The Other Woman

"Mmmm, what are you making for breakfast?" asks Billie while nudging my neck lightly with the tip of his nose.
"I'm making pancakes and some breakfast burritos"
"Sounds yummy" he yarns from behind me, running his hand through his morning bed head.

Smiling I continue chopping up slices of green peppers, staining the cutting board green. Popping one into my mouth, I grab for the container filled with cheddar cheese and scatter a few pieces around the tortillas lying on the counter. Turning my head just a little, I see Billie eyeing me from across the counter.

"May I help you?" I ask with a hint of annoyance, he knows that I hate when people stare at me.
"No, I'm just thinking about a few things" he mutters quickly darting his eyes to another location other than on my face.
"Like what?"
"I don't think you'd be interested in knowing" he mumbles.
"Try me" I challenge, now putting the burritos into the oven and mixing the pancake batter.
"I was thinking about Adrienne" he mumbles unsurely, stepping a few feet closer to me.

Oh Gosh

The only thing I can do is roll my eyes, but just to make him a bit happy I put on a smile.
"You guys are having problems again?" I ask with intent.
"No actually" he chuckles. "Things have been fantastic right now".
"So what's the problem?"
"I don't know. I just feel guilty" he mutters, fiddling with his fingers, obviously nervous about telling me his true feelings.

Feelings of him being ashamed of me, of embarrassment, of betrayal towards his wife.

Now glaring at him and just about fed up, I sloppily pour a cup of batter into the pan to let the pancake heat and cook. I place my powdered hand on my hip, ready for an argument.

"Ok. So you're ashamed and embarrassed by me. Anything else I should I know?!"
"What? I never said that! I just feel guilty about my wife, and I'm not ashamed of you! I'm ashamed of myself" he almost retorts.
"So what do you want to do Billie Joe? End this?! It's not like I can't live without you!"

He mutters something incoherently before scoffing out of the kitchen. And the only thing that doesn't stop me from chasing after him is the scent of a burning pancake.

After the burritos, pancakes, and coffee were done, I set the table, hoping not to continue the argument with Billie Joe. When we are both seated and biting into our delicious delicacies the sun shining gloriously through the kitchen window, I decide to get something off my chest.

"Billie?" I say timidly.
"Yeah?" he answers with a full mouth of vegetarian meat and tortilla bread.
"I'm friends with Tre" I say casually.

"Excush shme?!" he chokes through a mouthful, now coughing loudly.
Smiling shyly, I wipe my mouth with a napkin and take a sip of my coffee, carefully avoiding his abashed eyes.

"Serenity!?! What the fuck are you talking about?" he jumps.
"Tre and I are friends" I mumble shyly keeping my eyes on the now interesting tablecloth pattern.
"How?!" he squeals
"Well. We met in D. C that night I was meeting up with you at that bar. And then I ran into him here, and he remembered my face, so we talked and stuff, and then he kissed my cheek and we exchanged phone numbers, and now---." I ramble nervously.
"What?! Start over!"

And so I did.... When all was said and done, Billie was least to say overjoyed. One of his best friends knew that I existed, which terribly bothered him, especially since he did not want to take ANY chances. At least he wasn't foaming at the mouth like I had previously suspected. The final decision was for us to take it easy for a while.

"Thanks for coming out" I mumble against the cotton of his shirt, my hands going past the dashboard and latching around his neck.
"It was my pleasure" he says, scooping up my chin with his hand and looking deep into my eyes, making me turn to stone.

We were currently outside the airport, but I didn't want him to leave. Not just yet....

"I'll miss you and I'm sorry about Tre and stuff" I mumble, smiling sheepishly at him through the darkness of his sunglasses, which I were wearing. He definitely needed a shave, since his tiny whiskers had now begun poking at my skin.
"Its... Ok Seny... Tre... Isn't... Exactly a rocket scientist... So he shouldn't... Find out" he replies against the skin of my neck, adding tiny kisses after each word.

Before long three even longer weeks had passed. My job at the bistro was becoming more annoying each day, specifically because more males who thought they had the right to tap my ass at any given moment, became more frequent customers. At least they gave good tips.. And so another day rolled on and then another, each boring and tiresome on its own.

"You never told me who gave you that rose" questions Jen as she takes a sip of her glass of strawberry soda. We were both seated on the couch watching late night T. V, nearly three weeks after Billie Joe's farewell visit. But I still had the rose on my dresser in my bedroom, simply because it reminded me of him and how he 'cared' for me.

"Just some guy" I mumble nonchalantly trying to get off the subject. I really didn't want to get into an entire conversation of the affair I was having with Billie Joe, because if I did, she would probably pass out with shock, seizures, and foaming of the mouth. After all, its not everyday that your best friend has an affair with a celebrity rock star.

"Is this 'some guy' Tre?" she pesters on.
"Nope"
"Tell me"
"Nope"
"Why not?"
"Because I'm trying to watch this movie" I say getting slightly annoyed.
"If its Tre, then that's cute. You guys should start dating" she mumbles, now taking a handful of my barbeque chips and stuffing them into her mouth.

"Heey! Get your own" I demand, pulling the bowl of goodness to my sides and out of her grasp. "And for your information, Tre and I are just friends. If he had wanted to make a move on me, then I'm sure he would have done it already" I mutter.

"You like him, don't you?" she sneers, sneaky glimpses of me with her eyes, which she KNOWS gets on my nerves.
"Just a little, and its only because he's cute and funny" I smile.
"You are so love struck" she mutters.

"Who's loves struck?" shouts Rick, throwing himself on top of Jen and I, shattering the chips onto the floor.
"Owww" Jen whines, although you can sense the excitement and pleasure in her voice.

Those two really needed to figure their shit out. We had known each other for years now, and it was pretty obvious that they liked one another. Rick could be found flirting with her if we went out to the yearly carnival, or if Jen had a new boyfriend he was always suspicious and distrusting of her latest hubby. As for Jen, it was the same scenario. Whenever Rick had a new girlfriend, she would get jealous and moody, also Jen sometimes flirted with Rick, and on more than one occasion they kissed because they were both apparently 'drunk'.... Yeah, right!

"Just Jen and her celebrity fuck buddy" laughs Jennifer from above Rick.
"I am not, the only love striking in this room is between you and Rick" I bit back.

Yep, that did it

Both of their previously sneering faces were now shades of embarrassed scarlet, which I enjoyed engendering.
"Shut the fuck up Selene" mutters Rick who has now removed himself from off of Jen and I, proving my point even more. Deciding to stay quiet before an intense argument occurred, I removed myself from the couch and entered my bedroom.
Plopping on the dark olive green cotton sheets, I let the fan circulate a cool wind throughout my room, bringing glorious, yet warm chills to my heated body. Staring at the pedals of the fan spinning round and round reminded me of my own lifestyle. Which just so happened to revolve around Billie Joe. That little performance he did several weeks ago really stole my heart, and every time I wore or even glanced at that gorgeous bracelet, it bought back images of my prince back into my memory. From the sex on the beach to the sound of him humming in my bathroom.

An annoying buzzing which wasn't caused by the fan, aired out my thoughts. It was my cell phone ringing on the little night stand next to the occupied bed I was sprawled upon. The only source of illumination in my dark bedroom was the white and purple shaded pig lamp on the night stand, illuminating the room and the name that appeared on the screen of my phone.

Tre C.

A grin stretches its way onto my face as the sincere gesture melts into my mind. But what did that idiot want from me at this time of night?

"Hello?" I ask politely
"Hola Serenity" he pipes up
"Hola amigo" I respond in my best Spanish accent
"You do realize that we have a long awaited appointment coming up... "

"Uhhm, what are you talking about?" I ask blankly, not having the slightest of ideas as to what he is referring to.
"I haven't seen you in a really long time, nearly two months to be exact"
"You actually want to see me?" I say shocked.
"Well duh! You're my Miami buddy, so I have to familiarize yourself with me" he says, and I can only imagine the smirk that is playing upon his lips as he says this.
"Does that mean you're coming?" I ask curiously.
"And I thought you were a rocket scientist" he chuckles.

I place the phone away from my ear for two seconds, and clap my hands together in joy. Its true, I had a tiny crush on the guy, but nothing more. And if push came to shove, I would certainly pick Billie Joe over him.

"Yeah, so you'll be in Miami tomorrow?" I ask with as little enthusiasm as possible.
"Most likely. Are you going to pick me up?"
"Do I look like a taxi service to you Frank?"

He belts out one of his infamous chuckles and I can hear the distant whispering of a woman's voice.
"Um, do you want to call me back?"
"No, why would I?"
"Because it sounds like you have company" I say rather irritated

"That's just the TV, your getting jealous already!?" he howls.
"How bout you no" I reply bluntly.
"I'm just messing with you, well a little"
"Are we done?"
"Done what?"
"Talking. I do need sleep, especially if you're going to come and annoy all day tomorrow" I say still annoyed at his jealousy comment. I resituate myself onto the bed, allowing the mattress to give a faint squeak as I shuffle underneath the olive colored sheets, fanning out my legs and getting very comfortable.

"Fine, be that way" he playfully cries. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bye Seny"

Not bothering to say my good-bye I simply push the 'no' button on the phone, turned it off, and dropped it to the carpeted floor below, and settling into a long awaited slumber.

After informing Jennifer and Rick of Tre's upcoming trip to our home that morning, I thought it would be appropriate to buy a few groceries so that Tre wouldn't come to an empty refrigerator with spoiled milk and unripe oranges. After returning from grocery shopping, I thought it would also be nice to clean up a bit, after all a guest would be coming, and very well couldn't come to an unkempt place.

But after waiting for several hours, and receiving no calls from that GUEST, no one showed up. That's right, Tre stood me up. Gave me the boot. Kicked me to the curb...
He could have at least had the decency to call me about his sudden cancellation.

He had better have a good excuse...