Time Spent, chapter 8
It took me a little over two hours to convince him that we should tell them about us. I even got him to let me tell Amy.
It was slightly past one thirty but I wasn't tired. I was hungry though.
"I'm hungry. You?" I asked.
"Yeah. Go make something," he told me, smiling and motioning towards the kitchen.
"Hey! I'm not your slave! Go make me something!" I giggled.
"Let's just go somewhere," he told me, stretching.
"Nothing good is gonna be open right now."
"Ugh, fine."
He got up and went into the kitchen. I got up and followed him. He was standing in front of the fridge when I got there. It was nearly empty.
"I haven't been to the store in a while."
I walked to the refrigerator and looked inside. There was beer, wilty lettuce, a few foil blobs containing leftovers, a bunch of condiments, moldy bread, eggs and milk.
I closed the fridge and turned to the cabinets. I opened a few of them and found some pancake mix.
"Pancakes!" I yelled excitedly.
"Yes! I forgot I had that."
I laughed and told him to get a bowl and a whisk out. He brought them over and handed me the milk and eggs.
"Thanks."
I began to mix everything together and poured some of the batter onto the pan he had put on the stove.
I stood there watching it bubble and he came up and wrapped his arms around me, smelling my hair. I pleasant tingle went down my spine and I turned around, putting down the spatula and wrapped my arms around him as well. He smiled down at me and gently brushed the hair out of my face.
"You're so beautiful," he told me softly.
I blushed.
"You are," he said as if he had been reading my thoughts.
He cupped my chin and made me meet his eyes.
"I hate it when we have to pretend there's nothing going on between us. You make me forget all the things that are going wrong in my life."
I smiled but didn't say anything back. I felt the same way and I think he knew it. We just stood there in a comfortable silence holding each other. I had my face buried on his chest and he was resting his chin on my head.
"Chris... "
"Yeah?" I asked, looking up at him.
He kissed me and I felt the world spin out of control. My knees felt like they could barely support me. It felt like hours had passed as we just stood there, lips locked in the best kiss I had ever received.
I smelled something burning and pulled away.
"Shit!"
I grabbed the spatula and attempted to pry the burning pancake off the pan. He laughed and reached down to get another pan.
"Forget that one, just use this one," he told me, trading pans and putting the other one in the sink and filling it with water to let it soak.
***
We had finally gotten the pancakes cooked, eaten, and cleaned up and went into the living room.
He took a running start and dived onto the couch. I giggled and sat on one of the enormous chair across from him. He flipped on the TV and surfed through the channels. He finally settled on FUSE which was playing music videos.
He dropped the remote on the floor exasperatedly and sighed. I laughed at the look on his face and he glared at me good naturedly.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You."
"Me?!"
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
He grinned maliciously and rolled off the couch onto the floor. He scurried over to my chair and pulled me off onto the ground beside him.
I landed with a thud.
"Ow! Billie Joe that hurt!" I told him laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me make it better."
He crawled on top of me and started to kiss my neck. The tingle returned to my spine again as he slowly followed the curve of my neck up to my lips. His hands were sliding down lower and becoming bolder. I closed my eyes and slid my hands up his arms and wrapped my arms around his middle.
'Walking Contradiction' started to play on the TV and Billie Joe barely batted an eye as he felt around for the remote and quickly turned it off. By now, both of us were breathing heavily and his hands had found their way under my tank top.
He pulled away hesitantly and stared into my eyes. I could tell he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it. He looked anxious.
"What is it?" I finally asked, pulling him back down and kissing him.
He pulled away again.
"You wanna... forget it."
"Billie Joe, just spit it out."
I met his eyes and he held for a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor.
"You wanna... take this upstairs?" he mumbled.
I was silent for a moment. I mean, it wasn't like I hadn't been with a guy before. I had had plenty of horny boyfriends in high school who had asked the same question, and yet I was nervous. This was more serious than the flings I had had in high school. It was a big decision in our relationship.
He saw my hesitation.
"Oh man, I was way off wasn't I? Shit, I'm sorry-"
"No, I just was caught off guard," I said, cutting him off. "I want to."
He looked relieved.
"Really? Because if you don't that's ok."
"I said I want to."
He grinned.
"I'd hoped you would."
He stood up, picked me up in his arms, and carried me off towards the stairs.
***
I floated back into consciousness, slowly, taking my time to wake up. I heard Billie Joe's steady breathing next to me and smiled to myself. A ray of sunshine leaked into the room through the giant half moon window above the two normal rectangular ones. I yawned, stretched, and slowly opened my eyes.
The clock on the table beside me read ten thirty. I sighed and rolled over to look at Billie Joe's sleeping form. His eyeliner was smudged and his hair stuck up in a million directions. I couldn't help but giggle quietly causing his eyes to open.
"Whaddya laughing at?" he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him.
I draped my arm around him and wriggled my head into the crook of his neck.
"Nothing, go back to sleep."
He finally did drift back to sleep and his steady breathing soon had my eyes feeling heavy. I drifted in and out of sleep for about an hour, feeling safe and protected in his arms. It was almost as if I was made to fit against him.
***
I finally disentangled myself from his arms and went into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and hopped in. I let the water run down me and became a little more awake. I got out feeling refreshed.
I walked back into his bedroom dressed only in a bra and the jeans I had been wearing yesterday and crawled over the bed to where he was laying. His head was buried in my pillow.
I sat there watching him for a moment before laying my hand on his back. He rolled over onto his side and yawned.
"Can I borrow a shirt?" I asked him when I figured he was awake enough to comprehend what I had asked him.
"Yeah, whatever you can find in the closet you're welcome to."
"Thanks."
He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes again. I smirked and walked over to the closet. I opened the door, flipped on the light and gasped. It was an enormous walk in closet, brimming with clothes. I went over to one side with a bunch of t shirts stacked on shelves. I rummaged through them before deciding upon a shirt with 'The Ramones' printed across it.
I went downstairs and turned on the coffee pot. I searched the cabinets for a mug and got one down. The coffee pot finally stopped and I poured myself a cup. I hopped up onto the counter and took a long drink as Billie Joe walked in.
"Mornin," he said groggily.
"Good morning," I replied cheerfully.
He walked over to me and laid his head in my lap.
"Coffee?" I asked, stroking his hair.
"Yes please. I'm gonna go take a shower real quick first though."
"Ok."
He stumbled out and back up the stairs and I heard the shower turn on above me.
I got down off the counter and got another mug to fill with coffee. I set it down next to the coffee pot and walked into the living room.
I sat on the couch and flipped on the TV. I flipped through the channels and settled on MTV2 which was showing the making of for 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'. Billie Joe walked in and sat next to me, inhaling the scent from his coffee deeply.
He glanced at the TV and told me, "Turn that shit off."
"Why?"
"I've never liked seeing myself on TV. It's kinda embarrassing."
I smiled and changed the channel.
"You do realize you're famous, right?"
He shot me a dirty look
"No, I had no idea," he replied sarcastically.
I laughed at him and got up for a refill.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" he asked.
"Well, we should probably tell them today," I shouted back from the kitchen.
"Oh, right. How should we break the news?"
I walked back into the room and sat down.
"I don't know. I think it would be easier if we told them together, quickly. You know, like a Band-Aid."
He nearly spit his coffee.
"A Band-Aid?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh shut up!"
***
We had decided to tell them all together at Billie Joe's house. We had told them to be here at three sharp just to hang out. No use getting them nervous or anything by saying we had something important to tell them.
It was two thirty and I had attempted to straighten his house up a little before they got here. It hadn't worked too well and Billie Joe wouldn't even help. Not that I expected him to or anything.
Three finally came around and they arrived in a steady flow. Pete had come ten minutes early for 'support', he had said. Mike came next, followed by Brandon, Tre and Travis in that order.
We sat in the living room and the air was heavy. Everyone seemed to feel this wasn't just to 'hang out'. Billie Joe finally broke the ice.
"So... I bet you guys are wondering why you're here."
Several of them nodded.
Billie Joe looked at me as if to say, 'your turn'.
"Um... well... I think some of you have already figured it out... and Pete knows... we figured we should tell the rest of you... that... um... " I trailed off.
"Me and her are kinda... together," Billie Joe finished.
It was met with silence. Finally Tre spoke up.
"I figured something was going on between you two ever since yesterday."
"Yeah, me too," Brandon confessed.
"How did I not figure that out?!" Travis said, bewildered.
"Mike? Anything to say?" Tre asked.
He thought about it for a moment before answering, "I'm glad for you man. You've needed someone for a while. She's a good pick too, I mean, she is a bassist after all."
He slapped Billie Joe on the back and shook hands with him.
I sighed with relief. It had gone better than I had imagined. I'm not sure why I had ever thought it would go badly, I guess I was just preparing myself for the worst.
Pete put his arm around my shoulders.
"Glad that's over with?" he whispered in my ear.
"Yeah. I don't feel like a criminal anymore."
He smiled.
"Need a ride home?" he asked.
"Yeah, I should probably go home. Mom and Dad don't even know where I am. I'll have to tell them and Amy about this too."
We all hung out for an hour or so before leaving. Billie Joe hated to see me leave but I needed to go home. After promising to call him tonight, he finally let me go.
***
My parents took the news really well. Amy wasn't home by the time I had gotten there; she was out with her newest boyfriend. I was tired so I decided to wait and tell her in the morning. I crawled into bed and dialed Billie Joe's number. He decided he would talk me to sleep which didn't take long. I drifted off to sleep easy just listening to his voice.
It was slightly past one thirty but I wasn't tired. I was hungry though.
"I'm hungry. You?" I asked.
"Yeah. Go make something," he told me, smiling and motioning towards the kitchen.
"Hey! I'm not your slave! Go make me something!" I giggled.
"Let's just go somewhere," he told me, stretching.
"Nothing good is gonna be open right now."
"Ugh, fine."
He got up and went into the kitchen. I got up and followed him. He was standing in front of the fridge when I got there. It was nearly empty.
"I haven't been to the store in a while."
I walked to the refrigerator and looked inside. There was beer, wilty lettuce, a few foil blobs containing leftovers, a bunch of condiments, moldy bread, eggs and milk.
I closed the fridge and turned to the cabinets. I opened a few of them and found some pancake mix.
"Pancakes!" I yelled excitedly.
"Yes! I forgot I had that."
I laughed and told him to get a bowl and a whisk out. He brought them over and handed me the milk and eggs.
"Thanks."
I began to mix everything together and poured some of the batter onto the pan he had put on the stove.
I stood there watching it bubble and he came up and wrapped his arms around me, smelling my hair. I pleasant tingle went down my spine and I turned around, putting down the spatula and wrapped my arms around him as well. He smiled down at me and gently brushed the hair out of my face.
"You're so beautiful," he told me softly.
I blushed.
"You are," he said as if he had been reading my thoughts.
He cupped my chin and made me meet his eyes.
"I hate it when we have to pretend there's nothing going on between us. You make me forget all the things that are going wrong in my life."
I smiled but didn't say anything back. I felt the same way and I think he knew it. We just stood there in a comfortable silence holding each other. I had my face buried on his chest and he was resting his chin on my head.
"Chris... "
"Yeah?" I asked, looking up at him.
He kissed me and I felt the world spin out of control. My knees felt like they could barely support me. It felt like hours had passed as we just stood there, lips locked in the best kiss I had ever received.
I smelled something burning and pulled away.
"Shit!"
I grabbed the spatula and attempted to pry the burning pancake off the pan. He laughed and reached down to get another pan.
"Forget that one, just use this one," he told me, trading pans and putting the other one in the sink and filling it with water to let it soak.
***
We had finally gotten the pancakes cooked, eaten, and cleaned up and went into the living room.
He took a running start and dived onto the couch. I giggled and sat on one of the enormous chair across from him. He flipped on the TV and surfed through the channels. He finally settled on FUSE which was playing music videos.
He dropped the remote on the floor exasperatedly and sighed. I laughed at the look on his face and he glared at me good naturedly.
"What are you laughing at?"
"You."
"Me?!"
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
He grinned maliciously and rolled off the couch onto the floor. He scurried over to my chair and pulled me off onto the ground beside him.
I landed with a thud.
"Ow! Billie Joe that hurt!" I told him laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, let me make it better."
He crawled on top of me and started to kiss my neck. The tingle returned to my spine again as he slowly followed the curve of my neck up to my lips. His hands were sliding down lower and becoming bolder. I closed my eyes and slid my hands up his arms and wrapped my arms around his middle.
'Walking Contradiction' started to play on the TV and Billie Joe barely batted an eye as he felt around for the remote and quickly turned it off. By now, both of us were breathing heavily and his hands had found their way under my tank top.
He pulled away hesitantly and stared into my eyes. I could tell he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to say it. He looked anxious.
"What is it?" I finally asked, pulling him back down and kissing him.
He pulled away again.
"You wanna... forget it."
"Billie Joe, just spit it out."
I met his eyes and he held for a moment before dropping his gaze to the floor.
"You wanna... take this upstairs?" he mumbled.
I was silent for a moment. I mean, it wasn't like I hadn't been with a guy before. I had had plenty of horny boyfriends in high school who had asked the same question, and yet I was nervous. This was more serious than the flings I had had in high school. It was a big decision in our relationship.
He saw my hesitation.
"Oh man, I was way off wasn't I? Shit, I'm sorry-"
"No, I just was caught off guard," I said, cutting him off. "I want to."
He looked relieved.
"Really? Because if you don't that's ok."
"I said I want to."
He grinned.
"I'd hoped you would."
He stood up, picked me up in his arms, and carried me off towards the stairs.
***
I floated back into consciousness, slowly, taking my time to wake up. I heard Billie Joe's steady breathing next to me and smiled to myself. A ray of sunshine leaked into the room through the giant half moon window above the two normal rectangular ones. I yawned, stretched, and slowly opened my eyes.
The clock on the table beside me read ten thirty. I sighed and rolled over to look at Billie Joe's sleeping form. His eyeliner was smudged and his hair stuck up in a million directions. I couldn't help but giggle quietly causing his eyes to open.
"Whaddya laughing at?" he mumbled as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him.
I draped my arm around him and wriggled my head into the crook of his neck.
"Nothing, go back to sleep."
He finally did drift back to sleep and his steady breathing soon had my eyes feeling heavy. I drifted in and out of sleep for about an hour, feeling safe and protected in his arms. It was almost as if I was made to fit against him.
***
I finally disentangled myself from his arms and went into the bathroom. I turned on the shower and hopped in. I let the water run down me and became a little more awake. I got out feeling refreshed.
I walked back into his bedroom dressed only in a bra and the jeans I had been wearing yesterday and crawled over the bed to where he was laying. His head was buried in my pillow.
I sat there watching him for a moment before laying my hand on his back. He rolled over onto his side and yawned.
"Can I borrow a shirt?" I asked him when I figured he was awake enough to comprehend what I had asked him.
"Yeah, whatever you can find in the closet you're welcome to."
"Thanks."
He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes again. I smirked and walked over to the closet. I opened the door, flipped on the light and gasped. It was an enormous walk in closet, brimming with clothes. I went over to one side with a bunch of t shirts stacked on shelves. I rummaged through them before deciding upon a shirt with 'The Ramones' printed across it.
I went downstairs and turned on the coffee pot. I searched the cabinets for a mug and got one down. The coffee pot finally stopped and I poured myself a cup. I hopped up onto the counter and took a long drink as Billie Joe walked in.
"Mornin," he said groggily.
"Good morning," I replied cheerfully.
He walked over to me and laid his head in my lap.
"Coffee?" I asked, stroking his hair.
"Yes please. I'm gonna go take a shower real quick first though."
"Ok."
He stumbled out and back up the stairs and I heard the shower turn on above me.
I got down off the counter and got another mug to fill with coffee. I set it down next to the coffee pot and walked into the living room.
I sat on the couch and flipped on the TV. I flipped through the channels and settled on MTV2 which was showing the making of for 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams'. Billie Joe walked in and sat next to me, inhaling the scent from his coffee deeply.
He glanced at the TV and told me, "Turn that shit off."
"Why?"
"I've never liked seeing myself on TV. It's kinda embarrassing."
I smiled and changed the channel.
"You do realize you're famous, right?"
He shot me a dirty look
"No, I had no idea," he replied sarcastically.
I laughed at him and got up for a refill.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" he asked.
"Well, we should probably tell them today," I shouted back from the kitchen.
"Oh, right. How should we break the news?"
I walked back into the room and sat down.
"I don't know. I think it would be easier if we told them together, quickly. You know, like a Band-Aid."
He nearly spit his coffee.
"A Band-Aid?" he asked incredulously.
"Oh shut up!"
***
We had decided to tell them all together at Billie Joe's house. We had told them to be here at three sharp just to hang out. No use getting them nervous or anything by saying we had something important to tell them.
It was two thirty and I had attempted to straighten his house up a little before they got here. It hadn't worked too well and Billie Joe wouldn't even help. Not that I expected him to or anything.
Three finally came around and they arrived in a steady flow. Pete had come ten minutes early for 'support', he had said. Mike came next, followed by Brandon, Tre and Travis in that order.
We sat in the living room and the air was heavy. Everyone seemed to feel this wasn't just to 'hang out'. Billie Joe finally broke the ice.
"So... I bet you guys are wondering why you're here."
Several of them nodded.
Billie Joe looked at me as if to say, 'your turn'.
"Um... well... I think some of you have already figured it out... and Pete knows... we figured we should tell the rest of you... that... um... " I trailed off.
"Me and her are kinda... together," Billie Joe finished.
It was met with silence. Finally Tre spoke up.
"I figured something was going on between you two ever since yesterday."
"Yeah, me too," Brandon confessed.
"How did I not figure that out?!" Travis said, bewildered.
"Mike? Anything to say?" Tre asked.
He thought about it for a moment before answering, "I'm glad for you man. You've needed someone for a while. She's a good pick too, I mean, she is a bassist after all."
He slapped Billie Joe on the back and shook hands with him.
I sighed with relief. It had gone better than I had imagined. I'm not sure why I had ever thought it would go badly, I guess I was just preparing myself for the worst.
Pete put his arm around my shoulders.
"Glad that's over with?" he whispered in my ear.
"Yeah. I don't feel like a criminal anymore."
He smiled.
"Need a ride home?" he asked.
"Yeah, I should probably go home. Mom and Dad don't even know where I am. I'll have to tell them and Amy about this too."
We all hung out for an hour or so before leaving. Billie Joe hated to see me leave but I needed to go home. After promising to call him tonight, he finally let me go.
***
My parents took the news really well. Amy wasn't home by the time I had gotten there; she was out with her newest boyfriend. I was tired so I decided to wait and tell her in the morning. I crawled into bed and dialed Billie Joe's number. He decided he would talk me to sleep which didn't take long. I drifted off to sleep easy just listening to his voice.
