A Ballad For Beulah

The following morning, Billie Joe stirred awake and this time he wasn't surprised by his location.

When he opened his green eyes, he was staring at the back of Beulah's neck, his left arm was draped over her waist with his hand placed against her stomach, and his knees pushed into the back of hers so that the two of their bodies were in the spooning position.

Whereas Billie Joe was utterly butt ass naked, Beulah wore only the T-shirt he'd been wearing the night before.

Simply studying her neck, he snickered to himself as he raised his hand and began to trail his fingers up under the shirt against her soft skin until the back of his hand brushed against one of her full breasts. That gesture caused her to stir awake, a little whimpering groan full of sleep resonating from her lips as she turned her head to him.

"Hi," she greeted with a smile, rolling over to face him and wrap herself into his embrace while her smooth legs became tangled with his manly, hairy ones.

"Hi, sexy," he replied, leaning over her and pinning her back down against her mattress as he covered her lips with his.

"Mmm, now that's how I should wake up every morning."

Billie Joe didn't respond to that and instead nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck, smirking as he found himself able to situate himself between her legs.

"How about this?" he inquired, pressing his lips to her collarbone.

It brought out a soft sigh from her as she whispered, with a lazy smile, "That's nice too, too."

"How about we go take a shower?" he questioned staring up at her through his eyebrows in such a seductive way, like he was a predator eyeing his prey. "I'm feelin' a little dirty."

Biting her lip and grinning like a fool she nodded and jumped up, pushing him off her and running out of the bedroom. Billie Joe rolled onto his back and scampered off the bed, clamoring to his feet and taking off after her, still naked.

It was still in the earlier part of the morning -- probably not yet 8 -- so Bailey was still asleep. Therefore they were free to run rampant, as long as they kept their voices down.

As soon as they had the shower running, Beulah took off the T-shirt she wore and stepped in, letting the warm water cascade down her body and Billie Joe stepped in after her and backed her against the tiled wall, pinning her to it. The water dripping down both their bodies, they wasted no time in going at it in the shower.

The way they made love in the shower was so animalistic that it was more along the lines of simply fucking, but to Beulah, it didn't matter so long as she was in his arms.

"Billie?" she muttered her question in between sighs of contentment.

"Unh...yeah?"

"I love you," Beulah admitted, her nails digging into his back.

Billie Joe didn't respond on purpose, knowing he couldn't lie to her about loving her the way she loved him, so he chose evading the subject and focusing finishing the task at hand, so to speak.

"You're such a beautiful woman," he whispered against her lips as he kissed her.

As the warm water continued to fall over them, she just smiled happily.

* * *

After their romp in the shower, Beulah had gotten dressed and made breakfast for all of them as soon as Bailey woke up. Billie Joe then played with his son for a while until it was time for him to leave. Beulah drove him to the airport in which he leaned over and kissed her, thanking her for a nice stay and promised to come back as soon as he could.

And this time, she was positive he meant it.

Unfortunately it would be about two more months until he came back.

It was around Beulah's birthday in May and Billie Joe didn't come alone this time. Instead, he was joined by Mike, who pretty much had nothing else to do at the time and wanted to visit.

When Beulah picked the two of them up at the airport with Bailey in the backseat, she was a little surprised to see Mike, to say the least. Billie Joe hopped in the front seat and Mike slid in the back beside the green eyed toddler, immediately making faces in order to get giggles out of Bailey.

Beulah looked at them in the rearview and smirked, her eyes then drifting between the road and at Billie Joe out the corner of her eye.

"It's nice seein' you again, Mike," Beulah commented, making conversation on the drive back to her apartment.

"What---oh. Yeah," he smiled. "It's nice seein' you too, birthday girl. And you know, I think the last time I saw you on your birthday it was your twelfth."

"Yeah, and you're twentieth about two weeks before, which, by the way, Happy Belated 31st to you."

"Heh, thanks. The best birthdays are in May, right?" he teased.

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Taurus all the way."

"Damn straight."

Billie Joe looked into the sideview mirror and rolled his eyes as he began to look at the scenery passing by in a generic blur. It was awkward for him to be in the car with Beulah and Mike at the same time due to the fucked up relationship he had with her, unbeknownst to his best friend.

When they arrived to the apartment, Beulah frowned a little as she held Bailey on her hip while Billie Joe and Mike dragged their bags inside.

"Are you two sure you wouldn't rather stay at a hotel? I mean, this ain't exactly the four star treatment you're used to," she muttered, catching Billie Joe's eyes briefly.

"We're one star people thrown into a four star world," Mike remarked. "This is just as fine. Billie can take the couch, I'll take the floor."

"No, you don't have to do that," Beulah insisted. "The two of you can share my bed. I'll take the couch."

"No, you keep your bed. You need a better night's sleep if you're gonna hafta get up for work."

Beulah let Bailey slide down from her hip to the floor where he went scampering off toward his bedroom as she folded her arms across her chest. Mike was staring her down in an insistent manner. He wouldn't hear any more of it.

"I will chain you to your damn bed, if I have to," he joked.

"Hey, let's leave the kinky shit out of the conversation," Billie Joe spoke up a little sourly, though he hadn't really meant it to sound that way.

"Okay, okay," Beulah caved with a shy laugh. "I'll keep my bed all to myself."

"Actually, you know what?" Billie Joe began. "I'll take the floor, but I'll be in Bailey's room. So, if he wakes up or something in the middle of the night, I'll be right there. Mike can have the couch."

"You sure?" Mike questioned.

The guitarist nodded. "Yeah."

Shrugging, Mike smirked. "Hey, whatever floats your boat."

The three of them exchanged glances and small smiles and then went about the rest of the evening.

* * *

The following night, was a Monday, and when Beulah came home from work, she was greeted by Billie Joe sitting on the couch with Mike, while Bailey was bringing them what looked to be every single toy he owned; piling them up in their laps.

She just rolled her eyes and smiled, telling them she was gonna hop in the shower.

When she got out, she remembered she'd forgotten her robe and the only towel she had was too small to cover her body so that she could successfully walk out of the bathroom and head into her bedroom without streaking.

Biting her lip, she pulled the door open a crack and peered through it just slightly, standing behind the door, butt naked, and dripping all over the tiled floor.

"Um...Billie?" she called.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"Can you do me a favor and find me a towel from closet out here?"

"Well, I'm kinda buried in toys at the moment..."

"I'm not as buried," Mike commented. "What do you need?" he asked, calling out.

"A towel. A big one."

Pushing some Tonka trucks and other doodads off him, Mike stood up and headed to where the small closet was next to the bathroom, opening it up and groping for a big towel. When he pulled one out, he smirked.

"Big Bird?" he questioned with a teasing smile, catching Beulah's shy look as she looked through the crack of the door, hiding her body behind it.

"It's Bailey's beach towel. But he doesn't get to use it 'cause there aren't any beaches around here," she explained, sticking a wet arm out through the crack, reaching for the towel.

Mike handed it over and smiled, turning as she began to shut the door. "Hurry up and get dry and dressed. We wanna take you out for a nice birthday dinner," he told her. Then, looking at Billie Joe, he added, "Right, Bill?"

"Yeah. Big dinner," Billie Joe replied, leaning forward to grab Bailey up and drop the boy to the couch and tickle him to death.

Mike just stood there in the archway to the living room, watching his best friend interact with his son who was so much like a midget version of him. Bailey's two-year-old cackling laughter was too adorable for words as the sound drifted into Mike's ears, making him smile. And for some reason, feel a little jealous.

Here Billie Joe had two sons with Adie, one -- albeit illegitimately -- with Beulah. Hell, even Tre had a son. Mike had none. He wondered what it'd be like to have a little mini him running around someday.

The sound of the bathroom door creaking open caught Mike's attention as he looked over his shoulder to find Beulah wrapped up in the Big Bird towel, her damp hair hanging, clumped together, down the middle of her back.

And it was odd to see her without make-up on. It almost made her look like she was just a kid again.

Mike smirked. "Have a good shower?"

"Wonderful," she smiled.

Beulah disappeared into her bedroom for a while, stepping out about fifteen minutes, dressed and wearing make-up. She was letting her hair dry naturally, occasionally brushing through it so that it didn't snarl.

She looked around for her car keys and her purse and then a comfortable pair of dress shoes, and when she was all set, she found that both Billie Joe and Mike were staring at her.

"What?" she asked, naively, thinking her make-up was smudged, so she touched her hand to her face.

Mike shrugged with a small smirk dangling on his lips. "You look nice," he complimented.

"Thanks."

"He's not kidding," Billie Joe smiled, lifting Bailey up into his arms. "I like the dress," he added as he stepped up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Bee." He then proceeded in pulling out a long and thin, black box and handing it to her.

Taking it, cautiously, Beulah looked up at him. "What is it?"

"Birthday gift. Just open it," he replied.

Obliging, she clicked the box open and stared down at the contents with wide eyes and a huge grin. "Oh my god," she muttered in awe. "It's so pretty."

It was a silver necklace with emeralds and diamonds bejeweling it.

"Here," Billie Joe muttered, as he handed Bailey over to Mike and then took the necklace out of the box for Beulah and proceeded in clasping it around her neck.

Beulah wanted to melt right there when he stepped up so close to her and wrapped his arms about her neck and hooked the necklace together; his face about an inch from hers. He then met her glance and smiled.

"Thank you so much," she said as she touched her hand to the necklace while Billie Joe stepped back.

With Bailey on his narrow hip, Mike looked on and smiled, despite feeling a little unsure about the look Beulah and Billie Joe shared. He didn't want to think about it, but the tension between the two was a little curious. But the bassist chose to let it blow over as he smiled and stepped over to Beulah after bending down a little and picking up a gift bag and handing it over to her.

"This is from me. And Tre, actually. He was thinking about joining us out here, but he's trying to deal with the divorce proceedings from his wife, Claudia..."

"You'll have to tell him thank you for me," Beulah remarked as she looked into the bag. She pulled out a pamphlet and looked at it with questioning blue eyes and wondered what the deal was. "I don't get it. It's a pamphlet for a Day Spa..."

"Yeah, I hooked it up so that this weekend you will be treated to everything that place offers."

Her mouth forming a circle, Beulah began to grin like a giddy child. "I get to go to a Day Spa?"

"Yeah," Mike smirked. "I was talking to Tre about it and he agreed that you'd probably want to get away and be pampered for once in your life."

"No shit. I mean---" she grimaced, her eyes looking over to her son. The last thing she wanted for him to be learning colorful words from her. "No kidding," she amended a little after the fact. "Thank you, Mike."

As Beulah leaned forward and gave him a hug, Mike could feel Billie Joe's eyes on him as if he was boring holes into his head.

"Alright, well, let's go to dinner," Beulah announced with a smile.

As the four of them walked out of the apartment, Billie Joe offered to play chauffeur, and when Beulah was busy putting Bailey in his car seat, Billie Joe stepped up to Mike and gave him a dirty look.

"What's up with that gift?"

"What are you talking about?" Mike questioned, opening up the passenger door since Beulah said she'd sit in the back with her son.

"Trying to show me up or something?"

Mike pulled his head back and narrowed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Bill. I didn't know this was contest," he bit out quietly. "Tre and I thought it'd be nice to get her something she could need. Not that a necklace isn't nice."

"Just don't do that again," Billie Joe warned, moving around to the driver's seat and hopping in.

Mike just stood there, a little confused, and after a moment, he slid into the car beside his friend.