Best Man

As partially expected, a heat wave did in fact begin to sweep through the state of California as the month of June disappeared like a forgotten ghost and July emerged in a smoldering haze.

Now officially in her sixth month of pregnancy, Caroline's stomach ballooned as if she were all ready to go into labor. It worried her a bit because she knew she had been small at birth and according to Mike, so had he. The fearful yet curious thought of perhaps she was carrying twins had crept into her mind more often than she could count on her fingers.

As she waddled throughout her Oakland home in a black tank top that failed to cover her stomach and in turn looked more like a sports bra than anything, Caroline grumbled miserably to herself as her thighs rubbed together beneath the black peasant skirt that barely hung on her hips.

It was a little past three in the afternoon and she was going stir crazy; sweating like a pig in a sauna because the air conditioning in the house had broken and Mike had gone to Sears to buy some oscillating fans until the repairmen could fix the air conditioning problem.

She considered swimming but that meant she'd have to walk upstairs where it was even hotter, because heat rises, and change into the maternity wear bathing suit she had to buy; but that itself meant she had to move around and work up a sweat and trying to fit into anything restricting was more than a little uncomfortable.

Her hazel eyes drooping as she fanned herself with a magazine; the idea of simply walking outside and jumping into the pool with her clothes on became rather appealing. And just as she was making her very slow way toward the back of the house, she heard the click of the front door; causing her to turn around with a raised eyebrow.

There was a sound of heavy footsteps in the front hall and she knew that meant whoever had entered her home was a man; and a part of her felt nervous because it made her wonder whether or not the door had been locked and if the person was able to walk right in or if they had used a key.

It could be anyone.

In her mind she suddenly had the image of two police officers dressed in black; looking solemn.

And her heart fluttered with anxiety.

But then only one person appeared in the kitchen, where she was located at the moment; several feet from the sliding glass doors that lead out to the back patio.

"Hey Shamu, how's it hanging?"

With those five words, Caroline's heart was stilled as a smirk took up residence on her lips when Tre came into view with a huge box in his hands.

"Low," she muttered. "And don't call me Shamu or I'll kick your motherfucking ass."

Tre pouted his lips and widened his eyes. "Me sowwy," he said in a baby voice.

"Is that a fan?" she gestured to the flat, square box in his arms; ignoring his apology.

The drummer looked down at what he held and nodded when he glanced back at Caroline. "Yes, it is. Mike called me from Sears and asked if I had one for you to borrow until he could buy however many he was getting and get home with them. Since I live closer than Billie, I brought the fan," he explained. "But, seriously...how you doin'?"

"I've felt less uncomfortable before," she grumbled; still fanning herself with the magazine. "I'm as big as a house and I still have three months to go, it's hotter than hell with no air movement where even a slight breeze is concerned, and I can't be bothered to move much...even if it means going outside to go into the pool."

"You should go in the pool. It'll bring your body temperature down considerably and you don't wanna get heat exhaustion."

"Well, I kinda was, but as you can see, I'm not what you'd call quick on my feet right now." With a slight grimace, she pointed lazily at the box fan. "Could you take it out and set it up in the living room for me?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Where exactly in the living room do you want it?"

Caroline shrugged. "On the coffee table, I guess. But pull it out away from the couch so that it won't block the TV if I sit in there, 'kay?"

"Okay."

Turning slightly, Caroline began to waddle again as she headed for the sliding glass doors. "I'll be attempting to go outside to the pool if you need me. And if the phone rings, feel free to answer it."

Tre didn't bother to respond as she spoke and eventually exited the back of the house. He carried the box fan into the living room and leaning forward with a slight huff permeating from his lips.

"Christ, it's hot in here," he murmured. "I gotta stop taking air conditioning for granted."

Flipping open the flaps to the cardboard box, Tre stuck his right hand inside and grabbed a hold of the handle on the top of the fan and dragged it out; lifting it up and setting it as gently as possible onto the coffee table.

"Fuck."

He forgot to pull the table away from the couch first.

After dragging the coffee table away from the couch with the two foot tall box fan on it at the same time, Tre had already broken a sweat. But the good thing was that he was now close to an outlet and able to plug this bad boy in.

After doing so, he stood up straight and flicked the dial to HIGH as the fan began to pump out a hard stream of air.

The only problem was that it was hot air. But air, nonetheless.

Wiping sweat from his brow, Tre then ran his hand through his hair and blinked a few times as he walked out of the living room and into the kitchen where he walked over to the fridge and opened up the freezer door in order to just stand there; sticking his face inside as the cold air cooled him down a bit.

Sighing with temporary contentment, Tre pulled his face away and shut the door as he turned to the right to glance out the window above the sink; catching a glimpse of Caroline walking around the edge of the pool; occasionally dipping a toe into the water.

Smirking, the 36-year-old drummer left the house and stepped out onto the back patio. "Are you gonna go in anytime soon or simply admire how the water ripples when your feet touch it?"

Caroline looked up and laughed a little. "I told you I'm slow."

"C'mon. Just climb in."

"I don't wanna go in with my clothes on."

"So skinny dip," he suggested with a grin. "I won't peak." Then he added, "Much."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Skinny dip? More like chunky dunk."

"Alright, alright. Don't skinny dip. Go in with your underwear."

Looking hesitantly at Tre, the female singer bit her bottom lip; considering what his motives might be.

Then she smirked. "Oh, what the hell. It ain't like you haven't seen me naked before."

To his complete and utter surprise, Caroline pulled her tank top off, revealing the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra to begin with and as she reached her hands to her left she undid the side zipper to her skirt and shimmied enough that it fell to the ground and pooled around her ankles.

Standing there in a pair of black, bikini-style panties Caroline bit her lip as she grinned and jumped into the pool.

Tre stood there very much stunned as she resurfaced and buoyed like one of those dingy things you find in the ocean.

And it was funny. He wasn't shocked that she was half naked and fine with it, considering the tense history they'd shared over the last two years up to her wedding day about two months earlier, but instead at how beautiful she looked being pregnant.

Sure, there was a part of him that wondered what it'd be like if it were his child she was carrying instead of Mike's, but then he realized, I don't love Caroline like that anymore. I'm over her. Fuck me sideways, I'm over her!

Swimming over to the edge of the pool that Tre was closest to, Caroline looked up with her now soaked, brown hair slicked back behind her and a shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

"I don't know how I could've put off going into my own pool," she remarked. "I feel super now."

Tre simply looked down at her; trying not to glance at the tops of her bare breasts hovering weightlessly in the water because he was, after all, still very much a man.

"You gonna come in?" she inquired innocently. "You got pit stains."

Tre stole a peak at the armpits of his dark blue T-shirt and frowned. "You want me to chunky dunk with you?" he questioned with a ghost of a smile in his eyes and on his lips. "'Cause I didn't bring my bikini..."

Caroline laughed. "Tre, I can honestly say that I don't give a rat's ass."

"Well, as long as you don't give a rodent's buttocks about it, I guess I can take a quick dunk." Hesitating, Tre eventually lifted his T-shirt up over his head and cast it down to the ground and then unzipped his cargo shorts.

Standing there in just his boxers and sandals, he kicked off the latter and stepped backward before cannon balling into the center of the pool; causing a wavelike ripple.

"You broke the cardinal rule about swimming pools!" Caroline squealed, wiping water from her eyes when Tre resurfaced.

"What rule would that be?" he asked, swimming closer to her as he pushed his wet hair back off his forehead.

"You're supposed to announce 'Cannon Ball' before you do it, you dick! Everyone knows that."

"Well, I, Mrs. Pritchard, am not everyone. I am Tre Cool, banger of drums and general smartass extraordinaire."

Cackling at Tre's wit, Caroline skimmed her hand quickly across the water's surface as she splashed Tre in the face; the two of them beginning to have a water war.

And amidst their new camaraderie and all around pool shenanigans, neither heard the glass doors slide open over the sound of splashing each other, fiercely.

"Care, what the hell are you doing?"

Hearing her name, Caroline turned her head to the left and saw Mike standing near the edge of the pool; looking a mite disgruntled.

Turning her chin up with a naive smile, the pregnant wife of Green Day's bassist swam up to the pool's edge and rested her arms in a way that looked like she was about to play 'Heads Down, Seven Up.'

"We're swimming," she replied.

"You're naked," he bit out; trying to keep a calm stance.

"Not completely. I have my underwear on."

Tre suddenly felt very small. What was he thinking; even jumping into the pool half naked with Caroline, no matter how platonic they were with each other anymore?

She was married to Mike now.

It wasn't the same anymore.

Mike blinked once. Then twice. "Is that supposed to make it better?"

"Mike..." Caroline began.

"Get out of the pool," he spoke with an eerily calm voice.

Tre swallowed back a lump in his throat and hesitated. He wasn't sure who Mike was referring to.

Shit, is he talking to me...or to Caroline? Or both of us? Tre thought to himself.

"Uh...I'll, um...I'll just...I'll go," Tre stumbled over his words. Swimming over to the ladder, he pulled himself up out of the water; standing near Mike with soaking wet boxers as he grabbed for his discarded clothes. "Mike, I want you to know it wasn't anything. It was just really hot and we were cooling off and---"

"Save your breath, Tre," Mike bit out, sending the smaller man the evil eye.

The entire time, Mike kept a tightlipped expression. So much so that it was hard to decipher just how angry the tall, handsome man was.

Biting her lip, Caroline seemed to shrink down into the water; unsure of what kind of tongue lashing her husband was going to give her as soon as Tre was gone.

And when the younger man had finally left, Mike slowly crouched down so that his face was as close to Caroline's without falling into the water. He took in how nervous she appeared and still he made no move to soften his stern gaze.

The sounds of Tre's car suddenly wafted into the backyard as the drummer had clearly pulled out of the driveway and away from the Pritchard residence.

And upon the noise entering their ears, Mike's hard exterior surprisingly cracked a smile as he reached out a hand and touched his fingers to the left side of Caroline's face.

"You're such a whore," he muttered with a laugh.

Her heartbeat slowing down, Caroline sighed a breath of relief as she allowed her own smile to appear. "You ass, I thought you were gonna go off on me."

"Babe, I've skinny-dipped with Adrienne before, so you doing the same with Tre is the least of my worries."

Caroline didn't reply right away.

"You skinny-dipped with Adie?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah. A couple years ago, before I met you, she was on tour in Europe with us guys and we all hit up this secluded beach. I think it was in Italy. And there was actually a bunch of us and we all decided to just get nekkid and go swimming."

"So you saw Adie's boobs and...everything else?"

"Yeah," he replied nonchalantly with a shrug. "And she saw all my junk. Just like we both saw everyone else's junk."

Caroline grimaced. "You didn't play, like, Naked Chicken Fight or anything like that, did you?"

Mike laughed. "No," he shook his head. "Just what you were doing. Swimming, splashing...shit like that."

Happy with his response and that he wasn't upset with her, Caroline grabbed a hold of his hand that had been touching her face and with a quick pull, dragged him down into the pool with all his clothes on.

The water splashed up into her face as he crashed through the water's surface and came back up for air a mere seconds later.

"Oh no, you didn't," he growled playfully.

"Ah, ah, ah," she wagged a finger in front of his face before he could 'attack' her. "New pool rule: you must get nekkid."

"You still have you underwear on."

"That problem can be fixed," she smirked, then pointed demandingly at him. "Off with your clothes!"

Mock saluting his wife, Mike grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

As soon as the 37-year-old bassist was void of every article of clothing he'd been wearing, and after the last piece Caroline was in was shed, Mike swooped her up into his arms and planted a wet kiss on her lips as they drifted together into the center of the pool.