas," I said to them. I wandered into the big kitchen and micro waved the popcorn while getting three cans of Root Beer out of the fridge. I put the delicious smelling snack in a big bowl and went back to the room.
"Where are dad and Brooke?" asked Mona.
"Oh, they're um, they went over to Billie's to talk about um, stuff," I stuttered out a pathetic lie. It would be so embarrassing if Mona knew what they were really doing. I knew what they were doing. Brooke never really keeps things like that a secret. I remember the first time she uh, you know. She came to school the next day and yelled what she did the night before to me across the whole classroom. So everyone heard. Some people had snickered but most had given her high fives. I snapped back to reality as Frankie and Mona started laughing uncontrolled at a funny scene in the movie. After the movie was finished at about midnight I tucked the kids in bed after saying Brooke and Tre would be home soon. I got into my bed and drifted off to sleep thinking about what a loser I was. Gosh. Making out with Cass's boyfriend, actually, we had gotten further than that one time. None of us had the guts to mention it though. I have to do something. I can't live like this forever.
I woke up with my head on Tre's sweet smelling chest. I looked up to be met with icy blue eyes.
Hey baby," he murmured as if was tired. He kissed the top of my head.
"Hey," I said back lovingly. He took my hand and kissed it. He then put it against his cheek.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," I said meaningfully. I wanted to stay in this position forever. I wanted to die a peaceful death like this. Tre got up and went into the bathroom. He emerged thirty minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist.
Your turn," he said and nodded to the bathroom. I walked in there and into the shower. I let the steamy hot water run all over my body and washed my hair to make it smell like tangerines. I wrapped a towel around my body and applied makeup in the mirror. I came out of the bathroom and put on my clothes. I felt really girly that day so I put on a flowing white skirt and a white lacy tank top.
Tre wasn't in the room. I went down to the studio. Nobody. I walked all around the house and came into the kitchen where Madison was drinking coffee and reading the paper.
"The kids are in their rooms and Tre wants you to go out to your car for some reason," she said without looking up. I raised an eyebrow and walked out to my Mustang that Tre had bought for me. I went inside and there was a note on the wheel. It was directions. Back out. Go right. Turn left at 12th street. Keep going until the end of the road. Turn right. Go to the end. I started up the car and followed the directions. When I finished I was at a rocky cliff. I looked around. Nobody was there. I decided to wander. There was a forest to my right so I went into it. I finally came to a wide clearing of flowing, lush green grass. In the middle of the field I saw Billie there playing "She" on an acoustic guitar. I walked up to Billie and watched him play. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around. Nobody was there. I looked down and Tre was there on one knee looking up at me. He was holding a black box that was opened to reveal a beautiful ring. It had three diamonds on a gold band. Two small ones and one big one in the middle. Tre looked at me.
"Brooke. I love you so much. I've loved ever since I've laid my eyes on you. You are the most beautiful thing in my life. Brooke. Will you marry me?" Oh my gosh.
"Tre! Fuck yes! Of course I will marry you!" I screamed. He stood up and slid the ring on my finger. We shared the most passionate kiss we've ever had. When it ended Billie had just finished the song. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. I whispered in his ear.
"Billie. Thank you so much. I love that song. I have wished since I was a little girl that song would be playing when my husband asked me to marry him. I love you Billie Joe. Like a brother and a friend." I broke free of his grip. We smiled at each other. I then turned around to Tre.
"Tre. You are the best person I know. You made my dreams come true. I love you and I can't wait to be your wife until we die," I said. Well, cried more like it.
"I love you too Brooke. With all my heart," he said. We gazed into each others eyes and it got broken by Billie Joe.
"Hey guys. Yeah, well, I hate to ruin your special moment, but can we go now? My kids are coming on like thirty minutes."
"Oh yeah. Sorry BJ. C'mon Tre, let's go," I said and we walked back to my car holding hands. And Billie was holding his guitar. Billie drove us home while Tre and I were in the back making out.
"Bye guys," he said as he dropped us and my car off. We waved our goodbyes and went inside.
"Does anyone else know?" I asked Tre. He shook his head.
"Nope, just Billie Joe," he said. We walked into the kitchen still holding hands where Madison and the kids were eating and talking. "Hey. Uhh, Tre and I have something to say," I said to them. They all stopped and looked at us expectantly.
"We're getting married!" said Tre enthusiastically. Madison stared, shocked. Ramona stared then broke into a grin. Frankie ate more cheese and started clapping.
"Fuck!" said Madison! Tre glared at her as Frankie started chanting "fuck, fuck, fuck" and Mona rolling on the ground laughing. Madison jumped up and hugged me tight.
"Wow. I feel so loved today." I laughed and patted her back. Tre went over to Frankie to try and stop him from saying fuck by saying other things into his ear like "bunny" and "food." It wasn't working though. Tre sighed and shrugged and gave up. He came by my side. Mona had finally regained her position from the floor and was hugging her dad. She moved onto me.
"Congrats Brooke. I always thought when my dad and my mom divorced, I'd want a step mom like you," she said as she hugged me. This brought tears to my eyes. That was really sweet and touching to me no matter how cheesy it sounded.
"Thanks Mona," I said and smiled down at her.
"Let's phone the other couples," suggested Tre. I nodded and he went off to phone them. In a matter of minutes Mike, Billie Joe, Cass, Jess and Joey and Jakob walked through the door.
"Hey. So what's up?" asked Jess. Tre and I smiled at each other and nodded.
"Brooke and I are getting married!" said Tre.
"AHHHHH!" screamed Cass and Jess. They ran over to me and knocked me down they jumped on me and hugged me so tight I could hardly breathe.
"Yes guys. Thank you very much, but I can hardly breathe so get the fuck off me!" I said to them. They laughed and got up and helped me to my feet.
"Congratulations," said Mike as he embraced me in a warm hug. Billie Joe did the same.
"We're going to go play downstairs," said Mona to us. We nodded and they ran down.
The whole time we talked about Tre and Brooke's wedding, I was holding Cass's hand. But I was thinking of Madison. That's it. I'm choosing Madison. I have to tell Cass that I can't be with her. And Madison that I want to be with her. I will tell Madison tonight.
"Hey, Tre. Can we stay over tonight? I'm sure the kids would love that idea," I asked.
"Yeah sure buddy, I'll ask Brooke," he answered, taking a sip of his beer.
"Brooke, can everyone stay over tonight?" I asked her.
"Yeah sure Tre. If they want," she said back. I smiled thanks and told Mike.
"Where'd Madison go?" I asked the girls.
"I don't know," they all said. I shrugged it off. She was probably writing in her diary. I chuckled. She had the same diary since high school. Hours passed and soon Tre was drunk. Everyone else was sober. Well Jess was tipsy.
"Madison still isn't here," I said to Cass. She shrugged.
"Whatever. Let's go watch Tre make an ass of himself," she said. I laughed and followed into the kitchen where Tre was dancing like a stripper with a lamp shade on his head.
I watched Tre dance on the table. My eyes were on him, but my thoughts were of Madison. I'm going to tell her now. Nobody's paying attention to me. Cass is talking with Brooke. I went upstairs and opened the door to Madison's room. Fuck. Oh fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I'm going to puke.
