Sunrise

Billie Joe sighed and stared blankly at the walls of his hotel room. The clock at his bedside beeped to remind him that it was four in the morning. He had another two hours to not sleep before Mike and Tre would barge into his room to drag him out of bed and onto their next stop.

He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay right here and go to her house with a bouquet of roses and book of poetry. She made him sappy. She made him smile. And when she smiled, it was like…like the beginning of the world all over again. Billie Joe couldn’t deny it—he was head over heels in love with this girl, this woman that he’d met not forty-eight hours ago.

Just thinking about her made his heat beat faster. He wanted to be near her again and wrap his arms around her. And kiss her. That was a kiss to remember. That was a kiss to relive and cherish until he died.

He’d walked her home last night. The show was over; it was a great show. There wasn’t a huge audience, but enough to have fun. Billie Joe looked down into the front row and saw the woman he’d dreamed of meeting since his thirteenth birthday.

So he thrust his guitar into Mike’s hands the moment they stopped playing and offered to take her home. Her name was Adrienne. Billie Joe closed his eyes and felt the word rolling off his tongue. He wished she were here.

Her house was a normal family-of-five type. Two stories, garden, cheery windows wide open. It was perfect for her. Even as he walked with her towards the front door, Billie Joe imagined living with her in that sort of house one day. And now, lying half naked in his hotel room, Billie Joe pictured her walking downstairs into his arms and sitting down to a breakfast of pancakes and eggs. And maybe they’d have kids. Yeah, two children. Boys.

Billie smiled. He didn’t say any of this to her. She would have run away or slapped him and he’d never see her again. No, instead Billie told her how pretty she was with her round rosy cheeks and her olive skin and those pretty red lips. She was beautiful. Adrienne kissed his cheek.

Billie Joe rubbed a hand against the lipstick mark on his left cheek. He still hadn’t washed his face. Adrienne had kissed him there. And after she kissed his cheek, she looked into his eyes and told him she thought his eyes were amazing. She said they were greener than anything she’d ever seen. She said they were like malachite. Billie Joe felt he took a risk by replying that he didn’t want to move his eyes from her.

Billie Joe’s smile grew wider as he thought of how Adrienne giggled and kissed his lips. Her lips were warm and felt right. He didn’t want to kiss anyone else as long as he lived.

His heart was still pounding against his chest. This woman drove him crazy. Her hair, her voice, everything about her was everything Billie Joe had ever wanted or needed. But they’d leave today and he probably wouldn’t see her again for years. He looked out the window.

The sun would be up soon. He grabbed his shirt and took off towards the lobby. It was dark there too. Billie Joe went outside. It was fading into dawn. He looked out towards the horizon and craned his neck a little. Maybe he’d be able to see her house from here.

He couldn’t. He wouldn’t have time to see her before they left. Billie Joe frowned a little as he touched the lipstick mark again and plopped down onto the hotel lawn. Tomorrow night they’d all be back in the Bookmobile. And they’d be miles away from Minnesota. Away from Adrienne.

Billie Joe looked at the sky again. The sun was rising. It was beautiful like Adrienne. People were awake already, walking down the street and laughing. Adrienne laughed with him last night. He loved her laugh. He loved her. She took his breath away. Billie Joe closed his eyes and pictured her face one last time.

Slowly, he took a pen from his pocket. With nothing but his arm for paper, he began to write.