An Address Book Romance

Tre Cool let out a frustrated sigh as he climbed into the drivers seat of his SUV. He reached over opening the glove department and pulling out a white pill bottle that's label had worn off a long time ago.

He opened the bottle quickly before popping two tiny white tablets into his mouth and swallowing them grateful that he could get them down his dry throat without choking. He silently thanked the powers that be or at least the pharmaceutical company for Aspirin. It was honestly the best cure in the world for hangovers.

It didn't help that his hangover had seemed to have been multiplied by a thousand when the check engine light had started to blink as soon as he'd climbed into his car this morning.

So needles to say he'd been stuck at the mechanics all morning waiting for his car to be repaired. It hadn't exactly been his day so far, and he had almost wished that he hadn't climbed out of bed at all this morning.

Not to mention the fact that he had technically missed a meeting with Green Day's management this morning to discuss touring plans for their newest album American Idiot.

American Idiot wouldn't be released until next month but they wanted to get all their tour planning over and done with.

Thankfully after he'd called Billie and explained his current predicament the meeting had been rescheduled for next week.

He shoved the pill bottle back into the glove department before glancing down at the passengers seat. A small smile developed across his face as soon as he stared down at what was laying in the seat.

It was an address book and an organizer. It was a thick dark purple leather bound book with a magnetic clasp. It was far too big to sit inside a purse. Actually it was pretty massive for just a regular run of the mill address book. It wasn't just any address book though it was her address book.

He'd had it for a couple of days and he was still trying to figure out what he should do with it.

Her would be Grace Diana Harper, or at least that was the name that had been written neatly in black ink on the inside corner of the address book.

Of course he hadn't known her full name when he'd met her at a bar a couple of nights ago. Okay so saying that he met her at some bar made it sound kind of sleazy. When their whole meeting had been actually pretty innocent.

About two nights ago he'd been feeling a little down. Claudia had gone out on some date to the movies with some great guy she'd been seeing for a while and she'd taken Frankito along with her.

No he had no problem with her dating. She was his ex wife and he'd already accepted the fact that their marriage was over. It was just the fact that she had had someone and he didn't.

He knew it made him sound childish being jealous because she had someone in her life and he couldn't seem to keep a steady girlfriend even if his life depended on it.

After all it wasn't like he hadn't tried to date at all. Right after his divorce there had been Madison whom he had met at a coffee shop. She'd been beautiful and he thought things were going wonderfully until he'd realized that she seemed to be way more interested in his money than in him.

Pretty soon After Madison there had been Torry. She had been great and they'd gotten along really well. The combination of his going into the studio to record the album and both of their busy schedules had complicated that relationship though . In the end they'd both decided it would be best to just part ways.

His most recent girlfriend had been Cassandra whom had seemed like a perfectly sweet normal girl at first. After a couple of weeks though she had started displaying some creepy tendencies, talking about marriage ,and telling him that his kids could call her mom. Needless to say he'd decided that it would be wise to break up with her before she snapped and murdered him in his sleep.

So anyway about two nights ago he'd decided to go out and drink his troubles away.

The bar he had chosen to go that night had been pretty crowded and not to mention tiny. He had immediately made his way over to bar and started ordering cheeches....well he'd started ordering them after he'd finished explaining to the bartender what exactly a cheech was.

Tre had sat back on his bar stool sipping his cheech as he let his eyes scan the bar. It seemed to be full of a mixture of couples of all ages along with a few college kids.

He couldn't help but to be a little grateful that none of them had noticed exactly who he was, since he hadn't exactly been in the mood to sign autographs or pose for pictures.

Tre didn't turn back towards the bar until he heard a feminine voice beside him. “Oh thank you.”

He turned looking at the women beside him. She was young maybe in her early twenties the neon lights of the bar were making her long auburn hair look a little pink.

He couldn't help but to smirk a little when she took a tiny sip from her glass and grimaced.

Before he could stop himself he blurted out. “What not a big drinker?”

She turned her head and connected her wide dark brown eyes his light blue ones. She stared at him for a moment as though she was trying to decide rather he was talking to her or not.

“I guess coke and rum really isn't my drink of choice.” She finally admitted shrugging her shoulders slightly before glancing down at the bar trying to hide her embarrassment.

Before he had the chance to respond to she spoke up pointing a finger at the glass in his hand. “What's that?”

“A cheech.” He said as he stared at her short bright red nails. They were well manicured and looked as she'd just had them done.

He tried his best not to grin knowing that he would have to explain the drink to her.

Sure enough she gave him a puzzled look. “A what?”

He shook his head grinning at her. “It's vodka, tonic, and a few lemon wedges.”

“Oh...is it any good?” She asked still staring at the glass in his hand.

He couldn't help but to snicker slightly at her question. “Oh no it's horrible, that's why I'm drinking it. I'd hate to break it to you but if coke and rums make you gag I don't think you'd like this.”

She rolled her eyes ignoring his sarcasm. “Yeah I guess I should just stick with coke and rum but without the rum.”

He nodded his head letting his eyes scan the crowd again. “Are you here alone?”

“I'm here with my roommate and her boyfriend.” She replied raising an eyebrow before she pushed her drink back deciding that she wasn't going to make the mistake of drinking out of it again.

“Do you have a name?” He blurted out flinching as soon as he realized what he'd said. How more idiotic could he sound asking her something like that?

She didn't seem to notice his flinch as she stared down at the shiny mahogany bar top. “Grace. And you are?”

“Tre.” He said glancing over at her face waiting for any sign of recognition.

“Your names seriously Tre? By the way you look sort of familiar.” She remarked raising her eyebrow once again.

He managed to clear his throat trying not to burst out laughing at her comment about him looking familiar. “It's not my real name. It's just what I prefer to go by.”

“Okay so what do you do for a living Tre?” She asked staring at him trying to remember exactly where she had seen him before. He looked so familiar but she just couldn't place it.

“I'm in the music business. I'm a drummer in a band.” He answered not wanting to go too far into it all. He still wasn't in the mood to be bombarded by fans at the moment.

“How's that going? Are you any good? I mean your band.....are they any good?” She inquired finally giving up trying to figure out where she knew him from. It was probably just her imagination.

This coke and rum hadn't been her first drink tonight so her head was already feeling a little fuzzy. So anyone could look like someone she may have seen before right now.

Tre did his best to fight back a laugh that was threatening to make it out of the back of his throat. “Yeah we're pretty good and we're not doing too bad.”

She nodded her head about to open her mouth to ask him another question before she felt a hand wrap around her wrist.

She looked up surprised to see her roommate Jen.

Jen spoke up quickly ignoring the fact that Grace had been in the middle of a conversation. “We have to go now.”

“What...why? I mean Jen you're freaking me out whats wrong?” Grace asked ignoring Tre and their current conversation about bands.

Jen spoke up trying to fight of the tears that were threatening to leak out of her eyes. “That son of a bitch did it again. I caught him this time with her. That coworker of his.....the bottle redhead with the fake boobs.”

Tre watched Grace shake her head before she glanced over at him. “Sorry I've got to leave. It was nice talking to you Tre.”

With that said she got up and disappeared out of sight. He sat there for a few moments until he had noticed it. The address book sitting abandoned on the bar where she had been sitting.

He had tried to look for her after he'd scooped up the address book and paid for his drinks but she'd been long gone.

So he'd had the book in his possession for the past few days while he tried to figure out how to get it back to her.

Okay so he may want to talk to her again and see if she was single as well as return her address book. He really wasn't doing this for completely selfish reasons though.

He had read it looking for a clue of where she may live or something along those lines, and so far there was only one thing left for him to do.

Tre had to meet up with her on one of the appointments she had written into her organizer. He reached over and grabbed it opening it up and searching for today's date.

He spotted it raising an eyebrow as he read what it had to say. : Dye appointment for Mrs. Richards, all day job. She will complain about her creepy son and try to set me up with him. I May use the dye to cause her hair to fall out on purpose if she doesn't stop trying to set me up with the creep.
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It didn't take him long to make it to the hair salon. It wasn't a very big hair salon. It was actually kind of a hole in the wall place in some shopping center.

Tre read the sign raising an eyebrow Roses Salon : Hair, Nails, Facials, Waxing, and Piercings.

He couldn't help but to snicker at the last thing written on the sign. Piercings didn't exactly seem like something that would be done in a hair place. He had always thought of it as something that was done at one of those little kiosk places at the mall or in a tattoo shop.

He made his way inside feeling a little out of place since the place was practically filled with women. He searched the crowd seeing if he could spot Grace.

Tre didn't see her but he did recognize one familiar face. He frowned trying to remember what he'd heard Grace call her Jane, June, Joan....oh no it was defiantly Jen.

Jen apparently recognized him as well, but it was more likely that she recognized him as being Tre Cool and not being that guy talking to her friend at a bar a couple of nights ago.

She made her way over to him and spoke up sounding a little nervous. “I uh...Tre.......I mean sir there's a barber shop next door.......we usually don't cut men's hair. I mean we can if you really want us to.”

He did his best not to laugh at how nervous she looked. “Actually I'm not here for a hair cut or anything like that. I'm looking for Grace Harper.”

She widened her eyes as she ran her hand through her curly blond hair. “Oh...uh well okay. Let me get her she's in the back.”

He watched Jen make her way back behind a curtained area at the back of the salon. He shook his head reminding himself to sign an autograph or something for her as he took a seat in the waiting area.

Grace looked up from her chicken salad as her roommate entered the makeshift employees lounge. She spoke up frowning “My lunch break doesn't end for thirty more minutes.”

“Forget lunch breaks. Tre Cool is in this salon and he's looking for you.” Jen blurted out not hiding the manic grin that was spreading across her face.

“Who? Oh you mean that drummer guy from that band you like. Why is he in this dump?” Grace asked raising an eyebrow.

Jen let out annoyed sigh. “Green Day Grace. The bands called Green Day. Please update your music taste to something other than those old punk and classic rock albums you love. Oh god and do away with the jazz and blues junk too. It's aging you into an eighty year old women not a vibrant twenty three year old”

Grace bit her lip trying not to giggle at Jen's rant. “Okay, but I happen to like my music taste. You didn't tell me why this Tre guys looking for me. Does he want me to do his hair or something?”

“He isn't just some Tre guy. He's like the most incredible drummer ever....not to mention he isn't too bad looking either. I mean you do remember that Green Day concert I took you too years ago. I have no idea why music royalty is waiting in this salon for you, but don't leave him waiting”

Grace shook her head frowning at her roommates behavior, but then again she guessed she'd act this way too if Billie Holiday walked into the salon wanting to see Jen.

Okay well actually she'd panic first and decided that apocalypse must be upon them since Billie Holiday had been dead since 1959.

Yes she had been to a Green Day concert and she had enjoyed it. The concert had been around the year 2000 so it had been about four years ago when Jen had insisted that she go to this concert with her. So it really hadn't been years ago as Jen had put it.

No she hadn't been living under a rock hiding from modern music. She listened to the radio and was aware of Green Day. After all her roommate basically worshiped them.

Not to mention the fact that she could clearly remember being thirteen years old and hearing her older brother Daniel blasting the Dookie tape as loud as their father would allow him to.

She was just stuck in her older music ways. Her father had raised her on jazz, blues, Elvis, Led Zepplin, and the occasional Ramones record. So that was what she tended to gravitate towards music wise.

She put her half eaten Chicken salad away before she made it out from behind the curtain widening her eyes when she saw him.

The guy from the bar. He had said he was in a drummer in a band and now she realized why he looked so familiar to her.

Jen had a poster on her wall and he was on it. Green Day of course now it made since why her drunken mind had recognized him.

She widened her eyes even more when she realized what he was holding. “That's my address book. You stole my address book.”

She could almost hear Jen freaking out behind her over her being so rude to quote: 'the most incredible drummer ever.'

Tre couldn't help but to grin at her accusations. “I did no such thing. You left it and now I'm returning it. I thought you would prefer me giving it to you here instead of at that dentists appointment next week. Your handwriting's hard to read by the way.”

“You read my address book!” Grace exclaimed a little louder than necessary causing a couple of the clients to peek over at the scene in the middle of the salon.

“I had too. I skipped over some things that I was sure you wouldn't want me to see. I swear.” Tre claimed feeling his grin growing even wider.

Grace opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally managed to speak. “I can't believe you. You invaded my privacy.”

He bit his bottom lip trying not to giggle over how dramatic she was making this all sound. “I'm sorry though there were some pretty funny notes in there. Especially the thing about Mrs. Richards son. Let me make it up to you.”

She felt her cheeks turn beet red as heard this. Thank god Mrs. Richards and her son had canceled that appointment.

She glanced around the salon noticing that Tre and she were still being watched as though this was all some sort of show for every body's amusement.

Grace shook her head as she glanced over at him. “Fine but only if you give me my address book and leave before we make an even bigger scene.”

She took note of the shit eating grin that spread across his face as he heard her response. Tre handed her the book before speaking up. “So I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow night. Wear a dress and bring your appetite.”

Grace let out a sigh of relief as he turned and practically skipped out the door. She blushed as soon as she realized that her coworkers and few of the clients were still staring at her like she was a side show freak.

She turned around to face Jen who looked thrilled over what had just happened.

Grace couldn't help but to let out a sigh. What had she just gotten herself into?